Changes at Work

My boss' final day at work was last Friday. It was a sad day... We all got together after work last Wednesday for his surprise farewell dinner, which, I'm happy to report, he thoroughly enjoyed. He was greatly touched by everyone who attended and said that it was perfect. I was thrilled that he enjoyed it so much because even though my gut said he would like it, there's always the chance that he'd hate it!

His last day, he went around the shop at the 2:00 PM break to say his final good-byes to everyone and then came up front to say good-bye to us in the front and of course, Marilyn started crying, which made him get all teary and then he came to give me a hug and say "bye" and then I started crying. After he left, Marilyn and I just sat at our desks just crying and crying. It probably sounds weird to a lot of people, especially if you don't care much for your boss, but he means so much to me and has been a force in my life for the last ten years. It's like getting a divorce almost, but from a non-romantic relationship!

Last week, I was offered his office in the front. There are three bigger offices right in the front lobby area. My office is in the hall area. I love my office. I put the floors in, picked out the color for the walls and all the furniture. My desk is beautiful birds-eye maple on top and everything is just the way I like it. But, because of the promotion and other stuff going on, I couldn't say "no" to moving into my boss' old office.

Here are some pictures of my office before I started cleaning it out. And this is a candid shot of exactly how it looked when I walked in, warts and all!


The view from the doorway:

I went in on Saturday to clear out my old desk, which took HOURS. Here's a list of things that seem to spontaneously multiply: pennies, paper clips and paychecks! I have paycheck stubs from over 10 years ago sitting in my desk. It's funny to look back and just be fascinated by how much money I made back then and think, that used to be "enough"!

My aunt Terry used to say about Jason, "He's cute, smart, sweet... he's the whole package!" So, when I found this note, I started cracking up and felt happy and sad at the same time... This was the funniest thing I found in my desk:


I have no idea when he called and said that, but I must've thought it was funny even then because I tucked it away. And, yes, it got transferred to my new desk.

Here is a "before" photo of my new office taken on Saturday:


It will end up looking different though because this morning, I came in and rearranged all the furniture. I liked the desk better in the office across the lobby, so I had the guys move that desk and the matching credenza into my office and move a bunch of other stuff around. Before we made all those changes, I was really NOT looking forward to moving into my new office because of the configuration. Plus, my old office was so much "happier" looking. It as bright and light! Now, I am much happier and will probably love this office too. Now I just need to get stuff on the walls!

Marilyn is thrilled with her new (and my old) office. She should be! I will miss my desk. If it remotely matched at ALL with my new office, I would've moved it in there. In the meantime, here's what it looked like after I took all my stuff off of it.

I was joking saying that I'll probably enjoy the desk even more, now that she's in there since she's such a neatnik, I'll actually be able to see the desk! I'm a stacker, through and through, but since my new office is so visible, that will be the big challenge. Keeping my desk cleared off. I'm really not looking forward to that!

I'll have to post some "after" pictures once I get settled in.