A "Good Bye" 4 Months Later

A little after 4 o'clock this afternoon I went to a local Mexican restaurant and had dinner but not alone. I met some of my coworkers from Perot Systems there. When I was "let go" on that fateful day in April I never did get a chance to say a formal "goodbye."I wanted to take an opportunity get together with them at least one more time.

There were 9 of them there: Gail, Kristi, Mary Beth, Vicki, Valerie, Dorothy, Marsha, James and one of my best friends ever, Linda. I took a couple of pictures of them with my phone but they weren't very good (I need a better camera phone, I guess). There were others I wished had been there but they all had other commitments.

I was a little nervous getting together after 4 months. I was worried that perhaps I no longer had anything in common with them. In less time than it took for our waiter to bring our beverages I realized that I had nothing to worry about.

We started catching up and cutting up almost immediately. The jokes, laughs and irreverent comments began right away. I asked about changes at their job and they asked me about my search for my job. After several comments about my shorhaired dome I told them my hair cut story (See July 29 post). Before our meals came to the table I realized that in a way I was still part of the group. They still laughed at most of my silly jokes. I felt more comfortable with trying to be funny than I had in a long time. Even though I no longer work with them they truly are all still my friends.

It was great to just to be around them and listen to them talk about their lives and discuss both the changes and staus quo at Perot Systems. We were there for about an 90 minutes or so just enjoying each other's company. I asked each of them how they were doing and told them of the things I see or do that still reminds me of them. I was really enjoying myself and wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Soon everyone was finished eating and asking for their checks. I gave a couple of them the web address to this blog and asked them to read it. I just want to warn any of them that if you read this on a regular basis you are probably going to find out a lot more about me than you ever wanted to know. Feel free to add a comment and keep in touch.

So even though it took 4 months I'm glad I finally got together with my former Perot Systems coworkers. While my time of employment with Perot Systems may be over I'm certain that some of the friendships that begin there will last for years to come.