July 13, 2015

I spent the better part of last week in California at work. It was a somewhat difficult and emotional week, between meeting with HR to arrange for my “voluntary termination”, and saying goodbye to a lot of people I’ve come to know well over the past 27 years. It’s not the last time I’ll see most of them, but it may well be the last time I see them for a year. Being the workaholic that I’ve been, these are my friends and family. I’ll miss them.

On a good note, it definitely felt like serious progress and commitment to moving forward with departure. I have an “exit interview” to conduct with my employer on July 23rd, and the next day is my last. So as of now, it’s looking like somewhere between July 25th and July 27th for the actual departure date. My travel health insurance starts July 15th, and my employer health insurance ends July 31st, so I need to get out of the U.S.

On an even better note, I’ve wanted to team up with a charity of some kind during this trip, and I found what I was looking for. I’m currently working with the organization to develop a plan, and will pass along more details very soon.

I spent the past weekend saying more goodbyes. Old friends drove to Austin from out of state for a farewell dinner. It was great to see Will, and to meet his fiancee Ashley. They’re awesome people with an unbelievably great attitude and a bright future ahead of them. After Chickensh*t Bingo at the Little Longhorn Saloon, I had to take them to Gourdough’s Public House for “donuts”. If you’ve never had a dessert donut at Gourdough’s, you owe it to yourself to experience this place if you’re ever in Austin.

More goodbyes this coming weekend.

Not long now…