1982

“Murray's mom made really good chili, and lots of kids made regular trips to Murray's house to have some of his mom's chili. She seemed to always have chili ready. Murray's house became known for his mom's chili. Murray was well liked, but his mom's chili made him even more popular.”

Jian is no writer. Without the notoriety of his day job there would be no book. But his stature as a minor Canadian deity is inescapably linked to the reading of the book. As a fan of Q I'm sure I'm not alone in reading it entirely in his voice.

That aside how could his memoir not resonate? Jian comes up in the 80's harking from a Southern Ontario suburb as a second generation immigrant trying to fit in at highschool. I suspect Jian, despite his hand wringing, to be waaay cooler than I was at that age growing up down the 401 from him. Hanging with the seniors in theatre class, in a band, making out with girls and meeting Rush. As far as 14 year old me was concerned, he was living the dream.

It's still a treat to revisit that era, and our lives as preteens before the internet. Here's a list - Jian loves his lists - of things this book reminded me of.

• My blue and red pleather Adidas bag


• Mix tapes


• Sam the Record Man


• Spiral corded phones attached to walls


• Commodore PET computers


• The Spoons


• Porn in magazine format


• Grade 13