The past 48 hours have been a blur of weepiness and nausea. Yesterday I almost made it through the day tearless until Beth P. came by to reminisce about the old days, which set me off, which set her off, which set me off more. Couldn't stop. But a day of a facial, shopping, and not packing had me feeling a lot better... until Tatonka tonight.

My Last Day
At 1 p.m. I turned in my computer. You never feel quite as lost as you do when you're computerless at Amazon. I sent out my good-bye note in the morning, and got lots of nice responses, including one from Jeff that said, "Jenny, thanks for being a big part of our adventure!!" Corny as it is, I was pretty pleased with that. Leaving was pretty tough--it may not have been the best place all of the time, but it was definitely a wild ride and it certainly took over my life for the past 4 1/4 years. It's hard to let go.

Tatonka
The wing eating contest. To quote the contest rules:

"Background -- Our fearless Tatonka leader, Andy 'The Shadow' Jassy, has been convening Tatonka buffalo wing eating events on the first Tuesday of every month since 1997 (earlier?), providing us with a place to eat, drink and be very merry. At these events, bold individuals have, of course, challenged the limits of stomach capacity for personal glory, and gluttony. First, Derrick 'Super-D' Cherry, claimed the throne with a 40-wing effort, although his later efforts put this feat in doubt. In order to resolve all controversy, Scott 'Before Body For Life' Kurttila and Dave 'I really need to go on a diet this time' Schappell put down 50, to put the record at a place that they thought few would ever approach. However, like all records, Mr. Polenz downed 54, a record that still stands today.Now, it is time for that record to fall. And, fall it will."

I, of course, am never one to let a trash-talking moment pass, so I claimed victory for myself and for my team. Our odds:
-- 11:1 Odds – Jenny Brown & Matt Neglay
-- Pros: Jenny is top contender for the ‘hottest wing’ throne, and is an avid trash-talker
Our first ‘mixed team’
They’ve actually asked to be named after a horse… the ‘War Emblem’ of Tatonka
-- Cons: Some members of this team are driving cross-country 12 hours after the competition – we think that the trip will come into play when the going gets tough
-- Quote from Team “6/18 is Jenny's final day with Amazon. That combined with my total lack of self respect means we have nothing to lose in terms of semi-public humiliation. We believe this in conjunction with the misplaced arrogance on our competitor's part will lead to our triumph in at least 2 categories....”
"I notice that team butt face—I mean butt dance—requested a separate title for the ladies. If they can’t handle the heat, that’s fine for them. But let me state for the record that I have no doubt that my wing numbers *alone* will beat their team numbers. So Matt and I will not only be going for the overall records, I, personally, will also be going for the ladies title."

My talk got so bad that Team “Los Gatos Locos” stated as their "clear objective: Shut Jenny Brown’s ENORMOUS pie-hole."

I'm happy to say they did not succeed. True, I did not win tonight's contest. But I beat the over/under (Guy had me pegged at fewer than 30), and I beat 80% of the guys there. Grand total: 45 chicken wings. Final result: bleah! My competitive spirit has completely done me in this time. Let it be known I also beat my own teammate, who probably had 100 pounds on me. And I will never again eat a chicken wing. Marathon training doubles now!