Back to the Future

So I left Korea for goodish, and the memories have begun to distill themselves and the experience is fading into the distance, as is evidenced by my dwindling Korean toothpaste tube:



My new life is made up of a few simple elements:

1) My next career: copywriting.



I've been reading this book non-stop. It's by this guy named Joe Sugarman who is a legend in the field of advertising, copywriting ("copy", if you didn't know, is any text written for commercial purposes) and specifically in direct marketing. He was the don of slinging calculators mail-order style in the 70s as the owner and operator of JS&A, a leading proprietor of "space-age" products. He's old, and the text is written in droolingly, forehead-slappingly simple prose. One passage reads: "Good copy should be like a woman's skirt, long enough to cover the important parts but short enough to maintain interest." Of course! Thanks, Joe! It's a retarded book but it's extremely insightful.

The plan:

Work on a copywriting portfolio for the next few weeks, whore myself to some big agencies in Toronto, get a job, and then find a trophy wife, buy a Jag, and develop a bad coke habit. Wish me luck!

2) The new place.

I live in downtown Toronto, just west of Bathurst St. on College St. It's the center of the traditional Little Italy. It's slick as hell. My room has wood floors and a big picture window overlooking College St. Here's a shot, leaning out my window, looking east:



Many of the residents here are Italian, and many don't speaky de English so very well*. Socially the neighbourhood couldn't be better: tons of everything required, but not so noisy as to be annoying. It's also relatively beautiful, which is a bonus.

[*Hilarious: at the polls today, there were several Old-Italian-Guy VS. T-shirt-With-Blazer-20-Something-Poll-Volunteer confrontations. One of them like so:

Old Italian Guy: Heresa my paper.
T-shirt&Blazer: Great, sir! Can I see your identification?
OIG: [displaying a yellowed and dusty card] Here, it'sa me.
T&B: Oooookidoki, sir, do you have anything that has your address on it?
OIG: ... ...
T&B: Maybe a health card, or some piece of ID with your address on it?
OIG: I live 134 Grace Street!
T&B: Oooookay sir, but do you have any documenta-
OIG: It'sa me! I'm Canadian citizen! Since-a 19-
T&B: Oh, well then-
OIG: I'M ME!! I'M ME!!!! I'M ME!! ]


Oh yeah, I have roommates. They are two 20-year-old female Ryerson students, Meg and Briar. Ummm... yeah it should be alright.


3) Shows.



Toronto is a big tour destination. I could go to a good show every night if I wanted to (/was rich). This is good! Seeing as how I don't have a job yet I'm trying to be frugal... but I can't help spending money on live music, seeing as how I've been so deprived the past couple of years in Korea (Bjork, Ennio Morricone, sure... but:). Since I've been here I've seen Hollywood Holt/Million $ Mano, Kid Cudi, Santogold, A-Trak, and, as you can see above, Howlin Rain, which is the frontman-from-Comets On Fire's new band. That was last night and it was a-MA-zing. On my bulletin board next to this desk are three pairs of tickets: Diplo/Boy 8 Bit, Of Montreal/Gang Gang Dance and Keith Fullerton Whitman. All in the next couple of weeks. BO BO BO!

4) Cooking and eating.

Up until 3 days ago I hadn't cooked a meal for more than 10 months. We're talking restaurants breakfast/lunch/dinner for almost a year straight. Woah! So it's all lentils, chickpeas, brown rice and tons and tons of vegetables for the next few months. It's fun though, I missed cooking and I'm pretty good at it. I miss doing things I'm good at. Like complaining. I should complain more. *knuckle crack* Hmm... how about: White people irritate my eyes with their non-sexiness. Ohhh yeah, there we go, that felt good!