I meant to write this up earlier but I never got around to it. An era has ended! After more than eight months, I am no longer temping at the School of Education at the University of Nottingham.

It was a shame to leave. I had been temping there since May 2006 and according to my boss they usually only keep temps for about 6 weeks - they had just extended and extended my "contract" month after month from about August onwards. I first joined because May was approaching the end of the academic year which is naturally a busy time, and stayed on through the start of the 06/07 year just being generally useful. January is the quietest period, so it seemed the right time to let me go - myself, I had intended to leave in May 2007 even if nothing new presented itself, simply for the sake of broadening my experiences.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love it when people leave, even if it's me, because you get nice "leaving" cakes. We ate lunch at the Wheelhouse as was traditional and I made them promise never to eat there again as we had all finally come to the conclusion that it was a lousy dining experience at best. I was touched and surprised to receive a large chocolate bunny (which I am still eating) and a generous quantity of book tokens (which I have not yet spent) alongside a card full of good wishes, which must have been filled in with great stealth behind my back. What surprised me the most was the startling amount of goodwill - or, in business speak, positive feedback - I was given on the way out. It seems like they actually liked me a lot. It made the whole experience - however boring the work had been at times - seem absolutely worthwhile. I'll repeat here what I said then: it was rewarding to work alongside intelligent people who knew their work and did their job and were smart about it instead of being inflexible, and it was rewarding to become, over time, a part of the team. I think both the School and I got something out of my tenure, and really, what more can you ask?

As for now? I have a two-day Technology Assessment Wossname with Barclays Capital on Thursday and Friday, the final round before entry into their graduate Technology Analyst programme, so wish me luck. It's at the Four Seasons in Canary Wharf - they're an investment bank so naturally they have money coming out of their ears, but even so, yike. It's hilarious - I went to their website looking for directions from the nearest Tube station and... they don't provide any. Presumably, this is because the type of person who stays at the Four Seasons simply does not travel via Tube. Colour me intimidated.