RosemaryLong.com

Note: I apologize for the lack of coherence in this blog entry.  I was thinking of what to write when leaving the office Friday afternoon, and it was utterly brilliant.*  Then the weekend happened and this is all I can remember.

I love my new job!  During the first day, I got settled in by customizing my computer and making sure I had my tools of mass construction in place, then got a tour and orientation for some of the systems here, ending with (whee!) posting a wiki article.  The second day involved some site updates, and it was unbelievably satisfying to have my stuff go live. I feel so nimble and lightweight with the processes here.  Also, there are opportunities to take my learnings from planning a file management system for Critical Mass and apply them.  Continuity is also satisfying.

Top left: Sign outside our building.

Top right: My chair (LOVE the zebra stripes. The alternative is the same type of chair that Allard sat in, which was often fought over in the CM office.

Centre: My desktop. It looks way more professional than my old desk decorations.  Returning cast members include my white coffee mug that only went missing twice in the CM office, as well as the snakeskin notebook from my friend Kim.

Bottom left: My view. There’s a kitchen past where those black chairs are where my tea collection has gone communal.  If you can make out the faint outline of a toilet, you’ve identified the washroom where there is also a shower.

Bottom right: Grandpa Smith’s Boots. So I went downstairs for some general office administration stuff, then encountered a group of the downstairs team all doing a still life sketching. After being asked three times to join (it’s my weakness, I can’t say no after three times), I sat down with the group and drew. I can’t remember the last time I did this. It was so relaxing, grounding, and a great way to get to know the team better.

Okay, now back to weekending.

*I can claim that it was brilliance because as it is forgotten there is no proof against it.  Mwahaha.

I found this great site with desktop and icons that are exactly my style.  Thank you, Pixelgirl!

I thought I was in for a very rugged experience when I heard that our campsite wouldn’t have flush toilets and showers (yes, I was spoiled in the past), but it turned out to be very luxurious, especially in the food department.

Ribs Act II: Flavor and All His Friends taken from Beaver Mines Lake 2008 Photoset

Friday’s dinner:

• BBQ chicken
• tomato/pepper/basil salad
• (there was more food that I missed out on since I was setting up the tent)
• wine and s’mores

Saturday’s breakfast:

• Coffee pressed from hand-ground Dominican Republic beans
• Eggs
• Thick-sliced bacon, grilled on the fire
• Whole-grain buttered toast

Saturday’s lunch:

• More BBQ chicken and chicken wings
• Roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic and fresh basil
• Tinfoil mushrooms with red onions
• Pickled asparagus, carrots, stuffed olives
• Fresh pineapple

Saturday’s dinner:

• Ribs smoked for 12 hours (Heavenly! The star of the entire trip.)
• Tinfoil carrots and potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Beans made with whiskey-deglazed caramelized onions
• Poached pears and peaches served with vanilla bean ice cream
• Three lovingly-created s’mores for dessert

Sunday’s breakfast:

• Hashbrowns with leftover sweet potatoes, sauteed onions and two-year old cheddar
• Maple sausages
• Eggs
• Hand-ground coffee

Sunday’s lunch:

• Homemade burgers stuffed with sundried tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, garlic, onion, and Kim’s other secret ingredients on a multigrain bun with dijon, banana peppers, lettuce and tomato
• Ice cream from the nearby hamlet

Sunday’s dinner:

• Grilled deer steaks
• Apple chicken Spolumbo sausages with dijon and sauerkraut
• Roasted vegetables
• Filipino Tanduay rum and coke, lime wedges

Monday’s breakfast:

• More hand-ground pressed coffee
• Multigrain toast smeared with loads of melty brie (one of my pieces had black cherry jam to punctuate with sweetness)
• Sausages from the night before
• Eggs
• Hashbrowns made with the same burger mix from Sunday’s lunch

My mouth started to water when recalling the culinary delights we enjoyed during this trip. I don’t know if this is a diet-concious food diary entry, or if this is something I should be confessing to a priest in a box.

My last day at Critical Mass went by very quickly. I’m writing a stream of events that happened that day, so that when the visual memories flash by in my head like a projector movie I’ll have some semblance of chronological order to them.

Dropping off thank you cards to my closest friends. Feeling like a visitor in my own desk as I had packed my things the day before. Jonathan Arkell’s personal thank you for the card I left. Confimring last-minute lunch reservations for 25. Watching “Superman vs. Carcin-O-John”. Matt Chan bringing me a chinese bun because my stomach was grumbly. Calling shotgun to get a ride from Jeff Bolton, and the hilarity that ensued. Lunch with new team members and departed ones. Being greeted by Ninja and Sprout back at the office. My last Knowledge Management team meeting. Saying hi to Debra and Pickles. Running off to the local wine store for a sample of prosecco. Making rounds of goodbyes. Goodbyes shorter than expected, as people snuck out for the long weekend. One last conversation with Jonathan Arkell about the better things in life.

I left my parting email short and sweet, as goodbye emails from everyone else in the company seem to recall the same best things about the company that I do.

And then it was over.