No song, no music can cover how I feel. (I am listening to music, but it's more like my junior-high-school soundtrack than a reflection of the sorrow I feel now except to represent a certain feeling of things, times and people lost.)

Over the weekend, one of my colleagues, Uliana, passed away. We were not close; in fact our acquaintance only began after her boyfriend (another colleague) came to tell me that the people in her team were too scared to come into my office to take cookies. He thought I should make some kind of gesture to let them know they were welcome to eat them. Once I made this clear, Uliana was popping happily into the office every time there were cookies, jumping around, dancing, smiling in what, for me, is now simply an "Uliana way". Her excitement, joy at small things and smile were infectious. Despite not really knowing her, I feel a huge loss to know that she is gone, and I have been struggling with the reality of seeing her here, smiling and very alive not so long ago, but never being able to see her again.

I would venture to say that most people here (and most people who ever met her) have similar anecdotes and memories. Even someone like me, who did not know her well, has strong, vivid memories that lead me to conclude that she touched everyone she met in one way or another.

Uliana, you will be missed.