M@ Takes Halifax By Storm; Halifax Not Impressed.

So May 4th weekend marked the culmination of many things. Flat Fifth was playing in Halifax, The weather was crap, climbing was sketch here, and Dottie had the weekend off. Sure as shooting I was going.
Blasting down after work and eliminating my small margin of error by missing the Truro turnoff, I arrived at Stayners Warf with only minutes to spare. Fortunately I scored a choice seat, which I defended from all comers. The band played through most of their repitoire, launching with the seminal instrumental "Alfalfa Honey". Aside from this band's general toe-tapping-piano-kick-assitude, the subtle yet highly engageing base and fiddle stole the show, finessed by the gnarled hands of George "I thought she had it" Barkhouse and the confident stylings of Eilidh Campbell respectively.
I must admit that Eilidh is perhaps the thing that pushes this band over the top for me. Skilled, worldly musician aside, She has to be one of the most beautiful artists I've ever seen. Oh, and she's Scottish. That's me down for the count.
Other tunes of note were the resplendent Beatles cover, and Jeff Coates' "Zig Zaggin", which was as always a crowd pleaser. Look forward to good things from this band, and if you get the chance, go check em out.
The rest of the weekend was not to be left out. After the Hali Market (amazing), Attempts were made to find Sorrow's End, which ended in crushing defeat, as the guidebook was useless. Yoga was substituted, which ended only in crushing. (Im a little hooked though).
The day was capped by sushi, hilarious Anti-hero philandering and a horrible movie.
Sunday saw some sweet Steve-o-Reno's for Egg-o-Renos (a Halifax must). And a successful day into The Eagle's nest for climbing. NS is a hole for climbing by the way.
Hugs ended the day, and I was off home to plot my climbing for the next weekend. Other worthy mentions include Courtney Smith, who added even more comic relief, and is truely just one of those people who light up your day. An eyebrow is worth 10,000 words.

Hot Toddy/Ryan LeBlanc @ Charlotte St.

Hey All! So in a spat of good luck, I won a pair of tickets to see local band Hot Toddy from CBC yesterday, incidentally just about the first time I've ever won anything by chance. After dragging an accomplace into the last minute event (beggars can't be choosers) I was suprised by an intro curtesy of Ryan LeBlanc, who gave a solid proformance on his Butt box/guitar/banjo/harp SIMULTANIOUS method. Having never heard of this guy before, I have to say I was pretty blown away.
Hot Toddy came on second, and covered a lot of their classics in a long set. All the common fare for this band was discussed, and the usual shenanegans abounded. The secret to playing the harp apparently, is to "suck through the two hole". This advice had been shamelessly dispensed to elementary childeren earlier in the day, most of whom apparently "got it". Thom almost had to leave the stage in embarrassment.
Anyway, Class Act all the way. This was a thuroughly enjoyable evening, with highlights being their Shiack number (name anyone?) and the oncore acoustic "Woodpile". Fantastic group folks, check em out: http://www.hottoddytrio.com

PS, sorry about the picture quality, Still getting the hang of the camera

Oh, it's good to be busy.

All right! Thats more like it. Busy weekend in Freddy. Indie show at the Capital on Saturday night was a good time, props to fellow facebook addict for the invite. Turns out people still get as crazy at the Tannery as they did two weeks ago. Saw a suprising ammount of people that I hadn't seen in years, and suprise suprise; a bunch of them are getting married. I tell ya, it's a plague on society. But Kudos kids, and all the best.
So after sweet evening I racked up and headed out to the rock for the first time. It was terrible. Water water everywhere, and not a dry route to be found. Trace and I headed up to Sunnyside and put down two routes that were only slightly damp, but other than that it was a nice walk. Feels good to be out again, but lots of work needs to be done if Im hitting the gunks in two weeks.
Pray for sun folks!
Also, safe returns for Stef, as he heads off to the orient for another stint in the Gobe. Safe trip dude, We'll save some almondine for ya!

This is my angry face...

Ok, Pretty steamed. 15 cms of snow tomorrow. Snow and rain Saturday. Snow and hail next week. WTF???? I clearly worked up some hate crime worthy karma lately. Dunno what it was, but to whomever is listening, Im sorry. Really. I will redouble my efforts in living a pure lifestyle. I'll finish my degree soon. Promise.
Just send over some good weather. I have promises to keep here.
Ahhhhgggg.
On another subject, anyone have any road bike advice for me? I was bitten badly by the road biking bug last year and Im ready to commit what's left of my knees to the sport. Those Cannondale synapse alloy 2's look aweful pretty.
Also, what's with this facebook.com thing? I create an account and a week later I log in like 5 times a day. Wicked addictive. Y'all should try it. It's the only way I'll remember the names of everyone new that I meet, and my friend's birthdays.
Cheers.

That thing thats going around.

Ok, so there's this bug thats going around, and a great number of friends of mine seem to be catching it these days. I guess it's an age thing so it kind of ties in with my Alive at 25 post a couple of days ago, but it still seems to provoke a sense of amazement. Marriage. Woooooooooo.
Now Im not about to set off on a diatribe regarding the evils or benefits of this sacred institution, but I guess I do have a little to get off my chest. I remember a trip to Ottawa that I went on almost ten years ago where I met a very dear friend of mine. She and I stayed up all night talking on the trainride there, and ended up spending the next week more or less always hanging out. We had very similar thoughts (read: mild distaste) for the institution of marriage, and in that peculiar mid teen way built our fortress against it to some degree. I went on in the oncoming years with a feeling of kinship both for her, and many of my other friends who were all safely held by the bulwark of reluctance. Reluctance to let our youth and freedom (for this is what the unwed embodied for me at the time) be bowed and shackeled by the chains of committment. Till death do us part.
Then my friend got married.
Thuroughly deflated, I was forced to re-examine my views on the subject, but for about two years after that event I instead felt slightly quashed by feelings of inadequacy, doubt, and though I am now lothe to admit it; betrayal.
OK, so maybe a little diatribe.
Now, slightly wiser for my rambling thoughts, Im finally over my adolescent raging. I've come to accept my friend, and indeed all my friend's happiness in marriage, something I before thought was squashed with the ending of the honeymoon.
I found out today that another of my old friends has departed the lists of bachelorhood, and this time I couldn't help but smile as I read their letter. Time goes on, Friends get married. Hopefully we all stay happy. That's the dream anyway.

WTF?!?

Ok, seriously. I know that this is NB and you should always be prepared for "different" weather, but this is getting a little nuts. 15 cms and its still snowing. It's April 6th! crazy. So much for getting in shape for climbing.
Well looks like the spring rec season is off to a funky start. Biking is good but reallllly messy. Welsford and Sunnyside have seen a couple days of rock climbing this season, but I have yet to make an appearance. The UNB Rock and Ice climbing trip to the Gunks in NY is rapidly coming up; last weekend of April. Any reccomendations on routes or anyone with a spare guidebook kicking around, feel free to drop me a line.
Finally got Kanga all fixed up. Never say a car is an investment. After having a hood latch mechanism fail and smash the windshield, an exhaust breach, headlight malfunction, cylender valve shrapnel perforating the head gasket, she's finally back on the road. I still love that car, but she's got a lot of character. Stay tuned for more shenanegans.
Happy Easter everybody!

Alive at 25!

Holy crap.
One week until a quarter century. It just sorta dawned on me.
Now Im not complaining. I've got a good life, am plenty young, and am in good health. It just seems like 25 is supposed to be some kinda milestone. I don't really feel that way about it, as it's just another day like the birthdays of the last ten years or so. Course ten years ago I was only 15, so that makes me feel young. But in ten years I'll be 35, an age I've set for myself as one by which I will have a bit of the mystery of my future "sorted out". So that makes me feel a little more mature. Hmph. Lots to think about I guess. Makes me feel like writing a book. Kind of like riding the Montreal Metro.
Ah hell, Happy aging everybody! it's just another day, and the potential for each is just amazing.

On a slightly different note, it's almost eerie the number of people I become friends with that have birthdays on or next to mine.

Also, Props and credit to Fred Beckey, pictured above and still climbing hard at 83. I hope Im half as vigorous at his age.