The End of an Era

 So...today was my last day at Freedonia.  I have known about this for a while, of course, but kept it largely on the q.t. (for a bunch of reasons).  Monday I start a new position with Pebble Labs, where I will be a Market Intelligence Analyst -- a role similar but not exact to mine (obviously).  It was...just odd.  I mean, I've been there for two decades, written all kinds of studies, press releases, PR posts, etc.; become the go-to person for a bunch of things; and played a role in developing a lot of the work we do.  To say nothing of the usual office crap.  It was weird, couple of weeks ago, bunch of people were asking me about Amy Schneider on J! and all, and I was like "in a bit, these conversations won't be happening."  Turning in my computer and the work sources I saved was a bit of finality... but, on the other hand, some stuff I haven't liked, and some things were not getting better, so... I found a new position.

Anyways, to celebrate/commemorate the new role, I decided to have dinner at Red (in Pinecrest).  I had a gift card that I was saving for a special occasion, and this was it.  I tried to get a reservation -- they don't do ones, and it is technically Valentine's Day weekend (this is why I am single, I guess), but I was told I could sit at the bar if I wanted to and could find a seat, so I did.  Hell, I even had a cocktail -- aviation, with gin, cherry liqueur, lemon juice, and something else, which was pretty good, even if it had an octane rating. 

Back to the food.  It was excellent; ranks with Salt in terms of best meal I ever had.  I had a 14-oz NY strip steak, and it was cooked perfectly (at $50, it damn well should be, but you would be surprised). The crab stuffing on top was good, not quite sure it was that good, but this was more than made up for by the twice-baked potato.  It was yuuuuggge and delicious; potato also cooked perfectly, and the filling was excellent -- near perfect blend of bacon and cheese.  I even "splurged" on a pear tart; two slices of a pear pie with whipped cream, a sweet sauce. and white chocolate.  Heavenly!

I got home (feeling fat, and also telling myself I have no grounds to complain about my gas bill) and watched all three games of J! (on a Friday, no less) which was of course wonderful.  Then, I checked and discovered the new firm had sent a swag pack to my house. One package was my new company laptop (it works, will log on to network tomorrow) and the other was cool stuff -- business cards, a two-pound water bottle (ha), paper and pens, and a canvas bag.  I was...impressed, to put it mildly.