family

al: brother, counselor, unifier, etc. just one year younger. after grad school, working the grind.
timon: youngest brother, comedian. the ’smart’ one; in college
moms: young for her age. not quite old school. she runs a tight ship.
dad: stubbon, driving maniac. it’s his way or the highway.
misty: the cat *update (03/06): misty was taken to the animal shelter last month… he will be missed.

friends

kfc crew: band of friends from early college on; including…

- crispy: what can i say… wild, crazy and one of my very good friends… i can tell her anything; former roomie
- original: briefly met during high school and she ended coming to umbc after me… the wise one…; also a former roomie
- special spice: or more like original’s special spice; recently got married. he ‘lived’ with us
- mac n’ cheese (m n’ c): she’s so adorable; finishing off the trifecta of original and crispy, also former roomie
- jam: we met during freshman orientation at umbc; closer than a brother… closer than a friend?
- bbq: the boy that i have an eternal crush on… will i ever let go? can you ever let go? a good friend nonetheless
- buttawrecka: his name means so much… the wrecker of butter.; funny, always has somethng smart to say… and i guess it helps that he’s smart too (’when does that boy study?’)
- rotisserie: friends since freshman year; 1/3 of the catalysts; woman of the boy
- the catalysts: friends since freshman year; would cause nothing but trouble, speeding up my ‘reactions’ with butter
- butter (or butta): the potential male specimen. i had many, but the most prominent was r-butta, who, in the end, just didn’t cut it.

biochem crew (ex and current): crew from the last two years of college; keeping it real biochemistry style! including…

- D: fellow biochemist, fellow scholar. known him for about 7 years and he always has the greatest advice… and he’s a player (no matter what he says…); 1/3 of the core crew
- the boy: we actually took classes together before, but we never formally met. formally met through rotisserie (and that’s how he got into all my business), but we hung out and studied alot senior year (weight lifting buddies)… he always be making fun of me though…; 1/3 of the core crew
- nic: met my senior year at umbc; always full of energy and sass. she always keeps it real; also former roomie…; 1/3 of the core crew
- the new B: he’s the complete opposite of B himself; my ‘boo’, he always has a word of encouragement for me..
- magic hands (mg): named for his hands, that worked magic on my back. he has it all, but he always wants more; driven… so maybe i had a crush on him… so?
- M: the only one i consider an ex-member… she just wanted too much, i think… she dissociated from the core crew after fall semester of senior year.

umbc-related: friend from umbc; including…

- (na) veen: i don’t even remember when we met… she has creative mind and creative spirit.
- BK: friends since early years; transferred and went to school with al. he’s a holy man.
- JK: friends since early years; an attentive mind and creative spirit… he’s a sensitive brotha
- jules: one of the many people i met through ash; she’s the person that has a story on everybody; future roomie maybe.
- OG: i was a mentor to her, somewhat….my baby’s growing up; was there whenever i needed someone to do something with (if crispy wasn’t available)
- Ti: the funniest guy at umbc; friends with DN and T; whatever happened to that dude?
- Dr. H: the pres. of umbc; we had several run-ins; he knows me, but he never remembers my name…
- ash: my sister at umbc, she introduced me to everybody, took me everywhere… we were practically inseparable; she was the superhero and i was the sidekick. after graduation, our friendship has sort of faded… we’re both to blame. oh, and she casts spells on men… i still don’t know how she does it… T is her ongoing victim.
- N: met through ash; my co-sidekick… we would commiserate with each other all the time… whatever happened to her?

old school (high school): friends from high school and onward; including…

- Naj: our friendship goes all the way back to elementary; the cynical one (not compared to CB); our lives are so similar (you name it: men, family… well, mostly men and family…), it’s scary…
- T: it was like we were destined to be friends. acquaintances in high school but friends in umbc. the man that i can tell anything to. our relationship is in limbo, but also in flux.
- Y: friends since middle school; the guy next door who went to nerd to hotness in one summer; back from the midwest, his girl doesn’t enjoy the fact that we’re friends… or at least that’s what i’m sensing…
- (Y’s) girl: friends since middle; went to a different high school; grabbed Y before i did (for prom); i think she has something against me… but then again, i’m paranoid…
- nea: Y’s little sister; friends since middle; she always has the greatest little nuggets of wisdom…
- P: friend since middle; hung out alot in high school, but the girl has so many friends now, it’s amazing she still knows my name… she was the head of our little high school crew.
- CB: friends since middle; buddies in high school; introduced me to ‘are you being served?’; cynical (mostly in high school, even though she completely denies it); she surprises me alot.
- DN: acquaintances in high school; friends at umbc; childhood friend of T and Zee; i wasted many a day in the library chatting it up and laughing when i should of been studying… thanks…
- zee: friends since middle, mostly because our last names started with the same letter; the greatest guy ever; T’s best friend; it was tragic when he passed… all we can do is remember the good times…
- LS: acquaintances (he says friends; but he never talked to me) since middle; motivational speaker…. i try not to laugh in his face…. he’s kinda cute though….

work: people from lab, after umbc, before gtown; includes…

- dr. w: this is the greatest doctor right here… one of the best mentors i’ve ever had. helped me to get into grad school; easygoing and a pleasure to work with
- MT: new postdoc that started a year after me; silly, funny, and he always ruined my experiments…. he has a unique intelligence about him… i guess that’s how he got his PhD…
- K: grad student down the hall; initially pompous, i never knew what he was trying to prove… i think everybody thought it was so cute since we’re both black… i don’t know… he always irked my nerves…
- Mic (pronounced ‘meesh’): started a month after i did in another lab down the hall. i was desperately lonely and she was too… our friendship took off from that point… one of the most unique people i have ever met… you can just tell she’s different from everybody else…
- JS (or JM): mic’s friend from college. had a killer sense of humor… especially when drunk… i miss that dude.

graduate school: georgetown and beyond, including…

- dr. a: my dissertation mentor; the only person willing to give a sister a chance
- abbs: my graduate school partner in crime. started the program together; one of my good friends
- whm: started program a year after me. we have so many things in common, it’s scary. we’re both in the same department and the only two in our department, so he’s my go-to guy.
- MD: my biologist friend in lab; she’s always keeping it real
- AW: the student and only male presence in our lab; he reminds me of timon way too much.
- ames: first year student; always makes me laugh.
- cute postdoc: nuff said.

other friends: people that don’t fit in the niche; including…

- dee: childhood best friend…. we even went to umbc together… i couldn’t tell you what happened… we just drifted… trying to make it work…
- SM: met when we lived in the ‘real world’ house (17 pharmie interns stuck in a house….with no central air… to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting on everyone’s nerves… the first real world p.hilly right there… they should of given us cameras…); also another friend with a unique personality, we just click.
- CS: bbq’s fiancee, soon to be wife. she’s a great person and we became fast friends.
- mr. f: family friend from church and surprisingly the voice that jumpstarted my weight loss. helps me weight train.

other people

MB: just a flash in the pan? maybe. he’s kenyan and he’s christian and he’s not making an effort. i boo him.
B: i could seriously write a whole book on this man… he was a strange one. friends in high school, i became on of his ‘girls on the side’; he had a girlfriend, me and this other girl. i got caught up in the cycle of emotional abuse until i finally cut ties with him and never looked back. the only reason i still hear about him is through P, who doesn’t believe he could ever be so cruel… it’s always the ones that you don’t expect…; currently, our ‘friendship’ is on and off again.