I've set up a special page for Ted - hope it brings back memories for some of you...
https://www.casinomeister.com/ted-loh-memoriam/
Outstanding piece Bryan. I really think you've captured him....from the way I knew him for sure.
The bullshit thing? Ha ha.....so true. I'd almost bet the farm if I go back through my PM's, I could find one or two where he said that and very little else, while a hot topic was being discussed.
And the food?
No word of a lie, I'd guess that about 30% of almost every conversation we ever had revolved around food. Foods we liked, disliked, tried, hadn't tried, wanted to try. It was never ending, lol. The man loved food, which is indeed one of life's greatest pleasures IMO. He gave me stick to no end, that I went to Montreal and didn't have any smoked meat. Wanted to know if I was nuts? Of course, then he realized that was a completely rhetorical question.
I had happened to mention one time that I made a mean pot of chili, and he made me promise that if we all ended up in Montreal again...I'd make some and bring it to him, lol. I guess chili is one of those dishes you don't find in Thailand.
You touched on his generosity, which even for the people who never knew him well....should be very apparent just from reading this thread. Ted was never too busy to help anyone, from the smallest most mundane task, to the largest project. He was tireless, and I often asked him if and when he slept. He kept extremely odd hours.....like me, said he liked it at night when it was quiet. And even while he was ill, he was still helping people. I hope that this type of selflessness has earned him a huge reward, wherever he is now.
I don't share alot of my personal life with many people online, as I know that it can come back and haunt you later. But I always felt comfortable with Ted. I knew I could trust him. About five years ago, when I first split with my ex, I was going through a really bad time....emotionally, financially, everything. There was even a point where I was a little bit afraid, and I told Ted that. Do you know what he said? He was working on his travel site, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in moving to Thailand (temporarily), and travelling around personally reviewing hotels/resorts, and writing first hand accounts of them for his site. And of course marketing/advertising as well. First get these resorts to comp me a room, so I could review their establishment, then sell them on advertising on his site. This is how I would earn my salary.
I swear to God, I thought he was joking..but he was dead serious. The way he saw it, it would have been helping both of us. I would have put distance between myself and my life here...and he would have given his site a huge kick start. Had I been younger and not had a very small child, I would have given it some serious thought. But it wasn't feasible at the time. I remember asking him how the hell could I possibly just leave everything, and travel across the world to somewhere unknown, where I knew no one? Ted saw it differently. Told me I should see it as an "adventure", lol.
Like so many others who have posted....Ted was my "go to" guy when I had computer problems. The first time I ever caught a virus, he must have spent close to three hours on MSN with me, talking me through every step. He had me scanning, sending him logs, telling me what to delete and what to leave, rebooting my machine I don't know how many times, and then having me time to the second how long it took to fully load again. This was his way of determining if all was well, and if he had optimized my machine's performance. I didn't even know what the hell I was doing, or what he was talking about, lol....but he got me through it. And I swear that computer ended up better than the day I bought it. After reading some of these posts, I have to wonder how many other people he was juggling at the same time?
Oh...and of course, while he was doing all this, him and Ian were having their daily slot competitions at whatever RTG they were playing at.
The one thing that I could ALWAYS count on from Ted, was honesty. And it was the thing that I respected most about him. If I ever wondered if I was being fair in a given situation, I would run it by him, and ask him for his thoughts. He never sugar coated anything for me....just laid it on the line. We were alot alike in that way. If I disagreed with him, I'd tell him...and vice versa. It didn't happen often over the years....most of the time we were on the exact same page. But it did happen. One time in particular I remember we had debated on something (it was to do with this site and Bryan actually, lol...but irrelevant really) for going on two hours. I was throwing links at him, and trying to give my perspective on the situation, and it seemed that he was just refusing to see things my way. If anyone has ever truly debated with Ted, you will know how exhausting (and pointless in some cases, lol) it can be. The man was a genius. And he was seldom, if ever, wrong. But I was speaking from an emotional view, and he was running on pure logic and calm. Guess who won that debate? As God is my witness, at the end of the two hours, I was utterly defeated and beaten....and totally infuriated. I actually told him that I had to sign off before I said something that I may regret later. He had made me so angry!!
Over the next two or three days I pondered everything he had said, and actually came around to seeing his point. I signed back into MSN and he popped up right away asking "are we okay"? We absolutely were. I told him that although I still didn't agree with him, I completely understood where HE was coming from. And that was it. Heated as it had gotten, it was like it never happened. It was never mentioned again.
Another time a few years ago...I had said some not so nice things in a post somewhere else. Of course Ted read it....and man, did I get shit that day, lol. Ted would say shit, or bullshit....but he wasn't a four letter word type of guy, not with me anyway. But on this occasion, he had no qualms about telling me how f***ing far out of line I was. We discussed it, and I felt like I felt....at the time. He never held it against me, Ted wasn't like that. He was forgiving, and accomodating of other people's feelings. And above all...as much as he was given respect from so many....he gave it just as well. He always respected other's points of view, and feelings...even when he disagreed.
We talked alot about our kids, and how they had changed both our lives. He told me that until he had gotten married and started a family...he felt aimless. His family gave him direction and stability. I mentioned to him one time that I felt if I hadn't had my daughter ten years ago, I may not be here today...and asked if he knew what I meant. Not surprised that he did. He was so proud of his kids, and their accomplishments. He used to take a few minutes to chat with my daughter Paolina. He'd tell her to stay in school, study hard and listen to her mom, lol. She's had some pretty major health issues over the last few years and Ted knew about them. She's had more tests in a few short years than most have in a lifetime. If I happened to mention to Ted that she had an MRI coming up, or a new doctor, or blood test...he always remembered. He would pop up on MSN and the first words out of him were asking if her test results had come back, or how the appointment went. Ted cared about people, and you always knew that.
Ted and I had occasion to speak about Julie Sidwell, more than once. I never knew the lady personally, but knew of her. And her stellar reputation in the industry. I know that Ted thought the world of her, and admired her greatly. I mentioned this to Bryan last week...more than once, Ted made sure I knew that he was the one who had coined the term "effervescent" to describe her. He was very proud of that fact, lol. I wish that I could come up with some jazzy term to describe you Ted. But one word just isn't enough. So I would just like to say that I have been honoured to call you my friend over the years, and there is no doubt that you have made me a better person for having known you. I hope that you and Julie are giving em hell, wherever you are. Peace to you my friend.
Thanks for the memorial page Bryan, and the insight from one of Ted's best friends. It definitely helped to prod a few memories out of me (sorry for the ramble). Ted would have loved it. As he loved all of you here.
