Seven years of my life, a week at a time.

A creative outlet.  That’s how all this started.  I graduated from university in 1999.  I didn’t have my college radio show anymore, I wasn’t writing for the school paper anymore, I grew desperate for a creative outlet.  Then I remembered that I had a website that I wasn’t using. When the 00’s started, and the term “blog” started entering our lexicon, I grew annoyed when people called this a blog.  Blogs were just off the cuff comments.  I actually sat down and wrote mine!  I put thought into mine!  I wasn’t a blogger, I was a writer!  But looking at it now…yeah, it’s a blog.

As I re-read a lot of these, I find them moody, angst-ridden, and way too personal.  And yet, I don’t remove them.  At the end of the day, it chronicles a very interesting stage in my life.  I’ve recently discovered that it’s called a “quarter-life crisis,” where you’re done with school and experience the culture shock of the real world.

For seven years, once a week, I wrote a 2-page essay describing the state of my life.   I’ve picked out some of the highlights for you.

The College Years

The inspiration came from my opinion column in Augustana University’s college paper, in a mark of cross promotional brilliance. The highlights include:

Observations, Angst, and Jell-o: November 1998
Pure, college-level pseudo-intellectualism.

The Separation: February 1999
A rambling about the differences between the arts and the sciences.

Unemployed Bliss

University finished in the spring of 1999, and it took me until the spring of 2000 to get a job. It was a year of deep introspection, confusion, and Star Wars: Episode I. The highlights:

Confessions of the Clock King: July 12, 1999
My 22nd birthday makes me stop to think about what’s to come next.

Summer Vacation 99: August 2, 1999
A summer camping trip with Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

Tragic Irony or Poetic Justice: November 29, 1999
Seeing an old rival on the 6 o’clock news makes me reflect on when we last crossed swords.

Renting Movies with Dad: March 13, 2000
A trip to the video store with Dad makes me realize how different we are.

Bag Boy Blues

A right-of-passage in the quarter-life crisis seems to be spending too much time in a minimum wage job. Mine was as a bag boy at Extra Foods. But I worked my way up to head cashier. I grew quite angry and bitter. These ran from 2000 to 2001.

A Tree Falls: July 17, 2000
The removal of a dead tree from my front yard makes me contemplate life and death.

Questions: The High Cost of Groceries – September 25, 2002
Actual dumb questions asked by actual grocery store customers.

Drive: July 16, 2001
A nice long drive to Lloydminister

Adults Only: August 13, 2001
I wonder what lies in the back room at the video store.

The Vancouver Series

This is where things get very personal. I went to visit my friends in Vancouver. It was my first big adventure on my own. I deeply analyzed everything about the trip, including my relationship with my friends. Got three months worth of articles from a one week trip. These ran in the last bit of 2001.

Raiders of Lynn Canyon: November 12, 2001
A visit to one of Vancouver’s famous suspension bridges.

Tacky Tourist Things: November 26, 2001
A trip to Vancvouer’s famous Stanley Park.

Life Changes

This is where things get very moody. Returning from Vancouver, I wanted out of Extra Foods more than ever. This is the chronicle of working towards getting out. This ran for the first half of 2002.

Secret Origins II: How I Got the Holy Grail – January 21, 2002
The tale of how I met my best friend

The Secrets of Womankind: March 18, 2002
I think that Cosmo magazine holds the key to understanding women.

Take This Job and Shove It: April 29, 2002
My actual letter of resignation from Extra Foods.

The Life Evaluation Form: June 10, 2002
How I think the afterlife begins.

Scarecrow Goes to Japan

Many agree that this is the best. I went to Japan to teach English as a second language. When you’re surrounded by another culture, going to the corner store to buy a carton of milk becomes an adventure. These are those adventures, from 2002 to 2003.

Don’t Panic: September 9, 2002
I hop a train and head into the Japanese countryside

Tales from Boot Camp: September 30, 2002
The interesting sorts that I met in training.

The Full Marky: December 30, 2002
My first time at a Japanese hot spring – where all go in nude.

The View from the Top: February 16, 2003
My visit to the site of the 1972 Winter Olympics.

Welcome to my Midlife Crisis

When I went to NAIT to study broadcasting, one of my classmates told me to “have [my] midlife crisis on [my] own time.” This is how a man at the ripe old age of 26 goes back to school. 2003-2005.

The Purple Rose: August 11, 2003
One of my rare attempts to be artistic, and do some fiction.

The Moons of Jupiter: November 24, 2003
My lack of a love life, tied to the life of Galileo.

Meeting Totoro pt. 2: I Wish I Could Stay Forever – April 25, 2005
One of my final Japan stories, chronicling my trip to the Studio Ghibli Museum. Complete with picutres!

Tourism: December 5, 2005
A camping trip with the folks makes me reflect on the state of the tourism industry

Deja Freakin’ Vu

I finished college (again). I was living at home (again), looking for my first job out of college (again). But I finally got my job in radio. These ran the first half of 2006.

MY Evening with Kevin Smith: February 20, 2006
I got to see a genuine Kevin Smith Q&A. Here’s my blow-by-blow account.

Rest Stop: March 6: 2006
Happy memories of the Edson Rest Stop

Untold Tales of Japan: Nagano – March 20, 2006
While in Japan, it was my goal to see the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Here’s 4 days of touring Nagano.

…And the Adventure Continues…

As is said in one of my favourite movies, “there can be no happy endings, for nothing truly ends.” The saga continues at my blog, Midnight Ramblings.