The following "cast of characters" as Rick aptly puts it, are people that feature on this site, be it in posts I've made or in photos I've taken. I like to think of them all as friends. What they think is another matter.
Those with their photos here probably don't mind, or I haven't asked them yet. Those with no accompanying photo have no desire to be identified here, or I haven't asked them yet, and may never ask as I know they'll say no.
Last updated August 25, 2007
Adam
A former colleague of mine at work (he left on Dec 1, 2004). At first I thought he was not very friendly. You know, the kind of person that works on a project with you and then when they see you in the lift or in the corridor, don't say hello? Then I guess we got used to each other and now I can say he's a great guy, even if he does like dodgy rom com films, doesn't wait for people to come out of the lift before entering, and generally doesn't hear what I say when I'm talking to him, because he's too busy filtering it another way. Like I said, Adam's a great guy! He shares a love of film like me, and his reviews are so much deeper than mine. He's also a self-confessed possessor of "supersonic powers of syntax". I definitely miss Adam, but I get to stay in touch with him through his web site. And he burned an awesome "religious" CD for me with beautiful songs by Gillian Welch, among others, and he sent me a book, through amazon.com, addressed to "Roz 'Woody Allen's No. 1 Fan'" (which I most definitely AM NOT!).
Adam
Adam used to live upstairs, when I lived in Rosslyn, Virginia. Met him through Zibs. He's a great bloke. Kind of likes to go on a bit about the whole "right-o, top 'o the morning, tara" English stuff, but he's funny with it, especially since his delivery and pronunciation are often off, so it just sounds like an American trying to talk with an English accent! Fond memories of Adam are him humouring us when we would go banging on his door, asking him to go to random places with us. He's also a brilliant cook, who makes a mean breaded chicken and chicken fajitas! Zibu and I absolutely love Adam. Not been in touch with Adam for a while, but I'm sure he's still as nice as ever. (Also known as Adamski)
Alexis
Met her in Christ Church. Seira and I bombarded her with friendship and the three of us soon became fast friends. We've had our arguments and ups and downs, and for a while we weren't as close as we once were, but I've recently come to realise that Alexis is my friend, and that's all that matters. It's funny, but recently the Lord has brought our friendship round full circle. It's not the same kind of friendship as it was in the beginning, but nothing lasts forever (save eternity of course), so that's okay. (Also known as Ally Pally, Lex and Ally)
Angela
Can't remember how I met Ange. Was probably at Kano Club in Kano, Nigeria. She says we met in the toilets of the Peking Chinese Restaurant in Kano, and it was only after she said hello to me that I was really friendly. Because that's what I tend to do unless I click with someone immediately, she's probably right. She's the person who knows me better probably than anyone else from way back when I was a totally different Roz to the one I am today. She's someone who gives me what for whenever I need it. Really miss her. Love that I can tell her off. She used to be my rock; used to sort out all my problems for me. She still thinks my being a born-again Christian is some kind of phase I'm going through that'll pass, and that is not doing me any good. Now she's the mummy of cute and cuddly Tobias, and she's married to Tolu. (Also known as Ange, Angie and Angela Lang)
Bogdan
Bogdan was Angela's brother's best friend. Once the only guy I thought I could probably marry. Loved the whole hooligan thing about him. Had a lot of fun with him with never a dull moment. Made me feel totally at ease. He used to remind me of Matthew Modine, but now he reminds me of a Russian sailor. Used to confuse the guards at Pushkin Institute by looking like a Russian, speaking like a Russian, yet telling them he was African (his mother married a Nigerian). Now a friend who's all grown up, married with two kids and e-mails from time to time. (Also apparently now known as Boggie, and was my "medvezhonok" (little teddy bear) at one time)
Carl
Carl is a great guy; just great. I met him at Christ Church (not the one in New Zealand, Adam) in autumn 2005, and he and I are just so alike. He says we are both Type-A personality people. Carl enjoys watching films as much as I do--maybe even more so. I don't think I've ever watched films back to back, as I did over the 2005 Thanksgiving weekend with him. He actually copied and pasted movie times and cinemas into an e-mail to me when we were planning our filmfest weekend. That was such a Roz thing to do; it was quite scary being the recipient! (Just kidding Carl!) He calls me "Poz Roz", which is short for "Positively Roz", and I call him Carl. (Also known as Carlo or Carlito)
Christina
Met her in Metro Morning Star church, Sterling, Virginia. We became mates very quickly. She definitely also kept me grounded like Zibs and was not afraid to call me names!! She brought out the cheeky mischievous side of me that I hadn't seen since leaving England. She's a riot, and we used to joke about a lot. She loved imitating my accent and is one very funny lady. She had a tendency to tell me I'm such and such or I was such and such, and oh how I've changed, but she won't give me examples, so that tends to be very frustrating. Apparently I used to be a snob with a quick temper, which anyone else will tell you is very far from the truth. (Also known as Chris, Chrissie, Chrissie-Chris)
Frank
Franco used to live upstairs in the Rosslyn, Virginia apartment building. When he first moved in, I just thought of him as the guy who liked to play techno at 2 o'clock in the morning. Apparently I used to frown at him, but that could have been because of the techno music. I eventually got to know him a lot better--well enough to know the music he plays is house and not techno, and he actually stopped playing it at 2 o'clock in the morning. He thinks I'm square and that I wear trousers and track suit bottoms all the time. (He likes his little jokes does our Frank). He also does the best Scottish accent this side of Edinburgh. (Formerly known as Franco, back in the Summer of Franco 2004)
Kayode
Met him through Keye. He's a good friend who I probably don't deserve. We hit it off from the moment we met. Just totally clicked. He's always been there for me, while I haven't always been such a good friend. He has a certain abrasiveness that I seem to seek out in my male friends. Or better put, most of my male friends tend to be difficult people. Again, a friend I don't deserve. (Also known as Kai)
Layi
Met Layi at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. We kept in touch after we both left and she came to visit me in America, circa 2004. Hadn't seen her for 8 years. Layi and I are very similar in many ways, which is why I find it very easy to talk to her about my little problems and things. When I was in the U.S. she was my prayer partner, and we would ring each other once a month for our prayer meeting. She teaches adult education in London, and is just a smashing person, who's always smiling! (Also known as Layi the Payi)
Mihaja
I've known Mihaja [pronounced 'Miyatza'] since probably early 2005. She's another person I met at Christ Church. I used to live about 5 minutes from her in Virginia, and she was a life saver as I'd go to her house to borrow things such as handbags and vacuum cleaners. She, Carl and I would have these Netflix movie nights at either her house or mine (no-one's ever seen the inside of Carl's place and now he's moved!), where we've been known to watch cheesy Christian flicks or artsy French films. Mihaja's very open to adventures, and took to rappelling (and I'm sure sky diving) like a duck to water. She has the cute French accent going for her too.
Sandra
Met her in Christ Church. Went on whitewater rafting trip with her to her home in West Virginia, circa 2000. Worried about the trip as I wasn't sure what we'd talk about since we didn't know each other that well. Supposed to have gone with Seira and Alexis, but ended up just being me. Took us about a year to slowly become friends. Sandra's a very good friend of mine, who is very supportive, is always ready to pray and fast with me, enjoys running and hiking with me, and went with me on pretty awesome mini vacations.
Sarah
Met her in Christ Church. She was in Washington as a Summer intern. Sarah's a riot. Just a whole lot of fun. She's mean too with the way she talks at times, but she does it in a way that you just have to laugh. When faced with dire situations of pending urgency, Sarah has been known to exclaim "holy night!" What such an exclamation means, no-one knows, but it certainly had everyone laughing.
Scott
A work colleague. Got to know Scott through working on his web site. (He plays trumpet in a cool jazz band called Vector Trio). He was my breakfast mate at the Urban Institute, and would always encourage me to play my guitar, telling me to practice practice practice. He was a bad influence though as he would make me indulge in the evil bagel breakfast, which though evil, was perfectly yummy. He speaks Spanish, is into strange Korean films like The Quiet Family and let me keep With a Friend Like Harry forever before I gave it back. (Also known as Scottie, Scottito, and Scootie)
The Scullys
I've been blessed to have great bosses and Scully was one of the best. Although he's no longer my boss, he's still one of the best. Scully's extremely supportive and full of encouragement, and just an all round nice guy. He may rub some people up the wrong way, but I think he's champion. Absolutely no complaints about Scully. Just an all round top bloke is our Scully! Married the beautiful Sarah who shares his love of things English, and is just a delightful person and I'm so glad they found each other! I love this picture of The Scullys, and Sarah's tongue-in-cheek caption of "It's the Scullys, daaarrrrling" is brilliant! The Scullys now live in Vermont. (Also known as Rick and Sarah)
Seira
Met her in Christ Church. (Sensing a pattern here!) We just clicked from the moment we met, and talked about films forever. I never actually knew there was anyone else like me who could spend an afternoon talking about films! Plus she definitely had a posher accent than me. Was a time we used to "chit chat" on the phone every day, and that was a good time as we were always laughing. I would definitely say our friendship was built on laughter. Unfortunately she had to go back to Nepal after her post doc at AU in Washington. Miss her loads. She encouraged me to learn the guitar and helped me buy my first guitar on E-bay.
Silvio
Met him through Zibu. At first we didn't really have anything to say to each other, but eventually we were able to hang out, no problem. Had been looking forward to getting to know him better, but since I met him, he's moved back to New Jersey. He was my Summer 2004 bike riding mate and partner in crime. (Also known as Sylvester)
Steph
Met him in Christ Church. Find Steph extremely interesting and when he was in DC, was just really on a mission to get to know him, although he was very busy. I kind of pictured me becoming Steph's really good friend and hanging out at his house and stuff. He's got a really sweet smile and is just a super person, who would always open up his home to others, and then spend the whole time in the kitchen instead of having fun. He was also up for going with me to see stupid films and not complaining. He's gone off to Melbourne, Australia to work, and I miss him. (Also known as Stephi-Steph)
Zibu
Met her in Christ Church. At first probably just church acquaintances. She came to stay with me one Summer for about 3 weeks, when we got to know each other better. Ended up first as flatmates, and now as friends. She definitely keeps me grounded and doesn't mix bones about telling me what's what, and most of the time I appreciate that even if at times I get all defensive. She thinks I'm not friendly enough, and says I'm always in my room (this was when we were flatmates), but that's just me I guess. (Also known as Zibs)