Where in the World is AJ?

Where in the World is AJ?
Some friends are simply more challenging than others. We love them to pieces, but, well, sigh - they're just tricky.

My dear friend AJ was supposed to come over for dinner tonight, but she never showed up. She moved to TO a few months before me, and now she's on her way to Vancouver where she'll meet up with her fab boyfriend and start a life out there. Settling down! Growing up!

AJ is a cook, through and through, and proof positive of the power of doing what you love. She rules - she's real, and she's chasing her dream. This year alone, she'll have lived in 3 major cities, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver - cutting a swath through great restaurants, learning as much as she can.

As anyone aspiring towards a career in the culinary arts will tell you, it's a rough go. Those first few years, you're the proverbial dirt under the totem pole. The kitchen's work is hard, the hours long, the people challenging, and the wages low.

There's this sick paradox where the people who craft the amazing meals could never afford to the same said restuarants.

AJ's so poor that she had to cancel her cell phone a month ago, just to save up money for the flight back to Vancouver. Just last Friday I helped her move her stuff to the Grayhound station - it's the running joke we have in our friendship, how I'm always moving her boxes.

I stopped by tonight at her house, around 10:30pm to see if she was there. But no one was home.

Granted, AJ can be a bit scatter-brained - after all, it was a week ago we made plans for dinner. Maybe she forgot. Or maybe she got busy with some other stuff. Maybe she got impulsive and got her flight bumped up.

Regardless, keep an eye out for AJ everyone!

And AJ, if you're reading this blog in an internet cafe - you'd better write me an email. I'm worried.

j