Name: BJ Homer (short for Branton John)
Favorite Color: Blue
Age: 24
Mission: Spain Malaga
BJ is an amazing pianist. He's played for 16 years, under the tutelage of people like David Glen Hatch. His freshman year he was a Piano Performance major, but on his mission decided that he would rather do something that would let him support a family. So now he's doing Computer Science and loves it. I love listening to him play pieces he's memorized, is making up from memory, or is simply making up as he goes. Also, he's got a knack for transposing hymns into minor, my favorite being In Our Lovely Desert. Amazing.
He loves working with computers. He's forever fixing other people's computers, which is quite lovely. He's working this summer for the Google Summer of Code, which is really exciting. He'll be working on testing Adium (the chat program for Mac that we both use) while going to school, working as a CS TA and also possibly working on a research team.
BJ is very wise in that he loves Apple as much or more than I do. This proves to be very healthy for our relationship. He's constantly teaching me new things about my Mac, including more keyboard shortcuts, which I love.
The thing I cherish most is the way we're able to talk about everything. We can watch a movie that turns me into an emotional basket case and he will pull me aside, hold me, and we'll talk about what's scaring or hurting me. By the end, I always feel better about life. He has this wonderful way of making things all better. Often people would ask me why I would hang onto hope when we weren't dating... when it seemed there was no hope. Why would I keep spending my time with him when I should be focusing on dating other guys? Really, I think it's because he's the one that I felt the most comfortable talking to. I wasn't afraid to tell him my dark secrets. He knew me better than most people. We even talked about Hard Things—things neither of us wanted to talk about, that neither of us wanted to hear, but things that needed to be said. I never worried about if he viewed our relationship differently than I did, because we talked about it. I never had to over-analyze or second guess what he did or said, because he told me. I never had to wonder if he was being honest because if he told me the bad things, why would he lie about the good things? I developed such a level of trust and open honesty with him long, long ago. That level of friendship doesn't die very quickly. Prodded on by the fact that neither of us had any desire to lose our friendship, we stayed amazing friends. Which made it really hard for me to let go and move on to other boys. Turns out I didn't need to. :)
Since BJ has one more year of school before he graduates from BYU, we'll be sticking around Provo for awhile, then who knows where we'll end up. (Though, if anyone knows of any married housing around here that has room for a piano and will let us have a cat, let me know. Esp. if it has a nice price tag on it. Nice as in small.)
BJ loves games, whether it be Ticket to Ride and Settlers or Myst, Super Smash Brothers, or Mario 3. He's very caring and respects other people. BJ doesn't get offended easily, nor is he quick to judge. He's got an immense amount of love and tolerance. He's a bit of a perfectionist at times, so if he corrects your grammar, don't take it personally; he does it to help you be better, not to criticize you.
I firmly believe that BJ can fix anything. Whether that is true or not may be a different story, but if it is, I can't see it. Whenever life explodes and my emotions take over, BJ is right there to hold me and talk me out of hysterics. He takes whatever is causing me distress and either fixes it or shines it in a light that doesn't seem so bad. He has fixed my computer (not to mention my roommates' computers several times), he has miraculously found several GBs of space on my computer when I was certain there was no hope left. He helped me create a DVD menu for a movie I was making when it stopped working for me. He rubs my neck and shoulders when I have a headache. He helps me cook and has promised me that he'll do dishes. Just the other night I was fixing a ribbon on my niece, Bailey's, dress for a dance recital she's in. I was sewing on two hook and eyes and was not doing a very good job. By the second time I had to unpick both of them, I was just about in tears, though trying as hard as I could to hide that fact. BJ was not fooled and next thing I knew, he was helping position the hooks and finding ways to attach it before I actually stitched it on. With every stitch I took, he watched to make sure it stayed in the right place and moved it as necessary. In my eyes, he can make anything all better.
Hmmm... I keep thinking of things to write about him, but I'm realizing that this post is getting rather lengthy. And though I know how much all of you just
love reading my novels [rolls eyes] ... I probably shouldn't gush too much about how wonderful and perfect he is for me. Just rest assured that he is.
