When university proctor Simon Thompson (67) retires in August, it will be his second shot at leaving the workforce.
''I tried retirement some years ago, but became bored and realised I was not ready,'' he said.
So he returned to work, and took the position as University of Otago proctor.
This time around, he really was ready, he said.
During his 15-year stint at the university, Mr Thompson has overseen disciplinary proceedings of thousands of students. He said the student population had not changed much.
''Students are still as bright, intelligent, goal-oriented, funny and occasionally foolish as they have ever been.''
But the proctor's office - and Mr Thompson's job description as proctor - has changed quite a bit since he took it up in 2001.
''At that time, I worked alone and visited student flats and attended events ... while the university employed security guards to look after our people and our buildings.''
Now, with the addition of a deputy proctor position in 2006 and Campus Watch officers in 2007, he spent more time in the office, Mr Thompson said.
''But the teams are doing a much better job than I or [deputy proctor Andrew Ferguson] could ever do out there by ourselves, so I'm not unhappy about that,'' he said.
There was no particular event that sparked Mr Thompson's decision to leave - ''I never expected to be here as long as I was'', he said - and his feelings about leaving were ambiguous.
He felt, all at once, happy, sad and relieved to be leaving the position.
Applications for his position close tomorrow.