Sense of Place
For as long as I’ve taken an English class, I’ve hated it. I hate writing and I hate the ambiguity of opinions and thoughts in text. This is why I’ve always been drawn to math and science, there’s a concrete yes or no answer for something. It doesn’t matter what the 9 kg mass feels as it hurtles to the ground accelerating at 9.81 m/s^2, it just matters that by the time it reaches the ground, it has “x” Newtons of force.
English classes always went on and on about a sense of place. I thought this feeling they described of belonging and fitting in in an environment was a bunch of bullshit. It wasn’t until I moved away from the friends and things I called home for the second time that I begun to realize that I don’t have a sense of place anymore.
In the past 4 years, from September 2008 to September 2012, I have lived in 10 different places. It wasn’t until my last apartment that I felt like I had a sense of place. It had taken me four years to build up the relationships and enough “stuff” to feel like this place was my home and I belonged there. As luck may have it, as soon I found my place, I had to leave it.
For me, the weird part about this now, is the thought of going back. I have already done this once when I came back from University the first, second, and however many it times it was, to where I grew up. You can find in my back log my opinions and realizations of the people you thought were your friends. You come back to your old place with this sense of excitement of being back to where you belong with the people you missed greatly. And you quickly realize that they’ve moved on without you.
And why shouldn’t they? You were the one who left. You changed the equilibrium and that’s not going to magically change back when you appear for a week at a time. So for me going back to Victoria is going to be an experience.
I was recently called out for being a pessimist and having such a negative attitude about things. I countered this belief with that justification that I am a realist and that I consider the most likely response of the average human being based on past experiences and knowledge of character.
In this example, I am not expecting much from the people I have been close with over the past four years while I am visiting for a week, because I know the realities that people are busy and that some people just don’t care. I know that the people who do care will make the effort to see me. That’s what I’ve learned after doing this so much. No matter how hard you try to see everyone, the people who want to see you will come through.
So call me what you will, but until you can prove me wrong, I’ll keep going about thinking the way I do.
And thus we come back to place. Since moving, and now considering going back, I’ve realized I have no place anymore. My home in Victoria is gone, the good relationships have stayed, many have wavered, and lots of fallen away. Banff isn’t my place yet, I don’t think it will be, it’s far too temporary. Calgary’s not either. So we’ll see where I end up and how long it takes for it to be home again.
Looking Back
2012 was full of many splendid things. I will try and cover them as briefly and coherently as possible. Looking back at 2011, I wrote:
It’s that time of year where I write you about my semester and how everything went and apologize for not writing more because things got in the way and blah blah blah.
I plan on doing very little/none of that. Nothing really that interesting is happening. I go home for Christmas on Sunday, stay for a while and come back and start school again. Yay.
I feel like I can summarize my entire semester into one sentence: “Oh you know.”
The terrible thing is that the only thing that has really changed is location. This semester has been a little different and quite a bit more exciting as I’ve been at the Banff Centre doing a Work Study in Audio Engineering and is actually pretty exciting work to be doing. When we’re not doing pretty mindless work. It’s been an amazing experience so far, but we haven’t had much time to do any traditional learning. It’s been a lot of learning by doing, which can be good, but sometimes it’s very tiring and you don’t pick up nearly as much as you could have. I still reply with “Oh you know” and few people have yet to call me on it.
In 2010, I complained about Christmas music:
Tis’ the Season! To be jolly!
But unforunately for everyone else, I am not. I’m not a huge fan of Christmas, it’s sorta become a meh holiday. But what really pisses me off is Christmas Music.
And while I still don’t like Christmas Music. I’ll be writing again my top picks of 2012, much like my top picks of 2011 that I did in January of this year. This year I’ve worked with a lot of great musicians, at Banff and beyond and it’ll all be coming around for me to share with you. Eventually.
December 2009? Geez I’ve had this blog for a long time. As a matter of fact, this will be my 500th post. I think that’s why I’ve been saving it for a while. Don’t wanna waste a milestone like this on a Calvin and Hobbes background. Looks like 2009 is when I started using Twitter more. Who woulda thought almost 7000 tweets and 300 followers later I’d still be at it.
2009 was an interesting year. I was dating and happy and living with people I liked and not doing so well and school, but still enjoying life pretty well. Granted I felt like I didn’t wanna go back to Calgary and Victoria had become home. I’m not sure how I feel about that now, but I will address that later.
So here I am. I started this blog just over 3 years ago. And 500 posts later I’ve become someone completely different. I wrote once about how you change once every four years and how much I had changed from who I was in the 9th grade, and the 12th grade. And I wonder already how much I’ve changed since I wrote that post a year ago. 2012 was a big growth year for me. I ended my 3 year long term relationship. I finished my degree. I got into a program I had dreamed of forever and moved to Banff. I don’t think I’ve had that many life events in such a short time.
What else has happened….
I got a tattoo.
I moved. Again. I lived on my own for the first time. I loved it.
I stopped writing in my blog as much. Maybe I was dealing with the break up, and figuring myself out. Maybe I was too busy. But that’s what happened.
I met someone new.
We did a road trip. And then long distance. Ups and downs.
In short, 2012 was a stressful year, a productive year, and a year of growth.
I don’t know what else there is to remind you of. If you’re reading this, you probably know what all has gone on in my life anyways. 2012 is yet to be over. And I think I’ve got lots more to say. So stay tuned for some more posts shortly. I hope.
Young vs. OldAs always, I feel I have to leave you with a piece of music to listen to while you read my dreary bullshit. Today’s choice is:
Remember Me as a Time of Day – Explosions in the Sky
Pro Tip of the Fucking Day
This quote was just too good to not super-impose on a hipster filter photo.
Thanks to fuckinghomepage.com
Look how Extraordinary Your Ordinary Life Is
I have a piece of glass in my pocket that lets me browse reddit from anywhere in the world, have a live video conversation with my parents on another continent, holds a copy of every song i ever bought and several movies, can do a flight simulator, detect when it is near my face, detect how bright ambient light is, detect which way it is facing (both relating to gravity and the magnetic north pole), answer plain english questions intelligently, and still contains enough battery to do this all day long.
Once this gives me cancer, my doctor will put me inside a giant magnet and RF emitter that will reorient the water molecules in my body and let him image my body inside and out in three dimensions without cutting me or exposing me to ionizing radiation. He will insert a tube the diameter of a pencil led into a vein in my leg, slush a piece of metal that can recover a million percent strain and hold my artery open that has been coated with a polymer that the human body will not attack, and then extend a needle from the this tube to test the tumor, again while not opening me up. He will then kill the tumor with hundreds of beams of X-rays all aimed in concert a point in my body that he has never seen with his own eyes.
I will then go home in a car that can detect the cars around it, see the stripes on the road and keep the car in them, automatically detect a parking space and enter it, wirelessly control my magic slab of glass, determine precisely where it is on earth at any given time, call the mechanic when it needs oil, and protect if I am hit at 60 MPH by selectively crumpling, dropping the engine, and deploying a giant bag of pressurized airs before the shock of the crash makes it to my head.
I will get home, and watch a movie on a screen millimeters thick that includes a plasma chamber and several million switches that articulate in milliseconds to decode a signal from outer space so I can whack off to a woman whose body could not have existed thirsty years ago without the advances in physical training and cosmetic surgery we have today. And I will control this with a piece of plastic blasting invisible radiation.
Look at your very ordinary life. Realizing how much brilliance has been poured into even the most mundane things. We take an unbelievable amount of stuff for granted. Just stop and look around. We do a LOT of smart things all the time.
From Reddit
They Didn’t Think So
Le sigh.
I guess it’s that time again that I write something here. Because apparently I have a few more people now who actually read this blog. And believe it’s a “music” blog. It’s mostly just a collection of me and what I find interesting, which just so happens to be mostly music.
To quickly catch up. I quit my job at the Gap, today was my last day. After school started up I was not enjoying that job in the least. It became the part of my week that I least looked forward to and that I couldn’t stand while I was there. Most of the people I enjoyed working with there either quit or dropped their availability such that we never worked together. To me, that job was always bearable at best, but it was when you worked with good people that made it enjoyable. And the exact opposite happened when you worked with bad people. I think that I only liked a handful of those who worked there. And I despised most of the rest. For example today – one of the people I dislike, spent a good 45 minutes, wiping down a stand of clothes with a paper towel. Why? I have no idea. It seemed like such an illogical waste of time when he could be doing something that was actually worthwhile. This is the same guy who has been working there for at least 2 years, and still will not put away processed women’s clothes because he doesn’t know where they go.
I will stop before I start ranting about all my ex-coworkers. And will just conclude by quoting Bilbo Baggins:
“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
Continuing on – I am the proud owner of Victoria Royals seasons tickets! Which has been really quite awesome. I’ve only been to two games so far. But still very very awesome. Excited for the rest of the year.
Moving on, the first month of school has blown by and I’m still trying to find the time to catch up with my homework. Spending a lot of time at the Gap didn’t help as it usually wrote off Saturday’s as a day to get anything done. I have taken on a greater role as a recording tech at the School, and now I manage the other 3 techs who I work with. It’s seems like a lot more work than it actually is – as you spend generally 15 minutes out of every hour doing something work related. So it feels like it never stops. This also means I’ve spent less time doing recordings that I enjoy – which kind of sucks, but I guess it’s okay. I’ve been making more connections and contacts – especially via Twitter – and building up quite a good reputation with the professors.
As of this weekend, I am fighting off a cold. Doing my best to stay healthy as the year goes on. I find I’m eating a lot at school and never have the energy to make a meal when I get home. I’m trying though! Shots of cold medicine have been my friend this week.
Also – Girlfriend has left me for Arizona. She went there to talk at the RMMLA conference on something or other. So I am home alone for the week with no one to love me. 
I miss being with her and coming home to her here. And it means I won’t have anyone to share Thanksgiving with. I’m all alone.
And the day she left, I was on the radio! Wowie. The station here does an hour long segment called My Turn. People get to come in and play whatever music it is that they want and talk about whatever. It went really well and I made a few contacts in the business. I think I could see myself hosting a radio show. I’m not sure if it’s the end all be all of what I want to do, but I could see myself enjoying that for a few years. Below is all the bantering bits from my hour on air.
I guess that’s all that needs to be said in this catching up bit. Maybe I’ll leave it at that and write another post tomorrow…
Terrifiying Experiences for the Shy Guy
Story of My Life – I always want to go and chat up the sound guy. But then the Shy Guy Socially Awkwardness kicks in.
#3. Going to Concerts
Even awkward people like music. They’re just, you know… bad at it. You like live music and your favorite band is in town, but you’re not sure if you want to go the concert, because you don’t know how to dance and you’re afraid of being in a big group of strangers because the family crest of the Awkward Clan is a scrawny lion that doesn’t know what to do with its hands.
You are the only one at the concert who doesn’t know how to move right. The band you’re seeing doesn’t play dance music, but still some people are dancing. Should you do that? Obviously not, because you look terrible when you do. And everyone else seems to know exactly what to yell, (“Woo”), and exactly when to yell it, (when the moment is right). All of these tricks are lost on you, because you’re only really good at listening to music quietly in your headphones as a way of avoiding conversations with people. Some people can scream “Woo!” with total conviction, but not you; when you shout “Woo,” it’s clear to everyone that your subtext is “Did I do that right?” Even though it’s three letters, one syllable, and even though it’s barely a word, screaming “Woo!” at a concert is all about confidence, which you absolutely don’t have.
Being a quiet, shy person at a concert is tough. You’re worried that not everyone around you realizes that your silence and blank expression is how you look when you’re enjoying yourself. You don’t want to look like a dick, you want to fit in, but you don’t know how move and no one taught you how to scream. You could sing along, but the people around you don’t want to hear you sing. You wish you could just stand calmly and nod in contentment, but this is a concert and there are new rules. You need to somehow communicate that you appreciate what the band is doing, so you wait for a break in the action and shout “I appreciate what you are doing.”
And that is absolutely the wrong answer.
via 5 Situations That Are Secretly Terrifying for Awkward People | Cracked.com.
This is why I hate academia
In 1970, a game theory expert named Dr. Myron L. Fox gave a lecture to the University of Southern California School of Medicine’s psychiatry department, and it was quite well received.
The catch is that “Dr. Fox” was no game theory expert. He was an actor named Michael Fox, who was coached by researchers to make sure that he didn’t say anything relevant or understandable during the entire lecture. The experts in the audience didn’t notice.
The experiment established the “Dr. Fox Effect,” where a brilliant delivery technique distracts listeners from the fact that a talk is complete nonsense.
I don’t think I will ever be able to sit in any lecture and believe what my professors have to say from here on out. How am I to know that the people teaching me – are who they say they are? We take school, and life for that matter, on such a blind faith that the people around us are equally good.
To me – this also explores a problem with academia and just learning and writing. Any joe-schmo actor can come off the street and learn to read or speak in a well formed manner that makes it seem like what he is saying is actually legitimate – and I feel the same way about papers and writing.
Anyone can use enough buzz words and double talk and circular speaking to say a whole lot without saying anything at all.
The Slightly Creepy Kinda Old Asian Man at Work
Image via Wikipedia
So, when I was at work the other day, we were about a half hour til close, and this little Asian guy came into the store to do a return. He seemed to have a screw or two loose, but I’m not sure if that was just him. Anyways, he wanted to return a shirt, and this was his very last day to do so (we have a 60 day return policy). Since it was the last day, the computer was acting odd and we didn’t actually have a price to give him and say “You have $XX.XX to spend – go nuts.” We told him essentially, find yourself a sale shirt that you like, and we’ll just do an exchange and you can leave happy.
He seemed genuinely grateful for this, and insisted the shirt he got had a front chest pocket. This was vital. Apparently no one carries pens around in their pockets anymore and he did not like this. He eventually found himself a shirt and came to the till to pay.
At the till, he asked me how many people were working. It was an odd question for sure, but being the honest, helpful, great employee that I am, I told him that there were five of us working. So as I’m doing my thing and ringing him through and getting his exchange all sorted out, he pulls out $10 and puts it on the counter, and says to me “Here’s $10 for you, go buy everyone working a coffee.”
And I just stood there stunned. What we did was not out of the ordinary for our customers, but he did that anyway. I wasn’t even sure if I was allowed to take the money. I asked my manager and she said that we probably weren’t, but he was already long gone and we were left with $10.
SOoo….. I took it. And now I’ve gotta find a way to pay it forward. Ideas anyone?
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.
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
Follow your heart…
This song came on my iTunes tonight. It really makes me want to drop everything here in Calgary and move back to Victoria.
You need not, to climb mountaintops
You need not, to cross the sea
You need not, to find a cure
for everything that makes you weak.
You need not to reach for the stars,
when life becomes so dark
and when the wind
does blow against the grain
you must follow your heart
you must follow your heart
when all your friends
have come and gone
the sun no longer shines
the happiness for which you long
is washed away, like an oceans tide
when all the hard times, outweigh the good
and all your words are misunderstood
when the day seems lost from the stars
you must follow your heart
you must follow your heart
If you feel, you paid the price
and your wounds should cease to heal
and everything you love in life,
spins like a winding wheel
if you should wake, to find you’re abandoned.
and the road you travel, leads to a dead end
when death creeps in, to play it’s part.
you must follow your heart
you must follow your heart
Some Cool Things!
So in lieu of the post below this – the Star Wars Trilogy in 2 minutes, with Lego! I bring you these! Something I saw yesterday that I want to get now. For no real reason what so ever.
It’s a Star Wars USB drive! So Awesome. They have Yoda, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Stormtroopers. Want. http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/tyme-machines-4gb-usb-drive-storm-trooper/10128249.aspx?path=e11ec037788f17c4e19ee34983fb8734en02
I came across a “Fake Science” site today. So basically the REAL answers to all your questions. Girlfriend might like this one.
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 Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Greetings faithful following!
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So I haven’t really written anything for a few weeks, so I’m gonna sum up my life into maybe 1000 words. Umm last week I went to an Alexisonfire show! It was amazing as always. I don’t think I will ever be able to find another band who has the same energy as them on stage. So that was great, I got another t-shirt from them. I feel like I have some obligation to buy a shirt from a show. To say that I saw this band when they came and I support them. Dunno, that’s just me. Girlfriend was commenting on how she’s never been to a show before. And I couldn’t believe that. She was like “What do you do?” And I kinda felt stupid saying things like “sing along with the band” and “jump up and down” and “try your very best to make eye contact with them.”
sigh, My heros.
It’s weird, especially with a band like Alexis, I feel that they have a certain almost ‘god-like’ attribute to them. You could say that I idolize these guys, and wish everyday that I was playing music I loved for a living. I still have secret dreams about meeting some random guys in university and making it big playing drums. Doubtful that will happen, but hey, as my dad says, “A man has to dream.”
And then I can get all philosophical about the whole mosh pit thing. How it’s like one whole collective that ebbs and flows as one person surges to the front and how each person has to pick up the guy beside him when he falls and you’re all trying to seek the same common goal. I don’t really know where I’m going with this, but there’s something somewhere in there…Anyways.
Speaking of playing music, I found out that I get to play 3 songs in my jazz band concert coming up. There are 12 in total. I find this is fucking ridiculous. I put in the same time and effort as the other drummer, and he gets more songs than me. There are two I feel that I should have for sure. I walked out on a rehearsal last week because the songs we were going to play in the next hour weren’t mine, so I felt it was pointless for me to stay. That rehearsal, I played for 10 minutes out of two hours. It’s completely frustrating being there and going to these things twice a week. I feel that my band director has a grudge against me because I missed two rehearsal’s in the last month. I don’t get it. I’m basically set on giving up on it soon.
School is good, been pretty busy with most of my classes. My recording class is probably my favourite as I’m actually doing something I enjoy. For the first time ever in university. I was doing a course evaluation for one of my classes yesterday, and one of the bubbles asks “Why did you take this class?” and never once have I filled out “My own interest”. Every class I’ve taken is a “Program Requirement”, and for that, my program sucks.
So this last weekend kinda sucked for me. I had all these great plans with girlfriend that didn’t happen like I wanted, so I was really sad about that. And then Sunday was just a blunder. They had to cut the power to all of campus for all of Sunday to fix something. So there was really nothing to do. One can only read so much throughout a day. It didn’t help that it was grey and rainy most of the day. Luckily I had a plan, get my haircut. Well, I spent the 45 minutes getting to the mall, and then another half hour waiting for the hairdressers to be open, because apparently I was going to be the first appointment of the day…Which was the first problem. Eventually I find out my hairdresser is late and so I rebook for later in the day. So dejected I went home, and preceeded to play guitar, and broke a string. Blah, it just sucked.
Anywho, bedtime for me.
Later days,
- J
