Episode #57: Where, Oh Where Am I Today?

So the skyline photo just off to the right was something that I used to see on a daily/weekly basis pre-Covid19 (that's prior to the first week of March if you're from Connecticut) from my office building.

Suffice to say, after October 30th, I will no longer have that view, as I will be gainfully retired (aka unemployed) on November 1st.

If you're wondering why there seems to be a missing day, the long and short answer is that I work Monday thru Friday. Halloween, which is my actual last day, is on a Saturday, thus making my last working day to be October 30th.

As of the date of this post being published, I have either 4 or 5 days left to work (depending on whether I published this on the 25th or 26th). A fair amount of my co-workers have no idea that I'm retiring (telecommuting/teleworking ya'll) so while I'm doing my final payroll this pay period, I'm also typing out a ton of extras e-mail to let folks know when my last day is. Which in and of itself is a very painful thing (which I've mentioned many, many times in the preceding 10+ years of blogging).

Most of the e-mails, have been very generic. Like, "btw, my last day will be 10/30 as I'm retiring 11/1. It's been a pleasure working with you". Some have, however, contained greater detail, which is directly due to the fact that there are still a few people left at my agency who previously worked at the facility that I was originally hired to do payroll for back in 2006. Those staff members have gotten a more personalized goodbye.

Most, if not all, of the responses I've received have been either 1} congratulatory; 2} envious (those who have the years, but not the age or the age but not the years); or 3} congratulatory and complimentary. The complimentary ones I have saved and forwarded to my personal e-mail, if only because I've never really thought I would leave a lasting impression with my fellow co-workers. That was always my main goal (like my writing) at work, which was to leave a lasting impression with at least one person at work.

So heading into this very last week of my (current) working life I think is going to be a bag of mixed emotions. It'll be bittersweet, as I've worked with some truly wonderful people over my 14+ years at my current agency. It will be memorable, that's for sure, although it will be difficult to say goodbye in person, since everyone is doing a split of telecommuting and working at the office.

I'm looking forward to the first week of November with mixture of trepidation and relief. Not sure which will win out over the long run, but it should be a fun ride just the same.

{c} 2020 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved