Alicia Lyolas speech at Michaels Celebration of Life August 2, 2013 For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Alicia and I met Mike a few years ago when we had a class together at UVic. We became really close since then, and even though we didn’t see each other as often as we used to over the last year, it was always the same with us when we did. We had so much fun together, and Mike was always making me laugh. We loved to argue about everything, for no reason, and we never reached any conclusions. Our time spent together was always so goofy and ridiculous, and we would always be laughing and hugging- I loved it. I think all the girls here can agree that Mike gave, hands down, the best bear hugs ever. He also had the best smile (it was so infectious!), and he had such a presence. Mike had a way of making you feel special; when he spoke to you he gave you his full attention, and he really cared. He was always so energetic and animated. He was so full of life and vitality. His type of charisma is so rare; when he walked into a room, people noticed. Mike was magnetic. Mikey used to love teasing me about being “sooo boring”. Those are his words, not mine, and he used to always tell me that I need to get out more and stop being such a nerd… But on my birthday, Mike went out to the bookstore to find me some new reading material. Thinking about that always makes me laugh. “Mikey T Baus”, rolling into Chapters, dressed up in his “Gucci swag”, searching the aisles for my next favorite novel. But that was the kind of guy that he was; he teased and made jokes, but at the end of the day he accepted you, loved you, and cherished you for who you really were. One of Mike’s defining characteristics is spontaneity- he was the kind of guy who would send you a text at 10 pm, just as you were about to go to bed, and say, “I’m on my way to pick you up! See you in 5”. It didn’t matter what you were doing at the time, he had exceptional powers of persuasion. If you got this call from Mike, 10 minutes later you would be sitting in his red truck, cozy in your pajamas, singing along to his most recent song and trusting in him to turn your regular boring evening into an adventure. What a guy. I owe so many things to Mike. He taught me to live in the moment, and to take advantage of today, of right now. That was how he lived. He was always in the present, and always enjoying himself. He knew what was important in life, and he always gave precedence to that which he valued most: family, friendship, education, and fun. He introduced me to some of my closest friends and biggest sources of entertainment, “The Sandell Crew”. I’m so grateful to have met this group of people, and without Mike I wouldn’t have. I also wouldn’t be able to curse in Romanian, shoot from the 3-point line, and I probably wouldn’t count perogies with hot sauce as a balanced meal, so I can thank Mike for that too! If Mike were here today, I know he would want me to tell his parents, Carmen and Emil, how much he loves them. I could never put words to the way he looked when he spoke of you, but I know that he was so proud, and he truly treasured you- both as parents, and as friends. He was always so excited to tell me the latest family news, and he loved gushing about his beautiful mother. He adored you Carmen. I’m so happy that he introduced me to you, and that I got to see where he came from. I felt such an immediate connection with you both, as I did with him, and this is the type of relationship that does not fade with time. The last time I spoke to Mike was about a month before he passed. He told me that he would always be looking out for me, no matter what. Mike is the most genuine person I have ever met, and I know he is keeping his word. There is no doubt in my mind that he watching all of us from heaven, helping us through the hard times, and laughing with us (and at us!) through the good times. So this isn’t a goodbye to Mikey, not at all. It’s a see you later, or a ne vedem mai as he taught me in Romanian. As always Mikey, you hold a special place in my heart, and I know I’ll be seeing you again. Te iubesc Mikey!!! Rest in peace.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:47:28 +0000