Charles spent the entire pubic holiday this Friday fixing the TV system he built. Until now, it has taken no less than 6 steps to turn it on and the following instructions to turn it off:
Ctrl + Alt + F1
“root” + Enter
“G%!!tr*f” + Enter
“halt” + Enter
After almost a year of this, why did he choose now to fix it now, you ask?
Impending baby? Nope.
Dad’s upcoming visit? Nope.
But it may perhaps be a slight coincidence that the Rugby World Cup started on Saturday.
It’s been a bit of a tough week here. We went to a funeral today for one of Charles’ colleagues and friends, Anju. Her husband was recently diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and she was obviously overwhelmed because on Saturday she took her own life. So, along with the loss and heartache comes guilt on top of it all. Everyone is asking themselves if they could have reached out more.
And the thing of it, too, is that she was one of those amazing people who was not only brilliant at her job (the CFO and the only woman on the leadership team, always completely on top of every aspect of the company, and always strong and in control) but she genuinely reached beyond the business structures to connect with people on a personal level. She’d always follow up with people after a meeting to make sure they were feeling ok, for example. And when my Mom died, she sent me flowers when I arrived back in Australia.
It’s reminded me how debilitating depression can be. And how easy it can be to miss. It makes me want to hug everyone I know and tell them how much I love them -now, when they can hear it. Why do we leave all the good stuff for the funeral? Why not gather the pictures and the anecdotes and share them together with the guest of honor sitting in the front pew?
Would that have made a difference, I wonder. Probably not. But maybe.
Yes, if all goes well, Charles and I will be having a kid in mid-February.
So, in an effort to keep from writing all about babies on this blog, I’ve started a new one which will also turn into an ongoing scrap book as it goes:
(Seven thousand days is approximately how long it will be before it moves out on its own)
If you want to start at the beginning, go to June 21st and read from there.
Popped by Charles’ office last weekend.
Here is his desk:
Not a single picture of me to be found.
Maybe because of this great view?:
Or perhaps because he just likes to keep things professional. No personal things around him while he’s working…
Then how do you explain this?:
I’m just saying.
It all started in the wee hours of 2002 when we were so rudely torn from our bed due to a false fire alarm. Since we were up, we decided to head up to the roof and happened to catch the first rays of the first day of the new year.
The next year, we stay over at Lou’s house in Manly. And since she’s a surfer, she also drug out bums out of bed to watch the sun pop out from behind the ocean. She then went for a surf, of course.
By 2004 we decided to make it a thing and took our camping stove to Bondi to make coffee while we waited.
The follow year was supposed to take place in India, but our flight was delayed a few days due to visa issues. I still remember feeling a bit bummed to be missing NYE in Goa. This time we stopped by Hernandez for coffees (they still had those old cups that leaked).
2006 was in the middle of a hike with Tim & Lee Fay after a restless night on very hard ground. That was the day we walked down the shadeless hill in 45 degree heat (that’s 113 F).
And this morning was back at Bondi again with the groups of people who still hadn’t been to bed, a few random joggers, Japanese tourists, and us. It’s a great way to start things off. Feels like we’ve already got a jump on the year just by managing to get out of bed.
Here’s to a great one going forward.