A Guest Blog about my Fish.

GUEST BLOG. By Kellie Perez

Upon starting my new job at KGW/NWCN, right around the cubicle corner to my sister, I was given a new responsibility---a fish. This beta was nameless up until its last day of life. This, I believe, is the reason for its death.

Danielle has had this fish for about 2 and a half years and it has been expected to die for about 2 years, 3 months and 12 days. However, even with all the spectators that would daily walk by and taunt this fish into suicide, it remained among the living. Danielle fed the beta twice daily and cleaned its water occasionally...but mostly, it sat lonely on the upper portion of her cubicle without much love or attention. She decided that with her busy schedule and inability to provide for the beta, that i would be a much more suited mother...especially because of my love for animals and my desire to own a sea-creature (okay, a turtle in reality.)


On my first day of work, the beta made the big move 3 cubicles away...danielle maintained responsiblity for 3 more days to ease the transition (and because i was in seattle for 'business') and i came back to care for her on Thursday morning. I even said to danielle as she walked down the hallway, 'So dani-I'm taking over responsibility now, right? Ill feed her? name her?"


"Yes," she replied. and it was on. the beta was now mine.


I had been brainstorming fish names for some time...mike came up with darby, britt came up with rhonda and kara wanted me to name is some other OLD MAN name....Jessica, my loving ex-coworker and ex-blog P.I.C (partner in crime) encouraged me to gift the name Beebs to my loving fish in honor of our fearless leader at our ex-employer. And so she was born...well, 2 and a half years later, as Beebs.


I like my job a lot. I'm busier than i was in old-job, I have freedom to walk away from my desk and live on my own schedule, and I like the people i work with so far very much...especially that bossy sister of mine...thursday morning was going swimmingly (pun intended) and I was enjoying the sight of sea-life to the left of my computer monitor. I was in the middle of some new contract input when Beebs suddenly starting thrashing around the mini-tank making QUITE the scene. Honestly, my thoughts were---'wow, people dont lie about betas. they are aggressive.'---but this fish was creating quite the ruckus. I didn't think much of it after that...just watching her run into the side of the tank was enough for me to CHOL (read: chuckle out loud) at the thought of OLD boss running around her office and slamming into walls...


I headed down to do something for the guys in Master Control. I came back up to my desk, log back into my computer and glance lovingly over at beebs' tank.


I'll admit: i actually did believe she was sleeping for a few minutes..I tried to disturb her and to let her know that new-mom was home...but to no avail. She layed on the rocks with no movement. I yelled over at Pam who works 1 cubicle away and she scurried over---she has been here since the betas life began 2 and a half years ago, believing that it was on its way to being flushed many moons ago. She grabbed a pencil, poked it and beebs remained still.


i had to call my sister and give her the bad news...she wanted to know what i did with the fish and wasn't thrilled when i told her that i put it back on her desk. It took us until the next morning to say a proper goodbye....and the womens bathroom on the second floor of the building may have some gravel stuck somewhere...


i mention this story for 2 reasons:


1)I went to happy hour with my ex-coworkers yesterday..and i miss them dearly. But to tip toe around the possibility that the beta committed suicide because of its association with old boss would be dishonest.


2) I like my new job. I like my desk, having my sister work nearby, the daily in's and out's of this place and the second floor womens restroom...okay, maybe thats not true. but the story had to tie in somewhere.