Canned responses for leaving work

 Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to my "roomies" - Snap, Crackle and Pop. ©

Friday was my last day of work. Well... sort of. It's my last day of work in my current job. On Thursday, I start an internship at a venture capital firm. It's going to be a busy summer leading to Kellogg.

I feel like I've been counting down to these final days leading to Kellogg since I was admitted to Kellogg in December. Over the past few months, I slowly told people at work about my plans to leave. The reactions were mixed. I came up with a standard set of canned responses to common comments and questions. Here are some of them:

• What do you want to go back to school for? It's true. You got to admire Rodney for sitting in that same job for the last 20 years, waiting for his pension.
• So you've got a big change ahead of you? You mean American girls who dig British accents?
• Kellogg? Why does that sound familiar? Because they make cornflakes?
• What is the course content? 35% women. Average age: around 27.
• HR: Do you think you'll come back here after you've finished? Yes, yes... please just give me a "career break".
• Everyone else: Do you think you'll come back here after you've finished? Err...
• Have you sorted out a place to live yet? Yup. I'm living with Snap, Crackle and Pop.

And so with questions such as these answered, my last 2.5 years with my current employer have come to a close. I feel a set of weights lifting off my shoulders. At the same time, I now feel another set of weights coming to rest these same shoulders.

In the middle of next week I start a pre-MBA internship with a venture capital firm. It took significant effort to source the internship, but I'm hoping it will be worth it. The experience may give me some insight into how these folks evaluate and work with companies similar to the one I want to start. Beyond the internship, I also have a hell of a lot of pre-MBA prep still to do: the online courses, the 360 assessment, sorting out medicals etc etc. Here comes the summer...