Party Intervention

I've noticed something peculiar over the past few years. People in Guelph don't even consider going to a bar until 11pm. But what makes it even more peculiar is that buses stop running at 12:15am, and on Sunday they stop at about 6:30pm. Taxis are incredibly expensive. There's no way people aren't drinking, so how the hell are they getting home?

I was just at an open mic night (on a Sunday!) which was supposed to start at 10pm, but no one showed up until 11pm -- not even the host! As a result, my husband and I sat around drinking Cokes for an hour and then decided to go home because we were sick of waiting. Not cool.

Normally I wouldn't be able to go because a) I don't have a driver's license, b) my husband hates driving downtown and c) even if I can convince him to drive, he often works early in the morning and therefore wouldn't be up to staying up late. I don't live near anyone who I could carpool with and I don't feel comfortable walking in my neighbourhood alone that late at night (see previous posts about where I live).

Anyways, this is not the first time that there's been an event that takes place later than I can realistically stay. Oftentimes there will be an event that starts at 11pm and doesn't really get interesting until 1am, but, feeling a bit like Cinderella, I have to catch the midnight bus home and therefore end up missing all the good stuff.

I'm sick of it. So, I propose that people start their drinking earlier. Pre-drink with dinner and then head to the bar at 9:30-10ish so that by the time the last bus rolls around, everyone's too hammered and tired for anything interesting to happen anymore.

Sure this problem would also be fixed if the buses ran later on prime party nights, but I don't think that's necessarily the best course of action. A lot of people have to work in the morning and there's nothing worse than having to work a full shift on less than 3 hours sleep.

So let's start a night life revolution! Get out there and enjoying yourselves before you're too tired to stand! Get there early so you can dance longer! You'll be making life easier and more accessible to those who rely on public transit to get where they want to go. It's totally win-win.

Lunchables : Tuna Wraps

So, I decided to make a variant of the Salmon Wraps which turned out amazingly well. Open a can of tuna, mash it up with a fresh avocado. Add some lemon juice and freshly ground pepper. Then wrap it up in a lettuce leaf. Well, to be precise, that amount of tuna mash should be able to fill 3-4 lettuce leaves. Voila! A very healthy, low fat, blabbity-blah, mumbo-jumbo lunch. Enjoy!

Lunchables : Salmon Wraps

I think I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I've been trying to shift my dietary foci from being very dairy and grain based to being more veggie and meat based. The reason for this shift in thinking is that a blog that I follow, Dooce, started talking about the Paleo diet and I thought it had some merits. I think it's a bit extreme, but there are some things I felt could improve my diet.

Anyways, I had read somewhere in my researching that a good thing to do in place of bread or tortilla wraps was to wrap things in lettuce leaves instead. So, I decided to give it a try with salmon. The result was a VERY satisfying meal.

I took 1 can of salmon, mashed it up with some Miracle Whip (though I suspect it would be really good with avocado in place of Miracle Whip), then I distributed the salmon mash onto 4 Romaine lettuce leaves along the spines. Wrap and enjoy.

I particularly like having the crunchy lettuce with the salmon. I used to always add it to my salmon or tuna sandwiches to add a nice freshness to it all, but the bread always sat very heavy in my stomach. Without the bread, I just feel full and satisfied. It's a very nice feeling. I highly recommend it.

Anyways, that's my Friday Lunchable idea....we'll see if I can come up with another one for next Friday.

The Right Choice

You know how when you're growing up, you hear time and time again that "if it's the right choice, you'll know"? I don't believe that anymore. I've striven to make the right choices in my life and I'm pretty sure the average person would say I made the right choices, but you never know for sure.

I always expected this "knowing" to be a very real, very visceral feeling that was undeniable. Moreover, I expected I would get this feeling in all situations wherein I must make a choice, no matter how small. What shirt should I wear? Should I walk or take the bus? Do I want to eat an apple or an orange? I figured there was a right answer to everything (e.g. to breathe or not to breathe? right answer: breathe) and that somehow I would intrinsically know what the right answer was.

What I have found to be true is that when it's the wrong answer, or at least when it's the worst answer, you tend to know it but not until after you've done it. But some, in fact many, choices are irreversible. It cannot be undone. So really, the odds of getting things right on the first try are about as good as chance. Maybe a little better if you're particularly logical, however logic doesn't always help.

How do you know what the right thing to do is? How do you live your life to the fullest without suffering horrible consequences? Where is that fine line?

There is no line.

I've found that the world is dynamic and ever changing. I've also found that things tend to work themselves out. When we make mistakes, we suffer the consequences, but the consequences are not always all bad nor are they everlasting. One saying that does tend to ring true: This too shall pass.

So I suppose I'll say that whatever it is that you're yearning for in life, just go after it. See where it takes you. Just try not to be stupid about it.

Sick

I just started a new job a couple weeks ago, got booked for a show in two weeks and I'm sick. Fortunately it's not a head cold so there's no sore, runny nose or congestion. Up until two days ago it was just a sore throat and really wasn't bad. Then the coughing came, and it just would not go away. The worst part is that I'm not coughing up anything, it's a dry cough and it's set off whenever I breathe essentially.

I can put up with being sick, but being sick while having to work 8 hour days in the service industry sucks. My solution was to down as much cough syrup as I felt was safe. It certainly helped the coughing, but it made me very disoriented. Luckily I now have two days off, but if I'm not better by the time I go back I'll have a stretch of 5 consecutive work days. So...today I'm taking it easy. Eating healthy, drinking tea and resting up.

Hollerado

The most energetic show I experienced at Hillside was Hollerado. I was still on a high from seeing Mother Mother and I drifted into the Island stage tent in which an unimaginable amount of people packed themselves. They were packed in like sardines. People were standing on picnic tables which gave the illusion of a sea of people frozen in mid-wave. It was beautiful.

The music was energetic and the musicians were putting their all into it. It was a zillion degrees, everyone was sweating and dancing and having a great time. Massive glowing orbs bounced around the crowd and at one point a confetti canon was set off. It was magical. It helped that I was a bit tipsy as well....

At the show, they did a rehashing of Amy Winehouse's Rehab to commemorate her death, which was either the same day or day after it was announced. They also covered The Bird is the Word, which was surprisingly amazing.

The album Record in a Bag is a great party album, especially the song Juliette. I also really enjoy Americanarama, Fake Drugs and Hard Love. Solid band to listen to with an incredible vibe. Fantastic.

Paper Lions

Paper Lions played at the same time as Common Grackle at Hillside and therefore I didn't get to listen to as much as I would have liked of either. Since the show however, I have listened to Paper Lion's album, Trophies, and decided that I very much like it. There's quite a few good songs from that album. I suggest looking up Mr Strawberry Man and Travelling

They're pretty hipster, like many bands that were at Hillside with a strong rock influence. Electric guitar, drums, bass, vocals...pretty typical make-up for a rock band and it works quite well. Their songs are bouncy and have a habit of sticking in your head long after the last chord has been strummed.

Common Grackle

While I was lying in a tent with my friend at Hillside, we looked through the band guide and read aloud the more interesting descriptions. One of them was for a band called Common Grackle in which several somewhat conflicting genres were said to have been fused together to create their music. After reading it, we decided we had to check them out and see just how it all meshes together.

Unfortunately we didn't stay too long since there were several talked-about bands at that time to go see, but the few songs we listened to were pretty awesome. A little rockabilly, with a modern hipster twist and some questionable lyrics, strange I know, but the tunes were delightful and catchy. I since looked them up on Youtube and now I feel the need to learn to play At The Grindcore Show.

*For some reason the video won't cooperate*