Ron Smith:  

(deleted the previous stuff 'cause it was too old) October 12, 2015 UPDATE: Well...a lot of changes have taken place since my last instalment. First of all, I have officially retired and left the workforce. My official date was May 15th and after a short preparation, turned in my keys and cell-phone, and never looked back. In the preceding few weeks, I had been fortunate to find a really nice property in a suburb of Phoenix where I planned to retire, and within a week, was moving...lock, stock and barrel...to Arizona. In a few weeks, I will be heading to Arizona for the first of many trips and looking forward to getting the new digs in shape...really just getting used to the neighbourhood and meeting some of the other Canadians that live there. The home was furnished so I can start sorting out what to keep and what to give away. The motor-home needs some updating as well so, with these two projects ahead, my winter should be an eventful one. Talk about retirement? It took me more than a month just to sleep in past 6:30 am. It took all summer to answer all of the e-mails from old clients wishing me well. (seems to took that long for the word to get out) I needed to be 'trained' for the day-to-day functions and new schedule, never having practiced the long term goals vs. the every day events. Funny that you work 45 or 50 years with many forms of training and learning until the day that you are 'on your own' and start from 'Square One' again. Well, looking forward to the new times and experiences to come... Ron (update January 2017) Bet you were all waiting for my latest update so...here it goes. Playing golf when it's 75 F (almost 30 C) sounds like a novelty, for the middle of January, but it's now twice a week and is truly the life of the retired. We have a great group of both Canadians and Americans, about 2 of us, and travel around Phoenix playing at various courses. Costs are quite reasonable and the locals treat like royalty. Truth is that without the Canadian winter population, most of the East Valley (Mesa and Apache Junction) would shut down forever. The summer months are extremely quiet here as the temperature is typically 110 F for months. There is a curling club here for any of us that get really bored or simply want a taste of the ice and the granite. I installed a Shaw dish here, and get a little more 'hometown' news. Seems that Americans don,t care about our events nor our interests. This park has, of course, a heated swimming pool and large hot tub, along with a large clubhouse, library, gym and pool room. We also have Texas Holdem' every Wednesday. Since the golf is Tuesday and Thursday, it keeps the we...Expand for more