A Voice From the Past

I've spent most of today cleaning up my apartment so that Jan can start showing it to prospective tennants. While sorting through all my old stuff to decide what to keep and what to throw out I came across an absolute gem. A computer diskette from the late 80s labelled "Diary Disk".

It's an old Double Density disk, they don't even make those anymore. I didn't expect the it to be readable by this point, it's been sitting in the same dusty box for about 7 years without being touched. Sure enough though, it worked.

I had a lot of fun re-reading it, and I decided to share some of the entries from it with you (I'll even leave in the typos and horrid grammar). Here goes:

YOUNG JAMES WRITES:
January 11, 1991

Well this time its been two months and a day since I wrought.You may not believe this but I"v allready moved,heres how it hapened...
Jan.15 I got a call from Ottowa it was my dad he said he had
great news for mom!The houseing told my dad we got a house in Ottowa!We could move in January!We were all excited!But the next day we herd from dad again the army decided we could'nt wait that long sow then we got a moving date Dec.14 and we did we now live in a large house (16 Rigel rd) this house has a fire place and two bathrooms.
O.k another thing that happened was I got lost on my way two school.Heres how that hapened...
I was on my way to school (Jean Vaenier Cathic) when I got on the bus it was full no seats left becauseit was a city bus I had to stand but my friends who were showing me how to get to school got on the other bus witch was not a good idea. I didn't know where to get off so I ended up in downtown Ottowa! I thats no wheres near were I wanted to be.I ENDED UP TAKING A THREE HOUR TOUR OF OTTOWA.Well that just about sums it up!Oh bye the way be expecting a letter this summer.

ps
I didnt have the guts to ask out Amanda.


MATURE JAMES WRITES: I still remember Amanda, I was absolutely obsessive about her back in those days. Though in my defense I was only 12 ;)


YOUNG JAMES WRITES:
September 22 1991
HI It's been way to long since I wrought I have lived here for a long time and my mom is already back from her two month trip to Dallas witch she hadent even left on last time I wrought. Well I have a new friend named Becky she's nice and has the hots for me. Thats been happening alot lately but I'm still loyal to Amanda but if this keeps up I don't know how mutch longer I can be. Well bye bye

MATURE JAMES WRITES: Becky Garland was a girl that live near me on the base (CFB Rockcliffe). We met at a carnival on the base called Summerfest, and spent the entire day together. That night as I walked her home she told me she "liked" me, and I was so shy back then that I couldn't even speak in response. I ended up falling for her too 5 years later. She became my first girlfriend, and my first love.

It's cute to read some of the things I had to say about her when we first met, and how we originally got our pet names. I've always remembered the names, but I forgot how they came about until I read this journal. Incase you're curious my name was "Rover", and her's was "Fido". It started as a joke between us, but we still occasionally used those names for each other even after we started dating.

Some of the entries that followed were a lot more personal, and I can really see my personality changing as I read it. It's unique. There are names popping up all over the place in my journal that I haven't though of in years. I wonder what they are doing...

Shandra Nadarajah - My second love, and the obsession of my high school life. I talk about when I met her, in embarassing detail actually *laugh*

Erin Considine - A friend from CFB Rockcliffe that I used to hang out with a lot.

Robert Wojtowitz - One of my best friends in high school, another member of the little computer club we had there.

Steve Wong - My brother. Steve was another base brat, and we had just about everything in common. Including our interests in Shandra. He was the only one I ever met that had dedicated himself to the same lifestyle as myself (straight-edge, no alchohol, no sex), we adopted each other a few months after meeting, and he used to call my mother "Mommy #2". I haven't seen him in at least 6 years now, though I'm told by a mutual friend that he tried to track me down a couple years ago when he had a child. It's sad that I don't even know the gender...do I have a nephew? a neice?

Melody Arruda - One of my best friends of all time. We still exchange e-mail every now and then, usually about once a year. I'll have to make a point of seeing her before I leave the country.

Andrea Carrier - Another great friend from high school. I ran into her at a night club a few years ago and we still recognised each other. Big hugs all around.

I think I like my old diary a lot more than this one, or the one I had just a few years ago. The fact that it's so old makes it somehow more significant, because some of this may have been forgotten if I hadn't written it back then. A dusty box with an relic of a disk....what a great find!