Shrapnel

As you, the reader, potential reader, past reader, skimmer, stalker, etc might know, I have two jobs. Now, each of these jobs has their respective risks... lifeguarding isn't so much a risk towards myself but more the risk of other people dying... and Gorman's has the risk of being mauled by a machine if not locked out properly.

However, the most terrifying risk from both of them are the head-shots.

Let me explain, at Johnson Bentley, when leaving deck, the lifeguards do general cleaning around the changerooms as they leave deck, this usually involves mopping with a mop and bucket that has never been changed when you start the shift. That means that the mop water is filled with hair, dirt, for some reason grey foam, and all sorts of reminders that the public, in general, is disgusting. (yayyyy)

Gormans, particularily on my Graveyard shift, makes use of the "air hose" quite a bit, which is a high pressure... well... air hose. Now, this pressured air, when aimed at a location that has no "exit route" will shoot right back at you, carrying with it all the sawdust, dirt, hydraulic oil and grease with it in a typhoon of lame.

Although not the worst risks in some eyes, these are the things I fear the most when arriving at either job, primarily because of my bad luck with them. I am always getting splashed with the mop swamp water, or blasting myself in the face with the air hose by accident when I don't notice a slight change in the angle of the machine.

This got me to thinking, with my kind of luck with this assortment of smelly, greasy concoctions... survey would indicate that my luck in a warzone would be zip to none. I think I would be taken out by shrapnel in a second... it seems to be fate that I get blasted in the face unwillingly by hydraulic-oil-covered-bark on a nightly basis, so I can I can only assume that this indicates my luck in regards to unwanted projectiles.

That was what I thought about last night. Approx 3:45 am, as I am welcomed by sawdust shrapnel across the front of my body.

Today's song.

...or not to ink

Yay



Powerless Rise came out today. Now I can listen to it in the car, on a boat, in the rain, on a train. It is my green eggs and ham without a doubt. (However the video is not from the new CD, it still makes me happy to see the band in action, they inspire me.)

On the note of this video, notice the amazing sleeves that Tim (lead singer) has.... so awesome. We were talking on graveyard the other day (Dan's last weekend too... sad) about tattoos, what folk would get, what ones are dumb, tattoo tradition and culture etc, etc. I love tattoo's personally... but not one-off ones, I love sleeves. I love tattoos that take up someones entire arm, plastered with colour/black and white. Even if it's the "lame" imitation tribal designs, which I don't like as much because they seem uninspired, they still look better than a bare arm.
So why don't you get a tattoo Jon?

Three reasons
1) My aspirations: I feel like, in light of the various things that I aspire towards in life, tattoos would act as a hindrance. For example, professionally; at the moment I aspire to be a lawyer. Obviously everything in life is subject to change, but should this follow through, that professional sphere might not look so kindly upon the type of tattoo that I would feel is worth getting (the aforementioned "sleeve" or even half sleeve). Even my hobbies, such as acting, or my part time jobs at the moment like life-guarding, having tattoos would be an issue. Actors on stage are constantly hiding and covering up their markings, and a lifeguard with a sleeve would just come across as unapproachable to seniors and children... sad but true.

2) The inevitable(?) regret: This is obviously going to be mentioned... for it's the most cliche reason why not to get inked. What if your interests change? Whatever, it's a reminder of the past, but still, what if the regret is based in....

3) Baddd art: This is a huge one for me. Some tattoos just look awful. It's not the design necessarily, but rather the execution. Faces, scenery, even straight lines sometimes seem impossible for some of these artists. I am a critic at heart, and easily unimpressed. To be permanently stained with some random person's poorly executed artwork would be my own personal circle of hell on earth. Maybe I'm being over dramatic, but I would hate it.

Maybe I could get a Chinese symbol? That means.... serenity? Hmm.... lame, (and secretly nerdy, but no one has to know that)

Still.... So freaking cool... If anything ever were to happen to me where my aspirations listed above were to become an impossibility? I am colouring myself in.





Other than that, I have been successfully filling up my days, and just today encountered my first "scheduling conflict" of my new "summer activities".

Awesome, things are back to normal.

The Powerless Rise

Edit: This is one of my favorite lyrics on the CD, thought I'd share

Simplicity is not a curse where strength is humbled
and the powerless rise.
This is a kingdom born upside-down.
This is a kingdom where the broken are crowned.

Just a taste of the most perfect metal CD I have ever heard.


Original post:

WOAHHHHHHH
AHHHHHHH
EEEEEE!

As I Lay Dying's new CD is streaming on their myspace now.... it comes out on tuesday. I was pumped enough due to the single's that they had released (as discussed in "Parallels" post) but now I've listened to the whole thing.

I think I've just found my favorite CD ever. Words cannot describe how excited I am about this music. Perfect doesn't even do it justice. Maybe it does. But none the less. Convicting lyrics, amazing guitar, and a performance from a band that I respect more and more every time I see anything about them.
Inspiring.

We are not the same, as I hope to show.

Anti-Stagnancy

I don't feel like I have anything to say, but nothing is worse than a stagnant blog. It is a rare enough treat for someone to even read a blog these days, so when someone checks for the second time, maybe even third, and there isn't anything different? The reader almost feels bitter towards the blog for wasting their time;

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT PARALLELS YOU STUPID BLOG!" They screamed*
*(I assume)

Moving on.

So, Summer is here, and my schedule has lightened up not only immensely, but almost completely. Particularly in the first week after finals and Sweeney ended... I had no idea what to do with my time. It's a weird transition going from days being on a time limit (okay, I have 30 min to get from here to here before I have to begin this), to all of a sudden saying "I have nothing planned today...) Granted, I've been able to find ways to fill my days since, but it began as a strange experience.
That being said... despite finding little things to fill my days, I wish I had some "big plans" for the season. I keep getting asked (albeit small talk, I do recognize that) "any big plans for the summer?".
Now, the fact that I answer "no" to everyone that asks me that question makes me feel like I should have some sort of big plan. I do plan to see The Lion King in Vancouver in July, but that's hardly "big" plan. Joseph I guess.... but even so.

So, this is an open letter to anyone who might read this blog, I want to have a better answer for the "big plans" question.





And a song