Of course you know this about him already, but Steven was really remarkable in that he was easy to get close to quickly, and he had a way of making you feel like you knew him after only a short time. We were good friends right away, after working for a couple of weeks at A (a.k.a. aMedia), where I consulted. I remember meeting him in NYC, going out and talking about the future and music. We were into the same kind of music - he used to listen to indie rock - and we liked some of the same bands. He opened up to me about his job, and I came to see that even though I was working as an outside consultant, we were on the same side.

After I was done working for A and back in Japan, we kept in touch - I came back once for a visit later, after you had started working there. I remember actually meeting for drinks with Cat and Steven downstairs from the A office. He confessed to me at the time that he had a crush on a certain girl at the office there, and was going to go run a 10k with her the next day or so. I think there was something going on the day of the run and I remember calling Steven to see if he was available. I couldn't get a hold of him and remember thinking that "maybe things went well with his date...!" I guess it did...

I can't say that I really know how you feel because actually Steven is probably the first friend my own age that I've lost. My dad died of cancer shortly after I entered college - I think maybe the saddest part of it all was that he was just near retirement age from the military, after which he could have started a second career with a pension for life, and have time to spend with my mom and grow old together. That he still had so much potential was the tragedy. I feel that is even more true with Steven. It hurts a lot to think about what he could have done, what he could have been, if he were still around. He was a good friend.

When I think about my dad, I always remember that he was a positive, active person who loved his work, loved his family and loved life, but who was satisfied with his lot. His life ought to have been longer, but he also felt that he had a good life and had made a difference. I know Steven would also have seen the bright side in the greatest darkness - he made such a difference to a lot of people and he lived a good life. I'm very lucky to have known him.

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I was preparing to DJ tomorrow night at an acquaintance of mine's event. I should mention here that I'm not really a DJ, they don't have anyone else to fill the space, so my friend who owns the bar asked me to bring some CDs and play them. Recently, early 90's indie stuff is kind of coming back in, so I was going through my CD collection looking for stuff to play, and listening to a lot of albums that I haven't heard in a long time.

I put on an album by Seam, "The Pace is Glacial", and was looking through the credits when I noticed that "Steven Pak" was credited as the cover model for the album. Whoa! I wasn't expecting to find a picture of him amongst my CD collection. I remembered that he liked a lot of the same music that I did, we talked a bit about indie rock and I think I even remember him talking about Seam, and about Asians having a bit of a place in indie music, I think that might be related to what he liked too. I was a big Versus fan, I know he was too...

Anyways, it was nice to remember Steven and I realized again what a big footprint he left on the earth. Thought you would like to hear this.

-Brian Hooper

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