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.