i met patience within a few weeks of moving to brisbane in early 2004. her boyfriend at the time was best buddies with my boyfriend at the time and so we were friends by default, at first. and i think she liked me straight away because i gave her a kiss on the cheek upon meeting, you know, in that european way people sometimes do. i'd just moved back from germany, see. anyway i think we were both equally awestruck by the other, well i know i was. patience was this whirlwind of lovable insanity. she thought the fact that i was a scientist was beyond belief. i remember one of their first shows as the grates - in pae's boy's living room in the corner with about 20 people in attendance. and they had this song, "spoke in the eye"... and they had everyone doing hand actions along with the song, jumping around and yelling "SPOKE SPOKE!". it was awesome. there is even a line of german in that song: speiche in das auge... i'm not even sure that is correct german... anyway since both boys are now long gone, we've sort of remained friends, as much as one can be friends with someone who is seemingly constantly on tour. i know i could email you, but dammit patience, if you see this, you rock! and i miss you. call me when you're back in brisvegas.