Friend and professional colleague.
During COVID, (2020-2021), Hao and I we were in constant contact helping clients solve challenges associated with the difficult business environment. One of the stories that sticks with me – Hao shared late night by phone while in the peak of COVID. We were grinding, working all hours, and Hao provided a little context on his youth, and his origin.
Hao told me a story about a paper route that he had as a kid, in high school. Ana can correct my facts, it may have started in middle school, but he got a paper route that started small, and local and expanded to cover hundreds of homes in the Sacramento. To accommodate delivery to all these homes, Hao and his Mom would get up in the middle of the night to start the delivery 1a/2a, deliver through the night, and then head right to school. It is hard enough being an adolescent, handling all the required schoolwork, and a good night’s sleep is critical. Hao pushed through, did great in school, and it puzzles me how he functioned so well. His work ethic was consistent in his work-life.
At RKE it seemed Hao worked hard, but wow, that it was a “cake walk” compared to what he endured growing up. It was a joy to work with someone of Hao’s capacity, high standards, and incredible problem-solving skills. Hao was also gracious with his mentorship. I was so grateful that he regularly took the time to educate me regarding complex tax and business strategy. It was invaluable progress for my learning, and career. Hao was not quick to trust, but you knew when he trusted you, and you got close because when you entered that circle, boy did the expletives roll off his tongue easily!!!
One of the joys of COVID was that it gave him more time with family. While it seemed rough, working out the house, Hao looked at the bright side, and he loved evening swim session with his daughter Mila. Also during Covid, I would call him from Nor Cal to catch up on a work item, and he was at home. And we would talk about his life, growing up in Nor Cal, and how he loved the mountains. And I would push him to bring the family up, to rent a cabin. I always felt a bit of guilt, and a bit of sorrow, that I was enjoying a place that meant a lot to him. But then he started telling me about a trip he wanted to take. He was planning to take the wife and kids in a big a$$ f*cking RV. And they were going to tool around exploring for a couple weeks. We searched the internet together and found the land yacht with the promise of providing a great experience of him, and he always emphasized, for his daughter, Mila. There was a very special bond there.
When cancer surprised him, and after his first major surgery, and the rounds of chemo, there was a nice break on the horizon. And he mapped out the RV trip, and we found that perfect land yacht. And he was fired up to take Mila on an adventure. Well now he’s on that land yacht in heaven, and I’m sorry for his family that they didn’t get to enjoy that RV trip, but I know that looking forward to it helped him through the most challenging times. I will miss you buddy, and am honored to look out for your family.
Until we meet again my friend,
Joe Chrisman
