My desk….the cleanest it has ever been.  Except for when they erected the cube….yes, Hubman and Lion, I said ‘erect’.  😉

I feel bad for the Facilities Manager, aka Grizzly Adams. He has been left to clean up about 100 cubes and engineering labs after people have left them in shambles. I like the guy (plus, I’m not convinced he won’t eventually go nuts and find everyone where they sleep), so I’m doing my part to not contribute to the mess.

It’s pretty sad when my 14 years at this company can fit into three boxes. Two boxes of which are books. I have filled up about 5 recycling boxes full of files and such that I’ve acquired over the past 5 years as my superiors have left. There really isn’t anything to pass along because, surprisingly enough, I believe in keeping things electronically. I know, I know…crazy that an IT people shun paper for technology. Just makes storage a little easier.

Today, people started getting sappy on me. A guy who started soon after I did as a manufacturing support engineer (aka Gopher for the manufacturing production line) sought me out to tell me he wasn’t letting me leave. “You can’t leave; we need you!” was his exact plea. He and I worked closely together throughout the years. We have a lot of respect for each other. I truly didn’t expect him to seek me out to say that. I was pleasantly surprised.

Surprise #2 came in the form on a consultant-turned-employee. He brought me a card and wanted to make sure I knew how much he appreciated working me with me. I was quite floored. Here is one of the smartest guys at this company – a guy who I have learned a huge amount from – and he’s getting teary eyed at the fact I’m leaving.  His card was quite touching. “You are one of the few people at this company who could take a problem and drive it through to solution.”  He made it clear that this was a personal gesture. His gesture included a gift certificate to Amazon. I was humbled by his gesture.

I don’t feel bad at all that I’m being laid off. Truth be told, I’m not sure that this company will make it. And that makes me sad more than losing my job. My boss today told me she hopes she’s fired. She, like me, is not change averse. But she is feeling like there is way too much change with unrealistic expectations thrown in. We did agree today that maybe we should say fuck technology and be baristas. Work 6-2pm each day. Not have to worry about power outages that cannot be prevented because the company won’t fund it, but they will bitch that we weren’t able to figure out how to do it anyway. Or bitch because we introduced a major change, and there are some bumps. Yep, being a barista – I can do it.

I am working for the company as a contractor from now until the next of the year. Garbanzo has told me he wants me to work part time for a while. I have never gotten a break except for maternity leave while he has gone back to school, did weird temp work, and has summers off. He wants me to take my time. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Until then, I’m going to try to get through the next couple of days. I have my October goal – the half marathon I’m running before Halloween.  I’m hoping to pick up some contract work here and there. And, I’ll be enjoying my break.