http://www.thisnorthernlife.com Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:55:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en You told us we'd be on TV, so you taught us a song on the xylophone and how to dance around a dreidel. I had no idea what a dreidel was, or what it meant to be Jewish. "You don't have to be Jewish to be on Daedle Doors," you ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-142-mrs-b/ Ten years ago, I thought I was pregnant. I was late, I was afraid, and I took a test. I was dating the man who would later be my ex-husband, and in no way was I prepared for, nor did I desire, to have his children. It was a feeling that ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/empty/ We had fun telling friends of yours that we were sisters, because who would doubt two Korean girls who swore it was so? It was a convincing tale you wove, how we had lived out separate lives back in Michigan. If I could have wished it all true, I would ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-141-mj/ This week's Signs Of The Apocalypse: I wore a bathing suit in public on three separate occasions IN ONE WEEK. As far as I know, no one was struck down and blinded by the sight. Yes, even I am putting on ill-fitting swimwear and scampering about in broad daylight, trying ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/the-four-horsemen-are-not-far-behind/ I didn't want to meet you under such circumstances, but there you were, recovering from major heart failure after a resuscitation effort that was nothing short of a miracle, at the too young age of thirty-five. Every day that I see you, I give thanks that you're still here with ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-140-db/ We couldn't get past that our common bond was your ex-husband, despite our hopes it would really be our love for writing and taking long runs through the woods. His creepiness reached an all time high when sent us identical emails full of heartfelt thoughts, down to the last XOXO. ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-139-sv/ You were a public school kid, and I soaked up any attention you gave me on that weekend retreat, thinking you were special. You lost interest when we got back home and went back to our very separate lives. Rejected and embarrassed, I felt like a stupid girl from private ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-138-kevin/ You demanded attention from everyone all of the time. You shook your ass while walking to get the boys' attention then demonized them for objectifying you. I followed you around like a sad puppy; I didn't have anything better to do. Losing contact with you after that summer was a ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-137-stacey-r/ I didn't know much about you, only that you were her much older brother, loved metal, and had a waterbed that you let us sleep on if you weren't home. A pair of "panty raid" panties was tacked to your wall. I figured college must be one hell ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/50x365-136-david/ Someone please explain to me why it is that people -- and by this I mean White People, mostly -- feel the inexplicable urge to ask personal questions to people they don't know, those people being mostly of the Not White variety. Take yesterday at the grocery store, for example. I'm ... http://www.thisnorthernlife.com/where-im-coming-from/