The Couple

I guess that you could say Jamie and I have a “modern romance.”

We met in first year of university, in her dorm room. However, I was visiting a few friends, and I had no pre-conceived intention of meeting her at all. In fact, our first encounter was so fleeting that she can’t even remember. Keeping in mind that I remember perfectly, of course. Which is really quite astounding as the reason for my visiting her friends at the time was to seek their advice regarding a girl who I was positively certain was meant for me. Of course, she was not. I was 18, and at that time there was nothing that was positively meant for me other than a hangover and diarrhea on Thursdays (following what would become a tradition of hot wings on Wednesdays). It was hard for me to imagine why I was single at the time.

Jamie had just returned from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji having experienced more than I could ever imagine. Bungee jumping, skydiving, snorkling the Great Barrier Reef, and numerous other activities that I have insisted she never inform me of. Our paths rarely crossed in first year, and I can only speak for myself, but when they did I felt the most incredible sense of excitement. Not necessarily in the form of “butterflies” exactly, but whenever she was around I was having a hell of a lot of fun.

We kicked off second year as part of a group of 4 frosh leaders. I won’t go in to the full details of what a frosh leader is, but just know that it’s an excuse to get even more belligerent than normal in the first week of the school year (remember, the legal drinking age in Quebec is 18). I would say that this is likely around the time when Jamie and I began to really build our friendship. I was loud, obnoxious and more often than not outrageously drunk… and she always seemed to match me. It wasn’t until about half way through the year that we hooked up. Although, that wasn’t when we started dating. In fact, that was exactly one week before she started dating a man who is now a good friend of both of ours, and a homosexual. Apparently my wings Wednesdays followed by diarrhea Thursdays meant that I was less likely to date the girl I fancied than a gay man.

Jamie ventured off to Nottingham in third year, making use of the McGill exchange program to study abroad. While I did pay a visit, utilizing my spring break and the money that I had earned the previous summer in landscaping to treck over to Edinburgh where Jamie then met me, we spent the good majority of third year apart.

When Jamie returned to Montreal in 4th year, we had both matured. England had civilized her, and my days of wings and debauchery seemed to be winding down. Jamie was finding the return from England immensely difficult after a year of traveling and exploring her passion for theater in what is likely the best nation on the planet to pursue it. I found employment for the summer as a logistics analyst in Calgary, which felt far more like a permanent position than an internship. With an employee base of primarily 30-40 something’s who I got along with supremely well, to say that it was difficult to return to school and make my way to numerous events and parties with 18-22 year olds would be an understatement.

Although, there is one moment that stands out to me from the beginning of fourth year that I will likely never forget. Receiving the text that Jamie had returned, practically bowling over the girl that I was dancing with on my way to the door of an old Montreal nightclub, and running (shirt torn completely down the middle with lude phrases written in magic marker on my chest) toward the bar where Jamie was sitting down with many of those very same friends that occupied her dorm room in first year.

In approximately two months, we would be dating. As the year went on, we eventually spent the good majority of our time in each other’s company, to the point where it felt strange to be separated. At the end of the school year, Jamie took leave for work in Toronto as I was soon to depart for an internship in London, England. Immediately before I left we made the decision to stay together. Despite all of the negativity that I had heard (and believed) about long distance, we made it work. And not for a single day while we were apart did either of us ever question that decision.

We have now been living together in Toronto for a little over two years, and have taken upon this task of sharing with you each of our perspectives in this blog.

We hope you enjoy!