Check out my latest essay in @maisonneuvemag that is garnering media attention!
2020 has been an unpredictable year for us all, so apologies for not updating this wee lil 15-year-old blog as much as I used to! So far it’s been an incredible for my career, and so many other things happening as well, that this post is going to have to encompass all of them! Hey, bloggers can’t be choosers (har har).
First things first, all year I have been researching and writing a piece for Maisonneuve Magazine about the deep roots that Arabs have in Montreal and also Canada + my family’s long and storied history therein. The fall issue of the magazine has finally hit the newsstands and you can read my feature essay in its entirety! Because Maisonneuve is such a great mag, I would highly encourage you to purchase a copy here, especially if you don’t live in Canada and want your own issue delivered to your door!
But if you can’t make it out to the newsstands (thanks COVID), you can read the essay in its entirety here!
It’s really making an impact and readers are really connecting with the story – so much so, that CityNews Montreal interviewed me last week about my new essay. You can watch that entire interview below!
It’s so strange how, at least once a year, I manage to attract the attention of the media. Sure, I am a writer myself and have connections, but honestly, these are reporters reaching out to me and not vice versa. So it feels so great to know that what I have to say and the stories I want to share are truly fascinating and interesting to people.
If you live in Canada, Maisonneuve Mag is sold at all Indigo/Chapters locations, as well as Type Books, Book City, Coles, and other shops! This is what my issue looks like!
On top of being a literary darling (hahaha, kidding!) (not kidding), I’ve also had A SUMMER. It’s been truly busy with my continuing gig at eTalk (it’s been a year now! Time flies!) plus all of the adventures I’ve been up to (even with the borders closed and COVID ravaging our travel plans, we’ve been enjoying tons of road trips, and still more to come!).
If you’ve been following here for a while, you know that every once in a while, I dabble in a bit of modelling just for shits n’ giggles. Last year I did quite a few shoots that I never blogged about, but I really enjoyed this recent shoot with regular collaborator Graham, so I thought I’d post some of the shots we did this summer. I love the colours (we shot at dusk along the waterfront overlooking the city of Toronto) and we captured them without even using lighting!
I still have more things in the pipeline and can’t wait to share them with you all. In the meantime, be sure to bookmark and check Christine Estima dot com often for more of my published articles, press interviews, photoshoots, and more!
Head’s up vegan/vegetarians! Check out my new food essay in The @TorontoStar!
During this time of uncertainty for many freelance writers around the world, I somehow managed to sell my very first food story to The Toronto Star! The Food section is a place I never thought I’d have a byline, so I’m super proud of this one. Head’s up vegans/vegetarians (or anyone looking to reduce their meat intake), this is about Liquid Smoke, a must-have pantry ingredient to zest up your plant-based recipes (and since we’re all quarantined at home right now, this is something you will definitely be using more of. No more boring self-isolation meals!). Click here or the above image to read! I will update this post when it’s also published in the print edition!
APRIL 15, 2020 EDIT!: it’s printed in today’s print edition, in the Life Section!
I’ve been trying to break into The Toronto Star for years, so this is very special to me, and clicks are appreciated!
As I mentioned above, right now during such times of uncertainty, it’s hard being a freelance writer. Many of my friends in the industry are seeing their income drastically reduced. Freelance budgets are drying up at newspapers and magazines, most pitches are being rejected across the board, and there is a rising sense of anxiety in the industry. I’m super lucky to be a regular, daily contributor at eTalk as I blogged about previously. They’ve actually given me more work lately, so on top of my regular late night TV beat, I also do news hits in the morning, and even some entertainment roundups and special one-offs! Here’s my late night column from this morning that I really liked (feminist Ryan’s, holla!), a news hit from this morning (Swifties rejoice!), a special one-off dedicated to Mariah Carey, and an entertainment roundup for all of us stuck in quarantine. I am loving all the extra work, but I realize I am super lucky. Many thanks to every editor and publication who agrees to take me on!
As always, fanks for the support, my munchkins, and please visit the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my published stories, essays, and more!
I got a Green Card. Now What?: my latest essay in @VICE
It’s been a hot minute since I last blogged, but that’s because a lot of life has been happening and I have always been hellbent on living it!
I recently realised that it’s been 15 years since I started this wee lil’ blog. It used to be poetic musings about my life. Then it turned into a kind of street art photography blog. Then for a while it was just about my travel adventures. Back when I started this in 2005, I was 24 and a very different woman than I am today at 38 (almost 39!). Now, I don’t particularly care to share my private life in a public way. Instead, I sell off the details of my private life to magazines and newspapers. So if you want to know anything about my life, you can fucking pay me. *winky face*
With that in mind, I’ve published my latest personal essay in VICE. If you remember, I used to be a regular contributor to VICE for many years, but I backed away from it a few years ago. Recently, my old editor reached out and said I’d always be welcome to return. So I wrote about my experience over the past 8 years in applying for (and finally getting) a Green Card to the U.S. It was a bewildering experience that pitted my dreams against my principles. Click here or the above image to read!
Speaking of writing, if you remember back in October, I became a late night TV talk show columnist for eTalk. That’s still ongoing, and I publish new recaps and musings on the late night TV circuit every day! I’ve uploaded about 60 of my articles to my personal website, if you want just a taste of my work over there. But if you’d like a daily dose, follow me on Twitter!
In other news, sometimes I still find the time to be in front of the camera (just like in my old reality TV star days…). In December, I was asked to make a cameo in the latest music video for the synth-pop band Featurette. (Full disclosure, Lexie and Jon from the band are personal friends). So I brought in my typewriter and my old nerd glasses, and I was a complete goofball in their fun, flirty, and inspirational music vid for the track “You do you!”.
You can watch the entire vid above, but here are some stills of me in the video, just for your pleasure.
Okay, I’m fricken endearing.
Fun fact: we shot this music video in the same location as Oscar-winning film Spotlight, and also the Canadian indie hit Level 16.
Fanks for sticking around for 15 years, my munchkins, and don’t forget to check out the official Christine Estima dot com for more!
I did three live on-air media interviews in 24 hours: a day in the life
So I’ve done a LOT of media interviews in my life. I’ve been a guest on TV talk shows, TV morning shows, TV news reports, I’ve done countless radio interviews, and I’ve been interviewed many times for print publications. In addition, the fact that I was a cast member for two different TV shows probably prepared me for a lot of the intricacies that comes with dealing with the media. And let’s not forget, I work in media! I’ve been a freelance writer and columnist since Christ was a cowboy. So perhaps I occupy this strange little nook where not only do I write stories for the media, I am actually sometimes the story.
Case in point – Remembrance Day. A couple weeks ago I was contacted by AMI audio, a radio station that caters to people with different disabilities. They had found my Globe & Mail essay about my collection of wartime love-letters, and wanted to interview me about the topic. Naturally, I said of course, and we did the interview early on Remembance Day morn. You can listen to it here or by clicking the soundcloud link below!
Fun, right? All in a day’s work. After that was over, I went about my regular day-gig as a columnist for The Loop and didn’t expect much else to occur.
Then I checked my Twitter.
A tweet of mine from the night before, wherein I was critical of the inflammatory comments Don Cherry made about new Canadians, had kind of blown up. It wasn’t exactly viral, I’ve had other tweets with larger traction than this one, but I guess it spoke to a lot of people. It clearly also spoke to CTV News Network because I found in my inbox an interview request from them.
Before I know it, I’m on Skype with the producers, whilst doing my makeup sans-mirror and trying to fix the lighting in my living room before BAM! I’m suddenly live on-air coast-to-coast to a national audience. Guy, I wish I were kidding when I tell you that it all happened so fast, I forgot to put on a bra.
It’s a very short interview, but it came out okay AFAIC. You can watch it on the CTV News Network channel here or watch it on Youtube below!
Then, after that interview was done, and my social media was blowing up with Tweets, DMs, and messages from people all across the country (Hi angry message boards! Yes I am a woman with an opinion! EVERYBODY SHIT YOURSELVES), yet ANOTHER interview request popped into my inbox from my old pals at CJAD 800.
You might remember I was interviewed by them earlier this year about my time as a cast member of two TV shows, and this time they wanted my hot take on Don Cherry and also to talk about my unique family and our contributions to the war effort.
So this morning, after I had submitted my latest column for The Loop, I went live on-air for yet ANOTHER interview! You can listen to it here, or by clicking the interview below!
They all went very well and I’m super pleased with how everything turned out. But it’s crazy how life comes at ya fast. One day you’re writing essays, the next you have second to prepare before your face is being seen by thousands of people across the country. Hi country!
In any case, I have been selling a lot of stories lately and I’m still writing up a storm, so to keep up to date, please visit the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my media interviews, my published works, and more!
My latest freelance gig: I’m a Late Night TV Talk Show columnist
The life of a freelance writer is a precarious one. Most days we don’t know where our next paycheque is coming from, and we’re constantly chasing up money we are due from unresponsive accounts payable departments! It’s a lot of pitching, a lot of rejection, and trying over and over again. I’ve been lucky over the years to be able to live off of my writing whilst being awarded some generous artistic awards to keep me going in the lean months, but having a steady gig (short of becoming a staff writer) is the dream of every writer slugging it out in the fields.
Luck struck me a few weeks ago and I haven’t really said anything because it’s all still so new, but I recently signed the contract so I guess I can say a word or two here: I’m now a regular freelancer for eTalk! For those outside of Canada, eTalk is a massive entertainment news show that covers everything from the Oscars red carpet to movie premieres and everyday celebrity hot takes. They also have an online magazine named The Loop, and recently they took me on to be their new Late Night TV Talk Show columnist!
Yes, that means I get paid to watch lots of Late Night Talk Shows and write about all the fun, buzzworthy, wacky things that happen! Not too shabby. I officially can’t complain.
Even though I’ve only been doing this for a few weeks, I’ve already amassed a massive catalogue of articles under my column, so it would be too much to link them all here. But you’re in luck – click here to visit my official dot com and view a scrolling gallery of all of my published pieces thus far AND to click on the ones you want to read!
So far I’ve been able to reveal breaking news about a possible Friends reunion, recap all of Kanye’s wacky antics, dish on ScarJo’s engagement party rules, watch Demi Moore dunk on Bruce Willis, and gasp at Jessica Biel throwing shade at *NSYNC.
Clicks are appreciated, so please follow me on Twitter to read my regular daily doses as they are published hot off the press.
Fanks for the support, munchkins! And as always, don’t forget to visit Christine Estima dot com to read more of all my published short stories, essays, op-ed, columns, and reportage!
WATCH: My interview on @CityNews about #BUNZ
Click the above video or click here to watch my interview today on CityNews Toronto. I was contacted by their reporter to lend my voice and opinion on local trading and bartering app BUNZ which has had some recent upheaval. If you remember, I’ve written in the past about BUNZ for VICE and for the The Walrus, so naturally I had some things to say about recent changes to the community.
Look Ma, I’m erudite and oh-so studious!
Enjoy!
Don’t forget to check out the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my interviews on the news and on talkshows!
The 2018 Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism: I’m A Nominee!
Today has been an interesting day to say the least.
I started the day with a heart-swell: my editor at The Globe and Mail forwarded me some delightful and lovely readers comments they had received on my essay that was published the other day. (Fanks for reading, everyone!) So that was a shot in the arm.
Then I received notification that I’ve been nominated for the 2018 Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism.
Wait . . . say that again? What?
WHAT!
The $10,000 prize celebrates the journalistic contributions by independent writers who have researched and examined some of the more pressing and timely issues of the day. And, apparently, this essay of mine that was published in The Walrus is the kind of stuff they’re jonesing for.
That piece — of which I am hugely proud, and was a joy to write (high-five to my editor!) — detailed my experience of developing a roll of film I found on the curb and then searching for the lost photographer.
Cool, cool.
But have you seen the other 9 nominees for this award? THEY’RE JOURNALISTIC HEAVYWEIGHTS. We’ve got Justin Ling (I started reading every word he published when we were both writing for VICE), Stephen Marche (I loved his first novel, and even gushed to him about it at his book launch at Hart House . . . like a psychopath), Kamal Al-Solaylee (true story: I cited much of his stuff in my Masters thesis), and even the guy who won the award last year! I mean, come on! I am indeed in excellent company and I am huge fans of all the other nominee’s work. I’m honoured to be named amongst them!
They say it’s an honour just to be nominated.
Fam, lemme tell ya, I’m just honoured they even know who the hell I am. Do you know how many pieces The Walrus publishes each year? Scores! I have no idea how my wee lil’ longform essay struck their fancy above everything else the award committee had to consider, but I am eternally humbled, delighted, pleased, obliged, and I may or may not have happy-cried a few times (Don’t tell anyone, I have a reputation to keep).
I’ve never been nominated for an award that I didn’t apply for myself. So this is new territory for me. I’ve always felt like an outsider in the Canadian writing community (It’s full of white men, and I’m a woman and an ethno-cultural minority. Many doors were slammed in my face because editors didn’t think my stories would resonate with – you guessed it – white men). So to be recognised in this manner is hugely meaningful to me.
Maybe I’ll win, maybe I won’t. But lemme tell ya — ya homegirl already feels like a winner.
One final note – today ended on a high-note as well. After every joyful thing that transpired today, I went grocery shopping, and this guy walks up to me in the chocolate aisle (as you do) and asks, “Is your name Christine?”
“Yeahhhhh,” I said tentatively.
“I follow you on Twitter, I read all of your stuff.”
…Pause for the length of the Old Testament…
“Wait. Have we ever met before?”
“No, I just really like your stuff. I follow you on Twitter and Instagram and I read everything you write.”
Guys, if ever there was a day to feel sassy, today was that day.
Fanks for all the support, my munchkins. I will keep you updated as things develop!
Don’t forget to check out the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my published works!
Why I Wish I Never Reported My Assault: read my latest essay in @WalrusMagazine
After the Jian Ghomeshi essay, and the Kavanaugh Hearings, it felt like a timely and relevant idea to get my story out.
I don’t have anything else to say on the matter.
In terms of writing, this process was an extremely long one. For obvious reasons, this essay had to be fact-checked. But the process took over two months, mostly because the magazine (bless ’em) wanted to make sure they had crossed all the T’s and dotted all the i’s, in case anyone wanted to come back at me and call me a liar.
The burden of proof the fact-checker required was greater than what the police required to press charges against my assailant.
So I double-dare you to call me a goddamned liar.
Thanks for reading and for the support, my munchkins.
Fuck the patriarchy.
—
In other news, I spent the weekend with photographer and fellow writer Graham Isador, who took nice shots of me on a rooftop.
If you don’t think photographs are important, wait until they’re all you have left.
Check out my official website Christine Estima dot com for more of my published works.
Kirk/Spock: listen to me on the #GRTTWAK podcast!
A few weeks ago, I performed for a second time at the Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids stage in Toronto. I shared two teen diary entries where I wrote about Kirk/Spock dreams.
Were the dreams nerdy?
Yes.
Were they sex dreams?
Also yes.
Just like last time, I have been included in their latest podcast episode, which you can listen to on your device via the podcast app, or listen here:
Enjoy!
Read my new #shortstory in @BrokenPencilMag!
I’ve sold another short story! This time to Canadian literary icon Broken Pencil Magazine, the founders of CanZine, and a publication I’ve been reading for what feels like 20 years! (It most likely is actually 20 years, I’ve been in this writer game forrrreeeeeevvvvvaaaaaa).
Earlier this year, I found out they wanted my story, “Girl, Hold My Earrings.” It was a long wait between submission and acceptance so I kept following up with them. They told me the reason they were taking longer than expected was because it had gone through several reads. For anyone who knows anything about literary magazines, they usually have pools of readers who give every submission an eye. Stuff that makes it past the first readers, goes on to the secondary reads. Stuff that makes it past the secondary reads, goes on to debate with the editorial team for final selections. And in the end, my wee little story made through to the FINAL SELECTION BABY.
And as it turns out, they published it without changing a single word, comma or semi-colon. I will take that to mean my story was perfect from beginning to end. YOU HEAR THAT? ME = PERFECT.
Oh don’t give me that look.
It’s a pretty funny and short satirical piece. For context, the original title was, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Ex-Boyfriend.”
Womp womp.
You can buy the Fall 2017 issue 77 of Broken Pencil on magazine shelves now at the bookshops or online here!
Don’t forget to check out the official CHRISTINE ESTIMA DOT COM for more of my published short stories, essays, plays, and more!
Listen to my story on the @RaconteursStory podcast!
As many of you know, I’ve been doing live storytelling and spoken word for about 4 years now and I’ve been really lucky with all the places I’ve been invited to speak – London UK, NYC, and all over Toronto. You can watch many of my performances on my YouTube and also listen to the rest on my Soundcloud! Anyway, one of the places I’ve performed at twice Raconteurs Storytelling, has just relaunched their podcast and I appear in episode 3 “Appearances,” where I tell my story of my ethnicity and the mild racism that comes with being othered and “exotic.”
Click here to listen! You can also subscribe to their podcast on iTunes!
And don’t forget to check out the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my Spoken Word, published writing, and more!
Check out my latest #shortstory published in @PrismLitMag !
“Discussion Questions for Your Book Club,” my most recent short story, has been published in the new summer issue of Prism International, a literary magazine based out of B.C., and you can find it on the bookshelves nationwide now. I found a copy at Type Books! You can also order your copy online if you don’t live in Canada or near a book seller!
Plotless fiction! Why I never! Type Books, I resent that!
There’s a funny story behind this. So I’ve been a huge fan of Prism for years and have been trying to crack into their pages for over a decade. EASILY over a decade. Over the past year, I noticed that when I submitted a piece to their fiction editor (who recently left the mag….sad face!), he would reply with awfully kind and encouraging rejections. He was like, “I like this a lot. I can’t use it though. Submit to me again!”
So I kept submitting every time I had something new. And his replies were like, “Okay I laughed out loud at this, it’s hella-funny! Still can’t use it, but submit again!”
Personalized rejections are rare in this business, so I didn’t take his encouragement for granted. I kept trying and trying and trying. But, when you submit to magazines online using Submittable, you have to pay a small fee (which is standard across the board), so because I was submitting so much, he was like, “Your next submission is on me, just email it to me, and I’ll plug it into Submittable manually for you.”
Which was super duper kind of him, he didn’t have to do that at all. Anyway, it was that very free submission that turned out to be the winner. He got back to me and was like, “YAAS QUEEN.”
I’m paraphrasing of course.
But you get the idea.
TL;DR – Sure, talent is your most important asset, but you also need drive, ambition, patience, and persistence. If you don’t have those qualities, you won’t last. HUSTLE YOUR ASSES OFF, MY LITTLE CREATIVE MUNCHKINS.
One last thing I’ll say about this story — before I submitted it to Prism, I submitted it to Granta, a huuuuuuge literary magazine based out of the UK. They’re a big deal. They were doing a themed issue on Canada and were looking for Canadian writers and Canadian stories. The issue was edited by Canadian literary superstars Madeleine Thien and Catherine Leroux. Anyway, I got a rejection letter. Which is pretty standard in this industry, I get rejection letters all the time, and they’ve never bothered me. I’ve been lucky with some of the kind rejections I’ve received (like Prism!), but getting a personalized rejection is RARE. Like, it almost never happens. Boilerplate rejections are par for the course. So imagine my surprise when superstar Madeleine Thien added a personalized note at the bottom of the rejection letter!!
Sometimes, for a writer, all it takes is a little bit of encouragement and some nice words from a stranger to put you right again.
And almost directly following this, Prism was like, GURRRRRRL, this is dope. Done. Sold. Sign here.
Again. Paraphrasing.
Anyway, if you’ve read the story, I’d love your thoughts, comments, and feedback.
And as always, don’t forget to check out the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my published stories, essays, interviews, plays, and more!
How Men Can Stop Street Harassment: my latest article in @VICE
Earlier this week I endured yet again an incident of street harassment. It happens almost every day. So much so, that it’s almost normalized as part of my daily routine. Get up, take a shower, grab a cuppa from Timmies, and tell some douchenozzle to go fuck himself.
This incident was different because a nice young couple came to my aid. I started thinking about all the ways men can be an ally to women to women when they observe street harassment. So many men, supposedly “nice guys,” will just ignore it and pretend it isn’t happening. BUT IT IS HAPPENING, and we need your support and solidarity.
Do you nice guys call out harassment when you see it? Or do you just stand there and watch whilst thinking about how nice you are?
So, with some encouragement from my editor, I wrote about it for VICE. Read it in full here. Enjoy!
And as always, you can visit the official Christine Estima dot com to read more of my published essays, op-eds, columns, short stories, travel writing, and much much more.
Check me out on @CBC’s show Podcast Playlist!
Last year I performed at GRTTWaK, reading an entry from my 1996 diary which was hilarious and cringeworthy at the same time. It was a great experience where I ended up being included on GRTTWaK’s curated podcast. Well, the CBC show Podcast Playlist got wind of my performance and included it in this week’s edition, “As Seen On TV!”
If you want to give’r a listen, click here and fast forward to time index 48:00!
And if you want to watch this performance in full, including me trying to stifle a giggle as the audience laughs, you can watch it below!
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Last week I mentioned that I’d be reading at the Toronto launch of Room Magazine’s 40th Anniversary Anthology. Well it went great! A lot of people in the Canadian literary community showed up and I got to talk books, creativity, and the business with some incredibly talented and accomplished peers!
I’m so pleased that they included me in the anthology. There are more good things like this to come, things are happening and it’s all very exciting. I love being a writer, espesh a respected member of the Can. Lit. community!
As always, don’t forget to visit the official Christine Estima dot com to check out all of my published works, and all of the media attention I’ve garnered!
The Lovertine: Watch my TV interview on TFO!
Life is strange and unpredictable. You never know what’s coming for ya. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. A few months ago, you’ll remember I was interviewed and photographed for a Toronto Life feature , which itself was a lot of fun. Well, more people saw that interview than I bargained for.
I was contacted by the good folks over at TFO 24.7, the Franco-Ontarian TV station here in Canada. They noticed that I speak French, and that many of my love letters are in French, and they asked if they could come over and film me for a Valentine’s Day segment.
They came over and interviewed me for 5 hours. The finished TV segment is less than 4 minutes, it’s a lot of work that goes into making a mere 4 minutes! They filmed me in my bedroom here in Toronto, which I have decorated with the letters, old photographs, antique furniture and typewriters, and then they filmed me at an antique shop and a café.
I really like the way this came out. The music they use is super sweet and it makes my 9 x 15 bedroom look much larger than it actually is! I’m also a little embarrassed, just because this is my bedroom and I’m inviting all of you strangers into my tiny little corner of the world, but hey…. I WOULD DOOOOO ANYTHING FOR LOVVVVVVVE. Har har.
I think this is my favourite shot in the entire segment.
Anyway, watch the entire segment below! It’s in French, of course, but you will probably still get the gist of it even if you don’t speak French. Enjoy! Savourez-le!
Check out my @VICE interview with #TIFF16 film director Alice Lowe
The Toronto International Film Festival was amazing this year, I saw so many films (as documented by this round-up I wrote for VICE last week), and the fest is always such an electric time to be on the streets of Toronto. Everything is alive.
Speaking of life, the film PREVENGE is about a pregnant woman whose fetus tells her to kill people. So OF COURSE I had to interview the director/writer/performer Alice Lowe. Check out what she had to tell me about women in the film industry and pregnancy stigmas over here on VICE.
Fun fact: I had first seen Alice Lowe in an episode of Sherlock (season 3 episode “Sign of Three“) and the whole time we were talking, her voice was just reminding me of one of her lines from Sherlock, “A GHOST, MR HOLMES!” and then a drunk Watson saying to her, “He’s clueing for looks.”
I am a gigantic nerd.
Check out the official Christine Estima dot com for more of my VICE essays and articles, and much more.
Everyday Struggles of the Hairy Woman: my latest essay published in @ViceCanada
Sometimes I really hate talking about this stuff, but writing is cathartic, and what is the point of being a writer if you don’t talk about the things that mortify you to an audience of millions, right? Oh boy.
My latest essay in VICE is about what it’s like having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and having to deal with the resulting hirsutism. Women aren’t allowed to have hair, if you didn’t already know, and the world won’t let us fucking forget it. The way we are shamed for having something that naturally grows on our bodies is outrageous, but if you’re like me, you’ve internalized that shame. It has definitely affected my self-worth and self-confidence, but most days no one actually knows that I deal with hirsutism because I am so vigilant about it now. Years of bullying will do that to you.
Anyway, it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s some humour in this piece too. Hope it makes you laugh! Click to read!
And don’t forget to check out the official Christine Estima dot com where you can read all of my published VICE essays, and more!
Trade safely, wastoids: my latest essay for @ViceCanada
Check out my latest essay in VICE about potential profiteering, race and gender discrimination, and drug trafficking occurring in the Bunz Trading Zone, Toronto’s rapidly-expanding online bartering flea market where no cash is allowed.
TL;DR – if you think coppers can’t decipher “420” or “smokeables,” think again. Don’t wake ‘n bake in the middle of a trade.
Don’t forget to check back here often, I have many more pieces (both fiction and on-fiction) set to be published soon (in fact, just yesterday I received another acceptance letter from a magazine!)! Yay writing! Yay publishing!
For more of my work with VICE, click on my VICE category, OR visit the official Christine Estima dot com for all of my VICE essays and more of my published work. Enjoy!
The Spadina Monologues 