The Last Time

Welcome, transitionary reader, as I give you some insight into what it's like to do a whole load of things for the last time.

Yes, as may have been obvious to regular readers for some time, our time in the US is drawing to a close. As I write this we have a little over 2 weeks left before doing some travelling and ending up back in the UK in the Spring. That means we're making lists of things that have been habits here that we want to do one last time while we still can. Usually those are experiences which involve food, but some are larger, more significant things that are drawing to a close.

And so it was this week that I spent a final few days in the office in Sunnyvale. This in itself is odd, given that most of the time we've been here I've worked from home; the majority of the time I spent in the office happened in the first 6 months we were here. In principle, I moved desks at least twice in the office while we were full-time working from home, as well as moving buildings once since we were supposed to return to the office (although even then, I've tended to spend 0, 1 or 2 days a week in the office max). On the last day there, I had to remind myself that it was reasonably likely I'd never come back to that particular campus, as when we return to the UK I'll be looking for another job (possibly still at Google, possibly not). Given that I don't have a lot of affection for the Sunnyvale campus (it's not that I actively dislike it, it's just architecturally soulless and almost entirely anodyne) this wasn't a particularly big deal for me either way.

One of Sunnyvale's finest car parks, which just happens to have a Google campus in the middle of it.

My employer chose to spice up my last day of work for a few months by laying off a bunch of people. This turned what should have been a fairly easy day where I did my best impression of working into one that was somewhat more panicky and unpredictable. Sadly I didn't get offered that sweet severance package, but I guess there's still time.

We've also planned out the list of local eateries we want to visit for the last time, which kicked off this week with local "British pub" the Rose and Crown. They do a passable fish and chips there, although really the place is memorable to us because once we ordered a takeout, which was delivered with the note "No chips - gave you tots!". I can tell you now that fish and tater tots is not quite the same as fish and chips.

So yeah, just like that, the familiar can become distant and habits you've built up over years can start to look like exotic luxuries from afar. I don't know how things have changed back where we live in the UK, but I'm pretty sure there still aren't 2 amazing espresso bars within walking distance of our house (unless the Costa machine in the local Tesco Express has had a massive, massive upgrade). Of course, doing these things for the last time is bittersweet, but it's a chance to reflect on the fun we've had here in the US, and say a fond farewell as we move on to what I'm sure will be a just-as-good-if-not-better next chapter. We've basically done everything we wanted to do when we came here, and are returning home pretty much spot-on the timeline we discussed at the start. The fish and chips is a lot better in the UK, anyway!