friends - the eighth

Back to my tribute to the wonderful friends in my life, with a few words about a really great guy who lives (yup, you guessed it) across the sea.

He and I became friends through a classmate of mine and while it took me a couple of months to really warm up to the other 'extended friends', his warm spirit, unintentional charm and unique brand of humour pulled me in almost immediately. He makes me laugh when I'm being a grump, teases me constantly about my inexplicable crush on Matt Damon, encourages me to move forward when I'm trying desperately to drown in my sorrows, and joins me in far too many pints when there's just nothing else to do.

We've shared many good times in just two years and while the past year has been spent mainly on different continents he always makes an effort to remind me how much I mean to him. He is a true friend and someone who surprises me with a phone call when I need it most. Just tonight he called me and said, "I just wanted to make sure you were happy."

He shares a lovely flat by the sea with his wonderful girlfriend (whom I also adore!!) and I cannot wait to be back in their company! Charming, sweet, caring friends like them are the kinds of friends I cannot live without.

friends - the seventh

And back to my lovely friends, with a few words about a wonderful man who has only been a part of my life for just under two years, but who has made more of an impact than others who have been around five times as long.

He is kind, caring, sarcastic, honest, sometimes bitter, sometimes a bit twisted, sometimes plain old crazy - but hey, sometimes I am all of these things as well so I suppose it's fitting that in this photo I can see my own reflection in his "eyes". He is romantic, incredibly charming and sincere and can always, always make me laugh even when no one else can.

We've helped each other through some not-so-easy times and perhaps as a result have found a comfort level with each other that I don't have with many people. No one else makes me feel quite as special as he does, with phone calls/emails/texts, etc., and I am counting down the days until I can sit down with him for a nice cold pint of Stella while we piss away our money on pub games.

friends - the sixth

This is my very oldest friend, I have known her for twenty-five years. We became friends because our parents had the same good sense to buy homes on our block, but we've stayed friends over the years for so many more, important, reasons.

She is kind, considerate, sweet and honest. She is the kind of friend who can see through all of my ranting to get to the bottom of what I'm really trying to say, and isn't afraid to ask "is this what you really mean?"

We've shared a lot of happy memories over the years, and have seen each other through some hard times. Whether we've got an ocean or just two neighbours' houses in between us, growing up together has linked us for life. She and her older sister are my honorary sisters and I theirs, and I know she will always be there no matter what.

friends - the fifth

A much newer friend than most of the others, yet he is closer to me than some of the friends I've known for years and years. It only took knowing him for three months to know that he was someone worth keeping around. And now, a year and a half later, I can say that there is no one in my life who could ever fill his shoes.

He's incredibly intelligent AND incredibly book smart (surprisingly, a rather rare combination), and has a wonderful sense of humour. He is somewhat of a cultural guru for me and knows a thing or two about seemingly anything worth knowing about. He infuriates me in a way that no one else can, but in doing so inspires and influences me in a way that I can't explain... I think it has something to do with the fact that he takes the piss out of me every chance he gets, and yet manages to crack a smile whenever I step up and give him some of his own medicine.

He is one of the most important people in my life and I cannot see my future without him in it. He is a wonderful, wonderful friend who has (probably unknowingly) helped me to realise a lot of my goals and I hope that he will be around to see me reach them (and to help me reach some of the harder ones).



**I know what some of you are probably thinking: the first boy in my friends' tribute comes in at number five? Well, as I am pretty sure I mentioned when I started all of this, there is no significance to the order in which I give these friends their kudos. BUT, if there was, and if number one actually reflected my "best" friend, I promise you this guy would be a lot higher up than number five.**

friends - the fourth

Today marks the 25th birthday of one of the kindest and most wonderful friends I have. She and I have been friends just over four years and in that short span of time we have experienced so many wonderful, challenging, hilarious, sad, and amazing memories. We've travelled to many countries, visited many museums, bought a lot of shoes and tasted a lot of delicious treats. All along the way I have been so thankful for having met her.

Chance meetings are what make life so exciting, and having solid, reliable, trustworthy and honest friends like her is what makes the excitement worthwhile. She listens to me in my weakest moments and offers me strength and encouragement to move forward. She is a loving friend who isn't afraid to say things like, "That dress looks terrible, take it off immediately!"

She is intelligent, motivated, hard-working and driven and she is going to go extremely far in this world. I miss her a lot and look forward to being closer to her again in the fall.

*Happy Birthday!*

friends - the third

I don't think anyone who has ever met her could think of one negative thing to say about her. She is a beautifully person inside and out, she is honest, loyal, loving, intelligent, energetic, caring, fun, sweet... she really has everything going for her. She is not only a wonderful friend but a new mother to a gorgeous son.

I have never been more proud of any of my friends as I have been of her in the last 14 months. She is so strong and confident and so wonderful with her son, I can only hope that I will have some of the same qualities that she does when the time comes for me to have children. She gives with all of her heart and I love her and her son with all of mine. I couldn't ask to have a more understanding, more loving and more courageous friend.

When we were fifteen we spent a week at a cottage up north with another friend's family, when we were seventeen we travelled to the US with my parents, when we were eighteen we travelled to France, but what I remember most - in the nearly thirteen years of our friendship - is how often we've spoken about how amazing it will be to grow old as friends and to see our children play and go on adventures together the way we have done. I can say with all certainty that no matter where we are living we will grow old as friends... I'd be a fool to let anything break up our friendship.

friends - the second

There is no one else in my life that I can say absolutely anything to without hesitation. She and I have had our ups and downs, but mostly we've had a whole lot of wonderful experiences. We've spent time in four countries together and found something in each place to laugh about the way that no one else would be able to. Raw meat never made ketchup taste so good, and no other pair of friends would've been able to grin and bear it the way we did... I truly believe that.

She is kind, sensitive, clever, beautiful and brave. She is opinionated, open-minded and extremely curious and these are just three of the things that make her such a wonderful woman. There is no one I'd rather bitch with, no one I'd rather shop with, and no one I'd rather sit and cry in front of sappy movies with. She is truly my twin soul and that is why I know that no matter how much distance there is between us, we'll always be connected.

friends - the first

When you've known and loved someone as long as I've known and loved this wonderful friend, it's hard to stop. She has been with me through the awkward years, the ugly years, the teeny-bopper years, the groupie years - essentially every memory I have exists within the span of our twenty-one year friendship.

She is genuine. She is kind. She is blunt when it's needed and tactful when I'm overly sensitive. She makes me laugh and laughs at my jokes. She is a wonderfully intelligent, creative, talented, courageous woman who has travelled to places I've only dreamt of and taken steps that I am only now finding the courage to take.

She is one of my nearest, dearest and best friends and I know she always will be. Wherever we go in this big old world, we will always be close because I love her like the sister I never had... and let's be honest, when you clock up as much time and as many memories with someone as she and I have, it's pretty much impossible to let them go.

Like the lifetime guarantee on repairs to the gorgeous bag she's made me, there is a lifetime guarantee that she will always be one of my very, very best friends and more so one of the most important, inspirational and influential people in my life.

through my eyes...

My friends, the people who make my daily life worthwhile despite a boring job, despite lousy weather, and despite feeling a little less than sure about where I am heading.

As mentioned in my last blog, I want share the wonderful things that I see in these amazing people each and every day, and since you can't meet them all face to face I will provide you with a look into their eyes.

Just as my eyes stare at you from above these words, their eyes will accompany the words that I write about them ... I was going to keep it totally anonymous, but decided there was no reason for me to be mysterious (and I think there is a lot you can tell about someone looking in their eyes, so it seemed fitting that at least their eyes should accompany the traits that they possess).


*I apologise if this is all a bit loopy/cheesy/crazy, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic and nutty these days anyway.*

my friends

Being back in Toronto, working a job that drains me of all positive energy and doesn't pay me enough money to reach my goals in a timely manner, and living at home with my parents (whom I love very much, but let's face it I also love my independence) has me feeling a bit, blugh.

I've been trying to plot out the next few stages of my life and though I am unsure about where I'll be and about what I'll be doing, though certainty doesn't seem to figure into any of these plans, I have one area of my life where things are finally making sense and there are some things I can be certain of: my friends.

I guess it's true that with the more time that passes and the more changes we go through we really do start to realise who our true friends are. I also find that the older and more mature I get the friends I make, the people I choose to socialise with, become more important to me and closer to me much more quickly than people did when I was younger. I suspect this has to do with the fact that as we grow and decide on which roads we want to travel through life we meet people on the same route. We meet people who are more like minded than those we were pushed towards in high school and university. We choose the places we work, the places we live, the places we eat, drink, and dance, we choose the situations in which we meet other people who have chosen to be in those same situations. And like a wonderfully crafted puzzle we all fit together so much more easily and beautifully than we could ever have expected.

I have some really wonderful friends, some very new and some very old, but what is amazing is how much these people inspire me and support me and encourage me to be the person I want to be and not the person that it's easy to be. The next few blog entries are going to be dedicated to my dearest friends, the most important people in the world to me right now, and though I do not intend to name names for the most part, I'm sure most of them will know who I am speaking of. The point here is not to say so-and-so is great because they make me laugh, the point is to share some of the unique character traits of the most wonderful people in my life. To share the talent, intelligence, humour, beauty, and love of the most fabulous people I have ever met. The world needs more love and more honesty and I'm about to spill out a whole lot of love, honestly.