Friday, October 28, 2005

12 hours south...

I got in my car yesterday at 6am in Burlington, and I stopped driving at 5pm in Nashville. I have officially moved back to Nashville, TN...

It is kinda weird to be back here. Some of the same people are still around, everything seems similar, but at the same time everything is different. It is not in a bad way... just different. I stopped by Sixth Ave today and talked with Joel some. I skated the new mini, enjoyed the bowl, and got really sweaty. Overall I had a great time. So now that I go that out of the way it looks like it is time to figure out how I am going to live.

I am going to be working with Sixth Avenue quite a bit... demos, website, photography, possibly working in the shop, skate church, etc... This is not going to give me enough money to live, however, so I am going to have to find a job somewhere else aswell. I think I am going to try and be a valet. Apparently I can make some good cash doing that, and enjoy a little bit of flexability with it aswell. Hopefully that will work itself out.

But yeah, things are changing... and quick. Crazy times my friends. I am out. Later.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Nashville or Bust...

I have a major decision to make, and it must be made in the very near future. I have to figure out where God is calling me to live... and I am beginning to wonder if Nashville is that place. I have spent the past week working at a skate shop and wondering whether not that is where I am feeling called. I watch the two main people in the shop and I see something I don't have...

First there is the owner. She actually has just begun to get more involved in this store and is working about 20 hours a week in the store... plus probably 20 more doing countless other things for the place. The other night I worked with her and I was very much impressed. She has the ability to talk to pretty much anyone and make them feel comfortable in that store. I honestly think that if she worked in that store full time and became the face of the store that business would increase so very much.

Second is the very passionate one. She has worked there for quite some time in a assistant manager position. She loves that store more than anyone else and would probably buy it if she has the time and the money. Her love is what makes her a perfect fit for her job. Both of these girls have something that I am not feeling in myself about the stor, and they both have a much better fashion sense then me too...HA.

All this to point out that I do not see myself enjoying the job or being the person for the job. I think these two girls need to take over and make this store a success. The thing I have loved about skateboarding revolves around Sixth Avenue Skatepark. The organization, the people, the kids, and being around all of them is what made my experience. I almost feel as though I am being called to move back and live in Nashville. I don't know to what capacity I would work with them at this point, but just being there and getting involved almost makes the move worth while.

If this happens it will be within the next 7 days. I will have to make the decision in the next few days, and then begin to react very quickly if the decision is yes. I am comforted in the fact that my parents support my decision, and were very open to the idea. That just makes things even crazier for me. This may be a crazy week!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

NYC...

So I am probably being a little overzealous with this whole writing in my blog thing, but I figure that all posts will slow or completely stop coming so I might as well post as often as possible at first.

Last Wednesday I got word that in about 2.5 hours I could be driving with some friends to NYC to see a Conan taping. A few phone calls later I was getting my stuff together and driving to T.O. to meet up with the boys. We drove through the night and ended up at some hotel at 4am.

I was pretty stoked to be in NYC. We spent a lot of time walking and getting around the city via subway. There are so many interesting people in the subway. I wish I had taken more pictures, but the crazy amounts of rain led to me leaving my camera in the hotel most of the time we were there.

We hit up Time Square and saw all the pretty lights. The last day we were there we came across the naked cowboy. That dude propably makes so much money just standing around in his underwear, taking pictures with tourists, and then taking their money. Dyce and Wood were then intereviewed by some random dudes and spoke with the Prophet of the 816 Hex. Entertaining times... you had to bee there to understand.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was when we went down to Battery Park. The first time we went it was raining and kinda miserable, but we did come across this random dead rat on a peice of cardboard. The next time round it was nice out and we bought fake Rolex watches from dudes wiith suitcases, looked at some fancy fake bags, and watched this street show... break dancing. Good times were had.

Overall this trip was a great success. I kinda want to go back again and shoot many many photos. Hopefully I can do that in the not too distant future. Gotta <3 NYC... I bought the t-shirt.

Oh yeah, Dyce got on Conan CLICK HERE TO SEE IT

My Father...

As I grew up I moved around quite a bit. I don't think that I ever stayed in one city for more than 4 years straight. The moving was most often a result of my father receiving promotions within the company he worked/works for. A lot of people could not imagine moving as much as I have, and would have huge issues and problems if their family had done what mine did. I think what made all of our moves so smooth was the fact that we had a tight and loving family.

The head of my family is my father. He is a strong, motivated, hardworking, and loving man. I can saftely say that he has nothing but the best intentions in mind for our family, and he would do anything to protect us. Without any post-secondary education he has, and continues to, progress within business. I have no doubt that one day he will run the Canadian operations of his current company... if he so chooses. I love listening to him talk business, and tell stories of how people try to "take him on" within the company. He is a problem solver, sales master, and is probably the most reliable man to go to when you need something done... and done right. As I write this I continue to think of more things that just amaze me. My father truely is a great man.

As I grew up and began making more of my own deciisions it became obvious to me that although I am my father's son, we are very different in some ways. My father has had to work really hard to get where he is today in business, and he has huge expectations of me in business. I think he is right to have expectations, but we do not share a common view of what I need to be doing. At this point in my life I am not motivated to get into a big corporation in hopes of one day heading up some giant company. Right now my dream would be to run Sixth Ave and work with all the people that come in to skate. I want to work in an industry that intrigues me and gives me something to look forward to every morning. I think I would like to work with kids in a non-church environment where friendships can be made and lives can be changed. I can tell you now that this will not make me a lot of money.

Now, maybe in 5 years my outlook will change and I will start my accent up the corporate ladder, but at this point it does not appeal to me. I think it is hard to explain this to my father, and because of this we often get in little battles over what I want to do. In everything I do I consider my father and respect the knowlege/experience he has and offers to me... but I must make my own decisions. I hope that in time I will be able to articulate myself well enough to make him understand what I am doing/thinking. He has taght me to make good decisions, and I am now at a point where my decisions may deviate from his. I guess I am growing up...

I doubt you will ever read this dad, but know that I love you more than you could ever imagine. You have been the best father a guy could ask for... I guess I was just blessed to be raised by you and mom. As we go ahead I know that we will have disagreements, but nothing will ever change the fact that you are my father and nothing can take that away.

Insomnia...

The past two evenings I have had a lot of trouble falling asleep. Last night I did not fall asleep until about 3am, and tonight I have a bad feeling that I may be following suit. A lot of things have been going through my head these past few weeks... especially the past 4 or 5 days. Working at this skateshop is leaving me with mixed emotions. I think it will be a great time and experience, but I also have this unsettling feeling in the back of my mind. I can not pin-point exactly what it is... and I have a feeling it may be a number of different things. Maybe I am just nervous about the situation surrounding everything. Who knows.

One think I do know is that I have had this overwhelming desire to move back to Nashville and work for Rocketown. My best case scenario would be to act as one of the managers of the skatepark... but I almost would do anything. I do not know exactly what has brought all these things on, but I find myself working out scenarios about how to pull it all off in my mind. Maybe that is partially why I can not fall asleep. Too many things are working like crazy in my mind, and the thought of doing it just gets me pumped.

The thought of getting back there is exciting for many reasons:
1. Working with all the Sixth Ave guys is incredible. Such good people.
2. Would be back in Nashville... all my university friends are there.
3. Would be completely independent from the parental units.
4. Rolling Hills Community Church.
5. Could ride a motor cycle so many months of the year!
6. And the list just goes on...

I think I am going to write an e-mail to see if I can get the ball rolling on this. But in the end it is as my mother always says, everything will work out "Lord Willing." I can trust in that. Night.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

The First Real Post...

I will consider this my first real post...

I have been in Canada since the beginning of May, and have been having a good time. I worked at Muskoka Woods for the summer, helped my buddy Paul out with some skate competitions, shot some photos, went to NYC, sat around a lot, and now am in the process of figuring out the rest of my life. As of now it looks like I am going to be working at a local skateshop for a few months. There is an opportunity to purchase the shop, but at this point I do not know that it is something that I really want to do. I guess only time will tell.

I shot this photo a few weeks ago. It is of Jeff Matheson - Krooked Grind. We went downtown Hamilton and hit up a few spots, got some footage, and shot about 6 photos. I need to get out and shoot some more photos with him in the near future. If I get any more I will have to post them up here.

What is sad is that I just got back from NYC and I only shot maybe 20 pictures while I was there. It was raining the entire time, and I just could not be bothered to pull the camera out. I need to go back and shoot crazy amounts of photos... It was a good time though. There are so many interesting people in that city. I could spend hours just sitting in the subway watching people. You wonder what is going on in their heads, where they are going, why they ignore everyone around them, and countless other things. If you have not gone then I would suggest you do so.

Speaking of other citys... last night as I was lying in my bed I had the erge to move back to Nashville, TN. There is only 1 or 2 scenarios that would bring me back there, but I got excited about the idea. I don't know that this will ever happen, but if things work out in real life like they did in my head then I could end up there. I miss the guys at Sixth Ave, and really want to be able to work with those kids again. They are such an incredible group of people. Maybe that will happen... we will see.

I am going to end this now... and if anyone actually does find this and read it then comment. Just say something... like "I read this."

Testing...

So I have a few friends who are blogging these days, and I figured that I might as well join the trend. I have done the whole livejournal thing, but that has gotten old. This may get old. Who knows. No one may ever actually read this thing, but that may make it even more fun for me. That is all for now... this is just to test the thing out.