A Note of Thanks

There are people in every office who you are less than excited to work with. People who aren't annoying enough to get fired, but missing just enough common sense, people skills or just plain old manners to make you want to hide their office chair from time to time. If you work in an open office, please, for the love of Pete, please do not eat hot french fries at your desk. Depending on the diet I'm on at the moment, I cannot guarantee your safety. Do not be that person. This post is not about those people. This post is about the other types of people. The people who know all the right people to talk to, or the hidden key stroke in the decades-old program that makes magic happen. The people who never make you feel like your stupid question is a stupid question, and take the time to answer it even though they are already incredibly busy. These are the unsung heroes of any organization. The people who are somewhere on the middle rungs but whose business card should say, ...

This past week was filled with tributes to two creative and inspiring people. Tributes by people those two had never met, and yet had touched their lives in ways the artists couldn't have imagined. While The Goblin King was a key character in my childhood and, like all good Harry Potter fans, I had a love/hate relationship with Severus Snape, I did not know the depths of the creative talent we lost last week like many others did. Here are two tributes from my reading list: The Bloggess: I Can't Erika Napoletano: A Heart Broken in Two Places   David Bowie and Alan Rickman provided meaning and direction to two of the writers I most look forward to reading when slogging through my Feedly each day. These two missives were moving to me not only because of how heartfelt they were, but also because of how they weren't able to say these words to these people while the inspirations were still alive. Undoubtedly, people like David Bowie and Alan Rickman receive busloa...

I have a reminder that goes off each Monday at 8:30am. The reminder says, "Write a Thank You Note". Each day, I get the pleasure of working in the same building as nearly 1,000 other people. It's easy to get caught up in the overflowing refrigerators (though there are four of them) or the salmon-like feeling when you attempt a bathroom run during the 3pm shift change. So many of the hundreds of people walk down the halls with their heads down, not making eye contact. When you come across someone who doesn't, someone who looks you in the eye and smiles, it can change your whole mood. There are a number people here who make an effort to say hi, or at least smile. Like Justin, who if you asked him how he is, he will always respond, "Magnificent!" Or Melinda, who knows just about everyone who works here and loves catching up with people. Or Mike, who makes a point to know your name and will call you out if he catches you avoiding his gaze. And I've th...