I am Officially Retired as of Today...

 I love retirement .... 

So what's not to love about retirement?

I have actually settled into retirement quite nicely. There are so many things I can now do when I wish to do them. One of the big things for me is routine, yep routine and I say it loosely because a routine is all about flexibility. One thing I have noticed I do have to look at the calendar every now and again so I don't miss Friday garbage days! LOL 

Since retiring I have taken up drawing portraits something I could never do. Let me post my latest creation. Can you guess who it is?

Guess who this is?

No bad hey for not being able to draw portraits. I know I have a long way to go but that's okay because I have all the time in the world to perfect my new venture. 

Well I am off to have lunch now ... one thing about having all the time in the world to do things the days seem to slip away rather quickly. It makes me wonder how I ever fit work into my life. LOL

Cheers,

Jaime

Two Days to Go ... or Maybe One

One, Two, ...

Myself and a few other team members are finishing up a last minute project which was given to us this morning. We managed to get the bulk of the project done today but there is still more to go. Some of our team members live in another city; they were hoping to leave for home this afternoon. The rest of us helped to make this happen and agreed to distribute what was left amongst the three of us left behind. I am hoping to get finished what I need to do by tomorrow (Friday) and then help where I can. If we don't finish then I will have to come in on Monday, March 28th, 2011. It's interesting how a little snow, bad weather, icy roads can change things. I am almost at the finish line anyway. So it really doesn't matter. What's one more day in the scheme of things? 

Cheers,

Jaime

It's Turkey Day !!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE & HAPPY NEW YEAR

I awoke early this morning to prepare the turkey for the oven. Teddy was by my side watching. The look on his face was priceless: the tip of his tongue hung out of his mouth his eyes glissing as he watched me place the turkey in the oven. If he could talk he likely would ask, "How long is this going to take?" Haida and Angel are snoring in the living room. The radio is playing non stop Christmas music and my budgies are chirping away in the background. All is well!

I reviewed some of my 2007 entries from December 2007 (I was still living in the city) and noted that I was talking about working another year (2008) and then had visons of retirement. Well that's not exactly how things played out this past year. I am ready to retire in every way except for the fact of one small detail: my house in the city is still on the market! I hadn't planned on living in the country and working in the city as winter driving is not my idea of a good time since this time of year it's more night time than day light. 

However the upside is that for some reason I am still working in 2009! I hope to find out what that reason is but for now it's not for me to know. 

But I digress, this is Christmas Day. I imagine kids getting up early to see what Santa has brought from their long list of things they mailed to the North Pole. I was reading a story yesterday about a little 9 year old girl who wrote to Santa and asked him to help  stop one of her relatives from abusing her and her little sister. The letter was handed over to the authorities and after an investigation the relative was arrested and charged. Apparently he had been abusing the girls for the past 4 years. It's interesting that this little girl's last hope was for Santa to come through for her ... and he did! These two little girls will no doubt always believe in Santa. 

Cheers,

Jaime & Company

Sunday Morning News

I love this picture, so much so, that I placed it on my desktop! How majestic, over powering and yet very beautiful.

Day after tomorrow I am back at work at least for the time being. Since I am in the latter stages before my early retirement work does not seem so daunting.

I started this blog last year to talk about my retirement plans regarding going on the road full time as an RVer.

However, my plans have changed over the past few months. I purchased a house in the country and will commute to work every day. I love this place it suites me fine. My dogs have plenty of room to roam around in my fenced property which incidentally is about four times or more the size of my place in the city. Yesterday, I went into the city to cut the grass at my house which is still up for sale. It took me under an hour to cut the grass both front and back. Whereas here, it takes me a couple of days to get it all cut. I have decided to cut the grass in stages: front, side and back yard. I have nine pine trees in the back yard and a huge tree on the side of the house where deck one is located. A french doors open up to the second deck over looking the entire back yard. My birds share this room with me as it's also a reading and TV room. I will post some new pictures in a few days.

Since deciding against full timing I can easily travel from here for a few months of the year should I choose to. Traveling is an option that I will not close the door on entirely. I have travelled extensively and lived in a variety of places including Europe, United States and of course Canada.

It's a good idea to be flexible and ready for whatever may come your way. It is an understatement to say that when I retire I will do this or that ... instead we can consider the changes in our plans as adventures and see where they take us.

Well, I still have a few more pictures to hang and a few more things to put away, but all in all I am enjoying every minute!

Take care,

Jaime & Company

Sunday Morning

Good Morning,

Right about now I would love to be on a boat in Hawaii watching the Humpback whales diving in and out of the water. Something I should jot down on my "Retirement To Do List"

I read that Humpbacks stick their tail out of the water into the air, swing it around, and then slap it on the water's surface; this is called lobtailing. It apparently makes a very loud sound. Humpbacks lobtail more when the seas are rough and stormy. I decided to look further into the Humpback and found the following information which is quoted in part from the "American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet" below:

"The humpback whale is one of the rorquals, a family that also includes the blue whale, fin whale, Bryde's whale, sei whale, and minke whale. Rorquals have two characteristics in common: dorsal fins on their backs, and ventral pleats running from the tip of the lower jaw back to the belly area. The shape and color pattern on the humpback whale's dorsal fin and flukes (tail) are as individual in each animal as are fingerprints in humans. Click on title "Sunday Blog" or each of the underlined words above to take you directly to their website).

But the reality is that I am in the middle of winter surrounded by snow and the only thing bobbing up and down on the horizon are the shovels flailing into the air redirecting the snow from their driveways and walkways.

Yesterday was a surprising change in weather when the temperature sored up and sent a brief heat wave causing the snow to start melting; hence rain. However, the temperature dropped again to freezing causing icy conditions on the roads, driveways, and walkways. Thank goodness it's the weekend and I don't have to go out.

I am going to pour myself another cup of java and look at some more pictures of the Humpback in Hawaii and visualize myself back on the boat watching these incredible creatures doing their acrobatics!

Till next time, Cheers!

Winter Months

Yesterday I was mapping out the next three months on the calendar and noted that Spring is around the corner. You would never know it since the temperature is like a yo yo from one day to the next.

I began thinking about all the yard work and I became tired and thought to myself that winter isn't too bad for catching up on things I like to do inside the house. I guess there is a trade off for me in there somewhere. Perhaps this year I will be able to keep up with the yard maintenance since my work days won't always be the same as everyone else's.

I will also make a decision as to whether to retire at the end of this year (2008) like I had planned or if I will stay another year (2009). The ball is in my court, so to speak, which gives me the power of choice.

Life is about choices isn't it? If we weren't afforded choices we would likely feel powerless. There are situations that come into our lives which seemingly do not give us the choices we want. But nonetheless we still have a choice. Perhaps not to change the circumstance but rather we can choose our responses to unwanted and untimely situations which life can throw at us at any given moment. We can chose to live in fear or great expectations of the challenges which are ahead of us.

In the end, it's still up to us how we fair in any given situation by the choices we make in our responses to whatever life tosses our way.

Right now I chose to sign off and make myself breakfast.

Till next time, Cheers!

Slowing Down ...

Good Morning,

I am home sick from work today. I guess the work week has caught up to me and I need to rest for a few days. I finished the week and had an important appointment this morning which had to be post phoned. You know life goes on whether we are at work or not. We need to remember that we are not indispensable. Chilling thought when we think that what we do in a day can be done by some one else. Well that leads us to only one conclusion: we can and are replaced very easily.

However, since my identity is no longer wrapped up in my work this thought doesn't really bother me. I am glad that someone else can pick up and do my job. My feelings are likely influenced by my up and coming retirement. The only difference then will be that I won't be calling in sick, I will just be sick at home with the dogs by my side.

Well, I better rest for a while, maybe watch Oprah or Ellen.