Time time time

How is it August 6th already? Things shouldn't go so fast. Anyway, after two weeks of being back home I am no longer thrown off by people speaking English around me.

I have a new hobby now: Apartment hunting, the favourite pasttime of anyone living their student life. If anyone would be so gracious as to throw down a 3-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a house with a sun deck, a gas stove, ensuite laundry and a small yard within a 5-minute walking distance of a subway station in Downtown Toronto for under $1500 a month utilities included, I might allow myself to be mailed to you within this week to be your bride. We can talk about it. This is a good time for weddings I think, since Jens Lekman is willing to play at yours if the timing is right.

Speaking of which though, a Heaven of Delight would be nice too:

The ceiling at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium

Covered with 1.4 million jewel beetle shells.

I'm supposed to be recapping my Eurotrip, but trying to make up for all the overbudget dollars makes me a straight hustla and makes blogging seem like a 4 A.M. event, which is a time unknown to me.

Record store day.

Consider this a punch in the face for the interwebz.

Tomorrow - Saturday April 18th - is Record Store Day, with vinyl-only releases from my lovechildren some amazing musicians such as Andrew Bird, The Gaslight Anthem, Iron and Wine, Flight of the Conchords (yes, I know), Talking Heads, GRIZZLY BEAR (note the all-caps), and even a split from Sonic Youth and Beck. Since I'm not the coolest or the hippest of all music fans, as evidenced by my lack of a record player, I won't be taking advantage of much else other than the magical 10% off pretty much everything but the tickets at Soundscapes.

If you're in Toronto, go drop by at Soundscapes, Penguin Music, Criminal Records or Sonic Boom. I heard from a little birdie that Sonic Boom is also hosting a show in honour of such a day.

And speaking of records, here's a sweet little track written by Jens Lekman...



Are you sick of me swooning over Jens yet?

ps. May go to Vancouver for the first week of June, right before Europe. May do a show in Muskoka in August. May go to Koreatown for lunch tomorrow with my awesome sister. Stay tuned!

West side story

Lots have happened recently! For one, my parents sold their house in the suburban Toronto, packed up their stuff, and moved to the suburbs of Vancouver, bought a condo in Coquitlam and moved in within a three-week time span. It was extraordinary. Now I have a reason to visit Vancouver in the snowy, hailing months of Toronto (which apparently includes April), but the suddenness of it all really struck home. All of a sudden I am without a place to go for Easter.

But because Jens Lekman seems to be the theme of my life when things matter, and he wants me to "come to Vancouver" and "zig-zag the world", I guess I'll just have to go to Vancouver now.

Time to befriend a commercial pilot.

Sketch dump part I / happy December!

in the garden
nail polish art part i

shirin

nail polish art part ii

(this is a drawing of the beautiful album "Night Falls Over Kortedala" by Jens Lekman, especially the song called "Shirin"--the story of an Iranian girl living in Sweden who becomes Jens Lekman's hairdresser)

plant catalogue

inside
nail polish art part iii