Dear Friends

 

Dear Friends,

Sorry I'm leaving you all. It won't be for long and I'll think of you at least daily. On a rotational basis. But seriously, life will be hard without you. So let me address you all so I have a place to remember each one of you:

Connie - our Laos lunches will be sorely missed. Ox tongue, paw paw salad and a sticky rice for $20, may it never change. It feels like we've known each other for so long (thats probably because we have!) and there's never an awkward silence between us. Only funny jokes about work and sharing plans for the future. I hope you work less in the future and that no one defiles your poor car further. I hope you dress the future Connie junior in bear and sushi costumes and I will be cooing at him/her from afar. I'm sure he/she will be adorable.

Phil - I'm so sorry for us to be leaving when you're just starting the hardest part of your journey but we're only a skype call away. You're always telling me something new about life and how things work, one of the most intelligent people I know. There's never a dull moment when you're around, there's a spark that's in you always. Kevin and I have so much love for you and I hope you remember that when things are tough.

Chris - I'll miss your awesome frisbee - Aerobe. And your jokes. And hanging out at your new pad. I wished we spent more time there. Life got that much better when you joined us in the city and you know that our door is always open to you, day or night because you're such a calming, joyful presence.

Tina - Always a source of artitistic inspiration, everytime I get a chance to hang out with you, I always leave with a smile on my face and a head full of ideas. You were the one to suggest I think about making terrarium necklaces out of small vials so I thank you a million times over. Also, having a meal with you is never bad because you always know the yummiest places to go. Please keep me up to date with your new creations. 

Mikki and Nancy, since you're off on your own adventures then there's not much to say except au revoir! We will reconvene shortly somewhere in Europe. 

And all my other lovely friends here, I wish you nothing but joy and please keep me updated with all of your own adventures!

Work Aint So Bad With People Like These

I've been lucky in that I've met so many lovely people through my past and present workplaces. Sure every place has their resident douche bag but if you have some really awesome people as well then it's worth staying for. This  post can be considerd a 'flashback' episode of our hypothetical show 'Scruffs' (like Scrubs but with animals).The top ten most memorable moments are:

1. Michael getting squirted right in the mouth  with anal gland juice.

2. Me climbing into the cat max, getting stuck, so instead of helping me the nurses proceeded to spray my crotch with water until I figured out you can open the catmax from the inside too.

3. Make your own fascinator competition on Melbourne cup day where Neshette was judging and wrote the name of the winner in black marker on the thinnest bit of paper then trying to make it suspenseful even though we could all see the winner.

4. Us hiding all out in front of the reception desk and turning off the lights so when Sarah comes back from her holiday she'd get all confused. Ten minutes of hiding and we realised she didn't have her keys and we'd have to let her in.

5. Pretending to give birth to Amelie by tucking her under my long green drape and having her leap out under it.

6. Michael driving so badly that he knocked over the large garbage bin at the end of the laneway at work then saying he did it because he was speeding up to beat an oncoming car.

7. Sarah dropping a pen down Neshette's bum crack and Neshette got so mad she locked Sarah in the laundry and everyone was too scared to let her out for awhile. 

8. Neshette giving me her old roller skates where I proceeded to roller skate all around the clinic for the whole day til Michael to me to stop.

9. When EVERYONE fell of that crappy office work chair.

10. Sarah: 'I make make triple less than my boyfriend'

Toni: 'You mean one third?' 

Sarah: 'Some people might say that'.

And just the joy of every day things - our random dance off's, breaking into song in the middle of surgery, the awesome jokes we crack, the yummy trips for passionfruit meringue tarts, thai and japanese. I've laughed til I've cried and you guys have taught me to be a stronger person which I thank you for. I love you guys and I know that even though we're such different people we're great friends outside of work as well.

P.S. More stories have now come out of the woodwork:
11. A client thinking I was Sarah on the phone, after I booked an appointment I then said 'Love you' (meaning to actually say 'lovely')... 'Did you just say you loved me?'. Awkward pause...'Ignore that, it's been a long day'.
12. Pranking Michael by placing clear sticky tape across the door so when he'd walk through he'd get stuck. We over did it and it didn't work. Boo.
13. Calling up other clinics to check out their heartworm protocol but putting on fake accents and trying to be as real (and hence annoying) as possible.
14. When we FINALLY got a second phone line, unfortunately it was the old number of a charming place in Redfern called 'Girls Galore'. There were a couple of suspicious hang ups from that line after that.

It's the pussy peephole, yep, I went there.