magic act

"Tonight: vanish while you can."

Those are the wise final words I received from the big Lion in the sky today, and while horoscopes are usually for the purpose of time-wasting and vague coincidences, this one just doesn't make sense. because three days from now, that's exactly what I'm doing. vanishing. *poof* one minute you see her, the next.... she's trying to survive a non-stop 22 hour flight down, down, and under.

So, contrary to the lioness and her advice, this is the only time I CAN'T vanish. I have never been more obligated to pay much-overdue respects to the people and places that made these last two years in ottawa truly phenomenal. that being said, let the tear-filled weekend of mayhem, madness, and memories begin. let's get messy ottawa, one last time.

sprint.

61 minutes.
down the the wire.

coffee in hand, the sun is shining off the porch and I'm ready (as I'll ever be) to put this town in my wake. minutes fly by and there's nothing left to do but wait for that deadline, wait for those wheels to send me away. "follow me back like a ride on a train, make it hard to remember the cold/ take care of your money and stay out of the rain..." the words echo deep, singing sirens of the days and nights we've spent sprawled on these streets.

I'll be back before you know it. but with just a over week's worth of nostalgia left to explore, the reality starts to sink in. nothing but time on our hands and our eyes to the skies, we're lifting off and ready for orbit. and as much as it hurts to tip-toe off these tiles for the last time, I've only got 11 days and 11 nights to soak it all into my system. then it's hats off, anchors away, with no time to look back.

I swear to these rooftops, and just hope that car will never stop *

waiting waiting waiting

I have a habit of stealing lyrics. well, actually, lyrics have a habit of stealing my thoughts. but I can't help it if someone else said it better than I can.

you gotta swim, swim for your life.
swim for the music that saves you
when you're not so sure you'll survive.

you gotta swim, swim when it hurts.
the whole world is watching,
you haven't come this far to fall off the earth.

the currents will drag you away from your love
just keep your head above...

I found a tidal wave begging to tear down the dawn
memories like bullets, they fired at me from a gun
a crack in the armour

I swim for brighter days, despite the absense of sun
choking on salt water I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim, and swim in the dark
There's no shame in driftin, feel the tide shifting...
and wait for the spark

Yeah you gotta swim, don't let yourself sink
Just find the horizon ...I promise you,
it's not as far as you think

drums

If you fall asleep down by the water,
baby I'll carry you all the way home
If you fall asleep down by the water,
baby I'll carry you all the way home

everybody's gotta love someone, but I just wanna love you dear. everybody's gotta feel something. I just wanna be with you, my dear. I know it's hard, I know its hard...
I know its hard to be in this position

If they stop loving you, I wont stop loving you.
If they stop needing you, I'll still need you my dear

If you fall asleep down by the water,
baby I'll carry you all the way home
If you fall asleep down by the water,
baby I'll carry you all the way home

you gotta believe me when I say, when I say the word "forever". and whatever comes your way, we'll still be here together. I know its hard, I know its hard,

but I understand you...
just take my hand.

one big mess

I am slowly descending into the realm of emotional instability.
it's not necessarily a bad thing....

but it's different. that's for sure.

soulstorm

some of the very best moments of summer 2010. my first summer spent in ottawa, and just a little bit of everywhere else. enjoy.

first "official" day of summer, the day after I made my return from the great white west. wonderful day filled with beer and little italy and habs games and friends. also the day I met a most wonderful young man.

Fringe Festival 2010; too much to be said... what little arts community exists in ottawa congregates on ottawa university campus for a good two weeks, filling the city with theatre, music, dance, and magic. Maybe I'm just inexperienced, but this could only be described as one of the greatest and most memorable performances of my young life. great show, great place, great people. This is a shot from Wakefield, ON (population 12) where we trekked for 2 out of 10 nights to perform our blasphemy-drenched Durang masterpiece on the altar of a church for an eldery audience. How none of us burst in flames in the process is still a mystery to me.

A much needed visit home in June for birthdays and drinks with people I love. The above features said drinks with my favourite boys in the world (minus rory) one glorious poolside afternoon at dear Alex's. miss you guys!

Adam and I braved a mid-week trip to the cottage at the end of June; and herein lies just a slice of the result This is probably the most delicious breakfast I've had all summer. enough said.

you're walking in the sea of red and white when you stumble through a park and into a full-fledged K-OS concert. that is Canada day in the capital city. The above has to be my favourite picture from the entire day/night.

finally; Bluesfest '10. my first experience with this epic musical portrayal happened this july, and two days were well-spent immersed in rambunctious crowds and electric sound. Day one included a little bit of everything and 12 hours in your dancing shoes, beginning with my dear friends The Love Machine (above), followed by the epic dance parties of passion pit and the oh-so-beloved down with webster. As night fell we wandered to James Hunter for some much needed blues groovin. Day two (or, night two I suppose) was none other than Great Big Sea. and for that, there are simply no words.

There you have it, children. And, as much fun as I am having these past few lovely months, there are just a few things I would change....

I miss you guys more than you know ♥

gotime

OKAY.... it's time to switch gears.

From here on in, it's all things magic and money. because as much as it saddens me to say, in the next ten weeks, the amount of money made will determine the amount of magic experienced. to a degree anyways... it will certainly determine the level and quantity of such important commodities as oh, say, food, drink, bedsheets... and all those fun things necessary to sustain a person's existence. I guess I should explain;

That's right kids.... It's on.

Approximately 70 days from now, I will be touching down in Sydney Airport. Uh huh, that's Sydney AUSTRALIA. Six states, six hundred job opportunities and six million adventures await my arrival in that beautiful south-eastern land mass, and I think it's safe to say I've never been more ecstatic, optimistic, and terrified about anything in my young life thus far.

Despite my endless spouting of my apparent need for spontaneity and adventure and travel etc in my life, I've been more or less all talk in those areas. Especially considering my "need" for solo adventurism hasn't taken me further than weekends trips to various cottages and cabins and one very messy pre-graduation trip (we all remember Cayo '08, don't we? well, some of it...) and while that's all well and good and wonderful.. this is big. Bigger than big. Bigger than anything I've ever entertained or attempted in the past. Not only is this 8 months of more magic, beauty, and stories than I will know what to do with... but it is also 8 months of solitude from the people and places I have only known all my life, and grown to love more than anything.

hmm...

It's going to be a weird and wonderful winter.
and a strange and star-spangled spring.

aaaaand go.