Ok, Ok, The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.... but maybe the conspiracy is deeper? Maybe the stork society just totally dropped me off on the wrong side of the Detroit River? Heck, maybe the stork even mistook Windsor for Detroit... I need to write a letter to the Stork council or something.
Growing up in Essex Ontario, I always knew about a saying that says "Ontario stops at London". I never really knew what this meant until I moved away for university.
Example 1: Despite being a huge music buff my whole life, I was not privy to many of the great Canadian bands until I made the move to St. Catharines for school. Can you believe I only knew 2 Tragically Hip songs!? And to top it off, most of my friends from the Toronto area didn't know who Bob Seger was... BOB SEGER.... CMON PEOPLE!!!!
Example 2: Every single one of my university friends lived out their childhood experiences using Toronto as a home base, whereas my home base was Detroit. In 2nd year my friend and I were talking about how awesome the Zoo was as a kid. At the end of it all he commented on how amazing the Toronto Zoo was. I paused for a moment, and then realized I had never been to the Toronto Zoo and I was picturing the Detroit Zoo in my head! The same was true for Hockey Games, Monster Truck Rallies, and even Science Centres*.
*I did visit the Ontario Science Centre as a child, but my most vivid memories are of the one in Detroit.
Example 3: When I first took my internship at P&G (an American-owned company I might add), I consistently got asked if I was from the US. Somewhere between the "accent" that I had and my passion for NASCAR, I guess I was giving myself away! I believe both my accent and passion for NASCAR have waned, but the memories of this time still persist.
Example 4: During my internship I had the opportunity to visit Fayetteville, Arkansas to check out our sales office there. Anyone who knows anything about the consumer goods industry knows we have a little company down there we sell to, so I won't bother mentioning it. :)
Well, while I'm down there eating a $5 steak that is more delicious than any $50 I've ever had in Canada, I am telling someone about how I'm on the Canadian sales team. What's the response you might ask? "Oh, but you aren't originally from Canada are you?"
The way I see it, if the folks in Arkansas mistake me for American, I'm either doing a really bad job at being a Canadian, or I've been misplaced somehow!
My 5th and final example: I've denied it for a long time, but it's official. Without any effort of my own, social media has now classified me as an American. On a little site I've mentioned before (www.empireavenue.com), they just implemented some new leaderboards. The are organized by your default country. Sure enough, I look on there and I wasn't showing up in Canada, but I WAS showing up on the global list. Turns out, even though my location is listed in Toronto, the leader boards have me showing up in the US list!!
So Dad, your little secret about how you smuggled me across the border as a young child is safe with me. I suppose it was a lot easier to do such things back then. Somewhat ironic, because with an economic situation like we've seen lately, I hear it's a pain in the butt to go back the other way.
UPDATE: @dups has shared with me that the location for that feature is actually determined by your IP address so that people can't toy with their location to get a good spot on the leaderboards. I have a sneaking suspicion that my VPN to Cincinnati is likely what put me in the US list. Either way, it has been fun being an American for this short time!
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