Setting the Record Straight

On my trip to Ottawa, my friend KPF and I reminisced about our time in the IT program where we met. Between the 2 of us, we tried to remember our 34 classmates. While we did that, I spoke to him about being an emotional support animal to so many of our classmates. KPF, for some reason, thought the opposite … he wondered if they were my emotional support dogs?! I was very indignant and was quick to correct him - I told him that I was the emotional support dog!! (Dog sounds so bad; but the female equivalent sounds worse!)

Anyways, the whole exchange got me thinking about the content I have created on this blog. Each blog post seems like a short life lesson for the boys. There are just enough details to make a point, but NOT enough to paint a clear picture. I feel like there is a need to fill in the missing pieces. I don't want anything I said/say to be misinterpreted. So, as a first step, I am going back to a memorable post to flesh out some details.

As already mentioned, the guys outnumbered the girls in the program - there were 6 girls and 30 guys! Then, one of the girls left! This IT program was a 9-month post graduate diploma course, and it was very intense and came with a hefty price tag of $17, 600. Some of my classmates had families and were changing careers and were very serious people. The others, like me, were single, fresh out of school and a little more relaxed.

I guess I made it seem like it was like a therapeutic session for me. Maybe it was, but I also did a lot of handholding and did whatever I could to support some of my classmates. Here are a few ‘stories’ from that time.

My best mate from those 9 months was this shy guy who followed a Canadian exchange student, to his country, back to Canada! He fell in love with this girl and left his family behind and came to Toronto with her. He did not have a job and decided to do the course. He quickly found out how much he hated IT, but he decided to rough it out as he wanted employment so badly. I sat beside him every class and walked to the subway station with him after each class. I had so much respect for him for not giving up. I also loved his commitment to his girlfriend.

Then, there was this guy who took a lot of pleasure in teasing and torturing me. He would call me “soda pop” and sing silly songs. He was the only one who commented on how I smelled … like baby powder. He thought it was the perfect smell for me! This guy stressed me out. I shared with KPF that it was because of this guy that I saw my friend for the first time. It was St. Patrick’s Day, and this guy was threatening to pinch me as I didn’t wear something green. I must have been visibly scared and KPF found this green sticker on a chair and stuck it on me. I guess that was when he became my hero! (And I wonder now if this person would have actually pinched me?!)

For the duration of the program, I sat between my best mate and another guy. This 3^rd person was introverted and didn’t socialize with anyone. At one point, I thought Craigley was interested in him. They did this presentation together and it ended with the last few words from the movie Casablanca. I think they also went out for dinner or something. I maybe had a distorted perception of that situation. The reality, for me, was that I sat between 2 men whom I found to be decent and with whom I felt safe. And that was that.

Here, I want to repost a sentence and provide a bit of commentary on it.

I believe I flirted outrageously with every guy who showed an interest; it was just that and nothing serious.

I should have the words “every guy” replaced with “the only guy” because that’s the truth! This dude supposedly had a girlfriend, and yet he hovered over me. Perhaps he needed some sort of attention or acknowledgement. One day, he went down on his knee and proposed to me with a ring he put together with some plastic/paper, and I playfully accepted. That was the most “distance” I went with him. We never hung out outside of the walls of the building the program was housed in, but within the walls I was showered with a lot of weird devotion.

Anyways, over those 9 months, I only saw KPF and wanted him to be part of my life in any capacity. That was the only connection that meant something to me. I was willing to put time and effort into it. No one else was on my radar, and yet, I ended up dating one of the guys (not mentioned above) briefly and then, eventually married Craigley!

All of this came back to me because KPF wanted us to remember our classmates from 27-28 years ago. Some memories were fun, and some not so much! What I did get from reminiscing was that I have led an interesting life and have met some characters. It also got me thinking about finally writing that book. In my attempt to set the record straight, I realized I am ready to write more than a page at a time.