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pre-nostalgia
Old 08-06-2005, 12:15 PM   #1
 
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pre-nostalgia

allow the caffiene and I to self indulge:* two months to go.*

attended my first and last pre-retirement seminar last week, looked about the room, lots of gray hair, older bodies, so why am I the only one who still looks and thinks age 22 when I hired in, huh?* I figure the guys who brought their wives in were the serious ones, others were just playing hookey from the phone and making paper dolls for two hours.* me?* like dex I was just bored outa my skull--dept being contracted out doncha know--and wanted a change of scenery listening to stuff I already knew.

each task carries new meaning, i.e. hmmm, this is probably the last time I will re-load my stapler.* or hmmm, will I miss the smell of shaved wood from the pencil sharpener?* or the last time I will hear my polyester&scotch boss say "working hard or hardly working?"yuk yuk yuk.* or "what can I do you for?"* the last blah blah blah meeting where you play a game to occupy your mind like who is going to be the self-aggrandizing blatherer?* or whose head will start spinning twenty minutes in?* or who wins the lushest crop of ear-hair award?* or maybe which motivational poster's urgings can be rearranged into a foul lyric (came close, once).* I'm getting all teary eyed thinking about it.

passed through the cube farms, on the way back to my space in the world.* *the sight of acres and acres of cube workers performing often ultimately useless tasks always warmed my heart.* ah, soon to be ex midlevel functionary in a major north american government.* changed the page on the calendar for the last time.* I love that calendar.* nords and all the fed and military types probably know the one I'm talking about--the three page last month current month next month calendar.* even though our office is now pretty indistiguishable from most corporate offices now, it always wasn't that way.* it used to be prison chairs and metal desks and heavy black phones and buzzing florescent lights and cigarette smoke smog.* the calendar?* it sorta harkens back to those days.* ugly as sin, kinda sam spade private eye-ish.* that why I love it.* anyhow, the three month pages are hooked on a piece of cardboard with metal hooks.* probably costs $.15 to make.* no, make that $.02 since it's probably imported from china now.* the cardboard is stamped with big red letters:* "property of US government.* do not throw away.* this backing can be re-used indefinately."* well, I've been re-using mine since 1988, can't call me a bad bureaucrat, nosirree.*

when I leave for good I'm going to throw caution the wind. I'm going to trash that cardboard backing.

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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-06-2005, 12:50 PM   #2
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Re: pre-nostalgia

This is funny! Tozz, were you watching me? You were, weren't you?

My boss used to pass by and ask me, "What are you doing?" "Nothing," I would reply. "Then why am I paying you?" haw, haw, haw! I just know you were there! Ah, the motivational posters, the mission statements, the org charts,the to-do lists, the endless meetings. I do miss it. NOT!

Had a guy pass thru the office one day who was retiring. He had a small plastic tape machine which he would open up. It played one song to everyone's delight. Johnny Paycheck's "Take this job and shove it."

You can do 60 days easy. And why not s***-can the entire calendar?
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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-06-2005, 03:28 PM   #3
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Re: pre-nostalgia

We have peope who at age 50 attend the pre-retirement training. Never even thought about any of it untill then. Still fixiated on maxing the pension. "At age 60 you get unreduced pension you know. " Know nothing about what it will cost in retirement or 72t, or anything else. I will be long gone before my pension is at max.
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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-07-2005, 12:34 AM   #4
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Re: pre-nostalgia

Quote:
Originally Posted by tozz
nords and all the fed and military types probably know the one I'm talking about--the three page last month current month next month calendar.* even though our office is now pretty indistiguishable from most corporate offices now, it always wasn't that way.* it used to be prison chairs and metal desks and heavy black phones and buzzing florescent lights and cigarette smoke smog.* the calendar?* it sorta harkens back to those days.*
We couldn't give those calendars away.

But you've just described the rest of my old office! Don't forget to mention the barf-green carpets and the dark panelling over cracked plaster walls...
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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-07-2005, 08:29 PM   #5
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Re: pre-nostalgia

Two weeks to go for me. I'll hit my CSRS service comp date a couple of days before I go, so I'll have 29 years in.

I've been purging my email and other data files (and paper too!), and I need to bring my USB hard drive in soon to pull off all of my worthwhile data files (nothing work related that's for sure!) to bring home.

Since I'm one of the systems folk, I can hook up those illegitimate devices to the network.

We just moved a branch to a new location and I'm one of the two systems people who went with it. Our timekeeper is now the person for that branch, not the one in the front office, and since my supervisor is 10-15 miles away any member of what laughingly qualifies as "management" gets to sign my leave slips. I gave one of them a couple of leave slips about 8 days ago to sign, and he asked me if the leave was OK with my supervisor. I pointed out to him that question was about as "moot" as you could get.

However, I'm being good and not going out of my way to point out how the management emperors have no clothes.

cheers,
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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-08-2005, 10:56 AM   #6
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Re: pre-nostalgia

Ugh, that reminds me, it's soon time for me to put out the email that the 2006 calendars are in! : Those calendars are creeping up in price now... 41 cents apiece. That board for the 3-month wall calendar is $2.62, and every penny counts, so conserve people, conserve!
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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-10-2005, 09:00 AM   #7
 
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Re: pre-nostalgia

54 days, five hours, one minute according to my countdown clock, Eagle.* An hour prior to my departure, I will complete my exit interview, and turn in my ID and access cards.* Security will then be called.* They will escort me out the front door, and leave me on the front walkway looking outward, semi-dazed, blinking, as if I'd just flown in from Jupiter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eagle43
You can do 60 days easy.* And why not s***-can the entire calendar?
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Re: pre-nostalgia
Old 08-10-2005, 01:32 PM   #8
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Re: pre-nostalgia

tozz,

I think we have the same date (1 October ... start of FY 06). But I am using 30 September since the first on Saturday.

Enjoy!

PS. Bring the shades for the step out into the sun!

PSS. Our calendars are now on 1 printed page. Anything else was too expensive.
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