25 April 2014
23 April 2014
One Week To Rule It All
I can't believe it. One week to go and we are outta here. It's so funny to think that for so long this seemed like some far-off dream and wasn't necessarily anything more than that, even as it aproached, but now that it's upon us - whoa! Two days from now I will be celebrating my last day of work, probably the only instance in a lifetime of working at places until they closed up shop, or leaving suddenly with little notice for bad reasons, that I have actually given notice to a job and am leaving on my own terms without any bad vibes or burnt bridges. I won't go so far as to say that it's bittersweet, but it has its moments. Especially those customers who I have seen and talked to every day for five years or more. Saying goodbye is tough sometimes and it feels good to know that I have impacted these people in such a way that my leaving affects them, at least to some degree. Of course, that's pretty much where it ends. Gotta keep moving.
Speaking of moving, we've gotten quite a bit done since the last update but there is still much to do. Last Thursday and Friday, I took several car loads of boxes out to Amanda's house, most of it boxes of vinyl. Damn those buggers are heavy. We also took a big metal trunk of family photos and tubs of Krissy's scrapbooks. Needless to say, I sure was sore for a few days after that. That pretty much killed off the boxes in the apartment though the stack is starting to grow once again. We also got a few more things moved to the storage unit, namely the coffee table, end tables, a clothes rack, the big stereo speakers, and a few small things. We also spent Sunday night going through all of our clothes and splitting up what we are going to bring on the trip and what we are going to take to storage. Those will be taken up to the unit in a day or two. I am still working on getting the Sidebar cleared out. It's getting there. I need to bring myself to take all the stuff off the walls. It's like a collage in there so that will be quite a bit of work in and of itself. The big thing, however, is the kitchen. We have done absolutely nothing to it except make it messier. It is my goal to have everything but the most necessary of items packed up and out by the end of the weekend. We also have a desk in the bedroom that needs to be moved out at some point and I need to dismantle my computer desk and take that and the chairs to the unit. Monday morning I am going to take the last of the stuff to Amanda's which will be a few more guitars and my recording gear and some hard drives. So much to do.
In between all that, there's the parties. Oh man, we had an epic throwdown at Camp Lichy last Saturday. We smoked a pork shoulder, some ribs, and a cajun turkey, and had lots of sides. And oh so much beer. We rocked out to tunes, played some cornhole, swung in hammocks, and just hung out with as many family and friends as we could gather in one spot. It was pretty epic sendoff. Tonight I have a farewell dinner with various current and former co-workers, at Rocco's. Looking very forward to that. This Friday is a farewell MUNCH, at Bugsy's in Old Town, and the weekend will be spent with yet another circle of friends, playing games and celebrating. The hardest part of this process is that we want to see everyone we can before we leave, and we are doing all we can to make that happen, but we also have so much stuff to do. It is overwhelming, at the very least. But fun.
On the trip front, every day it gets closer and closer to becoming fully booked. Parks Canada started allowing reservations last week so all of those campgrounds were booked late last week. Newfoundland provincial parks opened for reservations this week, but it's on a staggered schedule, so some were booked yesterday, one will be booked today, and a couple more will be booked on Friday. The downside of those parks is that you pay for the site when you actually get there. We were hoping to get as much of this trip paid for in advance as possible. This means that we need to do some extra budgeting. Not too big a deal, it just means more work.
One of the cool changes to the trip is that we will be staying at a hostel within the walled part of Quebec City, for three nights. That is going to be pretty awesome. I can't wait to hang out there. We've decided to get a CD or download something that will teach us at least a little bit of French before we get there. Folks there can speak English but at least attempting to communicate in French will probably go a long way towards not being viewed as ugly Americans. Or uglier. There is still a B&B that we need to book for our two days in Labrador. You can't book online so we need to pick up a calling card so that we can make the reservation. There is another B&B in Ramea that I am thinking about booking for one night in late August but I have to examine the budget a bit and make sure it can work. The only question mark on this trip at this time is one night in Edmunston NB, which occurs between Fredericton and Quebec City. I had originally wanted to get a camp site but, being towards the middle of September, campgrounds are closing up. So we might have to splurge for a hotel. I found a great one but, again, the budget must be consulted before we make a booking.
That's about it for now. That is enough. Oh, and I think I have decided against trying to pull off a farewell single to the Sidebar. There just isn't enough time and, honestly, I think six albums in three months is farewell enough. Of course I say that now and then next week I will have a seventh album. Yeah right...
Speaking of moving, we've gotten quite a bit done since the last update but there is still much to do. Last Thursday and Friday, I took several car loads of boxes out to Amanda's house, most of it boxes of vinyl. Damn those buggers are heavy. We also took a big metal trunk of family photos and tubs of Krissy's scrapbooks. Needless to say, I sure was sore for a few days after that. That pretty much killed off the boxes in the apartment though the stack is starting to grow once again. We also got a few more things moved to the storage unit, namely the coffee table, end tables, a clothes rack, the big stereo speakers, and a few small things. We also spent Sunday night going through all of our clothes and splitting up what we are going to bring on the trip and what we are going to take to storage. Those will be taken up to the unit in a day or two. I am still working on getting the Sidebar cleared out. It's getting there. I need to bring myself to take all the stuff off the walls. It's like a collage in there so that will be quite a bit of work in and of itself. The big thing, however, is the kitchen. We have done absolutely nothing to it except make it messier. It is my goal to have everything but the most necessary of items packed up and out by the end of the weekend. We also have a desk in the bedroom that needs to be moved out at some point and I need to dismantle my computer desk and take that and the chairs to the unit. Monday morning I am going to take the last of the stuff to Amanda's which will be a few more guitars and my recording gear and some hard drives. So much to do.
In between all that, there's the parties. Oh man, we had an epic throwdown at Camp Lichy last Saturday. We smoked a pork shoulder, some ribs, and a cajun turkey, and had lots of sides. And oh so much beer. We rocked out to tunes, played some cornhole, swung in hammocks, and just hung out with as many family and friends as we could gather in one spot. It was pretty epic sendoff. Tonight I have a farewell dinner with various current and former co-workers, at Rocco's. Looking very forward to that. This Friday is a farewell MUNCH, at Bugsy's in Old Town, and the weekend will be spent with yet another circle of friends, playing games and celebrating. The hardest part of this process is that we want to see everyone we can before we leave, and we are doing all we can to make that happen, but we also have so much stuff to do. It is overwhelming, at the very least. But fun.
On the trip front, every day it gets closer and closer to becoming fully booked. Parks Canada started allowing reservations last week so all of those campgrounds were booked late last week. Newfoundland provincial parks opened for reservations this week, but it's on a staggered schedule, so some were booked yesterday, one will be booked today, and a couple more will be booked on Friday. The downside of those parks is that you pay for the site when you actually get there. We were hoping to get as much of this trip paid for in advance as possible. This means that we need to do some extra budgeting. Not too big a deal, it just means more work.
One of the cool changes to the trip is that we will be staying at a hostel within the walled part of Quebec City, for three nights. That is going to be pretty awesome. I can't wait to hang out there. We've decided to get a CD or download something that will teach us at least a little bit of French before we get there. Folks there can speak English but at least attempting to communicate in French will probably go a long way towards not being viewed as ugly Americans. Or uglier. There is still a B&B that we need to book for our two days in Labrador. You can't book online so we need to pick up a calling card so that we can make the reservation. There is another B&B in Ramea that I am thinking about booking for one night in late August but I have to examine the budget a bit and make sure it can work. The only question mark on this trip at this time is one night in Edmunston NB, which occurs between Fredericton and Quebec City. I had originally wanted to get a camp site but, being towards the middle of September, campgrounds are closing up. So we might have to splurge for a hotel. I found a great one but, again, the budget must be consulted before we make a booking.
That's about it for now. That is enough. Oh, and I think I have decided against trying to pull off a farewell single to the Sidebar. There just isn't enough time and, honestly, I think six albums in three months is farewell enough. Of course I say that now and then next week I will have a seventh album. Yeah right...
16 April 2014
Two Weeks For The Sky
Oh my words. We are down to the two week mark and it feels kinda crazy. In a way, it still does not feel real and then it does. Several times daily, Krissy and I both have these "holy crap what the hell are we doing" moments. Something tells me that these waves will not subside, even as we are in the thick of our travels. But still we are very excited.
The biggest update we have this week is that we started the physical move last weekend. On Saturday we got a storage unit, fortunately right around the corner from where we live. They have a truck that new tenants are allowed to use so Sunday was spent loading out. We moved out the bookcases (four large and five small), the massive wall units that hold all my CDs (four of them), the couch, dining room table and chairs, two living room chairs, and about a hundred boxes, of varying size and weight. It was just the two of us and it took almost all day and I totally threw out my back doing it but it was....fun? Sure.
We still have a lot more to move in the next two weeks but that can pretty much all be done by car. We still need to move the end tables, coffee table, TV, sound system, bedroom desk, kitchen hutch, patio chairs, small sidebar table, a couple small filing cabinets, and my big computer table, as well as the bed (which will obviously be moved on the last day) and all the kitchen stuff, which we need to start packing. We also have a lot of stuff that will be going out to my sister's house, including all of my vinyl (yikes), scrapbooks, photos, the FDM archive, the rest of the guitars, and other irreplaceable items. So yeah, there is still work to be done.
In the trip-booking department, I locked down another campground, which we will be at for four days after we spend our night in Halifax. Also, in a fantastic act of kindness, one of my customers hooked us up with a suite at the Marriott in Mont Tremblant QC, in the mountains north of Montreal, for two nights towards the end of our trip. It will be a nice cushy way to end so many months of air mattresses and tent living.
In other news, I powered through my recording sessions and totally met my 2014 goal of six albums released (four albums of new material, one album of cover songs, and a best-of-all-that-came-before). I have a little remixing and a couple of overdubs to do on the Two For The Sky album and I need to make a final decision on the track listing for the Boom album and release those and all will be well. With a couple weeks left, most likely I will write and record a farewell-to-the-Sidebar single, which may end up being a song called "Sidebar". More on that later.
In the meantime, we have our big farewell BBQ this Saturday at Amanda's house. We will be smoking a pork shoulder or two (or three) and drinking a few beers and hanging out with as many friends and family that we can gather. It will be a great time. There will be many other farewell dinners and hangouts over the next two weeks as well. Busy times.
Oh yeah, and nine days until my job ends. Wahoo!
The biggest update we have this week is that we started the physical move last weekend. On Saturday we got a storage unit, fortunately right around the corner from where we live. They have a truck that new tenants are allowed to use so Sunday was spent loading out. We moved out the bookcases (four large and five small), the massive wall units that hold all my CDs (four of them), the couch, dining room table and chairs, two living room chairs, and about a hundred boxes, of varying size and weight. It was just the two of us and it took almost all day and I totally threw out my back doing it but it was....fun? Sure.
We still have a lot more to move in the next two weeks but that can pretty much all be done by car. We still need to move the end tables, coffee table, TV, sound system, bedroom desk, kitchen hutch, patio chairs, small sidebar table, a couple small filing cabinets, and my big computer table, as well as the bed (which will obviously be moved on the last day) and all the kitchen stuff, which we need to start packing. We also have a lot of stuff that will be going out to my sister's house, including all of my vinyl (yikes), scrapbooks, photos, the FDM archive, the rest of the guitars, and other irreplaceable items. So yeah, there is still work to be done.
In the trip-booking department, I locked down another campground, which we will be at for four days after we spend our night in Halifax. Also, in a fantastic act of kindness, one of my customers hooked us up with a suite at the Marriott in Mont Tremblant QC, in the mountains north of Montreal, for two nights towards the end of our trip. It will be a nice cushy way to end so many months of air mattresses and tent living.
In other news, I powered through my recording sessions and totally met my 2014 goal of six albums released (four albums of new material, one album of cover songs, and a best-of-all-that-came-before). I have a little remixing and a couple of overdubs to do on the Two For The Sky album and I need to make a final decision on the track listing for the Boom album and release those and all will be well. With a couple weeks left, most likely I will write and record a farewell-to-the-Sidebar single, which may end up being a song called "Sidebar". More on that later.
In the meantime, we have our big farewell BBQ this Saturday at Amanda's house. We will be smoking a pork shoulder or two (or three) and drinking a few beers and hanging out with as many friends and family that we can gather. It will be a great time. There will be many other farewell dinners and hangouts over the next two weeks as well. Busy times.
Oh yeah, and nine days until my job ends. Wahoo!
10 April 2014
Three Weeks High And Rising
It's creeping along. Three weeks from today we will be setting out on our way. Not a whole lot to report in the progress department. As soon as I finished my last post it was reported that we have health insurance sorted for the trip. It's not as inclusive as your typical policy but it will cover us if something bad happens and we really need it. Which I hope we won't.
Much of Sunday was spent taking all the pictures and whatnot down from the walls at home. That was a project in and of itself and is good that it's done but it really does make the house look pretty sad and empty. I have yet to do the same with the Sidebar but that will be taken care of before the next update, along with the packing of the kitchen, etc.
We are also planning on opening the storage unit this weekend and will start moving boxes and simple furniture to the unit. That will greatly reduce the clutter of boxes, which will make it easy to get around but will probably freak the cats out.
Still trying to slog through all the recording I want to get done before we leave. I am just about finished with an album called Boom. For those who are counting, that will be the fifth FDM album to see release in 2014 (after Reinvent The Lie, Breaking Away, Move Like Wind, and The Big Cover-Up). I am hoping to whip up one more in the next two weeks which will be called Two For The Sky. The songs are already written for that one so it should happen pretty quickly. Hopefully it will be more than halfway completed before the next update.
As far as the trip goes, it is still in flux. Turns out that Terra Nova is not open for camping at the time we were planning on going there so that stop has been rescheduled for after we leave St. John's, which will give us a little more time to get from Labrador to the Trinity/Skerwink hostel, where we will be from 10 June to 1 July. I am also continuing to explore options for the end of Newfoundland and there may be a trip to the island of Ramea for one night in a gorgeous B&B.
We got one more campground locked in. It is in Canso NS, about a five hour drive north of Halifax. We will be there for four days, from 21-25 May, before we hit the ferry for Newfoundland.
That's about it. There is still a lot to do in the next three weeks. Some of it, fortunately, is fun. There will be dinners with friends and family and a big BBQ bash on the 19th that I am really looking forward to. It makes all the other crazy business a little easier to handle. Time is flying.
Much of Sunday was spent taking all the pictures and whatnot down from the walls at home. That was a project in and of itself and is good that it's done but it really does make the house look pretty sad and empty. I have yet to do the same with the Sidebar but that will be taken care of before the next update, along with the packing of the kitchen, etc.
We are also planning on opening the storage unit this weekend and will start moving boxes and simple furniture to the unit. That will greatly reduce the clutter of boxes, which will make it easy to get around but will probably freak the cats out.
Still trying to slog through all the recording I want to get done before we leave. I am just about finished with an album called Boom. For those who are counting, that will be the fifth FDM album to see release in 2014 (after Reinvent The Lie, Breaking Away, Move Like Wind, and The Big Cover-Up). I am hoping to whip up one more in the next two weeks which will be called Two For The Sky. The songs are already written for that one so it should happen pretty quickly. Hopefully it will be more than halfway completed before the next update.
As far as the trip goes, it is still in flux. Turns out that Terra Nova is not open for camping at the time we were planning on going there so that stop has been rescheduled for after we leave St. John's, which will give us a little more time to get from Labrador to the Trinity/Skerwink hostel, where we will be from 10 June to 1 July. I am also continuing to explore options for the end of Newfoundland and there may be a trip to the island of Ramea for one night in a gorgeous B&B.
We got one more campground locked in. It is in Canso NS, about a five hour drive north of Halifax. We will be there for four days, from 21-25 May, before we hit the ferry for Newfoundland.
That's about it. There is still a lot to do in the next three weeks. Some of it, fortunately, is fun. There will be dinners with friends and family and a big BBQ bash on the 19th that I am really looking forward to. It makes all the other crazy business a little easier to handle. Time is flying.
03 April 2014
Four Weeks Off The Floor
So here we are, four weeks from our Big Day. Not too many things have changed in the last week. We are still on schedule, more or less, but I think the stresses of time are slowing starting to creep in.
The biggest step forward is that the Sidebar (my office/recording studio/music shrine, for those not in the know) is almost completely boxed up. All but the guitars that I am currently using have been taken to Amanda & Pat's for safekeeping and the rest of the closet is in boxes, out with the rest of Corrugation Station (coined by The Adge). I still need to take the stuff off the walls and box up a few more things but it's getting there. Moving the vinyl to Amanda's, which is already in boxes and crates, is a tough task that I am not quite looking forward to undertaking.
The other big step forward is that we now have health insurance for the trip. It's a fickle policy, as most travel policies are, but it will be there for us should something happen like we get attacked by a wild animal, fall down a crevice or crevasse, or slice our fingers open while in some kitchen somewhere.
I am still working on mapping out the last month of our trip. The most recent version of that leg has us taking several trips to various towns and outports on the southern coast of Newfoundland. The terrain down there is quite unforgiving and, as such, it is the least settled and populated part of the island. There are no roads that cross the island in the south, just the Trans Canada Highway, which crosses in the north. Then you just turn off and drive for hours til you get to the south. I have us taking three such detours on the way back across the island but I will probably take one of those off the itinerary and dole out the extra time elsewhere. Otherwise, it's a LOT of driving (3-4 hours each way from the highway to the coast and gas ain't cheap). The isolation of those areas will be comforting and I am sure the people who live there would be most welcoming, as it is far different from the rest of the island, which can be tourist-heavy in places. Going to St. Pierre et Miquelon is off the table now. It is a place that I would love love love to visit but that will just brutalize our budget, which will no doubt be tight by that stage of the journey. Would be much cheaper to camp for next to nothing in the remote south and the ferry to Ramea, for example, would cost us about 1/10 of the cost to get to St. Pierre.
So I think that we will skip the Burin Peninsula, which is where Fortune Bay and surrounding areas are, and instead visit the Connaigre Penisula, home of Harbour Breton as well as several smaller communities like St. Jacques and the enticingly-named Seal Cove. From Harbor Breton, we can take a passenger ferry to Gaultois and McCallum, which are small, quaint outport villages. We will probably visit Burgeo, also on the south coast, before we head off the island, as well.
Much of this trip is still a work in progress and will probably remain so until soon before it all happens. As much as I love to plan vacations down to the minute, there is also something to be said about flying by the seat of our pants. For this trip, we have plenty of time to do both.
So that's about it for now. The next few weeks will include much packing and sorting and physical moving and finalization of details, and squeezing in as much quality time with friends and family as possible. There will be some epic throwdowns in the coming weeks....
The biggest step forward is that the Sidebar (my office/recording studio/music shrine, for those not in the know) is almost completely boxed up. All but the guitars that I am currently using have been taken to Amanda & Pat's for safekeeping and the rest of the closet is in boxes, out with the rest of Corrugation Station (coined by The Adge). I still need to take the stuff off the walls and box up a few more things but it's getting there. Moving the vinyl to Amanda's, which is already in boxes and crates, is a tough task that I am not quite looking forward to undertaking.
The other big step forward is that we now have health insurance for the trip. It's a fickle policy, as most travel policies are, but it will be there for us should something happen like we get attacked by a wild animal, fall down a crevice or crevasse, or slice our fingers open while in some kitchen somewhere.
I am still working on mapping out the last month of our trip. The most recent version of that leg has us taking several trips to various towns and outports on the southern coast of Newfoundland. The terrain down there is quite unforgiving and, as such, it is the least settled and populated part of the island. There are no roads that cross the island in the south, just the Trans Canada Highway, which crosses in the north. Then you just turn off and drive for hours til you get to the south. I have us taking three such detours on the way back across the island but I will probably take one of those off the itinerary and dole out the extra time elsewhere. Otherwise, it's a LOT of driving (3-4 hours each way from the highway to the coast and gas ain't cheap). The isolation of those areas will be comforting and I am sure the people who live there would be most welcoming, as it is far different from the rest of the island, which can be tourist-heavy in places. Going to St. Pierre et Miquelon is off the table now. It is a place that I would love love love to visit but that will just brutalize our budget, which will no doubt be tight by that stage of the journey. Would be much cheaper to camp for next to nothing in the remote south and the ferry to Ramea, for example, would cost us about 1/10 of the cost to get to St. Pierre.
So I think that we will skip the Burin Peninsula, which is where Fortune Bay and surrounding areas are, and instead visit the Connaigre Penisula, home of Harbour Breton as well as several smaller communities like St. Jacques and the enticingly-named Seal Cove. From Harbor Breton, we can take a passenger ferry to Gaultois and McCallum, which are small, quaint outport villages. We will probably visit Burgeo, also on the south coast, before we head off the island, as well.
Much of this trip is still a work in progress and will probably remain so until soon before it all happens. As much as I love to plan vacations down to the minute, there is also something to be said about flying by the seat of our pants. For this trip, we have plenty of time to do both.
So that's about it for now. The next few weeks will include much packing and sorting and physical moving and finalization of details, and squeezing in as much quality time with friends and family as possible. There will be some epic throwdowns in the coming weeks....
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