return to earth

I'm not gonna lie - I teared up while watching coverage of the first miner being pulled out of that Chilean mine. It was quite moving, even though I was of course indulging in my cynical side and telling Terry all sorts of awful jhokes over IM. But, as I've been listening to it for the past five hours (more on that in a minute), I've gotten a bit too snarky about the meaningless patter that the news anchors keep saying. My favorite is any version of 'he has returned to earth' or 'on solid ground for the first time in 67 days' -- really? They've returned to earth? Ha.

Anyway, I had a lovely if continually bittersweet day. I went in, got some work done, and had lunch with the big boss's husband -- we worked together long before I started working for the big boss, but he switched teams a year ago and so I haven't seen him as much and wanted to say goodbye. Then, I worked for another hour before going back to main campus for my last free birthday massage. It's unfortunate that I found this massage therapist just before I left, since she's the best one I've had at work in the seven years I've been there, so I got her card for her private massage practice (even though I'm three days away from unemployment and lack of income, so massages are going to be fewer and farther between). Then, I went to the grand opening of the new onsite store, where I scored a free pair of mittens in our rather garish colors.

I did another hour of work after that, even though I felt too relaxed and lotioned up to really be eager for productivity. Then, I took a long coffee break with Chandlord, who was in fine form, before coming home and eating some Hot Pockets while getting work done. I worked until about eleven, sending a bunch of emails that I needed to get out while watching the mine rescue. And then, in my most important act of the week -- I retinseled my hair. I haven't had any tinsel in my hair since I got the bangs, but I put in black tinsel in honor of my departure from work. I'd had people vote on Buzz for what color of tinsel to use, and the big boss weighed in for black, which I just happened to have on hand. As it turns out, it's actually pretty noticeable, because it's a black metallic that adds a subtle shimmer -- so it's perfect for my last three days.

Now, I desperately need to sleep; my last big boss staff meeting is tomorrow morning at eight a.m., and I don't want to be late. Goodnight!