_{(tonight's soundtrack: my pre-1950's mp3 collection)}

Thursday was the most surreal day. Two floors of an office building that was meant to contain 175 people contained only fifteen at any given point during the day. My direct supervisor and the whole office in which he works is closed for Thanksgiving, so no requests or demands came down the pipe. My e-mail inbox was eerily vacant. I worked until 1:30 pm, then went to a memorial service for the husband of a couragous and admirable coworker. The service was touching and heart-wrenching. After the service, I went to (and helped host) the company's Final Farewell Tour. After the afternoon's activity, I thought the mood would be quite somber.

Well, it wasn't. Over 120 people showed up, employees past and present - it was like a class reunion. We dined, we visited, we sang, we reminisced, we drank and drank and drank. I think that everyone realized this was the last time we would be together as our little company. It was a celebration of the great things that we had done and the fun we had. I worked as the Master of Ceremonies ... and work it was. During the evening, I made a toast to what EyeWire had been (plaigarized heavily from one of my post-announcement blog entries). We closed the place with the staff begging us to leave at 3 am. It truly was a party to end all parties.

By request, the DJ's last hurrah was a song by Green Day called "Time of Your Life". Maybe it was trite, but I felt that the sentiment was appropriate. EyeWire really was a learning opportunity with a beginning and an end. I don't think I'll ever work for a company like this, with a group of cool, talented people like this, or be able to expense another bar tab like this.