Last day at work (contd.)

It was a really memorable week at work. I went out to lunch with various people on 4 of the days (and discovered a bunchof new restaurants in the process). The highlight was the final day which was a lot of good stuff. The new manager who is taking over from me took me out to lunch and then took me to a new-age store nearby (Ostara, in Cambridge Layout) and bought me a small elegant chinese-style bamboo plant for luck. I was really touched. He was pretty appreciative of my staying back to bring him up to speed and said he learnt a lot while I was there. We went back and then at 3:30 we had a meeting with all the guys in the team (past and present). They each talked about their experience with me and what they appreciated in what I had done. It was really something to hear so many people express their appreciation for what I had done in so many ways. That was absolutely the high point. I always feel guilty for all the things that I didn't do so well, so it was great to hear people highlight the stuff I did do. I think the basic theme was that I was a caring person and was concerned about them beyond just getting the work done.They then gave me a bunch of gifts. There were 4 books (good ones!), a wall hanging and a lamp. We had a ice cream get-together with a broader group of people and Alok said a bunch of nice things and thanks. I tried to meet one-on-one with most of the people in our team to say the last goodbyes and pass on any last feedback about their work or where they were going in the next year.
I'm really glad to have stayed these last 3 weeks and finished up with the work in a reasonably complete way. I feel that I am leaving in a really good with with a good transition and lot of goodwill, and this will be a source of strength going forward. This job has really created a whole bunch of relationships and perhaps I can get to work with some of the folks again in the future.