I have a fortnight left. 2 weeks. 14 days. Lots of hours.
2 weeks left of the first phase of my working life. I’m ending my 5 year IT career and it feels weird. Bittersweet.
I’m going to miss so much about working here. I’m also chomping at the bit and can’t wait to blow this popsicle stand. It’s an odd mix of emotions.
Things I’ll miss
The people. I work with some amazing people. They’re fiercely intelligent, generous, and kind. I have some kick butt conversations with them and I’ll miss having them around to chat with. Politics, law, economics.…… I’ll have to find new people to talk about that stuff and people like that aren’t exactly a dime a dozen.
The food. There is an overabundance of free food that floats around my office. It’s not just any food either. No, this is gourmet food that’s been prepared special. I’ve tried so many new food items because of working here. Turns out, I do like asparagus and gouda cheese and brussels sprouts (in limited quantities but I didn’t die eating it like I always thought I would). It’s not every day, but it happens often enough that I consider it a perk of working here. That means I don’t have to pack as many snacks to bring with me to work, or I don’t have to prep lunches.
My friends. Technically, I suppose this could be lumped under the people category, but they’re in a category all their own. I’ve made some amazing friendships in my 5 years here. My work wife, who happened to be sitting near me when I was an intern and turned into my closest friends. My happy hour crew where we hang out and complain about all the old people holding back our careers. My finance-minded friends, who celebrate each pay-day and bonus day with me and talk about optimizing our budgets. I’ll be able to stay in touch with them thanks to the wonders of technology, but it won’t be the same.
The income. I get paid what feels like a LOT of money to work here. I’ve probably taken that for granted, even though I’ve used that money far more effectively than others I know. I’m really going to miss getting regular paychecks, but I’m hoping that’s temporary as I work to build up my own streams of income (both active and passive).
Things I will not miss
Working for someone else. I’m working really hard and seeing most of my efforts pad someone else’s bottom line. I would like to reap ALL the efforts of my hard work. This also encompasses my feelings about having to be in the office at certain times for certain lengths of time. Aka showing up at 6 am and having to be in the office for no less than 8 hours even if there is no work to do.
Office politics. I don’t care who you are or where you work, I can guarantee there are some sort of office politics or drama around you. It’s human nature. I personally work with someone who hates my guts and doesn’t hesitate to share her opinion with others around me. I’ve let it roll off my back because, leaving in 2 weeks, but it still bothers me and negatively impacts how my team can function. I’m also happy I don’t have to worry about advancing to the next rung on the ladder and what that entails.
True story, a friend of mine recently was up for a supervisor position. Despite having the backing of the VP for it, she was passed over because she didn’t have any previous supervisory experience. So now, she gets to work extra hard and do probationary supervisor level work.….… without the pay and without the guarantee of promotion. Awful.

The mental level of food. I love to eat (see above) but I was ruined for making food. I went from my parent’s house to college dorm to military. I had my food prepared for me for the first 23 years of my life.…. and then I had to figure out what to make. The mental effort of making sure I have breakfast, lunch, and snacks ready to go in the morning for a day at work is exhausting. I also hate having to buy food at the cafeteria at work because expensive! When I’ve worked from home, it’s as easy as going into the kitchen and making food. I very much look forward to freeing myself from the battle of what to take into work. I’ll still probably meal prep because it’s efficient but not at the level I do now.
Limited vacation time. I don’t want to travel the world full-time, or even go on that many trips. I do, however, want to not be rushed when I travel. When I’m working for someone else, I get limited vacation time and that leads to stress. Do I want to go on a two-week vacation to London to see the Harry Potter play, or would I like to take 3 day weekends throughout the year? I always seem to run out of vacation after Christmas which usually means no travel in the spring. Sometimes, you just want to get away from the snow and cold for a little bit. No such dice for me. Now I’ll be able to take as much time off.…… as long as I’m ok with getting paid $0 for not working.
My to-do list
As time grows short, my to-do list (both professional and personal) grows ever longer. Funny how they’re inverse like that.
-I need to finish up some projects at work.
‑Send out emails to everyone I’ve ever worked with using mail merge. (plus a few actual personalized written cards to those I really want to butter up before I go)
‑Schedule lunches/happy hours/coffees with people for one last chat
‑Clean up my office space
‑Grab some moving boxes
‑Pack up my stuff
‑Arrange transportation of said stuff to Minneapolis
‑Do a small repair on empty unit #1
‑Find a tenant for empty unit #1 (again)
‑Find a tenant for soon to be empty unit #2
‑Fix soffits
‑Replace back stairs
‑Swap insurance for rental insurance on house
‑Renew car plates
I get to do all this while working on the blog, podcast, Mastermind group, and Etsy shop. It’s going to be a busy 3 weeks coming up, but I’m up to the challenge! Wish me luck!
Does anyone have any advice on cheap one way moving options? Or on how to deal with slightly hostile coworkers? It’d be much appreciated!
If you can drive, I’ve found uhaul to be the most cost effective one way moving option.
As for hostile coworkers, I try and understand where they’re coming from. It doesn’t mean i agree with them, but i end up being less surprised by their actions. This usually results in less negative impact on my day.
Definitely giving them a call! The one coworker has been on the team for 15+ years and is jealous for sure.
So excited for you and inspired by your leap into entrepreneurship!
Thanks lady 🙂 Can’t wait to see how it goes!
Triple word score and bonus points for using “fortnight”.
Huge congrats! That pic of the cubicle is so desolate and depressing that anyone would choose quitting over that!
Thank you *bows*
To be fair to my office, I have a killer view but I sit with my back to it (probably a good thing or else I’d never get anything done).
Here is my 2‑cents on the moving advice (not first hand, but my kids have used them) — Pods. You have to do all of the loading and unloading but they handle the transship. In general, all moving companies are regulated so the cost is basically distance and weight based. Still, Pods seems to be a pretty good route to go.
I looked at them and they were insanely expensive. $1600!!
How much time are you giving yourself between your last work day and when you actually drive away? This is going to be such an exciting adventure and I’m so happy for you! And no more long distance — I can’t even tell you how amazing of a feeling it was walking into our shared apartment after driving cross country to finally be in the same state. Even almost 9 years later, I still get the chills thinking about it.
My last day is a Thursday. I’ll be putting some smaller stuff in the car and driving up for Easter, then when the weekend is over I’ll drive back and pick up the truck to move in earnest. I can’t wait to be together!
+1 for U‑Haul although moving time is a great point to stop and assess what you actually need. Sell, donate, etc. One of my favorite backpacking sayings is if you can’t carry it in your heart or on your back, you probably don’t need it.
As for the hostile co-workers, is that a trick question?! You have two weeks left, just smile and wave. By the start of the 3rd week, you will be starting a brand new adventure and they will be finding something else to be salty about. That’s a them issue, not a you issue.
I used U‑Haul to move my stuff to my last town and it wasn’t terrible. I’ll definitely be getting a quote from them.
Not a trick question. They’re ruining my last two weeks!
Hi Gwen,
Mike’s suggestion is a good one. I think that it will be beneficial to donate some of the stuff which you think that you are unlikely to use them in the next phrase of your lifestyle. This will minimise the load which you need to transport to other places.
Ben
I think I’m just going to haul it all up there and sort later. I really don’t have too much stuff, and I definitely don’t have time to sort, donate and give stuff away before I move. I’ll have plenty of that after I move though!
Cheapest way to do a one way move is to rent a truck and use a friend. My dad helped me. Penske was cheaper than U Haul and they had a AAA discount too.
I found interstate professional movers to be drastically more expensive than a short distance move. i ended up just buying new furniture. It was cheaper to 1800GotJunk my CA living room furniture than to move it, but also it wouldn’t have fit in my smaller space even if I did move it.
You could also hire some muscle on TaskRabbit to load the truck, and then hire more muscle at the destination to unload it. I also had a car full of stuff , left my car in AZ and flew to CA and then drove back w/ the truck. Because it was just way more economical to do that.…
I don’t think TaskRabbit exists in my tiny hamlet right now, but that’s definitely an option for the other end in Minneapolis.
Yea many people live a cubelife and are not satisfied with it. They should think of new options to work elsewhere.
Good for you!! I love to have a fellow millennial in the FI sphere to read. And you’re moving to MN, welcome!!