~Tuesday~ I am thrilled that the same team at the same company at which I was working when I retired is welcoming me back with open arms. I’ll be working again on the Content Team at Red Hat in downtown Raleigh. I’ve always said, “If you have to work, this is the place—and the people … Read more
~Wednesday~ Yesterday was my 58th birthday, and it’s the first time since I was a child that I can remember wishing I were older—a year-and-a-half older, 59 ½, to be exact—so I could start withdrawing some of my 401K money without paying a penalty or taxes on it. Oh well, fortunately for me, time keeps … Read more
~Monday~ Today is six months to the day of my retirement on October 13, 2014, and I've taken this opportunity to assess myself on how I'm adjusting to it. Overall, I must say that 9 out of 10 voices in my head agreed that I am "consistently exceeding requirements," to put it in corporate … Read more
~Sunday~ Today I worked on the last item in the “Around the house” section of my my retirement to-do list, which was to “clean out and organize my storage shed.” Mea culpa CYA: If anyone reading this entry gave me any of the items in this blog entry that I mention having totally forgotten I … Read more
~Thursday!~ Well, it was day 3 of retirement, and so far I just keep thinking it’s the weekend. I had quite the “productive” morning, as I did a load of laundry and wrote out 5 sympathy cards and 12 thank-you cards to put in the U.S. mail. It actually took me a couple of hours … Read more
~Tuesday~ Well, I can’t speak for all retirees, but this is how my day went. It’s rather unremarkable, but I’m happy to report that I wasn’t bored for a single minute. Overall assessment: It’s not a bad gig. Here’s the high-level summary of my day: Got up after 8 complete hours of sleep. Checked my … Read more
~Friday~ Today after work, some of the wonderful Red Hat people I work with met at Busy Bee Cafe for a farewell celebration of my imminent retirement, on Monday, October 13. The calendar invitation read: John Martin is retiring | Let's celebrate/commiserate Reserving this time to celebrate John Martin's retirement. (His actual retirement date is … Read more
~Saturday~ I'm close enough to retiring now, that I'm tracking the days—37 calendars days, 26 business days. It'll all culminate on my 57th birthday, on October 13, 2014. It's kind of mind-boggling to be self-aware of so few actual working days left in a career that has spanned 34.5 years. Well, that actually included a … Read more