Last Tuesday was the last day at work for two of our contractual SAS programmers, Ann and Mikko. When I arrived at my desk, Ann pointed to the small space below my desk where I put some of my supplies and this greeted me:
Super cute and super pink! It contained more cute little trinkets that she wanted to give me. From the girl who calls me sadista and puppy, who was once my student, then my officemate and dinner companion, but always, my friend.
We then had a mini-despedida for them and for two of our other office mates, with pizza and cake, complete with hilarious speeches and a question and answer portion for each exiting employee. It was an afternoon full of laughter and witty comebacks.
Still not satisfied, we had a friendly drinking session at a restobar in the mall beside our office, which we managed to cut short early, knowing that most of us had to work the next day. Honestly, it was the greatest amount of bonding time I have had with majority of my officemates.
We're all happy, of course, that they are all entering a new season in their lives and careers, but also a bit sad, for me at least. I've enjoyed these past three months more than any other time that I have spent in the office, mostly because I used to spend all my time there working and trying to be invisible. But this group of contractors, plus Fatima, have made my working days fun, stress-free and uncomplicated. I could be who I am, say what I really feel and be wrong if I had to be. Every stage of life is temporary, but this stage, this season has brought so many memories to be kept and cherished and I'm grateful that I've had officemates like Ann, Ann Q, Fatima, Grace and Mikko.
