take it on the run

today is my last day of work. after two and a half years there, it's time to turn in my office keys, and surrender my laptop. the latter will be hard, as i've gotten spoiled by the ability to surf the web from bed. yeah! let's hear it for poached wireless internet connections! and let's have three cheers for unemployment!

all in all, my time at this job has been a positive learning & growth experience. although i'm leaving direct counseling practice (as mentioned before), i'd like to keep my national board certification as a counselor current. at least for now. yesterday, my co-workers took me out for a farewell lunch at my favorite thai restaurant (the lime leaf), and gave me a going-away present. one chapter ends as another begins. i'll be moving (again, and finally) in just two short weeks. in three weeks, school starts. this marks the beginning of a long journey which will hopefully culminate in the title "Dr." placed in front of my name (yikes!). between now and then, there's a zillion things to do.

lately, everything is happening so fast that i haven't had time to process all of it. it's been a pretty emotional time for me. that's at least partly because, as i finish work tomorrow, my dad officially retires from 36 years of university teaching on 7-31-06. last weekend when i was at my parents' house, i helped him clean and move out of his office. wow, i just don't know what to say. it's like, on one level, all of these changes haven't sunk in yet. at the same time, all of this--especially dad's retirement--is making me feel super nostalgic for my childhood, and for the good old days spent growing up as a "faculty kid" in a college town. i practically grew up on campus! maybe the fact that i'm compiling old photos and memorabilia for a retirement scrapbook is what's driving the nostalgia.

flashback to 1983. i was nine years old and listened to REO Speedwagon. Flashdance was a box office hit. i wore legwarmers. and you would have often found me visiting my dad at his office, feeling sassy and important as i spun around in his office swivel chair, while he graded papers. add in the occasional smirk as i watched my dad scribble a red-ink bad grade onto a student's exam paper. ha! ;-)

23 years later, my dad's retiring, i'm on the cusp of big changes, i hear that 80's fashions are on their way back in (NOooooo!), and REO Speedwagon is working on a new cd.