Thursday, December 25, 2008
a christmas story
as you may or may not know, the vancouver airport was, and probably still is, in complete chaos. yesterday, on christmas eve, most of the flights between vancouver and prince george were canceled. luckily, my flight was booked at 8:25pm on dec 23rd, just barely inside the cancellation deadline. so i spent all day checking the flights, seeing the delays, hearing the horror stories, and watching in agony as the next day's flights were terminated, one by one. but my flight still said 'on time.' fingers crossed.
demons came to pick me up at about 6:30. i think he could tell that i had been pacing. "sit down ole boy." at this point my flight had been delayed an hour, but houston was still a GO. i was nervous, but not sweaty nervous. we hit the airport at about 7:45. i convinced steve to come inside with promises of a possible airport bar and free drinks in exchange for good company while his twitchy friend watched his flight get delayed further and further into the night.
the sketchiness that had followed me all day, followed us into the airport bar. the place was packed with stranded travelers, all escaping the same situation, but all still confident that, if they have made it this far, they will make it all the way. but there was no where to sit down. except a swanky leather couch.
and so, as soon as i sat down, on that swanky leather couch, christmas began.
it was real comfy. even steven said so. and the canucks game was on in front of us. it was busy and no waitress came around. we were both real thirsty, so i stammered up to the bar and ordered a couple pints of heineken. the lady at the bar seemed real nice, and calm, and unaffected the chaos around her. she brought over the heinys and said "on the house." i was totally shocked, really? why? "well, the keg is low, so they may not taste that great, merry christmas!" "well a very merry christmas to you too mam!"
so here i am, on a swanky leather couch, watching the canucks game, drinking a free pint of delicious booze, discussing obscure theories with a close friend, and suddenly it dawned on me...i am still waiting for a plane that may not exist. then, a voice came over the intercom "attention passengers of flight air canada 8212 to vancouver, your plane has landed, please proceed through security."
gift after gift, i tell ya.
so i finished my glass, shook hands with stever, and headed to security. had a good book with me. the plane took off at about 9:37pm, if i remember correctly. and just like that, i was heading home for the holidays.
then this happened.
and turned it into a christmas that will be remembered forever.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
give
november must have been a depressing month.
cause lately, something is better.
the good thing about feeling shitty, is the feeling of extreme non-shitty that always comes after.
illness, depletion, stress, gin, tonic, lime, rest.
i brought it up at breakfast.
the shifting of complacency and such.
steve listened, then after a while he said "decompression is my condition"
and i accused him of having a dream diary.
i wanna be a painter.
or a guy who comes up with new things to make into chia stuff.
they already have the chia pet, chia head, chia rabbit, etc.
but what about the chia pigeon? or chia hobo?
k, forget being a painter.
thats not my style yo.
i play liquor, guns, and un-cleared samples.
dont trip on my intensity.
noam sayin?
photos are gonna surface from last night.
damn, they already have.
facebook has ruined everything.
there's no surprises anymore.
just evidence, plastered all over a billboard.
when i woke up, the sleeves were gone.
cant remember who pulled the scissors out.
guess i have a dope new vest now.
ugly sweater party gone crazy.
started bad, ended worse.
i shotgunned a beer as a gift for erickson.
horrible gift idea.
but how can you say no to this face?
pay attention to those brown buttons on his sweater.
at some point later on, mike made a powerful speech about Lindsay (the birthday girl) and ended it by ripping the sweater open, revealing a giant L shaved into his plethora of chest hair. it was massive, the crowd erupted, buttons flew everywhere, both whitey and i suffered face shots. wish i ready for it, would have caught the button in my mouth. it was probably the greatest thing ever done.
"im not the brightest bulb on the tree, i just know how to shine" -mike erickson
as for me, well, time will tell.
for now ill use the juno soundtrack to ease the pain, and break the silence.
while i enjoy another incredible saturday afternoon, out of sight.
well, on with the day i guess.
dont forget to buy my new album, makes a great stocking stuffer!
and will be worth tons of money on ebay when im gone.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
headphones are a terrible idea
i get sucked in, and drift off.
minutes will pass, then suddenly ill snap out of it.
having forgotten where i was and what i was doing.
a stream of drool painted down the front of my shirt.
gasping for air like a drowning raccoon.
im doin hard time at this hour.
should be at the gym, or sleeping.
not watching old price is right bloopers while listening to G.A.T.H.
the headphones keep me attached, im a damn sound junkie.
hooked on the notes.
its like watching ricky cook bacon.
admitting it easy.
now once again i find myself paralyzed by the headphones.
there must be a reason.
maybe they keep my head from exploding.
ya, probably.
Monday, December 1, 2008
erics army
december smells like a battle.
two or three hundred horses, five or six wagons, and about a thousand fools.
in the advertising industry, december is the most ruthless, gutless, relentless attack on all that is pure and fun about christmas. its about one thing: making money. lots and lots of it. aside from the incredible workload that im about to face, it doesnt really bother me that i have to sell christmas up and down this town for 4 weeks straight. i still get to pace around a house shared with no roommates, punk rock blasting, at 12:13am on a sunday. and it doesnt for a second damage my chistmas experience. for me, christmas is still 100% about family. and new socks.
christmas (for commercial writers) is the mexico at the end of the flight.
sick, tired, sore back, hungry, have to piss, sweaty, etc.
then suddenly it kicks in, oh ya, im in mexico, living on a white sandy beach, with blue water, and the liquor and food is free.
last year, we spent christmas in mexico. i definitely recommend it. not every year, but once at least. im excited to spend this one at home. steve wont be there, but he'll phone, and we'll all feel it, and mom will hold back the tears. then ill pull out the nintendo wii, and get everyone bowling, and my dad will go buy the whole system on boxing day, with tiger woods 2009 of course.
hospital music just came on, and i did kind of a goal scoring celebration.
picked up a new 5 disc changer the other day.
best new toy in a long time.
i fill it up like a gas attendant, and let er rip.
it heals the pain of the ice hawks losing tonight, my first game back after missing 3 games with the 'Ten Tall Tour' and then a sudden horrifying 3 day sickness that killed like 6 people, but not me.
speakin of 'the tour,' what a great weekend, from start to finish.
playing a show with greg was the best feeling ever.
seeing dan own the place was another tasty treat.
the tax return was surprisingly generous.
memories of good times rule.
the photos would tell sucha better story if demons had taken them.
i sold more albums in kamloops than in port moody. explain.
fine, ill bring demons next time.
that guy would never put a cigarette out on me.
thanks to jon for setting up the new site.
im going to be writing alot in the coming weeks.
need practise, for the book im planning in 2009.
done with albums for a while.
archives
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
