A new beginning…..after a backward glance.
I have spent almost 8 years there….. Maximize Learning, Techbooks, Aptara. It’s a long time to be in a single place by today’s standards…long enough to make it hard for you to leave anyway.
So it happened one day, that it was to be my last day there. There was only the good, nay great things that I could think of. Great things that made me wonder why I was leaving…yet there is always a time to move on…this was it.
I was amazed at the number of connections I had made during these years…I knew everyone..simply every person there. I had spoken at least once to every single employee, including housekeeping and support staff. It was overwhelming to realize that. And on my last day too!
I have made a friend for life out of someone who joined in the same week as I did way back in 2004. I have made a friend for all seasons in someone who joined a little later, worked even much later with, but who became a part of my lunch group very early. My peers in the management unit, they are an invaluable support in all situations. With these group of rowdy boys, it is never hard being who I am. My two pillars of strength, S and S, without whom I’d not have survived this nightmare of an account. They continue to encourage and keep me grounded at all times. My XDT, my dear dear team there…I feel lost without being surrounded by the talent powerhouse that they are. And the most efficient team I’ll ever know, to this day they make me wonder how huge projects just continued to get executed flawlessly while I was looking elsewhere.
I think of all the farewells that I have seen or ever been a part of,I have not seen ANYONE, NO ONE that has left the workplace with so much love given to them, so many wishes for the future and so many bags full of goodies. I needed a SUV that day to take everything home.
The vertical team kindly took me to lunch, and gifted me a backpack..handy for my upcoming expedition.
N, who’s been a steadfast friend, gifted me a very pretty bookmark with a bejeweled butterfly–it’ll always remain a part of what I read.
S gave me a beautiful notepad with hanger and a pencil. You can expect something like this only from S, knowing his inclinations.
My efficient team, that of the lengthy projects, gifted me a gift coupon for, what else, a bookshop! Team, you know who you are, and you’ll be glad to know that I have splurged it all on a dozen books of my choice–comics!!!
Two dedicated artists, who I worked with for a long time, decided that the best way to spend my future free time was to paint. They got me a set of acrylic paints and thanks to you boys, I am discovering this new medium!
Since my birthday had just passed, my rowdy friends gave me our pre-decided gift, a Landmark voucher. The Economist yearly had just come out and I spent the sum ordering it.
S, a close friend I have made in the last one year, gave me very elaborate wind chime. I put it on my window sill promptly the next day only to find that some sparrows had also taken a fancy to it. What we expected would be gentle chimes, turned to cacophony with them swinging merrily from the thing. Unable to stand it any longer, my dad took it off and put it up in his room. Sadly, it chimes no more, but I am determined to put it up in a place which will not allow it to become a birdie jungle-jim again. Shoo!
My close knit team of 7, they showered me with unprecedented love and gifts. A Citizen watch, which I proudly wear. An elegant flower vase with a long neck, so handy for the gerberras. A signed card and chocolates.
It is true that no one is indispensable. Over time individuals adjust to new managers, new teams and new workplaces. Yet we meet those that leave a lasting mark on how we think and work. Those, whom we compare all our future connections with. Those are the ones that make one hell of a difference to us, our lives. I am glad I am one such among the many such that I spent my 7 years with.
Ok team!, if you are to be reading this, only to be reading and be to not nitpicking for grammer and speelings. O.K. Ok?
