I have completed my mission for today. I have successfully made banana muffins with a crumbly cinnamon-nutmeg topping. I think they turned out pretty well. As soon as they cool down a bit, my mom will be the judge of them. After all, it is her recipe.

I've said this previously, but I'm more of a baker than a cook. Flipping through brownie recipes gets me all enthusiastic about making baked goods. I think it helped to spend so much time in the kitchen with my mom when I was younger. I'd be mixing ingredients for a cake or something in a huge bowl. I wasn't quite big enough to stand up and do it on the kitchen counter, so I mixed by placing the bowl on the floor and doing it from there.

Anyway, my day started at 10:00. I love sleeping in. The trouble is that I have to resume my normal 07:00 wake-up time tomorrow, which won't be an easy task to accomplish.

So, I picked up my friend last night to head out for dinner. We had both agreed to seek out a sushi joint, and thought of going back to the same restaurant we last frequented last January. Well, to our surprise, there was renovating going on. Being resourceful, she suggested going to Gonoe, a Japanese sushi restaurant next door. We split a platter with sushi, sashimi, and maki. It was very good.

After dinner, we headed down to the Molson Amphitheatre. Unfortunately, I took Pape Avenue, and ended up having to detour due to the Taste of the Danforth event. Now, I should try that out next year. It's the heart of Greektown, where I'm sure that I can sample lots of yummy goodies. Anyway, I wasn't too impressed by the road closure setup. Sure, you can't exactly close the street down, for buses need to get to and from the subway station. However, there should have been some sort of detour sign well in advance. Oh well. We probably lost a few minutes, but it was fine.

Parking wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I paid $15 to park across from the venue. It was one of those use-your-credit-card-only lots, which was fine. The walk was nice, as I love water. There's a coolness about being by water that makes me feel at home. Maroon 5 seemed to be on stage while we were making our way over.

My friend had brought a number of promotion CDs with her to pass out. Apparently, besides the Molson Amphitheare not allowing bottled water into the place, it also doesn't allow CDs. They don't want folks using them as frisbees, hitting any of the acts on stage. Whatever, folks. Sure, smokers can bring their lighters and matches into the place. They can't harm anyone. Nothing like someone accidentally lighting up the stage... literally...

So, Maroon 5 wasn't bad. It's not like I'll dash out and buy the band's CD just yet, but I was entertained by their music. Lots of teeny boppers and older folks there. The mix of folks there was weird.

I appreciate seeing concerts with my friend, because we both have the same philosophy. We go there to listen to the acts. We don't scream and try to deafen each other just for kicks. I was lucky that there weren't screamers to either side of me. I only had to worry about the screamers behind me. My friend only tortures me in the car, when she attempts to do covers of her favourite songs. Nope, it's not like she'll ask me if I'd like to hear her singing. It comes out of her. It's painful, but I can always seek help once my medical benefits at work kick into gear.

John Mayer came on stage perhaps at around 21:00, wearing a blueberry polo t-shirt with two white buttons on the front, and another two on each corner of his collar. He had a white crewneck shirt underneath. The sleeves of his polo t-shirt weren't quite long enough to cover his tattoos on either arm, and you could seem them wanting to be displayed to the world as he was playing up a storm. He had a pair of stonewashed jeans with small rips here and there. Sneakers completed his casual look.

Yes, he is Mr Eye Candy to me. I enjoy listening to him sing. I even appreciate him more as a musician. Sure, folks say that he makes funny faces when he's on stage playing away on one of his numerous guitars. He gets into it when he plays, content to be playing in his little guitar world, whether folks are watching him or not. It's a pleasure to see and hear him play. It was definitely worth seeing him a second time this year.

My favourite moment of the show was when one of his bandmates came up behind him and played his guitar, and Mr Eye Candy reached behind his back to play his bandmember's. Very cool.

He wasn't as chatty last night as when I had last seen him in March. I think that his cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (slight return)" made up for it. It was perfect.

So, I can now say that I've been to the Molson Amphitheatre. It was fine. It wasn't stuffy. There was lots of legroom. I was happy. The show ended a few minutes shy of 23:00. Traffic was busy, as expected. The Gardiner-DVP wasn't bad heading east and then north. It was a fine evening. I did get a John Mayer t-shirt. There wasn't much selection, but it's a ritual that I've had for years to get something at a show.

I took the setlist off John Mayer's journal:

Clarity
Why Georgia
New deep
My stupid mouth
Split screen sadness
Wheel
Wait until yomorrow
Voodoo child (slight return) (Jimi Hendrix cover)
Come back to bed
Only heart
No such thing
Old love (Eric Clapton cover)
Your body is a wonderland
Bigger than my body

Encore:
Tracing (a new song)
Daughters
Back to you

I probably slept better last night, knowing that I had spent a good evening with John... ha!

A new week has arrived, which means a new Unconscious Mutterings to do:

1. Sting:: Bee
2. BMW:: Car that I can't afford
3. Jeremy:: I'm a bear called... (kids show years back)
4. Audacious:: Bold
5. Drag Queen:: Transformation
6. Title:: Page
7. Stamp:: Postage
8. Bad:: Company
9. Snow White:: Seven Dwarfs
10. Delegate:: Assign

I'll do today's Daily Dirt while I'm at it:

1. Do you think that secrets are OK?
   It depends on how serious the secret is. If it's planning for a birthday party, then that's okay. If it's about someone hiding the fact that he or she has been abused in the past, then it's neither healthy, nor okay.

2. Can you keep a secret?
   Yes. I'm pretty good at such things.

3. Do you have a secret that no one knows about?
   Sure. There are a couple that will go down to the grave with me.

4. Have you ever kept a secret from your best friend?
   Yes.

5. Have you ever blabbed a really important secret?
   Nope. I accidentally did so back in grade seven about my friend to her friend, but that wasn't considered to be an important secret to any of us.

The air has that smell of rain. I want to fall asleep.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get to a grocery store after work and pick up some ingredients to make chili in my trusty slow cooker. I haven't used it for nearly two months now. The withdrawal symptoms are getting stronger with each passing day.

I spent yesterday removing the TV converter box yesterday. So, instead of using three different remotes to switch on the TV, use the VCR, and change cable channels, it's now down to two. It works well thus far. I have one more transition stage with it to do. Not bad for someone like me who's winging this procedure. My dad has lost the manuals for both the TV and VCR.

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Song that's stuck in my head: John Mayer's "My stupid mouth"
Yummy food eaten today: Beef curry with okra
What I crave: Chocolate-covered strawberries

Recent thoughts:
Readings, lights, and random thoughts - 2009-03-15
Thoughts about work, school, and peeps - 2009-03-09
Working from home and a mini life update - 2008-12-19
The weekend is here! - 2008-01-06
A new year - 2008-01-01