I am Ian William Ennis Smith. I am a Smithsonian. Ian comes from the Scottish Gaelic for John, the first name of my maternal grandfather. Smith comes from the Proto-Germanic for a skilled worker. It is the last name of
I am 31. The day after being the subject in a lengthy, complicated resection, I experience the cryptic process of death, finalizing in me waking up in my old, partial body. I am forced to to navigate myself through several
I am 30. I’m in Los Angeles, in the back of a comic book store, watching hopeful comedians say three minutes worth of material. My name is called and I walk onto the stage. I say this: Keep it going
I am 29. I am coughing uncontrollably with a constant headache, full-frontal dizziness, and most disconcertingly, an unqualified absence of energy. Each step I take requires a much needed resting period, which is rather foolish. My attempt at a jog,
I am 28. I’m on the 240 bus, headed to North Vancouver, the first half of my lengthy daily commute. Comedy Bang! Bang! is playing from my headphones while a woman unapologetically denigrates the strangers around her. I am the
I am 27. I’m in a mansion in Kelowna they call Crescendo. We’re all sitting around a large table eating Thanksgiving dinner. This is the first real chance to get to know a lot of new people who would end
I am 26. [4:00 on the clock.] Staring at the 00. Look at that. [Eyes close.] [Someone’s staring at me.] [Eyes open.] Yes, someone do be. I’m supposed to turn around. She keeps pointing at me to do it. I’m
I am 25. I’m in a grocery store, listening to Roy Dotrice read me Game of Thrones as I continuously fill and unfill a shopping cart. After neglecting to either earn an income or pay attention to my bank account
I am 24. It is the third day of me being far better than everyone else at winner-plays-on Tetris. I’m on my living room bed alongside Callahan and Romesh, and also Michiel and Judith, two Belgian couchsurfers staying with me
I am 23. I leave town with very little notice or explanation to my apparent girlfriend. There’s a brief stopover in Toronto on my way to San Francisco, where Peter and I will start an adventure. I have a very
