Bi-weekly blog post #13: Goodbye's the Saddest Word (Patreon)

I love goodbyes. I don't like saying goodbye, but I get all hyped when someone leaves to go study abroad or travel around the world or something. Not because I hate their gut and I want to get rid of them, but because I think a proper goodbye can be a beautifully interesting occassion. People being happy and sad at the same time, the person who is leaving being all cool and chill but tearing up at the end, the cup of coffee at the airport afterwards... Frodo saying goodbye to Sam, Merry and Pippin at the end of Lord of the Rings... It's just such a beautiful mix of melancholy and emotions, without any lasting negative consequences.

Love it.

Last Friday, we had to say goodbye to our trusty interns Coen and Luuk (check out Saturday's post) and it was just perfect. We're not a big company, so a huge event wouldn't have been right (and we wouldn't be able to pay for it). Instead, we decided to respect a tradition that we created over the last few months: Friday night is Super Smash Bros night. Nothing too fancy: a Wii U with Smash, a few beers, nice people and a mini-speech was enough to conclude the last six months. The matching goodbye presents felt like the icing on the cake.

However awesome the Friday night was, saying goodbye to 50% of your company is a very weird thing to do. Coen and Luuk operated on almost the same level als Christiaan and I did over the last months. Granted, Christiaan and I called the shots, but that's about the only difference. Coen made backgrounds for all the comics while he was here (which, pixel-wise, is probably more art than I've made) and Luuk programmed a whole freaking game on his own (more about that soon). They were as much a part of Wooden Plank as Christiaan and I are. When you're working with people who are so heavily involved in the stuff you're making together, you'll automatically start to feel like they'll be there indefinitely. And then, suddenly, their six-month period is over and they're gone.

That being said, I'm super proud of Coen and Luuk. They've definitely learned a lot, and I think they're very happy with their internship in general. It's great to notice you're helping someone with their education.

So there it is again: a mixture of memories, experiences, sad, happy and proud feelings. Goodbyes are awesome.

Now it's Monday again, and the office is empty. In this little limbo between interns, we're "a couple of guys" again, instead of a team. And I can't wait to be a team again. Luckily, it won't take long: Wednesday, Merel (which is Dutch for blackbird, which happens to be my favorite Beatles song) will join the ranks and help me make comics until summer. Christiaan is super-busy, so he has decided to take it easy on the intern-front and not hire anyone for the time being, which I fully respect. And hey, three's a crowd anyway. Let's hope three's a team as well.

Cheers!

- Abel