Retirement...

There you go!

As is my habit when I’m writing my blog posts, I’m listening to some music on YouTube, and today I’m really enjoying Animal Logic’s first album.  Such a great band, and it’s too bad they didn’t get the recognition they deserved.  Anyway, so, back in early 2025, my former boss and I started to talk about a transition plan, and how my remote role would be eliminated, since the plan for the company was to have the key roles on-site in the Utah office.  No problem, I was turning 70 in August, so it seemed like a pretty good time to retire, and we made plans for my retirement at the end of 2025.  No hard feelings; everything was on the up-and-up, and it was a mutual understanding.  To make my retirement official, my boss arranged a combined retirement / Christmas party on the 8th of December, 2025, and we had a great time.  The company flew me up from Orange County, CA to celebrate up in Utah, and as far as I’m concerned, the party was a great success!  So, the party was like the signal, and it was a bit bittersweet, especially since we had developed a great team during the years since we started in September 2023. 

Nevertheless, it was wonderful to see everybody, and it was a great way to finalize my life in the corporate world.  We had a great lunch, played some fun games, I got to give a tearful impromptu speech, and we even played Bingo using my favorite corporate sayings (being in Regulatory Affairs since 2011 “Heck NO!” is by far my favorite), and in general just enjoying everybody’s company.  Such a great team, and I will miss them!     

 

“The Legend Has Retired” table decoration.  The team members up in Utah were soooo sweet in putting all of this together! 

  

 

More cool table decorations, and bowls filled with chocolate kisses for the Bingo, and tissues for all those teary eyes! 

 

 

Happy Retirement for Sure! 

 

As you can see, the team went all out! 

  

 

No party would be complete without great food!  As usual with our corporate lunches, we order plenty, so that a lunch can also double as a dinner!  Such great fun! 

 

 

My dear friend and Soul Brother Fredrick and his wife Ro had these special drumsticks made just for this occasion!  I was soooooo touched that it brought tears to my eyes!  Love You Man!  These will be mounted in the Practice Cave!      

Well, it’s been almost a month since I officially retired (my last official day of work was January 02, 2026), and I must say that after almost 50 years of working full-time, it feels a bit weird and strange.  For some reason, I still feel like I’m on an extended vacation, just waiting for the next Monday when I’m supposed to go back to work, still feeling a bit guilty for sleeping in.  Nevertheless, my retired buddies all claim that they all stay plenty busy in retirement; some of them even tell me that they are busier now than they ever were working!  I don’t know, maybe I’ll get there in a few months, but for right now I must concede that I feel a bit lost, and the days are filled with minutia, going shopping, making drum videos, getting our affairs in order, and practicing with the band. Not a bad life, all in all, and I do like the sleeping in; some mornings I even sleep until 7 AM! 

Way back in December last year I signed up to go back to school at our local Junior College, and I was quite excited to go back to school, just to keep my faculties sharp.  However, I quickly realized that the average age of the students was about 20, and at 70 I could easily be everybody’s grandpa, and I felt acutely out of place.  To make matters worse, I had signed up for a calculus class (again, in a miss-guided attempt to stay mentally bright), and I quickly realized that I didn’t like calculus when I took it in 1993-1994, and I certainly didn’t like it in 2026!  So, long story short, I cancelled my classes, and I’m now a college dropout, which I can add to my resume!

Anyways, I know that I’ll find plenty to do, even if it is just a few hours at the beach under an umbrella, reading a good book, checking out the great little shops in wonderful San Clemente, or simply floating around, enjoying the awesome weather (after all, San Clemente has the best climate in the world, and I’m not partial), and taking a long afternoon nap.  And there are the dogs that need their three walks per day, and our wonderful little grandchild that needs to be entertained, and let’s not forget all the doctor’s appointments (much more frequent since I turned 65, that’s for sure) so maybe I’ll be busy after all!  And there is always the band, learning new songs, practicing and playing the occasional gig.  Retired Life is Good!


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