Promises and Progress (Alliteration is fun!)

So in a continuation from my previous post… Look at me! Posting weekly! An improvement on my usual bloggin habits is a pleasant surprise for me and hopefully? for you too. I have been doing a lot of introspection lately so I will fill you in a little bit on that.

Moving back to Ottawa after living away for the past five years or so has been extremely stressful. I was able to build up my self confidence quite a bit while in St.Catharines and it is always daunting to find out if you will jive with people in a new place. Was that disjointed enough? Basically I’m struggling/trying to find the place that I fit best here after being so comfortable elsewhere.

So I am trying to establish and/or develop an online presence for myself. I am currently shacked in with my parents which means a lack of television, people, and basic services(i.e. the convenience store is 5KM away). It is a nice, comfortable prison of sorts.

This is kind of what it looks like but with snow

I sit and think and stew and have come to the conclusion that the best way for me to get in contact with/meet new people in the area is if they know who I am. This is really ground-breaking stuff guys, take notes. I feel I overuse the conjunction SO… But I will continue to blog, I’m thinking weekly posting is reasonable don’t you? You can also find me in the twitter sphere @ralkerto . Expect to find updates about my morning coffee, events I am interested in or attending and other random bits and bites.

I am on a quest for more sincere and honest relationships, but also just more relationships.

Seriously, get me out of the house!

Here’s the deal/proposition if you will. Are you a sincere and honest person (Bonus points if you like music and board games)? Leave me a comment, I will get back to you and we can be friends. sound good? Acquainted you say? Yeah, I can handle that for now. 

All the best to my new bests!

XOXO BEC

P.S. I had also wanted to post a little blurb about the burlesque event I worked on this weekend but I felt this was getting drawn out so if y’all are lucky I might just post twice this week!

I’m Back!!! Maybe

 

                      

So after almost a year long hiatus, I am going to try and get back into this blogging business. I can't make any promises about how often I will update because I procrastinate and am obviously not very good at this :). But stay positive and I will try and you can try and maybe things will be good.

Where to begin? I suppose we shall start where I last left you and I will try to fill in the blanks along the way. If you have questions comments or concerns don't be afraid to let me know.

Last June I attended the 10th annual Bonnaroo Music Festival and let me tell you it was the best time of my life! If you haven't gone, look into it. If you don't like people or music, first you fail, and second, don't look into it. All that aside it was hot as hell and the music and atmosphere were wonderful. There is just nothing quite like spending a weekend camping with 80, 000 like minded strangers who want to enjoy life and music. Everybody was ecstatic to be there and I was able to meet a ton of cool people from all over the place. I don't really have pictures of myself to share because I focused on getting shots of the bands but here are a couple for your viewing entertainment.

       

                 

     It was dirty and dusty, so were my feet…

      

       I doubt this is true but I do love unicorns.

I apparently missed getting a photo of

THIS TENT, but it was there too!

   

      Green man jam session on a bus? Why not?

And I also have lots of blurry band shots that I won’t bore you with.

Onwards. In August we threw a backyard bash for my sister’s birthday with bands and drinking and food and dancing(not necessarily in that order). I continued to work, hang out and caught some more live shows. Anybody else catching onto a pattern here? Fall was kind of boring and pretty rainy.

Christmas came. I once again was unable to come back to Ottawa to see my family due to work. I got pretty bummed and wasn’t the best of company. New year’s was a riot at the Merchant Ale House (if you are in St. Catharines, go here. Good food, good beer, nuff said). We got dressed up, drank and danced because, well I believe it’s a requirement.

Shortly after the beginning of January I decided to quit my job. I was frustrated and life was feeling too stagnant. So I have moved back to Ottawa. Since coming home I have a new job, have participated in some family photos, and have finished a few books. While I loved the rural lifestyle as a kid, being somewhat technology deprived in my twenties is killing me. If anyone has time killing tips or interesting topics for me to learn about, please, please let me know.

I’ll be volunteering this weekend at You Wish, a burlesque event for the Children’s Wish Foundation. Other than that I will just be back and forth to work, filing my taxes, and generally spacing out.

So there you are! All caught up. Fingers crossed for stories of note in the near future.

 

XOXO BEC 

Excitement!

A short list of reasons that I am excited.

1. My parents are coming to visit from Ottawa for the weekend. (Ya I saw them a couple of weeks ago for my Dad's 60th but this is family people)

2. My Aunt Nadine and Uncle Brian will also be here for the weekend. (I haven't seen them in over a year)

3. My parents will be bringing my BBQ with them. ( I have been waiting for this since X-mas)

4. Also on list of things to be brought, my fishing rod. Maybe I will actually get out on some water.

5. Bonnaroo is less than one month away!!

6. I am allowed to wear jeans at work all week. (Little things mean the most?)

What you got for excitement?

Four Months in the Making

So here we go again!

I am officially the worst blogger on the interweb.

So what have I done these past months? Unfortunately, not a whole lot.

I do however have some exciting things in the next few months. And I hope to post a little bit about them too!

So without further ado a quick update on the past and then one for the future.

PAST:

Christmas happened. And it was wonderful. I couldn't go home this year (for the first time ever) thanks to the fact that I work a retail job. But it was still really great. My house pulled together, got a real tree, hung stockings on the banister, and Steve cooked a delicious traditional meal with all the fixings. Then in early January I was able to make the trek home with my sister and have round two with the family. Exciting gifts include but are not limited to a Snuggie! a barbecue(still at the rents :( .) a unicorn, and a light up wand. Yes I am still a child, that loves food from the grill.

And yes, house. Maggie and I moved in with Steve(her boyfriend) and things here are going well.

I caught a few more shows. Most notably Steve Aoki. The lineup was stupid and although I will likely never return to that bar the show itself was great. Last weekend I saw Woodshed Orchestra which is a really fun group to see if you get the chance.

I wish I could say more than that has happened the past few months but aside from my day to day boredom of work there hasn't been a whole lot.


PRESENT:

Well I am still working the same job and thankfully things are starting to get busier again after the post-christmas lull.

For the first time I watched a season of the Bachelor.

And now for the good stuff. For those who don't know or hadn't realized, live music is pretty much all I care about other than eating, sleeping, and paying my bills. I don't particularly care for the last of those but alas it must be dealt with. I also have some time for televised sporting events and Glee.

This summer I will be taking a trip. No not the Caribbean, not Europe, not Australia or anywhere overly exotic. I am headed to Tennessee. Manchester, TN host of the 10th anniversary Bonnaroo festival! I can't begin to describe my elation in words. I will get to see some great acts for the second time but many for the first. A quick rundown of what I am most excited for has to include Florence & The Machine, Robert Plant, Ray LaMontagne and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. There are too many for me to list here but you can check out the full lineup if you are interested.

I will also be taking a trip back to Ottawa come April for both Easter and my father's 60th birthday bash. If anyone has gift ideas for a cynical old guy leave them in the comments.

In May my parents are coming to visit here. I have some family coming up from the States as well. They have never seen the Falls! You really do take certain natural world wonders for granted when they are just a short drive away.

Well I think that is all for now. I hope you are well.

Ch-ch changes

Time to be a different man... or woman as the case may be. So my last post was pretty brief and didn't really explain much of my life situation at the moment. I currently live in a sketchy downtown apartment, work a pretty good mall job if there ever was such a thing, and spend a lot of time hanging out alone. But please don't get too worried, it has only taken a few months in this lifestyle to realize it is not what I want. So bring on the change, I will do my best to prepare myself for it. also apologies for this post once again being late. It was almost ready to go when I was uprooted into my sister's boyfriend's house for a game night. This seems to happen almost daily so...
In the next month or so I will be moving. Into a house, with other people, and hopefully if all works out as planned I will be a much happier person. Having the power to up and move and do things differently for myself is really nice. I can't help but think "hey this isn't working."and now that leaves me with well fuck DO something about it. It also means I will get to enjoy board game night every night.

I am still unsure as to how much longer I will stay in this city but if things are looking good it may be a while. If I can get myself a government job with a more sizable and more stable paycheck it might not be such a long while. I really am trying to get myself all figured out but how can you know what really works without trying a few different things first. So I guess you can consider me in life-limbo for now. And coming up on my 21st birthday I'm gonna have to be lame and "Hallmarky" Live in the moment people dwelling really does suck.

xoxo

Bec

Ps aren't scattered thoughts fun? Sorry for writing this post in essentially 2 parts. I much prefer getting everything out in one shot so my thoughts, words, ideas are semi-congruent. Whatever.

future reference

So I have been fairly busy these past few months. Mainly working lots at a job I am not overly thrilled with, but such is life.

I am expecting some major changes on the horizon and will try to keep things updated. We all know how good I am at that :S.

Stay tuned for an update on some of those future plans... I will try to have something up by the end of this week.

Cheers!

Remember me?

So after a not so brief hiatus, I return. Failblog is a pretty fitting name for me, but obviously is already taken. These past few months haven't really been too exciting or groundbreaking. I've been working, lots. Don't worry this isn't a bitter lament just a comment as to where I have been.

Renovations at work are done and the new store is all shiny pretty. The girls are all good and my sister is happy that I have started to hang out with them when I have time off. All that aside, let's get to the good stuff. When not working I have managed to get some great shows in the mix as well.

My summer concert series:

I kicked things off with a killer show at the Horseshoe Tavern and Born Ruffians CD Launch.

St. Catharines does a one day festival hosting 140 bands in 15 venues, so I took on The Rumble Devils, The Lucky Ones, The Strange, Sea of Burgundy and Gold and a few others before the night was through. I was stuck at work for most of the day but a free pass with a free beer attached(thanks to my neighbour Mark) was not an offer to turn down.

As per usual caught a ton of great acts at Ottawa Bluesfest (unfortunately I was only there for 3 of the 12 days). They are as follows: The Moody Blues(briefly), Andrew Bird, B-52's. This was day one I finally managed to drag Alison from Party of 3 out to the fest. How someone could live in Ottawa so long and not make an appearance is beyond me.

Day two included an unforgettable set by John Butler Trio (in the rain, *swoon*). Then I popped over to catch The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie with his new back up group the Country of Miracles. Hole of Courtney Love fame was somewhat underwhelming so I hung around Babe Ruth and Marc Cohn until it was time for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Saturday was my last day in Ottawa before I had to take the overnight bus back to St. Catharines in order to work Sunday morning. I made sure to arrive in the afternoon and take in as much as possible. Kings go Forth had some fun beats but nothing like that of Caravan Palace. Jumping from stage to stage I took in Bear in Heaven and then Basia Bulat. Then I was off to see Metric's main stage set(four times in one year! Starting and ending in the capital). 7:45 called for Carolyn Wonderland, if you like bluesy women she is a must see. It was no surprise to see the Texas Horns up on stage with her as they are festival regulars. 8:00Pm hit and it was time for Rodger Hodgson. That man still has it. I watched out the end of his set before jumping over to Passion Pit. Although they were putting together a solid set, The Flaming Lips were calling my name. Wayne Coyne (the lead singer) did not disappoint when he started the show by crowd surfing in a giant hamster ball. All in all it was a pretty great weekend closing out with roughly 30,000 people singing Do You Realize? the lips most recognizable tune.

That fantastic weekend didn't close out my summer of shows although as usual it was definitely the highlight. Ribfest brought out The Cavenders, a surprisingly solid Beatles cover band. I danced on a stool in front of the Rumble Devils in the best shoes an adult with tiny feet could (Did I mention they light up?) when they opened for The Strange at their Cd release party. Late August brought another trip to Toronto this time to see Crosby, Stills and Nash open for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Just in case you thought what next? I failed to mention my short jaunt to Hamilton for Festival of Friends a free concerts in the park weekend where I was lucky enough to see the man who opened Woodstock, Richie Havens!! Buckwheat Zydeco played too.

There are a handful of shows good, great and reasonable that have come and gone and all I can say is I wouldn't have it any other way. Also, "hey fall, what's up?"

To those unfamiliar with some, any or all of these acts, if "all" get your head checked, I suggest you check 'em out via youtube, grooveshark or whatever outlet you have.

Cheers for now,

Becca