Where do I even begin with Kate? We agree about 90% of the time, except on Taylor Swift. (And I write this while listening to a TayTay-only playlist.)
I sometimes wonder how two introverts became the best of friends, but I'm glad we did. The day I left Manila to move to another country for the first time, Kate was on the same flight, and looking back, that softened the blow and helped with the transition.
More than a decade since I met her, I'm grateful Kate has welcomed me into her home. When her first-born son was around three, he'd call me on FaceTime, and last year her youngest reminded me I didn't come over for a visit in September, when I'd said I would two months earlier.
She gets most of my humor. I can send her a meme or a clip or a line and she'll immediately get it. We both adore Cynthia Erivo, but between us, I refer to Cynthia as "Cynthia not my mama," which I always find funny and she does too.
Kate is also the person who made me think about mental health deeply. I knew it was important, but watching her deal with it made me realize just how much. I used to feel invincible – like I'd never have to speak to a therapist, but she changed my mind. Even the great ones like her need one.
I usually call Kate Katemoves, her handle on social media. Usually to the tune of a song called Love Moves in Mysterious Ways, which she once played on the keyboard in one of her Singapore trips.
When I need to be organized, I think of what Kate would do. When I need to set emotions aside and deal with the harsh truth, I think of what Kate would do. When I need to make a plan, I ask myself, is there something I'm missing that Kate would see clearly?
Maybe, that's how Kate moves in mysterious ways.