Despite the fact that winter is clearly not over yet, as evidenced by my front yard in the above picture, I'm definitely in the mood for summer. Maybe it's because school has been kicking my ass especially hard as of late. Maybe it's because this time last year, not only was I out and about enjoying the Olympics but I was doing so in a cardigan with a Slurpee in hand. But okay, it's probably because warm summer nights are a hell of a lot more fun than bundling up and paying for coat check.
If you're craving the sun like I am, here are a couple tracks to exacerbate those feelings:
4x750mL bottles red wine
1.14L vodka
2L ginger ale
750mL (give or take) orange juice
sliced citrus fruits
Deceptively delicious; profoundly potent. Serve in large wine glasses in celebration of your Australian friend's visit to Canada.
Robyn's sangria fiesta was a surprising hit. People (okay, one person) even came down from Burnaby Mountain -- the place that seems to devour our friends, never to be seen again. At around 2 am my friend Dawson showed up with a few others in tow; sadly I'd already long forgotten about my camera. I swear it was still bumpin' until the wee hours of the morning.
I apologize for all the red eye going on, as well as the general lack of photo editing. I haven't installed the Adobe suite on this computer yet!
First, I'd like to let y'all know I got an iMac and will therefore be bombarding this blog with pictures of high class and importance in the future.
My cat really needs to learn how to pose better. Smizing can come later.
Anyways, I'm overjoyed to finally be rid of my Dell laptop that I got in 2006. I mean, it didn't even have a webcam or microphone. I was still running Windows XP. Sims 3 couldn't run without crashing. Get with the times, Leanna. It's been a bit of a difficult transition. I've used Windows for the past 19 years! Although I can definitely see how user-friendly Macs are, it still took me 10 minutes to figure out that getting the pictures off my digital camera was as easy as opening iPhoto and letting it do the work for me.
Victory! This is what I did last night:
Wavves
Best Coast
The show was at the Rickshaw, a venue I'd never been to before. Minus the ridiculously long lines to the bathroom (due in large part to 2 of the 4 stalls being out of order) it was great. I even bought some underaged kids beer, which I consider my good deed of the week. A couple drunk assholes nearly ruined the evening by making fun of my height (really? Is this kindergarten? I'm pocket-sized and adorable, motherfucker) but then I ran into Jamie, an old friend from SFU who I haven't seen in 3 years, and all was well...except for losing Robyn during Best Coast, oops. My lord and saviour Jamie Christ gave me a ride home and now I think I owe him my life because I would have otherwise been stranded on the Downtown East Side. What kind of concert ends at 1 am? I'm too old for this.
I know you're all dying to know what I got up to this weekend. Generally I play it pretty low-key and just go out on Friday, but this week I decided to get a bit wild.
(Shamelessly stolen from Tanie's flickr.)
Friday night: Dance Central party with Tanie, Carleigh, and Georgie (our non-human companion).
Saturday night: The original plan was to go to the Roxy for my classmate Ashley's birthday, but after an hour in line with the door still 20 people ahead Robyn and I bailed. Eventually we ended up at the Waldorf, but only got a solid hour of dancing in before it closed. Still, it was a good night because we met this Danish guy who was 6'6" and snuck us into his hostel so we could pee. Chivalry!
Today I'm definitely feeling the effects of two nights of partying and I don't see myself leaving my sweats until tomorrow morning.
...Especially music (or so I like to think). Here're some (mostly older) tracks I've been listening to and loving as of late:
The Canadian indie scene has gotten so, so good in the past few years. See if you can get your hands on their upcoming album Departing, it's more of the same in the best possible way.
If you've never given this album your full attention, do it now. Haunting, beautiful, depressing, etc. (All my favourite things in music.)
Always and forever.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I genuinely love this song or if it's just that it's a culmination of my love for both Sleigh Bells and Donald Glover, but it works.
Bright Eyes have come a long, long way since 1998's Letting Off the Happiness, and I must say I've enjoyed the journey. Well, most of it--Cassadaga and I will never be more than just friends. Thankfully, The People's Key returns to a more classic sound. Sure, Conor no longer wails into the mic on every other heart-wrenching track, but I guess we all have to grow up at some point. (Ha, I say that like I don't still listen to A Perfect Sonnet or You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will. or No Lies, Just Love all the damn time.) Anyways, where was I? Right. New album = awesome. And thank God, because it looks like it'll most likely be their last, which I don't even want to think about right now. I'm just happy I have my tickets to see them on April 8th at the Commodore. Actually, happy's a bit of an understatement--the thought of finally being in the same room as Conor Oberst makes me kind of nauseous and giddy.
This is getting too long. One day I'll dedicate an entire post to the influence Bright Eyes had on my teenage self, but I'll spare y'all that saga for now.
What I was up to in the last month (besides woefully ignoring my blog):
We didn't do much for Christmas this year; no turkey, no big family gathering, not even a traditional viewing of the Muppets' Christmas Carol. It was nice to have a quiet holiday, though. I finally got a Kindle, which has already made my commute a million times more enjoyable.
I was in the kitchen a lot over winter break. Highlights include peppermint marshmallows, white chocolate biscotti, candied almonds, and (pictured) peppermint almond chocolate bark. Can you sense a bit of a theme?
On New Years Eve my friend Robyn and I went to the Astoria ($10! No line! Baby Duck by the bottle!) where we ran into Jordan (in the above photo avec moi), one of my PR classmates. Many good times were had, and if I could remember any of them I'd elaborate, but I can't, so...
I'll be honest...as glamourous as my life must seem (stop laughing) I spent most of my time cuddling with my favourite feline and sneezing constantly as a result. It was a good winter break.
Originally I'd planned an elaborate photographic journey through Monday's lunch at Tapenade, but clearly I was too hungry for that shit. (My Linguine Boscaiola was appetizer size, okay?! Don't judge that empty plate.) As always, the food and service were top-notch and it was the perfect way for a few of my classmates and I to start our last week before winter break.
One more week to go! I don't have any final exams which is beyond awesome, but it also means that I have five projects due in five days. In other words, Adobe owns my taskbar for the weekend. I've even made the decision* to stay in and refrain from partying in order to get as much done as possible!
* I retain the right to change my mind at any time.
