Leaving HP has been a whirlwind, from several perspectives. First, there’s the wonderful feeling of freedom!! Second, the feeling of floating along without anyone to help and support you. Third, there’s work on the nuts-and-bolts stuff like COBRA that needs doing. I’ve gotten caught up in all of it, so learning Wordpress has had to take a back seat. I’ll try to blog more as I get the chance and work through some of this stuff. Overall, though, I’m enjoying this summer tremendously–even when it feels like I’ve jumped off a bridge into freezing water.

Today is July 4, Independence Day in the United States.  Yesterday was my last at Hewlett-Packard (HP) after 23 years of service, mostly in the Information Technology (IT) arena.  There’s been a lot of ups and downs, as you might expect in that timespan, and I’ll probably write about both.  For now, though, my main focus is on finding a new job–not a simple feat in a small (~50,000 population), northwest US college town.

Considering the conditions of the job I’m leaving (a big part of which is how I feel about the company and my role in it), this is a move I need to make right now.  My goal is to find success at a slower pace than I’ve been expected to keep up at HP.  Something will turn up, I’m sure of it.  I don’t know why I’m so confident about this, but I truly am.  And, while I am sure that there will come a time when any job looks pretty good, I’ve got to admit that taking a few days or weeks to mostly unwind is looking pretty darn smart right at the moment.

Ah, summer!