Farewell Fair Deloitte

After a full year and a half at Deloitte (okay, so it'll be a year and a half on August 26), I am leaving Deloitte. No, I am not pregnant (and no, I did not get fired.)

Luke and I have come to the conclusion after a long and tiresome couple of months that it is just time for me to leave. The tentative plan at present is to get really good at making collages and see what becomes of it. Boy, am I glad that Luke is supportive of this idea 'cause I think that sounds like a lot of fun. My last day of work is Friday, September 12, 2008. I'll be leaving the Campus Recruiting Team in a bit of a bind as September and October are their busiest seasons. However, I still like to think that I'm doing them a favor by leaving. A new person in my role will make mistakes, but a grumpy veteran could (and probably would) sabatoge their efforts. So, really, they don't know how lucky they are to be losing me.

I've been trying to think if there is anything about Deloitte that I'll really miss. I think the answer is: not really. Well, maybe my really awesomely decorated cubicle and I guess all the free food was nice. Okay, okay, and some of the people. I'll really miss quite a few. All in all, I've had a good, educational experience and I'm ready to go.

Only 12 more days to go ('cause I'm on vacation next week)... but who's counting...

Never understimate the power of Baltic Avenue...

I managed to get my quarterly Monopoly fix this past week. The Batista family was kind enough to invite us over for dinner and FHE. Geo (above, second from right) learned of my love for Monopoly during June's stake youth conference (we were counselors), when I schooled a group of ESL teenagers (some said I had an unfair advantage... but one, I didn't try all that hard and two, they could communicate with each other much more fluently than I could communicate with them - so who really had the better edge in deal making?)

The after dinner game with Geo, (advised by his daughter above) and Zac started very badly for me. House rules (which I detest! but nevertheless honor) prevented the purchase of property during the first time around the board. It took me at least 10 turns, with two trips to Jail, to get there. By the time I did, I was (almost) hopelessly behind in the property race. Fast forward 45 minutes to a solemn Luke with three, yes a mere three properties (Pacific Ave, Meditteranean Ave and Vermont Ave) facing off against dual monopoly holding opponents (Geo with the oranges and light violets, Zac with the reds and yellows) and you'd never have guessed who would be walking away the victor.

Well, you'd never have guessed had you been there. But by virtue of the fact that you're reading about here, I've given it away. I pulled off one of the great Monopoly comebacks of my life. Credit, I suppose, must go primarily to the dice. But I'd like to think that my dogged insistence that Geo sell me Baltic to at least give me a chance with a monopoly was shrewed enough that I could walk away rightly claiming at least some credit for myself. He and Zac paid for it dearly. They probably landed on my cheapest of hotels eight times before the end.

Goes to show one should never underestimate the power of cheap, undesirable things. Or maybe just that I like Monopoly too much and am overcompetitive. You decide...