Figguring

I've been running numbers in my head all day long. It's been hard to concentrate. Should I or should I not retire from the day gig? This is the question.
One of my buddies from California is 64 and he'd already made up his mind to retire on his birthday in March 2011. It seems the company made up his mind for him.  He can take the offer and spend his time on the beach surf fishing if he likes. He lives not far from San Francisco, he could spank sea lions till his hands got red.
The problem with him is, his job has been his life for the last 40 years. He's got kids and grand kids, but he really doesn't have that many outside interests.
My situation is not so clear. It will be a few years before I qualify for social security. I have some loose ends to tie up but it just might be doable.
My situation differs from my friends in that I have a million outside interests. I work the day gig in my spare time.
I love writing, music and media work. What's great is when I can put all of these things together.
It's a little scary. Several of my friends who have already retired tell me that I will not only survive, but I will thrive.
I dusted off my calculator. I'm gonna spend the weekend doing some "figguring"