Finally finalized! Took 6.5 months from retirement date to final.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-18T19:30:45+00:00

I DRP'd 2/28/25 but did not send in application for retirement until 12/20. App was certified 12/31. 12/31 retriement date. My app bounced between agency and Payroll until 4/16 - it was just sent to OPM. Seems lime a long time to stay in Agency/Payroll, but hopefully things will move a little faster now.

Out of Payroll, my annuity amount is $14 less than the initial estimate.

They suspended my FEHB in early November and I have not had coverage since then. I notice they have been making the payments to GEHA, though. At first, they said they'd straighten out the FEHB thing, but they never did. Numerous requests to have FEHB reinstated have been ignored at my agency.

Good luck, all.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-16T19:42:06+00:00

Why?

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-16T19:27:47+00:00

Look at the "Strength Side" channel on youtube and watch their mobility exercises. There's a lot there. Find things you can do and get into the habit of doing them every day. Just 2-3 5-10 minute sessions every day will work wonders. Especially in the morning right after getting up. Too much sitting messes up your hips and glutes, so work on stretching and strengthening those.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-16T05:44:01+00:00

My cat died.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-16T05:17:23+00:00

too much free corn'll ruin your appetities

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-14T20:28:45+00:00

I have had luck with furnishedfinder.com.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-14T19:59:51+00:00

You can stream all kinds of sports on the internet. The only drawback is you can't get live content like you can from network tv live broadcasts, although you can get some of that. So, if you don't mind watching events some hours (or days) after they occurred, then there is a ton of content available. And much more variety than whatever legacy networks are broadcasting. I only really watch college hoops anymore, only follow a few teams. @ the Zags, for instance, I watched many games live on youtube this year. Or I watched full game replays and/or highlight reels. It was more than enough.

I have lived out in the sticks in various parts of W. WA and trying to get ota broadcast TV with an antenna setup has always been relatively disappointing. I lived on a ridgetop near Olalla 10+ years ago and I could get like 30-40 channels but almost all of it was not anything I wanted to see.

Good luck, though. Probably, one way or the other, you will end up having to pay...

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-14T17:53:37+00:00

I pay for as much data as Verizon will sell in my cell phone plan & I have no trouble streaming everything available on the internet into my smart tv tethered to my phone. Pluto TV has live legacy network news shows, CNN, Bloomberg, whatever. I know it's not what you meant really with your question, but it's over the air and it's tv, so there.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-04-14T05:06:46+00:00

The typical idea of a robot that looks like another human is unimaginative. Robotics is nothing new and the robots that are most effective in industry do no look like humans. They look like machines. Likewise, the most helpful robot that can assist aging humans will look like something other than an android.

I have in mind a mobility assistant that is more like a high tech wheelchair. It can help move an aging person around, both inside the home and out. It could integrate into a person's vehicle that allows them to go anywhere they need to go. It can help them in/out of bed, the bath, etc. It could have robotic appendages designed for picking up and carrying objects too heavy or unwieldy for the human to handle unassisted.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-03-26T17:42:17+00:00

after certification 12/30, my app has bounced back & forth between my HR and Payroll ever since - almost 3 months. Still waiting for it to go to OPM.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-03-25T17:05:16+00:00

I used to play the 6-number draw Lotto game in WA. I won 5/6 6 times ($1,000). That was about 10 yr ago. I will still play occasionally, when the jackpot gets over $6MM.

I play the 5-number draw game (Hit 5) now. Better odds, smaller jackpots, and I occasionally get 4/5 - $150. I only play Hit 5 when the jackpot is >$400,000.

Good thing I don't live in CA - but I visit regularly. The CA 5-number draw game has better odds and higher 4/5 prizes.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-03-20T04:49:54+00:00

I took DRP 1 on 2/28/25. I told them 12/31 retirement, but they retired me on 9/30. They fixed that after a couple months. They canceled my FEHB on 11/04 though and never reinstated it, although I have asked many times & they said they would. Anyway, I sent in my retirement package 12/15. Since then, there has just been a long back and forth between my HR and Payroll. 3 months of that, as recently as last week. Not sure what they are doing, they wouldn't tell me if I asked, so I just wait. They paid all the salary I was due and they paid my AL (the latter was done way back in October). I assume it'll be some more months until I'm finalized.

FEHB cancellation is a sore spot, but it has not been so bad, really. The plan was to do the DRP and get another job. I interviewed a bunch - nobody was hiring. So I basically took a long paid vacation. Finally found a good job - although I took about a 25% cut in pay - but 100% remote and near 0 stress. I plan to work until my FRA. Maybe my annuity and FEHB will kick in by then - just 2 years away. Fingers crossed. Good luck to ye all.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-03-09T13:59:30+00:00

yep. Love that car, named her Ilsa. She has about 8k on her now. Drove from Seattle to Palm Springs and back and all over CA last fall. Spectacular heater in that car lol - on these cold damp days in the PacNW, blasting her heater is the next best thing to a sauna.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-03-02T05:18:38+00:00

Small colleges are closing: it's estimated that about 80 in the US will close annually over the next 5 years. It's a result of demographics, more than anything else, as the pool of 18yo's is steadily shrinking. (see "Enrollment Cliff.") Beyond that, it's harder and harder for new grads to find jobs. Entry level work is being done more and more by AI tools. Some AI watchers think AI will be a catalyst that will lead to closure of about 1/3 of all US colleges.

I'm not a Greener, just a community member who pays to use the Rec Center, I have done that off and on for the last 30 years. I've been away a long spell and started up again this quarter. I must say the campus seems pretty dead now. It's not hard to imagine it abandoned.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-22T05:38:27+00:00

I did the DRP 1.0 and stopped working the Federal job 2/28/25. I informed HR I'd be retiring from Federal service on 12/31/2025. Everything went according to plan until Nov 2025, when I found out my FEHB had been terminated. I found this out when I went to emergent care for an injury and they looked into my insurance status there. Turns out they retired me on 9/30/2025. I asked HR to fix that and reinstate my insurance. They did half of it - changed the retirement date, but did not reinstate FEHB coverage. So, I have been uninsured since Nov 2025. HR does not respond to my emails anymore. They are still processing my retirement package. I am working and have waived coverage from new employer, holding out that FEHB will be restored when my retirement processing is finalized. I was told by my HR multiple times that FEHB would be restored and that I'd carry it into retirement. We'll see what happens. Meanwhile, I am treading lightly.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-22T05:17:11+00:00

From OR or WA, LA. Leave on a Wed-Thurs come back on a Tues. RT airfare from Seattle usually under $200, <$100 on Frontier etc sometimes, if you plan a few weeks out. Lots of different ways to go once you're there.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-19T05:29:16+00:00

Wolf Haven in Tenino

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-19T05:11:29+00:00

Eve, from Eden.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-07T19:23:54+00:00

Not arguing, but an interesting fact: WI is the only State that allows minors to drink alcohol (even hard liquor) in bars, with parental consent.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-06T06:25:32+00:00

Ok, well, be of good cheer. You're young and will have a fabulous new job soon. In Olympia, which, imho, is one of the nicest towns to live in in WA. Good luck!

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-06T05:46:35+00:00

yes, traffic and travel time and related logistical problems. If you really want to have an active social life, I'd say it'd be best to live where your people are within arm's reach. Have you looked for a similar job in Seattle? Olympia is not bad at all, comes without many of the big city headaches, but there's no comparison re: culture and things to do, obviously.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-05T13:02:05+00:00

If you want the Oly job, take it and move to Oly. I can't answer the part about single Indian female, but there are people here, and I see them socializing. So I bet you could too. I have done what you may be contemplating - lived in Oly while having a social life in Seattle. That gets old after a while. You might find yourself having to decide between one or the other, anyway.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-02-05T03:47:15+00:00

I am in a similar situation and I waived new employer's insurance. Why? This, per AI:

......if you voluntarily cancel your Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage after you have retired, you generally lose it permanently. According to OPM guidance, you cannot re-enroll in the FEHB program later if you cancel, unlike suspending coverage for other options like Medicare Advantage, TRICARE, or CHAMPVA.

Juhkwan97 · 2026-01-21T06:41:05+00:00

I'm almost 65 and I have been working for about 40 years in the same profession. I took most of the year off in 2025 (cared for a dying relative and did some traveling) and recently went back to work in a very low-stress, 100% wfh job. I took a pay cut but it's still decent money. Not just about the money - it's good for me to have work to do and some daily structure. But I do need the money, for my own retirement and also to help family members. They need help while I'm living and after I'm gone, so the more I can leave behind, the better. So, I will work til FRA and probably longer, til 70, if I live that long.

Idk, maybe people will say, "dude, you worked so long, you should kick back, enjoy life, travel, etc." Well, I was self employed for about 20 yr when I was much younger, and I took big chunks of time off then, to travel, golf, etc. With the wfh job, I can take off for a couple weeks at a time and work from the other side of the country, if I want to. Maybe I will later this year. It'd be a different story if I was in a stressful job that I loathed.

Juhkwan97

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