The greatest toy ever

I have it. It's Shocking Tanks. They're RC tanks, and when you shoot the other guy, he gets a shock. Bonus points if you turn your own pain factor up. (literally, you score 2 points instead of one.)

I await your challenges, for anyone who dares. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Coming home

I went back... finally, after months and months. To the swing dance scene that is. It was really really great. It was so good to see the old friends. The dancing came back so fast too... well, some of it. There's a lot of stuff I need to re-learn cuz I've forgotten a bunch, but if I can get some lessons over the summer that'll fix that. Moreso though, it was just awesome to see everyone again. I even had a couple good conversations with people I would have never expected too. I was EVEN feeling extroverted, so I met some really cool new people, and got asked to dance 3 times by an out of towner! I won't take that for too much except that she either saw me sitting too much (I'm a sitter, I like to do 2 or three songs, then sit out a couple) or my dancing didn't suck too bad and she wanted to dance again with me. Either way, cool. I'm not falling away so much again. My goal, and I'm sticking to it, is gonna be to hit up at least every other week to the sunalta dances, and to try to get one night in between. Alibis on tuesday would be good so I can catch the lesson :D.

Swing baby!

Midnight ride

Went out cruising with Mike last night. It was a lot of fun, but took way longer than either of us thought it would. We rode out towards okotoks on a back road that ended up veering us a long way west before going south. What was supposed to be a half hour ride took over an hour. It was dark so it got pretty cold. Having said that it was a load of fun. The scenery was awesome, and it was good practice for me doing quick steers because I'm not used to having to dodge things like potholes. Next time I gotta get it together earlier though.

Now onto something more relevant. Live 8 and Make Poverty History. First off I'm pissed off at Bob Geldof and Ebay. People who won the tickets in England were selling them on ebay. I'm just fine with that for three reasons. First of all, it's legal in England to sell tickets that were won, which is how live 8 tickets were distributed. Second it's not against any ebay seller's policy. Thirdly because when Eucharistic Hosts consecrated by the pope that were stolen at an open air mass were sold on ebay they summarily ignored all protest from an orgainized group and refused to answer our protests, and to me that's way less ethical than concert tickets that are being legally sold. But, Bob Geldof is a celebrity, and so he threw a public hissy fit and ebay pulled them. I find it ironic that someone who claims to be working for those with no voice abuses his celebrity such.

Don't get me wrong, I support the level of organization that MPH and Live 8 are striving for. What bothers me is that it's seems a lot like a celebrity band wagon. When it was Bono and Angelina Jolie working passionately and somewhat behind the scenes to make a real difference that was cool. But now you see Brad Pitt on TV, Bob Geldof organizing concerts, stuff like that. But at the end of the day they own enough to make a strong difference and don't seem to sacrifice any of that. It feels condescending to have people who are rich and famous tell us what we should do. It's good they are using their celebrity for good, but unless they are tireless, and generous workers like Bono and Jolie, it's gonna cheapen the whole movement and it'll become the next thing people are sick of.

Anyway, rant off... support MPH, cuz even if some of the celebrities pushing it are lame, the cause isn't.

Alive and better than well

Must just be a feeling associated with abnormal amounts of risk taking. Seriously, had a blast. One of the best days I've had rafting on the Red Deer. Between the high water and bear scares, it was quiet. There were a couple groups out, so we weren't alone, but it was quiet. Big water too... really big, but not scary big. Fun in a, sorry I dumped you out on that rapid, better luck next time sorta way. I wasn't totally on my game... we hit the first class 4 perfect, but the second one I fudged a bit, hit too far left and a couple of us went swimming. It was still good though.

Anyway, great to hang out with old friends and see my uncle and cousins. It's kinda weird to think my first white water trip was 12 years ago, and I started guiding 7 years ago. So glad I discovered white water. Gonna make sure me and pituch get some good kayaking in this year.

Weird feeling

I've had the most strange feeling over the last little while. Maybe it just comes with a regular host of high risk activities. It's been like this odd foreboding sort of thing, accompanied with what seems to be a heightened sense of love and appreciation for God and all the good things in my life. It seems quite intense this morning, and was last night too. It made for a wonderful period of prayer last night, but it's weird. We're going whitewater rafting today, and I just have this rock in my gut over it. The water levels are quite big, but smaller than I've done before. Actually, last year I ran the river higher in a kayak, and it was first run of the season, and I didn't bail. This is in a good sized raft with 6 strong paddlers, all experienced in whitewater, and at least two of them have been enough to guide in a pinch. Anyway, my ride is here. If I don't make it back, then the feeling was right and I love you all! (but I'm gonna make it back)

Wow man, just wow

Okay, never mind the water stuff in the last post. The river is climbing about 25 cms every 15 minutes. It's at 370 and still rising. For the not in the knowing, it doesn't go that high. EVER. Like in 10 years the record has been about 280.

Wanna go look sooooooo bad

And again and again

Stealing quizzes is fun

1. Choose a band/artist and answer ONLY in titles of their songs: Wide mouth mason

2. Are you male or female: Tom Robinson

3. Describe yourself: Puppet in a Clown Show

4. How do some people feel about you: Companion/The Preacherman's Song

5. How do you feel about yourself: My Old Self

6. Describe where you want to be: Where I started

7. Describe how you live: Smile

8. Describe how you love: Exquisit

9. What would you ask for if you had just one wish: My Imagination

10. Share a few words of Wisdom: Why? Ease your mind. Reconsider.

11. Now say goodbye: Come out to go


In other news, camping was a blast. Super tired though... rained the whole weekend too, but it was still fun. Right now pining for the river. The water is above 300 cms right now. That's a phenominal level. Almost ever seen. I've never run it over 220, which was psycho huge. On the one hand it seems like a once in a lifetime chance for insanity... on the other hand the insanity is truly insane. Most of the rapids would be washed out, but Big Rock would be nothing short of gargantuan, Hole 5 in S-bend would be a boat eater (and insane for surfing), Jimbo's staircase would be gigantic, and the nationals, if they aren't washed out, would have some of the biggest cleanest waves ever seen. Sigh... wanna go just to look. I'm tempted to rent a car and cruise out just to see what it looks like. I could bring the body board in case and a good pair of knee pads...

Ah well, better safe than pinned underwater, and then finally found sometime in august when the water is low enough.