Canadian girl out and aboot

So I spent most of the morning hanging out with [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com], before getting ready to take off. It would take me about an hour to get to the Harbourfront, so I left early and then wandered up Bay street and looked at Nathan Phillips square and part of Queen St West before getting on the streetcar to get to Harbourfront. It might be the time of year, but I didn't see a lot of trees and green in Toronto. I also think it's weird that people bike in the downtown area without helmets. Seems that helmet wearing is law in Vancouver, but not in TO. I find it odd.

Finally, I got down to Harbourfront, where I took pics of some of the waterfront. It was okay, but not as interesting as the Harbour in Vancouver. I was more excited to see some of the areas where they have the International Festival of Authors. After getting lost, I managed to find my way to the Pearl Harbourfront restaurant. I thought this was kind of a dumb name, until I got there and realized that we were having Chinese food! My comfort food! Deliciousness! There were a bunch of poets there and so I sat next to two very nice women and we ended up chatting all during the dinner and I had a good time meeting some of the poets and the judge. Most of the poets were teachers or publicists or media types of some sort, which was pretty interesting to me.

After we were done eating, we wandered over to Harbourfront in a group. One thing that was weird was that most of the other writers said I "looked familiar" and asked if they had read with me before. Because I live in Edmonton and not Ontario, I was doubtful and had to negate them. It was kind of funny. There were a few people from Guelph, Hamilton and Windsor, but the majority of people were actually from TO.

We were ushered into the Harbourfront room, and then 2 of us went backstage to use the greenroom bathroom and pick up some things. I got to sign the archive book, which was signed by all the authors that had gone to Harbourfront. So I got to sign a few pages after Sherman Alexie. (I squealed with excitement internally)

Since I didn't know anyone in the audience (my friend was going to come but her neighbour/friend had a heart attack), I felt really awkward, so I was hiding backstage until the actual event. We read in alphabetical order, so I was 8th. I think I did a good reading, and a lot of people told me that they enjoyed my work. It was a very eclectic evening and there was a lot of different work read. People were nice and I ended up chatting to another poet and her friend in the line for the bar. However, after the entire event, we had to stand around to sign books, and I just ended up feeling very awkward because most people seemed to know a lot of other people, since they were from TO, and I am not. Still, it was interesting and I met a lot of neat people and it was fun to read in another city. They still didn't tell us who "WON" but said a short list would be announced in the next couple of days. Last year they picked 6 poets to come back and perform, so it will be neat if I get picked. I'm not going to think about it any more though.

So to sum up- great reading, awkward standing around after. This is my weak point. I'm really good one on one or in small group situations, but I tend to feel a little awkward at parties or in large groups because I never know who to talk to.

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and here's why-

1. I've been working and driving a lot since the end of January. This is the busy season for ag conferences and so I've been on the go a lot. In the past 2 weeks, I have been to Leduc 3 times, Red Deer, and to a variety of meetings in Edmonton. Next week I'm in Morinville and Red Deer. The driving and the hours of listening do take their toll. However, I'm learning a great deal and it's hard not to get excited about my work and some of the things I do. Last week, I learned about the possibility of pennycress for biofuel. This plant is a weed, but produces better oil than canola, making it immune to the food vs fuel debate. The plant also has phytoremediative characteristics and can take metal out of soils. It's already been proposed as a growing project for Detroit. Actually, Detroit itself is very interesting right now. The destruction of the auto industry in the city has resulted in many opportunities for growth in urban agriculture. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears to the ground on this one.

Similarly, the urban sprawl in Calgary has also resulted in a variety of opportunities. I met a producer who is in charge of helping with the organization of a new farmers' market for Calgary- the Kingsland market. I'm going to do a story or two about it and am very excited about the project. So work is good, even though it's crazy busy.

2. My parents are in China. They flew there on March 16. My dad took a netbook with him, but I didn't hear from them for a few days, which made me a tad worried, mostly because my mom had a cold and I wanted to know that she was able to get into the country without getting quarantined. I wasn't sure if Dad could get through because of the Great Firewall situation. However, he managed to email from his gmail and he is getting emails from my hotmail, although he is unable to open my friend's Picasa photo albums. Parents are having a lovely time in China. However, it's weird to have so much limited contact with the parentals. I'll confess- I talk to the parentals almost every day. This is partly because they are my good friends and partly for security reasons. Since I live alone and travel all around the province by myself, it's good for at least one person to know where I am. When I go on long road trips, I call my mom when I am leaving and when I get back, so that she knows I am safe. I also email my parents frequently and send them links to interesting articles, youtube clips, etc. I feel like a bit of a baby because their absence definitely has an impact on me.


3. My computer has still not been fixed. It's with another tech and hopefully the problem should be resolved, but it does give me more challenges for working and I have a few deadlines that I need to meet. I might end up spending some time at an Internet cafe to get all these things done.

4. I need to sort everything out for my trip to Toronto, figure out what to where etc. This is a very cool opportunity, but it's basically a version of "So you think you're a poet" and I want to give a great performance and knock the judges' socks off.

5. One of my checks was extremely late. I was fretting a bit because I could really use that cash when I'm travelling to Toronto and have some expenses related to my dance recital and dance classes. Fortunately, it arrived and things will be good.

6. I have to acculturize Fergus to Henry and Mari. We went over there last week, and the two dogs were not best friends. Fergus is a very timid guy and Henry is extremely friendly. He jumped all over Fergus and Fergus growled, but as time went on, they sort of ignored each other and Fergus found some comfy places to sleep and hang out. I know that Mari will take very good care of Fergus and I hope that he does not cry too much when I leave him. He's a bit of a suck and a rather timid little guy, but I'm sure it will be fine.

Just writing this all out made me feel better. I'm also going to have a peaceful day alone, do some work, walk the dog, watch some DVDs, and go to the market. Tomorrow I teach my teen writing group and then I'm going to see Shanghai Express, which I've been trying to see for years. This is the movie that defined the concept of "dragon lady" and made Anna May Wong into a star.