The last work day of summer

What a sad day it is today here at work. The end of August, the end of summer, and the last day of work for some very good people. I have written of the departures of Candy last week, and today it is Robert and Lisa who are leaving my circle of co-worker friends. Thank goodness I still have Adrienne and many others to keep me smiling (and a job, not to be a total ingrate!) Before Robert left today he added my picture to my blog, taken at the Seadog brewery as Ron was leaving at the beginning of the summer. That was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun that afternoon, in spite of the beginning of the goodbyes. They were all laughing at the Jack Nicholson sunglasses taken off a bus....It's a long story.

Also this week I heard from my friend Michele, who knows that I think of her all the time, and has been going through some "stuff". She is on my mind and in my thoughts today.

Linnea, who as always impresses and distresses me, spend a great week at home last week, and returned to Reading on Monday. She is back successfully at work. She had a nice time at home, and I miss her lots. Still no word from the PC, and the third and hopefully final BP will be done on Tuesday, and everything faxed to them on Tuesday morning. I just keep hoping and plugging away at the process.

No matter what happens, and even in the midst of the sadness around work, I am truly grateful for having worked with and the opportunity to count Lisa and Robert among my friends. Happy Labor Day!

Where has the time gone????

Okay, this is what happens when you spend time living for the future instead of in the moment. A whole month passes, and the details are lost. I will try to remember for this blog all that has been going on this month since Lisa, Robert and Candy were let go. From the last report, my attitude about work has obviously not improved much. Some of it might be attributed to the summer doldrums, but some of it is just dealing with loss of friendships and working relationships that worked well. The last working day before moving from Portland, I had a little meltdown on my way into work. Not only for the friends losing their jobs, but just as much for the people keeping their jobs but moving to Saco. It finally sunk in that I won't be seeing them as often, and how much I will miss them: Jen, Jen, Melissa, Melissa, Charity and Sharon. Pretty sad to let go of the beautiful space, too. No more watching the tugboats leaning against freighters to guide them to port when I am should be focused on the work, no more frigid mornings watching the smoke on the water, no more great view.
Okay, enough of the pity party. It is sad, and I am sad, but there is still a lot of good work to do. The good parts of the move are mostly focused on how close to home I will now be working, and how much more free time I will have.

Right after I wrote the last time, I went down to Pa. to spend some time with Linnea. Again, I am so impressed with how much she has accomplished. She has her bed, her bedroom and the new floor looks great, and she seems happy. We got a kitchen sink, counter top and her Uncle Bob got everything installed. She now has running water everywhere except hot water to the bathroom sink. A little bit at a time....

On the Saturday that I left Pa. (the 11th) my grandmother had a Wine and Cheese party. It was a lot of fun, and good to see them before they headed out to Louisiana for the Fall. She is planning a big shindig for her 90th birthday in October! How fun will that be?

The week of the 13th the only fun I had was lunch with Betsy on Wednesday (she is looking pregnant and happy) and drinking 3 gin mojitos at MJ's on Thursday night at an after work get together. Lisa had to drive me home, but I don't think I embarrassed myself too much. It was pretty fun overall. On Sunday, I spent the day at Belgrade on the water with Mike and his brothers family. It was nice to see them and get some sun and time on the water.

This week it has been sad, but I went back to Belgrade yesterday and hung out on the lake again. Kayaking, reading, a wonderful phone call from Kirsten, and relaxing: I should take better care of myself that way. Today, it is back to the same thing...

Tuesday musings

It has been a stressful week at work since I last wrote here. My boss, Lisa, who has become a friend, was let go last Friday. Yesterday, I had to let go both Robert and Candy. I am sad about all of this, and think that things are really messed up if this is the way this business is run. Everywhere else I have ever worked, the indirect costs are secondary to the service delivery piece. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I am sad and frustrated, and want to hear from the Peace Corp. Escapism has always been my favorite defense mechanism!

The personal parts of my week have gone well. My grandmother, her husband and his kids and families were in Maine from last Wednesday until Sunday morning. They are a great, fun bunch of people, and it was great fun to hang out with them for a few days. On Saturday, my mother had a family reunion for her cousins on her father's side of the family. Many of those people I had not seen in close to 30 years. It was a good time, and beautiful weather all weekend.

Tomorrow I am heading to Pennsylvania to help Linnea paint. Each time I go she has done something more to the house. I am looking forward to seeing her. Before I head out, I am going to get the last (hopefully) of my required blood work done. Then just 3 more BP readings under 120/80. What a process. Given the past week at work, I continue to look to plan B, C, and D, in the event the PC doesn't pan out. I just don't think I want to be in Maine this winter. Time will tell where I end up.