August 1, 2008, I set foot in my first living space in the Houston area. On the west side of the city, right along Interstate 10, it was my biggest and one of the most important chapter changes in my life. Having lived in a small city in Indiana before, and a rural area prior to that, also in Indiana, I was overwhelmed by the grandeur of this new metropolitan area.

August 4th, I made my way to the downtown Houston office for the first time, nervous about working in a more corporate environment after working for small companies and startups prior. It was wild, parking in the downtown lot, taking the elevator to the second floor, and setting my stuff up in a cubicle on a side of the building that was still being set up. I recalled stepping outside the office and staring in amazement at the skyline that was close enough to touch. I even took a picture, sharing with my family and friends back home in Indiana, and feeling nervous about the future ahead.

Here I am, 16 years and a couple months later, staring at my final day in that office, surviving 2 major acquisitions/mergers, arriving at IBM after it was all said and done. Our leadership decided though that we were not going to occupy that building any longer, and that we had to be out before the end of October this year. Fortunately, though, they had organized other office spaces for us to occupy, relative to our roles within the company. Mine, and that for most of the people adjacent to me in the organization, is actually closer to where I live now, on the 5th floor of a high-rise on Houston's west side in the Westchase District.

It's bittersweet for me. I have a lot of memories, some silly, some amazing, and some frustrating at the downtown office. I got used to the area, and took great advantage of all that was nearby, including the downtown tunnel system. But on the west side, it's not as familiar to me, and we don't have the convenience of a tunnel system, of which to navigate the surrounding area subterranially. But I know it's going to be a great experience, may actually be a quicker commute, and will expose me to new people, new benefits, and there will be new memories to form there.

I'll have to find my picture I took of the downtown skyline from the downtown office, and try to replicate it tomorrow before I leave for the last time.