Matt: August 2006 Archives

I went down to the batting cages tonight with Skyler, Shawn and Skyler's parents. The other night on the way to the Silver Mt. Zion show we waxed reminiscent about how we hadn't been to the batting cages in forever and how we should go some time. I chalked it up to one of those things you always say you're going to do but end up forgetting about. Then Skyler called me up and asked if I was down to go tonight. Hell yeah, I was down.

Turns out it's like that cliché about riding a bike, you don't forget. Or perhaps I should say, you do, but then you remember. My first at-bat I was horrible, then I started getting the hang of it, refreshing my muscle memory and making contact with a solid 80 percent of the pitches, even if they were mostly foul balls.

On a related note, it's nice to be hanging out with Shawn and Skyler, two of my oldest friends, more often again. We lost contact a lot over the last year or so and ever since Shawn's brother Brandan's wedding we've been getting together more often. Sniff, I love you guys, man. Or words to that effect. (Sound of nose blowing) Ahem.

The haunting ending to God Bless Our Dead Marines. Apologies for horrible video quality.

Tonight Jason, Jason's Lady Friend, Skyler, Shawn and I went to see A Silver Mount Zion. Or rather, The Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band. The show was basically the culmination of four years of blue balls resulting from a 2002 Godspeed You! Black Emperor tour that was supposed to reach the west coast but never got farther than Texas. The four of us (minus JLF) checked weekly to see if new dates were added for nearly a year. They never were.

So A Silver Mount Zion, helmed by GYBE's Efrim Menuck, acted as a proxy, giving us a glimpse into what we missed back in our senior year of high school. Besides that, they gave a stellar show in their own right. Perhaps it's a simple case of lowered expectations but their showmanship was much greater than I had expected and Efrim had a casual repoire with the audience.

I even managed to find free parking (!) in the heart of Hollywood. Had it not been for the disastrous first half of the night, all our GYBE fantasies would have come true. But alas, after arriving about half an hour after the doors opened we proceeded to stand and sit around for another solid hour waiting for the first act to go on. Then, the first act was wretched, all insipid crooning over choppy, abstract nonsense noise. The worst excesses of post-rock distilled down to one 45-minute set.

Normally I consider myself openminded about music, but as Shawn said, "When even Matt wants to leave you know it's bad." We couldn't get out of there quick enough. On the bright side, it gave us a chance to enjoy the pleasantly laid-back venue, The Vanguard. The spacious outdoor bar and patio gave us respite from the noise.

Well, I'm back. I finished my internship about 2 weeks ago then promptly headed off to Hawaii to celebrate. Five days on Oahu and four on Kauai.

Kauai was by far the more beautiful island. Unfortunately, what should have been one of the highlights of the island, our boat tour of the Na Pali Coast, turned out to be disastrous for me. Although I've never been seasick before that I can remember, it hit me hard here. The trade winds were kicking up, or so I am told, and our boat swayed and rocked on the swells they generated. I ended up vomitting twice.

I decided to be a wet blanket for the entirety of the hourlong trip back to the bay, so while everyone else was enjoying the bluegreen water and towering cliffs, I had a small panic attack. My whole body tingled like a waking up leg, tugging on my skin and pulling my hands into fists.

But hey, the scenery was still beautiful, at least I think so. The Windward and North Shores of Oahu were gorgeous as well. The northeastern corner of the island was particularly striking with its windblown rock formations pummeled by waves.

Now ordinarily, I'm a city person through-and-through, but the slums of Honolulu and gleaming 30-story hotels of the Waikiki neighborhood don't really do it for me. It's a city that has a section cordoned off for the tourists while a huge part of the rest of the city rots from poverty and drug use. Signs on both islands pleaded "please don't smoke ice, it's killing our family." The "interstate" highways quickly shuffle the tourists from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor and other destinations without having to endure any unpleasentness.

Aside from a bit of unpleasentness it was a great trip. I got to relax after completing the internship and ate more seafood than maybe the rest of my life combined. Photos soon, I hope.