"Friend" /frend'/ n one devoted to another by affection, regard, or esteem; intimate acquaintance; an ally; a right good chap; person who still talks to you after you've shot soda out of your nose; one who spots you money for lunch; one who lets you sleep it off on their couch; one who is there no matter what...
It's hard to believe that there are people who hang out with me by their own free will. So, I feel it only fair to give them public kudos for their efforts:
My friend Jenn has been with me through just about everything. Freshman year in college is always an interesting time...freedom, classes, space management, foul smells eminating from the cafeteria. When you meet people, it's usually a banding together out of fear, not out of an undeniable need to know a person. Jenn and I were in Freshman Seminar together...young ducklings, dipping our feet into the cesspool of knowledge. We banded together out of fear that our class would stagnate if we didn't force some discussion. She was gung-ho and abrasive at times, and I would pipe up every once in a while with some sparkling insight into Aristotle or Plato or whatever we were reading at the time. Well, I HOPE they were sparkling insights, they could have been hooey. ANYWAYS.... Jenn and I moved our bond out of the classroom and began hanging out. She's sharp as a tack and I've never met a woman that can speak her mind as well as she. We roomed together our Sophmore year. She's been there through breakups (I've lost count, Jenn...how many has it been?), late night coffee runs to Santa Barbara (hey Jenn, I'm bored...do ya want some coffee? so what if it's 1am?), last minute term papers (DIE Anna Karenina DIE), sunburns (hey Jenn, can ya come here and help me for a sec?), good times and bad, and she STILL talks to me.
Jenn is now a respected lawyer up in Seattle. (Went to the same college as me,yet I, however, clean fingerpaint and glue out of my clothes at the end of the day. ) I'm not in touch with her as frequently as I should be, the lament of all friends, but still count her as one of my closest friends.
You know how there are people that put up with you at your worst and join you in your hedonistic best? That's Shannon, in a nutshell. She seems quiet and proper, but if you get a Long Island in her hand, WATCH OUT...she's a wild woman. Shannon is one of the deepest, most thoughtful people I've ever met. We met at the end of our freshman year in college, had a class together, and promptly forgot about each other. Nice, eh? At the beginning of Sophmore year (when I was moving in with Jenn) this random girl, who looked vaguely familiar, was struggling to get a trunk out of her car...she called my name and asked if I could lend her a hand. "Sure...," (quick glance at the name tag on the trunk), "...Shannon! I'd be glad to! How was your summer?" Whew. Talk about a quick save! She ended up living 2 doors down from me in the dorms, so we started chatting and became close friends. (I mentioned the name tag maneuver to her about a year later, and she admitted that she barely remembered MY name and was just looking for ANYONE to help her with the trunk...mine was just the first mug she saw. Relief!) Shannon and I have been through MAJOR ups and downs...responsibility shared, but probably more my fault...and we still manage to be close and enjoy each other's company.
Shannon joined the ranks of my married friends in December 1997. She and her husband Jason are enjoying their new house, their two cats, their dog, and the drizzly Washington climate. It's one step closer to living in Alaska, which, for some crazy reason, she'd like to do. I think marriage has addled her senses!
Blair Blair Blair...what to say about Blair? If I were to write everything I know about this girl, I'd run out of disk space. If I were to write everything we've been through together, I'd run out of disk space (and probably get deported). Everyone needs a Blair. I wish she came in convenient travel sizes...and I wish she didn't live in Texas! I met Blair, much as I did Jenn and Shannon...freshman year in college. I ran into a semi-familiar face that was headed to the Oasis (food place on campus) and I tagged along. While waiting for this person's food (can't remember her name), Blair walked in with a friend of hers. Since we were the only four people in the place, they sat down with us, and the rest is history. Blair and I lead parallel lives...as scary as that is. She's one of those friends that you might not talk to for a month or so, but when the phone rings, and it's them, it's like no time has passed.
Blair and I have both made the transition from college to the working world. Unfortunately, that means that phone calls are less frequent and seeing each other is difficult. After four years, we were able to arrange visits with each other. She ventured out to L.A. for five days, and I returned the courtesy by hopping a plane to Dallas three days later. She's still one of my best friends, despite time and distance.
People don't suprise me much anymore, but Shannon K. is an exception. She was my next door neighbor my freshman year, and she was always so QUIET! We ate dinner together almost every night (once again, banding together due to fear of the caf food) and she was always very sweet, but just so, so, QUIET! We didn't see each other very much over the next two years...we lived in different halls, she went to Germany for a semester, basic losing of touch sort of thing. But then, near the end of junior year, housing contracts were due. I didn't have a roommate, and I didn't really want to live on campus. All of my friends were either off campus, or were graduating a semester before me...so I couldn't live with them. All of a sudden, I thought of Shannon. As I was reaching for the phone, it rang. And yes, believe it or not, it was Shannon calling to ask what I was going to do for housing next year. We decided to live together, off-campus. Talk about a blast. Beneath that quiet exterior was one of the best senses of humor I have ever found. Over the 8 months that we lived together I discovered a few things: 1. She's funny as hell. 2. The girl canNOT fall asleep before 4am. 3. She's a lot of fun to cook with...even if she doesn't like to touch raw meat. 4. She's an incredible student (which was nice, seeing as how we had class together and could study with each other) 5. She is, all-around, one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.
Shannon is another of my friends that went over to the darkside. She and Ray were married July '98. It must be something in the water....
Steph was my roommate for about three years. Yes, count 'em, THREE years. She probably deserves a medal at this point. Living with Steph has been a whirlwind of food, music, culture, wine, road trips, and adventures. I couldn't begin to list everything we've done together...so I'll just say that my life is irrevocably better because she's been a part of it. She's working in Yosemite now, so she's now about 6 hours away. *sniff* After living in L.A., I hope she can survive in all that clean, fresh mountain air! UPDATE.... okay. I can handle the fact that all of my college friends are getting married. I can even handle the fact that all of the teachers I work with are married. But NOW, one of my friends has OFFICIALLY freaked me out and crossed a MAJOR point-of-no- return-line. A baby!! Congratulations to Steph and baby Alexandra!
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