Good-bye 2011

So everyone does end of the year wrap-ups. I'm not so into those for myself. I will say, for starting out so badly for me personally (fell on black ice and dislocated my elbow Jan. 28th, thus sidelined for 6 weeks), it has ended up significantly better (not difficult, given Jan. 28th). I retired Dec. 16th and am still adjusting to that, but I think it is going to be terrific.

In terms of life on Earth, I don't think it's been a very good year in some respects. We've all lived with all the bad news so I won't bother to reiterate that.

I am however, as always, so grateful for the people in my life. My family, my friends at my former job and from other circles (science fiction friends, writers, knitters, French students & teacher, etc.) and from years gone by. No one is luckier than I. I am a billionaire in friends!

If my hopes and plans develop as I'm intending, 2012 is going to be a major year for me. We'll see.

I don't make New Years' resolutions.

Thank all of my friends and acquaintances for enriching my life beyond measure. I only hope I deserve your love and kindness.

And I wanted to update my States I've Been to  map:



visited 31 states (62%)
Create your own visited map of The United States!

Happy New Year everyone!

The Last Week

And I don't mean "last week" - I mean, I'm coming up on the last week of my fully-employed career-type working life. All kinds of things are bubbling to the surface now that I didn't expect.

I'm a little thick about some things. It wasn't until just Friday that overhearing some co-workers joshing around opened my eyes to the fact that I'm leaving behind that social part of working - daily gabbing, gossiping, teasing, debating, advising, critiquing, and commiserating that is the workday world. At 3:30 next Friday, I will leave that circle, for better or worse. I won't be part of that "us" any more, simply because I will no longer be there for the daily fertilization of the memes, gossip, in-joke, co-worker's family news, latest bureaucratic snafus, that keeps one a part of the group. This thought struck me forcefully, but it didn't derail me. It's something I will miss, for sure. But leaving it is a part of life. Another loss. One must find other things to fulfill some of those benefits. And, of course I'll keep in touch with my friends of twenty years. It'll just be...differently.

Makes me wonder, though, what else I've been a little slow to anticipate as I'm carried along this one-day-at-a-time conveyer belt to retirement?