What does it take to get to know someone? One of the first things people ask me is where I'm from. Is it the Philippines, where I grew up and spent my high school in? Is it East Campus, the dorm I've come to call my home? Is it Mountain View, the city I'm living in for the summer? At once, it's all of these, and none of these.
We could talk about the things I like, if that will help. We could talk for hours about Epic Battle Fantasy 5 and how Redux works and dumplings. I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite board games. We can play Castlefall or Beavers Against the Humanities or Aeon's End. We could listen to music all afternoon, and I’ll tell you all about my favorite artists.
Or we could go on an adventure. We can ride the Caltrain for two hours and complain about public transportation in the Bay Area. We could spend all day in the Computer History Museum. Or I can give you a tour of the office I'm interning at, which, while mostly empty, has a lot of snacks.
We can go to an overpriced coffee shop and buy pastries. And we'll talk about housing prices, and adulting, and medication. And sometimes it gets quiet enough that I forget about how tired I'm feeling, and for a moment, it'd feel like I could live forever. And maybe you'd feel the same way.
And then we could tell each other stories.
But until then, I hope you enjoy reading mine.
