I know, I know. I’ve used that term a dozen or so times here in London. It’s just too easy not to — especially when talking about the staff at Fabulous magazine. They’re a hard-working, talented and super-fun bunch of ladies (and a few men).
The swap flew by as I knew it would, and my last day at the office seemed to come out of nowhere. It was also unlike any last day I had at previous jobs: There were tears, bubbly and cake!
I formed more than just working relationships with many members of the staff, so this post goes out to them.
Sinead, me and Rachel on my last day.
I’ll never forget….
…sharing the daily papers with Sinead everyday. Since we also shared a desk, one of us would grab The Sun, The Mirror, The Mail and The Times, and start going through each of them at our own pace before passing them on to the other when done. Also, she was the only one who could clasp my cuff bracelet on the first try.
…Jenny turning around to say, “Hey! Y’alright?” every time she came to the copier, which was beside my desk. Her sweet smile and genuine interest in my well-being was obvious and she always made me feel welcome.
…ending up in some bumping bar in SoHo with Lauren after seeing A Chorus Line. Lauren has a clear coolness factor to her, so the fact that we ended up in some cheesy thumper of a club was a bit, well, surprising. It also made me feel super old. Still, we giggled about it, downed our beers and quickly retreated to a more suitable spot down the road.
…those seven bottles of wine with Eimear. She doesn’t work in the office anymore, but she happened to be coming down from Edinburgh on my first week and helped “induct” me into life in London by way of sharing 7 bottles of wine with me and four others. Since then, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed her witty FB status updates and journo requests, and overall zest for anything she feels strongly about. Which is a lot.
…dancing on the stage at Barrio East with Jo. Since our usual time together often involved intense career and “life” discussions over lunch at the canteen or Pret, it was a side of her I had yet to see. She let loose and got DOWN!
Crossing Tower Bridge with Jo after toasting our new adventures.
…seeing a rainbow and huddling together under one scarf to avoid the rain with Hannah. We’ve had quite a few other memories — sharing chorizo risotto, seeing Dido and Ellie Goulding, meddling with boys on V-day, to name a few — but this one stands out.
Somewhere over the rainbow…
Make room for me under there!
…sipping bubbly with Beth and her friends atop the ME Hotel at the Strand. She and her friends had been up there all afternoon, so by the time I arrived words were a bit, ahem, slurred, but soon enough it was as if I’d been there all day, giggling and boozing with pals I’d known forever.
Beth and I way up on top of the Strand.
…the Language of Carly Hobbs. She “probs” (her word, not mine!) thinks I gave her a hard time about all the made-up words she uses, but they “totes” made me chuckle most of the time and I got super “emosh” when she came over with a bag of beauty goodies on my last day.
…Rachel. Honestly, I don’t know where to start! She became more than a “boss” as soon as she dropped off toothpaste and Ginger Ale after I’d been vomiting all night due to food poisoning. She took me to the NTA’s, gave me VIP tickets to rugby, brought me to both Shoreditch House AND SoHo House, invited me to dinner with her friends, sobbed with me at the cinema when watching Amour, and introduced me to a Byron burger. Next up? We’re hiking some mountain in Wales called Snowdon. She’s good fun and a serious editor who’s a force to be reckoned with. Rock on, Rach.
Me and Rachel
Of course, there are others: Dom and Mark — two of the few boys in the office — whose music tastes I learned by way of their feet and fingers tapping intensely depending on what was playing on the radio; Laura C. and Lucie, who both got engaged within a week of each other; Antoinette and Sarah M, who joined me on a “wheely good date” on the London Eye; Laura B. and her admirable marathon training routine, and Katie, who reminded me of my sister with her efficient photo-shoot planning.
As with many of life’s journey’s, the people you meet along the way can make all the difference. And in this case, it can’t be any more true… or more Fabulous.
