After One Month, and One Trip

I'm sitting in my study/studio (I refuse to call it an office anymore) and knocking things off my lists, feeling good about life. A month ago today I walked out of the doors of IBM and it really has been quite an exciting month. I guess it still hasn't hit me, I have yet to find myself missing the old routines and I keep not having enough time in the days to do the things I want. And it's been a month already.  I thought there would be a "moment" around now when it would all feel real and something would shift... so far it's all just rolling along nicely. A few friendly emails from ex-co-workers (what's the right term for that? lol) and some queries about tornadoes (yes there were some in the area we were in, none that came anywhere near us) and soon a final "official" IBM event; my retirement lunch.

I've invited 10 friends, with Greg and me an even dozen, and have a room at Baka on Avenue Rd. reserved for Wed. I tried to find someone from each era of my time at IBM and I think I did ok on that front. Lots of these people span many years so it wasn't that hard to do. 
Keith and I went on the "welcome to IBM" sessions together in 1981, he's very much of my roots in IBM. Another I wish could be there is Darryl, as he is my closest friend and we've known each other since around '82. Our lives have intersected in so many ways... however the "rules" say I can only invite current IBMers or retirees and Darryl is neither. I'll see if I can sneak him in, along with Terry who is also right up there on the list of close friends. He's only wanted to do contract work and so again the rules get in the way. And he fits firmly into the early '90s and all the buzz around OS/2. Of course, Petercam was as good as it gets for our work/life intersection. John C and Denis are mentors to me, people who showed me ways to think and respond and make "it" better. Insightful and generally soft spoken, their thoughts have helped shape mine. It will be good to see them both there. One who will be missing is Mark, who left us over 10 years ago. He took SIS to places it never dreamed possible and I was amazed at riding along on that wave. The things he did, we did, SIS did and the potential that was lost when he died. I still have "Mark moments" and I can still see that smile when an idea landed in his mind.
Janice, Brad, RJC... in different ways we've been close for many years. The '90s gang, we did lots of things together and a lunch-time game of cards was a common thread. Growing up, together... nice folks to be with, I'll tell ya.
Hector (and while he won't be there, I'll include Ric O) are the very definition of "pub night" and it's been a tradition since the early '90s.
And the "newbies"... Jacqueline and Nada. Along with Joseph they make up the future hope for SIS. If the business is prepared to listen, they will be the ones who teach folks like Peter M and Yousoof about how to lead and shape the future. We'll see...

In any case, lunch on Wed. will be fun :)

Three hours of riding to get here, and almost 3000 ft of climbing

As for "one trip", I'll write that up in a separate entry. It was great, and I miss the warm weather already! Over 2000 miles of travel, 68 gallons of diesel, and lots of great rides. Stay tuned.