Amanda Alvarez

[Danielle] I’ve been close friends with Amanda for over half of my life and I’ve known her even longer than that. I guess we met sometime in the 5 th grade, when I moved to Richmond Hill. However, it wasn’t until 8 th grade band camp that we really started to get to know one another. Another girl, Rachel, had promised to room with three different people, including Amanda and I. Since the rooms were for two people, Rachel roomed with the third person and Amanda and I roomed together.

We were in a lot of the same classes – including band, so we struck up a friendship in the next year. By 10 th grade, we spent enough time together that having to share a single Biology book wasn’t a hardship. When I started driving in 11 th grade, people rarely saw us without the other. In high school, we shared a locker, studied together, called each others’ parents “Mom and Dad” (her dad would often see my report card before my mom did), shared secrets, interpreted each others’ dreams, went to concerts, went to movies – lots of movies, and, in general, had a wonderful time. We’d watch TV together over the phone, while studying during the commercials. (Thank goodness for local phone calls – we would have run up quite a bill otherwise).

When I went to college, she helped me move in and, two weeks later, I returned the favor. We’ve never been out of touch or gone too long without a visit or at least a phone call. We’ve even done insane things like go skydiving together and she’s gone with me to the Bahamas after both of my graduations. Oh, and we used to throw the best parties, without even really meaning to. We should do that again. =)

Mary Edwards

[Danielle] I met Mary during my freshman year at Mercer. I was in the Wind Ensemble there, which led me to start hanging out with a guy named David, which then led me to the circle of friends I’d spend time with at Mercer (until they all graduated and left me there). She introduced me to Ricky, one of my favorite hairdressers ever, and was one of the regulars in our weekly X-Files parties in the Refectory and our late-night coffee trips to Waffle House. By the time the year was over, we were close friends and decided to room together the next year. Her seniority got us into Stadium Drive Apartments, where we actually had a kitchen, a living room, and a swingset out back. We experimented with the various ways to drink way too much caffeine, including a night in which we made cappuccino (out of little packs) with coffee. This was not a good idea, by the way. Mary got us practically free cable by flirting with the Cable Guy, and the X-Files party moved to our apartment, where we’d dance around to Bree Sharp’s, “David Duchovny” after the show.

In 2001, I was honored to serve as Mary’s maid of honor when she married Eddie Edwards. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, with them living in Florida and all, but we stay in touch. One of these days, I might get to see enough of their daughter Allison to start teaching her bad habits and make sure she learns the lyrics to, “David Duchovny.”

Sara Holton

[Danielle] I met Sara kind of like how I met Jeff – through Eric – except Sara wasn’t sleeping on Eric’s couch all the time. She got to be a regular part of the crowd when we would all go out for dinner, a movie, etc. Mike and I really got along with Sara because she’s willing to accompany us on our culinary adventures, while some of our other friends tend to be a bit more finicky (including Jeff). We’ve had lots of fun dinner conversations, played DDR, and she helped me pick out flowers and cake for the wedding (so blame her if you don’t like them….just kidding!)

Sara’s one of those people who always has a great story to tell, and phrases from her stories end up becoming catchphrases in our circle of friends. If, at any point during the wedding, you hear the words, “It says PIMP!” don’t be worried. We’re just discussing one of Sara’s fun life experiences. =)

Lindsay Stephens

[Danielle] Just after I graduated from high school, my mom started dating a guy she met at work – Brad Treu. He turned out to be wonderful and they moved in together and eventually married – bringing a new branch into the family! Lindsay is Brad’s daughter, so I guess you could say it is fairly obvious I met her through him. She lives in Florida, so I haven’t had the opportunity to sit around and hang out much, but I’ve seen her at family events and we’ve had really great phone conversations. We had so much fun when we all went shopping for flower girl dresses!

Christine Yoder

[Danielle] I met Christine in the fall of 2000. I was looking for a place to live when I moved back to Macon in the spring and she had a house and was looking for a roommate. I actually don’t remember exactly how I got in touch with her, although I want to say it had something to do with a mutual friend. The first time I visited to see the house, there was a police car down the street picking someone up. It was a cute little street with old houses – a crack house on one end, and a prison pretty near the other end. If I wasn’t lazy or if I had been able to afford an apartment on my own, I might not have ended up there, but I’m glad I did. Besides, she had a dog, and that was definitely a plus.

Turns out, the neighborhood was actually pretty awesome. We had street parties, looked out for each other, and I never had the experience of seeing Crazy Don naked. I lived with Christine for about a year and a half (with a summer break when I was back up in Atlanta). We did dance-video exercise, went Big Lebowski bowling, were in a show together (I was in the orchestra and she was in the cast) and had margarita night at Acapulco’s (with the photo-matching game!). And then there was the trip to New York (with The Long Walk – ask Jeff for that story) and going to see Rent on Broadway! Our friendship survived the type of falling-out that can only happen between roommates (I think), so I don’t think it’s going anywhere.

Christine got married on April 29th of last year and has agreed to be a bridesmaid on her 1st wedding anniversary, so everyone tell her congratulations!

Eric Sedor

[Jeff][PROLOGUE]The convenient thing about all the groomsmen is that at one point or another, we all lived in Matheson Dorm. That's not really where the story starts though. The story starts with some pretty random coincidences. The first coincidence being the way we all ended up being friends. Let me draw you a map:

Wyatt Sweat (One of our ushers) is a friend of mine from high school - going back to my Sophmore/Junior year of Darlington. Wyatt roomed with Matt Greenberg. Who lived down the hall from Eric Sedor. All three of us were Computer Science majors at Georgia Tech - though we probably would never have met had it not been for the strange connections of science fiction, anime, roleplaying, and being absolutely huge geeks. Michael Goodwin and Matt Alexander roomed together across the hall from me in Matheson and Hamza Ahmed lived next door to me in Matheson. But, Hamza and Eric also worked together on the Georgia Tech yearbook. Further, Matt A. was also CS and Michael had been CS until he switched to Architorture sophmore year. So, from here, we lay the groundwork for the weirdest sophmore year at college that any human being could ask for - this would be when the "Usual Suspects" enumerated above was essentially formed.

Now that you have an idea of how everyone met almost ten years ago - and I'd like to note that we are all getting old now - I guess I should take a moment to say something personally about everyone.[PROLOGUE]

Eric Sedor: Your couch (Not a metaphor) was delightfully comfortable. Thank you for affording me a dorm away from dorm especially since my dormlife was pretty insane. On top of that, thanks for such memories as Drunken Starcraft, Ward's Philosophy, Walking to the North Avenue BP when no sane person should be walking to the North Avenue BP, and being a consumate friend despite my complete lack of social graces. Also, thank you for introducing me, in your own particularly non-subtle way, to Danielle.

[POSTSCRIPT]To each of these people I owe a debt which cannot be calculated in crude ways. If a friend is someone you can depend on then each of these fellows is someone for whom I would gladly lay down in front of a speeding train. It has been an odd, almost decade long journey from college to this point - with hills and valleys, arguments and disagreements, celebrations and parties - but it has been an experience through which I can think of no better group of wisemen to help guide a person.[POSTSCRIPT]

[Danielle] When I was in 10th grade, about a week before Valentine’s day, the school had everyone fill out a compatibility survey. On V-Day, for a couple of dollars, you could get a printout of the members of the opposite sex who the program said you were compatible with – one listed your top-five matches within your own grade and the other was school-wide. Topping the list of my school-wide matches was this 9th grader named Eric Sedor. I had no idea who this guy was, but I was a band nerd, and therefore did have 9th grader friends, so I asked a few of them if they recognized the name. The answer I got was, “Yeah, that’s Eric. He has one eye.” (a statement which invoked all sorts of mental pictures – none of which matched up to the hottie that Eric really is).

A month or so later, I saw a group of my band-nerd friends standing around talking and went to say hello. There was someone I didn’t recognize in the group, but band nerds are not known for their etiquette, so I introduced myself and held out my hand to shake hands. The guy I was speaking to said, “I’m Eric, Eric Sedor.” Ever since then, I’ve thought of Eric every time I’ve seen a Bond movie.

My senior year, I got a big crush on Eric, and we started hanging out more often towards the end of the school year. We never dated, but we have ended up with a wonderful friendship (and I’m sure that Eric will be taking credit for Jeff and I getting together for the rest of our lives.) So, the compatibility test was right, he and I get along wonderfully! =)

Hamza Ahmed

[Jeff][PROLOGUE]The convenient thing about all the groomsmen is that at one point or another, we all lived in Matheson Dorm. That's not really where the story starts though. The story starts with some pretty random coincidences. The first coincidence being the way we all ended up being friends. Let me draw you a map:

Wyatt Sweat (One of our ushers) is a friend of mine from high school - going back to my Sophmore/Junior year of Darlington. Wyatt roomed with Matt Greenberg. Who lived down the hall from Eric Sedor. All three of us were Computer Science majors at Georgia Tech - though we probably would never have met had it not been for the strange connections of science fiction, anime, roleplaying, and being absolutely huge geeks. Michael Goodwin and Matt Alexander roomed together across the hall from me in Matheson and Hamza Ahmed lived next door to me in Matheson. But, Hamza and Eric also worked together on the Georgia Tech yearbook. Further, Matt A. was also CS and Michael had been CS until he switched to Architorture sophmore year. So, from here, we lay the groundwork for the weirdest sophmore year at college that any human being could ask for - this would be when the "Usual Suspects" enumerated above was essentially formed.

Now that you have an idea of how everyone met almost ten years ago - and I'd like to note that we are all getting old now - I guess I should take a moment to say something personally about everyone.[PROLOGUE]

Hamza Ahmed: There are people in this world tuned into a completely different spectrum of music, movies, books, and culture. Hamza is the prism through which all these different wavelengths of human existence are condensed, filtered, and only the good stuff survives to shine through. A recommendation from Hamza to listen to a song means that you should listen to it - right now. The same goes for a movie or book. Hamza is the person that will guarentee that you are in-tune with what is Good and for that opportunity to expand my horizons, I am always grateful.

[POSTSCRIPT]To each of these people I owe a debt which cannot be calculated in crude ways. If a friend is someone you can depend on then each of these fellows is someone for whom I would gladly lay down in front of a speeding train. It has been an odd, almost decade long journey from college to this point - with hills and valleys, arguments and disagreements, celebrations and parties - but it has been an experience through which I can think of no better group of wisemen to help guide a person.[POSTSCRIPT]

[Danielle] Hamza is one of my favorite personalities. Don’t ask me what I mean by that, because I can’t really put my finger on it either. I just think he’s awesome. He’s a wonderful person, he’s very sweet, and he’s the best MatLab tutor I’ve ever bugged at three in the morning before a homework was due. He’s been to Thanksgiving at Jeff’s house and Christmas at mine and he’s the only person I know who derives great pleasure from walking into a gas station at night wearing bright blue vinyl lab gloves.

Matt Alexander

[Jeff][PROLOGUE]The convenient thing about all the groomsmen is that at one point or another, we all lived in Matheson Dorm. That's not really where the story starts though. The story starts with some pretty random coincidences. The first coincidence being the way we all ended up being friends. Let me draw you a map:

Wyatt Sweat (One of our ushers) is a friend of mine from high school - going back to my Sophmore/Junior year of Darlington. Wyatt roomed with Matt Greenberg. Who lived down the hall from Eric Sedor. All three of us were Computer Science majors at Georgia Tech - though we probably would never have met had it not been for the strange connections of science fiction, anime, roleplaying, and being absolutely huge geeks. Michael Goodwin and Matt Alexander roomed together across the hall from me in Matheson and Hamza Ahmed lived next door to me in Matheson. But, Hamza and Eric also worked together on the Georgia Tech yearbook. Further, Matt A. was also CS and Michael had been CS until he switched to Architorture sophmore year. So, from here, we lay the groundwork for the weirdest sophmore year at college that any human being could ask for - this would be when the "Usual Suspects" enumerated above was essentially formed.

Now that you have an idea of how everyone met almost ten years ago - and I'd like to note that we are all getting old now - I guess I should take a moment to say something personally about everyone.[PROLOGUE]

Matt Alexander: There are people in this world that will ask questions to which you realize you don't know the answer. Similarly, there are people in the world that will make statements or point out interpretations - interpreting the Message in the Media if you will - that would never have occurred to you. Matt A. wraps up those two amazing qualities and then uses them to deliver a fascinating sucker punch to your inner intellectual. Few people have encouraged me to, despite my often glacial pace, accept different forms of literature, music, and thinking than Matt A.

[POSTSCRIPT]To each of these people I owe a debt which cannot be calculated in crude ways. If a friend is someone you can depend on then each of these fellows is someone for whom I would gladly lay down in front of a speeding train. It has been an odd, almost decade long journey from college to this point - with hills and valleys, arguments and disagreements, celebrations and parties - but it has been an experience through which I can think of no better group of wisemen to help guide a person.[POSTSCRIPT]

[Danielle] I always think of Matt Alexander just that way – with both names. I’m not sure why, but I do. He was part of the Matheson gang too., so we’ve had D&D games, movies, etc. As an example of how entwined our little family is, both Jeff and Hamza will participate in Matt’s upcoming wedding – Hamza as the best man and Jeff as one of the groomsmen. Jeff and Matt have worked together, had philosophical discussions (and arguments), and plotted against the world together (hehe).

Michael Goodwin

[Jeff][PROLOGUE]The convenient thing about all the groomsmen is that at one point or another, we all lived in Matheson Dorm. That's not really where the story starts though. The story starts with some pretty random coincidences. The first coincidence being the way we all ended up being friends. Let me draw you a map:

Wyatt Sweat (One of our ushers) is a friend of mine from high school - going back to my Sophmore/Junior year of Darlington. Wyatt roomed with Matt Greenberg. Who lived down the hall from Eric Sedor. All three of us were Computer Science majors at Georgia Tech - though we probably would never have met had it not been for the strange connections of science fiction, anime, roleplaying, and being absolutely huge geeks. Michael Goodwin and Matt Alexander roomed together across the hall from me in Matheson and Hamza Ahmed lived next door to me in Matheson. But, Hamza and Eric also worked together on the Georgia Tech yearbook. Further, Matt A. was also CS and Michael had been CS until he switched to Architorture sophmore year. So, from here, we lay the groundwork for the weirdest sophmore year at college that any human being could ask for - this would be when the "Usual Suspects" enumerated above was essentially formed.

Now that you have an idea of how everyone met almost ten years ago - and I'd like to note that we are all getting old now - I guess I should take a moment to say something personally about everyone.[PROLOGUE]

Michael Goodwin: If I had half the energy, social knowledge, and artistic skill of Michael, I'm pretty sure I would be in charge of the world in a week - probably good for everyone that I don't and I'm not. I'm pretty sure that by now I owe Michael a debt that rivals that of nations. As I am inept in every possible way when it comes to aesthetics, Michael is always there to help out or provide instruction on how to make something look perfect. If I were to enumerate a specific "Thank you" for every moment Michael has helped Danielle and I out, we would be waiting quite a while.

[POSTSCRIPT]To each of these people I owe a debt which cannot be calculated in crude ways. If a friend is someone you can depend on then each of these fellows is someone for whom I would gladly lay down in front of a speeding train. It has been an odd, almost decade long journey from college to this point - with hills and valleys, arguments and disagreements, celebrations and parties - but it has been an experience through which I can think of no better group of wisemen to help guide a person.[POSTSCRIPT]

[Danielle] Mike’s another Richmond Hillite, although that’s not how I know him. We were occasionally in the same hallway hang-out crowd, but I never really spent much time with Mike in high school. But, he lived on the same hall with Jeff, Eric, Matt, Wyatt, etc., so he was part of the crowd. When I was in Atlanta during the summer of 2001 and most of my buddies had gone home for the summer, Mike was one of the guys who was still around (he’s a nerd). Mike, Jeff, and I ended up hanging out for dinner just about every night, although it was occasionally just two of us. When Jeff and I did get together, I believe Mike’s first comment was, “It’s about time!”

The dinner tradition has carried over into present day. We don’t go every night, but it’s a strange week if we don’t have dinner at least once. And, while Jeff isn’t much of one for going out and dancing, Mike, Eric, and I have made a habit of doing so every month or so. At this point, Mike is like family. He’s my cooking, gardening, interior decorating, and graphic design consultant. He’s the guy who’s running the wedding website for us. And he’s a really awesome friend.

Matt Greenberg

[Jeff][PROLOGUE]The convenient thing about all the groomsmen is that at one point or another, we all lived in Matheson Dorm. That's not really where the story starts though. The story starts with some pretty random coincidences. The first coincidence being the way we all ended up being friends. Let me draw you a map:

Wyatt Sweat (One of our ushers) is a friend of mine from high school - going back to my Sophmore/Junior year of Darlington. Wyatt roomed with Matt Greenberg. Who lived down the hall from Eric Sedor. All three of us were Computer Science majors at Georgia Tech - though we probably would never have met had it not been for the strange connections of science fiction, anime, roleplaying, and being absolutely huge geeks. Michael Goodwin and Matt Alexander roomed together across the hall from me in Matheson and Hamza Ahmed lived next door to me in Matheson. But, Hamza and Eric also worked together on the Georgia Tech yearbook. Further, Matt A. was also CS and Michael had been CS until he switched to Architorture sophmore year. So, from here, we lay the groundwork for the weirdest sophmore year at college that any human being could ask for - this would be when the "Usual Suspects" enumerated above was essentially formed.

Now that you have an idea of how everyone met almost ten years ago - and I'd like to note that we are all getting old now - I guess I should take a moment to say something personally about everyone.[PROLOGUE]

Matt Greenberg: My best memory of Matt G. is that he helped drag me kicking and screaming through the Baur Power Hour of Calc 2. Since then, he's also helped drag me kicking and screaming through Greenlee's C. He was also a brilliant project leader in Networking 2 - despite our professor being obviously insane. If each of us has an intellectual nemesis, I would have to say Matt is mine especially as I've never managed to beat him in a game of Chess or will be able to beat him in a game of Quake.

[POSTSCRIPT]To each of these people I owe a debt which cannot be calculated in crude ways. If a friend is someone you can depend on then each of these fellows is someone for whom I would gladly lay down in front of a speeding train. It has been an odd, almost decade long journey from college to this point - with hills and valleys, arguments and disagreements, celebrations and parties - but it has been an experience through which I can think of no better group of wisemen to help guide a person.[POSTSCRIPT]

[Danielle] When I first met Matt, I didn’t think he liked me. These days, I’m not sure why (I thought he didn’t like me – not why he didn’t like me, because he did). He was Eric’s roommate when I started to get to know him (anyone see a pattern here?). I got to know him through numerous D&D games, movies, dinners, and sleepovers in the dorm. After graduation, he moved out to California and left most of us here in Georgia, but we’ve stayed in touch. When I went out to Cal Tech for a seminar, Matt took me to see the sights – well, the beaches anyways, and got pulled over for doing five miles over the speed limit (and I thought GA cops were bad!) We don’t get to see Matt as often as we’d like, but he’s unlucky (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) with flights, so he’s been stuck in Atlanta for days at a time more than once and we always make a point of getting the gang together and doing something. He’s also single, ladies, so be on the lookout for a cutie from California!