frozen toes and suspect sleeping arrangements...

so...ok..where to start. (spelling really doesn't count today....)

corie and i hit the road towards apex/penticton around 11 a.m. thursday and besides a couple of hard packed areas (snow) it was an easy go. we arrived in apex around 5 p.m. (i think...) and met the rest of the boys at our chalet (?) and found places for our stuff. we're just a couple of minutes from the rink in a big place with enough room for all of us-10 guys in one place at one time is a bit much but we're all getting along very well. sleep is something that doesn't come easliy with all the various sounds and poor beds-i was on a couch the first night with corie on a mattress on the floor a few feet away from me. there are a few heavy snooring guys-me being one of them.
our first game was at 9:45 p.m. thursday night when the temp. was probably around -18-excellent. those of us with visors were in bad shape as they froze up right away and had to be modified mid game so we could see anyhting. also, a couple of the lights for the rink had burned out and hadn't been replaced so one end of the rink was very dark..and we were playing some real dicks who were taking is very seriously with a lot of stick work so it was a test. in the end we won and not too soon as our feet, mainly our toes, had begun to have any feeling at all. the thawing out of our feet was worse in many ways than the freezing itself. great pain....my big toes are still numb a day and a half later. we play again today at 8:30 pm so it'll be a cold one again.
i drove to see my pals riel and jane yesterday in armstrong which is about 2 hours drive from here. it's not really that far but due to typical canadian driving habits and having to slow down through kelowna and other towns it takes a a while. armstrong holds a special place in my heart in not a weird one. in the early 90's i dated a woman who was, at one time, miss. armstrong. the queen of cheese i called her. it was, at best, a troubled relationship, but i proved, once at lerast, my love for her by driving her to armstrong where i met her parents and took a tour of the armstrong cheese factory.
i met the girls at a nautical themed pub where i had a chicken burger called 'the navigator'...i dunno...we then went to put some laundry in the dryer at a place nearby and then to a clothing store callled frugal frocks...it was fun...then jane had to hit the road back to her place in salmon arm and riel and i went up to her mom's place which is called 'the grizz'. it's a majectic spread overloking a valley-they own 85 acres there. it's just outside of armstrong sort of north of armstrong central. the wacky part of this part of the journey was that when i was introduced to riel's mother's boyfriend, i quickly recognized him as a guy i had known for probably 20 or more years-andy graffiti. andy was and is an artist who during my early days in college radio played in many bands in vancouver, most notably-for me, rhythmn mission with the likes of dennis mills and the hardy brothers and warren ashe. those were the days...anyhow, he left vancouver and ended up there and still jams with bands, makes art and writes poerty. sounds like a pretty good time...
i headed back to apex around 6 pm and had another night of watching the boys play drunken trivial pursuit...we know how to party...and then blair and i shared a hide-away couch bed in the living room...he snores very loudly and talks jibberish in his sleep...and those are the good things he does in his sleep.
today we play at 8 p.m. and then again tomorrow morning and if we win both games play again at 11:45 am sunday...our feet will be fucked...
good times.
have fun...more updtaes when i can..the pics are completely out of order...so fuckin' sue me...

g. xo

what the..? muc gets ready to late night skate..



view from above...



riel at the grizz...



view on the drive up near the crow's nest pass...



and the other way...



drunken trivial pursuit...



the boys enjoy the foosball table..



muc and matt go boarding...



muc...



riel in armstrong pub...



riel and jane...two of the great ones...



snacks...



just liked this sign...there are fruit stand signs everywhere...



blair enjoys being outside...



byron works on his visor..i was next...