My dearest Studio888 colleagues-

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Though my laugh is still loud and my smile is still wide, I awoke this week to a workspace that felt undeniably emptier and a morning sun that shone irrefutably less bright.

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This is our first full week without seeing Izzy. While I normally hesitate to speak on behalf of others, I'm confident saying we are all feeling the weight of her absence.​ We not only lost a top-five all-time Studio888 member but also a world-class critic, a fount of Gen Z colloquialisms, and an encyclopedia of criminal possibility. My sarcasm was but a window to my affection; in truth, I miss her dearly.

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But in my darkest days, I've found the only cure for true loss is true connection. In that spirit, I want to share something that might help us all cope a bit during this trying time. Even if we can't be graced with her presence, we can still try and feel her presence.

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Below is a four-hour audio clip. In it are nine single hiccups, spaced randomly throughout. Just like Izzy's, there is no rhyme, reason, or clear biological explanation for when they appear. They just do. Always.

 

I encourage you to push play on it and let it run in the background during your workdays at 888. Maybe you'll forget it's playing sometime, and maybe you'll hear one of those hiccups and think she's still here.

 

And for that moment, she will be.