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The smiling photo of Kelly and me, with the metallic blue frame, was the last thing to go in. It topped off a box of drawings, 3-ring notebooks, trade journals and other sundry contents of [what was until today] my desk. I carted the box out to the car, then headed back into the office for the last time as an employee of DICE America.

I looked around. At first I kidded myself that I was checking to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. But I was really just letting my senses absorb the feel of the place where I’ve spent about a quarter of my life over the last two years. A few handshakes later, I stepped out into the rainy afternoon and headed for my car.

While there were a few aspects of working for DICE that I’m happy to leave in the past, I’ll certainly miss plenty of things about my job there, chief among them being the engineers I worked with and learned from. All the same, I’m looking forward to seeing Dad and my creation succeed – whether it’s in the hands of Lifetouch, behind lenses aboard Carnival Cruise Lines or on the hips of photographers at Walt Disney World.

For now, though, I’m on a collision course with a full week (gasp!) of actual rest and relaxation before I start in my new position at General Motors. Time to fire up the grill!