Look Lively, Little Ones

Shay says:
you fixed the broken.
Shay says:
repaired the peices, glued, taped and connected all the lose parts till it was all a functioning being.

Kelowna was fantastic. Just seeing Shay made me ubergiddy, though not being able to sleep in the same bed as her for most of my visit kinda sucked, but we managed. First day was a father’s day dinner with Shay, Marj, Dave and Kaylan. It was good times mostly, though slightly awkward with Marj asking questions about me and me being really bad at talking about myself. Dawn skipped class on the Monday, and we picked up Craig and hung out, went to Zellers and did nothing, watched a couple movies. Tuesday was Dawn’s birthday party, where I met most of their group of friends. We watched Teeth, made balloon aliens and some weird “music”, played loaded questions. All in all it was a fantastic time. Wednesday we saw The Happening with Dawn, Craig and Cam, whom apparently thinks I am, and I quote, “WTF adorable”. Thursday afternoon we went to her mom and stepdad’s place out in Keremeos for the night, met up with her old boss, had dinner at ther parents, let her little brother Torin have fun with the Spore creature creator, watched TV and The Crow. We also got to sleep in the same bed, which was killer. Friday night was spent at Boston Pizza for dinner, because Dave, Shay’s dad was turning 50 on the 22nd, so we all went out for dinner. Dawn was there too. I ate lots of potatoes. We then took Dave to his sister’s place in Vernon so Marj could get ready for his surprise birthday party.

Saturday the 21st, we spent a lovely 10 hour bus ride from Kelowna to Calgary. Shay puked a couple times, but because we hadn’t eaten anything yet, it was just water. I laughed at her. She made a wicked gurgling sound, tried to say “oh that’s so gross” and then wretched again while she tried to laugh. I feel like a dick, but it was pretty hilarious, though you kinda had to be there to appreciate it. Saturday night we took it easy, and Sunday was the Virgin Music festival. We got down there at around 2:15 and had to wait until about 3 for Jenicka, Tracy and Tracy’s friend Amanda to show up from Red Deer. So we get into the gates, get some merch, and push our way to the front of the crowd to watch Stars, who put on a fantastic set. During the last song, I felt Shay leaning on me really hard, putting all her weight on me. Then I felt her go kinda limp, so I got my arms under her shoulders and gently set her down. She had a bit of a dizzy spell and kinda passed out a little, but we got her out of the crowd, got some food and water and we watched City and Colour from outside of the huge mess of crowd. Near the end of their set, we pushed our way back to the front, almost to where we were before, about 3 people back from the barricade, where Jenicka, Tracy and Amanda were. Matt and the boys came out and played their set, which is posted below, and it was nice to see him play with a band again. Given that it was a festival, of course he played most of the well known singles, which was slightly disappointing, but overall I was VERY happy with the performance, and that I could share it with Shay.

We just took it easy on Monday, played some games, just hung out. Went down to 17th ave and TD Square on Tuesday, where I blushed and was embarrassed to go into lingerie stores with Shay, which is funny and ridiculous. I bought a couple of books and the new Rambo movie. Shay bought I Am Legend, which we watched and I thought was fantastic, the Crow and Firefly. Yesterday she left in the morning, and according to her, I looked absolutely crushed saying goodbye, which I was, understandably. I’ve gone through it before, but it doesn’t make it any easier. At least knowing that if I even have a few days off one week from work I could go out for a quick visit takes the bite off, but you shouldn’t have to say goodbye like that to someone you care about.

Giant
Hello Time Bomb
Everything is Automatic
Born Losers
The Devil’s in Your Details
Alert Status Red
Load Me Up
Put Out Your Lights
I’m A Window
Black Helicopter
Apparitions
Weapon

I made it safe and sound and only a few minutes late due to buses. It is nice here. It is also warm. I am also just happy to see Shay.

It’s cold.

Yep.

Just felt the need.

A chunk of my hair stood up. It is still standing up. I look like a tool.

I don’t like Marj, Shay’s step mom. I have a feeling that, while there may not be fighting between her and I, there will be a)tension and b)me using sarcasm to the fullest.

The dream started off with Shay and I in bed, just cuddling, being cute and talking. Then the morning hit and we were in a car with my brother driving around somewhere outside of Calgary on the day of the Virgin Festival. We were pretty much just planning on skipping all the other bands and just going to see Matt Good. So it gets to the point where it’s 8 or 9 at night and we’re still outside of town and Dan and I are fighting and we eventually get there and meet up with Jenicka and Tracy and Matt Good hasn’t started his set yet, so it’s all good. I think I forgot all of our tickets though and we were all freaking out but eventually we got in. This is where it gets weird- we get inside the venue which is supposed to be Fort Calgary, but apparently Matt is playing his set in like some run down fucking venue, kinda like Carpenter’s Union Hall here in Calgary- standing room only, no barricades, just a raised platform where the bands perform, but it also kinda looks like a cafeteria, it was really weird.

So we get to the front with Tracy and Jenicka, and Matt and the band come out and play their set. Open up with Giant, then Alert Status Red then A Single Explosion. He stops after that, says something, then kicks into Odette. After that he says he’s gunna let us sing the next song, and kinda dangles a mic into the crowd, and kicks into Hello Time Bomb. The mic is dangling right above my head so I start singing it, but he’s fucking with the crowd and the mic is into a voice changer that sounds like a really high pitched girls voice, so after I sing the first line and hear what it sounds like I kinda scream out “oh fuck my life!” into the mic and sink back into the crowd while Matt’s laughing along with the rest of the band and some of the crowd. The song ends and Matt laughs and says he just felt like fucking with everyone. We laugh, it’s all good. At this point, Milos, who is the bassist, and Stuart, the guitar player, start switching instruments for no good reason at all- Milos hitting the guitar and I think at some point a keyboard or synthesizer type deal, Stuart hitting the bass and lapsteel They play Load Me Up, 99% of Us is Failure, She’s In it For the Money and Apparitions, Matt thanks everyone and they leave the stage.

After the set, we find Matt’s bus because he told Tracy where it would be, and we sit and chat, get autographs and pictures and things, and he plays a little acoustic set for us in the tour bus. Don’t remember what songs he played, but we were all pretty stoked by it and by the gesture. All in all it was a really weird but really neat dream.

I also found out that the night before I leave for Kelowna (I am leaving on June 15), I am working a 10:30pm to 6:00am shift. Balls.

So, I listen to a lot of Matt Good. To those who know me, this isn’t a shock at all. I’v listened to Sort of a Protest Song at least 1500 times I’d imagine, probably more. Since 1999, no matter what sort of musical phases I’ve gone through (and there have been a few), as they have passed, I have always gone back to Matt’s music. But you know it’s getting fuckin’ ridiculous when I can look at the time when I’m working, and figure out what song and about how far through it I will be when the time for my next break comes, or before the end of my shift, and things like that. That being said, I am actually skipping the concert on June 21st in Edmonton, which I have a ticket for (if anyone wants it, it’s just a single ticket, so I hope you don’t mind being a loner for a night), to spend an extra day in Kelowna with Shay, whom I will be sharing a Matt Good experience on the 22nd in Calgary, along with Tracy, Jenicka and whomever else we meet up with.

Speaking of Shay… well, I guess this is the first I’ve really spoken about her on here. She’s cute, she’s gorgeous, she makes me laugh and smile and makes me happy, happier than I think I have ever been. There’s just this superawesome connection, we click so well, we’re good for each other. When it comes down to it, I think that’s all that really matters. Last night, Shay was going through our chat logs over the last year, copying and pasting things to me that stood out to her in some way. It’s amazing to think that we’ve been talking for 3 years already, and how close we’ve become and how our relationship has evolved over the last year. I like it.

So, Shay and Dawn came to visit last week. It was incredible. I can’t even begin to describe how much I adore them both, for different reasons, obviously. I can’t wait until next month when I go out to Kelowna to visit. My life feels empty without Shay here, and with the both of them gone, the house itself is too quiet and too empty, and that makes me sad. Check the flickr for some pics.

Other than that, not a whole lot is new. New manager at work, she’s pretty nice and stuff, so that’s good, and I got myself a macbook pro today, so I’m importing music and all that fun stuff. It is taking a long time, but that’s okay. Now to just buy a USB hub for instruments and I’m in business to use garageband. Well, learn and use it.