These two friends I met at American Eagle Outfitters, one of my longest jobs ever so far. Betti and Mona are sort of like Romy and Michelle. They both understand each other in ways that no one else will ever be able to. They have weird inside jokes, laugh at the same silly things and sometimes I mistake them for lesbians (they would make great lesbians).

Come to think of it, they’re actually sort of like Meredith and Christina as well. A bond of blood.

The interesting thing about Betti is that we used to know each other… a long, long time ago. I was over at her house one day and I spotted a photo of her as a toddler, sitting on this big plastic slide set up by some portrait photographer. I figured it was for school, daycare or something. But then I look closer and notice a balloon tied to the back of the slide. And then I notice the colour of the slide. And then I realize that I have a photo back home of myself, on that exact slide.

I tell her this and her mother pulls out the class photo from daycare. And lo and behold, there she is in one corner and me in the other. Turns out we attended the same daycare.

Nifty, eh? We were both a little freaked out by it. She vaguely remembered me and I did not remember her at all. I felt a little guilty for not remembering. It was probably because she was a girl.

Anywho, here we are, some odd 18 years later doing an 80’s shoot for our friend Niki, who grew up in the 80’s.

Enjoy the silliness!

Mona and Betti

Me. Jumping in the air. Dressed in DENIM, with a hideously wonderful knit turtle neck and big, straight, shiny, black Chinese hair in all its glory.