my letter of resignation (sent)

Hi Guys,

I'm writing to you today to officially give two weeks notice of my resignation from IBM Canada, effective Friday February 23.

As you are well aware, my personal goals and those of IBM have been diverging for quite some time. I could go on for pages explaining my points of view, but in short I subscribe to Gandhi's philosophy of "non-participation in anything you believe to be evil." I believe most large corporations to be inherently evil. Their sole purpose (their sole legally-sanctioned purpose, in fact) is to increase their own profits, the rest of the world (humans, the environment, other 'externalities') be damned. I never intended to work for one, will never work for one again, and look forward to the day when this flawed system of ownership is corrected, for all of our sakes.

All of that said, I would like to thank both of you personally; N___, for giving me a chance way-back-when; and G_____, for putting up with me for the past four years ... I realize that it hasn't always been easy. I hope that you wish me the best of luck in my future endeavors, as I wish each of you.

The rest of my life will be dedicated to varied pursuits, including living up to my own standards each and every day and trying to make the world a better place. My first step will be a trip to Africa next month, where I'll be volunteering at a teaching hospital and trying to rid myself of some of my materialist tendencies. I've been accused of being naive .... we shall see.

Please let me know if there are any administrative hoops I need to jump through to make this official; it's certainly indicative of our company (and my diminished interest in it) that I have no idea who the appropriate HR person is to contact.

Kind regards,
T_____

countdown to freedom ...

40 days!!!

countdown to freedom ...

56 days!

dearest future me,

there may come a moment when you look back at your time as an SAP consultant and think "you know, it was an easy life ... it was easy money, really ... why on earth did you leave?"

let me remind you of today, which is like so many other days you’ve experienced over the past nine years. you are dreadfully bored. you were extended at this client for an extra two weeks to write a report which took you only two hours to compile this morning. also note that this report will either be blindly accepted or unreasonably rejected in just under an hour; the client will not have read the report before taking either action.

and now you sit here, trying to fill your time by surfing internet news sites, writing e-mails and the like, while nervously glancing over your shoulder every few seconds to make sure that no one from the client sees how bored you are or how little you are accomplishing for the $200 an hour they are paying for you. the last meeting your were in, the words "i don’t care, i don’t care ..." repeated themselves in your head as you listened to ... well, you weren’t really listening and it didn’t really matter.

and these office chairs are uncomfortable ... and they make you wear silly clothing to work ... and, oh, the boss is approaching ....

Walden-inspired ...

hereis some of the logic behind my retirement plan:

"the cost of a thing is the amount of [life] which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run." ~Thoreau

after a four-year degree in finance and economics, it is this concept which best encapsulates my thinking on personal financial planning ... i look at a material possession and instead of seeing a price tag of $1000, i see a price tag of "one more month at my stupid job".

what i would like to do in my life is to accentuate this simple formula of cost = time. i would like to look at all material desires and think to myself "is it worth giving up my afternoon for that?" the problem with doing this currently is that i need to make money to cover my fixed costs: food, shelter, and other basic needs. thus, i have no choice but to work a full-time job ... and if i'm going to have a full-time job, why not stick with the prosperous one which i currently have ... and if i'm currently prosperous, why not spend some of that money on material desires ... and the slave-to-the-wage cycle continues ...

so instead, what i have done (almost) is i've saved up enough money to cover my basic fixed costs for the rest of my life. with my fixed costs out of the way, every use of my time becomes a matter of choice. i want a car? is it worth working this winter for one? yes? okay, decision made. i want to eat out more, is it worth it? nah, i can make great food at home for much cheaper, and hey, i like cooking and have plenty of time to do it ... heck, i might even use my time to plant a garden in the backyard and grow my own veggies!

capese? :)

my tentative schedule for next year ...

March, April, May: Volunteer in Malawi, explore the country, travel elsewhere in Africa ...

June, July, August: Visit friends in London, take some trips around England, tour Scotland, visit Paris, hike in Switzerland ...

September ==> : New Zealand! Visit family, explore the south island, work on the farm, stay for Christmas ...

your calling in the real world ...

self-described 'lazy author' Fred Gratzon has an inspiring perspective:

I see squandering the better part of one's day when one is most energetic, most alert, and most creative on some "tolerable" job as a tragic waste of one's gifts and time. Far better is to identify, develop and enjoy those gifts ...

... instead of obsessing over money, I stay true to myself. I just do what I want to do and learn what I want to learn and enjoy what I want to enjoy and sometimes I get so wonderfully and powerfully caught up in some project and I start dreaming expansive daydreams and I go for it with every ounce of energy and enthusiasm and love that I can muster ...

mygoal ...

i want to be so well-rounded, that i'm fucking SPHERICAL!
(in eleven dimensions)

when i retire from the corporate world ... [updated]

spiritual pursuits: volunteer abroad (as soon as i retire .. for a break from my material world), volunteer / work for an NGO on a regular basis (make the world a better place), invest more time in yoga & meditation (explore compassion, live from my heart every day, resolve my anxiety issues), Reiki I, have a garden ...

creative pursuits: create music, deejay, make films (create visuals for concerts), paint (portraits of the sky), produce a substantial piece of writing, learn carpentry & upholstery (make furniture) & stained glass ...

intellectual pursuits: higher education. science courses (physics perhaps), humanities ... continue readinglearningreading ...

misc:
- get a dogg (a happy girl dog)
- study massage therapy (for family, friends, bartering)
- learn to knit and sew (make clothing & accessories)
- pick up a trade (carpenter / electrician / upholster)
- climb a mountain
- learn to surf
- build a cottage
- get a mac (fuck you, IBM)

travel (for longer than a week at a time)
- camp in northern ontario in the spring and fall
- drive across Canada (westward)
- kayak across the north west territories one summer
.... (follow caribou migrations, meet native canadians) (learn to kayak first)
- explore the east coast, esp. Newfoundland
- explore the south island of New Zealand

get odd jobs i've always wanted:

- work at an independent music store
- work in a small book store (or the public library)
- work on a farm (nz)
- radio host
- waiter (for curiosity as well as compassion's sake)
- mailman (or maybe just a paperboy again for a coupla weeks?)
- volunteer for the film / nxne festival

NO MORE EXCUSES

so get this ...

... i never really look at the monthly statements i receive from my company pension plan ... because i contribute nothing out of my own pocket, so there's not much in there ... anyway, i decided to read up on my policy today .. since that little number on the statements is growing closer to an amout that is worth caring about ...
... and the following is written:

Since your date of birth is September 18, 1974, your normal retirement date is October 1, 2039.

LOL!

2039 - 2007 = 32 years early .. 32 years old

I am ssooo happy with my priorities and my good fortune. :)