A Fond Farewell, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

Earlier tonight, I gathered with a few of the original Webdex folks for a small, intimate dinner to say goodbye to the old company. It was a great evening filled with great food, lots of wine, laughter and conversation.

When I first started at Webdex, I was paid next to nothing being straight out of college. I was ok with it though. After all, I saw it as a stepping stone in my career. However, the longer I stayed there, the more I wanted to see the company succeed as a whole than just me alone. I think the remaining folks would probably agree with that.

I did get to take photos with my new camera lens. It was really nice, however, I am beginning to see SOME disadvantages to having a fixed focal lens–the biggest being no zooming in and out. Half, it had difficulty focusing in the dim restaurant light, but it could’ve been the operator not metering the shot right or the fact that I was running on a pretty low battery. I think next time in lighting like that, I may try a different setting like shutter priority. I DID like the fact that I could take photos of everyone around the table and no one really noticed or paid any attention. That was exactly what I wanted to achieve.

More photos here.

Today, our office is at a standstill because somehow or for some reason, our server got locked up by all this outgoing spam. So, while our resident computer-fixer-guy is working on it, I’ve come up with a list of things to do (in no particular order) at work while you can’t work.

1. Complete whatever tasks you CAN complete without email, printer, and/or file server access (which, believe me, is limited).
2. Follow up on personal email correspondence.
3. Catch up on your social networks (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.).
4. Shop online and make a wish list of stuff you want to buy and stuff you wish you could afford.
5. Clean your desk and catch up on filing.
6. Actually talk with your coworkers face-to-face rather than via AIM or email.
7. Search your to-do list for something SOMETHING you could do that doesn’t require email, printer, or file server access.
8. Have a meeting that you’ve been putting off or have scheduled meetings earlier.
9. Call your mom to see how she’s doing.
10. Talk to your coworkers about dogs and chickens.

I will never run out of trash bags. Ever., originally uploaded by krisalis903.

Carlos’ (the janitor) last day was yesterday so everyone in our building got together to throw a surprise going away party for him in our lobby, complete with balloons and cake. He was so surprised, especially when we presented him with a Visa gift card to spend however he wanted. Everyone was so heartbroken to hear his company had been outbid by another company. From what I understand, all of the companies in the office sent emails to the building management to let them know how we felt about the decision to let him go.

Originally his last day to clean was Thursday but he returned Friday to clean out the rest of the stuff in his closet, some of which were these trash can liners. Rather than tossing them, he wanted to give them away so I figured what the heck, I’ll take them. As I showed him where my car was, he told me that he’d been cleaning here for 14 years and would really miss everyone in our building. Although I’ve only known him for the 4 years I’ve worked there, it would be very sad and very strange not hearing the wheels of his trash cart come rolling into our office around 5:00 Mondays through Thursdays.

Goes to show how even the smallest most insignificant roles can have a huge impact on a community.