E called me a day or so before my b-day. She said she got a job and I was so relieved and excited for her, in spite of the fact that she's still hanging out with a skeevy crowd.

I agreed to meet her for a couple of drinks tonight and now I'm a little wary, knowing she's bringing her boyfriend and his buddy. I hardly know the boyfriend (who's nickname *cough!*alias*cough!* is "Bean". Her boyfriends always seem to have these stupid nicknames ever since she got out of jail. I don't know his friend and and there's a good possiblilty that I'll dislike him on sight. My vibes are rarily ever wrong. What's worse is that I seem to ignore them when it comes to my friendship with E. I keep wanting to protect her, I suppose.

Thankfully, we're meeting up at a place just a block from my complex. I think she's finally accepted the fact that I'm NOT hanging out in Gary. For a while she kept pointing out that Black Oak is the white part of Gary–and thus okay. Seriously? Ghetto is ghetto. Trashy people are trashy people. I don't care what color you are as long as you act HUMAN and there aren't enough humans there in her so-called white safe-haven.

*stepping off my soap box now*

So, E called and said she'd phone me when they're on the way back from "picking something up" in the wonderful land of Black Oak and I can't help running all these bizarre scenarios in my head. Like: What if she's trying to get me out of the apartment so her boyfriend's skanky bud can sneak in and brain DF while he's in his recliner watching football so he can steal all our electronics, thus leaving DF brain damaged and deprived of his Xbox360? What if she's secretly on drugs and she's trying to hit me up for money? (Boy, would she be disappointed. I work in retail, for Christ's sake.)

But then she just called me about five seconds ago and said they'd be at the bar in roughly fifteen minutes, and I thought to myself that I'm on my turf now. I'm just being my neurotic self. I need to trust my vibes, not succomb to silly paranoia. Keep my eyes peeled and never be afraid to walk away from a situation that feels wrong–but I have to let myself feel it first, otherwise I'm just burying my head in the sand. E's been my best friend since I was 12. I'll know when to fold 'em when the time comes.