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All the first steps have been taken, the wheels are in motion and it won't be long before my wheels are moving too.
After shaping a career at IBM that spanned 30 years plus 4 days, I will be leaving IBM as a retiree on March 25th 2011. It has been quite an adventure, and I have enjoyed a lot of that time. I am sure it will feel odd and I will go through some "adjustment" that I don't know about yet. It was always the people I worked with that I enjoyed the most, I'll need to find a way to stay in touch. I know I'm very comfortable with the decision to close these chapters and start new ones. This blog is intend to describe the transition and the raw thoughts about the Next Chapter.
In simple terms, my plan is "travel to interesting places for whatever reason presents itself and use my talents with a camera to expose the subtleties I discover.", something I set in motion a few years ago when I started getting back into photography. It was once a passion of mine, something I lost a little love for when I had to make a living at it. A few too many baby portraits perhaps...
I have gotten back into it with a renewed passion, and I started by combining my love of cycling with my love of photography. Having spent a few years covering bike races, I am now in a position to do more of that as well as combining my love of travel to interesting places as I get to the races. I have made quite a list of places I look forward to getting to, and capturing in images... something that could occupy years.
Some combination of journalism, books and exhibits are down the road; I don't want to get ahead of myself though. I'm not even on the road yet!
As for that road... I will be exploring in my 1982 VW diesel Vanagon Westfalia camper. I bought Babe (named that by the previous owner) in June 2010 and since then I've spent some time and money getting her ready for this adventure. Part of this was inspired by another IBMer who retired after 30 years... things I've read by Larry Chase (at RoadHaus.com) really confirmed in my mind that not only was it possible, it could really work out well! Having said that... it's a 1982 VW and anyone who's owned an old vehicle like this knows that things break. That will be an interesting aspect to the adventure, I'm sure.
Here's a photo of Babe taken at a Bus event in 2010. I look forward to sharing images I collect as this journey unfolds...
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| Babe at Buses of the Corn 2010 |
