parkdale inspires-day two (the dog)

last night, our lovely little parkdale-loving writing group met for the second time, up a few members.

i didn’t come out of the session with as many gems, though my comment of “i didn’t get much further than ‘defiant ducks'” garnered the response “that’s going to be my next album title” from the person who also said, “i’ve got some nonsense”. so.

one of the new members introduced herself by stating: “my last poem was about a cat…who looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo!”, which is charming as all fuck.

anyway, here’s the takeaway (after a quick morning edit):

i walk down the steps of death into the day. on my way to the bus stop, my eyes automatically scan the abandoned and overgrown lot to focus on that guy who sometimes slips behind the fence to just sit there. we wave and say hi, never talking about the dog that’s always with him, even though it’s always a different dog.

no momos yet, tito ness-i can’t force it. but six more weeks for the planted seed to come to fruition….

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dear parkdale…

i am so excited that i signed up for the writing workshop at my library that started last wednesday.

i am always up for quick, prompt-based writing with strangers, and i learned some new (to me) rules about haiku. i only knew 5-7-5, i didn’t know that they cannot be a simile or metaphor, and that they must involve nature. huh.

here are the somes that i wrote about the neighbourhood:

my sketchy solace
colour me falling in love
cold sanctuary

teeny bachelor
with high ceilings was perfect
no things after fleas

autumn leaves fall in
perfect light in the front room
worshipping sunday

quick circle of life
senior cat slayed baby mouse
and then her mother

and some non-sestina/sestinas:

seeking sanctuary in the city,
all i found was fleas
ignored red flags and sketchy landlords
cautious of falling again
missing the solace for the trees
that first year, my gratitude
was as frozen as the olive oil, -25degrees

there’s room for everyone
as far as our minds can reach
the streetcar arrives
and people cram into the first two feet
different languages, different destinations, different hygiene
but everyone gets to where they’re going, even the fleas.

i did throw the whole thing by contributing “fleas” as my word to the soup, but people really ran with it. shoutout to lindsay and the love lettering project, this was a lot of fun-see you next week!

top 4(:44)

here are my top 4 quotes from this album:

4) “your body language is remedial”

there are a lot of specific instances of petty shade on this album (“lazy eye, no biggie” “in the future other ni$$as playing football with your son”) but this general one is hilarious.

3) “i apologize, because at your best, you were love”

is he actually, finally acknowledging aaliyah, all these years after her death?

2) “daddy, what’s a will?” or “daddy, what’s a whale?”

i mean, i’ve listened to this numerous times, and i don’t know which babygirl is saying, but either is perfect. considering that it segues into a track about legacy, it could be her plotting for his early death. conversely, she could just be fucking five years old.

but khaled‘s kid is already an executive producer of an album so….

1) “everything is chaka”

in light of the current challenge (nobody beats issa and regina-no one even comes close) i think it’s worth noting that this child raps better than a lot of folks with real records out.

also, it means that half of my favourite quotes come from the on the run superchild, and i’m fine with that.

overall-it’s a great album, best and most listenable in a long time (i didn’t think we were coming back from magna carta, tbh).

also, i got it from the library-on cd.

remember those?

a question and answer for kendrick

dear kung fu kenny,

a) why do you want biyombo to sit down? we could really use him on our team still

b) the answer to your question “how many ni**a$ get mistaken for clitoris in a day?” is none, nada, zip, zero, goose egg, just nope.

the clitoris exists merely for our pleasure.
nobody in their right mind would ever mistake a man for that.

thank you and you’re welcome,
flossy.

why why why

so, before i went in for the procedure yesterday, the nurse went through the rules about what not to do, and amongst them was not to douche.

it’s 2017-we haven’t learned this yet? who is still doing this?!

DO NOT DOUCHE. ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON.

but then again, i have also read the following instructions:

1. unwrap
2. put in mouth
3. chew

on a gum wrapper as well, so perhaps we do still have work to do.

on all fronts.

streetknit-august 2017

me: “that’s magic”
T: “it’s not magic, it’s textiles”
me: “textiles are magic”
T: “textiles are science”

and she blew my whole head up with that.

i love streetknit because the women don’t coddle anyone, though they totally coddle me. they ooh and ah over my not-quite-right projects (a square hat and a hat with an accidental ridge) but always make sure that i’m challenging myself to improve-“can you cast on yet?” “oh, another scarf?”

i love that it’s a space where skill-sharing and bragging meet-“you made those in a month?” “i made these in a week“, and a place where another virgo will still refuse to crochet me a bathing suit, even though it’s my birthday coming up and they’re taking more of my cervix.

it was particularly poppin’ last tuesday, very well attended by people of all ages, and i started another hat on the round. i missed a couple regulars, but made some new friends. there was a lady who was taking attendance. i’m so glad for this group and that i found it so early into my tenure in toronto.

new goal: crochet myself my own dang bathing suit
first steps: learn to crochet

bag check

the bag: the lovely red quilted vintage that i recently acquired in mtl

the contents:

-2 cans of arizona black and white iced tea with ginseng and honey (my current obsession and the object of my wild goose chases as of late)
-book (reading)-shonda rhimes’ year of yes
-phone, keys, pen
-dog purse that has the money in it
-dog purse that has the lipsticks in it
-the following cds that i found on the road near the swansea library:

702 album, truth hurts album, aaliyah are you that somebody single, glitter album, urban underground disc 10, marc anthony i need to know single, swedish house mafia untilone

-book (filling in): start where you are
-book (library tour log): all the libraries toronto