The Friendly Friar!

The Friar appeared into my life like a whirling dervish.

College was a tough, antisocial, awkward time for me. The first year I rarely left my room, but I happened to meet The Friar during a bathroom run. He was loud, boisterous, a somewhat strange combination for a bathroom encounter. I thought two things as I hastily departed. “That was weird” and “he seemed nice.”

I met him a few times afterwards, and always got the same impression: taller, large, massive afro, hairy, sweaty, loud. I knew more carpentry and camping on account of my father, but from pure looks alone he was a man’s man, a behemoth readying to besmirch the globe in his prime. Yet, at the same time, he wasn’t cruel or manipulative. He was an honest guy. Often, he would say something ridiculous – not to simply make up stories, or try to look cool (as a few other friends of mine have done) but because he truly believed what he was saying. I admired his conviction.

He looks something like this, only less scary and more beary.

That could have been the end of our interactions if not for a twist of fate. Near the end of my first year, we had to decide where to live. In my miserable cocoon, I had not even begun to search. Freshmen get the first pick, then upperclassmen, as a sophomore, there was a good chance I would have to leave the quad and not have a room.

Out of the blue, a knock.

It was The Friar.

“There are four of us,” he said. “We want to get a suite, but we need five.”

It didn’t take long for me to make my decision.

My second year was easily my worst at university. I lonelier than before, if that was even possible. The Friar had a bad run of it as well. His roommate, an old high school chum, didn’t care for him anymore, and had often taken to smoking uncontrollably when The Friar was away. The situation was very awkward, and there was talk of me and him taking the double so there wouldn’t be any more friction. I hesitantly agreed and began to pack, but then, after the fall, his roommate left of his own volition.

Long story short, we commiserated much, and he became my first friend at college. Interested in Korea, he signed up, and we worked at the same school for a year. He’s easily my closest friend and one of the best to boot.

One of his most famous quirks is the aforementioned ridiculousness. I am compiling a book of his quotes. Good-naturedly, he acquiesced. I even registered a blog to post some, but he disagreed with that approach. Anyways, I was given permission to post five of them. I will think long and hard, looking over reams of paper with a manic glare, until I have gleaned the five best.

I think I’ll start with the ‘Spring Fling’ story, which is extremely long in and of itself. But I’ll save that for another post.

For you entertainment, some of his nicknames:

A) The Friendly Friar – Based on his Friar Tuck personal and joviality.

B) The Singing Chef – Self-Explanatory

C) Mr. Youtube Advertisement – Coined after he showed me a funny video, then said, “Hey man, I love my Zune.” I quipped, “Why do they need to put ads in their videos when they have you?”

D) Medium Well – His most famous nickname. He visited my medium-sized city from the large city where we both attended school. We went to a seafood restaurant for my birthday, and he ordered the Kobe beef burger. Another friend was determined to thing up nicknames for everyone at the table, and when he ordered his “Medium Well” it stuck. My friends from home still call him that.

I make a lot of nicknames for my friends. As you will soon see ^^