<HTML>I am still looking forwar= d to a time(very soon!) when I won't have to tune for stores.  That nec= essitates more hours, as they pay rather poorly.  But they do give me p= rivate jobs and warranty tunings, so it isn't all bad.  THEN I'll be ab= le to do as most of you suggest, and back off on the hours.  California= is just too friggin' expensive.... Thanks for all your responses.  It's without a doubt the most rewar= ding job I've ever had.   Dave In a message dated 2/26/03 1:06:22 PM Pacific Standard Time, cedel@super= net.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> Dave, Something else I like about this occupation, if one is self-employ= ed as most of us probably are, is that one doesn't have to go suddenly from = a full-time job down to no work.  I am 56, and if I feel the need to "d= ownshift," I can choose to work less.  Maybe 16 pianos per week rather = than 20, then later on 13, 10, 5 or whatever as I enter the retirement years= . But I haven't figured out how to gradually cut down the number of customer= s I've served these many years.  I guess I'll ask this list for that ad= vice when I need it.  For now I just decide how many pianos I'm willing= to do in a month, and the rest go on a waiting list or get referred to some= one else. Regards, Clyde </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>