Travels, Turkey Dinner, and a Twisted Hull

   I'm sitting at my desk with a mug of very hot hot chocolate, spiked with spiced rum, and the music of the Flaming Lips is coming through my speakers. Outside, the changing leaves and cool, damp fog might just be enough to convince Victorians that Autumn has finally arrived and that we can put away the shorts and sandals we were wearing just last week. My lovely wife Megan is at work and I have the condo all to myself. Well, not entirely. Our cat Merlin is at my feet demanding my attention making it very difficult to type this opening paragraph.

   Since Rifflandia ended, my life has been pretty quiet. I find myself looking for work once again and I'm hoping I have better luck this season than I did last season. I really only need a part time gig to get me through the winter and I hope to get back into working in live music in the spring, so long as the Mayans are wrong and we survive past December 21st.

   It was nice to get away from Victoria over the recent long weekend, though. Megan and I visited her mother in Comox for Thanksgiving (Columbus Day, for my American readers, or whatever the day was in your part of the world), and we had a nice relaxing time there. I always enjoy visiting Comox and I get along really well with Megan's mother and her husband.

   A highlight for me was taking a nice, long walk along the beach on the Friday afternoon. The air was so clear and the only sound was the chatter of the sea birds swapping fishing stories - or whatever it is birds talk about.

 

 

 

   I also made friends with Megan's mother's newest cat Sneakers.

 

 

   Of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the turkey dinner.

 

 

   In other news: I've also been spending my spare time working on another 1/700th scale model ship, my third, and the project is not without its challenges. The biggest challenge is dealing with a defective part of the kit. What you see in the next picture below is the main portion of the ship's upper hull from directly astern. Your eyes aren't tricking you, the hull is twisted.

 

Forgive the sloppy paint job around the portholes. Those details will be taken care of when I do all my paint touch-ups.

 

   Lucky for me the lower portion of the ship's hull is straight and true, so I went ahead and joined the two components as well as the main decks and gently, yet firmly, clamped it all down. With a little heat from Megan's hair dryer the twist should work itself out.

 

 

   I still have a lot of work to do on the ship and I hope this issue doesn't set me back too far. There are a bunch of components left to install including the entire bridge and superstructure, the mast assembly, and a variety of equipment for the main deck such as sensor and communication domes, antennae, and weapons. In ship building lingo that would be "fitting out" and I enjoy that stage of the build. Wish me luck!

 

   That's all I'm going to write about for now, my friends. I've finished my hot chocolate and Megan just got home from work. My eyes have gone a little buggy from staring at the screen, or maybe it's the rum, and I need to stretch my legs. I was going to write about some of the music I've been listening to lately, besides the aforementioned Flaming Lips, but I think I'll save that for my next post.

 

   Until then, take care of yourselves, and each other.

 

The Wandering Oak

A Roadie For Canada Day

   Canada Day is one of my favourite national holidays and this year's holiday will stand out as one of the best I've ever had. Because I'm still without work, I decided to volunteer to help out as a stage hand for the Canada Day celebrations in Victoria's Harbour. Simply put, I was a roadie for Canada Day, and I loved it!

   Now, in my previous post I mentioned that I was interested in advertising and marketing. Really I was hoping it would help me to tap into this city's rich arts and music scene. As it turns out, it may not be as simple as I thought it would be to get into advertising. People I've spoken to in the industry say that it requires all kinds of schooling and warn that even with all of that education there's no guarantee I'd be able to even find work in the field when I graduate. Although I'm willing to take the courses, I need something that will guarantee me future work.

   That's when the volunteer opportunity presented itself. I've always had an affinity for live music, and being a music nerd, it's not surprising I'd have an interest in the logistics of big concerts and events. Needless to say, I was pretty eager to sign up. This has turned out to be the best decision I could have made. It is the perfect way to get into Victoria's live music scene and meet not only the artists themselves, but other important people like event coordinators, stage managers, concert promoters, publicists and even local media staff members.
   It was fortunate that Canada Day fell on a Sunday this year because it gave this city the opportunity to create a two day celebration that drew record crowds to the harbour. I was given the opportunity to work at two locations. My first day was at Ship's Point and I found myself doing everything but help out around the stage. In fact I did everything from mopping up excess rain water to taking out garbage from all around the site, including the food vendors. It may not have been what I signed up for, especially since there was another group dedicated to housekeeping, but I was told at the orientation that even stage hands could be called upon to help out everywhere regardless of what it says on our ID tags. So I went with it and I did everything I was asked to do and then some. It felt good to be doing something productive and it felt even better to hear how much my hard work was appreciated. It's been a while since I've heard that!
   It wasn't long until I finally took up a more permanent residence backstage helping the bands load their gear on and off the stage. This turned out to be my element and I took to it like a duck takes to water. It helps knowing a thing or two about guitars and amplifiers because I found it easy to communicate with the musicians to ensure things were set up the way they wanted.
   My experience at Ship's Point was only just a primer for my second day at the Main Stage in front of Victoria's Legislature Building. This was the big show. Six and a half hours and nine bands leading up to the big fireworks finale. As soon as I arrived at the site I was immediately assigned to help the stage manager switch the gear between each band's set. This was rewarding in so many ways. Not only did I learn a lot, but I got to meet every performer and I had the best seats in the house while they did their thing. Some of the artists were very impressed with my hard work and one of the girls in the band Sidney York told me they'd never had so much help with their gear. I said it was nothing but the rock star treatment for our performers.
   As if my day couldn't get any more awesome, one of the sponsors gave a big speech thanking all of the volunteers throughout the entire site. Then she called another volunteer and myself up on stage where we were given a huge round of applause from thousands of people as we received small gifts (I got a really nice ceramic mug) as tokens of appreciation. I can't describe the feeling of that many people cheering for me. All my co-volunteer and I could do was take a bow!
   I really think I could get used to doing what I was doing that night, so I signed up to volunteer for future concert events. I was told that's the best way to do it. Volunteer, work my ass off, and someone will notice me. And if I impress the right people, it won't be long before I end up as a paid staff member. I may never be a rock star myself, but there's something to be said for being a part of a crew that helps performers bring their music to their audience.
   Without the roadies, there would be no show.

The Wandering Oak

A Christmas Poem About Our Cat

This follows the rhythm of the 1822 classic “The Night Before Christmas”.

'Twas just days before Christmas and all through our flat, the only creature 'twas stirring was our little cat.

We awoke late last night to the sound of a clatter, followed quite promptly by an ominous shatter...

Three o'clock in the morning and without any warning, our cat had decided to do some exploring.

From the top of our book case, about 5 feet tall, he knocked over a jar which bounced off the wall.

A collection of rocks, found on various beaches, mixed in with the glass now in razor sharp pieces.

Fearing he might get a swat on the ass, kitty ran off and hid as we cleaned up the glass.

Soon kitty came back to the scene of his crime, but we’d never hit him. We love our feline.

So we found a container to hold all our rocks, then crawled back to bed until, oh, 6 o'clock.

The Wandering Oak

A Note From The Author: Based on the 1822 Clement Clarke Moore classic “Twas The Night Before Christmas” (also known as “A Visit From St. Nicholas”), I originally wrote this in 2005 and posted it on a former blog that I’m no longer maintaining. It then appeared in my Notes on Facebook back in 2007. For 2011 I made a few minor adjustments to the phrasing and added another line.

Another Successful Year For The Zone's Toy Drive

   Wow!

   For the second year in a row, Zone listeners have knocked it out of the park and have made the Second Annual Toy Drive a huge success, and it never ceases to amaze me just how generous people can be even in hard times.

   This is what the pile looked like when I arrived just after 8:30 this morning...

   The event is put on by my favorite local modern rock radio station and benefits the St. Vincent De Paul Social Concern Office. Interestingly enough, one of the women that works for SVDP happens to be the mother of morning show host Dylan, and she is certainly one of the nicest women I have met.

   I participated in this event last year, and I was more than happy to take part this year. For me it feels good to help others because I didn't have a lot when I was growing up. In fact, I can remember a few Christmases that would not have happened if it wasn't for the kindness of strangers. Although I couldn't donate a lot, I still showed up with a bag full of cute stuffed animals that I know will make some kids very happy this Christmas. Then I stuck around and mingled with  the Zone staff and everyone else who was there as we watched the pile grow and grow.

   This is what the pile looked like less than two hours later...

   You can't even see the sleigh anymore! I stuck around until the end to help load the truck, and believe me when I tell you it was full! There were cash and cheque donations made as well, and last I heard the total was around $6000! Zoners, give yourselves a pat on the back!
   A few other personal highlights for me are:

• Getting a round of applause when I arrived with my toys. Everyone got applause as they arrived and it just feels good, doesn't it?
• Making morning show host Jason laugh with my "I'm a knock-off" joke. It's always funny when you can make a comedian laugh instead of the other way around.
• Getting a new Zone lanyard. I just mentioned in passing that my old one is wearing out and wasn't expecting Allie from promotions to find a new one for me. Thank you so much, Allie!
• After helping to load the SVDP truck, Dylan's mom gave me a big hug. Did I mention that she's one of the nicest women I've met?

   I'm happy that the Zone has made this an annual event. I will definitely be there next year! My friends on Facebook can see more photos from this morning once I get them posted. Happy Holidays!!!

The Wandering Oak