Shrimps weekend.


For those of you who don't remember, I am part of a sketch and improv comedy group called the Shrimps. There are seven of us, we write a brand new show every week. We are pretty friggin funny. I've been with the group since the fall of 2006, here's a link to our site.

I spent much of the weekend with these gents performing, writing and partying. We've been doing really well lately and we've had a couple of cash-in-hand shows this month. We have one this Tuesday night at the Art Gallery by Del Crary park. We are performing in the Festival of Darkness!

I gotta say that I'm excited about this particular gig. The Festival of Darkness started last year in an explosion of local art, controversy and noise complaints. It is a small, artist driven festival that serves to be a tongue-in-cheek alternative to Peterborough's massive summer tourist draw, the twice weekly "Festival of Lights".

At any rate, I've been enjoying the Shrimps a lot lately. The guys are a solid bunch. I like working with them. I also like the degree of fame and notoriety I'm receiving for being a hooligan on a stage.

That, and the free beer us great.

The early bird!

(looks almost exactly like this bad boy, except less shiny)

I got three hours of sleep last night and groggily pulled myself out of bed at seven this morning to have breakfast at my parents house with my super- awesome aunt Sam and uncle Terry. Friggin' great humans those two are. I'm always so refreshed by their warmth and good humour.
It's great to like the people you're related to, eh?

At any rate. My dad picked me up, and we drove north out of the city. Coming up ahead of us on Hilliard street I saw a garage sale. I always take a look to see what's on sale.

Then I saw it. I said "DAD! Look! Stop the car! I'm buying it!"

An absolutely gorgeous cruiser bike, a little faded, cherry coloured, in great condition.

I was already running down the sidewalk when my dad was calling after me asking me if I had cash. I said "Absolutely! If I have to get up this early I should at least get a bike out of the deal!"

I bought this lovely bicycle for ten bucks. TEN bucks for a bike that works better than any bike I've had in the last two years.

A tale of five red bicycles.

- The Deuce, my beloved red cruiser bike from the nineteen forties is in rough shape, and hasn't been rideable for a year and a half. I love that bike, it's sitting beside me as I speak. And the first few months of my life in Peterborough saw me on that cruiser everyday. It should be noted that it has never been in good shape. It's just really old, it makes loud noises. But it's lovely, it's my car. It's red black and gold.

- My second bike (generously given to me by an old roommate) was just a shitty fire-engine-red mountain bike. The back tire always had a slow leak. I rode it for most of last summer. By the end it was missing a pedal and it STILL got stolen.

- My third bike was not actually mine, it's just under my care for a few months. It too is a red mountain bike, but it is significantly too tall for me, and it's almost too tall for me to ride at all. I had it parked at Sadlier house for months, and at Trent Radio all winter. I parked it outside work, where it was taken by a friend of my bosses. It is somewhere in the southend with a broken chain.

- This week I've been riding a fast red road bike of Chris Jardin's, I hate roadbikes though, the handlebars are terrifying and those tiny tires! The tires are low and I bailed on it the other day. It's been locked at the bus station for a couple of days. I hope it's still there.

- And now a new cruiser, one speed with a back-pedal brake. It's EXACTLY what I want in a bicycle. I don't go far, I just want to get there on a cool, working bicycle I can ride in a skirt. I even stopped at a shell station and put air in the tires.

It's pouring rain, so I've actually been riding the bicycle in circles around my apartment. That's how excited I am. I'm taking suggestions for names!

The early bird gets the bike!

updates! updates!image by desiree fawn

I don't work until four today. So I'm bombing around my apartment, not cleaning it. I've actually been trying to exit the apartment for awhile, but on my way out the door I craved a cigarette. I contemplated buying a pack, thought that would be a bad idea. So I went back in and rolled myself one, which I am smoking as I type this.

The evening shift is wierd, my day has the feel of a day off, then I work. Sneaky things, these closing shifts. Although I do appreciate the option to sleep in a little.

School is in a slow crawl to the finish. I really want it to be done, these summer classes are killing me. They just give me the feeling that I've been in school forever. Moreover, the fact that I'm only in my second year gives me the feeling that I'm going to BE in school forever.
Most of my friends are done, or very nearly done. Not I, nope. Two more years of this at least.
(I spent four years of my life prostrate to the higher mind - I got my paper and I was free)

I really shouldn't speak so disparagingly about my education. I love it most days. But if I need to conjugate one more verb in Italian this summer I think I'm going to move to Helsinki.

The other day I played in Peterborough's first annual buskers festival. I only played for an hour to kill time before a shift at the Silverbean. But I happened to be setting up just as the judges were coming around my corner. I managed to get honourable mention. For this I got my name in the paper, a spot to busk at the Festival of Lights (a big festival that happens every Wednesday and Saturday in Peterborough, all summer long) and some other neat perks. Like the downtown business association knows who I am... and are into giving me free stuff. Like beer. Yesterday.

I've also got some gigs lined up for the summer. More on those when I have the details worked out.

In creative news... I think I need to get a little more serious about my songwriting. I'm getting bored of the songs in my set (it's a short set at that)... and some new material could go a long way. Who's up for a concept album?!

oh! pick me! pick me!