Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Omniscient Reminiscing Deficiency

This week is going to be a humdinger. I'm working overtime everyday
and possibly over OVER time a few times, to rack up some hours, bank
some coin and pay down my credit card, for once and for all. I really hate
that I am a slave to money but it could be worse - I could be a slave to
Campus Crusade or 700 Huntley Street - I'll take money.

This past weekend was a little whirlwind-ish in essence as Sarah and I
hit up three towns (Cobourg, Westport/Godfrey, Ottawa and then back
to Cobourg) all in the span of 72 hours. Sarah had a decent time girlin' it
up with Katie for a bachelorette party but came out with the realization
of 'clubbing just doesn't appeal to me anymore'. I tend to agree with my
dear girl on this point. I had the chance to do a little solo-driving, which
was mind-clearing and spiritual, and visit Todd for a short time as I was
a stone's throw away from Iawah so I figured I'd make the trek. What
was a bonus about this visit, aside from the awesomely deep and
enlightening talk with Toddley, which is always a welcome and
rejeuvenating feature in my life, was a surprise visit from the Charnman.
Wow. That's all I have to say. Well...I guess I have more to say, really.
I had not seen the enigma that is Charn in probably...four years or so
and in doing so, I realized how he is someone I could sit and listen to
for hours on end about a great many topics. It was great to hear the
doc wax intellectual about life, medicine, medical tv dramas AND zebra
mussels. Apparently, Wolfe Lake (of Camp Iawah) is now infected with
these suckers and is generally being considered a promoter of the 'STD
of Ontario Lakes' and is being seen as 'too promiscuous with the number
of boats it lets in'.

Funny. I also got a chance to just chill with Steve and Joel of Ottawa fame
and wouldn't ya know it, I got my bro to tag along as well (such photo
evidence of which can be seen below)


and spend some time with the 'rents. I felt a little awkward getting my dad
to drive me and my brother to our friend's house (ahem) but the best
part was stopping at the beer store ON THE WAY and my dad asking me
to pick some up for HIM! Ah, the strange nuances of growing older.
Back to the grind for another week. Excuse the cheese here- God, thanks
for good visits with good friends. Thanks for a great drive where I got to
remember that I truly have nothing to fear with You. Thanks for forgiving
me. Help me not to let my thoughts run rampant away from me and talk
myself out of over-anxious moments. You have never left me, and you
want the best life for us all, and for that, I am speechless and grateful.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Turn Off The Sun
(July Swelter)

The Halfway Point of July seems to a mark of extreme heat and
sweltering. There are heat warnings everywhere, in all regions of
Ontario. But actually, in walking to work this morning, between 9:30
and 10 am, and walking at a leisurely pace, I found it quite
pleasureable. So many of us spend large amounts of cash to get
somewhere with this kind of heat and now, thanks to Mister Warming
(first name Global), we have it. The only tropical setting missing is
ocean, palm trees and beach, but those things are seriously overrated.
Coconuts falling can cause serious head injuries and beaches only
ever leave you with sand in crevaces of your body that you never
knew existed.
I'm trying to stay positive, and just live life for all it's worth. Another

week of work is launched and another weekend passed me by. Sarah
and I had a great time doing NOTHING (all previous plans were cancelled)
but playing Carcassone, going to MEC to buy rocks so sarah can start
her indoor climbing wall, drinking a few beers, having some fruity summer
wines, tandim crosswords, and that was about it. We have to move from
our current establishment soon, which will be a bit of an effort, but not
that much of one because we are only moving a few hundred feet from
our current apartment. Still, lugging furniture would suck serious ass
on a day like today, no matter HOW far you'd be carrying it.
Picked up the new Coupland book 'J-Pod' - it proves to be a grabber and

already, from the first few lines, I was laughing to myself in the commonality
of a phrase from work being used in the book when a programmer asks
a co-worker for help - 'Don't ask me. Just google it.' Ah, geeks. I yearn to
be a better one.
Oh, check out some new reviews at andthehitsjustkeeponcomin.blogspot.com
as the collective have been churning out the critical gold. New reviews
include:
DAVID BAZAN (AJ, jounralist extraordinaire, writer for CTV.ca)
THOM YORKE
SUFJAN STEVENS (BWil, the bowmanville man on the scene)
ARCTIC MONKEYS (JonDogs, a mondo wordsmith)
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
MATT MAYS (yours truly).

Friday, July 07, 2006

An Unlikely Pair
By The Din of the Arcade Light

So last night, at around 9:45, my cell phone rings and the name
that shows up on my call display reads 'Andy Bayer'. I thought
to myself that this was strange because Andy goes to school in
St. Catharines at Brock during the year and I was pretty darn
sure that number, on my call display, is for his phone number at
residence...but he's home in Cobourg for the summer. Perplexing.
I'm perplexed just typing it. Anyways, I answered the phone by saying
'Andy Bayer' and the voice says back 'Matt McKechnie' but it
was NOT andy's voice. Even more perplexing. Then the voice says
'It's Brian Macdonald'. Now there were a few odd factors at play here:
1. I was just thinking about Brian earlier that day.
2. He lives in PEI.

Long story short: Brian is in town this week for a big church/Presby
youth conference happening at Brock all this week. Random. Anyways,
we realized that as the week was getting on (and he had forgotten
my cell number on the island), chances of he and his wife and sarah and I
getting together would be slim, as he had to stay on campus at all times.
So last night, at 11:30, I drove over to Brock and we shot the shyte
for a few hours, re-hashing old and new alike.

As we sat in the lobby of the Brock res, watching the screen
and listening to the Journey-esque music of an antique arcade game that
boasted '39 arcade classics', we watched various screenshots of old

school games like Pacman, Pacman Jr, Donkey Kong(1 to 3), Dig Dug,
Galaga, Combat (or something like it) and many more. What was random
about that antique machine was that for years, Bri and I spawned
a friendship through playing what would be now classified as 'antique'
or 'old school' video games (mostly Sierra, Epyx or Activision) and here
we were, years later, both married, he with child in tow, and in more
complex stages of life, re-united by the glow of a video game system.

What it made me realize though is that if Bri and his family hadn't
moved to the house two doors down from mine in Ottawa, way
back in grade seven, we probably never would have become friends
or been each other's best men in each other's wedding parties. We have
very different personalities, and even very different theological
viewpoints at times, but that doesn't keep us apart. I don't think there
is a theory or equation to friendship - sometimes the ones you think
that will last forever fall to pieces and the ones you wrote off before
they developed end up being super-tight. But in this tumultuos time
of life, I am thankful for a rock in the storm like Brian. Even in saying
little to each other, we said a great deal. Blessings on you, Bonnie and
Abbey.

(Also, Double Props that it was a week of old school hook-ups as
Sarah and I drove to Kitch to see Julie and Nic and Mer and Phil -

the sisters of Sunkissed Keilah, my old band, and friends for many
years. Julie has a cute, cute daughter and Mer is still as wacked
as ever - actually Julie is too. Their husbands are both rad individuals
and I hope Sarah and I live close to them all someday.)

Go and see a friend this week. Just do it.

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