Last night, I joined Howie Shareff at the Urban Ministries women’s shelter in downtown Raleigh where he conducts a yoga class two evenings a month. This was my first experience with You Call This Yoga (YCTY), a non-profit organization helping physically challenged and under-served communities improve their lives with yoga. I, myself, have practiced yoga on and off for many years, taking classes at local studios and occasionally traveling to a yoga workshop or retreat. This year, after retiring from IBM, I “took the plunge” and completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training. Howie is the founder and executive director of YCTY and I was there to shadow him—observe and learn—and, eventually (hopefully) lead some of his community classes.
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Careers
Going Back to Go Forward
This was the first time I stepped onto the IBM campus since I retired, a place where I had spent more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, for 20+ years. I was invited to attend a retirement party for a colleague and friend, which was held on-site in one of the larger conference rooms. In fact, it was the exact conference room where I held my own retirement party last July.
My friend was retiring voluntarily and very happy about it. I was forced to retire as part of a resource action (or down-sizing, or lay-off, depending on the phrase of the day) and I was making the best of it. Not surprisingly, I had mixed feelings leaving IBM and now I had mixed feelings going back. Wasn’t sure if it would be sour grapes, regret, longing, relief.
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Reflections on Retirement
I am approaching one year of retirement (or unemployment, however you look at it) and am surprised about some of my reactions and feelings. The positive ones were happily anticipated and mostly predictable. I enjoy longer, more relaxed trips when I travel. Gone are the tedious teleconference calls, meaningless meetings, and aggressive (impossible) deadlines. I am free from corporate politics and the compromises I had to make to play the game. Relief from this kind of stress is wonderful, a deliverance, like getting out of jail. No surprises here. Other things have been a mixed bag.
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accidental goddess 