First day without IBM

What a day this has been so far and it's only 3pm!

Needed to leave home at 8:45 to be at an AGM for one of the many Housing Associations in Portsmouth by 9:30. The M27 was jammed solid so I drove all round the mulberry bush to finally get there just before 9:30 with nowhere to park! Drove back into town, parked at the court, and walked through the town and city park to get back to HMS Nelson! Arrived at the AGM 15 minutes late to a find big long table surrounded by 18 people looking over the tops of their glasses at me. I made my apologies, sat down, and kept quiet. They then asked me to leave the room for a minute which I did and waited nervously outside for about 60 seconds, as promised, before being called back in to a round of applause having just been voted onto the board of trustees. Result. Everyone was so friendly and nice and all my initial apprehensions evaporated. The conversation was very lively and interesting especially as this was all new news to me.

Then came the real interesting bit. We needed to decide on some salary increases for the staff so, figuring that this was my big opportunity to make my mark, I launched into my speech about why we shouldn't just give out a standard percentage but look at everyone's salary and try to fix any anomalies that may have crept in. They all thought this was a fantastic idea and I ended up suggesting that most people got 5%, one chap got 6%, and that the lady who seemed to be the one doing most of the stressy work got 30% (yes thirty percent). To my absolute amazement my proposal was instantly seconded, everyone else voted for it, and so it was passed. What a result!

Anyway the meeting wrapped up after a total of about 2 hours or so and we were ushered off for lunch to a really nice restaurant on the premises. First we were all taken to the bar and had a pre-dinner drink, then taken to our table which was laden with wine bottles where we then had a superb lunch. If I'd have know there would be this much to drink I'd have come on the train! - maybe next time.


I left there about 2pm, having been very careful to limit my wine intake to just below the legal limit of course, to a beautiful sunny day. So, I put the roof down on the car and wafted home along the traffic free country lanes back to home. Just had 15 minutes on my new guitar and now I think I might grab beer and sit out in the garden for a little bit.

This retirement lark ain't too bad at all so far....

Feeling nervous and sad

Tuesday will be my last day working for IBM after just over 33 years. I hate saying goodbye to people, especially the ones that I like, but that's what I'm going to be doing for most of the day on Monday and Tuesday and I'm feeling very nervous and, if I'm honest, sad about it.

The trouble with saying goodbye is that it feels so final and while it's inevitable that most of the people I know at IBM I will never see again there are, of course, many that I will see again and possibly quite often. But the real problem is that I know it will never be the same. I will never see all those people together in the same environment and under the same circumstances that I have done up until now. We won't laugh and joke about the same things. We might even feel slightly awkward in each others company as the situation will be completely different. It will simply be different.

IBM has been a massive part of my life. It's enabled me to do some amazing things, go to some fantastic places, and meet a lot of really nice people many who have become my very best friends.

Tuesday will be tough day for sure, but Wednesday will be the first day of my new life and I am really looking forward to that.