So today, after 3 years, we wave goodbye to the wonderful Tom Suharto.
Well, not goodbye – as we’re moving him to Portland to work on NIKE – but certainly au revoir.
Tom is a very special person.
I don’t mean because of his planning chops – though obviously they’re excellent – but because apart from being related to Indonesian royalty [which he never fails to mention, closely followed by an explanation that he is not associated with THAT Suharto], he is basically the most perfect man in the entire universe.
No, seriously, he is.
It’s not just that he possesses dashing looks.
It’s not just that he’s incredibly smart and articulate.
It’s not even that he created his own ‘pollution app’ and now views himself as a ‘developer’.
No … the reason he is so special is because he has a gorgeous wife, a darling son and cute puppy so when they’re all together, they basically represent the sort of ‘perfect family’ that every US television show dreams of casting.
Never a hair out of place.
Never a piece of spinach in their teeth.
Never any sign of crying, barking or arguing.
Frankly they should all make me feel utterly, utterly sick.
But they don’t.
Because they’re wonderful.
And I’m going to miss them all terribly.
Damnit.
Tom, thank you for absolutely everything.
You came in as a person with no planning experience whatsoever and thanks to me teaching you to do the opposite of everything I do, you leave with a wealth of knowledge and experience that sets you apart from the crowd.
Which means basically I made you.
And you owe me.
But I’m not going to ask for money – oh no – all I ask in return is you stay exactly as you are, because you’re a great person and a great professional.
I’ll miss you. But I’ll also make sure I make your life a misery by booking meetings in your calendar then cancelling them – just so you get an email. Which I know drives you mad.
And while we wave goodbye to a wonderful colleague … someone who made a massive difference to this department and office … I will deal with the pain of your departure by remembering that for all your perfection, I still saw the one moment in your life that you let your ‘perfect’ guard down and allowed me to capture this.
Be well my friend. Thank you for everything and I hope you enjoy your leaving pressie.
And of course our additional gift of your first ever tattoo.
Hey, just making sure you can never forget us … even if you wanted to.