Multi-Day

Back when I was in high school, I had this thing with my friends that became colloquially known as "multi-day." It usually happened on a Saturday, or on any day at all during the summer. We would wake up early to go yard-sailing (take a guess what that means), play frisbee, get Rita's, go to the driving range, hit up the mall, see a movie... basically do as many activities as we could fit into a single day.

So we thought we'd do one last multi-day before Rhi and I went off to LA. And it failed miserably, mostly because I was the only one who was awake before 9am. Woops. But still, Saturday was an awesome day. We ate omelettes, played video games, made fun of each other, drove around looking for yard sales but weren't successful, ate fried food, played pool and watched the Flyers game. A pretty productive day, I'd say.

That night, there was a smallish going away party for Rhi and I at our friend Kevin's place in East Falls. Some of my oldest friends were there, and it was fun.


This is Meryl. She's my sister (kind of). We were really good friends for a long time, then my mom started dating her dad. It sounds like it should be kind of weird, but it wasn't really. We just kind of started acting like siblings and now I really do think of her as the sister I never had. But from looking at our matching facial hair, I think it's safe to say we're actually flesh and blood.


Here's Rhi with Meryl. I guess Meryl is her sister-in-law-(kind-of)? This, by the way, might be my favorite picture ever.


Why was false facial hair being passed around the party like acid at Woodstock? I have no idea. Just be thankful we're not doing acid.


This my good friend Jackie. We used to play the Saved By the Bell board game together all the time. Only we weren't 5; I'm pretty sure this happened in our sophomore year of college. Jackie is obviously Lisa Turtle. I was Slater. Meryl was Screech (sorry Meryl).


That's TJ in the Run DMC shirt and Justin in pink. Justin was either the first or second friend I ever made in elementary school (Mrs. Zagiba's first grade class, woo!), I can't remember which. I had Passover dinner at Justin's before the party. TJ is just some random guy I met that night. Just kidding. I never went to school with TJ or anything, but he went to college with a bunch of my friends and used that to leverage a friendship with me. We've only really been friends for like two years, but it feels like we've been tight for much longer. So this picture is probably me with my oldest friend and my newest friend. Funny? Not at all!


This is my twin brother Adam. We were born conjoined at the eyebrow.


Here we are shortly after the separation procedure, which coincidentally was scheduled for the same night of the party. The recovery time is shorter than you'd expect.


There on the far left is Ryan, who I dominate in Smash Brothers on a regular basis (it's a video game and a way of life... at least for Ryan). Over on the far right is Brad, my most trusted fantasy baseball adviser. Adam we've already mentioned. That guy in the front with his thumbs up is Alec. We try not to encourage him too much, but he still acts like that.


That's my good friend Marisa and her boyfriend Matt, whom I have taken quite a liking to. He's very tall and cuddly. I call him Matty Bear, which is a name I came up with just now but feels quite fitting. They live in New York and think they're better than all of us. That's actually why we're moving to LA: to one up them.


This is Mike. Next to Justin, he's the oldest friend I have. He's an engineer who designs fire sprinkler systems for a living, and he always loves to pepper conversations with the science of his job. I give him a hard time for doing this, but secretly the nerd in me is really interested in all of it. The last thing he said to me was, "Do me a favor and if you're writing a screenplay, don't make all the sprinklers in a building go off at once; they're only designed to go off if there's a fire under them." Mike, I pledge to you that I will not make that mistake. Mike's probably the greatest guy I know.


If you're a regular reader here at Rhi & Benner Inc., you know Joe from his gallery opening. Oh, Joey. You so crazy.


This is a nice picture.


I know, you guys. We're sad about leaving too.

I've known some of these people since I was five years old, and they remain my best friends to this day. I've lived in close proximity to them almost my whole life and it's going to be a very strange and sad feeling living over on the West Coast without them. I might have made fun of some of them here, but I love all of these people deeply (plus some who we didn't get to snap pictures of, like Kevin, Jamie, Hunter, WOO!Dmont and others). You guys have enriched my life and certainly have given me more to laugh at than I'll ever need. I know we'll still probably talk everyday through the miracle of technology, but it stinks knowing that I can't just stop by to play some video games or watch a Phillies game or grab a beer anymore.

Which brings me to my next point: Everyone reading this blog should move to California.