The End of an Era

So, for those of you that don't know, I met this lovely lady back in 2006, when we worked at Butler/Till together.  For some odd reason, as she was being walked through the office to meet everyone at the company (back then, there were fewer than 20 employees!), I shook her hand and thought to myself, "hmmmm, I'll never be friends with this girl."  I honestly have no idea why I had the thought.  I never rarely judge and it didn't really have anything to do with her; I think I was just miserable because at that point in my career all I did was stare at excel spreadsheets, pretending to be busy.  Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about our relationship (and still ashamed of myself for thinking that!).  Don't worry, she's fully aware of my evil thoughts by this point in our friendship; this is not a confession post.  :)   

Anyway, today is a bittersweet day, as Joanne, the last link to my B/T memories (Brit, the other lovely lady featured in many pictures below, also worked with us and is the reason Joanne met her husband, Ben, who is Brit's brother - a story for another day)...ok, wait a second, where was I?  Oh yeah, today is Joanne's final day at B/T!  I've been disconnected from the company for a while now, but I have no doubt that everyone in that office is extremely sad to see her go.  Joanne is the type of person that goes above and beyond in every single aspect of her life, all the while making it look like the easiest thing in the world!  She's enhanced so many big and small moments of my life with her passion and creativity; I am confident she did the same for Butler/Till over the years.  

As she moves on to pursue her PhD in Sociology with a concentration in Medical Sociology, I thought that I would take this opportunity to stroll down memory lane to pay tribute to the beginning of our wonderful friendship and as a small way to say GOOD LUCK on your next journey, Joanne! 

Our friendship really started at Joanne's desk (I probably spent more time talking to Joanne at her desk, than doing my actual job), but blossomed during our "girl's nights."  Sometimes we'd go out to a local bar/restaurant after work, but mostly we'd get together at one of our places to eat a delicious meal and drink some vino!

Here we are celebrating Christmas at one particular "Girls Night."  If you can get past the stupid face I'm making, you'll notice that Joanne also doubles as a Unicorn in the evening hours.

These photos were taken after Joanne's birthday dinner, one year.  Look at how young we look!  These really have nothing to do with B/T, other than the fact that the 3 of us girls met there, but for some reason it reminds me of the place anyway, so I included it!

I believe we were shopping for Halloween props for the annual office party.

As you can see, Joanne opted for a much softer costume choice.

One of the many B/T Holiday parties!  

(The 1st photo in this post is from another holiday party, too)

A typical Friday in the office.

I love this photo.  

Another one that has nothing to do with B/T necessarily, but I included it anyway!

Here's an example of one of Joanne's creative touches.  This was my "leaving B/T" party at Mex.   Joanne printed off all of the words/phrases that I hate and posted them all over the walls of the bar.  

Alright, alright, don't hang your head; it's not the end, it's just the beginning...or however the cheesy quote goes. :)  But seriously, GOOD LUCK, friend!  I can't wait to watch you tackle this next chapter with grace and ease...and undoubtably, fun times along the way!