Bye bye SLK

I never owned a car as long as I'd owned my Mercedes SLK. I got it on October 26, 2000 and finally sold it on July 3, 2011 after 83,000 fun filled miles. But for a long time now I'd really wanted to get a Mercedes SL but I didn't really want to spend the money, plus the trusty old SLK was still in good shape and drove like a dream. But over the last year a few things had made me think that maybe it was time to get something new. Firstly there were a few things on the SLK that needed some attention on the bodywork and wheels, and I was also getting the odd mechanical problem - nothing major but just niggly things that may have been the start of bigger things. New tyres and a major service were also both just around the corner.

Then, the new SLK was announced and I thought I really wanted one. It looks tremendous and would be available about now, but the problem was though, if I was honest, that I still really wanted an SL. I priced up a new SLK and to get the spec I wanted I would have been spending a lot more that I really wanted to pay, but I soon realized that for what I was prepared to pay I could get a pretty new SL. I was advised that my best bet was to get a dealer approved car so I trawled through the Mercedes-Benz used car site for weeks looking for something from around 2007 with less than 30k miles, for about £30k and preferably in metallic black.

After seemingly getting nowhere I spotted a 2007 SL350 at my local dealer with only 9000 miles on the clock, but it was £5000 over budget and silver. I went in to speak with the dealer but was still set on a black one if possible. After another couple of weeks and having looked at a couple of disappointing black cars I decided to take a second look at the silver low mileage car. It was loaded with all the extras I would have liked and many, many more besides. The entire car was immaculate. Basically this was as good as a new car but for about 40% of its new price. I soon decided I wouldn't find anything else quite like this one so after some negotiation I manged to get almost £5000 off the price and picked it up for basically what I'd hoped to pay.

For 4 days I had both the SL and the SLK parked in the drive next to each other and the difference between the two cars was vast both in appearance and in the way that they drive. The SLK was like driving a very fast go-cart whereas the SL is very much more quiet, luxurious, and refined with a real sting in it's tail when you put your foot down - I absolutely love it.

On July 3 I took the SLK off to its new owner and for the first time ever I actually felt quite sad to see one of my cars go. I drove it there going the long way round and I couldn't resist putting my foot down a bit for the very last time. I think that if and when I eventually get the SL out of my system that I may just have to get another SLK.

Three months on from IBM

It's now just over 3 months since I retired from IBM and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone, how little I miss my old job, and how quickly I've forgotten about so many things I will never need to know again.

Before I left I was concerned about how I'd fill my days, as I really do enjoy being busy, but it hasn't been a problem at all. In fact I feel like I'm just as busy now with the big difference that I'm now doing all the things I want to do and not what somebody else says I have to do. Some jobs at home that I previously viewed as a chore I can now do with a degree of enthusiasm, even cutting the grass which I previously hated doing seems OK now. I haven't really started any major home projects yet, they can wait until after the end of the summer, but I'm kind of looking forward to the time when I do.

I used to think that I'd miss feeling part of IBM, being part of the 'process', and playing a part in getting products out of the door. Actually, the reality is that I have never given it a thought since the day I left. It's just something I used to do and that's it. If there is one thing I do miss it's the people interactions that I used to have as a manager as I still very much care for all the people that were in the teams I managed and count them all as good friends.


There are so many things that you have to keep in your head when you're at work. You quite simply have to remember a myriad of facts, faces, numbers, and commitments. You just don't realize how much effort that takes until you don't have to do it any more. The minute I walked out the door on April 5 all that stuff just started evaporating away and it felt great. Now my heads full of other stuff, the things that I want to be in there.

The big surprise to me though has been that I just don't seem to have anything like as much spare time as I thought I would. My time is filled up with many things that I didn't even know I'd be doing while I was still at work. Of course I now have the luxury of being able to make the simplest of things last for hours on end. But I can honestly say I haven't been bored once in the last three months - and that's something I definitely wouldn't have been able to say if I was still at work!