I am officially at the day-drinking stage of unemployment.

[Aristus]

Not every day. Or even most days. But I want a drink, so dammit; I’m having one.

I’ll lift this one in honor of the centenary of one of the greatest men ever to serve as President: James Earl Carter, Jr. To your health, sir!

[FirefighterJo]

1. Cheers

[Aristus]

13. And to you.

Fire fighters ROCK!

[True Dough]

2. Ever consider a career

as a bartender? You'd surely make a fine one (as long as you didn't sample everyone's drinks).

[Aristus]

4. Not unless you can picture a bartender gingerly sifting ingredients for a cocktail

into a glass, squinting closely at a bar book recipe, and taking five minutes to mix a drink.

Because that’s me.

Plus, I don’t want to deal with a bunch of bad-tempered drunks on a regular basis. Or any basis, really.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. I'd say that's a good reason to have a drink in the afternoon. Happy Birthday President Carter!

[Aristus]

5. Definitely!

[Permanut]

6. I quit alcohol 30 years ago..

but I'll gladly join you in a lemonade toast to a great man!

[Aristus]

7. But first: well-deserved congratulations for thirty years.

Now: To Jimmy Carter!

[Permanut]

8. To Jimmy Carter!

[peppertree]

29. Hear, hear

[CTyankee]

9. I got a glass of my non alcohol Merlot made by FRE raised to you, Aristus!

I'm too old to drink wine any more so I drink a non alcohol one. It tastes like Merlot but with no alcohol and I love the taste. It goes well with my dinner. I highly recommend it, if you can get it. It is quite delicious and festive!

[Aristus]

10. It's always good to see you, CTYankee!

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

11. Nothing wrong with a drinking day every once and a while 🍸

[Aristus]

12. And that's all it is: once in a while.

Best!

[OAITW r.2.0]

14. I don't drink no more.

But I don't drink no less!

[Aristus]

15. Hey!

[Elessar Zappa]

16. When I went to visit Germany in the 90's,

I saw some construction workers, presumably on break, sitting on the curb and drinking beer. It was 11 am. So I say, be like the Germans and feel free to indulge!

[jmowreader]

50. Oh lord...

At Field Station Berlin we had "ops guard" duty. If we had to hire a civilian company to do work on the building, someone with a security clearance had to watch the workers all the time to be sure he didn't go somewhere he wasn't authorized.

Most of us had at least a few stories of the workers bringing beer with them. I had to watch this guy who was soldering the flashing around the edge of the roof who cracked a cold one then started soldering the roof with a torch and a bar of what I presume was lead. Do one seam, drink some beer...all day long.

[Evolve Dammit]

17. A noble toast. Cheers Mr. President.

[carpetbagger]

18. Enjoy it

My dad had some extended periods of unemployment as he was in a high place in a small industry. He was out of work nearly all of my 9th grade. My friends noticed how happy he was... Golf, pool, nap, day drinking.. they referred to him as "gainfully unemployed". He died at 61, but he had those times.

[Warpy]

19. Any nibbles yet?

You should be getting a few now that the fiscal year is over.

I don't drink, so the worst stage of unemployment for me was when I'd bring in the mail after 10 PM because I didn't want to run into any of my neighbors and answer any questions.

[Aristus]

20. I haven't started applying yet.

My severance package has given me a little leeway in terms of a time period for the job search. I could easily go back to my previous employer. They’d hire me tomorrow. But then it would be back to the overwork and relentless schedule. Which, to be honest, is preferable to the office politics and micromanagement I was dealing with. As long as I’m still getting paid and my benefits are in working order, I’m going to chill for a bit.

[Warpy]

22. Beats the hell out of burnout

I was pretty fried by the time I left to care for a dying mother. Then I went blind for the first time, which saved me from going back.

No bennies, no severance, just enough to live on for 3 years, which turned out to be exactlyright.

[SarcasticSatyr]

21. I can officially start the filing process for Social Security today . . .

. . . . .

[Aristus]

24. That's wonderful!

I’m happy for you!

[The Madcap]

41. Yippee!

I envy you. I'm only a few months away myself. Forty years in a career is looking like enough. Just hoping Kamala wins so it would be more feasible. If T**** wins, I'm likely to be selling pencils on a street corner after he kills the stock markets and Social Security.

[central scrutinizer]

47. Do some calculations

Every year you delay starting collecting, your benefit increases by 8%. With compounding and COLAs it really adds up.

[SarcasticSatyr]

49. while interesting . . .

I don't think I'm likely to live more than a few more years, I really don't care anymore.

[birdographer]

23. A beautiful toast!

Be careful with day drinking. Quite the slippery slope. Hold off till 6, at least? (This coming from someone who actually holds off till about 6:45, and no hard stuff after dinner. That's the best I can do these days...)

[Aristus]

25. Definitely.

This is not a slope I plan to risk often.

But just once, I thought to myself; it’s the middle of the day. I have no obligations or responsibilities. I’m going to have a drink, dammit.

[birdographer]

26. If you are like me,

the more you deny yourself the drink, the more you want it! Until you get tired of arguing with yourself and you do what you want (even if you don't want you to). I cannot say that on a really hot day I do not crack open a beer and sit on the deck with it in the middle of the afternoon. Life is short!!!!

[Aristus]

30. Life IS short!

For fourteen years, I have tried to serve the underserved, and help those who could find it nowhere else. My patients loved me for it. My employers, interested only in revenue, didn't; not so much.

After fourteen years of overwork and office politics, I'm going to take it easy for a little while before jumping back in.

[biophile]

40. I have pretty strict two drink limit

It doesn’t matter much when I start, but I do hold off until noon at least. Sometimes I’ve had my two by 1:30 pm. So that is it for the day. Sometimes it’s closer to dinner. I do have 1-2 drinks almost every day.
I don’t drink much, I just drink often!

[Aristus]

42. Do what works.

[biophile]

43. For me, the third drink is always a mistake!😏

Just makes me feel crappy. Two is good for the buzz; three means regrets 😖

[TBF]

27. Holding up my Dr. Pepper for the toast -

I don't drink much anymore (arthritis meds) ... but will certainly join you. I know something better is going to be coming your way! And Cheers to Jimmy Carter, who is certainly one of the best men we've had as president. Whenever I picture him it's with a hammer working on one of the Habitat for Humanity houses.

[Aristus]

32. Enjoy!

[BaronChocula]

28. I'll join you!

[Aristus]

33. Excellent!

[mountain grammy]

31. To Jimmy! Happy 100!

[Aristus]

34. Most definitely!

Good to see you, gram!

[OldBaldy1701E]

35. Yup.

[Mr.Bill]

36. You can't drink all day

unless you start in the morning.

[KT2000]

37. Come on up

to the Olympic Peninsula! We always need PAs.

[Aristus]

38. Long drive from Puyallup.

Anyway, my erstwhile employers operated a clinic on the Peninsula. I worked there a number of times. Lot of Trumpsters out there. I give every patient 100% regardless of their politics. But I'd like to avoid them if I can.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendation!

[KT2000]

44. Yes. there are trumpers

but not so much in Sequim (old people) and Port Townsend (very liberal). I try not to go to Port Angeles.

[Aristus]

45. I only ever go to Port Angeles in order to take the ferry

to liberal Victoria, BC.

Life’s too short to spend around dipshit right-wingers.

[biophile]

39. Kind of like retirement!

🤣

[LudwigPastorius]

46. I never day-drank, but I am an alcoholic.

That was part of the mind game, "well, at least I'm not getting wasted while the sun is up".

I'm glad someone can enjoy a nice adult beverage whenever they want it...because I sure can't. So, I'll live vicariously through you.

[Different Drummer]

48. I'll drink to that1

[fierywoman]

51. Oh, listen, my orchestra colleagues in the opera orchestra of Venice's La Fenice theater would

ALL have "un ombretta" at the 11:15 break -- one of those little beveled glasses of wine. "Ombretta" is a word with the same etymological root as "umbrella"; "ombra" is a shadow; in Venice, red wine is called "vin nero" (black or dark wine) so the "ombretta" kind of denotes the shadow of the wine ... Me, I used to always have a cappuccio (it's hard to leave the Protestant Ethic behind ) Enjoy your break, dear Aristus, GOd knows you deserve it.

[Aristus]

54. Thank you for the interesting story.

I’m already dreading getting back into the swing of things. I guess I was more burned out than I thought.

[debm55]

52. Be careful, Rich, has been sober for 40 years. Love ya.

[PJMcK]

53. Enjoy!

I might join you when I get home from my meetings this morning.

Just be responsible and safe.