End of an Era

These last few days have gone by quickly. When I first knew I'd be changing jobs, it seemed like there was plenty of time to prepare for the transition, but as my exit date has drawn nearer, I realized that I still had a lot to do. Not only did I need to make sure to archive anything important from my office computer, turn over any reference material to the poor schlubs who'd inherit my work, and clean out desk drawers so that no spare sunglasses, toothbrushes, or hand lotion would be left behind for anthropologists to discover in some future century -- but I also had to search my shelves at home to make sure I had returned all corporate property such as badges, credit cards, and security access tokens.

I'm keeping the nameplate placard, though.

I have a few other souvenirs, too: t-shirts, coffee mugs, mission pins, and a couple of award plaques. I wear the t-shirts...but am not sure what to do with all the other stuff (since I don't drink coffee, don't wear pins, and no longer have a trophy wall). All those items will probably sit in a closet for a few decades and eventually get thrown out when I can no longer remember what events they commemorate. And then forty years after that, I'll regret throwing it all away when my grandchildren are watching Antiques Roadshow and see a GPS III mug selling for $50,000. Oh well.

And then there's this:

Pretty good, eh? The artist is the talented Don Feight--check out his amazing aircraft art at http://www.feightstudios.com.

(Um, if you're wondering about the Spam Balls bumper sticker, well, it's my traditional potluck contribution. Very tasty. The receipe is here.)

I'll miss the people, of course. And I'll miss being able to wander through a factory where they make rockets. I'll miss the gorgeous campus, the onsite fitness center, and the opportunity to contribute to programs that make history, advance human knowledge, and keep us safe from the bad guys. My new job will still allow me to hang out with brainiac scientists who are developing technologies to make the world a better place, and that's also a very cool thing. But it's unlikely I'll be in the same room with something that'll end up on Mars. I'll definitely miss that.

As you might expect, there are some things I won't miss. I won't miss the ugly carpets, the annoyingly loud music playing in the janitor's closet, or the proto-Skynet printers that choose paper sizes at random, just so they can laugh at you as you curse them. And I sure as heck won't miss the last minute requests to work weekends, or to stay until 2am on a Sunday to finish an assembly sheet for a review that could just have easily been scheduled for Tuesday.

But I know that I'll forget to thank some of the people who have helped me, taught me, and encouraged me over the years. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work there, and grateful for the wonderful friendships and working relationships I have developed over the years. So...if I missed the chance to shake your hand or express my gratitude, please know that I sincerely meant to. It's just that the process of walking out the door is a whole lot more complex than I imagined.

And if I don't have a chance to tell you in person, well, good luck to you all in the future. I hope that each and every day is a great one! Take care of yourselves, and have fun. And stay tuned to this blog site for descriptions of what I'm sure will be the most excellent adventures as I begin this new era of my life. Off we go!