Take the long way around the sea

It was Deb's last day today. We had a little going away party for her in the afternoon. We had Pad Thai and, at one point, Deb announced she was going to eat in the break room downstairs and asked if anyone wanted to join her. I declined because I was almost through eating. I noticed nobody else spoke up. I saw Therese leave the room with her and figured she'd be joining Deb.

About twenty minutes later, I was coming out of the bathroom and saw Deb leaving the break room by herself. I felt bad that she sat by herself at her own party and told her as much. If I had known that Therese wasn't with her, I would have joined her. She wasn't upset, but I still felt lousy.

Again, Ann was talkative with me. Even more so than yesterday. I don't know, maybe she's figuring out how much I bring the rock.

When it was time for her to leave, Deb couldn't hold back the tears. Jeff and Tim each gave her a big hug and I did as well a few minutes later. My desk was right next to her's and when I started she helped me learn the ropes of the job with patience and humor. Luke Warm says she laughs at everything and he's pretty much right. "Oh, boy, the copier is jammed" (laughter); "That guy never returned my call, the jerk!" (laughter); "My husband is having an affair with the babysitter" (laughter, only this time it's coming from me). I guess what I'm trying to say is that Deb isn't a downer. She will be missed.
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I called my parents while I was stuck on 93 on my way home from work. It had been a few weeks since we last spoken. My mother gave me a bit of a guilt trip about it. I think she did this because she hasn't spoken to my sister in a while, either. I made sure to tell to her that I was fairly certain her phone had the capacity to make outgoing calls in addition to receiving them.
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Before bed, I listened to an interview with Dr. Jeff Meldrum, the Bigfoot researcher. I fell asleep about ten minutes into it, which sucked because it was a riveting ten minutes. I'll give it another shot tonight. I love Jeff Meldrum. He is on my best and brightest list, joining Roger Ebert, Werner Herzog, David Ray Griffin, George RR Martin, and Charlie Kaufmann. There are others, but if you want to know who they are, it's going to cost you a five spot. Hey, it's the economy.
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A death, not the one I was expecting, just occurred in Lonesome Dove. It was poetic and sad the way it was rendered. It stuck to me a while after I read it. I've got about fifty or so pages to go. Maybe tonight.