Scotty and I are doing well. Six months is a long time, but it really has gone by quickly. Almost too quickly. I've never been in a real relationship for this long. And I'm more content than ever. I think it's annoying my close friends. Laura came back from New York for her Christmas break, and she can't understand why I want to be with him every night. I mean, she loves him, but she feels replaced by him in terms of my affection. But she understands. I love him. I love her too. Six months. Forever.

The girl that I've been spending a good deal of time with, one of the few friends that is left in the Bay Area, Caitlin, is leaving for New York in less than two weeks. It's scary. For me, and I'm sure for her too. She's going to New York to do a semester at Columbia. I'm worried on a number of levels, and excited on even more. I love her, and she'll love NYC. But I can never tell when she's fucked up and when she's not. I really don't think she is. I am positive she isn't right now. But I worry that she's going to a place that fucked me up, where drugs run out of the woodwork. And I don't want her to get hurt, to fuck up her best shot. I know she'll be okay. She has to be.

But on another level, she is one of my few remaining friends close to here. And she's leaving. I am feeling pretty isolated as is, and this is going to be even worse without her. I'm not worried. I can handle it. But I don't want to become too dependent on Scott. I rely on him in a lot of ways. A lot more than he relies on me, I think. And that scares me. I don't know. We'll see. And maybe I'll try to make some new friends, or at least get back in touch with some old ones who got lost by the wayside over the last few years. We'll see.

So here's to new love, to new tattoos, to new friends and to old ones. And here's to cheesy writing.

'Testify my love for you and I know it runs deep through your body too. From the cold black tattoo to hot concrete.' ----'Old Friend' by Rancid