Leaving my workplace after 3 years

It was my last day at work a few days ago. There were many reasons to leave, but also a few reasons to stay which didn't make it an easy decision especially after 3 years of working there. My routine became pretty normal, the area became familiar, and it went by very quick.

What became familiar

The area which my workplace was situated in was right next to my old university. So geographically, it wasn't too bad. What really became familiar was the daily walk through the old Central Station tunnel, tapping my key on the elevator lock, the security guy giving me a look every day, fire escape shortcut, and heaps of other things.

What I'll actually miss

Not the projects. Don't get me wrong, I took a lot of pride in my work, but right now I couldn't care less about sending leads to Salesforce. If I had to rank what I'll miss, the people would definitely top the list. I got lucky with a team I had a lot in common with, around the same age too which helped with banter. Walking in at 8:30 and chatting until 9 was the highlight of the day. Also our 10 year old laptops took 30 minutes to start, so technically it's not a waste of company time.

I'll also miss the random stuff which broke every week or so. Don't get me wrong, I expect this everywhere, but over here there was such a high turnover that anything remotely legacy would break all the time. It did give me an opportunity to learn something new. Even if it wasn't coding related, it was still fun.

Three years went quickly

Three years sounds like a long time on paper, but it went by real quick. I remember my first day like it was yesterday. Figuring out where everything was, what everyone does, and being careful not to ask stupid questions. At the time, three years felt like forever.

Now it feels like I blinked. Somewhere between all the tight deadlines, deployments, coffee runs and random conversations, three years disappeared. I think that's just what happens when you get into a routine. You stop counting the days because every day starts to feel normal.

Looking forward

As much as I'll miss the people and the routine, I'm excited for what's next. I'll have another first day, another area to learn, and another group of people to get to know.