An Ode to Tom: Roommate and Friend

This was a hard one to write.

It was accidental, I promise!

I’m moving to LA in August and there’s a chance I don’t move back to New York in December when my sublease ends. That means, for the first time in my adult life, the place I call “home” is not an apartment shared with Tom Gazzard.

My roommate Tom has been my best friend for the last 8 years. We first spoke to each other over Facebook when we were randomly assigned roommates our freshman year at USC. To this day I remember the first of our conversations spent planning what we were going to do for our room, what each of us would bring, and how we wanted to set it up. I don’t remember my first impression but I remember feeling nervous (first time moving out of my house was to move into a tiny room with a stranger) but excited. This was a new chapter and by in large, Tom seemed like a nice guy and we aligned on a lot of things.

Little did I know just how lucky I was.

Pardee Tower Room 112: The home of Bunk Beds and long naps

Since that first day moving in together at Pardee Tower, Tom Gazzard has been more than my best friend, he has been my brother. He has been there for almost every one of my big life moments. He has been my first advisor, mentor, and role model and I owe much of my own character development to growing up with him by my side. He’s exposed me to the world in more ways than one. He hosted me not only for my first trip to The Great White North but also on my first trip to Asia. He brought me to my first-ever Electronic Music concert (a little foreshadowing on how my life would be spent in the future). His enthusiasm is contagious and his desire for new experiences has added exponential value to my life. His ability to embrace spontaneous action within the framework of a plan set the foundation for our trip to Europe, and the best trip of my entire life. I probably fought him more than I would care to admit but he was right at each and every step of the way and as a result, I’ve tried to emulate that trait ever since.

Neuschwanstein Castle (Tom’s idea)

Eagle’s Nest in Austria (Also Tom’s idea)

After spending four years together at USC we set out to embark on another journey together, this time to the other side of the country. I remember vividly at a happy hour with PwC during my internship, talking to a slightly buzzed Tom (who was in Hong Kong at the time ) and having him tell me that he was mostly sure he was going to be able to make the move to New York. I was ecstatic and slightly nervous he was overconfident due to alcohol, but ecstatic nonetheless. But I had nothing to worry about because Tom, as he always does, delivered on his promise. He made the necessary moves to get hired to New York and we were set to hit the ground running in our adult lives together in The Big Apple.

When many of my other friends were getting teary-eyed about leaving the incubator of USC, I was only a little sad, but mostly excited. That’s because the most important person in my life at USC was coming with me. What did I have to worry about? Nothing at all.

Hazy Manhattan Nights

We lived with two others in our first year in New York, and then one other in our second year but in my mind, it was always Tom and I’s apartment. After that, it was back to just us two. Back to where we started 6 years prior. Back to Pardee Tower Room 112.

Soccer “Champions” (I believe this was 3rd place)

Some people are good friends. Some people live well together. It is rare, in my experience, to see people who do both seamlessly and without conflict. What Tom and I have had over the past 8 years is lightning in a bottle. Rare and damn near impossible to capture. In the 8 years that we have been roommates, I could count the number of arguments on one hand, and I suspect those only happened because I was being difficult about one thing or another. It’s not only that we’ve lived together, but we’ve also done nearly everything together. Sure there have been numerous times when one of us will take a trip out of the city without each other but when we are both in the city, we are near inseparable. There are few people that I never tire of, and Tom Gazzard at the top of that list.

UT — USC Game (One of the worst USC losses we’ve witnessed in person)

In the last two years of living together in Brooklyn, we became even closer than before, holding the rare weekend that we were both in town open to make sure that we could maximize the time spent together. I traveled a lot as is and when Jacqui moved to SF, it meant that we had fewer and fewer weekends together. But oh boy did we make them count. We trained for a marathon and as a result, have run across miles of New York. We went to concerts in blacked-out techno basements and the massive Brooklyn Mirage (almost always out until 4 am). We drank on rooftops and in parks. We stayed in and renewed an active interest in film. We went between hosting as many as three different groups of friends in one day to spending an entire weekend alone with us two. We even went to fucking Burning Man together, something I don’t think ever of us would consider possible when we first met.

Burning Man Sunrise Set and one of the happiest moments of my life

If I have a story to tell, there is a 90% chance that Tom will feature somewhere in that story. I’ve been lucky to be able to introduce him to most of my other friends and no longer need to refer to him as “My Roommate Tom” and that creates a bittersweet feeling for me. On one hand, now that he has met and is loved by all of my friends, he is more likely to come to large group events. A win for me and for everyone in attendance. On the other hand, every time I say “My Roommate Tom” I am reminded of our origin and just how blessed I am.

So here’s to Tom. My Roommate, Best Friend, Brother, and someday, Best Man. Here’s to 8 amazing years and to a lifetime more.

Crssd 2020, the last time anyone went outside and had any fun