I have just been catching up with my friend Laura’s life by reading her LiveJournal. It used to be that when she and I were (frequently) mutually unsociable, I would keep up with her doings and happenings online. It saved a lot of time when we finally did meet up for cupcakes and knitting. I’ve been remiss for the past year or so, really I had not read her LJ since before she moved to Chicago, before she married Josh (who seems amazingly good for and to her, and is nice to boot).

Laura was the one I spent my summers with barhopping on the Lower East Side when I was 25 or so. Then we barhopped year round when she moved here after graduating from Northwestern. Because I’ve lost all my pictures I have to ask her if she still has those Polaroid scans of The Glitter Van, which was this van covered entirely with gold sequins that we kept seeing parked on Avenue A. Laura is the one with supreme taste in fashion and music. The one who knew where the cool shit was happening and could get us in or knew someone who knew someone.

There was also a time when this guy with a huge white and orange boa chased us from Thompkins Square Park into a bodega and back out again. I am pretty sure that Laura was running first from the snake and then the guy, while I was running from a guy who would chase girls because I don’t mind snakes. I would gladly take the snake over the guy. The lesson we took from that adventure was never run into a bodega expecting people to help you because they could care less who or what is chasing you down an aisle. Even though snakes and other animals really shouldn’t be allowed in establishments where food is being prepared and sold.

Then we briefly lived together when I broke up with Aaron; I was subletting her room while she went on tour with some band friends. Wow, that was lifetimes ago. Zenas, Lief(?), Alec, John, (my current roommate) Erica. In my mind I think of that as The Supercore Years, when Supercore was still a cafe and not a restaurant. A few months later I met Shawn and we dated for the next two years. I moved in with the dying lady and her cat Natasha, then moved in with Shawn, then moved to where I live now…with Erica.

Laura is kind of my “mental health” friend, in that I never had to explain to her my bouts of depression or my unsociable phases. She completely understood it. Things like that are hard to understand if you have no personal sense of it. So when she said she plans to move back to New York City in a year or so, I felt so happy. I’ve never been to Chicago, and I’m sure it would be fun to visit (I plan to go to her wedding) but it feels a million miles away. I mean, I never even made it to Boston to see Anna and Ira, who are busy being parents and homeowners.

Now that I’m focused on creative projects and bettering my life, I have also resolved to be a better friend and to socialize more. I’ve already re-established my friendship with Richard, and plan to see much more of Lynne and maybe even throw some cocktail/dinner/Gatsby tea parties. So, it’s good to know I will have a chance to spend more time with Laura and Josh. It seems like great things are coming and I am excited to be able to share them with people I’ve known for years and years. I also need to reconnect with Todd and Genevie and their son Sebastian.

All of these thoughts came while reading Laura’s LJ entry about her and Josh getting the words “be better” tattooed on their wrists after a really amazing and sweet person Laura knew when she lived here died. He was one of those people who made the world a better place just by being his caring and involved self, and reading the entry gave me some perspective on the crazy and stupid minutiae with which I’ve entangled myself.

The person I have a crush on is taken and overly complicated. The person who has a crush on me will get over it. This is a time for revelations and enjoyment, not for drama and distractions. So, thank you Laura, for your thoughtful insights. Context is everything. Lastly, thank you for the genius phrase, “an Alzheimer’s medication made from daffodils”. This will be part of the first line of my first novel.