April 22, 2012
My heart is home
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
Hey y’all who read this “blog”, which isn’t really a blog but more like a place to dump my photos and post links to stuff I write online and update on anything exciting that’s going on in my life. I suppose this is more like a newsletter than a blog. It just looks like a blog. Anyhow. What was I saying? Right, the big news is I moved back to Vancouver. Yayayayayay! I haven’t felt this happy in my brain for a long time. Probably since, oh I don’t know, before my brain chemistry started changing when I was 11.
I was offered a really great part-time writing gig, which so far is working out very well. It’s four blocks from my place and it’s in a newsroom, which I surprisingly missed, and it’s all around fantastic. Plus, it gives me time to keep doing the freelance thing. So yup, I’m not complaining much these days.
Speaking of freelance, I had a piece in the weekend travel section of the Toronto Star. It’s about how to have sex when you’re travelling. Click here to read it. It was mostly inspired by the last seven months of me being kind of without a permanent home.
And, now here’s some photos…
After spending some glorious, life-affirming time at the beach recently, Katie and I went to check out the Maritime Museum with my guest media pass, because otherwise I’d never pay to see something like that on the assumption that it was super boring. But guess what? It totally wasn’t! I even learned about lady pirates. So go! It’s super fun.
Friends!
How I’ve missed you! (I want hair like Mish’s but would never be able to commit to that kind of colour.)
Framing my face?
Cheer up D!
Who’s the sharp mystery man nice enough to take me out to dinner at this super sweet Vietnamese restaurant? You’ll probably never know.
So here are a few things I’ve been really excited about.
Too High Crew. My new favourite persona-rap-pot-goofy-how-many-people-can-they-fit-onstage-performance-art act. I had a lot of fun at their 4/20 show.
Here’s me eating a peanut butter cup at my 4/20 afterparty. Followed by a bag of dried mango and some homemade potato salad (the only thing I’m really good at making).
My new book, Radio Belly, by Buffy Cram. I’m so proud to say I went to writing school with Buffy…I’m honoured to have once critiqued her work! What a talent. I went to her Vancouver book launch and it was the happiest thing that’s happened to me all year. It was thrilling to see.
My downstairs neighbour gave this to me. I remember absolutely loving Astro Boy as a very young child, but could not tap my brain hard enough to recall what it’s about. So I started watching it again and in turn, have fallen in love all over. There’s so much depth to the stories. There’s also a lot of darkness and inspiration. Seriously. Check it out.
That’s all I got. Ta-ta for now.
March 29, 2012
Title Entered Here
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
Haven’t updated this blog for a while. Sometimes I wonder how many blogs one person can maintain. Anyhuesy…photos! The above is one of my dog looking like a frill-necked lizard.
And Barclay looking like the giant creature from the Never Ending Story. (Not uncommon for dogs.)
My sister thinks it’s really funny that they have love seats at Bloor Cinema…or as she calls them, “fat people seats”.
Very little makes me happier than rubbing these feet.
This was a nice moment.
My dogbaby. My baby who just happens to be a dog.
March 5, 2012
Cold, hard times
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
So, did any or all of y’all catch my story in the Post this week on Garfunkel and Oates? If not, here’s a link to get you up to speed. Photos by Mr. Intensity himself, Simon Hayter. So yeah, that was fun.
More photos.
god is everywhere.
Most of my mornings are like this these days.
Tuff times.
Dave and Graham did a live podcast show here last night. It was such a fun party!
Since when did they get so famous?!
Now it’s Sunday and I’m desperately trying to write but it’s all coming out like a sloppy stream of poop. Trying to finish up a radio play about inadvertent public displays of bestiality (uh, don’t ask?) and I’m having a hard time coming up with an ending. So many possible scenarios but none seem as funny as I want them to be.
Oh, so I’m half-assidly starting a blog about loneliness…
Feel free to submit or email me (write@eliannalev.com) photos, songs, videos, poems, words, and snapshots of moments when you’re feeling lonely…and I’ll put them up. It’s just a silly little thing my friend suggested I do whenever I feel needy. Not putting too much energy into it, but maybe I will when I’m bored or procrastinating or if there’s a huge interest.
Anyhow, hope you all have a happy week!
February 26, 2012
Flex
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
I’m writing this from YVR on the way home to Toronto. Delayed by AIR CRUELTY for the last four hours but I’m trying not to complain, so I’ll just use this time to be productive and update my personal blog. So yeah. Anyhow. I’m in Vancouver and have been for the last 10 days. From one home to another. I don’t think I could live without Vancouver in my life on a consistent basis. Trying to figure out how to make that a reality.
So here are some photos of things I’ve been doing. Oh, before I get to that, I should remind you to pick up the National Post on Wednesday. I supposedly have a cover story on the arts section that was a lot of fun to write. I’ll remind you later this week. Ok. Photos.
This is the first thing I did when I got to town.
Followed by this. (Sushiyama aka Sushiyummy!)
Followed by this. (Karaoke!)
And this. (Friend friend party time.)
And this. (Trying hard to rock my new high-waisted jean look.)
The next day I was done my work early and feeling useless and unproductive and was like, I should go for a walk, maybe something magical will happen. And within a minute, I ran into these two, who were in town for an hour and thought they’d go for a quick walk. CRAZY! (Adrienne on the left is the producer of Bomb Girls and one of my heros, and Ian on the right is a teacher extraordinary and one of my closest friends.)
Spending time with Hilary is magical too, in much different ways. Ask me about it another time. Still processing.
And while we’re on the subject of magic, lil’ miss good vibes herself, KITTY RAE! And Irish.
Stayed at the Burrard for a few nights, which was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my trip. Highly recommended. Kyla came to visit me one night. That was also a highlight.
Went on a travel writing exercution to Washington with Mir for 24 hours. The first thing we do in the US is hit up Jack in the Box. We tried the bacon milkshakes and let me tell you…
…we really enjoyed them.
Stayed at a super lovely lodge. Except there was no door on the bathroom and we weren’t the lesbian couple everyone thought we were so it made things a little awkward when I wanted to take a soak.
There were pigs on the property. They wiggle their tails just like dogs do! This guy was being shy.
Then it was off to a final wine tasting, Target, the outlets and back to Vancouver where I was able to have a quick visit with my #1 (a), Grampa!
I also got to spend time with Shane and Katie. I’m their surrogate teenaged daughter.
Okay. It’s been about four hours of killing time before my delayed flight and I’ve got another 1.5 to go. Gonna go spend my big $10 voucher at some crappy generic airport vendor. That’ll shave off another 35 minutes or so. NOT COMPLAINING. FLYING IS FUN!
Tell me what I got to look forward to in Toronto, my friends.
January 26, 2012
I guess it hasn’t hit me yet
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
I heard this song on CBC radio this morning and I cannot stop listening to it. I think the last time I heard it was on a cassette mix someone made me at zionist/socialist camp when I was 13. Anyhow, I am quite partial to any song with mandolins and harmonies. It gives me the warmziez.
So? What’s up guys? Have you been reading my column in the Metro every Monday? I hope so. They’re fun to write. It’s my voice, but toned down to a much broader, on-the-way-to-work audience who want to learn about things I’d traditionally snarf at, like poetry readings and jazz. Unfortunately I believe this week is the last I’ll be doing it as it was just a temporary thing while my buddy who does it regularly took a vacation. But I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities of that calibre some time in the near future. Look at that? Me being positive about the future. Must be something in the (disgusting, flat, gag-inducing) Toronto water.This city is taking to me, or me to it. I can’t believe I just admitted that.
Anyhow. Photos.
Every time I leave my parent’s house, this happens. It’s a goodbye party!
I was staying in Liberty Village for a few weeks and one night the sky looked so pretty. Too bad it didn’t translate well in the photo.
Remember Matthew? Of course you do. He’s hard to forget. Anyhow, he was in town.
So we threw a party!
The gang!
These exist and I am that much happier as a result.
I visited my dad at work.
Tried to get connected to nature like I used to in Vancouver. Not quite the same but close enough.
My main goal right is to find a boyfriend who’ll accept every part of me…even when we’re taking a dump together.
