Leaving

Another night at the Punjab, but this time with a small group of ‘nice’ people from work. A small leaving meal for one of my team, S, who is leaving us soon.

He’ll be hugely missed, but I’m not taking his decision to quit too personally as he’s emigrating to Australia. I mean you’d have to be a really bad boss to inspire someone to not just leave the company, but the entire hemisphere.

I know my limits.

Anyway...he’s actually going to work for our company out there, but I’m immensely sorry to see him leave our team. This isn’t just because he’s a really good technician, but because he has one of the kindest, most easy-going natures in the building. No one, and I mean no one, falls out with S. He engages, but doesn’t get embroiled, and that’s quite a skill.

It may not be a coincidence that he’s also one of the most quietly devote folk I have ever come across.

Frequently I suspect that God must be head in hands about some of those who claim to represent her here on earth. I mean guys like this aren’t really doing the big guy's PR any good. Or then there’s this...errrr...interesting church in Manchester, with their posters and car sticker based advertising campaign that has the aim of "Making Jesus Famous". The sheer arrogant gall of it, is actually quite stunning; like Jesus was some smalltime wannabee that no one had heard of before they thought to mention it. I can hear him now "Thank Dad, I've got that lot to sort my profile out for me.".

Twats.

Not so much making Jesus famous as making themselves infamous, methinks...

Of course it’s easy to criticise sat on the edges spectating. Like I’d be any sort of glittering example to represent the deity. Oh my...can you imagine? Shudder. But given it became apparent last week that someone who has known me for years had no idea of my God-bothering ways, I suppose it can at least be said that whilst I may not be doing the Almighty’s marketing department much good, I’m equally doing it little ill.

S on the other hand, in his quiet way is a one person counter-campaign for all you see about Islam in the media.

You see S and the way he lives out his faith and you start to believe that Islam really could mean peace.

Of course the man is quite barking in forsaking the glamour of our first time s3w3rage project team to transpose his entire family to a country none of them have ever actually visited, but something tells me he’s going to be ok. Much missed, but ok.