The Good Life =w=

Greetings.

I realize that the last couple of blogs have been kinda heavy and or serious, so today, seeing as I don’t have much to say, I thought I would present you with something interesting, or not interesting depending on who you ask. Today I am going to reveal the history of my love affair with the band known as Weezer. “What brought this urge on?” you might ask, well this urge to talk about the band Weezer coincides with the impending release of their fifth studio album “Make Believe” on May 10th 2005. So sit back, relax, and read the truth about my relationship with the band called Weezer.

(Just so you know, I am going to listen to all of Weezer’s albums in a row as I write this, so I better hope I can finish it before I get to Maladroit!)

So, as well as I can remember it was the fall of 1994, and I was in grade six. When I was in grade six, I was in a split class of grade six and sevens. One particularly fine day, the grade sixes and sevens had a field trip to the local skating rink, and we took a school bus. This particular school bus will be now and forever etched into my memory as the bus that introduced me to Weezer. We were riding the bus, and some of the kids in seventh grade that I didn’t like convinced the bus driver to play a local radio station called Z-95. It was the most popular radio station cause it played all the coolest-hippest new tunes in the world of music. Unfortunately, I was neither hip, nor aware of the coolness of music at the time. Anyway, the song “Cotton Eye Joe” by and group called Rednex, had just finished playing, and all the kids were loving it. I was pretending to love it, and sing, but to be honest I had never heard it before in my life, I had just heard people talk about it. As “Cotton Eye Joe” faded into obscurity, a new song began to play over the speakers…something about homies, and buddy holly, and Mary Tyler Moore…I don’t know, I didn’t get it, but everyone on the bus was loving it again, singing at the top of their lungs and there I was again, sitting trying to figure out the words so I could fake singing it a little bit. I wish I could tell you that I loved Weezer from the very first instant I heard them, but it is not the truth. I was intriueged by the music I heard on the bus, but I then associated it with people I didn’t like, so I forgot all about the little band called Weezer.

From there we jump all the way to 1998. I was in grade nine, and in the summer previous my church had hired a new Youth Pastor, Dave Sattler. Dave began a youth group and I went every week. Now, you’d think that Youth Group would be a place that you could go and have fun and not be judged or have enemies, but this was not the case. Many of the guys in my church who were a year or two older then me were not people that I liked, mostly because they had treated me like crap in years previous as we grew up. Well, guess who one of their favorite bands was? That’s right Weezer! There was one particular guy who I knew who was like their ringleader as far as Weezer went and everywhere they went it was Weezer this and Weezer that, and from that moment I made a silent vow to not listen to or enjoy the music of Weezer. One of the trademarks of these guys was to play the intro for what I came to know as “Undone – The Sweater Song” for one of our worship songs at Youth Group. I really hated it at the time. This went on for two years, my silent hate for Weezer and those people who appreciated it growing at a slow and tedious pace.
Then came Grade 11. By now, I was in the Youth Group Worship team, and I had grown a bit of friendship with some of these guys who I had previously despised. So much so that four of us put together a band, in which I was the lead singer. Our band “Crimson” began writing songs and sharing musical influences, which led us to want to do some cover songs. (note – cover songs are when one band plays a song written and made famous by a different band. Example – “All Along the Watchtower” – by Dave Matthews Band, was made famous by Jimi Hendrix, and was actually written by Bob Dylan. Do you get the idea?) Anyway, seeing as three members of the band had already played in another band together, and was really in to Weezer, they suggested we play “Say it Ain’t So” by the aforementioned Weezer. I at this moment had to confess that I was mostly unfamiliar with the song and band. So, they sent me into the rec. room with a blue CD, and told me to listen to track seven while they put the music together and printed me some lyrics. From this experience came two things. Crimson’s best loved Cover song, and Mike Schalin’s first true Weezer moment. As I listed in the headphones to “Say it Ain’t So” my life was forever changed. Everything I had previously known about Music changed and I was converted to Weezeranity. This was now the spring of 2000, and summer was coming fast. Crimson got together and played our only real gig ever, and our cover of “Say it Ain’t So” was one of the best in our repertoire.

So I waited until the summer to buy the Blue Album, which is Weezer’s first full length album which was released in 1994 and contained the song “Buddy Holly” which was the mystery song on my Bus ride in grade six. From there, my love for Weezer only intensified. In my grade 12 year, a particularly difficult year, I bought Weezer’s second album “Pinkerton” which was originally released in 1996, and I took to it, like a duck takes to water. The emotion expressed by Lead Singer and song-writer Rivers Cuomo hit me right where I was, I related to him (well except for being in love with a girl who turned out to be a lesbian…but I got the idea) and I made that album something that became very personal to my life. Songs like “Why Bother” “Tired of Sex” “No Other One” and “Across the Sea” became the stories with which I related my life to. I was so immersed in the Weezer music that I couldn’t tell how it was causing me to enter my second huge life depression and my entrance into the world of Emo Music. For it was in that same year, that through my listening to the “Blue Album” I met Shannon. A girl who I would come to love, and I girl who would come to teach me so much about life, love and music, which are all related anyway. I met Shannon whilst traveling on the bus, and she noticed, as I was changing my CD in my discman that I was putting in “The Blue Album” by Weezer, which caused her to comment to me about my quality selection in music, because you see, Shannon also loved Weezer. Less then a month later, Shannon and I (though not immediately remembering where we had seen each other before) found ourselves co-workers at a place called Wrap Zone.

But I’m getting off track.

My affections for Shannon were hidden for quite a while, because she had a boyfriend and I was in love with a girl named Chloe, who also began to enjoy the rock and or roll of the band known as Weezer. Whoa, I forgot to mention, when I broke up with my first girlfriend Denielle, all I listened to was the Blue Album, and the songs “The World has Turned and Left me Here” and “In The Garage” were incredibly important in my process of dealing with the situation. So much Weezer, so much connection to Women!

Ok, I just popped in “Pinkerton” here we go.

Anyway, I became obsessive about Weezer and it was mostly all I listened to, and this trend continued into my freshman year at College. This is where I met Matt Kinniburgh. Matt and I met on the first day of registration, and I wearing my famous black Weezer t-shirt, which is now semi retired due to the many holes, and anyway, he commented on my t-shirt, about how Weezer was awesome and I agreed. If only I would’ve known the relationship that would spawn from that original conversation. So Matt and I became good friends, and our friendship was built on our mutual love and admiration for the band Weezer. Whoa, I forgot to mention that in the spring of my Grade 12 year, Weezer released a new album – “The Green Album” and despite its short length, it found a special place in my heart, though not to the extent of the previous two albums. Matt and I agreed on many things like the importance of the Pinkerton, and we would spend many days sitting in his room, downloading music, singing Weezer songs, having conversations completely in Weezer song titles, and eagerly anticipating the release of their fourth album, due out in May of 2002. Yeah, we were nerds, still are, him more then me though, but then again, he is getting married, whose got the last laugh now!?

During my time at CBC I was able to share my love for Weezer with many other people on my floor and in my dorm. My passion for Weezer was unquenchable. Then they released Maladroit, and the thing about Maladroit was, before they released the album, they had released all of the songs on the album over the course on months on their website, so I had heard all the songs. Summer 2002 was when I actually got my chance to see Weezer live in concert and it was truly a spiritual experience, I do not doubt for a second that God wanted me there, so much so that he made me win a random draw to upgrade me and my sister and Adam’s tickets to be on the floor! Can you imagine anything better then going to the Weezer concert and getting upgraded to the floor, ok yes, I could’ve met Rivers and the boys, but that’s just being greedy. So I took my sister, and my friend Adam, and we went down on the floor for the most amazing show I have ever seen. The energy was amazing, the song selection was perfect, the actual music itself was played to perfection, it was one of the highlights of my absolute life!

From then the last Weezer song that I really fell in love with was a song called Jamie…go figure huh? I figured it was the perfect fit, Weezer had a song called Jamie, I wanted to date a girl named Jamie, how could it not work out? Well, despite my best efforts, and Colin Turner taking her to Christmas banquet and singing her the song “Jamie” with the help of my backstabbing friend Matt (no I’m not talking about Troy) it didn’t work out, no matter how bad Rivers Cuomo and I wanted it to, and he wanted it bad!

Since then (my 2nd year of College) I released that Music was having an effect on me that was quite negative, it was sending into deep spirals of depression and self loathing and I was letting it, I was almost forcing it to at times, and that was not a good scene, ask anyone. Part of that was Weezer, and since I really didn’t like “Maladroit” I kinda let go of listening to Weezer and all the painful memories that went along with it.

But recently I re-discovered my original and passionate love for this band, because I have had enough space to let the memories of that music fade into obscurity like the song “Cotton Eye Joe.” Ok, well obviously the memories haven’t faded, but the pain of them has, and I no longer dwell on them. Anyway, with Weezer’s upcoming release I have become giddy like a school girl. I almost feel like I am setting myself up for disappointment though, because I know that nothing can ever be as good as those first two albums, but by gum, I am going to let Weezer try and prove me wrong. All reports indicate that this is a really great album and the Rivers actually writes about real life, rather then things like “Hash Pipes” and “American Gigolo’s” and “Simple Pages” and Dope Noses.”

Anyway, that’s about it. I love Weezer again, I can’t say I ever didn’t love them, but there was a time when I was tired of them, but not anymore, they rule!

Ok, Quickly, I realize that I used a Weezer song earlier in the month for song of the day, but if I didn’t use on today, people would think I am on crack. So, what I am going to do is give you my two, ah crap three favorite Weezer songs and you can choose which one you like the best. 1. Only in Dreams – amazing song, epic ballad and they played it last at the concert before the encore, and they had all this blue light and smoke and confetti, it was amazing. 2. Across the Sea – this was my Weezer theme song in my first year of college cause I was still in love with Shannon and we would talk on the phone for like 2 hours at least twice a week (it’s true ask Tim Houghton) and I would always wonder why she was “So for away from me” which is a key lyric in the song. Anyway, I said three, but I brought it down to two. I love you all, I hope you found this at least informative, sorry it was so long, there was nothing I could do; you gotta write what you gotta write. So if you have the means and or the desire, check out either or both of “Only in Dreams” and or “Across the Sea.” “Across the Sea” might really connect with some of you Onsite Folks, but it also might depress you, so be careful.

Ps. Ultra Huge Props to Jenica Wilson for writing a response to my last blog almost as long as this one, and a billion times more wise. Thank you Jenica I appreciated your encouragement and your wise words, they made a bigger impact then you might ever know.

Unwell

What does it mean to seek God? I guess i am on my way to finding out? What does it mean to trust God? I guess i am on my way to finding out? Last night was a fitful one for me. I was up way too late to begin with..(do you ever notice that all the people you want to talk to on MSN log in at midnight?) and then when i finally did try to go to bed, it was no use. My mind was like a frieght train, or to be more cultually sensitive a C-Train, running full tilt with differant ideas, scenarios, situations, and so on. Now, you might be asking, Mike, what could be more important then Monica's birthday, that you would be seemingly losing your mind over? Well, thats just it, seeking God, and Trusting God. You see, i think i made reference to my impending move to the city of Calgary at the end of my internship. Now, i didn't seek God's opinion in this decision, i just made it on gut intinct, but i don't think it is a bad decision, but i'm just not sure. You see, with the lack of incredible job offers pouring in, and the reality of high rent, parking, and food costs, i am scared that i will not make enough money to go back to school in the fall. Now, you might be saying, but Mike, what about your love offering? And i am saying, yes that will help, help me get through the summer. I am trying not to rely on my love offering because, to be honest i don't see it being a large amount of money, not because people here aren't generous, but because people just don't have huge amounts of money to give, i don't know, i just don't want to count on money that isn't neccesarily there. So here i am moving to Calgary, with no job, and no money, and no idea how i am going to live, but thats what i have committed to, and this late in the game i would feel like feces if i bailed on that. But then, what if i was to go back to Vancouver for the summer? What if i was to live at home and work for my dad and not spend any money all summer, except for the money i would need to spend to come out for Kinney's wedding? I mean, chances are, i'm going to live in Rez anyway, so it's not like i need to look for a place this summer, i don't know anybody who needs roomates off-campus so why would i bother?
So is this an issue that i havn't sought God yet? I often feel like God doesn't speak to me in the way i would want him to anyway, not as in he tells me to do the one that i don't want to do, but in that he doesn't speak at all. I wish God would come down and talk logically with me about which option will be best for me, or even not logically, if he said "Mike, this is what i want you to do this summer, i have some great things planned for you to do, and some great people for you to meet if you would just choose to do this". Do you know what i am talking about? It always seems like when i do seek God, he is silent leading me to believe one of two things. 1) The decision is up to me, or 2) I am not really listening. You know most of the people listed in Hebrews 11 (the faith hall of fame) ok, well maybe most is an overstatement, but let's talk about Abraham. He had one on one interactions with God, where God would tell him ridiculouos things to do. "Abe, move to the promised land", "Abe, i know your old, but make a baby", "Abe, you know that baby i gave you that you love so much, well go and sacrifice him". These all seem like such ridiculous requests, yet knowing the source and having the source (God) say these things directly probably at least Abraham some direction in how to act. It's not like God has vague, God said "do this" and most of the time, Abraham did it properly. So now, here i am, looking for direction and not finding it. Perhaps i am being selfish, perhaps my desire for God to give me a clue, or at least his opinion on the subject is selfish, but it seems normal to me.

Well then it comes down to the trust factor. Do i actually trust God? Well, i think i do. I know if he told me to do something in a direct manner i would do it, well i hope i would do it. But am i supposed to be in Calgary, but i am just lacking faith in God that he is going to take care of me, and that the plans i have for myself are not neccesarily the plans God has for me? Maybe, i don't know anymore. If i was being totally logical, the thing to do would be to move back to Vancouver for the summer. If i was sticking to my word, i would move to Calgary for the summer. I don't know what to do, and i don't know how to feel. To be honest, i don't know if i have ever been this sick over a decision that i have to make. I feel like i say that a lot, but it is no less true everytime i say it. I don't know what to do.

The song of the day is by Matchbox 20 and is called "Unwell." Yes, i'm sure you are all reading this and thinking "Matchbox 20? Mike must be crazy, he's listening to Matchbox 20 and getting pissed off cause God won't tell him what to do!" Well, as the song say's "I'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell." I got in to Matchbox 20 last summer, my uncle burnt me their CD, and i really liked it, especially the song "Unwell", there was just something about it that made the lyrics resonate with me. Oh, yeah, i liked this girl, and i would think about her when i listened to this song, i even put in on a mix tape that i made for her, but then i never gave her the mix tape, because before i could finish, she realized she didn't want to date me. In the garbage with that one! Anyway, mix tapes are dangerous things, because if done correctly they can bear a mans heart and soul and share with you the music that is in both of those things. Anyway, the song is "Unwell" and if you have the means and or desire i think you should give it a listen.

Until the time that is next

ps. I feel like i should've written some tribute to Monica, and or my frienship with her, seeing as it is her birthday, but i needed to get this off my chest. Besides, i bet if i really thought about it, i could probably write like 22 pages about that, and who would want to read all that. Anyway, happy birthday monica, you are great.

Gangsta Talk

Well good evening. It is indeed the Sunday of Easter, and I have indeed just finished watching a remarkable and wonderful film in “Finding Neverland.” Ever since I saw the previews for this film I have very much wanted to see it. I had a chance to see it while I was home at Christmas, but alas, it’s not the kind of film you watch in the theater with a male friend, and it’s not the kind of film you go to a theater alone to see, but apparently it is the kind of film you rent on Easter and watch alone, yet I submit that it would also be a film to rent and watch with an attractive female on Easter, alas I am without said attractive female, therefore I was left with the first option.

For those of you who are unaware, “Finding Neverland” tells about the creation of the story of Peter Pan, through the life of J.M. Barrie, the man who wrote Peter Pan. It stars Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, and Dustin Hoffman, and in my opinion was a simply wonderful film. It was like the Oscar Worthy – Dramatic Version - of “Cheaper by the Dozen” and it is the kind of film I could watch with anyone from CBC, though do I want to?

How was your Easter? Mine was good. I slept in this morning a little bit, which in the end, wasn’t a big deal, because we at Parkview Alliance Church were smart enough to have something going on before Church, otherwise I would’ve been hooped. Today was the day that we (the choir) did our thing, and to be honest it went pretty darn well. Are we a First Alliance bunch of trained singers, who practice 10 times a week and if you miss a practice you are out of the choir situation? No, of course not, but we really enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed praising God, and using our gifts and talents to do so, and also to lead other people into the His presence. (Did you notice how I capitalized “Him” that shows how smart and spiritual I am, cause if I didn’t capitalize “Him” in reference to God, I wouldn’t be a very good Christian would I?) Anywizzle (that’s gangsta talk for anyway) I don’t mean to put a damper on things, but here is something that bothers me.
In some worship songs, but particularly ones that refer to the people of God dancing I have had a bit of an issue. For instance the worship song “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” (did you notice my correct use of capitalization again?), has a line that says “When the world has seen the light, they will dance with joy like we’re dancing now”. I don’t know about you, but never, and I repeat never, have I had anyone dancing while we sang that line. So I will be standing there, and we will be singing this great joyful song, but then it say’s “When the world has seen the light, they will dance with joy like we (supposedly the people of God who have news so good they can’t help but dance) are dancing now” and no one is even moving, myself included. I feel justified in not singing that part, because I for one have ceased singing that part because I am not dancing and I feel like I making a liar of that song, and others like it. I wish our churches were less inhibited, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not much of a dancer, but sometimes I feel like moving, I feel like the spirit is really moving my body because of my passion, my thankfulness, my joy and so on, but I can’t dance in church, people would be offended, or at least they would think I am crazy. Am I over-generalizing? Probably, they might not think I was crazy, and they might not stone me outside the synagogue, but I think most people wouldn’t appreciate it. Or would they? I wonder, if next time I felt the spirit moving in my body, if I danced, if something good would happen, like other people, who also feel this way would feel free to express their worship to God in this way. At least I know I have Biblical precedent on my side.

Other then that do I have anything to say….hmmm, well I did go this afternoon for my third turkey dinner in as many days. It was pretty awesome, after that I stayed and played Dominos and rook with the family. It was honestly a good time, and the time flew by, before I knew it, it was time for me to come home, watch films and update my blog. Good ol Blog.

So outside of Chizzurch and Godizzle (gangsta talk for Church and God) you might be wondering what is going on with me. Well, the truth is, in about a months time, I will be leaving Vermilion, as my internship will have been completed in a hopefully successful way. From there (and after preaching one more sermon) I will be driving in my automobile to the city of Calgary, where I will spend my summer working, trying to save money for Schizzool (do you get it yet?). I will be living with the dynamic duo of Timothy Ira (whoa if you add an “N” to Ira it spells Iran) and Joshua Houghton. We will live downtown and have a great time doing it. When the summer is over, I will no longer live there I am assuming. It was my plan to find a place not downtown, but as it stands right now, I don’t know if I am going to be able to do that. Which leads me the idea of living in Residence again…how crazy would that be? Mr. Anti Rez. Himself heads in. (and when I say anti-rez, I mean, anti in that I didn’t ever want to live there). It might be fun though, and I might actually meet some freshman if I do. This could even possibly be my ministry; I could be a mentor to these wild and crazy freshies. Maybe if I do, some of them won’t get married as fast as some of these dummies from last year are. Who knows, I don’t like the idea of being so cramped, but I might not have much else as far as choice goes.

That’s all I am going to reveal for now.

Song of the day: “Fond Farewell” by Elliott Smith. These last few days of mine have been filled with considerable amounts of Elliott Smith, which might explain my slight depression and desire to do crack and kill myself by stabbing myself in the chest, though it might all be a coincidence as well. Anyway, this is one song that has stuck out to me in a plethora of Elliott Smith songs over the last couple days, so if you have the means and or the desires, I encourage you to listen to “Fond Farewell” by Elliott Smith. There might be swearing in the song, you know I never realized how much Elliott cussed in his music until I listened to it all in a row, and then I was like “Holy Crap, there is a lot of cussing in his songs.” Hold on I’ll check if there is any cussing in this one, just so you can be properly warned, although, let’s be honest, do any of you actually listen to the song of the day…your silence is all the answer I need. Hmm, anyway, it doesn’t look like there are any cusses, so there you go. Anyway, check it out, I love you all, see you all in Calgary one day.

I bid you fondly farewell – The Shaolin

Church, Christ, Cold and Clumsy

I’m having a pretty good Friday…how about you? Obviously this morning I went to church, and did the Good Friday thing, actually it was interesting, we did our skit this morning and it went well, but the Shawn was preaching and I was struck by a thought. It was 13 years ago today that I first decided to follow Christ. Weird huh? I’m not one of those people who celebrates their entrance in to the family of God every year like it’s a birthday, I just go on trying to stay in the family, but it was interesting today, I felt like God was reminding me of that particular time in my life and how far he was led me since then. It was a good moment, I shared that with a friend who was sitting with me, I don’t know it was cool. And then one of the girls from our Youth Group spilled her Communion Juice all over her pants, and I nearly burst out laughing in the middle of the communion prayer. Whoa, that was close.

Also in a reminiscing mode, I am listening to Our Lady Peace. I haven’t listened to Our Lady Peace in a very long time, but I am really enjoying this. I feel like its 1997 or something. I’m also alone. The family that I live with took off for the weekend, so it’s strange to be here, totally alone with my thoughts and so on, well maybe not, but knowing that I have the run of the house (which isn’t much) is just weird right now. Everything is weird right now, well, not everything, it’s not weird how cold it is in this house, the family seems to keep the basement (where I live) nice and cold all the time, seriously I going to catch pneumonia if I live here much longer, luckily for me, I am not living here much longer. Don’t get me wrong, the people are nice, but it’s just not an ideal situation for me, but then again, neither is living in rez, but who knows what could happen right Roussell?

Well, how have I spent the rest of my day since Church? Well, I went to Subway, had a BMT, it was decent, then I stopped by good ol’ VHQ in an effort to rent and view the film “Finding Neverland.” Alas, it was not in, so I settled for “I Heart Huckabees.” It was a good film, reminded me of “The Royal Tenenbaums” in some ways, mostly in the way that it’s one of those films that I enjoy that I couldn’t watch with Mel and Jani. Well, maybe other people to, the film starts with a string of cursive language that would cause Satan himself to blush. Also there is one awkward sex scene, you don’t see any body parts, but it wouldn’t go over well with the CBC crowd. Good thing I don’t use them as my measure for a quality film then isn’t it? So I wrapped myself in a blanket and viewed this film down in my cold basement and had a decent time.

From here, I plan to put a sweater on, and prepare to go over to the home of a family from my Church who wants to feed me. I am stoked, these people have never fed me before and I feel like it’s gonna turn out really well. If not, I can just force myself to throw up later…..whoa, what am I saying? I think the cold has affected my sensitivity metre, or is it meter? Who even knows at this point? I feel like its Sunday, but it’s actually Friday! This is throwing me off so much!

So back in the day, when I loved Our Lady Peace, and “Clumsy” to me was the best album of all time, my favorite song was the currently being listened to “4am”. Lot’s of people liked this song after it was a single and became popular, but it was my favorite song from day one. I like to think that I was ahead of the game on this song. It’s a really great song by the way. If you haven’t heard it, you might like it. There are references to God in it, they must be Christian right? That reminds of me of a song where Raine Maida, the lead singer of OLP equates the Bible with the writings of Bob Dylan. I often get the impression that Raine is rather anti-Christian. Much like Sarah McLachlan, maybe it’s a Canadian Music thing, come to think of it, I think Matthew Good is too, but it doesn’t come across in his music as much, he’s just a blatant socialist that’s all. Anyway, despite OLP’s feelings on Christianity, the did put together a great song in “4am” so if you have the means and or the desire I recommend that you listen to this song, I do, and it doesn’t do me too much harm!

I’m not really sure if I need to say anything else, I might not be able to post this right away, the internet is being a bugger lately. Happy Birthday to Landon Mashon, and well there is another birthday coming up soon of one of my friends, but it’s not quite yet, and I don’t know where she will be on that day, so who knows? Not me!

I was just re-reading the lyrics to the song “Clumsy.” It’s kinda messed up, have you ever thought about them? Check them out; “4am” on the other hand seems to be about reconciliation, which is good.

This has been a great example of discord and discontinuity of thought; I am really flopping all over the place today. See you later friends.

Ps. Well, I was going to post this much earlier, but then the stupid internet wasn’t working, and to be honest, I am not sure if it is working to a good degree even know which would make me violently angry if it is not. Anyway, went, had dinner, played some pool with their son Tyson, then we played Amped Snowboarding and he kicked my ass, but then he came over and played Wrestling with me, and I kicked his ass. It was a very fun night, just hanging out with a teen one on one without having an ulterior motive, which seems to be the hallmark of youth ministry, which isn’t bad, but it’s also good to just spend some relaxed time with a youth and get to know them outside of the realm of “you are a youth, and I am a youth pastor trying to counsel you in a wise way”. Anyway, all in all, it was a very Good Friday…God be praised.

The following contains material unsuitable for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised

I wasn’t going to update tonight, but I feel like typing, I feel like talking. At Youth Conference, there was a skit that was done. There was no dialogue; it was all actions being done to music. There was a young man who came on stage, sat on a chair and seemed to be reflective/discouraged/repentant. Also on stage was a board covered with paper, and from stage left came a person in a black shirt who wrote the word “Porn” in big letters on the board. Then one by one more came out and wrote other words like “Hate”, “Masturbation”, “Greed”, “Envy”, “Hopeless”, “Shame”, “Unlovable”, and so on. All the while this young man is trying to cover it up and pleading with them to stop, but the toss him aside. It gets to a point where all six of the people in black shirts are on stage writing more and more of these sins and lies on the paper, and two of them are physically beating the young man down. From out of nowhere, a man in a white shirt comes and the black shirts are tossed aside and scattered say for one still beating the young man. The white shirt guy tears down the paper to reveal a clean sheet underneath, he then tosses away the last black shirt, picks up the beaten young man and carries him off stage. With the music playing, this became, by far, the most powerful Youth Conference Drama presentation of all time. Even more then “Being Sunday” sorry Carmen! Anyway, Kyle decided he wanted to do this in church for Good Friday Service, and so tonight he ran through it with the kids, and it was once again so powerful, so I am praying that God will impact our congregation through this skit, this dramatic presentation.

Today began my most important of roles in conjunction with The Edge Youth Centre. Today began my music compilation job. For almost the entire day I sat getting music off of CD’s and putting it together for a huge play list of music for the Youth Centre. I have really enjoyed this job, because all I have done is get and listen to music, and read the occasional lyric when I am not sure what the song says.

I am nearly done reading the book “Messy Spirituality” by the late Michael Yaconelli. I like the book, I like how it is written, I like the stories, and the practicality of it. It talks a great deal about grace which is good, which is something I have been having to learn more and more about, in receiving grace, but also in giving out grace, but one area where I have had a hard time with this book is in the area of excellence. “Doing things excellently” is somewhat of a buzz-phrase in the world and especially with Christians, and especially with me. I realize that things will not always turn out perfectly, and so there needs to be grace, but does that mean that we should do things half-assed, or that we should accept people who consistently do things half-assed and just assume grace is going to cover things. This strikes me most in the area of Church. I don’t think God is glorified to the extent he could be when we don’t give him our best, I admit, we and I make mistakes and there is grace, but I think we need to understand that grace shouldn’t keep us from doing and giving our best, just because we know God is going to give us grace. I don’t know what, but “doing things excellently”, as it relates to Church ministry is a huge deal of mine, brought on by Youth Conference last year and also I think by the mentorship of my senior pastor this year. He really believes in doing things excellently. I was talking about this skit that we are doing, I didn’t want to do it if we weren’t going to have the time to practice it and get timing down. I would rather scrap something, then show a crappy version of that. Sure people would’ve had grace and told us it was great when it really wasn’t, but that’s not what I want, I want God to impact people truly and not do some crappy thing and have people give us false grace so we don’t feel bad. Rather then have all that schmeg happen, I would rather just can something. Is that wrong? Am I a man without grace? Am I a jerk? What are your thoughts? Am I too legalistic, would you call me a Pharisee? I don’t know, I feel justified in my thoughts.

In “Messy Spirituality” I found this interesting quote: “Rest is the ultimate humiliation because in order to rest, we must admit that we are not necessary, that the world can get along without us, that God’s work does not depend on us.” This is brilliant, I never thought of this that way, rest to me was always just something I did when I was tired cause if I didn’t I didn’t function very well, and then I just ended up being useless to anything. But with true rest, resting in the Lord, we need to step away from everything and trust, and admit that things will not fall apart without us. I never thought of it as a humbling experience, and maybe because of that I have never experienced true rest. I am going to try that this Monday. What are your thoughts? Disagree, agree?

For today’s song of the day, I am choosing the song that we use for this skit. Yes it is a Christian song, and yes it is by Audio Adrenaline, a band who to be honest, I have never listened to for an extended period of time, and one that I probably won’t listen to other then this song which is actually and amazing song. The song is called “Ocean Floor”, and if by chance you have ever heard it, you know what I am talking about. It’s like Audio Adrenaline got possessed by some spirit of good song writing for one song and out popped “Ocean Floor” like a well timed baby. Anyway, it’s a great song, and it fits so perfectly with our skit, you should all see it sometime, it might even make you cry. But you should at least (if you have the means and or the desire) check out the song “Ocean Floor” by Audio Adrenaline.

Ps. Congratulations to Troy, and Matt Russell, and Catherine, three friends who were chosen to be RA’s. Now I don’t mean to whine (like a tragically unposted blog of Matt Russell’s), but this leaves me with two glaring problems. 1. Who am I going to live with? I have no friends other then this…and 2. Who’s Floor am I going to be on. These problems were so much easier three days ago when Troy told me that Russell didn’t get RA, but since we found out he was wrong I have been presented with a whole other realm of problems….AAAAAAHHHHHHH MY LIFE IS A SHAMBLES!

Also, I am moving to Calgary in a month, pray I get a job, a good job, the right job. Love you all
The One, The Only
The Shaolin

The Inception of the Qu-Ratz!

Holy Crap, I am tired! What a weekend. Yes, I did just return from Youth Conference in Calgary and I am now having trouble keeping my eyes open. I don’t even know where to begin, perhaps I should just say that I find it so beautiful and amazing the way God continues to use Youth Conference, year after year after year as a huge ministry point. It continues to be a huge event in the lives of teens every year, because God is honoring our prayers and the preparation that goes into that weekend. I just thank God for showing up and speaking to teens and specifically teens from Vermilion through the worship, through the speaker, through his word and through fun and community. It was an amazing weekend.

What to say, well, how about I make my comments on the conference itself? This was the first and to date only time that I have come to Youth Conference as a pastor bringing teens to the conference. It was bizarre, I was so disorientated at first, I didn’t know where everything was, I didn’t know what the deal was with anything, I didn’t have a great grasp on the schedule and so on, and so upon my arrival I felt confused, frantic and discombobulated. I was seeing so many people that I know and love and they were coming to talk to me and so on, but I was trying to get my kids through the registration line and then get them together and explain some more of what would be going on that night. But at the same time, I wanted to go and schmooze, and see my friends, and I did a bit. As I sat in the rally and prayed and listened I felt God telling me to make sure I didn’t put myself and my wants before that of the kids, and I felt like I did that night. I felt the rally was more important then dinner and I was being mobbed by people I knew, so I just felt like God was reminding me that it was no longer my job to run this conference, but it was to now, hang out with these teens, pray for them, worship with them, and make sure they have an opportunity to meet with God. It was a little humbling to be honest, but it was good, and I am glad God spoke to me so early on in the conference about what my role was and how I was supposed to function this weekend. Anyway, I’m getting off track. The weekend started with a little preview of entertainment and it was funny, I laughed, my kids laughed, it was good. From there we moved into the rally, and to be honest, these rallies were some of the best ever. Better then last years even. The committee this year decided to go ahead and take the goofy stuff out of the rallies and make them more focused on worship and hearing from God, which was tough in the early mornings, but it was still really a great thing. Jon Morrison and his team “Crafted” were used so amazingly by God, and I was really proud to see Jon and how this responsibility has molded him and brought him closer to God and people and how it shaped his understanding and practical application of what worship is. It was a beautiful thing, and it was also good to see Tim Houghton laying down some fat worshipful bass lines. I could hardly recognize him on stage because he was so into the worship, and moving around and rocking for God, it was a sight to see! The speaker Josh Lindstom was also very good and his theme for the weekend was Grace Personified. He spoke about what Grace is, he spoke about Jesus as the ultimate personification of grace, and he spoke about how we need to take that grace which we have been given, and give it to others, especially those people we feel shouldn’t get it….especially those people! In that he also talked about how difficult it was going to be, and how changing our lives is not easy and so on, but he really made some wonderful calls and challenges to the teens here at this conference. He even made a few challenges to Youth Workers, which was good too. One of the other thrusts of his message was about truly living out our faith, taking the opportunities we always have to live our life in such a way that people see Christ. That idea was what really struck me. I thought about it as I was trying to get some sleep, just how I feel like God had been preparing my heart more and more to hear that message and then even to have the opportunity to share and talk with a teen in my group. This whole idea of living life to the fullest and taking all our opportunities to be Christ to people has been a huge thing on my mind since it’s what I preached on about three weeks ago, and since then, it has been on my mind a lot, and I felt God was saying to me, “shut up and listen.” For those of you who don’t know me (though I don’t know why you are reading this if you don’t know me, but hey whatever floats your boat) you should know that I am a passionate person. I respond to situations and conversations passionately, and often with the thing that first pops into my mind as the right thing to say. Sometimes this works out well, and people see my passion, and sometimes I even say the right thing, but other times it works against me and I hurt people or I say things incorrectly, but by the time you explain yourself the damage is done. So I felt like God was saying to me “Shut up and listen before you say something you will regret.” Believe it or not this is a lesson I have been trying to learn since a very young age, but until recently didn’t see the reason in thinking before I spoke, other then it sometimes kept me out trouble. Whoa, I am falling asleep at the computer here, it’s ridiculous. Anyway, through this preparation and this word that God gave to me, I was able to speak into the life of a teen in my group who felt very similar, it was a great experience for me, I love these kids, it’s going to be hard to leave.

So it was very good that way. God really was at work in my heart and in the heart of so many teen as he always is at this time of the year. There were other highlights which I will probably share as they come to me over the next week, but I want to share one more thing and then move along for the day. There was this skit performed in one of the rallies. It was very powerful, it was about being chained to our sin, and how Satan tries to confuse and lie to us be telling us we aren’t actually forgiven. It was really powerful and I was breaking down, just cause it spoke to me, and I could see the impact it was having on a larger scale. So I was there, crying and I remembered last year at the same time, I was sitting at the front of the Hall, and kids were coming forward, committing their lives and their hearts to Christ and it was so powerful that I wept tears of joy, and I just had this sense that God was going to work just as powerfully this weekend in hurting and broken people that he loves so deeply, and that those same tears of joy would be wept again. It was just strange because I had forgotten about that hugely significant moment from last year, and God was reminding me of it, maybe partially to confirm the ministry we did last year, and when I say “the ministry we did” I mean the ministry that God did through his humble servants, and also I think he just wanted to show me that he was in this again and he was going to do some amazing things, and he did! Whoa, it’s so cold downstairs and I am passing out, I feel so disoriented, like I closed my eyes and I shot back up, and I didn’t know where I was. I’m a mess!

Ok, song of the day. One night as I tried to sleep and couldn’t, I used a remedy I like to call Love is Hell Part 2 by Ryan Adams. It worked like a charm, well, that is, if in fact Charms worked. But, along with all the worship music that was integral to this weekend, Ryan Adams was also key as he helped my find rest through his soothing music. So the official song of the day will be “I See Monsters”. I think that’s the official name of the song, but it’s so good, the guitar picking is just a perfect interlude to sleeping. So cheers to Ryan Adams, cheers to Youth Conference, cheers to God, and cheers to all my friends that I seen there at the Youth Conference.
See you later…..Mike

Dear Chicago

So, once again I am leaving town. Tomorrow at noon I am leaving (with 10 teens and 2 other adults) to make the journey down to Calgary Albeta Canada for Youth Conference. I am , and have been looking forward to this for a very long time, but am now feeling apprenhensive for two reaosns. 1. This event/trip has been planned by me, and I am scared something is going to fall through and I am going to be screwed. 2. I am apprehensive because of the weather/road conditions. The snow has been fallin here since yesterday and is really starting to accumulate. Which makes me very angry. I hate the snow. This morning as I was driving to work, I realized that I would assert before a jury of my peers that Snow, is the worst weather or meteorlogical phenomanon that could ever exist. It is worse then tornados, worse then hurricanes, worse then any kind of weather thing. I hate the snow! As I was returning from a wonderful lunch at subway, I started singing a song about how much I hate the snow, and it went like this:

“Don’t you know,
that I hate snow with every fibre in my being.
Don’t you know,
That nothing makes me unhappier then the snow”

It’s a start anyway. I was actually singing this song out loud, and then I realzied there are other people around who can probably hear me and they might think I am crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of the fact that I hate the snow, I’m not ashamed of that, but I don’t want people to think I am crazy, especially if I am trying to get a job in this town. I had an A&W breakfast this morning, and the lady asked me how I was, and I told her that I was annoyed because of the snow. I really hate the snow, have I mentioned that lately?

Anyway, so my last assingment for that Philosophy Class I took is due on Friday, which makes me happy, because the book I am currently reading is not really all that interesting or through provoking to me, I feel like it is a re-cap of the class itself. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the late Dr. Stanley J. Grenz, but much of what he is writing is either review or over my head, so once I get back from Youth Conference I will be able to dive into a book that I find more insight from and maybe some of my blogs will be more introspective, rather then all details and events, not that there is anything wrong with details and events, because they are true and fun, and interesting, but I like to think as well as just let stuff happen.

Today’s song of the day is “Wore me Down” by Rachel Yamagata. I mentioned this women a couple times on my blog lately, but today is the day that she is featured on the song of the day section. This is my favorite Rachel Yamagata song from her debut album “Happenstance”. It’s a really cool song, it reminds me of Pete Yorn a little bit to be honest. Rachel is a singersongwriter from the Chicago area, which makes me wonder if maybe I saw her while I was in Chicago those two times. And when I say I was in Chicago, I mean I drove through it one the way to and back from Kentucky with Colter and Joel. Anyway, check out “Wore me Down” if you have the means and or the desire. And if you don’t have the means I am going to give it to you, because she lets you listen to her songs on her website www.rachelyamagata.com So I will leave you with that and a request for prayer in travel and energy for this weekend. Peace Y’all!

Talking to the Fox (the radio station not some hot girl)

I know I just blogged last night, but I was having some thoughts. You see, I had this great plan last night. My plan was to stay up really really late last night so that I would be so tired that I would sleep till noon and I wouldn’t have to deal with the cleaning lady and such. So at about 9:30 this morning, I heard the phone ring. Then I tuned my ears more, cause I wondered if it was for me. As I did this, I also noticed a loud noise coming from upstairs. It seems that since last week our cleaning lady has gotten into the habit of listening to the radio very loudly as she cleans. As fate would have it, the radio is directly above my head. It was more then a little ridiculous. I was pretty pissed off actually because I stayed up till 3am watching celebrity poker with the hopes sleeping till noon, but alas it wasn’t to be. As I lay in bed, being pissed off about the noises that had woken my up, my mind drifted back to a person I used to know. I went to elementary school with this guy named Chris, and when it came time to go to high school Chris moved to another part of Vancouver and we didn’t stay in touch. A couple years after high school I found out that he committed suicide. Anyway, I was thinking about Chris this morning and his family and some of the good times we had together and I got to thinking, “I wonder if his life would’ve turned out different had I stayed in touch and remained friends with him?”. Now I know what you are thinking, “Mike, you can’t blame yourself for this” and I agree I can’t and I don’t, but it made me think about the impact that we can have on people’s lives without even being aware of it. I am not depressed or anything, but it makes you think, how do our interactions with people affect them for good or bad? I don’t know it’s difficult because you really can’t see the future; we don’t have crystal balls that can show us how each decision affects other people and how things are going to turn out. We only have one shot at this life, so lets make it a good one, lets think before we do things. Do you get what I am saying? We have potential to influence peoples lives, let’s do the best we can, by letting Christ influence our lives and through us have Christ influence those around us.

Song of the day: I know I promised a gem by Rachel Yamagata, but as well as her and Pink Floyd I have also been listening to Weezer and more specifically their third and greenest album. Weezer used to be without a doubt my favorite band, and I still love them, but I haven’t given this album a spin in a long time due to its lack to depth and poppyness, but I did enjoy listening to it this morning and yesterday. I am trying to get myself psyched for the release of the new Weezer album in May. Anyway song of the day is “O’ Girlfriend”. I remember when I heard that song I loved it, it was my favorite non-single song on the album. It’s a song about a break up and remembering the good times. That was a summer 2002 song for me, the whole album was a summer 2002 song, in fact one vivid memory I have is Adam Loewen and I driving to the North Shore Alliance Church in my parents mini-van and playing “Island in the Sun” really loud with the windows down and singing and Adam doing harmonies, it was a good time and a good memory of Weezer’s green album. So if you have the time and or the means, check out “O’ Girlfriend” by Weezer.

Ps. I like to listen to 99.3 the Fox (which is a Vancouver Rock Station) and they have this segment called the nineties at noon, and they asked this question today “who is the band who is ripping off the nineties the most in their music?” and I called in from Vermilion and trashed Nickleback. It was awesome, then they played it on the radio and I just listened to it and I can’t stop laughing because I didn’t think he would play it because he disagreed with me, but I love that he played it anyway, because I really ripped into Nickleback and they deserved every word of it. If you didn’t know I don’t like the band Nickleback, in fact it was my dream at one point to meet Chad Kroeger in a dark Alley and fight him because I like him so little. Anyway, I wanna stop talking about that band because they aren’t worth the airtime. I even like Jack Johnson a billion times more then that other band, so there!

Psychology in your Life, but more specifically My Life

Hey everybody

I just got home. I was out at a college and career worship/potluck/games night. Actually I have hardly been home all day, which seems to becoming more of a trend here on Sundays. Obviously I went to Church this morning, and was ministered to by a powerful message by Shawn. He highlighted the fact that those of us who are Christians, have had our sin nature killed off. “Dead to Sin – Alive to Christ” as a good friend of mine often says. I think this truth gets missed, we don’t sometimes “feel” changed per se and so certain aspects of our life continues on in a path that leads away from Christ. We forget that now, because of our new nature through Christ we actually have a choice. Do we sin, do we do what the old Mike would do, or do we abide in Christ and learn from him and trust him and make the decision to leave our sin nature and sin life behind. It was a challenge to me that I need to cling to that promise that I have new life in Christ and how I can let that truth affect the way I live. It was exciting to me to be honest. Shawn also talked about the difference between faith and belief. I think I have heard this before, and maybe you have as well, but I still enjoy it. Faith is different from belief because faith assumes a response or acting out of what you “believe”. I can believe anything, but to have faith in it is to put it to the test almost. It was really good, it got me thinking.

After that I came home and got ready to go play some floor hockey with the youth. We played for a solid two hours this afternoon and it was good. I really enjoy this after church dealy where I get to get some exercise and also spend time with the teens. It’s been really good for me to do something active, but also to spend time doing something I love with the teens. It’s a way to share one of my passions that isn’t music, and it’s been great. Today was no different, it gets so hot in our gym that after 15 minutes everyone is sweating like animals, which I am sure you didn’t want to know because sweat is disgusting….why do we find sweat so disgusting? Anyway, different subject so we ran and shot, and this one guy Warren; he was such a good goalie. I couldn’t believe it, he was making saves that he had no business making and without pads! Those of you who don’t like hockey are rolling your eyes and saying “who cares!” Well fair enough, but it was amazing honestly, only after we were done did he tell us he used to actually be a goalie! After hockey I came home, showered up and went off to this College and Career thing. It was what I needed to be honest. I needed to freely praise God and sing some songs that are more suited to me, and applicable to my heart condition. (When I say heart condition I don’t mean physically, I mean spiritually, don’t worry, I’m not having a heart attack or anything) So we had a time of musical worship which was totally splendid, I was able to sit off by myself a little bit and pray and sing when I needed to, to stand or sit and so on. It was good; it was like a scaled down “Beggars Feast” for those of you who are familiar with the Canadian Bible College monthly worship night. Kyle shared a short message about what it means to go deeper with God. It was good, but to be honest it has slipped through the fingers of my mind and I can’t quite recall the thrust of the message, but I remember sensing the spirit talking to me through it. Pretty bad huh, I’m either a horrible listener or I am losing my memory at a more rapid pace then the average 21 year old man. After that, we played some games, and then the night was over. Then I came home and that’s where I am now. Sitting comfortably listening to Rachel Yamagata, who strangely enough is not actually Asian, despite what her name implies. She’s got a great voice, sometimes more guttural and jazzy then even Diana Krall, it’s impressive. She’s very cool, she sings about relationships and life and so on, but it’s interesting cause it’s honesty from a female perspective which is not something I get in my music or anywhere else for that matter.

When I got home, I checked my email and noticed that I had received one from my old friend Tim Houghton. Imagine my delight when I opened it up to see an old paper that Tim had written for Psychology class about me. I read it and I laughed so much, it is a brilliant paper even if you don’t know the details behind it. I’m pretty sure Tim got a failing grade on the paper, but as you read it, I am sure you will agree it is one of the best papers ever written! So here it is Tim Houghton’s Psych paper from 2nd year.

“Psychology in Your Life
Mike Schalin has an odd and disgusting ability to find unusual women who he is not interested in, but who are madly in love with him. This is a disturbing behavior due to the fact that I spend a good portion of my time with Mike and thus I do not enjoy the company of these women and neither does Mike, he just doesn’t know how to stop the outpouring of manliness. I will try and lay out a plan to help this poor soul.
First we will start with “classical conditioning”. During the next few weeks I will stay close to Mike’s side, and when ever he starts to say something funny or giddy or remotely anything that will attract the attention of girls that are odd, I will zap him with a small concealed tazer. This will associate the talking and joking to unwanted people with the sting of an electrical pulse. He will hopefully start to identify the fact that when he is in the presence of people he must judge those around him and learn to hold his fast and witty tongue.
Second I will use “operant conditioning”. I will spend nights going over pictures at random in the dorm rooms. There will be a collection of normal looking girls and a collection of extremely odd and scary looking women. When we go through the pictures, if Mike takes a long look at those pictures which appear to be normal, and not of the weird quality, then I will reward him with a small spoonful of Chef Boyardee Ravioli. If Mike takes too long of a look at some of the more interesting looking women than I will play angry chick rock, which will cause him to writhe in agony and he will learn his lesson.
And lastly I will try the “observational learning”. When Mike and I are wandering around the school, as so happens when we are bored and or sick or reading, we will keep an eye out for those females that I have already tagged as“Not suitable for Mike”. If one approaches I will fend her off and Mike will learn from example and learn to stick up for himself when he is alone and not with someone who does not have to deal with unusual girls having huge crushes on me.
In the end I predict 3 things that through this rough and rigorous learning pattern Mike will be able to do when we are finished with his training. First, fight the urge to strike up a conversation with just anyone before considering the consequences of such an action, second, fend off those who appear to be a threat to his manhood, and last but not least, be able to walk through the halls of CBC without the slightest urge to go and buy records with any woman owning a “Palm Pilot” (they are the trouble type).”

An Essay by T.I.Houghton

Isn’t that simply brilliant? How he got a failing grade is beyond me, and since that point Tim Houghton has always had a distinct dislike for one Margi Hollingshead, which is too bad, cause she was a nice, yet odd lady. Anyway, you might be expecting me now to tell you about a specific Rachel Yamagata song that will be the song of the day, but alas, she doesn’t make the cut. This morning I listened to Pink Floyd. I can see Carmen now, “Oh Not Pink Floyd!”, but yes, I listened to Pink Floyd as I got ready for Church, and I was touched by a particular song from their fabled album “The Wall” The song was “Comfortably Numb” which is a popular Floyd song, but just because a song is popular doesn’t disqualify it from being a good song that wannabe music snobs like me shouldn’t like and or appreciate. It’s a great song, it has a remarkable guitar solo that actually I had forgotten about. Also the idea of being “Comfortably Numb” is an interesting one. Especially for Christians who seem to have no feelings or desire to serve and to actually change their lives to a more Christ-like approach. Those Christians who don’t find themselves compelled seriously by the love of Christ who are comfortable to sit in Church every Sunday, give money in the offering and sing the songs, but do not let their Christianity affect any other part of their lives. I’m sure that’s not the specific instance that Pink Floyd was talking about, but the general concept it the same. Anyway, it’s a brilliant song, if you have the means and or the desire, you should check it out. Tomorrow I will give you a Rachel Yamagata song to check out, one of her songs is blowing my mind right now, so I can’t wait to let you know. But I should finish up, this is another one of those real long blogs. Anyway, thanks to all my friends here and there, near and far, you inspire me and I love you all. Ps. Enjoy some night sky if you get a chance, it’s really great tonight.

He is the King of Sexy Parties!

So, I just got back from a 2 hour shift working at the youth centre. This Saturday we are having a garage sale and BBQ selling off items left over from the place that owned the building before and also any donated items. It should be a fun time, and if you want some great deals on some great stuff, come out! 9am-4pm at The Edge in Vermilion. I will be there flipping burgers and schmoozing customers, so feel free to stop by and get a schmoozing courtesy of the one and only “Shaolin”.

As I type, but probably not while you are reading, I am listening to a little band called “The Postal Service”. I was just interrupted (but in a good way) by like 5 MSN friends who decided it would be a good time to chat. Anyway, this group Postal Service, as I understand it features the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie which is another band that I enjoy. So far so good, but it has a techno feel to it, but not in a stupid “E” induced rave way, in a cool way, that is not using “E” and is not at a rave.

So, my day was alright. I worked a bit in the morning, mostly did reading, but then my friends eventually showed up and that was great. Kinny (the guy who gave me the Postal Service CD) and Kramer (the guy who was my roommate) showed up before Turner (the guy who once slammed another guys head into a wall during a soccer match), but Turner had a church issue that came up, or more appropriately went down at the last second. We went for lunch at a local restaurant and were served by a waitress whose pants were sheer down the sides. It was awkward. We had good food and conversation, ranging from burgers to steak, to sandwiches, and ranging from Ministry, to Matt Russell, and married life. After that we took a tour of the town. It first led us to the Church at which I serve. After a look at the inside and upstairs we moved downstairs and played a few rounds of the wonderful game PIG. It is a game to difficult to describe using the written word; I will just have to show you sometime. After a few injuries and epic battles we moved on and continued our tour. Then as I was heading past the elementary school and toward the Vermilion Mall, I failed to notice a police officer, he was in my blind spot and I blatantly broke a law in front of him. Well I didn’t mean to, I also failed to notice a yield sign that should’ve cause me to yield to him. Well he pulled me over and I was very scared, but all he did is ask me if I knew what I did, and what I was doing? And I answered both questions correctly in content and in attitude and he said ok, have a nice day. That was quite the blessing, coolest member of the fuzz I have ever interacted with on a business level. Then we concluded our tour and the guys left. As I pulled into the parking lot of the place where I work and my car sunk into the wet gravel and schmeg. My car was stuck and had to be towed out of the mess it was in.

Then I went home.

Then I went to work at the Youth Centre

Then I came home

Then I picked the song of the day. It is uh, well not by Postal Service, I haven’t had enough time to really love them yet. Whoa, that all just changed, Postal Service is covering “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins, and it is pretty cool, so that is the song of the Day. “Against All Odds” is a great song, so either ones is good enough for you to check out if you have the desire and or the means. Anyway, I don’t have much else to say, Youth Conference is coming quick, which is very exciting, and also I am currently trying to make some plans and decisions for the summer situation. Very interesting time in my life for sure, also my back is sore from doing some heavy lifting at the youth centre. I love you all, and hope you are doing very, very, very, very well.

This Turpentine Chaser's Got Kick!

So, I’ve come home from work feeling tired, drained emotionally, frustrated and even slightly depressed. In light of this self knowledge I did what any brilliant young mind would do. I put in “August and Everything After” by the Counting Crows and I sat down to write in my blog.

When did I write in this last? I’d better check. Wow, the internet is slow today which is only adding to my annoyance at this point. Honestly, how slow is this thing!? Ok finally, so I last updated on Sunday night. Yesterday was my day off, uneventful for the most part; I watched Mystic River and really enjoyed it. Then I went for lunch at Sammy’s (Sammy’s is a local restaurant/hang out) and ended up meeting up with some people from church. We eat together and chatted for a while. It was nice to have some human companionship on my day off, which is mostly spent in solitary confinement. After that I don’t remember much happening until I had a lengthy MSN conversation with both Michelle and Matt, although in order to be alphabetically correct I should say Matt and Michelle. That was a highlight of my day, oh yeah, I also got to watch wrestling which was also fun, well it was ok, it wasn’t the best episode I’ve ever seen, fairly predictable, but it was still entertaining.

So today, I woke up at 8:00am, which is the time I generally awake on days where I have to work. Then I turned off my alarm and woke up again at 8:37 from a fairly vivid dream, the nature of which now escapes me. In fact it escaped me as soon as I awoke and realized I was going to be late for work. I am disappointed by this; I do enjoy remembering and recounting dreams. I find them fascinating. I got to work by ten after nine, and set to work. Today was the day our senior pastor Shawn was returning to work from his two week vacation, so that caused a good buzz in the office today. I set to work preparing some stuff for our youth event this weekend, and worked on that all morning. Ok, well that’s not true. At about ten, Kyle recruited me to come and help him and Shawn clean the newly installed floor in the community centre so that the final seal could be put on it. So, I grabbed a rag, rolled up my sleeves, poured turpentine into the rag and got to scrubbing. It was quite the smell, and I didn’t think the fumes would affect me, but we were scrubbing for like half and hour in a poorly ventilated room and so I ended up getting kinda high, I’m serious. Me and Kyle especially, I was zoning out at first and then in staff meeting, everything was so funny and so ridiculous, it was honestly the fumes, Kyle and I were a mess, it was great, highlight of the day so far. It brought a whole new meaning to the song “Turpentine Chaser” by Dashboard Confessional. It’s funny cause it was in my head for most of the day after that, and I would just at random yell “This Turpentine Chaser’s got Kick!”, although I wasn’t actually yelling it, cause that would be weird and I would have to explain myself, so I was yelling it in my head, which is also weird, but these things happen I suppose. I am still feeling kinda weird and tired, but that might just be from the late night.

After lunch had staff meeting which was good fun, and then Kyle and I had a meeting with our youth event planning team. Sometimes I get frustrated with these meetings because people make things complicated and non-sensical, and I try to let it go, but today I was having real issues because people would say things, and they just wouldn’t make sense, and then they would say something else that seemed to make sense, but then they would go back to the original thing that didn’t make sense. I felt lost I guess, but I guess that’s what happens when you cram 12 teenagers in a room and try and plan something. Don’t get me wrong I love these kids; I just wasn’t into the meeting today.

I just drank a Pepsi. It was alright, I needed it. Later on tonight, I have youth. Sometimes I go into youth feeling this way, and most times I come out of it feeling pretty great, hopefully this will be the case on this evening. Tomorrow my friends Matt, Jon, and Colin are coming to visit me, I look forward to this. Maybe I am still messed up on turpentine, which sounds like Frankenstein. That was a random thought.

Ok, song of the day is indeed “Turpentine Chaser” by Dashboard Confessional. I know I just did a Dashboard song, but the irony and appropriateness and timing of this is impeccable, so I can’t pass on this opportunity. It’s a good Dashboard song, some good screaming times, you can feel his pain and his sadness on this song, maybe more on this song then the average Dashboard song, but not as much as others. It’s a good one, and it’s funny cause I was using Turpentine today and singing this song (in my head). So if you have the desire and or means, check out “Time and Time Again” by the Counting Crows, because it is actually the song of the day, or perhaps the co-song of the day. It has one of the best single lyrics ever written.

“I wanted to see you walking backwards
And get the sensation of you coming home
I wanted to see you walking away from me
Without the sensation of you leaving me alone”

Simply Amazing, Adam Duritz is an absolute genious of emotion... anyway, check out either song. Love you lots, talk to you later….The Shaolin

"Much Afraid".....of Coyotes!

Whoa. I just got back from an interesting night. I think a week or so ago I mentioned eating a great chicken bacon ranch sub at subway with some ladies from my church. Well tonight, I was invited in a round about way to go see a movie with one of them. Well I like hanging out with people and watching movies so I was like sure. So I went and hung out with her, and then we watched the film “Hitch” at the local Vermilion theater, which before tonight I had never been too. So I got a water, and sat down and watched the film It was alright, it had it’s moments for sure, but at the end of the day, it was a romantic comedy, and I wasn’t in the mood. I had a good time though. Then I came back home, and noticed again that the northern lights were dancing, but this time, they were spread across the whole sky, it was amazing. I got out of my car to stand and watch, then I heard a coyote howling, but it was kind of far away, but then I heard another coyote howling and it sounded like it was in the next yard, so I ran to the door, got my keys out and was safe from being eaten by the coyote. Whew. Anyway, it was a good day.
Today I preached my second sermon, and it went well. God seemed to speak through me and I felt affirmed again in my ability to communicate God’s word through preaching. I’m not going to go into details, one because it is kinda surreal to me, and two because I am tired and want to go to bed before midnight. If you really wanna see what it is like, you will just have to watch the DVD…yeah that’s right, we make DVD’s in Vermilion!

Right now, my ankle and my knee are sore. At first I wasn’t sure what would’ve caused such an irregular pain, and then I realized that for three hours this afternoon I ran around with a bunch of teens playing floor hockey, and by the end of it, I was in goal, trying with all my might to make a save, but having little to no luck in that department. I don’t think I have ever typed a blog entry with this much speed. I don’t mean the drug, I mean the speed with which I am typing, I wish you could see it, because reading it won’t really convey the true speed at which I am typing, it’s mind blowing actually. Whoa. Let’s take a breather….

I had a wonderful conversation with my good friend Carmen last night. She called me and we talked for a while about different things, relationships, my sermon, life in general, ghosts of CBC past, it was more then a little enjoyable. In fact I would go so far as to say it made my night. I am thankful to have a friend like Carmen, because she always makes me laugh, or at least makes me make her laugh, which in turn makes me laugh, and I just appreciate our relationship. I bet she is reading this right now and thinking “yeah, this is so me!” haha. Sorry, I try and stay away from inside jokes on my blog, but that one couldn’t be helped. Anyway, thanks for the call Carmen, thanks for the encouragement and the prayers about the sermon, it really did help. Love ya

Uh, other then that, not too much else to report, my ankle is now more painful then my knee, but I have found in the four minutes since I typed that, the pain in both has decreased substantially. Zowie! Also, I think I am going to start saying Jeepers. It seems like a good word that is in need of some verbal exposure.

The song of the day is the song “Much Afraid” by Jars of Clay. I have been trying to buy that album for so long, but I can never find it when I have money. Then the lady at Christian Publications in Edmonton, told me it had been discontinued, which made me very upset, because it is a great album, and also a great song. It is my favorite song by the band Jars of Clay. With this song, and a couple others, the Jars showed me that Christian Music can be depressing, and for that I thank them.

"empty again
sunken down so far
so scared to fall
i might not get up again

so i lay at your feet
all my brokenness
i carry all of my burdens to you

CHORUS:
all of these things
i've held up in vain
no reason nor rhyme
just the scars that remain
of all of these things
i'm so much afraid
scared out of my mind
by the demons i've made
sweet Jesus, you never ever let me go
oh, sweet Jesus, never ever let me go

so happy to love
yet so far to go
you lead me on
to where I've never been before"

Ok, so it has some hope in it, but the song itself sounds depressing. It’s a song about screwing up, a song about wanting to be in Christ Jesus, but screwing up so often, and being tied to the “demons we’ve made”. But it’s also about Christ, and his love for us, and how even when we screw up and feel like crap (I really wanted to say shit, but I said crap instead) Christ still loves us and he doesn’t leave us. I love this song, I identify with this song, I have felt those emotions, I have cried those tears, I have shouted this pain at the top of my lungs. This is a beautifully written and performed song, and even if you aren’t a Christian, well you might still like it. So if you have the means or desire, check it out.

Anyway, I am so fagged out. (fagged out is an old british term for being tired) So I am going to go to bed. Well actually, I’m going to continue talking to Tim Houghton on MSN for a while, then I am going to go to bed, but I am first going to publish this blog. I love you all, sleep well, or have a good day depending on what time zone you are in. Also thank you to any of you who prayed for me as I delivered my sermon, God honored those prayers and seemed to work in a mighty way today through the words he gave me.

Clarifying Comments about Mr. Johnson, and I wish i was talking about former President Lyndon Johnson, but i'm not

Good evening Blog world. At the moment, I am waiting for my friend Matt (no not Matt Russell, though I am waiting for Matt Russell to come home) to show up at my house so that we can view the film “Ray”. I am assuming that I won’t finish this update before he gets here, so I will include a review of this Oscar winning film after I finish watching it, which will be before I finish writing this blog.

So tonight we had our monthly youth worship night in Vermilion, an event that we have called “Crave” because we want to crave more of God’s present, and we crave, we long to worship him, and in this way we do it through music and hearing the word. It is basically, Church for youth, but at night, and without adults, other then Kyle and or Myself usually. Attendance for Crave has been lacking the last couple months, it seems that many of our regular teens aren’t interested in coming out for an event like this, although some are, it’s just very sporadic. Anyway, tonight was no difference, we had about 12-15 kids, which is actually a lot for Crave, so that was encouraging, but of the six or so teens that Kyle and I hoped and prayed would come out, only one did. Anyway, we had a great time of worship (I did PowerPoint, which I hate, cause then I can’t enter into worship as much and because I don’t like doing PowerPoint, but anyway)

Ok, I just finished watching “Ray” now I will continue

We had a great time of worship and then Kyle spoke about being tied to our pet monster or sin, and how we try and be disciplined in removing the sin from our life and growing in our relationship with God, but we often miss the importance of dependence. So often we find ourselves trying to work for our salvation, or work for growth apart from dependence on Christ, and that just never gets us anywhere but frustrated. I was really touched by this word that Kyle shared with us. Anyway, after that we played a game called Pig in the youth room, it’s a really remarkable game, it has formed a real bond in our youth, and then we went for Ice Cream and Peach Juice at our local hang-out “Sammy’s” also know as “Samuels”. Following the Samuel’s experience, Matt and I decided to watch “Ray” which I rented from VHQ today, and when I got home I decided it would be funny to wait in my darkened automobile to scare Matt as he walked up, so I slunk down in my seat and waited. Well a beautiful and remarkable sight greeted me when I did, no it wasn’t a women, but it was the aurora borealis. For many nights now, as I have come home late at night from various youth events, and church functions, I have looked to the sky to see if “the northern lights” would be out. But they hadn’t for a long time, so I would just take in the beauty of the normal night sky. Clean, Crisp, Dark and Bright, I don’t know if I have said this before, but I feel like the night sky is the aspect of God’s creation that appeals to me most, it is breathtaking to me! Anyway, I slunk down in my seat and watched the lights dance, it was awesome, kinda makes me wish I hadn’t turned off the car so I could’ve had music playing, but then again, it was good to be silent, alone with my thoughts, my hopes and fears and just turn it off and bask in the natural beauty of this world. If you have never seen the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis as it is truly known, you are missing out, and I recommend you do everything in your power to see them. Anyway, after they danced out of sight, and Matt still wasn’t there, I went inside and began writing this blog. Then I watched “Ray”.

“Ray” was a good film, I enjoyed it. It was able to evoke emotions on all ends of the spectrum – love, hate, happiness, despair, joy, sadness and so on, which I believe is something important in a good film, well, maybe a good drama. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, it’s not a twist or anything, so if you haven’t seen the film, don’t get all bug eyed on me, I just felt like it could’ve kept going and I could’ve watched for two and a half more hours, I truly was captivated, and there is so much about the legendary Ray Charles I didn’t know. I felt like I wanted to buy one of his albums, but I felt like I would be jumping on a trendy band-wagon, but in the end, it’s good music, and that’s what I appreciate it for, so who knows maybe once I get to Calgary and have a job, maybe there will be some Ray Charles in my future. I recommend it as a film, and Matt (not Russell), who I was watching it with, asked me halfway through the film, if I thought Jamie Foxx was giving an Oscar Worthy performance and I said, “I don’t know, I haven’t seen the entire film” and then at the end we both agreed, it was an Oscar worthy performance. The next movie I am going to watch (tomorrow) is going to be “The Motorcycle Diaries” which I have heard nothing but good things about.

So in similar fashion to my last blog update, my in the car mix CD “Mike’s Dandy Deportation Mix” has provided me with the ammunition to regale you with a song of the day selection. Immeadiatly preceding that tragically hip song that I spoke of last blog is a classic song by an artist that not everyone enjoys, and if I was honest with myself, I would say that I don’t always enjoy this band anymore either, though at one point, I thought they were the greatest. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Dashboard Confessional, they will always have a special space in my heart, but I don’t love them or listen to them like I used to. Now you might be saying “Dashboard Confessional!? Mike are you depressed? Are you suicidal? Have you recently had your heart broken and squashed by some hussy we don’t know about? Are you gay?” The answer to all those questions and every other question you have is No. I am doing fine, my sermon is done and ready, I’m meeting Matt (Kinniburgh), Colin, and Jon on Wednesday, things are just dandy. Well if that’s the case, why am I endorsing some Dashboard? Because sometimes you just need to sing along and if you can’t do that with “The Best Deceptions” the truth is, you probably just can’t sing! As I drove around today, I listened to this song like four times, each time getting more and more into it, screaming louder, holding the notes longer, letting my wailing engulf the whole community of Vermilion, and it felt great. So great in fact that tomorrow morning, after I write the paper that was due yesterday(today..March 4th…happy birthday Ashley….did you know Elena, has the same birthday as you? Yeah me neither…weird huh?) I am going to go for a drive and listen to Dashboard and sing at the top of my lungs about broken relationships and heartbreak and drinking myself back to reality….cause afterall, it’s not like he (Chris Carraba) can write about anything else, I mean seriously, even back in FSF (Further Seems Forever, his pre-Dashboard Christian rock band on Tooth and Nail Records, now being fronted by that dink from Sensefield) he had a one track mind when it came to song writing, oh well, these things happen. Anyway, if you have the means and or the desire, I think you should listen to this song, and have a good time of sing along with Dashboard Confessional, even imagine me there with you if you want, if it will make you feel better, I know it would make me feel better.

Also, I was just looking at my forearms and I noticed, they are very hairy, I’m like Cousin It from the Addams Family or something, it’s like Jeremiah’s back before he gets it waxed by Holly, it’s really insane, but I am going to keep on believing that somewhere out there, is a women who knows that men are supposed to be hairy and that deep down, she finds it sexy….except for back hair, that’s not sexy in any way shape or form. Also I have been getting complaints about my treatment of poor Jack Johnson. In fact I had a person who shall remain anonymous…we’ll call her Monica H., no wait that’s to obvious, uh, M. House, she said that if Jack Johnson wasn’t married that she would move to Hawaii and try to persuade him to marry her….methinks it wouldn’t take much convincing, but other then that, other people have wondered why I attacked Jack Johnson in such a way, well the truth is, I don’t like his music to begin with, and as I was putting the finishing touches on that particular blog, I was listening to a Vancouver Radio Station known simply as “99.3 The Fox”, and they began to play the new Jack Johnson song (which I don’t even like) but back in the day, The Fox would never has played anything like Jack Johnson, leading me to believe that Jack Johnson loving Aliens have taken over my beloved radio station and are brainwashing listeners with subliminal messages in Jack Johnson’s music. So, yeah, they were playing the song, and basically I just didn’t like it.

I don't like Jack Johnson, and i don't think he should release anymore music!

Word up to you my peeps. Peeps is another word for people, and by people I refer to people who know me and read my blog. Even people that don’t know me and are reading my blog, I don’t know how you got here, but I hope you can find comfort and solace in my humble and personal words. Not like the words to the song “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails. Not that they aren’t humble and personal, but I don’t think I want you to find comfort or solace in them, I used to, but then again, I used to be terrible depressed all the time didn’t I?

So I literally just returned from a 3 hour shift of working at this community centre that we are opening. I don’t think I’ve spoken much about the community centre, well actually it’s a youth centre and it’s called “The Edge”. I have been trying to get in touch with the guitarist of the band U2, who somehow shares this name with our youth centre, because I think it would be cool if he was there for the grand opening, but somehow I don’t see that happening. I mean he’s a great guy and everything, but, he’s also probably too busy to be bothered with such silliness, after all, he is The Edge. So, before I got to Vermilion, Kyle and Shawn, (the pastors, my bosses) had a dream to create a youth centre here in Vermilion for the teens to come and enjoy. We see it as a way to provide teens with a safe place to come and be themselves and have fun and do teenager type stuff. So with a team of teens and adults, we have been working since August to bring this dream to reality, and we are getting close. It opens in a little over a month! We bought a building in downtown Vermilion, that in actual fact was the original alliance church, but had gone through many transformations, and we first renovated part of it for our church staff office. The rest of it we have dedicated to the purpose of being a Youth Centre with all the latest cool stuff for teens. So, renovations have been coming along, this Saturday we are hoping to get the floor down and finish all the painting. I wish I could show you some before and after pictures it would blow your mind! It blows my mind, but then again, so does the idea of not having Gravity for 10 seconds. So anyway, a crew of us was working there tonight, it was a fun time, we worked, we listened to Stephen Toon, and all was good in the world.

Other then that, my day was mostly uneventful. I worked from home this morning in an effort to get some serious work done on my sermon which I am preaching this Sunday. I am preaching from Matthew 5:13-16. The passage is from the Sermon on the Mount about the followers of Christ being the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World. I hope to have it done by tomorrow so that I can do some other things that I need to do this week, and also so I can have some time to look it over, revise it and do the PowerPoint and schmeg like that. I did have time to make myself French Toast for breakfast which was fairly awesome, seeing as I hadn’t had French Toast (my favorite breakfast food – if done correctly) in such a long time. I did manage to get a good portion of work done as well, which was very good. I am hoping to do the same thing tomorrow, because that would be good, except I might not have French toast, I might treat myself to a “Nick’s restaurant” Breakfast, I think I deserve it. Hey do you think it’s weird to put pepper on French Toast? Jeremiah does, I don’t, that’s all I put on my French toast, and it’s great!

Well friends, I don’t feel like I have much else to say, I forgot to wish you a happy March yesterday, seeing as yesterday was indeed the first day of March. I talked to Jamie last night which was good, I got to hear about her trip and how she was doing and so on. I do enjoy talking to my friends on the phone, but even more so, I like being able to walk, drive or take the C-train down the road and visit my friends, which is probably going to be happening this summer if in fact I live in the township of Calgary. Tonight I hit my thumb with a hammer, and it still hurts, I was just looking at it, and it looks ok, but it still hurts, which has made typing this a bit of a hassle, but I would do anything to make you people happy and if that means typing a blog update with a shattered thumb, then I would most certainly do it.

Which brings me to the Song of the Day. Hey did any of you besides Tim actually read that entire Blog yesterday? And Carmen did you get any mail from me? Ok, I got sidetracked, the song of the day is by a beloved Canadian Band, and no, I am not talking about the Guess Who thank God. I am talking about the pride of Kingston Ontario, The Tragically Hip, and their song “It's a good life if you don't weaken”. I always forget about this song, cause it was off a mediocre album that came out right around the same time that I stopped listening to Radio, and it never gets played on the radio anyway. But I have it on a Mix CD called “Mike’s Dandy Deportation Mix” and I was listening to it, and the song came on, and I was like “Yeah, this is a great song”. It’s mellow, which is the case with many of the songs talked about on here, but the lyrics are pretty cool as well, and it’s one of those songs where you just love to hear Gordon Downies voice. It’s really great. So if you have the desire or the means, you should check out this song out. I think you would really enjoy it. So anyway, have a great night folks, think fondly of me and pray for me as I prepare and deliver my sermon. Love you lots, also I love the game of poker!

Someone spilled the mashed potatoes and gravity

So, let me first say how much I love people who are currently in Thailand. I thank both Matt and Michelle for their friendship and support over the last little while it has meant a great deal, and to receive emails from both of you this morning was a total and complete blessing.

Ok, now, I realize I haven’t been to philosophical, or introspective lately, but I can’t do much about that, I haven’t had the time or energy to be either introspective or philosophical so I am guessing the majority of my updates in the next week or so will be detail and event oriented. And I think that’s ok, and if you don’t, well then whoopadee do! Ok, something was brought to my attention that I think is worth mentioning. As you may or may not recall, a couple of updates ago was depressing as I quoted the entire song “Something’s Missing” by Grammy Award Winning Artist John Mayer. Well, in an email from Michelle, she stated quite simply and quite truthfully that John Mayer needs Jesus. He has all that stuff, and friends and wealth, and success and so on, but still something was missing. So I agree that John Mayer does need Jesus, and as weird as it seems, I think I am going to pray for him, because he needs it, and many times when you know that there is something missing in your life, some greater sense of purpose or whatever, you are on a path that can be turned toward Jesus, which would be a great thing if you ask me. So even though it seems strange, I am going to pray for John Mayer. Also, that’s what I needed last week. I felt alone and discouraged and sick, and it seemed like the world was caving in on me, but it’s because I for some reason refused to seek strength and courage in Christ, my bad!

Anyway, so that’s that. On the last Monday of every month, Kyle, Shawn and I go to this leadership training, or building time in Sherwood Park, put on by the Alliance Church there. It’s called Emerging Young Leaders, and we meet and we learn another aspect of life that could help us grow in our leadership and so on. Last night we talked about Mentorship, but that’s not where I was going with this. Yesterday, Kyle and I went into Edmonton a bit early, to hit a couple stores, maybe have supper together and just have a day out of Vermilion, which was cool. We went to Old Navy, got some jeans and some shirts. I got a shirt that say’s “Kiss Me I’m Irish”, I’m not really Irish, so the shirt is kind of a lie, but who knows, it might one day work to my advantage, or possibly my demise, depending on who is doing the kissing. Then we hit the bank to deposit our cheques in our depleted bank accounts. Ok, well I should say, my depleted bank account, and from there we visited Christian Publications. I picked up two books. One is for the class I took in Calgary, it’s called “A Post-Modern Primer” or “A Primer for Post-Modernism” I can’t remember the name, but it’s by Stanley J. Grenz. I have fond memories of Nintendo and Nachos and Stanley Grenz. If I remember correctly, he signed my roommate Jon Kramer’s poster too…good times. I also bought a book called “Messy Spirituality” by the late Michael Yaconelli. He is supposed to be one of the God-Fathers of Youth Ministry and a wonderful guy, so when I saw his book, I did an impulse buy and picked it up. I also looked at some Henri Nouwen books, because I have read one of his books and really enjoyed it, and also I have heard him talked about a great deal in the last while, so I thought maybe I would pick up one of his books. Here’s the thing with Nouwen books that drives me crazy. They are tiny, thin, little books, some of them have to be less then 100 pages, yet they are some of the most expensive non-commentary books in the stinkin store! So I haven’t bought anymore Henri Nouwen yet.
From there, Kyle and I made our way to Sherwood Park where we had an early Supper at Boston Pizza. It was decent, although I imagine any Subway Sub made by my sister Ashley (who, on top of being the best Subway Sandwich Artist Ever, is also going to CBC in the fall, how exciting!) would’ve been a billion times better, unless it was a seafood sub, cause those look gross and I would never order one of those! Unfortunately, dinner was quick and we were at the Church over an hour and a half early for the meeting, so Kyle and I sat in the car and chatted as we gazed upon the romantic sunset, which we both commented on.

Anyway, where am I going with this? Oh yeah, after our session on mentoring, which was good by the way, if you have anything to say about mentoring, I would be interested to hear it, we began the long road back to Vermilion. We got into two discussions, the first one was about mentoring, since we had just been learning about it. The second was much longer then the first. We discussed what would happen if all of the sudden, we on earth were without gravity for ten consecutive seconds. This was an intense discussion as to the kind of catastrophic effects it would have on humanity, and I think we covered every possible angle, from people who jump at the exact second we lose gravity, to whales and dolphins jumping in the air, do the effects it would have on sleeping people, to the velocity at which you would begin to float, if you would begin to float, basically, if there was a question you could have regarding what would happen if you were without gravity for ten seconds, we asked it. By the end we were laughing and crying hysterically, because our conversation had become so intense over certain aspects of the theory that we couldn’t help but laugh like crazy, which was dangerous cause Kyle’s eyes were blurring from the tears and it was pretty foggy out to begin with, but we made it ok.

OK, so I am now going to make this even longer, because I just found out that Kyle (the guy who I had this gravity discussion with) wrote about it on his bebo journal thing, and it is so funny so, here it is for you to read and discuss at will.

“I sit here in my office, taking a coffee break (but without coffee or any beverage for that matter). A thought to ponder... it may not be worth your time to think about, but it sparked a interesting debate between my intern and I.
Here's the deal... What if...? What if gravity disappeared from the earth for 10 seconds, and nobody knew that it was going to occur? Assuming that breathing would remain intact, how would it affect this planet? Mass disaster? Minor disaster? How? Here are some of our thoughts...
1) It would depend greatly on WHEN the 10 seconds occurred... if it was day in the 10/40 window (greatest popluated area of the planet) then the disaster would probably be more substantial.
2) I thought that if people jumped they would be in quite a bit of trouble, because the force they used to push off the earth would keep them propelling at that same speed until the 10 seconds of non-gravity expired. Mike says that not that many people would jump at the exact same time... I say there are ALOT of people on this planet... probably quite a few would be jumping in some fashion or another.
3) Driving would cause the most disaster as cars would maintain their speed yet slowly drift off the ground... this would be disastrous almost anywhere in the world (except Antartica and the North Pole).
4) People diving off boats into the ocean would be pretty dead... especially if they were on their way up when the gravity disappeared. Mike thinks maybe 40 people would be diving. I think there are alot of people on earth.
5) Whales that are surfacing would come floating out of the water, BUT all the water they propel towards the sky would also come floating up... it would be a big splash in alot of places when the 10 seconds expire.
6) Planes would probably remain the safest mode of transportation.. because they would just float, unless they are taking off which would really stink for the passengers, who might be launched up close to exiting the atmosphere.
7) Everyone who was shooting a Toyota commercial would probably raise up about 200-300ft before the time expired... they'd leave a nice mark on the pavement... or on the Toyota.
8) Kangaroos would all end up on the Great Barrier Reef or in the Ocean (they would be modern day Dodo birds).
9) Anyone going to the bathroom would be in for a nasty surprise.
10) You could fly around if you had aerosal containers to direct you.
11) People would definitely be freaked out and it would be the talk of the world for the next 2000 years.
12) Mountain climbers would be thankful for the extra boost.
Please feel free to add your comments to this article... there are many things we have overlooked I'm sure. I guess we can never really know what will happen until the gravity does disappear for 10 seconds. I'll end with a couple quotes...
"...if our gravity disappeared It'd blow my mind!" ~ Mike Schalin"
... whoa!" ~ John Olerud
"What's gravity?" ~ Englebert Humperdink”

So that is my discussion with Kyle, and I will make the rest of this short. Song of the Day: “Question Mark” by the late Elliott Smith. It’s a gooder and I listened to it this morning while I was in the shower. If you have the desire and or the means, check it out. Sorry that this update was so long Tim, I know you can’t handle these huge updates, but there was not much I could do about it, it all just came flowing out like a river, that flows, really fast, and doesn’t stop….Peace