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!

It's all happening...

This term has started out pretty overwhelming, and whilst the overwhelmingness has only increased since the beginning of January, it's a good overwhelming? right.

I'm on the verge of finishing all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls. It's been great! A tad (in other words, a lot) distracting, but great. There are tons of moments that I don't remember, even later in the series when I thought I had been a devout follower. It will be nice to get my evenings back so that I can, oh, do my homework in a reasonable amount of time.

I've got some things non-school related coming up on the horizon, so I'll have to see how those things pan out, and hopefully my head won't explode before the end of term...I'd hate to have no head left after 5 years of studying!

Inward Eye show this Wednesday, looking forward to that (esp. my partners in crime, Hoho and my old friend J).

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!

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.

come out with your hands up, so we can blow you away

I thought I'd post just a few pictures to let you know that I'm still alive.


This picture is Colin James at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre, Feb 21, 2007.

This next picture is the Zombies at McPhillips Street Station, which i went to with Erik. They were fantastic! I got a setlist, and also got to meet them, which was a thrill.

This is Inward Eye...they opened up for Thornley on March 8th, but I would've preferred them headline. Their set was pleasing, and I've gotten even more (or rather, back) into them since getting their demo and listening to it on repeat on the ol' mp3 player.





Thornley wasn't anything to write home about--or write on here about.

And March 9th was Hawksley Workman. It was Heather's first time seeing him...I think she liked him. the show was filled with his long, detailed, beautiful stories, tunes from him and Mr. Lonely (his keyboard player), and much communication with the audience. Some shots:

And that's all of the concerts that I have photos for at the moment. I went to Jet Set Satellite on Friday night and that KICKED ASS. It will be the last show for a long while, so I am extremely glad I had the opportunity to go. Didn't get pictures of the actual show, but did bring my camera to the studio 97 that afternoon. Again, Thornley were nothing to write home about. Though it was nice to slowdance/slowstand there with Steve during "Blown Wide Open". Now, I'm just waiting for everyone else to get their pictures/videos up...power 97, Brittany, Dan (the professional photog-he's awesome).

I have a lot of shit to do this week, and it's Eric Clapton on Wednesday.

into the mystic

I've been busy. Well, pretty busy.

The rest of my reading week was spent resting. Saturday was my new work's supervisor's going away party. I made spinach dip! It was nice to hang out with people from a job, again. I haven't done that...in a really long time.

Many busy days back from reading week. The first two days were spent cramming for my Stats midterm, which took place on Wednesday. Fuckin' eh! I ended up getting 97% which is ridiculously awesome. I was thrilled.

Wednesday was also the night of Colin James. I have some pictures that I took before the camera nazis came to tell people to put their cameras away (though she didn't tell me to put it away--strange because my camera is gigantic) but I've been too busy to put them up (really, I am always forgetting to upload unless there is someone who's waiting to see them)
The roadie fellow remembered me! Always nice to see, I will be sure to bring him some guitar pick earrings next time.
The performance was great, as always, I'm not a huge fan of the little big band stuff, but it was still fun.

Worked Friday, and went to HB's for some chai latté, then H picked me up and we went to Dylan's on Pembina. We always have an experience. There was this silly drunk old man that kept telling us that we had "beautiful hair" and he touched my arm and we immediately said "please get away, you're making us uncomfortable". Crosstown Rivals to the rescue!

Saturday was hell. office job decided not to tell me that I was to have three times as much work as usual. When I left, after being there for 7 1/2 hours (I'm usually only there for around 5) I was already an hour late for ticketmaster. for a 3 1/2 hour event shift. Fuck. I was really upset. Fortunately, some James Bond and pizza cheered me up when I got home.

Today was my management theory and org behavior midterm and lemme tell you, it did not go well. That's what happens when you cram two chapters of reading in on Friday, 4 chapters in on Sunday night.

I'll have to redeem myself on my managerial accounting midterm on Thursday. I can only hope.

P.S. I got tickets for Thornley/Inward Eye and The ZOMBIES!!! Whoot!!!