most amazing roadtrip ever

(from left to right... bottom row: garett / percussion, todd, matt, luke (canadians) top row: josh / keyboard and organ, danielle / vocals, myself and matt (canadians), jeff / bass, andy / lead guitars, vocals, and cliff / rhythm guitar and vocals)

Seriously. Most amazing roadtrip ever... this is my account, i believe it is accurate, as to how we ended up backstage with my favorite band. So, we went to the Caedmon's Call concert in Williamsville, New York. It was phenomenal... they seriously put on a great show, and i'd recommend them to anyone who happened to be within five hours of them. So, they get done their set, play their encore (phenomenal... cliff and danielle sing 'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus'), and we're sitting there. My little bro goes: Well guys, lets go. Cook goes: do you think if we wait, one of them might come out? I go: supposedly they do that a lot, lets just wait five minutes. Sure enough, within 2, todd (missing from picture} comes out to start taking down his drum kit. Then cliff comes out. And, people start talking to him. Security tries to keep everyone back, but cliff basically tells them its okay. My little bro (yeah, the lets go guys kid) walks up and talks to cliff. I'm like... cool, but I'm thinking that it was cool that I got to see them, and I'm way to chicken to actually talk to any of them. Then, LukaBuka talks to Cliff... and I'm thinking... cool again! Then, after a 5 minute wait, cook is talking to cliff. And, I says to the boys (who are with me) we should get him to do a roadtrip picture with us, it'd be awesome. So, we walk over, and as cook is winding down, I say 'Cliff, would you mind taking a roadtrip picture with us?' He goes... 'sure! You want the whole band? Wait, just come back here with me...' and we follow him backstage, where we sit down with the band, and get pictures taken, and hang out for a bit. Cliff made fun of my beard (that took you what, a year to grow?), told me I look like the guy from Table for Two, turns out that Jeff is a fan of strange brew (this movie was filmed in three-b, eh), josh played Oh Canada for us... anyway, it was awesome... seriously, they're real, funny people, and they just kinda, bam... made our night. Seriously, we were like schoolgirls for the next 3, 4 hours probably.

So, thats my gloat session... but, it's super hard to gloat when you didn't do anything, and we didn't... just a coincidence... it rocked!!! by the by, their new album releases on Oct. 12th, and is going to be the coolest thing you've ever heard. Thats it for me for now! We move in 3 days.

road trip

Now playing: The sounds of my buddies sitting around matt cooks living room... we're here. caedmon's tomorrow.

So, we made it. I'm at theCook's house. We're all still up, even tho it's super late, which is dumb. But, we drove well... except for our hamilton detour... hamilton smells bad. Remember that. We're super excited, and we wanted you to share in our fun. Also, I fixed the link to matt's blog. Not bad, eh? Took all of 10 seconds. Because I love him. Anyway, I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball... my foot's still cramped into a manual sort of cruise control. Peace out guys!

mad props

now playing: always comes around by 7dayjesus... they rock.

Okay, real quick... mad props go out to caleb for this post regarding nickelback. Everybody -- whether you like n-back or not -- go and listen to the mp3 on this post. It's a real eye opener. Might even change some peoples minds about n-back. (by the by Caleb, I think the reason they didn't go with dimeback is that it'd be too close to dimebag, who is the guitarist for some metal band and would go nuts on them and smash their faces in with his custom guitars). Anyway, as of this post, I'm at work, then I'm road trippin'. Caedmon's or Bust... if you're in peterborough Friday night, give me a call, cause I'll be in Peterborough Friday night. Word... peace out.

car repairs, and j.gurr's jealousy issues

now playing: grace like rain // todd agnew.

So, I got the call from the mechanic today: it was no where near as bad as I thought. The rust issues under the hood revolve around the heat shield. He said (and I quote) "If it was my car, I wouldn't spend any money on that at all." So, first good news of the day: The problem wasn't the manifold! Part two... "Your tail pipe is shattered." Shattered sounds bad... "Good news is, it happened just beyond the catalytic converter. I pulled that off, and it's just fine." Phew part two... catalytic converters are expensive. He continued, "So, it's going to be 215ish." I was like... SWEET!!! It's only 1/5 of what I thought it would be. Super sweet! So, three things that really worked out well for me. I'm so happy! And relieved too. Expensive car repairs suck. The mazda returns tomorrow!

In other news... I just want to comment briefly on gurr8's jealousy issues revolving around my blog. Welp, he's... got some issues. Lets look at the facts. I start a blog on January 26th, 04. Jgurr starts a blog on... february 29, 2004 So, yeah, I school him there. Then, well... where can we go from here? I know... I became a single man again in October of 2003. J followed my path in February of 2004. How about school? Well, I decided not to go back in June of 04. J decided not to go back in August of 04. How about cell phones? I decided to buy a Telus cell phone in October of 03. J decides to buy one in July of 04. All I'm saying is, look at the evidence. Strongly in my corner! J has nothin'! I'm obviously the trail blazer. So, all these comments about our blogs... my blog is obviously better. In fact, i'd go so far as to say, superior in every way. Take a lesson from this folks... don't challenge the big man. When you do, you just end up getting hurt.

Funny, my buddy GWB just taught John Kerry that, I think.
and that shot goes out to my buddy gurr

Sock Conspiracy

now playing: dustkickers // zuzu's petals album. it's old school, but they're awesome.

Okay, crap. Today, I went to the great Canadian institution, Zellers, to pick up some socks. I'm not a proud man... if I need socks, I buy 'em where they're cost-effective, but not crap. (I don't trust Giant Tiger socks.) Anyway, so I'm at Zellers, and I'm looking at their extensive sock collection. I immediately decide that some aren't quite up to snuff, and so, pass them up. I move along, and I come across two fairly decent looking brands of socks, one by wilson, the other by CCM (the hockey company, not Contemporary Christian Music magazine). So, i decide I'll buy one package of each, and compare later which one lasts longer. Cause, I'm a discerning consumer, darn it. Oh yes, the best product WILL win.


So, I get home. And, I'm looking at the packaging. And, on the CCM one, I see "Made in Montreal Canada, by lamour hosiery for CCM." Of course, I think... Cool, a Canadian company, not bad.

So, I look to the second package, the Wilson package. It says "Made in Canada" too. At this point, my spidey senses were tickling... and then, my worst suspicion was confirmed... I'd been HOSED by a hosiery company!!! The wilson socks were made by... you guessed it, lamour hosiery for Wilson Sports.

It's the FLIPPIN' SAME SOCK!!!

It's a conspiracy folks. A sock conspiracy. Warn your friends. Don't be had like I was. Yes, my story is shameful and embarassing, but maybe, just maybe, if I'm open about it... someone else can avoid this horrible experience.

(-;

wow.

now playing: i repent // derek webb, the house show version.

For those of you who are thinking Christians, especially those of you who care about art, this article will probably intrigue you, impassion you, and excite you. I know it has me stoked for DWebb's upcoming album, I See Things Upside Down. It's going to be super wicked, and super honest. So, here's another plug for good artistry, and honest folk.

thanks for reading.

blog-o-rama

now playing: who am i // casting crowns. it's pretty.

So, how blessed am I? Next weekend?? Yeah, I'm going to see my favorite band in the whole world! I've been listening to Caedmon's Call since probably 1997/8, and now, in 2004, I get to see them live. I postively can't wait. The Cook has a countdown on his website, which is fairly exciting. Then, the weekend after that? Yeah, wonderland, Third Day. Hmm, seems to me that the last time I was at Wonderland, it was to see Third Day. How convenient! Anyway, I don't have much else to say, but I'm super excited about that. Caedmon's Call, and Third Day. (I guess Toby Mac, too... but the only way I'll care is if he actually does the rap from Jesus is Alright, so i can rap with him.) Alright, bed calls. be good. Also, alright technically isn't in the Canadian dictionary. Ask me if I care? (andymack, do you care?) NO! I'm not at work. G'night folks!

go Canada go || a long december

GO BOYS, GO!!! What a game!!! MARIO!!! MARIO!!! For those of you who didn't catch it, Canada beat Jaomir Jagr and the Czech Republic, 4 minutes into sudden death overtime. Our boys rock!!!

So, what a week. It was a good one, but an odd one. I have to confess that not being in school did manage to elicit a rather strange over-emotional reaction from me, especially on Wednesday. But, i made it, and I'm content. I have a dynamite job that i enjoy immensely. I've got a good deal with my landlords (hey mom and dad), and I've got time to work on stuff htat I really want to work on.

To my friends (and family... especially to MattyMack) who started school this week. Congrats. God bless as you pursue the ability to serve Him best in the vocation/calling He has blessed you with.

One last topic in this ever-so-brief post: time management. That's where the crunch is... using time in the most effective way. And, no matter how hard I try, I don't seem to be able to get it right. Any tips here would be good :-). Anyway, a little more reading, and then I'm going to bed. Good night!

(Caedmon's Call, here we come!)

quiet uneasy

now playing: nothing. Yep, nothing. It's a moment of zen or something. Patiently waiting for a cup of tea, and feeling quite discontent.

You know, life is too short to live mediocre-ly. Seriously, far too short. Straight up... we get all caught up in little crap stuff that life throws our way; next thing you know, we're right screwed off track. What does that mean? I don't really know, except... WHY THE HECK DO WE WASTE SO MUCH STINKING TIME. Holy cow. I don't know about you, friends, but if you were to write a list of what my priorities oughta be, and what they are, they'd probably be polarly opposite.

*getting tea*

"Yeah, yeah, we all feel Juan, and that's great. But, lets talk about my character for a moment. I play a character named Larry. Larry's a great character... I mean, Larry's the kinda guy you carry around in your pocket. When someone says 'You and what army?' You say, 'Me... and Larry.' " — From an interview given about the feature film JB2K, which never made it through production.

Me and Larry. Word. I'm gone.

technology for the vain

now playing: this world // caedmon's call, post derek.

Hi guys, mack here. I've got a lot on my mind, but I just haven't been up to spewing it out in bloggable form for a while. So, here goes. This could take a while. Or I could get frustrated, and give up after ten seconds. More like 20? who knows.

So, lets see, where to start, where to start. Okay, lets start with technology for the poor and prideful. See, I was playing with photoshop all day at work, and I learned some neat techniques for how to correct "imperfections". So, I decided that when I got home, I'd maybe play with some photos real quick, and see what I could do. So, I pulled up a photo that portrays one of my least favorite facts of growing older... pudgy cheeks. Yep, get the right angle, and my cheeks are huge. And, that bothers me. So, there I was playing with photoshop, and yes, in under 10 seconds, you can rid yourself of all unseemly features (Okay, not true, it would've taken longer to fix my nose, but whatever). TECHNOLOGY EXISTS SO THAT VANITY WILL BE EASIER.

That's not actually entirely true, but it's sorta true, and that sorta part frustrates me. Especially since I'm so vain! Why else would I presume that people want to read my thoughts? Isn't vanity all this blog thing is? Seriously.

Oh well, vainly we go.

Okay, another thing. Postmodernism and all its idiocy DON'T WORK! Today, on my way home from work, I drove past two girls, probably 15-16 years-of-age, each pushing a carriage. So, I turn to my co-worker, whom I drive home every night (yep, that's my mom), and say "Would you say that teenage pregnancy and all that stuff is up in the last 100 years, or is it probably that we just weren't tracking it before then? My co-worker opined that the figures seemed to definitely be following an upward trend. To that, I replied:

ALL THIS POSTMODERN LIBERATION CRAP DOESN'T WORK.

I have to confess, at first I had feminism in mind, but it was pointed out that my viewpoint was far too narrow. In reality, all that crap has failed us royally. Sure, we're all individuals... blah blah blah! We have no sense of community responsibility, so everything's gone down the toilet. Between abortion and sex-ed that's crap, we've given teenagers every excuse they need to "Do what feels good" without any regard for consequences. Great Big Sea can sing all about how great it'd be to live Consequence Free. The reality is, life features a series of decisions followed by consequences. We've taught ourselves to "live in the moment," "fulfill desires," and generally "serve whatever seems to be in our best interests." Here's the rub: what I percieve to be my best interests is probably as far off from what is in my actual best interest as it could possibly be.

Was community responsibility so bad? Hmm... my buddy David F. Wells seems to think not, especially when he refers to the way things used to be, community responsibility tied to the church.

What's it going to take to get rid of this self-centred living, and start being others conscious? Nothing short of a change of heart. Only God can change the hearts of sinful people. And man, it doesn't take much to see that we're sinful people. I'm not just saying "people do bad things," I'm saying "people are bad to the core."

In other news, yet another Caedmon's Call plug. How many other bands are trying to be missions minded? Caedmon's Call went to Brazil, Ecuador, and India to record their last album. They recorded and wrote with musicians from those countries, which gives the new tunes a very world music flavor. It's going to rock. It's music that talks about Jesus, but is in the world, aware of the state of things, and trying to improve the state of things. I don't think it gets any better than that... unless they were to play more triangle.

Finally, a salute to Li'l Mack. Li'l Mack is moving to P-Bizzo, in hopes of joining the first year class at KLBC. I'm super excited for you bro, and I'm going to miss you piles. Call often... I'll visit often. Rock some faces off.

To the rest of you, peace and grace. May we show ourselves to be intellegent, wise, and loving. I'm not going to lie to you, this life is going to challenge your head, your brain, and your mind. (-: