.
a traumatic day in the office.
first e~bear got stuck in a lift for 20 minutes with 12 strangers.
she called me on her mobile, and i told that she would have a great time if only she could encourage everyone to sing Kumbaya in harmony, and then they could all share life stories, learning much about each other and inevitably about themselves. i was kind of excited for her, if the truth be known. [i’d love to be go on soul journeys in broken lifts with strangers.]
i think e~bear was more concerned about claustrophobia.

then we all watched, horrified and transfixed, as our much loved cubicle goldfish mascot appeared very ill… before giving his last little fishy wriggle… and becoming a goldfish angel.
thus followed a funeral ceremony conducted by our wonderful boss robynne,
then a vale, an obituary, and a wake.

phew. a big day at the office.

and even though it sounds silly,
we really are going to miss that fish.
and i really started to believe in my uber~meaningful obituary.

VALE: Jose Fernandez Goldfin
(8/4/2005 – 31/5/2005)

We even made Jose a security pass card.

“We come together today to celebrate the life of our dear friend, Jośe Fernandez Goldfin.
He passed away earlier this morning after a short illness. Good friends were by his side as he began his transcendence to a new plane of existence. José was a valuable member of our team.

You can make all the sushi jokes you like, but at the end of the day, Jose had a luminous spirit which shone sweetly in the Cubicle of Joy.
I’d like to tell you the story of how Jose came into our lives. Me and Jose’s spirit mother, Lile, went to the pet store and peered into the great glass chasm of goldfish orphans, just waiting to be claimed. As soon as we saw Jose, we knew he was “The One.” He was brave, he was spunky, he was Jose the God incarnated and he knew it.
Two months of blissful harmonious joy followed. He was one of us.
We have been profoundly touched by his life, and his journey onwards into the great oceanic divide. We owe him a great debt of gratitude and place our survival of work on his strong, peaceful presence.

There was many times I sat by his tank, gazing into the still waters of his tank, and my soul was rested by Jose’s ability to encapsulate Tao and Zen.
He listened to our woes. He stared unblinkingly into the void, and flapped his fins gaily at the mere thought of being alive.
We have so much to learn from him. We were blessed by his presence, his friendship and the way he loved without attachment.

A private burial ceremony has already taken place.
Pastor Jorm has kindly supplied chocolates for Jose’s wake, and his request is that mean sushi-joke makers are denied access to the bounty.”

sometimes you don’t know whether to cry or laugh,
so you just do both. all at once.
jose would have wanted it that way.