My friends, buddies, pals, etc

Becca: Becca is by far my best friend. I met her during my freshman year at RPI, when we were both taking a Mathamatics seminar called "The Art & Science of Math". After talking with her a few times, we soon learned that we lived just 5 minutes away from each other back home. (Yet we lived in different states. Go figure.)
The summer after Freshman year, Becca and I started dating and our relationship lasted for a wonderful 7 months. It was perhaps one of the happiest time periods of my life. After our break-up, we strived and worked at a new friendship, and eventually became the best of friends. And we have continued to be so ever since.
In more recent times, Becca and I have both graduated RPI. While I stayed here to pursue my Master's Degree, Becca and her new husband Keith are living in Latham, as she works at General Electric's Global Research Center. I was incredibly honored to serve as Becca's "Bride's Attendent" (in lieu of a Maid of Honor) at her wedding. A portion of the speech I made that day sums up our relationship pefectly...
Becca, you are my best friend. You have always been there for me when I've needed to talk, and also when I've needed to be talked to. I cannot imagine the past few years without you as a part of my life.
Kevin: I met Kevin Hart when I joined UPAC my sophomore year (his freshman). Towards the end of that year, we agreed to be roommates. This was probably a poor choice for his continued health. Kevin is, fortunately, a very good friend. He is also, unfortunately, an even better punching bag. The stories of his exploits are legendary around our little group of friends. There is no one I know who hasn't heard the Superman Story, the Hump-Thump story, the Blanket story, or any of a host of others. While we are no longer roommates (I think his bruises might actually be healing...), we are still great friends.
Kelly & Jasmine: How Kevin wound up with a woman like Kelly, I will never know. Truly one of life's great mysteries. For the first few months I knew Kevin, I refused to believe that Kelly existed. He showed me a picture, and I insisted: "That must have come with the wallet." Lo and behold, however, she does indeed exist, and has been Kevin's significant other for a number of years. Of course, I fear for Kevin's continued well-being with every passing day that they aren't more than "significant others" If she doesn't get that ring soon, Kevin might start begging for the Good Old Days of being my roommate...
Jasmine is Kelly's daughter. She will soon be 9 years old, and is one of the cutest little girls I know. She always likes to hang out with "the Guys" whenever she and her mom visit Kevin in Troy.
Justin: The embodiment of a dual personality, Justin could be the topic of any Psychology PhD thesis. On the one hand, the quietest, most un-imposing man you'll ever meet. On the other, an insightful, laughable, boisterous guy who'll keep you amused for hours on end. When he's in the right mood, ask him to "Tell me a story" and just watch him go from there. It's quite astonishing. Justin's roommates were shocked one day to see their house papered with sticky notes, all containing random witicisms and two- or three-line narratives that only Justin could have conceived.
Mike: Ahh, MJS. How and when he went from "One of those old guys at UPAC" to "A damned good friend" I have no idea. What I do know is that I spend a disturbingly large amount of time with him. Probably more than two male friends (who are not also gay lovers) should. Dinner is really the only thing we do together, however. Chili's, Friday's, Shalimar, Ali Baba, Friendly's, repeat. Well, not really always in that order. But almost always one of those five restaurants.
One of Mike's favorite past-times is telling me what's wrong with my life. Of course, I almost always already know what's wrong with my life, but I let him tell me anyway. Because it makes him feel better about his. Catch him in the right mood, and he'll admit as much. His most favorite flaw of mine to discuss is my total lack of caring about my health needs. He somehow manages to take this as a personal affront. I'm still not sure why.
Joncone: Joncone was the chairman of UPAC Cinema when I joined. He is perhaps the most boyish and charismatic man-in-his-20's that I know. Of course, that probably comes from being fabulously wealthy. Joncone and I have an interesting friendship. For a long time, I was consumed with bitterness towards him, for two reasons. One, Mike dumped me like a bad habbit when Joncone miraculously re-appeared one day. He will do this again, I'm sure. Two, because Joncone was blisfully ignorant about his fabulous wealth, and about how no one else we know would ever see as much money as he carelessly throws around. In more recent times, Joncone has become more cognisant of his position in life, and more importantly, how it differs from those of his friends. Somewhere along the line, he went from "Annoying ass I barely tolerate for Mike's sake" to "Friend I enjoy hanging out with". As with Mike, I have no idea when this happened. Neither does he.
Chris: Chris is our resident masochist. He's also probably the luckiest masochist in the world. Every time something goes wrong that should probably injure him quite severely, it just barely misses him. This includes things like cars, trucks, bikes, houses, and airplanes. No, I'm not joking. Chris's life seems to be lived in a very "live for the moment" kind of way. He's incredibly relaxed and easy going. Of course, I'm firmly convinced that one day all the emotions I'm sure he keeps locked up will finally explode. No one in a 10 mile radius will be safe.
Keith: Keith is Becca's husband. In that respect, he'd always been sort of a "best friend through association". However, over the years, our friendship came into its own. Keith sometimes strikes me as a little boy who never quite grew up. Although he and Becca are the only friends of mine who live in the Real World, he can often be seen playing a variety of computer games, immersed in some comic strip book, or drooling over a new set of lego inventions.
Josh: I don't know how to describe Josh. He is one of my housemates. He's alternatively one of the most responsible and mature of all my friends, or a giddy pile of immaturity wrapped in a tiny body. It's never quite clear which version you're gonna get. I can, however, almost always count on him to apply a semblance of reality and common sense to any situation which has got my bitterness going.
Michal: Michal is the 2nd of my housemates. His room should be declared a disaster area. He has the largest room in the house, and yet the least accessable. I'm surprised he hasn't been buried alive in a landslide of clothing and whatnot. Michal seems to have had a very sheltered upbringing - every time we went to any restaurant at all, he always remarked "I've never been here.". He's also a very typical Southern Connecticutian - he lives in denial that the rest of the state (really, the rest of New England) exists.
Oh, and it's pronounced [MÉ - HOW], not "Michael", "Mitchell", "Mikal", or anything else you might be trying.
Eric: Eric is the third and most recent housemate. He's also the one I see the least often. On those rare occasions when he's actually in the house, he's usually in his room working on some project or another. Eric is something of an intellectual massochist. He takes on more responsibility than anyone I know. He is the current Chairman of UPAC Cinema, he's a member of the Executive Board, the Independent Council, and the head of the newly reformed P-board. In addition to his normal senior-year class work, he's also taking Chinese and German, and learning to play the piano. Just for the heck of it. More power to him. I wish I had that kind of drive.
Charlene: I never quite know where I stand with Charlene. At one point, she's incredibly funny and great to be around. The next moment, she makes a comment that makes me think she's quite possibly psychotic. Homicidal or masochistic, I'm not sure which. The fact that Charlene is in the rifle club doesn't help matters there. Charlene is the first friend I formed since joining grad school, and as she was a freshman at the time, I constantly feel ancient around her. And she loves rubbing that in. Another thing she loves is trying to freak out other people with her bright blue sparkling eyes, which are really quite cool.
Marilyn: Marilyn may be one of my oddest friends. She and her family practice very traditional Indian customs. In fact, she actually has an arranged marriage waiting for her after college. At times, she also seems to have that distorted view of reality that Joncone used to have. While that can be rather annoying, that tendency is outweighed by her kindness to me and her other friends. Truly a very sweet girl to be around.
Alyssa: Alyssa is one of the very few people originally from Agawam that I still call "friend". I met her in Agawam High School when I was a senior and she a freshperson. She was the goober of the group. The only frosh we ever associated with. As the years passed by, our friendship became more personal than a group association. When I was in Agawam for the summer between sophomore and junior years, Alyssa and I started dating. Our relationship lasted for a very nice 3 ½ months. Unfortunately, I had to return to RPI in the fall, and the long-distance thing didn't work out.
Alyssa is now living with her fiancée in Westfield. We try to visit every few months to go bowling or to a movie. My visits with her are definately a highpoint of any trip I take to Massachusetts
Laura: Laura and I have had a rather rocky friendship. First of all, she's the most unlike the rest of my friends, as she doesn't fit the definition of a nerd or a geek nearly as well. I met her when she was a freshman and I was visiting RPI while on co-op. Our friendship quickly turned into a one-sided affection, which made life none too comfortable. That ended, and the friendship was resumed - until it was all but destroyed. This was largely because of my dislike of her newfound boyfriend. Then she moved to Florida for a co-op, and now to Syracuse University. In recent times, Laura is no longer with that guy, and our friendship has blossomed once again. I'd like to think we can make it stick this time around.