Where I (used to) Work (aka The Salt Mine)

Update: Feb. 2018

I retired from HP/Agilent/Keysight in June 2015 when I was 61. They offered an incentive and I was all to happy to oblige. I had spent the past 35 years (hired June 1980) work there in the following capacities:

I survived many layoffs starting about 2 years after becoming a technical writer. I was hired into a department of about 12 writers. As layoffs mounted, those who remained were inundated with work. My boss, Schlep, figured I would get even more work done if he let me bring my laptop home. I did and worked from home most days for about 10 years. In the end, just me and my good buddy Mac were the Learning Products department for CTD. He retired a few months after me. 


I found this email to myself dated 5/5/2015

Here I am, sitting at 30 days until I retire fro HP, Agilent, Keysight. Lots of mind stuff going on.

I thought I would have some anxiety by now, but with a lot of time on my hands, there really is none. Carlos and Keith have been selected to take our places (Mac and myself). So they are doing all of my job.  I am consulting, so I have a lot of free time, hence this writing.
I am just beginning to see how I will have a lot of free time and how it will be different from any other time in my life, except for maybe summer vacation when I was 10. I have already spent more time just sitting since 15 years ago.
Carlos just sent me a text, "you there?" I said "Always, just staring at the screen waiting for a message from you." He said, you must be bored to tears." Not really. There is always something to do on the computer. Pictures to copy, organize. Research to do. And somewhere to walk or ride to, or tennis, or golf, or exercise. The Gary Player routine. Or the most important way to spend time: sitting. I love it!

And this pattern has continued for the past (almost) 3 years since I retired. I am NEVER bored!

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Here are a few pictures of the place I spent so much of my time. Actually, I guess it isn't MY time, but the time that I sell to Agilent. Whatever...

The point is that I have spent the past 26 years there doing one thing or another. Not the most exciting work, but it pays the bills, and I am grateful for it.

My cube. It is sweet compared to most others. I dread when someone new comes into my cube because I have to try to explain whose butt I had to kiss to get it. Truth is, there have been so many, I really don't know which one paid off.

 

The view out the window. You can't see it but there are hills in the distance.

 

Here is how I got the cube. I have to eat lunch with this guy almost every day. Actually, this is my good friend Mac on Halloween. On this one day, he fit right in.

 

There were about a million Captain Jacks at work on Halloween. But it gave me the opportunity to take a few pics.

 

And what do I actually do there? Well Bob, I do technical writing. I spend almost 2 hours a day writing the help file for the PNA, a very popular family of products that just keeps on getting better. The other 4 hours each work day I spend eating, sleeping, wandering the halls talking with friends, and forwarding email jokes. If I am lucky, I may be able to ride this wave until retirement.  

To see the online version of the help file, click here - Agilent.com.

If you are desperately bored and you want to know what these things do, you can watch Network Analyzer Basics. In a nutshell, these instruments are used to test all kinds of communications devices, including cell phones and the parts that go into them.

I hate to cut this short, but it's time for my afternoon solitaire break!