On Road Trips and Blog Post Skips...

Hey all,

I know, I know, what happened to posting every week?? Well, before you come at me with torches and pitchforks, I can explain! Up until this point, I have been "borrowing" (ahem) a wireless signal from somewhere in the surrounding area. It was unreliable, slow, and frustrating.....but free. Unfortunately, our free internet seemed to have finally disappeared for good about two weeks ago. Ben, being the wonderful roomate that he is, took it upon himself to finally hook us up with some umm...legal internet, and (god save us) Cable TV. That was successfully installed last Thursday. Tanner and Ben are both in their own right, full blown internet (mostly Facecrack) addicts, and so have successfully monopolized my laptop a fair bit these past few days, but I really dont mind sharing. Just means Ive been somewhat delayed in my posting endeavors until now, but fear not! We are back online, and all systems appear to be go.

So! What have I been up to for the last two weeks or so? I guess I should bring you up to speed...or something. Firstly? Well Im almost certain my insomnia is back....made clear by the fact that Im lying on the couch right now at 3:23AM listening to Luc continue to cough his lungs up on the couch downstairs (poor bastard is out of a home, thanks to his crazy ex, got screwed over by his job, and is sick as a dog. I felt so sorry for him today I made him some hot lemon and lent him my fleece slippers.) and watching late night Discovery Channel. Exciting isnt it. Hmmm, for the most part, my weekdays are fairly uneventful, I tidy the house, go to class, chill out, hang out with the guys, continue the job search (MOM)....but my last several weekends have been exceptionally good, so this is where I will concentrate the majority of my writings.

Three weekends ago, was the last one before the end of my Christmas holidays. And what better way to round it out than with a spontaneous road trip to Banff? I personally love going to Banff, and its made even better when I'm accompanied by good friends! On this occasion, it was myself, Shantelle, Sarah, Tyler (Shantelles BF) and Clayton. We drove up, went for dinner at The Gate, an Irish pub downtown with a great atmosphere and good food. Then we wandered around town in the chilly evening, stopping often in shops to explore and warm up. There are always all kinds of smells in the strees, everything from savory barbecue, to fresh caramel being made in the window of the candy store. I love it too, because it can be ten thirty at night, and the streets are still full of all kinds of people, and all the shop doors are wide open. Heres a few of my fav pics from the night!

Clayton and I, appies at The Gate.....so good they caused uncontrollable facemaking!

Whatsamatter Sarah? Dont you want your picture taken??

GIANTBEARPUNCH!

Tellie and I Toque Time

Oooh, we be....cowboys??

Yeah, it was awesome. So that brings us to two weekends ago. Now let me just start by saying this weekend was epic. Visiting old friends, more road tripping, volleyball, partying, and meeting a ton of new people. That was Cranbrook. It was our second annual trip to the Winter Sizzler co-ed vball tourney in Cranbrook BC. The trip included myself, Phil, Mat Dubrule, Matt Veikle, and Amanda (a new, and last minute, addition to our crew) we met up with Corey, whom I havent seen since last year, and its great to see that hes back to his old self. I could write alot about the weekend, but it would most likely take up a post in itself. Lets just say it was an awesome time, almost better than last year, and I cant wait until next year. there are a ton of pics from the weekend on facecrack, but I'll throw up a couple here just to give you a taste.

Matt V. and myself...just a little excited to be in Cranny....

Corey, myself, and Mat D. Testing out the hotel bed with some wrastlin'


Phil, Amanda, and I, partay timez!

Group shot at the end of the weekend: Me, Phil, Mat D, Matt V, and Amanda

And now we come to this weekend! Now the best part about this weekend by far was a long overdue visit from my best friend Jackie. We live only a short 45 minute drive apart from each other, and yet havent seen each other since sometime in September. Needless to say, we had a little bit of catching up to do. Clayton was kind enough to drive with me to Calgary to pick her up on friday night, as my car is temporarily parked (have yet to renew insurance). We had a whole gang of people over at the house on friday night, and Jackie had a great time getting to know everyone she hadnt met at the time of her last visit to Olds almost a year ago, and catching up with those she had. On Saturday night, most of us headed to Red Deer for a get-together at Matt S. house (I know way too many Matts....I can see this getting confusing, hehe) We also headed over to the Farside, on the RDC campus to see the second official concert by my friend Greg and his recently formed band, Left On Windsor (some of you might remember me mentioning Greg in my posts from last year). It was awesome to see him play, and catch up a little, as I havent seen him in a while. They sounded great, and I bought one of thier newly released EPs, the cover of which was designed and drawn by yours truly. Heres how it ended up coming out:

Unfortunately I dont have any pics from this weekend, as I dont have a camera, and Jackie forgot to bring hers. Kinda really makes me wish I had one....like, alot. But alas, poor starving College student, and expensive digital camera are two things that dont really belong in the same sentence. Heres a picture of Jackie, Myself and Greg from last year when Greg and I drove to Calgary to visit Jackie at the UofC.


So I think that about covers it!.......man, took a while too.....its now 5:15Am! And I guess that brings me to the lyric of the week segment of our program folks! Now our Lyric of the week last week was brought to us by a punk/metal band called Mindless Self Indulgence. I didnt really expect any of you to get it, but Ive been loving this song and this band ever since Ben introduced them to me. They are made particularly badass by the fact that the drummer and bassist are both chicks. Awesome. You can go check out the video here. Be forewarned though....it IS a punk rock video, so its a little silly, and I guess it might be offensive to some, but I figure its relatively harmless and pretty funny......but now you cant say I didnt warn you...hehe. Our bonus song was a great song by Jason Mraz. As I said, pretty much opposite ends of the music spectrum, as this artists tunes are super chill and reggaelicious. My favorite version is this acoustic version. I urge all of ya to go have a listen. Theres also a really neat thing about this song that I totally forgot about until just recently. I actually have a video of my friend Greg that I mentioned earlier, playing this song at a small acoustic show at the college last winter, accompanied by Shaun on the jembei and backup vocals. Its not a very good quality video, and they have one little mess-up :P, but I thought it was kind of a cool coincidence. Greg is a wonderful vocalist, as well as Shaun, and hopefully you can catch a little of it in this vid.

And I guess that brings us to this weeks lyrics! I'll get straight to it!

"Oh no, here comes that sun again,
it means another day without you my friend,
And it hurts me to look into the mirror at myself,
and hurts even more to have to be with somebody else.

And its so hard to do, and so easy to say,
but sometimes, sometimes,
you just have to walk away.

So many people to love in my life,
why do I worry about one?
But you put the happy in my ness
you put the good times into my fun.

And its so hard to do, and so easy to say,
but sometimes, sometimes,
you just have to walk away"

Yup! An awesome song, one that I have liked for a long time. But I believe that brings me to the end of this marathon post, so...

Current state of being? adrift in a sea of my own thoughts

Weather? So beautiful! Ha! Take that, rest of Canada!

Things making me happy right now? How comfy I am lying on our leather loveseat :)

and cue exit stage right......

Later days,
~CJ~

Holidaze

So I'm kinda sitting here being lazy and whatnot.....not alot to do at 4AM on a Sunday. I'm reflecting on my holidays so far, and laughing in my head a little at some things....thought it might be a good idea to share some of them with all of you out there. Typing out the entire story that goes along with each memoir will however result in a really long novel that you'll probably get bored of after reading for more than 5 minutes.......and as I already said, I'm being lazy :P. SO my solution? I'm just gonna lay it out in point form. If you read something that you'd like me to elaboare on, just throw it up in a comment, and I'll be happy to oblige!

What I'm reminiscing about/holiday highlights:

-the Christmas dinner I cooked for myslef. Damn I'm good.

-Ben(Roomate) and Clayton (his brother) coming back into town to spend Christmas eve with me because they knew I was spending it alone.

-How our Christmas tree consisted of me draping a shoelace and some earrings on Frank The F'in Ficus (One of our little potted houseplants....yes they have names....) and putting presents underneath him.

-How I have to ask Ben if I can borrow his flatiron (LOL) and how I straightened four people's hair last night and none of them were girls.

-Becoming nocturnal again

-going to play in the snow at midnight on Christmas day with Shaine, Tanner (other roomate), and Clayton. Building jumps to take our snowboards off under the stars....yup

-Breaking into spontaneous dance parties in the car

-Trying to Two Step with a guy about a foot shorter than me and him thinking he can dip me and then dropping me in the middle of the dance floor

-Being called "the strangest boy we know" by the guys (haha! I love it)

- bandanna craze

- Clayton and Sheckk jumping out my living room window into a snowbank with no shoes or shirts on...

-almost getting in a fight at the bar last night........(yuck)

-Walking through the Tim Hortons drive-thru in Red Deer with Shaine and Clayton in the snow at 2 in the morning and having them actually serve us food

-Tanner and Luc making me laugh so hard I cried in the Chinese food restaurant today



.............yeah. Thats what comes to mind right now. I might come back and add more if I remember it. Basically what it comes down to though is that my friends really helped make my holidays memorable, and helped make me feel alotta luff. Hehe.

So. Current state of being? Pondering many things.....and fearing that my insomnia is coming back....

Weather? Snowy snowy

Things making me happy right now? The Truffles chocolates I'm gorging myself on (Thanks mom)

I'm gonna throw up a few pictures just cuz I kinda feel like it....and so I can put some faces to some names.
Me and Clayton chillin....think this was last week sometime

An older picture of Shaine and Luc


Me, Tanner and Ben....Roomies :) This was at the end of the summer this year

Shaine and Ben looking epic in our living room

Tanner and Clayton, snowboardin....

Thats all I've got for now. More to come in the future though, guarantee it. Last week, Aunt Moira asked me to post a photo of my new hair, and I would certainly love to...unfortunalty I havent got a camera :( , so I dont have a very recent pic of myself, nor can I take one. I'll try to get one up as soon as possible. Aunt Moira was also the first person to correctly guess the song of the week too!! It was indeed "Fix You" by Coldplay. Ive been listening to them alot lately, awesome band, awesome tuneage. check out the song here

So I figure since we had someone correctly guess the song, I should probly do some kind of bonus dealio or something eh......hehe, well I havent really thought of anything amazing or awesome, but if you have any ideas, let me know! For now, I think I'll just post a bonus lyric for your guessing pleasure!

This weeks lyric IS.....

"The bass, the rock, the mic, the treble,
I like my coffee black just like my metal with
the bass, the rock, the mic, the treble,
I like my coffee black just like my metal cuz
I cant wait for you to shut me up and make me hip like badass,
I cant wait for you to shut me up,
shut. it. UP."

aaaaaaaaaaaand bonus lyrics!!!

"It takes a crane to build a crane,
and it takes two floors to make a storey,
it takes an egg to make a hen, it takes a hen to make an egg,
there is no end to what I'm saying.
And it takes a thought to make a word,
and it takes some words to make an action,
and it takes some work to make it work,
it takes some good to make it hurt,
it takes some bad for satisfaction....
ahh lalalalala life is wonderful,
ahh lalalalala life goes full circle."

Both good songs in their own right, but about as far from opposite ends of the music spectrum as you can get.....hehe, I have a broad taste in tuneage it would seem.

And that is that. It is now 6 AM, and I think its about time I attempted that ever-elusive act so often refferred to by most as sleep.

Good vibes and happy holidaze to all 'yalls
~CJ~

-38

So my day has officially gone to the dogs. This morning I went out to start my car, and in the process of realizing that there was no way under the sun that was happening, just about froze every appendage on my body. I came inside cold and disappointed....I had quite a few things I was planning to accomplish today (including following up on a job MOM) but walking anywhere beyond a fifty foot radius of the safety of indoors would most likely prove suicidal. Its strange that its been so cold here, considering only about two weeks ago we had no snow, and a sweater sufficed for insulation when braving the outdoors. Now we've been suffering through more snow than Olds has seen at this time of year in close to 30 years, and ridiculous sub-zero temperatures....like the -38 we have as a high today. I think winter is making up for lost time.

My weekend has been....interesting. Friday night i trekked down to Calgary with Ben and a few other friends from Olds to visit Coy. Now Coy is an interesting fellow. Rather eccentric, full of energy, tattooed and pierced.....and one of the best hair dressers in Calgary. ....Yeah, interesting. I first met Coy over May long weekend this year, at the campsite all the gang were staying at. We seemed to hit it off, and Ben and I have gone to C-town to visit him on several occasions now. This particular occasion, he was competing in an "up-do styling competition". It was taking place at a rather upper-class night club in Calgary, the type of place I usually wouldnt even consider going to. But, Coy got us all VIP tickets, and we all wanted to come out to support him, so off we went.
Coy and I a few weekends ago.....Coy's model (well, one side of her) after he had his way with her hair. She was supposed to be a wild beast woman....I think that was accomplished.

Now, this place apparently has a dress code, as we were told by Coy. Dress shoes, nice clothes, and no hats.... "So...no skate shoes?" I inquired hopefully. No. No skate shoes. Well shoot, that meant digging out some kind of heeled contraption that would most likely destroy my feet and make me feel like a giant. I managed to find some boots that I bought for a halloween costume last year that would have to suffice, as anything open-toed was just asking for frostbite. Now, let me tell you something about wearing heels in -40 weather.....STUPID. If you ask me, wearing heels at any time is a practice I tend to avoid at all costs, but this was just ridiculous. Luckily, I wasnt the only one feeling a little out of place and out of my skin. Ben, my roomate, who at the moment has black blonde and blue hair (courtesy of Coy, of course), and can fit into tighter pants than me, was feeling a little less than himself in a black dress shirt and dress shoes that, he insisted, "make me look like I'm wearing cowboy boots."

We made it in though, and the night was fairly uneventful, other than Coy placing fourth and drinking way too much Gin. On Saturday, despite obvious repercussions from alcohol consumption, Coy cut my hair and put some crazy colors in it as repayment for some favors I've done for him in the past. It was nice to have it changed up again, seeing as I havent done anything with it since about this time last year. Saturday night the majority of the gang went up to Red Deer to party at Matt's house, but by the time I got home from Calgary I really didnt feel like driving any more, so I ended up staying home, making popcorn, and watching The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy with the kitty. Fell asleep on the couch, and woke up on Sunday with very little motivation to do much of anything. Later in the evening I met up with Shaun, who was on his way back from visiting family in Canmore....and that is a tangled mess of crappiness that I would rather not delve into at the moment.....

So....
current state of being? Emotionally drained, tired and alone
weather? still retardedly cold
hair? sweeeet
things making me happy right now? mmmm Rooibos tea and honey

And now I bring you this weeks edition of song lyric guessing action!

"When you try your best but you don't succeed,
when you get what you want but not what you need,
when you feel so tired but you can't sleep,
stuck in reverse.
And the tears come streaming down your face,
when you lose something you can't replace,
when you love someone but it goes to waste,
could it be worse?"

Hehe, oh the irony.

Here's a hint.....this band would most likely enjoy a spot of afternoon tea and perhaps some fresh crumpets......

Last week's song is brought to us by the most excellent John Mayer. Its one of my favorite songs right now, and I can't stop listening to the Live in LA version that I'm posting a link to for your listening pleasure! It's called "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6HppOWNWcY

CJ. Out.

Resurrection...

Well....

I think I have officially failed miserably in keeping up with my blog. It's almost a year to the day since my last post. Wow. But now here I am again, brushing off the thick layer of dust and attempting a resurrection. I guess lately I've felt the need to express myself through words more than usual, and what better place to do it than here. At least I can share it with those of you who care to keep up with my scattered life. And oh how scattered it has been. I definitely don't feel like writing the novel it would take to fill in the blanks of an entire year, but I'll try to sum it up in point form....

-summer ~ sucked
-school ~ lame
-living situation ~ awesome
-weather ~ freezing
-current state of being ~ kasjhfn;klshfoishgiodfjkkdjfbv
-things making me happy right now ~ kitten sitting in my lap and my slippers

.....if you want to know anything else, well you had better leave a comment and ask me.

So. How am I going to keep my resurrected creature alive? Well I have a few ideas....
I plan to make it a habit to have at least one post per week. Whether it be two words or two paragraphs. One post. Per week. Period. I also plan to have a song lyric of the week. This is an idea I've had in my head for a while. I listen to alot of music, and quite often I find that one particular song, or lyric will sum up how I'm feeling, or simply stick in my mind. I'll post the lyric, and then those of you who take the time to bother with my writings can guess who the artist is, or what the song is. On the next week, I'll post a new lyric, and the answer to last week's. If I was more tech savvy, I could probly somehow post the song itself, but alas, in that respect, I fail.

So. That's where I'm at. I would also like to throw out there, that if anyone reading would like me to write about something, or wants to know about something (about me, what I'm doing, what drugs I'm on, you know, the usual), just throw it up in a comment, and I'll see what I can do for ya.

For now, I'll leave you with one of the first poems I've written in a long time. It was inspired while I was on my way from Olds to Tofield to pick up my horse. Shaun, who was driving, encouraged me to jot it down, so I immortalized it on a dirty napkin scrounged from the floor of the truck. It was a cold morning, and the sun was just burning off the fog....

The fog flees the sun's rays
Like a white army retreating,
running for shelter in the valleys.
The light pierces the cold air
with warm blades of yellow
and lights upon the frost
Coating brach and stem
with delicate white lace
So intricate and fragile
Ruined with the slightest breath
and yet perfect for a moment
in the still silence.
The image of beauty
held only for a second
before becoming lost
to the scale of the day
that lies ahead

....yeah.
So! Now for the very first lyric of the week!

" It's not a silly little moment, it's not the storm before the calm, this is the deep and dying breath of this love that we've been working on. Can't seem to hold you like I want to, so I can feel you in my arms, nobody's gonna come and save you, we've pulled too many false alarms."

Think you know it?? Inrigued?? LOSING YOUR MIND?????

Well, then I guess you'll have to tune in for the answer!

Peace out yo

~CJ~

For a Friend...

So, once again that time of the year has rolled around when people wander back down the road to home and family, whether it be short or long, and indulge in the pleasures of the holidays. I myself am departing on a flight on thursday, and am using tomorrow to pack and clean and otherwise run around like a kid on caffiene trying to get organized. The college is eerily quiet now, the parking lot behind my house empty, with only the bare spots of pavement among the crusty old snow as evidence that there were ever any vehicles there. The guys all left for home today, and most of my roomates are already gone. I've got a lonely string of white LED Christmas lights strung around my window...the full extent of my festiveness is expressed through those pale glowing bulbs. Thinking about it, I am looking forward to the trip home...spending some time in Vancouver with the Father, then tripping up to Hun for some festivities with family there. As much as I enjoy the life here, every so often its good to get away.

However, the more I think about the holidays, and how they represent a time to come closer with family and friends, I cant help but be somewhat saddened by it all. Not because of those who I'm to be spending my time with, no, I look forward to that time and those people. Its those who, during this time of so called "love and joy", are missing a major piece of that family that is so important.....and have been left with a void that could never be filled, even with all the love and joy in the world. This has been brought so close to home for me recently, as one of my best friends just lost his older brother in a tradgic car accident. Being an only child, the loss of a sibling is unfathomable to me, and I feel so helpless in consolation. I have no words that can comfort a hurt that immense, no insight or wisdoms to convey that can ease the passing of such a grief. I can only listen to the tears on the other end of the phone line, and hope that the sound of a freinds voice is enough, that somehow I can throw a lifeline into that sea of loss. I tell myself there isnt anything more I could hope to do, but somehow the helplessness is still overwhelming, and I wish there was a way to ease the pain. I almost feel guilty....my family may be broken, but that does not mean it has lost any pieces, and I pray it stays that way. People say grief is normal, a process we all experience. I agree, I suppose, but I do not believe a grief so immense is natural by any means. No one should have to experience something so devastating, and it is painful to watch it strike down one of my close friends.

At a time when were all kicking back and enjoying the smell of pine trees, the taste of turkey, the lights in the trees, and the contentment that only human companionship can bring, I hope everyone takes a good look around, and appreciates how bloody lucky they really are. I know for me, there will be a spot in my heart and a place in my thoughts for a friend who deserves tidings of comfort and joy more than anyone I know.

CLo, this goes out to you.

On Dance Parties and the Like....

Not too much to say, but really the pictures speak for themselves....taken at our badass Dance part last Thursday.

Me and Greg, Mid-sing-along perhaps?

Phil, Me, and Mat, DAAAAANCIN!

So....you know you've had a good night when you pass out on someone else's couch with your pants half-off, and a grilled cheese sandwich in hand.....our model in this case, Shaun.

More random and often amusing pictures to be found on the ever-amazing world of Facecrack. Feel free to go crazy-browsin here...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27286&l=fe569&id=512301092

CJ. OUT.

Did you know that Carnations are edible?

So. Funny story time. Last night, was in Camrose for a vball game against Augustana. They are Olds' ongoing rival, and defeated the girls team in 3 sets. The guys took them to 5, and lost 13-15 in the 5th. Painful. Augustana is trucking down to Olds this afternoon to play us on our home turf, and I think they're in for a slaughtering. Brutally long busride there yesterday, I've never been to Camrose before, but its faaaar. Thank God we had the good bus this time, and not the school bus/prison bus/we look like a bunch of felons when we get off bus. Got back at around midnight, and had to help Phil out, as he rolled his ankle hardcore in the 5th set. Got home finally to find Kim, Kristen, and Shantelle sitting at the kitchen table eating ice cream and leftover pizza. Much random conversation ensued, but at some point, Shantelle dropped the most random comment of all. We have some red Carnations on our table form a Girls night gone by, and Shatelle picked one up, examined it for a moment before saying, "Did you know that Carnations are edible?" I'm sure you can picture the laughter that followed. Of course after that, we had to try eating some carnation petals, and I can tell you, edible or not, I wont be eating them again.

So we got to talking, and Shantelle was telling us about Shaine and Luke (friends of ours that live in Olds, but don't go to the College) and how hilariously intoxicated and incoherent they were at the bar earlier that night. We decided to send Shaine a random text message from my phone, as he doesnt have my number, hence wouldnt know who it was from, and would be even more confused due to his blood alcohol content. Can you guess what the text said? If you guessed DID YOU KNOW THAT CARNATIONS ARE EDIBLE? I'd be lying if I told you you were wrong. About an hour later, once everyone has gone to bed, except for the insomniac (aka, me) I get a text back, asking "who is this?" I decided to keep playing games with the poor child. I texted back saying "Take a wild guess." only to have him reply "I'm too drunk!" To which I said "Well, I guess youre gonna have to wait 'till youre sober to find out!" ...........Apparently waiting for sobriety was out of the question, because next I know hes calling me! I was a little surprized, I'll admit. I definaltey didnt think he had the presence of mind to think to call me, instead of continuing to text me. Obviously, he figured out my identity quicky after that, so we chatted for a while, and I laughed at his and Luke's expense. At one point, I hear Shaine say "Here, talk to Luke." followed closely by a loud SMACK, then Luke's voice in the distance saying "OW! WHAT THE HELL!" Apparently Shaine had whipped his phone at him from across the room, and it had hit him in the head. Ahh, nothing like drunk people to add a little humor to my life.

Anyways, tonight is Saturday night, and as far as I know, after vball the guys are definatley planning to have a dance party, and I'm sure much techno and strobe-lighting shall ensue. (The guys being Phil, Mat and Greg. My best guy friends, and pretty much the people taking sole credit for making my day every day). It should make for a good time, especially seeing as how Phil can hardly walk. I pointed this out to him last night, to which he said "Yeah, I'm gonna stay off it all day tomorrow." I enquired how dance partying was included in the "staying off it all day" statement, to which he replied "I am gonna stay off it all day! I didnt say anything about all night!" ..................................yeah. Its gonna be intersting.

Shaine last year, attacking Shantelle, whos hiding under the covers in this pic. He's apparently celebrating his victory by striking a pose....

Phil and Greg......................doing what they do best....making my day. Ed Grimley anyone?