coming up for air

thanks for the well wishes folks. but it’s not over yet– still have to defend!

it’s been a deep sea adventure. didn’t realize i was drowning. that’s what you get for being part fish. but now i’ve had a few days to breathe air, which is sometimes good and sometimes confusing.

cool moments in the past week or so:
chris ewart’s book launch at ubc robson square bookstore, with adrian kelly. lots of friends and family were there and chris sold all his books. congratulations mr. e! hope he is enjoying his giant bubble maker and electric pigeon. there were many calgary folk. drinks afterwards had this distinctly grad lounge-ish feeling.

cousin visiting from boston/hk. wow, i have all these cousins here. it is wonderful, and strange. didn’t really grow up with cousins. we went to stanley park, bridges for dinner, a little sunset walk at sunset beach, a stroll down robson.

today– ikea run. the apartment is still a shambles, but getting better. this afternoon, interesting talks at the _decolonizing affect theory_ group meetings organized by sneja gunew at ubc. jackie stacey talked about the re-biologization of the body in michael winterbottom’s _code 46_. kirsten mcallister talked about the ethics of applying theory from colonial/imperialist centres to local experience, specifically japanese canadian internment. it was good to think about other people’s work for a change.

next week, i’m off to the banff centre to take part in _babel, babble, rabble_. or a bit of it anyway. the residency is all about language as art object. at least as far as i can tell from where i’m sitting. i think i might try to work on a second installment of _nascent fashion_. still looking forward to seeing the chapbook ryan fitzpatrick did, with travis murphy’s cover. i’m awake now! presents please! after the residency, i’ll be in cowtown, quietly freaking out until the day of the defense.

nalo hopkinson just sent her new book _the new moon’s arms_ off to her publisher. congratulations nalo!