Hello,
A long time ago, in a taluk not far away, I promised to write a newsletter about week 3 of my trial retirement. I didn’t.
I was surprised by the number of people who asked me about it, a definite non-zero number. I suppose you lazy bums really like to think of early retirement.
You’ll be happy to know it ended like all good things, and I went back to working a full-time job. I call what I’ve been doing since then ‘life surfing’. It’s like I was sitting on the beach meditating, and now I’m riding the waves, trying to hang on. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad thing. I just mean to say I wasn’t exactly sitting down and writing anything. I also don’t know anything about surfing so that might not be how it works.
I can tell you what my trial retirement did do for me:
It gave me a lot of energy for the new chapter, energy I thought I no longer had. I thought I got old but apparently, I just needed my batteries recharged
It helped me lose my fear of retirement. I thought I would never be able to retire without going crazy, but now I think I can. There are many things to do in the world, especially if you’re not bothered about making more money or paying bills (I am)
It helped me understand what I need to incorporate into daily life to keep sane. Honestly, I dropped most of my good habits when I threw myself into the new job, but I also remember how good they made me feel, and now I’m slowly getting back to it after 3 months (hence this newsletter)
Ok there. I addressed the elephant in the room. It was a little like not smiling at your neighbour for six months and then wondering if you are allowed to at that point.
Now, in terms of updates on creative pursuits:
I’m still rewriting ‘The Right Side Of The Road’, which is now 10,000 words long and still going. I am thinking of publishing it as a serialised story on my website rather than through kindle. You might get the first chapter or scene with the next newsletter
Our podcast has been in limbo since we did the episode on the Great Indian Middle Class because my co-host started working in an NGO. He is probably more qualified now to talk about the stuff we used to talk about but doesn’t have the time to talk about it. Of course, he denies it and claims I am the problem. In short, all we have been doing is passing the buck. But I think we are done with that now, so hopefully, something will be done soon
Free stuff!!
I do realise you can’t just show up in someone’s inbox empty-handed after 4 months, so here’s a free copy of my last story ‘Hate In The Time Of COVID'.
I had enrolled it in kindle unlimited, which had exclusivity for 3 months, making it difficult to share. They also force you to set a minimum price of ₹ 49 instead of free. Honestly, I had never intended to make money off of it because I knew I couldn’t. I now have statistics to confirm my belief, so I don’t plan to give Amazon exclusivity again.
I have included links to PDF, EPUB and MOBI versions of the file. If you use a kindle, use the MOBI. If you use no e-reader, the PDF is the easiest.
Hate In The Time Of COVID (PDF)
Hate In The Time Of COVID (EPUB)
Hate In The Time Of COVID (MOBI)
Quick reminder - Hate In The Time Of COVID is a story about a woman stuck at home with an abusive husband during lockdowns.
Please feel free to share the story with anybody. You can forward this email, send it on WhatsApp, or print it out and leave it at bus stops. Anything goes.
Until next time,
Sharath C George