02BB8: Today is Niki Day!!!

Metro Manila Community Quarantine - Day 944

Today is the birthday of the one and only Niki Yarte! Let's not talk about work. Let's all celebrate his special day.

Niki was not always as dear a friend as he is now versus when I first met him through the geeks. First, he felt like a constant in the sense that you almost always expect to see him at some big event or gathering. He's always fun to have around and it's rare to encounter anyone who doesn't like him. And he is familiar to a LOT of people in different social circles. Thus I've come to joke that one can play Six Degrees of Niki Yarte at least within Metro Manila - although he has recently figured out how to connect himself to Kevin Bacon in less than six degrees, so all bets are off.

But as I've gotten to know him better over the years, I've also found that we share a lot in common. We both have a big love for Marvel comics, albeit different parts of this fictional universe. We both love musical theater a lot as well and we've encountered one another at various plays time and time again. And beyond what we have in common, you just can't help but love who he is as a whole. He's amazing crazy and often quite random but also endearing. 

And apparently he's also the sort of person who creates promotional materials for his own birthday. 

I can't pinpoint when exactly Niki shifted from being someone I constantly see around to someone I consider to be a Constant in my life, but that's where we are now. And it's not just a pandemic thing (not to belittle some friendships that have been strengthened within the last two years), it started a few years before the world went to crap.

Niki is someone I want to see whenever we head out. He's among the first people we invite whenever we make plans to go to O Bar. He's the first person other than Tobie that I check in now that live theater productions have started to come back. And he's just...important. And I'm happy to be blessed with his presence in our lives.

So happy birthday, Niki! We love you dearly, and it still surprises me that you're actually older than me.