Blog: Chapters Begin, Chapters End
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Chapters Begin, Chapters End - Thursday, March 12, 2026
After moving, we've been called back to the Bay Area each year. In 2024 it was to say goodbye to my coworkers, last year it was to get Priscilla's keyboard and guitar, and this year it was for a wedding!
Our church friend Joanne tied the knot last Friday, and there were so many people in attendance. The ceremony was held at our old church and there wasn't enough room to accommodate everyone, so some people were invited to the reception only. The reception had maybe 300 to 400 people. Joanne is so kind and outgoing and knows so many people, and it seems like her husband is the same!
Priscilla and I drove up Thursday, and the drive up the 101 wasn't too bad. We stopped in San Luis Obispo for poke at Pokirito and it was pretty good. We might go there again.
Thursday evening I went for a short run with my old coworker Frank. We kept it short since he's dealing with some knee pain. I can relate since I have my own knee pain and foot pain that I'm battling. The joys of getting older.
As mentioned, Friday was the wedding, and we talked to so many people. Saturday, Priscilla and I continued our yearly tradition of hiking Mission Peak. We saw one uncle and aunt that evening, went to our old church on Sunday and talked to many more people, had lunch with my other uncle and aunt, and hung out with Tracy at a park. Then Monday, I met up with my old team for lunch (6 people attended) while Priscilla had lunch with her coworkers. I saw Frank again to do pullups and met up with Lisa for dinner at a Korean place. Finally, at the end of the night, I went to pick up Priscilla where she was hanging out with some more church friends and we talked some more with them. Whew. Our trip was packed with social engagements, and while the time was certainly meaningful, my social battery was completely drained.
It was really nice to see my old team again; I hadn't seen most of them for almost a year and a half. Yet, the moment felt bittersweet. Getting together again was wonderful, but it dawned on me that I'm in a totally different chapter of life now compared to my coworkers. While they're still slaving away at work (one guy half-jokingly said that "everything sucks now"), I'm enjoying the "retired" life. And while I like to think of my situation as more "financial independence" than "retirement" since the latter has a certain connotation that doesn't accurately describe what I'm doing, nonetheless my life is really different from that of my coworkers. And without the bond of continuing to fight in the trenches together, it's difficult to sustain a relationship. With Frank I built a relationship based on shared interests (which is logical since we were on different teams), but with my old team, the thing that ultimately bound us together was the work. It was only after the lunch that I realized that this may have been the last time I'll see most of my old team. If someone is passing through my area and wants to grab lunch, I'd love to catch up, but I think it would be more awkward than anything else for me to go see my whole team again.
What I'm beginning to understand is that one's life is like a book loosely divided into chapters, where the divisions between chapters often aren't clear-cut, and where many characters might play a large role in some chapters and much less, if any, in the remaining. This in no way diminishes their contribution or their importance, but rather it means that the story takes a new turn with a different setting and different people. With a novel, we learn to be okay with this and even expect it. Real life is the same.
Coming to terms with this is difficult, especially since I like my coworkers so much. My team was the biggest reason why I stayed at the company for 11 years. But what arises most from this realization is a greater appreciation for them having been part of my life, and a stronger desire to be intentional with my current relationships. In so many ways, every day is a new day.
Our church friend Joanne tied the knot last Friday, and there were so many people in attendance. The ceremony was held at our old church and there wasn't enough room to accommodate everyone, so some people were invited to the reception only. The reception had maybe 300 to 400 people. Joanne is so kind and outgoing and knows so many people, and it seems like her husband is the same!
Priscilla and I drove up Thursday, and the drive up the 101 wasn't too bad. We stopped in San Luis Obispo for poke at Pokirito and it was pretty good. We might go there again.
Thursday evening I went for a short run with my old coworker Frank. We kept it short since he's dealing with some knee pain. I can relate since I have my own knee pain and foot pain that I'm battling. The joys of getting older.
As mentioned, Friday was the wedding, and we talked to so many people. Saturday, Priscilla and I continued our yearly tradition of hiking Mission Peak. We saw one uncle and aunt that evening, went to our old church on Sunday and talked to many more people, had lunch with my other uncle and aunt, and hung out with Tracy at a park. Then Monday, I met up with my old team for lunch (6 people attended) while Priscilla had lunch with her coworkers. I saw Frank again to do pullups and met up with Lisa for dinner at a Korean place. Finally, at the end of the night, I went to pick up Priscilla where she was hanging out with some more church friends and we talked some more with them. Whew. Our trip was packed with social engagements, and while the time was certainly meaningful, my social battery was completely drained.
It was really nice to see my old team again; I hadn't seen most of them for almost a year and a half. Yet, the moment felt bittersweet. Getting together again was wonderful, but it dawned on me that I'm in a totally different chapter of life now compared to my coworkers. While they're still slaving away at work (one guy half-jokingly said that "everything sucks now"), I'm enjoying the "retired" life. And while I like to think of my situation as more "financial independence" than "retirement" since the latter has a certain connotation that doesn't accurately describe what I'm doing, nonetheless my life is really different from that of my coworkers. And without the bond of continuing to fight in the trenches together, it's difficult to sustain a relationship. With Frank I built a relationship based on shared interests (which is logical since we were on different teams), but with my old team, the thing that ultimately bound us together was the work. It was only after the lunch that I realized that this may have been the last time I'll see most of my old team. If someone is passing through my area and wants to grab lunch, I'd love to catch up, but I think it would be more awkward than anything else for me to go see my whole team again.
What I'm beginning to understand is that one's life is like a book loosely divided into chapters, where the divisions between chapters often aren't clear-cut, and where many characters might play a large role in some chapters and much less, if any, in the remaining. This in no way diminishes their contribution or their importance, but rather it means that the story takes a new turn with a different setting and different people. With a novel, we learn to be okay with this and even expect it. Real life is the same.
Coming to terms with this is difficult, especially since I like my coworkers so much. My team was the biggest reason why I stayed at the company for 11 years. But what arises most from this realization is a greater appreciation for them having been part of my life, and a stronger desire to be intentional with my current relationships. In so many ways, every day is a new day.