Things sure are changing. I moved out of the apartment I've lived in since returning from Neosho last week, and now I was quitting Anheuser-Busch. The last year and a half at AB have been such a wild ride. I learned so much and I think it really set me up for success at my next job. Some of my friends were surprised by the move but I think they were more concerned about their free beer supply than my professional development.
Whatever challenges were waiting for me at my cubicle, the walk to the office each morning was always magical. The smell of the beer brewing here was so wholesome. It was like breathing bread. Some days I feel like I loved and hated this place at the same time. I think it might be a while before I'm comfortable coming back here.
I told my coworkers that after AB I wasn't sure if I would be able to sit through a meeting without a couple of beers. I was only half joking.
I'd been eyeballing these sweet Budweiser shoes in the gift shop window for months. I don't know what the heck I'm going to do with the AB clothing collection I've assembled. I assume most workplaces frown on people wearing Bud Light t-shirts to the office.
Working in logistics and having a view of the St. Louis brewery's warehouse loading operation from my desk was pretty magical.
On my last day I went to visit my buds at the distribution center across the river in Granite City, Illinois. The trip was purely a professional courtesy and not an effort to pick up enough beer to drown a clydesdale, I can tell you that.
I situated my last day to be on a Friday, that way I could have one last little happy hour with my coworkers and go out on a high note.
One of the privileges I am reclaiming is the right to order whatever I want at a bar and not feel guilty.
I packed up my beer bottle collection, lugged it to the car, and drove out of the parking lot of the largest brewer in the world one last time. As I turned a corner a news crew was out front. Of course it was.