The Captain’s friend: I like to think of my chicken as dinosaur meat.
(I assure you the conversation only got stranger from there.)
Archive for » November, 2009 «
19
November
(A slightly revised version of what I wrote for the company newsletter)
When you think of the people who make up this company, you think of them as family. We are a caring organization, comprised of deeply forged connections amongst employees. Coworkers become brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, even parents. We acutely feel the loss of one of our own.
The news of Rick’s passing sent waves of shock and sadness through the building. How could we help but be stunned? Rick was a vibrant person, bursting with life. He had a presence that filled up the whole room (and a voice that carried to the next room over). His absence, the silence, leaves not just a hole, but a vacuum.
Rick worked with us for three years. He was a fixture in this corner of the building, anchored to the same desk since the day he started, though his neighbors frequently changed. He left an impression on all of them. I once heard a coworker refer to him as the “Mayor of the Accounting area.” Somehow the title seemed just right. Another coworker described him as “like a father to this area.” That fit too.
He was also known as Coach Rick, a man of (almost) infinite patience who took the softball team from nearly last place to somewhere a respectable distance from last place. He coached both on and off the field – one day advising you on your swing, another day on your dating situation.
But whether people knew Rick as a second father, the softball coach, or just the chatty accountant who cut the reimbursement checks, they will surely remember him as an all around nice guy.
Rick, you were taken from us much too soon. The only way to make sense of it is to imagine that your heart couldn’t manage the strain of loving so many people so completely and unselfishly. We thank you for your tremendous love and support, and for leaving us so many fond memories. Happy memories that help us smile through the tears as we struggle to say goodbye to a dear friend.
Category: Uncategorized
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13
November
Last night I lost a dear friend. He left the office smiling, as usual, and hours later suffered a heart attack and passed away.
I have no words.
Category: Uncategorized
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06
November
Every bride wants to look her best on her wedding day. I think we can all accept that as a statement of fact.
Great. Now just keep that in mind as you continue reading.
Over the last several weeks, the leaves fell off our trees. We even had a couple of snow flurries. This is bad because naked trees and frozen precipation sort of depress me. And make me want to eat cookies. That’s when I realized that the wedding is right at the end of winter . . . right at the time that I usually have to put down the s’mores because I’ve gained fifteen pounds. Awesome.
I thought about the two bags of Kit Kats I managed to eat in as many weeks. I thought about the email asking me if I wanted to cancel my gym membership because I hadn’t been there in so long. I thought about all the food-centric holidays coming my way between now and the nuptials. And I made a very rash decision.
Our company just started their second installment of the Biggest Loser contest. Do I need to lose weight? Meh, not really. But I certainly don’t need to gain any either. (Dress alterations are expensive!) Why couldn’t I use the program simply to inspire me to get healthy? So despite ridicule and irritated expressions, I signed up.
Holy shit, people.
Week 1: Horror sets in when I am handed a thick packet and informed I will have to write down every single thing I eat for the next twelve weeks. Paranoia ensues. The Captain has to coax me into eating a piece of my sister’s wedding cake as I repeat “But I have to write it down!” over and over to myself. By the next weigh in, I’ve lost two pounds.
Week 2: Shamed by disapproving looks when I handed in my blank exercise journal, I return to the gym. Jogging on the elliptical nearly kills me. When did exercise get so hard? Paranoia over food recording makes me a little crazy. I start sneaking Kit Kats when no one’s looking. I account for a fraction of them. The next weigh in shows no change.
Week 3 (this week): Sudden rebellion against the diet I didn’t know I was on. I begin eating crap from the vending machine. A LOT. Then I feel guilty and try to make the snacks sound less terrible in my food journal. Lapses of memory are frequent. Recording accuracy suffers. Fear of weight gain makes me fidgety, as if twitching will burn off the calories.
I see a weekend filled with exercise in my future. ::sigh::
Category: Crash & Burn, Fitness Fun, Wedding
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