last day at work ...

today was my last day working for the english text processing unit of the language services of the conference management division of the united nations office at geneva ... phew! a mouthful!!! but more than a mouthful is the love and appreciation i felt working with my colleagues.

i shared with my colleagues that it was a job worth getting up for. i never dreaded going into work and i would actually look forward to going and spending the day with the people i work with. and because we work in text processing, we saw the product of our labours every single day. day in and day out, we would produce finalized copies of conference papers, resolutions from all types of meetings including the infamous economic commission for europe (ece) documents that regulated and standardized fruits and vegetables to the more disturbing transport of dangerous goods.

i learned a lot on this job ... and i really felt appreciated ... and my boss interrupts me, "so why are you leaving? i thought you were intelligent." to that i just politely chuckled and smiled. because i knew the answer, it was time to move on because opportunity had presented itself.

i got a promotion. that promotion was God's hands at work. it was one day in may after getting back from holidays in the philippines that the head of personnel called me. he asked if i was interested in a possible move and a promotion. i said "yes" because it's not every day that you get asked that question. so i went to see him and he asked "why didn't you apply for this position?" honestly ... i didn't even know there was such a vacancy.

as a backgrounder ... i had prayed earlier on, i don't remember if it was the same week or month, because i had started getting bored at work. i wasn't usually like that. so, i prayed that if He willed it that i would be able to get another job. the problem was, i never applied for anything because i never really looked at vacancies. and here was my answer. how good is God to answer my prayer so quickly even if i did not lift a finger to realize my prayer. and to not act at this stage would probably be smiting Him. so, i applied and was e-mailed for an interview. after the interview, months had passed. i knew the post was due to be filled on sept. 1 but i had not received any indication that i had gotten it so i applied for leave and went home to surprise my mom on my bday. my boss granted me the leave maybe because she had wanted me to stay. she knew i was offered another job.

i went home thinking nothing about the other job offer. when i got back to work, all of a sudden, my boss calls me in. she shows me an e-mail saying that i had gotten the promotion and she didn't know whether to say congratulations or not. she said to think about it. i thought about it.

i accepted the post because this was the answer to my prayer. even if it is scary to start in a new place with totally new responsibilities, i have to because it will help me gain new experience and broaden my horizons.

and to top of my leaving, my colleagues planned a surprise farewell that left me crying. they even gave me a watch. the regular watch i used to wear stopped working at 12 noon yesterday. and a friend showed great insight and said ...

"the watch is really a reminder of God's perfect timing. and perfect plan."

she was right. everything happened in perfect timing down to my getting my marching orders just yesterday, a day before my last day. i got my official memo from personnel saying i had been promoted and a call from my new boss saying i will start come monday morning.

i wasn't able to take any pictures of the farewell because it didn't occur to me to take pictures. i was so happy to be among them eating and talking that i forgot.

after the party, i cleaned up the rest of my stuff. i had already cleared my other things the day before. i now needed to say goodbye to my office with its wonderful view of the lake. i was supposed to savour it and walk out slowly. but my colleague offered me a ride home and having to carry much, i obliged. but i didn't feel right. i almost forgot i was supposed to run an errand and had to catch the store before it closed, so again, i got home in time to buy what i had to and then still make my way back to say my goodbye properly to my desk and chair and view, take my last call on my office telephone, and to walk out slowly from the unog ... up the hill and out its gates ...

on monday i will be starting at the documents processing unit of the office of the united nations high comissioner for human rights ... where the old league of nations used to be seated.

a new chapter begins ...