I'm on my third pair of New Balance shoes and I'm lovin' 'em! I'd never even heard of them before 2002...then I bought some while in New Zealand. I came back home and realized there's a whole store called "New Balance Victoria"...and I did know that before, but I just never realized they were big name shoes. Anyways, I bought a pair of dedicated running shoes on sale yesterday. I tried them out tonight and I'm happy with them. Lots of the spring and cushion in them. Comfy. Good fit. My first set is gettin' pretty ratty...big hole in the front, but I keep 'em around for grubbies. My second set is still in decent shape, but I realized today how compressed the sole has become. Fine for a daily wearer (which I do), but not great for running.

I did 10K tonight, no troubles. There's times when I'm running when my brain just keeps saying it's ok to stop and walk for a bit...but there's another part of my brain that overpowers and says "no fuckin' way dude!" and I power on through. I actually got something of an energy boost in the last 500m...a bit strange, but I'll take it!

Ran with the digital audio player to keep me company. Had a decent mix going on...some Audioslave, Mobile, The Who, Doobie Brothers, Moby, Holly McNarland, and 311. Classic Rock is great! I love all the rock, and even the techno and some other shit, but I'm really diggin' the classic stuff right now. Modern rock has it's place, and I do enjoy a lot of it...but ya just can't give up on the classics.

The Who...I recently got into them more than just Baba O'Riley...I love 'em! I was familiar with their stuff, but never listened to it much. Great riffs, great drums, all around good stuff!

The Doobie Brothers...I never really knew what songs they were responsible for (although I'd heard them) until I was watching a show at work one day and it came up in the closed captiong "China Grove by The Doobie Brothers" as the song played in the show. I immediately hooked myself up with some Doobie Bros and have been enjoying it since. China Grove played during my run tonight and I loved it. The use of stereo effecting is very welcome.

AC/DC...everyone who knows me knows where I stand on AC/DC.

Also went to the beach today...burnt my back. Nice goin' Planny!

Never trust the money with the drummer.

It's a Saturday night, I'm in Victoria, and I'm just chillin' at home. It happens...

Today was pretty cool...I seemed to be very popular. I didn't sleep terribly well and was in between bed and bathroom a lot. Not sick, just bowel issues. Piper came down to visit a few times, and ended up passing out on my futon as I dozed in my bed. Q wasn't sure where he'd ended up, but all was good. I arose for good around 11:30. I had received an email about a sale at New Balance...and I was in need of new running shoes, so I decided to head downtown and check out the deals, plus pickup my prize that I won at Mark's Work Wearhouse from the draw I'd entered last week. Rolmo called to see if I wanted to go wakeboarding...I was in for that (but would have to leave early cause I promised to help Battle move). When I got to New Balance, I got to checking out some shoes, then Gord called cause he was in town and wanted to show off his new truck to me. Yeech also called while I was at the store...he wanted to go Go-Carting. I declined on that...reluctantly. I bought some shoes...on sale. Met Gord and had a ride and a drive in the new truck...pretty frickin' cool! Picked up my prize from Mark's (it was a drill), and headed home to grab my swim shorts and a towel. Picked up Rol and headed for the Elk. Had a wakeboard...I got up no problem (although it took me forever to get into the boots...the usual), but my legs got sore fast and I let go once just for some relief. Bailed once and I decided my legs had had enough, so got back in the boat. Got dropped off at the dock so I could go help Battle, which turned out to be a joke. I didn't realize he had four guys helping, and what was in the truck was not hard to move. All boxes, with one light loveseat and a futon. I so could have stayed at the lake...and Battle knew I was there. He did call (and I missed it) AFTER I'd left the lake to say that I probably wasn't needed. I'm pretty sure he knew earlier than that that he wouldn't have as much stuff as he thought he was gonna have and couldn't told me to not bother coming out. But oh well...

I decided to visit the parents since I was already halfway to their house. I needed to steal some camping gear for next weekend anyways. Visited and had dinner with them, then came home and watched a movie.

So that was my Saturday...it was pretty cool...except for the whole Battle thing. At least he provided beer and his Granny brought sandwiches.

This past week wasn't bad. I worked the dayshift until Wednesday, then Battle had a couple days off, so I had to cover for him on primetime. That was ok, I guess.

Monday, I watched game 7 with Herch and eventually Yeech and Buzzbomb at the Stinky Winky. We had a fair number of pitchers. Yeech, Herch, and I went to Johnny Zee's afterward and played some games for a bit. Drunk video games...good, fun times! I hung out with the newsies at the station for a bit before riding home.

Tuesday I played tennis with Becks. She won the first set 6-1, but then her parents (who were in town for the week) came by to watch and her game went a little bit shit. I won the second set...and it wasn't that I got any better. Parental pressure...it sucks. I felt a little bad for her...but I'll still take the wins (while I can)! I sorta met her parents...waved at them when they arrived, and said goodbye from afar when they left. They seem nice enough. That evening I went to see Cars with Q&S. We ate Naanwiches and they were pretty yum. The movie was great, except boo-urns for the Rascal Flatts version of "Life is a Highway".

Wednesday, work was pretty standard. Went for lunch with Sara and Herch...we tried the Persian restaurant that I've walked past a few times and keep meaning to try. It was pretty good...and decent portions. In the evening I went for a run (just a 5K), then Tim-man called me to see if I wanted to go to Nacho Libre. I went...it wasn't that good. A few laughs, but nothing really great about it.

Thursday I took a drive out to Sidney to pick up a globe for the Coleman Lantern (I broke the original). Then I worked.

Friday I had lunch with Dad down in the inner harbour. Then I worked. After work I attempted to be a guitar hero on Jackson's Playstation 2. I was not a hero. Could be a fun game though...

So that was it. I wasn't going to recap it all, but I did. Maybe I'll have a good rant soon. I haven't ranted in a little while. I haven't had much to rant about though. Life is good. I got no complaints. Well, I probably do...but not in the forefront right now.

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Yes yes yes, it's been entirely too long since I last posted. No excuses, I've been busy, and when not busy, I haven't felt like posting. My last post was about Sasquatch, so here's brief catchup to current status...not even anytime for observations or commentary or opinions.

The week after Sasquatch I started in my new role as acting Broadcast Operations Supervisor...with the real BOS taking the summer off. It went fine...more administrative work and the point person for Master Control.

The following weekend I was in Tacoma to shoot some more Cobras. I took the Clipper down (first time in the 20 years they've been operating) and got a ride to Tacoma from an aquaintance of Earl's. Earl and his dad were there...drove in the Cobra through wet weather. The location was beautiful, and I got another great set of photos thanks to the weather holding out, Herch for loaning me his camera again, and to whoever it was who designed that 427 Cobra body. I spent the majority of the Sunday in Seattle, waiting for the Clipper. I walked around Pike Place market, then by the Space Needle and wandered through the Science Fiction museum.

I was back on my regular shift for the next week, cause Battle had a week off.

The weekend after that I was in Chetwynd to help MetalMike re-install the switcher and move it and some other equipment to a different location. They flew me up and got me a rental car...it was a quick trip, but good to get back there and see the changes and the friends. Chetwynd is doing well, as is the station. Quality product they are putting out. I flew back on Sunday night and had lined up ahead of time to get Becks to pick me up from the airport at midnight, but she forgot her car was in the shop, so I ended up getting Herch to pick me up...what a good guy!

That next week was my first full week of day shifts as T-BOS. It went well...I handled the situations that were thrown my way with relative ease. Tim-man was (and still is) in town for work, so I saw him quite a bit...a big group gathering on tuesday, a run on Dallas road on Wednesday, hangin' with Choy and LEJ on Friday. Tuesday I played tennis with Becks...she kicked my ass of course, but I won a few games. Friday I went in early and took my inline skates. ACM was on location at SOFMA and I was going to be background action, skating around as they promoted the father's day inline skating. I received a phone call from my Grandma at 7:15 as I was starting to skate...she told me my Grandpa had had a heart attack the night before, but that he seemed to be ok and stable now. I was phased a bit, but I knew my Grandpa was strong and that all would be fine. I passed on the info to the rest of the family later in the morning.

And getting around to wrapping things up, Saturday I was up early and Gord and I swapped out the old crappy tranny in my truck, for the older but better tranny I got in that parts truck. I lost my speedometer and odometer, but who the fuck needs that? That evening Q&S hosted a Summer Solstice Party and we had a BBQ and potluck, complete with pinata where Q almost lost his head to a wild swing by the Herchman!

Sunday I spent out in East Sooke with Pop Planiden, Gord, and Brandy (and the dogs)...mom was in Burnaby with G&G. It was good, and I made some kick ass burgs!

That gets up close to the present...so I'll update the rest in a more timely matter.

Goin' to see Cars now!

Adventure abound! Let's finish off Sasquatch...

It rained all through Friday night and into Saturday morning. I was pretty comfy in the back of the truck, although there were a couple of minor leaks. I had to get up to pee at one point, which was a nuisance. I think I got up around 9 and was followed soon by Perm. We didn't feel too motivated to make breakfast or do anything. It was still raining and we were just standing in it (it wasn't heavy rain). Finally we decided to fire up the barbecue and make some bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches. Jackson arose soon after and breakfast was on! Around 11am, the second half of our crew arrived (Yeech, Becks, and AdLee). They found us without too much difficulty and setup their shit next to ours. Jackson convinced this guy, Neal, who was camping alone beside us, to move his wicked cool canopy over to our area and hang out and eat with us (we made him some food too...cause he didn't seem to have brought much with him). Did I mention the sun was out by this point? Well, it was.

We headed to the amphitheatre around 1-1:30, just in time for Gomez to hit the mainstage. They were pretty good. The Gorge is beautiful! Big grassy hill, terraced grassy ledges, and concrete pad up front by the stage, not to mention the gorgeous Columbia River valley backdrop! The grounds are very well kept and it's organized quite well. Food and merchandise in a few spots and many Honey Buckets (portable bathrooms). We found ourselves a spot on the grassy hill and made homebase. Perm and I went down to the front for Sufjan Stevens, who was actually quite entertaining. Even more entertaining was this guy in front of us, with pantyhose or long johns on his head, jumping around and dancing like no one was watching (but everyone was). He was trippin' on something...ecstasy maybe? At one point, some girls were standing behind him, mimicking his every move...it was quite funny! Mags was supposed to be there, and I kept an eye out for her much of the time, but never did I see her and her crew.

The sun was out for the first while in the afternoon, but we watched the clouds move overhead and could see rain coming our way. Around 4:30, while Neko Case was bustin' out on the main stage, the rain started to drop from the northeast. Not a huge deal...we were prepared for rain. Some of us had ponchos, there was a tarp, and Jackson had his mexican blanket. But as we sat and endured the big ole fat raindrops, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. Jackson was holding a small chunk of ice and said, "this just hit me". I replied, "Fuck off!". He said, "No". Moments later the hail truly started...and it wasn't small hail either. It started out about the size of a pea, and ended up about the size of a pistachio nut (ya, I've got a buncha pistachio nuts on the table beside me here...). We got pelted with this hail for what seemed like half an hour, but was probably about 10 minutes. Again, we were out in the open on the grassy hill. My poncho was no level of protection, although I guess I didn't get as wet as I could have. I am glad I was wearing a hat. Jackson's blanket and AdLee's tarp were our best lines of defence, although the tarp was used mostly for attempting to keep our bags dry. The stage got shut down after a few minutes of the hail and the hill was scattered with people trying to cover and people who just didn't care and were running about. When it finally stopped, there was a good covering of ice on the ground...maybe 1-2 inches thick in places. It was a freak patch of weather that no one had exepected.

Wet and some of us cold, we changed into what dry clothes we had and made our way down to the front area...back from the stage maybe 30 metres. The Tragically Hip were due up next and this was one of the main acts many of us had come to see. I'd never seen them live, and was looking forward to it. It took them a while to get the stage up and running, but the Hip finally did show and played the most rockinest set of the day! I loved it. Gord was one fire with his antics and his rants and such. The band pounded out the songs...some new, some classic...and it was a beautiful thing to have endured a hail storm for. They dedicated the set to Neko Case, who hadn't gotten to finish hers.

After the Hip, Perm and Jackson took off back to the campsite. The rest of us wandered around a bit and ended up in a lounge area where the Edmonton game was on. We caught the last 13 minutes of the 3rd period and cheered as Edmonton took out the Ducks and entered the Stanley Cup Finals! What a playoff run so far! Last team to sneak in in the Western Conference, and they took it all the way to the final round! It was nice to be in the lounge, out of the wet, cold grounds. The Wookie Stage was never brought back to life on Saturday...Sam Roberts got cancelled, which sucks, but happens. I've seen him before, and I'm sure I'll see him again. After the game, we wandered back to the main stage and caught the end of the Shins set. They were good, but not really my style. Becks, Hoar, and AdLee were lookin' pretty chilly and damp, so they headed back to the campsite. Yeech and I hung on to see the Flaming Lips...they always put on the good show. We waited while they setup the stage and it wasn't until the stage was pretty much ready to go that someone came out to announce that because of the weather and them being off on time, Ben Harper was going to perform first, the the Lips. Well, I'm not into Ben Harper, nor is Yeech, and we weren't going to wait through his set to see the Lips...it was just too damp and cold out to bother. I was dry except for my feet...and wet socks and shoes are just not enjoyable. We headed out.

On the way back we discovered that they were allowing re-entry...something that was posted as not being allowed (they lightened up after the weather situation). Had I known this earlier (maybe if they'd made an announcement??) I would have gone back to the campsite after the Hip, dried off, and headed back for the Lips. I still could have done that during the Harper show, but decided to not. Wish I had the energy to though, as I heard the Lips played a great show. Oh well...I've seen them before.

The campsite was pretty quiet. Jackson had some burgers cooked up, so had a couple of those and we played a bit of cards...everyone was in bed by midnight.

Sunday the sun was shining brightly with barely a cloud in the sky! I got up once I realized this and started to lay my wet shoes and socks out to dry on the tailgate. The others slowly stirred and did the same. We had plenty of time before we wanted to hit the show...we ate and played cards and played ladder ball (which AdLee had borrowed from SJ). Eating, at least at breakfast, was all about one upmanship. Perm, on the Saturday, had made a grilled cheese sangwich and soaked up some of the bacon grease in the break to make it extra tasty. I one upped him by doing the same, but putting some bbq sauce inside before sealing it up! On Sunday, after another bacon, egg, and cheese sangwich, I decided to try something we'd talked about the day prior...a grilled cheese and beef jerky sangwich. I grilled the jerky for a bit as I toasted the bread, then built the sangwich and enjoyed it slowly for the next 15 minutes. It was good, although not something I'd make on a regular basis. I kicked ass at both shithead and ladder ball!

We headed to the amphitheatre around 1pm, heading to see Nada Surf on the main stage. Becks and I enjoyed a caesar as we walked, and we snuck in some vodka in a water bottle, plus some cans of sprite type beverage and some sliced limes. Got in just in time for Nada Surf to play their first chord...they started with Popular, which is almost the only song I (and most people) know by them. They were decent. We, again, setup homebase on the grassy hill. Becks, Hoar, and I, went down to the front for The Arctic Monkeys and did some dancin'. There was a couple of brief rain showers, but nothing major. The sun shone for the majority. The Decemberists were great, and I also checked out We Are Scientists on the Wookie Stage. Came back to homebase in time for the end of Matisyahu, who was actually better than I expected. A rainbow even appeared for part of his performance. Queens of the Stone Age pounded out their tunes. Some of us headed over to the Wookie for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and they were pretty fun. Back to homebase as they setup for Death Cab for Cutie. I had a headache brewing, I think from the Blue Raspberry slushy drink I had (and got spiked with Vodka). I took a couple Motrin, which I had been given in my registration pack from the TC10K. Eventually the headache cleared. Death Cab was pretty good...more rockin' than I expected. The guys voice doesn't really lend itself to a rockin' band, but they were rockin' out with screeching guitars and bangin' drums and such. We headed down to the front area near the end of their set, then waited for Beck.

Beck hit the stage around 10:30 and put on an awesome show! The best part? Puppets. Yes, puppets. There was a puppet Beck, a puppet drummer, a puppet dancin' guy, even a puppet camera guy! They mimicked everything the bad was doing, all on their own little stage with camera's covering their every move for the big screen. The music was awesome and the show was top notch. At one point, Beck was doing something of a solo bit, so the band not being needed, walked off and then showed up a little while later seated around a table, eating dinner. Eventually they worked themselves back into the show...starting with a wonderful percussion session using the glasses and any other items and utensils on the table. Beck has a broad range of musical talent, as do the people in his band, and he covers many genres. I thoroughly enjoyed that show and wish it had gone on longer!

We herded with the masses getting out of the place and walking back to the campsite. Cooked up some more burgs and played some more cards. We had like one drink, then we realized it was about 2:30am and we wanted to get away at a decent time the next morning...so it was bedtime.

The weather was decent on Monday morning and I woke up to Jackson starting to disassemble camp. We skipped breakfast and just packed things up. We were out of there by 8:30. The roads were awesome and we hit the border just after noon. Dropped Perm off in Richmond and were on the 2pm ferry.

A rockin' good trip that we plan to make an annual thing, despite the hail storm (which really just makes for a good story in the whole scheme of things). Good times...

I have been out of town at least once per month for the last 4 months...it's a big travel year!

May's outing was to The Gorge, near George, in Washington State. Why? Well, the annual Sasquatch Festival was happening, and we just had to be there! I will attempt to recap the weekend (Memorial Day Long Weekend in the US):

Friday started early, although earlier for Jackson who I picked up after working the morning show. We hit the 11am ferry and picked up Perm in White Rock. A hop through the border (after waiting for the motorcycle in front of us to stop being dumbasses and stop chatting with the customs officer) and we was on the I5! I had borrowed the parents 3/4 ton Dodge Ram and it was loaded up with barbecue, chairs, coolers, camping equipment and such. I love that truck! Turbo Diesel, it is a pleasure to drive and such a beast! I5 was good until Seattle, then it slowed down to less than a crawl and we were stuck in Friday before Memorial Day Weekend at 3:30 traffic. It took us a good hour to clear through the greater Seattle area, then I90 was hit and miss...sometimes traffic was going along at a good clip, right around the speed limit...other times it slowed down to 40 mph for some unclear reason. We caught patches of rain and patches of sun...the heaviest rain being just outside Seattle as we started out on I90. Once over the mountains and into the interior, the sky was quite clear and things were looking good! Groceries were purchased in Cle Elum at the Safeway. After selecting a box of frozen hamburger patties, a woman from the meat department chased us down the aisle and tipped us off to the fact that those patties would cook up very small and taste like cardboard. I questioned as to why they were then selling them...but it was not up to her. She recommended some better burgers...only $2 more and we got 10 extra patties! We were fully loaded on burgs. Learned later in the trip, each of us made a judgement error at Safeway...Jackson's was the "Tab energy" drink, Perm's was cans of beer (vs bottles), and mine was only getting one pack of bacon instead of 2. Not a big deal though...we actually seemed to have just the right amount of food in the end. We carried on to Ellensburg where we stopped for hard liquor (if they sell beer and wine in the grocery stores, why not the hard stuff? is it really THAT different?). Couldn't find a liqour store, asked the pharmacist at a Rite-Aid who told me it would already be closed (7pm on a friday). I asked where it was anyways and after getting the directions we found it and it was indeed open (until 8pm) and Jackson ran in, grabbing a 1.75L bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced ($35), and some Vodka ($18). Back on I90 and we hit the Gorge with about 45 minutes of daylight remaining. Camp was setup and dinner was made (beef and veggies on skewers, barbecued slowly with barbecue sauce...mmmmmmmm!). I introduced the guys to shithead and we played a few games as dinner cooked. They seemed to enjoy it (although Perm ended up as shithead almost exclusively). A hint of rain fell, so we setup tarps, which ended up being a good call. We helped our neighbours set theirs up too...some cuties, but also guys around. Not sure what the situation was. They were from Vancouver though...so cool. Socializing began and many a drunken soul wandered through our campsite as it was just a free for all kind of setup. Met a lot of people and ended up staying up and drinkin' till around 3:30 (Jackson became Jack Bauer as he basically pulled a 24 hour day). Rain began around 1:30 and we spent the last couple hours of the night sitting under the canopy that was brought by Neal, a guy from Portland who we befriended. Perm and I did have a walk around to try and find the Hoar, who we knew would have arrived...but alas, it was too dark and he was not to be seen.

to be continued...