I'm a poutine-eating, poetry-reading, picture-taking, Cuba-loving Canadian living in Evanston for grad school. Slightly disheveled in an endearing and glamorous sort of way. I always go to bat for the people I love. I'm no pageant girl, but I have a deep and sometimes overwhelming desire to make the world a better place. I believe words have power and we should choose them wisely. Our creativity makes us human. I think life is best when spent thoughtful, kind, joyful people who inspire us to think beyond our own horizons, daily. Who can also laugh at themselves, because anyone who can't has a serious problem.

Finishing up grad school, doing some research (or trying to), learning to cook.

I just noticed that the little sidebar to the right is recommending women who are "more progressive" than I am. I think I'm pretty damn progressive. So now I'm trying to figure out what questions I answered in a non-progressive way.

Having the most random but the most awesome adventures, looking up cute apartments in the city, eating spicy food, taking pictures of spicy food, seeing that there's no reason not to enjoy things, because there's really no other option.

The God of Small Things. The Jade Peony. Midnight's Children. Julia Alvarez. Derek Walcott, Mary Oliver, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Anything Seuss. The Poisonwood Bible. Alice in Wonderland. Winnie the Pooh. The entire body of work of Oliver Sacks. My undergrad textbooks. Understanding Exposure. Currently reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, = love, so far. The New Yorker, Vogue.

Movies.. Almodovar is my favourite director of all time. I thought Happy Go Lucky was beautiful. So was Where the Wild Things Are!

Music, I listen to anything that speaks to me. Which is so generic but true. I get stuck on Jack Johnson or Missy Higgins some days, other days it's reggaeton to take me back to Cuba. Sometimes it's Mahler.

Food. Seriously? That's a bit impossible to answer. I can always always go for good chips and salsa. I miss Toronto, where I'd eat Greek (saganaki of course, and a good spanakopita), Korean bbq, *good* Indian and real dim sum pretty much weekly. I want pho if I'm hung over. Or Potbelly. I appreciate a good mac n'cheese.

Ways to be creative (usually photography), foods I want to try, my friends. Language. How to have an awesome today and many awesome tomorrows.

With friends cooking a fabulous meal from a crazy combination of ingredients, drinking cheap wine and attempting to learn the moonwalk. Life is good.

This one time, at band camp...

Something here made sense. You have joie de vivre.