Wow...you've got a mighty big package, there...?

Derek "Devo" G. and I, circa Christmas 2007, New York.Can I please wax poetic of the brilliance of one of my closest friends? Call thy Derek M. Guillemette, affectionately known at times as D-Rock, or perchaps the all-time favorite and sticker, Devo.Today I came home to find a giant package sitting in my garden terrace. I immediately went through the regular packaging woes: "What did I buy? Books from Amazon? No.....yarn? I hope not considering I have enough to knit a sweater for every man, woman, and child in Russia....Am I going to be broke over some charge I forgot I made for something I really don't need?" ...and then I looked at the label.A gift from my best friend, the aforemetioned Devo, and I couldn't have ripped the thing open with my keys more vigorously. It was filled with amazing knitting items from Ports, as well as tons of MAC, Stila, and other fancy schmancy makeups I would never buy for myself. Drools. I nearly melted.The Ports knitting needles, sized 11, have these incredibly kitschy balloon explosions on the ends, which is so incredible and worthy of taking on a T-ride downtown to see how many stares I get.What's more, there was a giant ball of what looks like amazingly handspun and dyed yarn with directions for this amazing cowl (which happens to be a huge addiction to knit up of mine right now!)I can vivivdly recall the very moment I met Derek; he was a liberated freshman in college, me begging to just get out of high school and nearing the finish line when we bumped into each other at a mutual friend's party while he was back in our hometown on Spring Break. I'd never met him (our secondary school was large) but found out he was attending BU, which I pretty much had my heart set on by that point despite my Mum's insistence on considering some others."You go to BU? I'm meant to be going there," I said to him. "Yeah. It sucks," he responded before turning away to cling to a desperate high school gal; who knew Derek was more desperate to get out of the situation than she was to be in it. Alas, so I began to fret that my decision for college would be mistake before I arrogantly chocked it up to that particular kid being "just an ass". Some several months later and my first college party, I entered the room to find the host jumping from his seat as if he were king of the dingy dorm's throne urging us to "Come in, come in!" It was a one Derek M. Guillemette but it was as if he were an entirely different person than the best dressed kid in my friend's kitchen months prior.We became inseparable there on out. Several years on, Derek finally admitted to me his cruelty and harshness was because "I thought you were a nerd; you were wearing glasses." Wow. And I didn't take offense. Instead, he became my closest companion, who ultimately let me wear the brilliant oversized spectacles pictured above; Derek has sported all kinds of glasses for his near blindness; I still say he shouldn't have been so judgmental of mine considering he rocked Buddy Holly coke bottle glasses before they came back in style and has those old frames of his Mum's lying about--which we've both swapped wearing out on too many occasions (as evidenced above).To read more about my love for this wonderful kitten, check out my birthday devotion to the man here.Thanks Devo. I love you to bits!File Under: Derek M. Guillemette is the best friend anyone could have, nevermind me.