Three weeks ago I ordered tickets for next Tuesday's Wilco show at the Mod Club. The sale was done over the web, through the band's website. Nice to be able to avoid Ticketmaster--and their service charges--for a change.
The tickets were to be delivered through UPS Worldwide Express. As of middle last week, I hadn't received the tickets. Then I came home Thursday after work, and there was a notice taped to the door in my building's foyer. UPS had attempted to deliver the tickets, but, of course, I was not at home. As is their policy, they attempt delivery for the next two days, and then, if not successful, they hold your order for five business days, and you can arrange to pick it up.
I was kind of hoping UPS would assume that I was not at home at 10 o'clock in the morning two days running because I was at work, and from there, maybe make a logical decision to try the following day's delivery at a different time, like, say after 5 p.m., as is identified on their notice as one of the possible time slots for delivery. No such luck.
But I wasn't worried, because I was sure I could arrange for UPS to redirect the package to my work address. On Tuesday, I called them and arranged just such a thing. But on Wednesday, no tickets. Today, I called them again, and they told me the delivery would be arriving. This afternoon, I returned to my office and noticed a shoebox-sized cardboard box on my desk. It was adorned with UPS stickers and an invoice. Man, I thought, they really go big on the packaging for a pair of tickets. On closer inspection, I noticed the invoice was addressed to one Tracey Kelly (same last name, no relation) in Toronto. Hmmm. Worry began to creep into my mind.
The invoice proclaimed the contents of the shoebox-sized package to be... a box of shoes. I opened the package and confirmed that this was indeed so. Shoes. Tracey Kelly's shoes, apparently. I called UPS again to inform them of the situation. Apparently my tickets were still in their warehouse. I explained that I was getting nervous that my tardy tickets might not arrive in time. The concert is Tuesday night, and Monday is a holiday here. That just leaves tomorrow and (gulp) the day of the show, to get them to me. The first option they offered me was to go and pick them up. Just so happens their office is pretty much as far on the west side of the city as my workplace in on the east side. That means little ol' car-less me hopping on a bus for a trip that would probably take a few hours all told. And this, after I've already paid for the "convenience" of having these tickets delivered to me? No, the pick up is not my first option. In fact, it's pretty damn far down on the list. Like, say, last.
So the UPS woman said she'd send a fax to the warehouse and see if she could get them delivered on Friday, and failing that, she'd authorize a rare "same-day hold" for me, so I could pick them up maybe Friday evening, if need be. Well, we'll see about that. Let's first see if they get them to me tomorrow.
Now, I know there is some sense to UPS's delivery policies, but they didn't really leave me with many options for not being at home during their delivery hours. Seems to me a company that specializes is delivering things should be a little better at it, and maybe have a few more creative solutions to what must be a fairly common situation, i.e., people not being at home during work hours. Like maybe Saturday delivery? And at the very least, if they can manage to deliver someone else's shoes to me, they should be able to find a way to get my tickets to me on time.
As much as I slag Ticketmaster, I've never had a problem getting my tickets by good old postal delivery. Hey Wilco, maybe next time, just send my tickets via the mail?
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Life Is Cool
I've made a scientific breakthrough in controlling the weather! I've discovered that if you want to change the weather from hot and unbearably humid (temp. 28+ degrees C, humidex in the 40s) to comfortably warm and breezy (22 degrees, little humidity), all you need to do is go out and buy an air conditioner! It works the same way as the better-known Bring-Your-Umbrella-And-It-Won't-Rain/Forget-Your-Umbrella-And-Get-Soaked theory. Only it's more expensive to implement.
But that's okay, I'm sure August will be hot and sticky. And my guitars are thanking me. My little wooden friends are vulnerable to extremes in humidity. Ideal is around 50% humidity in a room (that's the standard some manufacturers use in their factories). In the winter, the air in apartments and houses is much drier, so I use a humidifier to regulate it. At low humidity, wood can crack (as it did on my acoustic several years go). At high humidity, wood expands, which means glued seals and seams can come undone, bridges can start coming off, etc. The other day, my hygrometer was reading 80% humidity in my apartment. So I hid my guitars back in their cases to protect them, and went out to buy the air conditioner. Within a few hours of turning it on, the humidity was down to 50-60%, which is fine.
Stella was not subjected to this, as she's in the shop getting all gussied up. So when she returns, the room will be nice and cool and I won't have to worry about upsetting her delicate constitution. Hey, ya gotta treat the girls nice!
But that's okay, I'm sure August will be hot and sticky. And my guitars are thanking me. My little wooden friends are vulnerable to extremes in humidity. Ideal is around 50% humidity in a room (that's the standard some manufacturers use in their factories). In the winter, the air in apartments and houses is much drier, so I use a humidifier to regulate it. At low humidity, wood can crack (as it did on my acoustic several years go). At high humidity, wood expands, which means glued seals and seams can come undone, bridges can start coming off, etc. The other day, my hygrometer was reading 80% humidity in my apartment. So I hid my guitars back in their cases to protect them, and went out to buy the air conditioner. Within a few hours of turning it on, the humidity was down to 50-60%, which is fine.
Stella was not subjected to this, as she's in the shop getting all gussied up. So when she returns, the room will be nice and cool and I won't have to worry about upsetting her delicate constitution. Hey, ya gotta treat the girls nice!
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
An Off Week
I've taken this week off. Mostly a get-away-from-work-and-chill week, but also a get-stuff-done-that-I-can't-seem-to-get-done-during-a-normal-week/weekend week. Yeah, one of those. Plus, my schedule at work was showing a very unusual and obvious Responsibility Hole. It was like my desk calendar was screaming at me, "Get out of here! Get away! Save yourself! I got ya covered!" And work has been a very frustrating place over the past few months, so I really needed to escape. Besides, if there's one thing I've learned in my years of employment, it's that when my desk calendar screams at me, I listen.
I was tempted to go back east and visit friends and family, but for that I'd really need two weeks, and I want to reserve two weeks for later in the summer when I may get a chance to visit friends in England.
So I'm just chillin'. I have a mental list of things I want to do while I'm off, but when I started stressing over the fact that I might not get to everything on the list, I revised it. Now the first item is, "Don't be a slave to The List."
But I've been pretty good in as far as balancing the three main elements--chillin', activity and accomplishing tasks. Last weekend started things off with the Celebrate Toronto street fest. Caught a very enjoyable set from the Silver Hearts and later an outstanding performance at Yonge & Eglinton from Hawksley Workman.
Next on the evening's agenda was my friend Chris's annual "Chillin' 'n' Grillin' " party in Kensington Market, which was a low-key but enjoyable gathering. I stayed there till about 3:30 or 4 a.m. or so. Hopped on the Queen streetcar for the ride home, and by the time it got to The Beaches, the sun was coming up. So I strolled down to the boardwalk, took my socks and shoes off and walked along the lake's edge in the sand. It was so quiet and peaceful. Only a few other people around. A girl sitting on a group of rocks jutting out into the lake, writing something. The lake was so calm, you could barely tell where the horizon separated water from sky. The sun was up, barely, but it was still around the bend, so everything was painted in a light golden hue, as if shot through a filter; a purer, clearer place.
I sat on some rocks on the edge of the lake and communed with a group of Canada geese floating just a few feet away. The leader eyed me warily, but soon determined I was neither a threat nor a bringer of food, so they went about their business. I sat there for some time, drinking in the peacefulness.
Enjoying the still of the dawn is a fine thing to do. Going to bed past dawn usually means the following day (well, the present day, actually) is more or less a write-off. Such was my Sunday. But it was pleasantly relaxing.
Monday brought more chillin', but I did do a few things around the apartment. I thought about what to do for the remainder of the week, and seeing that the weather forecast was calling for rain from Wednesday onward, I decided that Tuesday would be the day I spend time over on the Toronto Islands. On Tuesday, I dilly-dallied most of the day, then finally got my ass in gear and out the door by 4 p.m. It was also the first day this summer that I took my bike out, so it was good to finally do that. The day was a beautiful, sunny 28 degrees. My goal was to start off with some heavy pedaling and really get a good work-out, then relax when I get over to the islands.
I took the path through Woodbine park, just south of me, a short jaunt to the beach, where I hooked up with the Martin Goodman trail, a paved pathway that runs along the city's lakefront. It was a good ride. Felt good to get on the bike and really push it. The path follows Lakeshore Drive, then dips south down toward the filtration plant, runs through some heavily vegetated park land, past Cherry Beach, then up through some dockyards, over a bridge and on toward downtown and Harbourfront. I arrived at the ferry docks around five o'clock.
I had been over to the islands a couple of times before, but only to Centre Island and Ward's Island. This was the first chance I had to explore the entire area by bike. I spent a little time in the children's amusement park in Centreville. Great place for kids. Lots of rides, including an antique carousel and ferris wheel, a little farm with animals to look at. Wonderful little place. Then I continued on to explore the other islands. The homes and neighbourhoods on Algonquin and Ward's islands are so beautiful and quaint. It's like a little cottage community five minutes from downtown.
However, the view of downtown (normally something like this) was completely obscured when this very strange mist descended to envelope the entire Islands (and, I later learned, the entire downtown of the city. I was told it was more or less like a cloud came down to earth). I couldn't see a hint of downtown at all. You couldn't see more than maybe 100 feet off shore. It made for some very interesting sights. I cycled across a little wooden bridge to Shark's Island, ostensibly unpopulated, and stopped at a little beachy alcove and peered out into the cloud vapour. I wasn't even sure which direction I was facing, with no horizon, but I assumed I was facing north, toward the city. Then, emerging from the mist, almost indiscernable at first, then slowly taking shape -- a huge, white swan. It floats by, regally, then disappears back into the mist. After that, I half-expected to see King Arthur's funeral barge go drifting by.
No such luck. So I continued on in my quest, passed back over the little wooden bridge (didn't have to submit to any questions), and cycled around Ward's Island, then along the south side, down the Centre Island boardwalk west toward Hanlon's Point. I didn't visit the clothing-optional beach. Too damn cold in that mist. I ended up at the Hanlon's Point ferry dock and waited there about 15 minutes for the ferry back to the city. It was about 7:15, the mist had driven out the warmth of the day, and there I was sitting in my little lycra cycling shorts and yellow cycling jersey, freezing my ass off. It was a bit warmer downtown, thankfully, so I was able to warm up on the ride home.
All in all, a very good day. A bit of exercise, a bit of sight-seeing, going places I'd never been before, and even some weirdness.
Note to self: spend more of the summer on the Toronto Islands!
(I think the descending cloud must have been part of the weather system that brought some pretty intense lightening later that night, and saw a tornado touch down near London.)
Today I went shopping for a flatbed scanner, and began to narrow down my choices. I think I may go for this one. But I found it at another store for a cheaper price.
I've also been shopping around for a solution to my CD storage problem. I have about 800 CDs, some VHS tapes and some DVDs. The problem is, I have nothing to store them in. But this might do nicely. Lots of capacity for a constantly growing collection, and it would look very nice along the now-blank wall where I need it to go, completing the room. Attractive and functional!
I was tempted to go back east and visit friends and family, but for that I'd really need two weeks, and I want to reserve two weeks for later in the summer when I may get a chance to visit friends in England.
So I'm just chillin'. I have a mental list of things I want to do while I'm off, but when I started stressing over the fact that I might not get to everything on the list, I revised it. Now the first item is, "Don't be a slave to The List."
But I've been pretty good in as far as balancing the three main elements--chillin', activity and accomplishing tasks. Last weekend started things off with the Celebrate Toronto street fest. Caught a very enjoyable set from the Silver Hearts and later an outstanding performance at Yonge & Eglinton from Hawksley Workman.
Next on the evening's agenda was my friend Chris's annual "Chillin' 'n' Grillin' " party in Kensington Market, which was a low-key but enjoyable gathering. I stayed there till about 3:30 or 4 a.m. or so. Hopped on the Queen streetcar for the ride home, and by the time it got to The Beaches, the sun was coming up. So I strolled down to the boardwalk, took my socks and shoes off and walked along the lake's edge in the sand. It was so quiet and peaceful. Only a few other people around. A girl sitting on a group of rocks jutting out into the lake, writing something. The lake was so calm, you could barely tell where the horizon separated water from sky. The sun was up, barely, but it was still around the bend, so everything was painted in a light golden hue, as if shot through a filter; a purer, clearer place.
I sat on some rocks on the edge of the lake and communed with a group of Canada geese floating just a few feet away. The leader eyed me warily, but soon determined I was neither a threat nor a bringer of food, so they went about their business. I sat there for some time, drinking in the peacefulness.
Enjoying the still of the dawn is a fine thing to do. Going to bed past dawn usually means the following day (well, the present day, actually) is more or less a write-off. Such was my Sunday. But it was pleasantly relaxing.
Monday brought more chillin', but I did do a few things around the apartment. I thought about what to do for the remainder of the week, and seeing that the weather forecast was calling for rain from Wednesday onward, I decided that Tuesday would be the day I spend time over on the Toronto Islands. On Tuesday, I dilly-dallied most of the day, then finally got my ass in gear and out the door by 4 p.m. It was also the first day this summer that I took my bike out, so it was good to finally do that. The day was a beautiful, sunny 28 degrees. My goal was to start off with some heavy pedaling and really get a good work-out, then relax when I get over to the islands.
I took the path through Woodbine park, just south of me, a short jaunt to the beach, where I hooked up with the Martin Goodman trail, a paved pathway that runs along the city's lakefront. It was a good ride. Felt good to get on the bike and really push it. The path follows Lakeshore Drive, then dips south down toward the filtration plant, runs through some heavily vegetated park land, past Cherry Beach, then up through some dockyards, over a bridge and on toward downtown and Harbourfront. I arrived at the ferry docks around five o'clock.
I had been over to the islands a couple of times before, but only to Centre Island and Ward's Island. This was the first chance I had to explore the entire area by bike. I spent a little time in the children's amusement park in Centreville. Great place for kids. Lots of rides, including an antique carousel and ferris wheel, a little farm with animals to look at. Wonderful little place. Then I continued on to explore the other islands. The homes and neighbourhoods on Algonquin and Ward's islands are so beautiful and quaint. It's like a little cottage community five minutes from downtown.
However, the view of downtown (normally something like this) was completely obscured when this very strange mist descended to envelope the entire Islands (and, I later learned, the entire downtown of the city. I was told it was more or less like a cloud came down to earth). I couldn't see a hint of downtown at all. You couldn't see more than maybe 100 feet off shore. It made for some very interesting sights. I cycled across a little wooden bridge to Shark's Island, ostensibly unpopulated, and stopped at a little beachy alcove and peered out into the cloud vapour. I wasn't even sure which direction I was facing, with no horizon, but I assumed I was facing north, toward the city. Then, emerging from the mist, almost indiscernable at first, then slowly taking shape -- a huge, white swan. It floats by, regally, then disappears back into the mist. After that, I half-expected to see King Arthur's funeral barge go drifting by.
No such luck. So I continued on in my quest, passed back over the little wooden bridge (didn't have to submit to any questions), and cycled around Ward's Island, then along the south side, down the Centre Island boardwalk west toward Hanlon's Point. I didn't visit the clothing-optional beach. Too damn cold in that mist. I ended up at the Hanlon's Point ferry dock and waited there about 15 minutes for the ferry back to the city. It was about 7:15, the mist had driven out the warmth of the day, and there I was sitting in my little lycra cycling shorts and yellow cycling jersey, freezing my ass off. It was a bit warmer downtown, thankfully, so I was able to warm up on the ride home.
All in all, a very good day. A bit of exercise, a bit of sight-seeing, going places I'd never been before, and even some weirdness.
Note to self: spend more of the summer on the Toronto Islands!
(I think the descending cloud must have been part of the weather system that brought some pretty intense lightening later that night, and saw a tornado touch down near London.)
Today I went shopping for a flatbed scanner, and began to narrow down my choices. I think I may go for this one. But I found it at another store for a cheaper price.
I've also been shopping around for a solution to my CD storage problem. I have about 800 CDs, some VHS tapes and some DVDs. The problem is, I have nothing to store them in. But this might do nicely. Lots of capacity for a constantly growing collection, and it would look very nice along the now-blank wall where I need it to go, completing the room. Attractive and functional!
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
See The Sites
"Nickelback, you lazy, talentless bunch of wankers. What, did you think nobody would notice that you're recycling your hideous dirge and selling it all over again to your deluded fan base? You bastards, you're taking advantage of those tone deaf MTV brainwashed twats who are too thick to notice you're releasing songs that are EXACTLY THE SAME as ones you recorded earlier. And here's the proof, people. Listen to their first godawful hit, played through the left speaker. At the same time, an equally shite single (released two years later) will be played through the right speaker. Can you spot the difference?"
Nickelback To Back is pure genius. Wish I'd thought of/noticed/done that.
This and a whole bunch of other cool and fun things in the latest installment of WFMU's Sites For Sore Eyes.
I especially liked this, which provided some much-needed stress release.
And the ASCII Rock...well, rocks!
Sunday, July 04, 2004
New Arrival
I'm happy to announce the arrival of a new member of the family. (More detailed info here.)
She joins her much older (23) acoustic 6-string brother, and 2-year-old sibling "Dot"--all from the same Epiphone family.
I call her Stella, because I got her on the day Marlon Brando died ("Hey STELLA!"), and also because the musician her kind is most associated with--Paul McCartney--has a fashion-designer daughter by that name.
Macca's famous "Beatle bass" was actually a Hofner, but it's the same idea. Besides, Hofners sell for about $2000, and the Epiphone comes a lot cheaper.
Why are all my guitars Epiphones? Well, for someone who grew up listening to The Beatles, Epi's were the guitars the Fab Four had a big hand in making famous. Vintage Epi's go for thousands of dollars, of course, but the Korean-made reissues from the late '90s onward are very good quality instruments at affordable prices. For someone like me who's not a full-time recording/touring musician, they're a very cost-effective alternative, which still play and sound great.
I actually wasn't necessarily looking for another Epiphone, to "keep it in the family", as it were. I saw some Fender Precision and Jazz basses which were very nice, of course (hard to go wrong with a Fender bass), but the ones I liked were $900 and up, and seeing as the bass isn't even my main instrument, that's a bit of a steep price tag for my budget.
I picked up the Viola bass in the store, and just loved the way it felt. It's hollow, so it's incredibly light, and that also gives it a very cool tone; very "bloompy", although it's also quite versatile. It has a short-scale neck, with the frets closer together and the neck narrower than most basses, which makes it very playable, and very comfortable for guitar players.
I played bass very briefly and very, uh, unintensively, when I was about 15, before switching over to the guitar, so it's interesting getting back into the groove. I may actually go out and get one of those "Bass For Dummies" books so I can restart on the right foot.
So welcome Stella!
She joins her much older (23) acoustic 6-string brother, and 2-year-old sibling "Dot"--all from the same Epiphone family.
I call her Stella, because I got her on the day Marlon Brando died ("Hey STELLA!"), and also because the musician her kind is most associated with--Paul McCartney--has a fashion-designer daughter by that name.
Macca's famous "Beatle bass" was actually a Hofner, but it's the same idea. Besides, Hofners sell for about $2000, and the Epiphone comes a lot cheaper.
Why are all my guitars Epiphones? Well, for someone who grew up listening to The Beatles, Epi's were the guitars the Fab Four had a big hand in making famous. Vintage Epi's go for thousands of dollars, of course, but the Korean-made reissues from the late '90s onward are very good quality instruments at affordable prices. For someone like me who's not a full-time recording/touring musician, they're a very cost-effective alternative, which still play and sound great.
I actually wasn't necessarily looking for another Epiphone, to "keep it in the family", as it were. I saw some Fender Precision and Jazz basses which were very nice, of course (hard to go wrong with a Fender bass), but the ones I liked were $900 and up, and seeing as the bass isn't even my main instrument, that's a bit of a steep price tag for my budget.
I picked up the Viola bass in the store, and just loved the way it felt. It's hollow, so it's incredibly light, and that also gives it a very cool tone; very "bloompy", although it's also quite versatile. It has a short-scale neck, with the frets closer together and the neck narrower than most basses, which makes it very playable, and very comfortable for guitar players.
I played bass very briefly and very, uh, unintensively, when I was about 15, before switching over to the guitar, so it's interesting getting back into the groove. I may actually go out and get one of those "Bass For Dummies" books so I can restart on the right foot.
So welcome Stella!
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Wandering Acres
Just a brief note to say that I spent a lovely, warm and sunny Canada day Thursday with Dean and Debra, as they made a Toronto stop on the Slipping Acres East Coast Tour 2004. They took the new ferry over from Rochester, NY (which, they told me, for some reason hugs the shore of the lake for the entire journey. Someone should explain to the captain that cutting straight across the lake would make for a speedier journey. Are they not teaching physics in high school any more?).
We took a stroll down Queen Street West, saw a movie being filmed at the old Bay building where they had turned one side of it into Madison Square Garden circa the 1920s/30s, complete with replica marquee advertising a boxing match. Then we got high...did the CN Tower trip. They didn't enjoy the glass floor as much as I did. Then we went down to harbourfront where we chilled and enjoyed some refreshments, and later caught some reggae and a set from the Rheostatics. Saw a glimpse of some fireworks. Even got to sing O Canada!
A very enjoyable day with some fine folks. Next time guys, come for a few days and we'll do the town up right!
We took a stroll down Queen Street West, saw a movie being filmed at the old Bay building where they had turned one side of it into Madison Square Garden circa the 1920s/30s, complete with replica marquee advertising a boxing match. Then we got high...did the CN Tower trip. They didn't enjoy the glass floor as much as I did. Then we went down to harbourfront where we chilled and enjoyed some refreshments, and later caught some reggae and a set from the Rheostatics. Saw a glimpse of some fireworks. Even got to sing O Canada!
A very enjoyable day with some fine folks. Next time guys, come for a few days and we'll do the town up right!
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