My amazing last week at Rapp Collins

Last week was an amazing week.

Monday, admin came up to my desk and quietly asked me if I would mind leaving before my official last day on August 11. would I mind leaving on July 31?
that would've been just Thursday, you know. three days hence.

some people balked when I told them.
but when it comes right down to it, I always value time over money.

besides, I had asked God for two weeks off between this job and the next.

Tuesday was my last time presenting at Rapp.
I decided to share a book review on Purple Cow.
it was unexpectedly well received, with quite a few superlatives thrown around. it's a good feeling, shedding light.

Wednesday, I had lunch with Adrian, the big guy of Malaysia Airlines account servicing.
Vivian and Boone came along for the meal at Delicious (something like Rapp Collins' unofficial supplier for lunches).
it was a splendid meal with good friends. I had duck confit spaghettini and an espresso (what else?).

Thursday, lunch with Fazlee, Carol, Soo Fun, Guay Chin, Boone and Shune.
most of us have been in the same creative team for some time now.
it was good to sit down and eat together for the last time, officially.
we sat down at this humongous 18-seat dinner table at first, before moving to a more appropriate spot when it opened up later.

shortly after we arrived, Guay Chin and Soo Fun disappeared for some time.
when they returned, that's when I discovered that Soo Fun is one of those people who has to step into a bookshop if there's one in the building.
my kind of person.

end of the day, I stepped downstairs to Dragon Head for "a beer" with Martin, Eugene, Pam, Armi, Elaine, June, Elisa, Zak, Adrian... quite a gang.
it was supposed to be "a beer" because I had one last job to finish before I left; a website update for Malaysia Airlines.

I went back upstairs after some time, my face red, and met Shune.
"there's no such thing as 'one beer', eh?" I said.

I had two.

Thursday was a memorable day.
I have grown attached to the folks at Rapp.
the farewell email I wrote was also unexpectedly well received, with more superlatives thrown about.
it's a good feeling to connect, and remember people.

Friday, my iMac was ready for pickup.
I'd ordered it more than a week ago.
so I went to "machines" at The Gardens, with Adeline, to pick it up.

did you know that when you buy an iMac at machines, they have a hot babe in high heels deliver it to your car for you?

well, yes and no. this is what happened.
I asked Eugene, the store manager, if they had a trolley I could use to bring the iMac back to my car.
it's about 9 kg, maybe 10, with the box.
a doable carry, but I always try not to waste energy when I can help it.

anyway, Eugene said he would carry it to the car for me. very nice of him.
when he picked up the box, Janice, a sales assistant, spoke a few words with him and took over.
she carried the iMac box up two levels; along corridors, up an escalator and a lift.
I assume it was because Eugene was supposed to man the store or something.

so here was this slip of a girl in a denim skirt and heels cradling a giant box in her arms followed by a guy in brown corduroy shorts an an iPod shuffle around his neck, in turn followed by a tiny woman holding an Isetan shopping bag with an adorable pink lace top inside.

it was really good service, yea. but a bit hard on the ego.

setting up the iMac was a dream.
plug in the power cable. the keyboard. the mouse.
switch it on.
connect the FireWire cable to the iMac and the old iBook.
click a button, and everything's transferred.

click, click, click, and you have a new computer with all your old files and settings.
it's like I just picked up where I left off, except with a more solid keyboard and a humongous screen.
oh, and much better audio.

of course, real men wrestle with Windows and really real men do it with Linux.
but writers who want to write instead of fiddle endlessly with computers, well...

that was Friday.

Saturday, I went for Life Group at church with John and Su Shen, and Li Shuan.
and guess what I hear?
two close friends are expecting a little one.
apparently he was conceived during their Penang holiday and made his presence known via morning sickness during their Bali holiday.

did I just say he?
they don't know the gender yet, actually. it's still too soon.
but I just feel like he's a he.
I could be wrong, but that's what I feel at the moment anyway.
and a little aside:
I was looking at my two bracelets and realised that I have been wearing them for one and a half years now.
I just thought to God, "it would be nice to have something else to wear".
just like that.

Saturday, John brought a bunch of man-jewelry he'd bought while travelling, heh.
I have two new bracelets now.
nice timing.

it's a small thing, but small things matter too.

so that was my fantastic thrill-a-day week.

update: the following Monday, my next employer called up and asked, "do you mind if we pay you for the whole month of August, instead of just the second half of the month? and you do some work over the phone?"

well, I told him I didn't mind. I didn't mind at all.

some people were concerned that I was not being paid for the days between my previous job and my next job.
now it's all covered.

life isn't always so good, but when it is, I've learned to go with the flow and stock up the joy for days that are less than exhilarating.