t minus 35 days and counting

it's funny how fast news flies in this office. while the change has been pending for some time now (like a month and a half), only five people were in the know, my boss, my big boss, and three of my friends who were sworn to secrecy. monday, i told my boss, wednesday morning, i spoke with my big boss, and wednesday afternoon, i made the announcement to my department (that's the entire legal department of my company up there). by the time thina forwarded my resignation letter to the HR department yesterday afternoon, all the them knew already, not to mention the steady stream of people who've come up to me to basically say, "i've heard something about you."

while i will not pretend and claim that the change isn't keeping me awake at night from all of the excitement, i also cannot ignore the fact that from day one, this office felt like home. and from the corporate ignoramus that my boss hired last year, i'd like to think that i've gained skills that i would not have learned otherwise (skills which helped me get the new job, no doubt about it). this job also taught me how to deal with an entire office of people (my entire career has been spent in small tight-knit organizations. and while i did work in the government, working for a justice meant that you were basically a small office of ten or so people) especially with things like bullying, competitiveness, and cliques.

don't get me wrong - all the bad stuff above notwithstanding, the past 11 months (and i'm sure the next month as well) have been a blast. i'll always have fun memories of my boss ensuring that she gets me at least one red ribbon empanada during board meetings lest this one director (who happens to favor it as much, if not much more, as i do) leave me with zero empanada, memories of all the 50% off goodies at hi-top which is a trike (or a long walk) away from work, or the lunch break runs to trinoma to satisfy the shopping monsters that lurk deep within. this company. i hope they'll also remember fun times with me (although i hope they'll forget the time when i emceed the office christmas party and ended up being "best in smile" since i hardly said anything!) and that when they think of me in the future (like when it's deathly quiet cause my constant chatter isn't around to break the silence), they'll think of someone who was always ready with a smile, someone whom they could approach for help all the time, and someone who despite her short tenure, made a difference.

i've 35 days to go before i make the big jump. in between now and then, there's a couple of things i have to accomplish work-wise. but more importantly, between now and then, i hope to build great memories with everyone in this pic, just so that when they think of me in the future, they'd remember not the girl who left so soon, but the girl who made the most of her 365 days.