Old Man Yeomans

Wooden Heart

2011-06-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've never been much into rap or spoken word, but this is still my favourate song this week. I can't get enough of this Dan Smith guy from the band "Listener":

Studioing

2010-07-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Life is pretty fun. I've been with my bandmates from "the Burn Ins" a lot. We still need to getback to the studio to finish recording our album with Jesse. Hoping this is all done before August is up. Got our 10th song to record, and need to add the keys to all our songs still. Gotta get that Hammond and Rhodes in there.
Here are a couple photos from the first trip. Josh took some MUCH better ones though.

Time again to donate to World Vision

2010-06-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

I would appreciate any support in raising money for the 3o hour famine that I'll participating in next week. Please Help!

Thanks so much for your generosity! Click here see my profile and donate.

Cheers!

On Unpaid Sabbatical

2010-03-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

So, I finished my 6 month stint as an Interim Lead Pastor in Elkford. I'll be living there for the next couple of months to pursue musical type things with my band, "The Burn Ins".

But First, I have driven down to the Lower Mainland to visit as much family as possible (and stopped to see Monson in Kelowna on the way).

Here is a photo of Paisley's Bed-Head which never disappoints every morning.

My Liverpool

2009-07-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I accidentally posted this in my non-amp blog. Now I don't know how to delete it, so it will remain. This has been together for quite some time now, and has made its way to Elkford to perform perfectly in a jam about a month ago.
Anyways, here is the Liverpool in its pine cabinet that Bryant built. There is a wooden faceplate as well that needs to be drilled out and labeled and mounted. However, It might not happen because this amp will eventually receive a very fancy hardwood cabinet to replace this one. The final faceplate will likely be purpleheart.

Success!

2009-07-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, after a few days of feeding mice peanut butter and being outsmarted, I stepped up my game; I switched to a bigger garbage pale. The mouse apparently ate even more of the peanut butter, but didn't make it away.
Apparently, the other contraption was allowing the mice to feed and walk away. Hopefully, this is the start of a mouse-free environment.

The Great Mouse Solution

2009-07-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

Despite the apparent classiness of my apartment, it seems that I may have an infestation of mice. I've found evidence in the last few days. I even came home a couple days ago to discover a mouse peering at me from my kitchen garbage can. He dove into the depths of the bag, so I tied it up and took out the trash. However, he either made it back inside, or there are others.

I was going to buy traps today, but after going out with with Anh, Marc, and Kim, I was told about an old Cyr family secret.
I better not explain how it works, but here is the pics of the trap I am setting tonight as I go to bed:

My new Gibson J-50

2009-06-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

Well, it's new to me; it was made in the 60s.It sounds and feels really nice.

My New Living Room

2009-03-07T12:04:00.000-08:00

I have a few posts to make. However, I'll start with just pictures of my new living room. There's not much else to the apartment, but I'll get to them later.
The pictures aren't on the walls yet, and the stereo isn't in yet either. As well, I have a Hammond and fancier Leslie coming as well. The Leslie 25 is under a cloth behind the wing-backed chair. It connects directly to the 1962 Lowrey Festival Organ that you see in the pictures. I just need the 6 pin connector cable.
The Leslie 142 for the Hammond should stack nicely on top of the 25. Don't worry; it will look great in here when I'm done. I'll put the TV in the Kitchen if I have to.These first 4 photos are teken from the 4 corners of the room (where the stereo speakers will go).
Now, for the last photo, you can see through the arch into the kitchen of a teaser of phots yet to come.

So, You Think You Are Pretty Important?

2009-02-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this doesn't offend anyone overly so with the few bits of profanity, but this is my favorite video at the moment. I've watched it over and over and I can't get enough for some reason. I just love the situation of someone who thinks they are so important that everyone else should be star-struck. It's so entertaining when they meet a regular person who really couldn't care. Ok, I'm ruining the funniness by trying to explain; just watch:

My favorite line is, "You're Mister Stevens?"

The Best Candidate for Equiro

2009-02-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

I'd like to take a break from our regularly scheduled boredom to make one observation. I think Ryan Monson is the best candidate for Enquiro. I can't imagine someone else better suited.
Check him out:
http://ryanmonson.com/enquiro/

A Really Great Article

2009-01-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

My blogging has been reduced to the lowest common denominator. Do the interets need another blogger posting links to things that they think are funny? Links to meaningless articles?
Probably not, but here you go:

Matchbox Twenty Finally Finishes Watering Down Long-Awaited New Album

I share some opinions about music today with this article. It's incredibly entertaining for me.
My favorite quote is:

"No matter how many times we recorded the new single 'Sitting Down (Hands At My Side),' there was still a certain 'oomph' coming through in the drums, a loud-ish, slightly gripping sound that we couldn't remove," drummer Paul Doucette said. "Finally, after running them through about two dozen filters, we managed to get that 'plastic spork hitting mashed potatoes' sound we were after."

Red Alert- Government Conspiracy

2008-12-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

This brilliant lady has discovered that the government is trying to poison the american water supply. Check out the evidence:

Don't you love what this blog has turned into? I still think my amp blog is way cooler.

I thought they were Joking!

2008-12-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

So, if the District Office of some City (like Encino, California) contacts you, asking permission to use your picture for "municipal beautification", remember to ask if you might be able to receive some compensation. It's worth a try, instead of just laughing and saying, "Sure, whatever!".Maybe I could have made a few bucks. Well, at least my face is getting out there. And, apparently I'm not as repulsive to the ladies as we all might have thought.

My Secret Life of Crime

2008-12-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have an exciting new past-time.My roommate recently moved away. There was a bit of garbage left behind. However, this is not as easily disposed of as you might think. This is because there is a baby in this house, and so the City-appointed Garbage Bin for this house is full capacity long before halfway through the week.
So, I am left with full garbage bags with nowhere to dispose of them.
I put them in my trunk and try to find bins around town that never usually get filled. It's scary, but it's what I do.

Gender Roles and General Assembly

2008-09-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

If you have any interest in the issue of Women in Church Leadership or the Denomination of the Christian & Missionary Alliance at all, I really suggest you check out this post on Jon Coutts' Blog:
http://thissideofsunday.blogspot.com/2008/09/general-disassembly-part-2-gender-roles.html

He's not a random guy, but someone who I believe you will see very involved in the future of our denomination. While I was in Bible College, he finished his degree and became the RD while I was an RA. He has since been to Seminary and Graduated from Briercrest Seminary as Valedictorian this past spring.
He wrestles with some very valuable stuff in an incredibly responsible manner on his blog.
If you have any interest in any of this stuff, subscribe to his Blog entitled: "This Side of Sunday".
Word.

Who is this Creep!?!

2008-09-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

We just got home from lunch and we saw this guy in our back yard staring at us.
Very rude.
I know this is boring, but I've learned that some old people like seeing this kind of stuff. I'd rather see a picture of an amp any day....

Wild Cats Approach

2008-06-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well, this Sunday is my last time to preach. Actually, hopefully not. I hope last Sunday was my last time and that I have someone coming to share about their trip to the Middle East. We shall see.
The last 2 weeks have become a time of preparation for our band performing at the local Wild Cat Days. We did it last year, and here is a taste of a cover song:

This year, there are a number of changes, and I expect it should be really good.
We have a new location: on a flatbed trailer in the soccer field.
We plan to use real guitar amps this year.
Our new Band Line-Up that we just put together is:
Kristine - vocals
Aaron - Pearl Export Drums
Eugene - Vintage Framus Electric Guitar -> JCM800- 2204
Shawn - Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitar -> Tweed Deluxe
Me - Eric Johnson Stratocaster -> DC30
Mo - Yamaha Precision Bass -> Traynor YGL-3a

That's right, 3 Electric Guitarists; this should be real good. All Electric guitarists are using amps built by me.

Anyways, I didn't think we had enough time to get things together but, I was lured into it at the suggestion of only doing about 10 songs. It looks like we have 16 songs prepared.
6 of Kristine's Songs (the most fun)
then about 5 covers and about 5 church songs.
I even sing a country style church song with Kristine providing harmony.
Anyways, you'll be hearing about all this later. I'm sure we will have some recordings; but make it out if you can.
Friday, June 27, 7pm Soccer Field by the pool. Before the Fireworks.

Update

2008-05-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

I'm posting now because I am replacing a blog that was meant for my amp talk blog.
Well, I just got back from YC Edmonton. It was great.
Despite doing mostly their own (unknown) songs, the young band, Leeland, did a superb job of leading worship on Sunday sessions. Hard to believe the leader is only 19. Tim Hughes was decent the couple days before but perhaps more appropriate for an older crowd. (Seriously, who brings an acoustic guitar to YOUTH conference) Actually, they were pretty good.

The skillet Concert on the first night was quite exciting. I must say that they put on a great show and I think their style has improved and is more to my liking than the album that I have from about 10 years ago. Although, they did play a couple songs from it. I just appreciate less use of the computers, and more raw guitar sounds.

Hawk Nelson wowed the crowds with the singer's brilliant all white outfit and crazy amount of charisma. This included a kazoo solo with a crowd member as well as a guitar hero guitar- guitar solo. That crowd member was also left to sing the chorus of a song all by herself- pretty brave of her considering how out of key she confidently sang.

Anyways, my sister's grad is tomorrow, and things are busy, so I gotto go.

I'm Starving!

2008-04-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

No, not right now; but I will be next Friday, April 11-12 for 30 hours. I'm involved in it with the youth. So, this is organized by World Vision and most of you know that it is a great cause.Click on the 30 hour famine logo to contribute and feed a child and their family who really need it.

I'm an Uncle (sort of; but not really yet)

2008-03-29T08:12:00.001-07:00

I hadn't realized how depressing some of my posts have been lately. They all seem to indicate how worn out I had been; and they even lacked pictures!
Anyways, some of the girls I know have had things removed in medical setting lately (I know finding commonality here is a stretch).
Anh had her wisdom teeth removed and lived through it (barely).
Tara had her baby! Aviya has arrived!
Here;s a couple pics of this really cute baby. I can't believe how much she sleeps. She has really expressive facial expressions all the time. Very over the top and hilarious.

I need a vacation

2008-03-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

I need at least a week of stress leave.... as soon as possible. Starting today would be best, but I'll probably have to wait a week

Coming Down With Something

2008-02-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

I might be getting sick. I didn't feel too strong this afternoon while I went to Fernie with Joe and the Lyalls.
By the way, Copper Conductive Spray paint or anything similar is not to be found anywhere in the East Kootenays. Perhaps there is some in Calgary.
The wall has finally been torn down; that is the new news. Finally some stage space.
Ok, time to rest.

Horay! A Weekend!

2008-02-15T07:28:00.001-08:00

Well, it's not the sort of weekend that we get off from work. It is our 3rd annual Youth Ski Retreat Weekend. Yes, that's right; it begins today.
Chris is coming from Edmonton with his group of about 25. So far, from Elkford, we have a whopping 5 youth that have signed up. Hopefully there should be more.
Anh is coming out on the bus tomorrow as well.
Let's pray that this retreat goes well. Planning and carrying out this kind of stuff is not exactly my gifting, so good thing we have help (besides a certain couple that took off to Mexico). If anything goes wrong, I will choose to blame them; ahem! not that anything should go wrong.

Breaking the Silence

2008-01-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

That's right, I'm back. I will blog again here.
Folks, let this be a lesson to you; never ever promise that your next blog will be on a certain topic. That just means you can never blog again until you talk about that topic. I know it sounds silly, but I promised that my next entry would be about Toronto, but then I psyched myself out and realized it could be difficult to talk about it and live up to the world's expectations. Toronto was cool. Go there yourself. There; now everyone can be extremely disappointed with my post and I got it over with.
Now my blogging life can go on. There is so much about my life that the world has missed. I have only kept the world informed about my amp building endeavors, and all things related to guitar amps.
This blog will be about the non-guitar-amp related parts of my life. Is there life apart from guitar amps? We shall see....

Whitehorse

2007-08-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been back home for a week now, and I guess it is time to begin documenting my adventures around the country for the three weeks prior. As you know, I began with a trip up to Whitehorse(that's the capitol of the Yukon). This was a wonderful place to visit. It would be for anyone, but especially for me. Since I haven't lived there for about 10 years, I figured that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere that feels any more like home than any other place. However, I was wrong. Whitehorse is my real roots; my stomping grounds; my true hometown. I came to that overwhelming conclusion while I was there. A number of my friends and old classmates have completed their long educational careers and have settled back there. Some have houses, and now families. In fact, that was the whole reason I was back there; for my good buddy, Zeke's, wedding. It was an absolute honor and delight to be able to take part in his wedding ceremony as he married Rona (formerly) Mathies. I was a groomsman as well as the the officiant of the ceremony.
I throughly enjoyed myself all week hanging out with Zeke (even following him to the office as his personal assistant during the week). I stayed with him at his house and had the joy and honor of dining with his family a couple times. The Aasmans are all very charming, interesting, and sincere people and a real joy to be around. If I had not been born into my own family and had to choose another, I believe I would pick to be a part of this one. (Heheh, I just thought of Owen Wilson on The Royal Tenenbaums.)
Anyways, I also had the pleasure of Disc Golfing with Amber and Tyler (soon both to be Kuhns), and Loretta Jensen. Can you believe that we played until almost midnight and took this picture at the end? If I had done that a month earlier, you would be thinking it was noon. Ah, the land of the midnight sun.
Well, on Friday we finally got to hang out with Kyle and Nicole as well. (Nicole happened to be up there for a couple weeks as well. We 4x4ed it up to the top of Goldenhorn Mountain and chatted while I impressed people with my shotgun skills (Thanks to the Elkford Alliance Men).
The day of the wedding was pretty full. Nathan came over in the morning and made waffles and then we went fly fishing with the other Aasman males, even wearing our tuxedo jackets. The wedding began in the early afternoon at The Bean Coffee Roasters out on the Hotsprings road (I don't know why I say this because those that know where that is already know that's where it was). Then, The reception was at the Yukon Transportation Museum (hands down the coolest reception location ever).
Oh, here's a picture of the cake with Zeke and Rona and Emily as well who actually made the cake. It was so delicious (hazelnut based I believe). Well, there are a million things you could say about the wedding, but I'll just say this one was an absolutely incredible experience to be a part of.
Early the next morning I had to get up because I had the pleasure of preaching at my old church; Riverdale Baptist. It was also really cool to see quite a few other church members from my youth there again. Sara, Kyle, Rachel, Lauretta, Mike, Marisa, and my sister, Melisa all came out to see me there as well. We got to all hang out for a bit over lunch before Kyle drove me quickly downtown to get some collectibles before I flew out again that afternoon. It was all a pretty great trip and I don't have the space to write everything about it here now, but it sure was good to go home for awhile. I can't wait to go back again.I wish I could have spent longer with everyone.

I'm Back

2007-08-13T20:48:00.001-07:00

So, I am now back in Elkford. I arrived back tonight. I have to start work again tomorrow. I was away from town for the last 3 weeks and was busy flying/driving around all over the country. I'll update about my trip later. Anyways, I will just do one more thing tonight. I will introduce you to my new separate blog dedicated to the guitar amp that I will be building (with my dad making the cabinet). So, anyone who does not like to hear about all my amp building stories, can be protected from it in this blog. Meanwhile, our team will do lots of updates throughout the process on the new blog. Click on the amp to go to the other blog:

Travels begin today

2007-07-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this quickly before I have to go to church this morning because after church I depart on my holidays. I am taking three weeks off (2 actual vacation and one pro-bono) . I will gal avant rapidly around Canada in this time.
This afternoon I will drive to Calgary where I will meet up with the Heagys and Shareskis, until I go to the airport at 6:30pm. Then, this evening I will fly to Whitehorse for a week, where I will hang with Zeke (and possibly others from my youth) before conducting Zeke's Wedding and preaching the next morning at Riverdale Baptist Church.
Next, I fly back to Calgary and then after about 18 hours there again I soar off to Toronto. There I will hangout with Anh and her family and friends for another week. The possibilities there for food and fun are endless (so I hear; I've never been there). Maybe we will get to go to Blue Jays game or something, as well as roller-coasters and water-slides or who-knows-what.
Then I fly back to Calgary again and immediately hop in my car to drive to Revelstoke. I should have about a day and a half there to maybe catch up with the Hunchaks, Faucetts, Jenny etc. before driving down to Vancouver.

Then in Vancouver we may catch up with Grandma, some cousins and other relatives before Dara's wedding on Saturday. Then , on Sunday, we will drive to Revelstoke again, and on Monday I'll drive back to Elkford ... home where Ryan Monson will make me some Shepherd's pie.

The Dream is Gone -- Moan

2007-07-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for all of your help choosing some new hobbies. I have found all your suggestions extremely useful and I think I will use a lot of them.

Now, I promised to inform everyone what happens with this unspecified Marshall stack. Well, as I attempted to prepare myself for, the dream is gone. Yesterday, Joe made some serious and desperate attempts to get to the bottom of this Tim guy's supposed disappearance. Joe even went as far as to phone the guy's mom (Thanks Joe). Anyways, it turns out that Tim (the owner of the amp) made a quick decision to accept a job offer on oil rigs down in Texas, and within 3 days, he sold his house in Lethbridge and moved immediately with all his stuff (including my potential amp). Apparently, this all happened over a month ago. That explains that. All my dreams were shattered and I went on a roadtrip with Joe and the Lyalls yesterday to Lethbridge in order to fight off my suicidal thoughts. We went to a number of music stores and looked for/tried out some different amps, because I guess now I am free to pursue a different amp for at home. We can discuss that more in the future. (You all know I won't be able to refrain from keeping everyone in the loop during that whole process).

Next, I would like to discuss something else that relates to this amp business, without going all into it. Joe and I rented a movie from our local store. We couldn't seem to find much, and then settled on one that we saw a preview for before. Black Snake Moan by Craig Brewer. It caught us rather off guard. I don't know why, but we were both expecting a bit of a silly comedy. From close to the beginning, it seemed to be quite a bit raunchier than we expected. I'd be careful on who to recommend it to for that reason, but in the end I was quite impressed with the film (especially considering my uninformed expectations). This is Craig Brewer's "Blues movie". He previously did a "Rap Movie" called Hustle and Flow, which I have not seen (but it won some awards). Anyways, I wouldn't consider Craig as any sort of brilliant film director, but I do appreciate what he is doing here and it is supposedly very loosely based on the novel, Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot . But really, this film has broke a keen interest within me for this sort of deep south blues music. It makes me want to discover this genre and style of music. I really like this style musical film; very intentional about the musical part of the film and making music a strong key element to the film. I guess some similar films that do such things (off the top of my head) are Swing Kids, The Pianist, and perhaps The Graduate (for what it does with Simon and Garfunkel). I'm not comparing the quality of these films with each other, but I remember them all causing within me a real strong impression and an appreciation for the specific musical styles that they presented.

Anyways, I loved the blues music in Black Snake Moan, and it will cause me to sample some blues music now and likely cause some sort of representation within my music collection. It could also have an effect on what sort of guitar amp I buy eventually; I adored the tones that these songs could get out of what I believe to be Class A style guitar amps or blues amps. The Lyalls watched the movie the other day right after Joe and I and it made a good impression with them as well, causing Kristine to pick up a glass slide for her guitar yesterday.

Now, I'd be interested to know if any of you who read this have had any experience with any blues musicians, or whether there are any albums you would recommend. Also, I'm wondering if any of you can think of any films that you enjoyed, that made a strong impression on you in a musical sense.

Something new to get into

2007-07-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

As I try to work on my next big sermon this weekend, I've allowed my frequently wandering mind several breaks today. In these breaks, I've done great deal of contemplation. I need something new and exciting in my life. First of all, I've decided to step up my prayer-life and commit more time and energy to knowing God again; this is much needed I feel.

As well, I desire another source of recreation/entertainment within this small town which I now live. So, it's time for something new. I want something new to get into with my spare time (extremely limited as an assistant pastor). I'm not sure what sort of financial commitment this involves from my budget (extremely limited as an assistant pastor). In any case, please help me consider my options.

First, I should bring up the wonderful world of the electric guitar. This is still my new love and I am sincerely committed to developing my skills in this area. Presently this is limited by my lack of a guitar amp at home to practice on. (My amp is kept at the church and is too big to lug back and forth). My hopes have been high (but frequently crushed from prolongation) that I will acquire an undetermined Marshall full stack and amp from a friend of Joe's in Lethbridge. This dream has been fed and stretched for the last 4 months or so by Joe's phone calls to his friend (most of which are unanswered in recent weeks). Anyways, all that I know about this amp is that he will part with it for $120 and that it was his old amp before he bought his top-of-the-line Marshall stack. I have still not discovered anything more-not even what model of amp it is. It will be a great deal in any case, but how great of a deal is anyone's guess until more information is supplied. Anyways, the main frustrating part is that while I dream of the possibilities for over a quarter of a year, this owner of the amp works on the oil rigs with a 2 week on, 2 week off schedule that seems to elude any possible contact. But, Joe apparently calls him every day for at least the last 3 weeks, with no response. (I heard that he went to Hawaii a few months ago and got a Hawaiian girlfriend; maybe tat is what is resulting in his absence.) Anyways, this situation is slowly destroying me. I am ready at any moment to drop everything and rush to Lethbridge at the hope of picking it up, no matter what model it really may be. I don't even know if it will fit in my car, but if you read this Josh, I may have to store part of it at your house for a week or so if you are ok with it. I just need to separate it from its current (always absent) owner's home. Anyways, you will all know what comes of this...but I warn you, don't hold your breath.

In the mean time, what shall my hobby be? Should I try to whip my body back into its peak physical condition and make that my hobby? That is beneficial to my health and it does relieve stress, as long as I keep it up. It may cost about $30/month for a new gym membership, but I would have to be committed because I wouldn't dare pay and not go. (I've been good about going in the past.) Or, should I go for an all new enduro-style body- the leaner look and more aerobic style workouts? I could get into lots of biking and running. The upside and downside for that is the same; it involves no financial commitment, so I don't know if I will stick with it. It's weird how being a cheapskate could actually result in me spending money.

The other option I thought of this morning was inspired by my friend Aaron across the street. He was in a motorcycle accident, and therefore has had time off work to become our friend. But this accident also destroyed his Harley. Of course he needed a new one and he finally has replaced it. Although this is not the actual picture of his fancy new 1979 Chopper, this is the only picture he has actually sent me. This is the picture of what his new bike will eventually look like (generally) once he has personalized it more to his liking. Anyways, getting a motorbike to cruise around on sounded like a lot of fun, and I have kept revisiting the idea. But, I decided that even a bike that was so cheap that I would get ridiculed by everyone who saw me on it, is still far out of reach of my personal budget. I realistically could never afford it (remember-assistant pastor). When I found out that this won't even make Anh think I'm any cooler, I realized that all the financial sacrifice wouldn't be worth it. Besides, I'm no mechanic. You have to be able to fix 'em to ride 'em. All I can fix so far is my Wah pedal.

My next idea is film. I love movies. I like all sorts, as long as they don't suck. I've considered recently subscribing to Roger's Mail Out DVD Rentals. That's not what it's called but I forget their title. I could see all those well made and classic films that small town Pop-Video Stores don't bother with all for about $25/month. I know I will at least do their 2 week trial to hopefully see some Tarkovsky, Bergman, Dreyer and Kurosawa films that would be ridiculously expensive to buy. If I subscribed to that, I could also view other favorites of those people I hold in high opinion. Jon Kramer recently stated in his blog that "She's the Man" is the best film ever (I've personally wanted to see it for some time anyways), and I heard "Remains of the Day" is quite good, according to Jon Coutts. Well, this could be my chance to discover some real gems, and get more into appreciating the art of film. I could consult MacGregor, Wilkinson, and DK for endless possibilities of superb films to view and appreciate.

My last idea that I have come up with is the world of video games. Ryan says that Super Mario World on SNES is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, but so far it hasn't been. I am getting better, but not without a whole lot of pain and anguish. You would think I have Tourette's Syndrome by the affect this game has on me. I always end up screaming and swinging the controller around by the chord and trying to smash it against the ground. Every time I play, I scream about how much I hate the game and that I will never play again. Still, I try every couple days. Nowadays, they make video games more exciting and a lot easier for beginners to play. Perhaps I should try to find a PS2 for cheap, or even splurge for one of those new systems that the world is talking about these days. Any thoughts? Again, this could be a bit of a financial commitment, but it's a whole lot more realistic than a motorbike, and video games can be your friends in all seasons.

Well, I' not just talking about this to sort out my own thoughts (although it does help). I need Your thoughts. Let's hear 'em!

Wild Cats Gone

2007-07-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Sorry about the long absence. My life was incredibly busy in recent weeks and it seems that it still hasn't subsided. In any case, Wild Cat Days have now come and gone. Our Inter-Church Band performed on Friday night and Saturday afternoon for segments of just under 2 hours each time I believe. Friday night was limited by Thundershowers, and Saturday afternoon was delayed because a dunk tank got mixed up and went in our location (after much confusion, we were able to eventually set up nearby; just out of splashing distance).
Anyways, even with my pessimistic viewpoint, I would still say that it was worthwhile. I'm glad we did it. It seems people enjoyed the music at least some of the time. Some of the teens from my soccer team were really impressed by my electric guitar and they knew all about it too.
For the music, we seemed to have a pretty good crowd on the Friday night, especially at first.
Anyways, Aaron has posted videos of 2 of the songs that we did; one of his friends taped a bit.

I promised a finalized set list but I'm unsure whether there is any point because we only did maybe two-thirds of our 32 songs we had prepared. I think some of our more popular songs might have been:
When the Night Feels My Song- Bedouin Soundclash
Vertigo- U2
Have You Seen the Rain?- CCR
Meet With Me- Tim Hughes or somebody
On The Radio- Regina Spektor
Inside & Out- Feist/BeeGees
Fidelity- Regina Spektor
On Call- Kings of Leon
Mushaboom- Feist
Can I Help You? -Kristine Lyall

Actually, I think I love doing Kristine's songs the most. We need more opportunity to do them in the future. I was a little disappointed in some of our sound in the outdoor environment and without our usual guitar amps. But that's life.
Anyways, check out Monson's blog on the right to hear about our soccer tournament going on that weekend too.

My Videos

2007-06-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

So, tonight we lost our first soccer game of the season, in Sparwood (the worst place to lose for an Elkfordian). Everyone is crushed, bitter, angry, etc. We could have/should have/would have won, but we didn't. Let's not talk about it.

So, I posted some videos that I wrote, produced, and directed, on Youtube. Here are my 2 favorites. It is a 2 part series with SpinMaster T-Hort. First, here is the instructional break-dancing video that started it all.

Now, here is the sequel, which is an interview with SpinMaster T-Hort, performed by Scott.

Welcome Tonebone!

2007-06-13T14:37:00.001-07:00

I have gone far too long without talking about Guitar Pedals. I will now break that fast by talking about the final addition to the pedal line-up for quite some time. I would like to extend a warm welcome to my new Tonebone Classic. I ordered it second-hand on e-bay from somewhere in the United States. It seems rather ironic because these fine pieces of craftsmanship are made in Canada. Of course, people south of the border are willing to sell them for cheaper, so that is where I buy. Anyways, this Overdrive pedal allows me tone tweak and enhance my tone to wonderful degrees, making my guitar amp sound like it is worth about $1500 more than it actually is. (By the way, if I have any rich and generous readers out there, you can consider buying me a nice Marshall JCM 2000 or a Mesa Boogie All-Tube Amp of some sort, and I would be most grateful). In the mean time, I have this little unit with an 12ax7 tube inside providing me with some better tone than I would normally have to settle for.
As you can see, the Tonebone has been added to my pedal lineup and it currently looks like this:I think the first thing I should do to save myself some embarrassment, is explain what that ugly black, plastic, digital thing is doing to the right of the Tonebone. Well, that was what I used before I wisely went to analog effects. I now keep it in the line-up as a tuner and or occasionally as a delay pedal. I have singled out a few different delay settings and use that part of the multi-effects pedal alone. Ok, enough of the excuses. Allow me now to introduce the line-up:
Guitar goes to :
Original Cry-Baby wah ->
Digitech Whammy IV (for some crazy high-pitched sounds and some bending of notes) ->
Boss Equalizer Pedal ( set to 11 for added input punch for certains foot-selected times) ->
Boss Overdrive Pedal (for extra overdrive above the current Tonebone setting) ->
Zoom Digital multi-effects pedal (just used for tuning and delay) ->
TONEBONE! (for beautiful, toneful distortion) ->
Traynor Mark 3 Amp Head (about 30 years old) ->
tremelo and reverb footswitches for amp

Well, what does everyone think? Any suggestions for configuration or perhaps suggestions on what I should velcro to that black board that fits in my briefcase perfectly. Is it even worth it to attach some of the pedals to it or should I try to make a huge board for everything? If you have no suggestions, feel free to say "welcome back to Canada" to my Tonebone. Or, you could say, "Matt, I have a Marshall stack you can have". -whatever you please

Combat Wombats crush Fort MacLeod in Pincher Creek

2007-06-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yup that's right. My soccer team is still undefeated. Last night was my first game coaching alone without Head Coach Morris being there since our very first game back in Sparwood. Anyways, we did well and won the game 7-0.... a solid victory. The Combat Wombats put in a solid effort and did me proud. What impressed me most is how well our team worked as a team and the passing was impressive and the team is very solid all-around, with lots of stars... and lots of goals. Anyways, I wish I had some pictures from this game. Even though Ryan Monson now lives with me and came out to help coach this game, he didn't bring his camera. Apparently, he doesn't have a fast enough lens to capture our team, and he didn't want to take his camera outside in wet weather. I appreciate him coming out anyways, even though we ended up being out an hour past his bed time. So, here are some pics of our team that Anh took at a practice a few weeks ago:Morris sets everyone straight and tells it like it is.Matt takes the field to join in some intense scrimmage action.

Go Wild Cats!

2007-05-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

That title sounds like I am cheering for a team, but I don't think it is a name of one around here, but Wild Cat Days is a weekend festival or something here at the end of June. (I should mention that my soccer team is still undefeated as well...Go Combat Wombats!)
Anyways, I have commissioned by the churches to form a band/bands to perform Friday night and Saturday afternoon of Wild Cat Days for the entertainment of the crowds gathering at those times. We mostly be immediately in front of giant inflatable things for kids and about 50 yards from a beer gardens. Anyways, once we have finished forming a band or two, or different arrangements of a similar band with equal representation from the different churches, we will more specifically choose appropriate songs. I've called a meeting for all interested parties to meet on Sunday night to form the band/bands. I will now insert a picture to spice up the blog a bit-This is some people that will be involved in the band. It's a group of us that played some songs at Tara and Craig's wedding a few weeks ago.
Ok, back to the songs; We will do a few of the more fun and exciting church type songs mixed in with some other SECULAR (ooooooh!) songs, because this entertainment and not a church service and our goal is to do something nice for the town and people here. So, here is the feedback part of the blog: Tell me what songs we should or shouldn't do.
Here are some examples of songs we have thought of:
I wanted to do "Feel Good Inc." by the Gorillaz but our lack of any decent rappers would probably make it really lame (but who knows who might show up on Sunday night)
"Killing in the Name Of" by Rage Against the Machine would be fun to play, but it might be a bit too angry.
Some more likely possiblities could be maybe "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, "On Call" by the Kings of Leon, or "Oh My Sweet Carolina" for all those Yanks working up here in the mines.
Let's here your ideas. (I know I don't deserve any feedback because I have not updated the blog enough to warrant any readers still visiting) I will wait patiently.

I will be OK.

2007-05-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
I am sorry but I will not be around Elkford this weekend. I had to be heli-vacced to he hospital in Vancouver. It seems that I came down with a sudden case of what is refered to as "Jello-head". It is a frightful disease comes on instantaneously rendering the victim's entire head with the consistency of jello. Lucklily, it is not in the least bit painful and is easily treatable (I just eat fast drying/hardening glue). I should be released from the hospital on monday and will come straight back to Elkford to continue my life and work there. Anyways, I have attached pictures of my condition for those with strong stomachs. You will notice that while my head is malliable like jello, there seems to be very little danger of chunks of my head breaking off. For instance, you will notice that I can grab a chunk of my head between my thumb and forefinger and pull it out to the side, but within reason, it wil not break off (notice the first picture).
Anyways, thanks for your concern. I have felt much love in this difficult time.
Matthew Yeomans

Wii are soon to hit the road

2007-05-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I know Wii puns are wa overused by now but I felt I was missing out and this is my first oportunity. (I got so jealous of all his pun fun from reading Jon Kramer's blog for the last year)
Today will be my 3rd soccer practice and my first time coaching alone since that first practice. I hope I can help this team get ready for their first game in just over a week.
By the way, I have now retrieved Anh, and we will be leaving in a couple days for Revelstoke and Tara and Craig's wedding in Vernon.
Hopefully, while in Revelstoke, we will get a chance to see Britt and Barry's new Baby- Samuel Hunchak. Here is their public Congratulations.
By the way, my sister, Tamara and her husband Josh have been updating their blog more frequently at last. Click the picture of my parents playing Wii to check it out. (This picture made me laugh so hard.)

Soccer Drills?!?!?!

2007-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

So, Congratulations to Zeke! He and Rona are getting married this august in the good old mighty Yukon. I will give my left nostril to get there if I have to.
Some other news(and this will seem rather ridiculous): I am now the assistant coach for Elkford's U-16 soccer team. I was asked on Monday, and then yesterday afternoon, I had to lead the first practice of the year by myself. (Well, actually, the players definitely helped me out and seemed rather supportive) They have been playing together their whole lives and have taken the gold medal for the region for about the last 6 years or so. Anyways, the head coach was on his work shift and couldn't make it so he instructed that we should be starting with lots of running. This was a little bit of a relief because I have no idea what I'm doing; I haven't played organized soccer since I was in grade 2 (was it a mistake for me to have told them that?).
Anyways, most of my soccer experience has been watching the great David MacGregor show us all how it's done on the field, and CBC indoor soccer, and before that, my cousin Zac playing for UCFV. Of course, when I brag about that to these youth, they seem to give me looks of either not being impressed, or not understanding (maybe both). Anyways, Zac, with all his coaching experience, just told me to just roll a ball out onto the field and tell them to kick each other. Apparently, he desires his coaching secrets to remain as secrets. Hopefully, MacGregor will give me some tips.
Well, I survived the practice. If anything, I think I was too easy on them. Even though two girls decided to pack up and leave. They didn't even say anything before leaving but it was right when I sent everyone for 2 more laps. I felt like maybe I was being to hard on everyone at that point but the rest of the team didn't seem to think so. It's not like I was really barking orders anyways; all my instructions were more like suggestions. Besides that, I think my drills might have been rather lame, or at least not gone off super well. (I had found a few on the internet that morning) At least I was able to put some of MacGregor's teaching on taking shots to good use and help some of the players put some stink on the ball without it going over the crossbar, fence, and the side of the mountain. See Dave, you are already the secret coach for this team and you didn't even know it. Now, you better give me some more tips just to save your reputation. And Zac, if you read this, how about a few more tips too? Anyone else got some good advice? At least for our next practice this week, the head coach will be there too.

A Tour of North Korea

2007-04-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Click on this map for the BBC profile of North Korea
I had lost my bookmark for the BBC News headlines in my browser somehow a few months ago. Anyways, I took the initiative today to look for news online after having no exposure to the world for several months. Seriously, It's like I live in my own little North Korea of Elkford and I never bother to ask about the outside world. I am not trashing Elkford right now, but rather my own ignorance of anything outside of my apartment or office.
Anyways, today there is a 10 picture long tour of North Korea on the BBC website. Click this picture to check it out:
North Korea is the most fascinating country in the world to me. It's so unusual to think of what life must be like in the most closed communist country in the world. These people are completely lied to about lots of things in the outside world, as well as what goes on in their own country. I wonder what the average North Korean worker thinks about. What do they think about their own government? Is there a conflict in their minds between what they think might be true, and what they choose that they must believe? Does anyone have any thoughts on North Korea? I've heard lots of different things...many of them quite sad.
Oh, if you want to see the official government news website for North Korea, here it is (it's fascinating to see propaganda like this in today's world)(click on the Picture):

My Immense Apologies

2007-04-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I am doing absolutely anything I can to make sure that any possible readers I have will never come back to this site. First I talk about nothing but church music and guitar pedals; Now if that didn't do the trick, I do nothing to update my blog for a long time. Is there anyone out there who still checks this site? Well, if there is, I am now back. Work was crazy busy for the last while and I think I was doing about 80 hours a week and then hitting the road on every day off.
Nathan Carroll's CD release party was a blast of a weekend. Check out Davies' photo blog to see some pics. The Young Wire Wicks were phenomenal and I was blown away by the quality of songwriting and performing that MacGregor is now doing. Nathan Carroll's performance was very cool as well, and I a have been enjoying the album. Pedal Steel is somewhat of a treat that I don't get to hear often at all.
Anh's piano concert was also very cool and she did an amazing performance on her concerto.
Easter was a great time and I was very happy to spend it with Anh and my family(minus Melissa) in Lethbridge. I should clarify that it wasn't the "minus Melissa" part that made me happy.

I'll post again very soon.

2007-03-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

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Cookies, films, and analog effects

2007-03-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

I have so many things I want to blog about, so I will do so now as my cookies are baking. Yes, I am baking oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies (don't worry Matthew, I would never consider making raisin cookies) because I finally found the recipe after searching for it all week. Ok, let's get down to business. I will leave my guitar/pedals writing stuff until my last paragraph so that those of you who hate that stuff can stop reading before getting that far.

First, let's talk about the film I rented a few nights ago. (I know, I am really living it up, and blowing all my money; but it was worth it on this one). I rented "Stranger Than Fiction" and I really loved it. It was quite enjoyable and original in some ways while still seeming humble. Do you know what I mean? Like, some movies (like "The Illusionist") act like they are some sort of brilliant film that is supposed to blow you away, while you can see through the whole story the whole time. Ya, the Illusionist was a crap movie and nothing even close to as good as "The Prestige". I don't know why I mentioned that film except for the fact that some people might go trying to rent "The Prestige and end up with the all time worst case scenario of walking home with "The Illusionist" instead. (Man! what was Edward Norton even thinking?) (Man! what was I thinking? Never give a film a chance based on the actors in it. Am I being too cruel? I just think you can choose a film to view based on a director, but never an actor. Why do I get so mean and mouthy when I blog? I feel bad now.
So, I just realized that "Stranger Than Fiction" is probably what inspired me to bake cookies this week; because of that scene where he enjoys the same kind so immensely. I guess I can also relate to his excitement with his Fender guitar. What I really grabbed me in this film was the (probably unintentional) allusion to the Garden of Gethsemane. This probably makes me an obsessed religious nut for even pointing this out, but isn't all of the true beauty in this film directly due to the story's similarity to the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The decision/obedience/actions of Jesus are duplicated in this story to a lesser degree. Even though this story isn't as brilliant and poetic as that of Jesus', it resonates with me because of its similarities.
Ok, so it's now Pedaltalk time again so Anh, you can stop reading now. It's time for an update. I bought a Behringer Expression/Volume pedal last time I was in Calgary. It seemed to work fine with my digital Zoom pedal, even though I didn't quite get the right chord to connect it. (I got a Y chord from TRS to two TS ends but it should have TRS to TRS. Anyways, after goofing with it for about a week, I have officially decided to return it. I'm not sick of wah effects yet but rather, I am sick of digital effects. Yes, that's right; I've decided to go analog. I have reached that point now. I used my guitar amp last night with just my Telecaster for the first time and I was rather impressed at the tones. Now, you should know that my amp is a VERY old Traynor 200Watt tube amp with no sorts of distortion really available. It has some reverb and a tremolo though. However, by cranking the volume for the channel and then just turning down the Master volume I could get a slight distortion that I rather enjoyed. It seems like the perfect amount of distortion for most of the stuff that we play so far in church, with much better tone than my digital pedal. So, I've decided to build from there. I will return last week's purchase. I already won an auction on eBay this afternoon for a used Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal for quite a deal. Then, I will slowly add some analog pedals. I would like the option of some more distortion (a bit heavier sound) and so my first pedal may be something along those lines. I've considered the Boss DS-1 but I will consult some expert guitar store guys desperately trying to earn commission. Maybe I will get a footswitch for my amp's tremolo. I still greatly revere Tom Morello and his creative sounds so I will likely continue to try emulating some of his tones. Maybe down the road I will even consider the Digitech Whammy Pedal, if I could find one for cheap. Maybe a delay pedal first, (although that might be one use for my digital pedal). So, my analog journey begins.

Hey Tom, come join my band

2007-03-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I do this likely at the cost of losing any remaining readers, but I have to make one more post about guitar stuff. Well, Actually, this post is about Tom Morello. Ever since I did my random contest last post, I have actually researched this guitarist a bit more. Now, as circumstances would have it, he is currently my all-time favorite guitarist. I love this guy's talent and creativity. It would also so happen that he seems like a rather tolerable, friendly, and likable guy. I was watching some videos on youtube of him explaining how he gets some of his sounds and such. Check out the 3rd part of these clips (click on his picture to view it):

Anyways, I would love to play guitar like him and I could stand to have that kind of creativity. (You should watch the first 2 parts of this video to see how creative he gets with making different sorts of hip-hop sounds and styles with his guitar and pedals).
This is the sort of creativity we should be seeing in our churches. Well, some day I guess. You know; keep some tradition but also push forward and be creative as well. Innovation!

Distortion Thresholds and Pedals

2007-03-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

I believe that every song has a distortion/guitar effects threshold. I am trying to nail down how that works exactly. My present thought is that it works somewhat like a game of Blackjack: The more you increase the amount of distortion, the more you increase the power of the song; BUT the moment you cross a certain line, all is lost and the song loses all its power. You can argue that this is subjective for each person, but I am going to pretend right now that this is an objective truth. Of course, depending on the style of effect, or type or distortion, this threshold will vary. For example, if it is a 60s fuzz style distortion with fat bass, the threshold for the song may be very small or nil, while a Peavey tube amp overdrive sound may have a much larger threshold for that very same song. That's just an example and I'm not sure if that is ever the case. So, when playing electric guitar the challenge is always to find the right type of distortion out of your available options and figure out what the gain threshold is for that song. (haha, this almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about) Of course, the electric guitar player can always just wuss out and not even try by using a standard clean sound. That's what I end up doing when I don't have enough time to find one. I don't think most electric guitar players have to deal with this on a day to day basis because they mostly get themselves stuck into a certain style of music that they feel comfortable with and then just go with one or two types of effects. But, if you want to play in a church that is truly going to connect with the music styles of the different people, you need to get out and try some new stuff. (Like I always say; not all the music styles will connect with each person but hopefully every person will connect with something.)
Ok now, let's get down to business. I need the help of my readers, which are you. I just spent the last paragraph talking about that which I don't know, so don't be shy to share even if you feel you are unqualified as well. I am looking at getting an expression pedal to plug into my little digital guitar effects pedal. I need your opinions, and remember: value for money is a top priority. The pedal I have is the Zoom505ii which has a lot of varying sounds. I want an expression pedal to plug in so I can take advantage of wah-wah features and such, or use it as a volume pedal. Now they do sell those, but is that really what I want? I heard it is cheaper to just get a basic volume pedal and some special adapters, like the following diagram. Apparently that is just over half the cost of the actual Zoom expression pedal. Do I want to do that? Please tell me. Maybe it is more worth my money to just get a Dunlop Cry Baby like Jimmy Hendrix used. I wonder if it would work to plug one of those into my digital pedal. Any thoughts anyone?

Ok, if you don't feel like you have any information to add to anything previous, perhaps you will step up to this challenge. I will buy a JBC (the next time I see you) for the first person to name the owner of this guitar pedal setup: (Oh Ya! In order to increase my simulated popularity through a comment count, you are only allowed to name one guitarist per comment and you actually have to name him and not just a band he was/is in).

A Lovable Screw-up, but not so lovable

2007-03-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a day off now. I neeeeeed some time to relax and I am getting it now. This afternoon I went out for what they call some Redneck church. We went out of town to the gun club yard or the shooting range or whatever they call it with some of the guys from the church. And we shot off a whole bunch of guns. I shot clay pigeons with shotguns, shot some fancy .22s and some deer-hunting rifles and all that jazz. A wild time. It was quite a bit of fun.

These fancy scopes make me feel like a real marksman, hitting gongs and stuff from 200 yards away.Now, I just finished watching a DVD that Joe lent me, called "You, Me, and Depree". It's a cookie-cutter comedy but I really enjoyed it. It won't win any awards but I will admit that it was thoroughly entertaining anyways. Quite fun and funny. I laughed out loud quite a bit even though I watched it alone. Owen Wilson plays a character within his range (which is quite limited), but this one is the most lovable one yet(in my opinion). I believe the character has a humble quality that surpasses all the previous Owen Wilson characters, so he comes off much less annoying. Check it.
By the way, we got the van situation solved. We have some vans offered to us today. Nice!

Incapable of finding Vans

2007-03-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

Hi. I need to go to Legacy Youth Conference. I also need to take a butt-load of youth. As it turns out, I am completely incapable of finding a rental company within 2 hours' drive of here that has a 15 passenger van. Did the world stop creating those, or renting those out or something and no one told me? I am having a hard enough time even finding rental companies in my area. I need one of these!!!!!

4 reasons to burn our pews

2007-03-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

So, I wrote up this report yesterday morning to present to the senior pastor. I figure this might be a good forum to place these ideas as well. In reality, they are all nothing new, and are done all over the place already. I just formalized it in writing the types of things I would like to see here and am thinking about starting. #1 we already do, but I wrote it down anyways because it relates to the others as well. I know this is boring and nothing new, but I would like your opinions on which ones of these would appeal to you if they were done at your church.

#1) Saturday Night Worship Jam
Purpose: A chance for believers to gather and worship and develop musically and learn new worship songs. For musicians and singers to play and worship together with musicians and singers of other churches. To increase exposure to styles of worship and songs and learn them.
Format: Musicians and singers gather in an informal setting and play worship songs as they are suggested, planned or instigated. Everyone joins in equally to contribute in worship, suggestion, and feedback about possibilities for songs and how they could be done. Sometimes CDs are listened too to learn new songs.
Frequency: weekly

#2) Saturday Night Worship Service
Purpose: A chance for worshipers to gather for worship. To promote and environment of unity among believers. To seek to connect hearts to God in creative worship.
Format: A band is practiced and prepared in advance for these special worship services. The arts are embraced in a service that consists of mostly singing with prayer and scripture readings and a very short message about 2/3rds through.
Frequency: once every couple months or so

#3) Songwriters Development/Feedback Circle
Purpose: To encourage songwriters in their art. To network songwriters and musicians in a method that develops the people and the creative process. An opportunity for the church to promote the creative process and the arts within the community of Elkford. A chance for the church to take its rightful place at the forefront of the music and arts world through encouragement and development and hosting. To introduce non-church people to a church people and building in a non-hostile and positive manner. To create connection between the churches and the community in a way that helps the community.
Format: Signs are put up around town to promote the Circle. Songwriters and music professionals are encouraged to come to share what they are working on and provide encouragement for each other and suggestions in order to assist in the refinement of songs. Participants gather in an informal manner and take turns introducing their songs and playing/singing them so that the group can provide feedback, suggestions and encouragement.
Frequency: once every month or two

#4) Open Mic Coffee House
Purpose: To provide an avenue for songwriters to introduce their songs to the public in a laid-back and encouraging manner. An opportunity for the church to promote the creative process and the arts within the community of Elkford. A chance for the church to take its rightful place at the forefront of the music and arts world through encouragement and development and hosting. To introduce non-church people to a church people and building in a non-hostile and positive manner. To create connection between the churches and the community in a way that helps the community. A fun evening of getting together and connecting.
Format: Signs are put up around town to promote the Coffeehouse event. Everyone in town is welcomed. Songwriters and musicians are encouraged to come to share what they are working on. The place is decorated with ambience (coffee tables, lamps, comfortable chairs). Coffee and other fancy coffee-type beverages are provided. Musicians sign up beforehand to play one of their original pieces or cover a song.
Frequency: quarterly or bi-annually

Sleep When You Are Dead

2007-03-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

So, I preach this morning, and apparently I am unable to get much sleep beforehand. At least I will try to get everything ready and packed so I can make my escape to Calgary immediately after the service from the church parking lot.
Anh is singing with the choir at First Alliance this morning, so if you are in Calgary, get over there right away.

Hey, Anh, is this kinda that thing you were talking about?
Click it for the link. Aren't I impressive for my page design today?

Births, Weddings, Hockey Games, Highschool Aquaintances, and Pew Acrobatics

2007-02-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

So, here's the latest and greatest news. I went for Chinese food for lunch today with the Pastor and his wife and a few others. Brian was in town yesterday, but left early this morning for Edmonton because his sister, Monique (Joe Chan's wife) just had a baby boy last night.
In other news, my cousin Dara is now engaged to be married on August 11 down in the Lower Mainland. Let's not forget that my another cousin on the other side of the family, Rachel (Zac's sister) is getting married down in Abbotsford on May 26th.
Hmm, what else? My parents watched the Yukon Team take on Quebec last night for the Canada Winter Games and put up a really good fight for such a tiny Territory (population-wise). And it turns out that their coach was a childhood friend of mine that actually got me into playing hockey back when I was in Grade 7. I often wondered what had happened to Mike Young. It turns out that a lot of my peers from my youth are back in Whitehorse now. I heard from Sara (my grade 12 grad partner) this last week too, and it turns out she is back there as well. Everyone has careers now of course, and a lot of them own their own homes up there too.
Anh is still down in California for a couple more days.
My electric guitar is still keeping me company. I played it again in church this morning. We did a bit of a more rocking song at the very end of the service (My Glorious), but I tried to tone it down (which really shouldn't be done!). I just switched to a different pickup and lowered the volume but we ended up making the song too draggy(my fault). [portion edited out] I am trying to be sensitive to the variety of musical tastes (I even did 2 hymns today). Everyone has to accommodate musical styles that may not be their own first preference but I'm hoping most people can identify with some part of the music when they are worshiping. No one can get what they want all the time (some people think they should) but hopefully we can touch on the variety of music that is represented by the vastly different musical tastes found in our town...otherwise we will be stuck with a dieing church, or a bunch of people that are all exactly the same.

My Girlfriend is SO cool!

2007-02-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, as some of you know. Anh is down in California this week. She is visiting Thuy(Too-ee) and the rest of her cousins there. Anyways, you need to know that today Anh went to Disneyland. The cool part is that she got in for free and do you want to know why? Thuy is friends with Mike, who is Mulan's cousin! Here is Thuy, Mike and Anh:

Can you believe that. Anh got let in free because she was a VIP guest of Mulan!
Yep, that's right, Anh knows her:

Why bother going out in public?

2007-02-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am still on my new-guitar honeymoon. I will come back to the world again some day.

I shouldn't go out in Public

2007-02-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

Thankyou to everyone who shared some first time experience. I really enjoyed having this discussion. I have decided to move on by introducing the first time I wanted to buy an electric guitar really really bad-which would happen to be yesterday.

So, I have desired to own an electric guitar for quite a few years now and that desire has increased in intensity over recent years with the largest increase being in recent months and now a huge spike being in recent days. While I was in an undisclosed Urban City the last couple of days, I decided to start researching in a physical way what I had been narrowing down through online study. Yesterday I actually went to guitar stores and tried out different guitars with what I was looking for as far as tone and range of sound in mind. I fell upon one of this guitar and now I can't get this picture out of my mind. I think I am falling in love. It seems that John 5 knew exactly the type of guitar I needed and designed it for me. Who knew that I would have guitar needs similar to the guitarist for metal band, Marylin Manson and country singer, KD Lang. Well, it makes sense because I was also trying to design a guitar that is so versatile in sound styles and tones. Anyways, notice the Fender Telecaster body with a Humbucker by the bridge and the single coil pickup by the neck. That pickup arrangement is what I desired to get the range of sounds I felt I need. It sounds beautiful. Of course this guitar is like a grand, but the one they had at the store was a second-hand one and is on for $675. Wow, a dream guitar for so cheap. Unfortunately, I am a small town assistant pastor and that does not translate as cheap for me. I don't know when I can afford it or how long this deal will be available for. That's why I have told no one which store it is at.
This guitar haunts my dreams.

First Times

2007-01-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

I remember possibly the first time driving a vehicle. I may get some of the details wrong but I think that is insignificant. I was helping my dad one day and we were doing yard work probably when I was about 14 or 15. The yard work involved hauling some large things (like dug up stumps) around the yard in the big brown Ford truck. It was really big and quite new; it was a four-door-duley truck with lights all over that lit it up like a Christmas tree in the dark. Anyways, I was told to go get the truck and back it up to a certain area. It seemed like a big deal to me because I was to get in and drive it all alone. I was trusted with this big new beast of a vehicle all on my own. I could ram it into a tree, but I didn't because I was so overly cautious because I didn't want to blow this. Anyways, it was some sort of right of passage for me because I drove a vehicle as the only one in it.
Does anyone want to share any first-time stories that were significant in your lives?

Very inconvenient, Very messy

2007-01-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

Why do I always end up sneezing when I eat shredded wheat?

In Revelstoke

2007-01-15T08:03:00.001-08:00

I wish I knew how to dlete posts. I posted yesterday's twice, so I was able to delete the text from one but not the entire post. I'm too dumb.
Ok. Goodmorning. And Aparently I posted something this morning, so now I have to say stuff so that it isn't an empty post again. I am a slave to my own computer stupidity.

Kelowna

2007-01-14T11:25:00.001-08:00

I sampled the McCain's Frozen pizzas and I would say they are no match for the (I think) cheaper Deliscio pizzas. Anyways, this was on sale locally here so I had bought and ate one last night. I think the meats involved gave me terrible spicey gas. There's some info for ya. On another note, I will likely not to keep up with me new resolution with blogging regularly because I am leaving in a few minutes for District Prayer Retreat in Kelowna and I won't be back till friday night. I hope the internet will function OK without me... or perhaps it will just cease to exist. Hmm, I don't know.. that is deep.
Ok, have a lovely week everyone.
Do I need shorts, tank tops and flip flops if I am going to Kelowna?

2007-01-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

Mechanics

2007-01-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

My Senior Pastor, Ted, used to be a mechanic. Well, he has been a lot of things but that is not my point. I kind of wish he still was a mechanic, because I know for sure I would take my car to him, but now I can't too much because that would be taking advantage. But, I sure wish there were more known reliable mechanics out there. And by reliable, I mean "someone I can trust has my best interest at heart when he recommends what I should do with my car, and not someone that would cause me to sacrifice eating for the next six months because the twizzlestick needs rotating" Some people like to pay mechanics too much for fixing their cars because their pride tells them that they make enough money to not put up a fuss when someone covered in grease tells them how much to pay. I have no such pride. I make sure that they know that I barely make enough money to eat and pay for gas and I would rather put off any work that will not directly prevent my car from exploding in the very near future. So, when they say that I should consider getting something done I respond by saying, "Thanks, I'm saving up for that. I might be able to afford it later this year...if I'm lucky". Then I watch their response and judge what I should do accordingly. If they sincerely look scared for me, I should actually consider getting it done later that year. If they try to get me to sign up for their own in-garage credit card, I know they weren't trying to save my car, and they just want all the pennies I will ever make, a pound of my flesh, and ownership of my children someday.
It's sad that I'm not a real man and I can't fix things myself, or know what they are worth, such as cars, laptops, guitar amps. Instead, I try to take these items to honest tradesmen. I'm just not sure which ones are the honest ones and I have to learn the hard way or let my things die. (That is what is happening to my laptop; there is no way I will ever pay a crook over $200 to open it up again...I don't care how much my screen flickers at me and flashes vertical lines, I'd rather go blind first!!!! Bitter Much? Heck Ya I am!!!)

Where to go with this...

2007-01-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

Hi, I'm back and it has been over a month since my last entry. I have a problem. I am always second-guessing what I ought to write about. What themes should I stick to? What should be the feel of this space? Do I go for the recording of my deeper ponderings? Do I stick to mundane everyday life details? Do I talk about things that can be easily turned to humor? I really don't know. Without an outline or context, or goal or vision, I am sooooo lost in any part of life and I hold back completely. Soo, for a short time, this space will be about anything. Or if I am going to be about something, I can make it about regularity. The fear then is that absolutlely no one will read it and it might not feel worth it... but then I can blog for more selfish reasons. I guess that is the fear that holds me back; the fear that most of what I may write will be too boring for people, including myself. Friiiiiig, I've bored myself already. I want to go drink some water.

Make them feel like they earned their commission

2006-12-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure that I could never work at a job that paid commission. I don't like people thinking that I'm helping them for what I might gain out of it finiancially. That is also why I hated being a waiter. I hated the idea of being tipped. The customer's satisfaction really was my reward and the tip made me feel cheap and stripped me of any good feelings. I believe i have talked about this all before... but I have a new idea.
I thought of a sport to enhance my enjoyment of shopping. I will try to make store employees feel that they are helping me in much more meaningful ways. For instance, I will allow them to solve deep or serious issues in my life of the sort that are usually reserved for mental health professionals, counsellors, philosophers, pastors, and theologians.
For example:
I walk into the Gap and say: "I am struggling with the meaninglessness of my life. Can you reccomend a pair of jeans that would help me discover meaning, or perhaps distract me from my realization?"
Or, walk into a ski-shop and say "I need a pair of goggles that will help me to get over poor self-esteem issues and make me feel that I am really valuable. I need other people to govern my self-worth, so if they tell me I am cool, I might believe it. Which pair will cause people to tell me I am cool?" If this seems to be going well, I can get more specific and perhaps taunt a bit:
"Now, I believe you that these goggles will make me cool, but I don't want to be too cool in the sense that people will see me as unapproachable and better than all of them, because I wouldn't be able to handle that kind of loneliness." or "I am also concerned about girls throwing themselves at me if I look too cool becasue I am unsure how I would handle that kind of temptation. Can you reccomend something that will avoid that dangerous problem while still fixing my self-esteem issues?"
Ok, you get the idea. Have fun with it yourself. I don't want to overdue it here because I fear I am already boring you, (and my self-esteem can't handle the rejection of you not reading my whole blog and therefore not commenting).

An update

2006-11-30T15:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems that I still have computer problems but the level has now been adjusted from "major" to "annoying". I finally got my video drivers to work again. Now it is merely the hardware problem that started all these shinanigans. There are constant flickering vertical lines all over my screen. My eyes get sore really easy now and the picture doesn't look so good, but at least my icons are back to normal size and the computer is at least usable now.
What else is new? Well, Christmas season has started. My birthday was last monday. Thanks for all the "Happy Birthday" wishes. It is much appreciated seeing as this was my "champagne birthday" (meaning that I turned 27 on the 27th of the month). I had a wonderful time with Anh at noon on the 27th as she took me to the Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet. I loved every minute of it.
I also went to the AUC-NUC Christmas Concert. It was quite fun. Here's a picture or two that we took during the intermission... ok, maybe like 3.

Major problems

2006-11-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I have not been using my computer much lately (and therefore not blogging) because of major video card/driver problems of some kind. Everything I see is absolutely rediculous and unbearably painful. Isn't this what computers looked like about 25 years ago? Maybe not. There was a couple less colors but it was much clearer what you were reading.
Anyways, hopefully, this can be fixed. Otherwise I will have to survive the rest of my life without a computer. I think that may get me fired though. Nowadays, people get hired based on the technology that comes with that person. I hope that wasn't the case with me. OK bye.

What was once lost...

2006-11-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

So, last weekend I had a day off. I read the book, "Voyage to Venus" (Perelandra). I really got into it this time. I think I read it once over 10 years ago. I've heard that it has similar ideas in it to Lewis' commentary on Milton's Paradise Lost. Pathetically, I have not yet read Paradise Lost but it is these themes that got me really thinking this week. It got me thinking so much that I have now changed my passage and sermon topic for this Sunday. (Ted is gone this week for his ordination interview and I am left to do church this week). Anyways, is it wrong to change my sermon for this reason? I wasn't so excited about what I was going to preach on, but I had hardly started the work for before. It was going to be on the faith of the Centurion in Matthew 8. I had shortly discussed that one with Ted a couple weeks ago and he seemed happy with it. Anyways, I don't think he'll care much that I changed it, but what is a good reason for changing topics? I wanted to study what I am presently interested in. Perhaps that is wrong. I was interested in the other passage a couple weeks ago, but not as much as I now am in this one. Oh, by the way, this one I am preaching out of Romans 5:18-21. This talks about how everything got mucked up starting with the disobedience of one man, Adam, and then how the the obedience of another man, Jesus, gets us out of it. We can be under the one or the other. What draws me to this passage this time is a few things I think. 1)I get to preach about the gospel specifically 2)It deals with issues that stretch from the beginning of creation, through now, and into the future/return 3) I get to dwell in this story that I have gotten into lately about how the world was made so good at first but we somehow defiled it. Perelandra helped me understand just how tragic that first mucking up was and made me get into a part of the story of our world that I had not really cared too much about before. I mean, I always already knew whenever I read about the Garden of Eden that it doesn't last and it is ruined and it is all lost. Ya, I deal with it before I even get to that part. I'm not horrified with that part of the story because that is the only reality that me and everyone else I know has known for the last thousands and thousands of years. We've gotten pretty used to it by now. I can't read that without seeing it in the context that it's gonna all be solved by Christ anyways. So, what I am saying about Perelandra is that it helped me get into the tragedy of that part of our story. It made me long for what could have been. It made me imagine a perfect world without sin, and no separation from God. All of nature and humanity living in harmony. (Really, for once, I can imagine that in a way where it seems cool and exciting and not boring) People are real and they don't rebel against God and they live in a unique position of looking after the world under their care that is also not spoiled by any act of rebellion. I can't know exactly what that would have looked like... no killing by anyone or anything, no death etc. Anyways, that was all lost. It was spoiled, ruined, defiled. We thought there was something better than trusting God and now we have learned from experience that there isn't. Sometimes experience is not the best source of knowledge. In the case of sin, experience ruins knowledge and confuses almost beyond repair. In Perelandra, the character, Dr Ransom uses the analogy that sinning to learn about evil is like trying to study sleeping patterns by going to sleep. (Something like that, I'll have to search for that part.)
Well, once I could appreciate what was actually lost (to some small imaginitive degree), I think it helps to see more fully what God has done to fix the problem. It was no half-conceived experiment to save us through incarnation. Here is the turning point for all of humanity. Christ's obedience replaces Adam's disobediance, and guess what? It can be applied to us in the same way. The actions for one man can be applied to us. This gift works for all of humanity. We have all already chosen to align ourselves with Adam's sin. When Adam sinned, so did we. And, we have continued to sin. Our world is so muddled, messed up, confused, cut-off, lost by this sin, we can barely even figure out which way is up and what the difference is between straight and bent. I think we can alot of times admit that things have been lost and we got it wrong, if we are really honest with ourselves. I'll admit that sin and its effects of messed me up and confused me so much that I don't even know what the right, the good, the pure even look like. I'm trying to learn, through the renewing of my mind, by the power of the Holy Spirit, but there is alot that has been messed with since this whole sin thing started thousands and thousands of years ago.
So, where are we now? Things have been fixed, through the biggest scandal in the history of the universe. God takes on full humanity in the very stinking, messed up, rotten middle of it and says that He made it good. He talks about the Kingdom of Heaven and what it is like. He points out what it is like and what that things are near to it. Jesus shows us how to live like we are apart of that kingdom even though we look around us and see that we are still in the middle of this world we already destroyed. But, what? It still works? We can live for God's kingdom before Christ returns and fully sets everything fully right again. He has started with those of us who are willing to have His obedience apply for us in a way that says we never sinned in the first place? We walk around as The Undefiled in the middle of this world that we ourselves remember defiling? So now we go about reconciling this world that God, through Jesus, decided to reconcile back to himself. We get to work that out. We are reconciled to God by the work of Christ on the cross; now we get to be there and involved as we see Him continue to reconcile others and our world back to him. He's doing it, and he will finish it. Soon, EVERYTHING that was lost, will be regained. I'm not smart enough to deal with the "what ifs". Only God really knows. Would we have still gotten the human visit from God if we hadn't blown it all and needed him to fix it for us? Who knows? Maybe I should write a Sci-Fi novel about how God became incarnate in a world that never rebelled against Him, and how much better and cooler that whole thing went. It worked out pretty well for us though, in the real world, despite how shameful our actions have been toward him in our defiled world, and he visited us anyways. What a brick that guy is. (I hope that was proper usage of that early 1900s british slang) I think it means "a great chap".
hmmm, sorry, I think I ruined my train of thought with my "brick" usage. that's ok. I was too scared to talk about what the future holds anyways. I'm not studied enough to talk much about it.
Well, writing a blog about this stuff was fun enough. The problem is, how do I write a sermon about this...before sunday?

Arrived at Last!!!!

2006-11-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

I'd been nagging the women at the post office every business day, asking them if my package from Grand Prairie had arrived yet. They assured me that I would get a card in my box when it did. Well, this morning there was a message on the church answering machine, letting me know that my package had arrived. My Matthew A. Wilkinson CDs finally arrived today. I love these CDs so much. All three are stylistically quite different (one is country sort of, one is instrumental ambient sort of, and the other is umm, standard Matthew Wilkinson stylings which is all sorts of cool sounding songs). Anyways, check out his website and really check out his music for yourself. This guy really inspires and motivates me to write my own songs. He has basically dedicated the majority of his time to writing and recording, and finishing songs, and it is really coming together now. He is a real veteran at songwriting by now even though he is so young... well, check out his site for yourself:
http://www.matthewawilkinson.com/

Tired in here?

2006-10-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Mondays are usually my day off. Yesterday it was not though. We had in-service training over in Cranbrook. It was really good (except for spilling hot Timmy Ho Hot Chocolate all over my pants and hoodie on the ride out there). (Unfortunately I have no pictures because even though I have gotten really into taking them, I lent my cam to Anh for a couple weeks; I sure hope she is making good use of it).
So, I saw David Collins there and he had some really valuable things to say. We returned to town here in the afternoon and now I feel very burnt-out. I really missed having a day-off and some time alone to relax. I do, however, get to take that day at some other point. I must choose wisely. I just hope I can make it through this week.
I got to see Liz yesterday too. That was a real treat. See, ministry is still pretty sweet, you get to connect with old friends in other towns while on the clock(kind of on the clock). Let's hope that Liz gets to make up a day off some time too. We brought it up with her supervisor but I think he got the wrong idea and thought we were asking him if he will ever get a day off. (We care about that too, but don't forget about the intern!)
Ok, this blog is un-linear and tangentful just like how I feel today. See, my mood governs everything here. Look at my girlfriend. Ain't she cute!

Time to open a can....

2006-10-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

So, life as a pastor offers some perks. For instance, on thanksgiving weekend people from the church brought some jams and stuff for a display and it was meant for the pastors and stuff to divide up and keep after. So, I got some good stuff, including a pie and some pumpkin bread.
All I have left by now is a jar of canned peaches and some jams.
However, I still have a problem; I can't get that jar of peaches open. I've been trying for a few days now. I wrestle with it for a few minutes before giving up and putting it back in the fridge. This has been a real blow to my self-confidence. I've been going to the gym every weekday at about 4:30 pm with Brian. I was under the impression that we were getting quite HUUUUUGE by now. But, apparently I still can't open a can of peaches.
What should I do? This is beginning to drive me mad. I do have tonnes of space in my fridge, but this can sits there taunting me and calling me a puny, wussy little puke.
Does anyone know how to get into this can of peaches?

Beets

2006-10-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

If you want to see some really cool things done to toilet water, eat alot of beets. Trust me.
I was about to take a picture, but then I realized I have more taste than that.

In the aftermatt

2006-10-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving is over...obviously. Well, I guess that is less obvious to the Yanks, but I'm pretty sure I don't have american readers. I think it went well. I didn't cook much. I made a breakfast and mostly did alot of dishes. I hope everyone had fun.
We have an awkward family tradition of taking pictures during family dinners, that I adhered to. "Awkwardness is the Spice of Life"-(Matt Yeomans)
As you can see, it wasn't a fancy or formal dinner like most years, but the food was still good. Look at that plate!
Here is a bit more of the action...

Wow! Exciting stuff!

The Eve

2006-10-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

This is the post where I can hopefully build some rapport. So far I have come across on Old Man Yeomans as looking down on singles, jealous of marrieds, and a fair bit wierd and obsessed with manners. Probably only some of that is true. Perhaps a bit crazy is what I am going for here anyways.
Lets talk about my real life these days. Tonight is the night before most of my family, and my girlfriend, Anh, come to visit me for Thanksgiving. (Yes, I am Canadian and we do have a different date for Thanksgiving). Actually, this reminds me that next week it is time to set up for Christmas because it is officially the season, according to me.
Anyways, I am really, really excited for this weekend. I don't remember even being this excited for Christmas in recent years. Maybe it is because I get to host. I finally live completely on my own and can do this sort of thing. All of a sudden I am thinking of that movie, Pieces of April with Katie Holmes. In the movie, poor April doesn't have too much of her life together, yet she does make a thanksgiving dinner for her family. I, on the other hand, am not even pulling that off; my parents and sister are bringing most of the food. I liked the movie surprisingly enough. I had to say that so we can drop it and get back to my life. There will be 6 of us staying in my 2 bedroom apartment. But, as Mitch Hedberg points out, it is up to me how many bedrooms my apartment has. Mine has 6. One room just has a stove in it, another looks like a closet, another looks like a hallway, and another bedroom has couches and people tend to watch TV in it.
Another reason I think I am so excited about this weekend is that it may be my only Christmas-type get-to-gether with family and loved-ones (Anh, so far you fall under the Loved-one category) that I will get this year. See, as a new pastor, I am not quite sure if I get any time off at Christmas time. It's not that we aren't all about celebrating the incarnation. It's more about the fact that we are so into celebrating the birth of Christ as a church community, I don't know if I get any time where I am actually allowed to leave town because of it.
So, I am going to enjoy every moment of having us all here in my little pad. I hope everyone doesn't mind giving up their otherwise luxurious lives for a couple days to be apart of the highlight of my year.

I think I'm pretty dedicated to good manners

2006-10-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

So, I've realized that like any good Canadian should be, I am dedicated to being polite. I realized this when I woke up this morning. I had just finished having a dream that was strange. It was kind of funny and surreal.
It takes place in room of the third floor of a building. The room was small and empty with one large window. There were about 3 of us in the room. When I looked out the window, there was some people down on the ground below, supposedly waging war against us. So, in essence, the guy right below our window, down on the sidewalk was trying to kill us. (This dream is getting exciting now, isn't it?) Anyways, he had this contraption sitting between the 2 wheels of some sort of bike trailer. The contraption had a pipe that went straight up to right outside our window. Then there was this dinky little hose that attached to the top of the pipe and went inside our window. Anyways, this whole contraption was some sort of flame-thrower that the guy down on the street was controlling. He was shooting bursts of flames in through the window, trying to burn us up. The flames narrowly missed my friends standing on the left side of the window inside the room (I was on the right). Everyone was ok though.
I thought this wasn't cool that we might get burned, so I gave the pipe outside a shove so that it fell away from the building. This upset the guy outside a bit but he quickly got his flame-throwing contraption upright again and shot more flames inside our room.
This next time, in order to protect us, I yanked the hose off of the pipe. This caused the flames to shoot straight up into the air out of the pipe outside our window whenever the guy below pushed his button. This made the guy below really angry and he started yelling at us to give him back his hose so he could kill us with it. He even climbed up the pipe to the window to look in at us and demand the hose back. I told him I would give it back if he promised he would stop blowing flames in our window. I explained that he had almost burned my friends and that he wasn't being polite. He retorted that I wasn't being polite by stealing his hose. I couldn't argue with this, so I planned to throw the hose back to him while he hung on to the window sill (we were standing by the door of the room). I figured that I could then make a run for it along with my friends if I had to.
Before I had a chance to give him back the hose though, he told me that we were in a battle with each other and that I should started acting like it. Then he proceeded to throw a hammer at us. The hammer stuck into the door right beside us. This got me quite upset and I actually yelled at him: "How Rude! You could have put someone's eye out with that!" He resonded by saying, "I know! I'm trying to! This is a war! If you don't like it, you can leave!"
At this point, I yelled, "Fine!" and threw him back his hose and left.
As I walked away down the hallway, I was muttering to my friend about how rude the guy at the window was and that there was no excuse for such impoliteness. I don't care if it is a war, I still think it is pretty rude to try and kill someone.

Well, that was the dream. Get what you want out of that. I thought it was interesting that I seemed to not only get upset at the guy trying to kill us, but that I got even more upset at the guy's unwillingness to change his ways when I informed him about how rude he was being. Is there no respect for manners these days?

Whiners!!!

2006-10-02T13:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I think I have something to rave/rant about now. I was doing it to my girlfriend over the phone instead of listening to and supporting her like I should have been. Anyways, she suggested I blog about it in order to get it out, so here it is:

First of all, let me say that I have the utmost respect for marriages and I believe that everything possible must be done to protect them. Second of all, I will say that I am not ignorant enough to say that anyone is completely alone. God is always present and can comfort anyone no matter what situation they are in in life. Really, he is our only real hope and source of true joy. Also, I need to say that I am not complaining. I have nothing to complain about because I feel quite blessed to have the life that I have; I get to do something that I love and am passionate about and I have beautiful and wonderful girlfriend that I am so grateful for. With that being said, it's time for me to stick up for some people out there.

Please, please correct me if I am wrong (I really mean it), but married people are whiners. Have you ever noticed how everyone gives a married couple soooo much sympathy if they ever have to spend a few days apart from each other? It becomes this thing that everyone says is so unbearable and horrific. Weren't these two people separated for years before they were married? Does something happen to them the moment that they get married that causes them to be so super-sensitive to being apart? I am not at all saying that they should be apart. What I am saying is that 'have they forgotten what their lives were like when they were single?' I don't think that they get super-sensitive, I think it is just the opposite. They have become DE-sensitized to the pain that they suffered as single people. They have simply forgotten how hard life was before they were married and when they are apart from their spouse, they get a little taste (not the full experience) of what it was like when they were single. To make matters worse, instead of recognizing it as the hint of an painful old experience be remembered from their single past, they writhe in agony as if it is some new and awful torture that no single person has experienced. Give me a mother-fathering break! These married people need to take a memory pill!
Let's dissect this issue and compare the 3 main statii of people: 1. Married (spoiled) 2. Dating (awaiting glory) 3. Single (horribly alone with only some distant glimmer of hope that the situation may some day be rectified). Alright, now let's apply these 3 different situations to the issue of being separated from one's soul mate for a certain amount of time.

1. Married People
These people have developed a close relationship with their other half. They have someone who understands them, loves them, supports them and knows them. They have someone to share life with, all the good and the bad, and they are never alone because they always know that their is some other human thinking and caring about them. Also, they get to have SEX (don't think I wasn't going to go there; O yes I am!). So, when married people have to spend a week apart or something, the worst that they have to experience is the realization of how good they have it. They can talk to their spouse on the phone in the meantime and know that they will be able to be physically near each other in a little while. Ok, they have to suffer for a week without sex (cry me a river!)

2. Dating Couples
This is my category and I am terribly grateful to even have this. There is a relationship that is growing. These people have someone that they know is thinking about them and there is that comfort of knowing that someone that you care about, cares about you too. They get to share some parts of their lives together but really, they don't get to live together or spend too much time together because they have separate lives for the time being. And, obviously, there is no sex or much of a physical relationship at all. There is only hope that grows stronger. When these people are separated from each other for a week, (I am familiar with this because I only get to see my girlfriend a few days out of every month) they still know that someone cares about them. They can still talk to each other on the phone. Being apart can be somewhat difficult but really, there is not much more that they really get to do when they get to see each other anyways, especially when you compare it to married couple reunions. As far as sex goes, they just have a realistic hope of it happening on some glorious day off in the future. But dating couples are always grateful for the chance just to be around each other.

3. The Single Person
Let's be honest, there is no point talking about the situation when the single person is separated from their soul mate because that is ALL THE TIME. This person leads a life of solitude and loneliness. They have no one to give them a kiss. No one cares about them in a deep way. Apparently they are expendable in times of battle because no one cares much if they die except themselves (if they even care themselves). They only seem to care about living if they are clinging to some hope of someday not being single anyways. Sex: they can only dream that this will someday happen, but there is no evidence yet to support a hope of it at this stage. These people live for the hope of a hope. Pitiful.

Dr. Matt gives his prescriptions:
To the married people I prescribe that we all support their marriages and do what we can to make sure they can be together. After all, they are meant to be. To the dating couple I prescribe that we all support them and give them any chance to actually hang out with each other. Give them environments where they can hang out with each other because there seem to be so many where they are not allowed. And finally, for the single people I prescribe that we do whatever we can to make their horrific lives more bearable. Show them some love because we all know that they aren't feeling it from anywhere else special. Take them out for dinner. Be nice to them. Don't give them any of those crap lines about how they can enjoy their freedom (we all know that's a crock). Give these people some hope about actually meeting someone too. You don't need to set them up or anything, but don't be afraid invite groups of single friends together in settings that are relaxed and subtle so if their is a chance of someone hitting it off sometime, it is actually possible. Oh, dear friends, we must pray for the single ones living their pitiful lives.

So, in conclusion, people give married couples too much sympathy, and single people not enough. The truth is, in my opinion (just like this whole blog is), married people have become accustomed and don't even realize how good they have it, and some single people have not even yet realized how bad they have it. I guess relativity, desensitization, and forgetfulness all seem to work in our world to keep people from getting too bitter or too satisfied. Hmm, this blog did not go totally where I planned it.

New Beginnings

2006-09-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

This has got to be like my millionth blog/space on the internet. (msn spaces, previous blogspot, myspace, etc) But now it is time that I grow up and use what was inevitable all along. This is my mature new space where I will finally make use of all the new things that google has to offer to the world.
Ok. Later