Living For The Highlights

You had quite a week... On Monday you and a group of your friends execute a plan to go camping at Beaver Mines. You haven’t been camping in quite some time, because your family just isn’t up for the hassle anymore. It’s unfortunate but it makes the times you do go that much better. A friend of yours shows you a great spot to set up camp; and so begins what you and your crowd hope will be a great time. Only straying from the “Things to Do When Camping” list a few times (Blowing air and car horns at sleeping members of your camping party, getting fingers stuck in tiki-torches, leaving a couple coolers out so a Bear can drink your beer) you were afforded a great few days. The group decides to go cliff jumping which sets the “fun bar” pretty high. (You enjoy it so much, in fact, that you talk about setting up a trip later in August for yourself and some of the Grads.) Although you have been having plenty of fun you are very glad to leave early Wednesday morning because a few people were driving you fucking insane…if you know what you mean.
Arriving home around 12 O’clock you try to get everything unpacked quickly because that’s all that stands between you and a hang-out session with your girlfriend. She just happens to call, “Hi”, she sounds sick.
”How’re you?”
Yup, she’s sick.
”That sucks, I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out but I guess that won’t be happening”
She can’t go to Our Lady Peace tonight, do you want to go in her place?
”Uhm, sure I’ll go”
She’ll see you when she sees you.
”Bye”
You go to the OLP show with low expectations because the band has been on a downward spiral since their album Clumsy. Stabilo is opening though; it should be a pretty good show. In the crowd you see a few friends you haven’t seen in a while. It’s okay with Alix if you stand with them for the show, so you do.

-Rock Out-

The show ends leaving you surprised at how much what you just saw exceeded your expectations. You also have a pretty good feeling about the Stephen Harper joke you cracked. But there is no time to stay awake and think about the show. Hopefully the ringing in your ears will subside enough for you to be able to sleep. Warped Tour Tomorrow!

-Sleep-

You wake up to the familiar “Mmmm I’m on vibrate” ring of your cell phone. It’s Justin, “Hi”, he’s wide awake and you haven’t felt this tired since grade school, the bastard...

”Kevin said we were going to leave around 7:30.”
He thought everyone was leaving at 7 (the time you were planning on waking up.)
”No, we’re leaving at 7:30. I’m going back to sleep now.”

-Sleep-

One again your cell phone brings you out of a fantastic(ally odd) dream. After looking at the clock you realize the phone has good reason to be waking you: it’s 7:39.
”Give me 15 minutes”
You’re allowed 10.
”OK Bye”
After a very quick shower you return the call.
”I’m ready.”
They’ll see you in a bit.

They see you, and you’re on your way with Justin as your passenger. Listening to Eddie Murphy’s Delirious makes the ride go faster than usual, comedy always does. You pull into the Race City Speedway parking lot and are witness to a great congregation of cars and their owners. It’s going to be hell to get out of here, but first…sweet, sweet purgatory.
The day long musical orgy flashes by faster than the drive despite it being 4 times as long. You try to collect your thoughts and make a highlight reel but with everything that went on (meeting bands like Moneen, catching the set list Justin Pierre (Motion City Soundtrack) threw, holding up George Pettit from Alexisonfire as well as meeting Wade MacNeil and Chris Steele, touching Geoff Rickly (Thursday) and Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath), throwing the horns for Davey Havok (AFI) after crowd surfing and having him acknowledge them) the highlight reel ends up encompassing the entire day.

You arrive home Friday afternoon after spending the night at your Aunt and Uncle’s house. She’s still not a hundred percent and your close friends are either working or still up in Calgary waiting for the Story of the Year concert. There’s nothing to do and it seems this will be the crash period of your week-long high. You realize that, unlike the concert, your whole life can’t be a highlight reel, so you will have to live your life for the days that can.

-Teck

You’re sick of missing her, she’s just sick