Let’s Meet: Marvin
If you read my post “Me, Myself, & I (Friends)” or “Let’s Meet: Ditoe” you can pick up on how often I meet my friends before I really meet them. This post has been expected for some time and a bit in the making 😂 Now Marvin’s friendship and brotherhood is one I danced around with often. This one is different because instead of a friend being witness to my antics, with Marvin, it was 50/50. I have been a witness to his antics as often as he was mine. Oh Marvin, it was a good thing we were not good friends in Jr. High or much through High School, as I believe our adolescent antics could have easily landed us in Juvie 😂. Marvin and I became good friends at just the right time in each others’ lives and it was really thanks to Ditoe. Let’s return to that a bit later as I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s get into how I first met Marvin.
Some time in spring of 1998, I was a wild child in the 1st grade. I had been switched out of one class to another class, maybe due to too large of a classroom size or possibly the teacher thought I was too distracting and had to move to a teacher more capable of my traits? Either way, it moved me out of the classes where the bungalows were, across the playground to the core buildings where other 1st grade classes were bundled up together. This had me interacting with other students I had not before and a few I had from Kindergarten. But as it always was growing up in Mira Mesa, new students would always appear throughout the year. I was prone to acting up these days and I did so one spring day while at the restroom. It was near the end of the day, and I excused myself to use the restroom. I enter and see my bud Reggie at the urinals and I walk up to one as well to do my business. I really do not remember who started what…but I remember exclaiming “fuck this!” And I…began to pee all over the floor 😓 yeah 6 years old antics. Well Reggie joins me, another bud Ricardo joins in and who walks in but Marvin. Not able to speak a lick of English, puts his arms up and lets out a yell of excitement and begins to pee all over the floor with us in brotherhood 😅.
So! That’s how I met Marvin! We did not hang out much through school, but the next time we potentially got closer was 9th grade Physics class. This class was probably the most…diverse and amazing class I had ever been in. I had met so many people in that class. JB was even in this class, Ditoe visited so frequently, he was an honorary classmate, along with Dao! Marvin was especially a part of this class and he made sure you were aware of his presence. One after another some were in poor taste and some were actually really funny. One that was particularly funny to me was what he would act like. 3 year old, and exclaim “who stole my sippy cup!? Somebody…stole…my sippy cup!” It was the manner he’d do it and trust me if you were there, you’d laugh too. We nodded to each other on occasion but Marvin and I did not get to know each other till 2011. It was after a week and a half of Ditoe hanging out with me at my pad partying when he received a phone call. Ditoe chatted a bit and I heard the voice and recognized it immediately. That raspy energetic positive tone had to be Marvin. I tell Ditoe to put it on speaker and Ditoe states he is at my pad. Marvin responds “Ian?! Ian DOLINGER?! Aye ask him if I can come through!” The answer of course was hell yeah. He soon arrives with his brother and another fellow brethren, EJ. At this time in our life, beer pong was just the thing to do. Most houses had a small table or an official beer pong table. My house? I had a full sized ping pong table. It became many nights of beer pong on that table and I had developed rules to help move the game along. My troll rule however, was of heavy consequence, you had to swallow a dime. Marvin got to 4. And I set a rule that if 5 dimes were swallowed, I’d buy them a 5 & A Dime T-shirt of their choice. Marvin was always a fair sport, and when he was wrong, he would fess up. Marvin was quick to apologize and I had promise in him. He is the kind of guy that would really rush in swinging, then turn to you and ask why he did that 😅
Always the energetic hyperactive knucklehead party goer. Marvin taught me how to always see the bright side of things! He taught me how to turn that negativity into a positive motivation of ‘hey it could be worse!’ Marvin is as Marvin does. He is a part of the Last Ones Left Crew along with JB and I. We have watched many sun rises and have had plenty of conversations at Naga Way. Marvin may have the outer appearance of floating around but he is one of my most die hard and supportive brothers I could have in my life. He works hard and is constantly progressing towards developing his sense of self. Marvin may say some goofy shit, but when he talks, it really would be wise to listen with an open ear. He and I are similar in many ways and If you ever had an issue with Marvin, I hope you get the time to talk to him yourself. Much love, to my Manong Marvin.