I got wind of Nate Dogg’s untimely passing while at work this morning and it sent me into a funk, without the gangsta twist. The fact that I was mildly hungover probably didn’t help much either. But alas the G Funk Era is officially over and as a fan of Regulate I feel that mourning his loss needed to be done properly.
I work in a call center for an insurance company in lovely Chandler, Az. Our Q monitor, Big Sexy, is in charge of making sure that the proper channels are available so that calls come in and are routed to the appropriate representative. I implored him to close the Q, to shut down the incoming calls for a few minutes as a tribute to the late Nate Dogg. His hands were tied. We’re all paid professionals and as such we need to do our jobs on the days even when our heart’s are heavy.
Back in the day, when I was a Media Services Student Intern at the University of Nevada 
Intercollegiate Athletic Department (yes, I enjoyed typing my obscenely long job title. A long job title and no salary = good times) my writing hero Hunter S. Thompson took his own life. The E Double texted me the terrible news at approximately 3:00 a.m. and I spent the rest of the night getting tore up in honor of the the Good Doctor. The next morning I staggered into the office and wrote my usual weekly press release that reflected the upcoming schedule of Wolf Pack athletics.
After finishing my weekly chore I asked the Sports Information Director, or SID if you’re in the know, if we could have a moment of silence at the night’s basketball game in honor of the passing of HST. He looked at me with a smidgen of disbelief and denied my request with the quickness. He also added that I partied too much and I needed to slow it down because it was effecting my work. I found the suggestion odd because I usually came to work sober and worked 40-hours a week for free. My only compensation for labor was one-credit towards my journalism degree.
That night, with a heavy heart and a hungover head, I watched my beloved Wolf Pack Men’s Basketball Team win another game. To me though, it was a hollow victory but like I mentioned earlier in my post, being a professional means doing your job on the days you don’t want to do it. Today was another example of that notion. I worked with a heavy heart and mildly hungover head but I remembered the G-Funk Era. Especially it being funked out with a gangsta’ twist. I’m gonna miss you, Nate Dogg.
