Dr. W passed away overnight while he slept during the weekend.
I know people have someone passed away unexpectedly. This is the first time that happens to me.
I was just hearing his loud voice from his office the day before. We were just discussing his grants, the budget, the plan, and stuff.
And he's gone, just like that.
When I first started my job in the department, I was told me he had throw things at people. And he was so rude that someone quitted because of him.
Indeed, his loud voice always scared me. When I joked about my worst nightmare in the first year was a professor running into the office and yelling at me "what did you do with my money??!!!!" I was picturing him.
Yet, he barely yelled at me. Only sometime he would pretend to stare at me, looks intimating but playful.
He had a short-temper and was not very patient. He gave his opinions over everything. He would shout at people first and then apologized later. He would do things whatever he wanted. Sometimes his behavior might raise some eyebrows, though it never seemed to bother him. And actually he added flavor to this building, full of scholars, scientists, and labs.
The cursing. The yelling. The deep voice. He was quite a character. And I think that's what we will all miss.
He called me kiddo. I had my first Mexican Peso from him. I like the way he winked at me after he signed my document, feeling that I've done a good job.
He was just a couple months away from his retirement. And now he’s gone. The blessing is that he might not suffer, since he passed away in his sleep, by his wife’s side.
My PI. And I am very fortunate to work with him. Once.
