My good friend and good co-worker, Tony is bailing.
And although this tribute will not be as brief, insight-filled, nor as hilarious as either of the ones that Joe wrote at the office earlier this week, it's the least I could do for my soon-to-be-former compatriot. I also kept it mostly swear-free, just for him.
I think his departure simultaneously sucks and rules.
It sucks for me, for our department, our gang of workie-friends, and, to a lesser degree, Tony. Mostly because our Guitar Hero and Rock Band Bands now have to break up...
But it simultaneously rules (in an obviously greater degree than the suckage) for Tony and his wonderful and completely awesome family, as it means that he can further his career and they can be closer to family while their son, Bryan, grows up. Awesome for them!
But back to how this effects me. As Tony moves his family out to the Philadelphia area, I'm not sure how aware he is of the impact he's had on this skinny little guy he sees at work daily, but...since I've decided to post this candid profession of professional admiration and mostly hetero-guy-love ;^* in this open forum, I'm assured that, at the very least, he'll hit the road to Philly knowing that he'll be missed.
The following gush-fest is not meant to be flattery, but simply how I see it from my humble point of view. Tony's a guy who is amazingly talented in our craft; so much so that I am often in awe of what he can do and how he does it. I've always known that he could design, write, edit, and promote circles around me. And I'm totally cool with that, because having him around has been beneficial to me.
I've learned a lot from just watching him and picking his brain all the damn time on the job, as pictured below.
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Yeah. Creepy. I know.
He always answers my questions like an equal, instead of like an advanced producer talking to a beginner.
He always takes the time to help me out when I ask (unless he's feverishly working to get the sponsors done before 5pm so the board ops will stop bugging him).
And he's quick to throw me a tip if he notices I'm floundering, just like any good co-worker would do.
Also, he will most likely have giggled at the phrase "throw me a tip" in the preceding sentence. If he did not catch it, then I say, "Tsk, tsk, sir."
Having him around has made me a better producer. Athletes surround themselves with their competitors so that they have someone to challenge them to be better. That's what it's like for me to work with Tony, but without the competitiveness. Having him around makes me strive to do better work. To create a better idea than I would have, had I not been trying to keep up with The Guy In Front of Me.
For all of these things, I'd like to publicly thank him.
So... Thanks, Tony.
For all that stuff.
And beyond all that professional crap, he's also made work FUN. (So also...thanks for that, Tony... [if you're still reading].) Not exclusively him, of course, but he definitely helps to keep the atmosphere light. His comedy stylings have kept me in stitches since the day I showed up nearly five years ago and there was a "signed" photo of Jenny Jones on my new desk which read:
Josh-
Jonesin' for you!
--Jenny
So, in honor of the man behind the "You-can-judge-a-friend's-worth-by-the-amount-of-in-jokes-you-share-Theory", here's a giant block of some stuff I thought of as a shout-out to The Man, The Myth, The Icon (TM)... The Tony:
He's the guy who cracks me up on a daily basis. The dude who invited me across the street to watch The O.C. every Thursday, just so we could love-hate on it together. The HARDCORE Guitar Hero ROAWKERRR. Wii-owner. The Man who came up with spelling "blog" with an "au", and thereby finding a golden branding scheme for me. The guy whose wedding I was honored and excited to go to. The guy who rarely ever holds back what he's thinking, irregardless of the consequences. The guy who ran outta gas on the way back from lunch. My Cowboys Homeboy. Heh...a Side-Talker:
The co-chef of the Manly Man Meal for Men. The dude who noticeably drops outta the conversation nearly every time comic books become the main topic. My Blue-Shirt Buddy. The hoster of many uber-late-night Game Nights. A guy who reminds me of Clyde Collins for some reason... One of Murray's Food Apes. The dude who I tried to start developing a card game about the people around our office with. Macintosh enthusiast. Melissa's Cinder-fella, who (along with said awesome wife) went out of their way many times to make Gluten-Free alternatives for me in their home. The World's Worst Football Analyst (or so he claims...). The living, breathing Simpsons reference book. He who coined the phrase, "Through which the door was intended to be come." My former Temporary Roommate. The Endearingly Flaming Liberal. The dude who taught me a few elementary HTML codes.
And last, but most definitely not least, the other Joe-ette.
>>The Tauz turns to camera, addressing Tony directly.<<
I'm gonna miss the hell outta you, bro. I bet you and Melissa will find Thursday nights won't be quite the same without me showing up at 9 and eating dinner on your big comfy chair while laughing too loudly at most of the jokes on The Office.
However, I am sincerely glad that you, Melissa, Bryan, and Murray (and even Bailey, I guess) don't have to live in that apartment complex anymore. I'm also, retrospectively, sorry if my living in that same apartment complex had any influence upon you guys moving there in the first place. (Heh...my bad, yo.) I wish you nothing but luck and good fortune in Market 4. I know you can handle it. Hard.
This was not meant to be a permanent goodbye, although it kinda turned out feeling like one. It was supposed to be a "Thank You" and an "I'll Miss You, Dogg" kinda thing.
Go kick some fuckin' Philadelphian ass, and we'll see you at the next Game Night.
Word.
TEE-ONY.....OUT!
