Unit 76. The best unit. Better than unit 29, 30 or 61. Smack dab on in the center of the 'Bright Side' of Varsity, right by the Volleyball court and main pool with the Rec Room. Many parties were had, many deep and meaningfuls on the patio. I made life long (unofficial) roommates in this unit.
JoJo moved into room two after Pia. I was merely sleeping on the couch most nights to avoid going back to my apartment with cokehead roommates. I thought that Pia leaving would mean that this would be the end of my safety on the couch but Jojo took to me like a stray puppy (Now that I mention it, I am basically a stray puppy that people adopt).
Jojo became my ultimate adventure buddy. He took me on my first real Australia Outback road trip. 306 roadkill between the Sunshine Coast and Gladstone. We had to stop counting after that because it was just too morbid. The silence was rare and never awkward. He got me back into diving and showed me that I loved sailing. That should have been a given because I love the water so much. There is something about waking up to the sunrise surrounded by ocean that I will never forget. He was always up for a spontaneous trip somewhere; as long as his assignments were complete. Like taking off to Mt Coolum, not dressed for hiking at all and trying to run up to the summit 10 minutes to sunset (Spoiler alert: we did not make it and I got like 38+ bug bites).
More importantly, Jojo was always there to challenge me and my cognitive distortions. I was a huge proponent of the Fairness Fallacy, even though Life had rarely been fair to me. Jojo would sit and listen to my rants about whatever bullshit I was experiencing and then slowly pull it apart until it was no longer a problem but Life. He taught me to accept the things I can not change. I still struggle with that to this day. Partly because I believe the world needs to change for the better and somehow I will be that change. For the days when I am down and out, Jojo is always there to remind me this is Life but it is also temporary. Nothing ever stays the same.
The thing he is wrong about is that friendships stay the same. Through all these years and distance, we are still best friends. He is still there to challenge me and support me. He is still my adventure buddy. I flew halfway across the world to be at his wedding. The only thing I would do differently is fly out on Monday so I could have had one more day with him and his family. You bet your ass that when he and his lovely Judith have a kid, I will on a flight to whatever part of Germany they are in to see the next chapter of his life unfold. I am so lucky to have a friend like him.
That is why I keep living. Because I am loved. Because I love him too much to let him live a life without me.
Cheers to the Owl Van for never leaving us stranded in the Aussie Outback.
