Christmas, Christmas time is here

Hello.

Christmas at the Rose's was quite nice... it was a very CD Christmas, it seems that everyone wanted a special CD and got exactly the one they wanted.... Rach liked her necklace too, but she's afraid to wear it because the chain is so fine. Rach's parents got me two poetry books including one by Charles Bukowski, a collection spanning his career, quite nice indeed.

Also, back to the CDs... Rach got me the discbox edition of Radiohead's In Rainbows!!!!!!! AHH!!

It is quite pretty. It's also massive, it weighs about 7 pounds. There is a heavy slipcase with black & white art, the case is also heavy, with one record in each side, as well as two oversized booklets, one with art and one with lyrics. The bonus disc also includes a bunch of pictures and art. The b-sides are all rather cool. The coolest part is that the vinyl records are handmade, and each one has a message scratched into the non-playing section of the vinyl. Nice touch. 

However, the best part of being here is hanging with Rach's family and friends, having fun, and sharing in the season. 

God bless everyone, hope your Christmas time is awesome.

recap of the weekend

Listening to: Daft Punk- Human After All Remix EP This notably includes remixes by big names such as Justice and SebastiAn, but the best part is that each remix is so unique and different from the original song that I can listen to over 30 minutes of "Human After All" without getting bored. Cool!

This weekend saw a rather short trip to Dundas to visit Rachel's fam and go to the annual Cactus Festival. Since I had to work till 11 I went up on Saturday morning, catching the ungodly 4:10 am bus. I didn't bother sleeping for the approximately 4 hours between my shift and the bus, instead using the time to pack and get clean, as well as spend some quality time with Steve and Michael Hayes who providentially stepped into my Tim Horton's 5 minutes before the end of my shift, and they didn't plan it. Michael lent me the extent of his Daft Punk collection which I have safely placed upon my computer's hard drive to enjoy until a later time when I can obtain more legal copies at the right price. Steve and I also had a rather metaphysical conversation about film, music and the nature of Daft Punk's record Human After All (do we sense a theme here maybe?)

Anyway fast forward a few hours and I arrive in Toronto at 5:45 am. And my bus to Hamilton doesn't leave until 8:45. That's right, three whole hours in Toronto. This is not something I would normally complain about, especially considering that the flagship HMV and World's Largest Bookstore are both within a block from the bus terminal. The only problem is that even in Toronto, nothing except coffee shops are open until 9:00am, annoyingly 15 minutes after I have to leave. So pretty much all I did was go for an early morning walk and then nestle into a corner of Starbucks with my double tall non-fat no foam latte and my bible for some good reading of Philippians.

Finally I get on the bus and at 10 am I arrive in Dundas. I talk with Rachel's family for a while before Rachel gets home after buying her wedding dress (which I obviously was not allowed to see). Eventually I decide to have a nap, which stretches out to 4 hours before Rach wakes me up. We then walked around the main street of Dundas for the Cactus Festival. This is an annual event that is rather popular among the locals and tourists alike. Dundas used to have the province's largest Cactus store, and therefore defined itself as the "Cactus Capital of Ontario," and inaugurating the festival because of it. Since then the store has gone out of business and the Cactus Fest has very little to do with Cacti. Instead it is an opportunity for all the stores on the main street to have sales, a bunch of vendors to set up sidewalk sales, and some live music and an overpriced midway. Pretend the Peterborough Ex were to take place on George Street with the Midway in the park and the vendors lining the Street and you get the idea... except on a much smaller scale because Dundas is rather small.

Eventually we had supper at a local pub with a bunch of Rachel's friends. The food was great, but the service was the worst I have ever had. They actually forgot about my meal entirely and we had to remind the waitress about it about ten minutes after everyone else was eating. Then when Rachel's friend Brian asked for some water it took at least 20 minutes for him to receive it, and this pub isn't very big either.

On Sunday we went to see the movie "Superbad" with Misty and one of her friends. This was the most vile, disgusting, perverted and immature movie I have ever seen, and that's only based on the first 10 minutes. I almost walked out of it and I feel like I should have. Don't go see it, the title describes it perfectly. After the movie we had dinner with Rachel's family and then took the long ride home and stayed up chatting until about 1:30 am... then I decided to leave considering Rachel had to be at work for 8am this morning... ick...

Of course, as a side note, I also forgot my plastic bag which contained all my toiletries, so today I have to stop off at Shopper's Drug Mart before work to procure such staples as Deodorant, Sunscreen, and hair wax. So Now I must go get ready in order to do this... sigh, well that's all for now, hope you had a good weekend as well.

Oliver is dead and other items

In what appears to be part of a series of unfortunate pet events this week, my beautiful exotic shorthair Oliver (aka Ollie, aka "Smashface" due to his breed's unique flat facial features) is now dead. His death was sudden and unexpected. We noticed that he was having trouble urinating, and that he was passing blood. We assumed a urinary tract infection and took him to the vet to get checked out. They wanted to keep him overnight for testing, but before they could do it he randomly had an intense seizure and then just stopped moving. The Vet assumes he had some sort of aneurysm.

Anyway, I'll miss the fella... he was one of my fav cats, wary of strangers but extremely affectionate to those he knew. He will be missed.

Tomorrow also promises to be the busiest day ever. Here's the lowdown:

1. Go downtown
2. Buy Greyhound ticket to Dundas
3. Get hair cut
4. Come home
5. Go to work 2:30-11
6. Come home
7. Have bath
8. Watch long movie to keep me awake
9. leave house at 3:30 am to catch 4:10am Greyhound to Dundas
10. Arrive in Dundas at 9:55am after lengthy stopover in Toronto
11. Sleep while Rachel goes wedding dress shopping
12. Spend all Saturday doing crazy stuff
13. eventually sleeping

There ya go. Have fun.

At Rachie's for the 500th time by now...

This weekend was pretty insane. Busy, busy, busy. We got to Dundas around 11:30pm and hung out with Rachel's parents chatting it up over some Guiness and Scotch. On Saturday everyone else got up early for Charlotte's final gymnastics performance of the year, but I didn't go as I wouldn't fit in the car. A leisurely walk through downtown Dundas was not out of the question though.

Most of Saturday was spent celebrating both Jessica and Charlotte's birthdays (which are one week apart). A large and excellent feast of meaty goods was prepared, and fun was had by all. Also had a good chat with Rachel's parents when the young'uns went downstairs for their slumber party.

Today we went shopping in various malls so that the girls could spend their gift certificates for Chapters/La Senza Girl etc. I managed to find some good stuff as well, a book of poetry, Metropolis 16-29 by Rob Fitterman, a rather innovative poet and the leading edge of the modern technological/big city Avante-Garde. Also a couple cds, Mary Star of the Sea by Zwan, Billy Corgan's short lived post Pumpkins group... it is quite strange hearing him sing some praises to Jesus. Also Terrorhawk by the also defunct Bear vs. Shark, a mind-blowing record that is impossible to describe... wanted it for a while but didn't want to spend $20 on it, but finally said "screw it" and got it at HMV for that ridiculous price... which I guess is okay as I really haven't seen it anywhere else and it really is that good.

I really got to know Rach's family better this time... I had at least one meaningful conversation of decent length with each member of her family. They are all quite cool. Things are going quite well. I am dead tired though... at least I can sleep in cause I don't work til 2:30pm tomorrow.

See you all later, come back soon for some summer fun!

aeroplane flies high

Ugh... 3-11 tonight, 7-3 tomorrow morning, another day with no sleep. For those of you who prayed over my foot thanks, the day after I made that most it was about 95% and now it's great! Of course, now Rachel hurt her foot playing soccer!

This weekend I'm heading down to Dundas for Rachel's sisters' birthday party. Should be fun meeting more of the fam, plus I will be discussing certain items of note with the parents... ahem...

I find it ironic that Smashing Pumpkins b-sides are often better than Smashing Pumpkins a-sides... notably all the b-sides from Adore and Machina are actually better than those albums... and I'm a big fan of the Pumpkins later period, more so than the early stuff actually. If you ever see a copy of the SP greatest hits record that includes the second disc Judas 0: B-Sides and Rarities 1995-2000 do not hesitate to make purchase of those shiny discs. Judas 0 was tres limited and contains some GREAT songs...

Rachel and I are now done 1 Timothy and moving on to 2 Timothy in our weekly studies. From 1 Timothy I believe I am starting to get more of a grasp on Ecclesiology, and what I find most interesting is how much the elders are told to say no. Paul instructs the elders to pretty much do a background check on anyone who requires assistance to make sure that they're not screwing the church... of course this is under the obvious assumption that the church offers support to those who need it.

Also the fiscal responsibility of being a husband really hits me hard... I have often been frivolous with money because I've always had extra cash but that will have to end when I get married... I assume that my wife will be staying home with the kids, and therefore I will be providing most or all of the money for living expenses. Yes, I believe in the "traditional" (a.k.a. biblical) family model. No, I am not sexist, and no, I don't think it is wrong for women to have careers. However I do believe that when a man and woman choose to marry that they should do so with the understanding that God intends for them to have a family and that God has ordained the husband as the provider for that family. 1 Timothy includes the chilling warning "If a man does not provide for his family he has betrayed the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" yikes.

I may go into more detail about this passage later but don't expect it!

Looking forward to the weeks to come, see y'all later.

do you still believe?

Argh. No sleep last night at all. I must say that funny as it is, I had a normal bed time for 22 years but after 4 months of working midnights last summer I still haven't been able to regulate my sleeping pattern. Some days I go to bed at 10:00pm, and other days, probably as a combination of my overly thoughtful nature, caffeine on an overly sensitive nervous system, and a burdened spirit... no sleep. I look at my clock at 1am and realize I really need to sleep before my alarm goes off at 4:3oam so I can go to work. Next thing I know, three hours of rumination upon a combination of the biblical precept of tithing, Super Metroid, missing Rachel, and song lyrics forming in my brain, my alarm goes off and I laugh. I am still awake, for almost 36 hours by now and I'm still only partially tired.

My friend Peter really, really wants to start a spazz-thrash band, Slayer meets The Chariot style. He has invited me to do vocals and I will oblige if anything comes of it, but since all my past musical forays have failed I'm not going to get my hopes up. However I am surprised by the ease at which I am writing lyrics, not straight poetry, but actual lyrics that I could fit to music. We'll see how it goes. In any case the band would be called "Whores." and my lyrics are taking the direction of humanity's infidelity with God, so "Whore" is probably the best descriptor. Funny thing is that everyone Peter has asked to be in the band is a Christian, and he is not. Sounds like a good opportunity to me!

And as another note Ashamed is definitely the best Suffering & the Hideous Thieves record...

And uh, I miss Rachel, haven't really seen her for a week minus the 10 minutes spent at her place with Jerry on Wednesday. This rather sucks as our relationship tends to improve both of us. We need some improvin' says I!

On another note I am unfortunately back on the heart meds as well as the thyroid stuff, so 5 pills a day until June 1st then 3 a day. The pills are having a strong effect on me. I guess I never realized how much of a role metabolic hormones play on my personality. I feel calmer, however still easily agitated. If I miss a pill or two or take them irregularly I become flightly, tired and light-headed.... kind of like I want to vomit and sleep at the same time...

Please keep praying over this. I would like a full recovery and would prefer to not take pills for the rest of my life, especially as they do modify my personality (some would say for the better no doubt! lol)

that will be all for now, see yas!

At Rachie's Part Deux

Hey, been at Rachel's house in Dundas since Friday morning, staying til Tuesday night when we'll be takin' the greyhound home together. Here is the lowdown:

On Friday we mostly stuck around at the house then went to a sweet bubble tea cafe called QQ that everyone should go to if they are in Dundas. It's really that good. On Saturday we also mostly stayed at the house and hung out with some of Rachel's quite good friends. Sunday was the family day at Rachel's grandparents' place in Oakville. Well, let me just say that the way to my heart is ribs and imported beer, and guess what we had for dinner! LOL! Very good ribs and some obscure (at least in Canada) British beer. And wine, lots of wine. Nothing says family gathering like a bottle of wine for every 3 people! Today we went out shopping for some electronic joyfulness. Rach got a couple movies, I pulled some stuff I've been looking for... all at the right price too! Here is my list:

CDs:

Counting Crows- Hard Candy
Depeche Mode- The Singles 86>98
Galactic Cowboys- The Horse That Bud Bought
Galactic Cowboys- Let It Go (been looking for this one for about 6 years now!)

DVDs

Beavis and Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection Volume 1 (Now I have all the box sets, you know what that means! B&B Marathon party!!!)
Napoleon Dynamite (Had to pick it up eventually!)

Tonight and tomorrow will be spent with Misty as she'll be going back to Germany soon. Right now Rach is watching a movie and I'm typing this and listening to some tunes, but we have to go do the dishes soon, so I'll be off. See you all later!

the summer

I AM NOW DONE ALL SESSAYS!!!!!!!

Therefore, time to make a summer reading and etc. list:

to read:

Dennis Lee, yesno
Dennis Lee, Body Music
George Herbert, The Complete English Poems (again)
Brian Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim vol. 3-4
Mark Z. Danielewski, Only Revolutions

That was brief, I'm sure Rach will hit me up with some good stuff

to listen:

Still on the quest for Chemical Brothers singles and Suffering and the Hideous Thieves albums and singles. It also looks like some britpop, Pulp and Blur and currently a lot of Depeche Mode

to watch:

Want to complete my Beavis and Butt-head collection, also wanna get into the Ren and Stimpy boxsets for viewing pleasure.

to do:

Hit up Tronna with Jerry
Go to weddings
Go to Dundas Cactus Fest & Busker Fest
Go to Dundas in general
have lots of fun doing all above things!

That's all!

General updatezing

Argh. Hey everyone... One last essay and then freedom for a while... planning on going to Rachel's for Easter but they scheduled me at work for 3-11 on Saturday even though I requested it off over 5 weeks ago so I need to sort that out so that I can go.

Rachel's birthday surprise went quite well, Misty and Andy showed up a bit lated but that's to be expected when someone's on a plane! They came to church with us and after to Rachel's choir performance which was great! On Sunday I also picked up Beavis and Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection Volume 2 so now I only need volume 1 and I'll have all the B&B available on dvd. (Thanks Steve for the special edition of the movie!)

Dennis Lee is coming to Peterborough on Wednesday! He'll be reading at Cervantes Restaurant (across from The Only Cafe) at 7:00pm. You should come because he's great!

Well, nothing substantial really, have a good day!

beats

Well, well... lots of news some good some bad.

Found out my last three assignments are not all due on the same day, but instead staggered over a few weeks which makes my life happier. The last one is due on April 4, which makes way for...

Going to Rachel's house for easter! I get to meet the whole fam including her very British grandmother, so no "I hate that stupid monarchy" comments.

Something quite bad happened this week, but I will not divulge it here, talk to me if you want to know.

Also I have discovered the wonderful world of electronica / techno... notably artists such as Daft Punk (thanks Steve) and The Chemical Brothers. I dig the Chems a bit more, got 3 of their records and its great stuff. Dig Your Own Hole is the best record I've heard in a long time.

Enjoy your week.