bjarvis | The Long Good-Bye, Part I

This afternoon was the first of two farewell lunches organized by my office. We had 16 people from my extended team (for lack of a better definition, UNIX support personnel for mortgage servicing to originators handling single-family dwellings) heading to TGI Friday's. A few sent their regrets because of travel, illness or other work commitments.

I was a little surprised by the turn-out... I was expecting 5-6 people. One guy even came despite being on vacation this week!

I was even more surprised that they purchased a gift for me. In fact, there were three: a bar of Ghiradelli chocolate bar as I apparently have a reputation for appreciating chocolate, two large notebooks 'cause I'm even better known for my extensive work logs and a gift Visa card of $150.

No one asked for a speech, thank god. I could have improvised easily enough but I'm sure someone would burst into tears and then we'd all lose it.

Good-byes can be painful but I think we're separating gently and on good terms.