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Last Day
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It's interesting to leave a place, interesting even to think about it. Leaving reminds us of what we can part with and what we can't, then offers us something new to look forward to, to dream about. |
Friday, August 6, 1999
Two years ago: Three Kinds of Friends
Today was finally it: my last day at Microsoft. It's been a great place for me! I've really met a lot of congenial people, and I've felt that I've contributed to some great products. Too bad most of them were secret! Well, not really secret, but the CD-ROMs that I worked on from 1993 to 1996 didn't sell in any great numbers, except for Cinemania. If you ever get hold of Microsoft Multimedia Stravinsky, Mozart, Schubert, or Strauss, check them out (if you can find a system to run them on). Robert Winter was the author of three of them -- I forget the other author -- and they are great for learning about the compositions and lives of the composers. They were Voyager CD-ROMs for the Mac before we ported them, so you might find those versions more easily. The Microsoft Complete Gardening CD-ROM was also very good.
A manager on the gardening CD approved of me, so she brought me on to the IE team in the beginning of 1997. I was glad to work on a product that people have heard of! And then she recommended me to a friend of hers which led to my new position. Thanks, Val!
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I was pleased that a small gathering to send me off had been arranged for late afternoon. So many people have been leaving that it wouldn't have been surprising if this hadn't happened, especially as I'm a contractor (that means, employed by an agency, not Microsoft). We had hot finger food (taquitos, chicken wings, meat balls), chips and salsa, cake, beer and wine -- a nice spread! And I was satisfied with the turnout. I even met a few folks face to face that had only worked with me via email, before! I asked my officemate of this week to take some pictures, though I took the one of the cake.
I was especially glad that my former teammate Jackie was back from maternity leave in time for me to see her baby. Jackie was such a great asset to our team!
When the party wound down, I took care of a few last details, then took some stuff to my car. I had to go back inside. But they'd already turned off my card-key access, at four in the afternoon! MS security was really on the ball today, I guess! But I called my teammate on the phone by the door, and asked him to come down to the garage and let me in one last time.
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I went to the First Friday Dance sponsored by the Savoy Swing club, this month with the theme, "Sweat Your Summer Blues Away!" The organizers (Carla in this case) have been working hard lately on themes, games, discounts, and promotions, without losing track of the reason we are doing any of this at all: dancing!
Carla asked us to wear blue (that's why I wore the blue dress in the pictures), and the pre-dance lesson was on "Blues" dancing, or that slow dancing where you get up close and personal. A partner was recommended, and I don't have one, so I didn't take the class. I showed up while it was still going on, and watched, though. Greg and Sarah were doing great, better than when I took a similar class from Steven Mitchell! Everyone seemed to be able to follow what they were teaching, and successfully complete the move with style and ease. I liked seeing most of the dancers wearing blue. It looked like a scene from a movie, with everyone color-coordinated.
Soon after the dance started, a tall young man with a backwards driving cap spoke to me: "Are you Anita?" It was Julius Yang, an LA-area dancer whom I know from online. We both post to the Delphi lindyhop forum, which is Southern California-based and Hollywood-style centric. I'd forgotten that Julius had sent me mail, asking about dance possibilities for this weekend, when he'd be visiting Seattle for someone's wedding. He introduced me to his regular dance partner, Colleen. He and I danced a few times, and I introduced him to a few other partners when he told me he was shy about asking people he didn't know. I don't know if he considers himself a Hollywood-style lindyhopper, but I did feel some of that in his dancing. It's a slightly different style than I am used to, but I could follow him.
The dance was fun, but it was warm and humid! The warm weather isn't unusual for a Seattle summer, but the humidity is not what we usually get. When I left, it was raining, and there was even some thunder and lightening!
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