This column started very differently in my mind after I had read countless articles on the topic I had chosen for the day.

The thought of tackling peso depreciation just seems impossible now. How about mood depreciation instead?

It's because a long-time colleague and friend passed away this morning, and my words disappeared. I remember laughing with Joseph Cortes about something inane just last week.

On Sunday he was in the hospital in critical condition. Sudden. Of course, it was sudden. I suppose we are never ready for something like this.

He would have edited this piece. He was our Commentary and SDG editor, our wordsmith, our "elements of style" guru, our culture vulture and our foodie.

Sometime this week I will dine on the best Hainanese chicken rice in the metro that he recommended. Well, I don't know if I will ever look at white chicken the same way again. I was just talking about some of the favorites that I was missing, and he mentioned two restaurants right off the bat with the best Hainanese.

Joseph was generous and thoughtful that way. Sometimes, he would plonk down a sugar-free treat or two on my desk, probably hearing me complain of hunger some afternoons when I'm in the middle of editing.

He would share his bread or tea and sometimes treated the editorial team to ice cream. He couldn't eat any of it, though, but he probably enjoyed watching us gobble it up like kids.

He was sweet, and he was diabetic.

His discipline was also notable. Joseph was undergoing dialysis several times a week yet he soldiered on and came to work — no longer as early as before, but no one could ever fault him for slacking off or not meeting his deadlines.

Responsible, Joseph was helping take care of the older relatives with whom he lived. He had several dogs that he worried about back when he was caring for a sick aunt in the hospital. To think he was not 100 percent healthy himself.

I can't help but think about how Joseph personified the average Filipino — family-oriented, hardworking and full of humor. The way Joseph could crack us up with his dry wit, I can never forget. He used to engage in wordplay with another colleague whose romantic interests were fodder for self-deprecating jokes.

His passing comes so soon after another news of a death that came my way. A former food columnist, Chona Trinidad, who wrote for the old Business Daily and the early years of Daily Tribune passed away last week. Some members of our lifestyle team then were able to pay their last respects before she was laid to rest on Tuesday, 4 October, whereas I could only offer prayers and a mass.

Time, for many of us, is often squandered away thinking we should prioritize deadlines all the time. We sacrifice moments to chase after one goal or another, maybe racing after a depreciating peso. We let go of chances to spend time with people we care about, never knowing it may have been for the last time.