My DCP people: Ellis

This is not Ellis, this is Alice’s White Knight,—the one who sees her safely to the end of the woods. Ellis is a little like my White Knight in that he seems to see me safely to the end of my new tasks and challenges. Ellis is my computer tutor, and has an uncanny ability to make programming languages seem less scary. Ellis, bless his heart, refrains from looking at me as if I am from space, even when my questions and queries seem to suggest that I just stepped off a spaceship. Computers and printers are more inclined to behave and co-operate in Ellis’s presence. Missing files will happily return home when Ellis summons them. Ellis is calm and reassuring, in person and over email. We can trust that Ellis will come downstairs to help his Darwin damsels in distress. For example, Ellis was quick to arrive on the scene for the great Shelley versus UPS virus episode.

You might think that working in an office full of women (with the notable exception of Sam K--aka "poor Sam"--I gave Sam K a story in my blog rather than a blurb) would be a little scary for Ellis, but no. Ellis can knit with the best of us, girl-talk with the best of us, and giggle with the best of us. The world seems to feel like a much more manageable place when Ellis is around. His good deeds are often rewarded with cake, and as it turns out, I am not his only baker.

Unfortunately for me, Ellis has been on vacation, and I miss him. I will be very glad when he returns. Like Alice, I hope my White Knight will see me safe to the end of the wood -- and then he must go back, you know. That’s the end of his move.