Shawn Casey opts for a life more awesome

When I started at Apple 5 years ago, the inventory team was just me and another guy named Alex. After about 3 months of suffering as a twosome, we were told we could have a part time helper. We had started talking here and there with the guys who worked at Crate and Barrel. We ran into them unloading trucks or throwing out trash all the time. One was Joey, who talked a lot and looked scary but was a really nice guy. The other was Shawn, who didn't talk much, but wore Isis and Don Caballero shirts, so I approved of him. He seemed nice, but usually was just the guy laughing while Joey and I talked or Alex told some story. Alex told me one day that Shawn was interested in working with us- that he had been at Crate and Barrel for like 10 years and wanted more money and something that appealed to his nerd interests. I was on board immediately, and we talked him up enough to management that they gave him an interview, and eventually the job.

I was put in charge of training him on his first day, on runner- the rarely used program we had set up to bring computers to salespeople and keep the floor stocked. We sat in the breakroom with a billion people, and I attempted to show him the ropes on an absurdly busy Saturday morning. As soon as he laughed, I knew I would love him. He had a ridiculous laugh- the kind that made people instantly like him. And he laughed at everything, which made me feel like the funniest guy on earth.

Shawn would soon be my closest friend there. We bonded (as all inventory people do) over the thankless and generally unnoticed work we suffered through, working with someone who annoyed us (Alex), music, and similar lives and values. We ate lunch in the remote stockroom, and watched all of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Flight of the Conchords while eating paninis or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Every day was another sandwich, a bitch session, 22 minutes of laughing, and more bonding. I eventually left the world of inventory but still worked closely with him on inventory matters and stayed close to him on matters of, well, everything else. We had fantastic times at work through the braindead humor that can only come from 15 hour shifts or 15 day stretches, and the laughs and goof-offery that occasionally set us free in the confines of the safe-haven remote. We had amazing lunches, great talks and lots of stupidity. We also, through the hardship and frustration of work and the crap and suckery of life, became really close friends over 4 years of working together.

Towards the end of my time there, I barely saw him. My schedule changed a ton and he stopped eating lunch. I felt like we were losing each other as friends. As evidenced by the last time we hung out together though, I think I realized that I may not always know everything about his life, but Shawn will always be a close friend, and will always have a special place in my heart as my closest confidant through all the highs and lows of working at a retail store for nearly 5 years together.

This is written like Shawn died, and in a way, he did. The Shawn we all knew died last Friday, because the Shawn we all knew (angry, frustrated, quiet, sarcastically miserable, stuck in a job he hated) followed in my footsteps and opted for a life more awesome. For the amount of time Shawn and I stood in the parking lot after work, bitching for hours about work and swearing we were going to quit any day, you'd have thought we would have both quit 40 times already. But for how insane of an idea it was that I would quit my job, it was a thousand times more insane that Shawn would. But he did. I'd love to take more credit, but I know me leaving was just a small part of his decision. He told me that me leaving was an enormous catalyst, and I gave him a confidence he was having trouble finding- if I could leave, anyone could. At the end of the day, it was his decision, and his balls that he grew to finally stand up and walk out, but if my life change and this silly little blog had even the smallest part of it- the smallest inspiration to make someone I care about change their life for the better and do something they want with their life, then I feel like I've succeeded even more than I thought I would with this blog. Here's to you Shawn, go live a life more awesome.

With all the serious stuff out of the way, here is the fun stuff.

I tried my darnedest to get to the store for when Shawn would be clapped out by the store, but stupid shitty asshole 95 south ruined my life. I got stuck in the tolls (because nobody in any state works 40 hours a week anymore) for a good 20-30 extra minutes, and missed his clap-out by about 10 minutes. But I didn't miss the rest of his plan- to go to Uno's directly after leaving, and stay until he got kicked out. We had a fantastic time.

Probably the greatest picture of Shawn ever.

I got my hair did all nice,

Pat ruined pictures,

Shawn ruined his own pictures,

Shawn shoved straws down my throat and Allocca stripped,

and Zack even showed up!

Shawn likes beer.

Marie's hair makes good food.

I'm not entirely sure what happened here.

We had a rave in the parking lot.

Shawn gets easily distracted by glow sticks.

We were there for literally 8 hours. Shawn, Allocca, Pat and I even stayed in the parking lot for another hour after. It was the longest I've ever spent at a bar, and it was the most fun. Through different people coming and going, trips to the parking lot for raves, and just being obnoxiously loud, we had an amazing time. A bunch of people I really liked left Apple before I left or shortly after (Zack, Gene, Ravi, Brian, Rosie, Dan, Shawn, Aleena to name a few), and a night like this made something I never thought would be true seem for once to actually be true- that we may just beat the odds and remain friends after Apple- that the friendships we made there wouldn't die after we left. It's a nice feeling- the longest I'd ever spent at a job before this was 3 years, and I've only stayed in touch with 1 person from there. Sure, none of us will be as close as we were when we worked together, but to think that just putting an invite out and hanging out at the local bar might be all it takes to keep some of these friendships alive? That kind of rules. 

This is obviously photoshopped, because the picture reflected horribly in the dark. This print was of the original ICS team at Burlington- Shawn, Alex and I. When Alex left, Shawn printed out this picture from a late night at work. We were going to send it to him. Over time, we just didn't. Because Shawn is a hoarder, the picture has been in his car for nearly 4 years. It only seemed fitting to take this picture. Shawn looks exactly the same, but with a better beard. I clearly just grew hair and got uglier since this picture was taken, but am still pretty close. 

Good luck with your new life, Shawn. When I left, you wrote "HIS NAME WAS MIKE ALEXANDER" on my facebook wall (a reference to Robert Paulson finally having a name in death (from Fight Club of course)). I one-upped the hell out of you and have made you a little tribute video. Warning, it gets very weird at the end. Enjoy. 

"Shawn laughs a lot" from Mike Alexander on Vimeo

currently listening to: lots of ween, clearly