I'm a big kid now!

This deserved a huge update! I cannot count the number of times I've opened up the dashboard only to get distracted by the internetz and run out of "time" to blog.

Ok, first things first: I moved in with Steve! We live at the top floor of a house in a quiet little neighbourhood near-ish downtown. Kudos to MIL for taking picture on moving day, haha, I don't think I've even TAKEN any pictures inside or out of the house yet in the last month and a half.
I guess I've lived on my own-ish before, in Toronto, but it's very different living with someone else. Some chores work out ok: I like doing the laundry, because some of my clothes have special instructions--anything can be done with his, and he doesn't mind taking out the garbage and recycling. However, and I don't know if this is because I'm a female, or semi-neurotic, or my mother's daughter, but I'll be puttering around the house getting various tasks done and I just have no clue why a)S doesn't realize that these things need to be done b)S doesn't offer to help and c)I end up getting mad when I have to do things myself. I think I've just determined that certain things bother me more than S, and he doesn't realize things need to be done, but if I ask (and not yell) he will do them. So, we'll see how things work today with a HoneyDo list

I am now also gainfully employed. yay! So far, so good, but I really haven't gone through the right amount of training in my 2 weeks there, as August=everyone takes holidays. I expect things to get a lot more challenging in the next few weeks. The office is nice, the girls in the same job as me are close to my age, so we get along quite well, and we have a kitchen, a monthly-ish lunch, and potlucks.

July and August have been filled with lots of events, concerts, and gettogethers!

June 26: Ok, well, it was still in June, but near the end...I had a grad party at the 'rents house, which ended up turning into a moving out/let mom show off her newly renovated kitchen party. Despite a pretty epic thunderstorm in the middle of it, it turned out excellent. There was a little 3-year-old there. and Let me explain something to you....kids don't like me. I'm too loud and brash, I have no idea what to say to them, and they usually just hide behind their parents when I come near. Well, this little guy really liked hanging out with me! Maybe to do with the fact that I gave him a tambourine and egg shaker to play with, and blew bubbles for him, and gave him ICE CREAM (which I had to finish anyways :D)
THEN, it moved on to even more epic proportions: karaoke. Got a decent amount of people there to begin with, followed by my rents and aunt/uncle/some distant relative later. AWESOME! Did probably my best ever version of Highway to Hell! Aaand of course we ended the night with Bohemian Rhapsody so yeah, epicness just rolling off our tongues that night.

July 1st: (moving day) and also Canada Day at the Forks, and also WELCOME BACK ERIN! Went to see the Waking Eyes at the folks (never disappoint) and fireworks (I am disappoint)

July 3rd: H and I went to this Manitoba homecoming thing at the Forks, just to see Inward Eye play 4 songs. We rocked hard! Add this with 40°C weather with humidity and you could just see our exhaustion. We then headed down to Old Market Square for the Jazz Fest wrap-up Weekend, because Retro Rhythm Review was playing. Lots of fun, even when it started raining! I can't recall if we ended up going to karaoke after this, H, did we?

The middle of July was just a LOT of work at Ticketmaster. Bomber shifts, and I worked nearly the entire Folk Fest. That was fun, I guess, but I'm not huge into camping or eating outdoors, or portapotties. I'll take regular plumbing, please. The music was pretty good, but I'm not really one to spend a pretty penny on a lot of bands I don't know if I'll like.

July 31: Wide Mouth Mason show # 18, in Minnedosa at Rockin' the Fields. The show was pretty awesome, we got a SHOUTOUT from the guys during the show, I gave myself whiplash, and I think, were surrounded more or less with peeps who were enjoying the set.

August 7th: Rock on the Range! I originally wanted to see the Arkells, Danko Jones, and the Trews, in that order, but the Arkells went on tour with Tokyo Police Club instead (boo...but I'll see them in Sept, that tour stops in Winnipeg). Danko's set was great, but very short, and the Trews' set ended in a very bad mosh pit which almost cost H her glasses. We stayed in the stands for the remainder of the night, and enjoyed Godsmack thoroughly.

And...I have more, but I just got a king-size bed delivered, hence the reason I was up so early on a Saturday without having to work, and I'm gonna go christen it!

Don't have use for words anyway...

Has it seriously been 3 months? I do actually go to my blog several times a week, to check if my friends update their blogs, but I haven't had the motivation to update my own.

I am graduated! well, convocation is on June 2nd, but I passed everything and I tentatively have my B.Comm (Hons.). Whoohoo!

These last few months have been a whirlwind of activity, from finishing up this term (which was one of the toughest of my school career), working 3 jobs at a time (Teaching Assistant, Karaoke Host, Box Office Agent), seeking full-time employment (still looking; it will come!), and joining a Rolling Stone cover band (as backup singer). It has been a nice change to be able to focus simply on the cover band, finding a job, working a single job.

Yesterday marked an epic evening in terms of GREATEST SOCIAL EVER! All the golden oldies we like to hear, live bands, parents dancing (specifically, my own), and lots of great get-down dancing. Erin, you missed a goodie: I'll just have to try to repeat its epicness at a future social.

This summer is shaping up to look really good: Danko Jones tomorrow, ZZTop (with WIDE MOUTH MASON!!!) in June, Rock on the Range (Arkells, Trews, Danko Jones) in August, and HANSON in September (going to Vancouver!)

i can leave for the east coast tomorrow..

Ok, so it's not exactly later last night but it'll have to do...I was busy making curry, it took longer than expected and didn't turn out right...despite having massive amounts of curry powder, it is flavourless. I'll have to fix it up when it comes time to reheating leftovers.

Wednesday, June 17th:
Kicked off the afternoon at work! Ya, working the Argos pre-season game.

Went to the Drake Hotel for NXNE Kick-off...to start, they played 4 short films (and by short, I mean 3 minutes or so each) about various bands/venues in Toronto, and the first one featured Danko Jones, talking about Maple Leaf Gardens. He and his bassist JC were at the venue to watch it, so I made sure to say hi. I heard about the secret Broken Social Scene show but I'm not a huge fan (or just, fan) and I just ended up going home afterwards.

Thursday, June 18th:
Thursday was a bit of a bigger day for me. I started the evening off at Melissa Auf Der Maur, playing at Dundas Square. As far as chick singers go, she was pretty good. She had pretty funny stage banter, and she's hawt to boot. some barely-legal boys in the crowd were likin' it but too drunk to remember her name, and I ended up giving them my hand-written evening schedule to copy into their cellphone. When i was leaving the square later, they saw me and said "Hey, it's that awesome girl. We Love You!". Haha.

I headed over to the Whippersnapper Gallery on College & Clinton to catch my first special guest of the festival. The band, No Age, were really good. I'm not a huge fan of 2-person bands, but they were tight, the drummer was a decent singer, and the guitarist can restring in 30 seconds flat.

I then headed over Clinton's on Bloor West to catch Great Bloomers, with whom I'm falling in love. Their songs are layered with slow and fast parts, easy to dance to, and one particular song, Honey Blanket is constantly being streamed on myspace (until I can afford their album!)

Following their set, I walked to Lee's Palace, just in time to see the Skydiggers, referred to me by a friend. While I don't think I could be a huge fan, they were enjoyable, the singer had awesome stories to tell in between songs, very Hawksley Workman-ish.

The Special Guests at Lee's were Elliot Brood...decent, but kinda boring so I returned home.

Friday, June 19th:
Started off the night at Jen's where H's other friend was staying as well. We watched a couple of very funny episodes of the Office (coming from a non-Office watcher)...seriously, if anyone sang Take a Chance on Me with backup singers on speaker phone I think I'd die of happiness. We then decided that we must try Ein-Stein's deep-fried pickles. Now, I'm also not a huge pickle fan, but these were delicious! I have no idea how they get the batter to stick to those suckers!

We tried to make it to Dundas Square to catch Wintersleep but we only caught the one-song encore, which is just as well because that song was slooooow movin', not really my style. I was really feelin' seeing Magneta Lane, who was next on my hand-written schedule, so I jumped on a train to come home, get my camera, freshen up, drink a beer, and head out again; this time, to Lee's Palace again.

Met a nice young man in line who I hung out with for the show...strange enough, my age, named Nick, and having a birthday one day before mine! We watched the end of No Age's set (glad to have seen them again), and then kinda stood there in shock/confusing at King Khan...I say, if you need a gimmick like crazy costumes on stage, you're not really that good.

The best part of the night was that Nick said he had an extra ticket to Edgefest the following day, and that if I wanted it, it was mine! I had mentioned I had a boyfriend, so hopefully there was no confusion.

Saturday, June 20th:
Woke up to rain, and more rain. Thank goodness I stopped at the dollar store by my house for a child's $1 poncho, because it really did come in handy! I wasn't allowed to bring my umbrella in (hid it in my backpack--they weren't checking) because it's considered dangerous, yet later found out that schick had a booth and was handing out free razors, many of which later littered the ground. Not a good thought, as I was walking around barefoot for much of the day: mud+flipflops=huge mess+stuck feet. Consideration for future years: those shoes you wear in the water so that rocks don't bother you.

I did enjoy walking barefoot in the mud: I got a bit of free exfoliation and it was really soothing! We (Nick, his friends, and I) spend the earlier part of the day walking around to the Beer Gardens, checking out merch, etc, but managed to hear/watch parts of K-OS, Metric, Cancer Bats, and Moneen. I was really only there to see the Waking Eyes, and the trip to Downsview Park was worth it once they started their set. They were just ON that night, the crowd really grew once Alexisonfire finished up on the main stage, and I even got a few people around me to do the Clap breakdown in the middle of All Empires Fall. Righteous.

After realizing how late it was getting, I decided to head back to civilization and get ready for another night of NXNE. My bottled water came in handy for washing most of the mud off my shoes, but my legs were still covered in mud for the public transit ride home...I got a few stares and a couple of "So, how was edgefest?" comments.

One half-shower, redressing, and feeding later, I was ready for that night. My schedule slated me to see Oh No Not Stereo, a band that got rave reviews at SXSW, but they were unable to cross the border, so I went to option #2 on my list, Novillero at El Mocambo, who are always a good time (man, can those guys tambo!)

I wanted to make sure I got into Bovine Sex Club to see Inward Eye, so I scooted down there, and awesomely got a prime viewing spot. The boys were fabulous as always, the new songs are sounding good and you always know you've come to a good rock show when the guitarist blows a fuse in the first song. Ha. When they were done, the folks behind me were talking to themselves and said "See, the best bands come from Winnipeg, it must be something in the water," and I turned around and said, "I know, I'm from there!" Struck up a conversation with them about Inward Eye.

I stuck around to watch part of The Dogs, from LA, but I'm not really into that style of Stooges/Detroit Rock, so I headed to the Horseshoe Tavern, where I caught the end of Jason Collett's set and half of Hot Panda's set...they were meh, so I left, as I didn't feel like missing the last subway simply to see a meh band.

Sunday, June 21st:
The last day of NXNE! My first stop was at El Mocambo to catch Regina's Rah Rah. They were great, and not just because they had Hula Hoops and streamers. They had a wonderful song about Regina, which should always bring respect.

The next two bands at El Mocambo cancelled out, so instead they had the Hank and Lily Show, which again was too gimmicky for me...Lily had antlers and a high-pitched, but interesting voice. Hank and bassist wore face masks and crazy goggles. I eventually left and headed over to Racho Relaxo and what a great idea it was! I caught only the last few songs of Dan Griffin, who is also a member of the Arkells (who I unfortunately missed at Edgefest; they played first). He was alone with an accoustic guitar and the last song he played, East Coast, was hauntingly beautiful: it brought tears to my eyes (which I later told him--in response, he asked for my name and shook my hand).

The next band at Rancho was Bellewoods, and they were decent, a good way to end the festival.

Today:
Returned some library books, make tacos for dinner, listened to some beautiful tunes on myspace, chatted with my lover, and just enjoyed the beautiful day.

This week:
Interview tomorrow, Haircut on Wednesday, Meg's Birthday on Friday, Parents visit (aka FamJam) on Saturday through Tuesday!

already exhausted.

ahhhhh

Well I've started the full-time summer job, and it's pretty intense. Lots of learning, and making sure that I'm telling our customers the correct information, but I'm asking lots of questions and I'm very comfortable with my co-workers already, so I think I'll enjoy the summer there.

May has been quite busy. The Waking Eyes played a double set at the Albert on May first, and that was awesome...originals and Weezer's Blue Album in it's entirety! I got pictures...haven't gotten them online yet (and I can't do it now--on the new laptop, so nice to be on the couch and able to watch tv with my mom while also being on msn).

Rachael and I hit up the CSA's year-ender social, but we were kind of tired, so we left early, stopped at McDonald's, and then went home.

Queens of the Stone Age was last Wednesday...waaaay more awesome than the previous show! They actually played "Go With The Flow" which I was happy about. Mugison, the opening act, was quite unique.

Then, on Friday, the Pink Ladies (minus Andrea--darn summer courses) went to a social...while the music dragged at times, the night in general was so much fun! love dancing.

OH! On Mother's day we took my mom to bingo--double prizes. I was the one who won though...a whole $68! Whoohoo!

This week: more work, Danko Jones on Wednesday, Prologue to HP in HD on Friday, and more in the next week!

However, time for bed now.

Love, Nicole

wake me up before september begins...oh wait.

Ok, so I finally have some more spare time. I'm spending the week at H's while her hubby is away...makes me feel like I don't live at home anymore.

What else happened in August?

I had my birthday party...I turned 20 on the 20th, whoot. Got lots of sweet stuff--surround sound speakers, a new tv card, a new roller chair, V for Vendetta and lots else!

August 26th was Queens of the Stone Age. It was a great show, don't get me wrong; however, I did not enjoy it as much as the last show I saw, at the Burt. The convention centre sucks as a venue, for one thing. The mosh pit felt like I was dying.
The new album is also not my favourite...I much prefer Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies to Paralyze.

I took some pictures...



Plus, they were out of the hoodie I wanted to purchase :(

I went to the lake this weekend, as one last hoopla before the end of summer...it was too cold to be in the water for long, but walking into the water, there were no rocks, it was excellent. I didn't get any pictures, Rach did (I didn't even bother)

And Friday was supposed to be my last day at work, but they needed my help so I'm coming back for Tuesday and Wednesday, then going to school on Thursday.

Lots of stuff coming up for September and the school year in general:
-Got hired as a TA for Computer Usage 1 for the Fall Term. It pays really well and I got an A+ in the course when I took it last term, so it's a perfect job for me!
-The Western States on the first day of Classes--I keep missing them!
-The Banjo Bowl Concert featuring 54-40 and the Waking Eyes - September 8th
-Inward Eye, free show for orientation - September 14th!
-Danko Jones, myBar - September 18th

I think one of the biggest reasons I'm looking forward to going back to school is a new agenda...for serious.
So September is really looking up, month-wise.

hello 2007!

So...I think boyfriend deleted Flock, which is what I have been using to update you. I was trying to reduce the amount of shit on my computer, aka, delete that 3-d program that boyfriend put on here so that he could show me something he had made. I should be in bed right now, as I'm going to the morning bingo session, and before that: cheap breakfast at the sals. But I have decided to bring to you, instead, the 10 best concerts I went to in 2006. These are not in any particular order; however, some of these meant more than others...I just couldn't find a way to define why some were better than others.

1. The Who - October 3rd, MTS Centre. Fucking amazing. I was really surprised at how good this show actually was...I'm not going to say much, seeing as I said so much already in a previous post. Just....fantastic.
   
   
2. Jet Set Satellite - December 22nd, The Couch Residence (boyfriend's house!). I can't even begin to tell you show much this rocked. Well, I haven't told you anything!
   Setlist: Lady Killer, Remover, The Beast, Best Way to Die, XOXO (You Can't Go), Vegas, Baby Cool Your Jets, Lies by the Thousands, On My Way, Please Capture Me, Holding On and Never Letting Go, Ressurexit, Among the Living, The Night It Went Too Far, Together.
   Encore: Jump, We're Above This (I think...? not on the setlist), Walk Away.
   
   Many, many of the 70 invitees heard the band for the first time that night, and I am pleased to think that a lot of these folks went away thinking Why haven't I heard these guys before? Why aren't they bigger? When is their next show??? I will even say that my own mother, who I've joked only likes Lyle Lovitt and the BeeGees, wanted a poster for our downstairs fridge. Now, I'm just wondering if I can get her out to a bar...
   
   Some pictures:...eek, will be added once blogger stops being ridiculous, or I get Flock back on the computer.
   
   
3. Colin James - February 15/June 19 - Cowboys/Red River Ex
   Do you honestly think I could pick and choose one out of these? the show in Feb was my first ever time seeing the guy and I don't think I can ever forget that. I had been waiting to see Colin since grade 8--that was almost 5 years! I was there with Heather who had a great time time as well--it's like older Shaun/Kyle/Jordan, right? Who can forget the crazy backpack guy with the dancing dolls, or the butt-squeezing by older men *shudders*, or the picks so I could make earrings?
   And then for the second show--I may have had to dance alone but I found an 8-year-old girl who was dancing and how I wished I had been so cool so young. Got more picks, a set-list from a nice roadie, and managed to meet both Craig Northey and Colin James!
   
   
4. Sloan - July 22 - Maple Grove Rugby Park (Superspike)
   I almost tied this one with their show on October 20 (Silverados) but that wouldn't have been fair. The latter show may have been my first bar show seeing the band, and an amazing show at that, but it was hard to completely enjoy myself with my buddy sick with pneumonia, only coming up with me for the very end.
   So, for the summer show, this has to be up here because not only did the show rock hard, but I was invited up to sing on stage! How cool. clicky clicky. And, I managed to meet up with some older folks that had been at superspike at the October show!
   
   
5. Jet Set Satellite & Wide Mouth Mason - August 5 - Preeceville, SK.
   2 favourite bands. 5 great friends. 1 dirty hole in Saskatchewan. This was the dirtiest show I have ever been to, pun intended, but that didn't mean we didn't have fun! It was the only full-length Wide Mouth Mason show I attended in 2006 so of course, it had to be up here. It was a trip of bonding more than anything else and I am grateful for that.
   
   
6. Danko Jones - September 8th, Regina, SK.
   There is just something about driving more than 5 hours to see a band. In Sask. Although DJ also played in Winnipeg and we got to chat with them a bit longer, plus see a basement performance at a local radio station, the Regina show just holds so many memories. East Side Marios, the nice pool, my first full-length danko jones show, and seeing a girl flash the crowd and allow pictures, BEFORE the show started. and the Cougers....oooh, the Cougers.
   
   
7. Jet Set Satellite - July 27th - Coyotes.
   I think this was the dirtiest show I've been to that wasn't in Preeceville. Haha. No, but I was just SO SWEATY, it is definately the hottest-in-temperature bar in Winnipeg. I hold it very dear to my heart that I won 4 out of the 8 total won tickets while I was on the roof of my garage (note: it is not a flat roof), cleaning the eavestrough while burning my back. Just...sweaty.
   
   
8. The Trews - October 24th - U of M MPR
   I have to point out that I didn't stay for this entire show (my ride was leaving, it would have been an impossible trip home otherwise), yet it still makes it onto my top 10 list. Seeing them February 13 (Silverados) didn't quite fulfill my Trews need for that year...well, Den of Thieves in general wasn't good. But this Oct. show was different...perhaps it was Colin's facial hair (now he's John-Angus, really!), or Jack's continuously crazy pants and Jet-copying hat, or that while we were leaving, they were covering These Arms of Mine but I think that the next time I see the Trews, they will steal my heart. again.
   
   
9. Sam Roberts - May 15th - Ramada Conference Centre
   Eek. I'm getting pretty near the end; however, I couldn't avoid putting Sammy on my list. He was great! A triumphant return. Plus, he bought 4 pairs of my earrings! Good times with good people I say, but I also have several other things to point out: 3 of the people who hung around with us for this show are now complete jerkasses who I am ashamed to have shared these good times with. Furthermore, these same numbnuts took the liberty of taunting me at the second Sam show of the year, November 17 (Convention Centre for Grey Cup Week). Oh, these mixed feeling are getting the best of me.
   
   
10. The Waking Eyes, Kyle Riabko- ALL shows. I know I'm kind of cheating but I don't care....I'm too tired and too stubborn to think any differently. I had a fantastic time at all shows put on by these people despite (or because of) dancing in alleys, steak dinners, drunk girls wanting to walk on stage, power shortages, guitar love-making sessions, crazy pictures, sound checks, and bassists.

Bingo! That was the best 2006 ever besides losing friends and my Hanson CD. Hope 2007 brings even more.

update, update.

So my recovery from surgery went well, but I managed to get the common cold, which for me, adds incredible body achiness for a week, sneezing, coughing, and me being a complete suck.

Thankfully, that is over with. I really want to get the flu shot this year, since I seem to get colds so easily.

Danko Jones rocked. Except for me getting groped by some chick behind me. *sigh*. And no guy I was with would switch me spots...come on, it was like a free lap dance except from behind! Oh well... pics! dankojones.net, go check them out.

The next night was the Who and I cannot stop saying good things about them.

(review, taken off of what I posted on the Winnipeg Message Board and the Jet Set Satellite Message board):

The Who

Ahh! I had an AMAZING TIME! I was wary about paying TOO much for tickets, so I went with the $79 which came to just under $100/ticket. I was going into the concert with the "maybe I should've splurged a bit more to get better seats" because even we got 300-section. Well, we got a bit of surprise...they closed our section - I guess it didn't sell that well, and we were relocated to 106, 2nd row...freaking awesome!

I was wary about Inward Eye, as the last time I saw them at the WECC, I was unimpressed...I used to LOVE these guys, one time I rocked out so hard that I couldn't get out of bed the next day...this was without any liquor, too, guys. However, it looks like they've been touching up their stage show more, and they're back to their crazy selves!

Townshend rocked his guitar--it was unfortunate that he kept on having trouble with his amp, though.
Daltry strugged on some lines, but for others, had me going "YEAH!!!". The scream at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again' had EVERYONE cheering, it was rather unexpected.

I don't have the setlist, but according to the Sun:
Can't Explain
The Seeker
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Fragments
Who Are You
Behind Blue Eyes
Real Good Looking Boy
Wire & Glass medley (6 songs from their mini-opera)
Baba O'Reily
Eminence Front
You Better You Bet
Won't Get Fooled Again
My Generation

Encore: (Just guessing the order)
Pinball Wizard
See Me, Feel Me (is this the song name?)
Joni Mitchell cover
...others

As well, they had an amazing stage setup, the screens behind them had graphics specific to each song, really well done.
I think the only people in the entire arena who were sitting down (besides the people who are physically not able to stand up) were the people sitting behind us. And they felt the need to tap me on my shoulder and tell me to sit down. Screw them.

So yeah...fab-u-lous!

I babysat a kitty this weekend and it was so sweet. The cutest little kitten there was (besides the legendary Pinkerton). The only bad part: getting my nose scratched today...that mutha kills!

I think I'm going to grow out my bangs, get a trim, and continue to grow out the rest of my hair.

And my slurpee has just begun to hit me like ecstacy hits a raver...except that I needs to get to bed soon...school tomorrow.

and, my heart is crying out to play guitar. I just need to find some time.