Made it to the finish line!

[Brian Tymchak]

Today is the first day of retirement!! 35 years of corporate IT is enough..

If I can catch up on the yard work and the house maintenance, I hope to actually get some quality time in the shop. I have at least a dozen projects on the drawing boards, including the drawing board itself.. ;)

So, off to cut bed edges and mulch..

[Michael Weber]

Congratulations on retiring. It can be a productive and rewarding time.

[Clark Hussey]

Congratulations

[Yonak Hawkins]

Brian, the house and yard chores will always be there. Once you're retired, the trick is to work them in around the time you spend doing the things you enjoy doing.

A friend of mine retired earlier this year. She told me she'll sit down and bury herself in a good book just as soon as she has cleaned her house. She hasn't cracked that book yet.

[Bruce Page]

Congrats, the fun begins now! I have been retired for a little over 8 years. I couldn’t imagine getting back into that rat race.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congratulations Brian! Enjoy it! I surely don't miss the corporate world.

[Steve Eure]

Put off till tomorrow what doesn't necessarily need to be done today. BTW, tomorrow never comes. HaHa. That's my motto. Retired now for 15 years and enjoying every minute of it. Do what I want, most of the time, and will not lock myself into anything that comes with a time period.
Enjoy your retirement. You've earned it!

[Wes Mitchell]

Congrats! I'm counting down the days. Unfortunately for me that's in the neighborhood of 12,500 days, and that's if my generation is allowed to retire before 70.

[Bruce Page]

Wes, you have a long way to go. Here's hoping you hit the lottery!

[Ralph Okonieski]

Congratulations! Hope retirement is everything you imagined it to be!

[Izzy Camire]

Congratulations now you can work on the things you want to do.

[Brian Tymchak]

Thank you all! Someone mentioned reading... I do have a pile of books that I never seemed to have time for.

I'm sure that after a nice period of time to relax and clear my head, I'll get an itch to get involved in something. Just my nature. But I have no real ideas right now what that might be.

The woodworking club that I belong to builds furniture at the local furniture bank. Now that I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off...;)... I look forward to volunteering there.

It's funny as I sit here and watch a baseball game, I noticed that I'm a lot more alert than usual. Nice not having thoughts of tomorrow's work invading my evening.

[Jamie Buxton]

Finish line? No, you just hit the starting line -- the start of a life where you're in complete control of what you do. Congratulations!

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Jamie and it's also been my exact experience over the last year and a half after I "took the plunge" myself. Get used to being even more busy! LOL (Congratulations!)

[Ron Citerone]

You are in for the time of your life!

As much as I love doing what I want, you will meet some very interesting characters!

Good Luck, Ron

[Lee Schierer]

Congratulations, you'll love it and in a few weeks you'll wonder how you ever found time to go to work.

[Frederick Skelly]

Congratulations Brian! I wish you a long, happy, healthy retirement!
Fred

[Mike Wilkins]

Congrats on the change to a different phase of life. Did it myself last July and it is quite a change. You will be busier than ever but no more time clocks to punch. Enjoy.

[Mike Kreinhop]

Congratulations, Brian! I'm in my second month of retirement and I think I am busier now, but I'm busy with things I want to do.

[Jim Becker]

I forgot to mention...there IS a little 'withdrawal' period which can be both frustrating and humorous at the same time. :) :D We get so conditioned to certain things around work that when they suddenly are not there, it can be "interesting". Some of that is honestly the sudden change in communication...all those folks that you interacted with daily including "socially at work" get missed a bit. Not all of them ;) ...but likely most. :) About three months did it for me...but even today I sometime miss those morning conversations with my "partner in crime" and her manager who is also a good friend.

[Brian Tymchak]

I forgot to mention...there IS a little 'withdrawal' period which can be both frustrating and humorous at the same time. :) :D We get so conditioned to certain things around work that when they suddenly are not there, it can be "interesting". Some of that is honestly the sudden change in communication...all those folks that you interacted with daily including "socially at work" get missed a bit. Not all of them ;) ...but likely most. :) About three months did it for me...but even today I sometime miss those morning conversations with my "partner in crime" and her manager who is also a good friend.

Thanks Jim. I experienced this to some degree when I got laid off about 13 years ago. Luckily I found work within 3 months. I have a couple of good friends at work also getting ready to retire. We've talked about this very thing and pledged to keep meeting for lunch regularly. One of them referred to it as a "Romeo" group - retired old men eating out. ;)

I personally tend to have a small social circle compared to others, but I certainly don't want to go full hermit. Volunteering with my woodworking club will create some new friendships. And It's nice to jump on SMC and see what the Creekers are up to. I hope to contribute here more than I have. I'm also fortunate to live on a court where I have 4 neighbors that are retired or work independently at home. So there is usually someone out and about.

But there are a lot of friends at work that I will miss talking to. I tell myself that I will work to maintain those connections, but right now I'm not sure how best to do that. But I have plenty of time to figure things out.

[Jim Becker]

We've talked about this very thing and pledged to keep meeting for lunch regularly. One of them referred to it as a "Romeo" group - retired old men eating out.
ROFLOL!!!! For many years I've had lunch at a place just down the road owned by a friend (and my younger daughter works there), sometimes nearly daily until I retired. (I worked virtual office for 21 years so when I wasn't traveling, I made it a daily practice to "leave work" for an hour mid-day to clear my head) I've maintained the habit, but reduced to once a week. While I don't share a table with anyone, there are many regulars, so the nods and hellos remain a highlight. I also don't have a big local social circle, so I can relate!

[Yonak Hawkins]

One of them referred to it as a "Romeo" group - retired old men eating out. ;)

Our Romeo group had a discussion as to what else Romeo could stand for in this regard and the best idea was : Repeating old memories ever over.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Congrats. In less than a month, you will be wondering how you ever had time to work. My "to do" list grows daily, and so will yours. You didn't reach the finish line, only rounded the far turn.

[Dennis Peacock]

Congrats!! I'm looking at 6 more years if the company I work for stays "a company". I've been in I.T. work since 1985 and I'm way past ready for a change. Being oncall every month for a week at a time and when "the world falls apart" I still get called in to work even when on vacation.

[Brian Tymchak]

Congrats. In less than a month, you will be wondering how you ever had time to work. My "to do" list grows daily, and so will yours. You didn't reach the finish line, only rounded the far turn.

Well, based on week one, I agree with you and others about how busy retirement will be... Caught up on all the yard work I was behind on. And got a nice sunburn to boot. Geesh, if week 2 is like week 1, I'm going to need a vacation pretty soon. ;)