Today is a very strange day. Yesterday was my last day of Spanish class, which, incidentally, fulfilled the final, lingering requirement for my Berkeley bachelors degree in Cognitive Science.

I used to joke that the strange thing about being at Berkeley 10 years after starting was that every year the students got younger. The funny part is that in my final semester at Berkeley, I had a breadth requirement class filled with freshmen and sophomores. Now, for this Spanish class I took at De Anza community college, several of my fellow students were still in high school, seniors and more than a couple juniors. Seems the students actually are getting younger each year.

And so it was with a turning in of a take-home final and a long drive home that I finish a degree that began eleven years ago when I came to Berkeley out of high school. After a full graduation ceremony at the Greek Theatre this time last year, this true finale is a bit of an anticlimax...

On the work-front: Yahoo threw a going-away party for me at work yesterday! I was really touched. So many people were happy for my upcoming adventure, expressing their sadness that I'm going, and I reciprocate every bit. Instant messaging is interesting here: All these people are in my friend list, and will stay there. Considering how most of us communicate in the office via IMs, when I log in from home, school, or wherever, they're all just a click away.

So I have to jam outta here in a few minutes (still at home) to go to my exit interview with the HR folk, then finish up a few loose ends, and pack up my cube. After such a warming sendoff yesterday, and with almost half of my department telecommuting on Fridays, this too is an anticlimax...