Memories - Bass is Base

Everyone knows my passion for music. I think once I even called it the greatest invention in the world, and I'm not overestimating!

The best things about it I find is one, it's ability to change your mood instantly. Too mellow, put on some Poison. Feeling pissed off and angry put on some Groove Armada. Like today, I was steaming at work, an all day piss off (ask me about the story later if you want), and all it took was a step outside and a little Jack Johnson, and immediately chilled out. And two, how a given song can instantly trigger memories from your past, both good and bad, but mainly the good! So today I thought I would relay some of those songs to you and what they mean to me.

Air - Moon Safari (album) Sitting in a small bar in Yangshuo, China, with Reid, Felicity, Stephanie. We took over the whole place that night, listening to that album repeatedly throughout the night, and being our own bartenders mixing white russians all night long.

Paul Simon - The Obvious Child Secluded in Butt F#$K, China for 4 months, with no phone, mail or internet, a bottle (or two) of red wine, passing time by cooking and getting drunk dancing around the kitchen by myself all night. It was like a ritual, spaghetti, red wine, booze and Paul. It made the name pass

Coldplay - The Scientist Laying on the most amazing beach ever off the Northeast coast of Malaysia, sun setting with the song on repeat after spending an incredible day island hopping and snorkelling with a bunch of really cool new friends. Chilling on the beach with the most perfect soundtrack eminating through the headphones.

Don't Walk Away Eileen - Sam Roberts Drunk, really drunk, at 3am in Jeff's cabin near Moose Jaw, singing our hearts out with the likes of the Saturday Night Live Really Bad Christmas Carolers, singing like we were onstage in front of 10,000 people, but really we only could sing 5 words of the chorus, the rest of the song we didn't know the words.

So that's it for now, but you can bet your ass there will be more. Oh yes, there will be more! P.S Who is that guy!!

Rockin' Chair - Oasis

Standing on a street corner in Vancouver with my Cousin Brad and Uncle Ken, the inescapable whail of AC/DC quickly roared past us from the shaking walls of a UPS delivery van. The funny part of this little story was the driver. With his brown shorts and matching shirt showing off his overgrown belly, the dude was full on rocking out in his doorless van. I mean full body heaves, ass off the seat, beating on the steering wheel, looking like he was getting a rectal tickle from a wolverine!

I don't know who you are mystery UPS Driver but I salute you, you made my day, one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. Here it is two weeks later and I am still laughing it.

Music of the Day: Wilco - Being There This album about 8 or 9 years old and I still listen to it. It was one of the first to start the Alt-Country trend. The album is a classic.

Slurpee: Would you believe its been over two weeks since I partook in such syrupy salavations.

"I wish I was little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl and then I would call her." The name of the song is easy, but who can remember the artist. Two red skittles and a pinch on the bum if you can tell me the singer!

Remember - Air

I struggle with China withdrawl, as many of you already know.

Its hard not to reminisce about a country where you get .75 cent dvd's and .40 cent beers. Let alone rent a taxi for a day $30 and drive all over the city and countryside, or just stop in for a hair wash and massage for $3.

I have a great group of friends over there, like I do back home as well, but that country was such a huge part of an integral growing process for me, that it is impossible for me to look back at the country in a bad light. So on the days I feel like I really need to return I look at this picture of Guangzhou in the winter, when there are no rains to wash away the pollution. Then I compare it to one of the Rocky Mountains where I am living now. But then again you can turn the gloom into fun by throwing a pollution party like we have done on more than one occasion in my past days in China.

Chivas and Green Tea anyone???

Much To Young (To Feel This Damn Old) - Garth Brooks

I have officially become old!!!

Today I went in to buy some beer after work and I was asked for ID. It was the first time I have been carded in ages. And this is me, I was "purchasing" when I was 17 without problem. My natural reaction, from my younger days, was to immediately slam that card down on the counter "Take that bitch, I'm legal!" Then, braces beaming, the 18 year old asks me how old I am, I am forced to reveal my youngish age of 25, this is where I got annoyed.

As I walked out of the store, with beer in hand of course, I calmed myself by thinking to myself, "Wow, I must be doing good to still be getting carded at 25". Then immediately after I had to scold myslef, "Shit, if I'm actually thinking like that I must be old." Then I got annoyed again!!!

What A Feeling!

The next Lance I am not!!

Yesterday was the big adventure race, it consisted of mountain biking, trail running, whitewater canoeing, and road biking sections. I was in charge of grinding out the 27km road bike course on a store rental bike, which coincedentally didn't have a middle gear (of the three front gears) that worked. The middle is the one you're supposed to ride in most of the time. So I show up at the starting line, all 6'3" and 290lbs of me, with my crappy bike, to face off against circus midgets on $2000 bikes! 3-2-1 And they're off!!!

And there I was.

Actually I didn't do too bad considering my chain fell off the bike three times throughout the race. I finished 4min 30sec behind the first place biker, in the middle of the pack It was only my second time on a road bike so I didn't think I did too bad. I think I have Irene Carr to thank for that. Who is Irene Carr? The singer of 'What a Feeling' the Flashdance song. Halfway through the race I was hitting a low, when the Ipod shuffled the next song to the Flashdance song...techno remix!! Now I tell you there is nothing like a crappy 80's song redone to dance floor beats to pick a guy up during a bike race..."What a Feeling". I actually had a spectator come up to me after the race and ask me what I was listening to, cuz they could see me tapping my fingers along to the beat on the bike. "Do you beleieve it"! Overall our team finished in third place, not a bad afternoon.

And just in case anyone wants to know, the remix was done by The Global Deejays.

Bartender (Dave Matthews)

I read some very interesting news the other day that I thought I would share with all of you.

The European Union has presented a bill that would make it mandatory for any employee working outdoors to cover their bodies fully in clothing to protect themselves from the "harmful" effects of the sun's UV rays.

Maybe you're telling yourself right now that this is not so bad. Well try telling that to the men of Germany. The poor men in the pubs and bars of Gremany must be crying in their beers right now, as their centuries old tradition of barmaids will be coming to an end. You know the barmaids I'm talking about, with the big push up bra, and low cut blouse and bonnet on the head, well they're going to be forced to cover up! And its not just the German men that are crying, how about the 6 million tourists that will flock to the country in a month for Oktoberfest, hoping to drink their steins of beer and oogle the barmaids, they're going to be crying to. As for me, I planned on going to Oktoberfest next year, steins without barmaids, well I want to cry to.

The bill will not be passed for two weeks into EU law, I say we all stand up and fight, maybe someone can hit one of these crummy politicians in the face with a sunscreen cream pie. After all wouldn't a layer of the oh so magical UV blocking cream accomplish the same thing as a layer of clothing. Who's with me!!!

Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

So I have always known, and been told by others, that my head is filled with useless information. This never became clearer to me now than it did the other day. The story was that I was on a bus going to the Shuswap Lake in BC, to meet my cousin and her friends at the cabin. On the bus, I was of course listening to my trusty Ipod with the songs randomly being chosen. Now everyone has a pretty eclectic taste in music but sometimes I can be a bit kooky. The next song was Never Ever by the All Saints. This group was a two hit wonder over in these parts of the world, fronted by four gorgeous girls. So sitting alone at the back of the bus at least five or six years after this song was a hit, I wondered to myself what the names of the girls were, and wouldn't you know I could name all four of them, Shaznay Lewis, Nicole and Natalie Appleton and Melanie Blatt. I figure there has got to be some kind of career in the world where I can put all of this crap in my head to use. If you know of anything please let me know. So why the title Banana Pancakes? I just wanted something as inconsequential as the time I just wasted off my life my thinking of these faded pop stars.

Lakini's Juice (Live)

So I'm reading a book right now, well actually not cuz I'm typing, but you get the picture.

The title of the book...'Island of the Sequined Love Nun', the first chapter of the book involves a pilot of a cosmetics company's pink lear jet, who decides to take a lady of the night up for a private ride, literally. In the midst of his ride he crashes the plane, hurling the girl off of him, ripping his most manly of appendages off in the process! Later, running away from the wrath of his gun toting, pink purse wearing boss lady he escapes the country only to find himself trapped in the middle of the South Pacific with lady boys, cannibals, japanese, and gay bats!!

Now that is one hell of a premise of a story, I don't think I could have done better myself!!

The author...Christopher Moore, who is an author I think you should check out if you are ever in the mood for a great laugh. I've read one of his previous books, 'Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove'.

I think I will finish the book this weekend while I'm laying on the beaches on the Shuswap Lakes in B.C. I'm leaving on Thursday morning, so adios!!