I've got another quarter...

Not to drop heavies, but I have had the most insane week ever...

So nuts that I had to take some time off work to deal with this. I got through what I needed to Tuesday at the office, and have been off since.

Im basically starting over again.

- I move into my new house this week.
- Several new job offerings have come out of the blue.
- Made some serious realizations after I was explained how "pathetic" I was being.
- And last but not least, went through the biggest life altering experience I have ever had. I do not even think it has sunk in yet. It will probably hit me 7 years down the road on some idle Tuesday night.

So ya, life is pretty nutty at the moment, but most of it is good.

Oh man, not again.

Cowboy Johnny

PLUS

Soccer hooligan Pegg




EQUALS:

It was a friend of ours birthday celebration on Friday. For the day they rented a huge SUV limo to take us down to Toronto for the BlueJays game. There was 10 of us in total for the game.

This would be the Birthday boy




Everyone got stocked up for the ride down so shots of whatever you needed were flying left, right, and center.

crazylimo 


You actually might be able to guess what Leanne is doing here....or not....




Anyways, to the retarded part of the night. We roll up the Skydome about 2 innings late, find our seats, and start to annoy everyone around us. I took one look at Pegg and we were gone about 2 pitches later.

The two of us didn't even watch the game. We were running around the Skydome drinking the whole time. Pegg had this hard-on to get up to the 300 level. This is where all the press, owners, and private boxes are.

While we were attempting to charm are way into some other restricted bar we found another fellow in a similar state. This guy was your typical Toronto young money frat guy, but he was also funny as hell.

We explained our goal....He said follow me and that was that. He lead us to this backdoor that had just been used by a security guard so it was just about to close, but this guy nabbed it Indian Jones style. Ha.

Its pretty nice on the 300 level let me tell you. What now? Well....We started door by door going into the private booths looking for a party. Everyone was mostly doing their own thing and wanted nothing to do with us. One door was awesome....The new guy opens the door and the room is filled with women. These could have been the players wives for all we know. This is where this guy made me howl...He takes one look at the situation and comes up with this:

"Hello ladies, someone order male entertainment??"

You had your pseudo business man, your cowboy, and your soccer player?

Hahaha, we all had a quick laugh about that, and then we were kindly told to be on our way.

Next stop was the VIP bar...We figured we were safe here and could just blend in while we got a pint and watched the end of the game we had completely missed. Keep in mind Im wearing a cowboy hat....I didn't exactly blend in. hahahaha.

Half way through our pints we are approached by security....

"Umm who are you guys? Are you suppose to be here"

"Why of course we are....umm..uhh..."

"Thats it!! You guys are out of here"

*** So that was that..We managed to get kicked out of the Skydome ***

So there is the option to wait like 15 minutes for the game to end, pile back in the limo, and head back to Burlington to party....But I don't think we even considered it. hahahaha. We headed straight downtown to find some clubs.

We decided to try out Tonic night club. In a stroke of dumb luck we get in there and all the girls behind the bar are dressed up like cowgirls.

"HEY!! Check out this guy, how did you know it was cowboy night?""

hahaha I was an unintentional hit. Too funny.

We grew tired of this club and tried out another one, Republik. Not exactly sure what time we made our exit from there, but as I was enjoying my delicious street meat it came to my attention that I was enjoying by myself...

Holyfuck....Not again. There isn't even a house to line up the C.N.Tower with this time!!!

I made a few useless phone calls that went nowhere...And decided to exercise option B from the last time this happened. I curled up to some pavement outside of Union station and waited for it open at 5:30am. I caught the first train back at 6:43am without having a clue what happened to Pegg. Apparently he realized he was alone and took a cab back to Burlington. hahahaha. Minus his credit card and drivers license.

Oh Toronto.....The things I do with you.

No more Fitzer...

Well the wedding came and went for my old highschool friends...I wont bother with stories this time around as the last post was long enough.




The maids




The couple




The bride




My lovely date




The initial buzz hitting at 6:30




Funniest table at the wedding handsdown










Definitely feeling it now hahaah Im not exactly sure what dance move Im doing.

Was a great wedding...

Just John

Ha, I use to always get the third degree from my friends parents when I would reply, "oh, its just John calling" after they'd ask whom they were speaking to on then phone when I called.

I guess that is how I work. I do not think I am anything special to worry about. I do have an underlining notion of being a good person with a few things to do in this world, but I am no saint/king/god. I was put into a rather unique situation as a child though; I am John Macnamara the 5th. There's 2-5 there. Kinda neat.




Every first born son is given the name John to be carried down until the line runs out. To add to this, the last couple of them have done pretty damn well for themselves. This in turn does put pressure on me to do so. Yes, I know its gay, and I should just live my life without worrying about living up to other peoples expectations....But, you try this life out and tell me how to ignore that completely.

I have done well for the most part ignoring that part of my life. I partied as hard as I could, tried everything once, and regretted nothing.

My father is a fairly black and white type of person with a "my way, or the highway" kind of attitude. We did not see "eye to eye" on a lot of things...And I mean a lot. When he found my briefcase full of pot, scales, bags and money...ya he was not impressed. hahaha. So lets just say I have a small problem with authority. I was always given rules and guidelines with no rhyme or reason. That was just how things were to be done....And of course....Being a little more risk adverse and slightly more creative I never wanted to do things his way. I always knew I wanted end up with a life like they have built for themselves, but there was no way in hell I was doing it their way.

I do not think any of the Johns were ruthless, or snobs, or assholes. Sometimes that's the picture that is painted when you have money kicking around. You either squashed the little guy to get there, or through a stroke of dumb luck found yourself there, don't really feel confident being there, so you flaunt what you've got to make up for what you don't really have..."Worth"...

My way.....

I struggled a bit in regards to the direction of my life. A big part of me believes the best things in life are free. I am happy sitting on a wooden bench in the park listening to the birds...Or floating in a lake looking up at the sky a few minutes after your balls pop back out due to the temperature. I think my all time favorite thing to do in the world is watching the rain fall in the summer time. Thunder storms pretty much kick ass. Ha.

Another big part of me knows these moments are more readily available when you are financially sound. When you're working two shit jobs to try and keep your head above water there is not much time to take your kid to the park, let alone breathe. Im a Taurus, and being secure is like a drug to me. I have peace of mind when I know what's going on, and everything is in its place.




That being said, I know what I want out of this life, and I know how to get it...I think the big thing I wanted to do in this life was to get all of that, without devoting my character to rules and guidelines. I do not need my son to become a rocket scientist, or a brain surgeon. If that's what they want, great. I do not even need him to obtain what I know I will. I have done things this way to show that it is possible to get everything you've ever wanted or needed through hard work and determination. Yes, A lot of people think I'm lazy, but its not entirely true. I sweat my balls of in Dofasco, numbed my mind in Ford, and worked in this stupid company for 2.5 years just because I did not want to look like a flight risk. Why do it this way?? Just to show there is no need for pressure in this world. As long as you are happy and have your light at the end of the tunnel then that is all you really need, the rest will fall into place.

The point of this post:

I think I've made it in their eyes, which means a lot to me...This weekend my grandparents were in town. We had a nice family dinner on Friday, full of good food, wine, and stories. My family is pretty interesting at times....Lots of different view points and politics...Keeps you on your toes. Ha.

In the morning the Johns went golfing and the ladies did brunch I think.

While driving with my grandfather I filled him on all the things I've been doing. For the first time ever I think he looked at me with proud eyes. I was always just a kid to him, which is all I should have been anyways. I could tell in the past he and my father were worried about my direction what with all the tattoos and piercings. But now? Now I think he looks at me as someone to carry on the tradition.

Hahaha they hated those.

This long winded story could probably have been summed up by simply saying I've finally sold out and lived up to what my family has always wanted since the day I was born....ahhah, but I do not see it that way. I am now in a spot where my life makes sense. Everything is coming together and its starting to work out the way I thought it would.




I think I am ready to get my next, and final tattoo.

If you remember I have a scroll down my leg that has been left empty.

Well I know what I want in there...As I feel a huge chapter of my life is complete, and a new one is starting, I think a tree inside the scroll is what I want.

This tree will depict starting over again with new life coming from the roots of the tree that represent my stupid ass being more grounded and stationary.

The tree will also be used as a family tree. So I will add names as time passes.

This is also my little scam to not really stop getting tats hahaha.

And then there were two

This blog is slowly but surely becoming an unofficial fan website for Bedouin.

After the sweet time I had when the boys came to McMaster I planned on going to see them play frosh week at Fanshawe College in London. The thought was to get a whole bunch of people to go down and rock out with our cocks out. This plan went from 10, to 7, to 5, and finally ended up with 2....My brother....and I.




So it was a family road trip then. We made it to London around 7 for some drinks with an old friend; then it was off to find Pat because I screwed up and didn't get in touch with him before we got to London.

How do you find the main band at a college frosh week show?

Well.....We didn't really know what the hell to do.

We tried the main entrance and asked security if they could get in touch with the guys. Nothing doing there...Then we tried the guest list to see if by chance Pat had put me down without really asking him to do so...nothing doing there. Tried looking around for the tour bus, but could only find a couple of cube vans and an air port bus. We assumed this was what they rolled up with, but no one was around.

WTF...Poor Dave, the guy just wanted to see them because he missed out in Toronto.

Oh, and the line up to get a ticket?...ya that was insanely retarded. So we weren't waiting in that....

"F it.....Lets just go home"

As we hung our heads in shame to make our way home I opened the door to be greeted by someone I couldn't quite remember. It was the bands manager...f'ing right.

"Come with me boys"

And that was it....The Macnamaras were back stage drinking beers with the band, and got to watch the show from the side stage. This show was even f'ing better then the other two for some reason. These guys keep getting better and better. Stalefish was the opening act (they rock), and the second attraction was this duet, Sebastian and something...I dunno...one guy playing guitar...and one girl signing...amazing...just amazing.

After the show was more beers and food. Its funny to see how people treat these guys now...A select handful of individuals running the school were able to make special requests to have their daughters come in and meet the band, and the guys have no real choice but to say yes. They are not even that famous and you could tell this wears on them already. Ha. I guess eventually if you get big enough you get to say no to these types of things.




1am rolls around and I have to work in the morning...Wonderful...There is also a mild monsoon going on outside; so passing trucks on the highway leaves me with enough visibility that you simply cross your fingers and hope for the best. ahhaha.

C.N(orthstar)Tower

This takes the cake of my stupid nights out in Toronto.

We arrive at our friends house around 7:30pm to start off the birthday celebration for an old university roommate. I take a glance at the C.N.Tower, and make a comment about how cool it looks from this angle.




The partying gets under way, and at the peak we were looking at like 10-15 people I think. Everyone was mostly concentrated around the kitchen as they had a balance board out. If I fail miserably to describe this correctly feel free to beat me with a wet noodle. Anyways, there's a cylinder on the ground, and you're SUPPOSE to balance on the flat board piece. One got up and was juggling while doing this. Yours truly gets up for all of .000012347 seconds and sends the board flying and me crashing to the ground with a bottle of wine in my hands.

I have figured out what my stupid human trick is. Getting myself into ridiculous situations while holding a drink and not spilling.

After everyone is nice and loaded we make our way downtown to the bars. Somehow everyone goes 5 different directions and everything is just a big fat blurry mess.

How in Gods name this worked out, I don't know; but, at the end of the night it is just this one girl Christine and I looking for her two friends: Meagan, and George (singer from Alexisonfire). We make our way over to this one place and manage to find these guys. A few more drinks were had and its suddenly like 3am.




We pile out of the bar and all hop into a cab. George kindly puts it to me like this "Umm were going back to the tour bus which is heading to London, this might not work for you". Hahaha, no, no it wont.

Christine is passed out cold so shes going to London and doesn't even know it.

I explain to them that I need to get to get back to Matts place and will be on my way. So we stop the cab and I get out. I jump out downtown....wave goodbye, and start walking towards Matts place.

Wait, I don't know where Matt lives..I know, I'll just call them and figure out where they live...Shit....No phone, left it at home cause Im an idiot...

Im all alone, hammed, no phone, no idea where my friends are, totally lost in Toronto...and its 3:30am...Sweet.

Options...Walk to the Go station and pull up a bench beside John Doe....Or....Try and locate Matts house based on the location of the C.N.Tower.




So, I start heading North West in hopes of getting a view of tower that duplicates what I saw earlier, logically this would put me at Matts place.

Well it worked....2 hours later.

ahhahah, its Tuesday and my legs are still sore from the marathon...

BONG!!!!!

I visited the Toyota plant in Cambridge last week. Now, for anyone who's been out in that neck of the woods you have to know its retarded. Its on the other side of the 401 which in my mind is Kitchener...but once you are in Kitchener you are pretty much in Waterloo...Bunch of useless tits were in charge of that urban-mishap.

Anyways,

I use to work at ford back in the day...This is what ford looks like to me now after seeing Toyota.




How in Gods name do they even pretend to compete??? I don't know why they even bother. Toyota is non-unionized, has better management, and has a better product.

Hell, they have one line that is 94% automated...They even have a robotic delivery system run in a KanBan style. Version for dummies: f'ing robots bring you the parts as you need them.

After the visit, I took most of the day trying to think up something useful out in my plant. I do not get much time to do this as I am constantly busy with mindless BS, playing the middle man between 8 people, or talking on MSN. Ha. I also don't get much time to do this because its not my job, and Id just be stealing peoples thunder by doing so....Although I have come up with a few show stoppers...Some people get excited, and the others just get pissed that it wasn't their idea.

I came up with an solution for one of our waste problems. It was actually pretty sweet when you think about it. Instead of calling in a waste removal company for some of our more hazardous material, we can simply pump it out ourselves into a baking tank, where it can dry, and then be bagged, and dumped into one of our bins.

I ran this by the big guy and hes response was:

"BONG!!!!"




This is when you know you are in good hands.

Hi.....Im John

Well let me tell you folks, it just does not get any easier then this.

I got a call from Pornfield saying Bedouin was playing the Mcmaster frosh week show Tuesday night. I honestly had no idea, but the show was free and I'm always up for a good performance. Plus, I knew this would be slightly informal so there would be a chance to catch up with Pat.

We arrived early to campus so we headed over to the bar for a few warm-up pints. I do not know what they put in those pints...but my god, it got me a little while later.

We had a pretty decent spot on the hill, and the place was rammed. Frosh are like 17 and 18....its ridiculous. But, I think they brought out a mixed crowd as you could tell people from all years were there.

Once again they put on an awesome show. This was more of their scene...They got to play to the crowd a bit more, and played songs not normally done.




During the set a couple of dumbasses stormed the stage and unplugged Jays guitar and mic. After he got himself back up and running he gave a little rant to the crowd:

"Hey, just wanted to say one thing here. A moment ago you might have noticed a couple of guys jumped up on stage and unplugged me...Well let me tell you my guess on who those guys were....Frat guys....They thought they'd come up on stage, pull a prank, get noticed, and maybe impress a few ladies...And maybe some of you ladies were impressed, and that's great...But let me tell you one thing about Frat guys....No one likes Frat guys...At the end of the day, everyone knows Frat guys are lame...and its the fucking truth....So why don't you go back to the bar and enjoy your top 40 crap..."

hahahahaah It was f'ing priceless.




The show went on and it rocked....The crowd was really into it. I had to take a brief leave of absence...Due to those beers I think...ahhaha. Just terrible.

Anyways, the show ended and the boys jumped ship to the tour bus. Porn and I made our way over to see if I could say hello. There was a group of people crowded around the bus wanting autographs. I managed to get Pats attention which got me and Porn invited onto the bus for beers with the boys.




So we drank our beers, had some of free pizza, listened to some tunes, and then made our way to the campus bar. We were getting snuck in the back door when they guys were recognized along the way.

"hey, hey...There's the Bedouin!!"

ahahha.

They stopped and chatted up a few girls...My God, the bedroom eyes these girls had was too funny. As the introductions were happening they turned to me and instead of simply saying I wasn't really with the band I lived like a rock star for a second and replied "Hi...Im John" ahhahaah. It would have been like shooting fish in a barrel.

Anyways, had another beer in the bar with the guys, and then went our separate ways as Jay wasn't feeling the crowd....Bloody rockstars.

Going to London on Tuesday for more rockstar treatment ahha.

It seems God was listening...

I noicted this blog was not so random....and I think God did too as he made my day on Sunday.

Out of the blue I ended up going fishing with my neighbours. We were casting off lines by the pier looking for anything that would bite. I caught anywhere from 10-15 fish..I just stopped counting as they were little guys, but still fun to catch.

All three of us were standing on a dock at one point casting into the weeds for cat fish. One particular cast is the reason for this post. The stars had to align for this one....the dude hooked himself a seagull in mid flight by accident.

The thing struggled in mid-air for a bit, kinda looked like he was floating actually haha, then he slowly spiraled down into the water. The three of us stood there for a second...did that really just happen? hahaha. We reeled him in and brought him up on the dock while we got him untangled. What was surprising was how calm the thing was...




Finally got him free and threw him back into the sea.....er.....air....

The next hour of fishing was full of comfortable silence, only to be broken up with:

"Dude......I cought a fucking Seagull"

HAHAahahhahahaah

Best show ever

Now when you know you're going to be outside in the rain for 5 to 6 hours you are usually not happy about this idea. Such were my initial thoughts about the show I was going to on Saturday: Bedouin Soundclash, Damian Marley, and Ben Harper.

My brother bought tickets in April...That's how badly he wanted to see Bedouin on the big stage for the first time. A bunch of people quit at his place so he was forced to pick up the slack. My sister also bailed on the show so the atmosphere of the entire night was changed. Instead of the family, and one other friend from the old camp, it was me and three of the camp girls. I had no complaints about this as they are all hilarious.




Bedouin went on at 5 which I thought was weird. Sure Damian had a famous dad, but WTF...I had never even heard of the guy until we got the tickets. It was still cool to see them up there doing there thing regardless of the order. Pat keeps a steady sick head bobbing beat going while the front liners do their thing. I hope these boys keep going.




After Bedouin finished up is when the show got interesting for me....Which is weird because I really only went to see them. Damian Marley puts on one HELL of a live show....No F'ING clue what the hell this guy was saying, but the vibe was there...He did a couple of his dads songs too which made the crowd go nuts.

At this point I think I was on $12 dollar beer number 3 or 4 when they concluded their set. Which meant I really really really needed to take a piss...Picture 3,000 other people in the same situation. So instead of waiting in line in the rain freezing my ass off, I headed up to the back fence in the lawn, found some people with a tarp, and convinced them to stand in front of me so security did not toss me out. ha. Worked like a charm.

On said mission is when I bumped into some old high school friends, some of my brothers friends, and some people who were not my friends. haah. I saw this one girl whom I thought I knew from back in the Tremblant trip days.

"hey!! how are you!?!?"

"ummm"

"humm, its John!!, you're from Milton right"

"no"

"(in head, what the hell...I swear I know this girl)"

"umm your names Adrian right?"

"yes"

"rrrrrrrrrrright still not ringing a bell eh, well enjoy the show!!!"

What are the odds she looks like a girl and know and has the same weird name. If her name was Julie or something I could understand that better...S.O.B.

Anyways,

The grand finale of this show was Ben Harper...I have seen him live about 3 times now with this show being the fourth one...This was the best show hands down. I don't know if it was the company, or the beer, or the fact that the whole place was packed and still rocking out in the pouring rain, or what....But I have never seen him play slide guitar like he did that day. It wasn't even the fact that it was mind-blowingly difficult; it was just his timing, and the delivery...At every moment it was kinda like oh man I don't know how much sweeter this can get, and then it just got better...I think I was having a moment or something.




Hands down the best show Id ever seen. It put me in such a good mood...I was loving life..And feeling sentimental...So in a bonehead maneuver I called the ex. The new guy picked up the phone and I immediately turned into "the champ" from Q107. I think my words were something to the effect of him sucking, and that I would like to have the opportunity to rearrange his face for him.

HAhahaahah....Smooth John, real smooth.

Oh well....Was one hell of a night.