Don’t Be That Guy
Everyone knows what I refer to when I say “That Guy”. You can spot him from a mile away – douchey, cocky, whatever other adjectives you want to include.
But what I’m going to talk about is a whole new breed of That Guy, and he pisses me off more than any other guy out there. He’s that guy on the bus who takes up more than one seat and knows he’s doing it. The usual acceptable standard is that you can take up two seats when the bus is less full. This generally leaves one seat between you and the person next to you, and in the unfortunate case that the bus gets more full, then you are willing to move and create a space for a person desperate for a seat.
But That Guy, will make it perfectly clear that he’s not moving for anyone. He’s claimed his two seats and he’s going to enjoy his space. Like today, there was a guy on the bus, reading the school newspaper, sitting in the MIDDLE OF TWO FUCKING SEATS, with his murse on the side of him. His legs crossed, perfectly content with what he was doing and totally unaware to his surroundings. He made no acknowledgment to the three guys standing in the doorway wondering if he was going to give up the seat next to him. The smug look on his face made me want to get up and make it awkward for him as I tried to sit in the spot next to him.
Really that’s the only solution to defeat That Guy on the Bus, is to force him to give up his seat. Then he will be miserable and you will gain the satisfaction of stopping a douche from ruining someone else’s day.
There’s a variation of That Guy – and I guess we can call it Those Girls, they generally sit at the back of the bus (here in Victoria, there are 5 seats at the back going perpendicular to the road, and then another 5 seats which are parallel to the road. (See Image below) In the picture if you turn seats 22 and 8 (on the left hand side of the picture) 90 degrees, you will get the layout of the buses here.
So moving on, Those Girls generally like to sit at the back, and have as much space to themselves, putting their feet up and such. I have been in a situation where 3 of these aforementioned girls were taking up a total of 7 seats. Which is only one above the given 2 seat per person, but it was their formation that made the entire back of the bus uncomfortable for any other riders. With a girl in each back corners and then one on one of the sides, it makes sitting somewhere in that region a death sentence.
I spend a lot of my time on buses and do my best to be as nice as possible to other people. But there’s always going to be That Guy somewhere. Maybe one day I’ll have to take some kind of action…
If I could be an animal
I would be a Peregrine Falcon. These birds are just so awe-inspiring. I’ve never heard of a Gos Hawk before, but they’re incredible too. Birds of Prey in general are just spectacular.
“Scientists’ studying these images have concluded that no aircraft comes anywhere close.”
Awesome.
Image by mikebaird via Flickr
eBay Etiquette
Image via CrunchBase
I’ve bought a few things on eBay and from Craigslist previously, and from that I’ve noticed a few things.
Especially when you’re in direct contact with the other person, you really start to see how their demeanor affects your perception of them.
For example, I’ve spent the last week tracking down an Mbox, and I have contacted a few different guys and ended up getting one shipped in from Vancouver. (It’s here today – just gotta go home and play with it! Woo) And I actually ended up paying $50 – $100 more for the box just because this guy was nicer and more competent than the other guys I was dealing with. One guy hadn’t learned the function of the shift key and liked to type in all lower case. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his typing or spelling or anything else, it was just the capitals that bugged me and showed laziness. So I didn’t end up buying from him.
Another guy I was talking seemed legit and everything, but then disappeared for about 6 days. Well that’s just great! When someone wants to buy something from you – you just leave them there wondering what the hell is going on? NO! I would have ended up buying from him, but the lack of response was dis-concerning. So needless to say, he won’t be getting my money
The biggest thing with internet buying is confidence, if you don’t trust or feel confident with who you’re dealing with, you’re not going to buy anything. Which is why I went with the guy I did. He deserved my money.
New Music List
Image by doug88888 via Flickr
So it’s been over a year since I’ve had this blog – (Holy Cow! I’ve had this blog for over a year – weird.) – and that means it’s been over a year since I’ve updated my Music List.
Thus! I have kind of perused by Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/golistento) @GoListenTo and picked some of my favourites out of there and compiled a new music list! So that you don’t have to pick and choose from my twitter. It’s all in one brand-spanking-new spot! Enjoy!
http://silenceassound.wordpress.com/music-list/music-list-2-0/
I got a dick full of helium, I’ll fuck you up.
This guy has some sweet puns and is a pretty good rapper for a nerdy white guy.
lyrics
i’m a feminine eminem, a slim shady lady
but nice cause i texted haiti
90 lady cops on the road and i’m arrested for doing 80.
like hamlet, all about “words, words, words”
divide a whole into thirds, thirds, thirds.
i’m a gay sea otter.
i blow other dudes out of the water.
i’m the man muffin, divin’, muffin,
cold and fly like an arctic puffin,
puffin whacky tobaccy
hatin other rappers like i’m Helga Pataki
and i’ve been rockin this mic before electricity
way back in 1000 BCE – thats before the common era.
i can’t be stopped, flow so sick that it should be mopped up
chick’s got a dixie cup, i gotta dick full of helium, i’ll fuck you up.
a boy, a girl, a middle aged bitch, botox in the third person.
i give the perspective a switch and bo talks in the third person.
just relax, if you wanna know me, here’s two facts
i hate catchy choruses and i’m a hypocrite.
hungry hungry hippocrite.
i hate catchy choruses and i’m a hypocrite.
met a girl named Macy had sex with her all day,
but she was dyslexic, so i ended up doin the YMCA
we ballin, asian, wii bowlin, prostate cancer semi-colon,
find that hole like i’m Stephen Hawking,
Atticus Finch, killing, mocking.
cry like a child would, you raped my childhood
just stroll in, roll in your pole into Rolie Polie Olie’s colon.
to relax my mind i take a walk by the clock and i pass the time and
rhymin, mathematic timin, syntax impacts the intact hymen.
i’m an internet provider, came from the web like a horny spider,
fucked a girl in an apple orchard, then came in cider (inside her)
i thought AIDS was a butt virus like conjunction junction conjunctivitis
i spit gold bars cause i was molested by my uncle midas
gay dads blow pops, another sucker,
oedipus was the first motherfucker.
chorus.
we the people of the USA
jose, we’re not talkin to you, esse.
we got a border in order to keep you out,
it’s what my NYU essay’s about
cause we’re, xenophobic warrior princess,
molested by my uncle sam, is that incest?
“I WANT YOU” to smell my finger
does my nephew’s scent still linger?
south of queers, north of hell,
the queer ones suck and the brown one’s smell
we guard the border and we guard it well
but some slip through the cracks of the liberty bell
did i say liberty? i meant taco, paco, hey you better let that rock go
cause in real life goliath wins
and then sells all the silk that the widow spins.
chorus
bitches and hoes, bo’s hoes, oh, bitches and hoes, bitches, hoes.
bitches and hoes don’t exist because the hoes know bo’s a feminist,
bitches and hoes don’t exist because the hoes know bo’s a feminist
so take off your bras and burn em or you can let me burn em
take off your bras and burn em, or you can let bo burnham burn em.
I wonder if people notice me…
Over the years I’ve become really aware of my ears and how loud my music is. I try and keep my iPod volume very low no matter where I am. I wear earplugs when I go to concerts. I think I worry about my future, and one day not being able to do my job because I’ve gone deaf.
But OTHER PEOPLE seem to not think about these things like I do. They often have their headphones blaring so loud that people surrounding them can hear the music. For the purpose of this blog I am going to generalize the location to the bus, which is where this often occurs.
Now, when I notice these people on the bus with their music so loud, I like to have a little bit of fun. Since the loudest part of any song, or the most audible – whichever you prefer, is usually the drums, and me being a drummer, naturally I like to drum along to other people’s music.
It might start with a subtle foot-tapping along with their beat, but I have once started full air drumming along with some guy’s GNR beat. I always think this would be kind of disturbing for the offender. Having the person across from them on the bus drumming the exact beat their listening to. I wonder if they actually notice, or just assume I’m some nut job air drumming for the hell of it.
Yesterday there was a girl listening to Volcanoes by Damien Rice, and I really wanted to start mouthing the words in hopes that she might see me. That would definitely scare the shit out of me. But alas she never looked my way. So I just did the foottapping drumming anyways.
So, if you’re ever on the bus or in public, and someone starts drumming along to the music in your head – that’s a hint to turn it down.
Cótes des Neiges (Snow Hill)
So school is in full swing again, and unfortunately this blog has taken a toll because of it. I have a few extra minutes tonight, so I feel like writing something. I’ve got a whole bunch of other random stuff and thoughts I’m gonna write down sometime, it’s just a matter of laziness.
The start of my third year has kind of come in as a whimper versus a bang. My schedule is very forgiving this semester, I only really have class on Monday and Thursday. Tuesdays has one class @ 7pm, and Fridays are off. So it’s pretty good. Again due to the program, I’m taking a mismash of courses, including the Art and Architecture of Ancient Greece. So hopefully things will be good as the year progresses.
Luckily, Girlfriend and I have still managed to maintain seeing each other fairly often. You’d think more often than we do, given we live in the same house. I am surprised how well the living situation is going. Being roommates is great, we usually have breakfast together and then do something in the night together, so it’s nice. The owners of the house are great and the cat loves me. Which is nice. Unfortunately my parents are under the assumption that Girlfriend and I share everything (food wise) and thus they have stopped pitching in for my food bill. I suppose this is fair, but hopefully when they come at the end of September, they will see how little we actually share, and have a change of heart. (Doubtful – but here’s to wishful thinking)
$500 Music Box
In other news, I’m spending too much money lately! I’m in the process of purchasing an Mbox Pro2 (pictured below) for $500. Which is a steal of a deal considering you generally pay $1200+ for it. It’s great because I can use it to record, I can plug in my other box into it, and I get access to the most used software in the business.
You see! Digidesign, the company who makes the Mbox, has also produced a program called ProTools which has become the industry standard. Well, Digi has also made it so that you can’t use ProTools unless you’re hooked up to an Mbox. So this is not cool. Thus I am buying one.
Secondly, I just bought VIP tickets to the Alexisonfire show that will be happening here in November. This means I get: a ticket &
- meet & greet
- tour poster
- exclusive laminate
- 7″ (DEMOS from OC/YC….super limited)
- early entry into venue
The guys I'll be meeting
Most importantly on this list is the meet & greet. Alexisonfire has grown to be one of my favourite bands, and having the opportunity to talk to them is going to be awesome. I’m already thinking up questions to ask and all this other loser stuff. Victoria is the first stop on the tour, so I’m gonna be one of the first people they meet! Aweeeesum.
In other nerdy music news involving me, there’s a guy coming to our school to talk to us about working in a well known studio. This guy has worked with K-Os, R.E.M., The Tragically Hip and Rise Against to name a few. These are a lot of big names, and a lot of bands that I listen to. I’m super pumped to talk to him and see what he says about the industry. So I’ve got another list of questions going for him too.
That kinda runs injunction with some other news of mine. I’ve taken over the Facebook group for my program, so I’m being a big n00b and posting all the time in the group to keep it relevant. 
Umm…other than that, I’m not really sure what else is going on with me. Trying my best to stay active. Girlfriend and I have started playing tennis, and I’ve joined a ball hockey team as well. So I’ve got lots on the go.
Oh! I suppose I can talk about what happened in the last bit of the summer. I’ve been working at the Gap most of the time, and still am continuing into the fall (5 classes, and 2 jobs – great). The Gap is great, and I love working there, right now it’s mostly weekends and Friday’s so the hours aren’t fantastic.
Also – this summer was probably the first summer where I actually read more than 2 books that weren’t comics. I read:
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
- The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
- The Producer as the Composer by Virgil Moorefield
- Think of a Number by John Verdon
All of them were really good, but I have to pick two out of the mix. Think of a Number was fantastic, probably the best book I’ve read in a long time. It’s a great serial killer/mystery/crime/psychological/fuck-with-your-brain type of book. Which I really enjoy. So I’d definitely recommend that one. 
The second, The Producer as the Composer, I would recommend for anyone with any interest in music. It talks about the producers role in making music all the way from Motown to DJ’s of today. It was the first book that got me to listen to an entire Beatles album (Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) and it made the music actually interesting to me. I went out and bought Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, just so I could hear for myself what Brian Wilson did in terms of mixing and arrangements. So for me this book had a significant impact on my musical life and how I want to pursue my career.
I think that’s enough for tonight. Ima go to bed now. More specifically…girlfriend’s bed! 
If there’s any books you think I should be reading, please let me know!
