Something a little different

I thought I would take a little break from my typical daily rants and TV reviews and write about something that doesn't involve bitchy fashion designers.

I made a day trip out to the bay area yesterday to attend the funeral of a my friend's husband who passed away on Monday. It was something I wasn't sure I could pull off considering I had only a few hours to arrange a plane flight and a ground transportation, but I was glad I did.

Some of you that remember my Intuit days, most likely recall me talking about my boss Sonita. Those who remember this, also remember how much I adored and loved her. I can honestly say because of her I was given opportunities that otehrwise would have passed me by. Not only was she an amazing person to work for, she was an amazing woman to know. I always admired her and her position at Intuit. She was well respected, liked and feared. Everything a woman should be. Still to this day, I compare every boss to her and every work situation to how she would handle it, or how she would advise me to approach the situation. I don't know that she ever realized what an outstanding person she is, or if the dozens of people she helped blossom into their careers ever thanked her for her time and efforts.

When I first started working for her at Intuit, I was told her husband was diagnosed with cancer and he most likely wouldn't make it through the year. The type of cancer Iqbal had was very fatal and it was estimated he wouldn't make it past 2 years. Well it's been close to 9 years and he was still going. I am not sure if I thought it was amazing and he was a miracle, or if it slipped my mind he was even sick.

I didn't know Iqbal much personally, other than the occasional dinners at Sonita's or the trip to Tahoe together for Christmas. But what I do remember about him was how much Sonita loved and adored him. When she described her relationship with Iqbal, I would always think to myself "that is what I want." It's hard to believe with the divorce rate in America that any couple is ever happy anymore. And if you knew Sonita, you knew she didn't do feelings. So to hear her open about him, you really knew it was something special and beyond any one's understanding. Because of all of this, I felt it 100% necessary for me to drop everything and make a last minute trip out there to help support her and her daughter during this time.
I knew it was going to be a tear jerker, and as you guys know--I don't do feelings either...and I was right, it was incredibly sad. As usual, Sonita was the strongest person in the room, while the rest of us busted into tears as she spoke about Iqbal, and her relationship with him. But that is Sonita, she is always the backbone for everyone around her. I was able to see and catch up with a few other folks I worked with and we shared stories about Sonita and Iqbal and laughed, cried and laughed some more.
The story that always sticks with me is when Iqbal decided to be an artist. He really threw himself into his art and even traveled to the South of France to work with other artists each year. When he first started taking classes he sent Sonita a picture and asked her to print it out for him. For those of you who worked with Sonita, you all remember how horrible she was at emails, and anything technical for that matter. So being the "Super Sec" I was, I printed the picture out and placed it on her desk. I left a sticky note on her computer screen "I put your husband's balls on your desk."
Roughly an hour letter she came up to me and said "what the fuck are you talking about? And why in the fuck are you touching my husband's balls?" Once I explained that the picture was of balls...we laughed...oh we laughed. Not really a touching story, but it was funny, and I think it capture the spirit of our relationship.

Every time someone I know passes away or suffers some sort of tragedy, it makes me feel old and forces me to evaluate my life. It makes me wish I was 12 again and the biggest worry I have is if I will be first one in line for the new Stone Temple Pilots album. Getting older forces you to face life's challenges that sometimes feel to overwhelming. Do you think if I start wearing jelly shoes and listening to Debbie Gibson, I can turn back time?