This is for Aga...

My friends and what they have taught me.

1. Shana: that having OCS (only child syndrome) is perfectly acceptable and legitimate, and that I am not alone. Also, that you can make amazing friends at any time.

2. Jacub: that Polish men can be really sweet and their wives don't even mind when they bring you pretty little pieces of jewelry from the Motherland.

3. Aga: that thirty-something white girls wearing chicken hats can really dance to "Grillz" on cold Chicago streets at 3:00 in the morning.

4. Shawn: that Phil is not the only one who is completely charming. Apparently there are two of you who people cannot resist. Also, that it is desirable to have your midnight breakfast served to you by a man in a leather collar telling you to simmer down, after you've spent the entire night carrying around a bird of paradise as a mascot.

5. Deb: that all friends need code names.

6. Jackie: that it is completely legitimate to with that certain evil people, who are carrying large vases of flowers out the front door, might fall and imbed shards of glass into their face.

7. Anne: More good things than just potatoes come from Idaho.

8. Sara: that 'fuck you, you suck' is an acceptable answer to any and every question that someone might ask you on a tubing trip down the Bogue Chitto River.

9. Camille: that it is possible to avoid the work lunchroom 99% of the time. Whew!

10. Mike: that we are not the only crazy people to move to a seriously damaged, yet completely amazing, city after a huge natural disaster. And that some men are completely secure in the size of their package.

11. Nick: that blowing bubbles at work is billable to clients.