"I Will Not Take These Things For Granted"

I am, at heart, a sentimental bastard. I can't help it, really. I don't necessarily get gushy and weepy, but I've never liked seeing things end (well, except Friends. Damn, I was glad to see that piece of trash go).

So here I am, sitting in the Writing Center for my last shift as a Writing Consultant for the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department.

I've filled out my termination paperwork (Reason for Termination: lack of pie), I've turned in my key, I've said my farewells to most of the other consultants and my boss. In two hours, I'm officially unemployed, even though I still have two paychecks coming.

So part of me is very sad to be leaving this place, though I'm loathe to admit it. I never wanted to come to OU in the first place. I never wanted to tutor athletes for a living (something inside me still balks at the notion of giving them preferential treatment, especially after seeing the way so many of them treat the extra assistance we provide). I really never wanted to get attached to this city, these people, this job. It all just sorta happened. And now I'm leaving it, and it feels just a little sad.

I've spent the past few days saying 'goodbye' to people, both here and across the state, really. Friday was the last gaming group meeting--we saved the world, blew some stuff up, and generally had a wonderful time. Saturday, I visited my friend Ali. We had lunch, putzed around the mall, and generally just hung out. On my way back to Norman, I stopped at Best Buy on I-240 to look for a DVD my uncle wanted for his birthday. I managed to run into my father and Clif at said Best Buy looking for the same DVD. We headed up to Bricktown, had a bite to eat, and they went to a baseball game while I returned home to Norman to attend a going away party with the Writing Center folks. After that ended, I went home and collapsed.

Today I went to Shawnee for a birthday dinner for my uncle, father, and mother (mom's was a couple of weeks ago, but they were on vacation, my uncle's is like tomorrow, and dad's is in a week or two, so it all worked out, really). Unfortunately, no one had bothered to mention to me that the time of the dinner was changed, so everyone else had already finished eating by the time I got there. I ate some food anyway, chatted with the family for awhile, then came back to Norman to work.

The next week is going to go in much the same fashion. I'll see some friends and family, say goodbye, do a lot of packing and moving, and slowly detach myself from this place. Come Saturday, I'll be gone. This chapter of my life is reaching the last paragraph, and I can see the next chapter ready to start.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Toad the Wet Sprocket, "I Will Not Take These Things for Granted"