End!

So, today was my last day at work at Dartmouth College. It's always sad to leave a place, but at the same time, exciting to be going to the next step in life. I mentioned to Sue the other day that if it wasn't sad to leave a place, that means that there's some sort of problem... Just my belief...

I spent the morning walking around to offices here, wishing people well, and generally just connecting with people who it's fun to connect with before leaving. Of course, sometimes you see odd things that just make you laugh... Like this:

At first, I thought, "Someone's buried a bike in the ground!" However, then I realized the true purpose of this.

It's a seat for the Earth.

After visiting some offices, I got to take a Community Director candidate on a tour of the campus, which basically meant that I got to show her East Wheelock, my (now former) cluster. When we got here, I discovered that my ID, which is used to gain access to the building, had been turned off! Ouch!

Fortunately, there was a painter in one of the lobbies who was able to let us in, so the tour could proceed apace.

After the tour, I left to go to our ORL end of (academic) year cookout. Always a fun time, I just relaxed at it, chatted with some people, and continued to NOT WIN ANYTHING in the raffle that happens every year. I thought with this being my last year, I would win something, but unfortunately, I continued to be a loser. My number was 634, and both 633 and 635 were called. Not that I'm bitter or anything...

At around 7pm tonight, I met up with some co-workers to enjoy a "last day" dinner with them. Thank you to CD Daniel for pulling this together, it was appreciated on my part. On the way out, I noticed this sign at another local restaurant:

Really, there's just something I find comical about the phrase "Beat the Pump."

I should have something philosophical or deep to say about this transition in my/our lives, but I don't know if I'm ready for this yet. I mean, I've been here at Dartmouth for 5 years, so it's a good chunk of my recent life. I got married while working here, met a lot of great people, and have gained good experience. I think because I'm used to transitioning, this is just one more, for right now, but I also think there's more to it, that I'll see with time. Maybe in a few days, maybe in a longer period of time. I'll digest this a bit more, and let you know what I come up with...

NP: Bill Nelson - Fellini's Picnic