Ken
Known Since: 1986
Resides In: Carmichael, CA
Another original Mission Parker. I met Ken through Kevin, when the two of them were both seniors at El Camino High. He and I were both part of the core group that formed, those guys hanging out up in Kevin's loft bedroom, smoking cloves and drinking wine coolers, trying to decide what to do for the evening. Ken worked at the local 7-11 and so was our usual link to getting booze. Ken was total club guy. He had the clothes, he had the hair, he had the talent. He and Kevin knew every under-21 club in town. We spent a lot of time at Ken's house when he still lived with his parents, but we all practically lived with him when he got his famous apartment on Marconi that he shared with A.T. and Scott. That was our central hub, where every evening began and ended--and sometimes didn't end until the next day. People were in and out of there all the time--old people, new people, club girls...one of the club girls actually became a roommate for a while.
The partying eventually ended and Ken joined the Marine Corps, but his career in that ended with a stress fracture. After his return, Ken became a Tower Records long-term employee, even managing his own store for a while. These days Ken's still a music maniac, but also a movie freak...and believe me, you've probably never heard of most of the stuff he owns. Ken loves the obscure and the foreign. He has a huge (HUGE) library of both movies and CDs. Ken's also a big reader, and plows through books at an alarming rate. Like many of my friends, Ken's also a writer, and a pretty amazing one, too. Ken also loves to cook, and was considering chef school for a while there. Ken is perpetually low-key, sardonic, passionate about his interests, and filled with all manner of useful and useless trivia. He also can't sleep after the Kings lose a basketball game. Ever want to make friends with Ken? Just drop by his apartment, looks at his DVD collection, and say, "Hey, I feel like watching something new. Got any suggestions?" And then call in sick for work, because you're going to be there for a few days.
Random Me and Ken Memory: The time we were at that party at the band's house and Ken feel asleep (not passed out, fell asleep) on the couch as things wound down. I watched as this gorgeous girl came up to him, covered him up with his jacket, and left. And Ken slept through the whole thing. Nice work, Ken!
