Saying goodbye was so much harder than I thought it would be. I got a special morning tea where my boss said the most wonderful things. I mean, he sort of HAD to, seeing at it was my last day and all, but it was really, really lovely.
Of course then it came time for me to say a few words. It was so surreal that I know I rambled on for quite a while but really can't remember what I said. Hope it was coherent enough to express my thanks and gratitude to all the amazing people I've been lucky enough to work with.
The tears were definitely prickling in my eyes but I'm proud to say that managed not to lose it completely!
I also scored a hefty shopping voucher as my leaving gift which is soooo needed and appreciated!
Handing back my laptop was the strangest thing. Coming home on the bus I felt like I was forgetting something. I'm so used to carrying it around that it has become like an extension of me. So now I'm stuck with crappy old home laptop for the duration, until my new job gives me my laptop on my first day. Not such a big problem as I just found out the installation of my internet at my new place doesn't take place until next Friday so it's relatively moot. Thank god for iphones is all I can say at this point, at least I won't be completely cut off from my beloved online world!
So there were four parts of today that were so, so hard. The morning tea and handing back my laptop of course, but also writing my farewell email and finally walking out of the building altogether.
We have a lovely tradition at our work where people who leave write our team a farewell email full of all the things they will remember from their time there and thank yous to people who meant a lot to them. After 7 years there, I certainly had a lot of people who have come to mean so much to me and so many memories and funny stories from this awesome, crazy bunch of people. Funny that before I worked there I bought into the stereotype of the boring accountants...however I probably have more insane and nutty memories of that place than I do of any previous workplace!
Anyway sitting down and writing that email was so hard. What do you say to certain people that you rely on every day? How do you write something meaningful, grateful and yet still uniquely me? I have to say it took me quite a while to compose and as one clever wag said, probably longer to read! Hey, I've never been short of a word or ten!
I think I managed it though.
I went through my thank yous to all the people who've meant a lot to me, threw in something about wanting to be someone's minion when they take over the world, apologised to another who I was terrified of when I started but ended up being one of my closest colleagues and then randomly talked about my extensive collection of wigs, costumes and false eyelashes that I've collected during my time there and how I walked through the Valley dressed as Red Riding Hood.
I then remembered all of my favourite times and things that stood out during my years. These ranged from 'winning' the Magoo Award when go-karting (so not my fault - I blame the dangerous driving of another), the fact that I still proudly own the title for the most barrier tyres knocked down at Kingston Park Raceway and my all-time favourite quote from an ex-colleague:
It's awesome when I can walk 10 metres to the printer and pass a sword, rasta wig, treasure chest, feather boa and viking helmet and think that it's perfectly normal.
Completely sums up what I will miss about that place.
I think I ended on a schmaltzy note, getting a bit teary over how hard it was to leave and what a great place it is and also quoting one of our senior people who once gave a presentation about seizing opportunities.
Oh yeah and I mentioned the fire thing. Obsessed much?
So there you are. The end of an era. The closing of a chapter. I'd say the finish of something else except I'm out of cliches.
Oh yeah, quote of the day from my farewell card:
Since you are now leaving, any chance you can destroy those incriminating photos of me when I was a grad???
Yeah THAT'S gonna happen!
So I've officially passed the torch, handed over the keys, yada yada. So completely weird and I don't think it will hit me for a while.
So I hope you all had a less eventful Friday than me. My thoughts are with fellow blogger Cathy as she recovers from her surgery today and I hope she'll be back up and rocking and baking before we know it. Meanwhile I have some pics below which remind me of some of my favourite times with my colleagues over the last few years (as you can see the costuming is kinda a requirement for any kind of get-together).
xx
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