Once again, it's time to send Christmas wishes. This seems to have been a long year for me, although the last few months have just flown by! It seems long in that last Christmas is but a distant memory.
The biggest event (for me) during the year was retiring. I threatened to do this in last year's letter, and it did come to pass this year, albeit somewhat later than I had originally thought. I told Microsoft that I would leave when my last piece of work for the Microsoft Network was put into operation at our data centre. This was planned for about April, but continued to slip for reasons which had nothing to do with me. It came to pass in late July, so I finally left Microsoft on the last day of July, after nearly 8 years.
It was strange leaving work on that day, knowing that I did not have another job. Although I have had several jobs since I joined the work force in 1970, whenever I left one position it was to start another. But not this time. And as with all such situations, leaving a job means leaving behind many good friends, and a generally good working environment. I keep in touch with my friends at Microsoft (and other jobs, for that matter) and have even been in for lunch on a couple of occasions!
So what have I been doing with all that spare time? Firstly I am reminded of my father's comment some time after he retired: "I don't know how I ever had time to go to work!". And I feel much the same. My house is much cleaner and better organised than it used to be, now that there is time to do such things. Alas the gardens show no such improvements, but next year I hope to tackle that problem.
I also visited Australia in mid September. This was to attend a niece's wedding, but since I did not have a schedule waiting for my return, I took the retired approach and spent a month away. This gave me time to catch up with many old friends, including some I had not seen for 9 years (we estimated!). And the weather was pretty good too - so good, in fact, that even though it was only Spring, there were several days hotter than Seattle's summer this year. So that was a nice change too.
The wedding was wonderful, offering the opportunity to catch up with more of the family. The day was just about perfect, perhaps the only improvement being slightly less wind. However, the day before was hot (90°F/32°C), and I think we all had visions of a repeat of my brother's wedding day (which was much hotter!), but fortunately that did not happen.
I returned to Seattle the day after the wedding, and my niece and her new husband came along as part of their honeymoon. I returned to tourist guide mode, and had a great time showing them around this area. It's times like these that I realise just how nice Washington state really is.
I have also been assembling computers - two for me, and one for one of my neighbours. I enjoy this sort of thing, as it is many years since I have done much electronic work, and it is something I enjoy. Not that there is too much to building a computer these days - no more than about a dozen components to connect together (of course, they are rather expensive components!).
And finally, in the last few weeks, I have actually found some time to program. It's easier for me now that the weather has turned overcast and wet. Staying indoors on days like that is quite easy; sunny days are another thing altogether though.
In early January I am driving down to Los Angeles to attend a computer conference. And having time on my side, I will explore southern California. At this time of the year, they have much nicer weather than we do up here, so it will be nice to escape the midst of winter.
I do hope that your year has been as enjoyable as mine. And in 1997 I expect to do some travelling, so I hope to see some of you in the flesh!
Best wishes for a bright and prosperous 1997.