Attention What are you doing at the moment? 2024-25

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Hope it goes well. My mother got sick of the incompetence of her school management and quit early too.

She could have run those schools, but always chose not to, then got annoyed with her colleagues who did.

For me, work is mostly a joke, but I make a little money and that's enough for my friends and me to enjoy ourselves from time to time.

Tomorrow, I'm going to see my friend in Antwerp, where we celebrate his birthday later this week.

He's a psychiatric patient and lives in a special building with other such people. Generally interesting to be around, but somewhat volatile.

We met and spoke about his late husband, who drank himself to death, and my lover Jack, who died from liver failure.

I hope I didn't bring budbugs from Paris and I'm taking bedbugspray from Paris, hoping I won't be taking any from his place to my mother's.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Yes, it is.

I was planning on waiting until I reached 67, two and a half years from now.

But, I'm working for a PM I'm not able to feel good about supporting, and the upper management has gotten worse.

I'd rather have half a million dollars less income and not have the bother. I'm going to work on getting my house ready and sold, and moving back to my home state within four months to a year. My only uncle has prostate cancer at 80, and has been very active. He may be fine, but his wife is a drunk and I anticipate the need to be near to help when and if the need arises. He lives about 90 minutes from where I plan to buy, as do my siblings.

I'm not excited about retiring, but I am at peace.

I was offered a job in PM today, but I told him if I'm moved in a year and they still need help, I might consider it. If I do as well as anticipated on my home sale, I may stay retired.

Update.

So, after the memorandum was sent out, and as I left Wednesday, my boss came to me with a presentation from his boss on a pre-retirement transition program the company has for "high value" employees that they want to retain in transition. It's basically a ramp-down of hours to either 75% or 50% over a year to 18 months. You retain full benefits for the most part, but salary is just prorated to your hous.

The program has a six-month hold before ramping down, but in discussions about it, I learned I could simply work part-time at 30 hours per week and not have to fool with the particulars of the program. So, I'm going to try that, hoping the reduced load with make it less odious and afford more time for me to work on getting my house sold. When I turn 65 next March, I may retire, may not, but will see how I feel then.

I feel OK about waiting a little longer, if a bit embarrassed my middle management let it go to announcement before making any seriou effort to retain me beyond whining.

Anyway, I appreciated your interest, and thought it just to tell what happened. I wasn't excited before or now, but feel better about getting closer to escaping Alabama before Tommy Tuberville becomes Viceroy or whatever will rule the state under King Trump.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

In Antwerp with my friend watching Patrik 1,5 on OUT tv, a dreadful movie.

 

[PalacePaul]

After a dinner out I can't sleep, as usual.

 

[me203]

Just finished a can of non-alcoholic beer. I'm sort of amazed at how much better the non-alcholic beers are now. I can remember years back how dreadful the non-alcoholic beers were.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Just finished a can of non-alcoholic beer. I'm sort of amazed at how much better the non-alcholic beers are now. I can remember years back how dreadful the non-alcoholic beers were.

Waking up hung-over in Antwerp.

 

[Araucaria]

Update.

So, after the memorandum was sent out, and as I left Wednesday, my boss came to me with a presentation from his boss on a pre-retirement transition program the company has for "high value" employees that they want to retain in transition. It's basically a ramp-down of hours to either 75% or 50% over a year to 18 months. You retain full benefits for the most part, but salary is just prorated to your hous.

The program has a six-month hold before ramping down, but in discussions about it, I learned I could simply work part-time at 30 hours per week and not have to fool with the particulars of the program. So, I'm going to try that, hoping the reduced load with make it less odious and afford more time for me to work on getting my house sold. When I turn 65 next March, I may retire, may not, but will see how I feel then.

I feel OK about waiting a little longer, if a bit embarrassed my middle management let it go to announcement before making any seriou effort to retain me beyond whining.

Anyway, I appreciated your interest, and thought it just to tell what happened. I wasn't excited before or now, but feel better about getting closer to escaping Alabama before Tommy Tuberville becomes Viceroy or whatever will rule the state under King Trump.

You must be a valued employee if the company wants to keep you on. These days most employers can't wait to get rid of their long-term employees, offering early retirement buyout packages. Most people take them because, even though it's less than what they'd get if they stayed on until age 65, they realize that if they don't take the deal, they'll most likely be cut in the next round of layoffs, and lose everything.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Looking for my watch.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

In the bus from Antwerp back to Amsterdam. We just passed a Dutch trucker with "I stand with the farmers" (in Dutch) on his truck.

I'm happy.

Also drinking water.

Didn't find my watch.

 

[Vannie]

Looking for my watch.

Is it possible there's some guy at the proctologist getting a watch removed?

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Is it possible there's some guy at the proctologist getting a watch removed?

No. Although I fucked a fistee earlier that weekend at The Boots.

 

[unloadonme]

No. Although I fucked a fistee earlier that weekend at The Boots.

I didn't think that sort of thing happened at Boots.

 

[unloadonme]

Update.

So, after the memorandum was sent out, and as I left Wednesday, my boss came to me with a presentation from his boss on a pre-retirement transition program the company has for "high value" employees that they want to retain in transition. It's basically a ramp-down of hours to either 75% or 50% over a year to 18 months. You retain full benefits for the most part, but salary is just prorated to your hous.

The program has a six-month hold before ramping down, but in discussions about it, I learned I could simply work part-time at 30 hours per week and not have to fool with the particulars of the program. So, I'm going to try that, hoping the reduced load with make it less odious and afford more time for me to work on getting my house sold. When I turn 65 next March, I may retire, may not, but will see how I feel then.

I feel OK about waiting a little longer, if a bit embarrassed my middle management let it go to announcement before making any seriou effort to retain me beyond whining.

Anyway, I appreciated your interest, and thought it just to tell what happened. I wasn't excited before or now, but feel better about getting closer to escaping Alabama before Tommy Tuberville becomes Viceroy or whatever will rule the state under King Trump.

That sounds like a good compromise. Just make sure that when you reduce your hours, your manager reduces your workload as well as your salary.

 

[NotHardUp1]

That sounds like a good compromise. Just make sure that when you reduce your hours, your manager reduces your workload as well as your salary.

Yes, thank you. I've already seen to that. One of my nuisance contracts is being passed over to one of the newbies who's been skating on little.

 

[rareboy]

Hating humanity.

Or at least all those who are colluding in unspeakable evil and myself for being a useless coward.

 

[NotHardUp1]

You must be a valued employee if the company wants to keep you on. These days most employers can't wait to get rid of their long-term employees, offering early retirement buyout packages. Most people take them because, even though it's less than what they'd get if they stayed on until age 65, they realize that if they don't take the deal, they'll most likely be cut in the next round of layoffs, and lose everything.

Yes, I know well what to do and do it, so the program office does value me, and that comes as no surprise.

And, I still expect to get cut before I'm 67 due to my salary, but for now, I'm going down to 30 hours, so will make more thann my Social Security and will see in March if I'm going to retire or not, as I will qualify for Medicare that month.

And if they do cut me, I'd at least get a couple of month's severance due to my years of service, so that will be an upper if it does happen.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Crying.

WTAE story from Pittsburgh

 

[rareboy]

Recovering from a touch of heat prostration...I had to be out in the heat and sun for about an hour today and could hardly make it back to the car.

Since COVID, I have no tolerance for heat...I almost passed out at an evening concert a couple of weeks ago that was outdoors.

 

[Araucaria]

In Antwerp with my friend watching Patrik 1,5 on OUT tv, a dreadful movie.

Actually I have Patrik 1.5 on DVD. I bought it some years ago, after it was featured at an LGBTQ+ film festival I had to miss because I was out of town. It was a Swedish movie (I like to watch foreign films, partly because I want to expand my view of the world and not be an insular American, which he-who-must-not-be-named tried to accuse me of being). From what I remember it was a decent light-hearted comedy about a gay male couple who wanted to adopt a cute infant. Of course you have to suspend your disbelief when the adoption agency, due to a typographical error, sends them a troubled teenager instead. Admittedly it isn't the best gay movie out there, but I think some people might enjoy it.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Actually I have Patrik 1.5 on DVD. I bought it some years ago, after it was featured at an LGBTQ+ film festival I had to miss because I was out of town. It was a Swedish movie (I like to watch foreign films, partly because I want to expand my view of the world and not be an insular American, which he-who-must-not-be-named tried to accuse me of being). From what I remember it was a decent light-hearted comedy about a gay male couple who wanted to adopt a cute infant. Of course you have to suspend your disbelief when the adoption agency, due to a typographical error, sends them a troubled teenager instead. Admittedly it isn't the best gay movie out there, but I think some people might enjoy it.

The gat movie we watched on Out TV before that, set in Quebec was even worse. I suppose it's good movies like these are somewhere on television, but most gay movies are preposterously bad.