the rundown

Let’s start with the obvious: I’m Ryan.

I don’t have a ton of money. I don’t have a fantastic job on the fast track to a big career. I don’t even have my own room in our house. …and I don’t really have anything that earth-shattering to write about.

I do have an over-active mind. I do have a cubicle at my workplace. I do have the unnecessary urge to have a duck as a pet. I do have a number of friends – the Pagoda Posse, if you will - whom I find interesting.

So to catch everyone up and get this show on the road, here’s the Posse:

The Girlfriend: She’s a good one- Jenn. Her family lives in Carlsbad (only 70 minutes from
Orange) and she graduated from Chapman in 2007- for those of you keeping track: yes, I am dating an older woman. Point for me. She’s a perfect balance for me- I react, she thinks. I lose things, she finds things. I do weird things, she does weirder things. More to come on her.

The Best Friend: He’s a fool- Teren. Three things everyone should know about Teren: he’s
Jewish, he’s engaged, and he’s the best bassoonist west of the Mississippi. His family is
in Laguna Niguel (“The Nig”) and his parents, Rande and Adrienne, are AWESOME. We share
a room, 10′x14′ feet, and he thought it would be a good idea to bring his queen size bed.
Now, we sleep 2 feet apart.

The Fiance: She’s special (to deal with Teren)- Brianna. Music Therapy major at Chapman, graduating this spring. She comes over from time to time and tries to convince us we like watching shows like John and Kate Plus 8 and Desperate Housewives…. NOPE.

The Original Roommate: He’s a windowlicker- Kevin. I’ve lived with Kevin for more than
a year now. He’s probably the best roommate I’ve ever had. He knows how to do stuff
around the house (including putting his dishes in our dishwasher, a confusing concept, alluding some) and is a good, “dad-like” balance to the stuff we do. He also
plays the trumpet.

The Other Roommate: He’s secretly Mexican- Tommy. We call him many things
including V, Tomas, CD, and Vanilla Face  (because he is a true Vanilla Face).
Tommy is the quiet one- he’ll sit in his room and no one will know he is home.
He currently has this problem with a girl that won’t leave him alone.

The Other Couple: They sometimes vanish- Trent and Amanda. Trent is the 3rd part
of the bromance between Teren and myself. He stuffs his face with really disgusting 
food all day (Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., etc) and weighs MAYBE 140lbs. Sometimes we don’t see him for weeks at a time and wonder if he died from the food. Amanda, his girlfriend, is a math and art person- from what I’ve seen, really talented (and cool because she painted our beer pong table for us).  

The Brother: He’s large- Blake. And then there was the most important… this
man is very huge. He’s a 6′5″ Mexican who hits the golf ball literally 330 yards.
The bad news is that he lives in Arizona and I don’t see him all that much.
He’s a finance major and also a global entreprenuer. Ask him about his t-shirts
and then buy one. This is the guy that is going to support me off of all his
millions when someone invests in one of his ideas…

Lots of people suggest that a person is a reflection of those with whom he surrounds himself. If that’s the case, I’m a Mexican Jew who does tests on the eyes of bunnies and sells insurance on the side, all masked by the fact that I am an avid World of Warcraft-er… but on the weekends I sing ‘La Bamba’ to autistic geriatric patients. 

Confused yet? Welcome to my life…