Retirees and Veterans: how busy are you; now that you've been discharged from the military? What do you do to keep busy?

I didn't retire from the military, but I'm retired. Surprisingly, I'm busier than I've ever been in my life. In addition to pursuing a new career as a writer of short stories and novels, there's grandparenting. (I'm a professional grandparent or at least that's how it feels at times). And I'm trying to be a better veteran than I was as a soldier. I've mentioned it before that I wasn't much of a soldier. I would have liked to make it a career but drove my superiors beyond their patience after just five and a half years.

I'm trying to be a better veteran by serving veterans and active duty personnel in need. Sadly, too many of us think that the VA should be doing the job but what right have we to expect that? When has any bureaucracy ever done a good job? Of anything? Bureaucracies are designed to serve themselves. Propagate themselves. Aggrandize themselves. Grow. Prosper. Many outlive their original mission. Look at NASA. It was created to put a man on the moon. Mission accomplished in 1969. What are they still doing hanging around? They spend more doing nothing (there is no shuttle fleet, they're hiring Russians to supply the space station, there are no manned missions to Mars or back to the Moon). Does anyone really expect the VA to step up and serve us? Even under pressure for a year now they are doing a worse job than before. There are still waiting lists. They're getting longer. No one has been fired for misfeasance or malfeasance or even nonfeasance. So it's up to us to get the job done, isn't it?

SPC Margaret Higgins I'm working a civilian job now fulltime out of my home; I play in a Country Band on weekend gigs all over Southern California (Drums) call "The Hickory Wind Band"; I spend a lot of time on RallyPoint for the discussions and connections and LinkedIn for my fulltime job; I keep my daughters engaged with completing college and High School (3 daughters)-(trying to teach them some best practices for their future); walk every morning with my better half (good communications) for about 2.9 miles Monday through Sunday; spend all time requesting student loans to pay for college; and I ride my Harley Davidson motorcycle as often as I can.

Been retired from the Navy since about June 1985. Since that time, I worked as a contract administrator for a couple of years and then turned my avocation into my vocation. Started working as a computer consultant until hired full time (great $$$) by a larger international concern. Now fully retired....too old to work now. So I occupy my time with making handmade jewelry. I love learning new ways to do things, and even sell a good portion of my handicrafts in silver, brass, & a smite of gold.