This Day, This Month, This Year...

__, __, ____ .

Depending on whereabouts you are reading this (possible locations: USA, New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, UK, the Moon - ok the last one's slightly unlikely...), the above blank date could be month, date, year or date, month, year. Different systems but with the same meaning of course - except that if you're reading this from the USA/ UK you're most probably a day behind my current timezone (and if you're on the moon, I have no idea where you fit into this time equation). So for now just "pretend" it's the 28th and then we'll all be on the same pagelength. Or bloglength. Whatever.

Actually I kinda wish I was a timezone and a half behind, as I'm finding it a little hard to believe that it's the end of February ALREADY.  I know it's a few days below average length of months, but still, it seems to have gone by so fast.

And it's been an interesting 28 days.

For me in particular, February seemed to be filled with frustration, complications and an awful lot of waiting. Waiting for internet. Waiting for work to finish. Waiting for all my friends to move back to Palmerston so I could finally do something interesting. Waiting for that one song to hit my ears, to hit my mind. Waiting for that one thing to happen.

It seems the longer I wait, the less likely it is anything happens.

Ok, I'm flourishing the melodramatic statements here. I apologize. Things did happen. People came back. I finished work. Started Uni (again). Yet it seems like an awful lot of time wasted on my part just hanging out for something. I kind of wonder if I'm made to be doing this forever. Or as Matt Theissan so eloquently puts it "I feel like I was born/ For devastation and reform."

I really, really wanted to be able to write a different blog at the end of this month. Maybe post up the lyrics to the next "Let It Be" or some equally brilliant song. Or put something up about the changes I've made, or the bands I've joined, or the music I've written. When really all I have in my head and my hands are sketches. Things half-formed. Ideas which are still stuck in the hanger. Songs half written. Riffs that meander to dead ends. At the end of February, is this the best of me, or the worst?

"DISCONNECTED" (progressed little further than lyrics and rough ideas)

It's been over a week and my knees are still weak/ And my voice has been hurting from all the calls I've made. You sit there in your room while I sit here with the blues/ I've got everything to lose when we stay apart 

We're still so disconnected/ I'm not far from ending it now

It's one hell of a week when I'm on the losing streak/ And my ears are still hurting from all the excuses you've made. You sit there in your room, I sit here with the blues/ We've both got nothing to lose yet we still stay apart

"VALENTINES DAY" (mostly just music, as I pretty much dislike all the words I've written beyond these two lines)

Oh you caught me with empty hands and a restless heart that longs for you

Love will you find me? Love will she blind me?


Even though I've been guilty of doing more than a few, these days I just can't seem to force myself to churn out an average song. I guess this is good cos it means I'm getting more technical and in depth with my music, but in some ways it seems like all the sparkle, the magic and the wonder that makes a song a song is somehow missing. Am I doomed to inherit the space between average and brilliant-yet-unknown?

Bring it on March. Maybe if I'm ready for you, I won't have to wait...

Where would you go?

I was watching this movie last night called "Into the Wild". It told the story of a man who got so sick of his parents, corporations and the whole world in general, that he determined to go live a solitary life in Alaska. Apparently it was based on a true story too, which makes it even more amazing.
Absolutely fascinating movie, and like all good movies, really made me think about life. I could see where this guy was coming from. Obviously his circumstances where a lot more dramatic than mine, but I actually understood why he wanted to get away from it all.
The music for the film was also pretty stunning (it was done by a guy called Eddie Vedder, who is also the frontman for the band Pearl Jam). But out of all the songs included on the movie, there was this one which I particularly liked called "Society". It had this line in it which went something like this:


        "Society, you're a crazy breed. I hope you're not lonely without me." 


Out of all the inspirational quotes in the film, this line got me the most. And as I watched the events unfold in the film I got to thinking: Would society really be lonely without me? That is, if I was to leave, would I be missed? Or would the world keep on turning? Like the lead role in the film, I've often felt like an outcast, a loner, just someone who everyone overlooks. Like the kind of person who doesn't quite fit in society....
Another thing that I got thinking about is this: Where would you go? If you weren't held back by any limits which society places on you, and you went somewhere just because you wanted to, where would you go? There's a great scene in the movie where the man gets told that he has to wait 12 years to get a pass to be allowed to paddle down this river. He turns politely to the officer who's told him this and thanks him. Then in the very next scene, he just tosses his canoe into the river and goes for it.
So often we hold ourselves back from all we could be because we're scared of what people will think, what they'll do, or the consequences.
But life itself is about being on the edge....
I don't want to end up in an office in a high rise building in a fancy suit sipping coffee and talking about a report I should have filed. As much as that is a respectable job, and good on the people who do it, to me it's not really  living! We were born to be more than this! The problem with the western world today is it makes everything so BORING! It's almost as if it's designed to suck all the risk, danger, and joy at fulfilling an "impossible" task out of our lives, and replace it with a comfortable, soft bubble.
If I was not restrained by anything, money included, I would hike around Italy. Just with a backpack, and maybe a few friends.
And then maybe I'd visit Alaska.
Where would you go?

Shoutout time!!!!

WOW!
I just discovered this amazing thing on blogger called "Stats"!
Well actually to be fair, I didn't discover it, it was pointed out to me by Stevee from Cinematic Paradox... (thanks Stevee!)

Anyway, these stats are pretty incredible! I found out that over 10, 000 people have read my blog (or at least looked at it!) which is amazing! That was a way bigger number than I was expecting!
Keep it up guys!!!

According to these numbers, my most popular post to date was one from way back in 2008: A list (about my favourite guitars). This (somehow) had over a thousand hits! I had a look at this post and was quite shocked at how much my tastes have changed since then! I may have to update that list at some point....

Another SUPER awesome thing I found out from these statistics is where people are from who read my blog. Of course good old New Zealand made up a decent percentage. And there was quite a large amount from the USA to (with my awesome followers from over there!).
But I was quite surprised, and unbelievably stoked, to find Alaska on that list too! It totally made my day! Alaska is such a cool place and I'd really like to visit there one day- plus one of my favorite Sky Sailing song's is called "Alaska" - all in all it's a great combination! So from here at the other side of the world, I want to give a shoutout to Alaska and all the awesome people there! Keep reading the blog, and I'll try my best to make it amazing for you!

So as well as my shoutout to Alaska, I'd like to thank anyone who's ever read/followed/commented on this blog. Hope something in here inspired you! Beka from http://imbekahope.blogspot.co.nz/ gets heaps of shoutouts for inspiring me to start blogging in the first place. Also thanks heaps to Hannah from the USA and Rachel from

http://thevoicesinsideofme.blogspot.co.nz/ for being my two favourite bloggers and avidly commenting/readering of my blog as well as writing amazing blogs of their own (speaking of which, you two should both post more often!!).
Drop in a line about why you still like/read/follow this blog, and if there's anything specific you reckon I should post about!
Peace out,

Jords