Donation Picture

Crazy busy night. Sue and I had blood donation appointments tonight right after work, then I had a photo club meeting right after that.

The donation went fine as usual for me, though I noticed some of their procedures have changed a little bit. I do really appreciate the staff at the clinic. They are all extremely friendly and inviting. It is a real treat to come in for an appointment and have some of them remember me from previous visits. Sue on the other hand couldn’t donate due to a low iron level. 🙁

The photo club was a bit of a bust for me tonight. I was pretty tired all day long today, and it all caught up to me then. I gave up trying to find pictures part way through and went home early. *sigh* I am not sure what that was all about, but I really wasn’t feeling very creative. Perhaps next time will be better.

Exotic Performance

New CD Tuesday today. I picked up the new Tea Party, the Wil disc, and a Pearl Jam double disc live acoustic compilation.

First impressions:

Tea Party – more straight up “rocky”, less of their exotic sound. this material will make for some good listening at their upcoming concert

Wil – solid disc. I like it a lot. Many of these songs were played at the concert the other night. His live performance is not to be missed.

Pearl Jam – I have only listened to one half of one disc so far, but it is also pretty good. Very nice background music. I am looking forward to listening to the rest of this performance.

Camping Gelati

Saturday Sue, Yoshi, and I headed over to Saltspring for a day trip. Some friends of ours were camping there for weekend, so we hooked up with them for a visit. We toured Ganges a little, checked in on the weekly market, ate Gelati, then had some dinner back at their campsite. We decided to get to the ferry early to ensure we got on, so while we were waiting we stopped at one of the coffee shops nearby, and happened to run into some other friends of Sue, so we visited them while we all waited for the feryy.

All in all it was a great day.

Pics are here.

Remedied Presence

What I did on Thursday Aug 12, 2004.
By Greg Fox

Thursday was a big day. I was supposed to go see one of my favorite artists play. Matthew Good had a 3 show deal here in Victoria at the Upstairs Cabaret, and all shows sold out. I wasn’t too surprised by that, but in some ways I was.

The festivities started early for me. While going home I happened to walk through Bastion square, where the Upstairs Cabaret is located, I could hear some muffled music. Instantly I could tell it was a live band, but what was a live band doing playing on a Thursday at 4:30? As I was walking I recognized the music, then it hit me. It was Matthew Good. 🙂 He was doing his sound check, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch part of it.

The opening act (Wil) was awesome! He plays an acoustic guitar like no one else I have ever heard. He was backed by a drummer, and had some incredible songs. I shall definitely check him out again. I also want to buy his disc when I can find it.

I had been to the Upstairs previously for a concert, and it was extremely hot. Thankfully they had remedied that situation, and installed some fans to blow air in. I parked myself under one of those until I started to get a chill.

As Matt Good took the stage I prepared to get blown away. Honestly though, I was a little let down. He didn’t have a very good stage presence, and frankly he looked bored to be up there. I love his music very much, but his performance was a little disappointing. Most of the songs he played sounded like they came straight from the disc. He spent most of the time playing tunes from his new CD, but he did cover some of the older songs that are crowd pleasers. I just found that his style that night was too slow to really get the crowd going. When the set ended, I kind of half hoped he wouldn’t come out for an encore. Overall he seemed very flat.

One thing that I kept noticing was all the awesome picture opportunities. The backlighting, the smoke, the colored lights all made for what could have been amazing pictures. Then there were some of the people in the crowd. In particular there was this one chick who had her digital camera there. Every few minutes she was snapping a pic. Unfortunately she doesn’t know how to use a camera, and she left it in full auto mode. Every time she took a pic the red-eye reduction gizmo blinked a few times, then the camera blinded everyone with a bright flash. I hope she enjoys her pics, but she was really annoying me!

So, in the end I have seen Matthew Good play a few times now, and although I like his music, his live shows aren’t that great. I think that the next time he comes to town I will think long and hard about whether I will go. Most likely I won’t.

Good Summary

We just got home from the Matt Good concert. I am beat and my back is killing me, so more on the concert later. Quick Summary: good show, with a great opening band (Will).

Strange Account

Hmmm, noticed something strange on the online version of my Mastercard bill last night. One of the charges is for $2 more than it should be.

Last week I stopped at a local pub to get some takeout for lunch. When I paid by Mastercard (since I had no cash), I signed the receipt, and wrote down the total. I was looking through receipts last night and noticed that the charge to my account for the lunch was $2 more than my copy. 😕

So, is it worth my time and effort to try and get it all sorted out with Mastercard?

Do I just let this one slide?

Is it my fault? The reason I think it might be is that my printing is horrible. Maybe the zero I wrote looked like a 2 so that is what was keyed in?

I dunno. I am inclined to let is slide and just say that the guy who took the order got a $2 tip. Part of me is suspicious that maybe he did that on purpose though. A big consideration is that I really hate spending a half hour on the phone with a big company to try and sort out a small error. Hmmm.

Chasing Kuuduk

What a perfect summer weekend! Friday night we went to the birthday party from the daughters of some friends. Nothing quite like 15-20 6 year olds running around having fun. There were pinatas, movies, hot dogs, cake, ice cream, and more.

Saturday Sue and I stopped in Chemainus to search for treasure, then had an ice cream cone. Then we headed up to JJ’s cabin on Lake Cowichan. Amazing day. The water was really warm, the breeze off the lake light, the beer was cold, the food plentiful, and the company very enjoyable. As soon as we arrived it was time for lunch. Yummy hotdogs. Then we played a game that Sue and I purchased at Starbucks on the way up: Kuuduk. Very fun game. I can’t wait until I figure out some of the strategy involved. After the game Sue and I swam a bit, and soon it was time for dinner. Greek salad, corn on the cob, ribs, and a big pile of crab! Add some excellent fruit flan for dessert, and it was quite a nice summer time feast.

The dogs (Yoshi and Digger) had a grand time chasing each other around, swimming when they felt like it, and jumping off the dock.

As the sun started to set on the day, the warm light led to some spectacular shooting conditions. I took a few shots, and am pretty happy with how they turned out.

My shots from Lake Cowichan are here.

Sunday was a morning for exercise. Sue did a 13 km run with her training group, and I went for a leisurely ride with the guys. Our pace was slow, and our breaks numerous, but it was exactly what we all needed. The temp was stunning too. In the sun it was nicely warm, but in the shade the temp dropped a couple degrees, and it was perfect for riding. Add in a slight breeze every once in a while, and presto, the makings for a nice ride.

This afternoon Sue and I did some grocery shopping, and some house cleaning. Tonight I am not sure, but I know it will be relaxing.

Shower Tomorrow

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain
Refreshingly different.
It has been record breaking warm the past few weeks
so the coolness is a nice change.

I don’t mind the occasional shower in the summer
I know the sun will return.
Temporary is where it is at, but right now we really
need this moisture.
If nothing else it drives away the annoying Sea Gulls.

The dog doesn’t seem to care if it is raining or not
he always want to run and play.
The cat, indifferent as ever
sits at the window and watches the drops fall.

Myself, I don’t mind walking in the summer shower.
It reminds me of who I am; an Islander.
The weather changes often, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
Change is good though, it keeps you on your toes.

I wonder what is in store for tomorrow?

Wind Reflections

Ahh, loverly night last night at the Oak Bay Marina. A few of us from the photo club met there for our latest meeting. Loads of really nice boats, and pretty decent conditions too. The light was a little harsh, but at least the wind wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately for me I wasn’t feeling too inspired, so I ended up leaving early. Strange really. There were some awesome lines, and really nice reflections too.

The pics I did take are here.

Bonus S’mores

This past long weekend saw myself, Sue, Yoshi, and Digger travel to Long Beach to camp with Steve, Rhae, T, and Steve’s sister Gina and her husband Stuart. We also took Digger with us for company for Yoshi. The Green Point campground has a “bare” policy (which means everything except your sleeping necessities must be kept in a vehicle when you are not in your campsite or are sleeping). As a result of this policy, we asked K if we could borrow her van for the dogs to sleep in, and she readily agreed. I admit that having it was a very big bonus for the trip, but Sue and I both agree that it is better to borrow than to own! 🙂

The weather didn’t really pan out like it was supposed to. The reports leading up to the trip indicated it would be sunny and warm (up to 26C), but really it was foggy almost the whole time, and not exactly hot. IT was interesting how each night the fog would clear away for about 3 hours or so, just enough for us to see the sunset.

Pics are here.

Sue and I headed up on Saturday, then came back on Monday. While there we walked the dogs on the beaches a few times, flew the kite a bit (including extreme kite flying with Steve), visited with everyone, and kicked back with a few drinks each night. The really nice thing about Long Beach is that although it is always quite wet there, this means that campfires are usually permitted. This weekend was no exception. Camping just isn’t the same without a campfire.

Other notables from the weekend: T is a real cutie. Naked babies wandering the beach are quite funny. Specially when they squat and pee in the middle of the blanket! :O

While sitting around the fire Sunday night, Steve decided to make some s’mores. He had been having trouble cooking all day, and this was no exception. His first attempt ended up with two wasted marshmallows. I saw him throw one away, but the other one had disappeared. Steve went about making some more that were much more successful. While he was enjoying the fruits of his labour, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something whitish moving. I glanced over, and saw a shadow dart away. I grabbed flashlight just in time to see a mouse stealing the marshmallow that Steve had dropped on the ground! Cute little guy with huge ears! That would have been one huuuge sugar rush for him though; the marshmallow was as big as his body.

Monday morning we learned that Gina had fallen ill in the night. She spent most of the night in the bathroom, and it wasn’t a good scene. Her husband took her to the hospital to get checked out, and the doctors there felt she will be just fine. Scary for a little bit, but we know she will be fine in the end.

Our last walk on the beach was after Sue and I had torn down camp, and packed the van. We drove to Wickaninish to walk them. They went nuts as soon as we let them go. They were running as fast as they could down the beach, right towards a trio of people. They were watching the dogs head straight for them, and you could see them tense up. At the last moment the dogs seperated, and split off in two directions, passing within a few feet of the people. Sue and I were worried that they were going to take them out! Later Digger beatled off into the logs, and was scampering along them. At first we thought he was looking for a place to relieve himself, but we quickly learned what he was doing as soon as he started rub his shoulder against a log. Yelling at Digger, he jumped up and stopped after a couple of good rubs over a dead seal. Yep, that wasn’t a log, but a rotting corpse instead. Dogs are disgusting. Luckily the dead seal was pretty new, and wasn’t horribly stinky. Sue took Yoshi on leash away from me and Digger, I picked an enticing stick, and took him to the surf for a quick dip. I managed to get the stick and digger together right as a wave broke a couple times. It was funny to watch his reaction to a wave breaking over his head! In the end he was a little “fishy” smelling, but not too bad.

The drive home was pretty uneventful, but the lunch at Coombs was awesome! The OCM burger at the Old Country Market is wickedly good! That was our weekend, the next one is almost upons us!

muddylaces

Spreading mud since 1975.