That's what I loved about my roommate in college, Amy... I called her Ames.

I thought I was a tad tomboyish until I got to know her. I met her in seventh grade, but didn't really get close to her until we lived together in a tiny 1-room studio off-campus for almost two years. She's the only genuine gamer-girl I've ever known.

We were both into active sports and games. You name it, we'd play it. We enjoyed competing with the boys. She introduced me to badminton and Taekwondo. We both also enjoyed playing video games on her PC and on my Playstation. We played a lot of Diablo and Starcraft. She also played first-person-shooter games like Quake, while I preferred games like FF7.

We'd bike up to bio classes together, and tag-team with note-taking and sleeping during lectures. We would raid job fairs, and compare our bountiful loot back at the studio. We shared just about everything; we had an active "what's mine is yours" policy at the studio. We both had a ton of guy friends each, and shared a couple of them too. At some point, however, a level of resentment and jealousy set in (at least on one side) because we were choosing our guys over each other.

She's the one woman that has ever made me feel really girly. Around her, I was always much more aware of my emotionality, my feminine feelings and actions. Though she was guy-ish, she wasn't at all butch. She wore no make-up and wore fobby clothing, but she was quite petite and pretty... and her attractiveness shined through. She had a lot going for her, and didn't act like she knew it. She was humble, kind, friendly, playful, witty, clever, and fun-loving. Many people liked her. My ex wasn't one of them, but he was an exception.

If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would've survived some of my worst days at Cal. I owe her for many of the best things that happened to me while I was there. I could write pages about her and the things we did together, but I'll spare you the long read.

Ames went on to dental school at UOP after graduating. I've only seen her a couple times in the last four years. I really really miss her friendship.