Create Create Create!

Okay, there's still a month of summer left...but I am already buzzing with new excitement for the artistic pursuits in the pipeline for fall. I have officially begun my playwriting circle again. A group of 10 writers meet regularly for a year to write and produce our pieces for the stage. We will be given the best support that we could ask for...with amazing directors, dramaturges and actors. Dean and I are both involved and will be writing our own pieces. I had originally wanted to develop my first piece further (the one I wrote last summer for Nightwood Theatre) but I may actually try my hand at something different. New inspiration is everywhere, everyday. Speaking of which, I am still working on writing kids stories for a reading manual. It has been great so far. The publisher asked for our input for the illustrations and the artist has taken our comments and flew with them. I'm so thrilled with how it looks so far and can't believe that my stories will be published in full illustration!

I have also registered for my next set of classes at OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design). I'm taking twice as many courses this year (though still part time) but I'm really looking forward to being completely immersed in it. It will be a challenge, but I thrive in situations like these. I have declared my major in Sculpture and Installation and feel really excited about it. I'm taking an experimental course in the 2nd term that will allow me to get my hands on all kinds of materials. So exciting!!! With the writing and the art, I should be a busy little bee once September hits. Just the change of pace I need.

For now, I'm trying to keep myself inspired by good books and hopefully get around to finishing a painting or two. Has anyone read Kite Runner? I love this book!!! Please blog me about it b/c I want to discuss it with anyone who has read it...

ciao for now

Love is in the Air

Here's some pics from my recent visit to Vancouver.

the hottest day of the year in vancity and we are roasting

me and meliss

UPT reunited

the boys

danny on the digital 1's and 2's

flower girl and ring bearer

poor girl took a spill coming down the stairs but you could never tell with that smile

here comes the bride!

all dressed in white!

beautiful flowing dress

exchanging rings

the happy bride and groom

you may kiss the bride

phew! they did it, let's run for shade

bert and ernie

me and my dapper looking boyfriend

perdip pondering his next drink

several shades darker now

all laughs when old friends get together

linna and the boys

wow, the crew almost complete

at the reception, we are anticipating the 10 course meal and of course the open bar!

cheers to the new bride and groom

is this just a chinese tradition?

linna and i...this is her second wardrobe change into a lovely cheung sam

linna hunted by the paparazzi and we are her adoring fans

oldskool pals just like it was yesterday...

the garter!

brad getting props from the boys

contrary to popular belief, boys can fall in love with each other at weddings too...as evidenced by this silly looking pair

this is what a whole bottle of whiskey can do to you

Sum and i...she's my oldest and one of my dearest friends, we played together since kindergarten, wrote poems to each other and even stole candy together at 7-11!!!

it's getting hot in here

so take off all your clothes

i am getting so hot, i'm gonna take my clothes off!

leave it to the YMCA to bring out the best in people

table dancing is a new wedding tradition

get down and dirty on the dancefloor

this was the best wedding i've ever been to in a while...what a wild and crazy night...and it was all about the couple!

I recently got back from a nice relaxing trip to Vancouver...it is wondrous what a some fresh air, nature, a good book and loving friends and family can do for you. I must say, after this trip, I feel like my focus has changed slightly. I reconnected with so many people and was surrounded with so much love that I am really feeling that I want to strengthen all my most important relationships that way. After all, relationships are about loving and sharing and appreciating. I look back at the past and even though I might have had misunderstandings and maybe even drama with some people, the fact of the matter is we all made it this far and we love each other deep down no matter what. Guys are always great. I always feel refreshed with how honest guys are about things and how you might not see them forever, but they are still so cool with you just like highschool days. I'm not saying girl relationships are complicated. After all, I have a solid crew of wonderful ladies that I share such a profound mutual trust and love with. I am forever thankful for my sistas.

I am also grateful for clarity. There comes a time when you look at yourself and see the culmination of all your mistakes, insecurities, triumphs, successes, failures, hopes and dreams and you realize that, leading up to that very moment, everything was meant to happen exactly as it did. Everything is everything. Thanks Lauryn Hill for putting it so beautifully. Sharing that growth with others, witnessing others' hopes and dreams manifest after all is said and done...that is one of the purest moments of love.

I went to Vancouver primarily to see one of my oldskool girlfriends get married. Words cannot express the joy I felt for her. While our relationship hasn't always been smooth, somewhere along the way, I think we just realized that the paths we took individually have strengthened our understanding of ourselves and therefore each other. Being there and seeing her so happy was priceless. Reconnecting with my crew in such a happy moment also made me feel so much more bonded with them. I was on a verge of tears the whole trip (and actually did shed some) be it when my mom said "Since having her baby, Sum has gotten even more beautiful" or watching Linna walk down the aisle with the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her face, I was a big ball of sentimentality. All you had to do was poke the sponge and I'd drip tears for days. Even my mom's comment is another reminder of how she is also witnessing a growth amongst my friends...the same ones I have known since my hoodrat days. I never expected it, but it really made me value each and every one of my friends more seeing how much each of us has grown...and how we are still together through it all.

Weddings. This is the time and the age. The second wave is here. I have in my more extreme days felt opposed to the institution of it. I even went so far as to believe that it was just a tool to make women complacent and prevent them from achieving their true place in the world. Well, while some people do give marriage a bad rap (spelling?) and go through the motions like good little middle class zombies sometimes do, there are those who give the whole idea of love, marriage and commitment a hopeful and enduring quality. When marriage is a celebration of love, a testament of how much you want to declare your love for someone else and to share that ritual with others so that they may give you their blessing for the adventures that may come (and there will be plenty) then it can be so brilliant and beautiful. Yes! True love exists! For all those that true love has eluded, then in that moment of witnessing it, one can at least feel hopeful about new beginnings...for everyone. In the flurry of wedding activity, a number of other friends have gotten engaged or are getting married in the near future. This is my biggest wedding year yet. I think I can count 5 or 6 announcements amongst my friends in total! Wow. Congrats Irene and Jun, Len and Rozalyn, Alexis and Matt, Terri and Marc, and who's next?

But all sappy stuff aside, a wedding is just a good excuse to throw a massive party in your honour and serve up some damn good food. Oh...and don't forget the table dancing!!!

Rained Out

To continue our streak of bad luck with landlords, we recently got rained out of our apartment. In other words, there was some flooding...nothing too serious so I didn't lose anything of extreme value...but FRUSTRATING nonetheless. To top it all off, we have to move our shit out of our place so that they can do repairs. Now, you would think this would be a deal breaker, but our landlords are complete assholes and only see us as $$$$ and refuse to let us break the lease with no questions asked. I even offered 60 days rent to get them off our backs, but got yelled at and belittled for inconveniencing them and not taking responsibility to find another tenant! To say the least, I am feeling very vengeful right now. However, I think I need to breathe a bit before I consider taking the matter to the tribunal. My impression is that the tribunal is more sympathetic to landlords rather than tenants. In the meantime, we turned down the option of staying at our landlord's $1700 luxury suite that they offered us for a week and instead have moved over to our neighbour's for the summer. They offered their house to us for free while they are away. I have to say, their kindness has been overwhelming. Just when I was starting to lose my faith in people, these amazing angels put their arms around us and kept us safe. I guess that in life you'll get some bad, but it will answer right back with something good. So I'm trying to stay positive, all the while hoping that my renting days will soon be over.