Not living large... he's the Biggest

First off, thanks to those that sent me emails or messages about their interest in the Small World Project! Please feel free to post stories, comments and questions about the Small World Citizen of the Week! That's what this "world" is all about. Bringing YOU ALL together.
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Now on to this week's citizen....
Do you have someone in your life that is hard to describe? You know that they're a special person but when people ask you what they're like, you can't find the right words? When people talk about athletes, we often talk about the intangibles that someone might bring to their game. They're not the flashiest player on the court but they bring something to the players around them that no one else could. So why don't we think about these same intangibles when we're talking about the people in our lives? This week's special human has impacted so many people around him and amazingly he probably doesn't even realize the importance he has played. The people around him are all better off today because of the positive influence he has had on them. This man is larger than life..... in fact he's the Biggest. I'm talking about Vijay. (I thought it would be funny to post a serious picture of him, since he's always smiling)

Now Big V and I go way back. When we were super young I didn't spend so much time with him because he was a few years older than me. When we has in middle school, I was in elementary school and when he was in high school, I was in middle school. For the longest time I had trouble connecting with this dude. My main interaction with him would be at family parties where him and other older kids would go outside and cause trouble. I had no idea what they did when they went outside until one night where they told me to join them. They were going to light a bunch of leaves and branches on fire in the street. I was super scared so I went to ask my mom if I could go. Like any other kid I said, "Mom, I can't go outside with them right?" Fast forward over a decade later and not only would I go anywhere with this dude but he is also one of the people I miss the most in the Bay. Big V brings so much to the people around him that I just think of him as the master of the intangibles.

Credits:
In the Small World, all people are interconnected. We were at a party at BA's place one night (the picture above is from the same night!) and Big V became obsessed with a blow up monkey at the house. He made it his mission for the night to steal the monkey. He snuck around the party with the monkey. He even tried to walk out of the front door with it I think. Anyway, everything seemed to fail. As we walked out of the party he began to laugh uncontrollably. Alas, in the bushes like 4 blocks away from the party, he had stashed the monkey! He was so proud and it was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.
8th and Ocean: One night a bunch of us sat through basically every childhood variety show we had been in. We sat through ridiculous violin performances and dances where some of us had our pants up to our necks. Oh but Big Big, goodness. Dude was wearing Polo sweaters and creased khaki pants in every show. His hair was clean cut and he was straight pimping in his dockers.
Happy Birthday: I've always felt pretty fortunate that my birthday is January 1st because it's easy for people to remember. Over the last maybe five or six years, I have spent a few memorable New Years with this guy but it's the ones that I didn't spend with him that stand out. One year he was in Dallas and another year he was in Egypt. Other years he was who knows where but for every single one of those, he has been the first person to call me EVERY year. It's almost like I just wait for him to call and that makes my birthday real. Even when he was floating down the Nile River on a cruise, he called me a few seconds into the new year. How do you even do that math? Weirdo. It's remembering the small things that makes Biggest a really different person.
The Manager: Do you know that Vijay has time to workout, work on side projects, have hobbies, go out on the weekends and watch every TV show he wants? I am always baffled by Big V's ability to balance his time so well. Maybe he's a vampire?
The Chatter: About two years ago, in a hotel room in Chicago, we had the idea to create an online community for Konkani (the Indian cultural group we're both a part) youth around the world. For those that know me well, I am always yapping about this and that. No one really takes me seriously. Well, Big Big acted right away and setup a message board that now has over 500 members and over 15,000 posts. While others talk, he's getting things done.

I've had conversations with some of you about how people cannot truly be selfless. Well, if that's true this guy is probably the closest I've ever seen. I could go on and on about this guy. I could talk about how he's woken up and cleaned up for everyone after basically every party we've thrown or about how he loaned out his car to a friend in neeofd but I would rather have some of you share your stories, comments, or questions for the one they lovingly call Big V.

The Poppin' and Lockin' Puppet Master

It's taken me a long time to think about the right person to start this whole Small World Project off with. The impetus to write such a crazy thing was to bring together the different groups of people I have in my life. For the people around me to get to know one another, since unfortunately most of you won't ever hang out with one another. Within the last couple years though, one person has actually gotten to know all my groups of friends and through that shown me that all of them can mix really well. Anyway without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, the first person I'd like to marinate is none other than BA aka Ben.

In high school, I basically lived two lives. In class I was pretty serious and when I was at home or with my friends, I was super goofy. I didn't really think I would ever be able to reconcile my two personalities. I arrived at my dorm and immediately noticed one of the RAs that was goofy as hell. The first few weeks of school, he basically wore the same lime green sweater and dark horn-rimmed glasses. This seemingly simple dude, would go on to show me (and a lot of other people) that you can be true to yourself in any situation. No matter who was around him, he was always the same person. I feel like a lot of times we think about how others want us to act or about how we're going to be perceived. This guy doesn't care about any of that.

Those that know BA, also know that his sense of humor has rubbed off on everyone around him. A lot of peoples' mannerisms and humorous stylings are definitely things that have rubbed off from him. After college, he stuck around for a while then moved out to San Francisco. For those that have ever been to a party at BA's old place know that he was living in a super nice place. When I first went over to his place, I saw that he had an elevator, a bathroom bigger than my room, and a movie theater in his house but then I went in his closet and what did I spy....... NOTHING. Just the same lime green sweater and a Mariners jersey. He hadn't changed at all. About a year ago when I was living in San Francisco, we dance battled the entire night in my kitchen. Song after song we battled like we were two great warriors. Needless to say the kitchen floor was ruined but the walls saw moves only future humans would even be able to describe.

So since this is the first entry, I'm not sure what to do with it. Perhaps people that know BA can rag on him here? People can agree or disagree with what I've said or add more comments or stories about BA. People could post questions for BA to answer. The ultimate goal here is to inform people about some other awesome folks I guess. Anyway, below are some claims to fame.

Credits:

We're Number 1: While waiting in line for a Stanford basketball game, BA once told us all that if you pull the chest of your shirt in and out with your left hand and throw up a number one sign with your right hand, you're guaranteed to get on TV. During that game, we threw up the “We're Number 1” shuffle and must have been on TV 10 times. Ever since then the Number 1 dance has been seen on freeways, in the hottest dance clubs, and of course during college basketball games.

Secret Sauce: We once marinated tri-tip over night in a paint bucket. People thought we were crazy until they smelt perhaps the finest marinade ever concocted with human hands. Did we share? Just enough to let them know what they were missing.

The Poppin' and Lockin' Marionette: you ever seen someone in the club manipulate their feet as if they were the puppet master on their own legs? You think I invented that shit? Some people even asked him if his legs were made out of rubber.

Mangina: It's a little known fact that BA, Taplin Thomas and I were a part of a popular underground acapella group on the Stanford campus. We were so underground in fact that most people deny we even existed. We went by “Mangina” for we were the ultimate balance of street credibility and emotion. During a “Mangina” concert in 2000, the entire audience was crying and the show had to be stopped. It was at that point that we knew, we were way ahead of our time and the people were not ready for us (when we came together, it was similar to when those five kids summoned Captain Planet).

Legend has it that one LIVE “Mangina” concert exists on someone's laptop somewhere in North America. Those few that saw us live have never been the same, I would know, I was there.

Being an RA, being a mentor to a lot of people, and at home being an older brother, Ben's a pretty dope guy. Hopefully some of you get to meet him at some point.