In November of 2010 I was promoted within the company I worked with at the time and I transferred locations. I was going to an unknown location with unknown people. I also knew from mutual connections that my coming in wasn't entirely welcomed at first by those I'd be overseeing. I tried to go in with an open mind knowing I could do the job, knowing I was chosen for the job. What I didn't know at the time is the life long friendships I would be forming.
When I first Nicole, Coco, I stepped into our now former office and respectively introduced myself as well, her new boss. She welcomed me. She was nice. She was working, wearing her winter coat and scarf. I worried that the office I was embarking into was cold. Turns out, it was a cold office. I had to wait 4 days until I met my other coworker, Dan Pham; he doesn't get a nickname, to this day I still call him Dan Pham.
The three of us combined became a team not to be messed with. If there ever were a competition at uncrating a $4,000+ entry door, we would win that contest in a heartbeat. I literally laughed and cried with both of them, all of us at once sometimes. We had our ups and downs, our wins and our losses. Coco was once so sick that I left work, picked her up and took her to the ER. Dan Pham and I were once moving a shower door that shatter in his hands and I didn't care about the mess, the product, or having to explain the incident to anyone; only about getting him cleaned up and taken care of.
Even after Coco and I each went onto new work adventures, and Dan Pham stepped into my spot, we've stayed in touch. We've laughed. We've joked. And if anything we've never been short of dramastical for anyone who has a certain sense of "Suave je ne sais quo" and oh, we always talk of pizza.
If you remember, last December, Coco and I ran a race. In fact this was my first race while on my journey. We ran at her pace and it was fun. We dressed ridiculously, we joked, we got passed by people, we passed people, but we did it. I was on my journey, and Coco on hers, and really our journeys aren't that different from one another which makes it so great.
Shortly after the beginning of this year Coco decided our next endeavor should be a 5k Blacklight Run. Now, I'll try anything once. But let's be honest ... that sounds messy and late at night. I'm not Cinderella and turn into a Pumpkin at midnight, but some nights by 10pm I'm out to the world. And yes, I know Cinderella didn't turn into a Pumpkin, stick with me here folks.
But for Coco (and Dan Pham) I'd do anything, and that includes eating pizza. Mmm ... pizza. I digress. But seriously, we ate so much pizza when we worked in an office together, it's no wonder I had to start on my weight loss journey. I digress, again.
In true daring fashion I said "Sign us up!". Literal months passed before it was time for us to run together again. In those months we'd send each other photos of our workouts and continue to be excited. I mean, we use the expression "I Miss Your Face". Come on now.
When we received the email stating there would be 20,000 people I panicked. 20,000 people at the Chicagoland Speedway ... um ... how much running would we be doing? My gut instinct was "Not a whole heck of a lot." It's true, we didn't get to run a whole lot, and in part that's because obviously it was dark out and I didn't exactly want to hurt myself. I've torn my Right ACL literally (yes, literally), walking. So running on gravel in the dark with thousands of other people made for a better idea for us to walk.
And you know what? We ran about a mile and then walked the rest. It was a great walk. We got to chat. We got to look at other runners. And every orange safety cone we passed, Coco yelled "CONE!". We didn't get as blacklight powdered up as you might have expected, although other people certainly did. We had our glow in the dark (straight from the Dollar Tree) necklaces and bracelets on, and it was great. After we were finished we even sent Dan Pham a message telling him we missed his face and he replied he loved us both.
I have requested that our next 5k together be in daylight, or at least on a well lit path and perhaps with more running and less powder being thrown in our faces. Even despite that, I'd do it again. Much like the journey, it doesn't matter how you get to the end, but that you got to the end and who was with you along the way.
When I first Nicole, Coco, I stepped into our now former office and respectively introduced myself as well, her new boss. She welcomed me. She was nice. She was working, wearing her winter coat and scarf. I worried that the office I was embarking into was cold. Turns out, it was a cold office. I had to wait 4 days until I met my other coworker, Dan Pham; he doesn't get a nickname, to this day I still call him Dan Pham.
The three of us combined became a team not to be messed with. If there ever were a competition at uncrating a $4,000+ entry door, we would win that contest in a heartbeat. I literally laughed and cried with both of them, all of us at once sometimes. We had our ups and downs, our wins and our losses. Coco was once so sick that I left work, picked her up and took her to the ER. Dan Pham and I were once moving a shower door that shatter in his hands and I didn't care about the mess, the product, or having to explain the incident to anyone; only about getting him cleaned up and taken care of.
Even after Coco and I each went onto new work adventures, and Dan Pham stepped into my spot, we've stayed in touch. We've laughed. We've joked. And if anything we've never been short of dramastical for anyone who has a certain sense of "Suave je ne sais quo" and oh, we always talk of pizza.
If you remember, last December, Coco and I ran a race. In fact this was my first race while on my journey. We ran at her pace and it was fun. We dressed ridiculously, we joked, we got passed by people, we passed people, but we did it. I was on my journey, and Coco on hers, and really our journeys aren't that different from one another which makes it so great.
Shortly after the beginning of this year Coco decided our next endeavor should be a 5k Blacklight Run. Now, I'll try anything once. But let's be honest ... that sounds messy and late at night. I'm not Cinderella and turn into a Pumpkin at midnight, but some nights by 10pm I'm out to the world. And yes, I know Cinderella didn't turn into a Pumpkin, stick with me here folks.
But for Coco (and Dan Pham) I'd do anything, and that includes eating pizza. Mmm ... pizza. I digress. But seriously, we ate so much pizza when we worked in an office together, it's no wonder I had to start on my weight loss journey. I digress, again.
In true daring fashion I said "Sign us up!". Literal months passed before it was time for us to run together again. In those months we'd send each other photos of our workouts and continue to be excited. I mean, we use the expression "I Miss Your Face". Come on now.
When we received the email stating there would be 20,000 people I panicked. 20,000 people at the Chicagoland Speedway ... um ... how much running would we be doing? My gut instinct was "Not a whole heck of a lot." It's true, we didn't get to run a whole lot, and in part that's because obviously it was dark out and I didn't exactly want to hurt myself. I've torn my Right ACL literally (yes, literally), walking. So running on gravel in the dark with thousands of other people made for a better idea for us to walk.
And you know what? We ran about a mile and then walked the rest. It was a great walk. We got to chat. We got to look at other runners. And every orange safety cone we passed, Coco yelled "CONE!". We didn't get as blacklight powdered up as you might have expected, although other people certainly did. We had our glow in the dark (straight from the Dollar Tree) necklaces and bracelets on, and it was great. After we were finished we even sent Dan Pham a message telling him we missed his face and he replied he loved us both.
I have requested that our next 5k together be in daylight, or at least on a well lit path and perhaps with more running and less powder being thrown in our faces. Even despite that, I'd do it again. Much like the journey, it doesn't matter how you get to the end, but that you got to the end and who was with you along the way.
Coco and I just after crossing the finish line.
We crack ourselves up striking a glowing pose.
Now adding to my adventures, misadventures, and fitness journey with Coco I can add having powder thrown in my face to the list. I'm excited to see what our next adventure will be, and maybe we can even get Dan Pham to join in. Sadly, I'm guessing it shouldn't involve pizza. Dang.
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