Yesterday was my last day as a Department Natural Resources employee. I've quit jobs before. It's always hard as I'm bad at transitions. I get tucked into my work, even when it's not the best fit for me. I like the people and the routine. In this case - the job was a great fit. It was a job made for me.
I turned in my state ID - photo taken 11 years ago. I took down all my cubicle decorations. Amy Wilken has decided to move 1 door down into my space. It's a good one - once used by Jim Bodensteiner - such a great guy.
Okay, there may have been a bit too much on the bureaucracy stuff. I preferred the helpful side, meeting with stakeholders - instead of the get fifteen signatures for a document thing. My favorite part of the job was meeting people around the state of Iowa.
My co-workers took me to lunch yesterday at the Continental - one of my long-time favorites. It's been around since before my time working in DSM - 11 years. The blackened chicken sandwich is delish! Back when I still worked in Creston there weren't very many restaurants in the East Village - now there are lots! My co-workers gave me a gift card for one of them. And I got a nice plaque from the State of Iowa - to commemorate my service. That's nice after 11 years in Creston and 11 years here. It was pointed out that the back might be used as a cutting board - haha.
I cut out after lunch - not much on goodbyes. Meanwhile...back at the ranch, Paul was slaving away on food for the retirement partay! Good thing tailgating has prepared us for just such events. He made 36 Hawaiian roll sandwiches - turkey, ham, roast beef with cheese. I had made a spicy snack mix on Sunday. Add chips, a veggie platter, and hummus. Don't forget the delicious Every Thing Bundt Cake - red velvet. We were ready to take over Peace Tree Brewing in the East Village.
We got there about 3:30 PM and started setting up. Every Thursday retired federal employees have "Team Building" at some DSM establishment. They showed up right on time. Then others started trickling in. It was kind of like getting married - my worlds collided. The feds, our Creston homies plus the Roses - transplanted DSM Crestonites, tailgating friends, my college roomie Jane her sis Susan and buddy Barb, our niece Barb, Joan - who I lived with part-time for 4 years when I first started working in DSM, and the DNR co-workers. It was a grand group - all to celebrate the end of something. And the beginning!
It's exciting! The next five months are set with some cool trips. And eventually, I plan to get a part time gig to earn some money somehow. I'll worry about that later.
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