So Long, Farewell…

There’s something strangely appropriate about the fact that this video has (Japanese? Chinese?) subtitles and is totally out of synch. It’s slightly oddball, much like yours truly. And, I’m sad to say, it accurately captures my current mood.
Yeah, it’s true. Today’s my last day with the Red Cross. It’s been a great (almost) four years and I’ve had fun at every turn. And to prove it, here’s my quick Top 5 Favorites list.
What’s not to love about cool/stylish/techy/modern/delicious items that get you prepared for anything? Robin coined the term and we’ve peppered it throughout everything that we do. My hope is that this is our longest lasting contribution to the community conversation about preparedness. Can we hope to one day see it as a new word in the Oxford Dictionary?
Our podcast that put the rad in ReADiness. The early episodes were the funniest, with silly sound effects and lots of topics covered very quickly. The later episodes were based around one topic, but we definitely attempted to make them fun and provide tips that were anything but traditional. Sadly, you can no longer find Ready Radio online, but you can find a couple early podcasts on iTunes.
The opportunity to see Red Cross disaster relief efforts up close in Vicksburg was without compare. We spent time in shelters and operations centers; talked to volunteers and victims; and ate an awful lot of fried food (…that was delicious!). I tried to capture the trip in photos — it was only a week, but felt like a lifetime. While I may be leaving the Red Cross as staff, I’m continuing on as a volunteer and will be looking forward to helping share our story (and the powerful stories of our clients) while on deployment.
Most. Fun. Ever. We did the first one on Valentine’s Day 2009, after spawning the idea on this very blog. If you measure success by attendance, it was a hit. If you measure success by, uh, MARRIAGE, we did pretty well there, too. Indeed, a couple that met in our very first class is currently engaged (cue the “AWWWW”s!). For singles, it’s one of the best ways ever to spend an otherwise depressing holiday. And I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope that it continues into the future.
What can I say? Of all the wonderful, amazing, incredible people that I’ve met at the Red Cross, Robin is the very best. As I like to tell her, she’s the yin to my yang. Or I’m the yin to HER yang. I really have no idea what that even means, but the point is that we couldn’t have accomplished any of the award-winning, creative, clever things that our chapter is now known for without her. She is smart and thoughtful and kind and calming, even in disaster situations. She is also quite flexible, and I look forward to her becoming a yoga master and imparting her immense wisdom on many more students. I’m also very glad to say that not being Robin’s boss means that I can truly be her FRIEND. Which, honestly, is WAY better.
Now that I have 5 things, I’m realizing that my list should have been 6, because I’m overlooking Twitter. I <3 Twitter. I love tweeting random, semi-useless facts and trivia every day. I love talking to and thanking blood donors. I love correcting mis-information and I love making new friends online. But, most of all, I love meeting our tweeps in person.
Twitter, I will miss you almost as much as I’ll miss Robin. And I hope that our love affair will continue over here.
THANK YOU to all of you who have made my time at the Red Cross so fantastic. I can honestly say that I’ve never worked anywhere with better, more caring, more passionate people. And, for god’s sake, I used to work at a hospital. All of you are friends, not just co-workers. And for many of you, I had better be seeing you very, very soon.

3 comments

  • It's been a pleasure working with you – take care!

    Best wishes,
    The Southern Oregon Chapter of the American Red Cross

  • Hey Lise-

    If you don't remember me, that's okay, as it's been a while. But I'd like to say I'm sad to see you leave the Red Cross. Remember when I asked you on twitter about the age limit for blood donation? Well, your answer was part of the beginning of my interest in the Red Cross. Thank you for that, and for blogging about me and my fundraisers.

    I may not be as actively involved in the Red Cross as before I started Irish dance, but I still enjoy(ed) reading your blog posts a LOT.

    I wish you all the best at Lewis and Clark!

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