Like the night before xmas.

I CAN'T SLEEP

And the asshats outside won't shut up.

Matrimony Tyme

Catching up.
I had a busy weekend! I was house sitting for my friend Rory's parents, as I do every few months or so. It's always a treat as they have a wicked house and the easiest dog to take care of. It's a great way to do (free) laundry without driving out to my parent's place (like I have to tomorrow because I didn't have time on the weekend and I am out of underwear) and they have the best kitchen so I feel compelled to actually cook for myself beyond the realm of Kraft Dinner.

Bo and I have a shared heroclix habit.

More importantly, my good friend Bo got married on Saturday to his lovely new wife Andrea. I've been to a lot of weddings this summer (it's that time of life..ugh) and this is the only one where you can't put bets on the length of the marriage because...you can't. I think they are one of the few examples of why people should get married.
Once again I forgot my camera, so I couldn't document all of the open bar related shenanigans. The reception was at Fort Edmonton Park. When we got to the hall, there were goats just walking around outside. They were man-eaters, I knew it. I made sure to not stray too far from the exit when it got dark out [also - I regret to say I've taken to smoking Captain Black's sweets "socially"...like at special occasions only. I can't count myself a smoker, but man, it gets so tempting...at least this time I didn't buy them, my enabler Jon4 did. I'm innocent!].
I'd never been to a Ukrainian wedding before. It was a party unlike most I'd been to. Danish family functions get crazy, but this was different. There was a lot of joy in the room, and so much dancing! I wisely stayed focused on the open bar and food tables.
Our table, Bo's close friends, was in the back near the food tables, but we noticed that it was taking a while for our table to get called in the "random selection" for the food line. This was clearly on purpose by the time there were like, 6 tables left to go and we still hadn't been called. It was probably the hunger, but I started getting all "this is bullshit!" "what kind of friend does this!" which is totally inappropriate, I know. At the end though, we were gifted an extra bottle of wine for being last, which is really all it takes to win me back. Even better when we are allowed two bonus bottles instead of one. I drank a bottle and a half to myself I'm sure. It helps get through the speeches. Remember: If you are at a wedding, do not touch the wine until the speaches begin! It makes the time pass faster.

The whole party shut down at 1am (I know, right?!) so our table quickly found itself sitting at the Garneau Pub and enjoying another pitcher and some shots before last call. A happy end to a happy day.

Tuesday was Election Day here in Canada. Our third in four years. I have to vote in Spruce Grove because I'm still registered out there. My vote doesn't really count because I don't vote Conservative. Still, I sat in election day traffic for over an hour to do it, and it took my all of one minute to enter the polling station, show them my id, and drop my ballot in the box. Done. So why did we have the lowest voter turnout in Canadian history? Well, people don't give a shit.
A lot of people I know don't want to vote because their vote won't do anything to dent the Conservatives' hold on the province. Your vote still counts, and the party you support still gets an extra buck or two annually for your vote. It doesn't seem like a lot until you put all of those votes together. The Liberals lost about $1.6 million in vote dollaz because of their shite performance this year. Blah blah.


PS - I applied to go back to school. We'll see what happens this time around.

Dreams RUINED

FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT.

For reasons I will never know, my stereo, more specifically the CASSETTE DECK, is completely fucked.

I don't know how to fix it. I took the thing apart and well, guess what? You can't see the cassette deck what with all the circuit boards in the way. It's a nice complicated mess of wires and things I shouldn't touch. I can't even name the parts that aren't working. Just look:


Now, nothing there looks out of place. It's like one of those newspaper games where you have to find 6 minute differences in two badly drawn pictures. Those three things in the middle of the picture, they shouldn't be up that high unless I am playing a tape. When it is stopped, and especially when it's open, they should drop down so you can, you know, put a tape in. So as of now I can't close the tape door if there is a tape in it. Is there like a broken spring or something? How do I fix this?

Fuck, just don't fix it. I need to go around to pawn shops and find another receiver that has a cassette deck.

SHIT EATER!

Doom

Plans for the Lacombe corn maze fell through today. LAME. So I have spent my day listening to records and wanting to make a mixtape. I just bought Thurston Moore's book Mix Tape and it's really shown how awesome the mixed tape can be. I never really go too far in the cover art realm, but after looking at all the sweet examples in the book I don't think I can make a normal one ever again.
However, I don't have the drive to make one for myself. I should, I guess. They act like journal entries...only with other people's music. It's better to make one for other people, though. You put more work into it, and your subject affects the tracklisting. Besides, what good is having this giant stereo if I don't use the taping feature? TELL ME THAT.

Here.