Endings and Beginnings...

It has been an emotional roller coaster of a week.

As I counted down the final days at the library, there were many loose ends that required tying. I conducted one final session of Civil Treatment for Managers, a very intensive training which looks at building a respectful workplace based on employment law and organizational policies. It's an extremely well designed training and I enjoy presenting it. (and I'm available as a freelancer now, so if you know of anyone who would be interested...) In addition, I worked to set up the library's training calendar for the next couple of months. This was important in light of the fact that this week, the Maryland State Dept of Education announced that more training hours are required for librarians to maintain their certification. This announcement meant that my final days were punctuated with phone calls and emails from folks wanting reassurance that they were on track to meet the new requirements. Taking care of all this kept me busy right up until the very last minute. I didn't leave the my office until almost 6:00 on Friday night.

I did take time out from the frenzy at work to say so long to friends. On Thursday, "Jaye's-Last-Night-in-Maryland" happy hour was a blast! I didn't do a head count, but I think at least 40 people showed up, including both library friends and aquarium friends - even an old college friend. It was quite a night... or at least what I can remember of it after 2 margaritas, one sangarita (Don Pablo's signature mix of sangria and frozen margarita) and a double shot of Malibu rum. :-) Thank you to everyone came out to send me off. It really meant a lot to me and I hope you know that I treasure each and every one of you. I know there were some pictures that were snapped, so hopefully I'll have them to post here soon.

In addition to all the things happening in my world, a bit of sad news from the real world penetrated my little bubble. The man who was the primary suspect in the anthrax mailings, Bruce Ivins, was our next door neighbor when we lived on Military Road. I knew Bruce to be a very sweet man, a considerate neighbor - the kind of guy who would shovel your walk if you hadn't made it outside to do it or would just stop to chat on a sunny afternoon. More importantly, he was loved and adored by the best judge of character I've ever known, our dog Samantha. I don't know what evidence the government supposedly has against Bruce, but I'll never believe that he's guilty of what they've accused him of doing. If I were still living in our house, I'd be the neighbor on CNN saying, " This is just shocking. This is not the Bruce we knew." In fact, my friend, Bonnie is that neighbor. Check it out - AP video. Rest in peace, Bruce.