I told everybody I was leaving yesterday. They all congratulated me and wished me well, and hoped they would be next. My boss was happy for me, but as she was smiling she said "We are so screwed" through gritted teeth. Because it's not just me; other key people will be leaving too. She's got her feelers out there, herself.

I have two weeks to get everything buttoned up, because I want to leave them in good shape. My group is to go to designated people when they have questions, so that I will be there if questions come up that no one anticipated they would not be able to answer. So my last day is 9/15 and my first day on my new job is 9/18 because they really need to get this show on the road. And even during the next couple of weeks there will probably be things I need to do for my new employers.

I have not taken off work more than a day at a time since the first four days of the year. R says we need to lie on a beach for a week. I'm afraid if I did that I would never come back.

But my new job looks pretty cool. It's a departure for me. I thought I'd segue what I currently do (animal health) into pharmaceutical lab work. Instead, I'll be setting up a QA lab for a manufacturing plant that's bringing out a new product. Most of the actual lab work will be fairly low-tech. Karl Fischer moistures, ash, acidity, and so forth. There will be some GC and HPLC stuff. The big thing is that they want to go for ISO certification and it will be my task to get them there. There's an ISO consultant for me to work with, so I won't be guessing about requirements. Keeping ISO certification is a real plus on a resume, getting it is even bigger. Setting up a lab is pretty good, too. So while it will be intense for a while, and always when we are audited, I believe this will be a good career move, whether I stay with the company for a long time, or end up leaving after a few years.

And the people seem really nice and happy that I'm coming on board. That counts for a lot, too.