Archive: September 23, 2006

Seriously, this is out of control. I need internet at home. That's my excuse for this entry!

Ah, Toronto in fall. I've started wearing *sweaters*! I even got to wear a scarf once already!!! I really love this weather, when it starts to get crisp, and your cheeks get rosy...It's lovely. I'm really excited for leaves changing colour, after 3 years of missing that in Vancouver.

Life continues to be an ever-evolving state of flux for me. Lots of good things, a few hard things, tiredness, etc. You know, the same old. I think there is some good news work-wise for me, though it's not yet official, but that will hopefully smooth things out in my day-to-day. I had a lovely summer living with a lovely person who will hopefully be back not too long from now. Borders suck. I have also fallen IN LOVE with the newest additions to my family, my kittens Mylo and Sparrow. They're sisters, and I adopted them about 3 1/2 weeks ago. They are a constant source of entertainment, joy, and, of course, stress. We are currently nearing the end of many doses of medicine to deal with some parasites that I unknowlingly adopted along with the kittens, but they seem to be on the mend, so that's good news. I'm really starting to feel settled here, something I haven't felt in a long time, and I'm hoping that's going to help me to get my life going in the direction I want it to go. Unfortunately music (at least, my own music) hasn't been a huge part of my life for the last couple of months. I find that really sad, but I also just have to realize that that's how it's going to be sometimes. I continue to keep my eyes open for performance opportunities, but don't have anything to report at the moment.

But autumn makes me feel strangely reborn, with the long nights and cool air, so hopefully music will start to pour out of my life again.

And, in closing, the cutest kittens in the world:

Archive: July 19, 2005

Okay, so, to my credit, I really did start to write a post just after Pride, but somehow got sidetracked and now it's almost a month later. Eesh. This seems to be the constant refrain of this journal!

Anyways, Pride was fantastic. The audience wasn't huge at my gig, but they were certainly enthusiastic. I had my first experience of people I didn't know yelling "I love you" while I played, and then rushing the stage after. Thank you, Ottawa kids, for making me feel like a rockstar. You guys were awesome. The sound system was also great at the show, even though it was outdoors, so that made the whole thing a much more enjoyable experience. All in all, it was a great first official Toronto gig.

My move into the Toronto music scene is otherwise proceeding somewhat slowly. I've been focused on finding a second part-time job (I'm now working at the Drake, as well as at Planned Parenthood), and not so focused on becoming a massively succesful rockstar. This really feels like not having my priorities in order, but unfortunately paying rent has to be more of a priority than just about anything else. I really need a patron. Sigh. But I have been playing open mics, and have plans to try to book a show for August, so I am pressing on. There have been a lot of pretty big changes in my life the last couple of weeks, and I plan on using them to gain momentum, rather than slowing down as a result.

So that's about it for news from my end for now. I will be posting pictures from Pride as soon as possible (yes, that is intentionally vague!), and hopefully lots of new dates soon. Hope you're all enjoying your summers. Here is a picture as a preview of the Pride pics:

Archive: June 3, 2006

So, exactly one month since the last time I updated. I currently do not have internet at home, and have also been having some computer problems (luckily nothing like the Great Computer Crash of 2005, but still), so those are my excuses. The real reason is probably more along the lines of being caught up in getting settled in my new home and new city and new life. Toronto has been good to me so far. The job is going well (although if anyone knows of any part-time jobs in Toronto, I desperately need more work), I really like my apartment (apart from a wee bug problem, which I think I have under control now), and my neighbourhood is great. The real highlight, though, is my newest best friend, my bike, Juniper. Now, I have had no particular problem in the past with people who were really into their bikes and biking, but I never thought I'd be one of them. Well, it seems I am. I seriously am in love with this bike. I get to save money on transit, get in shape, zip around the city, and get to know my neighbourhood better. It's fantastic. Here is a picture of my bike:

I still need a basket, and then I'll be all set. And yes, it spews purple hearts all over the place. Strange.

Musically, things are starting to move along a bit. Again, I haven't been particularly focused in the past little while. Adjusting to the new city and new place, and unpacking, has been a longer process than anticipated. But I played my first open mic here last week, and it was great just to get out and play music for a while. I haven't yet heard anything from NXNE, so I'm not keeping my fingers crossed on that one, but I do have the details for the Pride show, which I've added to the dates page. If you're in Toronto, you should come check it out. It should be lots of fun. I've heard good things about this stage.

So, you'd think I'd have lots more exciting things to write about my new life, but I can't say that I particularly do, especially as this is a music-focused journal. I will update again soon, probably post-Pride, and hopefully will have more musical updates at that point. Hope you're all enjoying late spring and early summer. Be in touch: info@lesleyhoyles.com. And come visit. My couch is super comfy.

Archive: May 3, 2006

Wow, it's been a while. My apologies. Since I last wrote, I finished my job at Big Brothers, packed up 3 1/2 years of life, played a farewell gig, was serenaded by a drag performance, drove across Canada with my dad, caught up on sleep, found a new apartment, interviewed and was hired for a new job, packed up 24 years of life, and slept some more. Phew. I'm tired again just writing it all out! So, anyways, that's my excuse for not updating.

My last month in Vancouver was amazing. It was extremely stressful trying to get everything done, but it was also incredible spending time with people I love and feeling so loved, too. My last gig, at Lugz Coffeehouse, was just incredible. I was not at my best, unfortunately, due to being really worn out, but the audience was fantastic, and we had a lot of fun. The highlight of the evening, though, was back at my place after, where my lovely friend David did an impromptu drag performance of one of my songs! Hilarious. Swimming goggles stood in for real glasses, and a small souvenir guitar from Mexico was the instrument. It was so great. I feel that I've arrived.

The drive across Canada was also amazing. The first bit of it is kind of a blur, due to exhaustion and emotion, but really, what a drive. Coming through the mountains in BC and Alberta was so, so beautiful, espeically our very early morning leaving Revelstoke. The whole way across, the roads were often near empty - apparently late March is the time to drive across Canada. We figure that there were probably 10 transport trucks to every car we saw on the road. Anyways, if you're interested in seeing more pictures, go check out http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/johnandlesley/. And I recommend driving cross-Canada. It makes me even more amazed and appreciative of this incredible place I live.

So, it was a quick turn-around in Ottawa, then down to Toronto to apartment hunt. I found a great place in a cool, artsy part of the city, and I'll be moving in this Saturday. I then returned to Toronto again the next week for a job interview, and found out last week that I got the job! I'll be working part-time as the Executive Assistant at Planned Parenthood of Toronto. I'm pretty excited. I like the fact that I'm going to be getting paid to work for a pro-choice organization. I think the work they do is important and it will be exciting to be a part of it.

Otherwise, I've been hermitting here in Ottawa. I've pretty much only seen my family, and I spend my days by myself at my parents' house while everyone's at work. It's been great, actually, having some quiet and time just to get rested up. I'm finally starting to feel rested for the first time in a very long time. I've also been sorting through all of the stuff that I didn't bring with me to Vancouver, which has been very...interesting. I've found some cool stuff, and also some stuff that's raised old, hidden-away emotions. But the sorting is almost done, part two of the packing is almost done, and in 3 days, I'll be starting to unpack in my new place. Finally.

So that's my life at the moment. I'm really looking forward to getting things going in Toronto. I've been asked to play the youth stage at Toronto Pride, and I'm on standby for North by Northeast, so things are on the way! I will close off here, with two things: first, the lyrics to my "leaving Vancouver" song, and a small photo montage of the end of my time in Vancouver/the drive across Canada.

***Untitled***

I forgot that this is what it’s like to be leaving / when everything becomes the one last time / Only last year felt like it was forever / and only last year felt like the city was mine /I met a girl when I already knew I was leaving / I figured I’d hold out and it would be okay / And all the friends I have here and time, too, seems to be sticking / and it’s only me who is slipping away, away /I am leaving here without knowing how / ‘cause time sped up and like a movie I did, too / It seems to be a recurring theme that home is where the heart is / but the hardest part is following through /There are echoes here of the place where I will go / ‘cause the falling flower blossoms are a springtime snow / And there are reasons, of that I’m reasonably sure / it’s just the pushing through them that I don’t how to endure /I am leaving here without knowing how / ‘cause time sped up and like a movie I did, too / It seems to be a recurring theme that home is where the heart is / but the hardest part is following through /Any minute now my heart will catch up to my head / any minute now my feet will turn to blocks of lead / Will I be left with only these years of growing / 'cause I'm not sure that I'm enough to show for it / I am leaving here without knowing how / ‘cause time sped up and like a movie I did, too / It seems to be a recurring theme that home is where the heart is / but the hardest part is following through /I forgot that this is what it's like to be leaving / all of the grieving and forgetting / all of the grieving and forgetting / I'll miss you //

March 2006

Archive: March 9, 2006

***Skyscrapers and Elevators***

Every dream that I am dreaming / is of skyscrapers and elevators / Every time I close my eyes / I catch a glimpse of snowy streets / Every step that I am taking / is one step closer to / all the plans that I’ve been planning / all the things that pull me through /But I’m too tired to wonder / if I’m too old to start over again / Yeah, I’m too tired to wonder / if I’m alone /At least there, there is something / to dig out from under / At least there, there is / some kind of excuse /‘Cause I’m too tired to wonder / if I’m too old to start over again / Yeah, I’m too tired to wonder / if I’m alone /So we wait here / so, we wait here / imagining things to come / And it seems clear / yeah, it seems clear / that we’ll be so much happier when it’s done / What are we imagining? / Nights drinking late in hotel bars won’t get us far / But the buildings are taller there / and we’ll grow taller too / we’ll grow taller too /All I see here are rainy skies / all the good things pass me by / I just can’t bring myself to try / all I see here are raining skies /But I’m too tired to wonder / if I’m too old to start over again / Yeah, I’m too tired to wonder / if I’m alone / if I’m alone /Every dream that I am dreaming / is of skyscrapers and elevators //

January, 2006

Also, my show is set for the end of the month. Come say bye. Details here.

Archive: February 17, 2006

Well, it’s official. I will be saying my goodbyes to Vancouver at the end of March, and starting anew in Toronto. There will be a one month transitional period, where I will be living in Ottawa and traveling to Toronto to begin to set up my new life, but otherwise, I will soon be settling in a new, big city. This decision has been a long time in the making for me. When I came to Vancouver originally, it was on an 8-month exchange for my third year of university. Somehow, it’s now three and a half years later and I’m still here. It’s been an amazing time, and I certainly have no regrets at having stayed here much longer than originally planned. However, I feel that I have exhausted much of what the city has to offer me as a musician, and, as that is the avenue I hope to try to pursue as a career, I need to move to where the opportunities are.

But I’m sad! Sad and excited. I know that this is the right thing to do, and I’m looking forward to the excitement of getting to know a new city, and having the chance to push harder on my music career, and living closer to my family and some of my close friends, but I’m also really heartbroken about leaving Vancouver. The city itself I’m not too attached to, but I am really attached to the life I’ve created for myself here. So, I urge all of you Vancouverites to move to Toronto, too, and we can just rebuild our Vancouver lives there, in a city with so much more to offer. Hooray!

So, I will hopefully be playing another gig in Vancouver before I leave. I’m working on it. It would likely be during the second half of March. I will post as soon as I have any news. And for those of you out east, look for me in your town starting in April. I’ve applied for tons of folk festivals for the summer, so hopefully I’ll be traveling around with that, and I’m also planning on doing some mini tours in the southern Ontario/eastern Quebec regions.

As usual, drop me an e-mail to say hello and console me, or to offer me packing tips (I’m dreading the packing! It’s times like this I curse being a packrat).

I’ll update again soon with news of shows. In the meantime, I’ve posted new pictures from the gig at Rasputin’s in Ottawa in December.
And, to close, a picture from an amazing trip I took to Tofino a couple of weeks ago. At least I can tick one thing off my list of “things to do before I leave the West Coast”. Sigh.

Archive: January 13, 2006

Happy new year! I am back in Vancouver, un-vacationed, back to work, etc., etc. The vacation was fantastic. The older I get, the more I appreciate my family and the time we get to spend together. Highlights of the trip include being met at the airport with birthday balloons, because it was just after midnight on the 24th, cooking yummy vegetarian food for my family, coffee with my lovely friends on my birthday, playing with my sister and her hilarious cats, a super fun gig at my musical home, Rasputin's (more on that in a bit), and singing along to Elton John with my whole family as we sped down the highway on a winter's night. I also had a great trip to Toronto over New Year's, where I had a chance to visit my best friend and play in a real big city. Because I was off for two weeks, I really had a chance to relax, for the first time in a while, and it was great. I hope you all had a chance to take some time off, too. I can't say I have any real New Year's Resolutions this year, other than to start to focus more and more on music. I'm constantly reminded that this is what I want to do with my life. Just need to figure out how!

I played a gig at Rasputin's while in Ottawa, with my high school friends Angie (from our old band Alicide) and Shawna. We had a great time. The audience was so amazing, including some people who had driven from quite a ways outside Ottawa, despite freezing rain, to watch the show. The cafe was packed with old friends, family, family's friends, family of the family's friends - you get the idea. We each played a 45 minute set, but during each set, the other two sang harmony on a couple songs. It was a perfect mix, plus all the rehearsal time was a great excuse to hang out with my old friends. Our finale of Dar Williams' "The Christians and the Pagans", complete with each of singing the parts of the different characters, was a hilarious throwback to performance assemblies at our arts high school. Ah, those were the days. There will be pictures up from that gig in the next little while, on the photo pages of the site.

I don't have a lot to report at the moment in Vancouver. We are about to break the rainfall record for number of consecutive days of rain (we're at 27 or 28 or something ridiculous) and I think it's affecting my mood! I loved the snow while I was in Ottawa, and coming back to SO MUCH RAIN was tough. But I just keep reminding myself that in a month or so, the city will be starting to bloom with spring flowers, and then it'll seem great to not have snow. See, I can be an optimist! In the music front, I have nothing booked at the moment, but there are rumblings of a couple of things at UBC in February. I'll keep y'all posted.

Anyways, my apologies for this not being a more exciting entry. I'm a little low energy this evening, and am trying to rev up to become my normal whilrwind, productive self - or something! To close, as in the tradition, a picture - actually, this time, a MONTAGE! This is a little summary of my holidays (although the cookies were from Vancouver). Enjoy!

Archive: December 18, 2005

Alright, so I realize that once again I'm in a position to apologize for being the worst updater EVER. Yes, ever. It's not a title that I hold proudly, I can tell you that.

However, in happier news, in five days I will be on vacation. I'm so excited. I will not have to go to the office for an entire two weeks. Now, the office is not so totally terrible, but, still, I will enjoy not being there for a while, and instead getting to hang out with my family, play in the SNOW (we had snow for, like, a second here in Vancouver), play music (including a gig with my old buddies - more on that in a moment), have someone else make me coffee (thanks, Mum), and generally relax. I do have lots of folk festivals to apply for, but that's more enjoyable than the office, I would say.

So I hope you are all well. I think this is a really insanely busy time of year, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, and it's hard sometimes to not get caught up in all the craziness. But, instead of dwell on being very very busy, you should look at this AWESOME picture that my friend took of a blow up santa near her house in Vancouver. As you can see, this is not just any santa. It's FACSIST SANTA. Yes, folks, we all now know who santa really is. I'm sure the people displaying this santa are unaware of how much he looks like a fascist (although I have no idea how), but I think it's such a great statement on commercialism and the disgusting ubiquity of Christian beliefs in our culture. Ah, Christmas will never really be Christmas without fascist santa.

In other news, as I mentioned above, I will be playing a gig in Ottawa over the holidays, with my old Alicide bandmate, Angie Karp, and our good buddy from high school, Shawna Caspi. I'm very excited. We're playing at our "home", as it were, Rasputin's Folk Cafe, where we all got our start. It will be a great homecoming/reunion, and I know it'll be really fun. Go to the dates page for more info on it. If you are planning on coming, you should definitely call and reserve space, because Rasputin's is pretty small. Woo!

Also, I am just about to turn 24. This is my champagne birthday, and, unlike many of my friends, I am lucky to have my champagne birthday at an age where I can, in fact, drink champagne should I so choose. I likely will choose to drink wine instead, since I don't really like champagne, and I like to avoid things I dislike on my birthday, but , it is exciting that I will turn 24 on the 24th. I feel that this bodes well for the year ahead, a year that will hold some pretty major changes for me, I think. Also, for those who don't know, my birthday is called Lesmas (it's the REAL holiday that everyone celebrates in December), and I had a party with my Vancouver friends last night to celebrate. I will prove to you that we did indeed celebrate Lesmas, by showing you this picture of me, wearing a crown and a ribbon and holding a cake with a star on it (I really like stars):

Hopefully I will not spend the whole next year looking this goofy. I'm not sure that would help my burgeoning music career at all.

As for a music update, here is the deal: I decided not to book any shows in Vancouver for December, because everyone is really just too busy, so I will hopefully play a solo show in January, and then I'll be playing some stuff at UBC in January and February, and then we'll see after that.

Anyways, I have to go and wrap presents and update other websites and so forth. And eat leftover cake. My plan is to eat steadily from now until my actual birthday next Saturday. That's the best part of hosting a potluck at your apartment: you never need to cook again.

I hope you all have a great holiday and if you are celebrating some sort of occasion during that time, that it is very enjoyable for you. As usual, I can be reached at info@lesleyhoyles.com, should you want to send me some birthday wishes. You could tell me things that you think I should accomplish during my special year. I will try my best to actually do them. Maybe.

Happy holidays.

Archive: November 7, 2005

So much for all my promises of updating more frequently now that my computer is fixed. I could bore you with myriad excuses, but, well, that would be boring. Onwards and upwards, as Willy Wonka would say.

The show on the 14th was fantastic. Thanks as usual to everyone who showed up on a very rainy October evening. You were an exceptionally great audience. I don't know if it was just because I hadn't played a show in a while or what, but I had such a great, great time playing that show. Really, I had no sense of whether I was playing well or not, because I was so into the playing itself. We did have a few frustrating sound problems, but, together, we got through it.

I am currently looking at a show for mid-December, but we'll see. I have to go check out a venue which I've heard is decidedly un-folk, so it may have to be a band show if it happens. But keep your eyes and ears open for that, Vancouver folks. In exciting news, I'll be playing a show in Ottawa (where I'll be for the holidays) on December 29th! The show will be at my musical home, Rasputin's Cafe, and I will be sharing the stage with two of my old music buddies, Angie Karp, my former bandmate in Alicide, and Shawna Caspi, a very talented musician who also went to high school with us. It will be fabulous evening of new songs, covers, collaborations, and other fun things. Check out the dates page for more on that.

Things have been very busy for me, at work and otherwise. I've learned that the side effect of having a lot of really amazing friends is never really having enough time to spend with all of them. I have to admit to not being nearly as productive with music lately as I would like to be. I'm trying to be more disciplined with actual practising. I've started giving occasional lessons to one of my friends, which I think is good for forcing me to focus a little more on the technical side of my playing, which is sadly lacking. If only I had a piano around to raise my spirits about my musical ability! I did have a very lovely weekend away this past weekend, on Pender Island, in the Gulf Islands of BC. I had never been to that part of the province before, and it is so beautiful. We stayed at a friend's cabin, and spent lots of time reading, knitting, drinking wine, and singing crazy songs. It's amazing how refreshing even just two days out of the city can be. I can't even claim any huge shifts in perspective; I think just breathing some good clean air and being away from computers and television and so forth make a more simple difference. And there's nothing quite like playing your own songs while four of your favourite boys sing along to every word. I am very lucky that, even if I never really become a rockstar, my friends have a way of always making me feel like one. Thanks.

So, that's all for tonight. Keep an eye on the dates page to see if that December show materializes, and Ottawa/Montreal/etc. folks, I really really hope to see you at the show in December! And now, to close, a picture from a lovely Sunday afternoon on Pender Island.

Archive: September 28, 2005

Wow, I'm on the cover of a newspaper! It's kind of crazy. I didn't think that it was coming out until tomorrow morning, so when I glanced at the newspaper box on my way home from work, I kind of had a massive shock. Seriously, I started sweating profusely. And then self-consciously tried to grab a bunch of copies without anyone noticing that I was the person on the cover. I'm such a rockstar.
But it is very exciting, and I'm quite happy with the whole thing. I was terrified when I learned that it was going to be a profile shot for the cover, because I'm quite self-conscious about my profile, but the shot is really cool, and, while I haven't suddenly gotten over my hangups, I can stand looking at it, and appreciate it as a good photo. The article is also quite good. I wasn't overly misquoted, although, for the record, I never worked with the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (they haven't really been around since I started working on pro-choice stuff, and now they don't exist at all), and I prefer to identify as queer, rather than lesbian. It's funny that when you only talk about dating girls, they write lesbian. And finally, I didn't say that I didn't want to write about queer stuff because I didn't want to hit people over the head with it. I said that I'm wary of writing political songs in general because it's easy for them to become didactic, and no one wants that. Although, really, if those things are the extent of the misquoting, I think I can be pretty happy about this endeavour. It's just so bizarre suddenly being on the front cover of something, even if it is relatively small and local. I'm hoping that this will help get over the hump of only having friends, and friends of friends, know about my music (even though you guys are obviously the best fans I could possibly ask for). And I'm glad that I come across as fairly geeky in the article because, hey, I am fairly geeky.
So, if you are someone who I don't know who is reading this because of the article, then, huzzah! And welcome, of course.
It's the beginning of big things, my friends. Big queer things. Ha.
So, to coincide with the MASSIVE PRESS COVERAGE (I'm joking, in case that's not blatantly obvious), there are all kinds of updates on the site, in particular some musings on independent music and pro-choice activism, both of which I hold very, very dear to my heart, and a few pictures from the CD release show in July.
And now, in the tradition of, well, my website, we will end on a picture. This is a goodbye-to-summer picture (it would have fit better with my last post, but c'est la vie), of the DELICIOUS blackberry pies my dear friend Nicholas and I baked, after going to pick all the berries and getting trapped in the thicket and playing with bunnies (okay, we tried to play with them, and they ran away, but that's a kind of playing, I suppose). I hope you're all well. As usual, keep me entertained while I'm slyly checking my personal e-mail at work by writing me at info@lesleyhoyles.com. Hope to see you on OCTOBER 14TH. Go look at the dates page for more information on that one.

Archive: September 19, 2005

Hello, and welcome to Fall. If you're not in Vancouver and don't realize that it's fall yet, I, along with my turtleneck sweaters, am here to tell you that it is. It's getting dark quite early now, and I'm already being forced to pull out extra blankets at night. Which, really, is lovely - I'm just still a little bit in shock about how quickly the summer went by.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize PROFUSELY for not having updated my site FOREVER. I have been dealing with some very serious computer issues, which ultimately resulted in my both losing a large portion of my files from the last 5 years, and spending a lot of money. It's still not working completely properly, and I'm still trying to load software back on and stuff, but at least it's working enough for me to be able to update again - yay! And remember, if you ever want your own personal update, just send me an e-mail at info@lesleyhoyles.com.

So, what, you may ask, have I been up to for the last two months? Well, here's the rundown:

1. First of all, the CD release at the end of July was AWESOME. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came out to the show. I really had so much fun playing, and you were a wonderful audience. The band was fantastic, too, and did a good job of reining me in a bit - my speed tends to get a little out of hand when I'm really into a show! There will be pictures up by next week. Seriously, I wish you could have all been there, it was so fun.

2. My summer, as previously mentioned, flew by. We really only had one month of proper summer here in Vancouver, which added to the feeling that it went by far too fast. My summer consisted of...well, much the same as the rest of my year. Watching the beautiful days from behind the glass at the office and so forth. But despite that, I did get to go outside lots: highlights included a lovely picnic / guitar-playing night on the beach with a few friends, and a brief but lovely trip to Ottawa for a memorial for my uncle who passed away in the spring. Things have picked up again at the office after a short summer lull, and between that and trying to finish sorting out my computer issues, it's getting busy again.

3. As for now, I have a couple of exciting things coming up. First, for those in Vancouver, keep your eyes on the free Xtra West boxes scattered around town. I will be making an appearance in the pages of the September 28th issue. For those not around here, I'll post links to it on the site. I'm pretty excited about this, as it's really the first big bit of press I've had as a solo artist. I had the great experience of having my first professional photo shoot yesterday, which was great. I felt like a rockstar. And who doesn't want to feel like a rockstar??? Seriously. The other thing is that I FINALLY have another gig booked. I took a little bit of a break after the CD release, but I'm back and swinging - or singing? Eek. So, the show will be at Lugz Coffeehouse (on Main) again, because I like that venue and Jark, the manager, is really good to me by letting me come in and basically just request a show. It'll be on Friday, October 14th, at about 7pm. So, y'all should come if you can, and then we should all go out afterwards - it is a Friday, after all!

So that's pretty much it for now. There will be quite a few updates in the next week, in anticipation of the Xtra article, so check back for those. And seriously, write me letters at info@lesleyhoyles.com. I promise to write back.

ALSO, there is a giant spider (okay, not really giant, but pretty big) on my ceiling, that's been there since this morning, and I think we're having a staring contest. I want it to come down low enough so that I can catch it and put it outside. But it doesn't seem to be paying attention to my requests. And I just barely avoided a serious run-in with a skunk a few minutes ago. They're so cute, but so smelly!

And on that note, I will sign off. And it will NOT be another two months before I write again.

Love,

Lesley.

Archive: July 6, 2006

There are mp3s up! i have to admit that I'm a little proud of myself for figuring it out on my own. Okay, granted, now that I know how to do it, I realize that it's ridiculously easy and that I shouldn't really be congratulating myself, but nevertheless...
It seems that maybe we're actually getting a little summer around here these days. I'm also heading to Palm Springs this weekend, so I'll definitely be getting my fill of summer there. Finally get my fill of vitamin D. And lie around for 5 days. I'm actually a little stressed at that length of forced relaxation - and yes, I recognize the irony.
I think I'm starting to get a better hang of doing this music stuff while also doing my regular job, which is great. I wrote a new song the other day, inspired by my fabulous friend Elsa, and I'm feeling more creative as a result.
In very, very sad news, Calvin, the cat in "The Cat Song", will no longer be with me after this morning. He has grown old, and I have to go in a couple of hours and put him down. He's been such a great cat, both when he was living with Jordana, and since he's been living with me. It will be lonely coming home from work and not having anyone jump up into my lap (I am, however, accepting applications for the position). So I will leave you with a picture of Calvin yawning, that actually looks like him roaring (he is a monster, after all)...