Come on Brah... (Nick Lazas)

We are basically the same... I'm about 3 sizes larger womp womp.

The last time I saw Nick I was in the midst of a migraine. I was nauseous and could barely hold my head up against the open window as he drove me back to my car from our early dinner at some dive Jamaican restaurant. We didn't even eat, or maybe he ate really fast but I took my food to go and when I did eat it, I was angry because it was delicious and I had missed out on not only enjoying great food but also on the opportunity to catch up. I don't remember much from that day except a bright sunset piercing my eyes and me praying I wouldn't throw up in his car or mine as I drove back into the city. I apologized and I didn't see him for about 7 years. 

This is when I sprung the blog on Nick.

I hung out with one of our old friends* a few months ago and mentioned Nick in a conversation. At this point he had been off my Fb list for a while but when she told me about some of the stuff going on with him I wanted to check in to see how he was doing. I didn't delete him from Fb for any particular reason except that he never responded about hanging out a few years back and I kind of felt like he was blowing me off. In hindsight, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, he had more pressing things going on. Our friend said she hadn't seen him in a while but knew he was doing well. Of course, I wanted to see for myself so, enter Nick. I have had him on my Fb page the entire time I've been on fb with the exception of a few months when I deleted him. I would even say there is a good chance that if he had myspace, he was on my friends list, maybe even my top 10 (remember top 10!?). We attended Glenbard East High School together in Lombard, IL. I only went there for a total of 4 months but I still considered him one of my favorite people and one of my closer friends. While there I immediately gravitated to the 'outsider/goth' group and that's kind of where I stayed. I don't even remember meeting Nick. I remember being in World History with him but I don't remember if we had lunch or any other classes together. I do know, we walked together to our math classes after lunch so maybe we did have lunch together? I donno but there was a math wing and I remember we walked together. He had graph paper and a zip drive (remember zip drives!!?? I think that was him...). Over all, I thought he was a cool person, he wouldn't take crap from anyone but he also had this weird extra respectful way about him. He never hit on me, which was a plus because I can probably say that he is the only close guy friend who has never made a pass or made me uncomfortable in any way. He was a cute boy and he listened to all of the same music that I listened to so it was an easy friendship. He was dating a pregnant girl when I met him, not really sure what happened but he was pretty invested in the relationship. I remember seeing him with his girlfriend for the first time and he was carrying her books or helping her at her locker. Being with a pregnant girl  in a small town and not giving a crap, that says a lot about a person.

When I attended East, a lot of people had been in this weird environment where they knew each other

Clearly from another mother...

for around 10 years. I was kind of like a culture shock, not only was I a new kid, from Chicago, I was also related to some of their classmates that they didn't even know had a sibling in Chicago. My siblings are half Asian, thin, tall, Asian eyes, and I am the complete opposite. Most people didn't realize that my brother was my brother until I told them. I distinctly remember one boy saying "Vince is your brother? But you're so cool!!!" I stood up for my brother but accepted that I was cooler than him. Still am (hi-oooo!!!). Nick was an acquaintance of my brother because they attended school as kids. After 4 months passed, blah blah blah I moved away, was replaced by a dog named Cupcake and went to Texas to finish High School. I wanted to keep in contact with more people but as luck would have it, aside from about 3 other people from Lombard, Nick was one of the only people who I kept in contact with move after move. I mean, meeting people from FB is keeping in contact but I mean, real contact, phone calls, visits when I was in town, letters, although, truth be told, I was kind of awful at writing back. One day, Nick sent me this awesome box filled with random things and a video letter. I remember he sent me a cd he made and there was a song on there that he dedicated to me, it sounded kind of happy but was called Dance of the Dead...hmmm. When I visited Chicago, I made sure to stop in Lombard and he was the person I usually went to go see. I surprised him once at his battle of the bands rehearsal. As soon as he was done he jumped down from the stage and welcomed me with a big Nick bear hug.

He kind of looks like he could have killed me that day

During a visit he convinced me to get in to his trunk so that when I popped out I could scream and scare one of our friends. I kind of let us down because when he opened the trunk I was kind of just lying there listening to him tell our friend Mel that he wanted to show her something in the trunk. If I had it to do over again, I totally would, I would scream bloody murder in hopes to fulfill Nick's earlier request and really scare her. She told me later that we scared the crap out of her which is hilarious because all I did was lay there and say "Hey" when he opened the trunk. Please note, I am claustrophobic and  know way too much about serial killers so this was a big leap of faith for me to trust Nick enough that he wouldn't take me to the woods and kill me. 

Nick was never one to just sit and do nothing when I was in town. I don't remember everything we did, I've got kind of a bad memory about it but I do remember this one time I hid (again) in his car

Random place Nick took me, maybe it was Bruno's room

(just the backseat now) while he went to my dad's house and knocked on the door for me. I was doing everything in my power to avoid my dad and just see my siblings. The picture above with me and the 3 Asians was taken by Nick. Maybe it's instances like these that helped me hold him to a high regard. He was helpful and sweet and didn't expect anything from anyone, ever. His mother raised him well, which brings me to my next point, HE LOVES HIS MOTHER. Not in a Norman Bates way but he really respects her and I think it plays a role in how he treats people, especially women. He's always been very caring when he talked about her. She lives in another state right now but I know he's vying for her to come back. During one visit, I remember she greeted me and I was thinking "His mom knows my name? I was only in Lombard for a few months!" As time went on and the distance grew from Chicago to San Antonio, she would ask how I was doing over the phone. I can see now where Nick get's his concern for others, just a genuine request to know how someone is doing. You don't find many people like this these days. Nick is also incredibly

Quiet Paul and Nick waiting with me at the Metra stop.

close to Paul his brother from another mother. I don't know Paul at all. I've been around him a handful of times in my life but I know nothing about him except the general information Nick has shared, he's alive, doing well. Paul was always really quiet so that may have played a part in it. I will say, if he lived with Nick and his mom, there is a good chance he's a great person too. She did a great job raising her boys and I commend her for that. 

Me stuck in traffic staring at my city 

So, as I was saying, I added Nick a few months ago when this whole thing with Led went down. Decided that even if I didn't talk with him, I could still fb stalk him and make sure he's doing ok. I've missed him. I was hoping he wouldn't be too busy to hang out since we hadn't seen or spoken to each other for years and much to my excitement, when I asked, he wasn't. We set up a brunch for a week after. He picked the place and I made it a point to buy a Keurig in that area so I could kill two birds with one stone and the day was set. In perfect Renee fashion, I was just about an hour late. He patiently waited for me and even saved some fresh doughnut appetizers for me. Oh, I forgot to mention, I had a stomach ache and I felt a migraine coming on... but I was determined to not let that ruin my day.  The conversation wasn't immediately easy but then again, what do you say to someone you haven't seen in 7 years? Once the food came, we were able to keep it going pretty easily and then it was very natural. For me, I felt like hey we're back to normal again. He talked up some other breakfast restaurants and I hope to hit some of them up soon. We talked about the usual things, family life, friends etc. Then we talked about Nick and Renee regular things such as food and serial killers. I later watched a movie he recommended and was pleased with most of what I saw. I didn't realize until I watched it that 1, a Gacy painting would fetch around 3k and 2. I fall asleep while listing to heavy metal. He's single ladies, he's got a well paying job and works in Bedford Park (just right out side of Chicago). If that doesn't get ya going, he was once a Donkey Kong champion. I forget if it's US or Regional but it was something.

 

This is when I knew Nick was a man of food and of his word... his word being that this food was amazing.

All in all, it was great catching up with him. I would have liked more time but had to pick up the Keurig and get back home. I'd also like for him to meet Rick and my kiddo. I have a tentative dinner set up with Nick for when I return from my trip from Texas to discuss his blog. It's hilarious and vulgar and he apologizes to his mom for that during episode 2. I can't wait to listen to the rest of them but this is adult content, I can't stress that enough.  We leave for TX in a few minutes but I wanted to finish this blog (for the second time, as I didn't save the first) and mention It's weird hanging out with people through this project. I've heard back from people and was able to see a few people but not everyone. I've also written about some and just haven't posted yet due to the craziness for my schedule lately. Also, the last 2 people I wrote about used terms like "slap in the face" or "I sounded like a jerk " (jerk was not the word they used), so I am trying my best to show a little more tact in my writing. I used to love writing until I was told something that literally changed the trajectory of my college career. I was an English major and wanted to be a writer. I eventually moved into Mortuary Science which with my love of gore and respect for the dead was incredibly natural. I didn't go through with finishing the program because I wasn't happy with the business aspect of it but totally thought that I would have been great as an embalmer until the Autopsy date night I had with Rick, Mike and Joey a few months ago. Young Renee, Ah... the good ole days.

NOTE: I went to Erika's a few nights ago and no matter what kitchen utensil or item I required she had it... in Mickey form. I would ask for something and she would say "here it is" and hand me a Mickey gloved shaped something. We were laughing about it and as I was making fun of her she was putting dishes away and my eyes widened in judgment as every single thing she pulled from the drying rack was drenched in Mickey Mouse. Much to my dismay, I didn't realize that I was adding as much sea salt as I was and we had to rework the food a few times. See, this is what happens when you don't taste food. She was gracious and complimented the food we were able to salvage and although I didn't try it, I believe her that she enjoyed it.

* I haven't written about everyone I've met up with because I want to continue hanging out with people and catching up. I'm finding that I can give a background and I can give an update but unless I keep it going, it's not really a friendship in real life, it's just a friendship on fb that I forced in to real life.

Listening to Nick's podcast: http://comeonbrah.podbean.com/. 

Guys, this is incredibly vulgar. I mean, there is no way I can listen to this without headphones or even with people around. It's smutty and witty at the same time and geeze it's hilarious. He and his friend are hilarious. Chango might like this...