Goodbye the Twenteens

The decade that was. I call this decade the Twenteens decade.

This was the decade I turned golden. I started to feel it, too. I continued to be active at the gym, but I am nowhere near the strength and stamina at the start of the decade. The years have also taken its toll on my joints, especially my shoulder and knees. Though I reached an ideal weight around 2017, maintaining it became a challenge in 2019. And I fear I am back on my flabby self again as the decade ends.

I started the decade single. I had been single since 2008 and was just dating and hooking up. I eventually gave up singlehood in 2010. But that relationship ended by 2012. I am ending the Twenteens in a relationship, six years and counting.

The decade had me going back to living with my parents but in a newly-built house. After 8 plus years of living in a condo, it was back to staying in a house with all the creature comforts and amenities. I.e. household help. I am happy I made that move as I would be losing my father by the time the decade ended. 

Aside from being able to build that new house, I got to build a new one with my design, my ideas as the decade was ending. And this time on a dream location by the sea. 

The company I used to be part of continued to grow tremendously at the start of the decade. It peaked in 2012 then things went south. Competition had set their eyes on us and they were relentless. It has been downhill since until eventually, by 2016, the competitor swallowed us whole. The company still exists but by end of the decade, I will not be part of it anymore.

That, I believe, is the biggest change that happened in the Twenteens for me. I take on a new role, I say goodbye to the old role in my previous company. I never thought this day would come, earlier than retirement.

This new decade will see me turn 60 in 6 years. What that holds for me, I am excited about. Happy New Decade! 

Goodbye 2019

While 2018 ended on a good note career-wise, 2018 wasn’t as pretty with my dad’s deteriorating health. 2019’s first 4 months challenged us as we took care of him. By April, he went back to his Maker.

Work took a beating in 2019. Targets were not being met. There were issues on supply, employee performance, support from the trade. And the year ends with flat growth. 

All that will change in 2020 as I wave goodbye to a company I have been part of for 29 years, more than half of my life. I got “the call” to talk to the president of the company. That talk led to a re-assignment, effective January 2020. A new decade, a new responsibility.

It is not my area of expertise. I cannot even say I have been trained for it. But my general management exposure has given me enough of a background to handle this new role. I am more anxious about negotiating through the work relationships: new boss, new clients, new direct reports. And it comes from being an outsider suddenly thrust into the mainstream. And in a position that holds some power and influence. 

But I am equal parts challenged and excited, too. I will be learning much. And hopefully be proven worthy of the immense task. Management seems to have the trust in me. I just need to do the right things.

Finally, 2019 is the year a dream came true. I found a piece of sunset to call my own. I never imagined though I have fantasized about it. That I would have a vacation house on a beachfront, with a lovely sunset to gaze at. It was only in January when I stumbled on the property for sale over at FB marketplace. By October, I was having the house blessed.  

I write this post on the way to the property. I am maximizing the last days of 2019, of the decade, by spending time there. I know that come 2020, my life will be upside down as I take on the new role.

Cheers to 2020!