GEMMA: Bye, Bye CrystalD

Well, at least for the next 6.5 months. :)

Yesterday was my last day working at Crystal Dynamics / Eidos before starting my maternity leave. I think the timing was just about right. I'm starting to feel the weight of the baby and with my new found swollen state, I'm happy to be able to relax when I want to and raise my feet.

While I was packing up, I found a list of early hires at Crystal (from '92 - '98) sorted by hire date. I am by far the elder statesman at Crystal. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing but it is the thing. :) After being there so long (since January '94) I was surprised to find that I was not phased by leaving. It was not an emotional day for me. It was tiring for sure, but not emotional. I'm glad. :) I feel confident in life - with Gemma and Scott and whatever happens with work. I think I'm in a really good (the best) space right now!

But even still, that very morning I found myself not being able to get out of bed until I could visualize myself wearing just the right outfit (comfy but stylish) and saying 'goodbye'. :) I also had a similar experience the day I was to start training my replacement for my current job (when I return I'll be on a different team). That morning I just couldn't get the right outfit on and my hair was going to be a mess no matter how much time I spent wrangling it. Funny how the mind works. But once I got to work and started delegating, it felt better. It still did take me longer than it should have to hand off my schedules though. hahaha. :) But I DID!

So, my last day was very nice. About 20 of my co-workers took me and Scott out to a great sushi place in Atherton called Bonsai Sushi. We had a great time in the private room they gave us and the food was super yummy. It was a really nice send off. Thank you, everyone! :)

Here's a little picture summary of my time at CrystalD:

Me, really early in Crystal history. This has to be about 12 years ago! I love the big chunky monitor with Blood Omen PC on it, my hemp shoes, the picture of Francesca (about 3?) , the big goofy calculator and half eaten burrito on my desk. This picture really cracks me up!

Early friendship... This day when I saw that we were wearing similar clothes, I exclaimed, "Hey, we're sisters!" He laughed and didn't let me live it down! :)