Nickel and Dimed

I got this gem from S* at Femme Noire Revisited who in turn got it from from Steph over at SuperSecretVault (a blog I've come to appreciate that much more recently):


-Find five coins, the nearest you have handy (pocket, purse, passed-out wino).

–Note the dates.

–For each of the coins, and for every unique date, describe a significant event from your life that you remember from that year, good or bad. If you weren’t born yet on any given date, you are free to write whatever comes to mind, if anything.

Quarter 1982

Well I wasn't even born yet, but my parents were both at turning points in their careers. My mom was still working in International Development at this point, about to spend a couple of years in the Caribbean and my dad was about finish his Master's in Accounting.

Toonie 1996

Actually this coin is from the first year they did away with two dollar bills, I remember the fanfare surrounding the launch of the coin, and the brouhaha over what it was to be called. At the end of the day it hardly makes any difference to me as I, like most people my age, almost never carry cash.

Nickel 2003

I had started at Dartmouth but almost immediately realised it wasn't for me. I had just finished a year off - unplanned after a false start at McMaster. My parents were both excited that I was actually going to go to university instead of just living downtown with my friends and boozing it up. I was just glad to get out of the country and be off their radar for a bit.

Penny 2004

Was living in residence at the University of Alberta by then (3rd university in as many years, holla!) and blowing through money like it was going out of style. I drank almost every day and rarely went to class - forgoing that in in favour of Dawson's Creek and Saved By the Bell every morning. Somehow I managed to finish the school year with a 7.8 GPA (we were on the 9-point scale for my first year)

Dime 2007

I am humbled and have definitely grown as a person, and for that I am thankful. I'm also learning, slowly but surely, to take responsibility for my own actions - and am saving for my retirement/next big trip to IKEA.