Friday – For Brandy

In honour of Brandy’s departure across the sea, her toast from our Digi farewell last night…

~~~

I actually remember the first time I met Brandy very clearly. I was making the big debate about moving to Toronto and I had gotten my first big interview at iStudio. I had noticed this cool looking gal with tattoos in the elevator, and wondered what her deal was and was surprised when she walked in the room to interview me. After an hour of my interview, which consisted of me talking for 15 minutes and Brandy talking for 45, I knew that I may not know a lot of digital, but all I knew is that I wanted to work for Brandy.

So Brandy, that’s the thing about you. Everyone just wants to work with you. If you aren’t winning them over with your smarty-pants knowledge in digital, it’s your ability to answer any question with such confidence and assurance that all of us in digi row always say: “Man, I wish I could be as smart as Brandy.” If we’ve been part of the team for 9 months or 2 years, we’ve all learned so much from you.

So as you venture across the pod, we, Digi row, want to say thank you:

Thank you for being one of the smartest and most articulate people we have ever met, and for making some of us want to hate cats less. Preposterous!

Thank you for teaching us how a man SHOULD act when you arrive randomly and unexpected at their dock AND how we should act if he doesn’t live up to expectations…. “Where’s my drink?!”

Thank you for making it acceptable to dance to “Baby got back” for your boss – dancing won’t be the same without you!

Thank you for teaching us that barns are cool, hiccups are ok to get and the Rural Alberta Advantage are hip, once you get the chance to listen to them.

Thank you for being so cool all the years we may or may not have Internet stalked you and for all your “Shit My Boss Says” Inspiration.

Thank you for teaching us wireframes, being our #1 advocates and giving us cat stickers when we’ve done really great audits.

And finally, thank you for being a great leader, an inspiring mentor, but most of all a true friend, who has meant more to us than I think you will ever know.

So although you are only heading across the sea, we will all miss you and hope that you know that your digi row will never forget you and what you have given us.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Tags: Brandy, London

Thursday: The Gambler

A little Thursday morning ditty…

Slow down,
we’ve got time left to be lazy
All the kids have bloomed from babies into flowers in our eyes.
We’ve got 50 good years left to spend out in the garden
I don’t care to beg your pardon,
We should live until we die.

We were barely 18 when we’d crossed collective hearts.
It was cold, but it got warm when you’d barely crossed my eye.
and then you turned, put out your hand,
and you asked me to dance.
I knew nothing of romance, but it was love at second sight.

I swear when I grow up, I won’t just buy you a rose.
I will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely.
Even if the sun stops waking up over the fields
I will not leave, I will not leave ’till it’s our time.
So just take my hand, you know that I will never leave your side.

It was the winter of ’86, and all the fields had frozen over.
So we moved to Arizona to save our only son
and now he’s turning to a man, although he thinks just like his mother,
he believes we’re all just lovers he sees hope in everyone.

And even though she moved away,
we always get calls from our daughter.
She has eyes just like her father’s
they are blue when skies are grey
And just like him, she never stops,
Never takes the day for granted,
works for everything that’s handed to her,
Never once complains.

You think that I nearly lost you
When the doctors tried to take you away.
But like the night you took my hand beside the fire
30 years ago to this day
You swore you’d be here ’til we decide that it’s our time
Well it’s not time, you’ve never quit in all your life.
So just take my hand, you know that I’ll never leave your side.
You’re the love of my life, you know that I’ll never leave your side.

You come home from work and you kiss me on the eye
You curse the dogs and say that I should never feed them what is ours
and the kids are coming home
I’ll set the table
You can make the fire.

Tags: Fun, The Gambler

Wednesday: And that’s I have to say about that

It’s definitely been a while since I’ve written here – my own fault really – sometimes life and work get a little crazy and you forget to do the little things that make you happy… and with that, here I go again…

My summer was a crazy one – filled with fun days and amazing nights, great friends, sweet sunsets, cool patios and non-stop laughs. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

So throughout my summer of craziness, three big things hit me that I will keep with me always…

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, your friendships will always stay with you. I literally have the BEST friends a girl could ask for. Between wild camping nights (with $901.23 fines), to crazy floating-dock dancing – I am lucky to be constantly surrounded by amazing people, who keep me laughing every day of my life. Some may move across seas or become a Real Housewife of Bomanville, but they are a constant part of me and only a phone call away…

You can find your own strength in others. One of my best pals Jane and her family lost a great deal in the Tornado that hit Goderich a few weeks ago. Although they were lucky to have all made it through safely, the damage to the community was devastating. But with all the loss, can the greatest outpour of support through the community – neighbouring towns and cities sent supplies and workers, people with nothing helped people with even less, and everyone banded together and drew their strength from each other. To witness something like that is truly amazing.

Life is unpredictable. Sometimes I catch myself in a sea of planning – getting wrapped up in details that I lay out myself – but life has its own direction for you. You can’t plan rain or wild dance offs, celebrity spotting or awkward conversations, tornadoes or Bieber karaoke – these things just happen… and then you figure the rest out.

So with that last note, will I be writing again tomorrow? I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to see where tomorrow takes me…

Tuesday – Moments

There are moments in your life that make you. That set the course of who you’re going to be. Sometimes, they’re little, subtle moments… sometimes they’re not…

Some people can go through their whole lives without experiencing any kind of tragedy. They don’t get their hearts broken, they don’t stub their toes. They live a happy life and die in their beds surrounded by family and love  – they walk in the light, I guess you could say…

Some people experience all kinds of tragedy. It rains on their wedding day, their car always breaks down, and their losses can make anyone’s heart hurt. I guess you can say they’re treading water…

And then there are those who are touched by tragedy – lives that seem perfect until suddenly they’re not. For most of us, we are those people. Tragedy is inevitable for us, but ultimately, it’s what you do with this tragedy that matters in then end… its how you find out who you are…

Believing that the sun will shine again and you can learn from your loss is what gives us hope and belief that everything will once again, be ok…

Last Tuesday, the world lost a little girl who taught me so much about belief and hope. Little Sarah was only 8 when she passed away after a long battle with a brain tumour. I have known Sarah’s family for many years and I remember when I first heard the news of her illness. I was amazed from the very beginning with the strength of her parents, Russ and Sue. When the prognosis was devastating, they didn’t give up. They rested all their belief and all their hope onto a little 4 year old girl, who soon began to beat the insurmountable odds and show us all that Sarah had so much more to teach us.

Throughout her illness, there were huge struggles. Sarah went through surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy – all things a little girl should never have to go through. All of these moments taught me to cherish every moment I have with those I love and hold them close.

But there were also good moments. Seeing Sarah beat the odds and show other families that miracles can happen, we can learn from life’s heartbreaks, and sometimes hope can be enough to get you through even the darkest moments..

For so many people, the loss of Sarah is an experience in tragedy, but in the end I also believe it is a lesson in belief and hope that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

So as we all move forward from this day, letting our hearts heal when they’re ready, I’ll always remember this moment and who I am living it for…

For Sue and Russ – Who never stopped believing even for a moment and who humbled me with their strength and their ability to always see the light.

For Jillian – Who is the best big sister any little girl could hope for, who always gave up her chocolate milk without any complaint and amazed me every day with her strength, maturity and unwavering kindness.

For Princess Sarah – Who loves chocolate chip cookies and Barbie’s, who draws the sweetest pictures, who inspires me every day to keep believing, and who has nothing but love in her heart…

We won’t say goodbye to you today Sarah, because you’ll always be with us.

I carry your heart Sarah, I carry it in my heart…

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarah_smith

Thursday: Take a Chance

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t, and believe that everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

-Harvey Mackay

Monday: The “Asshole” Excuse

I was out for breakfast yesterday with one of my best friends – we’ll call him “Mr. X” although I’m sure he’d love a shout out in this post, but I’m hoping the “Mr. X” title will annoy him just a bit. Anyway, Mr. X and I have been close friends since we were 18 – pretty much seen each other through the good and the bad – and often use each other to find out more about the opposite sex and their deep, dark secrets (Mr. X has helped me understand how boys think and I’ve introduced him to his token move – the two-handed kiss).

So yesterday our conversations drifted towards relationships – as they most often do – and as Mr. X was telling me about a girl he had previously been dating but broken up with, he used the “asshole” excuse.

(For those of you who don’t know, throughout our lives, we will come across the “asshole” excuse that a boy or girl may use in order to justify some kind of asshole behaviour: “I never called that guy/girl back – whatever, I’m an asshole – that’s what I do.”)

As soon as Mr. X used the “asshole” excuse, I enlightened him with my philosophy around this train of thought which I will now share with you.

The “asshole” excuse is a cop out. It’s a way for a guy or gal to justify some kind of jerkish behaviour by blaming it on their nature, instead of admitting that in this particular case, they really did behave like an asshole.

If you’re playing a game of Jeopardy, and you get one answer wrong, you don’t call yourself a dummy do you? No – you just made the wrong choice. This same theory can be applied to relationships. If you screw up/behave like a jerk, you can’t call yourself an asshole. You can say you acted like an asshole in that particular situation, but trying to claim the “asshole” title for yourself is just another way of avoiding the much feared phrase: “I was wrong and I’m sorry.”

Now, I won’t argue that there aren’t real assholes in this world. I’m sure there are legitimately quite a few and if you find yourself continuously doing asshole things, then maybe it’s time to revaluate yourself.

But ultimately, at the end of the day, if you know that you’re a good guy/girl that’s made a mistake – don’t take the “asshole” route. Do the brave thing, admit you were wrong and actually make an apology. It will go a long way in anybody’s book.

And if that doesn’t work and you need some extra help, can I suggest the grand gesture?

Tags: asshole

Thursday: Fairy Tales

You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is, it’s hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true.

At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don’t really expect it. It’s like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And its not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now.

See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away.

~MG

Tags: Prince Charming, Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy