rant whine 'splain espouse: Parting, sweet sorrow, and all that crap

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Parting, sweet sorrow, and all that crap

Today I resigned.

This won't come as a total shock to any of my close compadres who have been well aware of my longstanding and ever-growing discontent with my job. Well, it may surprise Velma a little, since I think she believed I'd never actually do it.

The reasons are so many and varied that to list them here would be an exercise in futility (and continued frustration, since I've already been dwelling on them for the past 9 months, and now I simply want to forget and move on). If anyone's really that interested, leave a comment and maybe I'll send you the email I sent MC outlining why I have been an unhappy camper for so long.

Suffice it to say, this was definitely an example of One of The Most Difficult Decisions of My Life.

BAA became for me an extended family, but in that great way where you actually like your family because they're people you chose instead of people you got stuck with. And in the past 11 years, in which I contributed to the organization in nearly every capacity -- from staff to volunteer, from project leader to designer, from board member to the guy who signed paychecks when there was no one else to do it -- I have never worked with a group of people from whom I have learned more, with whom I have had more fun, and with whom I have been indescribably proud to be associated with.

I wish I still felt that way today, but those feelings -- that "second paycheck" -- has been missing for far too long.

I know, I know. A bunch of you have been telling me for months (some of you for years), that I'd been underappreciated. I've known you were right. It's just that leaving something that you helped build for the past 11 years is like chopping off an arm. It's not an action you're really anxious to rush into.

Well, now it's done. The amputation is complete.

In trying to replace me they will fail utterly. I say this with sadness, not in the ha-ha-look-what-you-did way. It's simply that the odds are ridiculous that they will find someone with my broad and diverse experience of skills (writing, editing, communications, marketing, advertising, graphic design, branding, information architecture, web geeking, IT, blah blah blah); unfortunately, the phrase "not bloody likely" echoes in my head. It's simply not very often that you find a really good visual designer (if I do say so myself, and I do) who can also do the geek stuff, and who also has strong writing and editing skills. Then you factor in the salary they're able to pay, and there's just no way they'll find someone competent. I'm terribly afraid they'll hire someone half-assed, who really needs a part-time job and therefore "overcharacterizes" their actual experience in the interview.

I am starting to apply for jobs. We'll see if I get weird looks when I show up to interviews with only one arm.