To My Friends

I don't usually do well with January. The holiday rush is over, I sulk over an entire year having gone by and it's cold all the time. January 2010 was no different, but 2010 as a whole was awesome. Oddly enough, it was awesome as a direct result of school. Near the end of the fall quarter my friend Jay, who I shared two classes with the previous year, was intent on restarting the Anthropology club at CBC. He got the paperwork going and I had signed on as the treasurer (I was really only the third to sign and got the position that way). All told there were 8-11 people that signed up. One of them was Ashley, who at this point was just a girl who sat behind me in class, signed into either vice-president or secretary of the club. More on her later.

So, with the winter quarter underway, the anthropology club began meeting every Tuesday at 1:50. Jay and I were done with school at 12:30 so we always had time to kill before then. We'd go out to lunch to different places, usually for pho by downtown Kennewick or to a Hawaiian place near the school. It was so great to spend time with a friend on a regular basis, and it really brightened my day. The club meetings were just as enjoyable. I've always shied away from groups, but I was tired of being alone because of it so I made myself attend; and my change of tact paid off.

During one of the earliest meetings, this really scruffy looking guy with a cane showed up. I didn't pay him much mind, but then I realized he was laughing at my jokes! That's good enough for me, I thought, and I eventually learned his name was Jake and he was taking Archaeology with Jay, Ashley and I. Now, I don't know the exact sequence of events, but I know that one day Ashley came to lunch with Jay and I. Soon after that, Jake would come along too. Before I go on, I'd like to give a short (no promises) description to each of them.

-Jay is an outspoken guy who is damn near impossible to repress. If he's having a good time, everybody is. In fact, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't even be writing this. We'd had the same class, in the same room, with the same professor but at different times for Fall '08. For Winter '09 however, we had the same class, in the same room, with the same professor at the same time. One day early in the quarter he asked if I sat in the same spot the previous quarter, when I replied "Yeah." he yelled back (despite being only two feet away) "Oh dude, me too!" For the next five quarters we had a class together, and it was awesome.

-Ashley is... well, in a nutshell, Ashley is incredible. She's every bit her own person and she has no problem speaking her mind even if somebody else is talking, especially if the somebody is me (a bit of a running joke). She took Cultural Anthropology with Jay and I in Fall '09, and sat right behind me. We both showed up before the class before let out, and we would stand in the hall completely silent. I always wanted to say something to her; to strike up a conversation, but I thought for sure she was too cool so I never tried. Even though I know now that she is too cool, I wish I had tried. I'm really happy I got to know her, and I miss being interrupted by her sudden excitement that would be triggered by whatever I was talking about.

-Jake is, wait for it... intense (another inside joke). Seriously, you should see the guy when he hasn't been at the mercy of a razor or hair clippers for an extended period of time. On a slighty more serious note, Jake is the friend I wish I would have had for longer than I have already. He's so damn laid back as to make me worry less about whatever trouble I may be having. We have conversations as much as we have running commentary on any number of things. We are both jaded, yet expectant; cynical, yet hopeful; tired, yet enthusiastic. I wouldn't trade Jay (or Dale (Jay's girlfiend)(again, more later))) or Ashley for anything, and that goes double for Jake. There's a Japanese word without an exact English equivalent that means "more than friends, but not blood-related family"; nakama (仲間). Jake is my 'nakama.'

-Dale, as I mentioned before, but haven't really talked about yet, is Jay's girlfriend, but she's so much more. She's like a lone voice of reason among the group, and we always manage to talk over her! She's incredibly sweet, very intelligent and just as irrepressible as Jay. They're about as married as two people can get without a ceremony, and we let them know this often. Dale also attends the prestigious University of Southern California, so that's really awesome too. Also, I'm sorry this is shorter than the rest Dale. It's nothing to do with quality, haha.

So now where was I? Oh yes, the epic awesomeness that was 2010. I'll be more succinct going on. With the reformation of the Anthropology club came the issue of a club trip. Seeing as how Jay, Ashley and I made up the majority of the club leadership it came to us to plan the trip. The general idea of going to the Washington peninsula for a cultural event was eventually decided on. Jay did most all of the paper/legwork, but we soon discovered that because the trip fell outside of the Spring quarter we wouldn't receive any money from the school.

Undeterred, we decided to make a smaller trip out of it with just the five of us. We would drive to Renton and spend the night at Jake's dad's place before heading out to Neah Bay the next day. Ashley, Jake and I drove together in Jake's "Magic Van" (the side door opened by remote, like magic!) while Jay and Dale drove up in Jay's brand new car! We had a great time at Jake's dad's. We barbecued and had what was essentially a slumber party in the living room. We had also decided it would be a camping trip, so with tents and sleeping bags in tow we made our way out to the peninsula, and Neah Bay.

The cultural event we attended involved members from Native American tribes canoeing along the coast to this point as tradition. It was great being there with everybody, and it was really cool to see such a thing. Once that was done we went to a hiking spot within a few miles of the town and did some hiking. It was a lot of fun snapping pictures of what was truly beautiful nature. Among other things:
-Jay almost died trying to take a picture, but I saved him,
-We were on the very edge of Washington, which is where Jay almost died
-We met a nice older couple that took our picture, and refused to believe Ashley knew how to operate a camera
-Despite having a cane, Jake is very adept at navigating uneven terrain while hitting somebody with the cane
-I don't think I'd have gotten as many cool pictures as I did if Dale wasn't pointing all of it out to us

The time soon came for us to find a suitable camp site. After hours of driving we decided on a site about 45 minutes outside of Forks (yes, that Forks) mainly because it was the one with vacancy. We set up camp after procuring some supplies and had a grand time reminiscing about our trip so far. It was easily the best time I'd had all year, and I will always think back on it fondly. I was with friends I had come across purely by chance, but they are true friends no matter what the circumstances.

For years I thought that I could go it alone because for years I had been alone. I had friends, but they were either online or not close enough (physically or emotionally) to spend that kind of time with me. I thought that I was strong enough to make it, and though I might be, after knowing such friendship again I don't want to find out.

So to Ashley, Dale, Jay and Jake; I love you all. We might not be going out to lunch after school anymore, but I'm so happy that we did and I'm looking forward to future cool kid hangoutz, trips or just talking to each other. You have all made my life so much better, and I just wanted you all to know that.

Thank you.