Two Weeks Notice

...I figured I would need about a month to pack up my entire house/life etc. and the timing worked out where I would give my two weeks notice via email while on vacation in LA. They didn't know I had planned to move out to LA months earlier and what did it matter I had given my blood, sweat and tears to that company with nothing to show for it except my 401k which was going to now fund my new public speaking career. Steve and I previously decided I would make the big move on October 25th for several reasons one of which I had a weeks vacation planned to come out and celebrate his 50th birthday and flights were booked well in advance as we always did to save money. I woke up that Friday morning and had run the words of the email around in my head a million times and once I finally typed it out I read it another 5 times, yay OCD! It felt really good to hit the send button on that email. As soon as it was done I sent text messages to my two closest friends in the office to let them know my plans. I had felt so terrible not revealing the news to them earlier but I needed to keep quiet until I gave my notice. They had seen it coming as far as my developing relationship with Steve and once I told them they both reacted with "finally" and as happy as they were for me they were going to miss working with me. As I would miss them too. Almost a year later and we still keep our friendships going strong. 

The email to my bosses were responded to immediately with positive words as I wasn't quitting for another job but to start a new life somewhere else. Little did they know how close I was months earlier to walking out the door and working at my gym. My job had become so stressful and unhealthy as the volume of workload was crushing that I almost never took a lunch break and sometimes didn't get up from my desk for hours as I moved from one endless task to another. I stuck it out because of the amount of vacation I accumulated and because I knew I would be starting my new life elsewhere soon enough.

I returned on Monday from vacation and the news had spread throughout the office and shop. My position at the company included working in some capacity with every employee, I had been there for almost 6 years and people didn't leave very often so it was big news. Unfortunately when you think of how great it is to give two weeks notice my experience didn't come close to how I imagined it would be closing out my time there. My boss (the one who had trouble replacing BL) didn't use that time wisely at all. No sign of anyone coming in for an interview until my last few days there so that meant they would be splitting my responsibilities among four people and I had to train all of them. Two of which were those close friends I mentioned earlier who were themselves overwhelmed by their own workload. I wasn't scheduled to train anyone until last minute and they continued to have me work on all my projects and responsibilities until a few hours before I walked out the door. It was the worst two weeks of the six years I spent at the company. Every day other employees were baffled and asked why I hadn't been allowed to hand things off as was typically done when you leave a job. None of this surprised me since I wasn't treated with respect and the valued asset I was to the company before so why would I expect it at the end of my tenure. Not to mention the natural stress and pressure I was feeling because I was picking up my whole life and moving across the country. I simply didn't think I would be coming in every day to a workload that wasn't diminishing.

It wasn't all bad because my fellow employees and colleagues from outside the office were so supportive and nice and genuinely happy for me. They all wanted to know the details of my move and what I was going to do when I got out there. I shared my plans for my public speaking venture and stuck to the generic story of being a victim of a violent crime and my speaking out for prevention and advocacy. They expressed how bold it was to move away from everything I knew and everyone I loved to start a new life and a new career. I told them all that it was an easy decision because it was the right decision. This was how I felt about life changing decisions I had made in the past 10 years since my date rape. What I wanted to do may be hard but if it's right then no matter what you can get through it. I also had a lot of time to adjust because Steve and I had been together a year and a half and we had talked about it a lot before jumping into anything. 

On my last day my friends got some people together to say good bye to me with a cake and cards with words that put me to tears. The company executives whom I worked with directly every day since my first took me to lunch. I felt special as this is not something they do for anyone. I came back from lunch finished up a few last bits of work and emails and made my way around the building to say good bye to everyone personally. I truly enjoyed working with all those people. We had a lot of fun times together in and out of the office and I would miss seeing them every day. Finally it was time to leave so I took the box of personal items from my desk and walked out the door. It was very emotional and bittersweet...