as promised lol, slightly edited

—–Original Message—–
From: toad
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 15:48
To: *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****, *****,
Subject: Goodbye cruel ******, it’s over, walk on by 😀

Today is my last day with ***** and ***** and I’d like to take a moment
to reflect on the last year and a half I have spent with you.

When ****** offered me this contract I was living in Memphis, TN,
quietly running my small but fairly successful web design business. When
****** called I pondered it for a while, thinking how it had been almost 6
years since I had been in an office setting and initially told him
thanks but no thanks. I had serious doubts of whether I could work in a
corporate environment after so many years of living in “in the wild” as
a freelancer. He assured me that it was a very relaxed and laid back
environment and I would be okay. I decided to give it a shot. Worst case
scenario I could handle it for a few weeks and it would give me enough
money to move back to New Orleans and get the hell out of Memphis.

I quickly sold and gave away every stick of furniture and jumped on the
southbound Amtrak train with a computer and clothes. I arrived and made
a month and a half long tour of crummy motels and guesthouses since
finding an apartment post Katrina was proving very difficult. Highlights
of that included the Oasis Motel on the Westbank and the mysterious
blood stain on the comforter. That rocked. I also stayed at that hotel
on the corner of Canal and Claiborne. That one had rats running down the
hallways and very pretty color of blue mold in my room. No warm water
for showers in the morning either. I finally found a place in Midcity
and ended my tour of nasty new orleans flop houses.

I slowly got into the office routine. To try to make myself feel more at
home in my new cubicle, I brought up some things from my previous life.
Which included many stolen bathroom signs(which ken made me take down),
a palm tree rug and a jesus candle. For the majority of this contract I
had more things in this cubicle then I did my entire apartment.

I was so terrified that I was going to lose my contract for numerous
reasons that I was saving every dime and not purchasing any furniture. I
lived for months with only a camping chair and an air mattress. After
bringing a few dates back to my apartment I soon realized that I’m going
to be a very lonely unless I got some stuff. It started with a couch and
chair and has ended with a entire apartment full of furniture and
things. My girlfriend says she would still love me if I still slept on
an air mattress but hopefully I’ll never have to test that.

Anyway.

What will stand out in my memory of you all has been your overwhelming
generosity in all areas. I could write a very long e-mail detailing the
assistance and support I’ve received from you all but I’d like to note a
few. When I told ***** that I would pull my dirty laundry over
myself at night when it got cold, she brought me in a comforter. When I
lost my roommate and my ride to work, ***** gave me a ride to and from
work. ***** enabled me to buy a kegerator which has changed my
life and ***** drove me to get my first keg. Everyone here has
provided me with a wealth of technical advising which I will miss
dearly. I doubt seriously I will ever work with such a pool of talent
ever again.

I would also like to thank all of you for your religious tolerance and
acceptance of my rabid unmediated manic depressive states. As well as
the hours of me singing along to music while working and draining the
water cooler with my massive 52oz mug.

When I think about the time I’ve spent dancing in my cubicle and
prettying up your websites I am still amazed I was able to make this
transition. Now it is time for another transition. I am leaving my
Gentilly apartment next Thursday and moving to a quaint apartment in
Uptown. I’m going back to running my web development and hosting
business full time. I welcome all of you to call, e-mail and stop by for
a cold beer. Just not before 10am 🙂