I came home in a deluge today; the skies opened over Illinois (and probably most of the Midwest) and the metro area came to a screeching halt. I got home right after the power had blown, and felt my way up the stairs to our apartment.

As most heavy storms do, this one ended quickly and the sun came back out. Danny, who hates storms, was very pleased, but had a hard time understanding why we had no power. He kept asking if we could snuggle in Big Bed and watch TV. Finally, I remembered that DH's old laptop -- bequeathed recently to me -- played DVDs, so we snuggled in Big Bed, watched "Curse of the Were-Rabbit," and slowly got hotter and stickier.

Fortunately, the power came back on just a few minutes ago. My plans for the evening -- work on the scrapbook I'm making for my mother's 60th birthday -- are pretty well blown. My hope is to get to work very early tomorrow morning and get organized, because it's (drum roll, please) My Last Day there!

I had my exit interview with the head of HR today, and it was so cathartic. She encouraged me to speak honestly and I did -- diplomatically, politically, and with as little name-dropping as possible. I let her know all the factors that made my job so tense. We ended up talking for a good hour, and it was terrific. She was really interested in what needed to change, and appreciative of my honesty. I told her -- and meant it -- that I wanted things to get better because I felt so strongly what a terrific company this is. It really is; I've just been in an area that doesn't appreciate the whole concept of work-life balance.

So after a hot, sticky weekend ahead (during which I must purchase at least two more nice work outfits for the new job), I will begin my new work life. It's hard to believe that just about five years with this company are coming to an end. As I told both my boss and the HR person, I would absolutely come back some day... just not to this job.