I told you I would....

....so here I am.

Ok, before I get into this particular story, I must preface by mentioning I was the "good Black Sheep" when it came to the people I used to hang out with back in the day (when I was 18-20). They were big time druggies and I was the one who may have been there or went with them to get it yet I never did it!!!! Call me a wussy but I have enough things wrong with me (health wise) and I didn't need to mix illegal drugs with the prescription meds I have to take! On that note.....

It's 1999. Just got my first real job working at Family Fun Center for the summer. It was a good job for any high school student. After a month or so, I started making some friends, one of them being someone I am calling my "Long Lost" friend.

LLF & I started hanging out together after awhile. Everyone thought we looked alike and would always get us mixed up! We had a ritual of working 9-5 on Saturdays, going to The Block, picking out a movie to see & then going to Starbucks to get a drink and smoke til the movie started. It was like clockwork! Everyone knew this & it went on like this for quite awhile. 

Once I was fired from FFC (the first of many firings....ugh, remind me and I'll get into that one day!), we still hung out. It actually seemed like we were hanging out even more. Then I got my license and that was it! We were pretty much inseparable! I introduced LLF to my other friends and we basically became a foursome! We basically lived in my '85 Toyota Cressida (which only lasted 4 months but hey, it took us around and to Tijuana & back at least 3-5 times!!!).  The next car I got was the '96 Oddessey minivan and something must have triggered something in the girls I used to hang out with cuz everyone started getting pregnant! 

One day, one of us got pregnant. Then we became a threesome.....Few months later, someone else got pregnant.......Sure enough, LLF got pregnant too! It was weird but I supported all my friends who got pregnant and out of all my friends who got pregnant, I was only at the hospital for the birth of LLF's baby. I mean, I was RIGHT THERE!!! I saw that baby come out! They say when a girl/woman sees actual child birth before doing it for themselves, they're scarred and never want to go through it. I was the opposite! I proclaimed that I couldn't WAIT for that because it is truly one of the most amazing things you will EVER witness! BTW-  I'm still waiting yet I think it will be worth the wait & hey! I'm only 26! 

So anyways, one semi-crucial thing I left out was that the three people I used to hang out with were pretty addicted to Meth ("Speed" or "Shit" as they called it). The others got into it in high school ('99-ish) yet LLF didn't get into Meth until about 2002-ish. They all basically stopped once they found out they were pregnant yet what surprised me was how some of them got right back into it. LLF was the one who got carried away....

Once she gave birth, I only saw her about 5-7 times.....We lost contact for a while but she did call me when her mother passed away in 2003.....After that, LLF called me to inform me that she was in jail but she's out so I could go pick her up, all nonchalant, like everything was normal & we were going to hang out......I told her no & that was the last time I heard from her....

....Until Easter Sunday. 

I got home from my aunt's house and came online. Logged into Myspace and saw a new friend request. I had no idea who it could have been but when I saw it was her, I was completely shocked! I had checked up on her a few times on the site to see if people were in jail. She was on there a few times. When I saw she wasn't in jail, I figured she was either in prison for 3 strikes or quite possibly dead. 

LLF & I finally got to speak on the phone for the first time in 5 years yesterday. We caught up just a little. She informed me she had been in & out of jail, she put the baby up for adoption (but it's an open adoption), wasn't with the baby's dad anymore (thank GOD!), has been clean for over 2 years, is engaged to a guy who is very supportive of her & they also have a baby. The questions that she was asking me about my life & others we knew were kind of a trip since I basically don't talk to or hang out with any of them anymore. Hell, I barely talk to or hang out with anyone these days! It's crazy to think & put into perspective how much life can change in just 5 years, especially when it only feels like it was 5 months ago! 

We plan on maybe meeting up for a cup of coffee & just catching up. Who knows if we'll ever be able to get back to how it was back in the day but I know it won't. Even though it was only a few years ago, things were so simple back then. Our biggest worries were if we had money to eat at taco bell or gas! Life just gets more complicated with each day that goes by. 

All I know is that it took over 5 years to hear from LLF and it was just so good to hear her voice. 

Really, it was actually pretty "woot". =)