Whew.

I showed off my holiday photos at work on Friday, before rushing off to meet Chris at the library to embark on our seven hour journey across the North Island. We only just missed the curfew at Mystery Creek, but we were fortunate to have accomodation in nearby Cambridge for Friday night. We set out for Parachute early on Saturday morning to make it for morning worship.

The weather was fantastic on Saturday, with a light breeze and plenty of cloud cover to shelter us from the blazing sun. It was still very warm but pleasantly so, unlike many Parachute weekends before. Nevertheless, I made the most of the heat and purchased two Danish ice creams that day. Awesome.

Saturday night's big line up included the eccentric Family Force Five and the popular Switchfoot, before the birthday celebrations of the 20th Parachute festival began. There were free drinks and ice creams, fireworks, lots of singing and dancing, and the atmosphere was wild and electrifying. We decided to skip Underoath for Nathan King in the Palladium, a decision I did not regret after hearing some feedback about the type of music Underoath play.

And then on Sunday morning...it began. The rain came and drenched the entire campsite, causing some minor floods. Fortunately, none of the tents took on major water, but the huge inconvenience of having everything soaking wet was a pain. We attended morning worship armed with umbrellas, and retreated hastily to the tents after the sermon.

We only emerged later for Late 80s, and they were fantastic - finally playing some songs I knew (I'm Yours <3333) as well as some classics like Zoot Suit Riot and Living on a Prayer. It was still raining at the end of Late 80s, so we congregated in one tent and played Mafia (YAY) until dinner time, when we equipped ourselves with wet-weather gear once more and headed to the mainstage for the epic Sunday night show.

And epic it was. The rain cleared slightly, allowing us to enjoy such acts as Steve Apirana who was clearly the most unexpected outstanding musician that weekend. As the Parachute Band took stage again, the rain intensified and the crowd began to diminish, but the strong endured until Hillsong United appeared on stage.

I was pretty sulky all this time because I didn't really know many of the songs, and I'm not the biggest fan of Hillsong songs because of the repetition, and it was pouring wet and I was cold. But as Joel Houston began singing... "A thousand times I've failed", I stood to my feet, defying the wind and the rain (and the lightning) and joined the crowd in singing From The Inside Out.

It was epic.

There is something about singing at the top of your voice with a thousand-strong crowd in stormy weather. I can't think of any other word to describe it. It was epic. The adrenaline of standing against the elements of nature coupled with the power of the song and the resonance of the crowd...simply epic.

We were blessed to have a fine day on Monday to pack up our gear. We had lunch at the infamous 4th-form-camp Burger King where I unexpectedly met somewhere whom I have not seen in eight years, before departing for our seven hour journey back to Wellington.

When I look back over the weekend's events, I think of how there are so many people who are ten years younger than me, I think of the crazy messages you hear from speakers, I think about the excessive choruses that worship bands sing and of course the retarded weather.

But despite all of this, I had a really good time. Thanks for a great weekend, Parachute.

Wishing you Gong Xi Fa Cai in the year of the Ox!

I just got back from Parachute 09, after a mammoth seven hour car ride from Mystery Creek, Hamilton. It was an absolutely fantastic weekend, full of sunshine, friends, fellowship and worship. I saw the likes of Late 80's Mercedes, Luke Thompson, Dave Dobbyn, Nathan King, David Crowder, Kutless and Casting Crowns. Saturday night was full of excitement and adrenaline, and Sunday night was full of praise, worship and fun.

Definitely one of the better Parachute events I've been to - looking forward to the big 20th Birthday Bash next year!

PS: Photos to come.

Edit: Been having some weird server config issues that locked me out of the admin panel. Anyway, photos are up.

Hmm yes, I haven't blogged in a while. I've been quite busy, and lazy at the same time (How I've achieved that, I don't know).

Let's see. Since I last blogged *checks* last Friday, I've had a nice farewell from the youth at Western Springs, complete with Burgerfuel and Chocolate Scrabble; I went out for dinner with my CompSci friends and play Guitar Hero; I had a good last crack at the piano at church on Sunday; I've LAN'd enough for the next couple of weeks; I helped Mat move into his new flat with five med school students; I went to play Poker with Jono, Nat, Richard, Andrew and Mat; I had dinner with my family at the Viaduct for Dad's birthday.....and I have..uhm..begun packing. Yes. Packing.

I've seriously put packing off for so long. Bleh. I should be alright though. I still have practically all of Tuesday, and the big things need to be packed into the van on Tuesday anyway. I also need to pack for Parachute which is in...uhm..6 hours.

Oh yes, I got a damned Vodafone. Ask me for my number, I'm not giving it out over my blog. However, you can check my Profile page for my Credit Card number :O!