Hiya,
Here’s my first attempt at Hourly Comics.
*insert potentially self deprecating comment here*
You can also find them here.
K
Hourly Comic Day- February 1st 2010
February 3, 2010 by Kayla HillierScotland pt.2 -Glasgow – Manchester – Liverpool – back to London / week 4
January 28, 2010 by Kayla HillierLast I wrote, I had enjoyed three days in Edinburgh- I finished that jaunt with their Modern Art Gallery then hopped onto the train and headed to Glasgow.
I got there mid afternoon and just sauntered around-went to a few galleries, checked in at the hostel and went for ramen at Ichiban. That evening I hung out in the hostel pub and chatted with some fellows- Daniel, Marc and Theo.
Got up in the morning to have a very awkward conversation as one of the girls in our room had her wallet stolen overnight. (Lockers are there for a reason friend.) I volunteered to have the staff go through all of my belongings to set this girl’s mind at ease, but in the end I just gave a statement to a police officer and called it a day.
I walked around for a bit, but I was exhausted and kinda off- so I went to an internet cafe and updated this here blog and just relaxed- enjoyed a tuna jacket potato. Ran around a bit more trying to see as much as I could of the city then hopped on to the 5pm train to Manchester to meet with Adam.
Had a really awesome visit with him, it was fantastic to just chill out on Saturday + tasty food. Had my first sticky toffee pudding om nom nom. Then Sunday was the most Beatles OH MAH GAWD amazing day ever. Liverpool is my Graceland. Oh yes, yes yes! I must say doin’ that whole thing alone wouldn’t have been the same, getting giddy then turning to someone beside you is way different then grinning without end alone.
Here’s some photos:
On the train to Glasgow
George Square
Outside the Modern Art Museum
Walkin’ through the streets…
Hostel life x 2
Gallery of Modern Art at night
This is Marc and Daniel. Marc was suffering from the hiccups- this was the attempt to cure him
Where I hung out with Adam and had a Liverpool adventure.
Our epic Beatles-filled day
Inside the Beatles Museum-
Lennon Tribute
Then we hopped on the Magical Mystery Tour
These need no explanation-
Mendips!
A dapper fellow-
The Cavern
Beatle Street
Liverpool in the evenin’
When I got back to London on Monday evening Tom and I had tickets to see Malcolm Middleton at The Borderline with openers Meursault. The show was fantastic- so incredible to see Middleton live.
Meursault
Malcolm
I woke up Tuesday super ickers and achey so I just stayed on the couch drawing and watching Buffy. Wednesday was a repeat of that. This morning I’ve been doing the same, but I have plans to see a lecture this evening with my friend Mark. I will conquer you cold!!!
K
Scotland pt. 1- Edinburgh / week 3
January 22, 2010 by Kayla HillierAhhh the last little bit has been a blur. This past week has been PACKED.
Last Thursday I ended my night with a pint at the Albert with Tom and Adam.
Friday Adam and I grabbed a bite to eat, saw ‘Up in the Air’ then met up with Tom and Matt Sheret at The Black Heart for a 100 Days event.
Saturday I hung out with Adam again before he went back to Manchester then Julia and I went to her friend Rachel’s birthday party with Nevs. The bar was INCREDIBLE- rockabilly themed goodness! The women were so done up- I was impressed!
Then Sunday was the day I got my shit together for my awesome Scottish adventure. Sadly I have no photos of any of the above to show you. But I do have what’s below. I left on Monday for Edinburgh where I stayed until Thursday afternoon- when I hopped on a train for Glasgow.
These are some photos from Mon-Wednesday.
Fantastic scenery from the train
I knew I’d picked the right hostel when I saw this- by the way, I HIGHLY recommend it. Caledonian Backpackers. They were 12 shades of awesome.
And my church and graveyard fixation continues…
It’s the little things
Edinburgh Castle
Hostel Life
Self explanatory awesome
This is The Elephant House- where JK Rowling wrote the first bit of Harry Potter
In the Scotland National Museum
View from the rooftop terrace
The Palace- too bad this is how dark it gets at 4pm *sigh*
HAGGIS! NEEPS! TATTIES!
View from Edinburgh Castle
This was part of an AMAZING exhibit at the Military Museum at the Castle
Around the castle-
What you see below is the cemetery for soldier’s dogs
The Great Hall
Outside of the Camera Obscura
Cathedrals are delicious
Memorial on Calton Hill
There will be more photos later oh yes, yes, yes-
K
London- Week 2
January 14, 2010 by Kayla HillierHiyeee- here I thought that since I’m unemployed I would be posting daily updates. Clearly this is not in the cards- well at least not in the past few weeks. I think things will pick up once I hit Edinburgh next week. You will all become my travel partners throughout my epic, epic adventures- yeah?
It’s funny because I feel like I can’t so much show you what I’ve been up to with photos this time around but drawings… I’ll have to scan some of the stuff I’ve been working on and post it tomorrow or on the weekend. I’ve been making sure to draw every day and the improvement is kind of startling.
Anyhoo- last Thursday Julia went with me to acquire the boots I fell in love with:
Then she showed me this really awesome place where you can get cheap sandwiches and jacket potatoes etc. Then we went to Neil’s Yard to eat. I’d tried to find it when I was here in September and failed.
Julia is one tall drink of water
Then we went to the monthly “Comic Drinks” where everyone from the London comic community go to the pub and chit chat and whatnot. I got to meet Matt Sheret finally and Kieron Gillen as well as his lovely lady. Things got a wee silly sauce heh-
Kieron is a fantastic cowboy
The weekend was a blur of drawing, watching Buffy, pub roast- but I did manage to capture this gem
Monday I had a bit of an adventure- I had a hair appointment at noon at Pimps & Pinups with a fellow named Nathan who came highly recommended by Hannah. I grabbed the tube to head there where I snapped this photo to show you how steep the escalators are here- vertigo sufferers beware!
Went to the Spitalfields region, grabbed a crepe om nom ….
Then after my cut went to Leicester Square and watched the flick Nowhere Boy
After the flick my sweet tooth took over and I found this adorable little cupcake shop- then I went home before I got myself into more trouble heh
Before and after shots of the hair- Before:
After:
Tuesday night was Josie Long’s Lost Treasures of the Black Heart evening. Quite a few of my friends sell their comics at this event and do live drawing while the show goes on. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to attend another one of these suckers in March.
Live drawing by Anna Saunders and Adam Cadwell.
We ended the evening Tom, Julia, Adam and I watching ‘The Thing’ at Tom’s. We were kind of on a roll comedy-wise. The hits just kept on coming- this included Adam’s use of escalators and stairs.
Tom captures the evening quite nicely in one of his 100 Days comics here.
Yesterday was a bit of a write off but Julia did make a fantastic stir fry and we drank some red wine and watched Little Voice- followed by some Buffy while drawing.
Who knows what today holds- but I’m sure it will be fantastic.
K
Life in London so far…
January 6, 2010 by Kayla HillierSo things thus far have gone quite well.
I ran into a few snags along the way, my debit card information got stolen right before Christmas so I had to sort that out, at the airport I got caught up in the whole “NO CARRY ONS” business which made me have to re-pack, pay extra and upgrade to a higher class – the zipper on my suitcase broke in transit… etc A bit of stress, but I made it and all is well.
I don’t want to get into too too much- I figure photos will do the trick.
When I first got to Julia and Sarah’s, as I unpacked they played with the Sin City toys that I’d brought for Nevs.
Then we went down to the Royal Albert pub to meet with Tom and Mark and have a few pints.
The next day Julia and I got up a bit late but went to meet Howard at the Angel pub. This is where I got introduced to Brown Sauce.
We thought we would try and see the film Sherlock Holmes but the theaters were busy and there were lots of people so we decided to meet Tom at the Albert instead. (Of course after having dessert at another pub in Central London). This night I ended up puking. Because I fail. I FAIL FAIL FAIL.
The next night of course was New Years and Julia and I got all dressed up and snazzy. (ie. way too much cleavage). Then we went into Central to the same pub where we got the dessert, to meet Nevs. There I met Matt, Rachel, Carrie and later on John Browne as well.
Around 9pm we met Phil and Tom at the Amersham Arms for some dancing. The music was pretty horrible. We ended up heading back to Julia’s for midnight. (Happy New Year by the way).
Friday, January 1st- was a complete write off. Haha we just sat in all day. Did NOTHING and it was wonderful. Yay recovery! We did get take away Chinese food. Delicious.
Then on Saturday we meant serious business. We went to Central London passed out a ton of CVs for Julia, found my epic pair of boots (pictured below) which I think I will try to buy tomorrow. Ate at Pret- got a pint with Nevs and then went back to New Cross to the Albert to have tea and later another pint. Pretty damn productive.
Sunday Julia and I met with my friend Andrew Wheeler- Jamie McKelvie, Hannah, Christina, Linz, Aman, and Sean Azzopardi for lunch and chit chat. It was *SO* nice to see Andrew and to meet everyone.
Later on we met Rob Deb, Nevs, Karl and Fran at the Angel pub for a few drinks and then took the bus home.
God this is starting to sound like a “Dear Diary…” post but a few people have asked me what I’ve been up to and this is my lame recap. A few more days and I promise I’m done.
Monday I spent pretty much the entire day in the pub- drawing and writing- basically catching up and blog posting and the like. Got to say hello to Tom and Pip at the Albert with Julia then headed back home for some sleep.
Tuesday Julia had to do some work for McKelvie so I sat on the floor drawing while they got things done. Highly entertaining conversation there. Then I went to the Albert and got even more work done, was joined by Tom at the end and ended the evening with a snowball fight.
Today … had a really late start but ended up back at the Albert writing some emails and whatnot. Julia joined me and later Tom too. Thus- there are no photos from the last few days. Been kinda living at the pub drinkin’ tea and a bit of mulled wine and cider (tonight anyway)
SO there we have it. That’s what I’ve been up to this past week.
K
Resolutions Reflected and Renewed
January 5, 2010 by Kayla HillierThese were my resolutions for 2009. I did pretty well all things considered.
1- write a second draft of my NaNo novel (see: NaNoWriMo.org) and participate in NaNo again this year One of the reasons I’m in London is to get through draft #2.
2- finish my website before Spring
3- create a small comic about Dan and I’s trip to Paris- Not sure if I’ll do one about that still, but small comic yes. I did start drawing in general again so I don’t feel like this one was a complete loss. I also completed my first Magnetic Fields sucker.
4- get my G2 this time around- failin’ is fo’ fools … which sadly, I am.
5- get a laptop to facilitate writing
6- read a book a week- 52 books by the end of the year. I was so close, SO close!!!
7- read more comics, I feel like I didn’t read enough this year
8- eat healthier, more fish … less cookies and ice cream
9- knit more- learn how to do something other than a scarf- never even tried this one… did learn how to knit purl though…
10- continue with my mad skillz as a chef. Continue to climb the baking mountain and move into more serious things.
11- walk minimum 30 min a day- walked a TON, not every day though…
12- plant the garden of dreams. OF DREAMS- this was somewhat foiled by the evil asshole raccoons! They kept eating all of my veggies! So I did try, I did plant one.
So now it’s time to make some new resolutions….
1-read a book a week. I will achieve
2-finish second draft to my first NaNo novel
3-finish second draft to my second NaNo novel
4-finish two Magnetic Fields comics/ illos
5-make a zine
6-make a comic
7-record some music
There we have it… short and sweet. Bite sized really.
K
What I read in 2009
January 4, 2010 by Kayla HillierI tried to read a book a week last year. I almost made it- very, very close.
Here’s what I accomplished, comics as well:
1- Meyer, Stephenie- Twilight (January 2009)*
2- Meyer, Stephenie- New Moon (January 2009)*
3- Meyer, Stephenie- Eclipse (January 2009)*
4- Meyer, Stephenie- Breaking Dawn (January 2009)*
5- Behr, Mark- Smell of Apples, The (January 2009)*
6- Spyri, Johanna- Heidi (January 2009)*
7- Rowling, J.K.- Tales of Beedle the Bard (January 2009)*
8- Stevenson, Robert Louis- Kidnapped (February 2009)*
9- Brashares, Ann- 3 Willows (February 2009)*
10- Burnett, Frances Hodgson- Secret Garden, The (February 2009)*
11- Ali, Ayaan Hirsi- Infidel (February 2009)*
12- Stevenson, Robert Louis- Treasure Island (February 2009)*
13- Crosley, Sloane- I Was Told There’d Be Cake (March 2009)*
14- See, Lisa- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (March 2009)*
15- Wiggin, Kate Douglas- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (March 2009)*
16- Westerfeld, Scott- Pretties (March 2009)*
17- Sewell, Anna- Black Beauty (March 2009)*
18- Westerfeld, Scott- Specials (April 2009)*
19- Grahame, Kenneth- Wind in the Willows (April 2009)*
20- Boyd, Pattie- Wonderful Tonight-George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me (April 2009)*
21- Wyss, Johann Rudolf- Swiss Family Robinson, The (April 2009)*
22- Tamblyn, Amber- Free Stallion (reread- April 2009)*
23- Dubus III, Andre- House of Sand and Fog (April 2009)*
24- Baum, Frank- Wizard of Oz, The (May 2009)*
25- Hardwicke, Catherine- Twilight:Director’s Notebook: The Story of How We Made the Movie Based on the Novel by Stephenie Meyer (May 2009)*
26- Bronte, Emily- Wuthering Heights (May 2009)*
27- Foer, Jonathan Safran- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (May 2009)*
28- McLaren, Leah- Continuity Girl, The (May-June 2009)*
29- Flaubert, Gustave- Madame Bovary (June 2009)*
30- Garden, Joe, Janet Ginsburg, Chris Pauls, Anita Serwacki and Scott Sherman- Devious Book for Cats, The (June 2009)*
31- Lawrence, D.H.- Lady Chatterley’s Lover (June 2009)*
32- Updike, John- Terrorist (June 2009)*
33- Hawthorne, Nathaniel- Scarlet Letter, The (July 2009)*
34- Young, Wm. Paul- Shack, The (July 2009)
35- Gilbert, Henry- Robin Hood (July 2009)*
36- Levitan, Jerry- I Met The Walrus (July 2009)*
37- Lang, Andrew- Tales of Troy and Greece (July 2009)*
38- Hornby, Nick- Slam (July 2009)*
39- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor- Crime and Punishment (July- August 2009)*
40- Masters, Tom, Steve Fallon and Vesna Maric- London City Guide (July- August 2009)*
41- Schlink, Bernhard- The Reader (August 2009)*
42- Williams, Roger- Top 10 London-Eyewitness Top Ten Travel Guides (September 2009)*
43- Schreuders, Piet- The Beatles’ London: A Guide to 467 Beatles Sites in and Around London (September 2009)*
44- Murakami, Haruki- South of the Border, West of the Sun (October 2009)*
45- Lang, Andrew- Tales from King Arthur (August-October 2009)*
46- Swarup, Vikas- Slumdog Millionaire (October 2009)*
47- Diamant, Anita- Last Days of Dogtown (September-November 2009)*
48- Ozick, Cynthia- Puttermesser Papers, The (November-December 2009)*
49- Abel, Jessica- Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond (February- ?)*
50- Zafon, Carlos Ruiz- Angel’s Game, The (December- ?)*
COMICS
51-1 Yazawa, Ai- Nana Volume 14 (February 2009)*
52-2 Wood, Brian- DMZ #5- Hidden War, The (February 2009)*
53-3 O’Malley, Bryan Lee- Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (reread Feb 2009)*
54-4 O’Malley, Bryan Lee- Annotated Pilgrim, The (February 2009)*
55-5 O’Malley, Bryan Lee- Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (reread Feb 2009)*
56-6 O’Malley, Bryan Lee- Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness (reread Feb 2009)*
57-7 O’Malley, Bryan Lee- Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (reread Feb 2009)*
58-8 O’Malley, Bryan Lee- Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe (February 2009)*
59-9 Urasawa, Naoki- Monster Volume 5 (May 2009)*
60-10 Prince, Liz- Delayed Replays (May 2009)*
61-11 Brown, Jeffrey- Sulk Volume 1 (May 2009)*
62-12 Yazawa, Ai- Nana Volume 15 (May 2009)*
63-13 Yazawa, Ai- Nana Volume 16 (May 2009)*
64-14 Thompson, Craig- Good-bye, Chunky Rice (May 2009)*
65-15 Thompson, Craig- Carnet de Voyage (May 2009)*
66-16 Davidge Cousins- Wandering Stars #1 (May 2009)*
67-17 Davidge Cousins- Wandering Stars #2 (May 2009)*
68-18 Cold Heat Comics- Chocolate Sun (May 2009)*
69-19 Humberstone, Tom- Art School Scum (reread May 2009)*
70-20 Humberstone, Tom- How to Date a Girl in 10 Days (or so) 01 (reread May 2009)*
71-21 Humberstone, Tom- How to Date a Girl in 10 Days (or so) 02 (reread May 2009)*
72-22 Campbell, John- Man Who Used to Know Everything, The (May 2009)*
73-23 Campbell, John- Stevie Might Be a Bear Maybe (May 2009)*
74-24 Campbell, John- Vegas Dump (May 2009)*
75-25 Campbell, John- We All Gonna Die (May 2009)*
76-26 Becan, Sarah based on a story by David Becan- Shuteye#1-Vea (June 2009)*
77-27 Becan, Sarah based on a story by David Becan- Shuteye#2-Liar (June 2009)*
78-28 Becan, Sarah- Shuteye#3-Night and Day (June 2009)*
79-29 Becan, Sarah- Shuteye#4-Carrefour (June 2009)*
80-30 Costain, Aaron- Calamity Coach (June 2009)*
81-31 Costain, Aaron- Entropy no.2: the SHAME that made a MAN out of MAC/ automatism 1 (June 2009)*
82-32 Costain, Aaron- Entropy no.3: Catnap (June 2009)*
83-33 Costain, Aaron- Entropy no.4: Good Neighbours (June 2009)*
84-34 Costain, Aaron- Entropy part 1 (June 2009)*
85-35 Costain, Aaron- Entropy part 2 (June 2009)*
86-36 Costain, Aaron- Entropy part 3 (June 2009)*
87-37 Team Society League: Costain, Martz and Worton- Too many Monsters- a cornucopian of rendered narrative delights (June 2009)*
88-38 Yazawa, Ai- Nana Volume 17 (September 2009)*
89-39 Yazawa, Ai- Nana Volume 18 (September 2009)*
90-40 Brown, Jeffrey- Funny Misshapen Body (September 2009)*
91-41 Humberstone, Tom- How to Date a Girl in 10 Days (reread September 2009)*
92-42 Humberstone, Tom- Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Crohns Disease (reread September 2009)*
93-43 Humberstone, Tom and Dan Hancox – My Fellow Americans (reread September 2009)*
94-44 Yazawa, Ai- Nana Volume 19 (November 2009)*
95-45 Scheele, Julia and Matthew Sheret- We Are Words + Pictures: The Covers’ E.P. (November 2009)*
96-46 Scheele, Julia- Powered by Robots (November 2009)*
97-47 Scheele, Julia, Sarah Gordon and Matthew Sheret- We Are Words + Pictures: The Robot Zine (November 2009)*
98-48 Dela Cruz, Arthur- Kissing Chaos Volume 1 (December 2009)*
99-49 Dela Cruz, Arthur- Kissing Chaos Volume 2- Nonstop Beauty (December 2009)*
100-50 Woollcott, Tory- Flesh (December 2009)*
101-51 Orchard, Eric- Harry + Silvio Fish For Garbage (December 2009)*
102-52 Orchard, Eric- Harry + Silvio and The Girl in the Purple Boat (December 2009)*
103-53 Orchard, Eric- Harry + Silvio The Cloud Map (December 2009)*
104-54 Worton, Zach- Conversation- comics/sketchbook end of ’08 beginning ’09 (December 2009)*
105-55 Worton, Zach- Mandolin Part 1, The (December 2009)*
106-56 Martz, John- Warm-Up Drawings: The First 100 (December 2009)*
107-57 Martz, John- “It’s Snowing Outside. We Should Go For A Walk.” (December 2009)*
108-58 Martz, John- Transit Tokens (December 2009)*
109-59 Kieffer, Jason- Twenty Reasons Why You Should Eat Magic Mushrooms (December 2009)*
110-60 Kieffer, Jason- Number One (December 2009)*
111-61 Kieffer, Jason- Number Two (December 2009)*
112-62 Forsythe, Matthew- Ojingogo (December 2009)*
113-63 Weiser, Joey- Ride Home, The (December 2009)*
114-64 Turner, Jason and Manien Botma- True Loves (December 2009)*
115-65 Turner, Jason and Manien Botma- True Loves 2 (December 2009)*
*-indicates I own the book
K
2009 in Photos
January 4, 2010 by Kayla HillierMy year in photos: Enjoy.
K
2009- New Year Survey
January 2, 2010 by Kayla HillierHere we go- time to think about 2009
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
-started drawin’ comics thus inking and the like- learnin’ Photoshop
-I went to London, UK (then decided to live there for a while)
-flew somewhere for a weekend
-got my G2 driving license
-chose unemployment
-went on a wine tour
-was a bridesmaid in a wedding
-I saw The Decemberists, Florence and the Machine, Fuck Buttons, La Roux, Bishop Allen etc live- all bands I had never seen in concert before
-I cooked a bunch of new stuff
-tried some food I’d never had before
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept most of my resolutions, or at least gave ‘em a good go. The problem here is that as the year goes on things happen, priorities change- blah blah blah. But yes, I will be making more for 2010.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I feel like a ton of people had kids but it’s hard to keep track of all the new babies. Thank you Facebook.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grandpa O’Malley.
5. What countries did you visit?
The UK.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Oh God, loaded question. I guess I’m gonna go with- a little more focus. I would like to get more done- Haha. Thus, more time.
2009 was pretty rough truth be told- so perhaps just a bit more fun. Less stress and brain melting.
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Hmmm not sure about specific dates, but some months with particular events stand out:
Apr- Hardest month at work in the history of life. I didn’t get a lunch break for over 3 weeks.
May- TCAF! HURRAH!
Sept- Going to London, Dan and I ending our relationship
Oct- Dan’s sister Michelle’s wedding, my grandfather passing and the funeral, going to London on a whim
Nov- Going to London again, my extreme emo-ness to the power of 17 and Bevan & Arthur’s epic friendship pullin’ me out of it, moving out of my apartment and throwing my stuff into storage, and finishing NaNoWriMo again
Dec- Hangin’ with a new friend, time at home with my folks, my Grandma O’Malley fainting at church, movin’ to London
(basically the last four months have been just… :O)
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Doin’ NaNoWriMo and pullin’ out 12,000 words in one night. Also, some of the drawings I’ve done have startled me. I think in my head, I’m shittier than I really am.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Oh Christ, I guess I didn’t fail, just learned a few lessons is all. But I don’t exactly feel liker a winner this year…
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
*knocks on wood* nothing really. I think I may have got the common cold and that’s about it. WIN!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Laptop! So awesome. I love this little guy. My plane tickets as well as concert tickets.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Hmmm not sure.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed?
Meh, not important. I’m the one who let them make me feel that way.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Savings, rent, travel, books, dvds, cds, comics, food…
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Trips to London- god I sound like a broken record. Also TCAF. I friggen love TCAF. Ooo! And concerts.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Elastica “Connection”
Silver Mt. Zion “Blind, Blind, Blind”
Kate Nash “Nicest Thing”
Florence and the Machine “Dog Days”, “Between Two Lungs”
La Roux “Bulletproof”
The XX “Fantasy” and “Shelter”
Fuck Buttons “Surf Solar”
Barcelona “Please Don’t Go”
Sufjan Stevens the entire Seven Swans album
Lots of Malcolm Middleton
Tegan and Sarah all of Sainthood
The Decemberists’ Hazards of Love
Beyonce- Single Ladies
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Aww shit. I guess sadder. But I’m on the way up suckers.
ii. thinner or fatter?
I’m losing weight- but we’ll see what the beer has to say about that
iii. richer or poorer?
I’m richer but soon to be much poorer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d drawn a bit more- read too. Wish I’d actually recorded some music. Damn the man.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Apologizing
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Went to my mum and dad’s and just hung out for a few days. My grandma O’Malley and my Uncle Pat joined us and later my sister and her boyfriend Erik. A few bumps in the road but it was good. I lacked the spirit this year though.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Noooo… no I don’t think I did. A hesitant no.
22. How many one-night stands?
Zero because I’m a hero.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
LOST! Arrested Development
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not really a hater.
25. What was the best book you read?
Robert Louis Stevenson- Kidnapped
Ann Brashares- 3 Willows
Pattie Boyd- Wonderful Tonight-George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me
Jonathan Safran Foer- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Fyodor Dostoyevsky- Crime and Punishment
Haruki Murakami- South of the Border, West of the Sun
Carlos Ruiz Zafon- Angel’s Game, The
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Holy shit- where do I start? Quite a bit of this gaaaahh
Florence and the Machine
The XX
Friendly Fires
Silver Mt. Zion
Malcolm Middleton
Fever Ray
Fuck Buttons
Herman Dune
Low
Zoey Van Goey
La Roux
and a MILLION others. Such a fantastic year for tunes *brain breaks* God I know I’m missing so many…
27. What did you want and get?
Well, um… I wanted to travel. Did that. Oh god… I don’t know. Stupid survey.
28. What did you want and not get?
To answer this I’d have to know what I want.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hmmm haven’t watched too too many sadly.
So far I dug all the cheesy ones I saw- 500 Day of Summer and Paper Heart. Don’t laugh at me, I’ll cut you.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were ya?
I turned 25 and I was at Dan’s sister Michelle’s wedding rehearsal and dinner. So I drank a bit, spent some time with Michelle in her hotel room then chatted a wee online & went to bed.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Geeeeezus why is this survey so hard this year? Fuck you survey!! Um, god. I have no regrets but this year wasn’t easy. But it was necessary. So what would have made this year more satisfying is if it could have ended much quicker.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Saying no to pants. “NO PANTS NO!”- so lots of tights/ leggins- dresses, belts, scarves, boots, cords, long necklaces….cardigans, bigger glasses.
33. What kept you sane?
I’m gonna echo what I said last year “My own stubborn determination”.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Colin Meloy because he woo’d me
35. Who did you miss?
My parents and friends throughout the year
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Julia! Sarah! Howard, Nevs, Del, Mark, Phil, etc etc lots of London people.
Dave! I know I’m missing some people… met many lovely people this year.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009?
I’m tempted to say “shit or get off the pot”- so there we have it folks.
Shit. Or get off the pot.
That’s it.
Happy New Year!
-K
Next chapter…
December 22, 2009 by Kayla HillierWhen I was packing this time around, I hit the point of “serious business”. I decided to get rid of some stuff that I’d been dragging around for years. First order of business was my notes. “Notes?” you say, “What do you mean by notes?”. Well, I had kept every single note passed between my friends and I throughout high school. I’d kept them in separate boxes and bags labeled by which grade I was in, I assume expecting to open them one day and laugh and smile at my teen years.
When me BFF Arthur realized what I was throwing away (recycling to get technical) he thought I was silly. I assume he would have kept them all, but it was time to purge. It was fun to open a few and read through them, but half of the things that were referenced had code names so if a teacher or other classmate picked them up, our secrets would stay secret.
I got rid of my GINORMOUS roll of movie posters that I’d been dragging around since… 2004? All of my Hanson stuff. Yes, HANSON STUFF. You laugh, but I rock out. I also sent a ton of Harry Potter stuff to Good Will. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. AHHH freedom from those sentimental objects.
I’ve been away from Toronto for less than a week and I’m already having a few pangs of, hmm… not necessarily missing it, just an “Awww, Toronto” feeling.
I did make sure to consume Insomnia’s chicken, avocado and brie sandwich one more time before leaving.
SO DELICIOUS.
Now I’m trying to read what feels like 12 books and 18 magazines before I leave in an attempt to make my suitcase lighter.
6 days ’til my flight- 7 days ’til I’m actually in London.
K
