Barrie n' Me

Back in the day of when I was first living off campus in Southside Complex. . . my roomate was Barrie. It was so funny that we were just sort of friendly friends on the SUNY New Paltz Varsity Swim Team. She swam in a different lane than I did, and our social circles only merged because we were on the swim team together.

Everything changed w

hen I decided to take Art classes at college over the summer time. It was summer time 2005 . . . I stayed up there and subleased a little apartment above The Piano Bar on Main Street. It was a perfect location, I would cook dinner for my brother or guests and they would lounge and listen to the piano music serenade us through the floor. It was dreamy, hot and fans were buzzing through the thick summer heat.

I became friends with Barrie that summer, we played in the streets of New Paltz and ran around during the summer days. We became gung-ho about going to the High School track every evening and pushing each other to work our bodies to the maximum in order to get

ready for the season. We lounged in bikini's hung-over and tanned during the summer day heat.

She was there for me as the romance blossomed between my College Sweetheart, whom I wound up dating for three years. We would sit up at night and talk about my feelings for him. She was the one I went out with the first night Phil and I hung out . . . It was a ditzy night of mine, I set my cell phone down on the table and said to her "Barrie, I don't hang out with anyone but you, so why do I need a cell phone?" My naive, nineteen year old self was ready for a night of fun. The rest was a dark night, needless to say I should have had a cell phone with me since I scared the B-Jesus out of poor Barrie who lost me and nearly had a panic attack over trying to find me.

Barrie and I shared many nights of adventures, and day times filled with the Sci-Fi channel, baking, cooking and in general having a blast together! We had a falling out and I wish I hadn't been so cruel, things were rocky for me at the time and my Irish/Welsch anger can get the best of me when I least expect it. Years later we are still friends as ever. We both would take long lunches in New York City and catch up, we worked about 6 blocks from one-another.

I haven't seen Barrie in about nine months now, but we can still call each other up and leave it off at the exact same position. She knows I am having difficulty right now getting my head straight, a long talk has helped me. She put her accounting skills to use and gave me financial perspective on my dreams. Because of Barrie in my life, she has made things better, and I know we will always be friends.