LNOYL

- Cardboard -

Linda, I don’t live amongst cardboard boxes, really. Every time Linda drops by, which is annually and usually around December, the landing and living room is a sea of cardboard boxes. She must think I am a suburban squatter or shanty aficionado, or an afflicted hoarder. As it currently stands, you can’t walk in here. You can only walk over, through, then shift to the left because of all the cardboard. When my stuff shipped from Vancouver two years ago, Linda dropped by and saw 40 or 50 large cardboard boxes all over the place. I had been living with those Uhual boxes for 3 years. In one place on Vancouver Island, I actually built walls with my filled up Uhaul boxes to construct a make shift studio and living quarters.

I eventually got rid of the Uhaul’s in Ottawa, creating the space that became the breeding ground for all my modernist furniture hunting exploits. Things looked cardboard free, until my sisters belongings were shipped here, resulting room to room cardboard boxes again. I didn’t mind, but it was perfectly timed for when Linda arrived to see them all again the following year. It took a few months, but those boxes are all packed away in a spare room now. This week, everything arrived, within a few days of each other. There is a gigantic box of Unline bubble wrap, record mailers, CD mailers, books, and half a pallet of records. Although I missed her visit this morning, Linda dropped by…

- YOW and the records -

Getting the vinyl records turned Wednesday into a whole day affair of travel, pout and phone calls. My tracking numbers showed that the records arrived (albeit late, thus missing the release show) to YOW. YOW is Ottawa airport. So I went to YOW. Now, before going there, I checked the websites of all parties involved, and no one will tell you anything. The manufacturing plant won’t say where to pick up the records, and nor will anyone else. I figured actually going to YOW would be my best bet in getting accurate information (or any information). I first showed up at YOW cargo. The man behind the counter gave me a funny look, put down his newspaper for a few keystrokes, then said, nope, records not here. Maybe you better check the “airomat” -- circle the airport, then right, then left. I drove around the airport, looking for a sign or something called “airomat”. I checked the YOW website on my phone -- which of course says nothing about anything called an “airomat”. I parked the car, and went to the one and only information desk on the first floor. Interestingly, at YOW, there is no permanent airport information staff. It’s run by volunteers. The very polite volunteer hadn’t heard of the “airomat”, and wasn’t sure where my cargo could be. She told me to call the airline, British Airways in Montreal. We called, but there was no answer (at 10am on a Wednesday!). She then said to try Canada Customs, and pointed down the hall to the ‘going to get into trouble and deported’ part of the airport (its customs and the police office). I walked into customs, and the room was empty. Vacant chairs, and a phone on the counter. I picked up the phone, and up popped the service representative. I explained that I was trying to pick up a cargo shipment -- was it at customs? He said hmmmmmmmm, then gave me a number to call for help. The automated, generic, national Canada Customs general info line was not very helpful. I walked out of the airport, somewhat dejected. There wasn’t even a British airline counter to make any queries at. YOW stands for “You’reOurWhore”, so don’t expect too much.

I drove back home, and called British Airways home office. They told me to call the trucking company (yes trucking, even though it arrived by air). The trucking company transferred me to some other division. The lady at the end of this line was able to give me a phone number for the one and only “airomat”. I asked if she knew where it was, and she laughed -- she was in the US, and had no idea! I called the “airomat” number, and the person on the line answered as a representative for “BD”. I said err..umm…is this airomat? He says, yup, “BD”. He told me he had my records, and gave me the address (it’s in the same vicinity as YOW, but off site). When I got there, I couldn’t find “BD”, so I walked into the main building, and a customs officer informed me that they might be the place near the end. I went to the absolute end, and found “BD” (there was something else on their sign. Im pretty sure it wasn’t “BD”) The guy gave me some paper work, and then said I had to go to customs before I could pick them up. I went back to customs, and the officer, upon hearing my request to pick up 1000 vinyl records, asked If I had a broker. I did not (I guess it’s not like ordering something vie Ebay or UPS, where they do all the brokerage for you). But I did have a business number, so I could get started. She presented me with a booklet, form, and counter with a calculator and reference texts. Ok, multiple choice, just like school, I though too myself, I can do this. I can broker this deal! After close to an hour of struggling through it (just like school), she must have took pity on me, because she came over and walked me through the rest of the form. There is actually a section in this triple phone book sized manual that has codes and tariff’s and all that stuff for importing gramophone records. She buzzed right through it, and in 10 minutes I was paid up, and out the door, heading back to BD-Airomat-YOW. Why can’t all border agents be like her? At BD, we packed a toyota corrola with all the records. 15 cases of cardboard later, the body of the car sunk close to the wheels, but the suspension held up…

- TEST PRESS winner -

To keep things objective and unbiased, everyone’s name who entered into the raffle was assigned to a number, which was subsequently printed on the back of our cards. I randomized these cards on the floor, then went one step further. We removed all human interference from the process. Not by using a computer. No, that would be too easy. We used Felis catus. I stuck on piece of kibble on each card, then released the cat. First time, he flew over the cards and didn’t notice the food, which is very uncharacteristic of him. He must have known he was in an experiment like setting. Scientists would call this biological noise in the data. The second time I released him, Felis catus made his choice:

#5 is Jeff & Lori -- congratulations -- test pressing coming your way.

- Slides -

I picked up a modernistic slide viewer at the thrift shop today. A few months ago, Dareck and I were looking for older video gear to create some filtered shots. At one thrift location, I picked out this functional metal box. There was a collection of slides inside. They belonged to an Ottawa resident, who took a trip to California in 1959 (there are pencilled descriptions written on the cardboard). He took snapshots from the plane (the plane must have been relatively empty, because he got shots from both sides of the cabin), streets, and buildings. Letting go of unwieldy furniture is one thing. I can’t help feel a little blue for this person, who has probably passed on (why else would his box of 1959 mementos be at the Sally Anne), and no one wanted to keep his photos. Im going to view the rest of them tonight, and maybe bring a few, mixed in with our own, to the next show…

- Next Week -

Hopefully the live tracks from the release event will arrive for mix down. Then, a download link will be sent to all who signed up for the live EP. I’ve got to find places for all these boxes, get some labels and photo’s done, then the records are finally ready to ship. After that, I’m getting back to writing…