who was where when? (and why) this whole tali moving to san francisco thing has got me thinking (a scary thought, i know, but sometimes i can't help it, it just sort of "happens"), of all the places we have all been in the last 11 years. its a whirlwind tour, lots of back and forths (and many trips along the 401), all starting at the ripe age of 19. here we go...
at the end of our lives as we then knew it, four young ladies left montreal for ontario. 2 went to toronto (one of the girls and hick teeth), and 2 (ms. m and tali) went to london. though the 2 in toronto lived very far apart, and the 2 in london had yet to meet each other. miss k left toronto for waterloo (the beer pit of canada), obliterating any chance that she and one of the girls would ever live in the same city.
the uni years were a blast on all fronts. once the 2 new londoners found each other, tali was introduced all around. southern ontario became our party ground. we were young, we were wild, and we were free (i know im quoting some classic rock song here, but i don't know which.) oh and there were the visits... early incidents include: "miss k introduces a british bloke to ootg", and "hick and ootg's night in the london nunnery (and the partying that preceeded it)", and lest we forget "ms. m boogies down in north toronto in full 70s gear". ahhh those were the best of times. we all seemed satisfied where life had brought us thus far.
miss k, the genius (and because she was a year ahead the rest of us in school) was the first to finish her studies, and make a big move. like a real adult move. she crossed the border to the big city, and of course we all had to have a bite of that apple. she was always a wonderful hostess while in new york all those years. episodes in that city are to the tume of "miss k introduces ootg to every male she knows" and "tali slaps ms. m in the lounge one aft".
meanwhile the rest of the womyn finish their first round of studies. hick stays put (she has a job, yay!) tali runs off to ottawa to continue to learn. she learned many things there, as much about life as she did journalism. ms. m returned to the city of her birth, and ootg took off to portugal with her hunky boyfriend. (look, im the one writing this, i can embellish where i want.) upon her return from europe, ootg was forced to live in montreal for lack of funds. (her boyfriend went back to ontario for similar reasons, and she missed him lots.)
lo-and-behold, the next year finds ootg returning to toronto with ms. m in tow. ootg made a four year commitment to the university of toronto, and ms. m held her dream internship. alas 2 ladies had come to keep their dear hick company. hick loved them so. well that didin't last long... ms. m returned to montreal to find travil there in the following year. ootg and hick lamented the loss.
but, ho! (and i do not use that word lightly!) who was in the mont to greet ms. m on her arrival? but our tali, who had returned after her 2 years awol in ottawa. they kept each other great company, waiting for hick, ootg and the occasional visit from miss k.
a year passed. ootg studied, no one saw her. miss k did what she wanted in new york. ms. m gained experience in her field. tali publicized. hick was in the movies, so to speak.
and another, which brought ms. m back to toronto. the girl just couldn't make up her mind, and hick and ootg were happy as clams to have her back. not that ootg saw her, she was studying. and hick gleefully got to live with her.
fastforward some. miss m still in new york, still hosting us when needed. ms. m settles in to toronto. tali is into her video games. but look, is it a bird? a plane? no it is hick with ootg moving to montreal. tali couldnt believe her lucky stars! not just one lovely lady, but two all in one. (oh and the hunky guy ootg had above, well she was now married to him, and he tagged along.) it was alomost paradise in montreal. but then the dreaded day came. the girls could not believe it! it was tali, yes, their tali who was up and running off to torono! she is missed in montreal but lauded by ms. m!
and so we adjust. life seems rather stable for a while. miss k actually threatens leaving new york a couple of times, but she knows her friends like to visit, so she stays put. hick talks about going to asia for a "year or so". but she doesn't. ootg buys a house, and ms. m buys a condo... well they ain't goin' nowhere. tali adjusts to toronto. she secretly loves it but refuses to tell anyone that (like i said - my entry, my embellishments).
the "fun times" still happen, but we are adults now, so we brag about them less.
AND THEN ONE DAY OUT OF THE BLUE, miss k shocks the living shit out of us. a messege left on ootg's voicemail goes something like this "well, umm... so i'm moving to LA next week." a big move, all the way across the continent. she couldnt be going that far! we had all never been more than an hour or so plane ride from each other. but she said that we could come visit, and that she had a wonderful flat... so we let her go.
and so it is this week that we hear about our second sister to go west. tali, go west, life is peaceful there. but darling, we will miss you. miss k is just a hop away, and as for the rest of us, lock that crazy cat up, becasue we are on our way!  one of the girls ¶ 11:29 AM