every day's a lucky day, freaks.

being right in the path of a large theatre festival for the next ten days, the bookstore has been preparing forever. extra stock, extra staff, etc. this year, we're also part of the "bring your own venue" extravaganza, which means a local playwright has convinced us to close off half the second floor for her hour-long one-woman show, featuring bits of accordion and that's all i heard.

today, while the 'roadies'/friends & neighbours of the playwright were setting up, i was eating gluten-free pizza in the office (most of my workday is not this comfortable) and i overheard one of them use the word 'cumbersome' in describing an overhead projector. i thanked him for using an unusual word. i haven't heard cumbersome in a while.

the rain has driven away most of the theatre-goers (i love how a blizzard is no big deal in alberta, but rain sends us inside in droves. it's some of my favourite weather. bring on the rubber boots). so sad. oh well. i get to wear sweaters again and this makes me happy.

the queen is off gallivanting in the northwest territories with two of his brothers and their father. back monday, he is. i am torn between noticing refreshing space, and noticing how ... absent and vacant it feels. quiet jazz songs sound even more quiet.

it's interesting to notice how the "part of a couple" dynamic is fitting in with my life right now. in the past, i've had to work pretty hard to keep a healthy ratio of friend time and couple time. but in the past few years, i have shaved my friend group, not out of dislike for anyone in it but simply with the realisation that spending time socially isn't as rewarding as it used to be, and i would rather be by myself or with someone i deeply care for.

most of my close friends don't live here. rural alberta, louisiana, toronto, rural ontario. three people in this city that i actually seek out. sure, many more who are wonderful and come in to the bookstore, or see me at the odd event, and update me on their lives. great people! but not people i go to in a crisis. so.

what this has all translated to is that i don't actually spend a lot of time with friends, except in the gnome compound, where the queen lives. so i don't find i have had to balance much. mostly i am just reading less and having more sex. other than that my life is pretty much the same, except better. because the festivals are more fun (one exception of sunday the fair) and reading is more fun. making food and eating it is more fun. having a bath is more fun. sometimes the communication required to make all this fun happen can be kind of draggy, but that's just par for the course: i am trying to communicate with another human being. it's going to get needlessly complicated. that's what we do best.