And of course now I'm sad to leave

I'm sure that this is because I know I'm going, but I'm really going to miss 90% of the office. I teared up a bit when one of my team told me how much she's going to miss our mad dashes to the elevator at 5 on the dot. I'm going to definitely miss my team and trying not to feel guilty for how things may change for them once I leave. The Partners brought someone in to shadow me and while she's super nice everyone keep saying they don't like her because she's not me. If she gets the position, I hope it will work out for her and everyone else in the team. I definitely don't want to leave people in a lurch.

I'll start work bright and early Sunday morning and I'm looking forward to it, but definitely nervous. At my current job, people know what I can do, appreciate it and we get along well. I'll be starting all over again and I just hope I can make that same impression again. It kind of feels like when you're about to start at a new school and you don't know where anything is and you're super nervous. That's me right now, sad I'm leaving and super nervous about my new start.

1 week left!!!

And I'm go glad, Inept Co-worker is back to her old ways again. She knows I'm going, so she has started cursing at my team, telling them to get her coffee and order her lunch, throwing papers at them and telling them to do "urgent" tasks for her while she strolls out for her 6th 15 minute smoke break of the day. I'll talk to the Partners before I go, but if it reverts back to the way it was, they are going to be down the only 2 admin staff they have left. I was so boiling mad I actually started shaking some because I know that unless the Partners step in in a big way once I'm gone, she will continue to do this.

I'm wrapping up all of my work. Making sure that everything that needed to be done has been done/sent out/recorded. I've made sure that all my emails pertaining to Inept Coworker have been added to the document management system, so that things she's dropped the ball on will be less attributed to me. Although at this point, anything she says is my fault, even if it was, would be disbelieved. It's pretty bad when your reputation won't even allow anyone to trust you when you're telling the truth. But I'm trying to make sure it isn't even an issue and all of my loose ends are tied up. The office has also tried to sort out when we'll be having my "leaving doo" as they call it. My last day doesn't work because we're going to a co-worker's Halloween party right after work, the night before doesn't work because the office advocate is having everyone over to his house for dinner. I might come back the week after I leave to have some drinks and I'm sure hear all the crazy dirt.

I'm so excited to start at the new job!!!!!! I still need to email my new boss and find out about the arrival time, where I need to go to get my HR orientation and dress. Now that I have my driving license, I'm getting geared up for hobby time. Liam has been on my back for years to start golfing. He even bought me golf clubs on sale in Australia in 2008 and I've never used them. This year he won his guys golfing group award for something, I don't even know and got a nick chunky gift certificate for the local golf club. So I'll be taking a month's worth of lessons and then Liam keeps saying it will be our date night to go out for a round of golf. I'm not so sure, but I know that it's a good way to meet people and all that jazz, so I think I'll keep it up. I also bought a sewing machine and will be looking into clothes making classes that should be starting soon. Fun times!

The waiting game

2 weeks left of work...

We had a 5 day weekend which was great! Yay for Eid break, boo for Z getting hand, foot and mouth disease on the day before she's due to go back to school. It's apparently very common here. Small blisters show up on feet, possibly hands and maybe in the mouth. So far it's just on her feet and they will go away in a few days. Nothing can be done to move it along and nothing to prevent it other than washing hands a lot.

So I'm back at work today, many will still be away for Eid break, so I'm sure it will be a slow day. Everyone in the office knows I'm leaving now. They want to have some kind of lunch/dinner/drinking to see me off during my last week. I would go out to drinks with everyone after my last day, but that's Halloween, so I'll be taking the girls out trick-or-treating. Inept Co-worker was seriously pissed she wasn't informed first about me leaving because of how much that's going to inconvenience her...riiiiiight. If proper measures aren't put in place when I leave I think it will take less than a month for everything to go to pot again and I'm sure my name will be yelled in effigy by Inept Co-worker until the end of time for all of my "mistakes". Everyone in the office is dreading my departure for that reason. I am practically skipping to work these days because I know what I'll be leaving behind. I'll miss 95% of the office and the work I did was fine. The new job will have me handling some legal work, which will be in a non-lawyer capacity and in collaboration with the in house counsel of the school. I'm good with that.

The new job is already paying off in dividends. Their "fixer" has managed to work out my immigration issues and get me my ID card, which also meant I could get my driver's license, which is amazing freedom!! Freedom to actually drive my car and freedom from paying almost $400/mo in taxi fares. I'm going to have to contact my new boss because I still don't know what my hours are and what the dress code is. When I went for my interview everyone was in polo shirts/tshirts and jeans with flip flops or sneakers. I don't know if it was a dress down day or something, but I don't want to show up in my normal work clothes if everyone else is chillaxing in their comfiest clothes. I think I'm going to have to buy some jeans!

   

Halloween is coming

Over here Halloween lives in their weird place of being a semi-holiday that Americans have pushed people from the UK and Australia into celebrating. Costumes, trick or treating and pumpkin carving are things a lot of people have adopted even if they wouldn't have celebrated in their home countries. One of the big obstacles to the traditional festivities is finding pumpkins! There are no pumpkin patches where you get to go out and pick your own pumpkin. Last year we didn't find one :( This year we're determined. If need be we will be going to a hotel for a pumpkin carving class because that might be the only place we can find them. The options are 1) searching random gas stations that also sell produce 2) Make sure to butternut squash or 3) scour the wholesale market where produce is imported into the country. This isn't a farmer's market type of deal, this is almost like a port for veggies where there is no direction and kind of organized chaos. We went to it last year, but were unsuccessful.

We have purchased costumes for the girls. There will be a Halloween parade at school and I've taken a half day so I can be there. We're gearing up for the holiday season and I'm getting so excited!!

Notice Period

So the impasse is over and I've given my notice at my current job! All the formalities, reference checking and background checking is over and I've signed my offer letter. I'll be working in a non-legal setting with a semi-legal focus. It's a great job with a big pay and benefits bump and I'm so excited! I'll start at the beginning of November.

The notice process is actually a lot easier because the new job, without telling me, contacted my current employers for a reference. It could have been seriously bad, but the partners are cool with me and gave great references, so they knew this was probably coming. They asked if there was anything they could do to get my stay. The partners had previously offered to pay for the bar process, but with the understanding that I would stay on for at least 2 years as a fee earner after I qualified. I've seen what they do and how they work and at the end of the day it wasn't going to work for me. My new job will also pay for me to take the bar, so I may go that route with them.

It's strange working during a notice period. I've never really had to do it before. When I left a job it was always because of a natural end (ie leaving the country, program ending, or a remote job), so this is just strange. Not everyone knows, I don't know if I should be sending out an email or something. It's just strange to hear people talking about what will be going on in November and I know I won't be there and I'm not sure how to tell them. The partners gave me their blessing when I sent in my resignation by email because both are out of the country and the one month clock needed to start ticking. Relief and excitement are my middle name!