I'm not going to post about last night without explaining why there were 30 of my friends at Bar 515 celebrating. While I can't say yet where I'm going (not until Monday anyway), the big news is that Friday, February 11, 2005 will be my last day at General Motors Asset Management. After a little over eight years, I will be moving on for a really fantastic opportunity. It has been a great experience, which I will write lots about when I make my official announcement on Monday. For now, I'll just be concentrating on the party last night.
I think Tim really captured the significance of the occasion when he asked, "What else have you done in your life for eight years so far? Nothing." He was totally right. GM had been the longest continuous association/presense I've ever had. Talk about an era. Anyway... more on Monday. On to the party.
First of all, the turnout was amazing. I really didn't expect so many people to show. One of Dorean's friends said to me, "Wow, you have a lot of friends." I guess I do. I just don't like losing touch with people, especially when I've met quality people. My life, in spite of the fact that it hasn't taken me too far geographically, has taken me through a lot of different groups of people and so I've met a lot of people that I would like to keep around. Last night, people from so many different parts of my life were represented. It was a little overwhelming to see them all there at once, and to feel like you're responsible for them having a good time. I suppose that's what the alcohol is there for... its like a babysitter. "Mr. Beer, could you watch Brian for a little while while I go greet some guests?" Anyway, there were people from home, from Genesis, Regis/Marymount days, Fordham, GM, kayaking, baseball. I thought it would be interesting to plot the entrance of selected people into my life on a timeline.
No, I'm serious, I actually did it:
It will be interesting to see how that plays out over time. Maybe I'll do another one for my grad school going away party. :)
Anyway, I know you're all dying to see the pictures. To be honest, I didn't get as many people as I would have liked to. I was pretty busy hanging out with everyone, but I did get a few. Perhaps I should have deputized some people at the bar with the Powershot. That always seems to get the volume up and the quality down.
