Wedding
I'm getting married in about four and a half hours. Am I nervous? No. Almost everything is prepared, and those few things that may not be fully fleshed out are minor details that I'm sure we can easily accomodate.

We're certainly fortunate in the weather today. It's bright and sunny, although it may be a little warm in a big suit or fancy wedding dress.

I have a wonderful feeling of peace and relaxation. For once in a very long time, work pressures are not on my mind. There's very little that I personally have to do before the wedding, and so wedding pressures are also gone. I feel very free, and very happy, and very comfortable. The feeling is very much akin to what I felt back in my days at University, especially during the holiday periods. No pressing matters, and plenty of time to relax, to learn, to invent and create.

Of course, I don't really have plenty of time. In a few hours I'll be shaving, putting wax in my hair, donning a suit, and heading off to the church. In other ways, I do have plenty of time. The honeymoon is going to be a huge break, and I'm really looking forward to it.

This beautiful feeling of freedom certainly re-inforces my conviction to retire as soon as possible.

Retirement
Whenever I talk about retiring at 30, or even as late as 35, I find that I'm often met with feelings of disbelief, shock, sometimes almost outrage. The biggest question people ask me is "what will you do?" and "won't you get bored?". There seems to be a big mentality out there that work is life, and life without work is empty and vaccuous.

Ask yourself, has there ever been anything that you wished that you could do, but couldn't because you never had the time? Aren't there skills you'd like to practice, knowledge you'd wish to gain, deeds that you'd wish to carry out? Without the constraint of having to work, you're incredibly empowered. You have a real opportunity to do things that are important to you. You can make the world a better place.

I have an almost endless list of things that I would rather be doing than working. I've been blessed with incredible friends, but I never seem to have enough time to spend with them. I have a great many things I would love to learn, or to teach, or to create, but only time for a scant few of them. I'd love to learn more about this world that I live in, and how I can make it better, but time constraints make that too difficult to put into practice.

To be able to do what I feel important, rather than what pays the bills, is definitely a dream for me, and one of the biggest reasons I left regular employment three years ago.

When people look at my calendar, they claim that I'm mad to be so busy. To me it all makes perfect sense. Money is time, and most importantly, interest on money is also time. When a day's worth of work means that Jacinta and myself can live comfortably for a week, and two busy months allows us to live comfortably for an entire year, being so busy isn't mad at all.

I better get ready, I'll be married in four hours.