saying goodbyes

an old and true friend jabbered me to ask if i cried during my farewell speech.

she knows me well enough thus the question.

i cry buckets easily so it was really a pretty good effort on my part not to be bawling when i said my (impromptu) farewell speech yesterday.

there is a tinge of sadness of leaving a company i have been passionate about for more than a decade. it was heartbreaking to say thank you and goodbye to truly exceptional people who had to trusted me to steer our projects to success. it was heartbreaking to look at the faces of true friends who have made seemingly impossible work conditions bearable. i felt a sense of loss to realize that there are interesting people i would probably not be able to work with anymore.

but i did manage to keep my tears at bay. wanting to leave with a smile :)

however, i only said goodbye as a "warrior of the light" of nsp. i only said goodbye as a pm, pl, bridge se, design engr, nihongo training coordinator and a host of other tasks i assumed before.

maybe that is what made it easier for me.