I’ve known Jacob since we were about 6 years old. His family and mine have lived in the same neighborhood since each of our families moved to Georgia. Even through college, we couldn’t stand to be apart and were roommates every semester we could. I think there was one semester where logistics didn’t work out. We became especially close in college, sharing some amazing times, creating memories which can never be recounted. Jacob has always quietly been the voice of reason in my life and is always the first person to remind me that I’m being an idiot when I am in fact being one. Even though he’s now married and living in Maryland… he’s still the same Jacob we all know and love.

I met Lawrence on the first project of my professional career. He was to be my supervisor. The first day he came on the project, he was 4 hours late; a thirty minute drive from the airport turned into a 4 hour debacle around Atlanta. This pretty much set the tone for our friendship. He’s a little goofy, a little aloof, but always available for some in-depth conversations, despite what people may witness in our instant messaging conversations. We say a lot through a small set of repeated words. He and his wife are also going to name their firstborn son after me for introducing them to each other. Well, I’m trying to convince them of this, at least.

Since Robert, aka Tiger, stabbed me in the knee with a pencil during our freshman year of high school, Robert and I have been good friends. I still have the graphite mark embedded in my skin. Maturing greatly since then, and despite him not living in Georgia since leaving for college, we’ve remained close sharing many stories and awesome adventures not just in Atlanta, but at Clemson, in Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Currently residing in Los Angeles, CA, he is training for the L.A. Triathlon; then, next stop, Ironman in Hawaii. I’m sure people will freak out when they see him, thinking that Tiger Woods has suddenly changed careers to become a triathlete.

Kham and I were randomly placed together as roommates the summer after our freshman year in college. We’ve been inseparable ever since. He basically singlehandedly introduced me to Asian people, eventually assimilating me into the Filipino Student Association at school, with many who are now lifelong friends. He’s a great friend with a strong penchant for trivia, especially in the areas of U.S. and world history. He’s now training to be my snowboarding buddy so that someday we can do some epic heli-snowboarding in remote areas of Alaska or Canada. Or maybe New Zealand or Argentina. Anywhere there are vast expanses of snow works for us. Maybe we can finally take advantage of our frequent flyer miles we’ve racked up through years of business travel.

Sath has been like a big brother to me ever since Kham introduced us the same summer I met him. He lives far far away, but still manages to hang out with the crew most weekends. A true southern boy with his very own obnoxiously large Confederate flag belt buckle, his southern accent and charm makes him extremely approachable and disarming. Many many friends love to confide in him. Wherever the party is, you’ll usually find Sath; though, post-2am, he likes to pretend he’s Houdini and disappears. Nevertheless, it’s easy to find him… just look for the large crowd circling around something and cheering and screaming. He’s usually in the middle of it dancing up on a girl, A-town down style. Despite this and whatever state of mind he’s in, he always watches out for me.