A Final Goodbye To H-D

Today, I say goodbye to Harley-Davidson. Yesterday, I said goodbye to my boss. And to be perfectly honest, I wanted to cry. In fact, I almost did, and so did he. Then again that's what I do, I cry. A lot. I can't help it.

I found myself incredibly sad yesterday as co-workers stopped by to say their final goodbyes to me and I found myself at the verge of a breakdown when my boss dropped off a custom painted gas tank, signed by everyone in my department. I couldn't believe I was just being handed the honorary gas tank, that each employee receives upon the end of their time at Harley (or in that particular department) as a token of appreciation for their efforts. I was also handed a beautiful leather bag filled with a cute Harley T-shirt and a travel Harley coffee mug for my new morning commute each day. Everyone knew that I would only be satisfied, if I could go out in Harley "style" =)

I'm going to miss this place, so much! The people, the job, the life-long friends I've made, and the amazing contacts I'll always have. I'll miss the smell of motorcycle exhaust as I enter the security turnstile at 8:00 am each morning and I'll never forget the little wave of acknowledgement from the morning security guards. I'll miss sitting in Amanda's cube and hiding out from the world as we gossip and plan the weekend's festivities or the morning overly energetic visits from Craig that always managed to put me in a better mood. I'll miss the convenience of the cafeteria and even all the unnecessary meetings that posed only to eat up more of my time and I'll miss the many nicknames I've accumulated in such a short period of time. I'll miss my unlimited supply of office supplies, the smell of my cubicle, and the noise my high heels made in our hallway that acknowledged to everyone that Christi was coming down the hall.

I hate goodbyes. I really do. I've only been her for ten months but it feels like so much longer. This place has become home to me, in that comfortable "home" sense that only a fantastic job can provide to you. It sort of makes one wonder if money really is all that important anymore, considering how unbelievably happy I am here!

But alas, the reality of the situation is that I have a much better opportunity offered to me somewhere else, and I owe it to myself to at least be open minded about it. I finally have the chance for financial stability, upward mobility, and the ability to grow with a company from start to potentially finish. The good thing about it is, if this doesn't work out, I always have Harley to fall back on.

And with that, I end my final post as an employee of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. It's been an amazing ten months!