Old News

Friday, January 30th, was my last day at AVRP and I joined the ranks of the unemployed. Due to the economy and lack of new projects coming in they just couldn't support as many admininistrative people. We'd lost staff slowly for several months prior and a few more have had to be let go since. Everyone has been super nice and supportive. We'd really worked hard to create a supportive work environment and had become quite the well-oiled team. We’re all hoping the economy turns around quickly so we can all get back to working with each other.

These pictures are from Pizza Nova in Hillcrest where they took me to lunch to say good-bye. I’m normally uncomfortable being the center of attention but I really appreciate how nice they were to do it. We had a great time and I so miss seeing all of these terrific people everyday.

And, by the way, Jackie and David D. joined me for the short drive from the office downtown to the restaurant and we had a great time cruising along with the top down on one of San Diego's spectacular, warm, clearer-than-usual days. Driving down Banker’s Hill on the way back to the office we could clearly see all the way to San Diego Bay, the Coronado Bridge, the Silver Strand, and beyond that the open ocean.

I think working for AVRP was my favorite job so far. Even though it's a big architect firm it’s the smallest company I’ve worked at and I really appreciated being more than a set of numbers in a managers folder. It was very rewarding to work at a place that has high standards and works hard to maintain them, but also nice to be somewhere that didn't expect you to work at a sprinters pace all day, every day. I also loved having a wide variety of things to do; if I was tired or stressed or not quite awake I could still be productive with something that didn't require as much brain power. But the best part was being part of a group of really great, talented people who did their best everyday and welcomed me into the team.