It was an unlikely friendship from the start. He, a shy, self-conscious junior at work - brilliant with numbers and a very keen focus on his personal style. Me, an extroverted, smiling, bumbling senior - good with people and not really caring about appearances.
When I first worked with him more than a year ago, I thought he was arrogant, self-conscious and worried too much about his tie, perfume and stupid haircut. On his part, I'm sure he thought of me as this over-bearing senior who talked too much and made too many excel mistakes to be counted as a real person!
But in the last few months, we became closer without quite realizing it. He was my light in the new city - exploring new places with me, distracting me with his own funny life problems and being around when almost everybody else was too busy in their own lives.
Now that I've said bye to him and he's leaving for London next week, I am suddenly thinking about all that I've just written about. And that I will miss him, more than I ever thought possible.
When I first worked with him more than a year ago, I thought he was arrogant, self-conscious and worried too much about his tie, perfume and stupid haircut. On his part, I'm sure he thought of me as this over-bearing senior who talked too much and made too many excel mistakes to be counted as a real person!
But in the last few months, we became closer without quite realizing it. He was my light in the new city - exploring new places with me, distracting me with his own funny life problems and being around when almost everybody else was too busy in their own lives.
Now that I've said bye to him and he's leaving for London next week, I am suddenly thinking about all that I've just written about. And that I will miss him, more than I ever thought possible.
