night 12 in big toronto

I went shopping on Spadina and Queens W. I taught myself how to use the shuttle bus. Queens is right by the art school I am looking into. I feel like a local here. I know the subway system, where I can get the cheapest things, where my friends live... I am also in love with how there is a poetry event every night. Anywhere. Everywhere. Toronto is MY city. I believe I was born to be here...

My heart is broken and as I go home, I will have to face the truth behind my love life. Sigh. But I know for sure that I love my friends, my family, and my supporters. I am so heavy hearted as I type this.

The past two weeks here have been such an amazing experience. How many people get to say that they left their small town home to explore their art? I am so blessed... I will be back one day.

I'd like to thank first and foremost, my team mate and great friend, Patrick, and his brother Jordan. I honestly love you guys. You are both like my brothers. The crazy family I never really had..I mean we drink, smash pumpkins, and I just watch and be crazy. I wish you guys the best and I'll definitely see you guys so soon.

Special super thanks to Bri for being such an amazing team leader, my best friend, and for pretty much paying for me all the time. Hehehe I will continue the thank yous tomorrow...

I'm drunk, slightly sad, but I'm here. Like almost happy but I don't want to leave so I'm sad.

love & lowell,
little mars

day 11 in big scarborough/big toronto

My morning was so pleasant. I got to have tea time with Gelica before she went off to school.

She was so excited to drink tea with me. She was like WE HAVE ALL THE TEAS IN THE UNIVERSE!!!! I'm not a huge tea expert, I just really like Jasmine tea lmao. So I asked her if she had Jasmine..and that's like the only one she doesn't have. heehehehehehe but I tried a strawberry one, it was so good. Mmmmmm

After bonding and creeping and doing girl things, her mama dropped us off at the town centre. Her ma is so nice! She took pictures of us like we were at prom hehehe. Anyway, Gelica went back to H&M and got the $5 hat she saw yesterday. And then... we departed. :( I walked her to her Go bus, and I went back upstairs to take the subway. :( I almost cried! I'm gonna miss her so much! I already miss her. :(

....


SPEAKING OF SUBWAYS!

THE FREAKING SUBWAY LOST POWER

AND THEN EVERYONE HAD TO GET OFF

AND THEN THE POWER CAME ON

ANOTHER SUBWAY TRAIN CAME AND WE GOT ON IT
THEN IT ONLY BROUGHT US LIKE 3 STOPS AHEAD
AND WE ALL HAD TO GET OFF
AND TAKE A SHUTTLE BUS IF WE WANTED TO KEEP GOING WEST

AND I DID

SO THERE WAS A TRAFFIC JAM FROM DOWNSTAIRS TO UPSTAIRS
THEN WHEN EVERYONE FINALLY GOT TO THE BUSES
THEY ANNOUNCED THAT THE POWER WAS ON AND THE SUBWAYS WERE WORKING
AND I WAS TOO ANNOYED TO GO BACK DOWN
BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE SO MUCH TRAFFIC

^ that's how I felt

so I just road the bus from St. George to Bathurst.
And then I went to Honest Ed's and got two awesome flannels for $3.99 each and 3 pairs of cool socks for like $3 ^_^

Now I'm back at Patrick's. I'm gonna go shopping and exploring since I have so many fare tokens left! I'm also gonna eat McDonald's. lol..

Tonight is my going away party. I'm so sad! I miss home and stuff but being in Toronto is the best. I definitely want to come to school here. :)

love & lowell,
little mars

night 11 in big scarborough

After walking around, I decided that I don't like York Uni and it's really sketchy. And it's really far from everything. :(

Me and Gelica got on the Go bus which is a freaking comfy bus that drove us back to Scarborough Town Centre. It cost $4.50 but it was like luxurious lmao. I fell asleep. Bloop blop beep

Then at the mall, I met Gelica's friend, Trisha. We bonded over conversations about children and lice and now we're friends. Hehe

Then Brian met with us! Then we watched WRECK IT RALPH! Well without Trish because she was going to see Breaking Dawn later. Wreck It Ralph is an awesome movie... It almost made me cry hahahehee :)

After the movies, me and the love birds went to Kelsy's and had wings. It was good. Yum yum yum

We did a bunch of random shenanigans and then I slept over Gelica's house. I love Gelica. She's like a sister to me, and my partner in crime. We're so similar and fun. I love it ^_^

love & lowell,

little mars

day 10 in big toronto/big scarborough

All I did was paint. 

Then I met Marcus at Finch around 2 30.

I was an hour late, because I forgot to get off at Yonge and switch over to the Northbound trains. And I realized it too but I was lazy so I just rode all the way to Kennedy. Sometimes I don't even make sense.

I planned to go to class with Marcus. But instead we skipped it, I got a free tote bag from the York Uni book store, and then we got Chinese food and met with Gelica!

love & lowell,

little mars

day 9 & night 10 in big toronto

Honestly,
I'm only posting up the days and nights together... because I...
haven't been doing anything productive in the day time for the past 2 days. How horrible is that? I just sleep. But I'm just so tired and drained from all this poetry!!! lol

Anyway......... today I got out of bed at 2pm, washed dishes, Patrick made me a grilled cheese sandwich, and then I went back to sleep.

I woke up at 5pm to get ready for the BAM! Youth Slam. It was FINALS for these 7 youth. I had the pleasure of getting to know a few of them. They are such amazing kids. They make me so happy!

The boys rehearsing!

I was one of the features tonight. I opened up the show. It was a fun time. I also had the opportunity to be the scorekeeper! That is a freaking hard job. I've never done it before, but it was fun. I like being involved!

After The Messengers went out to eat, had a fun time, ananaannananaddd planned my going away party on Friday. :(

Tomorrow I'm going down to York University with Marcus and sleeping over at Gelica's home. :) Yay

love & lowell,
little mars

day 8 in big toronto & night 9 in big scarborough

My day started around 2pm. I slept in and got some coffee with Patrick. We walked down to the dollar store and just goofed off for a really long time. I think he's starting to get freaked out by how fun I am. Hehe!

Well anyway, I got posterboard because I wanted to make a bunch of ghetto business cards for my feature tomorrow. I got two huge poster boards for $1. I ended up making Marcus a birthday card with half of one. I mean.. that's way too much posterboard! hahaha

Happy birthday to Marcus :) he is an amazing friend, poet, and overall human being. I luv him :)
I left the apartment around 5 to get to Scarborough. There was another Unity Charity workshop. It was for a group called Unieffect. I think I misspelled that.

The kids there were awesome. We ended the workshop with a cypher and I got to hear Osama, who is another Messenger :) his poetry is so dope. And he's so young, too. Kudos to you brotha.
After the workshop, me and the boys got pho.

Then Brian dropped off Marcus, we brought Mama Brian to work, and then Brian brought me to Kennedy Station. Now I'm on the subway waiting for my stop. Which isn't for another half hour... -_-

But of course by the time I publish this, I'll be back at Pat's apartment. And asleep. Til next time home.

love & lowell,
little mars

day 7 & night 8 in big scarborough

I was supposed to meet Marcus with Patrick at like 1:30pm. But me and Patrick got really lazy for some reason and left the apartment late, then we were late. But anyway!

We took the subway and bus to meet with Marcus in Scarborough!

Yay

It started raining :c -.-

Marcus!!! Yippee!!! All swagged out per usual :)

Marcus and Patrick/ twinsies!

The three of us got Chinese food at this hole in the wall called Paul Key, I think. It was really good.. and really cheap. Yummz! Bri met with us around 3:30. We were off to Mary Ward Secondary School for a little workshop with Unity Charity.

Bri got me my very own The Messengers crew neck sweat shirt!!!!!! I LOVE  IT!!! I love my team! I love you Bri, thank you :) <3

Bri in front of his high school! Reppin a The Messengers sweater! And Marcus' fingers :D

After having one of the best times with the coolest high school kids ever, me and the boys all headed to an event hosted by R.I.S.E Movement. The vibes and people there... SO DOPE! And everyone was SO supporting. They LOVED The Messengers!

I learned that I can silence a whole room, just by asking. Everyone tells me that it's okay that I'm soft spoken. I'm beginning to realize that it is okay! It's my own style and it's  how I prefer to tell my stories. I shouldn't change that about me. 

So the cigarettes here always have gross pictures right on the box. This is the nastiest picture ever. -.- Also.. not my cigarettes!! They're Patrick's. lol

Now Patrick and I are back at the apartment. He made mac and cheese yay!

Tomorrow we're going shopping. double yay! And to another Unity Charity workshop. Til next time home. 

love & lowell,

little mars

night 7 in big toronto

I took a five hour nap. What else is new? If I'm not sleeping, I'm writing poetry, reading poetry, listening to poetry, getting sick of poetry, falling in love with poetry, or I'm drunk. LOL

Speaking of poetry, I went to the Toronto Poetry Slam with the boys. They brought me so I could slam, but there ended up being 22 people who signed up for the slam, and my name didn't get drawn out of the envelope. :( Oh well. Tonight's slam was like... OIPS in a much shorter slam. The guys did great!!! Also Patrick made it to the last round, and had to do another round because of a tie....and then there was another tie! haha what a night

In other news, I am writing a new piece. And maybe I'll share it on Wednesday at my feature. Who knows! All I know is that I already miss my team mates. I don't want to leave Canada.

:(

love & lowell,
little mars

day 6 in big guelph/ back to big toronto

Marcus, Sheila, and I didn't sleep until like 4AM. That has been our bed time for the past two days. It has been an amazing weekend with my extended family, my poetry family, The Messengers.

Although, unfortunately, we all weren't there at OIPS, we all bonded and got really close. This is what a collective is. It's a family. So many souls in one place. I love it!

This freedom to be curious and to find peace within myself is such a blessing. It makes me feel like I'm finally back on the road to where I was supposed to be in the first place.

I had to say good bye to a ton of new friends. And my team mates, Kimmy and Sheila. They've become my best girl friends within a span of 2 days. That's real. That's love.

Brian, Marcus, Pat and I went to the Poetry Palace, which was the humble home of Beth Anne and Truth. :D Everyone that was anyone was there this morning for breakfast. I met some more poets. Yay it's so fun over here. I love it.

Now me and the boys are back at Patrick's. We're going to the Toronto Poetry Slam tonight! I'm competing! Hopefully I can touch more hearts.

https://www.facebook.com/events/481206751902274/

love & lowell,
little mars

night 6 in big guelph

The finals for OIPS was really long.. but it had amazing poems!

The after party is a whole different story.

Let's just say... Being able to drink here is AWESOME!

:)

And cuddling and hanging out with my team mates is the most amazing thing. I love my crew.

love & lowell,
little mars

day 5 in big guelph

Damn.

That's all, bye! lol


Just kidding.

Today was the day we've all  been waiting for! ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL POETRY SLAM 2012!

I didn't win $10k. But I managed to get to the second round of my bout, and placing 6th! It was an amazing experience. I love meeting new people and making friends. I am beginning to become a very friendly person. Less awkward, just more confident! Many people came up to me after my bout and gave me hugs and told me that my poetry touched them. I am blessed to have some sort of effect on strangers. It makes me feel so amazing and inspiring... The fact that I can connect to people just by telling my stories.


I also performed my rape piece for the very first time.

I also realized that I have my own signature style. I am very calm, and loving, and caring, and I just want others to listen to me and learn. I am soft-spoken, but it is okay. I have a voice and people are willing to listen.

Oh.. and I had my first poutine today! Cool! I didn't finish it yet.

Here are pictures:

:)

love & lowell,

little mars

night 5 in big guelph

One word: wow

So we all packed up and left for Guelph!!!!

Tonight was the meet and greet for the OIPS poets. Bri and I were super nervous about competing, but then we stepped out, practiced, and then we started to talk to other poets. It was fun! The Messengers all had a fun time. How awesome!

We are all staying at Sean's humble home. It's such a beautiful..beautiful is an understatement, but it is beautiful.. I love it! We are going to eat pizza, practice, sleep.

Tomorrow is OIPS!!! Ugh... I really need to practice more.

love & lowell,
little mars

day 4 in big toronto

Nothing really happened today. I was just homesick then sad then happy then determined then impatient then sad again then more sad then I took a nap then I was happy then I was sad then I was apologetic then I was better now I'm excited.


I know right. I'm like those Myspace mood things.

Seriously. My day started at like 1pm and it ended at 2pm. Lol!

What I wore: (which was poorly put together because I refused to wear a jacket and a hat..and shoes)

I walked to the bank and realized that I can't take money or transfer money from my accounts. So I was annoyed. Because it was cold. And then I had a headache.

It's still pretty here even when it's gloomy. <3

I don't know. I don't really want to talk much about how negative my day was.. In the end, everything is okay, you know. I''m going to Guelph with the rest of The Messengers for OIPS 2012. Wowzers. I'm not even ready, but I know I'll pull through. I've been doing poetry all day.

This is how I felt all day. And probably will feel until I am done competing:

love & lowell,

little mars

night 4 in big toronto

After going to OCAD and such with Pat, I got to meet up with Brian!!!!!! I also met his friend and classmate Kim. Together they are a RIOT. I seriously love them. Kim reminds me of myself, but he's a guy. They totally made my night a night to remember.

Patrick had a meeting with someone, so I met with Bri and Kim at Tim Horton's which is pretty much on Ryerson Uni's campus.

They had to "people watch" for an assignment.

Then they brought me to class with them. LOL

^ :)

After they finished class, we headed to Ram in the Rye, which is their campus pub... Isn't that cool? The school has its own pub. ANYWAY!!!! I GOT MY VERY FIRST BEER!!!! LEGALLY! Sorry mum!!!

:D

It isn't all beer. It was beer, with two shots of something something and I'm pretty sure there was orange juice? Because it looked like orange juice. lol I think it was called a Billies.

Yay! My first beer ever!!!!!!

Bri and his BBQ sandwich.

Kim and I shared nachos. They were yummy.

In the end, I only drank like 1/5 of my beer because I found out that I hate beer... but it was still a cool experience. lol the guys ended up drinking the rest of my beer. Sorry guys :c

Me and "Ice Cream"// Brian refused to call him Ice Cream Man. hahaheheh

This pretty much sums up the rest of the night. Just walking around everywhere. It's really nice here. I'm beginning to feel at home more and more everyday. I made it to the apartment from the station in one piece by myself. It was a fun time. Also I was a little drunk so it was cool. I think that's all the beer I'll ever drink in my whole lifetime, though. So don't worry.

After I finish blogging, I'm going to practice until like tomorrow morning. Then sleep. Then we're off to Sean's home. Sean is another Messenger, he's my age, and I heard he's really good. But if you're one of The Messengers, you're at least a little good. So he' s probably awesome. Can't wait to meet him.

I'll make sure I blog tomorrow and that I bring my camera everywhere. Goodnight guys! I miss you.

love & lowell,

little mars