Reflections

I finally dropped by Paul's place this week to pick up the photos from the trip. I will be posting them soon, except that there are about 2000 pics and it is a daunting task to organise them all. I'm thinking it is a task that is best left for a rainy day. Today is not that day - it is absolutely fantabulous outside and I fully plan on taking advantage of the gorgeous weather.

Last Sunday I discovered a magical almost mythical place. In an effort to eat better I located a grocery store and bought food. I further followed up with actually cooking the food and on more than one occasion! I have spent most of my life avoiding my kitchen, but this week I found some sort of joy out of food preparation. I'm sure the joy will go away soon when the novelty wears off. Or when I burn something.

Work has been crazy busy this week, but I managed to unload my Blackberry onto someone else for the weekend. As I handed the pager over to him I said "Oh, yeah, if a guy named Steve calls, just tell him I am not interested." I got a rumple faced look in return, until he realised it was a joke.

This week marks two milestones in my life. This past Thursday would have been my 9th wedding anniversary. Part of me wanted to stay home and spend some quiet time by myself, but social invitations were aplenty! Immediately after work I hooked up with Lisa and a bunch of her friends at Charlotte's Room, played a quick game of pool, and ran off to meet my old co-workers.

Tomorrow is another milestone in my life, it is the anniversary of me resigning from my old job. I remember that day well. It was bright and sunny and I spent the whole morning frantically trying to hand in my acceptance of the job offer to my new boss so that I could follow up with handing in my resignation letter to my old boss. Around 11:45 I walked across the street to my new office, handed in my acceptance, and walked back to my old office. On the way into the building I had the widest smile on my face you can imagine. I ran into my friends who already new that I had something in the works and it was only a matter of time before it was official. They didn't even have to ask what the smile was all about, the only thing they said was "CONGRATULATIONS!"

Studies have shown that the biggest fantasy people have is the day they walk into their bosses office and hand in their letter - it actually outranks sex fantasies. In the weeks leading up to my resignation date I was no different. But when the moment came that I called my supervisor into a boardroom in downtown Toronto and gave him my letter I felt much different than what I had imagined. I walked over to my supervisor's desk and asked him if I could speak with him privately in the boardroom on our floor. We sat across from each other at the table, I took a deep breath and I said "I have accepted an offer of employment at another firm and am officially resigning. October 4 will be my last day, here is my official letter of resignation." My supervisor gave me a look of shock, and a tear welled up in my eye.

Part of me was surprised that submitting my resignation was not the orgasmic moment I thought it would be. But in retrospect it was hard to leave. I had spent 8 years at my old firm and had a hand in helping it grow. I worked on a team with three other guys, and I could not have asked for a better bunch of people to share a cubicle pod with. I was going to miss them dearly, but my time had come and I felt that I must move forward. I knew from that day forward things were never going to be the same.

I left the boardroom, went back to the pod, and told the guys that my resignation was now official. The news of my resignation spread through the company like wildfire. For the two weeks that followed, every conversation I had went like this:
them: "Hey Lori, I heard you resigned. Congratulations!"
me: "Thanks!"
them: "Where are you going?"
me: "I'm going to **company name withheld**"
them: "There's a big shocker. Are you going to be working with Paul?"
me: "No, I am going to be working downtown."
them: "When's the going away bash?"
me: "October 3."
them: "At the Purple Pig I assume?"
me: "Of course!"
them: "Cool. See you then."

We had my farewell party and I was flabbergasted by the number of people who showed up. Because there was a revolving door of people coming and going throughout the night it was hard to get an official count, but a few of us estimated that between 40 and 50 people had come to pay their respects. I was humbled - I had no idea I had impacted that many people over the years. I was just doing my job. I guess I did it well.

My last day was spent recovering from my going away party and packing up my desk. Because I was going to be working right across the street, I had made arrangements with my new supervisor to be able to drop my things off there instead of carrying them home and back downtown again. I said my goodbyes, handed in my security pass, picked up my box of stuff, and walked across the street to the new office. I didn't look back. There was too much to look forward too.

The first couple of months were tough. I went from being the girl with all the answers to the girl with all the questions. I was used to knowing everyone I worked with, and I now knew only my supervisor, since I had worked with her before. Over time I have amassed a vast amount of knowledge and work on a team with an equally great bunch of people. I finally feel like I have established my place, and I don't have a single regret about changing companies.

Since I left the company, one of my old co-workers has also resigned, one of them changed departments, and one of them moved to Europe. Another is currently in negotiations for a job in Vancouver. We all share a common past, but we all are moving forward.

On Thursday night we got together for a family reunion. As I sat with them, I thought about my two milestones, how far I have come, and how much we had all been through together. We watched people get hired, and watched people get fired. We celebrated births and mourned the death of one of our friends. We attended weddings together and helped each other through divorces together. Birthdays and resignations were key.

As we enjoyed one of the last beautiful evenings on the patio at the Maddy, I noticed how much has changed over the past year. I mentioned my two milestones to them, and we ordered a shot of tequila to toast the moment. It was then that I realised that no matter how much we change, no matter how far we travel, we all share a common bond, and some things will always stay the same.