i'm destined not to live in the same city with any of my closest friends.

it's true. save for "i," everyone is leaving LA. i talked to "r" on the phone tonight--for you regular readers, this is not the "r" of the last two posts (though i did talk to him, too), nor is it the "r" of "R&R?". this is "r" from my berkeley days who has been also of my "LA days." knowing that he's leaving to teach english in japan for a year in the next couple of weeks makes me sad. "r" is truly my touchstone. my twin soul. his worries are my worries, and between the two of us, we somehow manage to pull together some solutions to each other's problems. he's my ducky in my "pretty in pink," even if he doesn't quite make it on time to the prom. i wonder what lesson i'm supposed to learn from having so many long-distant friendships... does it mean that i'm supposed to get the hell out of town? or, do dreamers not need the physical presence of their friends as much as the more spiritual and emotional presence of them, which can be sustained across great geographic distances? either way, it sucks. i'll either have to stay on friendster, or buy calling cards... or, get the hell out of LA.