A bit of a belated birthday message (again...), but eventually I'll get around to 'em (and backdate 'em using Blogger - love that feature). So, a week or so ago (or according to the date on this post, today!) it was Bren's birthday. I've known Bren since Uni (12 or so years?). Bren and I gelled pretty quickly, based on the fact that he was doing the same course as me (Comp Sci), had gone to the same high school as some of the guys I'd made friends with in the first couple of days of uni, and liked good music (not metal, but hip-hop, and was starting to get into NIN, as I was). On reflection, Bren has been a large part of my life. We went through Uni together, we worked together at Wijojo for a while (can't remember how long, but would've been at least 6 months?), we've written music together and he went out with my sister for a long time (6 or 7 years?). As a result, we saw him at Xmas, weddings, family events, etc. And we did other fun stuff together as well - we went to the Cypress Hill / Ice Cube concert together... we also played a few (not nearly enough) role playing games together.

I have a bunch of fond memories of Bren. One is meeting him and telling him that we were expecting a child. Bren was the first person I told I think (even including family), and his reaction was really cool. I remember drunk Bren a few times as well (and his obsession with pouring milk on my Uni room door whilst drunk). I remember teasing Bren mercilessly (a very ugly trait of mine) in front of Dayna (a girl he was very keen on) once in a Maths lecture. He gave me this look... the look of "If you say one more word I will literally knock your teeth out"... I'll never forget that look (obviously, I shut the fuck up quite quickly). On the flipside, Bren has also caused me a lot of angst and anxiety over the years, mainly in relation to my sister. I recall not letting him into my house at our engagement party. I like my relationship with Bren a whole lot more now he's not going out with my sister.

Anyway, Bren is a very intelligent being. He's really switched on and his mind is quite critical (not as in life support, I mean as in analytical). He has a fine eye for design - I've always been very impressed with his websites, user interfaces and monikers he's come up. The boy knows how to lay down a beat as well - a great sense of rhythm (must be all that drum and bass he's listened to... maybe I should get into it). Bren is incredibly motivated - his passion and drive for technology is unlike any other I've seen. He's funny, and over the past couple of years, he's become quite "cool" - cool clothes, cool hangouts, cool hair :) He's also rather adventurous, and has packed up and moved to Thailand (with his Thai girlfriend) for some undetermined length of stay... And even though we didn't hang out all that much when he was here, I miss knowing that we could hang out if we wanted to. Bren has been a very good friend to catch up and have a drink with every couple of months.

So here's to you Bren, Happy Birthday! Hope to see you again soon (in your own time) and until then... live it up!