Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

7.28.2009

folk fest memory #1

When we were in the beer garden, Tori and I were sitting by the porta-potties waiting for Theresa and Mika to buy drinks. We were talking when I saw Michael Bernard Fitzgerald walk into one of the porta-potties, and since Tori had just told me that she loved him I persuaded her to talk to him after he got out.

So, as soon as he left the porta-potty, still wiping his hands with sanitizer, Tori booked it towards him and had a drunken conversation about how she loved him and how he was so cute. Shortly after Theresa and Mika came back, and when I pointed to Mika that Tori was talking to Michael, she, also drunk, ran towards him and yelled that he was Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. Many pictures were taken, and Mika tried to give him her phone number (when I told her she should). It was great.

listening: four night rider - the rural alberta advantage

6.28.2009

i wrote some witty banter

  1. Volunteered at the mainstage at Olympic Plaza, which consisted of sitting by the exit, telling people it was an exit and not an entrance, and getting yelled at by a Native American for not letting him in without a festival pass.
  2. HOLY FUCK was .. holy fuck. So good. One of the best live acts ever.
  3. Went over to The Loose Moose Theatre with Mikki, and it was surprisingly really good. There are some kids my age who really know how to play guitar and sing.
  4. Volunteered at Artlife on Saturday, which consisted of helping put up posters for the poster show and sitting down to listen to some amazing female singers. One of my favorites was Foonyap, who played violin/mandobird (sp?)/sang for Woodpigeon on Thursday. She was so hilarious, and I don't even think she was trying to be. My favorite song by her was the one about falling in love with a bicycle. Followed by the one about falling in love with a robot. The Doer and the Doddler was amazing, actually they all had such beautiful voices that soared and filled up the room and my soul.
  5. Ran into Morgan Greenwood at Artlife, he mistakened me for my sister but after we talked for a bit before he went with Knots to go get something to eat. Then I ran into Austin from BRAIDS because Raphie was playing (as INDIENSOCI) but he was about to leave as well. Oh and ran into Katie Lee and she convinced me to try and get into the HiFi to watch BRAIDS play. INDIENSOCI played a sweet pop song as the last song of her set.
  6. Walked over to The Palomino for the all-ages show and had a super garlic-y salad. Seriously, there were massive chunks of garlic just there. It burned my mouth and so I couldn't finish it. So a big negative there .. especially since I paid $12.00 for that. Oh but saw Jessica and Arielle there! Had a good lunch with them before Jessica had to go.
  7. Brain Fever .. wasn't really my style of music, and when the (small) crowd started moshing, I got kicked in the shin and it hurts. But the band after them was really good .. Keith was playing bass in it!
  8. Went to the HiFi alone because Mikki didn't think she could get in, and Kirsten ended up not being able to go. I borrowed my sister's passport and holy crap I was so nervous. The bouncer asked me for a birth certificate, and then I freaked out a little inside and asked if a passport was okay. He said that actually a passport was better than a license, took a good look at the passport and at me, and then let me through. I ran into Robin inside! We talked a lot about the other shows we went to and had a good time.
  9. BRAIDS took a while to set up, which sucked a little because their set ended up being so short. They played four songs; three were new and one was Lemonade. It was really great, even though it ended earlier than I thought it would. I really hope they play Calgary in August.
  10. Robin and I left after BRAIDS to go to the Warehouse. Got in there as well (thank god I look like my sister), and it was so hot in there. Githead was really good, then HEALTH played and were so energetic. Finally Holy Fuck went on. Robin, Tyler, and I were at the very front and at one point Graham Walsh's bum was right in my face while he was setting up. That's how close were were.
  11. Holy Fuck was CRAZY! It was a million times more amazing than at Olympic Plaza because we were all just dancing and it was just the way the music made you feel .. I was just so happy the whole time they were playing. There were a lot of moshers so I kept having to push back using the stage just so I could stand straight, and it was so hot and sweaty but I loved it. And then I shook Brian Borcherdt's hand after the set. What a great way to end the festival.

6.26.2009

i sampled my voice

  1. Front row, almost directly in front of Final Fantasy. He was funny, charming, and such a talented musician. He played The Sea, The Butcher, Many Lives --> 49MP, Flare Gun, He Poos Clouds, and This Lamb Sells Condos along with many new songs. He then came back for an encore and giddily played What Do You Think Will Happen Next when somebody requested it, and The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead. He set up by himself so "even if you thought the set was bad, at least you can't call him lazy!" And showed us the sampling he did of his voice on his keyboard when trying to find the right setting. I want to be his friend so badly!
  2. Lined up for the Knots/Rural Alberta Advantage/Woodpigeon/Mount Eerie show way too early, but met a guy who was really cool and interesting to talk to. It turned out that he used to play for The Grim Beat.
  3. Because I lined up so early, I was first in the church and I got a spot front and center. Dead center.
  4. Knots' voice is really good, I think he was a bit nervous though because he kept messing up his guitar playing.
  5. Rural Alberta Advantage! I had never heard them but they were really good. I love a good drum beat, it's even better when there are two going on at once.
  6. Woodpigeon also rocked, I love their harmonies and when whistling gets looped!
  7. Everyone was waiting for Mount Eerie because he had never played in Calgary before. He has a really, really nice voice. It's smooth and raw and just so genuine. He is also a really funny guy, who talked about Michael Jackson and ended the show exactly when it was supposed to end.
  8. My exams are done! And I finished with a 92 in calculus so things are fine.
listening to: willow tree - chad vangaalen

5.01.2009

wow wow wow

Sled Island and Folk Fest are blowing my mind!  I honestly can't wait for school to be over ... Final Fantasy?  In Calgary?  Playing in a church?  With his AMAZING LOOPING AND VOICE AND VIOLIN PLAYING??  Honestly that one show alone will make my life, especially since I didn't get to see his main concert when he was here at Folk Fest.  I loveeee Final Fantasy.

And then Iron & Wine and The Acorn are coming to Folk Fest!  And I'm volunteering at both festivals so hopefully that means free!  Yes I am frugal.  But that's just cause I've already paid (pretty much in full) my golf membership.  I think that will be good for me because then I will go out every day .. once I'm done my AP exam.  Which is in 11 days.  My study schedule starts tomorrow, we'll see how things go.  Also, I finished all of the math homework I was behind on all week.  We also finished our radio play in English, I did a lot of work in chemistry, and I practiced using four mallets on the marimba for my entire spare.  It was a pretty productive day too.  It felt pretty good.

listening to:  easier to lie - aqualung

12.20.2008

it's starting to look like it's going to be a bright beautiful day

It's been almost a week since I've posted on here, and honestly it feels kind of weird.  I always check to see how many visitors I had that day, and I always check my blog to see who updated their blog, but I never bother to write anything.  I'm not taking as many pictures either.  I'm just getting a bit tired of trying to relive my past.  It's so much easier to just sit back and live.  Don't take me wrong, I still absolutely love taking pictures, but I never feel like taking pictures of things that have been happening, like at parties or get togethers.  I just like preserving images.  Whenever I'm on the c-train, or anywhere outside, my mind likes to see everything like a photograph I should take.  I don't know.  I wish I lived a more interesting life, where my pictures could actually mean something.

This past week has been pretty eventful.  I'll try to condense it as much as possible.  I went out somewhere every day after school except for on Monday.  On Tuesday I stayed after school and scorekept girls' basketball.  Both our teams lost, but watching the junior team play was absolutely brutal.  It was like watching grade seven basketball all over again; nobody knew how to run plays, everyone just flung the ball at the hoop whenever they had the chance, and it was just overall terrible.  

On Wednesday we didn't have choir, so Mikki and I headed downtown to do some Christmas shopping.  We went to Nation, Looks Could Kill, Shisomiso, and Uppercase in Art Central.  We went around TD square looking for a store that sold icecream scoopers, but we had no luck.  I should have studied math a lot harder that night, but I didn't.  The next day at school I wrote my conics test and it sucked royally.  I've never done so bad on my math test, but at least I get to replace it.  

We found out that we didn't have band after school Thursday, so I went Christmas shopping to get more things.  I first went to Kensington and tried to look for some stuff, but I didn't get anything.  Plus it was really cold outside.  I went back to the train to head downtown.  A woman came and sat across from me.  She asked for a kleenex, and then a quarter.  When we reached downtown, she asked if I could hold the door for her while she paid for a transit fare, so I did and when we both went back to our seats, we started talking about a lot of things.  She is taking fine arts and humanities, or something like that.  We talked about our families, which were really contrasting with their views on education and stuff, which then led to so many things.  I wish that we could have talked more, but I had to get off the train.  I am so terrible with names, though, so I can't remember what hers was.  Plus, I was trying to get off the train before it left the platform.  My brain is so bad with concentrating.  I bought Mikalina's present and then headed back to the university to meet Kate and Brittany for Oklahoma!.

The walk to MacEwan Hall was terrible.  I was so cold, and it felt like forever.  I ate dinner in Mac Hall, and then met up with Kate and Brittany.  Okalahoma! was pretty interesting.  They all had western twangs so Brittany and I could hardly tell what anyone was saying.  And we only got the gist of the plot.  The singing and acting was really good, but the plot kind of sucked.  When I got home, I had to frantically finish my CALM homework and then wrap presents.  I ended up going to bed at three in the morning.  

Friday was awesome because we didn't have to do anything in class and periods were so much shorter.  After school was done, we headed to Megan's house.  We walked with Gavin up to the train station.  I ended up talking to Gavin the entire time we walked with him, and it was really nice.  I love talking to him.  I gave him a hug before he left, and today he told me he was glad that I did, because our very first hug was on the last day of school last year.  I was amazed that he remembered that, because I didn't even realize it until he mentioned it.  

Anyways, the walk to Megan's was a million times worse than the walk to the university.  Mainly because it was probably a half hour walk.  My legs stung, and then I couldn't really feel them anymore.  When we finally reached her house, the insides of my legs first went burning out, and then freezing cold.  It felt like if there was ice water flowing through my veins.  I couldn't stop shivering and I was so cold for so long.  I just can't take this temperature.  Gift exchange was really fun, I really like the stuff that I got.  While we were having lunch, Megan made a weird facial expression which set Cailey and Mikki off.  They couldn't stop laughing for five minutes straight.  After that, we all calmed down for a bit, but then suddenly they started laughing again, and Cailey's laugh is so funny when she's laughing hard that I started to laugh.  And everyone was laughing, and we couldn't stop.  My stomach was in so much pain, but whenever I heard Cailey laugh, I would laugh.  I was on the ground laughing, and it was so ridiculous.  We spent fifteen minutes laughing basically because somebody else was laughing.  I went to the kitchen and tried to pour a cup of milk, but even that was a hard task because I didn't want to spill the milk while I was laughing.  It was absolutely crazy.  I've never laughed so hard in my life.

After that, we all got pretty tired from laughing.  I went to work, and it was pretty dead.  When I got home, I showed my sister the game of Pickup Sticks that Cailey got me, so my sisters and I started playing that.  It was intense; our family's pretty much all about competition, and we always want to win.  After that, we played again with my brother.  Every time he messed one up, he'd hit the other ones and ruin the game for us.  Well, him ruining the game made me win the game.

Today I worked, and it wasn't too bad.  It was pretty busy for most of the day, which occupied my time.  After work I went to band practice at Gavin's, and we did some playing.  After the other guys left and I was waiting for my dad to come, we talked and it just felt so easy.  I'm so bad at making conversation sometimes, but nowadays with him I always have stuff to say.  It's great.  Right now life is great.

11.29.2008

called for you everywhere

There are ups and downs, and today was definitely an up kind of day, weird as it was. It started out with Kim picking me up to go to the theatre with her, her sister, and Chelsea. We went to Boston Pizza for a extremely long lunch, which was pretty good because 1)I didn't have breakfast so I was extremely hungry and 2)I ordered chicken tenders, which might just be my favorite food. I blame Ali and golf clubhouses. Chicken tenders and plum sauce is just too good.

We made it to the theatre just on time, and they ripped me off on M&Ms. We watched Twilight, which wasn't the best movie of my life but it wasn't the worst. It was mediocre. I had a good time nonetheless with the people I was hanging out with, though. I like listening to people, especially when I don't have anything to say.

I got home to an empty house, so I decided to play piano for forty minutes. I just practiced this one song that I really like but haven't played in a while. Final Fantasy is the man. When my mom and sister got home, my sister drove me to her friend's apartment because it was the only way I'd be able to get to my friend's concert on 17th Ave. We watched Gossip Girls, which I have to admit I'm a bit interested in, now that I've watched to episodes. Right as we speak, I am downloading the entire season one on my computer. Thank goodness for BitTorrents and external hard drives. The estimated time remaining for the download is about 3 days and 19 hours, though.

My sister dropped me off at Tubby Dog at 7:20, and my friend Jessica's band, The Throwaways, didn't start playing until probably 7:50. I ran into some of my friends (or people I was kind of acquainted with), and we definitely didn't fit in. The show was definitely for the punk scene, and I am not punk. The most punk thing about the whole of us was Karisa's skull patterned shoes. And believe me, they weren't punk (or "hardcore") at all. Jessica's set was only about fifteen minutes long, so we left shortly after because it just felt so weird and out of place. We went to a book store down the street, and Abbey bought a bunch of VHS tapes. I had some good conversations with Kate and Karisa, which was cool because I don't really know them very well. But they're really funny and it's nice to laugh. I couldn't get a hold of my sister, so thankfully Kate's dad drove me home, because I didn't want to hang out alone downtown, with a whole lot of drunk punks around. More interesting conversations ensued. I had a good time.

Last night I went to Gavin's worship at his church. I enjoyed it; it's given me a new perspective on things. I met some cool people, and I might just go to youth and the other small groups stuff that happens there. Who knows?

11.23.2008

don't get offended if i seem absent minded

I really wish that our guys and girls would've won yesterday, but I'm still really proud of our teams and I think that they both played extremely well.  I watched with Nancy, Mikki, Alison, and Bonnie, and it was a lot of fun.  The guys' game was extremely exhilarating, and my throat was pretty much bleeding after because Aberhart fans cheered so loudly to beat the Bowness fans.  We definitely were more united with our cheering.  After the game, I went to Mikki's house and had dinner.  Gavin, Kevin, and Alex came over an hour and a half later, and then Tess and Ciaran came.  We all went into the hot tub and had some conversations.  The hot tub made me feel so extremely sleepy, but it was nice just listening to everyone talk. 

Today I slept into until twelve, which felt really nice because I haven't done that in a while.  Today was more of a hang around the house kind of day, and it wasn't too bad.  I'm starting to learn how to play the clarinet.  So far I can play from F to B flat chromatically.  We're going to have roast beef for dinner, and it smells so good right now that my brain is drooling.

Last night was really good for the sole fact that Mikki and I had a really good heart to heart that I don't usually have on a daily basis.  She is just so easy to relate to, and I love listening to her talk, and talking to her.  For the past week my heart has felt so heavy, and it always feels like if I hit a problem anytime soon, I'm just going to lose it and burst into tears.  I'm not even sure why this is.  I'm trying pretty hard to move on, and to convince myself that now is not the time for what I want, but I guess I just have a small sense of jealousy that seems to kick in without me even wanting it to.  I don't want to be jealous.  I don't want to feel like I need him.  It just always comes lurking in the corner of my mind and infects all of my thoughts.  My life right now feels like oil on water; all of the great things in my life are there, but only floating on my crappy feelings.  I need a really, really big hug.

10.25.2008

even if he wanted to, do you think he'd come back

Choir camp was fun.  Personally, I enjoyed band camp a whole lot more, and choir camp last year was more fun because there was a bigger group, but still .. I really loved hanging out with Jessica because we hardly ever get a chance to hang out regularly.  She is really amazing!  There were some pretty good moments too, like karoake, and the broken fridge, and the ridiculous photoshoot, and our late night talks that actually weren't that late, and the group activities were actually really enjoyable .. but it was just cold, and different.  And there was way too much singing.  I was too tired!  I pretty much passed out during the full choir rehearsal.  I accidentally had a solo about a pig and ladies who shake it easy.  Jessica and I pitched to Mr. Waters our awesome harmony.  On the bus ride home, Jessica and I listened to Ghost Mice, and I was so tired I pretty much spaced out.

Regarding the question last night, I honestly don't think I would change anything about my life right now.  I almost considered the obvious fact, but then again, I was probably just getting my hopes up, and I highly doubt that you feel the same way anymore.  Also, that wouldn't change anything anyways, because now I know that even if something does click in your mind, it won't last and there is no sense in just elongating pain.  Maybe I just don't trust you enough to tell you the truth.  Or maybe I'm just too scared of what you'll think.  I think it's the latter.  I still think you are very sweet, and I'm glad you are my friend.  I guess this is the way things are supposed to be.  The way things were supposed to be since the beginning.  I'm not being bitter, I swear.  I spent nine months digging my feelings into my skin, what's new now?

10.19.2008

who could love you more than me

I am so tired right now, but: Feist! Wow. The way she plays her songs, like if they're never twice the same is amazing. Her voice is absolutely perfect, like it has the right balance of edge and softness and fullness, and it just sounds so real. We were so close to her that we could see every smile, and all the words she shouted off the mic. When she sung into the crowd without the mic .. it sounded so different but still so powerful and it sent shivers down my spine. She played pretty much everything I wanted to hear ... Mushaboom, I Feel It All, Intuition, How My Heart Behaves, Phantoms, My Moon My Man, Past In Present, Gatekeeper, Secret Heart, 1 2 3 4 and so many others. She is just such a beautiful musician!

8.13.2008

all we want to do is love

The Neighbourhood Council concert was brilliant. It was such a good way to say goodbye, even though it was cramped and really hot, they just make you forget it all when they're playing. Knots was good. Azeda Booth was good. I got to meet Morgan after the show. He told me my name was really cool.

Today was a slack day. I went to the golf course to volunteer. For ball spotting, all I had to do was sit there and watch them golf. Easy stuff. I'm kind of tired right now. Tomorrow I have to wake up early to be a walking scorer. But the Olympics are on, gymnastics in particular, and I really want to watch it.

6.29.2008

all that i could think was "please don't blow this"

So I haven't really talked much at all about Sled Island, so here it is in a nutshell! All in all, it was amazing, and I think there's still some stuff going on tomorrow, but I'll be working unfortunately so today will be the end of this super festival for me. Anyways;

Tuesday
Poster show at Circa Showroom: so I got Megan to come with me to this, because really, who wants to go to a show alone? We got there a bit late because the bus took forever to come, and we had no idea where the Circa gallery was since it was discreetly in the back. The posters there were lovely, but I didn't bring any cash with me, so unfortunately we didn't buy any of them. Megan wanted to go home early because they had just gotten home from backpacking that day, but after we sat down to listen to Honeybear, we just got swept away. His voice is so dreamy. It's just so laid back and it swoops up and down so effortlessly. Knots played, and he had a really great voice too, but I only actually liked one of his songs. After him was Indiensoci, or Raphaelle. Personally, I like her a lot more in The Neighbourhood Council, but even she admitted that her set wasn't up to her standards. I really liked her looping, it was reminiscent of Final Fantasy. It was just very busy music, that's all. Throughout the sets, more and more people eventually came to look at the posters and have a beer, so it got really loud. Thankfully, when it was Kris Ellestad's turn to play, he asked us all to go listen to him outside. I must say, each time I listen to Kris Ellestad, I love his music more and more. The way he sings is so captivating.

Wednesday
Kris Ellestad, Woodpigeon, and Grizzly Bear at Central United Church: I had been looking forward to this show for a while. I ran into Rebecca while waiting in line, so I sat with her, and eventually Heather and Michael met up with us. The acoustics in the church and the sound was perfect, and so when Kris Ellestad started, his voice cut into the air and it was like a massage for my brain. He ended his set with another rendition of The Secret, with all of the members of Woodpigeon adding their instumental touches and blowing my mind. After that set, Woodpigeon played. I just have to say, I love Woodpigeon. I've listened to their songs from Songbook and Sketchbook over and over again. I believe they played all new songs, and it was really, really good. Their harmonies, and piano, and violin, and just everything mixed together created such a perfect sound. Grizzly Bear ended the night, and holy crap. I was kind of into Grizzly Bear, but I hadn't really listened to them that much. I am a sucker for harmonies, and that's what Grizzly Bear is all about. I especially loved Marla, it was just so perfect in that setting. Church concerts are just so great.

Thursday
Portico, Young and Sexy, Octoberman, and Chad VanGaalen at the Telus World of Science: This show I went to alone because I couldn't find anyone to go with me. And I was late, because I hung out with Gavin beforehand. I got in right as Portico finished their set. Apparently Octoberman got lost, so Young and Sexy played in their place. They were good, with girl-boy harmonies and stuff, but it sounded a bit ordinary. Octoberman played after them, and they were quite good. A bit tired, but still. Chad the man played last. I only knew three or four of the songs he played, and only one was off of an album (Mini TVs). It was still so good, though. A couple times he messed up, and would stop to apologize, or explain why, and it just made him so much more endearing. His animations playing behind him were so cool too. I love his stories and his voice. I think the best song that night was either Willow Tree or Molten Light, both of them in which Matt Flagel plays the accordion. They were so eerily beautiful.

Friday
Mainstage at Mewata Field: So I volunteered this day, so couldn't really listen to the music. I paid attention to it during The Wet Secrets, though. They sounded pretty sweet from where I was. After I got really hungry, I took a forty minute break and watched Broken West and Portastatic. I didn't really listen very carefully, though. After my shift ended, my sister and I watched Yo La Tengo for fifteen minutes before booking it to the Martha Cohen theatre. Mike, Kirstin and I left that show to go back to the main stage. We caught the last couple songs by Tegan and Sara. One of them was Living Room, which is the one song by them I'm like HOLY CRAP YES! And I did feel like that, it was impressive. But the main reason we booked it (or at least, my main reason) was to catch Broken Social Scene. Holy crap I love those guys. And when I say guys, I mean that no female vocalists were at the show. Even though that would have made it so much more amazing, they were still really great. They played some Broken Social Scene songs (KC Accidental, Fire Eye'd Boy, Cause = Time, Ibi Dreams of Pavement), some Kevin Drew songs (Farewell To The Pressure Kids, F--ked Up Kid, Frightening Lives), and one Brendan Canning song (Churches Under The Stairs). Ibi was so great, it was loud and just .. wow. I love them.
The Neighbourhood Council, BBQ, Azeda Booth, and Deerhunter at the Martha Cohen Theatre: The Neighbourhood Council was one of the bands I really wanted to see. Their live show is always so amazing, and I listen to their tracks nonstop. So when they played in the Theatre, it was perfect because it just held their sound so well. They are such a cohesive group, they are always together. It's amazing to watch Austin and Taylor both play the drums, because they hit exactly at the right time, their rim shots and crashes synchronized. Marlin was so good to listen to because it's just such an awesome song. One of their newer songs they played I love too. At the end everyone requested one last song ("play that first one off your album!"), and after some persuasion, they picked up their instruments and nailed it. They hit everything so well, and we all gave them a standing ovation because they deserved it. I didn't stick around for BBQ or Azeda Booth, but I came back to listen to some of Deerhunter. Their lead singer is hilarious; the bassist is too. The ending of their last song (Strange Lights) was the longest and most epic ending I've ever heard. It went on for probably twenty minutes, it was noisy and loud and just crazy. The bassist apparently didn't have to play anything, so he threw down his guitar and fooled around on the stage, then left, then came back and just hung around. I think it could have ended a lot earlier, but it was just really funny to watch. I'm going to have to check out more of their music.

Saturday
Mainstage at Mewata Field: I had to work today, so I didn't manage to get to the stage until quarter past seven. Luckily, of Montreal was still playing, so I got to listen to about half of their set. That half was spectacular, it was quite the show, with guys dancing around in animal masks, and fake wrestling matches, and shooting confetti around. of Montreal sounded top notch too. I love their harmonies. Their last song was Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse, which I was so glad I didn't miss because it's my favourite song by them. It was so good, so fun to dance to. I wasn't too impressed by Wire, or Mogwai, but The Dodos were SO. GREAT. They are two guys, one who plays guitar, and does lead vocals (and plays a bit of trombone), and one who drums. There was also another guy who popped up in the middle to play the toy piano and the garbage can. Their music is so exciting! And I love the looping. I'm jealous of my sister, who gets to see them again at the Legion .. probably right now!

But anyways, yeah! That was Sled Island for me, and if you didn't go to anything, then I just have to ask .. WHY??? I can't wait for it to happen next year already!

listening to: pacific theme - broken social scene

6.28.2008

i got shot right in the eye

  1. Times I have seen members of The Neighbourhood Council: seven; times I have talked to a member of The Neighbourhood Council: one! I somehow ended up sitting next to Katie at the Chad VanGaalen show, and we chatted it up a bit. She is cool.
  2. After Chad VanGaalen finished playing, as I was leaving the Discovery Dome, he waved and said hi to me. I waved back.
  3. Going down the stairs in the Science Center, I walked beside the front singer of Young and Sexy, and told him I liked his set. He said thanks.
  4. Walking across the street to my dad's car, the drummer from Young and Sexy waves to me.
  5. After Tegan and Sara finish playing the mainstage, Mike, Kirstin, and I go to the backstage area and wait a bit because Tegan and Sara are seriously three feet in front of us. After waiting for a little while, Tegan/Sara comes up to us and says hi, and apologizes because she is going to go greet her family members. I give her a high five, even though it's a bit feeble.
  6. Before the Neighbourhood Council plays, my sister introduces me to Mark Hamilton.
  7. After Broken Social Scene plays, I go with my younger sister to look at the merchandise, only to find out that she has no money. I have no idea where Mike or Kirstin went, so after meeting up with my dad, I run backstage to see if they are there. Instead, I see Andrew Whiteman. I tell him I loved his show, and that I jumped from another show just to see it. He asks for my name, and he introduces himself, even though I know who he is. He shakes my hand.
  8. I keep running further to see if Mike or Kirstin are there, but they are not. As I'm coming back, I see Kevin Drew and so I wait for him to finish talking to somebody else. I tell him I loved their show (yeah I know, I'm so original), and he thanks me. He goes to shake my hand, but I ask for a high five instead. We kind of miss on the first try, so we do it a second time. It's solid.
  9. As I'm continuing on my way back to my dad, I see Brendan Canning and I stop to say hi. He compliments my shirt (I was wearing my Islands one), and I tell him that I would've bought one of theirs, but I had no money. He says, "awe, well give me a hug, honey" and so I do. It was a nice hug. I say goodbye and I run off.

6.26.2008

i can't find the cello or yet the french horn

  1. While at the Sled Island poster show, a guy kicks my shoe and asks for a high five. It turns out he mistook me for my sister. It turns out he was Jordan from Azeda Booth.
  2. Kris Ellestad asks me if Megan and I will go outside to listen to him perform. Unfortunately, I was on the phone and could not really listen to him.
  3. After the Grizzly Bear show last night, while talking to my sister, Chad VanGaalen comes strolling along with his bike and starts talking to my sister's friends. As much as I wanted to say something to him, and although my sister was going to find a way to cut into the conversation, she got distracted and started talking to Taylor from The Neighbourhood Council. I still cannot talk to anyone from The Neighbourhood Council out of fear that I will sound like a dork (times I have seen members of The Neighbourhood Council: five).

4.24.2008

i like your face, tail, scale, walk, and talk

(This post is more for me than anyone else, but it would be nice if you read it.)

Mon-Mon-Montreal!


We started out in the airport, and Gavin took my camera and took a lot of random pictures. We got money for lunch and headed off to go get Jugo Juice, when we realized that we did not bring Boggle so we went on the eternal search for it. Of course, we found it in that shop with the alligator in the front, so I spent all my lunch money on it. We found a whole rack of funky sunglasses so we tried them all on. When we were going through security, Gavin took a picture of Cole with my camera and we got yelled at by the security lady. Then she made me delete the pictures and then show them to her, so I had to show her a random picture of Cailey.

When we were checking in the lady giving me my boarding pass told me that none of the seats were preassigned, so she told me that I could pick whoever I wanted to sit with, but all the people in my chaperone group had already just checked in, and I panicked so I just said I didn't have anyone, and so she probably thinks that I don't have any friends, but despite that she gave me a aisle seat. Of course, my seat was in the front of the plane and everyone else's was in the back.

After the plane was in the air, I went to the back and played Boggle with Cailey. And then I played Boggle with Jessica. And then I played cards for about an hour with Cailey. We played Golf, and War, and Crazy Eights. It was a good plane ride. And after that, we landed in Ottawa and my head really hurt from the descent.

While we were in the airport waiting for our luggage, Megan fell off her chair and I'm not sure if she landed on her head or not, but she was perfectly fine. We then went through a revolving door to leave the airport, and Megan tried to push it even though it was automatic. From there we went to our hotel, from the hotel we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, and that was pretty fun. We got to eat hamburgers and watch strange music videos on the TVs. And after that, they played YMCA, so we all (or most of us) got up on our chairs and did the dance.

When we finished dinner we went down to do our walking ghost tour, which was pretty fun, except I couldn't pay attention long enough to be scared by the stories. At one time, our tour guide was telling a story and instead of listening I watched a window washer wash the very top window of a pretty building. We then went to the old jail, and saw the haunted cells. Gavin, Elliot, and I all tried to climb up the walls in it because they were narrow enough. We then saw the gallows, where they hung people, and there were some pretty creepy stories that probably would have been scary if we believed them.

We went back to the hotel, and chilled out. Mikki, Cailey, and Megan all put on their dresses and looked pretty (I didn't bring mine), and Megan gave Mikki a massage and a very awkward picture (or two) was taken. We then found out that we could take out the screen on the window, so we climbed through the very narrow window and onto the roof. We were very sneaky. And it was hard getting back in. When we finally got into bed, we got really hyper and laughed a lot, talked a lot, tried really hard to be quiet a lot. Mikki and I found out that if we rubbed the two blankets together, the static would create sparks and it became a whole light show. And then Cailey and Megan tried it. Finally we tried to be quiet and go back to sleep, but we only lasted ten minutes before somebody started talking and they all started laughing really hard and so Mikki started making the bed shake, and so I said "STOP SHAKING THE BED, GOD!" and we all started laughing harder. We finally had to turn all the lights back on, and start reading to calm ourselves. Which worked, because we finally went to sleep.

We had to wake up really early the next day, and we headed off to breakfast, which was kind of crummy. After that, we headed down to an elementary school and performed to the elementary kids, who were really young and really cute! After that, we headed off to the Byward market for lunch. We bought really nice mittens because they were pretty cheap, and had bagel sandwiches for lunch. There was a panhandler who did statue poses with a tennis racket, and when we were heading back, Gavin imitated him, and the man saw and gave him a badminton racket to start learning how to pose like he did.

From the Byward market, we went to Parliament and performed at the Rotunda. I hurt my finger badly doing a gliss (it's still healing). We then went on a tour around the place. The library was gorgeous! We didn't get to take any pictures in it, but it looked beautiful. After the library, we headed to the Peace Tower to take a look up there. Ms. Digel told us that she had never gone up to the Peace Tower because it was always too busy, but that she would finally get the chance to go until we stepped into the elevator and the fire alarm rang. So we all had to evacuate Parliament and wait out while the fire trucks came. Mikki, Megan, and a whole bunch of other people were still up in the Peace tower, but they all got to take the elevator down, which was weird because isn't that a safety hazard? But anyways. While we were waiting, Gavin and I took off our dress shirts because it was too hot, and I dropped my music and lots of it blew away. Luckily, Gavin helped me pick it all up. While I was putting it all back in my folder, I gave Gavin my shirt and he ended up putting it on. And then we were taking group pictures, and Mr. Paddock got mad at me for not having my dress shirt on, so I had to wear Gavin's. It was really funny seeing everyone's reaction when they saw Gavin .. "nice puffy shoulders!"

From Parliament, we went to the Museum of Civilization. We were going to go to the imax theatre to sleep but the next movie wasn't for some time, so we ended up going to the kid's zone of the museum, which was really fun. The first room we went into was like a theatre, with costumes and masks, so Team Boggle made up the lamest play ever while I filmed it. After that, we found a bus that could drive over continents. Then we watched a cartoon film about Chinese immigrants and a Chinese violin, and throughout the whole film we tried to figure out if the kid was a girl or a boy. Megan thought it was a boy. At the very end, the child played a performance on the Chinese violin in front of the school and wore a dress! It was really funny. We went through the entire place, dressing up in several of them, and I sketched a bad portrait of Gavin on a motorcycle, although he lost it. We found a camel, Gavin ran up a pyramid, we spelled Boggle using hieroglyphics, Megan wore clogs, Mikki and Cailey had a bread fight, until we finally left and went to the other parts of the museum.

We went straight to the Museum of War after, and my camera battery died. Luckily, I still had my battery charger in my backpack, so everywhere we went, I tried to find an outlet. The first one I found was blocked by another piece of plastic. The second one was really weird and could the charger could only fit halfway, so we had to put Gavin's wallet and the camera underneath the charger so that it would stay. We watched the movie playing in that room twice before finally leaving. My battery was only a quarter charged. We found a trench, and soldier outfits that were really itchy, and then we went to the bathroom and found a perfectly functional outlet. So we hung around there for a while, and Cailey and Cole snapped coins until Cole blasted a loonie all the way to the other wall and we got yelled at by one of the employees. So we went into the memorial room, a really pretty room with blank, gray walls and a single window, and a pool where people could throw coins into. Cailey tried to snap hers in but it ended up going up her sleeve and then feebly falling into the water. I took a picture of a reflection of my hand, which confused Cailey because she thought the reflection was my real hand. Even though I had just taken the picture, and there was no way I could have took a picture of my hand like that, she refused to accept that Gavin, Cole, and I were right. Until ten minutes later, when she finally got it. We then left the room, and found another outlet just outside of it, so we hung out there. We then met up with Mikki and Megan again, and we decided to go to the cafeteria to play cards. And we found another outlet there. We played President for probably half an hour, when we finally had to leave.

We went to dinner after the museums, and Mr. Paddock told us that if we had the "first dance" on the "dance floor", we could go up to get dinner first. So we girls did it, and none of the guys did it. But then it turned out that it was Bronwyn's birthday, so we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her, and her table got to go first. We were outraged. But then we got to go up after the chaperones did. We waited precisely for when Ms. Ginet picked up her plate, which took a while because she was talking to someone. During dinner, Cole and Gavin (I think?) were fighting over who would get the piece of chicken (I don't think either of them wanted it), and it ended up in Cole's glass. Then they threw bread crumbs at people at our table. They weren't too great at dinners. (Oh, and I found an outlet in the room where we were having dinner so I got to charge up my battery to three quarter's full). We then had pudding, which tasted decent, and we put stuff in Cailey's water when she and Megan went to the washroom to see if she'd notice. She did. After dinner, the guys went to the bus to get changed, and then we did. We then went off to the symphony.

The symphony was really good, listening to all the strings was awesome and the percussionist was fantastic, even though he didn't play at all for the Schubert set. I liked when he played the xylophone. It was a really long day so Gavin, Megan, and Cole all ended up falling asleep. Gavin was a lot more discrete than Megan, and Cole, though .. Megan was curled up to the side and Cole had put his head back. And of course, all the chaperones - and Mr. Waters - were sitting behind us. So they all got yelled at. Which was a bit unfair, because it's hard to stay awake to classical music when you are exhausted. I kept falling asleep for tiny spurts, and I'd always have a different dream. Cailey stayed awake the whole time because the conductor was her cello teacher's best friend. It sounded really good - it was just really hard to stay awake to hear it.

When we got back to the hotel, we found out that both of our keys got demagnetized, which was puzzling because I had kept one key in my back pocket while my phone was in my front pocket. Like, it can demagnetize through bodies?! But anyways. While Mikki went to go get the keys activated again (by the way, we had locked ourselves out of the room the night before and had to get another key, so we must have definitely looked like tools by then), I went over to Jessica, Brittany, and Kate's room and chilled out there. I've been teaching Brittany funny Chinese sayings and so we kept going over them, and I taught her some more really funny ones like "wo bop ney lau yu!" And Jessica and Kate learned them too so every time we were talking, someone would shout something out in Chinese. Usually wrong. Or with a really weird accent. I hung out there for the rest of the night, because they were just so ridiculously funny that I didn't want to leave, and I can't even remember what we talked about, but I remember my stomach really hurt from laughing. If I knew how things would have worked out after that, I would have taught them Chinese so much earlier. At 11, I had to go back to my room and Cole and Gavin were there playing Egyptian war with Cailey, Megan, and Mikki. Mikki couldn't ever slap the card in time. Finally they got kicked out and we started watching the hockey game until we were losing 2-1. We went to bed a lot faster that night, because we were all exhausted.

The next morning, I got a text from my aunt because she lives in Ottawa, and we went to question period at Pariament. Which was ridiculous, because they kept telling us that we had to be quiet and everything (the guard specifically told us we couldn't talk, laugh, cheer, or cry while we were watching), yet everyone sitting in the green seats were rude, loud, and obnoxious. They acted so immature! They would jeer at anyone else who wasn't in their party, talked over each other, shouted out nonsense stuff .. one guy kept shouting "Wrong! Wrong!" Every time another man said a word. I was disappointed in them. After question period, we went to a food court that was basically like a cafeteria. I had Chinese food, it was good. I also had a fudgesicle. When we were getting changed on the bus I yelled through the window at Gavin to not let anyone eat it, but then my stomach hurt a bit after and I ended up giving it to Steve. We then went to the middle school and performed in a round gym! When we were waiting around, Jessica and I sang into the microphone because it wasn't on .. but then it got turned on and we didn't even realize it. So we looked a bit like tools. The kids got really excited at Hairspray, but at least they clapped on time. From the school we went to the retirement home. Mr. Paddock and I couldn't find the volume, even though it was right at the front. We then mingled with the residents; I talked to one who taught me how to a bow look nice when wearing it around your collar. It was funny. After there was some waltzing, and Elliot asked a resident if he wanted to play pool, which led to Gavin and Cole playing, and then another resident, with her oxygen tank and everything, decided to play. She was pretty good! The very last shot of the game was Elliot's and it would have been awesome if he made it, because Gavin or Cole had scratched, but he hit the ball a bit too hard, and alas, it did not work out. But that's okay. We headed to a diner for dinner, I think it was called Rockin' Johnny's. It was kind of gross, the place. We played a lot of cards to pass the time. Nobody was hungry when the food got around, but I finished my fish and chips. We had ice cream after, too. I love ice cream! When dinner was done, we boarded the bus to Montreal! We sang Danny Boy to Josh's ukulele, which sounded pretty sweet. I got to read Everything Is Illuminated on the long ride, I've made it halfway through the book and it is really good. Elliot fell asleep right when he started reading his biology book, which was funny. After Elliot, Cole, Cailey, and I all played Boggle, which was really hard because it was travel Boggle, so the lid doesn't come off, and there was very little light, and I had to hold the set in order for all of us to see it. I love Boggle, though.

When we finally got to our hotel in Montreal, they didn't have our keys so we all had to wait outside. But of course, a fighting championship was in the city and all the drunk guys were staying in that hotel. So then all of a sudden guys are coming out onto their balconies and start yelling down to us in French. At that time I was having a high five endurance contest with Gavin, left handed. He was high fiving really hard, but then when he decided to not high five and let me high five him, he burned me by saying that it felt a whole lot weaker, and so out of the blue I slapped him across the face and it was the best moment of my life. Not really, but it was perfect timing. I got high fives from everyone around. haha. Then Ms. Digel made us all go either into the hotel lobby, or under the canopy, because apparently one of the guys almost poured beer onto Sydney's head. She was so mad. Finally, we got our key, and our room was actually really nice! It was a suite, with a big bathroom, and a kitchen, and a step difference between the kitchen/eating table area and the TV area, and there was a separate bedroom! We went to Cole's room and played spoons. At first, we played with the spoons of the table. Then, we decided to put the spoons across the room. So, we had to pretty much jump over the rail in order to run down to get the spoons, and it was intense. But, to make it a bit more safe, we decided to move down to the TV area and put the spoons up right over the stairs. I was closest to the spoons, and Megan got a four of a kind first, so I bolted for the spoons, and on the way Megan shoved me and drove my shins straight into the step. The next time Cole elbowed me in the forehead. And then the last time, they moved the spoons so I didn't know that they were even further away, and I didn't want to get trampled so I watched them all squeeze into each other, Cole squashed against the railing and carrying Gavin on his back. Finally we had to go back to our room. I got free internet. A drunk woman was on our floor and made a scene outside our room. She shouted in French, and the management was there. Megan, Mikki, and Cailey all translated for me. We must have stood with our ears to the door for half an hour. It was really dramatic. Then Ms. Ginet and Ms. Digel came to give us our itinerary and make sure we were all in our room. Their room was straight across from the drunk lady's room, so they got to see everything. Megan and I slept on the pull out couch, which was really lumpy. I was having a dream where I was going to a concert, and a whole lot of random people were there. Suddenly, for some reason, Cole was reciting to me a whole lot of biology terms I didn't even think I knew. Then he kicked me in the back of my knee. Which was actually Megan kicking me, and so I woke up and it was really cold. So Megan and I spooned, and she was fire hot!

For breakfast the next morning, we got chocolate chip croissants and they were delicious. We then went to McGill for a clinic. The clinic was neat, we were taught to sing like we meant it and we sang our African song in the dark and everyone sang with their hearts. After that, we got to tour some of McGill, and I love that university! That would be my idea university, if I could actually go and study music. The library ... oh my goodness. 50, 000 CDs and vinyls, you could borrow recording equipment and iPods and whatever, there were rooms where you could just go and watch/listen to stuff or practice ... man.

We went to a mall after. Which sucked, because we didn't get to go to St. Catherine's Street, where there was actually good stores. The stores in the mall really, really sucked. Except for the import store. But anyways. After a bad Chinese lunch, we went around to a couple stores before heading into Winners to try on the ridiculous shoes. And then, as we were heading out, we ran into Elliot, Rae, Kate, Morgan, Jessica, and Brendan. I found out that Morgan learned the Chinese phrase, so I stopped for a second to listen to her say it, and at that moment Megan and Mikki and them had already left, so I decided to just hang out with Elliot and them. We went around to a lot of stores, and I taught them even more Chinese words. Like "fong pei" (fart). Then we found a photobooth, and crammed into that. It was so funny! The pictures came out really well. We took two sets. Then we went to the import shop, and spent a long time there. We headed to the Starbucks after, and then across to the forum, and found some sweet cardboard cutouts, like one of Hannah Montana, and Darth Vader. Finally it was time to go, and we checked out Elliot's mask, which was really cool. We then headed back to the hotel to do whatever, and then boarded the bus to do a bus tour of Montreal (beautiful, beautiful, beautiful), and went up to Mount Royal to take in the view. We took a lot, a lot, a lot of pictures.

After we finished taking pictures, we headed to St. Joseph's Oratory, and went through the entire church, from the bottom up. A lot more pictures were taken there. Gavin and I thought we went through the entire church when we had walked through one of the massive rooms, but that was far from the case. We ended up going up to the very top of the stairs, and overlooked everything below.

Once done there, we continued around Montreal until we got to our final destination of the night: the governor's feast. While we were waiting outside, on of the actors came out to talk to us, and Cole taught me how to make people's knees buckle by kicking the back of their knee, which was strangely like what happened in my dream. So we went around doing that to people. I tried to do it to both of Gavin's knees at the same time, but I couldn't time my jumping and kicking right and ended up wiping out. And then it started a ninja fight between me and Gavin, and I lost badly. Ms. Digel even tried to get in the way of our ninja fight. When we got inside, I was sitting with Cailey and them but then suddenly Mr. Waters told me to sit between him and Mr. Paddock at the centre table, which was really weird. Ms. Digel was going to take a picture of us, so I threw out my hand to give a thumbs-up sign, and ended up punching my drinking glass and shattering it. That was the beginning of my making an ass of myself. Elliot came and sat in the folding chair beside Mr. Paddock, but when the show started, and a bright, white light started flashing around, suddenly he was gone! And then when they announced the governor, it was .. Elliot! Dressed up in a rob and a three-cornered hat! And then he got to almost get soup flung at him and serenade on of the actresses. Good times, good times. Oh, and I tried to pour Sprite for Mr. Paddock and ended up spilling it all over the table and onto my leg. At the end of the show, we got asked to sing and so we did - kind of badly. But they still liked it. It was weird.

When we went back to the hotel, I hung out in Kate, Jessica, and Brittany's room again and had more laughs, again. I showed them our room because it was so much nicer than theirs, and they found out some information that was actually pretty obvious for the whole trip. So Brittany started singing "Cole yao bop Mikalinaaa lau yu!!" really loudly, right when there was a knock on our door from Cole and Gavin. We almost died. But anyways, then I headed back to their room and we just talked, more like yelled loudly while laughing, while many funny accidental things happened. Brittany tried to toast her bagel, and after she pushed down the button, we smelt burning bread, even though the toaster was "broken" and the bagel wasn't toasted at all. Finally, Jessica exclaimed "Brittany, you fool! You plugged in the coffee machine! The toaster isn't even plugged in!" And we laughed really, really hard. And then we wondered why we smelt burning bread, if the bagel wasn't even getting toasted. And right at that moment, Mikki knocked on the door and told us that they had set a bun on fire. Actually, Cole had left a bun in our microwave for seven minutes (he meant 70 seconds), and they were all oblivious to the smell when management knocked on the door and told them that everyone could smell the smoke. Even Mikki's mom, who had called management from two levels above, because they thought something was on fire. So, our room smelled really bad from then on. But anyways. Somehow we found out that a massive party was happening at Chloe's room, so we headed down there and watched Harry Potter (and the Prisoner of Azkaban!) and was served KD. I got kind of bored so I went back to my room
and played spoons with Cailey, Megan, Mikki, Cole, Gavin, and Glen, with the spoons placed outside our room. When we ran out to get them, I shoved Glen out of the way, and Cole carried Gavin all the way to the spoon. Then we got into trouble with Mr. Waters, because we were really loud. Then, I remembered I had left some of my stuff in Jessica's room, and I didn't really feel like playing cards, so I went to go back to their room. Except I forgot which room was theirs. So, I headed back to Chloe's room. Then we found out that we had to pack (I already did), so I went back with Brittany and Jessica to hang out with them while they packed. They had all their stuff laid out everywhere - it was crazy. Jessica showed us her amazing imitation of the 10 second tidy from The Big Comfy Couch, and it was sooo hilarious. She does it so well. Then she left the room for some reason, and Jessica and I decided to lock her out until she could tell us a password. Of course, she comes back, and we laugh at her and tell her she can't, until Jessica looks into the peep hole and we find out that Mr. Waters (and Elliot) is with her. So then we talk to them and Mr. Waters heads off. Again, when it was 11, I headed back to my smoke filled room, and I give my family a call. It turned out that they were at my aunt's potluck, and my older sister was drunk. It was ridiculously fun talking to her, she giggled a lot. Anyways. It was really cold because we had to open all the windows to air out the kitchen, and so Megan and I spooned again and talked. Then we decided to steal Cailey's and Mikki's blanket while they were sleeping, and we went all ninja-like and totally stole it. It was warm.

The next morning we got more chocolate chip croissants, and then headed off to the Biodome for the morning. It was really cool! Like an indoor zoo. We went through the four biomes, and hands down, the best one was the last one because there were penguins. Really cool penguins who looked like they were playing freeze tag - they all were standing in weird poses and not moving at all! Whenever a penguin jumped out of the water, it would do a pose. I told Elliot about the freeze tag thing, and then he told everyone else, and Brendan said that it was the dumbest thing he ever heard, and that it wasn't funny, and it was at that point that I decided that he is annoying. Hanging out with him before kind of made me think it, but after that I knew it. We spent a lot of time in the gift shop, with all the stuffed animals, and after when we all met up together and were waiting to go, we played hackey sack. We really couldn't keep it up very well.

From the Biodome we walked to the Olympic tower, and we got to go up the slanted elevator. I helped Brittany pick out a cheap disposable camera, called the "Fun Saver!" the very last picture she took before her digital camera died was a super zoomed up picture of us. It was funny. Then we took a creeper picture of Cole and Mikki from afar - "for the memories", as Brittany said. I took a lot of creeper pictures that trip! But anyways. The view was super awesome from up there. We headed back down the elevator, and to a quaint museum in Old Montreal.

In the museum, we got the guide who liked to ask us a lot of tricky questions that we always got wrong. We also got to write with quills, and look around at awesome old French stuff. We didn't have enough time to go through the entire museum, so we cut it short and headed off to a nice restaurant, where we played Crazy Eights and had delicious lasagna. Well, except for Cailey, who had chicken. Just like when we all had fish and chips and she got pasta. But her meal looked good. Anyways. Cole, and Gavin both made paper airplanes from the paper they wrote on with quills, and when we finished our meals they flew it off the second floor. I think Cole's flew the best; it made it all the way to the door.

Right outside the restaurant we met our tour guides, and went on a walking tour of Old Montreal. Such a pretty place! I wish we had a place like that here. I took so many pictures there, and I think they all came out really well. We saw so many buildings, went down so many streets with so many beautiful alleys, it was all breathtaking. We ended at the Notre Dame church, which was one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen, besides St. Joseph's Oratory. After we looked around the church, we were allowed to go and shop. Mr. Waters taught Gavin and Cole how to really heel click. We went around and found nothing but souvenir shops. I wanted to buy a tambourine and/or a finger piano and/or a xylophone, but they weren't of very good quality. I still want to buy all of some or one of those objects, though. We stopped when we saw a huge crowd by the street enclosing a man with bowling pins and a unicycle. We watched his whole panhandling act; he was pretty funny, even though I couldn't understand whatever he said in French. A little kid stole the show near the end. When we all got back to the meeting spot, Elliot, Kate, Jessica, Brittany, and I took an awesome jumping picture in front of the church. We're cool.

We sadly went to the airport from Old Montreal. We checked in and got our seats, and then had dinner. We found a nice place with good (expensive) sandwiches. Sadly, Elliot could not eat there (for what reason I can't remember, maybe because of his allergy?), so he had to have Burger King and it really stuck out. The sandwiches were good. After that we all met together again and went through security. I stuck a quarter into Mikalina's butt pocket right before she went through security, on behalf of Cole and Gavin, but she didn't beep at all. However, she did have to get rid of her body spray and lotion, because she had it in her bag, and I felt bad about that. Glen took a long time at ours, and I ended up singing for the security guy there in order to "get us through faster". I don't think it helped. When we were finally at the terminal, Mr. Waters showed us a neat card trick, and then I hung out with people, and then we boarded the plane!

The flight attendants weren't quite as awesome as the ones we got heading out to Calgary, but whatever. This time, I got to sit in the back of the plane, but it was at that time when it hit that we hadn't done our English homework, so I had to find a seat by one of them in order to get it done. So I traded my seat with someone else, and then got stuck because the service was going on, so I had to sit beside Jessica Mosher and Bethany. Who are really, really ditzy. I think some of my brain cells died while I was sitting there. We started talking about some of the things happening during the trip, and goodness. Goodness. Luckily I found a seat beside Bronwyn, subsequently kicking someone else out of their seat but we desperately needed to get it done. So that other girl had to sit with Jessica Mosher.

Bronwyn and I spent so long on the English homework. Seriously. And I was so tired. We read through the last short story out loud, even though it was ridiculously long. And the questions Stephen made for it were stupid. When I was answering them, I couldn't even write properly and ended up writing scribble with jerky lines sticking out of the tops (I had to actually hand it in like that to Mr. McMillan). We thought that it took the entire flight to finish the homework, but when we looked at the screen, it told us that we were only at Winnipeg. WINNIPEG, for God's sake. Anyways. So then we decided we really needed to go to the washroom, and we ran into Brittany and Rae there! We all had to cram in the back while the flight attendants did service. One of them was kind of cranky! When Brittany was going in, we decided to bang on the door to scare her, so we waited a little while and then hammered on it! But then we got yelled at by that flight attendant. Brittany told us that it really scared her though, so mission accomplished. She laughed at us when she heard the flight attendant, though. While I was waiting for Bronwyn, and for the flight attendants to finish service so we could get back to our seats, I met Bridget! She is very nice. But anyways.

Bronwyn and I talked for the rest of the flight, and it was a very good talk. One where I actually talked about what I was feeling at the time. When we landed in Calgary, snow was on the ground and it was below 0, which was really sad. I saw my dad at the airport for the first time in five days, and I almost cried, I was really happy to see him. And I saw Rebecca! She was actually the first person I saw who I knew who wasn't on the trip when we landed (did that make sense)? We then got our luggage, and I said goodbye to everyone and headed off, back home, back to everything that now feels so plain.

This week I felt really tired, like I was always trying to catch up. I fell asleep in a lot of my classes this week. I did miserably on a quiz that I missed, the test my friend and I had to do was much harder than the one that the rest of our class had to do, plus it was entirely written versus theirs, which was multiple. And I fell asleep during midterm review, but I think my actual midterm went alright. It was really rushed, and I felt really panicked through the whole thing. During chemistry I didn't really pay attention at all, after we finished a lab, Kim, Aidan, and I played Boggle, and he got mad because I kept making fun of his lack of skill. I don't know what I think of him anymore. I zeroed the chem quiz because I didn't learn what was on the test because I was away, so I got to do it Friday after school. I took only five minutes to do it, because I thought that Josh M'Gosh and the Holey Soles were playing first for the BOTB finals. Sadly, I got there in time to hear Pherrum, the screamo band. It just doesn't fit for me. But after them, Skazilla played, and they were fun to listen to. Their set seemed a lot shorter than Pherrum's, though. After Skazilla, The Ventriloquists played, and they were decent. I didn't really listen to them, but they did sound good. And then Josh's band played! They started out with Danny Boy, transitioning into Hey Ya, which was sweet. I just really like their band; I hope they get some recordings.

After BOTB, my dad gave Lindsay and I a ride home, and we tried to figure out what my band sounded like. It's hard to tell. But then she might sing for our band! I just need a good version of our recordings; we have one, but it won't ever send, which sucks. But anyways. After that, I went to Gavin's house to hang out with him, Aidan, Kevin, Mikki, and Megan. We played Killer Bunnies, and then Bronwyn showed up and we walked to Chianti's to visit Diana. Then we went to Starbuck's. After that, we decided to walk to Chapter's, but instead we went to Petland. And then Aidan got hungry so we headed to Wendy's, except it was closed. And Burger King was closed. So, we went back to Chianti's and ate there. Well, Megan and Aidan did. We just had bread. Cole showed up there, and Diana finished her shift, so we all headed back to Gavin's house to do some hot tubbing. But Kevin was really tired, so he walked home, and Bronwyn's sister showed up, so she left, and we hung out in the hot tub for like an hour. There were a lot of bubbles. It was a good night.

Today was not a good day for work. I screwed up a lot. Plus, my body was working against me, for reasons, and so I didn't feel good at all. It was terrible. But I'm glad that's over. I have band practice tomorrow, I'm not accessing my Facebook for a long time, and I have to still finish my homework.

4.08.2008

you will. you? will. you? will. you? will. you?

I will. Tomorrow. I hope. I'm just so scared.

I get made fun a lot in band class. Not really by anyone, but by Mr. Paddock, and sometimes it's just so flustering. I never know if he actually really dislikes me or if he does like me and teases me just because. Although, when I asked, "why??" he replied, "because you're a percussionist." Well. So I decide I want to hang out in the front with Aidan and Tamara, and he tells me that I need to have an instrument in order to be up there. So, Aidan gives me part of his oboe, and Mr. Paddock told me to play a note, and I just hummed one. He then told me that I had to play a instrument well, so I got shunned from the front row. Anyways, today I brought up the triangle, and then he said that I had to be able to play a scale on the triangle. And right before the entire band is supposed to play a scale, he tells me that I have to play a scale on the triangle - alone. So I just sang out the notes, and it turned out that I was in the entirely wrong key. So then we play through the scale, and he tells me to play it again, except with feeling. And so Henry gives me the note without anyone asking him to, and I sing it - with feeling - and humiliate the bejeezus out of myself. But anyways. The making fun of me thing went on for the entire warm up, when he'd make me play something on the triangle and then burn me about it. Then, when we're going through a song, and I'm playing the tambourine, after we finish he asks everyone to come up a word to describe my playing, and some people say stuff like "energetic" and "awesome" and some pretty good words, and I was totally expecting him to shut me down again. But then he told me that it was energetic and that the rest of the band should play like that! Mr. Paddock confuses me a lot. But I like band because of these reasons.

Not many other things happened today. I don't know how I did on my bio test, I'm pretty sure I screwed myself over. I sold half a box of chocolate almonds. During chemistry, Aidan and I drew muscle men from our litres, and had a competition on our quiz - whoever was slowest won. I won. After school I watched The Throwaways play and they were definitely really good! The screamo band after was .. different. My dad bought our Feist tickets today, but they currently aren't what we wanted, so we're trying to sell them and get better tickets via NOT TICKETMASTER. But I'm going to see Feist!

listening to: start a war - the national

4.07.2008

i am tired of being a hero

Oh my god, yes.

3.16.2008

i saw you singing with your hands, making shapes i don't understand

The concert last night was so beautiful. Kris Ellestad was extremely funny, with his water bottle and his spandex. The Norwegian dancing at the end was a nice touch. November Steppes was beautiful, although I wish he'd play The Secret too, but you can't always get what you want. After that, The Neighbourhood Council played, and their setup was really cool, and the music was loud and just washed me up from the inside. You couldn't help but love it. It was unfortunate that everyone moved in front of us, but somehow I managed to get to the front anyways, it was weird. But anyways. All of their sound combined together was just great, it's amazing how they are all only a couple years older than me too. The Ostrich played last, and Megan and Mikki had to leave right at the beginning of their set and a whole bunch of tall people moved in front of me and Leslie, where Mikki and Megan were standing before. But anyways. The Ostrich had a cool effect with a tiny television and an antenna, and every time the keyboardist moved waved his hand around the antenna, it make this really weird electronic sound, and they used it for most of their songs, and it was really fun to dance to because all of their songs were really fun.

And it's times like these I wish I was my sister. She introduced me to a bunch of her friends, who of course commented on how alike we look, and they all said something about the poster, which was nice. And she introduced me to Raphaelle, from The Neighbourhood Council, and she was really funny. She thought that our other sister would be really short, when that is definitely not the case.

When we got home, my sister and I stayed up and watched SNL for a while, and it was pretty nice. Although I sounded like an idiot the whole time, and my sister couldn't help but laugh.

listening to: only i - the neighbourhood council

2.29.2008

i climbed into the blowhole, in the ribs i found you

My iPod cleared all of my songs, it was pretty distressful to pull it out during chemistry and be unable to scroll through playlists, albums, artists, or songs on account of the screen was blank. The weirdest part was it saying that I only had 37.2 MB left on it, even though nothing was on it. But anyways, I'm readding everything, adding back all the artwork, and in general, not doing my English project. But that's due on Wednesday, so oh well.

But anyways, here's a list of of all the albums I'm adding to my iPod at the moment. Because I feel like writing them all out, and I kind of suck:

Beet Farm Funding Drive Compilation. Songbook (Woodpigeon). Knives Don't Have Your Back (Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton). Sketchbook (Woodpigeon). Set Yourself On Fire (Stars). Skelliconnection (Chad VanGaalen). Wolf Parade EP (Wolf Parade). AWOO (The Hidden Cameras). He Poos Clouds (Final Fantasy). Return To The Sea (Islands). Let It Die (Feist). In Rainbows (Radiohead). Boxer (The National). Live! (The New Pornographers). You Forgot In People (Broken Social Scene). Our Love To Admire (Interpol). Neon Bible (Arcade Fire). Hail To The Thief (Radiohead). Kid A (Radiohead). Holy Fuck LP (Holy Fuck). Infiniheart (Chad VanGaalen). Broken Social Scene (Broken Social Scene). Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (Neko Case). Galore (Dragonette). The Reminder (Feist). Challengers (The New Pornographers).

95% of the albums are my sister's. Man, she has a collection. It's going to be hard to put these all back in order, seeing as she puts them in chronological order according to when she bought the CD. Yeah. But anyways, I guess it's a bunch of new and old? I'm not really in the mood to go blog searching for all of the other music I downloaded from there, all the live recordings and remixes and everything. But anyways. This probably won't be all I'll be adding, I just have to wait for my sister to come home so I can add all the other music she doesn't have on CD.

Any awesome stuff I should be adding? Basically, I'm asking for comments.

listening to: she's gone - the hidden cameras

2.28.2008

god that was strange to see you again

Guys With Ties should be named Guys With Skill. Well, I guess that's a given. Gavin and I went down to the Beat Niq last night to go watch them play, and wow. The amount of talent on that stage blew me away. Their original compositions were awesome, and watching each of them play individually and together was cool. Ryley, you gave me my money's worth.

Not a lot happened today. We signed up for our courses for next year, and it made me feel a bit uneasy. What if I regret all of the courses I chose? I guess I can get things changed around. My math test the next period felt weird, some numerical I had no idea how to do, and it made me run out of time and so I had to rush through my last two questions. Not great at all.

During lunch, I ate in the band room with Aidan, Henry, Andrea, and some other people I don't like as much but I ignore them, so it's all okay. I was eating my spaghetti in a weird way, where I'd tip my head sideways and eat the noodles from the side, so I wouldn't get sauce all over my face, and apparently it looked very amusing so Aidan and Henry watched me eat and laughed every time. The past two lunches have been pretty funny. Yesterday we played with a broken stand, and we thought of a bunch of other uses it could have; pork rack, torture device, umbrella, tent, artificial leg, limbo stick, limbo stick of doom .. ha it made me laugh.

During band, we didn't have to play and instead we listened to our performance recording. The adjudicator made many strange comments, and said "bravo" a lot. During the non-comment performance, we sang along and sounded very bad. But anyways. Tamara and I engaged in another fight, except I tickled her a lot. After we calmed down, Sam pinned her down and I tickled her again to the point where she screamed brutally loud and made everyone stop and look at us. Then, she stated that it was good that we didn't know her secret ticklish spot, and at that Sam and Ramon went looking for it. Ramon found it: her neck. She went into such spasms, and Sam kept pretending to go for her neck so she went really paranoid, and ran away from us whenever we lifted our arm. It was ridiculous. My stomach hurt from laughing.

I think my English visual project may be done. Hopefully Mr. McMillan approves of it, or I will be very sad. One, because I worked pretty hard on my drawing, and two, if he shuts it down, I will have absolutely no idea how to symbolize a conflict or theme from Huckleberry Finn.

Speaking of which, I have a reading quiz tomorrow. I guess I should read some Sparknotes.

listening to: ageless beauty - stars

2.26.2008

i'm really sorry but my eyes got really heavy, and the last thing i remember is your smile

This blog sure has been lacking. It's not like I'm too busy, it's just that .. other things come up. But that's okay. Things have been pretty hectic. This weekend I had a panic attack because I had so little homework done and so little time. But, nonetheless, it was a good weekend, and I did manage to get my homework done.

Last Friday I went to the zoo with the bio class, and it was so much fun. I met up with Kim, Kaitlyn, Chelsea, Justine, and Bonnie at Dalhousie to catch the 8:18 train, and then we met up with Rachel and Catrin at Brentwood. Catrin was actually supposed to meet us at Dalhousie too, but she took the train right before ours. Nancy was at the Banff Trail station, but she was at the opposite side because she misinterpreted our "front of the train" direction. Rachel saw her at the other side, so she and I bolted for the cart, and I caught it right when the door was closing. It was exciting. We had to run all the way back at the next stop. At Centre Street, we saw Joash and so we all went along our way to the zoo.

The primates stuff was kind of interesting. We watched the gorillas eat pinatas, which was a bit anti-climatic, and after we got to observe the other primates. They are pretty cool! We took so many pictures. At lunch we bought a lot of fries, and I got icecream. When we were done the class part, a bunch of us went around the zoo on our own. We saw the giraffes, the baby elephant, the sting rays, the hippos, the red pandas, the tigers, the nocturnal animals, the kangaroo, the camels, birds, reptiles .. a lot alot of animals. It was a lot of fun. We took the train back down to the NW and it was an all-around good time.

Later I went to Gavin's house and we had band practice. We worked on a song I started writing and we got it all developed and recorded, and the guys all said it was one of our best songs, even though it was "sappy rock". I just like to call it awesome. Right now I'm in the progress of writing lyrics for it, which is actually taking a while because my ability to write has been very limited lately. So far, the inspiration comes to me late at night, when I'm exhausted and just wanting to go to sleep. I'll have to read what I've written sometime soon .. I hope it's all legible. But anyways.

On Saturday I worked, and my closest friend at work quit that day. He got another job at the airport, fueling airplanes, which is a wicked job but I'm still sad that he's leaving. He made working really fun. Not like it's not enjoyable when he's not there, but still. I always thought that he'd always be there. Next Saturday is his last day. After work, I went to Megan's house and we had Indian food and watched Star Wars. It took us such a long time to get through Episode I because twice the DVD player went really funky, and the other two times Cailey accidentally leaned on the plug and shut everything down. We talked through the whole thing, and took weird pictures of the screen and everything, it was really fun. And then we paused through the movie and played foozeball. When Gavin got there, we watched Episode IV, which was interesting but wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. But by that time, it was really late and I was exhausted.

We went to church for the first time in a long time on Sunday. After that was our band festival, and we got a gold freaking award because we are that awesome. I thought it sounded pretty good. The clinic was very long, though.

But anyways. Yesterday wasn't too exciting, except that I studied way too hard for my bio test today, and didn't process any of the information and I probably did very badly on the test. Since the grade tens had their band festival performance today, we got to have a spare instead of band. But I decided to stay with Tamara, who couldn't go home because her feet hurt too much to walk. We went to the library and tried to do homework, but failed at that. We found out who the mysterious caller was (Hannah). We went back to the band room and discovered that Ryley and Henry turned all the chairs and stands upside down, which was so, so awesome. Henry just was so awesome today. Ryley promised me that I would get my money's worth tomorrow, which was cool. But anyways. I'm done my homework, I might get a frappacino tomorrow, and my parents are arguing about real estate.

listening to: ending start - metric