Making Mistakes Since 1964

This is the tagline of my dear friend, John Puglia. "Making Mistakes Since 1964." The first time he said that to me I laughed hysterically thinking that he had just made some witty comeback to my accusation of him missing something that I had provided to him earlier in the day. Turns out, it's his official sign off - and he had the rubber stamp to prove it. Really, he did.

John had a real liking for taglines apparently - he bestowed two upon me. The first one should be no surprise to anyone - "The Girl on the Grid." He teased me incessantly for living and dying by schedules, getting excited about well-created spreadsheet and matrices and being a machine in some cases. In fact, he would leave me notes on grid paper just to reinforce his theory and thereby validating the tagline. The second tagline he gave me was "Blonde Roots. Really." I had a picture of my Granddad and I sitting on my desk and I was about three years old - and blonde. John would often tease me for being book-smart and lacking common sense - and specifically having no navigational sense whatsoever. Despite my dark hair, he was convinced the blonde roots were still there.

Our friendship really took hold a year ago - during a 24-hour, round-the-clock, work frenzy known as CreateAThon. I was on John's team and we really got to know each other well and had some quality bonding time through that experience. Nothing says bonding like a 1:30am walk to The Interstate - a notoriously gay bar - in Akron. I suppose he thought it would be good to wake me up if the cold air in the wee hours in the morning didn't do it. He was right. This was the first of many experiences we would have and share for the next year.

He introduced me to a new realm of restaurants, drinks, live music venues, speak-easies and bands. He also instilled in me an appreciation for experiences. These should not be understated. He invited me into his world - knowing it would be completely different than what I was accustomed to. He lived life to the fullest - experiencing every moment and challenged me to do the same.

I lost John a week ago today. I did. His boys did. His parents did. Numerous other friends and family. We all lost John - and what a loss that is. I still have not fully comprehended his expedited departure despite the fact that I attended his funeral only days ago. It was too soon. Far too soon for a person so full of life, energy and amazing talent. He loved life and that passion was contagious. To say I will miss him is a gross understatement.

John and I - CreateAThon 2012

Happy Birthday S+

Since May 1st, I have listened to the countdown to the birthday of Sarah Cross. May 19th is the magical date that this vibrant force entered the planet.

S+ (Sarah Cross) is my project manager, right hand and friend. She is pushed and pulled all day long by two very demanding account executives and still manages to inject humor, levity and spirit into the daily grind. She brings flair and life to everything she touches. Her consummate desire to learn and grow is inspiring. Her ability to add "light" to the gloomiest of days is refreshing.

She has laughed with me. Cried with me. Prayed for me. Supported me. Inspired me. Worked with me and for me - long hours and in tough situations. She challenges me. Always keeping me on my toes.

She loves life and it is evident in everything she does. She adds beauty as well as captures it. She is an amazing woman.

On this day and every day I wish her a life full of happiness + celebration.

Happy Birthday to you, S+. May you have many, many more!

Expectations

Expectations are a hell of a thing to live up to. Your own. Others'. They can make you feel like you are on top of the world when you meet or exceed them. Or, they can suck you into a self-loathing abyss when you don't quit hit the mark.

On my run Saturday with Jill I had the expectation to run 8 miles. This is always established up-front so you push toward a goal. I can tell you, I did not meet the 8 mile mark. I came up short. The reality of that run was that either allergies or recycled airplane air wreaked havoc on my sinuses - hence making breathing difficult. I just couldn't get enough air. I was completely frustrated as I had to walk throughout the course of that run and with each walk-break becoming more annoyed with myself. I kept apologizing to Jill as she stayed next to me throughout what would become a 10k. Her response was always that it was fine. Not a big deal. Just happy to be spending time together.

Jill's expectation was a bit different than mine - her focus was spending time together. Mine was completing an eight-mile run. Despite the utter frustration associated with my lack of performance, I walked away from that experience thinking that I really just need to set the expectation that I'm spending time with my friends and getting a decent work-out as a fringe benefit. Maybe, just maybe, setting a lighter expectation will yield a more impressive result.