Who is Cobie?

I met Cobie in the parking lot of my high school two weeks before the start of junior year. We were lining up for practice at band camp. That's right I said band camp...wanna make something of it. He was different that all my other friends who were primarily the straight A student council types. It's not that Cobie and I aren't smart. We are we just aren't "traditionally acedemically gifted."

Sometimes because I'm all too self reflective I wonder how things in my life my have been different if he had never come into my life. Before him I was completely and discustingly sheltered. I didn't know gay people, I didn't know the joys of smoking and I would never consider crossing from the suburbs into the dangerous city of Chicago where my parents would have me belive I would be shot on sight. In many late night walks through boys town and surrounding neighborhoods I came to see how my life might be different than the life my parents planned for me. I saw the worlds as bigger and different. I now can see all the possibilies for my future and that I can do anything I dream up, and I learned that from him.

He's different from any person I've met before or met since. He's completely unapoligetic about the way he lives his life. He does what he wants to do and is utterly authentic. He is there to listen whenever I'm going through whatever it is I'm going through and will ocassionally kick my ass out of self loathing mode when it needs to be done. He is always thinking of the future, his next degree, his next work venture. I'm a bit convinced that somehow he will take over the world and become extreemly wealthy. I'm hoping to stay on his good side so he will take me on all expenses paid vacations with him.

Since moving to the less than exciting tundra of minnesota 10 years I don't get to see him as much as I want but with every mini-vay that we meet things pick up right where they left off.

The contrast of Annabelle and Cobie

• He likes cats
• He likes camping
• He does lots of computer stuff and sometimes he talks about it and my eyes glaze over in ineptitude
• He listens to some really wierd music...even for me
• Sometimes I worry he will become a hippy and run away to join a comune...but then I remember that he wouldnt be able to live without his powerbook, ikea furiture and over priced Irish butter.
  

Who is Alice?

I met Alice my freshman year of college. It was most likely about 3am mid week (although such details can not be substantiated) all I know is no one else was awake. In the hallway of the dorms we started chatting, well more accurately mocking. Some people thrive on dorm life. We are not those people. There are little construction paper decorations with glitter in the hallways that change as the seasons pass. Then there are the endless pictures of people on the walls participating in water balloon tosses and three legged races. Its bit like kindergarten but with liquor.

So there we were twin insomniacs trapped in a floor full of estrogen mocking the latest pictures from the last "mixer." The theme from friends should have been playing in the background. We've been relatively inseparable ever since.

We worked together at both Dominos and Subway in college where no one we worked with could ever tell us apart. I understand we are both relatively tall and rubinesce but really...at the time she had short oddly colored spiky hair and mine was long and blonde it is still a mystery where the confusion lied. Those that could tell us apart often thought we were sisters.

As time has passed we have changed from same person, to sisters and now an assumed lesbian couple. A few short weekends ago we were attending a party where a former Winona allum was (as I was convinced) trying to get us to finance a building. Then after torturing us with his optomistic attitude for over an hour with a completly straight face he says, "So how long have you two been a couple?"

There was no...are you gay? Are you together? It just must have seemed like fact that we are obviously an old married couple. I can't completely fault him on his assumption because after further evaluation Alice has been and will likely be my future "date" for every new years, valentines day and anything adressed as Annabelle and guest.

Since our friendship has now graduated to married couple Alice has been pushing for a domestic partnership so she can have better health insurance and a membership at my kick ass gym. I was able to talk her down to an all expenses paid trip to my 10yr high school reunion instead. She admitted got a raw deal.

Since talking about the similarites between Alice and I would be long and tiresome I will highlight our differences instead.

• She likes onions
• She has a serious aversion to dog hair...and an even bigger aversion to dog drool
• She unscrews the cap of her toothpaste even if it has a flip top
• She does not use air conditioning

Yup that pretty much sums it up.

Who is Annabelle?

Despite the dissatisfaction of bff Alice we have a new alias. I present to you Annabelle Tinley. I don't know how I came up with the name it just seemed happy and fitting. Annabelle is a work in progress shes more the girl I want to be. I suppose at my ripe old age of 28 shes the "woman" I want to be but Annabelle doesn't really seem like a woman's name now does it? This blog will chronicle the journey of becoming Annabelle.

Annabelle lives in a shitty one bedroom apartment on the northside of Chicago while she continues to pay on her mortgage of sprawling 4-bedroom suburban/city home in Rochester, MN that was acquired during what she refers to as the "dark years" of her life. Said home is currently rented out to people whom continue to decline the value of her property but pay the rent on time so she doesn't really care that much.

Annabelle works in laboratory medicine where she is some bigwig and all of her staff and bosses worship her for her honesty, intelligence and calm demeanor. However her life is only centered on work for 50 hours per week.

Annabelle likes to spend her evenings cooking with her bff Alice and watching horrible pre-teen drama particularly Degrassi marathons. Together they have conquered making Tofu look appetizing and have tried every single vegetable Whole Food has to offer. After dining of healthful meals Annabelle and Alice enjoy a nice jog or bike ride on the lake shore or if the weather is unfavorable they take in a spinning class or meditative yoga class much to Alice's disdain.

Friday happy hours land Annebelle in Wrigleville to visit her longest bud ever Cobie for drinks, hotdogs the occasionally stolen Camel Light. She enjoys a large and diverse set of friends which Cobie lovingly prescreened for her, and she often treats them to dinner parties and long theological plans on how to save the world through Immunological drugs. Alice & Cobie refuse to attend such parties unless they are drunk, as under being the influence makes us far more entertaining.

She has a slight shopping addiction. She frequents H&M and owns about 3 dozen adorable summer dresses from Mod Cloth. She also spent an entire 3-week European vacation searching for the perfect bowl to place on her table...where she then spent hundreds of dollars getting an electrician to install a spot light on said perfect bowl.

Annabelle occasionally takes metra trips to visit her loving parents and grandmother in the (audible gasp) suburbs. They continually remind her that she isn't getting any younger and should settle down and start ensuring the continuation of the family line. She is however to busy and joyous to be bothered with the continuation of the Tinleys.

Annabelle is a do-good-er. She has contributed 20$ to nearly every charity in the Chicago-land area by participating in 5K races. She brings her own shopping bags to Whole Foods and does not own a car. She also schleps her recycling products since her shitty apartment does not have recycle bins. She believes the idea of being vegan is charming but her love of leather shoes and bacon keep her from taking the leap. She came out to her family as a democrat and was only semi-disowned for one holiday season where she received an autographed copy of Rush Limbaugh's latest book for Christmas.

So yeah that's the plan of where I'm going and who I want to be. Lets see how close I get.

This blog is a continuation of the writings of Ava Mazur. Her musings can be read on http://perpetuallysingle.blogspot.com/.