harder than i expected

Yesterday was my going-away party at work. I've been there for eight years: one-fourth of my life. That realization really threw me. But more surprising was the large number of people who came for the speeches. It's good to be loved! But in fact, there were so many people that I got scared and gave an extremely inarticulate little talk. I'd thought of lots of little bits of organizational history and jokes to include, and then stammered out something about udon noodles (no one laughed, but it was very funny).

Today's task was to write down everything in a farewell email. Just me and the computer, no pressure while facing 75 of my colleagues.

It's starting to sink in that this is really happening. A friend came and took a bunch of furniture today. I'm going through the cupboards one more time to see if there are additional kitchen things we can donate to the thrift store. I brought a large framed picture home from the office, and my desk is stripped of its homey touches.

One of my gifts* was this fantastic basket. As soon as I get to Portland, I'm buying a matching bike.  I'd been debating about whether or not to bring my 15+ year old bike with me, but this basked wouldn't look very good on the front of a mountain bike.  The nice old-timey look is nice.

However, I would like my bicycle to have spokes in the wheels, and brakes, which don't seem to be present in this drawing.

*They also got me some Schaefer Nancy, in the Indira Ghandi colorway. I'm not sure why Indira Ghandi is represented by such a muted palate, but whatevs. It's pretty. And they got me "knitting sticks" too. I tried to contain my giggling (unsuccessfully).