A blog full of memories
Dear Writer, Sorry for the somewhat impersonal nature of this note, but given the number of submissions and time constraints, it’s the best we can do. Thanks for submitting your work to Fresh! Our literary committee has made their decisions — we will not be able to use your essay. This does not necessarily mean …
I can’t seem to have one without the other. I like food. In order to be able to eat all the food that I like, I need to exercise. In order to exercise, I need good music. But whatever, I have to start a new exercise regime. I can’t have all this food making a …
I’ve been talking to my friend in Yellowknife. In fact, I’m going to call her now. Except, I have to write a blog entry before I can. It’s been too long since I made my last one–and I’m due. We had a great chat the last time we talked. I think we talked for three …
Hi Urban Yukon, My dad called me up on Saturday night. He says: “Jennie, I’m in trouble.” I immediately get worried that something’s happened. He says: “I lost some files. All the pictures of your mother’s quilts. We can’t find them. I even went back and did a system restore.” Ugh..Ugh.. I get him to …
I’m having a conversation with my girlfriend in Yellowknife. I call her most Sundays so we can catch up and chat. We are just like we were in high school. We talk about our lives and what we’re doing and we talk about boys. Except, we’re a little older now. A little more experienced. We’ve …
Just a quick blog post this morning before I rush off. One thing I’m glad I have access to outside of Canada is cbc.ca and radio3.cbc.ca. Thank you Canada for your Canadian Content regulations. This year, I’ve discovered Buck 65, Bedouin Soundclash, and now these guys: I don’t know what I would do without you …
She was out in the bush for two weeks. I’d called last Sunday and we just chatted about how to feel feminine if you are out in the bush with a group of guys. She just said: “I don’t.” Then she also clarified: “I don’t think I’d want to be a girl out here. Where …
The other day, I was having lunch with a friend. I can’t remember what we were talking about exactly, but then he said something about the state of mind and I remembered a poem my friend Yvonne gave to me before I left Whitehorse to go to university. It’s called The State of Mind If …
I went to the movie Sex and the City on Friday evening. I’d been planning to go all week but didn’t try to make plans until too late. I called a local girlfriend, but she had accepted last minute tickets to the Giants game. I called another girlfriend, but she’d accepted another invitation somewhere else. …
We talk about our lists for a bit. I want one of yours. She says. Really? I wonder. Which one? “Likes to dance in the living room.” Yeah. I say. I like that one. Although, in my head, my guy is not only dancing. He’s dusting, and vacuuming. To music. Our music. Whatever feels upbeat …
The topic last week was work boyfriends…no…not boyfriends who work, or boyfriends that do work—boyfriends at work. When I called late Sunday evening, it was almost too late. My friend has one of her friends over and they have already been talking about boys. I’m cleaning my house like mad, trying to get it ready …
When my marriage fell apart a few years ago and I was in counseling (all kinds of counseling — professional, with friends and family, the self-help section of book stores, the self-help section of the internet…), I decided it would be good for me to create a list–A list of things I thought were important …
I call on Sunday evening as I’m packing up my room. SO…how was your week? Hi. How was your week? She asks me the same question as soon as she picked up the phone. We laugh and start over. So. I repeat. How was your week? Well. I got kiss and a snuggle on my …
Well, not really, but you’ll recognize the literary reference to Robert Burns. Regardless, this post is about a mouse. My friend told me today in the Skype that she had a wee visitor last night. She was watching TV and she heard rustling under the sink. She went to investigate and discovered a mouse in …
It was just a duck. With the potential of a buffalo or a bear. I called my friend yesterday–to make sure she arrived home after her weekend away. Silly me–I thought it was a date. But, her friends had just invited her to go duck hunting–but I didn’t know that until later. She’d had a …
From my girlfriend in Yellowknife: Hey there, I won’t be home until late Sunday afternoon for our chat. I have been invited to go duck hunting in one of the “local” communities. (350km away) I have been told to bring a blanket, pillow and a 24 case of beer (the cost of an expedition in …
I’m so geeky, I think this is funny (from my email subscription to TheLadders.com email). I’m trying to downsize my paper files and put everything online. I don’t think I’ll go this far though.
He used to lean over conspiratorially at the dinner table: Psstt…Psst. Want to hear a dirty joke? And our friends (no matter who they were, he named Charlie Brown) would look up eagerly and say: Yeah. And nod their head. No grown-up had ever told them dirty jokes. My Dad would motion them closer and …
My Dad gets on the phone tonight: Jennie. Jennie. I have to tell you this joke. He’s laughing but gasps out: Bertrand told it at the dinner table the other day. And if there is anything my Dad likes (besides my Mum and KFC), he likes Bertrand’s jokes. He gets the added enjoyment of hearing …
I asked my Mum how Dad proposed to her. She was a bit surprised but said: Oh. He asked me at Christmas that year. That year? That year? What year? Oh umm… 1964. Yes. That’s what we planned. You planned it? I ask (a bit incredulously). You planned your own proposal? Yes. She says matter-of-factly. …
Charlie told me about an interview he once had. He’d been asked this question: If you were a piece of winery equipment, what would you be? He answered that he would be a pumpover device. I had to ask what a pumpover device was. Apparently, it’s the piece of equipment that pumps the wine over …
I’m calling my girlfriend in Yellowknife today. I’ve been calling her every Sunday for the last few weeks. She’s known me from forever. It feels good to talk to someone who’s known me forever. I feel grounded. We’re talking about our lives and what we want our lives to be. We’re talking our old relationships …
I start asking my girlfriends: What’s romantic to you? What is your idea of romance? Three out of three answered: spontaneity. My girlfriend in Yellowknife answered: “If he just called up in the middle of the day and said: Dress warmly. I’m taking you out. And then if he came and picked me up on …