In the past eight years at Info Support, I've said goodbye lots of times, to lots of different customers.
Some of my work consisted of real consultancy: visiting a customer for a day or two, to advise them on dealing with a specific problem. Other times I was more of a temp worker, being assigned full-time to a single project for several months or even years. Sometimes, my contract ended because the project was finished, the problem solved. Other times, I had to ask my manager to gently "pry me loose" from a customer, because I felt that it was time for me to move on — that's what being a consultant means, after all. But always, there came the time to say goodbye.
Friday, December 22th was a particularly special goodbye for me, because it was not only my last day on that project, but also my last day at Info Support.
Yes, I've decided to move on to another employer. Not for a bigger salary, or because there was anything in particular which I didn't like about Info Support. However, after eight years in the enterprise software field, I've seen enough administrative software for a while. I will always be a hacker at heart, and in my new job I hope to find some new challenges to satisfy my love for hard-core technical problem solving.
Notwithstanding my decision, I've had a great time, during which I've been privileged to work on very interesting projects with some extremely smart and competent people. Fortunately I expect to stay friends with many of them, and to meet them again in the future. Nonetheless, for now, to all of my former colleagues:
Thanks, and goodbye!
(I've set up a new personal blog at http://www.mwolf.net. Like this one, it will probably be rather low-volume, with new posts appearing only when I feel that I have something genuinely interesting to share. Feel free to visit, or add me to your RSS reader!)