This happened sometime before the circuit breaker period but while we were already working from home. I had just stepped out of the shower when my phone rang. It was my teammate Guohao.
“Can you go down to your parking lot?” he explained when I answered. “I’m here to hand you a USB that I got from our IT guy. You need to plug it into your laptop to update it.”
This didn’t really make sense, but I hurriedly threw on a dress and a mask and ran downstairs anyway. In my rush, I forgot to remove the hair towel around my still wet hair, so Guohao was so amused when he saw me.
“Ok there isn’t really a USB,” he confessed from a meter away. “I’m here to deliver our farewell gift.”
“Oh wow, that’s so sweet, thanks!” I gushed as I took a small box from his outstretched hands. He asked me to open it, so I did, and then stared in confusion at the opened present.
“It’s a smart watch!” he explained.
“Sure?” I replied, still confused.
“Okay, I made a ‘smart watch’ because the one we bought for you didn’t arrive on time,” he confessed.
“But look over there,” he continued, pointing to another part of the parking lot. “I think there’s a social distancing ambassador.”
I looked towards the direction he was pointing and took a while to realise that I was looking at the car of our VP, Nic. He got out and handed me another package.
“This is the real gift,” they laughed.
These guys and their pranks! 😅
After saying our goodbyes, I headed back to my flat to open my present. To my surprise, it wasn’t just a smart watch, but an Apple watch! It’s a 40mm series 5 with a pomegranate sport band. And the prank “smart watch” I received? It’s actually a silver milanese loop strap that I can use for more formal occasions.
I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of my teammates. 😭
But then, they were not done yet.
On April 17, which was my last Friday at work, we scheduled a virtual farewell party. Evelyn, my SVP who heads our team in Singapore, asked me for my address so that they could deliver dinner for me.
Late in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. It wasn’t dinner, but a Floracent preserved purple rose under a dome that you can light up with an on/off button. The purple rose is one of my favourite flowers and its dome reminded me of The Little Prince, my favourite book. 😍
The gift also came with a note which is hilarious and heartwarming, so very on brand for my team.
Dinner was delivered at around 7pm and it was a Michelin-starred feast from Garibaldi. I tried to plate the meal as best I could and somehow managed to break a mason jar in the process. 😅
Starter: foie gras with balsamic strawberry and toasted sweet bread. Main: Garibaldi signature braised wagyu beef cheek with bone marrow and mashed potatoes. Side: grilled vegetables. Dessert: tiramisu with lady finger biscuits, chocolate chips and mascarpone cream.
Everything was delicious, but my favourites were the foie gras and tiramisu.
My team, including our EVP Sandra in New York, hopped on a Facebook video call with our colleague Erik and former colleagues Carly and James.
We discovered that Facebook was limited to just 8 people, so we figured out how to use Zoom instead. I know that Zoom gets a lot of flak for its security, but I have to admit that the voice quality is way better.
Facebook is fine for a maximum of 4 participants, but if you have a bigger group than that it’s really hard to hear each other because Facebook magnifies all the background noise as well.
That’s not the case with Zoom, which focuses on the voice and also gives the host the ability to mute participants if they are too noisy. I am not sponsored by Zoom in any way, okay, just stating an opinion. 😁
Once on Zoom, we managed to do a lot.
Yan Ming finally got to give us a tour of his new flat, which we had meant to visit before all this craziness hit.
They asked me to sing a song, so I sang a verse from the OPM song Before I Let You Go which is a goodbye love song but is a touch appropriate, maybe?
Guohao played a video that he made for me, then introduced a trivia game about me which somehow led to everyone describing everyone else with one word.
They all said really nice things about me, and it was like listening to your own eulogy but before you’re dead. 😢
The virtual party lasted for around 3 hours, which ended with this group picture.
There is a reason why Sandra always refers to our team as the dream team. I will definitely miss these guys whom I consider not just colleagues but friends. All my future teams will have huge shoes to fill.
My official last day at work was April 23, and it was again touching to receive heartfelt replies from a lot of colleagues after I sent my farewell email.
It’s nice to know that I am actually doing a good job of following my personal mission, which is to make a difference in people’s lives. I guess it’s now time to do that to even more people.
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