Part 2: In which I attempt to make noise come from an old guitar, dress up like a nerd, and other stuff happens.

The old guitar in question happened to be this beast. We got it years ago for my younger brother to learn on. It arrived in a beat up case from a family friend who said it was left handed, but clearly didn't know a thing about guitars because it was actually just right handed as usual. Anyway, despite the fact that it looks pretty fantastic, the fact that the tuners on it were so darn stiff and the general construction was pretty sloppy (got to love high action haha) means it's almost impossible to make it sound any good, despite me replacing the strings on it about a year and a half ago.
However, it's ridiculously photogenic, probably about a hundred times more so than me, so it was always our favorite thing to take with us when we did photoshoots.

 

Those days seem like such a long time ago now. I went home for a day over the long weekend with Beka who drove down from Auckland like the crazy awesome person she is. And I was chilling by the fireplace and I saw it lying there. And so like any guitarist worth his salt, I couldn't keep my fingers to myself and picked it up and had a bit of a jam. 

It brought back so many memories. The time when we got it and laughed for ages cos it wasn't actually left handed. The time we took it to the beach, and to the railway station. The day this photo was taken, on a tree that doesn't even exist any more.

It's funny how inanimate objects can hold that many fragments of the past...

Anyway even though Dannevirke was super cold, it was real nice seeing the family again. Especially my Nan and Pop who were there visiting from Australia. I hadn't seen them for years and years cos we never got over to Oz much, and so it was awesome just getting to hang out there with them for a bit. Unfortunately Nan wasn't too well, but we still managed to have a few chats, and she gave me some legit good advice about writing and just life in general. Pop seemed in real good health though, and we had a sweet as conversation about music and how much The Eagles rocked. Made me so super keen to get into it and never give up my dreams, no matter how hard it's going to be. Which was good because things have been so slow to start I sometimes wonder if they'll ever happen at all... but they will!!! 

After the good, if slightly odd, times in our hometown (it's never the same going back), we headed back to P-Town for a friends 22nd. Now me and Beka had to be super sneaky, cos she knew I was coming but not Beka so I had to make up lame as excuses like "I'm getting dropped off by a friend" and "I've been super busy tonight, but I'll be there as soon as possible". It got a little bit intense when we almost got spotted before we even got there, but somehow we made it to the front door without ANYONE other than me knowing she was there. Great surprise right there haha.

Anyway, the party turned out to be pretty fabulous. It was one of those themed parties, so we were all dressed up like preps (whatever they are). I actually made a pretty decent effort if I say so myself, acquiring a pair of red suspenders and fake glasses on the way. I felt a like a bit of a hipster, and even more of a nerd, but it was totally worth it! It was such a good night out in town! For once there wasn't too many weirdos (well apart from this one guy) and we just had a sweet time dancing and hanging out. We even hit up Murpheys were a real band was playing which was a lot more like my scene finally haha. But even the crappy club music wasn't too bad once you were getting into it (still, it belongs in clubs and nowhere else haha). And the first place we were in was playing Imagine Dragons! So we were pretty much guaranteed an awesome night!

However it's slightly ironic now that I think about it. I've always been slightly nervous of being nerdy just in case I end with glasses when I'm 25 and am always on the outside in society, or something like that. I guess there's certain behaviour patterns which I've been scared of reflecting just in case I become something I'm not. But on that Saturday night, I didn't even care. I could act nerdy, dress nerdy, be who ever I wanted. But I'd still be me. 

Man, it's hard to believe that two years ago I dreamed of having that kind of confidence. And it's not like anything magic just happened. There's still heaps of days when I don't have any at all. But God has blessed abundantly this year, and how can I not have assurance when he's given me so much to be thankful for and is making me into something far better than I ever deserved to be....

Cheers for reading guys, hope you had as much fun over the long weekend as I did! Leave a comment about what you got up to and we can chat and be friends and stuff. You don't just do that on Facebook you know!!!