Hmmmm! Other than the people, I could give a shit less. I don't think of the damn place anymore. Was retiring the right thing to do? Hell yes, I love it.
I believe this is the shortest post I have ever written. So much for thoughtful reflection.
I wasn't always so nonchalant, you can read about the evolution of my not give a shit attitude at these posts:
http://navfin.blogspot.com/2010/09/have-enough.html
http://navfin.blogspot.com/2011/05/first-day-of-retirment.html
http://navfin.blogspot.com/2011/09/houston-we-have-touchdown.html
You can read all of my retirement related posts at:
http://navfin.blogspot.com/search/label/retirement
Nice, someday...someday I'll be there.
ReplyDeleteMake the most of that "free" time now!
Someday you will get there. Don't be like me, plan for it. On the other hand don't wish your life away either. I knew people at work who were living through hell waiting for the day they could retire. Yes retirement is great, but it has its drawbacks as well. Money doesn't grow on trees and suddenly you find that your a young man living in some old dude's broken down body... How the hell did that happen.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting.
Congratulations Sextant, you made it.
ReplyDeleteI never had any doubt in you whatsoever, you had a little trepidation at the outset perhaps. But it's all good, right?
Your post retirement reflections are probably what 95% of folks go thru, myself included.
It's been 4 1/2 years for me and I don't miss it for a nano second. The people you used to work with and the other social interactions are what I miss most as well.
For myself I don't think I really filled that gap entirely. As far as old work chums..I don't think I've seen maybe 2% of the old crew in the last 4.5 years.
But you move on as they say, a new chapter in your life. Now you just have to suck as much money out of that retirement plan as you possibly can, or at the very least take out what you put in plus interest. But your living to 100, right? That's my plan.
Cheers.
I was also thinking that you might have written a longer epilogue on your last years adventures and reflections
Busman,
DeleteYou were there cheering me on in those last few weeks when I wondered Am I crazy? You were right.
I definitely have not filled in the social gap. It was automatic before, and now I have to work at it. I am not big on working at it, believe it or not I am rather shy in social situations. But I keep in touch with some of the guys...hoping to have lunch on Thursday with them. On the other hand, there are some people that I am damned happy that I don't have to tolerate any longer. What I find amazing is how completely I no longer think of the PIA folks. When I talk to my old buddies, they will on occasion mention a name...and its like "Oh yeah, him. Gee ain't retirement grand?"
One of the very big surprises for me in retirement is how very little I think of the place, the job, or even the vast majority of the people. The people I do think about and miss are the ones with whom I was friends. My brother in law said the same thing. He was a teacher and loved it, yet when he retired he found himself surprised that he didn't miss it. I have never loved my job, I didn't hate it--although there were times.
Yep the goal is to die when my wife is 99 and I am 103 in that furnace explosion. I wouldn't be surprised as time goes on that those estimates move out further. Its one thing to say you are going to check out at a certain age when it is three decades away. Its another thing when its 3 years away.
I had been thinking for the past week about what I would write at the one year anniversary and I found myself very unreflective, don't know why. I think I may have broken the mirror last September.
http://navfin.blogspot.com/2011/09/houston-we-have-touchdown.html
I find myself in the position of trying to wax poetic about graduating from high school when one is 35. So yes I could write something longer, more thoughtful, embracing the philosophy of work and life, but you know what...it would be forced and ergo nothing but bullshit. Being entirely honest, my little post says it best.
Bussman thanks for being a good friend and providing some critical support during the dark days of doubt when the flying condom was mindlessly zooming over unknown territory.
I think of our old friend the Old Baguette of whom I have deep fears. She was another voice of reason in my days of doubt. I have not seen hide nor hair of her since December and I miss her cranky down to earth wisdom. Like a phoenix she has been known to re-appear with some lame excuse of computer ineptitude, yet to hear nothing this long,..I can't help but to stray to unhappy thoughts.
Busman as always, thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Ha.......another 30-40 years of blogger posts. Wonderful..... on our upward march to being centenarians.
DeleteI think your reply was that longer, more wordy "reflections" you were originally thinking about.
No other way to get ahold of Old Baguette?? I myself haven't heard from her either.
Well, carry on old chap and all that rot.
Busman
Suck the cash right out of those pension plans.
DeleteActually I wanted to write something serious about work and what it allows us to accomplish with our professional and personal lives. You know for all our bitching about work it still offers one hell of a load of gifts besides a paycheck and benefits. Self esteem, stability, personal improvement, and yes a long opportunity to have chats and comradeship with like minded people. Second to my wife my job has been probably the most stabilizing influence in my life.
Well you and I keep commenting...I will write that post, a paragraph at a time.
I don't miss my former place of employment at all. I love being free of deadlines and pressures. So how come I regularly dream of deadlines I'm missing, fellow writers who are much more talented and reliable than I am, and the pressure of not living up to expectations at work? Sheesh! I think you're right, Sextant, about the benefits of work -- self-esteem, stability, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of worth, comradeship with like-minded colleagues. For more than 25 years, I was pretty proud of what I was and what I did. So why is it all my work dreams are borderline nightmares?
ReplyDeleteDonna,
DeletePerhaps I am lucky and got all my bad dreams over while still at work. My nightly routine was to fall asleep dead to the world...I mean like cease to exist for 2 1/2 or 3 hours then have these stupid realistic dreams of everything turning to shit, but realistic shit. I would drift off into some stupid project, wake up and fret about the project, drift back off and pick up the damn dream right where it left off. Sunday nights after having the week end off were the worse. There were times that I was happy to get up because I was tired of working.
I don't do that anymore, although I have the same sleep pattern but the dreams are neutral or sometimes bizarre but I never remember them. I seldom have a bad dream, but I don't dream of work at all...and that is good. I also don't spend too much time in bed. Four to five hours. When I wake up in the morning I am up, no use lying in bed.
I just got back from lunch with my old crew. Whoa baby, am I glad to be gone. They just had a layoff last week and many were key people with important jobs. So now they are looking for bodies to heap on the extra work. I hope this is the only round. I always hated working when they were downsizing. The useless ass kissers end up staying and they get rid of good people who have a fault for telling the truths that management doesn't want to hear. Then rumor mill goes into full swing, labor get pissed off, and going to work is like going into a war zone. I was shocked to hear some of the names that they laid off. Damned happy not to be there any longer.
As always, thanks Donna, for stopping by and commenting.
Couldn't agree more. The people, yes. The pressure, stress, lack of budget and support from above, heck no. In fact, I recently had a nightmare in which I had agreed to go back to my job, full time. I got there and was aghast. What have I done?!
ReplyDeleteCarol,
DeleteOh yes lack of budget. That always cracked me up. You could tell when you were close to running a project into the red. All the bean counters would come out a wringing their hands. Don't charge this project anymore than you have to. Oh Ok you want me to go home a 4 PM instead of 10 PM. No! Just don't charge the project. Well what should I charge? Admin and training. So then you go across the magic line, and the project is in the red and nobody gives a shit anymore. Then the project really gets bad off so they draw some line in the sand of intolerable loss that you can't exceed...until you do then nobody give a shit anymore until they draw another line in the sand. Nobody told design engineering when they took five times as long to engineer the project as they should have not to charge time. But when we are working 24 - 7 in Test trying to make up for the schedule sins of the rest of the project then they don't want us charging time. Then at the end of the year they are jumping all over my boss for his people using too much admin time. The boys told me at lunch the other day that the bosses have put out the word do not charge time to the big job they are doing now.
The other one I always liked was when they got too many pots on the stove. We find ourselves facing infinite work with finite resources. So what do you want us to work on? What has priority? They all are priority 1. Work all of them. I was at a project meeting one time and the general manger of the division stopped in to give us a first class ass chewing. "So why are we a month behind on this project, and I don't want to hear none of this priority shit." Well when you chase billings sometimes things that you should work on don't get worked on.
Yeah I miss that stuff like the tooth that aches. Having a dream of going back now would be a nightmare for me as well.
Thanks Carol for stopping by and commenting.
Happy Retirement Anniversary! Other than my dad I've never known anyone else that was actually retired from something, so you're in good company!
ReplyDeleteI long for the day I can retire. You have no reason to miss all the bullshit, I know I'm not going to miss it.
Hope the next year gets even better and that now that you seem to have the hang of this retirement business you enjoy it even more!
Alicia,
DeleteThank you for the best wishes. Long for the day you retire, but don't wish your life away. Retirement is great...being in my 60s sucks. But yes...its great to not only not miss the bullshit, but not even think about it. It feels like I retired 5 or 10 years ago. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.