LucJenson

I recently met two Albertans out here in South Korea at a bar. They were on the other side of the bar from me, and when they walked past, I greeted them as an Ontarian and offered to shake their hands. They both declined the handshake and proudly announced, "We're not on the same team."

That was a few weeks ago. I'm still disturbed by it. I knew Albertans had a reputation because of the politicking there. But I hadn't realized it would be so blatant. That same night, two South Africans happily asked me my thoughts on Trump, and I was perhaps too honest in my first statement, and they grew upset with me and insisted he was good for Canadians and South Africans, both.

I left the bar not long after. Haven't seen those four come back, so there is a bright side to the story, at least.

I have a distinct memory of walking out into the forest as a kid with my father, sibling, and dogs. I knew those woods like the back of my hand. I still know them well and could go back in and find distinct trees and paths.

But this memory had us crawl under a dense thicket of branches and we found ourselves face to face with a pack of wolves. Five of them. They all came out from over this mound ahead of us, one stood on top. The others moved around to the sides kind of or in-between us and the one on the mound.

I distinctly remember not being afraid. My dogs were calm. My family was calm. The wolves were at ease. I looked the one in front of us in the eyes and felt warmth. And then, one by one, they turned and left.

Ive tried to go back to the exact spot several times, but it's not there. I've checked satellite imagery. I've gone through the other woods that my family frequented for hiking. Nothing.

So i dismissed it for many years (~20ish). It came back as a distant memory a few years ago and I asked my brother and sister if they'd remembered it. They didn't. And I don't remember which one was with me. So I went to ask my dad. As I started asking about it, he explained the rest of the memory. He, too, remembers it. But he also couldn't find his way back there. It was my brother who was with us.

Neither of us can explain the situation.

There are several other things, but that's one of my greatest life mysteries, for sure.

I have a few, but each in their own categories.

• Reality - Departures - A show where three fellows in Canada give up everything to travel the world together for a year, documenting their journey. One year becomes three. It released me of all my anxieties about leaving the comfort of my home and is now a gem of a series I keep close by. Shout out to Andres Dupuis, Justin Lukach, and Scott Wilson for being such a huge inspiration.

• Live Action Drama/Comedy - Scrubs - The best medical drama out there. It is so well written, so impactful, and so enjoyable to go through. It helped me come to terms with my dad's passing.

• Live Action Sitcom - Friends - 10 seasons of ups and downs, laughter, and tears. The show definitely told us life was gonna be this way. Can't go wrong with this classic.

• Animated - Futurama - Another contender for one of the best written TV shows out there. It's so perfectly complete.

• Anime - Log Horizon - I'm a long-time fan of both .hack// and Log Horizon. Both are incredible series. But Log Horizon is maybe a bit more compact and easy to follow for outsiders and is generally a more casual watch experience while still having solid continuity across the series.