My coworker Ken is leaving KarmaPlus. Today was his last day.
I've mentioned him often enough in this blog, but that doesn't really capture the extent to which I interact with him. I sit across from him at work, and he is the only native English speaker at KarmaPlus, besides myself. Consequently, he and I have a basiscally continuous patter going at work whenever we are both at our desks in the staff room.
I've known Ken since 2008, when he started at LBridge after I'd been there a few months. My vague recollection is that he was hired as Basil's replacement. For a few years, when I went to Yeonggwang and came back to Karma, I didn't see him, but when Karma swallowed up the dregs of LBridge, two years ago, then Ken was one of the LBridge refugees that joined us. He's the longest lasting, now, except for May (the front-desk lady). All the other LBridge refugees have moved on (myself and Helen don't count as refugees, although we both formerly worked at LBridge, because we left LBridge before the "crash").
Anyway, over the last two years Ken has become a kind of surrogate younger brother to me, and I've grown to respect immensely his talent for teaching, his commitment to the kids, and his wide-ranging intelligence. I tolerate his foul language and conspiracy theories, and almost always enjoy his company. I will miss him greatly.
[daily log: walking, 5 km]