My MacBook is now pretty much my only desktop computing device and so now I am beginning to build the muscle memory for all of the keyboard shortcuts. Having been mostly in the Windows world all these years, the Command key is somewhat of a foreign concept. If you have any tips please share them.

My first act last Friday upon ending my last work day was to cleanse my desk of the work PC. Now my MacBook is a first class citizen rather than an interloper.

While technically I am not retired, I am thinking of myself as retired because I no longer have any work responsibilities. I think this is a mindset change more than anything. For example, normally when I start the Christmas vacation/holiday, I see the amount of unscheduled/committed time I have as finite because I know that it ends on New Years day. Not this year, this morning I am thinking more in terms of new routines. When do I want to get up? How do I want to start my mornings?

Friday, December 19 was my last work day at DXC. My retirement is officially on December 31, 2025 but I am now on holiday until then. Friday held within itself a bundle of emotions, starting with completing my last time sheets (weekly time reporting is perhaps the most important act of a DXC employee), then going to lunch with my wife, wrapping up with video calls with two of my former bosses who are no longer with DXC and another with those whom I have been working

I met my wife through work, specifically at an after work party that started with dinner and drinks at What’s On Second and an evening show of Second City at The Attic Theatre. The first time spent by just the two of us was during a work day lunch at the West Side deli. West Side no longer exists but we had our lunch at a nearby Potbellys, a place I often got lunch from when I worked at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. It seemed to be the best place to go for my final work day lunch.

Day 3 of the micro.blog photo challenge - evergreen. #mbdec

I don’t know what is worse as a Chicago Cubs fan. The frustration during the season when the players don’t perform as expected or the frustration during the off season when the front office don’t perfom as expected.

We have had very frosty weather the last several days. Way too early for me. #Frost #mbdec

Today is my last work Monday, and as every milestone passes the idea of my being retired becomes more real. The company has a mandatory “shut down” for the last two weeks of the year, so while my last official day as an employee is December 31, 2025, this coming Friday will be my last actual day “in the office.”

Finished reading: Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang 📚

We got five inches of snow over night. I think the probability of a white Christmas is high.