An Eulogy for Kitty

Now, I do wish I was present for Kyle's send off. Kyle is pretty much like a brother to me. Hell, Kyle did a fine job as my best man at my wedding. Kyle stepped in admirably, as did Alvin. My two groomsmen did us all proud --- Guppy and Kitty drank so many doubles in their hotel through room service that the staff had run out of appropriate glasses and had to clear the room before refilling their orders! According to Alvin, Kyle also had a malaria relapse in Manila, so I guess you can say Kyle is the kind of guy who will go through anything to help a friend out.

There are other stories worth mentioning. Now, most people will surely have their own Hello Kitty stories to tell, but I was fortunate to be the only other guy Swee Chiang felt would be crazy enough to actually wear a Hello Kitty t-shirt to ball. Kyle and I did have matching shirts and that were worn to ball, I wore mine hesitantly, while Kyle wore his enthusiastically . . . fortunately mine was blue whereas Kyle's was pink. I still have that t-shirt . . . I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

And then there was the time I used my influence as a G-man to get Kyle invited as a guest participant to a conference in Thailand. I'm sure many of you were wondering how it was that I could pull something like this off, but then again, I did work within a government bureacracy, and it should not surprize anyone that resources can be allocated dubiously at times . . . Anyways, I had Kyle join me on a junket to northern Thailand, where he did an admirable job relating his experiences and understandings of conflict in eastern Indonesia. Kyle did a great job, and his participation was very valuable. Even more valuable was his assistance in drinking rye whisky with me and another Canadian meeting organizer after the regular meeting sessions ended. Kyle was so hung over the next morning, that he missed the conference wrap-up. He swore he'd never again drink Canadian whiskey ever . . . but we all know that he wouldn't live up to that promise. His frequent participation in whiskey shots at Canada Day Parties, Halloween Parties, and Ukrainian Christmas Parties proved that his promises made while under the influence of a hangover cannot be taken too seriously.

Now, I'll end by saying that there are many other great stories that involve Kyle. I'm sure Coach will tell the "Top 5 Story" . . . if he doesn't, be sure to ask him. While the stories are indeed memorable, even more memorable to me was simply having a friend like Kyle in Singapore, who no matter what, would drop what he was doing to help me out. Kyle would never fail to show up for a "thinking" session at any number of hawker centres through-out the island, even if it meant listening to the ramblings of me and the Coach. Kyle always helped me move (how he and Guppy ended up carrying all the heavy stuff always made me laugh afterwards). And finally, Kyle always put on a fresh pot of coffee whenever I wandered over to his HDB down the canal from me. I have gotten to know lots of people in my life, but I can say I have few true friends in life, and most of those friendships were made with people I met in Singapore. Kyle is one of those people who I can reliably call a friend, and I'm sure many of you feel the same way. I suspect I'll be booking a ticket to visit him in Cambodia sometime soon . . . It wouldn't be a surprize to find out many others feel the same way.

Singapore, or "The Mall", as Kyle liked to call it, will not be the same without Kyle wandering the streets in his trademark thermal underwear. And thrid base will be much less fun for whoever plays that position, knowing a hard, one-hopper wasn't going to be happening as frequently for an easy out at first.

Best wishes Kyle, Swee Chiang and Mina! Emely and I will see you again soon!

Martin