Get Lucky

Yes, Daft Punk’s latest release is still high a top all of my playlists. Yes, I still think it’s one of the greatest records I’ve ever heard. Yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve spewed out some letters and hoped they formed words. What’s new? Well, let’s see…

Since last time we spoke and or I typed and you read, I have found a steady job, went cottaging, attended a few ball games, saw a best friend off to another country, and various other itty bitty things.

After a few weeks of misery trying to decipher my role in an industry that is not quite my forte, and pavement pounding and resume slinging, I happened to make small talk with a chef about living in Vancouver. Three days later I had a job. Right place, right time. One fellow was just quitting and they needed someone to take over. Awesome. So now I’m thrilled to be slinging grilled cheeses and sliders at Gallagher’s Bar and Lounge. My coworkers are fantastic and there’s live music every night. Things quickly changed from disparaging to phenomenal. Indeed, I got lucky.

Cottaging with the family happened the following weekend, which was great. What was supposed to be a boys weekend away was wonderfully hijacked by my female cousins, which was great. It was nice to have all the grandkids be able to spend time together as it doesn’t happen often. Or ever, really. One evening there was a thunderstorm that rolled in and I was able to snap this beauty:

Weather is neat.

We didn’t catch many fish though, but the time together spending was nice.

Baseball has been trying to say the least. I’ve been to four of my flex pack games and have a record of 3-1, so that’s good at least. Also made it out as part of a group of twelve to the Canada Day game which was a blast. It was the first time in five years or so that the TBJB team from 29 Princess has reunited. And that was wonderful fun. Looking forward to trying to make that an annual baseball tradition (Boston next year, anyone??). Also made it over to Buffalo to catch a triple-A game during Jose Reyes’ rehab. That was much fun as well – and outlandishly inexpensive. I don’t know why we don’t do it more often! After this post is written I’m going to pop in the shower and jump on the GO Bus and head on down to the Dome. Here’s hoping the boys in blue can make up some ground on the Rays.

SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT!

My best friend and former roommate (Roommate, The as you know him) had us out for some going away drinks a few weeks ago as he has begun his grand adventure in the land down under. I’d offer more details, but I encourage you to get his side of the story instead. And his blog is much nicer than mine. I’m a wee bit jealous. Check it out (and his amazingly witty title) at…

http://bornagainchristien.com/

For those of you may want to check it out later, you can get to it by clicking on “Roommate, The” on the side of my page —>

Also, I know some of you are in the GTA. And some of you have pianos. So get them tuned and repaired here:

http://www.adamguerrapiano.com/

Again, it will be available o’er there —>

Hm. I think that’s about it for now. Hopefully I’ll be less busy at work and can write more – but not really, I love my job.

Funemployment.

I’ve always been told, ‘make the best of a bad situation,’ and ‘when life gives you lemons,’ etc. Normally I support those idioms and their respective ‘glass half full’ optimism. However, I’m sure the creators of said cliches did not have bills piling up. Two weeks ago I was excited to go on vacation, this week though, the prospect of a five day weekend is definitely not as exciting. With ‘nothing for you today’ on Friday and again on Monday, I was looking forward to seeing what I could do today. When the office didn’t answer my call I figured there was nothing again. But, like a trustworthy employee I waited by the phone. And waited, and waited some more. Near five hours later I received my call back, saying ‘nothing for you today, call us tomorrow.’ The baseball fan in me immediately thought of ‘three strikes and you’re out.’ So the resumes have been flying out and I’ve taken an exploratory walk around the neighbourhood to see what’s around and am now ‘taking the bull by the horns’ or ‘taking things into my own hands.’

I’m glad to have found out last night that I could access my student line of credit when I wish to return to school, but I still think it would be beneficial to have some savings to offset that. The conundrum I’m faced with now is my desire to enter a new field. I appreciate with the quick service industry has done for my bill paying, but it’s a life I’m tired of and am not going to go back to. I want to find something I like and that I’m good at. I want a job I will be excited to go to. The only issue here is experience. The two industries I’m interested in really require experience to be successful – neither of which I have any formal training or experience in, only personal adventures and independent study. Nevertheless, I will keep calm and (insert idiom) on. Until then, it’s resumes and cover letters, with occasional breaks via the six stringed therapist.

Doin’ It Right (aka We’re All Still Alive!)

There’s nothing quite like taking one week of after only working for one week. I think more people should try it. Holiday Monday led into an early morning flight to Vancouver to enjoy some graduation festivities, some see you someday’s and some limited sleep. Well, at least we were supposed to have an early morning flight. Turns out there was some sort of gas leak on our plane and we turned around after being in the air for just under an hour. After landing, there was another two hour wait before we were told what it was we would be able to do about it. Luckily, we managed to get on the first direct flight into Vancouver, and made it by mid-afternoon. I will say that the WestJet team handled everything fairly well, but the ten dollar lunch coupon for our troubles wasn’t quite enough – seeing as that only paid for half an appetizer and the grossly overpriced airport concessions. Otherwise, no complaints. Once we arrived it was a quick visit and off to bed as everyone had to be up and at the graduation ceremony for seven am. Yuck. The ceremony itself was tolerable – nice venue, good acoustics and fairly well paced – but the speakers were atrocious. The first speaker was short and sweet and consisted of a welcome and blessing from an elder of the Musqueam tribe on which the lands of the university were placed. The next speaker,  the university Chancellor, blathered on about her garden and not being able to grow beets, trying to tie in to something about renewal or the like, but with outside allusions to some book she was reading and Chris Hadfield’s recent return to Earth, she didn’t make much sense. I doubt her remarks would have received a very good grade. The Vice-Chancellor’s speech was a bit more linear and easier to follow and would have been great if his closing remarks didn’t include “…is really the bread and butter of this institution – or should I say, rice and noodles.” Albeit true, I still feel that’s a tad racist and probably doesn’t belong in a university graduation. Speaking of which, the honourary degree recipient, Lee Lakeman (whom I’m sure is very deserving for the work she does) threw down a completely jaw-dropping tirade against men and the institution. Again, this seemed to be a time and place sort of speech. If she had been addressing the annual Women and the Law dinner, some other organization of feminists, I’m sure that speech would have been extremely inspiring and moving, but at a convocation ceremony there is no need for young children to have to start asking their parents what ‘rape’ means (which several children in my immediate earshot started doing after the eighth or ninth time she used the word). However, some of the female students I asked about it said it was an amazing speech so I guess it really depends on your audience. The final speaker was a fellow student to the graduates and fellow Mexico survivor to me, who was by far and away the saviour of the podium. After listening to the three previous speakers the microphone needed a blast of youth and she did just that, eloquently concluding her speech with a Tom Waits anecdote about a wonderful and weird crooked tree. Kudos to her husband for introducing her to the glory of Tom Waits and kudos to her for hopefully introducing him to the rest of the audience. Then there was the degrees and a whole ton of applause and then it was time for pictures and free champaign.

No breakfast and eight glasses of champaign at eleven in the morning really doesn’t bode well for the remainder of one’s day. However, when it’s free, you take advantage of it. And we did. Then a group of us went off to lunch which featured a few bottles of wine on vocals and a glass of scotch on drums. Then there was a glass of post lunch wine followed by a glass of pre dinner wine. Then we made our way to Darby’s, which of course being Wednesday meant we were taking part in the final meeting of the Karaoke Klub. Jugs of beer were strewn about the table, which was struggling to hold the thirty-plus individuals trying to sit at it in between glorious renditions of such favourites as “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Africa,” and “The Graduation Song.” When someone decided to do “American Pie,” we all felt it necessary to not sit through eight minutes of it and went behind the building for our final alley beers. Good stuff. More singing and drinking and drinking and singing. Then there was a house party to go to that no one should have really gone to, and things happened, probably. I only presume this to be true as things are a little hazy. I do know one thing, that Honesty and Integrity prevailed as a reunited Cerveza Pong League formed and enjoyed a riveting match. The next morning was a struggle for us to get up and meet some friends for lunch. We made it though, and enjoyed Stephos and it’s large plates of Greek delights. Afterward there was some naps and then off to dinner at The Eatery for a friend’s birthday. Of all the things to happen, we happened to meet Cody Hodgson who was there with a friend on the way to Hawaii. This was a thrill for me as a Buffalo Sabres fan (I hope he re-signs!) and less for the Canucks fans at the table. Small talk finished, we consumed our Sushi and made it to our flight just as they were beginning to board. Seven hours later we were back in Toronto and exhausted.

One thing that made the flights all the more enjoyable for me was the new record from Daft Punk “Random Access Memories.” I had pre-orded it and luckily received the download code in time to buy it before we left for the airport at five am. Playing on repeat for each flight, I can easily and without a shred of doubt say this is the greatest record of all time. Being on man’s opinion I’m sure many would disagree, but this is my new favourite record, and I believe will really define the next generation of music. “Get Lucky” will be my summer anthem. “Giorgio by Moroder” will be my house cleaning music. “Within” and “Touch” will be there if I’m feeling down, and “Contact” will be there to pick me up. Cover to cover, from the first note to the final oscillator, this record has done nothing but put a smile on my face and put a groove in my neck. I’ve always believed that Disco is Alive. Go! Buy it right now! 🙂

That’s Why They Call Me A Workin’ Man

That’s what I am. Sweet Rush songs aside, I am indeed working and have had very little free time. We slowly but surely have moved into our apartment, though there are still pictures to be hung and boxes to be emptied, but for the most part we’re here. We also got our cat back, so it’s nice to feel like a family. My landlord hooked me up with the lead contractor for the apartment company we live in, so I’ve started my first ‘hard labour’ job. It also means there is some commuting – which in the GTA isn’t fun. At all. But a paycheque is a paycheque. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to this long weekend as well as to pop back to Vancouver next week for a graduation ceremony. I think I deserve a vacation after this week and a half of hard work… Literally my days have been up at 5:30, eat and shower, drive two hours to job site, work for eight, drive for two, eat and shower, go to bed. It was painful. Luckily I’ve moved sites and am closer to home – but still, the trauma of seven am traffic will never be forgotten. The QEW is a wasteland of steel and exhaust. I will admit that I liked the Gardiner/Don Valley portion – the scenery was cool. And there was a lot of time to admire it while I sat in my car, rocking out to Queens of the Stone Age and a mix tape I found from the early thousands. A shame Rush wasn’t on it though…

Finally Moving

Well, it’s been a few weeks of silence from me and that’s because moving sucks. There was days without internet, lots of running around, and general business. What’s been new? Lots of seeing family and friends, that’s for sure. Good to catch up with everyone I’ve seen thus far, and looking forward to seeing those I haven’t yet. I walked into a job thanks to my landlord, who has hooked me up with the general contractor for the company that owns our apartment complex. Pretty cool stuff. Still have many errands to run, license changing and whatnot, so life still isn’t quite back to normal. Hopefully we can sort our lives out pretty soon and have an enjoyable summer in Hamilton!

Last Day: If This Vans A-Rockin’…

…it’s because the roads in Michigan are crap! Worst roads in the country by far.

Hey team, I’ve been relaxing and enjoying not driving for the last few days and haven’t felt like writing anything. Also, I’m not too proud of Milwaukee defeating me so dominantly. Breakfast was six ounces of liquor, lunch was two brewery tours and dinner was three more brewery tours. Needless to say, I got quite ill and totalled our hotel room. Waking up early to drive the entire day was also not enjoyable. All made worse by the dreadful road conditions in Michigan. But we made it – we are back in Canada and back home. Next is more relaxing and then moving into our apartment in Hamilton on Wednesday. Things might be a little hectic for this next week so I’ll write if I get the chance. Don’t expect too much though.

To everyone in Vancouver: it was great to meet you all and I look forward to reuniting someday.

To everyone in Ontario: I look forward to seeing everyone in the coming weeks.

To everyone else: Drop me a line if you’re ever in Hamilton!

To everyone not reading this: I can’t believe you’re not reading this!

All the best everyone, see you soon!

h.

Day Something: Algonquin for “The Good Land”

We arrived in Milwaukee late last night after an amazing day putting down the eastbound I-94. We managed to quickly pass by the Minnesota capitol building for me and stop to grab a shot glass for GFT’s collection (approaching fifty! all places she’s actually been; no gifts! pretty impressive stuff…) before heading to Carr Valley Cheese company to get some outlandishly inexpensive cheese products (and another shot glass). Next was the Leinenkugel brewery which may actually have been my favourite part of our trip so far. It’s like a beer drinkers heaven. In fact I think that’s what heaven will look like when I die (but with a bit more disco). If you even consider yourself having a hint of beer drinking prowess this is the place for you. I cannot stress enough how fun this place was. And educational – the tour was really neat, too. Next we headed south to Madison, the Wisconsin state capitol, and my favourite place in America (circa 2002, my first ever road trip as a member of a Drum & Bugle Corps). It was still beautiful. And it’s gotten better. Craft breweries and locally sourced restaurants – it felt like being back in the northwest. I was very happy to see that I still like the city enough to call it my favourite place in America (yes, even more than Portland and Vegas). Then an hour more east and here we are in Milwaukee. The entire time coming towards this place I only had two thoughts in my head:

This one and this one. Enjoy those, they just gave me a good chuckle.

Now – it’s time for Mission: Improbable. Four brewery tours, one distillery tour and two additional places for free samples. Time to enjoy our last relaxing day in America by drinking as much free alcohol as possible. Especially if the LCBO is going on strike…

 

 

 

Day 9: Sleepless in Minneapolis

Hotels are a far cry from home and my body is quickly realizing that. We both have been struggling to get a tolerable nights sleep so far on this journey and are rapidly wearing down. However, we are nearing the end and are finally in some realm of civilization, looking forward to the opportunities afore us. Today is going to be jam packed with fun and prizes (hopefully) and will see us into Milwaukee. We’ve concluded that the flooding will hopefully not be detrimental to the interstate and we will be able to make safe passage through Illinois and Indiana on our route home.

Time for another low pressure shower followed by crappy hotel towels. See you soon, Ontario!

Day 8: Sooo…Now What?

Well, yesterday was interesting. I walked around the city of Pierre for awhile, looking at the architecture and enjoying not sitting in a car and actually using my legs. But that only lasted an hour and a bit before I found myself back at the hotel deciding to watch ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (I had just finished reading it and the main character’s name was Pierre so I thought it fitting – it was terrible however. Totally butchered the original story from the novel). A quick dinner at a mediocre Italian place in town and we were back at the Super 8 – GFT plugging away at her paper, me trying to improve my fantasy baseball team. Then I fell asleep at some point.

Now, I’m awake and she’s still finishing her paper. We’re about to leave as check-out is at eleven and we don’t really know where we’re going. Looking at ‘511’ and The Weather Channel, we seem to be behind Zeus and the winter weather, so I think we can make it to Minneapolis. From there however, we have to cross the Mississippi which I’m sure will be cresting in the near future. So at that point we will have to decide: down through Chicago or up through Mackinaw?

We will let you know when we figure it out. As for right now, I kind of just want to get home as this trip is quickly turning for the worse. If anyone is interested in doing a trip like this, my advice is don’t do it in April – the weather is unpredictable and apparently everything is closed. Now where did I pack my ruby slippers….

Day 6 (Part 3): Snow Hard With A Vengeance

So it’s actually Day Seven, but we’re still in Pierre as when we woke up this morning there was a whole bunch of snow we weren’t expecting. Coupled with GFT’s desire to finish her paper and actually graduate, we decided it best to stay put for now. Since then, the snow has dissipated slightly, which is an encouraging sign. Looking ahead to the flooding in the midwest, and the fact we’re basically going to be following behind Zeus and his tail of winter destruction, I’m sure the next few days may border on harrowing at times. Of course, I might just be overestimating this storm and exacerbating something that might not be such a big deal. Here’s hoping it’s the latter.

For now, I’m going to leave the lady to her work and go wonder around the city. I’ll update everyone as the situation progresses. Until then, enjoy some pretty pictures!:

This is me picking Lincoln’s nose.

A 1/34 scale sculpture of the planned Crazy Horse Monument. The project was started in 1948 and will be 563 feet high – taller than Giza & the Washington Monument.

A panorama of a section near the exit of Badlands National Park.