So much to write about - mostly about my exit from my job, which was a pleasurable experience. My last week was filled with those long, deep conversations that you have with people who you like but never became friends, due to constraints of time, lifestyle, or priority. It will never cease to amaze me how people who despise everything about you will offer backhanded compliments while toasting you at a holiday party.
On the whole, though, the week went swimmingly. I have been planning to leave for almost six months, so there really should not have been any last-minute transition tasks... but of course there were. No problem, though, as it's easy to help people out just before you exit stage left.
At our holiday party, our CEO made quite an event of my departure. He said some very nice things about my time at the company, and then gave me three gifts. One indoor miniature golf set to practice in my spare time (I ran an annual minigolf tournament for three years). One bottle of Veuve Clicquot. And to top it all off, a pair of steel champagne flutes. The first was inscribed, "Lucky, thank you for your dedication from the beginning. Student Universe" The second: "Souviens tes amis de Student Universe quand tu fais des nouveaux". I'm not sappy, but that did moisten my eyes a wee bit.
After the party ended, most of the company went off to the Hong Kong, where the specialty is the Scorpion Bowl. The Hong Kong has somewhat legendary status in the Harvard Square area; apparently it's been there for 60-odd years. The Scorpion Bowl is, as you can guess, a bowl which could probably hold the Hudson Bay, filled with ice and a vile mixture of fruit juice and rocket fuel. Curiously, there are always a few plastic animal figurines in the bowl (scorpion fodder?). The bowl is accompanied by several straws, all the better to encourage mass overconsumption with your friends. I didn't stay too long, but it did take me an hour from the time I decided to leave until I actually exited the establishment. Saying goodbye to colleagues takes some time, especially when you like them, and you won't be seeing them for years, if ever again.
The next day I woke up, rented a car, packed my apartment up, drove to my office, packed up my desk, and left the Boston metropolitan area. I flipped it the bird as I flew down the Mass Pike, and smiled.
12:56:28 AM 
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