As of exactly a week ago, I am no longer surrounded by my glass beakers, or my people Beakers - after seven years (SEVEN!) I had my last day of work in the lab. I had been talking about a change for a while (by "a while" I mean a long, long time) and when an opportunity arose without me even seeking it out, I took it. I'm not sure if this was the best decision... I had planned on starting to look around as soon as I got through some family wedding business, and I got a phone call about a new job the week before I was to get to that. So... I just kinda took it without seeing what else was out there. I guess some people might call this "lazy". It will be a huge change from what I was used to, and frankly, I'm a little scared. I talked to someone this weekend that works in a very similar organization to my own, and when I asked her what she did she said she worked in water, but mostly she checked email. Me, too! I worked in air, but mostly I checked email. But I have a feeling there will be a lot less of the email. I will also not be leaving promptly at 5, or having every other Friday off, or expecting that no one from work would ever, EVER contact me at home. I haven't even started my new job yet, and already - they keep asking me to do things! Like expecting me to work and stuff. I am not so much used to that anymore.
I used up a couple of my vacation days last week so that I could sit in on some meetings with my new coworkers. (I was passed a note about a third of the way trough on the 2nd day that read, "None of this really applies to you - you didn't have to come today. Sorry I didn't think of that sooner!" But I am not bitter. No, not even though I specifically asked if I could be at my old job that day, since I kinda had a lot to do in a hurry before I left, which was very soon, at the request of new job. See how I am starting off all positive?) Anyway, I was excited to be around something all new, but at the same time, it wasn't all happy leaving the land of the beakers.
First of all, my wonderful sweetest boss ever? My direct supervisor who is from China and thinks I am the only person in the world that can write her English for her? She cried when I told her. And she is not a crier. She tried to hide behind some of our instruments so that I wouldn't see. It was like this, "I just think that we are so good together..." tears start, and she ducks down behind a GC Mass Spec. I told her it would be a while before I could start, which is what I had thought, and the next day, it came up that they wanted me right away. So I gave my 2 weeks notice just 2 days after assuring her that I would still be there for a while yet to help out, and she was seriously down all day. Not only would she have to do all my work in addition to her own (because the lab is on a hiring freeze! Yay!) But it also meant that she couldn't take any long trips to China to see her family, because I was the only person in the lab that could cover for her when she was gone. And they aren't allowed to not have all stations manned at all times. So, big bummer for her. And finding all this out did not make me feel exactly good?
But do you know what she did? She responded by gathering up a collection for a going away present, and she made ME write the email to our coworkers. I kept telling her, "I can't write this! Can't you get someone else?" But she wouldn't. And she was saying things like, "Sometimes... my English... I know what in my heart, but I don't know how to say it in English. I want to sat more... about your kindness, and how good you are, and how we are not just losing someone we work with, but a good friend."
See? This was not happy.
And then she brought in a camera and took pictures of me working, and presented me with a scrapbook later on. A scrapbook that she spent a full day and a half putting together. It was so sweet! And so sad!
Do you think anyone at my new job will make me a scrapbook? I'm going to say probably not.
So that is what's going on around here in work world. I guess I won't have any more coworker stories. I'm not planning on writing about my new job, but then I already went and vented a little bit about that, didn't I? That does not bode well.
I'll tell you one thing I won't miss: breathing in carcinogenic gases. Which were not given the proper resources for dealing with. When she took the pictures of me working, she said she wanted to show me "enjoy work" - so here I am loving on some of those gases that poisoned me. It's a goodbye hug. But these, these I won't miss.
See that old gray-hooded sweatshirt I'm wearing? I kept it at work and put it on when I wanted to feel extra sexy. Because if there was one thing my workplace inspired, it was sexiness.
There were a number of other pictures taken of my everyday work tasks. Me staring into a computer, etc. As I brainstormed about what I did every day, one of the things that came to mind was "torment Vienna Sausage Lady." Sometimes I combine this with "exercise" and I would practice my running, flying kicks on her while she is working. Because you never know when a running flying kick might be needed. Or sometimes instead of flying kicks, I would practice my standing crane kick, because if I am cast in the next Karate Kid movie, I want to be ready.
See how much she worked on the little details of the book? I need to give her a call and see how my work is going. And then I need to get back to unemployment. I am soaking it up while I can.
Hope work is going well for you today, real world.
No comments:
Post a Comment