November’s just around the corner, and you know what that means: renewal!

After all, the word “novem” means new. Or nine, but that doesn’t make much sense so Newvember it is! I realize that it’s not exactly the month of visible renewal. It’s a month in which the last of the leaves reluctantly leave their perch in the branches to join their departed brethren below. It’s a time of year when I switch to the “Sentimental” category of my MP3 collection and consider taking up drinking hard liquor to match the ambiance. Yeah, it’s solo-sax-on-the-street time.

That leads me to the first change for which my friend Casie Stewart is responsible. She’s managed to land herself a gig with the social media people at MuchMusic/MTV/CTV.

So congratulations, Casie!

According to the words I put in her mouth, I will never have to stand outside another CTV-run event like a common schmuck. Imagine, backstage passes to the MMVAs! No more standing around naked in the bushes outside of parties anymore.

And that leads me to the second change around here; I’ve decided to try writing in the morning rather than at night. I’m hoping this will give the posts a bit more clarity, less of that slobbering grunting quality. Also, I was recently invited to participate in a Whisky tasting by a local ad firm, and that’s happening tonight. Even if I manage to soberly comport myself (I don’t see those chances being high), I’ll still be getting home too late to think of anything interesting to say about it. And being able to pull strings with Ms. Stewart will probably mean more evening events like this.

We’ll see how it goes. This is my first morning post and I haven’t passed out yet, so we’re in strange new territory. This might yet work out, but as I’m getting light-headed, I won’t push too hard. How do people get up in the mornings?!

*sniff*

It’s days like these that I feel like this little blog is growing up. I mean, it’s one thing to snap pictures of strangers’ asses on the street, but it’s altogether another thing to do a one-on-one interview. It’s exciting!

Okay, truth be told, I knew Casie before I started this blog. She was part of the inspiration behind TCL. Her blog, casiestewart.com, has it’s own take on life in Toronto, sometimes very personal and sometimes plugged right into the nerves of the city. That, and being a cute girl blogger with personality, smarts, and ample free spirit, has managed to garner her a healthy local following and rather extensive circles of friends.

Casie seems to have this social media thing squirming under her thumb. She’s always off somewhere giving a speech at one event or another about Twitter, blogging, Facebook, and all that kind of stuff. And she still has the fortitude to drink you under the table afterward. Ah, the liver of youth.

It’s no surprise, then, that my time with her today was limited, but I did manage to get a few good questions in.

We met at her place, a high-rise pad near the water. The “glass box in the sky”, as she calls it.

The oversize cardigan that she was wearing that rested at a risqué height on her thigh I now expected. Casie has never shied away from inspired hairstyles, clothing with statements, that kind of thing. I liken her to a ladylike, fashionable version of Tank Girl or, as her creators describe her, “Mad Max designed by Vivienne Westwood”. I think it’s mostly in the attitude. The Australia connection doesn’t hurt either.

We walked out onto the panoramic balcony to get some privacy.

“So, Casie. Here you are in your mid-twenties and you seem to be doing all the right things. I mean, here I am interviewing you so you know you’ve made it. What’s the secret?”

She held up her glass. “Half full always.”

“So if I may put words into your mouth, you’re always reaching for the stars. That’s wonderful. So I think, then, it’s fair to ask … Picard, La Forge, or Riker?”

Casie excused herself a moment and left me alone with the view and the hot summer wind.

“So bloody hot out, man“, she said, stepping back outside. “I had to Wikipedia all three cause I had no idea who they were. I did once organize a dinner for Winnie Mandela for the Luminato Festival, and LeVar Burton was there. I have his business card around here somewhere. He was hilarious and I thought he was gay but he isn’t. He was really nice. I follow him on Twitter now.”

“Haha! Okay, so definitely not La Forge. You sure do know how to avoid a thorny topic! So … God: megalomaniac or what?”

“I’m not religious and I don’t like God questions. Megalomaniac is one of my favorites from Incubus the band.”

“Two for oh. Well played. So … bumper cars; everyone loves ‘em, am I right?”

“Huh, no way. I’m accident prone and those bitches would give me whip-lash and I’d have to sue someone. I’ve not been on a bumper car since I had a training bra in grade school.”

“Great. More bumper cars for me then. I think they’re the next best thing since sliced bread. Weird expression, huh? Wonder where it came from…”

“I don’t know. It should be ‘the next best thing since I won the lottery’. I’d LOVE to be able to throw that around whenever something was just peachy.”

“Oh absolutely. I’d be throwing it at everything, especially the ex-boss! Just one more question, the one that everyone wants to get asked. Stranded on an island; record, book, person. Go!”

“Lisa Loeb’s ‘Tails’, Webster’s Thesaurus/Dictionary Combo 2009, and my sister Jenie.”

“Sorry, that wasn’t really a question. Intriguing choices though; I must confess a soft spot for dictionaries myself. But I shouldn’t monopolize your time talking about me. Besides, people really should visit your site for the complete story, huh?”

She nodded and winked.

www.casiestewart.com

Photos used with permission.