The California Adventure

Less than two days before we begin our trip to California!

Everything is in place of course the last-minute things await attention…. Setting timers for the lights, packing…  making sure we have everything, double and triple checking, the common drill we all do, I suppose. As long as we have the essentials we will be fine.

• The itinerary – the whole trip is an exploratory trip , so we have broad plans…. we have hotels booked at the interim stops along the way for our trip up the Pacific Coast Highway, the two big cities we will be visiting, LA and San Francisco have so much to offer and we narrowed down to a few key places and will add ad-hoc as we go along….

BIG Anniversary

• 45 Years… As I am still a Conduent Employee – it is important to note that Monday, November 18, 2019 is my 45-year anniversary at the company – or the 45-year anniversary of my first day of employment at “George B. Buck Consulting Actuaries” as it was known back then. Which evolved over many iterations – Buck Consultants in the early 80’s…then sold to Mellon Financial and they adjusted the names over the years… Mellon sold the company to ACS (Affiliated Computer Systems) which then was merged into Xerox in 2010… and finally Xerox spun the Consulting and Outsourcing to an independent Conduent… Conduent has since spun off Buck into an independent company on its own and is now known as Buck Consultants. I am with the outsourcing group so am employed by Conduent at this point.

• I look back in awe and pride – and wonder –  where did the years go?  All the people I have known, some having passed…. So many friends I have to this day. 

• I took actuarial exams with limited success but did achieve the Enrolled Actuary designation in 1985 – that was such a huge accomplishment at the time.  I am still enrolled as I have been keeping up with the continuing education requirements.

Activities

• I had contact with a representative of the Joint Board for Enrollment of Actuaries over the summer and I had indicated I would be interested in serving on the Actuarial Exam committee in 2020, I will dig up that email and contact them and see if there is still interest – I would be reviewing proposed questions for the exam.  This might be a bit of stretch as I would have to review the regulations or procedures being tested.  We shall see where this goes.

So far the Encore Career is going very well.

• I have been doing the volunteer run for the Food Pantry twice a week, running at the Y, preparing for my first 10K in late December, working on my first 1,000-piece puzzle.

• Of course there is helping others through the local support group and the phone line / email for the DBSA NJ Organization.

• I have been trying to make something unique when I am in charge of dinner on Wednesday’s.

Until next time – be well!