The Mighty Moose

Well, this Memorial Day weekend I went on a canoe trip. For those of you who don't know, my church sets up a group of young people (usually high schoolers, however this year it was mostly college aged individuals) to go do the Swan Lake system in Sterling AK (population: very few). Some years, if there is enough water, we end up going down the "Mighty" Moose river (mighty is ironic). We usually go seven lakes in, camp on the seventh lake for two nights, then pack up and head out. Last year we ran into a Boy Scout leader (nothing says pedophile like a Scoutmaster) who one of our leaders dubbed "Boondoggle". Last year, the spot where we normally camp on the river was taken, and Boondoggle was ahead of us and got the next best camping site. This year, we sent out two of our own, bright and early (7 AM) to capture the good spot nice and early. Unfortunately, it was all for naught because three of our boats (canoes really) beat Boondoggle to the good spot. It only rained (drizzled actualy) one day, so it wasn't too bad. I got a little sun-burned on my nose and on the back of my neck. After we all got out of the river at Sterling, we all went to "Magpye's Pizza Pizzaria" and had some pizza. The vehicle I was in (Weldon Johnson's BMW which he famously paid for with a single check) got back to The Riv (Eagle River, a friend of mine calls it that, and I like it. thanks Tae Freeman) at around eight in the evening. I am so sore from all that paddleing...

Arctic Monkeys

Well, I have been listening to this British band called the "Arctic Monkeys". They are a couple of lads from Sheffield in England. Their music is pretty fast and up-beat for the most part; they do have a couple of slower songs, especially in their first US released album, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not", which evidently according to Wikipedia, sold faster in the UK than Oasis' "Definitly Maybe" (I was probably too young to remember or to have purchased that album, the only Oasis album I have is "What's The Story Morning Glory?"). I do like them alot, with their cool brit accents and their music that just makes you want to move. I first heard them on NPR (what?) and their name just stuck with me the next time I was out looking for new music. Their newest album, "Favourite Worst Nightmare" came out last year and I got it a couple of months ago. I am impressed, they actually had a wide variaty of musical style. Not to say that I didn't like their first album (which I still like thankyouverymuch) its just that I like the new one more. If you haven't listened to them yet, you should. It will cheer you up considerably. Sayoonara!

Ben and Me

Well, I went with another male from the St. James House (a church run home for college aged kids who want to stay active in the Orthodox church) to go hike Crow Pass. Unfortunately, we ran into a few troubles along the way. First, we were unable to drive all the way to the trail-head and were forced to hike to it from about two miles out. The way was blocked by snow that was still on the ground as well as an avalanche or two the came across the road. Second, as we were hiking along, the trail disappeared along the side of a mountain, covered with snow that was just asking to avalanche. After seeing that, Ben Temby (don't actually know how to pronounce it properly) and I started to hike straight up the side of the mountain to where we could see it was clear of snow. When we got up there, we saw several piles of what appeared to be goat fur and a lot of bear signs. So we decided to head back down and find a place to camp because it was about 1:30 A.M (did I mention that we started about 10:30 P.M?). On our way back down I lost one of my Nalgene bottles. We found a place to camp and made spaghetti for "dinner" and then slept. Don't worry, we stashed the food in a tree about fifty feet away from our tent. We ended up setting the tent up on snow, which was a bad idea because the snow got frozen at night and I couldn't move my left hand at one point when I woke up in the night. We got up at around eleven o'clock in the morning, packed up and headed down. When we got to where we were dropped off, we saw a Beamer with a man in it asking about the conditions. We told him and then started hiking back to Girdwood. He ended up turning around and gave us a ride to the Alyeska Highway (which is kind of an ironic name because it is really just a road, not a highway). Then Ben and I walked to the Girdwood gas station. On the way there we got ahold of Liz Chafen (also a member of the St. James House, I don't know how to spell her last name...) and she agreed to pick us up there. While we were waiting, Ben and I ate cold oatmeal and sat around in front of The Bakery. Ben smoked his pipe while I sat in silence. After waiting about a million years (1.5 hours), Will Klatt (to some, his last name is Ihde) and his fiancee Liz came and drove us home. I got home at around 2:30 in the afternoon.

Where have all the Heroes gone...

Today I watched some Heroes via Netflix. Why is that show not back on the air? I looked on the NBC website and all it has is the graphic novel. I know I may seem nerdy, I'm not that nerdy. When will it re-start? I am sure that there are tons of people who want to see it back on broadcast television, I am going to try and e-mail NBC and all that, you should too, if you support Heroes. Marcel Out.

Gradblast for all you squares out there...

Well, last night I went to the Chugiak/Eagle River Grad blast. It was pretty fun. They had all the usual things to do there. I beat my buddy Tim-kun at sumo wrestling three times in a row. I won a Chugiak mug for the drawing. On the board where they posted the winnings, it said I won an E.R mug. I was going to keep it out of spite, but it turned out to be a Chugiak one. I also discovered that I can't play Poker at all and also that I am passably good a Black Jack. They had gambling there. Isn't that Illegal? Also, on a totally unrelated note, If you haven't listened to it yet, I strongly recommend the new Jack Johnson album, "Sleep Through The Static", it is pretty awesome. My favourite song on it is probably, "If I Had Eyes". I'll See You Next Time!

Well now that I'm all bloody down there...

Well, yesterday after I posted the first one, I went on a 90's music rage. I went to a website that you can watch video's for free (the name of which I won't say because I am not sponsered by them, however I can say that it started with a "Y" and rhymes with "boob"). It started how it always does, my iTunes was on and a song came up by "Harvey Danger" and so I looked them up on this website. After watching that, a song by "Fastball" came up on the list so I watched that one, et cetera. I ended up spending about an hour watching music video's of bands I had heard when I was younger but never knew the names of. I must say though, nothing beats "The Decemberists" for style. They are amazing and my favourite band. Check them out. Peace

poppin' the cherry

Well, here it is, my first post. I decided to do this 'cuz my siblings are doing it and I would like to leave them some snide comments. I may just talk about music I like and dislike. Maybe I'll have something interesting to say? Perhaps not. Peace.