Katie Leggitt

I have these little moments from time to time where my inner voice is like "you are here."  As if a giant arrow pokes through my head and points directly at the CN tower, reminding me I've made it.  "Arrived.  Exit- on the left." I went on a date today (FINALLY am I right?!) and as I talked about my transition to this new city, it felt like I was describing something that happened years ago.  But it's only been a few months.  I've only been here for two and a half months. I landed at my aunt's house.  A bold and beautiful woman, she took me in as I got settled.  We spent many hours chatting over coffee in her kitchen, and I soaked up her wisdom and kindness, knowing that each moment was important.  Each moment I spent listening, sipping Maxwell House coffee and eating peanut butter toast, it mattered. I relaxed. Montreal Katie would have been worried about the next couple of hours, the next couple of minutes, the very seconds that were disapp

The year is 2004. I'm 22, and working at the flagship Levis store in the Montreal Eaton Centre.  It's summer, and I'm a broke student.  The Parisians would come in and order their cinq-cens-uns, or say-son-euh, depending on how lazy their mouths felt at the moment of the request. I had probably the most unpleasant boss I have ever encountered.  He definitely ran a tight ship, but I quit when he wouldn't let me have the weekend off so I could go to a family reunion.  God I miss getting a 50% discount on Levis... They make my butt look so good. I'm slim, because I'm on my feet all day and barely making ends meet. My cupboards are empty.  I'm wearing shirts that expose my midriff and low-rise flared jeans.  I'm listening to Black Eyed Peas and discovering the club scene for the first time in my life. I felt good.  I remember being coached on how to pick up at Sir Winston Churchill's pub.  Other than "picking a guy and going after him," y

I keep staring at my newly-painted hot pink nails.  "Yes, they're real," as I tried to convince my cousin this evening.  "I think the polish makes my nails stronger."  "Extra coats," she responded. Extra coats.  I emptied out one of my suitcases taking up a storage space at my mom's condo this afternoon.  I threw my Fall jacket into my laundry duffel bag, preparing myself for the colder weather we should expect for September and October. It's been a hot summer.  My summer fashions have found new suits.  An old spaghetti-strap dress actually works as a skirt if you tuck the top in.  Things I've discovered battling with the 30+ weather we've had for months. Suddenly, it's cold out.  I closed my balcony door for the first time since June, to try and let my air-drying laundry dry up.  My clothes are still damp from last night.  Should have done laundry Thursday.  Whatever. We all have to deal with laundry.  And spin cycles.  You

I had a dream last night that I was in a thrift store and I spotted two glass slippers for sale. They were clearly 2 different styles, for different sized feet. I never write about my dreams, but Tinder convinced me to hash this one out. It's been months since I've been on a date.  And that's a good sign, as far as I'm concerned, because I've been expending my energy in places that needed my attention - stage, comedy, moving, major life changes, etc. With my first solo show under my belt, I'm ready.  I got everything done that I wanted to since August, and even though there is a mountain ahead of me still, why not take a break for a little romance? BUT WHERE DO PEOPLE DO THAT THESE DAYS?  HOW YOU FIND A MATE? I've lost my edge.  Remember a few years ago when I was posting about my active love/dating life?  When I took the bull by the horns and went for it?  When I had that certain confidence that I applied to love?  When it really mattered to me?

There was a time in my life when I held on to someone, listening to the very same music I am listening to at the present moment. The present moment.  It is a gift, isn't it? It's been a long time since I've felt the tug of a special someone, had someone to lean on when I felt scared, felt needy, or felt love. And yet, I've never lived more truer to myself.  Sure I've always had people to listen to me, that I could rely on, that I've loved.  But I misinterpreted my status for many years thinking that something was holding me back, preventing me from realizing a special goal, only seen on the courts of romantic relationships. The thing is that it's just energy.  And I didn't put that energy in the right place for years. Just a year ago my wants were drastically different from what I wants now! I went on a trip to Hawaii in March of 2014.  I'm a grown-up dammit, and I deserve this, I told myself.  It was as absolutely lovely as you might ima

A couple of months ago I recognized that I had been living in a comfort zone.  A place that was always warm and fuzzy and welcomed me home with a stiff drink and pantouffles.  I remember making a conscious decision that it was time to take some risks and set myself up for potential failure and it has paid off.  I still have my slippers though, and dang are they nice to have on my feet in the winter. Taking risks is always scary.  Always.  Whether it's booking a show that you're totally unprepared for, choosing peace over anger, or asking a lovely person out, it's never easy.  But at least we do these things, because we want to progress.  We want to take a step toward the next beautiful moment that we will be able to create or study or love, and isn't it worth the fear? I'm doing a solo show in the Fringe. I'm co-producing a festival in the Fall.  What? I came very close to interviewing Kate McKinnon. I WILL HANG OUT WITH KYLE MOONEY ONE DAY.  But that&

It's the little moments from these past few days that will stay with me.  The glimpses I caught as I was surrounded by so many people gathered together for one purpose: to mourn and grieve the loss of James Bidgood. The 6 kids of varying ages and families chasing each other through the crowd at the Town Hall reception as the grown-ups talked.  The candles sitting in sand on the drink table, the mother consoling her crying daughter, the moose and deer mural on the stage, the beards, the juice boxes. I'll remember the 3 little girls who had their hair braided to match each other, and how it made 2 of those 3 feel connected to the one who just lost her father. I'll remember the stories recounted of 10 year old buddies who went camping with relish sandwiches and saw the Northern lights together for the first time. I'll remember stopping into the Community Care center to find out its second-hand clothing is half off every last 3 days of the month, just to be extra he

I'm starting to find my 30s a very validating experience.  I've heard people say as you get older you care less about what others think.  True dat.  But I think you also care more about what you think. And if that's confusing, try saying, "I care more about what I think." I honor my feelings now. Today is the blessed event that calls itself Valentine's Day.  I actually feel immune to the holiday this year.  Maybe it's because I'm performing a show with people I love tonight, and that I'm not some heartbroken hopeless romantic like I used to be.  But maybe my heart has turned black.  Either or. With age, comes wisdom.  And thank God for that. When I was 22, I dabbled in online dating.  That's 10 years ago, so your options were limited.  Lavalife allowed you to chat with someone for free, and as most 22 year olds think, I was pretty smart and would have no trouble spotting creeps.  Right?  Wrong! I became enamoured with a guy who spoke ab

Something absolutely amazing happened today. A few years ago during a punk festival I met a very friendly, cute guy - we'll call him Dan.  He had a sneeze attack at the bar I was tending and a Tom Arnold phone case.  That's right, Tom Arnold was on his phone case.  This dude was hilarious.  But - from Long Island. Nonetheless, we hit it off immediately and kept in touch for the next 2 and a half years.  He came up for a show this October and was scheduled for 2 more here in the coming months and thus would be visiting with me then.  Almost nightly, he would send nice messages just to say what's up, and that he was thinking of me.  Days, then months of this went by.  Sometimes I was annoyed, but other times, in my loneliness, totally comforted by the idea that someone was thinking about me. My cousin packed some sage in her suitcase to cleanse the spaces she will be visiting on her trip.  Being a total hippie, I was super into this and made a special request to extra s

Minutes from now, The Bachelor will be airing its second full episode, dedicated to the ridiculous idea that one can find a wife in a group of 20 - 30 women.  All gorgeous, all superficially "together," except for that one girl, who got a little too drunk last week and may have shown more of herself than originally planned for. In the last hour, I've perused the colorful messages I've received on OkCupid, and swiped left on all but a few Tinder faces, in an aimless effort to find a partner, but not have to invest any actual real energy. Recently someone asked me about my dating blog and why I wasn't posting as often.  My response (to him, thank you very much), was that I was working on something.  Working on something means that my Spidey senses were telling me that someone is interested, and I am also interested, therefore I must not speak of him publicly so that I may not "jinx" any hopes of getting a date with this winner of a person. The catch

Last year a kid came into my office and told me his uncle was killed in a car crash.  Turns out he was suffering from a broken heart and made up a lie so he could find a way to voice his heartache.  He sat in my office for hours and I watched as drops of tears cascaded over his acne. Figuring out the lie was the first challenge, consoling a tough teenager as he wept was the second. In 12 months I've watched from afar and seen this kid transform.  I've been a witness to his growth, physically, but emotionally too.  I've seen him prance down the hallways gleefully as he showed off for the girls on one day and I've seen him trudge through the same stretch, miserable, the next. I've heard stories of his mom's coocoo stick, which you can imagine serves a single punitive purpose, and I've seen his eyes light up with curiosity at my stories of adolescent rollercoasters.  He used to pop in every once in a while, just to say hello, just to check in.  And then i

I just let out a big sigh as I tried to think how to start this one.  An appropriate biological release! It is now 2015, a new year.  New opportunities, new attitudes, new moments, new things await us all.  Do we know what they will look like?  Thinking ahead, seeing into the future.  Predictions. Here I am, right here.  All of the moments that came before led me to this one.  This one right here, sitting on my couch with a blanket and Simon and Garfunkel playing on a youtube tab.  My coffee is dark roast and as I take a sip I realize I'm living a moment I've always wanted but didn't think it would look like this.  I've spent many a daydream picturing myself sitting by a window in a cozy little cafe sipping delicious steaming coffee from a warm mug in the morning, laptop propped up in front of me, a great song playing overhead as I write. And now, trying not to think about the mountain of dishes that have piled up due to last night's new years eve party, livin