Since my friend Heidi and I started the Unemployed Tourist at the end of last year, I was lucky enough to have a project that lasted 5 whole months (I’m a freelance copywriter here in NYC). Last week, that project ended. I should probably be freaking out – looking hard for my next gig. Instead, I’m practicing for retirement with my boyfriend (a trader, 9 months unemployed).

Here’s what a typical day in our faux-retirement includes:

9AM – Drink coffee. Listen to the radio. Sit and stare at each other.

10AM – An attempt at job hunting.

11AM – A way-too-long discussion about what we’re going to eat. This very morning, Dan sliced up some cantaloupe. Freakishly retirement-esque.

11:30 – Eat. Discuss things. There’s a bird that’s been living on our terrace. This makes for hours of discussion.

12PM – Some sort of home improvement project. As I write this, Dan shredding. Old bills and stuff. Not cabbage.

2PM – A daily activity. We’ve taken a liking to “urban hikes” where we pick a random destination and get walking. (Our last urban hike brought us to Randall’s Island. We could have golfed there, but we’re not the golfing kind. We’re more the “make-fun-of-golfing kind.)

6PM – Discuss dinner. (We’re lucky enough to have a terrace and a grill. And a friend or two that wants to end their day here.)

8 or 9PM – Suppertime! We do our best to have dinner after 8pm, and make our friends stay at least until midnight. That way, we’re not total Golden Girls.

The truth is, Dan and I are lucky. We have a great apartment. A lot of stuff to keep us busy. And luckily, a small savings that keeps us from totally freaking out. We figure, why not enjoy retirement now – after all, our real retirement won’t be coming for a long, long, time.