Busy day at work.. getting ready for the end of the year. I  went out for lunch to meet my friend Ryan.  His fiancee Maria passed away  suddenly  on september 11th due to an asthma attack (see here ).  Maria worked at Beta as one of our HR members. I didn’t know her well.. but the interactiosn I had with her were  great. she helped me write my job description as a consulting mad scientist.   she was so fun and  smart. I ran into Ryan last week and could see how much he was hurting. Today we met for lunch at the barnyard just to talk. I got to learn a lot more about Maria.  Ryan and Maria had been together for 8 years. They we’re going to be married about this time next year. She was a dead head and was up for anything.. freindly, smart loving.. and tons of fun. 

it was good gettign to hear Ryan talk about her.. and about how he and Maria’s family are doing. It’s hard to know what to say to someone this close to loss. .. .. We talked about dealing with other peoples reaction when grieving.. and about how physically exhausting it is to grieve.   
I could tell that Ryan was glad to be able to talk about Maria.. and what his life is like now. it was heartbreaking.. and at the same time good talking..  
Please keep Ryan. Maria and their families in your thoguhts

note all, nite sam
_me