January 7, 2008, 12:23am.

Wow, I am totally blown away by this evening's email from Kylie Woodard, my former Helpdesk co-worker at Synopsys. At 10:22pm she sent an email to a few of us "close friends" within Synopsys, I picked up my Blackberry JUST BY CHANCE at 10:37pm; what I read was probably in the shock factor range of 9 or 9.5 (Jeana occupies the factor of 10 level).

Alisa Banuelos, whom both Kylie and all the Helpdesk Team worked with closely for Aart DeGeus (the CEO of Synopsys) passed away yesterday evening at 9:35pm. I was shocked to read every bit of Kylie's brief email. No cause, no explanation, just that she was sad to say that, "Alisa had passed and was surrouned by family and friends . . ."

I'm still a bit upset, crying, because it brought back strong memories of Jeana's death. I went to see the movie "I Am Legend," with Will Smith. Dad picked me up at around 6:10pm and we saw it at Mercado. That movie also had some dramatic scenes of this soldier (Will Smith) protecting his wife and son, but losing them BOTH in a helicopter crash. He had thought they were both safe on board a Coast Guard chopper, but about 30 seconds after take off another chopper struck into the Coast Guard helicopter (the other choppy was taken down by some zombie-mutant types who tried to commandeer the aircraft).

It was a GREAT movie, but saddening when I thought about Jeana. So powerful, that's when you know a movie is good. When it makes a 34 year old cry like a baby, it's a damn good flick. :)

I'm going to bed now, tired and have to perform the Aperture Recalculation when I get up at 7:00am. OH JOY!!!!! ;)

Good night all. God, take care of Alisa's 10 year old son, and help her family get through this tradgedy quickly. I applied to be a Big Brother for her son this evening. I hope in some small way, whether it's once a month, or once a week, that I can help this little guy through this tough time, and be there to do fun stuff that my Dad did with me.

God Bless ALL of the Banuelos in their time of need. Amen.

Sincerely,

Brian