The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Like many 20-year-olds, Jillian Storey was hooked on technology. But unlike most of her peers, she was willing to acknowledge that she had a problem. So the Creighton resident began an unlikely journey away from modern gadgetry and toward Mother Nature _ with Canadians from coast to coast along for the ride. Storey is among the cast members of Operation Unplugged, an intriguing new reality TV series now airing on the Travel + Escape channel. 'I have heard people call it the Canadian version of Survivor,' says the fit brunette, who wrapped up the five-week cross-Canada shoot last summer. Producers of Operation Unplugged chose eight young, technology-obsessed Canadians out of a pool of a few hundred applicants. Whether by fluke or fate, Storey learned of the production last year from a cousin in Ontario, who sent along information on the casting call. 'She thought I would be the perfect fit,' recalls Storey. 'I wasn't really interested in taking part, but more people who had found out about the casting kept pushing me to apply.' Storey finally relented and just 15 minutes before the deadline sent in her application. As a tech buff willing to set aside her cell phone and laptop, she certainly met the main criteria. 'I feel that most people nowadays have some form of dependency on technology,' she says. 'For me technology was being used more and more for entertainment and I was wasting more time when I could be using it more productively. I didn't like having to bring my phone with me everywhere I went or spending time procrastinating on my laptop.' To her utter astonishment, Storey received an e-mail from the show's producers. They were interested. That interest would solidify and by the summer of 2011, Storey was packing her bags for what promised to be a physical and personal journey through Canada's national parks and historical sites. She and her castmates would climb mountains, traverse over vast wilderness, kayak across bodies of water and scuba dive beneath frigid lake surfaces. See 'You...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 They would also break down emotionally and physically, fending for themselves without modern conveniences to soften the blow of their survival. 'The worst for me was the eating and sleeping,' says Storey. 'You are burning so many calories a day and are rarely getting a full night's sleep, so you always feel hungry and tired. I have never wanted a cheeseburger so badly before.' But just as there were no wired devices, there were no cheeseburgers. Even something as mundane as a shower became a luxury. 'Sometimes we would luck out and there would be a shower at one of the parks, but that was it,' says Storey. 'Our clothes got washed once and I have never been so happy to have clean socks, and to have other people have clean socks as well.' Few comforts Showers and clean clothes were among the few comforts available to the cast, who, not surprisingly, quickly began to rely on each other. 'We're with each other every minute of the day,' Storey says. 'You are thrown into the unknown and everyone misses their family and friends, so we all bonded very fast.' As much as it shocked their systems, Storey and her seven partners also rapidly adapted to their new circumstances. Truth be told, they had no other choice. 'I did find a different kind of confidence in myself that I didn't know I had before going on the show,' says Storey. 'I don't know how many people enjoy being filmed while climbing up a mountain sweating bullets, with no makeup on while knowing that there is a camera zoomed in filming your every move. I was surprised at how comfortable I became and no longer cared what I looked like.' As she became more at ease, the Creighton Community School graduate grew increasingly aware of how unique of an opportunity she had been granted. 'The best was seeing all the stunning places Canada has to offer and doing some amazing challenges along the way,' she says. 'I remember climbing up a mountain exhausted and thinking, 'When people say the view is worth it...is it really?! Because I have never been in more pain!' But when I finally got to the top and looked down at the amazing view, it was truly worth it.' Such moments make up all six one-hour episodes of Operation Unplugged, which debuted on the Travel + Escape cable channel last month. Among the cast's destinations were Ontario's Bruce Peninsula National Park, Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park, Quebec's Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park and Nova Scotia's Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site. Much like Survivor, there can only be one winner in this intense challenge. Will it be Storey? Due to the rules of the show, she can't say until after the series finale airs March 27. Since the show premiered, Storey has fielded plenty of questions from curious viewers. Often she is asked the most simple of queries: Was it fun? 'I definitely had my low points where I was exhausted and annoyed and wanted nothing more (than) to come home, but I had great moments, too,' she says. 'I got to see parts of Canada and experience things I would have never thought of while being with seven other amazing and unique people.' Now studying to become a nurse, Storey believes her unforgettable time on Operation Unplugged will serve her well moving forward. 'Going into the show I was pretty confident in who I was as a person,' she says, 'and the show definitely helped me realize how hard I can push myself and that it is okay to struggle, just don't give up.' Important lesson Storey also took away an important lesson about the technology addiction that drove her to the show in the first place. 'I definitely think being unplugged has benefited me,' she says. 'I am able to be more present in situations and enjoy turning all electronics off and having time to myself. I do think that technology has an important role in today's society, but it's all about moderation.'
