My first concert ever was Kim Mitchell in 1986 or maybe 1987; their hit at the time was Patio Lanterns . I remember the experience clearly, because I had recently tie-dyed my Levis jean jacket and after the concert, I asked the band to sign the back with a black magic marker. I was super proud that I had gotten all band members’ signatures too! I had planned to check out the signatures at home and ran over to dad's truck excited to spread my jacket out on my bed. I was running high on adrenaline when I got home and told Big M about the autographs and then spun around so she could see them. Big M: What the hell were you doing at that concert? Me :      …. Big M: Jack, look! One of the signed it with “Nice Ass” Me:      [ummm what ?]  …..… Big M:   ANSWER ME! Me:       I didn’t know what they wrote because I haven’t seen it yet….. Big M:   Yeah, uh huh, sure Me:    ...

It’s Monday morning and I’m watching the sun filter through the vertical blinds leading to my balcony as I gently come awake. My new apartment is very quiet, so much so that it’s nearly 10:00 am and I’m supposed to be job hunting. All of a sudden, the butterflies of excitement in my stomach turn to a more familiar feeling, a driving force of anxiety. I get out of bed and rearrange my futon so it rests in the sofa position. I remember maman checking about 8 times if a futon was really all I wanted for a bed; she was very confused as to why I wanted to sleep on the floor…because if Big M and Jack ever came to visit they certainly wouldn’t be taking over my bedroom and making me sleep on the sofa bed. I feed Spot, clean his litter, make coffee and hop in the shower while listening to Core by Stone Temple Pilots on my brand new Sony 3-disc CD Changer/Radio Stereo. My favourite uncle, Sebastien, had purchased it for me as a graduation gift while I was in Québec with maman. I remember wh...