September 8, 2007

Be Fri

I met my best friend Quinn on our first day of college. Clearly I lucked out big-time in the roommate draw, because I was assigned her as a roommate. As one might expect, this was at the beginning of September, so I'm always especially fond of her at this time of the year.

Which works out well, because it's also her birthday today, for another 5 minutes or so, at least. In honor of her birthday and our (gulp) thirteenth friendiversary, I present just some of the many reasons why I love Quinn. In no particular order, and far from comprehensive.

1. She's smart. Like dazzlingly, intimidatingly smart. And yet she harbors a secret love for reality TV, celebrity gossip, soft rock and poop jokes. And there are few things more charming than a smart chick who digs the poop jokes.

2. She's silly and funny and serious and wise. Sometimes in the space of a single sentence.

3. We share many of the same neuroses, but she's about 4000 times better with the "feelings" thing than I am, so usually she figures a bunch of shit out and I get to reap the benefits of her wisdom. This has worked out awesomely for me.

4. She's so awesome in fact that sometimes, when I feel bad about myself, I remember that someone as awesome as Quinn loves me so I can't really be all that [insert negative adjective of choice here].

5. She understands that bacon is one of the world's perfect foods.

6. She can play the "who's more wankable and why" game like nobody's business. Also, she can play cards with a focus, dedication, and longevity that would break a normal person.

7. She forgave me for that bagel incident in college.

8. Everything seems better and more possible after I've talked it over with her.

9. She always, always calls me on my shit.

10. She makes me laugh. At her stories, at the world, at my own fears and foibles. This is more wonderful than I can even begin to describe.

So happy birthday, pumpkin!

It's been such a pleasure being friends with you for all these years, and I'm thrilled to think of what we'll get up to in the next thirteen years.

5 comments:

Kristy said...

Happy Birthday, Quinn! You sound like a really awesome friend, and I hope you (had) a wonderful day!

I have to agree, bacon is really one of the world's most perfect foods. It's one of the major reasons I'll never be a vegetarian (even though my fiance is). That and filet mingon and eel & avacado sushi.

So what was the bagel incident? You can't just put that out there without an explanation!

Karen said...

Everybody should have a friend as wonderful as Quinn!! And I'm sure she has an equally impressive list about you.

Anonymous said...

I love you like Bert loves Ernie, like Trinny loves Susanna, like Patsy loves Edina, like Lenny loves Squiggy, like Thelma loves Louise, like Samwise loves Frodo, like Gail loves Oprah, like Meredith loves Christina. Thank you for that amazing list.


Baby, if we could make it through both my love of softrock and the bagel incident, we can make it through anything. It is a great comfort in life knowing that we’ll get to grow old together, when we can lounge around and watch Stepmom at our leisure.

Anonymous said...

I started writing a top 10 list about you, but I realized that you already said many of the things I would want to say (she's smart! funny! wise!), and much better than I ever could. Still, I have a few things to add:

- I learned how to study and think and write by imitating you. And this set me on the path to becoming an academic. In other words, if I wasn’t so worried about being smoked by you in all of my classes throughout college who knows what would have become of me? I might have a real job now.

- I have always marveled at how unflinchingly courageous you are in your thinking. You still are my role model for being bold and deft in making an argument.

- You are my Tim Gunn. You somehow manage to tell me the awful truth in a way that is firm but also kind and loving and inspiring.

- I love your writing because it always makes me laugh and think. I love your editing because it always saves my ass.

- You always know the right book to read. You brought me to both the Myth of Sisyphus and Outlander, two of the most important books in my life.

- Remember how, in our sophomore year, we wrote a paper together in which we imagined Camus and Durkheim having a conversation about the meaning of life which devolved into lewd accusations about their mothers, only to climax in the two great men signing “In the Navy” by the Village People? And we laughed out loud for what seemed like hours about this as we debated how much we could actually turn in to our philosophy professor? When you think about it, we really are lucky that we found each other.

Macoco said...

Quinn sounds fabulous! And especially fabulous because she plays cards!!!