Wasted thoughts

“The officer gets me naturalized” – Gogol Bordello

2011-05-03T18:04:00.004+10:00

Hello kids,

Yesterday my day was filled with unexpected life changing news. In the first place Osama Bin Laden was killed. I don’t think it’s a lie, sorry if you think I’m naive but when the president goes on national television and says, “this guy is dead, we’ve killed him”. I believe him. Can there be a more fact or fiction statement. It’s not a statistic or an estimated body count or statement of belief. As far as I am aware individuals can be dead or alive, either/or no in between, no grey no ambiguity. As far as identification I feel like Steve Zissou (though admittedly he was lying at this point in the movie) saying that he knew about his “son” since he read an article about himself and he “assumed they check their facts”. As far as that goes how far should we extend this conspiracy theory? How do we know we weren’t given false images of Osama from the beginning? How do we know he’s not an imaginary figure head created to put a “face on the enemy” and how many of us would really recognize a picture of him if they did show a picture of his corpse? Along with a myriad of other questions that anyone could come up with at any time, but will anyone really spend the time to research the answers? It feels like if you don’t believe he’s dead then the burden of proof is on you to prove it wrong. How significant do I think it is that he is dead? A little, bordering on not at all, Unless terrorism was named Osama Bin Laden then apparently we’re still at war with a concept, and who can say when that will end. So I guess it’s more interesting news than life changing news and most of this paragraph was a rant against general stupidity.

In more exciting actually significant news, my visa was approved yesterday. I’m one year and a couple months away from Permanent Residency (roughly the Australian equivalent to a green card). This is a major relief and allows me to start viewing my move as permanent, and allows me to start looking for full time employment and further consider a continuation of my studies. It also means that I can comfortably leave and re-enter the country. This means that a Montana reception may be in the pipeline! This being said I hope to see you all sooner than later.

Loves!

Ya load 16 tons what do ya get?

2011-02-01T17:57:00.002+11:00

Hey there kids, Sorry it’s been a while. I’ve been enjoying your blogs recently and I enjoy stories similar to mine, mostly saying how you are (like I think I am) willing to smile and laugh at our own stupidity or the uncontrollable stupidity of a given situation.
So yesterday I thought it would be fun to take up a friend’s offer of jamming with a couple other people he had invited. Thinking that this would be a fun opportunity to play some guitar with some new people I headed over to his house guitar in tow. I didn’t however, stop to think that this friend of mine is in his 3rd year studying music and his friends were likely to be the same calibre players leaving me painfully embarrassed asking during each jam what key we were playing in… Bleh. I’ve never been much for impromptu playing in the first place and this gave me a big urge to learn and practice scales more often, but mostly batted my ego down to where it belongs.
In other news Yang-En was away seeing her family in Singapore over the week and came home yesterday as well. I couldn’t go as I’m not allowed to leave the country until I get my new visa that lets me stay in the country. We’re going on a trip together at some point this month but the dates for that have just gone up the in air as well. It will happen but no plans yet.
Other big news in my life. On the 27th of January I became an uncle to a caleb fountain. I wish him and his family every blessing in this world. I love you guys and I miss you.

Jeff

"Never really listen to what they say" - The Bouncing Souls

2010-12-05T23:39:00.000+11:00

Well kids,
Today we're going to talk about "the man", and the infamous "they". Who are these mysterious figures and what roles to they play in our lives. I think the unfortunate truth kids is that THAT man and THEY has always been us. That third person version of ourselves that has always been so easy to bad mouth.
It's pretty easy to say the world sucks because this that or the other (enter your expletive of choice) thinks they need a new (enter your shiny new i-Rolls Royce du jure). However, it seems no matter how hard we try to simplify, reduce and make decent decisions about what and how we consume there is a pull, guilt, itch in the back of our minds. It that really good enough? What about what i really wanted... that is still there. Why did i want it... that's still there too. It's not hard to see where desire comes from. I'm sure if an ancient Egyptian saw modern cranes, bulldozers, ect. They would not avert their lusty eyes. They would probably be more inclined to ask, "why with all this new technology do you build such crap?" insert half smile and a shrug "who knows? what would be that much better?" that's not really my department. NEXT!
So what if we are they and we're trying to teach ourselves a lesson? I'm the last person i want teaching myself, that's what. I'm easy to convince, I think some ideas are poorer than others but usually I'm unable to articulate why. I don't want myself teaching lessons because i know all too well the context they are coming from and i know how to put pressure on the weakest points instantly. I'm my own worst teacher. Why this rant? Because I'm working for a company now that pays pretty well, but it's hard to explain what we do. Which is a terrible sign in my opinion. I don't grow food, I help people pay rent (but can't people pay their own rent? the most frequent an obvious question... well yes an no it's like if you have a problem with your credit card *ah... the smile of recognition of importance*) Anyway, It's a decent job that allows me time to read and play chess between calls. Well up to this point i think this post has remained surprisingly articulate and if you want it to stay that way i'll stop typing now. If you are "followed" by me you might be comforted by the fact that I check that everyday and I read every ones posts now. Love you

Jeff

God help the mand that says "oh, if you'd known me when

2010-08-14T23:45:00.000+10:00

Hey kids!

I'm reading the Brother Karsmozov and I love it. I love it in the way that I've seen it so many times, but i've never understood it. I feel like I've met every character. Jealous monks, pious pagans, people with pure hearts and people who can't be trusted regardless of the circumstance.
Call me an idealist, call me jaded, call me an existentialist, but i believe in our need to take responsibility for our actions. I know I have made some rash decisions, I've done some things i NEVER should have done. Most things I would take back if I could but others, I feel like I would in a Sisyphus sort of way, would repeat and repeat onto the infinite. But i still feel repercussions and responsibility for those actions. i'm sorry for the majority of them, but the nature of the world is that there is no way for me to make up for them. I once heard that if you were to record the direction of a single atom after six interactions with six other atoms that it would take the exact position of every atom in the universe to determine which direction the original atom would be heading. That scares me more than anything i've ever encountered.
To imagine what even the things i've been proudest to accomplish have repercussions i cannot imagine. It is no mystery to me why Dostoyevsky would think that we hate our freedom more than anything. Who would want this sort of responsibility? Especially when we are told that we are controlled by circumstance. Maybe all these deterministic stances are posited due to cowardice?
Regardless of your philosophical position there is no way of excusing yourself of things that you've done. You have to admit that actions have consequences. If energy is preserved and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you believe (as i do) that that is the way that God had structured the universe, then you must admit guilt. Guilt for tyranny, starvation, flood, storm who knows how YOUR (espeically MY!) actions have changed EVERYTHING!
As sad as it may seem to some, that is the primary basis of my belief in God as an entity and Jesus as my saviour. I admire people who have a “relationship” with God and Jesus, but I'll admit my relationship is restricted to doubt and fear. I've recently read in the gospel of Mark that “whoever is not against us is for us”. Regarless of how I feel about faith (in christianity specifically) I think it's done more good than harm, and that its maxims have proven themselves as helpful to the human race.

Come on Kids try this at home - Frank Turner

2010-08-03T16:22:00.002+10:00

Well hello, two blogs in a relatively short time. I know it's unheard of but i'm pretty excited. I quit my job delivering fruits and veggies, and now with my free time i have launched a plan called AU HASARD!!!

The idea is this. I want to play music with other people, but I do not nessesarily want to start a band. So I've emailed a number of people I know who play and asked them if they would be interested in makeshift jam sessions. Basically we would all congregrate with equiptment in hand and a song ready to be played. and each person is given about 1/2 hour to control the band and we play thier song. then the next person is given an oportunity to lead the band and so on. I'm pretty excited as we may be able to use the church to run au hasard, and I think it will be fun.

SIGN OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!!

Herpes may help treat cancer...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10817277

love you!

they say worse things happen at sea - frank turner

2010-06-28T14:57:00.002+10:00

Well hello old friends,
how are you? So quite a bit has happened since my last post, but i won't bore you with all of that. jobs getting got, forms being filled and payed for, poking and proding from all sides. legally anyway... but thats all finished, i've got a couple of jobs and Yang-ens got a job and now we're just waiting until she starts studying again.
My jobs are 1) delivering food from the markets to resturants around town and 2) answering the phone for a rental payment service and helping tenants with the service. i like it well enough and it's given me time to catch up on blogs and lets me keep up to date with the news so it's pretty sweet.
the new gaslight anthem album came out recently and i haven't ordered it yet. i want to get it on vinyl. so that may take a while. also quinn introdudced me to Frank turner who the stuff that i've listened to on myspace i have greatly enjoyed. sorry this one isn't very entertaining... so make up i'll make up a 6 month SIGN OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!!!

turns out that people now want completely useless stuff. as much as people rave about how cool and useful things like iphones and sliced bread are... apple still thought it would be good a fill a market gap that they had already filled... the ipad if it's not a sign of the end times i think nothing else is. it's the H2 of digital devises there are smaller versions that do the exact same thing that 95% of people who use them are happy with. and yet there is a small number of egos that need to be stroked by having a bigger one apparently...

good day to you!

willful self destruction

2010-01-06T22:09:00.004+11:00

Hey there kids,

First, before i forget, anyone who reads this who i have seen eye to eye is invited to my wedding. It will be March 20 in Sydney, Australia. If you want more information you will have to send your mailing address or email address to my email address. (eggnog90(at)hotmail.com) Many hearts in regard to that. There will also be a reception in Montana where this photo was taken.

Cheers, Jeff

Hallelujah!

2009-11-16T08:02:00.003+11:00

So last night was a very special night for me. Yang-En and I went out for a really nice dinner. It was at a place called fish on the rocks and Yang-En managed to find the only meal with beef on the menu. It was deceptively named… (grain fed scotch fillet) After dinner we were going to go to the Aquarium (where we went on our first date) and get ice cream, but dinner went late so we had to bag those plans. That was a little disappointing but we had a nice walk through the city and finally ended up at home.
At home I had fashioned a kind of sheet fort out of the awning in our back yard. Inside were, a couple of cushions under a blanked for us to sit on, gently flashing Christmas lights, some candles and a bottle of sparkling wine on a small table. Music was playing and the effect was perfect. So I recited a poem by W.B. Yeats to her.
He wishes for the cloths of heaven
Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

After I had finished saying the poem, I kneeled up close and said, “Yang-En Elizabeth Jane Hume will you marry me?” and revealed a small ring made out of paper with an origami rose on top. She laughed and said yes.
This caught me a little off guard, as it was a paper ring and quite small. I back tracked a little and said oh… I was a little nervous so I made you a big one as well. Then I revealed the exact same ring but close to twice as big. Then I told her that there was actually a present inside of the big one and she’d have to open it to find out what the present was. She didn’t want to open it because she liked it, but I anticipated that and gave her another big origami ring. After seeing the second large ring she opened the first one to find her actual wedding ring, small and simple diamond ring.
The rest of the night was spent talking, making phone calls and the like. That’s my story.

We sing with our hero's 33 rounds per minute! - The Gaslight Anthem

2009-08-23T23:57:00.002+10:00

Hey kids, I know it's been a while and i'm not gonna lie i haven't read any of your blogs for a while... I'm sorry but i think that if and when we see eachother again we'll have to catch up the old fashioned way. Speaking with eachother over coffee or some booze. Probably coffee the way its going because it's too expensive to drink here. I seriously feel more sorry than average for alcoholics in Australia, so expensive...

mmm.... for those of you who didn't know i'm in australia. Sydney in fact to try and be in love. sorry guys cuz i'm lazy i'm going to copy part of an email that has some of an update.

Life is good i've got a consistant job now making sandwiches and taking orders in a cafe. before i worked a couple of days here and there working for a food delivery service in the sydney food markets and selling goat cheese at a smaller farmers market. They've all been fun and very interesting jobs. I just can't get away from food apparently...

Other life events include purchasing a turntable and already accumulating an (i think) impressive vinyl collection. I should have owned a turntable years ago!!! the sound quality is significantly better and having a multichannel amp helps me demonstrate this and i seriously think that i'm starting a vinyl revolution in the land down under. Suddenly everyone around me is really interested in getting a turntable or at least getting a hold of some vinyl to take over to my place to play.

well, despite my laziness in blog reading i really do love you guys and i wish you the best. If something reminds me of you in particular i look you up read your blog and all that.

hearts!!!! jeff

I fall in love like a fool

2008-11-04T15:23:00.003+11:00

So, I've noticed that at least i've become a huge fan of roots/bluegrass music. It's probably due to the relative novelty of it, and the (in my opinion) funly complex musicianship that is usually apparent. that's right funly fun + ly it's not a word as the little red line informs me but i like it!! I'm trying to think of how this came about.. I mean it's roots music, it's stupposed to be old fashioned and passionless, but there are some sweet bands that are breathing new life into it. My band opened for a band called cutthroat shamrock, who are an irish "punkgrass" band, we've also opened for Jason and the punknecks, another punkgrass band. Both are supercool but i'll admit i like the cutthroat shamrocks a little better than the punknecks. supercool is also it's own word now. anyway, what's the deal with roots music!!! it's probably cuz modern "country" music is just a whole radio station of 80's power ballads with a little drawl... and maybe if your lucky the solo is done on a slide guitar instead of a telecaster. no offence to the telecaster which is an epic guitar. folk is too freakin' full of itslef I mean let's write music that will become a folk song. a timeless expression of the common people. so that can't be why roots music is seeeming to become the cool underground thing to do. It a makes senxese in the senxce that roots is probably the rathest that one will get from pop music that rapes its inspiration be it blues, punk, rock or whatever you won't see a pop star drawing from roots music and suddenly incorporation a banjo and mandolin. it'll probably happend wonce they figure out that people acutally like it because it's increadibley anti-mechanisitc and modern... non-commerical in a hypehcnated word. well, whild that hasn't happend yet you might as well enjoy the awsome rootats music that is being plays. .357string band, those poor bastards, brent amaker and the rodeo, Corb Lund, cutthroat shamrock. if you see any of these guys coming yoru way go out and support them and sdance a drunken jig for me at least. I've re-named by blog in ohonor of my new theme i hope those of you hwo still read this garbage like it. I wouldlike to personallly thank bowmore single malt scotch whichlsy , erly times kenturcky whichsy and PBR for it's suppor of this blog, which out you non of this was poasible.

Cheers, Jeff

PS. I was willy wonka for halloween and it was awsome, but bozeman was crazy buysy on halloween and i hated it so many popel blehnn... and I didn't get to see my show or get to go so the partys i wanted to go do not cool...

where is my mind? -the pixies

2008-08-03T11:09:00.002+10:00

Hey kids here is some new music i've been listening to

it's time to switch to wiskey we've been drinking beer all night - Corb Lund _

2008-07-07T15:57:00.002+10:00

Hey kids
sorry it's been a whiel. but it's been a whiel. we've ben on tour and that was crazy. good and bad, buyt it really 2wqant to be on the road oagain. now it's the 4th and it's 0our nations birthday. it's the time to celebrat e the crzzy guys that decideed we needed liberty. it could be englands fault but we wanted it that badly. Sorry guys i wasted all my blogging on intanst messanger and now myh ands hurts.
ceers!!
Jeff

I'll cool the hottest water with my cold and bitter tears - Billy Bragg/ Wilco???

2008-05-04T15:05:00.003+10:00

I'm not sure who said the previous (title) lyric, but it's pretty sweet. I kind of makes me wish i had actually cried in the last three years...

ah yes, more proof that i'm a cold and heartless _____ name your explitive i think just about any of them work. just choose your favorite.

I got a text the other day asking what (if i had to choose uno curse word) my word would be. I choose the word that i think is the funniest mostly because i only curse when it's funny. kinda like quoting lock, stock and two smoking barrels. Angry cursing isn't fun for anyone.

Sorry this is overdue, i usually try to keep up with other blogs before i update mine but yet again tonight this is not the case... eesh.

the other day was queens day and i was reminded that a dutch professor invented gin... i wish you could be here to hear the sounds i'm making cuz they're not very flattering. the fact of the matter is that gin is terrible. nope TERRIBLE!! If i want to taste pine tree i'll go outside and lick one. All that had not kept me from finishing off the bottle we have in our house.

somewhere in this blog will be some pictures of my hair.( the location will become more obscure as soon as i add them... ) it's a dirty mess and i'm asking you what should be done. Kroeze and I did a little hack job on it the other day but it's mostly the same.

Lots of cool and lame stuff has gone down since my last blog. I joined the band and we had our first show (it was amazing). Tonight they are recording and i'm going to write this and go to bed cuz it's been a super long week. We're gearing up for a tour from here to seattle to LA and up through las vegas so if any of you are around let me know and i'll let you know when the show is. It's super fun to be playin' agian. We've got some vids on youtube I'm not part of any of them, but it's still cool. Anyway I hope to see you at a show one day.

Wow this is going to turn into long... Alan and Company where out along with Walhof and company, but they didn't stay very long. Alan, Chris, Jess, Jane, and Karl it was excellent to see you again.

Brad and Kroeze left this week... Brad moved to fricken missoula and Kroeze is off to indiana and as a result i'm feeling a bit lonely. Tiger cat is cool, but he bites me and not in any sort of good way.

Also somewhere in here is a picture laurel did for me as a gift to my parents. I love it. So much so i show it to pretty mucn anyone that i meet. this might make laurel sick but i took a picture of it with my phone and i have it as my back ground. eesh... I think it's still a compliment. i hope so.

I've been seeing this girl lately, so that has help with the lonelyness. I've actully likes her for a while, but i've always thought that she is wild soul. not fit to be caged, which is how I view a relationship with me being... that coupled with her warnings to not get to attached have left me thinking more and more in the oppisite realm... rotten forbidden fruit, why must you be so tempting.

i've been thinking about the phrase "willful self destruction" and as wierd as it may sound i think it has some legitimate christian interpretations.

Are you restless like me? - Against me!

2008-03-04T16:29:00.003+11:00

So, We went to missoula, had a blast
Brad went back this weekend
My Parents are in Nicaragua
Despite people's nagging I will not be going there
that means you!
I'm baby sitting my brothers
babies
We thought ghostly was going to die
poisened mice
she made it
wondering who's right
rancid vs. coldplay
"it's a wicked world we live in
it's cruel and unforgiving"
vs.
"We live in a beautiful world
yes we do, yes we do"
Contradiction never seemed to plausible
Here is Big Quinn playing "copperhead road"

Like Roses and Razorblades - Far From Finished

2008-02-20T15:08:00.003+11:00

Hey there kids!

So My first show with Big Quinn might have been a mere 2 weeks after I asked to be in the band, and it would have been opening for the US Bombs and Far From Finished. It didn't work out but I went to the show and it was amazing! There were two shows, all ages and then 21+ by then end of the second show it got pretty wild. Some girls punched another girl. Pretty much a drunken brawl, it was crazy.

I'm watching cops and this cop totally gives this guys 16 year old daughter the old up down (creepy checkout look for those who don't know what the old updown is)
... *shudder*

holy crap!!! creepy music just lept from my computer!!! I have now idea where it came from.

So last week I dropped a freakin' gearbox on my thigh and I can still see (AND FEEL!) the mark. It made me hobble around like a dirty pirate for 3 days.

Gahh!!! i was gonna show you a picture of our new shop cat ( I named her ghostly) she's gorgeous. Kroeze asked If it was Ghost Lee or Ghostly which i have (obviously) ruined for you but i at the moment i yelled "thank you Kroeze for naming my first child!" So beware of a Ghost Lee Schutter. He / She will seduce your sons and daughters with thier wiley (wild/silley?) nature and obvious hereditarty hottness.

Speaking of cat's. here is what you hand might look like after a vicious tiger cat mauling!!! However, Tiger Cat's glory days may be over as tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning he will lose his balls. As if mornings arn't bad enough...So right now i'm drunk on Blogs, Scotch, American idol, gin, Cops and Cabernet. It's amazing and really revolting at the same time!!! yay!

So my freind Tony got married and I was the best man. My speech wasn't as good an Reubens but I thought it was pretty good. Plus the phrase "man gorgeous" ran through my head a couple of days after the wedding. Who knows it may have been in the heads of the spectators in reference to me. hehe! but probably not. It was really fun.

I got through all the blogs on my list. whew... and I tried to comment on most of them to show them my love, but if i didn't know that I still love you

I'm done but i want to agree with Haak. I want to be in love or at least have a girlfreind

Nice boys don't play rock and roll- big quinn and the broken hearts bands

2008-02-07T14:35:00.000+11:00

Soooo..... it's been a pretty exciting week in the life of dirty jeff. I only say dirty jeff cuz i'm in a band again! I'm so excited! My favorite local band was looking for a bass player and I just happen to be really getting into bass. So yeah, Check out Big Quinn and the broken hearts band. He said there were like 3 other people asking but i'm the prime applicant. I met with him yesterday and we jammed and bs'ed and it was good. I've told reuben this numerous times but he's practically Reubens evil twin. There is so much news to report! Last weekend I went to my first "prom". Punk rock prom in Livingston. Here is a couple pictures of me and then of Alexis and Tilly. Tilly is wearing some lady's old wedding dress we found at salvation army. Then she won a hoddie at the show. She's pretty wild but she's always up for a show so that's pretty sweet.
I didn't get this post finished last night because I started writing and my friend Tony (not my sister's boyfreind tony) called me up and said he's getting married next week! So this is going to be my second time as the best man in a wedding. So I called up Reuben and we talked until my phone died (how dramatic). Don't worry i pulled it through it's been resurrected if you will. and then i was tired.
Also, but this is certainly not a sidenote or afterthought. Katie Hanson my excellent freind from Missoula is coming down to bozeman on Saturday. Apparently a fire started in the basement of her house it melted a waterpipe which flooded the basement. water damage downstairs and smoke damage upstairs. That's not the reason she's coming to bozeman it's just a poorly told story to inspire some emphathy. So go do that and i'll take off too

for a trist in the greenery - Decemberists

2008-01-17T14:23:00.000+11:00

so Aparently 2007 blooger is beeter than ever!!!! they offer hindi transliteration! oh boy oh boy. I'm not sure what's up with my typing, cuz i'm not nearly as boozed as last time... there is a wierd delay that makes me type stupid letters twice like "a"

I'm litereally hours away from haveing a roomate. that's exciting. If you didn't know Andrew Kroeze is going to stay with me for a while. at least til April i assume. Kroese will be here to experience the magical wispy (somewhat ugly) winter wonderland that is southwesternMontana! this is my re-action to kroese.

this is a wet tiger cat because he got too close to the bathtub wilst i was bathing. I laughe for a long time otherwise (dang it!!! it's doing that freaking underlinging thing agian!...)

not much is going on... As far as my desire to visit the 7 wonders of the world my desire to see brazil has been severely deminished by watching "city of God" and "The house of sand" eesh
Freaking brazil looks rugged and violent not the oasis of hotties that i imagined it to be.
that's my room in the background. it's still mint green, but the rest of the house is painted. the bathroom is a "nautical theme" that's what my sisters call it. I call it awkwardly dark blue and white.

what's up with my freakin' hair? i don't know i don't have a plan for it. maybe i'll try to mimic the apex of sexy and grow it scott stapp long? yes that would be good.

now i have a stereo, but no tv... however, I do have awesome celing illumination! it does way better than the lamps i had in before. and i can theme it to the season. "that's the best of both worlds people"

Christmas is sweet right? yeah i think so. I got a fadora, and the settlers of catan expantion pack. that's right! settelers expanded. like obese settlers but way cooler.

The other day Jonathan remarked how we would kind of look the same. (same color all clothes) and I said, "now you'll finally know what sexy feels like" I think i was right.

I'm thinking that the boozed blog post isn't working at well as last time.. oh well. Reuben's town has UFO's that's freakin' sweet and i'm jelous.

edits* (mearly minutes after the original post) that shelf is my new rating system for beers, I only started like last week. hence it's .ack of impressiveness. I also came up with the term alavancheness this week which is awsome beyond comprehention, and if you don't get that then you need lessons in awsome... that' all till the next 10 min.

2008-01-10T16:18:00.000+11:00

so
so this is tiger cat and an example of just how vicious a tiger cat can be... ( he's biting my finger) This is driving me nuts cuz it looks like a typing a long link... gahhh!!!! stop underlining everything i say!!! stupid blogger. before there was a picture of how my house used to be. All mint green. I know a house that has every available ceiling, wall triming ( not kidding, minus the fake wood trim in the living room) painted mint green is sexy, but I just couldn't stand it. more on that later, but apparently that picture has been *click click* DELETED!!!!

here is (hopefully) ( i kind of suck at lining up captions with photos and usually i hope they come off as avant guarde, cuz then i can act like a hipster) a picture of my hallway from the kitchen. I'm pretty sure i spelled that wrong "avant guarde" anyway. any way here is the new paint scheme. It's not quite what i thought it would be but apparently that's hard. stupid color nuances!!! anyway, I like the red and i'm not crazy about the gray or white. meh Oh and that's a print from brielle who i saw recently. It's been too long B and i love the print.

this is what the living room kind of looks like beise (shit) with white trim except were it's trim with the grey too then it's red. and bass, guitar, and electric organ which was in the house already ( SCORE!!!!!!!!!)

so this is what a tiger cat attack may look like... set to against me! music. It's a crappy recording but the music is good believe me, and tiger cat is vicious believe me again!!! he will try to bite you!

it took 3 min. to upload 2007 imagine how that makes me feel...

in case your wondering this is me boozed and lonely, but not desperate. it's weird being lonely and boozed but not desperate. It's my stupid vanity's fault... Maybe I should try the desperate thing. It would help at the bars, cuz usually i just feel like throwing up on myself. "find me somebody to love"

I hope you all had a great holiday season. Christmas new years and all that. mine was peachy. I was in Hawaii, the weather wasn't 100% but who can complain about being in Hawaii??? plus i got to see some friends while i was out there so it was sweet.

I'm boozed enough to think that you want to here more about my life and thoughts so here we go!

I agree with Ross (see his post about jobs) that i'm whoring out my body and mind to my job. which is pretty arrogant because i consider farming a fairly virtueous occupation. who can be satisfied? I can't imagine me being satisfied even it i became what i think i want to be i.e. a philsophy professor that spends his off time either working on the farm or sailing between islands in the south pacific or the carribean.

I've recently had a desire to visit samoa and the new 7 wonders of the world.

My sisters showed me a comedian that i've really come to like "demetri martin" "i like it when an X girlfreind becomes and XL girlfreind" He also made up a couple of 3D crossword puzzles and a 200+ word poem that was a palendrome... that that bitches!!!

I'm going to regret some of this when i read it again 3 days from now

Cheers, Jeff!

here's to you - the only animal I have ever loved

2007-12-15T15:05:00.000+11:00

It's a sad day.

My cat of 16 years went to the vet for the last time today. I wish i had a picture. especially that one of him sleeping in an open drawer. Most people who have been to my house have their own story about Turbo. I know Brad has a funny one. He was trying to sleep and turbo was outside the window meowing. He thought if he stayed really still turbo would go away but sure enough every time Brad breathed really hard or shifted slightly turbo would start meowing again. I wasn't very sympathetic the next morning saying "why didn't you let him inside?"

edit* my mom (stalker...) sent me some pictures so here ya go

In other brighter news, I'm done with the painting in my house, tiger cat is officially a "he". and I will have pictures/videos of both once i find the cable to my camera. We're switching to verizon so I'll get a new phone that will type 5's again.

other not so bright news: i've been sick all week. My mother went to Mayo to find out why she has had a constant sinus infection for 9 years, and it turns out she's allergic to air. And last week i got hit on by a girl twice my size and wearing clothes that would make britney spears blush...

the solution: the pogues (my band of the day!)

I'm losing touch - Against me!

2007-11-26T08:43:00.000+11:00

I've moved out of my parents house, and I'm liking it so far. It's only been a couple of days and I'm not 100% settled in yet so we'll see how it goes from here.

I found a really freindly kitten on our porch the other day and brought him down to the new house. He must have ran away from my uncles or something cuz he was already litterbox trained. His name is "tiger cat"

Call me what you will but i like the decemberists. I think it's because of the liberal use of accordian.

I've started dreaming since I moved out. In one i said "that's like sharpening a chain with a garden rake", and in another my grandma called my cell phone thinking i was someone else and started ranting.

Last night we pulled a tube behind a fourwheeler in the snow. Because the moon was big and the snow it was really nice and light out. drinking was also involved and it was fun.

finally, I was one of 10 people to vote against calling a new pastor... this is me losing touch.

Goodmorning heartache, you're like an old friend - rancid

2007-11-13T16:49:00.000+11:00

Pretty good week. Didn't work too much, went to some shows, met some girls, but monday has reared it's ugly head.
Actually today my brothers had a highschool concert. and an old lady asked why i wasn't at dordt... (it's only been a year and a half, time flies for old people) and if i had a girlfreind. I think i've built up a kind of immunity to those kind of questions because I usually don't get that. My cousin Brad on the other hand get it's all the time. Doesn't bother me but i think it's funny.

not much else to report. I've had some pretty good phone conversations lately so i feel kind of drained of stories and thoughts sorry kids

My bed is dry dry and I'm a big boy - Billy Bragg

2007-11-01T14:50:00.000+11:00

Ever had so much fun your cheeks started cramping and your throat was sore from laughing????

I have...

all this happened despite seeing saraaaah slegggers and Walhof getting hit by a van.

I think I got to see everyone i wanted to see. most on purpose some on accident. I saw Reuben for the first time in a year which was awsome but unfortunately short lived. Soon we will make up for that in Texas and it will be amazing. I was also able to spread the love of the harvest moon brewery's beltian white. and there was much rejoicing.

tonight was our youth groups alternative to trick or treat. I was helping run games in a small room so i didn't get a really good feel for how it went over all, but our room was fun. I like little kids they're a riot. Despite my late(r) start i'd like to raise some. Maybe i'll take a cue from the office and put myself on a dating site with the username "littlekidlover".

I'm glad others have taken on the signs of the apocolypse I thought you guys where getting sick of them.

Some might be interested in this http://zeitgeistmovie.com/ There is more too it than the slam on christianity at the beginning. so i would urge people to sit through it if your remotely interested.

well i hope you all didn't die because i wrote this.

Johnny I hardly knew ya! - Dropkick Murphys

2007-10-07T12:32:00.000+10:00

So the Dropkick Murphys came out with a new album and it's freakin' amazing. i love the cover of johnny I hardly knew ya, because it's awsome and also because I remember our highschool choir singing it. it brings back thoughts of our old band teacher and how his life ended in tragedy.

here's the song set to some sort of animated war scene which doesn't really adopt the theme of the song. so maybe just play it and listen.

It's been a weird and hard week. Among other things a man from our church, was suddenly brought to deaths door via a "flesh eating bacteria". He's a little older than my dad and has some really young adopted kids. He literally went from fine to on a respirator and in a drug induced coma in four days.

Last night I probably had more fun than I've had in months. A girl that I met in highschool came to visit. For Reuben it was Katie from Helena. What an extraordinary person. It reminded me of how lucky I am to know the people I do. that's probably why i finally caught up on all my blogs today. Last night we stood in the street catching the season's first snowflakes in our mouths for almost an hour. It was literally too perfect, a scene from a kitchy movie, but it was so fun. To borrow the title of a poem:

a glimpse of the eternal

2007-09-23T12:10:00.000+10:00

Well, we're done with grain harvest, and we started potatoes today. It'll be about a month before we're done with that.

It's been a pretty good month I would say. It had it's long times, but I managed to hit some parties and quite a few shows.

I feel like I'm visiting an old freind that i've neglected and I don't really know what to say.

That's been happening more often than not. It makes holding conversations hard.

Cheers to you stalker! Leah right? that's pretty sweet, sorry this won't be very entertaining.

Sorry justine I have a number of trips planned but I'm afraid Edmonton isn't on the list this season. maybe next?? I would like to make it up there sometime.

I miss you all. Intensely at times

sorrow

2007-08-01T13:25:00.000+10:00

well i was gonna write about sunsets and rainbows but i just heard about the train car in sioux center

holy...

look at the mess i'm in - Social Distortion

2007-07-20T12:39:00.000+10:00

sorry sorry sorry

to all my stalkers out there I'll give the gift only a stalkey (???) can give. Pictures!

welcome to 5:30 in the morning. This is one of the few tolerable things about this hour.

here is the reason why i would be up so early. it's been like this for more than two weeks. all kinds of record temps. including (i think) and all time high of 106. for those who thought the air would be cooler here your wrong it's dang hot. today there was wind too. hot wind.

Besides rouging (pictures of that later) I have been sporting this sweet ride. Horray for the Korean war era 6x6, painted bright yellow and nicknamed "tonka truck". I almost rode it off a cliff the other morning . given the rusting power of the fertilizer I hual with this thing I'm given 100% expendable matirials to work with: cheap pump, old water tanks, my life, and a truck that's about to bend right in half. incidently, the same morning I almost crashed it some winnebego warrior lost his chariot. it burned to the ground right outside of manhattan. I laughed but only a little because i'm just that mean.

Other than this not much has gone on. couple of parties, plenty of wasted oportunities. I don't know how this came about, but taking the path of least resistance has become my forte. don't really feel like looking for another job so i'm working on the farm. feeling like I would be a pain calling people and asking for help when i know they're at home but probably willing, and end up kicking through whatever by myself. trying to stay out of peoples paths at parties until i'm in a corner standing awkwardly. Another guy i know might be interested in this girl so i'll just leave her alone. Maybe it's more taking the path that gets me out of other peoples way. ok enough self loathing. If you made it this far I have a special treat for you. However, the treat comes with a warning. the treat may cause weaker souls to stumble. now that your duely warned

welcome to SHORT SHORTS FRIDAY!!!!

please take note of the military style boots.

tonight I feel unstoppable - Bombshell Rocks

2007-06-28T13:56:00.000+10:00

hello friends and Stalkers,
I have a new theory. Competition shows, as we all know, suck after the first couple of episodes. There is a reason people stop watching American Idol after the finalists are chosen. Do we want to see the crowning of the next pop "sensation"? Of course not! We want to laugh at peoples broken dreams and shattered ambitions. However, and I hope i get a spontaneous check in the mail for this, The last comic standing is an outstanding counter example. It's the only competition show I can think of that gets better and better. One of my favorite lines so far was a young father remarking on the freedom getting married and having a kid brings "cuz no one's gonna tow a car with a baby in it."

Anyway, I've been busy, the weather is nice. I had an excellent weekend that consisted of a fire at Alan's and a punk show the next night, and family time on Sunday. By the way I'm probably going to be teaching a catechism class at my church in the fall. I'm reasonably excited.

New Albums include:
A poets life - Tim Armstrong
Plastic Surgery Disasters - The Dead Kennedys
Searching for a former clarity - Against me!
Die Hards - The Casualties

I like them all very much. the against me album has a chorus consisting mainly of the name Condelezza. yes, it's sweet.

Story: I was lonely at the punk show and so I was looking around and over across the crowd was a girl standing alone as well. Oh boy, even if she isn't cool it'll kill some akward time between sets. So I walk around and say, "so what do you think of the show?" We talk for a while and eventually got to the point where I'm thinking I've got to find a way to get away from this girl. If only i had reids anti-akwardness x power !!! So we continue talking, and I'm trying to find some topic she's actually thought about a little, cuz obviously psychology (her major!) was not something she had thought about... Then mid sentance this guy comes up and hugs her and they leave. Now here's the question, If i wanted to ditch this girl why did i still feel like an idiot!
cripes.

In it for life - The Casualties

2007-06-19T13:46:00.000+10:00

this line from the Casualties comes from a song about woody guthrie. Which is related to a couple of conversations i had over the weekend. The question is "What is passion?" The Casualties believe that Guthrie had passion. I've complained before about lacking passion. By the way, if you read the outsider by Albert Camus (even if you only read the first chapter) and then see the movie Garden State i think you'll be shocked. During one conversation I was told by the other that they saw passion in me. I asked what they thought I was passionate about. "well, your different, and you don't care"

Horray for me! I'm passionately apathetic

Different elements of the conversations were the difference between passion and being excited, Types of passion (if there are), Objects of passion (if they're needed). Lastingness, Apathy created as a by product of passion, and how to know if you have it.

I should mention that Kendra and Pasmas' wedding was this weekend which resulted in seeing a surprizing amount of familiar faces. So that was fun.

Last movies seen include:
the big lebowski
Garden State
The Fountain
Mallrats
Trainspotting

The fountain was a little disappointing but I still want to see it again. I discovered a new element to Garden State that i referenced above. Lebowski was excellent as always. Mallrats was Kevin Smith if your a fan (it had it's moments for me). Trainspotting was good, even quite good, I have to think about it some more.

guilty by association

2007-06-06T13:04:00.000+10:00

Lots of stuff happens,

We're finally done seeding. It's nice to be finished with something even though there is tons more to do. The rain is cooperating as well so that's nice.

Mike Kuech just showed me the honda site where they are making hydrogen fuel stations that run off solar power or natural gas. that would be sweet.

I went to Josh's wedding in Colorado springs. It was at a military base. Aparently my eyes were "bright" so they called the military Police and had a drug dog search my freakin' car. I was probably the most relaxed person they've ever searched it's a good story though.

Mel came and visited. We got her skiing again so that's pretty cool

New movies include:
kicking and screaming
Dandelion
Danielson

I enjoyed them all. I liked kicking and screaming better than the squid and the whale (same writer/director) Dandelion, I liked until a read a really critical review and that threw me a bit, because the review was very good. So I'm torn on that one. Danielson is pretty interesting and for those indie rock hipsters it features sufjan stevens when he played with Danielson. I think there were more but i can't remember them right now so they must not matter

goodbye America - The Unseen

2007-05-18T14:37:00.000+10:00

Hey Kids

Welcome to America
where we have our cake
and eat in front of the have not's
while lecturing them on why they
cannot and why they should not
have or eat the cake themselves

worse than hypocrites

Where instead of just shipping out illegals
we'll charge them $5000, then have them ship themselves out
and then promise them citizenship once we get the
paperwork done...

look at how compassionate we are

With the number of illegal aliens numbering between the estimates of the state (12 million)
and Micheal Savage (100 million) it may mean a pay check for the U.S. to the tune of 60 billion to 500 billion. If only we payed them enough to afford the fee, but don't worry Geraldo will save them with his new charity. He only has to outdo aids charity by at least 20 billion.

The ACLU is working on monitoring hate speech, cuz that's obviously different than regular free speech. Imus was fired, but he sued and his lawyer ( The leading free speech lawyer in the country and also a democrat) said a 4th grader could win his case for him.

and the only thing worse than Bush's approval rating is the approval rating of our current congress

I think I'll seriously research christian involvement in the state and then if i feel it's necessary urge someone to author a book with the title "Jesus Christ and the rejection of the state" Here is some similar advise from henry rollin's and william shatner (unfortunately the only recording of this song is dubed over a video of a cat eesh)

I haven't been reading many blogs lately. I'm sorry, as soon at seeding is over I'll catch up. promise. Also Kroese came out with a bunch of friends and i stayed up way too late, but it was fun

Saturday! - Rancid

2007-04-29T14:55:00.000+10:00

So, I didn't get off work early enough to go to the show I wanted to, and I didn't plan ahead enough to have a fire with some buddies out here, so the natural alternative was to start drinking and read blogs. I miss you guys... Thanks for posting pictures, events, thoughts, and dreams because they help me imagine you right next to me. I don't feel like I’m drinking alone, cuz I’m in the company of friends. However, to have you all in the room with me would still be 1000 times better.

I was in the tractor all week so I’ve been reading the nicomachaean ethics and listening to corresponding lectures so by the end of next week I’ll be an expert. It’s true. Also if anyone is having a lonely night, feel free to call. 406 – 580 – TORQ ( I was bored enough one day to figure that out, I think it could also be TOSS) I have lots of time. I've also been listening to lectures on political theory super interesting. For instance, Dostoevsky writes about the three temptations of Christ as symbolizing first economic (bread) power, psychological (jumping) and political power. The psychological is interesting because the jumping would basically prove his omnipotence and prove “beyond all doubt” that he was the messiah. He continues to say that Christ avoided these temptations so that man could choose him of his free will or rather that is how the lecture interprets the text. That he would not be seduced into belief by one of these other means. I’ve never heard this kind of treatment, and I wouldn’t have thought of the story in this way either. I’m wondering if anyone else has heard/ thought of this before and what you think of it now. There is more to discuss, like how President Bush may be justly called the Prince in the Machiavellian tradition, but I’ll keep my questions to one at a time.

Finally, I’ve had a strange urge to do this:
I am a man, here is my thermos

except my real one has lots of cool scuff marks and grease stains so you know a "man" used it haha

that's all i can think of happy weekend all!

I feel lost in a wasted time - The Quakes

2007-04-19T11:11:00.000+10:00

So, I ended up going to church and the beer festival. The beer at the beer festival was great, as was the entertainment. the 3000 people made it feel like a concert with an impossible amount of people. The thing that pissed me off the most was the poor setup, but it was a big success so hopefully it'll go down next year, and it will be set up better.

I've seen two canadian bands in the last two weeks. The Wailin' Jennys, who were awsome. They create a really cool mood. the other was Corb Lund. I liked Corb a lot too. For some reason I think if Chris vogel wrote a funny country song it would be this one. there is something about the rhythm of the lyrics.

In other news, the springtime 12 hour work days are already upon us. it rained today so i bought a car.

He moved so slow like a dyin' dream - Rancid

2007-04-04T04:10:00.000+10:00

the events of this weekend were as follows.
Friday - Hung out with Brad and Trent and Steven, Had dinner, Talked about beer and were merry.
Saturday - Went to a punk show. JC Auto (my favorite local band), Just add alcohol (did an alison krauss cover... ugh) and VFB. The show started at 10 and I had been working all day so by 12:30 i was tired enough to sleep in my truck til 3:30 in the morning and then drive home freezing cold and groggy.
Sunday - had lunch with Reuben's Family and awsome conversation was had and good food was eaten.

We didn't have bible study this monday cuz of the NCAA championship game, so i think i'll try to make it to theology on Tap this evening to make up for it.

Speaking of things that probably shouldn't interfere with church activities, beer, theology, goodtimes, and also good dose of buttkicking irony, for a while now Brad and I have been anxiously awaiting the first annual Montana beerfestival! Microbrews from all over Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Oregon, 75 different beers, homebrew classes, the ultimate Johnny Cash tribute band, and a comedy troup, all make this event sound like loads and loads of fun. Last weekend we were almost giddy thinking about the next friday and the fun that awaited us. So, you can imagine the gut dropping irony of reading our church bulletin Sunday morning.

The good friday service at 7pm. smack dab in the middle of the beer festival.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????????????????

so that's my personal tragedy for the week, I know it's lame, petty, and may show signs of premature addiction, but I can't help but think that while i'm in church i'll be regretting missing the festival, and if i'm at the festival how i wouldn't regret missing church, so maybe it has deeper roots. evil

you look like I could use another drink - Against me!

2007-03-28T12:24:00.000+10:00

that's my kind of gay. this caption not only perfectly compliments the first picture of Kramer it also became the "catch phrase" of his whole trip out here. Rockin' times were had, and a whole day of burning things. Kramer got two shots off on a gopher and missed, but i pegged mine on the first shot. He blames the sights. I think he discovered that the sight folded down and then conveniently became an excuse. Speaking of convenience Kramer is my newly converted fan of the Dead Kennedy's give me convenience or give me death album. awsome. We went and saw a show by the exploited and were pretty disappointed, I guess now we know.

In these photos kramer is posing in front of the mountian he "dominated". and here is a run he accidently dominated by slipping off the trail. He made it to the bottom though so it was good. He also hit his first rail, and stuck it no problem so the professional snowboarding world better start being afraid or something. There is me sporting a ryan dehaan esque hair swoop. the hair is coming along, but still hasn't reached it's full potential. the Dordt band also passed through, that was cool. Katy got to hang out even though I think my aunt (whom Katy stayed with - did she have any creepy dolls katy?) was pretty sure i was going to return katy at 2 am. drunk beyond cognition. I thought alan was going to bring marcel and a Chris W. but that didn't happen so. yeah. don't know what to say.

we also went rock climbing. that was fun.

these last two are from St. Paddy's day. It was windy, and my freinds were all gone.

no sign of the apocolypse this week, I read that katy saw it in vancouver so it must be over.

Just a little too enamored with inflated self-purpose - Against Me

2007-03-14T14:14:00.000+11:00

"haha, it's true! it's true. we're so lame!"

i can't think of much to write that wouldn't become tedious.

here are some lyrics from the Dead Kennedy's give my convenience or give me death album (which is new to my ears but i enjoy it very much) I think this particular segment is funny cuz it was released in 1979.

Zen fascists will control you
100% natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face

hehe zen fascists, Jello had his eyes open

i also got the stray cats greatest hits. Brain Setzer anyone? I like it

I guess if being haunted is the same as passion dena may be right about politics.

this blog would be cooler if there was nascar in it.

Sign of the Apocolypse!!!
What the nickelback!! apparently our highschool choir was invited to sing at the olympics in bejing, but then there is this article. I think the most sickening thing about it is, I believe someone actually paid someone to write it.

We can look back to these heroes of our past- DKM

2007-03-03T11:15:00.000+11:00

For those who know who Eric Basta is, Eric Basta is in town!!!

Hilarity insues

I went indoor rock climbing with said Eric and it was a lot of fun. I've never been before, so today i'm sore. Climbing is crazy because I was so intent on looking forward looking toward your next hold, planning body positions etc. it wasn't until i was stuck and looked down to ask for advise that i realized that i am scared of heights...

but not too afraid, I'd go again in a heartbeat.

went to L'abri so that my sisters boyfriend could surprize her that weekend. If you didn't know if was out there. that is why, and on my one day at dordt i didn't feel like tracking people down (because you suck, and i hate you)

If anyone wants to see a good movie that deals with philosophy directly I suggest "Waking life" even if you want to see a really cool new type of animation I would suggest it. get that everyone? "Waking life" it's good, watch it. Waking life

Here is a creative little band that appear in the movie "everything is illuminated"

ok there are lots of Signs of the Apocolypse, tons infact, but i try and pick out the important ones. This is why i'll leave you with this harrowing little fact. This week they released "land before time 12" that's right 12.

Reach for the sky cause tomorrow may never come - Social Distortion

2007-02-15T16:10:00.000+11:00

Hello all,

I've been busy and my internet is dodgy. so here are some pictures. here is my board (yes that is a grenade as a smokey decal and yes it is awsome) and some new snow to ride it on.

here are my two new babies. Music Villa was having THE SALE OF THE CENTURY!!! (to me at least) basically it was buy one guitar get the second free. and all the drum kits were 50% off. It was increadible . so i came away with an Alverez classical, and an American Fender P- Bass. Super fun

here is my new hair cut (it's a work in progress) and a hat of course to bring it through the working stage...

hmmm... what else to write or show. seen a bunch of new movies lately, but i've taken the titles from various blogs and research on directors so i'll just say that the movie pi is awsome.

Lots of new stuff i guess. hat, snow, guitars, board, haircut, girl oh wait just kidding.

hey guys remember trolls? here ya go.

. I especially like the zit scab on the forehead. classic.

finally for a serious bit of news, At a local brewery a mennonite preacher is having a discussion group (theology on tap) Brad and I went for a little bit and it is exciting

this weeks SIGN OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!!! is special cuz it's two weeks worth of signs and one is brought by our very own Keuch. They made a GPS shoes> in case your little hooligan is running amuck you can know where he is (so long as he hasn"t taken off his shoes) but the really scary thing is that the Harry potter kid posed naked for some promotional pictures> harry potter nudypants is this weeks SIGN OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!!

Our only hope is in the minds of kids - Billy Talent

2007-01-31T11:44:00.000+11:00

Hey kids,
if any of you haven't seen gummo or anything written or directed by Harmony Korine you are in for a wild ride. It takes all the romantic thoughts about innocent childhood and feeds them raw meat with glass in it. I think gummo is the one i find myself thinking the most about, but Julien Donkey-boy is a close second. He wrote a movie called "kids" but didn't direct it. For those interested in mental disorders specifically schizophrenia. watch julien donkey-boy right now! If you want a good laugh watch his interviews with david letterman on youtube

In other news The Billy Talent, Rise Against concert was probably one of the best i've been too. I can't even really describe it. finally, I've been sick all week, and I'm over it. Also, I have been reading Calvin and Hobbes again recently and I am amazed by it all over again. Definitly the best comic strip yet written.

Sign of the APOCOLYPSE!!! Microsoft released thier new operating system, but i'm a little more concerned about doctors being able to prescribe ecstacy or at least my shuddering lack of ability at my own workplace...

cliche guavera - against me!

2007-01-23T04:00:00.000+11:00

oh boy oh boy, this was a fun week. and now for the top 5 of the weekend

5 - people i got in contact with that i haven't in a long time, Basta, Cody, Crystal, Steven and sweedish
4 - new beers tasted
3 - batches of fermenting liquid currently
2 - punk shows attended
1 - phone calls i got from my best freind

here are some overly complicated tob titles because i said i would:

customer service representative (clerk)
produce exective (grocery store shelf stocker)
barista (server in a coffee bar)
sandwich artist (subway stooge)
home maker (household excecutive)

anyway, the shows were sweet. apparently the zebra has a no moshing policy (imagine my embarrasment) I saw some of the same kids at the second show and even talked to a couple of them. fun. anyway, i'm sick and stuck at home, which might be bad for going to see Billy Talent tomorrow. sadness.

hey look! http://hyundai.foxmotorsusa.com/Department-Service.aspx I work at hyundai as a valet. I've even got a sweet picture. I never knew how much i looked like chevy chase. sweet.

Finally, I must once again warn you all of the impending apocolypse. just yesterday i heard a football commentator quote Renee Descartes (i think therefore I am) and try and use it to demonstrate his point. The other was so shocked he busted out the name Camus, but didn't quote him. football + philosophy = apocolypse

I wanna riot - The Clash

2007-01-18T16:08:00.000+11:00

My birthday was on the 11th (amanda) and thank you to the well wishers

I went to a show on Tuesday to see a band called "the sharktopus". I have heard them once before, and I think they are decent for a hardcore band, as far as i can tell anyway. regardless i was in the mood for a really good pit. Apparently wild pits aren't very popular on tuesday nights and even less popular are the people who try to start them. sadness

I've been kind of depressed for the last couple of weeks. sleeping/laying in bed for over 12 hours of the day. that wasn't very fun or cool, but i think i'm getting better

I was reminded of an old joy tonight. The walk from my car to the front door. the sky is clear, the air is cold and everything above the ground looks or at least seems brand new. It reminds me of the late nights i would come in during the summer, or in highschool.

It's funny how some people re-act to my signs of the apocolypse, and think i'm serious and start ranting about the middle east and whatnot... Who cares about the middle east. Last week guess who "the people" voted as musical group of the year? The answer proves not only that the apocolypse has nothing to do with the middle east, but also that said apocolypse is right around the corner. you guessed it --- nickelback.

In the wreckage of a job well done, I saw a place i'd never seen before - Rise Against

2007-01-09T14:49:00.000+11:00

I'm quite excited to see this band. I'm excited to hear their anti-bush rants and scoff at the idea that anyone could do any better. I'm excited to be at large show and to be around a lot of people. Very excited to see a large pit, and to be afraid. It will also be fun because Billy talent (best canadian band ever?) will be there. Anti-flag and moneen will be there too. meh, you can't win them all i suppose. I think i'm in the mood for a good anti-government rant because of our current sit-in pastor who is very political in the pulpit, but sadly makes no sense over all.

I'm really enjoying my paper journal, though i have trouble not wandering, and sometimes it turns into more philosophy than it should be, but it does help to focus thoughts.

i turn 23 this week. cripes

I bleached my hair. not thrilled about it now, but i've got huge (trump huge) plans

Risks are funny things, this weekend i tried a rail (if you consider a foot wide rail still a rail) and crashed the first and second time and the third time it went pretty clean, but the risk was there for all three. it's wierd how you imagine every terrible way you could fail, reconsider until the last possible second and then do or die choice time. luckely the rail wasn't so bad even though i got the same amount of nervous each time. but maybe that's not really a risk because i got a second chance. maybe true risk is one where you get one chance to try, and failure is a killa.

there are no signs of the apocolypse on the week of the anniversiary of my birth silly

It's good to see you rockin' out and havin' fun - The Bouncing Souls

2007-01-04T16:54:00.000+11:00

A new week and I don't have much to say.

I held a pretty decent New Years Eve party, beer pong was played and it was fun.

started working again, lame...

I'm going snowboarding tomorrow. I hope it snows

finished "the stranger" pretty decent

my sister anna got a ukelele ( just forgive my spelling it's late and i'm tired) fun

beat my dad at rook, and my brother at the construction game. exhausting

might start a paper journal probably good for me we'll see

anyway, for signs of the apocolypse:
Colorado is a mess and i don't know what's worse having to airlift livestock feed or people trying to sell the snow on ebay

Happy Christmas and New Year

2006-12-28T09:22:00.000+11:00

So much emotion for the holidays, but at the moment i'm reading "the Stranger" by Albert Camus and I find myself relating more to the main character than to the rest of humanity. I'm sorry to those who haven't read this book, but for anyone who is interested it's not too long.

At the moment it seems like i have to force passion, and I'm thinking i've been in this state for longer than i would care to admit. Passion creaps up on me at moments, but soon it's gone and forgotten. It seems like writing this should really depress me but it doesn't.

Scream Until You're Coughing Up Blood - Against me!

2006-12-20T15:55:00.000+11:00

I didn't quite scream until I coughed blood, but I couldn't speak for a while. Does that count? I was playing the song "pints of guiness make you strong" by the aforementioned band. I love that song, it's quite sad and if you can't scream the line "I swear to God that I'll love you forever" what can you scream?

I had an excellent weekend, because I discovered a video shop, but not just any video shop. The best freakin' video shop in the world. Ahhh... movie lovers. They specialise in underground, independent, foriegn films, cult classics and hard to find titles. They also rent movies for a week at a time and have (Reid pay attention here!) a woody allan section at the end of one of the rows. I wanted to take a picture just to make Reid jelous. Possibly the best news of the whole shop is that I was able to rent two seasons of the Vicar of Dibley for 4 bucks. mmmhhmmm.

We actually had a talk about religion at break during work, that was cool. It was mostly naming the differences between, Witnesses, Mormons, Catholics, and Protestants, but it seemed to be a pretty good gateway conversation. On a side note, this keyboard is making me angry cuz some of the keys are going out. It's a laptop, do you have to replace the whole thing? on another sidenote, I like eggnog alot. I feel sorry for people who don't like it.

I'll end with a confession I'm on facebook... sick.

I read in he news of a Catholic Priest who was sentanced for leading people to a church full of people in the rawandan genocide and advising the agressors to kill all those inside of it. I'm guessing it's the same deal as that Nun i wrote about awhile ago, but it's definitly worth mentioning again and those have been my weekly Signs of the apocolypse for more apocolyptic fun read Dena's blog.

Together we are what we can't be alone - Dropkick Murphys

2006-12-13T04:26:00.000+11:00

I loved my trip out to Dordt, Awsome people, good food, just enough booze. It was great all around. I wish i could have seen/seen more of the old bandmates Micah and Elliot, also i would have liked to have seen Rob Haan and Mike Kuech, but I kept myself fairly busy so maybe some other time.

The oldsmobile ran admirably for the whole trip. She's got 4 new tires and a new serpentine belt, so that helps quite a bit. however, if i have the heater running it seems like the CD player gets too hot after a while and it stops working. a tad annoying, but i didn't bring a large number of CD's either so it worked out fine.

Feels like writing about a movie that one just has to see. So i'm out of words.

If this song doesn't signify the end of the world I just don't know what does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga7hU-3-PbQ

tonight i feel unstoppable - Bombshell Rocks

2006-12-07T06:43:00.000+11:00

Hey there kids,

I had a good time in NYC. I have a serious love hate relationship with big cities. On one hand there is always lots to do and see and all that, but then there is the large number of stupid people all packed into a small area... it's a challenge

The weather and everything look pretty decent for my trip to dordt so that should not be a problem. I have to do some work to my car and then I'll be ready to go. by the way in responce to those comments threatening corporeal harm. yipe!

I'm quite excited, I might even bring out a 24 pack of moose drool or whatever else they have at costco. I like costco they sold me tires for my car.

hmmmm.... sign of the apocolypse.... I saw an mtv crew interviewing a guy in toronto when Kramer and I went there... I should have flipped them off but i'm just not quick enough. Oh I got it. I actually own a state of the art piece of electronics. It's called a Zune and I love it. yeah i'm on lunch break and can't think of anything.

jeff = out

I'm already on my way - Bombshell Rocks

2006-11-18T03:05:00.000+11:00

Okay, I didn't get to drive out to dordt this week, but I did get the last bit of field work done out here on the farm. So, My new plan is to drive out on Dec. 7 spend a few days and drive back on Sunday or Monday. If i don't make it out there at that time you can assume that I am dead or did not want to become dead due to weather.

I made strides in the Count of Monte Cristo this week and it makes me feel like our language is very coarse. I think 19th century languange should be brought back for one day a month. That way everyone has an excuse for one day and it doesn't have to make us sick the rest of the month. Ah... behold the beauty of compromise.

I dreamt of holding a tea party at my house, but then i realised it was just a recollection of coffee time on sunday evenings at dordt. that was sad, and I miss it. Also, aside from Alan and Brad i don't know who would come.

The end of the world is coming closer every day, and I feel it nessesary to share the signs with my freinds so they can't say they never saw it coming, so here it is. this weeks sign of the APOCOLYPSE!!!

A Nun in africa was recently convicted for the role she played in the rawandan genocide, but the really scary thing is that people have been waiting in line for 3 days for the new PS3

Pints of Guinness make you strong - Against me

2006-11-11T04:38:00.000+11:00

Just got back from Potatoe convention. yes, it's very exciting. You get to listen to lectures on potatoes all day, and then drink with the farmers all night. honestly, what could be better?

I found out that in Peru they have potatoes that are white on the inside for the first quarter inch or so and then they turn a dark purple, they make some cool looking chips.

It was in helena, no open bar this year but everyone got a couple of free drink tickets. Brad and I collected the ones that people were not using.

just tried to google potatoe chips + peru to find a picture, but the only picture has a caption about singapore. peru = singapore???

I debated a hutterite (sp?) on the politics of the free market. he, sadly, had no sensible rebuttal

Visited the local breweries in Helena there is Blackfoot River Brewing Co. which was pretty decent, and we got a tour. Also there is Lewis and Clark which is changing it's name to sleeping giant - meh I'd hit blackfoot before that place. Another somewhat disturbing trend we noticed about the helena breweries was that the girls behind the counter in helena are a lot cuter than the ones in bozeman and belgrade... And they looked about our age as well. sadness

If your looking for early 20's aged single girls, the montana potatoe convention is not the place to go. just in case.

I found a store in helena with a large selection of electric tea kettles, that was very exciting

I'm thinking that next weekend would be a good time for me to visit Dordt, because after that i'll be gone for 2 weekends and by the end of that it's practically finals time. However, next weekend also looks like a good weekend to be in Bozeman. would it be terrible if i waited until after christmas?

finally the sign of the APOCOLYPSE:
While in Helena we decided to visit the Catholic cathedral. I went with Brad and my Aunt and Uncle. right when we got there, a guy was just starting a tour so we joined in. I forgot I had my hat on, so he said "can you please tell your freind to take off his hat, this is a church" I took off my hat immediatly and i was genuinly sorry. the tour went on and at the end he started handing out flyers of information on the church he got through the whole rest of the group, handed one to brad and then stopped. I was right next to brad, looking right at him and his pile of papers and didn't get a second glance. Apparently, I didn't need to know anything more about that church. I laughed at him once i got outside.

Back to higher ground - The Briggs

2006-11-03T11:31:00.000+11:00

Oh the fun things that have happened in the last week. and the boring things i guess, but here is a list

Saw the hike school music concert

found out our family is going to high school choirs performance in NYC

had a Makers Mark and coke

it was so good i had another

got my foot smashed by a Bobcat

Started a chess game by mail

finished harvest!

got my foot (same foot) smashed by a tractor track

secured a 4 day detour on the way back from NYC to visit Kramer

learned a bunch of Billy Talent songs on guitar

did nothing for halloween *cry*

had dinner with the crew

questioned my brother on the nature of art and number

found out i can move into my own house this weekend, but I have to move out again in the spring... should i do it?

and helped my dad change 4 speakers in his stereo. 18 yrs. is a pretty good run i guess... I'll have pictures of that process on my msn space soon. it was pretty fun.

finally, I didn't read or listen to the news so i have no sign of the apocolypse, it was a pretty good week maybe all is not lost.

Evelyn, I'm not coming home tonight - Against Me

2006-10-25T19:05:00.000+10:00

I think the last time i really worked on something until 2:30 in the morning, it was a good buzz. I wasn't even a good night to talk to people on the phone, because of frequent misshaps involving rocks and parts that were supposed to be moving. Sorry Reub. I did get to talk to Jeremy (romes/romestien) Keeler. He might be coming up to bozeman in two weeks. that could be interesting, as talking to people you haven't seen since highschool sometimes is. anyway, i just wrote a post to piss and moan about digging potatoes until freakin' 2:30 in the morning. g'night.

oh wait what about the sign of the apocolypse: Personally this post is full of them, but one interesting thing in the news was that the Russians apparently have a terrorist neo-nazi group on thier hands... and the moral? history teaches us that history teaches us nothing.

Rain drops running through my veins - Billy Talent

2006-10-20T12:57:00.000+10:00

Hey Kids,

it's our second day of digging after 2 and a half days of being rained out.

I got an Against me album and I like it quite a bit, but I don't know if anyone else would like it... one hilight is the line "cuz baby, I'm an anarchist and your a spineless liberal"

Our new batch of beer is getting much better which is a relief cuz i thought it was gonna be bad

Brad and I are gonna go down to Ogden, Utah for halloween. It should be tons of fun.

Finally, (Ried) I'll probably be out to dordt in a week or so depends on harvest and stuff

and now for THIS WEEKS SIGN OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!!
It turns out that there is a noticeable spike in emergency room visits after football games. Not because people fight over the games or anything like that, but because these people are actually waiting until the game is over before they go to the ER. eesh...

If you want a darker one, here goes: This must have happened a while ago cuz the court case just went through on it. turns out a 22 year old mother of 2 shot herself in the stomach in order to kill her oncoming 3rd child because her boyfriend would not pay for an abortion. it was on the baby's due date.

Don't forget that your born free - The Bouncing Souls

2006-10-12T14:29:00.000+10:00

This is what confuses me about political systems. I believe people are born free. free in the sense that people can think however they want to think about anything. I don't think a political system is going to impede my freedom in that sense. Why is it always the freakin' governments fault? people are poor, it must be the government/social standing/1000+ other circumstances. how come no one says screw the government! they can't do anything right. where is the church? the only reason there are poor people is because the church has failed. Failed 1) to provide 2) to educate 3) to convict people to learn and work to the best of thier ability and i'm sure there are more.

I had a fun weekend. went to a show, met some people. went to my uncles church and talked to a guy that teaches some philosophy classes at MSU. We didn't talk about much, nice guy (+1) he agreed that "i heart huckabee's" is one of the more worthless movies in creation (+1) and he's a big fan of Pabst blue Ribbon (-2) so he's a draw. oh well. at least he didn't like i heart huckabee's.

This weeks sign of the apocolypse! I drove around all day at less than 1 mph!!! gaaahhhh!!! either that or I'm pretty sure that my dad will vote Libertarian.

You might as well bend over... - The Casualties

2006-10-04T13:43:00.000+10:00

Well, I'm not even gonna lie. I had the worste day of work I have ever had before. 12 hours of getting in and out of my tractor fixing and unplugging stuff all day! I was screaming obsenities at the end of the day, not even joking. and while in the tractor i heard the news and that made me even more pissed. How can the world be full of a month's worth of signs of the apocolypse and it's only tuesday??? it's unbelievable what's going down. in addition, I had another slow weekend in which the only highlight was bottling our new batch of beer (which might have gone wrong, but we'll see in a couple of weeks... ) so depressing. Brad and I need to find some cool people to hang out with, cuz right now we're failing and it's getting old. I was reading j. horlings blog the other day and thought to myself that I'd be going out of my mind if i was in his situation. He is undoubtedly a stronger person than myself. so kudos to you Jon!

As i'm bathing in my own pity, I read Dane's blog and find myself feeling petty and near tears. Please pray for Dane and his family. While at dordt, my grandma was in bad shape and i dreaded a similar phonecall, but luckely never recieved it. That's the kind of thing that makes you sick just thinking about it, and to have it happen must be overwhelming. Prayer and thoughts to Dane.

This weeks sign of the apocolypse: there everywhere, read dane's blog, read the paper, watch the new's, you'll probably find yourself ill. Sorry

Put my trust in God that day, not in the man that taught his way - Billy Talent

2006-09-29T12:57:00.000+10:00

I wonder how many people have to come the implied conclusion of this lyric, before they give christianity a chance? I'm not suggesting that the lyricist from Billy talent is a "christian". I haven't analysed the song enough to know exactly what it means, but in any case this line struck me. I'm guessing he's some sort of agnostic, which presents it's own problems of thinking of God however it suits the individual, most likely based upon a romantic idea of "love". Lost are the idea's of a vengeful, just, and jelous God that is taught in the Bible. Something is missing but I can't think of what it is...

I got 4 new CD's on sunday after going to the Symphony, and ALL of them are amazing!!! They are Billy Talent II, The Causualites - under attack, The unseen - lower class crucifiction, and last but certainly not least The Briggs - Back to higher ground. I really really like the briggs new album. It reminds me of so many great bands at different points and they gave up thier matt freeman style singing which is kind of a relief. The new billy talent is just more stuff from them they didn't change thier style at all which i really like, cuz they're pretty unique. i think anyway.

No, real news about what I've been up to, cuz it's not much... eesh. We'll head straight to this weeks sign of the apocolypse:
It's a pretty sick world out there. it really makes me want to throw up. what kind of person does it take to think that dragging someone to death behind thier vehicle is a justifiable idea??? what kind of action does it take to provoke this action on oneself? I think it's unbelievable, but it happened in Denver, to a girl. by her boyfriend...

bleh... I'm sick of this post and i'm sure you are too

This is where the men in power abuse authority - The real Fakers

2006-09-21T14:11:00.000+10:00

Oh man, I don't even know what to say. I haven't been doing much of anything but listening to the news and conservative commentary on the radio all week. Hopefully i'm painfully biased due to the kind of news i've been listening too, but it seems like we're heading for a shit storm.

This week's sign of the apocolypse:
The president of Iran, who has said that the jews are nearing the end of thier existense and who does not believe that the holocaust ever happened, was in New York giving a speech the the United Nations about how He is all about Peace and Tranquility. New York, which has a very large jewish population, much less the United states did nothing about this person who is known to have funded a number of terrorist groups...

This is what I have heard. Please prove me wrong because it's keeping me up at night.

In other news, If you ever get the chance to hear the song "monkeys are bad people" it is hilarious, and it's good because it's preaches the ovbious evil that is monkeys... (man I freakin' hate monkeys)

well it's been 10 years and 1000 tears and look at the mess i'm in - Social Distortion

2006-09-13T15:37:00.000+10:00

I think for the first time in a long time, my song lyric has nothing to do with my post, mostly because i just have a bunch of events and no real thoughts so it's hard to find a fitting line. I have always liked this line a lot, maybe "neva catch me ridin' dirty" would have been more fitting, but I don't know what that means so...

Brad had an interesting weekend, through an incident with the tail pipe of his car and a pull over that he was not aware, of he ended up at the bad end of a lazer scoped pistol that had it's safety off and was ready to fire... seriously the cop told brad that he had the safty off and was ready to shoot him. those dirty high strung cops, in the words of that animated reality show (homosexual character) "you guys are assholes and not the good kind". that's what this cop is. I drove by as Brad's arms were being forced down behind his back. Sure the cops should be relatively paranoid, but a gun pointed at Brads head was probably excessive.

yesterday was the first day i've seen the mountains in our valley for a week, because the smoke from the forestfires in our area settles in the valley. they cancel sporting events and everything because the air is "very unhealthy".

I will no longer be driving truck hauling wheat, and feeling like i could itch my skin off because we're done!!! actually we have one feild left, but it will not be ready for another week so i'm excited about that.

in other news I purchased a new ski last week. I love it, and I can regularly ski the course at 28 mph

I think brad's incidents is a pretty good sign of the apocolypse, but if your not satisfied a middle age man was prevented from raping a 80+ year old woman because she bit his tounge as he was trying to shove it down her throut... *shudder*

I promise to depart just promise one thing, kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep - AFI

2006-09-02T15:10:00.000+10:00

This week's sign of the apocolypse:

my kitten died...

oh wisp, I shed three tears for you.

Give me the drug, keep me alive, give me what's left of my life - Rise Against

2006-08-25T14:40:00.000+10:00

Well, aside from a delightful weekend with Ross, Alan, Karl, Carly, Brad and Trent this week has been brutal. It's harvest time so i'm spending 12 to 13 hours of the day driving around and listening to the radio or my lectures on existentialism. One interesting tidbit from those lectures is that Soren Kierkegaard, Fredrick Engles (Marxism anyone?), and Mikhail Bakunin ("Father of modern Anarchism") were all in the same college class together in Berlin. Also Kierkegaard missed Hegel by 10 years, it would be intersting to see how having Hegel as a teacher would have effected Kierkegaard. All in all the more I think of those three in the same class all i can say is "holy crap..."

Here are some idea's I stole from our radio station:

this weeks sign of the apocolypse: Haley Joel Osment was charged with DUI and possesion of weed.

Jaws = major trend setter

Sooner or later he's gonna cut you down - Cash, Johnny Cash

2006-08-15T15:53:00.000+10:00

So, It's been a while and that's because this last week was so good and so bad it's practically beyond description. The good and bad was that I had the privelege of hanging out with a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time and may not see again for an even longer time. namely Reub and Val, Mel, Kroese and Morgan, Trent D. Alan K, and Jared. It's so nice and fun to have these people around, but most have left already and the rest are leaving soon. cripes...

In other news i was thinking about writing a long post on my theory of loufa's (I don't know how to spell the name, but it's the thing you take in the shower and use with body wash) it was going to include references to excesive bathing and governmental conspiricy because of the movie fight club, but instead i'll show you a couple of pictures of an event that i can only lable as unfortunate. After crashing once skiing, i had the misfortune to come out of the water again looking like this:
yes that road behind me is Interstate -90 and I was out on the water without my compact mirror what was I thinking?

Lies make it better - Billy Talent

2006-07-28T08:15:00.000+10:00

Ok, so I didn't go the warpted tour... it got up to friday afternoon and 2 out of 3 of us didn't feel like driving for 8 hours just to drive 8 hours back and afternoon later. It was a great weekend though cuz Reuben, Brad, Alan, and I went to the MICROBREW FESTIVAL. It was excellent. i think there were 8 different local brewers, and 12 bucks got one 4 beers, a polish dog, and a pint glass plus all the free samples one wanted. It turned out that two of our favorite breweries are right in Belgrade and Bozeman. Also at the festival we had a really long cool chat with a guy about homebrewing, This guy turned out to be the creator of our beloved Black Dog Ale!!! We didn't even find out until last tuesday when Brad and I went to the brewer in belgrade and were talking about the festival. Another cool thing about the festival is that it was held in Virginia city which is a historic town in Montana. The town is all old and cool with wooden boardwalks and exhibits on every street. We ended the day with homemade iced cream. excellent.

In other news. I made the whole ski course at 28 mph. horray

today I don't feel pretty - Billy Talent

2006-07-21T09:59:00.000+10:00

This weekend is the Warpted Tour in Salt Lake City. It's the first time it hasn't come within 3 hours of bozeman in probably close to 7 years. 7 years sounds like a long time. I will see RISE AGAINST, THE BOUNCING SOULS, Anti-Flag, Escape the Fate, Against me, THE LIVING END, thursday, underoath, joan jett and the blackhearts, motion city soundtrack, and others while i'm perousing. I'm going with sisters Katie and Anna, which will be fun. Camping on the way down and a hotel on the way up i'm thinking.

Tonight we go to my grandma's house for dinner, then it's off to Bozeman for music on main. Every thursday they close down a block of main street and have a live band play. Just local bands, but some are good and there are plenty of hot girls. haha!

I started listening to my existentialism lectures. I'm super excited. He is starting by going through "the stranger" by Albert Camus. It sounds very interesting, and even though he outlines most of the book, I'd like to read it. I also started Middlemarch (the introduction is even scary long Reid...)

No thoughts today, just events. ahhh... distraction

Is there a God tonight? - Rise Against

2006-07-17T15:08:00.000+10:00

Hey has anyone heard about/seen this show called "on faith and reason" on PBS ? It's hosted by a guy named Bill Moyer. He has some pretty cool guests. tonight he had a professor of philosophy at the University of Miami (Colin Mcginn) who is a huge proponent of freedom of speech and an athiest. He also had a christian author named Mary Gordon. he seems to pick interesting guests in general based on the website (http://www.pbs.org/moyers/). Hope you can check it out.

I'm standing on a rooftop ready to fall - Rise Against

2006-07-16T15:44:00.001+10:00

If anyone hasn't heard the new Rise Against album it's amazing. there is one song that is a little cliche/boyband-ish but they save it, so it's ok. Wow, I just watched the motorcycle diaries again and am only now realizing that I'm filling myself with socialist propaganda (Rise Against + Motorcycle diaries x 3 = jeffy as hippy = gay)

This weekend was pretty slow. I didn't mind. I could have gone to a punk show in town yesterday, eaten bbq and seen fireworks tonight, but there's no ambition. It feels like I want to be in love, but it makes me sick that love won't be good enough. goals seem so far away and insignificant that it's hardly worth the effort of moving. The only thing left is to follow, adopt another will and hope it's better than your own.

Wisp is getting fatter now. He looked malnurished when i found him. I have a 14 year old cat named turbo who is awsome. reuben and other dog owners have said that turbo is thier favorite cat, so the moral of the story is that there is a way to keep cats from being "snooty" or whatever. I think the trick is to spend a lot of time with them so they grow to love companionship and aren't so aloof.

Our lives looks smaller now - AFI

2006-07-09T05:57:00.000+10:00

Here is some new stuff in my life, The lake has been full for a while and lookes pretty much the same as it did, but wider. but there is picture anyway. I've been doing quite a bit of skiing so that's pretty fun. The ski course makes people push them selves really hard so there are plenty of good wipeouts.

The other day i was hauling fertilizer and guess what I found? I saw it from a ways a way, and I thought it was a rat or something, but then it came running up to me and started circleing my boots and following me around. So I took it home. I named it Wisp, because It has a small patch of white fur right under his neck. He's pretty funny cuz we'll have three people sitting on that bench (My parents got that for my sister because she's wanted one for 3 years and she placed in state polevault) and he'll walk back and forth across people's shoulders. If one person is there he walks back and forth on that person's shoulders and tries to go infront of the neck sometimes. Extreme i know, and my hair is finally back. that makes me happy.

People tell me they wake up everyday wondering if they'll be here tommorrow - Bouncing Souls

2006-07-03T06:17:00.000+10:00

It's been an interesting week. My grandma turned 60, I got some new headphones, went to shakespear in the parks, worked my last day in the packing shed for the year, started rouging, got 3 bouy's at 27mph skiing, ripped off a calous on my thumb (I hate the sting), my lecture series on existentialism came in the mail, had a couple of boilermakers, and watched some movies.

I saw I (heart) huckabee's again... It's not funny, not profound, and entirely overrated. It's exagerated, but not quite enough to make it so rediculous its funny. It's just exagerated enough to make one think that they are trying way too hard. Hey guys lets make a movie about how we exist, but we'll try and make it funny. Nice idea, too bad it sucks. Also, how they address the question of "why do I exist" in the movie is dealed with in an interesting way. They address it by looking at how one exists. How is one related to "the other". Are we all connected in a fabric of energy or are we random particles bumping into one another once in a while? I will grant that how we exist is a part of why we exist, but I hardly believe that it is/should be the focal point of the question. I even doubt that an athiest or a deist would find this focus entirely acceptable. Walburgs character mentions some off hand connections between the two questions, but they are not explored and the subject is not addressed again. The movies saving grace is that it admits there is more ground in these questions than it could ever hope to cover. However, the movies contribution to these issues is so small it's just barely above worthless.

In other news my phone is on alltell and once i figure out this "circle" thing I'll start making some calls. Also the new Rise Against album is coming out on the 4th!!! get excited people!

Another story another memory - bouncing souls

2006-06-26T16:08:00.000+10:00

Hey there kids,
Sorry it's been a while, but I doubt you care. It's hard to keep up with the blogs over the summer. I'm feeling pretty disconnected from everything/one lately. The weeks have been so packed lately between the farm and the lake.
The lake is nice, I'm not gonna lie, but I spend a fair amount of time driving and teaching my siblings freinds how to do stuff which is fine, but it takes up a lot of time. I could maybe do it for a job, but as far as sacrificing 95% of my free time Its getting pretty old. So It was really nice to hang out with reuben for the last couple of days away from the lake. That's going to be it's main purpose, eventually there will be a boat dealership, maintainance building etc. and we'll sell time on the lake to the public. Similar to a golf course in a lot of ways.
today I pulled this kid skiing and I didn't even see him wreck and no one really reacted so I was like whatever, turn around and go to pick him up. As we pulled up to him I saw his face covered in blood. Like the whole middle of his face is streaming blood, so much that it was hard to tell where it was coming from. So we took him to shore and he is the proud owner of an inch long gash in his scalp that he needs stiches for. I'm pretty weak stomached, so i had to sit in the shade for a while and sip some water. The ski came up and hit him in the head after he wrecked aparentely. I don't even know how that can happen, but it did.
My dad is flying to chicago for something to do with Case International tractors. He'll be there for 3 days. so yeah, pray for safe travels and such. There is more that could be written but I'm tired and this week does not look short.

Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me - AJ

2006-06-15T14:43:00.000+10:00

Hey there Kids,

I'm in better spirits today. And I know I'm quoting a country song. First, that song was big back in 6th grade when liking country was cool (still nauseous). Second, there are a couple of other reasons this post is (and should be) extraordinary.

Well, last week Friday (the day before my dad's birthday, talk about a freakin' happy birthday!) we started putting water into the lake. Here is my dad watching the water come up into it for the first time.

here's the water!!!

I guess the real shocker is that by sunday it looked like this

And Tuesday we went skiing (we can't go wakeboarding yet, its not full enough yet, the banks are too sharp). My sister Anna was the first one to ski in it... Brad and I were the only other ones in the boat and I am the only one of the three that had driven on this kind of lake before so I was second to ski by default... This is me frustrated. The same sister also pee'd in it the first time much to the disappointment of Brad and myself who made special announcements about it. gahh!!! I don't have any pictures cuz we were in such a rush after work we forgot the camera. My dad came later and was able to ski on it that day as well (he had the best water of the day since it was a bit windy when the rest of us went. I'm glad for that). So that has been my past couple of days and I'm frickin excited!!! We didn't ski today cuz it was raining pretty hard, but expect to see hear about plenty of this (and pictures) for the rest of the summer!

I don't know when the party will be. August would be good since that is a slower time on the farm. I'll talk to my dad. Any specific week? cuz the 1st and 2nd would probably work the best. Also I would like to thank Tom for reminding me about my cell phone (I've forgotten to mention it my last three posts!!) so yeah I have a cellular phone 406-580-8677 please use it to speak to me.

On a much different and delayed (Sorry, Carmela I didn't forget you) note: Yogo's, which are a snack candy made by kellogg's, are not a breakfast cereal. They are yogurt covered gummy stuff. Yes they are still increadible and if you haven't tried them, you should.

Do you fall too? - AFI

2006-06-12T15:16:00.000+10:00

Hey there kids,

I just gave my cousin a ride home. During that ride we talking about working on our respective farms and how it was going. I'm doing fine. Not much really. Packing spuds, poisoning vermin, and some cosmetic mowing. The point is, I just work here. I've got no emotional stock in the farm. If it started to fail I would feel bad but not for the farm in itself but for my father and grandfather because they have put so much work into it. It's hard to disrespect something that you've seen someone work very hard for and is one of the best because of that hard work. Like any musician or visual artist a certain amount of natural talent needs to be in place, but the hard work brings out the talent and makes it respectable.
Brad on the other hand feels emotionally connected to his farm in itself. he loves it because of the memories he has of it. He feels horribly because he is starting to see how it could be better but he can't do much about it. He feels like it's failing, and that he is failing because of that. It's hard to watch someone who cares like that having his heart broken. That is at least what I got from our conversation. Perhaps its not nearly so bad as all that. In any case, I'm jealous of him. I wish that I could point to something that I cared about like that. Something that would eat at me, and break me down. Brad is willing to put in the work that would make him great, and I cannot find something to work for. Katy will appreciate my comparison of Brad to Levin and myself to Stephen. Stupid Stephen breezes his way through life not really worrying about anything and seems to be happy, while Levin feel worthless if he is away from his work for too long, and seems to be tortured, but its clear who lives the better life.
In other news, I got the new AFI cd. It's pretty disappointing. It's like AFI trying to be a techno emo band... It's listenable and I like it in a wierd way, but I miss the old AFI stuff. I tried session lager tonight, it was good just like Reuben had promised. Our lake is up to about 4 feet in the deepest part, and my dad is going to throw a huge party a little while after its full. It will be for finishing the lake and for my and my sisters respective graduations You guys are all invited of course if you can make it out. Brad and I want to see if we can get a keg of Black dog or Moose drool.

When I hear the mountains calling I'll come home - RCS

2006-06-06T12:51:00.000+10:00

Hey there Kids,
oh man, where to start. Last weekends hilights were:
1 - Seeing Dane, Amanda, and Carmela and getting to show them the wonder that is Black Dog Ale.
2 - Seeing X-men III twice, and loving it both times. I'm glad I don't know the comic book story at all cuz I just got to enjoy the movies in themselves.
3 - (Get ready to soil yourselves with envy) Fishing with Brad and Jon on Memorial day here:

and in case you bitches think i stole this off the internet somewhere take this!!!

That, my freinds, is why Montana is better than you or me. We didn't catch any fish but we got to play with Brads dog alot and drank some good beer (Black dog Ale - best beer ever?, widmer hefewiesen - good despite me not generally liking hefewiesen, and Black Butte Porter - meh..., and Samuel Smith that I can't find the name of right, but Samuel Smith is solid) Here is a picture of my (available) cousin Brad and his (Black) dog Kota.

4 - My sister won the State (class B) tournament in polevault, I'm proud of her

In other news, Reuben and I got to hang out a bit this weekend and it was awsome. We're done planting so I'm out of the tractor and stuck in a dank cellar stacking boxes all day, and we got the boat ramp poured for our lake and it should be done by the end of the month!!!

Corrected mistakes in a world full of hate never changes anything - DKM

2006-05-26T12:22:00.000+10:00

Usually I believe in this line whole heartedly, but then there are some days that make me question it.

How often do i wish for foresight that only seems to be afforded by hindsight. On the same note, it's wierd how an assumption isn't really an assumption until a problem presents itself. Until the problem happens an assumption is simply knowledge.

For example, today I knew that we were done pumping diesel fuel into our storage tanks. The Semi driver said "oh there it's going empty" and we started packing up some hoses. I knew that since he had said this I did not need to ask him anymore questions about being done. I knew that since the truck was empty that looking at the pressure guage on the pump was useless and last of all I knew it would be okay to close the valve going to our storage tanks.

All this knowledge rapidly turned into assumptions as the hose blew off the pump drenching me in diesel fuel... Luckily, nothing serious broke, and i'm only left with the shame of the story and a couple of gallons of fuel on the ground.

Other than that work is fine. My hands are becoming tools again. They're getting there share of cuts, dings, and callouses and that wierd dirt that goes deep into the cracks of ones skin and takes a couple of days of no work and frequent washing to get out.

Finally if anyone hasn't tried kellogg Yogo's you should, they are increadible.

Goodbye to the life we knew - bouncing souls

2006-05-19T14:20:00.000+10:00

get ready to throw up

today I heard an elliot smith song i don't remember hearing before, and I thought of the coffee shop

I heard The Clash (Police and theives), and thought of Reuben and Val, and the 80's party where a lot of "the clash" was played

I saw and heard a crow call, and thought of Brielle, Beth and Sarah

I heard the name sufjan stevens mentioned in a song and thought of Ross, Carolyn, and Katy

I'm a couple of chapters into "What is Religion and of What Does Its Essence Consist?" by Tolstoy, and thought of Walhof, Reid, and Tom SB

and I saw a plastic bag blowing in the wind, and I thought of American Beauty.

i'm enjoying a beer in front of the computer, and I'm missing everyone that I used to drink with back at dordt. You know who you are.

I saw a cloud that looked like an atomic bomb was busting out of the top of a skull, and i saw clouds that looked like a squirrel watching a pig drive a bumper car.

I'm sorry, the tractor is slow and since I don't have to steer it in the middle of the feild it allows much more time to read, notice things, and think. My final thought is something on the news that really grossed me out. An 11 year old girl in the UK who chain smokes is now pregnant and will be the youngest mother in that country (maybe in the history of that country. i forget). Anyway she also said something to the effect of "I don't think my smoking is effecting my pregnancy"

"like all madmen, I thought all were mad except myself" - Leo Tolstoy

oh Cecilia your breakin' my heart

2006-05-15T09:04:00.000+10:00

found some pictures my parents took of graduation. they seemed to have some pretty good seats. Here is one of me being stupid eating my tassel while freinds look heroically on to thier bright futures (Carolyn) or look at me like what the hell is he doing? (Reuben) The other one should probably get onto some piece of dordt propaganda as mike is probably wondering who that attractive person in the crowd is.

Montana is getting warmer already. The mountains are quickly loosing snow, and the once vibrant green of the spring is darkening as the summer seems to be coming early. It's still beauiful out and i enjoy my time outside very much.

Josh DeGroot came to visit last thursday which was awsome. We drank and watched the Paul Simon graceland DVD on dad's new theater system. then we ended the night watching the moon pass through the clouds as we spoke of plans for the future the present and the past. It was increadible and i hope it will not be my last late night conversation with him.

it's strange to think about not switching something in my life in a couple of months. for 17 years i've gone back and forth from school to whatever else and now I can't imagine not doing something completely different in the fall than I've done all summer. Maybe I should move somewhere after the harvest. Any suggestions?

lets unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

2006-05-10T14:23:00.000+10:00

So, I've been home for a while and here is what has happened.

I had a great ride with Tom to Rapid City. He kept conversation pretty light which was really nice. I think too much serious thought at that point may have been bad. As I was pulling away from where i left tom i turned up the radio to hear System of a down playing the loneliest song in the world or something... irony. I got a Bouncing Souls DVD and a the Briggs CD. The Briggs are pretty increadible. They are a lot like DKM with a little One Man Army thrown in. all in all a solid CD. I slept in a truck stop that night. that was cool, actually it wasn't bad, it was a warm night and i was really tired so i slept for a surprizingly long time. I ussually don't sleep that well in my car like that. (yes, i've tried on a number of occations...)

sunday i arrived home, shaved my mohawk, took a shower and missed church (both services haha!) I've decided that it was a good thing that i waited until i was home to shave my head all the way because i don't really like the shape of my head (in fact i hate it). and i won't be taking any pictures so don't ask. by the way I'm going to have to pose a similar request as marcus and ask that anyone who has photo's of me, or photos you think i would like to have, please send them to my hotmail address eggnog90@hotmail.com thank you

Monday I putz around and did nothing. wondering around the house wondering what people were doing. Thinking maybe i'll see if so and so are home oh shit.... that was sad.

Today was my first day of work on the farm. 14.5 hours. welcome to the farm... I started listening to Anna Karenina in the tractor. So far i like it. I think it's hilarious how mean stephaan is when he thinks of his wife. he is so harsh, and I react in that "I can't believe he really said that" kind of way that i think is funny. And Poor Levin, I think Levin will be my character for the book. In fact I'm pretty sure we're going through almost the same thing. Tolstoy makes all the characters very understandable which is really cool, because you can take thier point of view a bit easier, However, at the same time it's sometimes annoying because he's going through the thoughts of two characters as they are having a conversation and he basically tells you what is going to happen and then it happens. So far anyway. I'm up to chapter 20 I haven't found a huge conflict yet but the storyline is interesting enough with all it's subplots at this point.

I love you all

2006-05-06T22:49:00.000+10:00

Last night was my best night of the year. Laughs were had and tears were shed, for a short time I forgot that everyone was leaving, but then the whole party started to deconstruct and in one all too swift moment I was saying to goodbye to people that I may not see indeffiniely. I made it home and then made my pillow uncomfortably damp.

Last night was my worst night of the year. At least I know it's real if it made me do that, and few other things have effected me to that extent. I wanted to cover the song "true believers" for our last show ever, but we did not have the time so here are the lyrics for the first verse with a slight modification:

I've met some people along the way,
some of them split some of them stay,
some of them walk some walk on by,
I've got a few friends I'll love till I die
From all of these people I try to learn,
some of them shine some of them burn,
some of them rise some of them fall,
but good or bad I've loved them all.

I love you all

Don't need pride with an empty belly

2006-05-04T18:07:00.000+10:00

I was doing so well. I cranked out half of my Dr. Jekyll paper in no time and now i'm stuck. My mind is suddenly void of the flow that once occupied it. I'm not ashamed, it happens quite often and usually, as is the case this early morning, at the most inopportune moments. this post is even going slow despite it being my attempt to jumpstart my fingers into writing again.

I tried some Scotch with Taz tonight and he gave me a book on Kierkegaard. He says it's dense but rewarding. lovely. Hopefully i will know what a "self" is after i read it, but i doubt it.

The Scotch was surprizingly good. It's wierd liking something that prides itself on tasting like smoke and peet moss...

Props to Reuben, Joshua, Laurel, Leah, and Ethan for putting on a wonderful show in the coffee shop.

anchors aweigh my freinds, I'll see you another day

2006-05-02T12:17:00.000+10:00

Last weekend was great.

I did a lot of talking with some amazing people new and old.

Listened to great music

saw a great play

drank some amazing beer

Had some good tea

and today has been pretty solid as well. took two tests that I'm feeling pretty good about. smoked some hooka and had some more good conversation about philosophy and the future. I think sitting in the tractor all day just might kill me. I do not know if i can sit alone for that long. My mind goes wierd places, they're not even deep, they're just bizaar. I convince myself of the strangest things when i'm alone. It's great to be that free sometimes, but it also makes returning to (for lack of a better word) "reality" harder.

I think i would rather do anything in the world than write this logic paper. GGGAAAHHH !!! I hate thinking i have to do it! I'll probably pass the class if i don't. I'll probably get a decent grade writing on my notes but i just don't understand it and I hate writing papers that way. At least i would like to think i get it....

But it's almost time to go, leave school for at least a year! I wish I had (insert generic whining) while i was here. Anchor's aweigh makes leaving sound like an adventure. in any case blind optimism will make it better...

bleh

your hearts are made of gold that never fades away

2006-04-27T01:06:00.000+10:00

Things I am excited about:

1) The Real Fakers last couple of shows (I hope my foot is better)

2) The new AFI album coming out this summer check out thier new song here
I like the song but i'm not sure if i like the direction AFI is taking... opinions welcome

3) The new Bouncing Souls album whenever that it's coming out check out thier new song here
I'm addicted to this one i've listened to it 4 times in a row already

4) Having one class on thursday and being finished with all my normal week assignments

5) Having what could be a surprizingly bearable last week and a half
As far as school work goes

6) My sister had a headline in our home newspaper dedicated to her. read it here
really this is just an example of how bored our town must be... also Sioux City haha!

7) dinner that Aaron is cooking for us tonight

8) having a list of things to be exicited about

So come on rally round this brave and valiant cause

2006-04-25T05:24:00.000+10:00

My health has been slowly deteriorating over the past week and I’m not very impressed. It's just a cold but it seems like I’m eating well, getting plenty of sleep, and taking vitamins so there is really no excuse for my body to have a cold... and my knuckles are raw and my foot still hurts from the show. Son of a ...

Speaking of the show. I thought it was great, I forgot how much fun it is to play outside. We're planning on having a couple more before the end of the year, which is really cool. And they will feature our newest song that we debuted at the show on Sat. and maybe some more stuff as well. The next show will be at Joe tiersma's house and we will be playing with Operation Joy kill, and it will be fun.

I'm just about done with my lab report for cognitive which is pretty exciting, but I still have to do my logic paper... stupid logic. Maybe I should write "Logic. It makes sense. Deal with it." on a piece of paper and turn it in. That would be good. Logic is fun to work with and apply but writing about it seems like one of the more stupid things I will ever have to do. Maybe not, but I’m definitely not very excited about it.

I think blogger was going crazy cuz it took me a while to post this and then it posted it 4 times...

Between each smile there is a tear in your eye

2006-04-21T17:31:00.000+10:00

I think this line reflects my mood pretty well.

It's a time of transition, where you look at each person you've known, even for a short while, and wonder if it's the last time you'll see them. ever. Well not quite, there is a full two weeks left i suppose... It's cool to see them say "hi, how's it going?" and then pass and wonder. It's hard not to smile out of sheer joy of seeing a familair face and knowing for a short while that it's not the end but the passing and wondering seems to occupy the mind more often than not, and suddenly you find yourself being moved by songs, movies, etc. that hadn't effected you before. That's my experience anyway.

As OAR aptly put it "It's 3am. and i wanna go to bed, got a lady runnin' through my head". I'm not sure how this happens, but it remains consistantly true. It's stupid, boring, terrifying, and sad all at the same time, but for some reason it appeals to me. queen has another line that is popping into the ol' skull but i've shared enough.

g'night bitches

Fear is the greatest weapon

2006-04-18T14:18:00.000+10:00

Last night at writing my 2nd to last journal for fundamentals of practice i felt really in touch with some contemporary philosophies. I felt like i understood them better at that moment than ever before. It's just a strange idea though. Existing in reference to other things. I guess its strange because it explains so much about how I think about things. Such as why i seem to have a fear of fading from the minds of others. If I loose reference will i cease to exist? I'm not sure if the system allows for self reference, and i'm not even sure how that would work. Regardless, I was thinking a lot last night and i'm not sure why... haha what a sorry excuse for a philosophy major i am.

the weekend was a little slow but mostly because of the looming pain of two research papers and other assignments due this monday and tuesday. I did have a lot of fun during the times i wasn't stuck reading in my house though. crap, it's approaching midnight again and I have plenty to do before morning and mike is tempting me with the idea of showing up for gen 3-stupid drunk for the Rachel Valentine presentations. Thank goodness my first class is canceled.

I'll leave you with a Poem by current Poet Laureate Ted Kooser

Starlight

All night, this soft rain from the distant past
No wonder i sometimes waken as a child.

My eyes were closed but I could see

2006-04-15T06:10:00.000+10:00

I've decided to make all my comments have 3 points. That's the reformed way... My posts on the other hand will continue to be whatever and however i feel like writing them.

Yesterday was great. I didn't have my morning class so i slept in. Didn't have much homework for friday so i could drink and peruse until 3 or 4 am. We don't have a show this weekend, which will be nice since i have three research papers due next week... bleh. Dengler decided we're going to read Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde instead of middlemarch which will be nice, but i guess she just reinforced the idea that american standards of education are going down because professors are too afraid to push thier students lest they get poor evaluations at the end of the year... I really think we could do it, but yeah, if she's not going to force us then i'd rather not. Lazy...

My future remains as ambigious as ever, and i'm strangely complacent about it. hmm... complacent: "Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned" (dictionary.com) Conteted to a fault? Must be a western word if anyone thinks that anyone can be too content. I'd like some direction though, at least an idea, so i don't waste a moment.

In other news (and for the sake of an unreformed 4th point *gasp*) it's gorgeous outside and i have a strange desire to play some soccer this weekend.

We sit on front porches and swing life away...

2006-04-10T17:13:00.000+10:00

Ever wanted something to be perfect? Something you would wait a lifetime for to make sure it was perfect, but at the same time, you want it so much that each moment that it doesn't happen seems like an eternity.

i hate it when that happens...

In other news Morgan and I lost a brutal game of canasta to Kramer and Rebecca Reed...

Winnepeg, Winnepeg, Winnepeg !!!

2006-04-08T03:19:00.000+10:00

It really shouldn't matter so long as the meaning gets across right? Deconstruction and all that. It's all arbitrary?

I got my Gen-300 paper done with a whole hour and 50 minutes to spare!!! yes... it is good.

I'm a little pissed off at the patriotic idiots on campus and it makes me feel bad that I wrote this after reading them because I was in a really good mood.

I love the summer weather. I realize the rain and everything has its appeal but I’ve always liked summer the best. So much life and energy and fun honestly what’s better than bridge jumping with friends on a hot Sunday afternoon? I never understood those kids in grade school who said that autumn was their favorite season. Autumn? come on... when I was a kid autumn meant I would be trapped in a building with a bunch of kids that I did like, and that it got colder and I couldn't play baseball, go to the lake, or ride my bike anymore. All sad things.

Dinner was amazing on Wed. I was late and that was sad cuz some of the food was gone before I got there... I feel I missed out. I guess we'll just have to do it again!!! yes... that would be good. I am glad that people liked the stuff I brought. It's always a strange gamble bringing things you love for other people to enjoy and finding out whether they like it or not.

Since I didn't write a song lyric as my title (to spite Mel hehe!) I will say that I’m currently listening to Dispatch and I like them…

“What does it feel like to know your going to die on the other side of the road?”

So this is Freedom...

2006-04-04T00:14:00.000+10:00

I'm pretty satisfied with my weekend. We got to play a show, i had some really good food, and i learned all about what freedom is.

Friday was cool because Reid, Tom SB, and I went to have dinner with Henderson's, and Inga's sisters were visiting from the netherlands. They cooked us food and it was great. Then i hung out with tom for a while, then wrote a paper for a while, and spent the rest of the evening drinking tea and eating muffins with the girls next door + carolyn. All time well spent, especially since i learned that freedom is like "running through wild flowers" or like a "kingly eagle". Life lessons that's for sure.

Saturday our show dominated my life. Practice at 10 am. then lunch, burning, packaging, and writing on all our CD's. That took a while. then i went home, finished my paper, and asked Katy Dekens to help me with my hair. She did a great job. Finally, it was time to get some dinner, and start setting up for the show. I thought the show went well. Reuben had some really hilarious stuff between songs that wasn't too "inside" and playing is always fun, so yeah that was great.

sunday was pretty lazy, saw mike Kramer at coffee time after his vacation to winnepeg for the weekend and that was cool. He talked about professional wrestling while i talked about watching X2 yet again and i said this gem of a line "I hope the end of the world doesn't come out before X3" It's true i hope it doesn't...

Cut me open and hear me bleed

2006-04-01T04:22:00.000+11:00

The weather was definitly beautiful yesterday, but watching it from the garage while smoking hooka and hearing bits of Animal collective from Ross's car gave it a wild and playful feel. I understand the beautiful depression idea though. It's basically the feeling i get when listening to Elliot Smith, or watching American Beauty. It was good regardless.

Today, on the other hand, is its own kind of miserable. I went to class and realized i forgot my notebook with my assignment in it so i walked back and forth to my house again in the wind and the rain. Also, some freinds are leaving for the weekend today, and i will miss them. I have one more class today which i constantly feel ill prepared for so it's not really looking up either. It'll be a good day to drink tea and write papers i hope, but i know how that goes.

Man, yesterday was so good in so many ways. It seems cruel to have today right after yesterday. Oh well tomorrow will be good. Playing in the Bean means a full day surrounded by Elliot, Micah, and Reuben which is bound to be hilarious and lots of fun.

"Hey would you like to join the college Republicans?"

2006-03-28T17:01:00.000+11:00

um... no.

I admire the guys bravery but i suspect it was merely bordom that caused him to ask me this question. I may have been overly snide with my answer, but his request lacked conviction so i don't mind. Walking away i thought of more stuff i should have said/done as i usually do. Why do I do that? "oh i should have said this... or this... or done this... or this..."

I stayed up till 6am last night working on a paper that later that day would be extended till thursday... oh well at least i have it done or mostly done rather. From the sounds of it a lot of people had a late night on Sunday for a variety of reasons what a weird coincidence. If you believe in coincidence.

I love the atmosphere outside. the dimly lit Fog makes me want to wear a Mr. Hyde type outfit and just walk around slowly following people. Or V's costume on V for vendetta that would be sweet. I liked the movie a lot, and i've always loved the book "Count of Monte Cristo". He's such a paradoxal ideal, and that draws me to him for some reason.

Man the tone of this post is depressing me for some reason, I must be tired.

The Real Fakers

2006-03-26T08:53:00.000+11:00

Hey there kids,
This is a great time for the real fakers. First of all, we changed our name it's not a huge change so hopefully people will still recognize us... anyway if you want to listen to us on purevolume or myspace you have go to "the real fakers" Second, we're planning a this week We will be playing a show on the Dordt campus (down by the coffee shop) again on Saturday. so yeah, that's exciting. Third we got our recording done and are now taking orders for our amazing 8 song EP. for a preview of these songs go to either purevolume or myspace. (Sorry to those who read about the show on this tuesday... it will happen, but not this tuesday. maybe the next one or something)

In other news, I've been lazy this week in homework but it hasn't hit me hard yet so that's nice... but i'm sure a couple of weeks from now i'm gonna look back and hit myself really hard. I went to the concert choir show last night and it was heaps good. My favorite songs were the captive songs and the return to death song (note: those are not titles, they are lables i'm using to remember them.) I think there is a movie made based on the story that was printed with the captive songs, it has glenn close, but its good regardless. Anyway, remembering the movie and hearing the girls sing it almost made me lose my composure. I don't where it went, but it was almost gone.

My highschool sister is singing in a church in Sioux Falls tomorrow so i might try and go to that.

what's hotter than two gay guys wrestling in jello on MTV???

2006-03-23T04:59:00.000+11:00

Probably not much, but i still felt like throwing up...

Here are some things that I hate:

TV - all of it

Radio - 98% of it

writing papers - it sucks every time...

being sick - who likes being sick?

stupiditdy - in myself and others

I like being back, but sometimes you just have to hate things or at least have extreme pity for them. Last night was a good time, Thank you Tom for a great talk, thank you Josh, Amanada, Dane, and Nate for lending us your house once again, and thank you Carolyn for having your birthday. Thanks to Katy and Dena for making/serving cake and iced cream with peaches it was super good. Thanks to the rest of the people who were there for being cool. Thank you to all my freinds who were not there for still being cool despite not bieng there... and Thank you to my favorite band the Fakers for being awsome, and a special double thanks to Reuben for being the best freind in the world. I'm sorry if i don't say it enough, but i Love you all.

Bullying the jukebox, because its fun

2006-03-19T05:07:00.000+11:00

Well, I don't know how Lars Fredrickson is so smart and seems to know about my life, but he does, he knows all. We skipped out on the Casualties/the Unseen/Anti-flag show in Boise. it was kind of a sad decision, and I don't want to try and pretend to make a good excuse for it, because there is none. However, our free days have been nicely spent sleeping in, and doing other stuff. thursday, we slept in after our awsome day of skiing on Wed. (a full foot of untouched powder in areas) then Kramer and I shot some gophers, while Mel went to town with my sisters. That night we had dinner with my grandma Schutter, and Later that night we went to my other grandparents house to hang out and drink coffee. We ended up staying there until 1 in the morning, but it was good. Refer to Melanies blog (smelichy.blogspot.com) for her re-actions to my grandparents and some photo's of our trip thus far.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We drove to Butte and saw one of my favorite area's (pipestone pass) then saw all the old mining stuff, and ended up touring historic uptown Butte, which was already riddled with drunks at 2 in the afternoon in celebration of St. Patricks day. Crazy.

That night dad was invited to a VIP party at the thirsty ear. We were all invited, and it was a memerable experience to say the least. There was an open bar, and one of the best theater systems in the world. I'm not even kidding. The stuff that the thirsty ear carries is some of the best in the world, and watching it is an experience like nothing else.

This morning is cloudy and there is a light snow falling, I was hoping to hike the M today and catch the sunset from up there, but that is not looking too good. but there are other things to do yet today to put closure on our trip. It's a little depressing, but reality is pounding on the front door.

hit the ground and i'm still running

2006-03-15T03:32:00.000+11:00

Hey there Kids, Our trip to Montana has been freakin' awsome, and unless Reuben is staying around SC there is probably little to no chance that i will stay in iowa for the summer. Sorry, this place is just too awsome. We're sticking to our agenda pretty well except we added some trap shooting on sunday and made monday the explore bozeman day, tuesdays is yellowstone day, and tomorrow will be snowboarding day. Another hilight has been that my good cousin Brad just had lazer eye surgery and has the whole week off of work, so he's been hanging out with us alot.

Almost every night here has ended with some beers and a game of some sort and it's been hilarious/awsome. You wanna know just one great thing about Montana? We don't have sales tax. Therefore, we have better beer, no sales tax, and no bottle deposit = cheaper more awsome beer. get used to it folks we're just better than you.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions...

2006-03-09T13:42:00.000+11:00

So we figured we'd post our itinerary on here to see if we could get any additional suggestions.

Thursday - drive to deadwood and stop at various attractions on the way. bleh midwest attractions. oh well, get some rooms, eat, and maybe gamble a bit

Friday - See mount Rushmore, and drive to my home stopping wherever from then on too.

Saturday - will be a tour the farm via 4-wheelers day, concluded by possibly hooking up with some old highschool freinds.

Sunday - church, family stuff, and whatever else

Monday - Skiing/snowboarding at Bridger Bowl or Moonlight basin, probably concluding with some beers and the hot tub.

Tuesday - tour the town of Bozeman and surrounding area: going to the Museum of the Rockies, mall, maybe the Lewis and Clark Caverns, Madison buffelo jump, hiking various trails.

Wednesday - Go to Yellowstone National Park

Thursday - Travel to Boise to see The Unseen, The Casualties, and Anti-Flag in concert and meet up with my good friend Trent D.

Friday - Spend some time in Boise then travel back home again

Saturday - a free day to catch up with anything we've missed

Sunday - Leave for Dordt

There it is, should be a good time, white water rafting and wakeboarding will have till this summer...

Spring Break!

2006-03-09T09:10:00.000+11:00

Hey there kids,

Since it's cool to write lyrics on blogs now I'm gonna hit you with one line from a One Man Army song

" he's father to his kid, a husband to his wife and the last of the dying breed".

The song is about a guy who drives truck for bootleggers during the prohibition to feed his family. I love punk rock because it doesn't whine about being depressed, it's pissed off about social injustice. Naturally there are counter examples, but i think i am making a fair generalization. Also, its cool to see the range of things that they are pissed off about. Bands like One Man Army, and the Dropkick Murphys sing about honor, dignity, and tradition, and how the fact that we are loosing some of those things is reason to be pissed off. Punk Rock is more of a call to action, than an expression.

Bowling was awsome, and i can't wait to get back and sample Scotch with Taz. Spring break will be an awsome, and i hope you all have a great time, and get back safely.

Hell bent to make a name on my own

2006-03-06T20:33:00.000+11:00

Hey there kids, I did a lot of different things this weekend, but I want to say that I went to the elegance commission and Peasants show on Saturday, and I thought it was amazing. "Peasants" create a full and intense sound, melding natural melody lines and chaotic elements as well. A paradox that was pounded into my mind through the line "we'll raise our fists and sing the world a lullaby" I hope I quoted that line correctly. That's the gist of it anyway.

I find this line incredible. The conflict in the two acts is incredible. One a symbol of power, rebellion, defiance, strength, and stereotypical masculinity. The other brings to mind the weakness of a child, peace, serenity, vulnerability, and stereotypical femininity. Yet, they are combined in a single action. I feel like I could write a book on the thoughts that this statement brings to my mind, but for the sake of school, you loyal blog readers, and my impending bedtime, I will not.

Spring is in the air bitches!! and i'm cross cultural

2006-03-04T08:11:00.000+11:00

Well today finalized my cross cultural requirement for Dordt College. I am now only a couple of classes and one General education exemption away from taking "the walk". I can hardly believe it. All my classes are going surprizingly well, despite many late nights this week i feel i'm in the peak of my intellectual groove. That's right bitches! Jeff in his top form. be shocked, be afraid, or just be dissappointed. I'm all three.

In other news. I will now post a picture of my hero.

That's right. It's ol "happy trees" himself. Seriously, this guy makes me want to shit myself in all the best ways.

I just need someplace warm to close my eyes

2006-02-28T03:04:00.000+11:00

This weekend was good. I got tons of homework done,

I trimmed my mohawk into (in my opinion) the most awsome shape yet. Psychobilly = awsome

we played an awsome show cuz even if the setting isn't ideal we still got to play which is always a super good time.

went to an awsome 80's party after the show, happy birthday Katy D, and Ross! let's just pray that the 80's pop culture will never return... bleh. don't get me wrong it makes for a fun party theme, but if people seriously wore that stuff around again they should not be forgiven.

i had dinner with the girls next door, wasn't too excited about a soup with the word peanutbutter in it before i went, but it turned out to be super good. all the food was really good. thanx girls and Laird

saw the play, it was good. I wasn't in the mood for a love story though...

ate a kool ade packet and got a stomach ache,

went to gift, and then hung out in the garage smoking hooka late last night

Pathetic self revelation: My thoughts are going to be forever trapped in my head since i can't speak or write them...

Addicted?

2006-02-24T06:15:00.000+11:00

So last tuesday I was really busy. I couldn't go bowling because I was doing homework until midnight... bleh, but "never fear" I thought to myself, I can still get a little boozed before the night is done. I had been invited to a 21st birthday party that night that would surely go past 12 . So, after homework, I headed out to the bar. My sister has my car keys so this meant walking to tophers, which I've done plenty of times before so it's not a big deal. I get there and it's closed... crap... So, being the addict that i am, I walked from there to Doc's. closed... very dissappointing, then I walked home, cold, and alone (cry). What could drive this poor kid who hasn't seen a gym in over a year to walk half the town at 1am? What could make this same kid put more and more sugar into his tea each day? beats me, but i'm proud that i was able to walk/run (yah, i ran some) that much in a night and not feel exhausted.

In other news The Fakers have a show on FRIDAY NIGHT!!! which will be sweet. Later that night will be spent with freinds in celebration of birthdays. However, this means that I will not be able to see the play (jane eyre) on Fri. Is anyone seeing it on Saturday? If you are, can we be freinds and go together? just throwing that out there...

L'abri weekend

2006-02-20T09:02:00.000+11:00

The L'abri conference was a great adventure. I got to drive the Dordt van, and I didn't even think I was going to die or have a panic attack, so that was good. All the workshops I went to were very well prepared, and led to some interesting discussion. The main speakers all had a great passion for their topics; most of them had to run through what could have easily been a 3 hour lecture in order to keep to the time constraints. It was really encouraging. The wide variety of ages all bound together by common interest and concern for the topics of contemporary culture, ideology and philosophy. It was especially nice to see this outside of a strictly academic setting. We got to meet some very kind and interesting new people as well.

There were some things during the weekend that were worthy of complaint, but most of them had nothing to do with the conference itself. The weather being a major one… but those are boring.

In any case, I think Sam G. should aspire to look like this.

hot...

It's 3am. and i wanna go to bed

2006-02-14T19:58:00.000+11:00

Happy Valentines day everybody. Despite the negative stigma, I have found that the simple act of cutting and pasteing paper valentines, and thinking about the re-actions from unexpecting recipiants has been the hilight of my evening.

The problem with a day like this is: it is taken far too seriously. Some may dwell on the idea that this is yet another day, in a long line of previous days, in which thier marital status as "single" has become painfully apparent to them. Hence the acronym S.A.D. (which my siblings felt compelled to share with me) Happy Single's Awareness Day!!! to which I responded with a resounding "meh... you guys need more to do"

I would suggest the activities of the girls next door. They are having a contest to see who can get the most amount of valentine "points" Jeff Schutter being zero points (he must be a desparate loser...), "normal" boys 1 point, RA's 2 points etc... good lighthearted fun on a holiday (it seems) many single girls despise.

this has been your message today from "Focus on the the world of Jeff"

Bring on the days of Wine and Roses

2006-02-13T17:33:00.000+11:00

This is my sister. I love her.

That's my mohawk. It's a little broken here, but I love it too.

And our new Fakers shirts. They are awsome.

Thank you to all who came out to see us play. you are awsome.

Thank you Taz for telling us that our assignment for Tuesday is to "think about our own non-existance"

I'm thinking about trimming the mohawk up a bit to give it a different flare, and coloring it, but that will probably go purple, red, or black. So get ready.

I hate papers, but i have two due tomorrow. That sucks.

I love the monotone feeling i'm getting reading my own stupid writing. It's funny

This post is stupid. good thing it's over.

Will the future be so bad?

2006-02-12T06:11:00.000+11:00

My week has been pretty general, busy, and hung out probably more than i should have. i went to Sioux Falls last night for the first time in forever. I was a good time. I got a CD (Necromantix - Dead girls don't cry) and a book i need for a class (Middlemarch by George Eliot). We (Kramer, kyle, tom, and adam) also ate and hung out and stuff so that was fun.

I've been reading about the future world of nanotechnology and first i was frightened, and i still am a little, but now i'm strangly fine with it. The author believes that because we will not have to make anything that we will not, and eventually we will be bored out of our minds. He says that the world will become a world full of artists or worse yet art critics (heaven forbid!). The problem with this senario is that just because we don't HAVE to do anything doesn't mean we won't. People will still build things, read things, think and talk about things, just like it's always been. We still have the power to choose, we will still be in control of these little things the only difference is that it will only be as hard or easy as we want it to be. The power to choose means that philosophy will not die. Theology will not die. In short, I don't think that a future that includes nanotechnology will be all that bad.

We have a show tonight, and it should prove to be a good time... so come!!!