Where's Waldo?

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jww
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Where's Waldo?

Post by jww »

As an early teen, my brother took to calling me Waldo, after I saw the movie The Great Waldo Pepper, and couldn't stop raving about how much I had enjoyed it -- thus the theme for this post.

I wanted to let you all in on what has been happening in my life this past several months as I had become a very quiet member when compared to previous years on the forum. So -- here goes.

As many of you know, I have been employed for the past several years with the globe's largest IT services and systems provider (name withheld to protect the innocent -- actually, it's a bit of a mind game --- you should all figure it out if you think long enough on it). The first day back after our summer family holiday in Maine found me sitting on a conference call with my manager offering me an early retirement package --- which I eventually accepted. There is a great deal more to be said about things, and how this came about, but suffice it to say, that I have been preparing for this for some time --- at 55, this company puts a proverbial target on people's backs, and I was one of the fortunate ones to get an offer. This has been a whirlwind few weeks. My last day of work was September 25, and my official "retirement" date is November 9. Since finishing up work, we have been doing a lot of travel -- #1 son got married, so we were in Toronto for that event, then carried on back to southern Maine for a week. We then will be leaving on an extended trip to the UK (we literally extended our initial 2 week holiday to another week and a half) and then the last week of November we will be making our way down to Washington DC where my wife and I were married 34 years ago.

I'll not be in a position to completely retire, and plan at this stage to go into consulting for a couple of reasons. One -- I can pick and choose what I do and who I work with. Two -- I can regain work-life balance so badly lost several years ago. Three -- I only need to work 40-45 weeks a year to complete our "plan". Four -- where the career world has gone, so I might as well get with the plan.

It's very exciting and quite wonderful to not be answering to the big machine any longer. I feel very blessed, and although it is not a slam dunk on future, I find myself in quite a happy place at the moment.

Of course, after my little sabbatical of 4 months is over, things could change, but for now, I intend to enjoy the opportunity I've been given. While I hope to be more active on the board, it will continue to be sporadic until later in December when our travel is all done.
Wendell

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CMur12
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by CMur12 »

Congratulations, Wendell, on your new life. It sounds like you are off to a great start; may it continue to serve you well.

- Murray
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by drmoss_ca »

Congratulations, Wendell. You got out just before your company switched everyone to Macs!

C.
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Squire
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Squire »

That's great Man, wave goodby to those receding shores and chart your sail by the stars.
Regards,
Squire
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Kyle76 »

Exciting times, Wendell! Best of luck!
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Thalay Sagar »

Wendell, congratulations on the news and best wishes for the future.
Best,
Chris

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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by pausted »

Congratulations, Wendell! Enjoy your new freedom.
Best regards,

Basil
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Antique Hoosier »

Sounds like everything is turning in your favor. I have taken a few sabbaticals from posting on forums over the past eight yrs or so affiliated with such. Those times usually corresponded with dreaded events like divorces. Now that I have two of those under my belt I can slowly get back to normalcy myself. Congrats on smooth sailing ahead Sir.
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Big Swifty »

Congratulations Wendell,
Now you will have more time for leisurely strolls on your bike
~Steve

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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Rufus »

Good to hear from you Wendell; I was beginning to wonder if you'd gone walkabout. I hope you'll enjoy retirement and it's good that you have a plan to bridge you forward. I retired 9 years ago and have never looked back. I retired on my own initiative as I was fed up with the corporate world and my job satisfaction was nil. Although my employer made me offers to stay I had reached the point where there was more to life than grinding through a 50-60 hour work week with little joy. I've yet to wake up in the morning missing the office or wishing that I had work to do. My days are full and we've travelled extensively; life is good and I plan to enjoy it for as long as I'm able. Good luck Wendell in you new life.
Bryan
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jww
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by jww »

Thanks everyone --- so Chris, you'll enjoy this ..... since I needed to get myself a laptop, I had pitted a Surface Pro 3 against a MacBook Air. Ended up with the MacBook Air even though specs on the MS device are better from a screen perspective --- I am actually quite happy with it -- even though I have a ton of work to do to convert all my external hard drives to FAT 32 from NTFS -- -once that's done, things will be a bit smoother, yet I do admit that I am quite enamoured with the elegance of it all ..... Not a fanboy -- but am very, very happy with it.

Even more happy with the time and luxury of space I am enjoying at the moment.
Wendell

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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by ThePossum »

Hello Wendell, Congrats on your retirement. I like your plans to do some consulting in what I assume will be IT field. So much better working for yourself and being able to control who you service and when you do it. In other words if you sleep in you are not accountable to a "boss" other than you and your client. :D

By the end of the year I too will be retired and so will my wife. For us it was mostly due to some serious health problems I have that will only get worse as time goes by. Diabetes, heart, COPD and kidneys. But want to make the most of it while we can.

Hope you do well and I will wait to see what your bucket list will include for the extra time you will have in retirement. I would almost be willing to make a bet that one thing on the list will be a trip to the MWF factory to see how the greatest shave and bath soap in the entire universe is made.

Good luck my friend.
Bryce

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GA Russell
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by GA Russell »

Congrats Wendell! It's great that you are not out on a limb. It's also great that the missus is on board!
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by Jbbmad2 »

Congratulations to you sir!! Best of wishes to you.
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by sgtrecon212 »

Congrats, Wendell! Nice position to be in!
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fallingwickets
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Re: Where's Waldo?

Post by fallingwickets »

Safe travels......post some before and after DC pics when you get back :D :D :D :D

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