I Don't Even -

Disclaimer: I will, from now on, do my best to avoid self-pitying complaints about being behind and dropping the ball etc etc. Lame and lamer. Suck it up, buttercup.

Tons of pictures because I don't know how many Posts I've missed! Sleep depravation because I'm a still a crazy voluntary insomniac! Possibly more sleep depravation because I may be getting hired as a full-time baker at Bubby Rose's (which means I will be a REAL baker, not a "faker" as we call ourselves at CG)! Lots of joy and beer because the semester is completely done for the summer! (Note also lots of riding bikes and lounging in the sun)

Also lots of shows, I hope. Vancouver folks - I'm playing at the Kits Wired Monk this coming Wednesday (the 27th). Something about a fundraiser for European handball. I don't even know. So stoked for the city. June 24th and 25th: West My Friend is playing at Campbell Bay Fest again. Also! We have actual, physical, real-life CDs now! Seriously! If you want one, let me know and I can hook you up. Five bucks gets you a hand-made, stamped, glue-and-plastic-free CD sleeve with Homesick Blues, Angels In The City, The Crow, and Tic-a-Toc. We've been told by many sources that, apparently, we sound pretty swell, so it could probably be in your best interest to head over to our Myspace to give said tracks a listen.

That was extremely rambling and crammed and poorly formatted, but y'all can just deal with it. Lot of info and I'm tired from earlier-mentioned "sleep" patterns and hiking (*cough* scrambling *cough*) up Mt Doug this afternoon. Enjoy the enormous picture pile!



























And because they disabled embedding, here is the fantastic video of "Blackout" from Muse's Live At Wembley DVD. Continue enjoying!

"Blackout, Live At Wembley Stadium"

Why We Play

What do the following people have in common?







They (in order of appearance: Pat M'Gonigle, Ollie Swain, Jenny Ritter, Elise Boeur and Meg Iredale, and Ryan, Taylor, and Adam from Fish & Bird) are all musicians from Victoria whom I've seen at a variety of places and for whom I have nothing but awe and the utmost respect.

I was making music with all of them until almost 4 AM last night at Adam's house in Fairfield.

Adam invited us (the band) to a big family party/gathering at his house after the show on Saturday, and when I stepped into their house, I have never felt so much character, love, and music in one place before. Ages ranged from me to folks easily in their sixties. Musicians ranged from casual to a quick who's who of young Victoria folk giants. A jam session of traditionals and originals opened in the middle of the house, and it kept going until a friend and I were the last to leave at 4 AM after helping Adam and his dad clean up.

Before a couple days ago, I never would've imagined that I would be up 'til the wee hours of the morning playing and laughing with musicians like that. I can keep pinching myself. I can keep feeling my finger calluses and blisters. I can say the words "fucking," "amazing," and "magical" until the cows come home. It is for times like that I play music, and it is simply not possible for me to convey how I felt while being with them all.

I don't know how to close this because I'm STILL smiling from last night, so I will suggest you do what I'm doing right now and just listen to all their music (names are linked after the photos). :)

Sunday Post

So I lied about not getting a Post in this Sunday. I was supposed to have a "customer service" workshop in Royal Oak and then finish a four-hour shift back in Esquimalt, but the workshop got cancelled and I'd already told the director at First Met that I was busy this Sunday, soooooo...

And my shift is still only four hours and got bumped up even more, so I don't have to leave until 3 and I'll be back by 8. Awesome.



Sunday Bike Story! Friday night was a bit of a ridiculous night. I got off work around 10:30 and was informed that, as it was Friday, there was a "Bike Party." Bike Parties consist basically of meeting at Centennial Square around 10:30, going to liquour stores, and then biking off to who-knows-where until who-knows-when, which turned out to be Colquitz Creek Park (near Tillicum Mall) and 1-AM-ish. At around this time, we decided that, as we were hungry (and freezing), we should go back downtown to find food. Lovely ride along the Goose back into town, and then we all piled into The Joint on Wharf Street for some deliciously greasy late-night pizza (the place is open until 3, I think - fabulous).

Riding back home with Eden, Jeff, Ella and a new friend, Mike, along Johnson Street at 2 AM:

"Guys, I feel as though I am not nearly drunk enough for this scenario."

Suffice to say, RIDING back with your friends from a night on the town is so much better than driving. I can say this confidently as I have done both, and seriously - riding is way better. Even I almost get tired of how preachy I can get, but seriously - riding is just magical. It will probably change your life if you do it consistently, but at the very least, you will have a shitload of fun.

Oh, and ladies, if you're worried about looking good?

You look prettier on a bike than in a car. Eden says I'm a misogynist fart, but seriuosly - if you aren't wearing weird biking gear that makes you look like an astronaut, it's impossible for you to not look gorgeous on a bike. So there's motivation there if it's a concern :P (Don't believe me?)

Enjoy the Post, and enjoy the Treat! Goddamn so good this week droooool......













So y'all are probably familiar with my extreme love of Mumford & Sons.
Not much more needs to be said about this.



(Video of one of five more from the Hiboo set; fantastic video series and I fully suggest watching all of them)

Ride

I gave Eden a call on Monday; I had the idea that we'd grab our guitar and mandolin and go biking around town to find beautiful places to play music (ie. tunnels on the Lochside/Goose; under the Gorge Narrows bridge). Turns out she was on Mayne Island for Thanksgiving at her roommate's parents' house. She was on a boat back at lunchtime though, so she suggested I ride up the Lochside, meet her on the way and then ride back down together. Of course I said yes - you'd be stupid not to, considering how beautiful the Trail is on any sunny day and ESPECIALLY in the Fall. I dusted off my camera, tossed some apricots in my pannier and went out the door.

I made it all the way to the southern limit of Sidney before we met up. Aside from the headwind on the way back (fucking headwinds), it was magnificent to say the least.



(Okay, so I didn't take TONS of pictures [20 total], but I thought it was an accomplishment, seeing as the last two sets of photos in my folder are dated September 11 and June 18. Urg.)

On Differences Of Ideals:

Dad: How's the bike doing?
Alex: Pretty good; I haven't taken the bus once yet, so yeah, it's running good.
D: Well, just make sure you check up on the brakes and everything now and then.
A: Yep, I know. Full tune-up at most of the shops is around sixty or seventy bucks, and I can do the brakes and stuff myself too, so I'm not worrying about it.
D: Well, just remember that for the same price as a few tune-ups, you can just get rid of your old bike and buy a new one, right.
A: ......

We.... have some difficulties sometimes.



Felt like sharing a little more about my place. This is our dining "room;" I took the picture a few weeks ago cause the sun was coming through the window in a magical way.



I love our kitchen table. Basically, our suite is just a big (and awesome and bright) hallway that wraps around the center of the house, and the kitchen and dining room make up one of the sides of the square. The whole front of the house sports a massive window, and so does the northwest corner of the suite, which is the kitchen table's corner; suffice to say, the whole place is always bright and we get some positively beautiful lighting sometimes.

It's also fabulous for people watching, and we've vicariously adopted the cat that is always in the apartment window across the street at breakfast time. We have named him Charles Mortimer. He is chubby.

Doubling

(via Cycle Chic)

Doubling. I've been wanting to try this for ages.

Last night, I finally got to. Eden came by after work for some supper and some mutual drooling over my new mandolin (seriously - this thing is sexy), and she was without a bike because of some timing issues in the morning. Anyway, she decided to head home fairly late in the evening, and I suggested that I give her a ride home on my bike. We got a cushion from the couch to go on the pannier rack, and she rested her feet one on the frame and the other on the pannier strap like a stirrup.

Starting was..... difficult. Riding with fully double my normal body weight was a little disorienting for balance, to say the least. Took us a little ways to get started, with a lot of wobbling (and equal amount of laughing); thank God the back of my house is on an honest-to-God ALLEY. Then we had to go up a little hill to curve around down to cross Cook for Haultain - it felt like the back tire was flat. Fortunately, we didn't have to stop to cross Cook so we kept the momentum going, and once we were on Haultain it was just wonderful. I more or less was used to the balance, so we just rode along at a nice, leisurely pace, laughing and chatting. It's even eaiser to talk while doubling than when riding seperately, because your partner is always just right behind you. The wobbling and teetering about just adds hilarity and laughter too, once you get used to it (a little terrifying at first, but in reality no less safe than driving a car down the road). There was one moment where we had to stop to cross Bay, and we almost fell over trying to start with two cars behind us. Fortunately, it's Victoria: cars are already used to dealing with cyclists, and they were even more careful since they very rarely see TWO people on a bicycle that isn't built for two.

In a nutshell, it was the most fun I've had in a long time and I never want to give someone a ride in a car again. It was a pure delight to just ride and chat with someone right behind me, and it was just so FUN - we were laughing and yelling in mock (and not-so-mock)terror the whole time. As Eden said too, it's really a huge trust-building thing too. I think it took no small amount for her to ride on the back and trust me to keep the bike upright and moving forward.

And also, now I can truthfully tell my old roommate Jin that, actually, you CAN pick up chicks on a bicycle. Suck it, Jin. (Just kidding. We need to go to the pub sometime.)

"Hey Eden, what's better than driving a car?"
"Biking"
"And what's better than BIKING"
"...."
"BIKEPOOLING"
"YES"

Two-Wheel Tales

I swear this is not just to piss off Becca's dad :P

Anyway, because I don't think I can ever get tired of writing about bicycles and warm'n'fuzzy moments in life, I think I'm gonna start posting little story columns about extraordinary things that happen while I'm biking around Victoria (I say "extraordinary" 'cause, quite frankly, I love every second I'm biking around Victoria, so I'm only going to relate to y'all the out-of-the-ordinary happenings). Maybe convince some of you out-of-town hosers to come visit/live :P

Last night we had our regular band practice, which is always great for a number of reasons. One, I love playing with my band; two, we always have a cozy potluck dinner before practice; three, we've got a bassist now and it sounds awesome; and four, I almost always ride home with Eden. Normally the two of us cut through campus and head out Henderson to downtown, but last night we decided to go around Ring Road the wrong way on the sidewalk (such rebels). Anyway, just before we got to the exit off Ring, three other cyclists came down the other path and pulled out onto Ring just before we did, and as they did I thought to myself "heeeey, that red fixie in the back and that short girl in the front look familiar;" sure enough, it's our friends Casey and Amy and Andrew. We ride up and the five of us have a great, cheery ride most of the way back home before Eden and I take our seperate turn off; it was great 'cause I almost never see the three of them anymore - Casey's out of school and I only ever really saw Amy and Andrew in Chamber Singers (although really, Amy's in my theory class, so I really oughta keep up more often). In any case, it was great treat seeing them all again, especially on something so warm'n'fuzzy as a bike trip.

Yet another score for the bike coaltiion. As I said to Eden right after we said goodnight to the Three and went down Haultain, "see, you just can't do that in a car."


And this is where I find myself wishing that I did have some swell bike pictures a la Cycle Chic, but I don't, so here's a video about a cheeky campaign that's been going on in Malmo, Sweden.

No ridiculous car trips from Martin Lang on Vimeo.

Ride a bike - put the fun between your legs! (or, alternatively, less gas more ass.)

Quote of the Week (so far)

"Man, WCB would have a field day with that. I mean, where the hell would you file 'some crazy girl walked in and kicked me in the tits?'"

I think I like my new roommates and the people they're friends with.