floor-bed

Norman's out on the town and I'm not out with him, which is pretty bizarre! Although one time earlier this week we were out and he stayed in. Even stevens we are.



Speaking of-- Norman recently wrote a really remarkable blog about his long-time love of rap. Norman's blog is actually always worth the read. I'm not just saying that because our love springs eternal.
Oh, I just looked at his site just now and the newest one about his great-grandmother is just so, so lovely.


I bought clogs. I don't remember ever even thinking about wanting to buy clogs. These were very cheap. I'm into them. Weird decision, certainly.

(a ghost came and the ghost was like "heeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyy")



Comedy is hard. Do I talk about comedy enough? It still feels very foreign to me that I'm a comedy performer. A "comedian". There's only so long I'm going to be allowed to feel new about it.
I used to think I'd hate the part where I'm constantly examining why something is funny and how and so on. I don't hate it. I find it interesting. I can't imagine feeling more sure and unsure at the same time about something.


(birthmark back)


I would pay all the money I could find/borrow/steal to just buy a shitload of confidence to use at my convenience. I'd pay it no problem because I'm certain that's the only thing keeping me from doing all the things I should be doing.
Getting there, getting there.

I've always been a late bloomer, in pretty much every way. I lost my last baby tooth just before entering 9th grade. It takes me awhile to get to things, sometimes. Most times.
So it's okay that now I'm a comedian. It's okay that I'm still scared of it and nervous about it and figuring it out. It'll be okay if I finally really do stand-up at 40 (or in a week or two, whichever).
It's hard to remember that youth is just the tiniest section of my life and everything that happens enriches and adds to what I already know and can make me better.

Not having dealines isn't a good excuse not to work, Meredith.

It is strange, also, to go from being an avid comedy watcher and enjoyer and supporter to being a performer and working with people I've admired. Going from being a fan to a peer, basically. And it's hard to imagine talking them into working with me, because of course I'm just the person who goes to shows, not the person who does them. Not now, though.
Oh, I'm so jealous of the easy, sturdy confidence so many people seem to ooze. So remarkably jealous.

But also, while we're on the subject, being a "comedian" isn't making me less bratty, I'll tell you that for free. It's (embarrassingly) making me much worse about pointing out what I don't like about other people's jokes. It's making me far more annoyed with how people go about humour sometimes. It's making it impossible to think about falling in love with anyone because they would have to be the funniest but then also that probably somehow wouldn't be enough or I'd just feel furious about not being as funny.
I'm not satisfied with my own level of comedy and so I'm remarkably hard on everyone else. COOL MOVE.



I'm still revelling in loving the jokes I love, though.  Lately I've been working a lot with one of my bffs, Flash Gordon, and we frequently fall over laughing. And the jokes aren't ones I can relay, I can just guarantee that to us they are pure magic. I wouldn't know how to bottle our interactions, explain them, or write them in a screenplay, but I wish I could because it's very nice.

Anyway.
Second Cottage Friendship Retreat Weekend this weekend. Where is time going? Looks like it'll be at least 12 (!) people up there at some point and I'm just so excited because we're going up for several days and lots of people are coming at different times and mannnnn do I like socializing.


(such a young-looking one, still. I wonder if I'll become a creepy old-young faced guy soon.)

I put my bed on the floor. Sometimes you just lose patience. This was one of those times. I have bigger plans for this set-up and I need my tablecloths back from Mrs (ohh yeah, Mrs is now ACTUALLY a MRS now. so bizarre) that she used at her wedding. Mrs and Arrow's weddings was one of the most lovely, tasteful, perfect parties I've ever been to. Aaaaaand I love them.

Also, guys, I'm taking the train back to Saskatoon real soon and I'm actually ridiculously excited for that adventure, and on the train I'd really like for there to be:
a) a mystery I get to solve
b) sweet babes
c) secret booze I don't get caught with
d) fun surprises

less worried about being cool

I'm a really good mood today for the first time in weeks!


Making refried beans? add beer and a bit of curry powder. Catdad's best tip.
My best tip? Quinoa on your tacos. Better than rice!

My body is doing a pretty good job of being a hormonal nightmare lately for no apparent reason? Seems a bit unfair, if you ask me. Maybe it's just getting everything out of the way and now will work like a dream for the rest of my life? HA.


I'm working quite a bit these days. I don't know how much I've said here but I'm working very part-time in the office at a small theatre close to my house. I like this job more than I expected but mostly WEARING MY OWN CLOTHES is the best. All my other jobs require black pants and MAN, there are only so many days in a row I can make black pants work.


office outfit!
Watch Peever bought me in the St. Catharines Salvation Army. I'm prettttty into it.

Blogger has a whole new format and it's annoying and sorry there were no line-breaks in the last entry but hey, I didn't lose any sleep over it.


(look I actually made a craft that I'd pinned on pinterest! ooohhh man, so many tasteful things on pinterest!!)

One of the reasons I resisted actually getting into comedy for as long as I did (and probably if there's a reason I'll shy away from it in the future) is that it's tiring to keep track of what's funny and why it's funny and how you can translate it later into a way to show other people that it's funny. It's tiring. Not awful, but it is a bit of work.
I can't count how many times in the past few months I've asked people, "what was that thing I thought was so funny earlier?"


(Aunties for the first time in forever and it was as good as I thought it'd be.)

But now hanging around most of the time with comedy people has advantages. I think being an funny/obnoxious kid parlayed into me being an obnoxious teenager and the people I hung out with in high-school valued out-cooling each other over doing voices or accents or silly fun bits.
(and obviously people doing accents/voices who are not funny is the MOST ANNOYING)
It would have mortified me to have tried accents or characters in front of them, I think. It was hard trying to be cool. I've been caring way less about being cool with every passing moment of my life.
I'm feeling way more free these days to say every stupid thing that comes into my head. And, luckily, not all of it is horrendously annoying.
Lately I'm getting really into talking in whichever weird way I goddamn feel like! I let myself go off on tangents about whatever I like, I talk to myself in my room about whatever fictional shit I feel like.



That's probably what one needs to do if one wants to be a character comedian. I can't just think about things in my head and then present it fully polished. Everything needs to be worked out and felt-through.
I'm already a good actor, I have a nice sense of honesty and I trust in being able to act out a scene, whether serious or comedic, but really big character work? it's hard! And maybe because of that is the most amazing?



My voice-memo recording on my iphone has been particularly useful! I usually forget what voice I was talking in immediately after doing it, but if I record it I can recreate it, no problem!  I made a video for the Second City training centre's Naked Fridays 7 Day Shorts competition purely because I thought to record the stupid shit I was saying to myself while getting ready for work. The voice-memo app also transfers your memos into mp3s and so I could just edit it directly onto a video in imovie!! COMPUTERS ARE THE BEST THING!!
I want them to put the vid up online so that I can post it here!! It's notbad notbad. And it's one of the first character voices I'm really into/proud of.

I'm so, so happy my mum's coming out for my Second City conservatory's final show in mid-june. Especially since now I'm getting a handle on being a good worker (yeah right) and figuring out how to present/perfect/defend/polish my ideas!
Exciting times!




these chocolate tools cost 28 cents with tax and Norman bought them for me, so they are the best. easter candy sales!!

niagaraaaaaaaa

Guys I bet you're wondering how my road trip went!
Well, it started out by me doing a good job on packing, see above.
Actually we didn't even drink the champagne because I got too tired. hahaaa classssic.


ROAD TRIP!!
I lovelovelove roadtrips. you can't really tell here but I really do. I smiled so much. Peever said, "It's nice to see you this happy". Yeahyeahyeah. Also happy here because Peevs brought me a "playoff gift", this Canucks tuque. Prettypretty nice guy there.




Our first stop was at Peller estates winery for lunch with my old school pal. I hadn't seen this lady in probably 4 or 5 years? Insane! I really missed her and so it was great to hug her up and chat about our lives.

Oh, also we ate SO MUCH great, great food. Peller was great with making all my food both gluten-free aaaand vegetarian. So helpful! So nice!
They even had gluten-free bread so I got to try the ice wine butter. NOM.
(I'm very awkward about all my food requirements and I actually hate and fear eating in most restaurants and so when people are especially nice/accepting/accommodating then I pretty much want to weep with gratitude.)

ughgughguhhh cheese plate.   :) :)

Tourist o'clock!
We actually had so much fun at the falls. I'm not surprised as we are two of the funnest people I've ever heard of, but I think we did an especially good job.

We got an amazing groupon (it was actually from Travelzoo, I believe) for our hotel room and it included
two king bed bedroom (I called window) suite on the 41st floor
cocktails in the evening (not awesome but hey, free drink is a free drink)
$50 Dave & Buster voucher
$40 voucher for either the keg or t.g.i.fridays
breakfast buffet

is that all? I don't remember. Anyway. Good deal!!!


this was the view from our hotel room. jeezily, hey?





Anyway. We did lots of things! We did Dave & Busters (won some sweet prizes!) and went up the Skylon tower and bowled and wandered around were complete tourists. So nice.





making it rain tickets we won at Dave & Busters! (we actually got so few prizes for that amount of tickets!)


I think these views are from the skylon tower? probably!



I was very, very excited and bent-set on riding the skywheel. It was nice.


Hotel room:

I put all the pillows on one bed. Obviously!


Jacuzzi tub -- if I could have just stayed a bit longer I probably would have lived in there. We had three sinks. God knows why but I for sure used them all just because.


Breakfast! Not bad not bad.

Maid of the mist looked a bit scary to ride on. Ragdoll, I think Peevs said about it.

Skylon tower photoshoot.

I'm not mad here, I've just got a lot of sun in my eyes!

Sigh sigh so pretty.

I started getting a bad cold in the evening, which was a bit of a piss-off but it wasn't the worst. I did get a bit grumbly, though.
And in the morning I was pretty grouchy but I'm getting better (a bit) at not being the worst grumbliest human and also peevs is good about being patient and for that I'm pretty grateful, gotta say.


this.
this is what we found in the St. Catherines Value Village. ughughghuhghh. An almost full set, even got the gravy bowl and platter and the creamer and sugarer! nice nice!


Also found this sweeeet Canucks shirt. Because I like sports paraphernalia now, I guess.


Anyway. If all romantic vacations are this fun then I guess I'd go on more.
Yeah, for sure I would.

Okay I leave you with this most nerdy picture. I apologize! (jk I don't)

dressing more fun! using pinterest!

Carla Ghee, Norman, and I were sitting in the front window at Squirrelly's the other afternoon and these girls walked by and Carla Ghee and I were like "those girls look FUN!" and we broke it down that they were wearing lots of prints and scarves and scarves in their hair so now we're taking it upon ourselves to start dressing more fun so that when people see us they will immediately know how much fun we are and how we like to party forever.

Look how fun these girls look! they are having the best most free times ever!
I had pinned this photo a week or two ago so I was already in the mind-frame of how fun to be I just hadn't put it into action. I did last night though:



(awww Yulie)
I look so fun!


also hilarious was that I was wearing these printed shoes as well and Carla Ghee was wearing prints and her very own headscarf headband!



it was the best because we hadn't really discussed how committed we were going to be to this new plan but then really followed through!


see I'm having extra fun because of how I'm dressed I bet. Yulie is also wearing a printed scarf so there you have it!

obviously when going to dress fun you should look to your friends for inspiration:
all photos below hijacked from Dayna's instagram stream!

 prints!!! colours!!! jewelry!!!

 Man, I think Dayna has me topped in terms of self-portraits! Unfair!
(I'm not even competing in any way fashion-wise)

Yep, a guiding light, a beacon of how to dress fun!
Nice work, lady!
I have to go in search of the best prints!

Yesterday I did another thing off pinterest, I made individual baked oatmeals. Sort of like oatmeal muffins but a bit heavier and different... I got the recipe from sugarfreemom.com but then I just changed everything anyway (as I do).



BAKED OATMEAL

first blend
1 banana - mashed
2 eggs
2 cup un-sweetened applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar (she called for stevia or honey, I didn't have any)

then add
5 cups rolled oats (she called for old fashioned I used quick)
1/4 cup flaxseeds (she called for flaxseed meal, I only had flaxseeds)
1/2 cup Red Mill Wonderful Gluten-free hot cereal (I forget the actual name of this, I just had it in my cupboard, you could not use it but it is good for you that's why I put it in)
1 tbsp. cinnamon
(I also added a bit of ginger and nutmeg because why not)
1.5 tsp. vanilla (I love vanilla)
1 tsp. salt (yeah, sea salt is the best!)
3 tsp. baking powder

then
2.5 cups skim milk (you could use any kind of milk I bet!)

then it's really runny pretty much and you put it in cupcake liners (top it with things you like if you want or all blueberries in there or whatever, up to you, you're a free man) and bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
NICE.
Thanks, Pinterest!

OKAY I HAVE TO GO TO ISLAND NOW BECAUSE MY LIFE IS THE FUN KIND OF LIFE.

yesyesyesyesyesyesyes