Saying Goodbye to Our First Home

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We once were living in a small basement suite,
It was dark n' dank, though we could put up our feet.
In fact, I had to if I didn't want a scare,
From the many lil spiders making their homes down there.
And I don't mean the ones that we keep as pets
Ours are much friendlier and sweet, I'll bet.
There was only a single room in which to lay ones head,
And hardly enough room in there for much but a bed.
It had no door, which wasn't very sweet,
Cuz I could hear the TV when trying to sleep.
And Yang Gwang found her way in there every day,
Shedding her hair in our bed where she'd lay.
A blessing then came, although in disguise,
The time had come to tell the suite good-bye,
A bit of a panic to find a new place,
Unfortunately, it isn't most peoples taste,
To house a dog and 6 spiders as well,
Finding a new home was going to be hell.
Looking at suites, it crossed our worried minds,
'Is this dump the best that we're going to find?'
Finally we found the place we'd come to call home,
A house! With a yard! And two floors to roam!
The floors creak a little and the house is very old
We knew we'd have to insulate before it gets cold.
Wes bought some paint and Andre loaned a hand,
Over the next week, and almost all we could stand,
The house became home with a new coat of paint,
When doors wouldn't close, Wes showed restraint,
Signs of mice everywhere couldn't deter us,
We filled in all the holes and will trap them if we must.
Sunlight streams in the windows, there's a park in the back,
We're ignoring the basement floor has a crack.
No reason to be quiet, we yell just to be loud,
Of our old creaky house, I am so proud.
And thankful for Wesley, who has made me this space,
Now it’s time to go and I will really miss this place.



Last weekend was the much anticipated Yard Sale. Wes and I had spent hours marking prices and twice as much time arguing over what the prices should be. While setting up I found and umbrella/bag set worth $2 and a single umbrella worth $4. Obviously, we hadn't been all that consistant. By 7pm on Friday evening, it seemed a moot point. People haggled viciously and we were too hot, happy and drunk to care much what they paid, as long as it was hauled off.



It was prime yard saling weather and all the downtown riff raff came out of the woodwork to hunt down bargain items. Some came merely for entertainment and made dozens of rounds of the yard, picking up each item and looking for its full history. Stray neighbourhood children quickly caught on to the free candy sitting out, and made themselves at home in our yard.



Friends and family came for the company and stayed for the entertainment provided by the parade of neighbourhood characters that graced our back lawn.

In the end, 54 Corona's, 30 AGD's, 1 26 of Gin, 24 hotdogs, 12 hambugers, 18 donuts, 8 breakfast sandwiches, 3 pots of coffee, 2 wicked sunburns, 4 hub caps, 1 pallet fire, 1 drunk neighbour, 2 mullet-mohawks, 4 evicted children, and 2 catfights over appliances = 1000 bucks profit.
And one rather empty house.

Back to Where it All Began

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Wes and I met in Taichung, Taiwan in February of 2003. We posed as ESL teachers by day and managed varying degrees of tomfoolery by night. Our misdirection somehow guided us together and our friendship blossomed from the betelnut sludge stained streets of the city.



I called it fate when we found out our families both had their roots in Camrose, Alberta and learned of the number of historical connections in amongst our lines. Wes proceeded to scientifically prove this seemingly insane coincidence with a formula eight pages long. In the end, though, we’re just happy and lucky to not be related.

A poem, dedicated to a beginning:

I once was an empty, lonely girl
Then I met this man who changed my world
We met over a murky shrimping pool
The patch on his fag bag declared him a Tool.
He rode a black Yamaha and drove so fast
We'd drive to the country, wind rushing past
With a bag full of beer and no more on our minds
Than the fresh Dakeng air and what bugs we would find.
It was the beginning of a beautiful thing
In the jungle of Taiwan I found my King
Happy days, bug catching nights
My Tool of a man is completely outta sight!!



Wes had already been in Taiwan for a year and a half before I arrived. Another year and a half later, we were both back on Canadian soil, trying to figure out how to live in the Real World.




I managed to educate myself in everything from counseling to nursing to hippy medicine to education with little focus on completion. Finally, I sunk my teeth into a certificate in occupational health and safety and began a Career. I’m now a Safety Coordinator for Edmonton International Airport. At least for 3 more weeks.







Wes went back to school to continue his Education and completed his Masters in Systematics and Evolution at the University of Alberta. He’s an Entomologist, and a great one.


Turns out we’re not so bad at this Real World thing.



Wes has been accepted to Chung Shing University in Taichung for his PhD program. The Real World is about to meet Fantasy Island. Back to where it all began.

This is our story.