Portfolio Living
Friday brought SESIG discussions about technology, energy, trade policy, personal plans, and education. Photo editing consumed the bulk of the day, interrupted by beer at Squirrels with Brian and Tim, then Suds with Michael, Mary, and Tim. Queen's Chopstick provided delicious spicy pork and vegetables. Evening brought Tw's blog link questioning retirement—20th century expectations of dying shortly after 65 versus today's reality of 30 more years meaning another whole career. As photographer, publisher, IT specialist, consultant, philosopher, social coordinator, retirement feels less like an ending and more like a different funding model.
The Problem with Stopping
October 18, 2025
Friday started with SESIG. A handful of us showed up for the usual wide-ranging discussion. Topics included technology issues and solutions, energy and environmental topics, trade and economic policy, personal updates and plans, and education and social issues. The kind of conversation that moves freely between practical problem-solving and broader systems thinking, no agenda forcing particular directions, just following wherever curiosity and expertise lead.
Worked on photo editing for the bulk of the day. But "photo editing" undersells what actually happens during these sessions. The process includes identifying sets to edit, down-selecting to one or two images within each set, refining and enhancing those images as inspiration strikes, then generating a Patreon post that includes a poem, a short story, an artist's statement, and a how-it-was-done description. Sometimes I'll cross-post to other mediums. It's not just technical adjustment but creative production across multiple forms—visual art, poetry, prose, technical writing, all woven together around each image or set. Got through two complete posts yesterday. Hours disappear into this work when it's going well, the concentration creating that particular flow state where time becomes irrelevant.
Went to Squirrels a little after noon for a beer with Brian and Tim. Breaking up the editing marathon with social connection, giving eyes and mind a rest from screens and decisions. The casual gathering that requires no planning or purpose beyond being together.
Came home for a bit more photo editing. The work resumed naturally, picking up where I'd left off, continuing the patient refinement that digital photography enables and demands.
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| Clouds from yesterday's walk |
Walked back and stopped by Queen's Chopstick. Delicious spicy pork and vegetable dish, eaten there but with leftovers brought home that I'm very much looking forward to. Sometimes the best meals are the ones that provide both immediate satisfaction and anticipated future pleasure.
Came home. Started to watch a little TV but didn't get far. Not feeling very energetic—the day's sustained focus had depleted available attention, leaving nothing for even passive entertainment. Sometimes you just need to acknowledge depletion rather than push through it.
Went to bed early, surrendering to exhaustion.
Sometime yesterday evening Tw sent a link to a blog post exploring how "retirement" is based on 20th century expectations. Basically, you'd live a handful of years beyond 65 and then die. Retirement was a brief denouement before the end. These days you can often live 30 more years beyond 65. That's time for another career, sometimes multiple careers. The math completely changes when retirement might last as long as your working years did.
Unfortunately, societal norms are still learning to cope with that reality. We still frame retirement as stopping, as withdrawal from productive engagement, as the beginning of decline. But 30 years is too long to spend declining. It's too long to spend not contributing. It's too long to spend without purpose or structure beyond leisure.
Given that I've transitioned into being a photographer, publisher, IT specialist, consultant, philosopher, and social coordinator, among other things, it's hard to view "retirement" as an end. Mostly it's just a different funding model. Instead of trading time for money through employment, I'm funding continued activity through savings and investments while pursuing work that interests me without requiring it to generate income—though I'll take income when it comes, which it occasionally does.
It's a full time job just ignoring all the projects around the house that I should be doing. Between photo editing, blog maintenance, solar system research, social coordination, philosophical conversations, and the accumulated demands of creative practice, there's no time for the supposed leisure that retirement promises. The difference is autonomy—choosing what demands attention rather than having those choices made by employers or economic necessity.
The 20th century model assumed retirement meant stopping because you physically couldn't continue. The 21st century reality is that you might remain capable for decades beyond when the funding model shifts. The challenge isn't filling time—it's choosing among too many possible uses for it.
"Retirement" might be the wrong word entirely. Perhaps we need language that captures continuation under different terms rather than suggesting cessation. "Portfolio living" comes closer—maintaining multiple roles and activities, none dominant, all contributing to a full life. But even that undersells the intensity and commitment involved.
The day's photo editing marathon, the social connections at multiple venues, the blog post reflection on retirement's evolution—all of it points toward the same recognition: stopping isn't the goal, and for many people, it's not even possible. The question isn't whether to remain engaged, but how to structure that engagement when traditional employment no longer defines or funds it.
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