On Monday of this week there was a division meeting called at work with very little notice. In this video call, we learned that one of our colleagues was no longer at the University – but that she would be helping with a transition plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We didn\u2019t know if this was a voluntary or involuntary separation – or whatever the current euphemism is. We just knew she was gone and it was effective immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was tasked with removing her from the email lists, the website, access to update the website, and a few forms. I also helped set up a more generic email address to replace her contact information in some key areas. It took most of the day, but it tellingly did not include her email or Teams account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, she reached out to me via chat message with two updates to the website. They were reasonable requests and things we could\/should have done months ago – but the timing was\u2026well\u2026odd. I verified the requests and made the changes. On my way home that day, I got another message from her with a request for some research on communications plans to share with our boss. Well, I guess her former boss. It was after hours for me and I politely noted I would look into it in the AM. She was deeply apologetic – more so than the situation required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did the reasearch in the morning and sent her an email with all the files, screenshots, and links. Nothing that wasn\u2019t or hadn\u2019t been public – but still took some doing to pull it all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She responded later that afternoon, thanking me for the work. Then she said it would likely be the last time I heard from her – which sounded a little dark – and then proceeded to write the absolutely nicest email I\u2019ve gotten from anyone. How good it had been to work with me, how good I was at my job, how good I was at explaining things and helping people, and how everyone liked working with me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I thought about this awhile and tried to manage a kind and thoughtful reply. I sent the email, not sure it would even reach her anymore, then went and got a doughnut since I clearly needed the sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The complication was that she wasn\u2019t the easiest person to work with herself. I remember one phone call early on where she tried to get me to go behind my boss\u2019s back. It was very obvious and I quickly turned the conversation to safer ground. But, it was enough to give me a measure of her and I was a little extra careful in future conversations and projects. And not entirely surprised when I heard rumblings of problems from other colleagues who worked with her more closely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know what really happened and might never know. But, it\u2019s easy enough to just take things at face value and take the compliment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope she lands on her feet and has a clear path ahead of her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
—<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While I was working on setting up that new email address, I found that it was already in use by another department and assigned to a former co-worker of mine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had worked together fresh out of college in the same department doing computer support. Between the two of us, we could fix anything and solve any problem. Hardware, software, network, whole computer labs – you name it, we were there making things better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The department underwent a reorg and we started doing different jobs and started to drift apart a bit. Still friends, but a distance began. I got reassigned to the nascent webteam and the divergence widened the gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon enough, the conversations became less frequent and phone calls were stilted. What we had in common was no longer common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He got married to one of my friends from another department and she called me out of the blue wondering why he and I had drifted apart. It was really no reason other than the work change, but she wondered if there was something more. Things were not going well between them and it seemed like he had changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conversations were even less frequent over time and months might pass between them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I figured that the time spent sorting out the email address might give us a chance to catch up, but instead I found out from his boss that my co-worker had left UA in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, not any clarity on the circumstances – other than that they had kept it low-key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On his facebook page, he had a cryptic post about mental health but nothing that really explained anything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On LinkedIn, both of them still showing as working at UA – as if we needed any more proof of the uselessness of that platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, two colleagues in one day – at least for me – separated from the organization. One that I didn\u2019t really know and one I thought I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Left me a little melancholy – thinking back to the years that have gone past and wondering what is next to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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