Moving on

Big news in beanieland... Her Beanieness is upping stakes and moving on out.

A few months ago, when the takeover merger of my company was completed, I was all whaaah, "stupid merger," mourning the end of an era and worried about my future employment status.  As it happens, I didn't end up unemployed and the new owners made a real effort to assure me that I was a valued member of the ongoing team, albeit doing work I didn't enjoy as much.  That was a big relief, but at the same time, I was experiencing a natural resistance to the changes as well as being less than impressed at the new owners' lack of leadership.  We were running around like the proverbial headless chickens because one person would tell us to do one thing and another, something else.  They also exhibit a severe lack of respect for their employees' time and opinions... unfortunately in this their reputation preceded them, and they have done nothing to disprove it.  Case in point, one day last week one of my coworkers was scheduled on conference calls starting at both 5:30 am and 6:00 pm.  It doesn't matter what you do in the middle... that basically mandates a nearly 14 hour workday, and they don't think there is anything wrong with that.

But today was my last day working there - and it was a hard one.  Mainly because of my foolish sentimental nature.  I wanted to sneak quietly out the door, dodging goodbyes from coworkers.  But it was not to be, everyone wished me well, a small group took me to lunch which was nice, and my best friend cried so I did too.  Boy am I glad that's over. 

Tomorrow I start a new job, taking up the role I enjoyed before the merger, but for a smaller tech company staffed by seriously smart people that are excited about what they do.  I'm trading a 15 minute commute through the countryside for a traffic-clogged 45 minute slog into the central core of Portland.  (This is why driving was on my mind recently - I hope to carry a certain zen calm into my new commute so as not to relapse into questionable driving habits.)  But that is essentially the only drawback to the new position and frankly I've been spoiled in the commute department - it's not like millions of people don't deal with worse journeys to work each day. 

Well, there is one other drawback... I'm giving up my office, a nice space with a window and a door that closes and everything.  When I first moved into an office after working in cubeland, I kind of missed the social hum of a communal workspace, but I quickly grew to appreciate the luxury of my own private place.

(the old workspace - documented for posterity and of no interest to anyone but me)

On the plus side, the new company's space is configured so that nobody has an office - even the top execs only get a room with four walls but no door.  But even better, the cubes are on the outside of the building so the cube dwellers (including yours truly) are afforded the luxury of a view.  And my particular view is over the river, across the city and out to Mount Hood, from 15 stories up.  Not bad at all.

Also, I've negotiated a four day work week in the office, with Fridays working at home, which I'm totally stoked about.

There is a buzz and energy at the new company, and it will be a refreshing change from the merger blues still pervading my old company, and I'm totally excited to move on to the next chapter in my professional life.

Wish me luck at my "first day of school!"