The desk drawers have been cleaned out, the desktop has been cleared away, the comics on the walls have been taken down, and the last emails have been sent. There is nothing to do now but wait for the appointed time to arrive.

It is time to say goodbye to coworkers, while also looking forward to meeting new ones. Keys and access cards are turned in, hands are shook, well wishes are given and recieved, and farewells are said.

I take the nametag I had used as an improvised “This is Eduardo’s cube” sign down from the outside of my ‘door’ and wonder for a moment how long this cube will remain empty, or even if another person call it their workspace again…such are the times we live in right now.

A cubicle may not seem like much, but in a sense, its a home-away-from-home, littered with the little things that make it a person’s own instead of just another modular piece of furniture in another office building…the comics on the walls, the whiteboard with random stuff written on it, the Easy button given by a friend, the cracked coffee mug that holds pencils and pens, even the way my computers, monitors and phone are arranged all combine to make it “Eduardo’s cube.” It is the only one like it, and surely, the one I will be sitting in at my next job will bear my unique mark on it as well.

As is usually the case, I will not miss the work, but I will miss the people, and while emails and phone numbers are exchanged, realistically, I know this will likely be the last time I see or speak to many of these individuals ever again. That is not always the way one wants it, but that is life, I suppose…

And so, the final checking of email, the final logoff, and the final handshakes are performed. The computer and monitors are shut down, and the phone is turned off. It is a goodbye, but after a brief respite, with the next Monday comes a new hello, and a new opportunity will begin, with new faces, and new challenges.

I hope they don’t mind the drawer full of plastic grocery-store bags.

😉

Eduardo Soliz
Former Technical Support Specialist,
ASNA Blue Phoenix

I came home from delivering Christmas cookies Monday night to find a message on the answering machine (side note: I am one of about 4 people that still have a ‘land-line’). My first impression was “WTF?” but then I checked the Caller ID and it was from a company I had interviewed with the Friday prior, and apparently I passed muster and they wanted to make me an offer.

I called the company back this morning and they made an offer which was very agreeable (just over a 22% increase in pay) and so I typed up a letter of resignation during lunch, designating Christmas Eve as my last day…

Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be complaining too much about working on Christmas Eve this year.

I gave The Boss (and his The Boss) the news, and they both congratulate me, wishing me well and understanding why I am leaving.

I’m not too sure about that, because in this case (unlike the last time) this has nothing to do with money. Granted, I will be making more at the new job, (which is nice) but the reality is that 1) I’m worried about job security 2) I want to go back into programming full-time, and 3) I am sick of tech support and never want to do this crap again as long as I live.

In any event, now comes the excitement of doing New and Interesting things and meeting new people going to a new office and all that fun stuff. I can’t wait.