Nic

Nicholas grew up in a liberal household in New Haven, CT. So, liberal in fact, that his parents saw no issue when their young son pointed out that there is no K in Nicholas and therefore there also should not be one in his nic(k)name. Nic is a fair and level headed person, so much so that he understands that this was a stage in adolescence, but one he'll carry with him for quite sometime. As he put it, "once you ask someone to do something annoying like always spell your name in a special way, it's kind of a difficult thing to go back on." Nic is now my roommate in Brooklyn and also I kiss him. He reaches tall things and takes out the trash. Together we watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the den and tell inside jokes and meta-jokes like Russian dolls all lined up inside each other. We eat burgers and peirogies and laugh loudly at same episodes of Arrested Development and News Radio over and over. We take road trips and have adventures in town and out of it. He is my best friend in this gigantic city and a reassuring force when it all feels bewildering. He has quickly become one of my favorite people on this entire, huge planet. Plus, he's a blast to get drunk with. The world could be falling apart around us. We could be in a terrible biker bar where a man with a sneer is pouring his beer on the floor. We could be in a Mexican restaurant where they get our whole order wrong... As we both exclaim in unison, "Whatever! I love this bar!" Nicholas will be please to read that I made an entire post about how fantastic he is without ever mentioning that his middle name is Meredith.

P.S. Also, his sister is Rad. Yes, capital R.

Adrian

Adrian is my roommate. She enjoys quilting, drinking out of a measuring cup and having her own blanket when she's watching tv. She and I first became the best of friends when I mailed her a pair of pants that were too small for me. The jeans fit her just right and soon became her favorite pair. Once, after a Halloween party, still wearing the remnants of hambugular and a teenage mutant ninja turtle costumes we drove 8 hours away to the Houdini Museum and crash a frat party where someone actually was wearing a lampshade on their head. Other fun times include getting facials in LA, driving around in a pink Amigo, meeting celebs, and breaking into the Standard Hotel. Quiet, frank, up for adventure, and always noticing and laughing at how ridiculous everything is - Adrian is tops. Adrian decorates fancy cakes for a living and plays the trumpet because she thinks it makes her more sexy. Adrian is beautiful and the sort of person who makes you want to learn to tap dance.

Anna

The first time I really, really hung out with Anna we went to Home Depot to buy wood to make a ramp. We did a lot of giggling that day - and Anna tried to use an equation to figure out the slope of the line. She was scratching it out on a scrap of cardboard we found. Even though she is a landscape architect, and probably figures out the quotient of a slope daily - we were both completely baffled. Once, Anna and I drove to NY and I told her all my secrets. Anna is the sort of person who you'd tell all your secrets to and feel pretty safe about it. I like her for the following reasons: she is not ashamed to laugh out loud or to lose at board games. When I see house plants I think about how I should get Anna a house plant. I don't feel that way about anyone else.

Bob

I met Bob at Dizzy Issie's when he was playing a game of pool where you couldn't ask anyone in the very crowded upstairs to move. We sat at a table and opened up all the big things that make us who we are and decided right then that there are too few people who feel deeply and sincerely about things and that we should become pals. Bob is the sort of guy who will not knock a spontaneous Saturday afternoon dance party. He's a hard laugher whose eyes scrunch up and mouth opens, and sometimes a squawk will escape from deep down in his belly. He likes simple things like good people, good stories, ridiculous musical instruments, memories of trips, hot cocoa and mittens. Bob makes pretty music that sort of hurts you in between your ribs.He is a home owner and a teaches ELA in a school in Baltimore City. Besides his enormous beard, He's got a good heart and wise, knowing eyes. Bob will call you out on things when you aren't telling the complete truth. Bob calls me out on things often. He is the type of friend you can imagine setting the ants in your ant farm free.

Emily

Emily is not always eating chinese food, but I would say that a good portion of our friendship revolves around chopsticks and fortune cookies. I often call Emily "leebs". She's the sort of friend who notices that you're running out of toothpaste and picks some up for you. Not only that type of friend, but the type that remembers what brand it was and everything. Leebs has lots of very complicated "plans", "ideas", "projects", and "business ventures" - each of which are underway simultaneously. Emily thinks abstractly and is a good listener and has no problem laughing mid sentence or thought. We spend a lot of time in our underpants together cooking and watching tv. Emily and I are the most like roomates for two people who do not live together. Emily leaves you notes telling you to wear the sexy shirt because she thinks you need a pick-me-up, and you do. She always figures shit like that out. She laughs hard and dances hard. If you fall down in a gay bar, your red heel still hanging from the stool, Emily be the first to pick you up and congradulate you for not spilling the drinks.

Emily now lives in Boston and I miss her.

Jeanne

Jeanne is my best friend. She lives in West Philadelphia with friends Zak and Nikki. They all like to ride bicycles. Jeanne has a cat named Fig. And one time a squirrel ate some of her cookies... he just came in the window and ate some of her cookies and then left. She doesn't hold this action against all squirrels, and if anything is true, she loves animals and gives points for furriness and cuteness, but you wouldn't expect it. You wouldn't be surprised if I told you Jeanne has a reusuable mummy costume and that she collects dead things and puts them in jars. For this photograph she is posing with a glass eye she has in her mouth. Jeanne likes to paint and make prints of things. That shirt you saw me wearing, yeah, the one you thought was really pretty with the embroidery, Yeah, she made that. Despite glaring occasionally and wearing a pretty consistent wardrobe of black, Jeanne is the most pleasant person I've ever met. She'd make you laugh and tell you about zombie boners. I need Jeanne in my life to tell me when I need a haircut or that I'm dressing like an old woman. Jeanne and I have been best friends for more than half of our lives. Here is a poem I wrote about her once:

Chinatown


Oh Jeanne, in some number of years
There is no doubt that we will forget
How we walked down that curved street in Chinatown
Past the fake jade earrings, misprinted t-shirts
and array of counterfeit designer handbags
To that restaurant that had, what seemed to be,
Four individual and completely unrelated names on the awning.

And, Jeanne, in the future it might be difficult to recall
That man beside us to the left who ordered
His dumplings in Spanish. And the man to our right
Who compulsively lined up his change into perfect rows.
Truth be told – I already forget what it is that we talked about
While we scooped our rice, letting a few grains slip between our chopsticks.

Let us never forget, however, that our conversations
Run over each other’s and delightfully cascade
Into new understandings about world and self,
That our adventures inspire us,
That our laughter together is both infectious and healing,
And, also that that jerk never brought your water.

Rachel

Rachel is a cupcake. With an affinity for little handsewn things with faces whose features resemble her own small, pouty lips and huge, precious moments eyes -- Rachel is the authority on all things cute. Rachel's favorite cute thing is her dog Mr. Buttons, a cockalopsapoo, who, to Rachel's dismay is not a fan of wearing sweaters. Rachel dislikes beer but likes the color baby blue, likes to knit, craft and create. For Halloween she was a terrific jellyfish. Rachel in Baltimore with her sweet, sweet husband, John. Even though we used to live within walking distance I don't think that we've ever actually walked to each other's houses. She made the most beautiful bride ever and had a photobooth at her wedding! Gosh, she's smart!

Russell

This is Russell, I love everything about him and, when separated from him for merely 24 hours, I start to panic. See, Russell is a creative genius, he likes to draw monsters, nipples and cats. He likes to collect and read books. Also spray tans. But most of all, he loves laughing so hard he cries and getting you to do shots with him. Russell has the most dashing demeanor and devilish eyes - He understands that these were traits given by God to compel you to do whatever he says. He now lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and has done a sort of startlingly good job at understanding of how all of the roads connect all over this city. I'd trust him to drive me anywhere. Besides having an incredible natural sense of direction, Russell is the type of friend who would drive to Ocean city at 2am. We've never done that, but he totally would if I convinced him it was a good idea. I know this because I can convince him that nachos are a great idea at 2am, and Nachos and Ocean City are both great ideas. Russell loves great ideas. And you'd love Russell, every day is a vacation when you're with him.