It's just over six months now since I stopped working for IBM, or retired as they unfortunately like to call it. It's unfortunate because I'm not actually retired at all, I still do lots of different work things but I just don't get paid for it.
Actually, since leaving IBM, I've rarely had a week day to myself for one reason or another which has come as quite a surprise to me. I spend one day a week, at least, in court and one day a week helping out in the IBM museum. Then I have days when I have quite a bit of Trustee work to do which is usually reading or researching. Finally a day out with Sheila, that happens most but not all weeks, to a restaurant we haven't visited before.
One of the unforeseen benefits of the things I now do is that I get to meet so many really nice and interesting people. Nobody has any hidden agendas, egos, or burning ambitions to stab you in the back at any opportunity. Everyone is doing what they're doing for the same reason as me: because they want to have fun doing it. And because of all those things there is absolutely no pressure - if something crops up that I don't want to do then I don't do it - it's that easy.
Finally, I can say that I haven't been bored once in the last six months, but if I'd still been working at IBM I'm sure I would have been bored at least once almost every single day.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
First time since 1975
For the first time since before we were married we have had a weeks vacation in the UK. We didn't really mean to as the original plan was to just have a long weekend in Cornwall but the hotels were so expensive that for only another £50 we could rent a cottage for whole week. So, a complete no brainer, we figured that we might as well go for the entire week.
We hadn't been to Cornwall since the year before we got married so we'd both pretty much forgotten what the place was like which was good because it was mostly one nice surprise after another the whole time we were there. The traditional stone cottage we'd rented was fantastic having only opened in February this year. It was big, clean and very modern.
It's incredibly hilly to the point that Hampshire seems almost flat by comparison, and the place is littered with something I absolutely hate, single track roads. But roads apart the place is just amazing and all the little "Port this" and "Port that" places we stopped off at were all fantastic. Even the towns are all very manageable as they're not that big and everyone there seems to be very happy and friendly, prices were good compared to home, and the quality of everything was excellent.
We had a lunch in Rick Stein's place one day which provided us with great food but the price was really too high - we were definitely having to pay for his "celebrity" status. The Eden project was bit of a disappointment, even Sheila agreed, and the £50 it cost for two of us to get in was a joke. On the other hand, the Lost Gardens of Heligan were great, and we spent a really nice day there.
On our last day the cottage owners told us it was free for the coming week, if only we hadn't had a lot of commitments at home because we'd have definitely stayed for longer.
We hadn't been to Cornwall since the year before we got married so we'd both pretty much forgotten what the place was like which was good because it was mostly one nice surprise after another the whole time we were there. The traditional stone cottage we'd rented was fantastic having only opened in February this year. It was big, clean and very modern.
It's incredibly hilly to the point that Hampshire seems almost flat by comparison, and the place is littered with something I absolutely hate, single track roads. But roads apart the place is just amazing and all the little "Port this" and "Port that" places we stopped off at were all fantastic. Even the towns are all very manageable as they're not that big and everyone there seems to be very happy and friendly, prices were good compared to home, and the quality of everything was excellent.
We had a lunch in Rick Stein's place one day which provided us with great food but the price was really too high - we were definitely having to pay for his "celebrity" status. The Eden project was bit of a disappointment, even Sheila agreed, and the £50 it cost for two of us to get in was a joke. On the other hand, the Lost Gardens of Heligan were great, and we spent a really nice day there.
On our last day the cottage owners told us it was free for the coming week, if only we hadn't had a lot of commitments at home because we'd have definitely stayed for longer.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Driving a hover car through France
Just as I expected, the whole experience of driving the SL through France in September was like being on a Mercedes-Benz magic carpet. Those roads really are super smooth at their best and just smooth for the most part. Only the very worst roads there seem to equate to our average roads so I took full advantage to hop in and go for a drive, and to always take the long way rather than the short way.
One really weird thing about having this car was the amount of attention we got whilst driving around. It's always been my understanding that the French aren't particularly interested in cars which is why they invariably like zipping around in their little hatchbacks. But everywhere we went we got embarrassingly high levels of attention. One day we were driving around the edge of one of the harbours in Ile de Re where there were a lot of people sitting in the cafes and generally milling around in between the slow moving traffic. When we drove through people were stopping, pointing, and staring at us and the car to such an extent that we couldn't have attracted more attention if we had been driving a hover car covered in flashing neon lights. It was all very odd especially from people who are usually so indifferent about cars.
On the return drive back to Le Havre we spent a bit too long having lunch in Le Mans without being aware of how much further we still had to drive given that we needed to be at the ferry by 16:40. So when we got back to the car and keyed in the destination we were mortified when it told us that we wouldn't get there until 16:55 and had a two and a half hour drive ahead of us. Against the odds we went for it, as I really did need to get home that evening, but the other overlooked problem was that we only just had enough fuel to make it, and stopping for more would mean that we would definitely not make it. So I could go a bit faster than the speed limit and try to make up time but if I went too fast I'd use too much fuel and we'd have to stop to get more. A major dilemma! So it was a nerve racking balancing act for two and a half hours along the autoroutes and we also needed to be lucky with the traffic lights as we drove through Le Havre. I think I went through every one just as it turned amber, my nerves were so frazzled at this point I wasn't sure what was going on, but we made it to the gate at 16:45.
The lady said OK you're on but you're the last. No sooner we were on the boat than it was off - my hover car had done it.
One really weird thing about having this car was the amount of attention we got whilst driving around. It's always been my understanding that the French aren't particularly interested in cars which is why they invariably like zipping around in their little hatchbacks. But everywhere we went we got embarrassingly high levels of attention. One day we were driving around the edge of one of the harbours in Ile de Re where there were a lot of people sitting in the cafes and generally milling around in between the slow moving traffic. When we drove through people were stopping, pointing, and staring at us and the car to such an extent that we couldn't have attracted more attention if we had been driving a hover car covered in flashing neon lights. It was all very odd especially from people who are usually so indifferent about cars.
On the return drive back to Le Havre we spent a bit too long having lunch in Le Mans without being aware of how much further we still had to drive given that we needed to be at the ferry by 16:40. So when we got back to the car and keyed in the destination we were mortified when it told us that we wouldn't get there until 16:55 and had a two and a half hour drive ahead of us. Against the odds we went for it, as I really did need to get home that evening, but the other overlooked problem was that we only just had enough fuel to make it, and stopping for more would mean that we would definitely not make it. So I could go a bit faster than the speed limit and try to make up time but if I went too fast I'd use too much fuel and we'd have to stop to get more. A major dilemma! So it was a nerve racking balancing act for two and a half hours along the autoroutes and we also needed to be lucky with the traffic lights as we drove through Le Havre. I think I went through every one just as it turned amber, my nerves were so frazzled at this point I wasn't sure what was going on, but we made it to the gate at 16:45.
The lady said OK you're on but you're the last. No sooner we were on the boat than it was off - my hover car had done it.
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