ottawa's very different from montreal; there's no disputing that.
if i were at school, my phone would start ringing about now and i'd be trying to decide what to do this evening.
at home, i've already decided to stay in and do my nails.
at school, i can stop at five different places in one evening, and drink at all of those places, straggling to bed at around four in the morning.
at home, i drive and stay sober, and usually am home by midnight.
at school, i wake up at noon and wander to the kitchen to make breakfast.
at home, i wake up at nine and have breakfast ready for me, on the table, made by my mom.
at school, i don't have to clear anything with anyone: if i want to go to the gym, i go. if i want to go shopping, i go.
at home, i have to inform my parents that i'm taking the car, who's going with me, and the approximate time at which i'll be home.
at school, i have amazing girl friends that love me, and call just to laugh and share a joke, or to see how my day is.
at home, i have amazing girl friends that love me, and call just to laugh and share a joke, or to see how my day is.
there's things i love about school and things i love about home, and the balance of them is very important to me. there's nothing like getting together with three of your best friends, and having it seem like there's been no time passed since the last time you all saw each other, even though it was actually five months ago. there's something special about remembering numbers you haven't dialed in months, in driving paths you haven't driven in some time, in laughing at jokes and memories that you haven't thought of in years. the people at home are the people i miss when i'm at school, and sometimes i wish they could be in montreal just to share one of those jokes, or remember one of those memories with me. i never thought that i'd be able to replace these people, and i haven't. they're irreplaceable.
i know my friends at home. i know their life stories: their families, their pets, their houses. i grew up hearing about the time they had a grain of rice stuck in their armpit, and who went out with whom in grade 6, and we all remember the time that we sat near each other in french class because our last names started with B and D, or the times that we drove to Barhaven to see the construction on the new house.
i know my friends at school in a school context: i know the classes they're taking, and what they order at Pistol, and what their favourite beer is, and how they dress at 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and what they eat for breakfast, and whether they'll be in Sandiford Lab or the MUS office when i get to school in the morning. i know where they keep the booze, and where the glasses are in their house. i know what apartment number to order alto's to, and i know exactly who to call at 2 in the morning, when i'm drunk and upset about something, and i know the different senses of humour they each have, and how to make them laugh. it doesn't mean that i love them any less, it just means that it's different.
i have no qualms about keeping both sets of friends for the rest of my life, and some of them will meet this New Year's, which i'm very excited about, because i love both my sets of friends, and don't know what i'd do without either of them.
