Påskeferie

I am currently on Easter break and things are going well. My vacation began on Friday March 26th and goes until April 5th...a nice long break, which is super nice :) I've just been trying to keep myself busy now that I have so much time on my hands. My students turned in their 3rd papers for the semester so I've been grading those daily. I'll be done with them on Wednesday so then I'll have the rest of the week free, which works out well because I'm going back to Copenhagen this Friday :) I'm very excited to head back because it is such a beautiful place.

Other than grading I've just been taking some more pictures. I've really gotten into photography over the last year or so and I feel like I'm making some progress, in a sense that I may be developing a better eye for good photo opportunities, so that's been fun.

I went shopping for some vinyl in Oslo on Saturday and that was a blast. I ended up buying three records, which was good because I easily could have spent all of my money in the two store that I went to hahaha I bought Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin, Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, and This Will Destroy You - Self Titled. I was super pumped with my purchases and might have to make another stop later on during my stay :)

Since my arrival in Norway, things have only gotten better. It started off kind of rocky but I am at a place in my life now where I just feel super content. I'm surrounded by amazing landscapes, making connections with amazing people both here and back at home, and learning life lessons. One of the many things I love about life is that we are never too old to grow or learn. There are always new things to be explored and learn from. I'm happy, and it feels great.

Rainy Days and Record Players

Today is an overcast rainy day in Moss and I'm enjoying it to the fullest extent :) It's always nice to have sunny days, but I'm a fan of low key overcast chilly days as well. Since I first got here in Moss I had been wondering if there was a record store. There was a music store in the mall that sold CD's a stuff, but the selection was very limited and it eventually went out of business, but last night I was told about Plates Jappa. It's a small record store here in Moss. I was soooo excited when I heard about this because this week is the beginning of my Spring Break and I've dubbed it "The Great Vinyl Adventure of 2010." I'm planning on going to Oslo tomorrow and doing some record shopping in the big city. Anyways, I went to Plates Jappa today and found two records. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel and Behold The Mighty Army by New Birth. the New Birth purchase was kind of a random one. It was in the funk section and the cover looked pretty ridiculous so I thought..."why not?" haha I was pumped to see Bridge Over Troubled Water because it has my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song, The Only Living Boy In New York. I'm really excited about going to Oslo tomorrow. I went to the websites of the stores I'll be checking out and I looked through their vinyl selection online and made note of the ones that interested me, so hopefully they're all there :)

I've been feeling a little homesick lately. Nothing crazy, I'm not crying myself to sleep or anything, but I think that the closer I get to being done here, the more excited I am to get home. Going to the record shop today was great because, as weird as it sounds, it reminded me of home. There's something about the smell of the records, the music, and the atmosphere that reminds me of all the amazing people in my life and how comfortable home is. So, I'll enjoy the time I have left here, but I'll always be thinking about home :)

Under Stars and Overseas EP

While I've been in Norway I've been writing and recording new songs and I am very happy to say that my new EP Under Stars and Overseas is complete. As I was putting the finishing touches on the tracks and mixing everything, I just felt like it was still incomplete. Somehow a new song came about within the last two days and as I was recording it and piecing it together, things just fell into place. My time in Norway has been amazing and I'm really happy with how these songs turned out. If it weren't for this experience; the struggles, excitement, and beauty of this place, these songs would not exist. So I am incredibly thankful for this journey because it gave me the opportunity to expand with my music by trying new things and it also allowed me to voice what I was feeling.

It's going to be an 8 track EP entitled Under Stars and Overseas. I have the album art worked out, so now it's just a matter of taking it to photoshop and putting the finishing touches on the packaging.

Track List:

1.) Magpie

2.) We're Alright

3.) Thank You Nostalgia

4.) Red Paper Heart

5.) Memory

6.) All I Ask

7.) Henry Hill

8.) Under Stars and Overseas

Meh...with a twist.

Today was a pretty boring day haha I got my work done for class tomorrow and found myself with an entire afternoon and evening at my hands. So, I watched Midnight Cowboy on Youtube. I had never seen it before and it's a classic so I figured I should check it out, and it was a pretty good film. After that, I skyped with my mom which was nice :) I was kinda grumpy because of the insanely boring day so, sorry mom! lol Later, I tried to do some sketching but I wasn't really feeling it so then I went back to my childhood and watched Camp Nowhere on youtube haha After that I made some supper, then played some guitar which lead to another possible song, so we'll see how that turns out. After that I was looking around online and and somehow discovered that She and Him are playing in Oslo in May. She and Him is a great indie act consisting of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel (the actress from Elf and 500 Days of Summer). Their first album is great and their new one comes out on Tuesday, so I previewed a few of their new songs, thought that they were great, and bought tickets for the show haha So although the day started off pretty boring it ended up pretty sweet. I just came back from a late night walk and the brisk air felt great. Now off to work with that new song :) I miss everyone a ton and really can't wait to see everybody again.

:)

Things are fantastic :)

An Amazing Show

Last night I had the opportunity to see The Antlers in Concert, and it was absolutely fantastic. On the website, it said that the doors opened at 8, so my friend Jo and I made sure to be there on time, but when we got there the doors were locked. After talking to a guy inside we found out that the doors didn't open until 9. We ended up going to a cafe near Blå (the venue where the band was playing) and had a kebab, which was delicious. At 9, Jo and I made our way to Blå to stand amongst the other spectators. Blå is a really neat venue. The outside is covered with insane graffiti and it wasn't too big, which made for a nice intimate concert.

The doors did indeed open at 9 and the opening act took the stage at 9:15. This is something I found to be absolutely amazing. Concerts in Norway are INCREDIBLY punctual. When they say the show starts at a certain time, they mean it, which is super nice considering no one wants to stand around for an extra 45 minutes before a show starts (like in Sioux Falls haha) Anyways, the first band, Sleep Party People, was from Copenhagen, Denmark and had been opening for The Antlers while they toured Scandinavia. I had no idea what to expect because they're name was not listed on the tickets, so I didn't get a chance to listen to them before the show...which made it even more exciting. The guys took the stage but when they got to their instruments, they put on these felt bunny masks that they had made. To be completely honest, it was a little creepy...that is until they started to play their music. There was a piano player/singer, a guitarist/keyboardist, a bassist/synth guy, and a drummer who played a drum pad. The music was very low-fi and ambient but the vocals added to their costumes. They used a vocoder making the vocals sound somewhat mechanical and high pitched...almost like a chipmunk, or in their case, how a rabbit would sound if it could sing. I really enjoyed their set, especially when they played some of their more upbeat songs because when they would move around, their bunny ears would flop to the beat haha I'm a sucker for merchandise at concerts so I ended up buying one of their cd's :)

The Antlers took the stage at about 10:15. Their album Hospice is a concept album, meaning each song tells a certain part of an overall story, so they played their entire album, which was epic. Although the album is pretty low key and quiet, it's a little deceiving in comparison to their live set. It was full of so much energy and passion and was pretty loud, which only added to the experience and caused me to have my fingers stuck in my ears for most of the set haha Their performance was incredible and they're a great band to see live. It's always great to listen to an amazing CD and then to see the band live and realize that they take it to a whole new level. That's why I love concerts so much. It's like a living breathing thing; an intimate moment shared with a group of people. After the show I bought a vinyl copy of their album Hospice, and as if I didn't have enough souvenirs, Jo snatched the set list from the stage and gave it to me hahaha

The concert was epic and it was quit a wonderful experience. Now all I have to do is figure out how I'm going to get all of this stuff back with me lol

Another chill weekend

Once again, Moss has proven to be quite a relaxing place. On Friday I went to a show at a local venue. The headliner was Marte Wulff and her opening act was Dyvene Kuløy. The show was great, very low key and chill, a great way to start the weekend.

Yesterday, I was craving a pølse med vaffler so I went downtown to see if the stand was set up. I had gotten there a little early so as they were setting up I went and did some light shopping. There's a great men's store right downtown called Kase. They had some really great stuff in there and I ended up walking out with an awesome tie :) As I waited for the waffles to be made, I grabbed a seat in a park bench and updated my journal. Dr. Hezlep, a former theater professor of mine, encouraged me to keep one when I first began Grad School. I ended up getting a very nice leather bound book from my mom's friend Vicki for my birthday that summer so with his advice and the extremely convenient birthday gift, I began documenting my journey. I should write in it more often but time flies and I always seem to get preoccupied by something going on in my life, but I update it whenever I can, causing the entries to be pretty long lol. After I finished journaling, I bought the famous pølse med vaffler, now for those of you who don't know what that is, allow me to explain. When it comes to food, the Norwegians know what they're doing :P "Pølse" is norwegian for sausage or hot dog and "Vaffler" means waffle, so basically it's a hot dog wrapped in the traditional norwegian heart shaped waffle...and it is absolutely delicious. I usually eat mine with ketchup but some eat theirs with "syltetøy" or jam. After my tasty treat, I sketched a street of downtown Moss in my journal. I haven't been sketching as often lately and I miss it. I feel like all of my creative energy is being spent on songwriting and photography, so I think I'm going to turn my attention to sketching for awhile. After a quick trip to the grocery store, I came back home, did some work, and wrote some poetry for my independent study class. I now have seven new poems that I've written while being here...just adding to the portfolio haha

Today has been pretty good so far. I got to sleep in and then I watched Little Shop Of Horrors hahaha took me back to Freshman year of High School :) We'll see what the rest of the day has to bring.

-Xavier

Today...

I went for a walk near the ocean and saw a jellyfish. Twas a good day haha

Moving with the current

This experience has broken me, challenged me, pushed me, and healed me. It's only been two and a half months but I feel a change within me, a positive change. When I first arrived here I was scared. I didn't know very many people and I didn't know my surroundings. I was forced to adjust and adapt, which is something that naturally happens over time, and during that time I've been able to think about who I am, where I want to go, and how I want to better myself...some self-reflection time :)

I am so grateful for this amazing experience because it taught me how to cope. I was taken out of the world I knew and thrust into a place I knew nothing about, and as scary as that was, I managed to get through because I realized that change is something that cannot be controlled. Life moves constantly and things are bound to change so instead of wearing yourself out by trying to force the wall of change from moving, it's much easier to move in the direction that change is going in. Not only do you save yourself from stressing out, but you encounter new and interesting things along the way. This trip has been filled with change. My life is much different now than it was before I left and I feel that it's a good thing because I've learned. Learned about myself, what I'm capable of achieving, and what exactly I've been missing out on. The last few months have been fairly rough, but it's been nothing that I couldn't handle. There were obstacles to move past and right now, I feel that I have finally made it through. I am a new man with new goals and ambitions. There are new people to meet and new places to see. I'm moving on but never forgetting. I'm moving in the direction of change...and I like where I'm going so far.

All Mixed Up

I'm currently sitting at the apartment listening to "All Mixed Up" by 311, going back to my musical roots :) The weekend has been very chill thus far and I'm extremely grateful. I've gotten in some quality guitar time and I'm caught up with the new Season of The Office courtesy of my mom haha

It's hard to believe that my stay here is already half over. Norway has been incredibly good to me and I'll be forever grateful.

Not much to report here, but things are good. Been making breakthroughs in life and enjoying the ride.

Nick Hexum says, "You got to trust your instinct and let go of regret. You got to bet on yourself now star, cuz that's your best bet."

I can see Spring

The sun is blazing, the snow is melting, and I can feel Spring right around the corner. I went to do some errands today and it was the first day here in Norway where I felt like my coat was making me too hot :) I'm really excited to see some warmer weather here and to see what Norway looks like when it's not blanketed in snow.

As most of you know, music tends to rule my life. Last night I was listening to The Ocean by Mae and the song just felt like it summed up my day. So I've decided to pick an "Anthem Of The Day." A song that may describe how I'm feeling or just one that I enjoy. I'm going to run with this for as long as I can and see where it goes. Yesterday was The Ocean and today is "Blue And Gold Print" by Mates Of State.

I've written and recorded another song making my new total 9. I'm really looking forward to putting some kind of album together with these songs and I hope they go over well. The songs are a bit different from the previous stuff I've written. Magpie, Willow Tree, Revelations, and We're Alright are songs that tell a fictional story. They may represent how I was feeling at the time but the stories have nothing to do with me, which was different for me because I'm so used to writing about the things that happen in my life. The Richest Man, Thank You Nostalgia, Red Paper Heart, Memory, and All I Ask are more personal songs. These are like markers that tell about certain places in my life over the last 8 months. There's been some highs and lows but music has always been there to help me get through. Jim Morrison once said, "We hide ourselves in our music to reveal ourselves." and I couldn't agree more.

Where is my mind?

It's hard to get work done when emotions are high. My mind tends to wander and I find myself having to re-read things or just take a break to clear my mind. It's nice to have things to preoccupy me because it helps me from thinking about certain emotions but these emotions need to be dealt with. By putting them off things will just build up and spill over so I've been trying to balance the two...getting work done, just thinking about things, and learning how to deal with the changes in my life.

I keep writing that I'm moving on in life, and I am. I'm seeing new places, meeting new people, and experiencing a journey that has opened my eyes, but that does not mean that I am forgetting who I am, where I come from, and the people in my life. I've been trying really hard to be vague in some of these entries but sometimes it's difficult. There are times I want to say certain things but I don't want to fill this blog with my emotional baggage because I like to keep some of my emotions private, but there has been something on my mind and this seems to be the only way to get my thoughts across so here's a snipit of a new song I'm working on.

"I want to talk but I don't know if you'll listen. So I'll wait as long as it takes, but every passing hour tells me that it's just too late. The ticking of the clock is callous laughter in my face. I'm not looking for sympathy because I know that I've hurt so all I want is empathy, that may seem like a lot, but it's all I ask."

The more I play it the better I feel. So, here's to healing, understanding, the future, past, and present, and to new life journeys.