oh, canada

what is it lately about canada that is so appealing? partly the tone and outcome of the elections, i'm sure, with the whole "united states of canada" joke. but why do i keep running into canadians? maybe i should apply for citizenship there. i've heard good things.

first, it started with my search for a stable living sitch. i recently found an apartment to move into, which i'm pretty psyched about. i'm moving in with this guy marcel (a french canadian actor) and my high school friend susan. this apartment is awesome, complete with a washer and dryer in the apartment. marcel has turned out to be one of the nicest guys ever. he calls me surprisingly to let me know i can move in my stuff earlier than dec. 1, free of charge. i told him i don't have too much to move, considering i don't even own my own bed. he told me he has two beds and that i can have his extra one. how awesome!?! i have a good feeling about this guy, and i'm just happy to moving into my own room. woo hoo!

then the whole hidden cameras/arcade fire show was pretty exciting. running into my old friend and former coworker lex was one of the bright points of that night for me. lex is one of those intensely creative and fun human beings -- and it doesn't surprise me that she is in a playful, arty group like hidden cameras. when she and i used to work at the moth, we had so many good times putting together storytelling shows for the literary scene in new york. it was something that hadn't been done in new york at all at the time. think about it -- it was almost 6 years ago when i got involved with the moth, and it's turned into a huge event here in new york. i was heavily involved with the group for the first two years, and those were some awesome fun times. it's so cool to be back in touch with lex!

then this weekend, i finally met a new canadian friend who was in town. we met up at the hot snakes show at bowery. i met his cousin, and we all had a really great time. i introduced him to jay good times and many of the 186 crew. we all threw back a lot of shots. i saw a canadian driver's license for the first time (they look normal). we went to a restaurant afterwards. his cousin left early and the canuck and i sat and talked until like 6 a.m. our waiter was a total riot. he called this couple next to us "idiots" but pronounced it "eedeeeyits!" classic. the next night we started off with drinks at vera cruz in brooklyn. then because he was curious, i took him to misshapes. the party is always packed there, eh? we said hello to greg, sarah and karen, and left soon after arriving. i had way too much to drink and had to go home and pass out! never again, never again will i do two tequila shots back to back.

in any case, i've still been cranking away at my novel, which i think is turnng out pretty exciting. i've found that writers definitely have to use their own archive of experiences in their writing in order to draw inspiration -- but now i see how in between many of these things, there are added twists and turns to drive the story. real life isn't so perfectly packaged as the stories we read in fiction. i know my life certainly isn't, and you know that much if you've been a long time reader. how one's life can change so drastically but so steadily in 2 years of being slightly chronicled online is sort of weird. but you know, the entire story isn't online. there are pieces missing that only those involved know, and others with vivid imaginations tend to fill in on their own. here's to the vivid and involved.