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2 August 2002 (Friday): warm fuzzies from the job #1 office

I sent out my goodbye email at work this morning. People have been coming by my cube in a steady stream, most to wish me luck, some to say they enjoyed working with me -- and some, whom I've never met before today, to tell me I'm an inspiration to them. Golly gee willikers. But hey, I'm happy to help lure people away from the rat race if I can.

I took my team to a cult enclave for my farewell lunch. It wasn't my intention -- I just thought I'd pick a vegetarian restaurant, as a kind of tribute to the vegetarians who've endured group lunches at steakhouses and seafood places through the years. Turns out the place I chose was a temple to some Eastern spiritual leader, with the dining aspect almost an afterthought. Our banquet room had a TV playing a video of one of her speeches, and the walls were lined with books, pamphlets and instructional tapes written by her disciples, translated into a dozen different languages. There were, of course, pictures of her everywhere, dressed up in various ceremonial garb and heavy makeup. It almost felt like a shrine for a movie star, a Southeast-Asian Audrey Hepburn equivalent. At least the food was tasty.

Oh, and there were mannequins lined up along one wall, frozen in awkward poses and staring at us as we ate. I wasn't sure how that tied in with Ms. Dalai-Lama's philosophy.

Dardy IMed me to ask how it feels to be leaving a job. I told him it feels like graduation. The progression seems natural to me, I guess; I feel like I've done my proper time in the corporate world, I've learned what I could learn from it, and now it's time to move on. I'm not scared, and I'm not sad. But I do pause for a moment to look back, and in my mind I exhale a long sigh. I'm closing another chapter. It's part of my past now.

posted by enjelani @ 03:56 PM PST