(Sorry Lauralea, but I did warn you!)
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Palm Springs photo update!
Admittedly, it has once again been what feels like ages since I updated. In reality, it has been exactly 2 weeks. Anyway, the time has come once again for a photo update.
As many of you know, I spent a week in Palm Springs, California with my parents over February break. We had tons of fun, and packed as much as was humanly possible into the 7 days that we spent there. :o) Here are some of the photo highlights:
We had a beautiful condo with a poolside balcony.
The view from our balcony
Dad and I on Day 1
Mom and I at the Indian Canyon lookout
Mom and dad are so cute. :o)
(Almost as cute as me and dad, right?)
Dad and I fell into the canyon! Can you see the look of terror on our faces? (How convenient that we had the camera handy at that exact moment!)
I tried to be Marilyn Monroe, but it's difficult without a dress, or wind.
On Day 3 we went to Disneyland!!!
This carving outside the Tiki Room in Adventureland reminded me of the Maori carvings in New Zealand, so I tried to imitate it (but realized after the fact that my eyes should have been open)
Dad and me waiting in line for our first roller coaster ride
Hugs!
This lady was SO amazing! I sat there and within 1 minute she had cut out a silhouette profile of my face. It was startlingly accurate.
The Royal Street Bachelors played at the restaurant in New Orleans Square where we stopped for supper. The musicians gave mom and me beads....
..... so we figured that we'd better earn them! (just kidding)
One last photo op before leaving Disneyland for the night.
(And between all of this, I still managed to keep up on Facebook!)
Dad golfed almost every day.
Mom and dad and I before checking out the Village Fest street fair
My good friend Dan from IMC came to visit me from Huntington Beach!!!!
So there you have it. Many of you have probably seen these pictures already on Facebook, but I feel better now that I've caught up on the blog too. Palm Springs was a blast but I'm glad to be home now.... and life is just as crazy as ever!!!! Next year will be a change, with no university classes anymore... but I will (hopefully) be busy teaching high school band/choir. I have a job interview at a GREAT school in my hometown this week.... wish me luck!!!!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Let me feel my feet, let me be free...
My heart is completely overflowing with an incredible level of respect for Xavier Rudd, in so many ways. He is an extremely capable and creative musician, a kind and caring soul, a fantastic entertainer, and an inspirational activist for the environment and for the rights of aboriginal people everywhere. His concert was so amazing, on so many levels. I hardly even know where to begin.
I was super excited on my way to the concert - I'm actually going to see him live!
When I got there I was pretty excited to have snagged myself a seat in the 2nd row.
The opening act was a Rastafarian guitarist/vocalist from Bermuda named Mishka. I was thoroughly impressed with his lyrics and his catchy melodies. I had never heard of him before last night, but you can bet I will be keeping my eye out for him from now on!
Before Xavier took the stage, an aboriginal Aussie didgeridoo player came out to demonstrate circular breathing and techniques for playing the native Australian instrument. He was super funny in the way he dealt with his green shorts (loin cloth?) almost coming undone... "We don't want that... there are children in the audience... and trust me, they'd be scared." This guy was also incredibly talented - he demonstrated how to imitate the sounds of the native Australian animals (the kookaburra, dingo, and emu) through a manipulation of the lips, tongue, and breath support through the didgeridoo.
The first number in the show was an instrumental - just the drummer (who is not appearing in these pictures, but was situated to Xavier Rudd's left on the other side of the stage). This song (and many others that followed) were accompanied with powerful slideshow images of aboriginal people, the earth, and other interesting graphics. Half way through the first piece, Xavier Rudd walked out in the darkness, with only about half of the crowd noticing him. I was certainly one of them, as I had abandoned my 2nd row seat to make my way to the front of the stage, where I joined the growing crowd for some dancing and up-close Xavier action. Most people in the audience were very understanding, and let me go in front of them because I was so short. Hooray! So for the next 2 hours (maybe? I lost track of time), this multi-talented, completely lovable Aussie entertained the crowd - he even changed some of his lyrics to include "Saskatoon," which caused the entire auditorium to erupt into cheers every time - while also conveying some very important messages regarding the environment and respect for Mother Nature, and also the treatment of aboriginal people.
So speak out loud
Of the things you are proud
And if you love this coast
Then keep it clean as it hopes
'Cause the way that it shines
May just dwindle with time
With the changes it will confront
("Messages")
You people saving whales,
Giving your thanks to our seas
My respect to the ones in the forest,
Standing up for our old trees.
Them giving food to the hungry
Giving hope to the needy
Giving life to a baby
Giving care for free
There is freedom around us
We have everything we need
I will care for you
Because you care for me
We all have opinions
Some of them get through
But there's better people
With more good to do.
("Better People")
Come my brother, come slowly, come easy
My friend, come my friend
Come my sister, come easy, come breezy
On me you can depend.
Come my brother, put your hands up,
Take your heart out
Let go, come let go.
Come my sister can I hold ya,
Can I squeeze ya,
Let go, come let go.
("Come Let Go")
Everybody going to paddle out together
Any kind of weather
Because everybody's ok.
Everybody going to kick back together
Speak about each other
Because everybody's ok.
Some people going to twist up together
Help to feel better
Because everybody's ok.
Everybody can you sway to the music,
Let the spirit choose you
Because everybody's feeling ok.
("Twist")
I seriously don't know if I can ever have the words that will express what an incredible musical exchange I witnessed last night. I went to the concert by myself, so as far as I'm concerned it was just Xavier and me sharing his music (despite the fact that the auditorium was full and there was a throng of people dancing and cheering at the front of the stage). When the audience hollered and chanted for him to come back on stage after his last number, after what seemed like a full 2-3 minutes of incessant cheering he took the stage again, in his usual bare-(tattooed)-footed, earthy look, guitar in hand. He invited a friend out with him to play the banjo, and together they played "Energy Song." Incredible. One of the most touching moments of the whole show, in my opinion, came near the end when he paid his respects to the Cree people by inviting an older Native drummer and a young Native man out on stage with him, and along with his aboriginal didgeridoo player, the 4 of them played and sang together. It was a beautiful demonstration of the unification of cultures and music, and the humanity of the situation was overwhelming.
I LOVE THIS MAN.
I could go on and on about what an inspiration he is to me, but I hope you get the picture.
Oh, and did I mention that he grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye after the show, as he was just leaving the stage? He really wasn't exaggerating when he said that "tonight we have made connections that you will take to your grave."
Thank you, Xavier.
(And in true R fashion, I shall be the judge. I give this concert 80 million didgeridoos out of 5. A true hit!)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day to ME!!!!!
For the past week or so I have been trying desperately to find a ticket for the Xavier Rudd concert here in Saskatoon this Thursday. This guy is like an Australian one-man band pretty much. He's a singer/songwriter/didgeridoo player. The concert was advertised in this past week's issue of the Sheaf (the U of S student newspaper), so I was thrilled and I tried to get a ticket right away. But, much to my dismay, they were sold out, and had been for over a month. I was SUPER disappointed, as I love this guy - I've listened to him heaps this year, and I have been known to sing loudly to a number of his songs while nobody is listening. Upon realizing that I wasn't going to be able to get a ticket, I tried a bunch of different approaches - posting requests on local buy/sell websites, putting out requests on Facebook, MSN, etc. and asking around to anyone I know. No luck.
(I was determined to see this concert, though, even if it meant attempting to sneak into the concert while nobody was looking. I missed Xavier Rudd by only a couple hours in Vancouver this July (on my way to New Zealand). And he wasn't playing at all in Australia/NZ while I was there, so no luck on that end either.)
So today I checked on www.ticketmaster.ca (as I had done so many times over the past week, but to no avail), and lo and behold.... there's a ticket for me!!!! I snatched it up right away and then did a happy dance all around my living room!!!!! So, this Thursday, Feb. 14th, I will be seeing one of my all-time favourite musicians playing live in a small church in Saskatoon, SK!!!!
HALLELUJIA!!!!
"I exist as I am. That is enough." - Walt Whitman
So, _____ (who shall remain nameless), take me or leave me. But please be respectful and civil to the person who once considered you a friend.
And please allow my personal life to remain that way. My business is mine, and my relationship is the business of the two of us alone.
That is all.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Photos that I haven't thought of in a while...
Here, for absolutely no reason at all (and in no particular order), is a random post of a few pictures that make me laugh, smile, reflect, and remember how cheery and wonderful a life I have. :o) (More to come when my computer wants to cooperate and upload faster!):
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Look-alikes?
Do you guys remember the movie The Santa Clause? If so, do you remember Bernard the Elf? His name is David Krumholtz and he has also been in 10 Things I Hate About You, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Ray, Superbad, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, etc.
So why do I mention this? Because I have always thought that my friend Sebastien looked like him, and I thought about this again today when I saw some new pictures of Sebastien on Facebook. So here we go... another look-alikes post. What do you think?
David Krumholtz
Sebastien
(This reminds me of a post I wrote on another blog last January about the resemblance between the singers Joss Stone and Eva Cassidy... so for the record, here are those pictures):
Joss Stone
Eva Cassidy
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Eating chocolate pancakes....
... is so much better than going to 8:30am classes in a life-sized deep freezer. The temperature outside this morning is a whopping -50C with the windchill. OH. MY. GOD. No way I'm going to class. My 10am class was cancelled, so instead of venturing out into the frozen world that is Saskatoon, SK, I stayed home printing resumes for the career fair and making chocolate chip pancakes.
So much better!
Monday, January 28, 2008
There's something eerily familiar about all of this....
That's right. January 28th (that's today) feels like -39C in Saskatoon, SK. Taking a "snow day" away from university was looking very tempting this morning, but I managed to make it out of bed and to my 8:30am class... and 3 minutes early at that! Impressive? I think so.
Perhaps the guy on the radio this morning summed it up best when he gave the weather forecast: "And a low today of snowy, cold, blizzardy, freezing, blowing, don't drive on the highway, stay in bed." (And after all that, he didn't actually say what the low temperature was... I cringe just imagining what it might be!)
This all seems eerily familiar... last January Saskatoon was hit with the worst blizzard the city had seen in 50 years. Here's to hoping that I will be able to find my car in the parking lot after classes today!
Monday, January 21, 2008
It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood...
Interesting story, brought to my attention by friend/ex-boyfriend/co-inhabiter of my apartment building, Doug:
Check out the news story here, thoughtfully provided by a 10th floor resident in my building.
What's most ridiculous is that I didn't hear about it until 3 days later. Looks like I need to watch the news more often!
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