You never see the last day coming

So one of the moving companies that are courting me for my business came by my apartment today. While in the process of checking out my breakables he asked me what I do. "PR," I said. "Oh, really?" he replied. "My best friend owns a PR company here in New York." Turns out his "best friend" owns a company I interviewed at last year. I got the job (as per the VP of the company) but his "best friend" was the one who said "Um... yeah, I don't think this is gonna work out." Those were his exact words, if I remember correctly. Small world, huh?

This is my next-to-last day at work. I have loved working here. For all of the headaches and the language barriers, it was one of the most fun experiences of my life. Sad as I am to go, I can't imagine staying here past tomorrow planning press trips to the Loire Valley or translating releases from broken French to perfect English. I'm ready for something new. I don't know if I'm ready for Sin City but I'm excited. And scared. Mostly excited.

When you work somewhere that you love your co-workers become your family. And my "family" is planning a little party for me (complete with cupcakes -- ah, they know me too well!) tomorrow and I know I will cry like a baby with diaper rash when it's all over. These people made me see another side of the world. Hell, they made me see another side of the city I've always lived in. I never even knew New York HAD a French population before I came here. I learned a language. I learned sixteen different ways to wear a scarf. I learned what kind of wine to serve with bleu cheese. I learned that people are people no matter where they come from. And good people come from everywhere.

You can never fully grasp the concept of a last day, even when it is approaching. In a lot of ways my last day here will be nothing like any other day I've ever had here. My office is practically bare. The collage of post cards and thank you notes that decorated the wall behind me is gone. My many cases of wine and liquor that used to sit in the corner have been packed up and sent home. So nothing is like it was. My "last day" probably happened sometime last week. When I leave here tomorrow and shut my computer down and turn off the lights I won't be coming back and it won't even look like MY office when I leave it.

Life is change. Change scares the shit out of me. But I'm making the change. Let's hope I don't screw it up.