Tag: Retirement

Seven-Years Ago (31-July-2012) — Pensylvania

Last Day at Merck.

I’ve now been retired from Merck for seven years. I worked at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for over 27 years. In the seven years since retiring I have visited six continents, 43 different countries (several more than once) and 44 states. I have been at sea for over nine months (four Semester at Sea Spring Enrichment Voyages; three Semester at Sea Semester Voyages (Spring, Summer, Fall); and two Hurtigruten voyages (one in Norway, and one to Antarctica). I returned to Argentina and Chile for a photography trip with Thom Hogan, and did two Iceland photography safari’s (one summer, one winter) with Mike Hagen. More recently, I attended photography workshops with Steve Simon in Cuba, Japan, and Portugal. Last summer, I visited Germany with my Brother and Parents. During this time I have taken over 1.6MM images. Not all of the images have made it into my posts yet… When at home, I’ve completed several renovation projects including a new roof, solar panels and a Geothermal HVAC system (replacing an oil-fired furnace and water heater, and an electric central AC system). With the solar panels and elimination of the oil furnace I am essentially carbon neutral since the Geothermal system requires less energy to heat and cool the house. I’ve also planted several wildflower meadows in the yard that are attracting birds, bees, and butterflies. I did have two down periods due to Lyme disease which slowed me down the end of  2016 and 2017. Now trying to decide on my next trip.

Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)
Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (31-July-2012) — Pennsylvania

Last Day at Merck.

I’ve now been retired from Merck for six years. I worked at Merck sites in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for over 27 years. Since I retired I have visited 40 different countries (several more than once) and 44 states. I have been at sea for over 7 months (two Semester at Sea — Enrichment Voyages;  three Semester at Sea — Semester Voyages (Spring, Summer, and Fall); and two Hurtigruten voyages (one in Norway, and one to Antarctica)). I returned to Argentina and Chile for a photography trip with Thom Hogan, and did two Iceland photography safari’s (one summer, one winter) with Mike Hagen. I also visited Cuba and Japan for street photography workshops with Steve Simon. During these travels I have taken over 1.5 MM images. Not all of the images have made it into my photoblog posts yet… While in New Jersey, I have been renovating my house, adding solar power and replacing the oil furnace and old air conditioner with a geothermal heating and cooling system. Doing my small part to become carbon neutral.

Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)
Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)

 

Four-Years Ago (13-July-2012) – New Jersey

Before and After.

This was just before I retired. Should I do it again?

Self Portrait. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/8, 1/60 sec) + SB-800 flash (David J Mathre)
Self Portrait. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/8, 1/60 sec) + SB-800 flash (David J Mathre)
Self Portrait. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/8, 1/60 sec) + SB-800 flash (David J Mathre)
Self Portrait. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/8, 1/60 sec) + SB-800 flash (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (31-July-2012) — Pennsylvania

Last Day at Merck.

I’ve now been retired from Merck for three years. I worked at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for over 27 years. In the three years since I retired I have visited 27 different countries (several more than once) and 44 states. I have been at sea for two Semester at Sea, Enrichment Voyages;  two Semester at Sea, Semester Voyages; and two Hurtigruten voyages (one in Norway, and one to Antarctica). I also returned to Argentina and Chile for a photography trip with Thom Hogan, and did two Iceland photography safari’s (one summer, one winter) with Mike Hagen. During this time I have taken over 800K images. Not all of the images have made it into my posts yet…

Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)
Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)

 

Saturday (01-December-2012) — New Jersey

First of December.

I haven’t posted anything for the last several days. I am still trying to get it into my head that I “retired” from my day job. I do not miss the 3+ hours commuting. Now that I am done with the Fall 2012 Semester at Sea voyage, the road trip to New Mexico for Nikonians ANPAT 12, recovered from the Hurricane and Nor’easter, and completed backing up all of the images from the trips (including having to upgrade my digital storage) – it is time to develop a new daily routine.

One of the first things that I realized was that the workspace I was using at home is not really suited for the image processing part of my photography workflow. For right now this meant moving the image processing and printing into what was my dinning room and re-optimizing the other workspace for home office activities. As I have been moving things around, I am finding 20 years of dust behind furniture that has not been moved since I moved into the house. There are several other major and minor renovation projects inside the house. Right now I am putting together a project plan and prioritization so I start working through these projects. This itself will keep me busy for some time. Several hours a day are devoted to reviewing and keyword indexing images as well as processing and printing images. Over the last week, I finally have had time to start posting images on several Daily Photography Themes on Google+. I need to include time for composing and posting on my “Images of the Day Photoblog”.

I now have time to spend reading books again. I got a new set of glasses specifically for reading, which helps. Right now I am re-reading Olivia Manning’s “Fortunes of War” Volume I “The Balkan Trilogy” and Volume II “The Levant Trilogy”. As I read this there are many places I would like to see in eastern Europe and the Middle East. I also have rediscovered music. As I have been moving things around the house, I found 100’s of vinyl albums and CD’s – many I didn’t even remember owning. Subject of another post will be what it took to re-establish a stereo system to play and listen to this music. Also, what it takes in this digital era to convert old analog recordings to current digital recordings. I haven’t had a working turntable for 25+ years, and it is hard to believe that CD’s are now considered “old technology”. I have the same issue with how I want to deal with a box of my old “film” based photographs. I am also starting to go see movies again.

I am looking forward to the Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the M/V Explorer. I am also looking at options to go to Norway or Alaska to photograph the Northern Lights this winter. There is still a lot that I need to do as the year comes to a close and as I plan my new life going forward.

Brussels Waffle on the Streets of Brussels While Waiting for the Bus. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Brussels Waffle on the Streets of Brussels While Waiting for the Bus. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)