Ehson first draft edited

The speaker reminisces about their friendship with someone they met at work, recalling the mispronunciations of their name and the immediate connection they felt. They describe the fun times they had together, their intellectual conversations, and how their friend supported them during difficult times. Although their lives have taken different paths and they don't see each other as often, the speaker values the bond and shared experiences they have and expresses gratitude for their friend. Epson, Deraby, Golshishkabab, Slovakia. Variously known during our time at Anstett & Young and Deloitte as Epson, Eason, Ethan, and there was one other that I wish I could remember, but it was the funniest one because it started with A. And I used to have empathy with you for these mispronunciations until you told me one day that Epson actually means perfect and I thought, ah, that explains everything. But we met at EY and I think if I recall correctly you were about 13 years old, the only EY grad still going through puberty, but it's funny how the EY graduate class was almost like a high school year group and in the same way through some strange process you kind of find your people, you find your friends and whilst we had other good friends, you, Jamie, and I, the three of us, we found each other. And there was just an immediate connection, affection, bonds, humor, and that was such a joy to go through that experience with you guys. And then of course it continued well on, I joined you in risk, you came over to corporate finance with me and the story continued well into our thirties and beyond. And we had so much fun, you know, we were learning about life and having these experiences, the Friday nights, the work events, the lunches, so many fun times. I really like your mind. It's rare for me to meet somebody almost as smart as I am, but our ability to just talk about ideas and philosophize and speculate and I really love that. I love the sense of humor that we have together, the non-stop jokes and banter. I think you're a really good listener for me, like if I want to just work through something that's happened in my life and I could always give you a call, have a lunch and talk it through and you're always such a good listener and so happy to sit with me and talk through a situation. And yeah, you just have a real sense of integrity and somebody that I could trust. Probably the other thing that I appreciate was that a few of my down times in my life, you were really there for me. Probably the hardest time in my life was 2014, 2015 and you were really there for me, like in a big way and I really appreciated it. Our lives, as happens when people get older, they go in different directions, you get other priorities. We don't see each other as much as we used to, but that bond and those shared experiences, they will be there for a lifetime. For me, they'll be there to my last breath. I really appreciate you and I hope you have a wonderful day.