the end of east is coming east

after some hiatus with sickness and a complete facebook bender, i'm back on blogger. oh how calming and serene it is here. facebook, though fun, is completely egomaniacal (sorry fellow facebook addicts)! i retreat to my friendly neighborhood, always there when i need it, personal blog where at least some things still feel sacred.

anyhow, sickness has been strangely sobering. it's been 5 days now since i came down with double whammy cough/sore throat and general malaise that has kept me bedridden and housebound for 5 days. horrible. but as many of us busy torontonians can sympathize with, sometimes sickness is the only time we really slow down and chill out. everything stopped. my art projects, work (equals no pay), my playwriting.... at first i felt so anxious at the thought of suffering the consequences of unfulfilled projects. now, i find that maybe my relationship with things has to change in order for me to feel better. today was the first such day.

we were blessed with a glorious day in toronto - one that can even make a phlegm filled vessel of cooties like me feel new again. on my way back from the useless doctor (post nasal drip my ass), i basked in the first rays of warmth in toronto in like 5 months. i even took my jacket off!!!! then a series of hapless events on my part ended up with me locked out of my house with nothing to do. i resolved to get a tea at lettieri and check out book city in the annex for my cousin's debut novel, The End of East. and to my delight, i found it in all it's beauty, sitting on the hardcover new arrivals table. how surreal. needless to say, i am so proud of her. she's been at it for a while. an O.G. if you will...and for it to all pay off like this is really a dream come true.

so this soggy sickness tale comes to a happy ending with me returning to my front stoop, hot chai in hand, eager to devour the pages of this book like a fresh plate of chili fried prawns, home-cooked style. it is really fascinating reading something written by someone you know...much less a family member who you have certain childhood memories of. and after all the drama of my cold, it all culminated with me enjoying a good book, revisiting my memories of vancouver and clinging onto the rays of this most beautiful day the way i cling onto each delicious word. for those who are interested, she's reading at harbourfront center on March 28th. congratulations Jen Sookfong Lee!