The most important thing is friends
I didn't get much actual work done at work today since lunch lasted almost two hours. Which means I only get paid for 3.25 hours, but it was totally worth it.
We had a retirement party at lunch for Smiljka, who works in my department. There was lots of yummy food. :) There were build-your-own sandwiches with turkey and ham (REAL turkey and ham, not just the lunch meat stuff) and super-tasty bread. Then there was also a variety of side dishes, of which I had a pasta thing and a posh salad (with lettuce and pears and walnuts, except I don't like walnuts so I left those). And then, of course, there was dessert. I had a bit of peppermint bark, a chocolate chip cookie, a dab of white chocolate and spiced pear trifle, and a smidge of very rich chocolate cake. All very tasty.
Also, I talked to people. Go me! Well, the other people at my corner of the table were actual talkative people and thusly dominated the conversation (I'm not good at leaping in to say things), but I did contribute a few questions and remarks. And had a real conversation with the guy sitting next to me. His name is John, he's originally from Canada (Toronto), has been doing contract work in the States for a few years now, likes living in the States but it's not home, doesn't understand our healthcare system (neither do I...), and stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch once while driving from L.A. to SanFran (and also applied for a job in SB but was told by a friend who works at UCSB that "it's a nice place but you can't live here; everyone lives an hour and a half away and commutes" ... so true). We also discussed the differences in the East and West Coasts. We both prefer the East Coast. The cities are nicer and they have real public transportation that you can actually get around tolerably well on (this is, of course, a big deal for me since I don't drive). So that was fun. :)
And then, after the party was breaking up and nearly everyone had left, there were still about half a dozen of us lingering around with the last of the desserts and our honoree. Smiljka started reminiscing about her life, and it was way interesting. She grew up in Belgrade, and remembers the bombs from WWII when she was five. She remembers her dad riding his bicycle covered in dust from the bombings. She remembers how the Gestapo and the communists thought she was a little blonde-haired darling and would let her family get on the trains. Her family was arrested, more than once, but they always got out and they all survived the war. She remembers her father being arrested, and being saved by a famous communist who also gave her father his job at a university. She remembers after the war, no food, no shoes, cold streets. But also family, one family, because the twenty families on that street all looked out for each other. And they were happy because they were alive. She remembers going door to door to borrow books from her extended family. She remembers her best friend, and how everyone always asked how they were friends because they were so different, and how they used to spend hours in her friend's tiny room travelling the world together through books.
It was really amazing to hear her memories. And she kept stressing that the most important thing is to stay alive (because if you're alive, everything else follows) and to have friends (because they make everything worthwhile).
So, to my friends, I love you. No, really. You mean the world to me. Yes, you. *smishes you all* ♥
We had a retirement party at lunch for Smiljka, who works in my department. There was lots of yummy food. :) There were build-your-own sandwiches with turkey and ham (REAL turkey and ham, not just the lunch meat stuff) and super-tasty bread. Then there was also a variety of side dishes, of which I had a pasta thing and a posh salad (with lettuce and pears and walnuts, except I don't like walnuts so I left those). And then, of course, there was dessert. I had a bit of peppermint bark, a chocolate chip cookie, a dab of white chocolate and spiced pear trifle, and a smidge of very rich chocolate cake. All very tasty.
Also, I talked to people. Go me! Well, the other people at my corner of the table were actual talkative people and thusly dominated the conversation (I'm not good at leaping in to say things), but I did contribute a few questions and remarks. And had a real conversation with the guy sitting next to me. His name is John, he's originally from Canada (Toronto), has been doing contract work in the States for a few years now, likes living in the States but it's not home, doesn't understand our healthcare system (neither do I...), and stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch once while driving from L.A. to SanFran (and also applied for a job in SB but was told by a friend who works at UCSB that "it's a nice place but you can't live here; everyone lives an hour and a half away and commutes" ... so true). We also discussed the differences in the East and West Coasts. We both prefer the East Coast. The cities are nicer and they have real public transportation that you can actually get around tolerably well on (this is, of course, a big deal for me since I don't drive). So that was fun. :)
And then, after the party was breaking up and nearly everyone had left, there were still about half a dozen of us lingering around with the last of the desserts and our honoree. Smiljka started reminiscing about her life, and it was way interesting. She grew up in Belgrade, and remembers the bombs from WWII when she was five. She remembers her dad riding his bicycle covered in dust from the bombings. She remembers how the Gestapo and the communists thought she was a little blonde-haired darling and would let her family get on the trains. Her family was arrested, more than once, but they always got out and they all survived the war. She remembers her father being arrested, and being saved by a famous communist who also gave her father his job at a university. She remembers after the war, no food, no shoes, cold streets. But also family, one family, because the twenty families on that street all looked out for each other. And they were happy because they were alive. She remembers going door to door to borrow books from her extended family. She remembers her best friend, and how everyone always asked how they were friends because they were so different, and how they used to spend hours in her friend's tiny room travelling the world together through books.
It was really amazing to hear her memories. And she kept stressing that the most important thing is to stay alive (because if you're alive, everything else follows) and to have friends (because they make everything worthwhile).
So, to my friends, I love you. No, really. You mean the world to me. Yes, you. *smishes you all* ♥