Aloha

Aloha, in Hawaii, means both hello and goodbye. That's what I learned from watching Miss Congeniality. It even pulls off an aloha joke which goes, "So when you answer the phone, you say 'aloha.' But when you end the conversation, you say 'aloha,' and the conversation starts all over again." Or something to that effect. Ms. Rhode Island definitely found it to be funny.

Anyway, this piece is not about a Hawaiian or about pineapples. It is about hellos and goodbyes.

Just recently, we all got word that our boss resigned from her work to join another company. I still quite remember how she welcomed me to the team not so long ago (it was just, in fact, under a year when I joined her team). I have grown accustomed to the way she does things around the office, her "coaching" style of management, so to say. She is not much of a talker, but she has her funny moments. And to me, and to all of us I suppose, more than a boss, she has become a very good friend.

And now, she is saying aloha to me once again. Not the hello aloha but the goodbye aloha. When I first got wind of her decision to resign, I was devastated. I thought, "Where in the world will I ever find another boss as good and as understanding and as ideal as her?" But hey, who can stop her? She is, after all, transferring to greener pastures. And when I say greener, it is definitely greener, with all the green money she will be earning.

Gone are the days when we would prod her to join us for a late-night badminton game. Gone are the days when we would go down to get some breakfast at McDonald's. Gone are the days when we would go get coffee in a nearby cafe. Gone are the days when I could freely do my blog to relax my mind for a while.

I will definitely miss all those things. I will miss my daily msn chatmate. I will miss saying my daily good mornings and goodbyes. She was, and will forever be, one of the best bosses I've ever had. She will always be my elder sister. She will always be my friend.

So I'm saying aloha to her. Not aloha goodbye, but aloha hello. Because now, despite the fact that she will be leaving the company, she will be coming back not as our boss, but as our friend.

So roll out those coconuts and pineapples. We'll be having a luau!