Just taking up some Internet drive space to freethink our 2023 year in review. I keep threatening to do this each year; not that it really matters to you, but I want to do it for myself, mostly because I tend to forget what happened and I can remind myself... ;)
The highlights, and just the highlights, thanks.
January
January kicked off, as it usually does, with a return trip from visiting family Louisiana. I don't recall the details on that 2022 Christmas trip but we took the Jetta down to Louisiana this time with Schatzi in the back. We hit hotels on the way down and back and stayed in a local hotel in Opelousas. I can't think of anything significant on the trip but we assuredly hit our favorite local breweries, Bayou Teche Brewing and Parish Brewing...
And, as usual, tax season kicked off toward the end. Though it typically takes a bit to get me motivated to start, I do enjoy IRS' VITA program, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, as we bring a lot of value to the community.
Ed, my race car partner, has gotten into this go-kart thing, where he buys up karts and cleans 'em up and maybe improves them with bodywork. Apparently folks with money eat this stuff up. I was tasked to grab one for him in my area.
BIG car project at home, with me converting and upgrading the wiring and engine management system on the EP Civic Si. As you may recall, that car caught on fire on the second lap of the 2019 Runoffs, and pretty much everything in the engine bay was burned. Dave Yeager took the car and installed an AEM engine management system on it, but the Drive-By-Wire and iVTec systems were not working. I took that effort and built on it, pretty much re-wiring the whole car and re-terminating everything. What a ton of work. Hoped to have that car running for the '23 season (he says, foreshadowingly...)
I was still working fully-remote with Raytheon. I went into an office rarely, working on a major hardware depot build.
February
As is typical, February was quiet. VITA continued. Weather was mild with only one significant snowfall.
I was still chairman of the local fire commission, and all that that implies.
And we welcomed a new member into the family! Eva, a mixed-breed rescue, joined our household. She's a very lively, friendly dog with a TON of energy. Schatzi wasn't too sure about this one, so we'll see how they get along.
March
March was your typical March, doing March things. VITA, Harugari and Meriden-Turner dinners, Westfield Commission duties, stuff like that.
Eva is getting BIG...and not slowing down. Still lot of energy...housebreaking pretty much accomplished, with occasional "mistakes". Schatzi is kinda-sorta Ok with her but I think would prefer being an only dog. Shatzi is definitely the alpha in this relationship...
And kitchen improvements began...
April
Racing season began! The first Majors race of the year was at Summit Point but I decided to pass on it; Ed went there with the HProd Toyota MR2 and did OK; Brandon Lewis is planning to join us for the season in Dave's B-Spec Fiesta.
With Ed driving the HP Toyota, we've decided I'll be campaigning the Civic Si in EProd.
April Week 2 was the SCCA Hoosier Super Tour at VIR, Virginia Int'l Raceway. Ed again campaigned the HP MR2 but unfortunately was crashed by someone in Roller Coaster in one of the races and could not continue. The car went home and pretty much sat in Ed's backyard the rest of the year, and he pulled back the HP Fit to drive in HP for the rest of the season.
I drove down to VIR in the Excursion and spent the weekend there but did not compete; I had to go down anyway to recover the Holiday Rambler RV trailer (the "Cajun Chateau") from Ed's parent's house. It was a fun weekend (well, except for that crash).
We skipped the PittRace Majors weekend. I like that place but it's a loooooong drive.
Other than that, the requisite German club dinners and another brew session with Seth (I should write down what we're brewing).
May
May started off with a long weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). I drove up with the RV trailer on Thursday and coached a Friday Track Night in America (TNIA) event. Stayed the weekend to steward at the New England Regional "Granite State" regional weekend. Fun times, glad to see everyone again...and the racing season now truly begins.
Second week of May had Thea and I flying to Aruba for a week! I am a delegate for a local German fraternal organization, the Order of Hermann Sohns, and we do our convention away from CT every other year. This year's trip to Aruba was a first for me and Thea. And it was a fun trip, all-inclusive at a resort. We got in some swimming, snorkeling (a first for us), some boat tours, and a lot of beer and rum...maybe way too much beer and rum...
Aruba is a fun place if you like hanging at an all-inclusive resort (and you like Balashi beer). We tend to prefer to tour geography, history, and culture. There was some of that, of course, though I think we were spoiled by our 2022 trip to Hawai'i. Glad we did the Aruba trip, time well spent, and we'd go back in the right circumstances.
June-July
June was useful with a visit to Daryl's House in New York to see a Rush tribute band, Vapor Trail. They do a nice job! That is not an easy band to cover.
Racing included the SCCA Paddock Crawl Lime Rock In the Civic) and VRG historics at TSMP (in the 914).
July had me brewing again with Seth and stewarding at a TSMP Regional. I drove the NJMP Majors in the Civic and managed a TNIA event at NHMS. Same weekend I did a stint in JB Swann's B-Spec car to get participation credit toward Runoffs qualification.
August
In August Thea's cousin, Dorothy, visited us. She's fun. Thea and I, plus the dogs, took an RV camping trip in Vermont.
I drove the TSMP Majors in the Civic, completing my Runoffs qualification requirements.
I saw Ghost with Amon Amarth at the Bridgeport arena, wow what a show. First time I've seen eother, the fans really get into Ghost.
September
Labor Day weekend is now a tradition for me to drive in the LRP Historics weekend. It's a fantastic event and I really enjoy it. The only hardship of the weekend was PAt taking a header off his scooter and needing a midnight hospital visit (broken elbow, he's fine now).
I managed a TNIA at Palmer then stewarded the regional, parking the RV upstairs with E30 group. Brian Bagnall was there and we started discussing my possibly buying his Porsche 968...
Another great tribute band, Beyond Purple, was at the Berlin Fair. That was an excellent show. I've become a fan and will see them again in the future.
Then there was the 2023 SCCA Runoffs. The week seemed to go well, the car ran fine (though mid-pack at best since it's not fully prepared for E Production) but my race ended on the second lap with a crash. A guy in front of me spun on track and instead of staying in place and letting the field stream by, he moved just as me and another car were approaching him and we both hammered him. The Civic was hurt badly but could be repaired, but the future will show that it pretty much sat in Ed's backyard for two years...
But the biggest September news was I got laid off in September from my six-year job at Raytheon. Second-longest tenure of my adult career (Hartford Hospital at ten years was my longest). Stated reason? "Reduction on force". The actual why? 'Cause their team won and our team lost.
So here's Cliff's Notes version: April 2020 it was announced that a "merger of equals" would occur between Ratheon (RTN) and United Technologies (UTX). I was working for UTC at the time. The portend of things to come was foreshadowed by the new company's name, "Raytheon Technologies", and the stock ticker symbol, "RTX". Further foreshadowing came with my immediate manager, someone whom I had a lot of respect for, choosing to resign and I was suddenly (without warning) placed under the management of someone from "the company formerly known as Raytheon". But this was all happening under COVID, and we were all suddenly remote, and I knew I was mostly safe...for the time being.
As time went on I was kinda sorta trying to fit in, though anyone who knows me knows that if I see something wrong, I point it out. I was also partially sheltered by an immediate boss who I got along with quite well, but I did not get along at all with his boss (dude was a bit of a corporate-political rung-climbing yes man).
Anyway, bottom line, after that change I got another three years out the gig (mostly because we stayed remote) before I get a half-hour notice for a Zoom meeting with the boss' boss, without my boss being copied; I knew right away what was up. I even walked over to Thea and told her that I was getting laid off in a half hour and she didn't believe me...but I logged into the Zoom call and in it was Boss' Boss and some woman I'd never met before...yup, "Kathy" (I don't remember her real name) from Human Resources. I (intentionally) didn't have my video going, only audio (it's easier to control voice outburts versus facial expressions..."oh, did I so that with my outside face...?") I let him chatter on nervously for a few minutes, telling me how this was the hardest thing a manager has to do...
...sidebar. Ever watch the movie Bull Durham? If not, please do. A lot of people gloss over this movie but if you watch it - I mean, really watch it - it is a wonderful display of human psychology, especially sports psychology. There are so many classic lines in the movie (e.g., "The world is made for people who are not cursed with self-awareness." - Annie Savoy) that could fill a book. But one of my favorite scenes is when the ball club manager has to pull a pitcher into his office to fire him and starts the conversation with "This is the toughest job a manager has" like that is supposed to make the person feel sorry for him...and then proceeded to fire him.
Anyway, Boss' Boss starts with, and I shit you not, a paraphrased version of "this is the hardest part about being a manager"...and I actually laughed. Out loud. Now, I wasn't so crass as to have my microphone open, I'm pretty sure I had it muted (I think). But I actually expected this guy to have a bit more sack than to start with that line...but nope, that's how he started it. So I sat there, with him and Kathy on video, watching them both squirm. Well, mostly him because I suspect this wasn't Kathy's first rodeo that day. And Boss' Boss talked for however long he had to to tell me the deal, and what was expected of me, and what I had to do to get six weeks severance - yup, only six weeks - and then he stopped talking.
And I said nothing. <long pause>
Then he broke the silence and asked me if I had any questions.
"No", I replied, simply. <another long pause>
"OK, well if you have any questions you can reach out to Kathy". <no response>
"Anything else we can help you with", he asks?
[With ideas tossing through my head] "No", I reply. <long pause>
"Oh, OK", he says and then with a comically awkward wave at the camera he eventually cuts off the concall (or maybe Kathy did it to save him, I dunno.)
And...we were done.
I tired to send some "so long" messages to friends within the company but my accounts were cut off within 10-15 minutes (frankly, I'm surprised they left the accounts open past the concall ending). Wasn't long before I learned that pretty much 100% of my former-UTC team was RIF'd. All of us, all in one coordinated kill at the same time, were cut kinda like the final scenes of the Godfather. Honestly, I was damned impressed how they managed to pull it off (at least they know how to coordinate firing people...)
And now? A fine question. I had actually been contemplating life up to that point and wondering how long I could milk the job; was hoping for 2-3 more years but there we were. Thea and I have been fortunate in that we've been able to eliminate debt while collecting some savings, and God and Wall Street willing, we're fine.
I'll keep my options open and we'll see what comes our way.
October-November-December
Other than looking for work (required for unemployment), not much happened in October except I was the Chief Steward for TSMP Regional; first time I'd done that. It worked out great, since I had a great team. All I had to do was look good and let the team do their job (though I did have to file a Chief Stewards Action against a driver's behavior and then deal with a protest and appeal - I was upheld on both).
One big November note was that I decided to pull the trigger on Brian's 968. It's a very clean car - need paint and some maintenance - and I've always like Porsche's transaxle cars. Now I have one.
Brewed with Seth again in December and we enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings and parties.
And, of course, the immediate family (me, Thea, Shatzi and Eva) drove to Louisiana over Christmas to visit mom and family. We dragged the RV trailer down and enjoyed the trip.
So 2023 ended with being healthy and happy, but with uncertainty for my career future. I didn't have any prospects for work despite submitting a lot of applications, and the process itself was becoming quite hateful (finding a job, house, and mate has all become a "swipe left, swipe right" process) and I'm not clear that there's much opportunity for a nearly-60-yr-old grey haired guy with IT and PM experience.
But one interesting point is that just a week before I was fired I turned the magical 59-1/2 years old. Why "magical"? Because now I can withdraw monies from my traditional and Roth IRAs without penalty or restriction. That brings up the distinct opportunity that maybe I really just don't have to worry too much about it right now, and that brings down the stress level significantly...
The severance pay is spent and there's still three more months of unemployment available. And Raytheon is covering my health care insurance, at no charge, for a year, taking me to September 2024. After that I can jump into COBRA for another 18 months, taking me to March 2026.
So I have time to mull this over and decide what's gonna happen. Let's see how it goes...
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