L. Nicole...with love

Friends

I am very particular about who I consider to be a friend. I�m not someone who has a lot of ok friends. Rather I have a few really great friends. Unfortunately I have not gotten a chance to scan pix of some of my really good friends. Below are a few of my friends, buddies and old classmates following the write ups about current good friends:

Vinnie T. in Tampa is one of my best friends. We�ve had our ups and downs like any relationship but we�ve always been there for each other -- even when our families acted like they were on crack and weren�t there for us. We are not cut from the same cloth which is pretty true of most of my friends. We both have smartass attitudes and a temper that is sometimes a little quicker than necessary. Somehow we manage to mesh well. Probably because of our tolerance and appreciation of our differences, loyalty to those who are there for us, and a shared loved for dancing, choreography, graphic design and photography � and even a little (ok, maybe a lot) kink. We kept our weekly Thursday night ritual of clubbing it up in Ybor for nearly the entire 2.5 years that we hung out. Since moving to the DC area, Vinnie and I don�t talk as much, however, we have kept in contact thanks to the modern means of Internet communications.

While duing some research in preparation for my trip to NYC, I met a guy online named Anteny. He was pretty new to the city but informed me on what he knew about the great island of Manhattan. He even offered to show me around when I got in town. Sure enough, we met up when I was there after a couple weeks and we were together most days after that until he dropped the �You ungrateful bitch. I wish I never met you.� on my answering machine. This after he sent me two dozen roses to let me know he liked me. A card would have been ample. Heck, I would have even accepted the infamous: Do you like me? Check yes or no. So why did we go from two dozen roses to wishing he never met me? Dude has a temper problem. I refused to argue about... I don�t even remember what. So I hung up and wouldn�t answer the phone when he called back. I figured since he wished he'd never met me, I�d oblige him as much as I could and not see him anymore. But what do you know he calls me to say goodbye and then goes to Ogilvy to see me one last time before I left. But you know me. That didn't phase me much. After several months and some awkward and pointed chat sessions, we resolved our issues and are now chat buddies again.

Victor C. is another one of my buddies from NYC. I met him at a club in downtown Manhattan while out with Ozi. He used me as a decoy to escape the advances of some white girl who had been following him all night. At least that�s the story I was told. During my stay in NYC in summer 2000, he showed me some of the other boroughs of NYC that I had never dared venture off to. I was very impressed with him. He�s respectful, intelligent, funny, down-to-earth and just an all around cool guy. Something I hadn�t seen in a black guy that I�ve hung out with in a loooong time. Of course, he�s older and much more mature than me. But he still has a wild streak which includes snakes, tattoos, riding motorcycles, and piercings - He had at least 5 when I met him; I think he�s down to 3 now - a freak nonetheless. [Side note: not until this very moment did I realize Jack and Victor had things in common� eehhh. Yet, they�re personalities are sooo different.] But I digress. To my surprise he continued to keep in touch with me when I moved back to Tampa and ironically moved to MD just as I was getting ready to move to VA. Most recently, he took a promotion in FL around the time I was planning to move back. (I know it seems like there may be some cosmic force at work here but he�s like my brother, ok people).

Saman F.�s story is pretty similar to Anteny from above. When I got to VA, I was again looking for information on where to go and what to do. After numerous emails and chats we met up and he became my personal tour guide and the ultimate, loyal friend. He was completely open and available to me the entire time we knew each other. He�s also responsible for making my first birthday in VA one that I will always remember. However, unbeknownst to me (early on anyway), he held out hope that I would remain in VA after my internship so we could formulate a stronger bond than friendship. Despite the fact that he was so great to hang with and made my life so much easier, I just couldn�t make that commitment he wanted. This ultimately ended our friendship.

Of course there are others: Joe (black), Ron, and Will who are my buddies in DC who add comic relief and give their advice and insight on these crazy men in the world.