A few people asked me to put my speech up on this site after the memorial service. I haven't been able to do so yet, as each action feels more and more like saying goodbye.

I am, however, honoring those requests and posting this speech today, March 26th. Shortly after the memorial Charlene's mom told me that, according to Buddhist tradition, today is the day that we need to let Charlene go so that she can be reborn. And so, today is the day that I, we, need to say goodbye.

Charlene - we hold you in our hearts, and we continue to honor, remember and love you. We hope your journey, whatever it holds, is one deserving of such a remarkable person as you.

-- Rain

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Rain's memorial speech:
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Charlene often reminded me that Steve and I were her "dirty old socks." From Charlene, that is pretty much the most awesome compliment in the world. For her, comfort and trust, and just being "real," were the best things in life.

These past few days have been filled with sharing fond memories of our gleeful, innocent, brilliant friend, daughter, sister, and colleague.

Some of my favorites even include brand new ones I've only just heard, such as the fact that Charlene never slept as a baby (to the great dismay of her very tired parents). Of course, we know her as a night owl, so that shouldn't surprise any of us.

We will always remember her grotesque medical school stories, her love of boba, her sole craft-services expectation of "D-88s" (her and Yimin's code word for "donuts"), her enjoyment of blockbuster movies....

And I've been thinking about her and my favorite private joke. One day, while we were sitting in Charlene's room working on SunRain sites, we heard the weirdest noise coming from the street below. We thought, I swear to you, that we were hearing a goat bleating it's heart out on the street of Alhambra. When we finally looked out her window, all we saw was a little woman yelling at the top of her lungs "cooommmmeee baaaaaack!" That was over a year ago, and ever since, every time we needed to introduce a little levity into our work, one of us would suddenly blurt out "coooommmmeee baaaack!" and we would both bust up in tear and/or asthma inducing laughter.

But now I want to bleat out "coommme baaaack" and I really mean it. Charlene has been the best, most true friend.

Charlene is the friend who always shows up early to the pot luck so that she can lend a hand. She's the friend who offers to pick you up when you need to go to see the tax accountant because you have a fever and shouldn't be driving. She's the friend who takes you to the emergency room and lovingly teases you the whole time you are there because she thinks you somehow got pink eye in both eyes ("you dork!" she would say). She is the woman who would cheerfully offer "greetings" to a perfect stranger and bring a fantastic smile to their face.

As the Sun of SunRain, Charlene was the perfect balance for me. She constantly reminded me to enjoy life, and enjoy our work, and not take it all so seriously (though our perfectionist friend did put great seriousness into all of her work). She brought beauty to our work. Our styles were opposite and yet we had similar taste. She was the night owl while I worked during the day. We could not have been a better match.

And as so many of us will say, Charlene's friendship has made each and every one of us a better person.

Her love of and unparalleled talent in art has made us all more appreciative of the beauty around us.

Her passion for food has not only introduced many of us to some of the finer restaurants in Los Angeles, but has made us appreciate cooking for each other and sharing meals with our friends.

Her cinematography has been inspirational, and those of us fortunate enough to have worked with her as a cinematographer have enjoyed a great collaborative relationship that made the difficult challenge of making a film so much easier.

Most importantly, her qualities as a friend have reminded us all what being a true friend really means: it means being generous without expectation, being honest even when doing so is difficult, wishing great things for your friends and being genuinely delighted when good things happen, and sharing your successes and joy with your friends by including them in your celebrations.

All of these qualities are epitomized by Charlene. She is a most remarkable soul, a bright light in all of our lives.

Charlene Sun, we love you more dearly than you can ever imagine, and we will miss you more deeply than we can even begin to fathom.