Moments.

Vancouver, a poem by Adam Roper.

there was tea waiting this whole time,
sitting on my kitchen counter beside the sink,
all the while i was watching the world unfold
and praying for you, come home.

there was some music playing in the background,
sitting on my coffee table beside the door,
all the while I was outside watching the rain
and hoping one sound would be your voice, come home.

there was vancouver waiting this whole time,
sitting beside both of our hometowns,
all the while i was waiting for an answer.
and praying for you, come back home.

014 - No Use Pretending.

Sam Beam puts on a brilliant show. I'll tell you the whole story of that night some other time, but for now I'll say this: meeting Sam Beam, combined with the people I got to meet him with, made for one of the best nights I can remember.

013 - Blankets & Scarves.

It doesn't snow much in BC, so when it does people tend to get pretty excited. They also tend to forget how to drive, but who am I to judge. This snow only lasted two days, but it was still beautiful.

012.1 - The Burning Of A Moment.

Sometimes, moments can be hard. That fire that was burning in 'The Meadow' was still burning bright during the evening. Shaina, Roper and I ventured out there (first without flashlights) to see how close we could get. We got close enough for me to take a VERY dark picture. So dark in fact, that I had my first fumbled moment. Hey, moments can be pretty awkward sometimes, and sometimes they can be a little hard to put down on to paper.

So, what does one do with a too dark polaroid picture? Burn it, obviously. I had some matches on me, for some reason, so we found a nice cement pad at the school, and did our best to set the thing on fire. Who would have thought it'd be so hard to burn a picture...in a snow storm...a windy one. Regardless! Roper figured since we couldn't burn it, that he should climb a tree and put it up there. A good way to dispose of a good moment. I guess some moments are meant to be in our minds.

011 - The Meadow.

During the summer, I had the pleasure of discovering this little piece of heaven, nestled away behind my house. I had always known that there were some pretty lush forests back there, but it wasn't until this summer that I actually got to experience them first hand. Another great surprise was the finding of a meadow that sat right in the middle of this vast landscape of trees. The meadow was full of six foot high grass, a giant rock wall and it always seemed to be the perfect escape from any sort of busyness in my life.

After my first experience at the meadow, I felt compelled to write a song about it. In the song, I tried to touch on the important realization that even the most beautiful country meadow, if in the right location, could be compromised in the race for property. I wanted to accept the fact that this beautiful meadow/forest area would soon be torn down in the name of real estate.

One morning earlier this month, I had noticed that some of the trees of that forest had been cut down, and after going for a quick walk, I came to see that truth first hand. Today, Adam and Shaina came home to see that there was a massive fire burning in that area. We figured we'd go for a walk and check out what was going on. A once dense brush has now become a desolate wasteland; the meadow was pure gray, with a road in its first stage. As Roper stood tall on that stump, watching God's beauty be destroyed so that some new mansions could fulfill some sort of "american dream" ideology, it was hard not to feel small.

Checking In.

So, ten pictures down. Ninety more to go.

I'm really falling in love with this idea. I just spent some time looking back over the pictures, remembering the good times attached to them. I think that's something we lack these days: taking the time to look back, reflect and just stop to look at some pictures. Over the last few months, I've seen some beautiful things, met some beautiful people, listened to some beautiful music, and I'm happy to say that this is only the beginning.

I hope that you, anonymous reader, are enjoying this. I know I am.

Jamison.

010 - Weighty Ghost.

Wintersleep is a band from Halifax.

I first heard "Jaws of Life" and "Orca", their two popular tunes, from my friend Mike Simpson. When I read of their new record, I was pretty stoked to say the least. To my surprise, I found the record to be much more uplifting and positive, as opposed to their other two, which are much more sobering. Right away, the standout track was "Weighty Ghost", with it's triumphant choral chorus, "WHOAAA, HAVE YOU SEEN MY GHOST! SEEN MY GHOST, SEEN MY GHOST!"

After singing some songs for some kind people, we all went to Roper's for an after-party. It was one of those nights where you sit back, and enjoy the fact that you can hear five different conversations going on at once. As Alison, Josh and I sat on the couch, talking about everything/nothing, Wintersleep came on the stereo. It seemed like a fitting song for that night, for that moment.

009 - Love Is...

When I went to put my dishes away, Alison and Erin stopped me and asked how I was doing. In a normal situation like this I would have swayed forward and backward, and said something real calm like, "I'm goooooood." But today was a different situation. It was the third day in a LONG week, and I was pretty bummed out; I hadn't had a warm shower all week, and I had started drinking coffee again. Basically, I was a mess. So there we have Alison and Erin, two lovely girls, asking me how I was. I didn't want to be a total drag, and go into all the issues in my life, so I honestly, and non-sympathetically, said, "I'm not that great." Immediately they pulled up a chair, and they situated themselves in such a way that they were both facing me. So I sat down, and started going into some of the stuff that had been happening during the week. Alison had left at the start of the conversation, but when she came back she was eating a chocolate chocolate chip cookie. As she quietly nibbled away at it, I continued telling them about my week. Next thing I know, mid-sentence, Alison puts the cookie down on a plate, and rests it on my knee. At first I thought, "no thanks, I don't like double chocolate cookies." But when I took the second to look down at the cookie, I just happened to find one of the cutest gestures I'd ever seen.

My week ended much better than it started. Maybe it was the cookie, who knows.

008 - Desmond.

When I first met Desmond, I was pretty timid about a lot of things. There was something reassuring about him. His leaves were large, crispy and golden brown, and they fell to the Earth with such grace that it was hard not to be in awe, just being in his presence. Last year, Desmond was a good friend on many occasions, and this year has been just as great. If you ever have the chance to meet Desmond, I hope you can do the following. Climb the tree, with one of your best friends, and a girl who appreciates a good climb, and who's laugh and smile remind you of music. I promise you, life won't be the same once you leave his arms.

007 - Drive To Lunch.

When Kyle gets excited about things, he tends to express it by going, "HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!" Let's just say, this car ride had more "hey" in it than a barn. Who would have thought that the simple act of driving in a mini-mall parking lot could create such fear. Quick advice on parking lots: don't pass people; don't pull u-turns; don't honk your horn, especially while yelling "Daunavan's here! Daunavan's here!" The looks you get are not desirable. Still, getting that Maroon 5 specialty cup at Subway was definitely worth it.

006 - Communion.

Three easy steps to "stick it to" fundamentalist Christians:

1. Listen to a progressive rock band's new album, which you didn't pay for (maybe they gave it away for free to you too). Feel free to discuss the merit of art in the church, and even say things like, "Christians don't care about art."

2. Drink beer. Good beer. Not too much, but just enough.

3. Open the Word of God, and read verses like poetry, reflecting on the brilliance of language, and the fact that the creator of the universe took the time to speak to every one of us.

005 - Worn Down.

Adam puts a lot of effort into the events he puts on. After a week of planning, worrying, studying, drinking, and probably the occasional time of sleeping, he was pretty worn down.

004 - Crime Of Passion.

Sometimes, I put a lot of hope in things that are really more trivial than i realize. For example, hoping a certain someone shows up at a show, and then being disappointed when she doesn't. Regardless, it resulted in one of the most violent acts of passion i've ever committed.

Matt O'Shea gave me this potted plant, right at the start of the show, and said, "Hey, give this to that cute girl that's got your eye!" I thought it over for a second, and said, "Yeah! Thanks Matt". So as I spent the night holding on to this thing, hoping to see her, I thought about how the gift probably wouldn't be given. She never came, which isn't a big deal (people do have lives), and as I left the lounge, I ran into fellow musician Jeff Hawker. Jeff, carrying his stool, asked me about the plant. I went on to tell him the dramatics, when I was hit by lightning. 'What a cool idea!' I thought, 'I'll put the plant on the stool, and get someone to take a picture of me busking with it.' So I orchestrated the whole thing, and told Alex to take the picture whenever she felt it was to be taken. So I played this song, Alex took the picture, and as soon as I finished the song, the thoughts of abandonment still fresh in my mind, I proceeded to kick the potted plant with all my strength. The adrenaline rush of bringing foot to plant was too overwhelming to describe. Of course the aftermath was less desirable: the plant happened to land right in my guitar case, located below it. I just finished vacuuming out the dirt. Regardless, sometimes things like that need to happen: plants must be kicked, feelings told, whispers turned into cries. I think our culture lacks passion, so for one moment, it was nice to bring a little back.

003 - Through Any Window.

Waking up early is severely underrated. Sure, the grogginess and immediate reaction of anger are stumbling blocks, but once the suicidal feelings pass, early mornings seem to have something that the rest of the day doesn't. A beauty that can only be challenged by the sun's falling asleep. This sunrise woke me up: orange and pink light shining through my window, all confusing and beautiful.

002 - First Morning Light.

Early morning fog is one of God's most amazing presents to us. A chemical reaction in the air that seems to put things into perspective. We were blessed that morning, getting to see the fog hang lowly over the rows of cabins, covering the tops of the pine trees. I'm glad I had my scarf.

001 - Love On The Highway.

Every once and a while, the fall in BC feels very similar to the way it feels in the prairies. Most of the time, we're bombarded with copious amounts of rain, which was the case the week leading up to this picture. But on that day, the sun was in full force, illuminating the changing leaves on the many trees. Dave, Steve and I were in the back of a van, on our way to a leadership retreat outside of Hope, BC, a small town just at the edge of the mountains. We all marveled at the beautiful weather as we drove down the number one.