More Transitions | Remembering Ponzu

Happy Friday everyone,

Congrats on making it to the weekend! Good news...this post isn't that long. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and exhausted. It's been quite busy since ever since I got back from Calgary. My garage is messy again... John said to me, "Some say that your garage is a representation of how cluttered your mind is." He's right. Perhaps my mind has been a bit all over the place again. All good though.

August 9 - My Last Day at Orora :(

Friday, August 9 was my last day at Orora Packaging Solutions. I felt like my time was really short and wish I could have done a lot more. I will also miss many of my colleagues, but thankfully it's easy for me to stay in touch with people so I'm sure I'll see them around. I guess I have a lot of mixed emotions regarding my decision to leave that I’m still processing.

Here are some photos from the week:

Instead of the usual team lunch when someone leaves, I opted to have a presentation / pizza party with various IT and business colleagues that come into the Buena Park office and give a presentation. I was on the fence about the idea at first, but knew I would regret it if I didn't do it. I'm really glad I did.

I chose to give a 20 minute presentation about how my Calgary 70.3 race and my work at Orora relate to each other:

Slide 2 / 16

Some of you reading know that I’ve given many of these presentations at Inari Medical and Safran. I really enjoy them because:

• People usually show up since there's free pizza involved

• They help me memorialize my races / special events in a unique way

• They help me work on my public speaking skills

Theres alot of recordings from my previous presentations at work on the Muir Rock YouTube channel. Check them out if you want an easy way to fall asleep at night (like Teri did when I showed her).

The Accountability Ladder (Don't be a victim)

I then shared about one of my favorite topics, the accountability ladder. If you get this right... lots of your problems will go away! Life is so much easier when you're not always playing the victim and blaming other people for ______.

I shared this slide with the group in my presentation:

Slide 14 / 16

The accountability ladder is pretty straightforward:

"People on levels 1-4 of the accountability ladder typically believe things happen to them and behave as the victim, whereas those on levels 5-8 believe things happen because of them, and they behave in ways that are proactive and truly accountable." https://www.niagarainstitute.com/blog/accountability-ladder

I spent a good amount of time on this slide so I could share some stories of how I've look at challenges at work very differently using the accountability ladder. There's been so many times I would blame _____ for a problem at work instead of just taking accountability. Over time, I would end up being the victim and just finding others to side with me so I can feel better about myself. Not helpful.

I then shared briefly with the group about losing Teri to cancer, since not everyone in the room knew that I lost my spouse. I shared the same sort of stuff I share on this blog. Life is short. Trust me, I know.

Every day I’m reminded to make the most of each day. That’s why I chose to give this presentation instead of just going out to lunch. I think all of us have lots of things we want to do on a daily basis at home or at work, but are too afraid to speak up. I can't say I always speak up now, but at least I'm a lot more aware of it.

I also took the time to remind myself of why Teri and I decided for me to work at Orora in the first place. Some of the benefits included:

• “Remote first” role, only requiring me to come into the office 2x per week so I can spend more time with Teri and Mayo

• "Remote first" role, allowing Teri, Mayo and me to travel more often while working remotely

• My first “Director” role, giving me an opportunity to grow as a leader and get out of my comfort zone (I love doing real work and being an individual contributor)

Teri made me take this photo before I left for my first day at work. Reminds me of all those back to school pictures all of my friends are posting.

"First Day of New Job" - Teri's sign

There's a lot of other important lessons from working at Orora that I won't really get into right now. The accountability ladder definitely is at the top of the list. Life is a lot easier when you have accountable behaviors and avoid victim behaviors.

Remembering Ponzu: 2012 - 2023

Ponzu, I hope no ball is ever stuck under the couch , that you can lay in all the soft comfy beds , and that bacon is served with every meal , from now until forever. - Annie Knuth (Ponzu's mom)

I definitely won't ever forget last Friday night/Saturday morning...

Ponzu, the dog of my close friends Annie and Wesley, passed away last Saturday at around 2AM. My heart feels heavy sharing about her, knowing how difficult death can be for everyone.

Screenshot of photos from Annie's facebook post

I've seen Ponzu several times throughout her life since I used to meet Wesley at his house almost weekly to go on a long bike ride. I haven't seen her lately, except last weekend.

Every day since Ponzu passed away, I can’t help but think of her and what it’s like for Wesley and Annie. Wesley and I met in second grade, and stayed in touch since post college (he went to UCLA and I went to UCI). We have done many triathlons together and hope we can do one in the near future.

I had the opportunity to watch Ponzu at my house on Friday night before she passed away. Everything was fine with her until she started acting really weak, most likely due to a seizure. Wesley rushed over to my house, brought her to the VCA, and a few hours later, she passed away. Everything happened really fast.

The hardest part for me was staying with Ponzu in the kitchen while Wesley was on his way from Los Angeles. It was a long 45 minutes since she was breathing hard. I wasn’t sure what else to do besides stay by her side. Mayo did a great job just giving both of us space and stayed in the other room. Usually he wants my attention.

That evening felt a lot like being with Teri in the hospital. With Ponzu, knew I did my part and only God knew the outcome, but still also felt like the whole thing was a bad dream and I was hoping to wake up.

I also thought about Teri’s perseverance with Mustard when he had DKA. I gave up on Mustard making it given his age. Thankfully Teri wanted to fight. And he made it!

I also thought about the time a few years later when mustard had his first seizure. It was so unexpected, as mustard was doing pretty well. Ponzu was doing well. I really can’t explain why God chose this past weekend.

While Wesley and I were at the VCA, I couldn't help but share the stories related to Teri and Mustard. Not sure if they were of any help. I then reminded myself of all the stories I didn't want to hear while Teri was in the hospital. Sometimes you just need to sit there and just being around is the most you can do.

My usual takeaway and sharing all of this is the same stuff I need to keep reminding myself about since I'm really good at forgetting:

• Life is short. Make every day count!

• Don’t delay having difficult conversations. My health/pre-diabetes is a lot better thanks to my family who called me out on not seeing a doctor.

• Spend time with the people that matter the most to you

My New Job @ Induce Biologics

I’m humbled to share that I will be joining Induce Biologics as their new IT Director. It's an honor to be entrusted with leading the technology initiatives at such an innovative company! It's also a lot closer to the house and I'll be working with Kari, former colleague from Inari Medical. I’m grateful for this opportunity and look forward to learning, growing, and contributing to the important work being done in the biotech industry.

I'm gonna wrap up this post early since I need to leave for my friends wedding. I'll probably talk about weddings in my next post since I also went to a wedding last weekend and have been reading The Meaning of Marriage again before I fall asleep.

Thanks for reading!

Erwin