Sunday, September 04, 2011

The Saga Continues...

09/04/2011

I apologize for all the retirement BS, you and I both are getting a little tired of it, but...an end is in site and one might even say “near.” As luck would have it, though I feel as though I had something to do with creating this outcome, my retirement date suddenly leaped forward from about 150 days to just 80 days or less.

My boss called me last Wednesday to let me know on Thursday during a managers’ conference call he would announce a “Voluntary Severance Program.” The economy is playing havoc with my industry.  Mine is a school furniture manufacturing company, for the most part.  Schools for the most part depend on tax revenues, and tax revenues have suffered for the past couple of years.  The boss’s message to me was a nice courtesy, and as he outlined the basics of the program my medulla oblongata began to run some quick numbers on the meat of the matter: How much?  Well, it appears if I take the package I will get nearly as much as I would make if I stay on to the end of January next year.  Now you know I ain’t no brain trust, but I didn’t exactly fall off the turnip wagon yesterday.  I am going for it.

This isn’t a cake walk, there are some considerations.  Healthcare for one.  I have 401K considerations.  I have company car I will have to give up (not a big deal, we have three others), but just got it two months ago and I really like it.  I lose this laptop and the only email address I have ever had.  My iPhone will go - not that I really care.  But, the thing I will lose that bothers me most, really bothers me, is the loss of working with people I love.

As it stands at this moment my last day will be November 23rd.  My heart is pounding but I not sure why: it is happiness, anticipation or shear fear?  Time will tell.

And that is all I have to say about that…