In memoriam: Loy Joseph a.k.a Joey

I'm still pondering. I just can't get off my mind. Can't remember the last time I saw him, but he's on my mind, now. Don't get me wrong...its not what you're thinking.

I see him sitting beside Dave, they were having a performance coaching session about work. He just came from an over-break, again, and he hasn't punched correctly to reflect proper status mode. Dave is all red with frustration but he's suppressing the emotion.

He was off work, went on leave of absence (LOA) because he needs to go on medication. When he came back, worked for a few days...and had to be absent again. Dave is considering many things for him. His no-call no-show for work, his over-lunches and his countless over-breaks.

He liked eating at Fastbytes. He used to join us when we smoked after lunch. And he would sometime joke..."yosi tayo". But he must not. And yes he did not. He also talked about his plan of settling down with his girlfriend. He was enjoying himself although he is sick, and he never voluntarily talked about his condition, unless he was asked about it.

I remember him with a tube on his neck and his persistent coughing that is uncomfortably irritating. I remember when he had to go home because he was bloated and we all notice his head was slightly larger than normal. He is sick.

That's how I remember Loy. I teased and joked about him. I laughed, shared stories and perhaps, categorically, enjoyed his company. He is my team mate, after all.

We all thought, he was pushing himself too hard for going to work. We all thought that him, working graveyard, trying to meet the demands of a fast-paced call center industry, is not doing him any good. But he was persistent, he wanted to work, he needed to work but his body can no longer cope up.

I only have maybes, perhaps and many other things that connote uncertainty about Loy. I never get to spent that much time with him. There are other people who truly knows the real him-his family. As for me, and maybe for 91M67, what we saw was what we got. And we settled for it and we respected it.

His name is Loy Joseph Rodriguez. He liked facebooking and played Farmville. He died today. I don't know how old he was...but he looked older than his age, I know.

To Loy, dude, wherever you are, I hope you are happier without the pains. And pasensiya, I didn't send you cows in Farmville, though I always visit 'Oscar' in Pet Society. Hope you lived your life...as you wanted it. You'll never have to say "Have I answered all your questions for today" anymore. Good job Joey.