He's blessed
[Cartright, Manitoba]
Song of the day: Barrett's Privateers - Stan Rogers
Dreary day outside, so dreary day inside. I don't know if I'll get to post tonight.
So we did a show today for a small crowd. Apparently there has been tension between towns (or something like that) and apparently deaths involved too, and there were a few different towns represented in the audience today.
The principal came up to us after and wanted to thank us for letting the students have a fun time instead of being dragged down by depressing events.
It's so nice to just do our job, and then find out after that we're making a noticable difference in the lives of the people watching our show.
Now that I think about it, I was kinda upset a few minutes ago, but after typing this out and remembering exactly what we did today, what was bothering me just doensn't seem that bad anymore.
Live and learn.
Brennan "Very much looking forward to having a weekend at home with close friends and family" Cuff
Wave over wave
[Winnipeg, Manitoba]
Song of the day: Karma Police - Radiohead
Sure was one of the best May long's I remember.
Starts off on Friday. We go out for dinner at the largest East Side Mario's in North America with all of Balzer's friends that have come to be our own as well. Sean and Jamie make it in from Ottawa, and I have a wicked fun time hanging/drinking out with them. I meet all of Sean's Ontario friends (nice to be able to put a face to the online names). Jamie and I stay up until 4am catching up.
Saturday we wake up and head out for brunch. I have an omlette with the following four ingredients: ham, bacon, sausage, cheese. (My efforts to convert to Judaism go down in a delicious breakfast). Sean then succeeds in converting me (unintentionally) on two things: Toyota's Matrix and the iPod. I get dropped off at the house, only to be picked up a few hours later by Pete and Bobbi to head to Stratford. We go out for Vietnameese before heading to the festival theatre (GORGEOUS building. Definitely could spend a few more hours there). Saw 'As You Like It' with music written by the Bare Naked Ladies. Very good show. From there to another Stratford Jam Party. This time with 5-6 guitars, an accordian, a double bass, and a host of percussion instruments. Back to Kitchener for the night.
Sunday, slow morning, and drive into the United states. (I start driving at 5:30pm Ontario time). We drive across the border with unexpected ease. They don't even ask for ID. We drive through the night until we hit Chicago, IL when we have to stop to re-fuel. Thank God Jonny was in the front seat.
We pull into this gas station in downtown Chicago at 1am (2am Ontario time). There are bike gangs and HUGE black guys populating the gas station. The other three guys opt to stay in the van. I'm left to venture around. The bathroom is out of order, so we head across the street to the Rock and Roll McDonald's. (Three storey building, but the upper levels were closed.) So we hop back into the van and hit the road again.
I make it to Madison, Wisconsin before I hand off the drive (5:30am Wisconsin time, 6:30am Ontario time. So ends my 13 hour shift. That was all I drove in the United States.)
I fall asleep and wake up as we are driving through Minneapolis/St.Paul. I actually came to around Fargo, ND where we stoped for Taco John's. Then off to the Canadian border. (Piece of cake, right?)
So we are re-packing our van after the customs officers ran the drug dogs through it, singing for them and generally joking around. Amazing how the US let us through without even asking for ID, but the Canadians pull our van apart. :)
Once we get to Winnipeg, we freshen up after our 24ish hour drive and head out to watch Episode 3. Not too bad of a movie for a guy that doesn't know the first thing about the Star Wars series. Our two SW buffs didn't really like the movie. C'est la vie.
It's now Wednesday, I'm in Brandon now. (I wrote the blog in two parts). One and one-half week before I'm home in Saskatoon. Day count = ... let me think... it's the 25th, I'm home on the 4th... so... 10 sleeps? Wow. Not that many at all.
Brennan "Sidney Crosby just scored. I don't even know what game is on. I was in the hometown of Wayne Gretzky the other day. Don't tell him, but it's kind of a hole. I don't know where Crosby is from, but I hope it's nicer than Brantford. If anyone is reading this that is from Brantford, I'm sorry. Mayabe I got a scewed view of your city. But still. Unfortunate to say the least. I'm going to go watch the hockey game" Cuff
Knocking a Conga Drum
[Kitchener, Ontario]
Song of the day: General Taylor - HOJA
Wow. What a full day. Much accomplished.
Performed at Bluevale School (Hoja Balzer's highschool) which was a blast. Tons of energy, crowd loved it, slow load out after, and Garret (ex-Hoja) did sound for us (it's almost always nicer to have someone at the sound board at all times). (Wow Brennan, post another sentence in brackets.)
After that, I started my 6ish hour tour of Southern Ontario.
It started off in Kitchener, trying to find a pair of shoes that I've wanted to buy for a week. Turns out that there are only 5 pairs in all of Ontario, one of which is in Etobicoke (And I'm in Mississauga tomorrow). So I get them put on hold. Then I find another similar pair of shoes ($30 cheaper, I might add), but they too are hard to come by, and the closest pair is in Guelph.
Forget it. I'll find the shoes somewhere else.
Off to Hamilton to complete the tour. ...Let me explain:
I have now been to the three most Canadian Tim Horton's in the whole world. For those of you that missed the explaination, allow me to repeat.
#3 Bronze Medal:
Second Floor, West Edmonton Mall.
As far as I know, this is the only Tim Horton's overlooking a hockey rink. I figure it's worth setting apart from the others with just enough Canadiana to put it on the list.
#2 Runner Up:
Sparks Street, Ottawa.
Walk out the front door with my Toasted Chicken Bacon Club, and look right. Nothing like staring at the Parliament buildings with Timmy Hoe's in hand.
And #1 Grande Prize:
Ottawa St, Hamilton, ON (Also re-named 'Tim Horton's Way')
The FIRST ever Tim Hortons.
Hey, if there wasn't a first, then there wouldn't be a list.
And now that I've been to all three, I can close this chapter in my life with a stamp of utter success. (Although if anyone wants to contest the list, I'll gladly patronize a Tim Horton's that they feel rivals one of my three. That's right, MY three)
So on the way home, we happened to stop in Guelph, because the malls closed at 9 and we pulled in 30 minutes to.
End result, it took forever, but I now own a new pair of shoes. If anyone wants to see them, come to a Hoja show. Cause that's where I'll be wearing them for now.
I'm sooooo tired. If there are parts of the story I forgot to put in here, just pretend you got the whole thing.
Brennan "(I hardly ever use brackets in here)" Cuff
You'd think so, wouldn't ya
[Kitchener, Ontario]
Song of the day: Obladi Oblada - The Beatles
Everything's coming up Millhouse.
So first off, Sean figures he's coming through Kitchener for a night of the long weekend en route to camping somewhere. Ergo: I'm going partying with him the night that he's here. Jamie is on the fence for camping, but apparently I'll get to meet the people I only know by name and slight Sean's-Website-comments personality.
That being Friday, on Saturday I'm back out to Stratford to watch 'As You Like It' for $20. And I have NO problem paying that, because it's effin Stratford and therefore bound to be professional, and therefore good.
And Sunday we hit the road for Chicago.
That's right. The shortest way to get from Kitchener,ON to Winnipeg,MB is Kitchener-Detroit-Chicago-St.Pauls-Minneapolis-Winnipeg.
Like, 6 hours shorter.
ROAD TRIP, HERE WE COME.
Brennan "This has 'international incident' written all over it" Cuff
I'm awake.
[Kitchener, Ontario]
Song of the morning: (Some Tegan and Sara song that I have stuck in my head)
Does anyone else get pop-ups now in Blogger? Maybe they've always been there, but I'm now on a computer that doesn't block them. Who knows. It's annoying as hell, though.
So I started looking up distances online to see how to drive to Winnipeg from Kitchener. We got a tip that it might be quicker to go through the States. I found two different ways to get through Michigan, but the shorter looking one didn't list the estimated driving time, and the longer one was only 20 hours. (Which is a hell of a lot better than the 28ish that it took us to get here.)
I have decided, though, that online maps are possibly the least reliable source for Canadians. If you are looking for directions in the US, you are set.
Library, here I come.
Brennan "I sleep right through" Cuff
This place's name looks funny
[Kitchener, Ontario]
Song of the day: For The Best - Straylight Run
Two good elementary schools today. That never happens in one day. It was muggier than
sin though! I didn't shave in the morning because I didn't give myself enough time... (Ah, who am I kidding. I'm just too lazy to make myself look presentable.)
Anyway, it came back to bite me in the ass. My face was on fire because I didn't remove the weekend's stubble. Damn fast hair. It used to be so good for underage alcoholic purchases. Now it's just annoying.
Things in HOJA are back to... normal?.... after a week-long cold war between Aaron C and Jonny, and at times Jonny and I, and Aaron and Aaron, and Balzer and me. Basically, first week here = small highs and powerful lows.
But like I said, today was awesome. I felt like a Streetnik. Now I'm sure that means next to nothing for most of you. Basically, it means that I feel as happy and as comfortable on stage as I remeber the Streetnix being back when I was ten.
And speaking of which, I may some valuable information to be used for blackmail later on:
Tony Hughes WITHOUT A DOUBT misses Aaron, Aaron, and I. But really we miss him right back.
Alright. I was up at 5:30 this morning, I didn't take an afternoon nap, and I'm up at 5:30 again tomorrow. BUT I'm in Toronto for the next two days.
Says the country boy: Yee haw (and to a lesser extent: yipee-o ki-yay)
Brennan "With my feet in the air and my head on the ground" Cuff
Allow New Comments on This Post
[Kitchener, Ontario]
Song of the day: Barret's Privateers - Acafellas
IN ONTARIO. Been a long while since I've set foot in this province. And what did I promtly do once I got here? Headed on over to hang out with the frogs. That's right. I celebrated by driving into Quebec. (Weak celebration much? That's what I thought too)
So we did our shows in Ottawa. Much fun, but it cost us. We did four highschools in two days (two in nearby Orleans, and two actually in Ottawa).
Did you know: We have a merchandise board set up at all our shows with pictures of our CD's on them (enlarged, so everyone can read the song lists) and we have two REAL merchandice glossy posters on the board to show people what they can buy.
After our first actual show in Ottawa, we found that someone had sticky-fingered our display posters. Right off our board, duct tape and all, our glossies are gone.
Fine. Shows what kind of school it was. Replace the pictures, move on.
Second actual show in Ottawa, we find that after our show not only are the replacement photos stolen, someone realized we had another one in the front of a binder that we hold email lists in. And THAT one was gone too.
Nice to know all the real criminals in Canada live in Ottawa.
< /shameless political joke>
Speaking of politics, I etched another mark in the "Brennan the Canadian Guy" tally I've been keeping of myself.
On the list so far:
- First public singing performance was singing O Canada.
- Canada Day, to me, is more important than Birthday and Christmas combined.
- One morning last summer, I sat in a canoe in the middle of a lake with a buddy and a 24 of Kokanee.
- This week:
Went for Tim Hortons Coffee, donut, and new Toasted Chicken Club (which I really like) walked over to Parliament Hill, and ate while staring at the Parliament buildings.
That's right. Lame Canadian patriotic sentiment = 100% this guy.
It's just about midnight here, which means it's 10p in Saskabush. Time to get on the horn.
Brennan "If I had it my way, Canada Day would be a nation holiday" Cuff
