Sir Art: Have A Hop-Hop-Hoppy Birthday

I chanced upon the videos of my former boss' birthday party ; today of all days when I am struggling to lift my spirits and feel the excitement of attending my first Christmas party with my new company.

It has been more than a year sinceI bid Bluebean goodbye, and the only person I was able to speak my heart out to before I left was Sir Art.  And now I realize that he will be turning a year older in a few days, and I so deeply want to wish him the happiest birthday he could ever have. 

He has become more like a friend to me than a boss.  There are just too many things that I learned and found odd about him than I could ever enumerate in this blog.  And at the rate I am going, I would probably be showing up at the party later with a bright red nose if I start recounting all the happy memories I shared with him and his family.

There are days when I would hear a silly song, read a grammatically-challenged line, see a long-forgotten 70's pinoy actor, a bald man, half-finished KFC chicken wings (even the clutter on my desk) and I would suddenly remember him and the smartass things that he is sure to say when he comes across these kinds of silly things.  And I would realize that I probably would never find another boss as cool, smart, at times insensitive but always willing to get you a cake to make up for whatever he said or did that made you cry as he was to me, to all of us.

Last year I caught him online on the eve of his birthday.  He said he was drinking tea by his lonesome, and not at all throwing a party like he used to do.  I greeted him a happy birthday, and he said "thanks thanks" (and this was at that time when I have already ceased reporting for work but have never really formalized my resignation).  He would always say thank you that way, "thanks thanks".

To you Sir Art, Happy Happy Happy Birthday! Thanks thanks for everything!!!