Went to my old office's Holiday Party

[David1961]

I just had to share this. I went to my old office's holiday party. This fellow walks up to me and says something like "Hey how are you doin'? Haven't seen you around for awhile. What do they have you working on these days" At first, I thought he was joking but I soon realized he had no idea that I had retired. I told him and he was shocked. Times like this that I wish I could think quicker on my feet and had said something like I'm on this top secret hush-hush job.

Yes I miss my old job...... NOT!

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David1961 Yes I miss my old job...... NOT!

Me two.

[LOL!]

So you went because your spouse is still working there and you had to accompany her?

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David1961 I went to my old office's holiday party.

Why?

[Alan]

I had a similar experience in August. I was invited to the retirement party of someone I'd worked with for about 20 years. After dinner I was milling around and got chatting with the CIO and one of her Directors. They started asking me about the IT systems on a particular site and as the questions became more involved I finally admitted that I couldn't answer for sure as it has been over two and half years since I'd retired. To say that they were shocked is an understatement

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan I had a similar experience in August. I was invited to the retirement party of someone I'd worked with for about 20 years. After dinner I was milling around and got chatting with the CIO and one of her Directors. They started asking me about the IT systems on a particular site and as the questions became more involved I finally admitted that I couldn't answer for sure as it has been over two and half years since I'd retired. To say that they were shocked is an understatement

How pathetic of them. Does the "I" in CIO stand for "Information"?

Maybe this is why so many military retirees grow our hair out as soon as we retire. It reminds everyone that we haven't been showing up for work...

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan I had a similar experience in August. I was invited to the retirement party of someone I'd worked with for about 20 years. After dinner I was milling around and got chatting with the CIO and one of her Directors. They started asking me about the IT systems on a particular site and as the questions became more involved I finally admitted that I couldn't answer for sure as it has been over two and half years since I'd retired. To say that they were shocked is an understatement

What to do at someone's retirement party - well, talk about work, of course!* Man, the poor CIO and Director need to get a life! But I guess the party was actually work for them.

*For most employees, talking about work at someone's retirement party would mean exchanging office gossip or kvetching about office politics/problems. But these guys were actually trying to get some real work done!

[Dawg52]

I went to a couple of parties after I retired and even went on one of their annual golf/fishing trips to Florida. Several of the guys are good friends, not just old work mates. But, all the office politics/problems would surface during the functions so I too have stopped going. Plus out of sight out of mind is a good thing too. I've always thought my replacement was unhappy and I sure don't want them to get the idea I would go back to fill in and train another guy. It's been too long anyway as I have purged all that old knowledge from my brain.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords How pathetic of them. Does the "I" in CIO stand for "Information"? Maybe this is why so many military retirees grow our hair out as soon as we retire. It reminds everyone that we haven't been showing up for work...

Yep, "I" = information, but she was always clueless. Two years before I retired I'd had enough of IT and went back into engineering, moving to one of the company's a large sites. I was due to transfer on Jan 1st so the day before the Christmas break I'd gone into her office to say cheerio, and she exclaimed, "Oh my, I'd forgotten all about it". She then picked out a gift she'd bought for someone else and gave it to me as a going away present. Her office was right next to mine and I'd known her very well and worked closely with her at times for 4 years.

Unfortunately, growing out my hair after retirement was not an option for me

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 What to do at someone's retirement party - well, talk about work, of course!* Man, the poor CIO and Director need to get a life! But I guess the party was actually work for them. *For most employees, talking about work at someone's retirement party would mean exchanging office gossip or kvetching about office politics/problems. But these guys were actually trying to get some real work done!

Where I spent most of that evening was very pleasant, with no meaningful talk about work, however when I arrived the Director who had actually invited me to the "do" spent the first few minutes trying to persuade me to come back as a consultant on a big project they had coming up.

It was a reminder that when I was working, the nature of the job was that I never had any real time to relax off the job.

[Midpack]

I've declined invitations to two former MegaCorp XMas parties so far (all retirees are invited), and I will probably ask HR to take me off that mailing list. I'm happier just occasionally talking to select former co-workers during they year, I have no interest in being confronted with all of them, hearing what MegaCorp is doing in great detail, and answering "so how do you like retirement" dozens of times (even though they'd ask as polite conversation). YMMV

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I've declined invitations to two former MegaCorp XMas parties so far (all retirees are invited), and I will probably ask HR to take me off that mailing list. I'm happier just occasionally talking to select former co-workers during they year, I have no interest in being confronted with all of them, hearing what MegaCorp is doing in great detail, and answering "so how do you like retirement" dozens of times (even though they'd ask as polite conversation). YMMV

I'm with you on this. I never go these either, including the "retiree breakfasts" they hold from time to time. This particular event was different in that it was small (20 folks) and the guy and his wife were friends that we met up with 3 or 4 times a year anyway.

They have now re-located back to New Jersey to be with their family so I doubt we'll see them again.

[REWahoo]

My old company has no "retiree breakfasts" or any other formal or informal association with any retired employees. I suspect that's because the company has so few retirees.

In business for more than 100 years, the company dramatically increased in size during the 80's and 90's as more than 50 small companies in the industry rapidly consolidated into three, now down to two in the entire US. And when the peak was reached in the mid to late 90's, a steeply decreasing demand for the product led to a series of ongoing layoffs and attrition which cut short the retirement opportunity of a majority of employees.

I was extremely fortunate in my timing in that I began working there just prior to the big run-up, and retired after 27 years - less than a month prior to the first major layoff.

[scrabbler1]

I never went to my old company's holiday parties when I worked there, so I have no fear of ever being invited to one since I left. I also told my coworkers that I did not want any retirement luncheon (they handed me an envelope full of cash they would have spent on the party!). I did go to lunch that final day with my friend/coworker I often went out to lunch with (his treat) which was fine with me.

Having not made it to 25 years there (I worked 23 1/3 years) saved me from being part of their 25-year club along with the annual events (maybe just a luncheon) it had. Given that the trip to the ioffice was reasons #1, #2, and #3 for leaving, I had no desire to make the trip there even outside of the rush hours (it would cost me $25 today on the trains, and driving there is unthinkable).

[JakeBrake]

Back in the day my MegaCorp hosted an annual luncheon for retired employees and their spouses. I retired in 2007 and we attended the luncheon that year. There were a couple hundred retirees in attendance. I had not seen some of them in 30 years. The petty office politics and hassles were pretty much forgotten. Then came the crash of 2008. There have been no more MegaCorp sponsored luncheons for retirees.

[MBAustin]

Our local megacorp office has had (pay as you go, not subsidized) yoga classes for about 15 years. They have allowed me to continue attending as a retiree, although as I no longer have a security badge, someone needs to let me into the room each week. Mostly they are former colleagues and we enjoy a brief catching up, but occasionally someone will think I just forgot my badge and ask what I'm up to - even though I retired more than 2 years ago.

[prof12]

When I left the university I vowed never to return. I thought of Thomas Wolfe's novel entitled "You Can't Go Home Again" and it is so true. You leave a place and you are out of the loop--a has-been. The institution moves on without you. New people come and whatever you did, or how important you thought were, vanishes. I was glad when I came to work there, but even more glad that I could walk away from petty politics and new visions in which I did not believe. I don't even bother to respond to requests for the departmental lunches and get-togethers or retiree lunches with the president. It simply isn't my cup of tea and I have better things to do.
Prof12

[HFWR]

A month or so ago I attended a retirement luncheon for an fine gentlemen retiring from my old megaconglomocorp. He was my branch manager way back when, though now a senior fellow or some such, but kids finally out of college, he decided to leave the rat race.

Saw a number of folks I worked with back in the good old days. Funny, all the ones who were summarily let go in one of the uncountable re-orgs/layoffs had little if anything good to say about old mega, but everyone who had made it through all that was all gung ho and supportive of whatever the latest Dilbert management effort, i.e., another layoff...

[tryan]

Still have a golf league mondays April - Sept. with the same crew . Not many still in megacorp but everyone makes the effort to commute to the golf course.

So my old boss is now 72 (retired when I did) still emails some of the old customers/co-workers and when we golf together he tried to "update me" on the program status .... like I give a rats rear-end. So I interrupted him and asked about his grand kids ... he took the hint.