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

The Shores Were Rocking!

   On Friday July 13th, the first ever Rock The Shores concert took place just outside of Victoria in Colwood and I got to be a part of it. The all Canadian show featured headliners The Tragically Hip with Sam Roberts, Current Swell and Jets Overhead.  It was an incredible experience that I will never forget.  As life would have it, it's taken me until now to finally sit down and write about my experiences. To be honest, I just haven't been able to figure out where to start!
   I suppose I should explain how I got involved in such a big event. During my time volunteering for the Canada Day celebrations on July 1st, I spoke to the promoters and told them I was interested in helping out with future events like that because it's something I can see myself doing and enjoying. I must have impressed the right people because I soon received an email telling me they'd hire me to help build and strike the big stage for Rock the Shores. You can't imagine how thrilled I was, especially since I haven't had a job for some time now, so I said I'd be there.

   We started work two days before the show. The concert took place in a large sports field, so our first task was to arrange enough plywood to cover where the big mobile stage was going to be set up. The stage itself was contained within an average looking 53 foot truck trailer - a big white box on wheels. But once the operator fired up the hydraulics it was like something you'd see Optimus Prime towing...

   A second flat deck trailer was delivered that carried additional frame sections as well as the black and gray walls. Some assembly required indeed! Once we got it all put together it was ready for the sound and light crew...

   I had the following day off, so fast-forward to the day of the show. Because I wore a stage crew ID badge, I was allowed backstage to hang out for a while, and I did, but my wife and some friends were in the audience so I chose to enjoy the show from up front with them and we had a lot of fun. I can't say enough good things about the artists. Local band Jets Overhead opened the show and used the opportunity to debut some new songs that were well received as the crowd trickled in.

   Up next was another local act Current Swell. They also played a very good set and are really nice guys, too. Since I was getting a snack during part of their set, I wasn't able to get a better photo than this one.

 

 

   The third performer of the evening was the always terrific Sam Roberts Band, but Mother Nature had her own plans and the show came to a halt mid way through his set.

 

 

   Mr. Roberts was a good sport about not being able to play a full set saying nobody can control the weather. A rare, yet spectacular, thunderstorm rolled over the site that produced a lot of lightning, so for safety reasons we were all told to wait. And wait we did. Not counting people stuck in lines for food and drink (I'll address that a little more in a moment), most people were in a good mood during the delay. We even broke out in a spontaneous rendition of O Canada!

  Once the worst part of the storm system passed, The Tragically Hip finally took the stage only half an hour later than scheduled. Those of us who stuck around were rewarded with and incredible performance by the band that included many of their best known hits. I sang along to every one of them! Even Mother Nature had a change of heart and would occasionally punctuate a song with well timed flashes and booms behind the stage!

My view of guitarist/vocalist Paul Langlois was obscured by the stage frame, but at least I had the big screen overhead. This man actually said hello to me backstage before the show! Being a fan, I was a little star-struck. All I could do was smile and nod politely.

   All in all I had a great time, even when it rained, but I feel I should take a moment to address something I find rather heart breaking, for lack of a better term. While people like myself and many others enjoyed the experience, there is a disturbing number of people who have done nothing but complain about every aspect of the show. The biggest complaints seem to be about the lineups for food, water and, not surprisingly, beer.

   I stood in line, just like everyone else, but I guess it didn't bother me as much as it bothered some people. I guess I had good timing or something because I really didn't miss a lot of the show and I figured it didn't matter anyway. If I couldn't see the stage, I could certainly hear what was going on. They were pumping a lot of power through the speakers!

   When I read the postings on the promoter's Facebook page over the last few days I felt sick. It seems that for every person that left a positive comment, several more would dump all over them with nothing but negativity and misplaced aggression. I posted a comment suggesting people take a moment to consider all the hardworking volunteers and staff that had to clean up the next morning and a girl replied with something that basically said she didn't give a crap about those people because "that's what they signed up for."

   That pissed me off.

   Yes the lines could have been more organized, maybe more food and water stations, but this was the first time an event of this scale has been attempted at that location. I only got a bit of food and didn't even go for beer. I had to be up early the next day to help take down the stage and clean up the site. Beer was my reward after all was said and done. Why do so many people feel it's important to consume mass quantities of alcohol at events like this? People complained that they ran out, which wasn't true. Perhaps if people would limit themselves to one or two and not ten that wouldn't have been an issue. There were kids present for crying out loud! Kids that watched plenty of drunk people falling around and puking everywhere while getting a good second hand dose of certain smoky vapors. Come on, people!

   It's unfortunate to hear about so many people that didn't have as good of a time as most of us did and I wish those people didn't feel so compelled to rain on our parade. For me, this was a personal milestone because it stands out as the biggest event I have ever taken part in. This could very well be my first step in attaining a very cool career as part of a production team and I am not going to let the whining of a few disappointed spectators ruin it, no matter how hurtful their words may be.

   Thank you. Good night. *drops microphone*

The Wandering Oak

Everything's Coming Up Milhouse!

   You know when life just isn't going your way and it leaves you feeling rather uninspired? Well that's what's been happening in my world and it's the reason I haven't posted anything lately. I won't get into any details, but my current state of unemployment has motivated me to make some changes in my life. It's time to leave the trades.

   I've spent the last few months exploring several different options and so far none have panned out. Federal budget cutbacks have eliminated certain programs that were offered by local schools, so I've had to change my plans more than once. It's an exercise in frustration to say the least.

   Then, recently, it occurred to me that I should try to capitalize on the skills I already have and build on them to drive myself towards a career in marketing, specifically advertising. To those who don't know me very well this could seem like it's out of left field, especially since I've spent the last five years working in the trades as a commercial painter, but to those close to me it shouldn't be much of a surprise. I've always had a creative and artistic side to me and I've always wanted to find a way to use those strengths in fun and exciting ways. I love to write, make music, dabble in photography, and even make videos for YouTube. I've got a solid customer service background and I have great communication skills. Did you know that I even have a little experience producing radio commercials? It was a part time job I had back in the late 90's.

   I know that it's not going to be easy and that I'm definitely going to need some formal training. Advertising companies won't just hire any random bloke off the street. In preparation for this, I've contacted several of the local marketing and advertising companies and asked for general information, advice really, on how I can go about breaking into the field. One of them has actually replied and offered to meet with me next month to give me some advice. That was pretty quick considering I sent them an email yesterday!

   I've also taken the first steps in college enrollment for a marketing course that I hope to get into this fall by submitting my application earlier today. I still have to work out funding, but one step at a time. At least I've gotten myself going in the right direction and I'm happy about that.

   My day got even better. Once I was finished with all that work on the computer this morning, I went for a walk around the lake near my home. On one side of the lake is a small boardwalk that extends out over the water and is a great place to watch the birds. Today was a good day for that! I happened to come upon a mother duck and her ducklings and I watched dozens of little tree and barn swallows fly around the lake like feathered fighter jets. Those swallows are probably my favorite of the small birds and it was such a treat to see so many of them fly so close to me. They're curious little birds and a few of them even landed on the rail in front of me to say hi before taking off again to chase whatever tiny bugs they can catch. Too bad I wasn't quick enough to get a photo with my smart phone.

   Finally, after I returned from my walk, I got a phone call from a pizza place that we usually order from, but haven't in quite some time. The girl said that because it's been a while she would apply a five dollar credit to our account. I guess it's an incentive to order pizza again, but with limited income these days it might still be a while. I wonder how long I'd have to wait until they offer me a free pizza...

   So, while things may not have been so great in my life lately, good days like today just make me feel like everything's coming up Milhouse!

(c) Matt Groening / Fox

The Wandering Oak

Serenity

My friends, a moment of serenity:

The Wandering Oak

My Hometown

Hello Everyone!

   You might have noticed I've been away from the internet for the past little while (you did notice, right?) and there was a very good reason for my absence. I took a trip up to my hometown of Campbell River to visit some of my family. Yes, my brother does have internet and I could have used it to keep up with Facebook or check my emails or whatever, but I chose not to. I was on vacation and I just wanted to get away from everything for a while and, quite truthfully, it was really nice.

   I went three days without reading about Haiti, hearing about celebrity breakups and public f*ck ups, the Olympics, politics, war, and best of all three days without seeing all those silly Facebook statuses that say: “post this as your status message for one hour to raise awareness about whatever (but don’t tell the boys!)”. (Oh I’m going to get it for that one).

   Internet aside, the main thing I wanted to write about today was visiting my hometown. Campbell River is a quiet little city about midway up the Eastern side of Vancouver Island. Although populated by First Nations peoples for centuries, the town itself wasn’t actually established until about 150 years ago and is reportedly named for a ship surgeon by the name of Samuel Campbell. The community’s economy is largely based on the forest industry, but also relies on mining, fishing, and tourism. (Oh, and parts of the Twilight movies were filmed there too. Blah.)

   While all of these industries have suffered one way or another in recent years, Campbell River continues to grow and change and every time I go back to visit I notice something new. Here, in no particular order, are a few photos from my most recent visit. My friends on Facebook can see more photos there.

The view from my brother's front door. This was in the morning. As the sun moved across the sky, those mountains really lit up!

Somewhere on the beach in Willow Point looking North.

Bald eagles everywhere!

Breathtaking scenery!

Big Rock. Self explanatory. It's a 10,000 year old local landmark with an unoriginal name.

Downtown C.R. near Tyee Plaza. This has really changed! The logger up on the pole is old, but he's been rebuilt and mounted on a new tree (poor old tree). On the left is the ugly new "Spirit Square" slapped together for the Olympic Torch relay. I hate it, and I miss the grassy hill that used to be there.

The M.V. Powell River Queen, also known as the Quadra Ferry.

Another bald eagle enjoying a snack on the beach. She knew I was there, but wasn't bothered by my presence. It was some other kid on the beach that scared her off.

   That's all I'm going to post here, my friends. As I said, there are a lot more on my facebook page, but this is all I want to post on my public blog. I hope you enjoyed them.

The Wandering Oak

Happy Spring!

I almost forgot!
Today is the first day of Spring, and it's finally starting to look like it around Victoria. So, for a special bonus today here are a few photos I took within the past couple of days. I won't caption them. I'll simply let them speak for themselves.

Happy Spring everyone!

So How About That Weather?

The weather around Victoria has really been something over the past few days. Let me show you what I mean.

I took this photo on Friday March 6th. It was a bright, sunny day, and about 6 to 8 degrees Celcius, depending on how close you were to the water.

I even found some crocuses popping up here and there and I was sure Spring was finally here.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up to this on Monday morning...

The snow continued for a few more hours...

It looked like it was going to be doom and gloom all day, but by about 5:00pm, the blue sky returned.

The clear sky is nice and all, but there's a blast of cold air coming down from Alaska that's going to take us back below freezing again. How does that expression go? If you don't like the weather...

Now, for my friends in the rest of Canada, parts of the USA, and any other chilly corner of the world this time of year, this weather may seem like nothing but I lived on the prairies for about 20 of my 32 years and I moved to Victoria to get away from cold weather. Normal temperatures for this time of year are highs around 10 C and lows of around 3 C. It's barely above Zero as I write this and getting colder.

Quite simply, I just don't like it. Bring on spring and summer!!!

The Wandering Oak