The best goodbye email I've ever read

It makes you think. :)

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From:

Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 3:11 PM

To:

Cc:

Subject: Don't sweat the small stuff

My friends (except Jim and maybe you too Clarissa – Don’t laugh, I’m serious (haha)),

Initially, I intended to just slip away quietly but I realized that to do so without acknowledging my friends would be disrespectful and downright rude. As such, this letter is therefore being sent out. We would want to encourage proper behaviour, wouldn’t we?

Someone once said “Kindness is the passport and the proven way for two to journey through a lifetime, each other, or a single summer’s day.” Don’t ask me who, because I don’t know. Google it or something. Haha. I thought it was a good line. (Maybe something you can mention in a first date to impress. Sorry, I digress.) Words of wisdom there. Something I believe should be incorporated in the PVP. Heck, maybe it should replace the PVP. You never go wrong with kindness. I have yet to see it fail.

I have a long memory. I remember acts of kindness much longer than I hold grudges. I want to thank all those who have lent a helping hand, made me laugh, bent backwards, took a blow for me, spoke up for me and watched my back. You know who you are and believe me, all those are stored in my memory bank. I shall return the favour someday. If I myself can’t, the universe in all its mysteries, will proxy for me to maintain the cosmic balance.

I’m not big on promises so you won’t hear any of those “let’s keep in touch” pledges. If you and I want to stay in touch, we will do so given the technology and services at our disposal. If we drift away, then such is the nature of fleeting relationships. I thank you still for the good memories and this farewell was then well made. At least we had our single summer’s day. And if we continue to keep in touch, hell yeah, we just need to put up with each other’s irritating traits much longer. Haha. Of course, I jest.

I have an empty bank account, nothing of importance attached to my name. My earthly possessions are limited to a snorkel, a dive mask, trekking boots, a couple of cameras, an ipod filled with my life’s soundtrack, a braun 790 shaver and more Oral B toothbrushes than I have teeth (of course, I need to endorse my brands. You haven’t heard of loyalty?) Everything I own, I can fit in a bag or two. I have no definite plans yet. I have a few things I intend to work on, things I hope will enable me to feed myself without going back to the corporate world. In all probability, I will most likely starve.

But I choose life. And as hobbits meandering in Middle earth are, life is also short.

A black hole by its very nature will never be filled up. I prefer to build my life on strong foundations where reciprocity is paramount. I choose to live not merely to exist. I want to die falling off a cliff, or drown in deadly rapids, or even with a bullet in the head defending democracy. There are other more noble aspirations in life.

So my friends, I salute you and pay tribute to you. I have wonderful memories with you. May you eventually get what you deeply aspire for. Tonight, when I get home, I will open a bottle of wine and will recall you, all the people who have made my life in this company wonderful. I will drink to each and very one of you. Te Salud!! I mean it.

You know where to find me. I’ll be around.

With my deepest affection,

Gabby

P.S. I leave you with an article I’ve written and was published. Some of you have already seen it. I intend to write more of these. Shoot me an email if you want to be in the distribution list.

Hell Week

It's 5:35am on a Monday morning as I begin to write this post. Outside, the light from the impending sunrise is beginning to turn the sky a light blue. In a couple of hours I'm flying off to start my hell week.

Hell week, you say? Yes, hell week. It's what happens when the regional president for my brand comes over for a visit. She's the "super ABM" GM who makes everyone turn over their heads when she comes over for a store check and business review, including our Leadership Team (LT). So for the past 2-3 weeks, the entire team has been working really hard to make sure that every big and little thing is covered. And, of course, since I'm the only person who's working on my brand 100% of the time....meh.

Sigh. I guess it just comes with the territory of running an $8 billion dollar brand globally, the largest brand for P&G in the world, the largest country for my brand's category in the region, one of the top 3 brands of P&G Philippines, and the #1 brand in the Philippines in its category. Yes, I repeat all these things to myself when I'm feeling super stressed out coz of the work. I try to convince myself that all the stress is worth it...."try" being the operative word.

So over the next few days, I'll be talking and having meetings with the regional GM, the new GBU MD, and the new GBU BM. Not to mention the fact that beyond presenting to the entire group that includes the MDO LT, this will be my first time to present to the new MDO GM. Meh. Someone up there really decided to ante up in terms of pressure.

A big note of thanks to my Multi Functional Team...you guys rock. Absolutely rock. There is no way that we as an MDO could've pulled off all this preparatory work with such speed and excellence if it weren't for you guys. We shall all dine and drink properly once this week is over!

So in about an hour or so I'm heading off to the airport (yes, despite the bloody holiday today). Gail was kind and sweet enough to offer to take me to the airport to catch my flight, despite the distance and the early hour. The girl is sweet and utterly lovable I tell you. She's stood by my side these past few weeks as I struggled to put my business review and presentation together (sidenote: if anyone bitches that "it's just a business review and presentation" I invite you to join the meetings and see for yourself...P&G business reviews are nothing to sneeze at, much less a business review for my category...! Ok rant over) while running the business at the same time with nary a word of complaint. She supports me not just through words but also through actions. She doesn't need to do big acts or run a major PR campaign...she just goes ahead and does it, with minimal fuss, without the need for public acknowledgement. :) My kind of woman, I tell you. I love the fact that the social aspect of her life, which is inevitably tied to her work, is just exactly that...an aspect of her life and not her life per se. :) I'm glad that the people whom I know and trust (let's see, that would be just about the same number of fingers and toes that I have...!) know exactly who she is and what she stands for.

Thanks so much for being there for me honey, and for all the support and love. :) I love you so much.

So 2 days out of the city, then the 2 days after that will be choke full of meetings, presentations, 1:1s, and the likes. I'm tired of work as it is, and I'll be so glad when this week is over.

Ok, it's 5:54am. Time to pack my bags.