while i write this, i am in my parents' backyard, facing clear blue skies over the cornfield, and the wonderful smell of home, which, in our case, tends to be manure fertilizer from the farmfield.
well, we were in montreal for about a total of half an hour before we got robbed. twice. both of our vans were broken into and stuff were taken. and then, while we waited for the police to arrive, heather's purse was also taken. welcome to montreal.
on the other hand, we played to one of the biggest crowds at Le Divan Orange. i couldn't believe how packed it was. the venue was nice and close to Schwartz's too, so that helped cheer me up quite a bit. plus some old friends came to the show like andie, tim, joe, phil (from ghettonuns!) and a mini reunion is always nice.
still, driving for fourteen hours all night through three or four provinces has started taking its toll. being in a small enclosed space with the same sleepy folks left me fairly carsick and tired. the rest of the band went back on the road after the show last night but i decided to stop off in ottawa for a few days so i could recuperate with family. and do some badly-needed laundry. also, i've been craving some good korean food like crazy and haven't yet come across any in the east coast.
by saturday hopefully i'll be feeling refuelled again and i'll be joining the band again in oshawa for our gig at the Last Schwaltz, which i've been looking forward to for a while. till then i'm going to sleep in a real bed. and wash my underwear. then i'll be back. i can't guarantee that i'll come back to school ever again though.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
harbour of heartbreak
i am writing here solely because i'm too tired and lazy to get up to find my tax law textbook, which is what i should be doing. i've got about seven of my bandmates strewn all around me in this room on the floors and couches, still sleeping peacefully. i've worn the same shirt for about three days now and i'm starting to run out of underwear but i can't be bothered to spend the money on laundry. i can justify this because i am a rock star.
tonight is our last night in halifax. after we play our show at gus's pub we're immediately piling into the band vans and driving overnight to montreal, where we are playing tomorrow. i'm not looking forward to the drive. not only am i reluctant to leave this beautiful city and the ocean, but the drive out to the east coast on our way was not pleasant. i can't really sleep in the van because it is against principles of physics to find a comfortable position that won't make your neck feel like it's been wrung through a dryer. so i kind of just sit awake all night feeling cranky and tired and claustrophobic about being in a tight enclosed space with too many other people (as great as they are, of course). soon i get so tired that my body makes an executive decision (without consulting me) and launches into a full REM cycle even while i'm still awake, so i start hallucinating. i sit and hope that nobody notices, and especially that the driver is not having the same problems of dreaming while awake.
but whatever. the montreal show is going to be great. we're playing at a venue totally close to Schwartz's and my stomach growls just thinking about it - screw the vegetarians in my band. just kidding.
last night after we played at Reflections, ryan and i made the foolish decision to run up the halifax citadel and have a pretty view of the city. it's a pretty huge hill and i was out of breath pretty fast but i pretended i was not a totally pathetic loser. like my europe trip i was hoping that this trip would enable me to lose weight but i don't think that's happening, especially with all the mandatory alcohol consumption that comes with touring. so far i've been drinking about a bottle of wine a day. i thought that was good for you but then i realized the doctors prescribe one glass a day. oh well. i've been getting to know Nova Scotia's local wineries pretty well, especially Jost. i'll just call my bad habits a cultural education in indigenous culinary arts.
not looking forward to ultimately going home to my pile of textbooks and real life. on the other hand, i have been missing korean food pretty bad. for now i'll just have to console myself by sitting on a halifax harbour and facing the atlantic ocean while reading about tax law.
tonight is our last night in halifax. after we play our show at gus's pub we're immediately piling into the band vans and driving overnight to montreal, where we are playing tomorrow. i'm not looking forward to the drive. not only am i reluctant to leave this beautiful city and the ocean, but the drive out to the east coast on our way was not pleasant. i can't really sleep in the van because it is against principles of physics to find a comfortable position that won't make your neck feel like it's been wrung through a dryer. so i kind of just sit awake all night feeling cranky and tired and claustrophobic about being in a tight enclosed space with too many other people (as great as they are, of course). soon i get so tired that my body makes an executive decision (without consulting me) and launches into a full REM cycle even while i'm still awake, so i start hallucinating. i sit and hope that nobody notices, and especially that the driver is not having the same problems of dreaming while awake.
but whatever. the montreal show is going to be great. we're playing at a venue totally close to Schwartz's and my stomach growls just thinking about it - screw the vegetarians in my band. just kidding.
last night after we played at Reflections, ryan and i made the foolish decision to run up the halifax citadel and have a pretty view of the city. it's a pretty huge hill and i was out of breath pretty fast but i pretended i was not a totally pathetic loser. like my europe trip i was hoping that this trip would enable me to lose weight but i don't think that's happening, especially with all the mandatory alcohol consumption that comes with touring. so far i've been drinking about a bottle of wine a day. i thought that was good for you but then i realized the doctors prescribe one glass a day. oh well. i've been getting to know Nova Scotia's local wineries pretty well, especially Jost. i'll just call my bad habits a cultural education in indigenous culinary arts.
not looking forward to ultimately going home to my pile of textbooks and real life. on the other hand, i have been missing korean food pretty bad. for now i'll just have to console myself by sitting on a halifax harbour and facing the atlantic ocean while reading about tax law.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
i love halifax
tuesday we play another show at Gus's Pub, and then we drive immediately all night montreal for our major show there the next day.
we went to peggy's cove this afternoon...it was amazing. why have i never gone there before? i just sat on the bluffs and contemplated life. didn't even bring my tax law textbook. so much going on....so little internet time...i'll update when i come back.
we went to peggy's cove this afternoon...it was amazing. why have i never gone there before? i just sat on the bluffs and contemplated life. didn't even bring my tax law textbook. so much going on....so little internet time...i'll update when i come back.
a broken man on a halifax pier
well, i certainly didn't expect to be hanging out at the gay bar in fredericton, but here i am.
also, i may just move to halifax.
also, i may just move to halifax.
Monday, September 1, 2008
oui, ta mere
quebec city was amazing, and a perfect end to my summer. celebrating its 400th anniversary this year, the city was kind of a Eurotrip Version 2.0 for me, and indeed my dad and i noted that it really was like being back in Europe, what with the cobblestone streets, narrow lanes, really good expensive dining....and horse poop everywhere.
but in Canada! nothing around here is very old (except Aboriginal culture, of course). i mean, one of Toronto's biggest attractions is the medieval wannabe castle Casa Loma which is ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS OLD. WOW. but Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, which is nothing to laugh at. Quebeckers claim it is the oldest city in North America, which is true as long as you don't count the Natives (and as the Air Farce clip goes, "nobody counts the Hindians...or St. Johns.")
at any rate, it was pretty exciting for various reasons:
1. my sister and i got to practice our french, which as it turns out, is still pretty poor.
2. horse poop! on cobblestone roads! how quaint!
3. Montmorency Falls, which the French never fail to remind us, is 30 metres higher than Niagara Falls (ie: les Anglophones suck)
4. the Plains of Abraham, where the British scaled the massive bluffs and fought the French, who put up a good fight for TWENTY MINUTES before celebrating.
5. if anything went wrong, we could blame the French. (see reason #4)
6. i kid. i love the french. i would gladly spit in Toronto's face to live in Quebec if only i could bear the cold winters. i especially love French food. so rich. so expensive. thankfully it was being paid out of daddy's wallet.
7. remnants Quebec City Summit of the Americas protests in 2001. i was in high school at the time, and all my friends were going to Quebec City to protest the FTAA, geared up with megaphones, scarfs, banners, and water bottles. i was all set to go - but my parents put their foot down. i went to class; my friends got arrested and made headline news. alas, i lost my chance to see the beautiful city until now, with my parents, with Dubya safely out of reach. but you could still see parts of it leftover, even though the city had worked hard to beautify everything. we saw graffiti along the concrete median that said BUSH CLAN #1 TERRIRISTES. clearly proclaimed by a French anarchist trying to express his anti-capitalist rage in english. or something.
8. most importantly, i got to spend some much needed time with FAMILY. which is always good. even if it means having my sister stealing the blankets all night. or having my father wake us up way too early in the morning "WAKE UP ALL OF YOU IT'S ALREADY SEVEN THIRTY AND WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO." i didn't realize that i was travelling with luke again.
and now, i am back in toronto again, looking forward to tomorrow, which brings....the first day of school. sob.
but in Canada! nothing around here is very old (except Aboriginal culture, of course). i mean, one of Toronto's biggest attractions is the medieval wannabe castle Casa Loma which is ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS OLD. WOW. but Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, which is nothing to laugh at. Quebeckers claim it is the oldest city in North America, which is true as long as you don't count the Natives (and as the Air Farce clip goes, "nobody counts the Hindians...or St. Johns.")
at any rate, it was pretty exciting for various reasons:
1. my sister and i got to practice our french, which as it turns out, is still pretty poor.
2. horse poop! on cobblestone roads! how quaint!
3. Montmorency Falls, which the French never fail to remind us, is 30 metres higher than Niagara Falls (ie: les Anglophones suck)
4. the Plains of Abraham, where the British scaled the massive bluffs and fought the French, who put up a good fight for TWENTY MINUTES before celebrating.
5. if anything went wrong, we could blame the French. (see reason #4)
6. i kid. i love the french. i would gladly spit in Toronto's face to live in Quebec if only i could bear the cold winters. i especially love French food. so rich. so expensive. thankfully it was being paid out of daddy's wallet.
7. remnants Quebec City Summit of the Americas protests in 2001. i was in high school at the time, and all my friends were going to Quebec City to protest the FTAA, geared up with megaphones, scarfs, banners, and water bottles. i was all set to go - but my parents put their foot down. i went to class; my friends got arrested and made headline news. alas, i lost my chance to see the beautiful city until now, with my parents, with Dubya safely out of reach. but you could still see parts of it leftover, even though the city had worked hard to beautify everything. we saw graffiti along the concrete median that said BUSH CLAN #1 TERRIRISTES. clearly proclaimed by a French anarchist trying to express his anti-capitalist rage in english. or something.
8. most importantly, i got to spend some much needed time with FAMILY. which is always good. even if it means having my sister stealing the blankets all night. or having my father wake us up way too early in the morning "WAKE UP ALL OF YOU IT'S ALREADY SEVEN THIRTY AND WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO." i didn't realize that i was travelling with luke again.
and now, i am back in toronto again, looking forward to tomorrow, which brings....the first day of school. sob.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)