Final Day!!

This was it.  Today was the day I finished off at Hewitt Associates.

I started off the day with working my back and tricep muscles at the gym.  Then got into work for my last four-hour shift.

Picture of the back of City Park

When I went to make my last breakfast in the kitchen (porridge oats, muesli and banana) my workmate Ryan came in and wanted to get me a Snickers bar from the vending machine, but the machine ran out of Snickers, so he got me a Toffee Crisp instead.  Was a surprise really.  Had not expected anything from Ryan.  However, he is a kind guy and on my birthday last April he bought me a Snickers bar.  He got me to choose a chocolate bar then so I chose Snickers cos it had peanuts which equals protein.  Haha!  Well he remembered that so that was cool of him =)

 At half past nine Ian and Leanne came over to my desk and gave me a gift bag.  The bag had a Good Luck card, an erasable Pilot pen and an organiser pad thingy.  The pen was the coolest - you can write on paper with one end and then remove the writing by rubbing over it with the special rubber end.  Voila!  Gone!  Soo cool!!  Again, another nice surprise from another two of my closer workmates who have become good friends.  Ryan is another buddy.  Me, Ian and Ryan worked in the same place in our previous job but were made redundant and all came to Hewitt together.  =)

At ten-thirty we were notified it was our monthly Fruity Friday when we get LOTS of fresh fruit delivered to the office for all the staff to enjoy as part of Healthy Eating Hewitt.  It has been going on for a couple of years now and each month I'd always be one of the more eager employees to go grab some fruity goodness.  This time was no different, especially it being my last Fruity Friday.  =D

An example of what we get to pick from =D

What I chose for myself  =9

At 12:10pm Ian came around to my desk again whilst I was doing work.  This time a big group of workmates followed behind and they gathered round to give me more leaving presents!!  =D  This presentation I was not as surprised with because it is a custom at Hewitt that if someone leaves we chip in towards a leaving card and presents for them.  But what I was really surprised with was what they got me!!  After a few words from my team leader and manager I was presented with another gift bag.  This time it was much bigger.  I looked in the bag and took out a big bottle of Appletiser!!  Who thought of that?!  It was David!  He remembered I don't drink and that I'd prefer Appletiser in our nights out.  Haha!  Cool!  There were also two bottles of Kopparberg alcohol-free Pear Cider.  Lol!  Class!  Apparently they are really nice.  And then there was a leaving card signed by a lot of workmates in the office.  Inside the card was a printed out Play.com voucher for £50!!  I was like "Woah!!  This is sooo cool!"  =D  What a surprise!  I had no idea they would have collected that much money towards my presents.  It was also very nice when they said I will be missed =)  I'll miss them too.  Some folk I've been around for three years now, sharing the same floor space and I won't see them anymore or say good morning to them.

After the group disbanded the Polish girls from Krakow who have been training with our team since January came up me and gave me ANOTHER gift bag.  They said they wanted to give me something to say goodbye.  They thanked me for helping to train them.  And they said that I'm always friendly and smart looking etc.  (Makes me blush!)  This was totally unexpected cos these girls I had only known for eight weeks and didn't think they'd get me anything besides maybe chipping in for the main presents from the office.  Inside this bag was a Good Luck card, a bottle of M&S red wine and a box of Lindt white chocolate! =O

I felt so loved.  So blessed by God that so many people expressed themselves to me through these gifts and it really meant a lot to me.  By the time I settled down there were only ten minutes left of my shift and I had to pack up my stuff, shut down my computer system and say final goodbyes to some folks.  And of course, take another picture!  Haha!

A picture with my buddies: David, Ian and Ryan :)

So off we went for lunch at Cafe Sejuiced.  My second visit in three days (the previous one was Wednesday).  The place was quite busy because it was a Friday and of course for a lot of people end of the month is also payday.  We struggled to find a table for the eight of us, but we managed to put three wee tables together to get us all seated.  Again, I was treated to lunch.  This time by Eileen and Roisin (Thanks girls!)  I had ham salad sandwich with Tomato, sausage and pesto soup =)  Wasn't very filling but lunching with the guys (and girls) made it very enjoyable.

(Left-Right: Agata, Eileen, Roisin, me, Bogusia, Dominika and Justyna)

(Same as above, except with manager Lee)

After lunch we walked back to City Park and I parted with them at the front door.  Hugs and handshakes all round and then I walked to my car to put my stuff in the car and drove home to get ready for a driving lesson.  There's no rest for the wicked they say.  Haha!  I feel so blessed and I know I will miss everyone at Hewitt.  I thank God for making me who I am, and for favour among my colleagues.  As I embark on my new journey as a full-time driving instructor I trust that He will continue to guide me and that I will be a blessing to those who are around me too.  All praises unto Him =)