So long....and thanks for all the wine.

Thursday was my last day working at the IEA, and I use the word working very loosely since I only spent 2 hours in the office, and I didn't actually do any ''work.'' I tried my hardest to finish up everything work-related on Tuesday and Wednesday, so when I arrived at IEA Thursday morning (at the leisurely hour of 10 a.m.), I just had to clean up my desk, send some emails and say my goodbyes. And, of course, squeeze in a final 45-minute coffee break with Rachel. I had already said goodbye to my boss, Tom, on Monday. He left for a business trip to Norway Tuesday and was out for the rest of the week. Oh the glamour of working at the IEA!

I knew I would be sad when the goodbyes started, but I was surprised at how choked up I became on Monday while saying goodbye to Tom -- I guess I could feel the end approaching. By the end of the week, I figured I would be a blubbering mess. However, Thursday, when the end actually arrived, I didn't feel the overwhelming sadness I had anticipated. Instead, I felt denial... I was overcome with a feeling of surreality. I spent four months anticipating the day I would leave IEA, and when the day finally came, it didn't feel real that I was leaving. I said goodbye to my office and to the people I spent four months working with and getting to know, but I felt as if I was just leaving for a long weekend. I wasn't in tears because I felt that I would be back -- I would see them again. And for some of them, that's true - I had lunch plans with Mirko and Annette the next day. And Mirko has promised to come visit D.C. But the expected feelings of sadness were (and in these scenarios usually are) stuck behind this thick wall of disbelief.

Oh, the tears came later, of course. But at the time, a composed demeanor was probably for the best. This way, my coworkers' last memory was not of my tear-stained face, but of my smile. And who knows, maybe one day I will return. But in the meantime, I would like to say to all my IEA coworkers, for the work experience of a lifetime and friendships I will never forget, so long...and thanks for all the wine.