I'm leaving. Today.
I'm not going to say goodbye. Goodbyes tend to be permanent and final. It is far preferable to say 'farewell'.
Fare-thee-well in the meantime, because we will meet again.
Nonetheless saying farewell is still dangerous business.
Inevitably I may miss someone or something. If I happen to miss you, and I invariably may, the beauty of this platform allows you to respond by commenting- scroll to last line of article, click ‘comments’.
By all means, embarrass me if I omit to mention you, but in the meantime email me your non-office contact email so we can do naughty little things on the sly :-)
***
My first words of farewell go to my team.
Kiong, you’re the best boss of the boss (being Wayne) anyone could have. You are always approachable and easy to speak with. You seem to have the sharpest of minds and the clearest of insights- often, I think to myself ‘That was a great idea he just had’. I can always feel a sliver of home through you and through the food that you at times bring around. Thank you.
Wayne, you’re best boss anyone could hope to have. You are quite simply,
the man. There is nothing the man does not know or cannot do- nothing stops the man. You are always happy, you are never fazed and you have a great sense of humour. Your management skills are unparalleled. I enjoyed all our little chats en route to meetings or to and from site- chats about RC racing, babies, eBay, computers, websites and… even Transformers. I look forward to receiving the final product of that transforming project you have on... heh
Michael, we’ve been on the same team since my start. We worked on two large projects as a team and I’m never happier. In terms of working in a structured, methodical manner, you’re at the forefront. I am continually amazed at the details that you produce in record time. I enjoyed listening to the anecdotes about your travels- particularly the part where you worked in a London cheese shop for a year and learnt all about… cheese!
Felicity, I was impressed with your professionalism since your start on the team. It takes fabulous foresight and tremendous tenacity to produce that amount of drawings for Package 4 at that level of intricate detail. I thought it funny that you broke your little toe hitting a sofa; that is, until I myself hurt my foot chasing moths. That’s hilarious retribution, if there ever were such a thing.
As much as I can, the following words of farewell go, in alphabetical order, to the office.
Adam D, you had one of the funniest horses in the ’06 Melbourne Cup- it’s name is something we all want to say out loud, don't we? I still retain one of the many green printed notes your team made.
Adam Rob., we’ve not had much opportunity for words. Still, I find your 4-ish ritual can of Coke and packet of something crunchy extremely intriguing if not in itself tempting.
Adam Rus., young
padawan to Wayne 'the man' D., we’ve had a blast of a time. We unofficially formed the ‘HDD energon club’, ‘the coffee club’, ‘the chocolate cohort’ and ‘the Transformers club’, which at one point featured a Transformer on every person’s desk for a 3 meter radius around us. Though I’m leaving, I’m confident the good times will continue to roll, if not within, then without.
Adrian P., we have a few things in common: our ownership of Macintosh laptops, the secret knowledge of where the second box of Nescafe instant coffee is stashed and your courageous attempts at transforming a Transformer. I will certainly keep my eye out for your daughter’s close friend at my new work, and send her your regards when I see her.
Adrian Y., the ever energetic fellow yapper. I’ve yet to see you low on energy or caffeine for that matter. Where do you get that endless energy? Okay, it’s time for a coffee, or Teh Tarik maybe?
Andrew Chr, we’ve not spoken much but we’ve certainly had lots of beer together during and after the ’06 Christmas party. Cheers!
Andrew Cle, the quiet person who works so hard. I recall and appreciate you helping out with the WF bars during a trying period. That was great work. Thank you for that!
Annette, thank you for being always there and for the choice Friday goodies and for sponsoring our ‘HDD energon club’s’ private stash of M&Ms and coffee! I'm sure our eBay discussions will continue...
Ben, a short stint on our team then quickly gone. I hope we did not scare you off and if we did, I can assure you it's not my fault!
Brendan, unfortunately our largely similar names led to less confusion than they should have. We had a chance to create havoc, to do great misdeeds! Now we’ll just have to rely on your occasional wardrobe similarities to do the switcharoo with Roger.
Carol, one of the most kindest and friendly faces around. Thank you and Oscar for loaning Leader Class Optimus Prime to our desks where he stood proud and vigilant for a number of months.
Celine, you were on my right for a short while before disappearing to the other end of the office. I’m not too scary I hope. Glad you enjoyed the post Melbourne Cup Krispy Kremes.
Charlotte, welcome to Australia! I know you smile, perhaps incredulously, whenever I have my Transformers or McDonalds' conversations with Adam Rus. If there were more time, you would eventually get used to it... and perhaps even join us?
Christopher, you’ve introduced me to one of the best Laksa places in Sydney. Yum! Still, we’ve yet to have that lunch with our mutual friend, your housemate.
David S., we’ve spoken less than we probably should have- last time was during your own renovation of your house. It must be done by now, and done very well I’m sure.
Delia, I’ve got to say these things, I can’t help myself: you’re half my size but you eat twice my amount at double my speed- you are the little monster, the chocolate chomper, the coffee connoisseur, the comic collector and the bestest buddy.
Dickson, the quietly efficient worker. I’m glad that we’ve had the opportunity to sample great coffees, mochas and fine Jap food on a more than regular basis. There’s no reason for that to stop, I’m sure.
Ed, thank you for all your support and for answering my usually tax related questions. I enjoy the chats we’ve had and I hope I haven’t given you too many headaches. I do try to do my timesheets quite expeditiously, I am continuously conscious.
Feng, the master photographer. Your series of shots on the recent lunar eclipse were the most impressive I’ve seen anywhere. I’m sure there’s a lot I can learn from you with regards to photographing... for my Transformers!
Frank, the ever around, the ever reliable. I hope you have been following the Bleach manga more religiously than I have? I've still to hear the exploits of your August NZ ski trip by the way...
Graeme, you have been ever gracious in tolerating the chats and rants I have with Wayne about projects, project managers and all things sundry. I don't plan on stopping though. Next year I will continue to call Wayne on the phone (at 4:15pm that is) and you might have to continue hearing our rants.
Jan, thank you for your support and help. Thank you for organizing our Work cover and Fire Warden training sessions.
Jeff, you’re the first person I spoke with on my first Friday drinks session. I’d still like to see the ‘vintage’ computer punch cards that you said you used for drawing in the past. If only it had come sooner, I would have loved the chance to have worked with you on a China project.
Joel, ah, what can I say. You are few and foremost, you are a fellow friend of the Golden Arches. Think of me when you have your next Hotcakes or McMuffins fix. Better yet, let's go get 'em together.
Jorg, have not spoken with you that much, but why speak when we can have an ice cold beer together!
Joshua, I like your horse and hat designs for the JPW Melbourne Cup. I look forward to seeing what you will come up with next year. Pretty in pink maybe?
Lasz, thank you for your support. I enjoyed all the little chats we had =)
Maggie, you seem always happy and it is delightful to encounter you in the hallways- because you are always smiling and that lights up my day too.
Mat H., it was great working with you in preparation of the Waterproofing report. I think we had a great seminar and a blast of a time.
Matt M., I enjoyed the opportunity to work with you on the Asplund's Library competition, although in the greater schema I only did things which was relatively minor in scope.
Matthias, fellow Aconex user supreme. Thanks for giving highly insightful feedback about Aconex- you gave me the chance to sound intelligent during the AConnect seminar.
Monique, my 'trainer' for JPW Melbourne Cup '06. I jumped into the fountain before Jermaine, so how come we still lost to them? We gotta do a rematch, sometime.
Naigel, Santa Claus at the '06 Christmas party and giver of my kris kringle present. You have a great sense of humour and I enjoyed all our brief exchanges.
Niki, welcome to JPW. Here's hoping that you enjoy your stay. I know I did and I'm confident that you will too, in time to come.
Paul, I had fun preparing images and doing pin-ups with you during Sydney Open ’06. I vividly recall you retelling your first work day in Hong Kong and the peculiar disjunction between Cantonese and English. We should probably continue that conversation about that overbearing lawyer you mentioned... sometime soon.
Peter, we do have apparently similar dietary habits- Hunter Connection Rice Designer and Laksa! On another note, there is something about baby gifts...
Richard J., I’m continually amazed at how simple salads for lunch can fuel the amount of thinking that you must be doing daily. Also, thank you for having me on the SOH team.
Richard R., last Christmas you were halfway through telling me your theory of 'the origin of the universe'... I'd be delighted to finish that conversation soon, over some McDonalds breakfast? My treat of course.
Roger, the whizz-kid, young
padawan to Wayne 'the man' D. and clearly one of the most capable workers around. You do 10 people's worth of work on a normal day. Our culinary explorations will continue. I will only go as far as Smallville; I will not be far away.
Supinder, we spoke about you and your new place and sort of stopped coming across each other in the hallway or pantry. Pretty bizzare.
Yuwan, you will now have to seek Adam Rus.'s help to get your Transformer, his name is Ricochet by the way, back into car mode.
Zoe, lucky last. Hope you enjoyed your brief stint with our team- your impeccable knowledge is extremely impressive. On a totally unrelated note, we share a common liking for
Stranger than Fiction and, oh, have you watched
Closer yet?
***
In closing, I'd like to mention Zhou, Viola, Florian, David G., Jo Park, Belinda and Carolin. They've all since left, but nonetheless have added to and enriched my time at the office.
So, farewell for now and in the famous words on Mel Blanc's tombstone,
that's all folks!
