Goodbye: Mindy Beigle

Sorry I was going to do a composite thing, but none of the pictures I had were nearly as good as this one.

This picture is actually like the Mona Lisa - you know, you can't tell if the Mona Lisa is smiling or frowning, or whether or not her hands are actually hers with bad genes or Leonardo's. Same thing with this pic, which sometimes says to me "I'm a cheerleader, and I just got my teeth whitened . . . again" or "Oh my God, I can't believe Wade talked me into having Patrick's birthday party at my house with 100 of his closest friends".

Anyway, really glad that we all could run around Europe together - too bad you had to leave earlier and not have as much time with us. I'll remember the trips to Baden-Baden and Champagne, intercepting you on your walk from work to home, and just general nutiness.

But I will certainly remember most your sheer determination. I must admit it was kind of frightening the first time that I saw you make up your mind on something and then beat it into the ground until it screamed in agony, but once I got passed that I understood you a little better. That "Can't eat an apple, it's loaded with sugar" diet was whack, but you knew that's what you had to do and you stayed with it FOREVER. Well, except for the tarte flambee binge that you planned on your birthday three months in advance, but that just further illustrates my point.

Goodbye: Gaby Vega

I think I'm still in trouble from the Bruno post, so I might sound a little over the top to make up for it.

As you should know from previous posts, Gaby was the QM Application Engineer, and she was the Diva. In fact, she was such a diva that she taught me a few things - so I was just the Junior Diva. As you can imagine, I've never really played a supporting role before (just never found the right script) until Gaby came along, so that's pretty profound.

Gaby taught me several things including the best source of information is just a smoke away (don't worry, I only experienced the unfiltered second-hand smoke), Spanish and Italian are really interchangeable languages, and some people should not drive a manual transmission (Patrick still relives the running over the high school student incident to this day).

Despite all of her successes in achieving results with people, I must say I was a bit disappointed that we did not see our own GBIP smackdown. Can't tell you how many times Bruno IM'ed me to say that he thought the time had arrived, and I had my trusty video camera ready. Alas, you can't have everything.

Goodbye: Jim Weber

An absolutely amazing individual, and a true gift to have been able to work and know him better.

First, a tremendously good sport. Not everyone can give up their daily work uniform for the past 30 years, just for team spirit. Actually, we all know it was because of Mama Cita, but that's another story.

Second, I've never seen anyone inhale an area culturally, in this case Alsace, like Jim. Not only did he find food and spirits in towns that probably aren't even on a map outside of Alsace, but he really enjoyed the french, he understood them better than any of us, and truly appreciated them. He liked the Germans too.

Third, an idiot savant when it came to learning french. Despite no background in it, he would amaze with vocabulary words three months after we had been there - I think one time he knew the french words for "silk damask draperies" - bizarre.

Fourth, an amazing ability to take a topic, like particle physics or Middle Eastern geopolitics, and reduce the main points down to index finger, middle finger, thumb. I figure if the Lilly thing doesn't work out, he could go be a strategic policy analyst for the State Department or Pentagon.

Before I forget . . . thanks for the leftovers (50 half opened bottles of alcohol) - Patrick Emanuel and Daniel Prieto are salivating. I'm thinking team building event for all of semi-finished manufacturing, but I'm afraid it would affect the World's Insulin supply.

And finally, Jim said several times that we were the finest group of AE's the GBIP project has ever had, but he forgot to mention that the main reason was because we had the finest leader (yes, I know merit reviews are done for the year - you little twits).

Goodbye: Theresa Weber

Sorry, when I think of Theresa, I think of her purse. I know that's not so profound to the uninitiated, but you have to understand that her purse must have been a portal to another universe that was directly connected to three Super Wal-Marts. I've never seen so much crap come out of that thing, and I just waited for the day you pulled out a turkey leg or diesel generator. I mean I thought I was doing pretty well with having nail clippers in my man bag - and I'm an Eagle Scout.

Anyway, Theresa got the ordering in french thing down and could drink tequila like a sailor. And oh yes, she had to put up with Jim - but that's obviously an old skill. By the way, haven't started on the leftover Anejo, it's too emotional for me right now. And with the upcoming Tequila party for Lucia's wedding, I think I should pace myself.

(And the composite might need a bit of explanation to the uninitiated - the cotton ball at the end is Fry. Didn't want to leave him out.)

Goodbye: Tim Whittaker

What a little freak.

If there was ever a person best suited for spending years in a foreign country, while his spouse worked, Tim would be it. I think he basically has every single product item from REI. Question: the four fishing poles you took over to Geneva, were they used?

Tim did teach me an important lesson that there are so many things still left to do in the World (snowboarding is probably not one of them), and you can still concentrate on just a handful if you want. I know if I ever find myself bored with life, I need only give him a buzz and he'll give me three ideas. By the way, I had a few minutes earlier today and found mail-order Finnish saunas. Sorry...back to him...

So besides the bike pedals that shaved off another 150 grams of weight from your road bike, I will naturally remember the trips to Bordeaux, Champagne, Paris, Luxembourg, and god knows where else. The custom shirts are an unforgettable - as well as the trips to the Chalet and, of course, Team America . . . uncut. But most importantly, I will remember that your life is really going to suck when you get back to the States.

Goodbye: Andrea Whittaker

I've tried to write this entry four times already, and I never knew where to begin; so I suppose this will have to do.

There are so many memories and experiences I want to capture, so I am sure I will never forget. But at the same time I know that it is a pointless exercise, since it would not capture the essence of the past 15 months with Andrea. So I will try another way.

The chinese character for profundity is formed by combining the radical for "water" with the radical for "collective effort". The Chinese believe someone who is profound does not skim the surface of their perceptions, but instead strives to understand the whole - including themselves.

Whenever I see this character, I will always be reminded of Andrea Whittaker.

Goodbye: GBIP Team

Although Building 200 has not yet gone live, and there is much work for Fegersheim to do with their new system, and Patrick and I will be back in January for three more months; the project as we know it is essentially over.

Knowing that I have the memory skills of a turnip, I know I will not remember everyone; so here's the rundown on everyone for posterity...

First row (left to right): Evelyn Ludes, Michel Dufaut, Fabrice Hetzel, David Pate, Guillaume Maillard, Celine Collinet, Andrea Whittaker, Mario Braun, Catherine Hoerth, Severine Matzen, Cathy Gouin, Veronique Bobey, Albert Eck, Valerie
Traverso, Christine Degermann

Second row (left to right): Laurence Ciravegna, Daniel Prieto, Bernard LaFitte,
Patrick Emanuel, Nicholas Scoubeau, Stephane Bertrand, Thierry Huge, Jim
Weber, Anne-Catherine Bildstein, Holger Roeder, Severine Drost, Reinhardt
Kiauk, Jean-Marc Schoenenberger, Elisabeth Fath, natalie Ernst, Christelle
Wurtz, Marc Lauwick, Lucia Nogueda, Olga Komazel, Mark Griffith, Gilles
Szamosvari, Samuel Renard, Christoph Paymal, Marco Riva, Thomas Veith,
Philippe Obser, Julia Hagan, Philippe Faubert, Joe Moeddel, Bruno Mercier,
Wade Smith, Benoit Rahier, Sylvain Rigoulet, Chrystel Perez

It seems silly, but thank you to everyone. And all I can say is that I'm glad I'm going home for the holidays, because otherwise I would be really REALLY depressed right now.

Last Dinner at Matteo's

Well not exactly Patrick and my last night at Matteo's, but it was the last night for Joe, Cindy, and Gaby.

Matteo's is an Italian restaurant that's about 50 feet away from our apartment, and you can see the owner Matteo (fifth from the right or left), and his wife (second from the right). Patty goes there for the lasagne, which we have the recipe. And I always get the goat cheese pizza - I like consistency.

Anselmo Visiting

Anselmo (Supply Chain Guy) flew in from Spain for a day in order to talk to Fegersheim. Unfortunately it was during a rather busy time (packing for the holidays, Patrick travelling, moving to a new apartment, saying goodbye to 10 close friends, etc.). Hopefully when he's back next time we'll have some more time.

We did end up going to a nice seafood place with Cindy, Adria, Jim, Theresa, and Anselmo. Turned out our future landlord (LiAne) does the english translations of the menu - Strasbourg really ain't that big.

Skiing in Switzerland

Joe, the Whittakers, and Patrick went down to Switzerland to ski one last time before heading home. Not surprisingly, I skipped the event, since skiing and I agree to disagree. I should know the name of the mountain in the background (Matahorn?), but it escapes me.

It sounded like they had a good time, and even had some last minute snow (insert Global Warming comment again). Patrick even made Joe talk in the car on the way back, so that they would stay awake.