Done with Wizards

Thursday marked my last day at Wizards of the Coast. Due to the departure of my supervising attorney and certain financial considerations, they decided to let me go almost two months earlier than planned. For a variety of reasons, probably not best aired in public, this is a good development. If nothing else, it means more time working for jobs where the workproduct is tangible and beneficial (and the pay is WAY better).

That being said, the last day really went poorly and gave me reason to pause and reflect on what I may have done wrong. As I mentioned, my supervising attorney is leaving (for Microsoft, actually...) which is reason for a going away party. The day they told me I would be let go they also said I would be invited to said going away party, but when the final day came around, no such invitation was extended. In fact, my departure went by without hardly a notice. So, it makes me wonder, did I fail to reach out in that environment and make friends who might have cared that I was actually leaving?

This has always been a tough issue for me. I want to do well at my job, which means working hard and keeping on task. Idle chit-chat with fellow employees, asking non-job related questions, introducing myself to people in the halls; it all seems unrelated to doing well and can even serve as a detriment to the job. It also means you go unnoticed. I did the same thing in Congressman McDermmott's office when I was an intern. It took me a full month before I finally broke out of my shell and started having a "good time." And that was a 40 hour job. It's an equally slow process at school. Here I am, a full two years into a three year program; I am just starting to feel comfortable and welcomed.

In the span of two years where I final feel comfortable going over to other people's places, some have found their soul-mates, best friends, roommates, and colleagues for life. I'll be lucky to leave law school with a few names and outdated cellphone numbers. I'm clearly doing something wrong... but I really have no idea how to do it any differently.