Makes Me Think of My Grandfather
My grandfather recently passed last year, and seeing this video made me think of what he must of been like when we came to visit. I was too young to realize how much us grandkids mean to our grandparents – but it’s video’s like this that really make you all warm in fuzzy.
RIP Gigi.
Four Years
I saw this photo on the tumblr of a friend of mine a few weeks ago, and I’m just getting around to writing about it. It’s part of a bigger series of weird interesting facts about the body, but this one stuck me as the most prominent. (The rest are here if you’re curious - http://www.icanhasinternets.com/2011/10/mind-blown/) 
And I feel like this is not only true physically, in terms of all our cells and stuff, but also in terms of who we are as a person and emotionally. We all know we go through different stages in our lives and they happen at different times for different people. But would it be too far of a leap to assume that maybe these changes occur every seven years when all our cells from our “previous self” have finally disappeared?
Seven years ago, I was 14. I was in the 9th grade and was in the middle of maybe my second style cycle. I had ridiculously long hair, thought I was hot shit because I wore pink, played drums in a shitty junior high band and listened to Sum 41 and Blink 182 all day. I had had some random “girlfriends” but not a first kiss, and had played hockey almost all my life. I had dropped out of band class because I had hated it the year before. And I think this was about the time I got my first Facebook page. It was a few years later that my brother graduated and went to Australia, and my parents went to meet him shortly after, leaving me alone on my first week of high school. Getting to band practices in October in Calgary by bus at 6am was not fun.
I'm kind of proud to say that I'm still friends with that guy who I am wrapped around.
If you know me know, I’m sure you’ll hardly believe that that’s what I used to look like. (Aside: Part of me wants to retake this picture when we get back together at Christmas time. Kind of like these ones – http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/)
Somewhere in my grade 12 year I went through another shift. I think it a big part of it was during my trip with the high school band. It was during this trip that I discovered the rewards and the hardships of the career path I was slowly beginning down. I got thrown into a huge leadership role and kind of reveled in it. In grade 12 I was also playing and coaching hockey, had a few more girlfriends, had a first kiss, made a Grad Film, played a solo for our entire graduation class + families, and got accepted to my first university of choice. My musical tastes branched out more, I now liked screamo and emo and acoustic and punk and rock. I had almost mostly given up the drums and picked up the guitar and a mixing board. I even made a CD (Granted it’s terrible and I never want to have to hear it again – but those of you with a copy! Hold onto that sucker, you can sell it for millions later). I fought with my parents a lot – mostly about my current (and as I found out later, crazy) girlfriend.
I also cut my hair short for the first time in a while. You can always tell when a guy is ready to move onto the next stage of his life when he cuts his hair short and gets rid of the mop top shaggy teen look. Some guys keep it going out of high school, but it usually gets cut eventually. So far, the 7 year trend isn’t coming true, it seems to be closer to 3 or 4 years for me at least.
Incredibly, these people are still friends with me...
And this is where I’ve kinda plateaued. I haven’t changed much since then. Still super tall and skinny, 6’5″ 150lb, a broomstick some have said. One or two more girlfriends, maybe a bit more experienced. My style hasn’t changed all that much, I’ve grown into my “professional hipster” mentality and have learnt to rock it. University kicked my ass in my first two years, calculus almost killed me. I met one of my best friends and girlfriend here and learned a lot from her. I’ve had the same recording job now for 3 and a half years. I’ve become “that recording guy” in the school of music. Music has become one of the biggest factors in my life. Not only is it becoming my job, but I am always discovering more things about it and more styles that I am enjoying. I breached the 10 000 song mark this summer. I don’t fight with my parents anymore, or my brother – I think the distance was good for us. And I’m almost done my degree. Hopefully two more semesters and that’ll be it.
So now, it’s been 4 years since that last “style shift” in grade 12. Hold on.
It’s been 4 years since high school.
4 years.
That’s kind of gross. Most of my friends now are people I met when I was in high school. I still talk to all those people. I always wanted to be that guy who made all these great friends in University and went to all these parties. I always told myself I wasn’t going to be like my dad and never go out (at least he tells us he never went out – except for the one time he threw up over a bridge into a river – he does like to tell us that story). But I didn’t go out. Well, I didn’t go out A LOT. I mostly stayed in, I was content staying in. Partying was never my thing. I have met some great friends here though. I’ve got some Bro’s who I hope I’ll keep in contact later. And really, that’s what I’m thinking about now. What’s later? What’s next?
I’m almost done my degree.
What am I gonna do after? I’m feeling like that’ll induce another “style shift.”
Where am I going to be in four years? Who am I going to be in four years? Who are you going to be in four years?
(Also – a little more Nicole Byblow for your listening pleasure)
Preschoolers Preparing for Harvard?
Image via Wikipedia
Article from the Globe and Mail. If this bitch gets away with it, I will lose hope in humanity….
Is it play time or Harvard prep? A New York mom is suing her daughter’s preschool, claiming that the place was no more than a “big playground’ teaching mere shapes and colours and therefore damaging her kid’s educational future.
In court papers, Nicole Imprescia suggests York Avenue Preschool jeopardized her daughter Lucia’s chances of getting into an elite private school or, one day, the Ivy League, according to the Daily News. Mom is demanding a refund of the $19,000 (U.S.) tuition and class-action status for other toddlers who weren’t properly prepped for the standardized test that fancy elementary schools use to judge children.
For your kids, is gifted a bad word?
Eight ways to create a picky eater
My five-year-old tech geek
“This is about a theft where a business advertises as one thing and is actually another,” said Mathew Paulose, a lawyer for the outraged mom.“They’re nabbing $19,000 and making a run for it.”
The case raises a number of issues. Most educators will agree that shapes, colours and playgrounds are, actually, the kind of education the under-5 set need and thrive in. And though $19,000 sounds like a lot of money, that figure’s not far off what many Canadian parents of children are paying for daycare. Most alarming, then, is the promise of grooming for tests that set the trajectory of a young life. On this point, even Harvard alumni are dismayed at the news.
Under a news story on the case at The Harvard Crimson, Sandy comments: “Unbelievable. I went to Harvard. I didn’t even go to preschool. Instead, I played with friends and somehow made it through kindergarten and beyond. This woman – actually, the entire culture she represents – is nuts.
Finally, going to Harvard is no guarantee of anything. There are as many jackasses per capita in Harvard as out.”
Related Articles
- Ivy League-minded Mom sues preschool for $19,000 (theglobeandmail.com)
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!
I Blame My Dad for My Coffee Addiction
My Eighth Grade Drink of Choice
I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was in the 8th grade. Anytime before then, my mom would treat it the same way she let me try alcohol. A sip here or there of the most wretched stuff, trying to deter me from drinking it. Apparently I had terrible times sleeping as a kid whenever I had hot chocolate or anything of the sort.
When I hit junior high I now had the freedom to wander wherever I wanted at lunch and eat and drink whatever I wanted. This accounted for me going to KFC every Tuesday in the ninth grade, but that’s another story for another time.
I first started out with the really sugary drinks – a caramel macchiato or vanilla fudge brownie latte, something with lots of flavour and whipped cream on top. When you’re 14 your only goal is the awesome whipped cream and not really giving two thoughts about the coffee.
But when I started going to high school, things changed a little bit.
Firstly, my dad gave me a ride to work everyday. This was a symbiotic relationship for the both of us. He got me to school on time, and since I was up early, it meant that he went to work on time too. I really enjoyed the morning drive with my dad, it was a consistent time of the day that we had together. We got to talk about sports or news or family stuffs and the drive wasn’t too long that we could ever get into anything to deep.
Now, the best part of driving to school with my dad, was stopping at Tim Horton’s in the morning. There was a drive thru about 2 minutes from my school on the main road, so it was the perfect pit-stop before school/work. Every Canadian knows Timmy Ho’s is the place to go for coffee, and being recently introduced to the drink, I was weary as what to order. I knew I wouldn’t want black, but I didn’t need to have coffee with my sugar.
Timmy Ho's
From seeing enough Tim’s ads on TV, I knew the classic All-Canadian coffee was the double double. I went with that and haven’t gone back.
One of the first things I ever bought when I moved into my first home away from home was a coffee maker, and a big container of Folgers coffee. This was a mistake. I still have about half the grounds left in that container. My roommates bought me Tim Horton’s coffee for my birthday, and I’ve never wanted to drink anything else.
I still stop at Tim Horton’s on the way to work in the early mornings and if I’m at home, I’ve always got my coffee maker ready to go.
Most people think that coffee addictions are on par with any other addiction. Frankly, I like my addiction. It brought me closer to my dad and will always be something we have.
So here’s to you Dad.
Image via Wikipedia
Faust Arp
Why hello there internet land! Long time no speak.
I feel like I haven’t written a meaningful post in ages. Mostly because my life was rather dull. Let me just check and see where I last left off…Good grief. It was May 5th when I last wrote something that pertains closely to my life. So let’s see, I’ll try and begin from there.
School had ended, it was the best semester I had ever had. My jazz band mark sucked, so I appealed it and got a better one. I decided to go home to Calgary.
The Gap
Found work with the Gap, and eventually the City of Calgary. Applied to countless jobs. Had an interview to be an audio editor with CJSW, the University of Calgary radio station. Didn’t get it. Sad. Missed lover. Was missed by lover. Hated Calgary. Lots of friends who I thought were closer didn’t seem interested. Saw my good friends and that was good. Had fun. Went to a show. Saw my old band teacher (awkward). Went to Thunder Bay to see my grandparents. Drank rye and had es cargo with them. Hated life. Fought with Parents. Folded Jeans @ the Gap. Folded Shirts @ the Gap. Put up tents for the City. Folded more jeans. Put up more tents. Hated Calgary. Decided to move. Fought with Parents. Came to Victoria. Had to deal with psycho mother. Found a place. Living with lover. Happy.
That’s more or less the last two months of my life. In a nutshell. Calgary just doesn’t suit me that well. I dislike the lifestyle, and just the atmosphere of the city. It was good to see a couple of my close friends, but they’ll still be my friends no matter where I am so coming back to Victoria didn’t matter. I left playing on a ultimate frisbee team, which I’ll miss, but I’ll survive. It was good being active again. I just have to get out running. I finally finished my book (The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova) and it was good, the ending was a little unexpected. I’m going to start reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon which I mentioned in a previous post.
The last week has been hell though, but it’s looking up. I was here with my mom looking for a place to live. I used mainly Craigslist, Kijiji, and the UVic housing site to scope out places. It sucked trying to remember what each place offered and who lived there and stuff. I saw a lot of really shitty places where 9 other people lived and some with owners that wanted to be my parents. And I didn’t want that. I wanted to be independent in a nice household, with ceilings that weren’t so low that I hit my head.
I ended up finding a great little character home close to my lover. The owner is a 49 old mother of three who has a little shitzhu. The bathroom has been converted to a splash room, which as most of you don’t know, is a room where everything can get wet. The shower head hangs from the ceiling, which means I will have no problems washing my hair on the top of my large 6’4″ frame. And a vintage oven/stove. So I’m pretty stoked, I move in sometime this coming week.
My mother drove my absolutely crazy over this week. Hell, the entire time I was home, both my parents drove me crazy. I think my mom asked me 4 or 5 times if I was depressed. Had me rate my happiness levels from 1 – 10. Pestered me why I wasn’t eating a lot or why I didn’t go out or whatever. I just didn’t want to be around them. They continually asked me if my lover was the only reason why I wanted to move and they questioned her character which was insulting to me and her. When in Victoria, my mother was indecisive, emotional (she cried at least 10 times over the course of 3 days), and just overall really stupid. It doesn’t make sense to me that she would be this emotional over me moving. This has happened twice before when I’ve had school. You’d think she’d be used to it by now. And I’m not one who is emotional or shows very much emotion, so it’s hard for me to be sincere about it. Sigh, she’s gone now so I can relax and enjoy myself in Victoria.
Tokyo Police Club's new CD: "Champ"
But I have to find a job now. I’ve already applied at quite a few places and the Gap might hire me back as well. So things are looking up and I’m trying to stay busy, without spending a lot of money. That being said, I am going to the casino tonight. So shush. Maybe I’ll win $100 in blackjack or something. That’d be pretty awesome.
I’ve been listening to a lot of new music lately. The new Broken Social Scene CD = not good. The new New Pornographers CD = good. Citizen Cope = really good. New Deftones CD = really good. New Secret and Whisper = good. The new Tokyo Police Club CD = really good. Go check them out now!
Pixar's best new short: "Day and Night"
I saw Toy Story 3 yesterday! It was really good for a 3rd movie. Not sure if it’s good as a stand-alone film. But still really great. I loved the short Day and Night at the beginning. May be one of the best ever, behind the chess player of course. Pixar really knows how to get things done.
I’ll leave you with that short! Hopefully I can start posting more now that I feel up to it. Have a good one!
Disease’s are the new Black
I read this article in the G&M the other day, and thought it was really good. I’m pretty disgusted with Moby and the fact that he’s using a disorder to make him seem more “interesting” or something.
When I was a camp counselor, I had a kid in my cabin who has Asperger’s and this is what interested me about this article. I didn’t notice anything savant-like in his demeanor, but he was very routine based and things had to be such a way. I would like to see how he’s doing these days and if his family is still doing well. I think his parents really appreciated what we did at camp, they would get a chance to maybe “be normal”, and get to spend the week not having to micromanage his life.
So when someone like Moby, who has been known for being “cutting-edge” or something abnormal, but this is just too extreme and to the point of offensive. BUT, this is probably exactly what he wants, to cause a stir, but not piss off everyone.
I still need to read the Curious Incident in the Night Time or whatever it is that it’s called, and see that movie mentioned in the article. 
Read the article and then let me know what you think.
In an interview with The New York Times, the musician Moby talked about how he was a purist when it came to tea, preferring it untainted by milk or sugar. “It might be a function of Asperger’s,” he said.
“You have Asperger’s?” asked the interviewer.
“No,” Moby said. “I just like to pretend I do. It makes me sound more interesting.” No, actually, it makes you sound like a pretentious numbskull. No matter what you think of a privileged pop star pretending to have a rather serious neurological disorder to increase his street cred, there’s no doubt that Moby, for the first time in eons, has his finger on the cultural pulse. In novels, movies and on television screens, autism is suddenly the go-to disorder when you need a charmingly strange protagonist; it’s become a plot device.
What links all these characters: The Phantom of the Opera, the teenaged hero of best-selling author Jodi Picoult’s new novel House Rules, and the handsome, childlike title character in last year’s feature film Adam? They’ve all got Asperger’s syndrome, a kind of high-functioning autism characterized by difficulties in communicating and engaging with other people. (The Phantom didn’t have Asperger’s in the original 1910 Gaston Leroux novel – the condition hadn’t been identified at that time – but the man who is currently playing the character onstage in London, Ramin Karimloo, has based his interpretation around the idea that the tortured composer is autistic.)
In Adam, despite a winning performance from Hugh Dancy, the title character is never more than a catalogue of “Aspie” clichés: He is obsessed with astronomy, unable to express empathy or make eye contact, refreshingly frank and unable to lie. He is, tellingly, compared to Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s Little Prince – a winsome, boyish alien whose job is to impart wisdom through naiveté. Which is the main problem with how autistic people have been portrayed, at least until now: as beatific savants put on Earth to teach us “normal” folk the coarseness of our ways. (Let us say a collective prayer of denial and remove Dustin Hoffman’s equation-spouting Rain Man from our consciousness.)
In Picoult’s novel House Rules, 17-year-old Jacob Hunt, who was “diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome long before it became the mental-health disorder du jour,” is also obsessed, in his case with criminal forensics. He is friendless and tactless, has tantrums when the slightest things change, and is terrified of the colour orange. In other words, all the boxes are ticked. He seems more like a composite from an Asperger’s textbook than a fully nuanced character.
The truth, as anyone who has lived with someone “on the spectrum” will know, is that their lives are challenging, to put it diplomatically, and while they may share certain characteristics, they are as individual as fingerprints or snowflakes.
To my mind, so far, the one fictional creation that transcends the clichés is Mark Haddon’s wonderful novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The teenaged amateur detective at the heart of the novel clearly has Asperger’s, but the word is never mentioned, and Haddon is loath to admit it, which is precisely why it works. It’s not a book about autism, it’s a book about this very interesting kid who finds the world puzzling but is determined to solve its mysteries anyway.
In fact, Haddon, who is also a playwright and poet, gets miffed when that particular word is brought up. The novel “is about being different, about seeing society from the outside, and about being a writer really; it’s about how we use our imagination,” Haddon told Time Out magazine. “When people say, yes, but it’s really about Asperger’s, I usually sigh deeply and wander off.”
So is Asperger’s “cool” now, as Moby seems to think? Is it merely geek chic, the undiagnosed condition that may have afflicted Mozart and Einstein? Not if you ask the thousands of people who struggle every day to function at work and school in a society that may view them as quirky, but doesn’t really understand how difficult it is to exist when you are, essentially, always speaking a foreign language. Or is it more likely that people share (even in some small way) the suspicion that this is all just a trendy camouflage, and agree with stand-up Denis Leary’s allegedly comic observation that “your kid is NOT autistic. He’s just stupid. Or lazy. Or both.”
Well, Mr. Leary, about 1 per cent of the population is somewhere on the spectrum. That leaves 99 per cent of us on the outside, looking in, hoping for some insight. This week, as a major breakthrough in mapping autism’s genetic links was announced, it’s more pressing than ever. Turning to original sources may be the best route to enlightenment.
“I think autism is doing the same thing as other people, differently. It’s just the way you do it, the processes involved. It’s kind of like the difference between a Mac and a Windows PC,” said Dafydd Mann, a young guitar player with Asperger’s who was featured on the BBC’s Autistic Superstars. The excellent documentary/talent show featured a cast of young people who sang and played not for fame or money, but because it was their only way of communicating with the world outside their immediate families. They were really good. They were also grumpy and nervous and hopeful and difficult. In other words, they just were. Like the rest of us.
Sunshine of My Love
So I guess it’s been a long time since I’ve actually written anything about my life on here. A lot has gone on since I last posted.
I ended up having my best semester in school, with 2 A-’s, a B+, a C+ (which is being appealed), and a C. Hurray for me.
I moved out of my place in residence at school. I have definitely accumulated way too much stuff over my two years living there. I had two medium sized tupperware containers and one large (maybe 6 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot) tupperware container – just filled with books and stuff and crap and all this stupid random stuff. I had 2 x 3 ft ziploc bags full of clothes, 1 5 ft ziploc bag full of clothes. Then one re-usuable bag for my picture frames, two gym bags, one box for my keyboard. And that’s just stuff I left there. I brought home another box and another tupperwear, my guitar and two suitcases of clothes. And then some shoes and other crap.
So I was fortunate enough that my two roommates had gotten a storage locker and had enough room for my stuff too. On my last day I got my stuff into the locker and headed downtown with girlfriend for dinner at our favourite little Chinese place. Which was nice. I really miss her lots. She won’t be coming home at all this summer. She’s finishing up her degree and staying behind without me. Makes me sad.
I flew out here last Wednesday and got home late-ish. And every time I come home from the airport I hope and dream that my mom will let me sit in the front seat on the car ride home. And every time, without fail, my hopes and dreams are shattered. So I finally got home and relaxed.
And that’s what I’ve been doing basically for the past week. Nothing. I went to see the KGB on Thursday. They were pretty good, luckily we came early enough that we didn’t have to pay the $15 cover. I was impressed that they’re playing so many shows and have a bit of a fan base going. It was really awkward, I saw my old band teacher at the show that night. He came and sat with us and talked for their entire set. Unfortunately he conned us into buy tickets to his jazz show on the weekend. We got suckered and bought tickets. (http://www.myspace.com/kronicgrooveband)
This show was at the Beat Niq and featured a bunch of people I had never heard of. It was okay – probably not worth the money we paid but whatever. It was what I like to call free jazz – which follows a very loose form of chorus – solo – solo – solo – chorus. Where each player (there was 3 and a drummer) would take solos. This is fine and all, but the choruses sound so off and random. The band doesn’t really sound like a band. Each player does their own thing and the sound is very incoherent. I’m not sure if this is the sonic goal of this style, but it’s definitely not something for everyone.
So basically the only point for me coming home was to work all summer and make lots of money. So far that’s a flop. My brother has deemed me a ‘jobless shithead’. But that’s okay. Maybe I’ll just free-load of my parents all summer. Sounds like a good plan to me. I had an interview today with the City, as an event crew member. I’m probably going to get this job, but it’s only on call, so that probably won’t yield very many hours. I was going to have an interview at the Gap – but the guy hasn’t returned 3 of my calls. I also had an interview @ CJSW – the local university radio station. Doing a job that I would really love. Unfortunately I got a phone call from them this afternoon saying that although I had a great interview and a great portfolio – there was just someone out there that’s better than me. The shitty thing for me is that my resume is so specific that it doesn’t apply to anything else. I really have no skills in the service industry. Or any other industry other than my own. Sigh.
Umm. I hate being home. I hate living with my parents. They drive me insane daily. Every time I sit down for dinner, I feel like it’s the “15-minutes-of-interrogation” where they try and ask me as many questions as possible in a little time span. Since my brother took our other car to Edmonton with him for the summer, our 3-piece family is left with one vehicle. My dad takes the bus to work (how green of him) and that means my mom and I have to share our other car. This is a pain in the ass. Being at home is a pain in the ass. I spend most of my time in my studio – where I lose most sense of time with no windows.
Most of my friends here have been either too busy or just don’t care. When talking to them about coming back they all seemed excited about seeing me and wanting to hang out. So far I’ve seen four people since I’ve come back. I don’t expect that number to get much higher in the coming months. I’m starting to learn that people are generally really excited about the idea of seeing you when you come home from university – but in practice it doesn’t really happen.
I’ve been having a terrible time being away from Girlfriend. It’s terrible trying to do a long distance relationship again. We said we were going to break up for the summer – but it’s just stupid and too hard for both of us to not want to be together. I hate being away from home, from her, and Geoffery. We’ve been watching lots of new Robert De Niro movies, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver. Both weird fucked up movies. De Niro was good though. I’ve been watching the second season of Parks and Recreation – it’s pretty good. Definitely better than the first, but not as good as the Office. Hopefully it keeps going. Next is Breaking Bad.
Sigh. Here’s a few pictures of my new set-up at home. 
So basically I hate being home and I hate living here! How are you doing? Probably better than me. Can’t wait for this summer to be over.
Later days,
- J
Orchestral Set No.2, II a
So I am busy doing some ‘studying’ for my listening to music class. Which is really just sitting here and being on the internet while I listen to some odd, and modern, and terrible music. All in preparation for my first of two finals on Monday. Not that both finals are on Monday, I just have two, and one of them is on Monday. The other is on Saturday. It’s in computer science. In case you cared.
Life for me has been rather peachy lately. I’ve done the more ‘partying’ in the last two days than probably all year. On Thursday after work, I came home and had some wine and drinks with my roommates. And yesterday I went to a friend of mine who I used to live in residence with and played poker. It was a $5 buy-in, and I thought I had a pretty good chance going in. I ended up placing third and a hand that I played right. I just got beat by a pocket pair. Unfortunately. Other than that, the night was good. We had to cab home because the stupid buses don’t run past 11:30 here. (That’s a little bit of an hyperbole, it’s more like 11:35.) We cabbed downtown and tried to catch a bus, to no avail, then we managed to meet up with some guys my friend knew, so we shared a cab with them, all the while talking very loudly with the cabbie about hockey and politics.
Thursday was a crazy adventure of it’s own. I had to go downtown to work. This involves me bringing: a recording box, 100 ft cables (x 2), two microphones, two microphone clips, a microphone bar, and a microphone stand. Well first, I take a bus down there, lugging all this equipment, then I get to the church, to discover that I can’t get in for another half hour. So with nowhere to go, and a big tub full of recording equipment, I head to the place where all the crazy’s go. McDonald’s. I essentially sat there for 20 minutes just watching all these 16 year olds come in with their 25 year old boyfriends and socialize. It’s so odd. Once I did get in, I start setting up, and realize that I don’t have a microphone clip. Just one, for two mics. Great. I made a few calls, with no success, so I decided to wait that one out and focus on my other stuff. Well that didn’t go so well either. The recording box I was using decided to not work for me. At this point the choir started showing up…
Now side-note: Everybody I have ever met has known That Guy. He’s the one in the class who seems to know everything about everything and feels the compelling need to tell everyone else what he knows. Well in my case, there were TWO That Guy’s in this choir. Both of them are in my recording techniques class and definitely wanted to help me out with the problem. Now, to make this simple, the recording box has one cable that goes from the box to the computer. So you can’t really screw that up. But nonetheless these guys were crouching down, trying to figure out what’s wrong with the cable, jiggling it, plugging it in and out. Even though it really wasn’t their job and they just wanted to be the hero. So ONE guy, who just so happens to work at a music store, get’s on the phone with his boss or someone, and starts asking what the problem is. By this time we’ve acquired a small congregation of onlookers trying to see why the recording guy is fucking up.
So when another member of the choir arrives, who is another recording tech, I ask him for his advice, and he said we should go get a new cable. But since he needed to be there with the choir, he gave me his car keys to drive back to the school. Which was quite a shock for me, no one has just given up their car to me for something like this. I thought maybe he’d drive me or something. But that was fine. It was the first time I’d driven a car in almost 4 months, but it’s just like riding a bike. Or so I’ve been told. (Thanks Dad)
Eventually I get back to the church with what I needed. And when I did get back, the other recording tech guy came in with a brand new box. Apparently he had gone to Long & McQuade and picked up a whole new rig. Anyways, the stuff eventually worked and the show went fine.
Goodness that was a long convoluted story.
Umm…Trying to remember what else is happening around here. Girlfriend and I are back together. We’re working things out, and going to try long distance over the summer. And see how that works out and then make a call then. (I think? Right Girlfriend?) She always searches my posts for mention of her name. So here it is! LOOK HERE GIRLFRIEND. Hi 
.
So, my second year is done. And after all these thoughts of switching schools and dropping out, I think I’m deciding to stay here. It just means less courses each semester. I feel like I’ve been doing better in most of my courses this year. We’ll see after I get the marks back. I’ve definitely become accustomed to getting B’s and C’s now. It’s not great, but I feel I’m learning it and still enjoying myself without pushing it to the breaking point.
The whole housing/living situation is getting pretty interesting here. My one, more well-off, roommate’s parents were here over easter. And it’s look like they’re going to buy us a house to live in next year. This is a crazy idea to say the least – in my opinion. I am perfectly fine living wherever and I feel like a house would be a little over the top. I have made this clear to these guys and I’m considering other options for living. Girlfriend and I still want to live together, and hopefully that can happen if I make lots of money this summer.
Well I guess I should get back to ‘studying’. I leave you with one of the pieces of contemporary music that I really like.
Later Days,
- J
Allegretto poco Scherzoso
I am finally coming off of one of the most hectic weeks of my year. Last week almost killed me. Starting on the Friday previous, making that the 12th. I worked that night, the next night, and the night after that. On that Wednesday my parents arrived in time for my jazz band concert on Saturday. That Thursday night I had a rehearsal for said jazz band, and then a midterm the day after in my recording class. Then Saturday was the concert and dress rehearsal, so that day was basically a write off. And then to top it all off, on Sunday I had to finish a 1300+ line assignment for my computer science class. Throw in seeing your parents everyday and them harping on you about just about everything. It did not make for a good week.
My parents being here caused me a lot of stress. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned, but Girlfriend and I are, or were, hoping to move in together in September. As of now it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. My parents flat out told me that if her and I wanted to live together then I would have to pay for all on my own. My parents very generously cover a large amount of my expenses while I am in school. And depending on whether or not I find a job this summer, I could have little to no funds of my own. This has caused a point of conflict for me and girlfriend, and for my parents and I. Girlfriend is questioning whether or not she wants to maintain this relationship, when in the long run it is probable that it will not last due to our individual goals. My parents like to think that they’re letting me make my own decisions in what I do, when really I feel as though they are adding a significant amount of influence by saying that they won’t pay. It’s ridiculous and stupid and grr.
In other news…well I don’t really have other news. It’s looking like I’m moving back to Calgary this summer. I really don’t have many other options, nobody here has looked promising with jobs. And I’ve been applying much earlier than I did last year. The thought of taking more courses has crossed my mind. But I think I would go insane going almost 3 years straight without a break. Maybe I’ll apply to Banff again. They rejected me this time, but that could be because the competition was so great and my recordings weren’t that good.
Speaking of recordings, I get to do something pretty cool tomorrow. My recording class wants to do a session on recording drums, so I get to play for them! It’ll be fun being on the other side of things for a change. Hopefully I’ll be able to listen to something to drum along to…I feel that it’s really hard to play drums to nothing. Oh well, we shall see tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get a recording of it and I can post it for everyone to hear!
Oh drums! Jazz band. Sucked. Go figure. I played my three songs and left. There was nothing to stay there for, our ‘leader’ was just using the forum as a promotion for her and her band. The ‘guest’ artist she invited is a blues harmonica player. Together, him and our leader have two bands together, and they will be touring to Germany in May. Definitely a big fucking joke. I was so pissed at that, and really glad I left. The school is trying to find a new jazz teacher. Thank God, and one of the candidates is Matt Brubeck (Dave Brubeck’s son) and he taught us a class on Friday which was pretty cool. See video of Dave Brubeck playing piano and you will understand how good his son is.
And with that, I think I’ll sign off.
Later days,
- J
The Sleep I Should Be Having…
Just isn’t happening…
So I lay in bed with Girlfriend as she’s asleep and I’m not. This was reversed about 3 hours ago, but being the idiot I am, having a nap @ 9 pm, makes sleeping hard. I suppose I’ll write a nice blog entry.
Puke
Today, well officially today, is Valentine’s Day. So to all you lovers out there, enjoy your guarenteed sex. Girlfriend and I will be spending the day at the museum, then massages, then dinner @ the Keg. I had to book our reservation on Monday, and we get our table @ 8 pm. Which is crazy if you think about when you would have to call to get a good time. I’m not very good at Valentine’s Day. Never really have been. Especially being away from home makes me lazy. I don’t have the supplies to make a handmade card and I kind of just don’t like it. I don’t know, that’s just me. I know I should be one of those perfect boyfriends who gets a present and makes a card and blah blah blah, but for some reason I don’t like Valentine’s Day. Maybe it’s because I was born the day after and it’s just really annoying. I always feared the idea of getting a Valentine’s day card for my birthday and people being like “Happy Valentine’s Day! Oh, and yeah, we’ll just get you one card for your birthday too.” It’s stupid, but eh. For this reason, Girlfriend and I didn’t celebrate V-day last year, a mistake she’ll never let me forget; but nonetheless I’m trying to do better this year. She’ll be getting the heart shaped box of chocolates, some other chocolate, and I want to get her flowers, but it’s going to be so goddamn expensive. Why does society say that I have to buy my girlfriend flowers on this specific day?! I’d much rather buy them for her at a random time then for her to expect them. Blah, stupid holiday. I also really hope that Girlfriend doesn’t read this blog so she finds out what I got her….
Speaking of holiday’s, I am on one for the next week. School is out for reading break and thus I will get to relax and enjoy some time off. Unfortunately I will probably spend a few days strictly doing homework. Sigh this is the life of a student.
Another holiday coming tomorrow is my birthday. Those of you who read my blog via Facebook will notice a discrepency between my real birthday and my Facebook birthday. This is a stupid social experiment of mine to see how many of my friends really know my birthday and how many rely on Facebook to tell them. I’ve already had a few people send me messages expressing statements of confusion. I received a package in the mail from my parents for my birthday, and to be honest, it sucked. I got a comic book which I already have, and I think they got my brother years previous, and some chocolate. Also I told them I had got it and opened, but not opened the wrapped presents inside, and my mom told me to open a specific one. My Mom knit me a sweater vest. A purple sweater vest, that I will never wear. It’s dumbfounding how tacky it is. My Mom told me she knit it for me because she thought I liked sweater vests, I own one, which was a gift, which I got 3 years ago, which I also rarely wear. You would think she’d pick up on this. Now I feel obligated to have to wear it at least once. Or more than once since I will be asked everytime I go home, “Oh where’s your vest? Do you wear your vest?” No.
So hopefully the rest of my birthday will be better. In other news, I found my shoe! Silly roommates brought in a bar(like an actual drink bar) and placed it over my shoe a couple of weeks ago. We moved the bar last night and found my shoe under it. Yay.
Yet again, I fall back to the topic of Facebook. The social networking site has now turned into an online forum to express beliefs, rants, feelings, and blah blah blah. I feel like FB is the new place to protest and attempt to make social change. People make all these stupid groups saying they’ll donate a cent to Haiti for every person that joins, there are memorial groups for every second person who dies, there are groups for schools and for trying to change your school. But do these really do anything? In my opinion no. Nothing will change because someone made a Facebook group, no one is really going to get out there and protest. Groups are the easy lazy ass way for someone to show that they care about the world and it’s causes but they’re too lazy to get the fuck out there and do anything about it.
Anywho, I think I’m gonna try and get some sleep.
- J
Roll With It
So, I’ve decided that I am never going to bed before 9 pm. Ever again. My body has some weird problem/curse where no matter when I go to sleep. I will wake up 6 – 8 hours later. So last night, I went to bed at 9, and I was up at 4 am. Great. I had to leave Girlfriend’s house to come home because I couldn’t fall asleep. We watched “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” yesterday. Which is about an eight-year-old boy who grows up in WWII Germany. His father is the kommandant of the extermination camp Auschwitz. It’s quite a tragic story and I would highly recommend seeing it. Girlfriend didn’t like the ending though. I did, I think it was probably the most realistic thing that would have happened given the circumstances.
In case you DON’T know. I had lost my computer to problems for the second time in about 3 months. After about 3 weeks of waiting I finally got it back this week. And I am definitely happier with it. Is that sad? Probably. Oh well. I had a lot of stuff on here that I couldn’t do. Like a music paper, a whole bunch of CD reviews and writing blogs! So I am getting started on that again. Maybe I’ll finish all three of those things this morning! It could turn out to be a productive day!
My jazz band concert is tonight. Great. I am so excited. Except not at all. I have dreaded jazz band and hate the class. I barely do anything so it’s practically a waste of time for me. I guess I set myself up for this, my teacher/conductor lady said that I’d be bored most of the time. I originally wanted to play vibraphone, but that doesn’t really happen because it’s so much of a hassle to get my instruments. I had to go buy a shaker for myself so that I had one to use. So once this is over I won’t have to deal with it for a while. I’m probably going to send an email to the conductor of the Symphonic Band for Non-Music majors and see if I can join that next semester. It should be more rewarding.
Plans have been made for coming home @ Christmas. I will be arriving on the 19th, staying the night in Calgary, going to Thunder Bay to visit my grandparents there for 3 days, and return on the 23rd. This second part is tentative, but probable. On the 23rd, Girlfriend comes home too! So I get to pick her up at the airport and bring her home (hopefully.), then we can go to a party with my friends. I’m pretty excited for that, no one has met her and I want to show them the girl I’m happy to be with!
What else is newsworthy here….I finished my season of NHL 10 yesterday. This really means nothing to anyone but me. But I feel like sharing. I created a character and played through a whole 82 game season and then playoffs. I finished with 120 points in the regular season, 31 in the playoffs. I won 7 awards and the Stanley Cup. Man I am a loser.
It’s been pissing rain for the past 3/4 days. It absolutely sucks. Everything is so fucking water-logged and soaked it’s just gross.
Christmas is coming up slowly. I’m probably just going to get my parents/family/friends small things. I saw ‘Up’ with my mom when I was in Calgary this summer, so I might get her that. Or a puzzle. I’ll probably get my Dad some movie that he always says is so good. Or maybe I’ll buy them “The Proposal.” There’s a funny story behind this: When my parents came in October, they told me and Girlfriend, “You guys should go see the Proposal, we saw it and it was so good.” And Girlfriend and I kinda look at each other…and we’re like…what? Is there some kind of hint behind this? Awkward….So now we’ve kinda made it our own personal joke.
School has been going terribly for the past few weeks. Every Monday comes around and I say to myself “It’s just going to be one of those weeks.” Well, when every week has become “one of those weeks,” I think somethings wrong. I hate all of my classes, nothing really interests me and I just want to do what I enjoy. Because of this, I’ve looked into going somewhere else for school. The next closest thing to the program we have here at UVic is in Lethbridge. I am not at all close to deciding on a place and I’m just inquiring now. Next semester I am going to drop the two Computer Science courses I have scheduled to take, and maybe take a photography class. Or something that legitimately interests me. None of this stupid electrical engineering crap. I’ve only talked to a few people about this, and I am planning to meet with my boss (who is also the head of our program and become kind of a mentor for me) and see what he has to say. I sent him this lengthy email about how much I hate the program, he said we should go for lunch and talk. Which will be good.
Hopefully I’ve given you something to read and enjoy and think about. More to come soon.
Later days,
- J
Say It Ain’t So
You’re singing that song by Weezer now aren’t you? Well if you weren’t, you are now. And if you still aren’t…here you go.
So it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. Which is saddening I know. You all love to read my blog so much and somedays you just can’t live without it. Well rejoice! I am writing again. One of the reasons I haven’t been writing is that my computer has died AGAIN. I was watching the Office with Girlfriend last week, and the screen just shut off. The computer works fine, I am just not getting anything on the screen. If you remember my post from this summer http://silenceassound.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/tragedy-has-struck/, you’ll remember that this has happened before. And I spent two weeks this summer whining and complaining about my lack of computer. I won’t bother you with that story as you can read about it on your own time. Anyways, I called Apple the next day, they said they’d pay for it again (lucky me) and then I took it into a computer store. They said it should be ready sometime next week. Which is nice, but then again. Not really.
I was really hoping to get some homework done this weekend, and maybe review some CDs. Alas, my computer is gone, so none of that can happen. Being in my house sucks without a computer. There’s not a lot to do, so I’m spending even more time playing video games. Really. Such a nerd.
Yesterday was Halloween. Hurray for that. My house was hardly exciting last night. Girlfriend (Baseball Player/Emo) and I (Elvis Costello) dressed up, and we forced my roommates to make some impromtu costumes. We eventually sat around and watched Troy for most of the night. And it really isn’t that great of a movie. Rather boring if you ask me. But still a good time hanging out. K, and his girlfriend carved a pumpkin which was kinda cool. But eh. I thought that it’s quite a pointless endevour. I think they ended up getting smashed by someone over the course of the night.
I’m really not a big holiday guy. Halloween was never about anything more than the candy and Christmas and such is never about anything more than the presents. I guess you could say I’m just greedy. My christmas list will be coming out soon for all of you who want to know what to buy me.
Today is another lazy day, like the rest of this lazy weekend. I’m at work right now. I will be here for most of the day, then home to relax some more. Weekends have become the only time for me to really relax and I definitely don’t feel like doing anything but nothing during them. Maybe if I get my computer next week, I can record. Maybe this week I’ll force myself to play guitar more so that I’ll actually have something to record.
I scrapped by my mid-terms last week with 2 52%’s and a 67%. Thank god.
My parents were here all last week. And this is a visit different from any other that they’ve had here with me. We didn’t go on a big shopping spree and spend $300+ at Wal-Mart or whatever. So there really wasn’t much to do. We went for dinner and lunch lots so I was fed well all week. But I think they were pretty bored. They were on TV for the Torch Relay when it arrived in Victoria. This was a pretty big deal and probably my mom’s highlight of the trip.
Anywho, the show is about to start so I suppose I should pay attention. Em if you are reading, I have not forgotten about our music challenge. I just haven’t been listening to enough good music lately to be able to post anything!
Later days
- J
On nights like tonight when no one’s around
Good morning to you all in internet-land! It’s been a while since I’ve posted so I figure I should do one since I’m up so early! Or earlier than usual. Hopefully this won’t make me crazy tired later in the day.
I have been quite busy and equally distracted lately. I find that I tend to have a bit of an obsessive personality. I will find something that I enjoy doing, or something that keeps me mildly entertained for a while, and I will just do that forever. The last few weeks, it’s been Bejeweled on Facebook, and I got all the way up to 279 000 points. And now, my roommate bought NHL 10 for the PS3. Which is all fine and dandy with me, but now it’s more or less the only thing I want to do when I’m home. I don’t know why I find it so fun or whatever but I just enjoy it. Hopefully this fad passes sooner rather than later so I can get some homework done.
It’s been one of those weeks where I don’t really feel like doing much of anything ever. I just want a break sometimes. I know reading week is coming up for us soon. So maybe that will be a good time to relax. I have been having the urge to just play guitar and write down some new stuff, but no time or motivation. I feel like I’m addicted to all the wrong things, Bejeweled, video games. One of the guys in my program is like “I wanna get home and play with this new MIDI controller that I have hooked up to all these faders and effects and stuff.” For those of you not musically inclined, this won’t make sense. But I just wish I was doing that kind of stuff. I have my recording gear here and a few mics. But I feel like I have nothing to record or nothing to do to it. I personally like music that can be recorded straight from the floor. As in, there doesn’t have to be any effects added to it. So I generally don’t do that. I’ve fooled around with positioning and stuff, but who knows.
Speaking of my career choice, the school newspaper for which I write is putting on a concert on November 5th, and I get to be the sound guy! Which is pretty nifty. It helps to have connections to different parts of the school I guess. This is either going to be pretty sweet or pretty difficult as I’m pretty much setting up from scratch, (I think). Oh well, lots of time to plan.
One “song” I’ve been thinking about is my current Msn name, it goes something like this:
Dear Friends Forgotten; Measure your success your way, I’ll do the same, I’m happy to never see you again.
Basically I’m planning on writing a song to my friends who I’ve lost over the past years. I was thinking about this a few days ago and how people just seem to fall out of your life. And what if you had the chance to talk to them or see them again, or write them a letter. And that’s what this is about. I feel like if I saw my one friend, We’ll denote him E for “privacy” sake, that he would be all like, “Oh yeah? Well I’m going here and I’m going to be doing this and when I get done I’m going to be on TV and make a shit load of money.” Where as I know what he’s really been doing for the past year *coughwashingdishesandsnortingcopiousamountsofcoke* So I feel like I might not ever become as big of a global “success” as him, but I know that I will be better off for doing so. I was also thinking about my friend who I completely cut off, you may have read about her in earlier posts. I have yet to hear from her or about her. She’s clearly made no attempts to be my friend, so that message is pretty clear to me. I’ve heard a little bit about her and people are saying that she’s really changed. Go figure.
If there’s one thing about Calgary I miss a lot, it’s the gossip. I’m horrible for wanting to know what’s going on in other people’s lives, and who’s dating who, and who screwed who and who is dropping out of school and what so and so is doing. I am just curious like that. And with Em over in England, I don’t get to find out as much. We were both complaining how we miss out on the gossip because we’re away from home. But I think that that’s the smallest of reasons to go home.
In leiu of home, I need to call my parents today. I haven’t been a good son and called them for a while. Blah.
My girlfriend is going to be experimenting this weekend with the whole “Tights as Pants” dilemma. It will be chronicled in full on the JSTB website (Link in the sidebar). Things have been going good with us, school often keeps us busy but we’re still trying to see each other lots and watch lots of the Office, and Hell’s Kitchen, amongst other things. I’ve already started planning for her birthday in December, should be a good time!
Also, it’s definitely fall here in Victoria, all the leaves have turned and it’s making for some great picture taking. I really need to get out there and snap a few to show you guys! Hopefully this weekend. There’s also this really creepy crane that the school is using to build a new residence, and the light on it is always on every night. Definitely makes for some eerie stuff. Will snap photos soon.
I guess that’s all I can think of really for now. Maybe I’ll catch the blog bug again and start blogging lots today.
Later days,
- J
Morbid Monday to Terrific Tuesday?
Aight, I got 18 minutes to pound this bitch out before midnight, thus bedtime.
This last week(end) sucked a lot of balls for me. Working Wed-Sat from about 5 – 10 on average. So I was pooped. Made about $200 though, which is nice. And now looking at my work schedule for October, I worked more in the past four days then I will all next month. Blasted 5 recording techs. I kinda hate having to share the job. Especially with people in my program. I feel like this is my little nest egg and my thing that I was doing last year and I really want it all to myself. But whatever, I guess I can’t always be a hog.
In other recording news, I’ve been talking with my boss, and he said that it would be a good idea to go to the Banff Centre for the Arts in the Fall of next year. Which means that I would take summer courses for third year in this coming summer, get them all out of the way, and take the fall semester off at UVic. At this time I would get into the Banff Centre for a recording assistantship. It’s perfect! Hurray.
This Sunday was pretty good too. The girlfriend and I went to ToysRUs and got our toys, (see post below) and I did some CD reviews, which Calandra has editted, and I just need her to send me the good copies, and then I can post on here! I did David Guetta and some ska band called Subb.
I’m trying to think of big news to tell you guys! Because I’m sure you all are so entralled by my life that you’re so excited when I post something new. Har. Seriously though, if you do read my blog, you should comment and tell me something. I feel like a big fat idiot when no one says anything. 
So if you’re a big fat hoe bag who hasn’t commented on my blog. Get on it.
The VJ contest closed today, the winners will be announced on the 13th, or the 16th, I can’t remember. Sometime in October. I doubt that I won, but you never know. I don’t think I could do it though, being in school and all. So blah.
I wonder if there’s a way for me to post links to songs on here…I’ve been playing my guitar a bit more again, and might do some more recording if I get a minute or two to myself. So I might look into that, or might just post on youTube. This whole album thing kinda didn’t happen. Oh well.
Ack, 8 more minutes left. What else can I say?
I’m waiting for my good friend to send me a care-package full of jeans for me! She works at a really fancy store and get me a good deal on really nice jeans. 
So I am uber excited. I kinda feel bad for being like “Yay, when’s it coming?” and being really annoying. So I apologize to you! Apparently this year people might come visit me. FagSauce and VeinGirl might come, as well as CalandraBrown! My parents are also coming to visit at the end of October.
Which brings me to another point! I am not coming home for Thanksgiving this year. I think it will be good to stay home for longer, let my parents settle in to being alone with me or my brother for a while. They’ve been so used to taking care of us that they don’t know what to do with themselves! They’re in Quebec right now on a vacation! So jealous.
Also you should check out my twitter on the sidebar! It’s been up for a while, but I’ve never explicitly said anything about it! But you should definitely go read it! It’s all things that my girlfriend asks/says to me. I’m thinking about buying her a big map to answer a lot of the geographical questions.
Monday was gross and rainy most of the day, so it was nice to be indoors. But unfortunately I had to go take the bus to a computer store. And after waiting about 45 minutes, I got a new battery for my computer! This is exciting news. There’s something about my computer that just eats up batteries, this is my 3rd so far. They also told me two important things, that I could get around $1200 for it if I want to sell it. And that I have a CS-code on my Apple file. CS stands for ‘Customer Satisfaction,’ I think because I’ve had so much trouble with my computer that they’re basically willing to repair anything I have wrong with it to keep me happy. So, if there’s anything else wrong with it, just gotta call them up and get them to fix it. Maybe I’ll see if they can fix my screen….but the guy at the store said they don’t like it if you mention you have it, cause then they know you’re just trying to scam them out of money.
Anywho, I think it’s time for bed now.
Hopefully your Monday was good! I kinda feel like Garfield…
Later days,
- J
Saturday Night Wrap-Up
So maybe some of you are reading my blog for the first time! That’s because you found the link on my MuchMusic VJ page! Yay. Happy to have you here reading!
So the first full week of school is over! Hurray, I’ve survived the start of another semester. This week has already been full of a lot of ups and downs, so hopefully I’ll be able to make it through the weeks and months to come.
First off, my electrical engineering class sucks a whole lot of cock and balls. But before I get there, I have to take a mathematical tangent. Remember in high school when you got something like √-4 your teacher told you that “it doesn’t exist” and “you’ll worry about that in university.” Well, I’m in university and boy am I worrying about it now. So apparently the square root of negative one is ‘i’ (or ‘j’). And it’s imaginary. Yeah, talk about a brain fuck. Well anywho, my elec course basically entirely deals with imaginary and complex (combination of imaginary and real) numbers. So FUCK. It sucks, a lot.
Other than that, my courses aren’t too bad. Nothing too major has come up that’s going to be horrible. We haven’t even been assigned anything in my Software Engineering course so far. I think that class is my favourite. For those of you who are wondering, I am taking the following classes:
- Mus 115 – Listening to Music (For non-music students)
- Mus 201A – Language of Music (Theory)
- Mus 180 – Ensembles (Jazz Band [more on this later])
- Math 211 – Linear Algebra
- SEng 265 – Software Development Methods
- Elec 255 – System Dynamics
So those are my classes this semester, and hopefully things go well!
But! Mus 180 hasn’t gotten off to that good of a start. So, this class is basically playing in an ensemble, and I wanted to try out for jazz band. I’m intending on playing the vibes and auxillery percussion, so tambourines, shakers, conga, etc. So for my audition I have to get a hold of a set of vibes, and I sent around a few emails and finally arranged with some percussionists to get them. Well then I’m waiting outside this teachers office for 45 minutes before leaving. I went home and sent her an email, and APPARENTLY I needed to sign up on some audition list before I could audition. Well that was never said to me, it wasn’t even put up anywhere in the Music building (which by the way we’re not really welcome in). So I have to go see her tomorrow (which is Monday because I am finishing this on Sunday). So already not liking this class, and rehearsals would be on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which are my two longest days. So I’m contemplating dropping the course.
Yeah, so us Music and Computer Science kids have it fuckin’ rough. We call ourselves the “Half-Breeds” because we don’t actually fit into any program. We’re registered into the faculty of fine arts, which makes it practically impossible to get into any of the engineering classes we have to take without somebody up top approving us. And then if we happen to wander downstairs to the music longuey part where all the music students hang out, we barely get acknowlegded. The only way someone is going to talk to us, is if we’re a friend with a music student, which generally we’re not. Even though we’re in the same classes, same ensembles for the same amount of time. The only difference is we don’t get lessons for classes. So retarded.
I’m having troubles thinking up what to say for my MuchMusic VJ video thing, so if you’ve got any ideas let me know with a comment! I’m trying to just be normal, and non-campy/gimicy. We’ll see how it turns out.
Also, I don’t know if it’s my roommate, or my neighbour. But they BOTH have their music so friggen loud all the friggen time. With friggen subwoofers. Blah. I need to just tell my roommate to turn it down a little, and maybe pound on my wall at my neighbour.
In other news, my roommate D, has picked up the Master Quest for Gamecube. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s basically Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Gamecube. Which is great! I’ve been watching him play for the past few days, and it’s quite nostalgic. I remember when my brother and I got that game for Christmas, when I was like 8. And he played it all the way through, with me sitting there just watching getting just as excited about it as he was. Twas good times. And now I basically get to repeat that! But I’m 19 now…
Anywho, gotta get today started and do some more homework, I hope your Sunday is better than mine!
Later days
- J
One Step Closer To Home
Today was quite the busy day. Travelled by car up to Edmonton with my parents, I slept all the way to Red Deer than I was awake from then on to Edmonton. This may have been due to the medium iced cap I got from Timmy Ho’s. So an hour and a half later, we arrive in Edmonton. Yay. Now comes the event of trying to find my brother’s place. Great. My dad has been there a few times before, and he was saying turn at 82nd street. Well my mom was too busy trying to figure out where 82nd street was, and missed it. Then we were trying to figure out where to turn to get back to my brother’s place and missed the next turn. It was quite the disaster. At this time it was pouring rain and we had a bunch of stuff to unload to take to my brother.
So we get to my brother’s apartment complex, park in the 15 minute loading zone and start unpacking. Well apparently my mom thought she was going to be doing some modelling for JuST B and brought 3 different pairs of sandals. So those all fell out of the car. My dad was all worried about the 15 minute parking and whether or not he’ll get a ticket or not. And by this point I just want to get out the car and go up to my brothers room, sit down and relax. So I grab as much of this stuff as possible and grab my stuff, and move towards the elevator. So we finally get it all in one trip and get on the packed elevator. At this point my dad decides to start talking to me about how my brother’s apartment is this, or that. I don’t even remember.
But I don’t know about you, but I hate it when people talk on the elevator. I really just wanted to tell him to STFU. The elevator is not a place to have a conversation, especially when you’re having said conversation over about 4 other people. So first rude offense: talking in an elevator, second rude offense: talking over other people. So we finally get to my brother’s apartment and in through the door and I see my brother’s roommate, who is pretty friggen tall. Something like 6’7″. One of the few people I can actually kind of look in the eyes. At which point my dad figures it’s his place to introduce my brother’s roommate to me. Luckily my brother cut him off and did it himself.
After we get everything set in my brother’s apartment, they decide to go to dinner at some resturaunt. We end up accidentally at an uber fancy place where the waiter’s wear full tuxedo’s and a steak costs $30 a pop. My dad continues to do some crazy things, including involving himself in conversations which he has no idea what’s going on, and taking what I say to the waiter as a response to his question. Oh how I am ready to go home.
Being in Calgary is great and all, but after living without supervision and parents for the past year, coming back to this is quite a pain in the ass. I’m not picky, I don’t like answering questions, I don’t really have much of an opinion on things and I don’t like help or being told how to do things. And my parents always seem to forget this and do the opposite of everything I don’t like.
After dinner we went to Superstore where my brother loaded up on all the essentials for living on his own. This was an enjoyable experience for me, as I have done it a few times before when my parents have visited. BASICALLY when your parents take you shopping it’s the greatest thing ever. Even if you don’t really need something, but you just want it, and you COULD possibly use it sometime in the near future, all you have to do is throw it in the cart and it gets bought. Yay. When we get to the check out we find out if we spend $5 we get a $25 gift certificate. Okay great, we throw a magazine in there and get our $25. But no. My brother and I have the cart, ready to leave and my mom stops us at the door because apparently neither my dad or my mom had the gift certificate. Well neither of us had it so we go and load the car with stuff. We get that done and go pull up front to wait for them. Well, after waiting about 15 minutes, my parents finally come out. They had argued about getting their stupid gift certificate activated and blah blah blah.
Today I had an epiphany about my parents. They are the people that everyone who works in the service industry hates. They’re the people who return their steaks because it’s too well done. They’re the people who return steaks because it’s too rare. They make sure everything is perfect for them and won’t stop until it is. I’m the kind of person that as long as I get what I wanted to, then it’s okay. I’m not picky and won’t argue. But today my parents needed to get an extra dollar off on their meal, and had to make sure their gift card worked. Blah.
So again we return to the apartment, and the whole 15 minute loading zone fandango happens again. And again, I grab as much as possible and get upstairs. Then we get everything unloaded and have the whole, “well what do you want to do” back and forth thing. Well I didn’t really feel like going out, but my entire family wanted to go visit my uncle. So I’d feel like the dick kid who didn’t show up if I didn’t come. So I HAD to come visit with my uncle and aunt and cousin. Now you have to know, my brother has been up to Edmonton to visit with this part of my family quite a bit, and he and my 7 year old cousin get along quite well. While I have been in Victoria for the past year and never really warmed up to her. Now, I don’t like children under the age of about 13. They don’t understand sarcasm. I’m just not a fan of the whole baby talk with kids, I can’t do it. So basically I just sat and told the same story I’ve told everyone that I’ve been here. Yay.
And now, finally got home. Blew up my air mattress. Watching football with my brother. Finished this stupid blog. Going to bed soon. I just want to go to this concert tomorrow and then go home. Blah.
Later days,
- J
Get Me Outta Here
Blah, so I am sick of Calgary. I’m tired of being here, tired of dealing with my parents and just all around tired. I’ve been shopping more here than I think I ever have in the such a small span of time. It’s ridiculous. It’s like there’s nothing better to do here. That and people are poor and lame and don’t want to hang out. I think it’s safe to say that it’s come time to delete one particular friend from facebook/msn. Time’s up, you missed your chance.
My parents have been driving me up the wall today, and all week. This is one of the major reasons I’m ready to leave. I’ve had to deal with the whole financies talk, and the talk of how happy I am in life on a scale of 1 – 10, I’ve had the “do you want this, or this, do you need this.” My mom even went to some lengths to prepare a carry-on of picture frames for me, which I am glad to have, but definitely did not need. I specifically said a few times that it’s okay and I don’t need this, but she did it anyways. Oh well.
Hopefully it’ll be better when I go to Edmonton, although I’m sure the car ride will suck. I’ll get heck about how I text too much, and how I should spend one full day without technology. Personally a month without my own computer has driven me crazy enough as it is. But I expect much of the same. I am not sure of where I am staying, but it’ll probably be on a couch or something like last night at my uncles after being kicked out of our house. So who knows. Maybe I’ll just take whatever I get. It seems to sometimes be the only way to do it in my family. Everyone needs their own way and I usually get the shaft. Maybe that’s why I think I’m the most laid back member of the family. Who knows. I’m sure my brother will object but, oh well.
I got an offer for a bachelor apartment on campus in Victoria which I turned down. I would only get a mini fridge and a hot plate which was one of the big factors. Oh well, maybe someday. I also got an email back from the Martlet finally saying they liked my reviews! When I get back to UVic I’m gonna go stock up on a whole bunch more CDs for sure. So this is good news.
Not much else to report really. It’s hard thinking up stuff to blog about when you’re not doing anything. Blah. Hopefully once school kicks up again things wil be better. Either that or once I can blog whenever I want, not @ 12:30 when both my parents are asleep.
Later days,
- J
Calgary – The Heart Of The New West
Or maybe the new slogan should be:
Everything’s bigger in Texas Calgary
It’s weird to say, but I think it’s true. Calgary has become like it’s oil counterpart of the south and has monster-sized everything. Being here is quite weird. Upon arriving into YYC, my mother and brother and I went to the new CrossIron Mills http://www.crossironmills.com/. The new supersized mall in Balzac (which is just outside of Calgary), it’s the same size as West Edmonton Mall, but all on one floor. It is quite the spectacle. And I think that it’s more or less just than than an actual mall. People are not going to go there to shop, you’re going there to gawk and stare at the ridiculous of the scale of this mall.
And it’s patrons. We ate lunch at a burger joint, South St. Burgers, which is basically like a Subway for burgers, but not as good. The burgers were nothing spectacular and I was expecting more. But I was not suprised to see a 12 year old who probably weighed as much as I do chowing down on a few burgers.
After burgers, my mother insisted we go to the Bass Store. Which is basically a hunter/hick/redneck’s wetdream. The first you have to do to enter this store is pass through a turnstile. A turnstile. Sorry, is this a theme park? Apparently it is. There was one of those electronic shooting ranges for kids, and all your Buck Hunter arcade games. Upon every wall, surface and floor of this store there was some kind of dead, stuffed animal. I swear that the wildlife population of Alberta has decreased by 30% to just fill this store with stuff. There’s moose, elk, a herd of reindeer, duck, geese, packs of wolves, bears. If it loves in the Canadian Wilderness, it’s in this store. It’s ridiculous, but apparently Calgary lives through the phrase – “bigger is better.” As clearly evident by this mall.
Anywho, after this mall, we came home. To a workzone. Our house is currently being renovated, we are getting our main floor repainted, hardwood floors, new kitchen, the words. And by we, I mean my parents. They are doing all said renovations. We are all currently cooking on a barbeque, microwave and toaster oven. We have our fridge in our garage and the kitchen table is down by our TV. Secluded to basically one floor as the basement is being used for storing all of the stuff from upstairs. Not exactly what I was looking forward to when I came home, but it will have to do.
Amongst all this chaos, my brother is moving up to Edmonton shortly, so this adds to the stress and a few fights have been caused by arguing over whats going where and who’s doing what. I, being probably the most laid-back member of the family, just get to sit back and stay out of everything here.
So this is day 2/3 away from my girlfriend in Victoria, and I can definitely tell it’s more wearing on her than me. Here I have a lot of my friends and I am going to be busy just about everyday I am here. And she’s feeling pretty lonely at home in Victoria. I’m not really sure what to do in my situation. It’s hard for me to just be like, “Yes Dear I won’t do this” and “Okay I miss you too” a lot of the time. And I really do miss her and care for her and love her, I just worry about her and whether I am the biggest thing in her life and if she can survive without me. I was in a situation before in my life where I felt like my girlfriend was dependant on me and NEEDED me to survive. I don’t feel that my girlfriend is this way, but I’m trying to be cautious that it doesn’t become like that. I know that she’s mature and can handle being by herself and that’s one of the things I like so much about her. I’m hoping she meets me at the airport and we can drive home together and pick up right where we left off.
Speaking of picking up where I left off. I think that’s a sign of a real and true friend. I feel that there are people here that I can hang out with, for the first time in four months, and it’s like I never left. We’re cracking jokes and being dicks to each other and all that, and it’s great. That’s one of the greatest things about coming back is bein able to hang out with these people just like you did before you left. But that’s not the case with everyone here. Apparently a lot of my friends don’t even talk to each other and they live here together, I’ve kept in better touch with some of them while I’ve been away. Maybe that’s because of force of being away and you HAVE to make an effort to talk to find out everything. At the bar on Thursday night, we were talking about our one friend in England right now, and how many postcards we had gotten from her. Everyone there had gotten about four or five. And I’ve gotten something like 10+. Maybe that’s just because of the bond I have with this person, or maybe it’s bad posting, or maybe it’s because I’ve made the effort to talk to her while she’s gone and I think I’ve tried to maintain the relationship we had before we left. She’s said that our bond has even gotten stronger, and I don’t think that’s a false statement. Which is good.
So after some much needed catching up time, it was party night! I got prepared by dressing up as a WWII Jew. Which is horribly offensive and such I understand, but it was a good costume and I don’t think I did anything to disgraceful, which was good. The party was great, combining my friends and my brothers friends in a few games of socialbles. Which is quite a feat considering I have never actually finished an entire game of socialbles ever. I was impressed that everyone got dressed up and glad that quite a few people came! I had a really good time and hope to catch up with a lot more people later.
So, here we are again. That glorious time of night that seems to reek havoc on my soul, oh 3:30 am, woe is me. My mother blames it on the coffee. I don’t know what it is that makes this time of night so odd to my system, but here I am again. I was up @ 3:30 my first night here and moments after I woke up, my girlfriend sent me a text asking if I was up, maybe subconciously we both wake up at that time to be with each other?
Anywho it is most definitely time for bed, I hope this entry suffices those who check this often. I may not get another chance to post until I’m up til 3:30 again. I don’t really like blogging around my family, in fear that they might see it and want to read it, and then find other blogs I have…
Later days,
- J
Oh Father.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my dad. He’s a great guy, definitely has his priorities straight, takes care of us, raised us well, provided us with every opportunity we ever needed and wanted, and spent countless hours being a father. Etc etc etc we love you Dad.
BUT, sometimes, the things he says are really ridiculous.
We’re talking about my upcoming job at Applebee’s, and here are a few of the things he asked me. Now, these may not seem that ridiculous out of context. But my dad HAS seen where I am going to work. And I have told him these things before.
Dad
are you out in the open like at earls or joey tomatoes
Dad
do you have a head chef like in hells kitchen
Dad
did they tell you your hourly pay
He also has a habit of narrating to me what him, my mom, and brother have been doing, like so:
Dad
its been raining here in calgary steady for the past few days, michael did not work yesterday, but worked the afternoon todayDad
connie and gordon, were in town today, visiting their son kevin, and went to supper with them at chianti’s on 17th avenue, michael, and kevin’s finance joined usDad
oh, no offers on the mazda yet, may have to lower the price
I don’t know, correct me if I’m wrong, but this is a little weird. I hope my parents understand when I am less than enthused to talk to them sometimes. Anyone else got any weird parent stories?
Anywho, I need to be getting to bed, hopefully my sleep schedule will sort it out before Friday.
Later Days,
- J
The Beginning of the End.
Hello,
So the time has come. I am trying to study, obviously I am not doing a very good job. My math test is less than 48 hours away and I’m cracking open the books for the first time in about a week. It’s so difficult to force myself to study for this test when I just want my summer to finally start. I haven’t really had any REAL time off for almost a year.
The worst part is that this test is worth 60% of my mark in this class, one I NEED to pass to get anything done in the fall. On the brighter side, I do understand pretty much all of the concepts and I just need to do a bit of review of everything, I also did pretty well on my midterms in this class, so that bodes well for me. I just don’t care anymore about this class. Just be gone Math 122, be gone!
I got a reply from the Martlet lady today, she said that everything looks good and that she’ll be sending my reviews onto the editing and then back to me if I have to change anything. So this is positive. Perhaps I’ll take another break from studying later and do another review.
Also! I want your feedback on my reviews or posts! Tell me what you think! If you are actually reading this that is. Just give me a sign!
I have my orientation for Applebee’s tonight. The resturaunt I shall be working at in the fall. It’ll be interesting to meet some of my coworkers and see what this place is all about. After trying so hard all summer to find a job, and now, at the end of my summer finally getting one, really sucks. So blah. It’s even worse because our training got pushed back another week, and then we open on the 22nd, which is the same weekend that my brother comes to visit. So I’ll have to see when my shifts are so that we can actually hang out for most of that time. I feel like I’m gonna get trained to work here, and then have to take the first two weeks off for vacation, since I want to go back to Calgary around the 27th of August.
Speaking of my brother, he just got an apartment in Edmonton for the upcoming school year as he’s attending U of A. And my parents were up there co-signing for him or something or other, and they called me later yesterday evening, saying they felt bad about me living in my situation and my brother living in this ‘palace.’ And then my brother made this whole big deal about my parents making a big deal, and now it’s my fault that I live where I do. I think my family needs to calm down and realize that it doesn’t really matter to me where I live and if my brother and I are equal. I’ve gotten the short end of the stick before and I’m sure he has too, but that’s not really something I want to bring up and get everyone into a big huff about. My living conditions may suck and I may not have all these luxuries that my brother is going to get, but that’s fine with me. I’m surviving, I’ve got all that I need.
On another note! JuST Be, the fashion blog that I have started with my girlfriend and roommate is starting to really get going. We posted the link on our Facebook’s, and got 120 views yesterday alone! Hopefully some of you reading this now either came FROM that blog, or will go to it after you read this one! http://jstb.wordpress.com I find it’s hard to spread the word on blogs and get other people, that you don’t know to read them. But hopefully more people will read both of my blogs!
I picked up some photos from Black’s yesterday too! They’re in the side on my flickr –> or on facebook if you are coming from there!
Anywho, I should really get back to studying my logic laws and converses, inverses, and contrapositives.
Later days,
- J
