Leaving IBM -

wait for your retirement !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- rob

Good luck snowdog!

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

Free at last, Free at last- thank God Almighty- Free at last!

Hope they gave you a decent early retirement package.

Looking forward to lost of projects!

good luck snowdog! we will live through you,

-- Evelinda, Mission TX

Nice to hear you are participating in the recession. I can’t wait for early retirement!

-- He said wood...http://hickbyassociation.blogspot.com/

Wish I was doing that too! Oh well if I retire I can not buy the new lathe I have my eye on. Darn!

-- Bob Clark, Tool Collector and Sawdust Maker

Hey Snowdog.
There is life after Inoperative Business Machine Company and a good one. I too am a survivor and have been for 25 years or so.
I really value my experience there but the job pressure was fabricated by management not by real world necessity. It has been real good afterward.

I’m now retired and felling fine but broke! Ha!

Charlie M.

-- God makes the wood beautiful--I simply rearrange it to make it more useful, hopefully.

Good luck to you Snowdog, from another IBMer…........... I retired in 2000 after 35 yrs….

Retirement is great, but the shock of a fixed income isn’t, just make sure you are prepared!!!!

-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/

There used to be an online community that referred to work as an addiction, and the state of being unemployed as “in recovery”.

Congratulations on your recovery. Hope you don’t find yourself needing to relapse.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Can’t believe it snowdog, I thought that I was the only one who might have decided to finally retire! Last Friday was my last day with “the man”. I truly know what you mean when you say “bitter sweet & scary). I too, have been waiting for this for a long time. I started working for the other guy at least part time when I was 14 years old and for me, that was a half century ago. It’s going to take me a long time to get used to this…...at least until tomorrow morning!!

Dave
http://www.oldaveswoodshop.com

-- Dave Haynes, Indiana, http://www.oldaveswoodshop.com

Happy for you my friend. Now you can spend more time in the shop. Good luck.

-- Guy Kroll

I have been retired for 1 year and 5 months now, and I’m busier than when I worked! ;)

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Best of luck, I keep thinking about this step myself. Keep making chips!

-- Chris

This is my 13th year of retirement. In my case I have never missed the job, but I do miss the people. Some of my workmates have now passed on. What is it they say…..in youth you attend weddings, in retirement you attend funerals.

-- Lee

Good luck on your retirement. I worked for the other big boy (or Gal) Ma bell or some of it’s affiliates for about 40 years. But the retirements suck because i got vested pensions fpr each of the companies. I’m getting by.

I hope you have a great joy in the freedom of doing what you want and not what someone else wants.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I love the line from Dan “work as an addiction, and the state of being unemployed as “in recovery”.

And Charles, it is too true the “job pressure was fabricated by management not by real world necessity. ” IBM is not a great company as far as management goes but the $$ was pretty good so I put up with it for a long time.

Well I am to young to retire but I am going to give it my best try <grin>

Thank you all for the good wishes and support

Fixed income? That is really going to suck :)

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

I’m getting close 54years old 35 years working for airlines, started at a commuter carrier in Ohio Wright Airlines 1974-1977 then went to North Central merged into Republic that acquired Hughes Airwest. Northwest Airlines then purchases Republic. That merger was a nightmare that took years to straighten out. Now Delta is my new boss. They can loosely call it a merger, an all stock swap. Keep the Delta name and attempt to get rid of the union representation for the former NW group. Richard Anderson the current CEO DL, former CEO NW and his buddy Doug Steenland current CEO NW plotted this all out when they were both at NW. The result is how Northwest Bought Delta With Delta’s own money and Anderson delivers Delta into Northwest hands. Anderson hates unions and by heading south will attempt to keep them out of the new Delta. He is slowly replacing DL managers with ones coming from NW who are very hard line.The promises that Anderson is making to Delta people are hollow and false. If he wins and the union is voted out my quality days are numbered. My 307 banked sick days will be reduced to 7, My 221 banked OJI days will be eliminated My medical cost will increase 50%, but I’ll save $50 a month in union dues. I can only hope that the deep south anti union group can read between the lines and make the right choice, the only choice stay UNION. I still have a pension plan for now. DL eliminated their plan when they filed bankruptcy on the exact same day as NW.Just like AIG the rich will get richer if they pull this off.

-- Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

”The one good thing is that my wife supports my leaving”

Are you sure she’s talking about your job? :-)

Congratulations. Some days I feel like I’ll never get there.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Wish you all the best in retirement and good luck. I took the leap Jan 20th. So far, no regrets. I had three months annual leave on the books and I’m still drawing a paycheck every two weeks. I was on a fixed income for the last two years (I had reached the top of my pay grade and that meant no more raises, as if there were going to be any anyway).

-- There are three signs of old age. The first is loss of memory. I forgot the other two!

i retired 10 years ago, your right it’s scary at firstbut you’ll do fine
you’ve got one up on me allready—your a woodworker
i did’nt find wood til a year after retirement
happy camper now

good luck

-- Ron, Missouri

Best wishes to you. I left General Motors back in ‘72 as a young man – smartest thing I’ve ever done.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Yes, the unions have done wonders for the auto industry….wonders…..........not to mention the steel industry, or lack there of…

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

It really is not so bad, being retired that is. Take it from me – I’ve done it three times now. I finally have learned how. The wood shop is now my only preoccupation.

-- Making Sawdust Safely

I wanna hear libertarian rants!

-- Nicholas, Journeyman Cabinetmaker, Partenkirchen, Germany

dusty2:

Methinks you and I could do with a little more shop time and less on the computer. This is one of my New Years resolutions for when I get back to the Upper Peninsula.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"