Launches are exciting– the splash dash sparkly party after working hard on a long project. When I was in school and then in university, I used to fantasize about a time when I didn’t have any “homework”, but being a writer means there’s always more homework around the bend, another deadline on the swiftly approaching horizon…. (mixed metaphor _and_ physically impossible. del.). Hahahahahaha!

Tragedy tries to break me, but irony always brings me back.

There is never a dull moment.

I’ve just returned from a marvellous joint launch with David Bateman and Larissa Lai at Rhizome’s in Vancouver. Rhizome’s is a wonderful community-centred cafe on Broadway. They have heartsoul food, a warm cosy vibe, and a lovely space for community events. (Also, a great place to check out the chill, groovy, lesbian scene!). Thank you to all the lovely people who were there! For those who missed the launch and would like to pick up copies of our new poetry books, drop by at Little Sister’s on Davie.

Edmonton looks brown against the fading wetgreen afterimage of Vancouver. Luckily, campus is closed today and tomorrow (It’s peculiar to think that skipping two days of classes is an effective method of suicide prevention i.e. what about the other days of the year, but who knows? Butterfly, wings flapping, storm, etc.) and I can transition into my work head, my writing head, my immigrant focus-and-finish template.

Alas, Eduardo, my betta fish, is not doing well. He’s stopped eating and he ‘pants’ at the bottom of the tank. Maybe it’s old age. I bought him over a year ago and I read that their average lifespan is 1.5 years. I’ve been wondering if he is suffering, and if I ought to euthanize him…and then have begun wondering if, in this case, euthanasia just means “i don’t want to watch you suffering”, thus, it’s all about me….

The dying part is just as important as the living.

All you writers out there…all you dreamers and thinkers and wonderers…. Focus and finish.