Well, in the last couple months, especially the last couple weeks, I've lost a lot of coworkers. Some I didn't know that well. Some I was close to. Some I almost felt were like family and I was really sad to see them go. We were hanging out with a new coworker at lunch and telling him the sordid tales of the happenings of life at X-Systems in the past. It got me missing all of my old coworkers. I've been planning on doing this for a while, but finally I've got some time to do it and write out my thoughts and feelings for each of them (the ones I remember, anyway). Some left on their own, some left because of downsizing...Work just isn't the same without them, and I miss them a lot...

First is Amy. She actually left the company when I was still in California. Before she came, I was the only girl in my part of the office. It was nice to have another chick around to talk to and balance out the huge quantity of testostetone that was in my area. Now, it's just back to me and the guys, and I'm just not as close to the other women in the office. Amy was the same age as me, we were interested in the same things, she wasn't a bitchy drama queen (well, most of the time, anyway! :-P) and she's such a great person to hang around with. She has a huge heart and I really hope that one day she realizes how fantastic and beautiful she truly is!

Sammy also left before I came back from Chicago. There were some coworkers I saw as older brother types, others that I felt were like younger siblings. In a weird way, Sammy was kinda my twin. We were the same age and had such a great time being just silly and stupid with one another, and we had formed this weird, wonderful bond. He'd tell me all his fantastic and scandalous stories, which always made me laugh. And there's no one that uses the word "prostitute" as skillfully as he does.

Bryan is probably my oldest friend at the company. He started several months after me, and after a couple years, left the company, then came back a year or so later. I'll miss hearing him sing for no reason, his stories about various bathroom adventures, watching him dance when he was drunk, and just hearing him say, "Duuuuuuuuuuuude!". He's just the coolest guy! We've had many a good drinking moments together, and he still owes me a couple rides to the south side.

Orlando, also known as "Earl" is my huggable guy. I remember once I deemed it "Hug Earl Day" and got all the chicas in the office (and some of the dudes, too) to give him a hug. He was my watch dog. He always took care of me, always made sure I was OK when I was drunk, made sure to come and pick me up if I didn't feel like driving, and I could always make him laugh. But don't count on him to be on time! The day he left work was one of the saddest days at work I remember.

Jerry left the company a couple weeks ago, and I never got to say goodbye. To say that he's one of the coolest, funnest people I know is an understatement. I owe this guy thousands of dollars in jack n cokes for the ones that he never let me pay for. He was always up to go out and have fun, and he was my partner in crime when we played pool. We rocked the house when we played pool! Most of my favorite drunken after work memories involve Jerry! The quality of my in-office porn emails will definitely suffer now.

I'm starting to see a trend here with the drinking and all!

Tim was my sweetheart. Probably my favorite gay salesman from the northwest side ever! But really, he was awesome, and he always made me feel good about myself, and he was fun to just hang around with. Always had a great time at the parties at his house (even the one that I worked as a bartender at) and I'll never forget the trip we had in New York together when we went to a bar and he fell on top of me. Classic!

Fatima is, well, my sister, so I *think* I'll see her again. But I'll miss bugging her at work, our lunches together, walking to the comic book store, singing songs so only she could hear them...

Paul was my father at work. Sure, he didn't like me in the beginning because all I did was surf the net (what?!? No one told me what I had to do, so I had to do SOMETHING with my time!) but in time, we created this great relationship. He was stern with me when he had to be, but most of the time, he was really great to talk to.

Loretta was my girl! We never had deep talks or talked on the phone or anything like that, but when I was around her, I always had a good time. She has such an aura about her, and she's tough as nails, too. If she doesn't like something, you'll hear about it! To me, she was the heart of the company. It's a shame we don't have her anymore.

Abie was my pool playing nemesis. I once lost a bet with him and had to do 20 pushups in the middle of a bar. But was the coolest cat ever to step foot in X-Systems. He has such a great outlook on life and is an incredible artist.

Tina was always fun. Especially when Rina came out to play. But I also miss her at work, because frankly, she made my life a lot easier by doing a lot of the things that I have to do now. She is the awesomest rock chick ever, and because of her, I'm short track junkie, because I wouldn't have had the adventures I had if she hadn't been with me at the start.

Syed and me went to college together, and we know the same people, but we had never met stil he started working at X-Systems. I felt bad that he worked on the *other*, more married side of the office, but I'd always have great conversations with him when I'd venture out that way. Now that I know we know the same people, I'm sure we'll see each other again.

Moises was everyone's little brother, and although he had some whacked out views on some things (like that weird love for Usher and Shaq) he was a good guy, and a hard worker. Making the rest of us work harder so we didn't seem like slackers. He called me a couple times when I was in California to hang out. Sorry for not calling back, dude, you'll learn that I rarely return phone calls. Or emails. I'm lazy!

So yeah, I'm sure I've missed other people, but these are the people who have really stuck out in my mind. Work just isn't the same without them. A lot of these people made this place seem like home, and we were like family and had so many fun, stupid memories together.

So if any of you are reading this (and I KNOW you are!) we're meeting at the Hub next Friday night for some reminiscing and fun. Hope to see you guys there!

Here's a couple pics...I'd have more, but my scanner is still packed in a box somewhere...that, and some of the pictures were never meant to see the light of the internet!

Posted by Yano at September 17, 2004 06:40 AM

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