I Want One!!!

Sweet Tooth

Flood

Josh, Kent, Lorraine, and I saw The Acorn perform at MacDougall United Church last night. They were opening for Bell Orchestre, so only played for about a half an hour, 45 minutes or so, but they put on the most incredible show we could have been there for 10 hours and not felt it! Except for the insufferable heat, that is. How they managed to achieve such a fullness and complexity of sound on a rickety little stage has me in awe of the band's abilities as musicians and performers. I'm SO glad we went :)

I love love love this band. And, I love love love the song that they are playing in the video above, called "Flood". If the camera work is a little shaky, that would be because a) I was trying to record with my camera while also watching the performance itself and couldn't find a comfortable way to position myself so that my arm didn't fall off; and b) I couldn't stop moving in my seat (pew?) because I was so caught up in the music!

Oh, and, my camera cuts out at the very end so I didn't catch the last minute. But, you get the idea. Buy their music. They are AMAZING.

What's My Name Again?

One of my coworkers, a very verbose and irritating older woman who makes me grit my teeth whenever she tries to talk to me, just came around and gave everyone an updated list of phone numbers, one that now includes me, to tape on their phone. Apparently, she decided that her time would be best spent doing something useless and inane, rather than on doing her actual work. Well, my gaze just fell upon the list, which I've determined I am going to ignore, and I couldn't help but notice the name Nadia on it. Which is weird, 'cause there is no Nadia in our department.

Oh, but wait... there's no Natalie on that list. And, if I'm remembering correctly, Nadia is what this coworker used to call me all the time during the three months I worked here last summer. Hmm.

So, as I sit here and eye the little slip of paper, torn between cringing and laughing, I wonder - do I say anything? Or, do I just let it be?

Srsly?

I can't believe you people don't know who Pitbull is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTr0Uf0Akc

b. July 15, 1981

Happy Birthday to me :o)

b. July 8, 1983

If someone had told me back on that fateful day when Dani interviewed me for a job at Carlton Cards that we would one day be best buds, that she would be someone I share all my secrets with, and that we would even travel to VEGAS together, I don't think I would have believed them. But, sure enough, that's what's happened. Working in retail again would not have been bearable if it hadn't been for Double Deuce, and life as I know it would not be halfway as fun if she wasn't a part of it.

Dani, you make me laugh with your crazy sense of humour, and of course, all those times you're just being your unintentionally amusing self ;) You are so sweet to me, and all the little thoughtful things that you do and have done to make me smile are appreciated more than I could ever express. You have the most beautiful smile of anyone I've ever known, can BS with the best of 'em, rejuvenated my appreciation for BSB, and are the perfect mixture of maturing adult and child-at-heart. If this was a yearbook, I'd write "never change"... and I'd mean it. I love you, pretty girl! And if you ever change our plans for an imaginary date again, I'm going to scratch your new blue iPod! And tell Nick Carter that you have Syphilis.

Room With a View

I got to work early this morning - as usual - only to spot my coworker thoughtfully decorating my work station in celebration of my birthday (is that today?)... so, as not to spoil the surprise, I went and hung around outside for a bit and enjoyed the quiet of the early hour. This was the view from where I was sitting... yay for sunshine!

On Music

As a lover of musicians who are always evolving, growing, reinventing themselves and their sound, I find it absurd to think that one song could encapsulate the soul of a band. This is especially true regarding any band who has released 8 studio albums, a greatest hits album, a music video DVD collection, and a live DVD. But, I’m feeling ballsy and emboldened in my soon-to-be-even-older age. I’ve been a fan of The Tea Party since that fateful day in 1997 when I stumbled across a MuchMusic showing of their video for “Temptation” , and after falling instantly in lust with the song, and the incredibly attractive (to me) lead singer, life as I knew it changed forever.

Am I being a littler melodramatic? Sure, but while my tastes in music may have changed over the years, and while my love for the group has ebbed and flowed, their albums have remained the mainstay of my music collection. I could identify major emotional highs and lows over the past 12 years solely by going through the playlist for each of The Tea Party’s albums. The ties between the band and I constitute the most committed relationship I’ve been in, to date! And, it is this that I feel allows me to offer as a précis of The Tea Party’s musical personality one song:

Mantra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkO4P2fuScc

I can remember seeing The Tea Party perform this song live at the Shaw Conference Center. My brother and I were right at the front, mere feet from the stage. Our arms were bruised from being looped over the metal barricade and gripped tightly as we fought the rest of the people jostling for our prime position.

And then... Mantra came on and everyone else ceased to exist. The video above doesn't do the song justice, but then again, neither does the album version. It's a song that needs to be heard live... which, sadly, is no longer an option.

Could You Be...

the most beautiful girl in the world?

I know for sure that I'm the luckiest.

Snapshots from the Clarke Family Holiday

Lianna, her son Nikoli, her sister Dejah, and her brother Logan, all came in from the Northwest Territories to visit this past week. The days and nights have been so full I've barely come up for air to check in with real life, and I'm definately not complaining (though my somewhat neglected kitties might be). We walked Whyte Ave (though Dejah kept us in the same store for literally over an hour!), checked out the shifting festivities at Winston Churchill Square, took on West Edmonton Mall, investigated City Centre, rode the LRT, went to a movie, danced a night away at Play, watched the Canada Day fireworks, experienced the consequences of a misbehaving child and then got to see him be genuinely remorseful, withstood sibling conflict, lost a hotel room card, sang some songs, watched some cartoons, did a lot of laughing, saw a real English Sheepdog, utilized our cellphones fully, and most importantly, really got to know eachother.

I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye tomorrow...

Dejah and Nikoli on the big boat at Galaxyland

Logan and Dejah posing at the bus stop

Mom and son walking down Whyte Avenue

Cheeky monkey!

Nikoli, watching for fireworks from Auntie Dejah's shoulders

The Clarkes, on our way to Canada Day fireworks :o)

Nikoli's "Blue Steel"

Pleeeeeeease, Mom?

Lianna and her young man on the rollercoaster at Galaxyland (for the 3rd time)

Dejah enchants another Edmonton admirer

The Legislative grounds on Canada Day