Date: 2007-02-28
To: Prep #81--WOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Miles today: 0.0

Alright folks...I'm doin' the "unemployment jig"! Today was my last day at work!!! (Oh God...where's my Depends!) So it was a mad dash to the very end. My replacement (and now cool new friend) Beth came down with this horrible horrible chest cold/flu last week, so she couldn't (and I didn't want her to give me what she had either) come in. It was almost something out of a movie in fast forward today. I was bombarding her poor brain w/facts, #'s, email addresses, websites, directories....you name it. She just kept laughing and smiling though (keep that up Beth...that will be how you get through every single day!)I had some co-workers from other offices take the time within the past few days to come down and tell me bye, which was appreciated. (Susan, Carol, Brent, Rose, Misook, Kyung Hee, Emiko, Cathy, Xinyan). Weird how you convince yourself that you're not going to become "invested" in a job and you walk away 9 months later with a list of names of people who have touched your life. And I got to say bye to my boss, Donna, who was gracious as always and wished me well. Probably won't be lucky enough to have another boss w/that management style again, but one can dream I suppose. (Oh...and Donna, if you do end up reading all 81 of my prep entries...the ones where I alluded to the fact that I was writing in my journal....ahem...at work? Just wanted you to know, work ALWAYS came first! LOL)---How's that for ratting myself out?    So how do I feel now? WEIRD!!! I made the comment (well ok, I was sort of rubbing it in actually) to my friends that I don't "have" to get up in the morning for any reason probably until October or November of this year. How crazy is that? So to celebrate, my partner in crime from work, Heather, and I will be indulging in some Cold Stone Creamery ice cream tonight...to celebrate my unemployment and her having received her iPod in the mail today (I TOLD YOU SO HEATHER!!--she was convinced they'd lose it in the mail or something). And because I thought it was hilarious to actually carry my stuff out in a box (like they do on the movies) I proceeded to find an empty box and put all my junk in it. It made me laugh. Oh...and I gave that damn black clock in my office the bird today. Unprofessional....childish....uncalled for....I know. But the alternative was throwing it out the side window and smashing it on the concrete below, but I thought better of that, because Beth wouldn't be able to enjoy it as I have for the past 9 months! haa haa   So what's on the agenda for the next 10 days? Spending some quality time w/all my babies here at home: Henry, Sistercat, Andi (my kitties), Edwin (the hermit crab), and Fumet (the beta fish). I'll go over my mental list of responsibilities again and make sure I've got it all written down for Rachael. On Monday Ann (Toasty) and Nicole and Rachael and I are all going to meet up for lunch. That will be bitter sweet because we'll just be reminded again that Ann won't be joining us this year. I suppose the positive of that is that she'll have one hell of a support team when she gets to go next year, and she'll have 2 experts to consult!!I still need to purchase food for my first leg from Springer to Neel's Gap and of course, constantly remind Rachael of how much I appreciate the sacrifices she's making in order for me to do this. Seriously babe, you're the best, and I'll owe you big time when I get back (oh crap....that's in writing isn't it? LOL!!)Friday night, I get to enjoy the company of my good friend, Irene, who was the person responsible for helping me get this job in the first place! THANKS Irene! Without that help, this hike may not have been financially possible this year!!!Well...I've got a splitting headache, so I think I need to doctor it up with some ice cream. It's the final countdown!! (Any Europe fans out there?)