Old Man Sawatzky

          After much toil I have chosen to get a twitter. I know what you are thinking, “AJ you’ve lasted this long I thought you would never cave.” to you I say I’m sorry. I did not venture into this decision lightly. Lately I keep hearing friends talk about how they heard one or friends just got this job, or how someone just bought a killer new album. Now I hope to not fall into the trappings of becoming a superfluous miniblog, spewing unyielding useless knowledge about the consistency of a friend of a friend’s poo. I still hope to stay in touch with those I care about, and I hope they still attempt to stay more than five steps closer to me. 

          I warn you now I have not explored the ins and outs of twitter. I have yet to make an initial “twitter,” to be quiet honest I’m a little taken back because I have already been followed for a year, prior to making my account. So at risk of becoming a angry, crotchety, old man, I will dip my foot a little further into the  twenty first century waters. “follow me“

Don’t Waste It

           Christmas comes but once a year, or so the saying goes. If you are like everyone else, making fun of the people shopping in August for their friends and family but just now realizing you need to start, here are some places that could use your money. 

 

• Blood Water Mission – they help build fresh water wells in Africa. 
• Invisible Children – they help rescue children from being children soldiers
• Tom’s Shoes – every pair you buy a needy child gets a pair
• Fair Trade Online Store – know what you bought wasn’t made by slave labor
• Suubi(hope) – help some women in africa get a fair wage
• Oxfam international – educate yourself on what is going on
• One – join the movement to end poverty

           Those are just a few with a little elbow grease and a pinch of carpal tunnel I’m sure you can find others. I know shopping at these places is a little more expensive, but if your tired of playing dumb to what you hear about wal-mart and others like them, do something. Things don’t change without a catalyst, be it. If that all sounds too hippie for you, I’m not advocating you stopping animals or where hemp or linen pants, I’m just asking we do our part to keep from falling into a dark pit with OJ Simpson and Dustin Diamond.

Viva La Vida

          For those unable to make the tour here are some fuzzy photos and anecdotes you can tell your friends and act like you were there.

          If they ask what the people around you were like you can answer drunk. Regal your guests with stories of old men complaining about the guy behind them singing too loud, or a really drunk lesbian couple using you as a stabilizer. 

          They even came up into the stands one section over from you and laid down a fantastic acoustic set. Don’t forget to mention the spectacular finale with Lovers In Japan, and coming back to wet your lips once more with Yellow.

          As an added bonus you ran into your good friends Ali and Zac, always good to see old friends. And if you thought your night was over, just reminisce about how you locked your keys in your trunk and had to wait for the parking garage attendee to break into your car.

 

Sketching In Church #2

Funerals

          I’m always torn about funerals. I’m sure no one wants to go to them, they are breeding grounds for awkward situations and inappropriate jokes. I wasn’t looking forward to my grandfather’s funeral. I was sad he was gone, but I was glad he wasn’t suffering any more. The thing I liked about the funeral though is that it forced me to confront it. Up until then I was avoiding it, I didn’t have any family near by, I could easily distract myself, I had nobody here that knew my grandfather. The funeral caused me to truly confront the fact that he was gone, but as I said it wasn’t sad, but good.

           So after the funeral I noticed a couple of similarities between it and a wedding. 

• The family is seated last
• everyone stands for the last symbolic entrance of someone
• There is a planner and they are assertive 
• You learn about new branches on the family tree 
• What term you use to describe that new branch
• people cry
• there is a lot of food
• excessive drinking (Catholics/Irish yay stereotypes)
• lots of looking at pictures
• obscene amounts of hugs

Good News For Diesel Lovers

 

          So they have discovered a fungus that makes diesel. Time to grab your syringes and sneak up on your trees