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Post by mich64 on Jul 6, 2012 16:38:19 GMT
Congratulations Kerouac! I would also say that I am quite positive that you will be missed not only by your peers but by Management. They need that employee that will fight for the rights of all staff because they often forget that their successes come from actual humans. I have my pen on my desk at home and I find now that when I look at it I find myself smiling, remembering a challenging time or some of my staff and co-workers. Enjoy your unemployment and hopefully you will fill this board with essays and photos of new adventures. Cheers!
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Post by htmb on Jul 6, 2012 17:01:36 GMT
Congratulations, Kerouac. So now you officially begin your next chapter. I wish you an interesting and creative time of finding your way.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2012 17:54:36 GMT
The only problem with the "next chapter" is remembering all of the stories of people who dropped dead within one year of when they stopped working. That's probably only 5% of the cases (or less, I hope), but we remember them, because the other 95% have nothing to report.
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Post by htmb on Jul 6, 2012 18:32:53 GMT
Yes, the sensational stories are certainly the ones that draw our attention. When my boss retired earlier this year I got a lot of small-talk type questions from coworkers asking when I was going to retire. It kind of irritated me......a lot.
Facing retirement is frightening to me at times. I love my job, and love my paycheck even more. Five years ago I would have said I'd work until I was 85. Now, I'm thinking that I have a whole lot of other things I would also like to do in my life, and I want to get at it while I'm physically and mentally able. I just need to figure out when I am going to financially able.
From reading many of your posts over the years I cannot imagine you will do anything but plan one adventure after another, no matter how big or small. Those will be the stories I will want to hear, rather than the stories of the 5%.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 6, 2012 19:38:00 GMT
From one who was forced into retirement due to illness, I can appreciate feeling the thrill of an enriching career and also the reality of how quickly all parts of life can be taken away.
I was able to travel while rehabilitating from my illness and although it was difficult at first, it was so beneficial to my overall recovery efforts and happiness.
I know a few people who died within a year of their retirement and one of those people had spent her whole career saving for retirement so they could travel. It is a difficult balance, to save but also to live, and that is what her husband now advises his kids to keep in mind.
The Company I worked for 20 years has a very good benefit plan, they will continue to assist me until I am 65. My husband is forced to retire at 60 (mandatory for firefighters), but he is actually planning to retire at 57. There are so many cancers attributed to firefighting that he does worry about this.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 7, 2012 3:35:59 GMT
Coincidentally, today I saw a friend who retired a couple of months ago. He was a teacher (university) & really enjoyed his students & teaching. He continues to be absolutely content & thrilled that he's retired. And moving on to other things that mean a lot ~~ *drumroll* My little Harley lifted his leg to pee today for the first time! I am tuff stuff!
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Post by Kimby on Jul 11, 2012 20:16:43 GMT
bixa, were you afraid that Harley was gender-confused?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 12, 2012 0:32:11 GMT
;D
Nah, it's just that he's still quite young (b. Sept 2011) & everyone kept telling me male dogs don't do the leg-lifting until they're one year old. I don't know why I was so thrilled to see my baby growing up, since I don't want anything in my house or yard to be marked. He's fixed, so maybe it won't be an issue.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2012 18:28:02 GMT
I guess I'm simple-minded, because this little detail thrilled me to no end ~~
I bought a package of mixed alfalfa & broccoli sprouts the other day. Included was a teensy plastic trident for controlled combing out of the tangled mass. Brilliant, & cute as all get-out besides.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 10:12:40 GMT
I received a postcard from Cambodia last week, and yesterday I had a drink with the girl young woman who sent it to me, the daughter of one of my former colleagues. (She is attached to me because her parents leave a lot to be desired.)
In addition, she brought me a krama (traditional Cambodian silk scarf) in a woven basket as a gift. It really warmed my heart, because even though there was no connection, it was as though she had brought back a little piece of hwinpp to give to me.
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Post by rikita on Sept 29, 2012 12:44:01 GMT
that's nice...
as for me, i really enjoy those weekend mornings right now, where we just lie in bed for ages, mr. r. holding me, and dozing back to sleep a few times...
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 29, 2012 13:17:36 GMT
That's lovely, Kerouac & what a perfect one-remove connection besides.
Ahhh, Rikita ~~ it's really your turn for that kind of comfort and pleasure.
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Post by htmb on Sept 29, 2012 13:28:50 GMT
I think it's an appreciation of all those little special moments and happy coincidences that makes life so good.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2012 16:41:48 GMT
I bought a new toilet seat. The old one was still performing its duties, but after 25 years, I just needed a change! Also bought a new shower curtain.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 12, 2012 2:11:20 GMT
You know, that kind of thing can give such a lift to a room. I'll bet you're enjoying the new look every time you go in there.
Are you leaving the seat down, in order to enjoy it to the fullest?
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Post by rikita on Oct 12, 2012 20:01:13 GMT
that it's finally weekend again...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2012 15:59:41 GMT
I finally got my good camera back from repair yesterday, after 38 days (I didn't count but the guy said that my guarantee had been extended 38 days). On the down side, I can't find anything to take a picture of in Paris.
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Post by htmb on Oct 21, 2012 21:39:41 GMT
That CAN'T be true!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 22, 2012 0:50:28 GMT
Kerouac told me that he was so sick with envy that I get to go to Lawton while he's stuck in crummy old Paris that he threw his newly repaired camera into the garbage!
Shame about the camera, but I can understand how he feels.
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Post by htmb on Oct 22, 2012 1:41:30 GMT
Kerouac told me that he was so sick with envy that I get to go to Lawton while he's stuck in crummy old Paris that he threw his newly repaired camera into the garbage! Shame about the camera, but I can understand how he feels. That may be true, bixa. All kidding aside, I do remember how overwhelming it felt to see such wide open spaces when I visited Lawton and Fort Sill. I also remember seeing roaming herds of buffalo for the first time, as well as beautiful mountains where it just didn't seem they should exist. It was so different there in comparison to what I had experienced by that point at the age of 19.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 22, 2012 5:54:50 GMT
We rolled into Altus the summer I turned 18, in 1966, moving there from Savannah, Georgia. (you know -- that place with trees, waving Spanish moss, a beach on the Atlantic, etc.). Once escaped from the car, all I wanted was to shower & wash my hair. The water in the motel came out brown. For enrichment we went to to Fort Sill in 115° heat & saw where Geronimo had been incarcerated. Also buffalo.
But yes, the mountains are truly beautiful.
In the little things mean a lot category: laughing helplessly, I do love it! Just watched episode 4, season 6 of The Big Bang Theory and was almost destroyed by the pie eating contest ........ which I backed up and watched again.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 12, 2012 21:35:02 GMT
One of my colleagues is Polish...she told me a few years back that when she was a a little girl she remembers the excitement on St Nicholas' Day (6th December)...all the children polished their shoes really carefuly and left them on the windowsill the night before going to bed...in the morning IF they'd been good...St Nicholas would leave treats in their shoes... We don't often work together but this year we just happened to be in the same lab...so I did this.... I made the shoes in my tea break and filled them with sweeties...she was really chuffed.... (pleased)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2012 21:37:50 GMT
Good for you. Bad children get lumps of coal in their shoes.
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Post by htmb on Dec 12, 2012 21:40:57 GMT
That is so sweet, CPB!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 13, 2012 3:15:24 GMT
Not to embarrass you, Cheery, but I was so charmed and touched by your thoughtful surprise for your co-worder that tears sprang to my eyes. You're the best!
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Post by mich64 on Dec 13, 2012 19:58:13 GMT
Cheery that was a wonderful thing to do. It must have brought back such wonderful childhood feelings for her, hard to recreate such a thing, but I think you did it for her.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 29, 2012 5:59:09 GMT
Having a headset & a great bunch of tunes on a long, boring, & loud bus trip.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2013 10:12:02 GMT
I was very pleased to receive notification today that I won my lawsuit against the unemployment office, especially since I didn't expect to.
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Post by spindrift1 on Apr 27, 2013 12:20:44 GMT
Well done! That is a great triumph.
Are you going to take the postboat to St Helena one of these days?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2013 16:42:59 GMT
Of course. One way ticket!
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