Some Things Change, Some Stay The Same...

... and some change a lot!

It's been fun so far being back at the old workplace. There are still a lot of old friends here even though I left 5 years ago. There are some surprises and some things that make me chuckle.

Like the front door to one of the main buildings. It always had this quirky way of sticking when you keyed in. You had to push it in pretty hard and then pull it to open. It's still that way. It wouldn't open the first time I tried to get in so I thought my card wouldn't open it but when I was walking to another entrance I remembered the sticking. So I went back and tried again. I thought for sure by now that it would have been fixed but nope, it's still the same. Actually it sticks worse. Funny that it has never been fixed.

Mostly the place is the same. Not much physical change. Lots of memories here. When I walked into the locker room the first time I had flashbacks of old practical jokes we played on each other way back when. One time a coworker filled my locker with tiny little bottles and when I opened it they went everywhere. Then I remembered the time he wrote a creepy Halloween message on the inside of the locker door with silicone RTV. I checked the door. It's still in there. :)

Then I went into the shower area and when I looked over at the shower I remembered the many times I pulled all-nighters and had to use the shower here. There were times when we worked round the clock with little to no sleep back in the old days and that shower would come in handy. I learned to power nap across a couple of office chairs back then. I know Spacebrain remembers those days.

Then there are the strange things. My first boss is still here. She stopped by on Tuesday. She came into my office and said hello and I did not know her. For real, I had no idea who she was. She had a weight problem that she fought constantly and a few years ago she had that gastro-operation thing. She does not look like the woman I knew. She looks so good! Thin and pretty. New hairdo and hair color. I seriously had to ask her "Do I know you?" That made her day.

Then there is the old friend who has been sick lately. He is about my age but the illness has really cost him. I swear he looks 80 years old. It is a shock.

And then there is the woman who always was the 'barbie doll' person. The cutesie, superior acting one that every place seems to have. She is now a huge person. She always thought she was more than anyone else she worked with. She would even talk that way. I don't know anyone who was spared her stuck-up ranting back then. (Back then she was very attractive too.) But now she has had her wish granted; she is much bigger than the rest of us. Actually she is many times the size of people she works with. :)

The politics here are basically the same. But that never bothered me much. There are ways to get things done without bitching and moaning. You just gotta go by the system. Mostly coming back has been a good experience so far. Lots to do and a definite direction and focus. I haven't had that for a while.

I obviously can blog from here. I haven't vbeen able to do so from home this week. I can't do it as much but I can do updates and then catch up on everyone else in the evenings. Hopefully I'll be able to post some more interesting stuff soon. Today, I'm just glad I managed to get in and say "Hey!"