Katamari Time with Raj

So many stories with Raj, so I have to start somewhere.

Wikipedia tells me it had to be early Fall 2004.. Raji had just nabbed a copy of Katamari Damacy and I was headed to his apartment with a 6-pack of Grolsch. I’d read about the game and was looking forward to tracking it down. He’d succeeded before me and called me in that excited Raji way to tell me we had to play it.

Did he call me or text me or email me? I have no idea, really.
Was the copy of the game legit or pirated? Who knows, it was Raji.
Where was his apartment at that point? Um…
Why was I in NYC? Must’ve been there for work?

None of those details matter. What matters is that we spent that whole night in, laughing at each unrolling scene, the amazing setups and storylines, the incredible physics of the game, and the unrelenting absurdity. We laughed so much that night, making our way through the beers and some pizza.

A night like that alone with Raji was rare, I’ll always hold it close. And my god, that laugh of his.

Submitted by Jamie Perez.