"...the one with the wide-open heart..."
Hello, friends. I know that I have been especially bad at updating my blog these last few months. Well, now I am updating again! Yay 2011!
As some of you may already know, this year has brought about some changes for me. The most recent change that I've been dealing with has been leaving my employment. This past Friday was my last day at the job that I've had for several years. It feels much longer than 4 years. But I had really great coworkers, which made things a lot easier. I loved them so much. They were so unique and wonderful, each one. So I wanted to dedicate this blog to saying thank you to them for such an enjoyable work environment. The title quote is from The Second Book of the Tao, which I'm enjoying slowly reading. I thought it might be appropriate because the girls I worked with were so kind and good. They were each rare and full examples of wide-open hearts.
One of the astonishing things about our work was that everyone had a really good sense of humor. Jess was probably the most clever of us all, leaving a constant trail of witty comments in her wake, wherever she went. I would frequently freak out the other people in my room by bursting into laughter after opening and reading one of Jess's emails. She also did a fun thing where she ran contests every Friday. Sometimes they were unscramble the words below and write a sentence using them. Once there was a coloring contest, and once there was caption this photo contest. And each week whoever won (Jess was the judge), we'd get to go in and pick a prize out of the basket in her office. Not a lot of people can say that of their work.
My friend Sarah and I used to talk to each other almost exclusively in Friends (the tv show) quotes. She's also the editing coordinator, so I guess to a normal person, one might say that we're a little obsessed with grammar. Once, the xerox guy came in to give us a seminar on how to use our new color copier. He used air quotations marks around the word "should" in this sentence: "There should be paper arriving for this tray." Now, in case you don't have a clue about unnecessary quotations marks, those are definitely some of them. So Sarah turns to me and says (out loud, mind you, in full earshot of this guy), "When people go like this (insert air quotes sign), I have no idea what that means." (Joey says this to Ross in one episode, and then attempts to use air quotes all in the wrong places.) I snorted into my tea and couldn't stop giggling the rest of the presentation. How professional.
And of course Ashley, who I drag with me to Pilates (the poor, tortured girl) and out to lunch and baby showers for Nicole, who has just given birth to little baby Leo. What a sweetheart this guy is. Which, of course, is no surprise, given that his mother is so wonderful too! On my last day they made me a poster.
As you can see, tea figures largely in their perception of me. And Jess wrote that beautiful poem in the middle. Of course the Chandler is from Sarah, and the Pilates tower machine is from Ashley.
And we all went to a happy hour as well. They pooled together their money and Ashley went shopping for me. They got a gorgeous little red teapot, a scarf, a mini slinky, a picture frame, some note cards, and a card that they all signed. The reactions as they each left were so moving. Erin (who is actually my replacement, but a good friend of mine from graduate school) is the best hugger, and kept calling me her sweet girl. Courtney teared up as she told me about the time I said that her diamond necklace was so simple and elegant and how much it had meant to her. Even Tracy, with whom I feel I was the least close, said that I was such a kind and thoughtful person. It meant to much to me to hear these generous words. It's amazing the way you can affect a life, in some small capacity. The way that these girls had each affected my life was profound, and I was lucky enough to have also touched theirs in return. Everyone promised to keep in touch, though it won't really be the same. But I'm so lucky that I got to work with each one of them, and to get to know them as well as I did. What a great four 4 years!!
As some of you may already know, this year has brought about some changes for me. The most recent change that I've been dealing with has been leaving my employment. This past Friday was my last day at the job that I've had for several years. It feels much longer than 4 years. But I had really great coworkers, which made things a lot easier. I loved them so much. They were so unique and wonderful, each one. So I wanted to dedicate this blog to saying thank you to them for such an enjoyable work environment. The title quote is from The Second Book of the Tao, which I'm enjoying slowly reading. I thought it might be appropriate because the girls I worked with were so kind and good. They were each rare and full examples of wide-open hearts.
One of the astonishing things about our work was that everyone had a really good sense of humor. Jess was probably the most clever of us all, leaving a constant trail of witty comments in her wake, wherever she went. I would frequently freak out the other people in my room by bursting into laughter after opening and reading one of Jess's emails. She also did a fun thing where she ran contests every Friday. Sometimes they were unscramble the words below and write a sentence using them. Once there was a coloring contest, and once there was caption this photo contest. And each week whoever won (Jess was the judge), we'd get to go in and pick a prize out of the basket in her office. Not a lot of people can say that of their work.
My friend Sarah and I used to talk to each other almost exclusively in Friends (the tv show) quotes. She's also the editing coordinator, so I guess to a normal person, one might say that we're a little obsessed with grammar. Once, the xerox guy came in to give us a seminar on how to use our new color copier. He used air quotations marks around the word "should" in this sentence: "There should be paper arriving for this tray." Now, in case you don't have a clue about unnecessary quotations marks, those are definitely some of them. So Sarah turns to me and says (out loud, mind you, in full earshot of this guy), "When people go like this (insert air quotes sign), I have no idea what that means." (Joey says this to Ross in one episode, and then attempts to use air quotes all in the wrong places.) I snorted into my tea and couldn't stop giggling the rest of the presentation. How professional.
And of course Ashley, who I drag with me to Pilates (the poor, tortured girl) and out to lunch and baby showers for Nicole, who has just given birth to little baby Leo. What a sweetheart this guy is. Which, of course, is no surprise, given that his mother is so wonderful too! On my last day they made me a poster.
As you can see, tea figures largely in their perception of me. And Jess wrote that beautiful poem in the middle. Of course the Chandler is from Sarah, and the Pilates tower machine is from Ashley.
And we all went to a happy hour as well. They pooled together their money and Ashley went shopping for me. They got a gorgeous little red teapot, a scarf, a mini slinky, a picture frame, some note cards, and a card that they all signed. The reactions as they each left were so moving. Erin (who is actually my replacement, but a good friend of mine from graduate school) is the best hugger, and kept calling me her sweet girl. Courtney teared up as she told me about the time I said that her diamond necklace was so simple and elegant and how much it had meant to her. Even Tracy, with whom I feel I was the least close, said that I was such a kind and thoughtful person. It meant to much to me to hear these generous words. It's amazing the way you can affect a life, in some small capacity. The way that these girls had each affected my life was profound, and I was lucky enough to have also touched theirs in return. Everyone promised to keep in touch, though it won't really be the same. But I'm so lucky that I got to work with each one of them, and to get to know them as well as I did. What a great four 4 years!!
Nicole, Jess, Sarah, Verity, and Ashley at Sarah's 30th Birthday Party, January 2011
Here's to new things and good friends! And congratulations on being brave enough to leave the familiar to try something new. Proud of you!
ReplyDeleteYou have wonderful friends because you are a wonderful friend! Love you & good luck!
ReplyDeleteMan, you're sneaky w/ this blog. I gave up checking but once a month and lo and behold, 2 new blogs! I'm proud you're looking head and up for new and better things. Only good things wait for you! And hooray for great co-workers!
ReplyDelete