Google It.

On occasion I like to check my blog statistics. I actually do it rarely, as how many views this blog is getting is interesting but I often forget to look for weeks, or even months, at a time. One of the things I always enjoy looking at, however, is what people are searching on Google that brings them here.

Some of these searches are pretty predictable, like "Fort McMurray weather" or "Fort McMurray housing". Some are a bit more inexplicable, and some are downright funny. I thought I would share a few of the ones from this past week with you today in my "Recent Top Five Weird Google Searches to Find McMurray Musings".


1. "Clothing to wear in Fort McMurray"

Okay, this one is probably legitimate given the numbers of people who come here from around the world to work and who likely have no idea what our temperature can drop to this far north. But while it is legitimate it always make me yearn to reply with a post saying things like "No Ed Hardy t-shirts please, we are at our quota for those" and "If you wear pyjama pants in public and are over the age of 14 you shame us all". In fact that search always makes me think of one of the very first blog posts I wrote, which was a "What Not to Wear, Fort McMurray" and wonder if I should revisit the issue of tattered sweatpants, filthy coveralls, and fashion gone wrong.

2. "Real housewives of Fort McMurray"

This one is likely based on the fact that once upon a time it was suggested a reality tv show of this ilk would be filmed here. Dear lord how I wish they filmed the true life of real "housewives" like I was once, spending my time changing diapers and scrubbing toilets and cleaning up urine from an elderly and incontinent dog. It was pretty bloody glamorous, especially if you add our window wells that would fill with water every spring thanks to faulty landscaping, which found me outside twice a day sucking water out of the wells with a wet/dry shopvac. Somehow I don't think that's the kind of housewife they are looking for in this search, but it tempts me every time to respond with a post about how being a "real housewife" on reality TV isn't actually anywhere in the same country, let alone the same ball park, as reality.

3. "Does everyone hate Fort McMurray"

Ooooooo, this one and variations of it gets me every time, but I am so glad they use that search to find this blog. I bet they are pretty stunned to learn that some of us don't hate it. In fact we love it, call it home, and are proud of it and our people. But every single time I can't help but thinking "I dunno, does everybody hate the place you live?" - and then wonder about people and how they come to these conclusions.

4. "Are there any women in Fort McMurray"

This is an interesting one. I always hope they are doing some sort of statistical research but I always fear something else is going on. We have both genders here, folks. We even make babies, around 140 of which are born every month in the hospital. I am not sure if you are looking for a specific type of woman, but if the answer is yes then you might have found the wrong blog and are looking for something distinctly different.

5. "Is everyone in Fort Mac rich"

Le sigh. No, dear google searcher, not everyone in this community is rich, no more than in any other community. We do have tremendous opportunity and potential here, but this is not the haven of closet millionaires and jetset playboys, and nor are we interested in your snake oil schemes to get yourself rich. We are hard working people who have a decent disposable income. I would say, though, that we are all rich in opportunity and community regardless of our financial assets.


So, there you go. Those are just five of the searches that have led people to this blog, and to reading about the real Fort McMurray (housewives and otherwise). I wish I could say that this has been an unusual week, but it hasn't been, and those searches are pretty standard - and they serve to remind me why I write this blog, because it gives me the chance to address some of those topics. Well, that and the chance to tell people to lay off the pyjama pants in public, because frankly that just needs to stop unless we declare a city-wide pyjama day and we can all wear our onesies to work that day.

Actually that's not a half-bad idea - who's in for the first annual Fort McMurray Pyjama Day? It would make for a helluva blog post - and some really interesting google searches...