After work yesterday, I went to grab a quick bite to eat before heading down to Massey Hall. It was a warm, summer day. The temperature must have been at around 26°C. It was a lovely night to be out.

I parked across from Ryerson University. I talked to a night school student in the elevator. She was telling me that she didn't want to go to class. She wanted to enjoy the sunshine. I told her that you sacrifice a bit to get more. She'll have plenty of sunny days to enjoy. She liked that, even though it sounds rather corny.

Since I was rather early, I walked around the area. I visited HMV and spent roughly half an hour looking at CDs. It would have been a lot longer, but I was sweating to death in there. It kills me that records (or vinyl, as that seems to be the hip term to use) are at least $27 at HMV. I still recall getting a full-length record for $13.99 many moons ago. When CDs came out, folks dropped records like a hot potato. Now, records are becoming... err, trendy? Funny how things like that work out. Kind of like bell-bottomed pants...

I visited TallCrest and drooled over all the shoes I'd like to have. It was like being in heaven... shoe heaven.

So, I walked to Massey Hall and realized that I had left the tickets in the car. So, I walked back to the parking lot to get them and to come back. This was ten minutes before the show was to start.

Memories of Massey Hall came back to me. The last time I was there, I was a performer. I sang there in a Toronto-wide celebration of music when I was in grade 8. I still recall the row in which I sat when I wasn't singing on stage. The seats still do that strange backward-forward movement. It was a bit stuffy in there at first, but it got much cooler. Nothing in that joint has changed.

Opening for Joss Stone was Raul Midon, a wonderful singer-musician from New Mexico. He inspired me last night. He does a mean vocal trumpet. His voice is amazing. He is one gifted guitarist. I didn't realize he was blind until he told us. Funny, but I was telling a colleague earlier in the day about Jason Mraz. Raul Midon, coincidentally, recently opened for him on a tour. Anyway, I'm planning on getting his new CD, which comes out next Tuesday, the same day as Coldplay's.

Surprisingly, the audience was an older crowd. I seemed young in my section, which was weird.

She seems like a sweet kid. Her microphone stand had a pink scarf cascading down it. She came out wearing a cropped, ripped t-shirt, low-rise jeans, and without any shoes on. She has such a rich, soulful sound.

Joss is a hoot to see live. She jumped on and off stage a few times to make people stand on their feet, tossed flowers at folks, got a lighter for her slow song (she had trouble with the first one, so she got another one from a fan), and danced with everyone in the audience. She obviously loves people. It was refreshing to see.

She giggled a lot. Folks in the next section kept yelling stuff out to her, which made her laugh and caused her to lose her concentration. It was cute. I like her. She's got a laidback attitude. I can identify with that.

We sang along to her cover of the White Stripes' "Fell in love with a girl," and clapped along when she was singing "Super duper love (are you diggin' on me?)". The acoustics at Massey Hall aren't that great. That hasn't changed either. When she said that she was going to sing the former song, I think she joked and asked, "I know you sing this every day in the shower." It was a weird crowd. Very few folks laughed. I did, though. I laugh a lot.

She sang a couple of new songs. She first sang "Don't know how," and pointed out the songwriter who was in the audience. She also sang "Right to be wrong." Wonderful.

The finale was terrific. She sang "You had me", "Spoiled," and did one heck of a job covering "Some kind Of wonderful." She got two standing ovations. The second time, she came back on stage before her band did. She joked and said she couldn't sing, for her band wasn't there to help her out.

I took a number of photos throughout the evening. At one stage, I had my camera up for a bit. The security guy thought I was filming and came over. Nope, I was adjusting the focus, but ended up listening to Joss and watching her performance through my camera's window. I told him that. He was okay with my explanation.

I'm glad I got to see her. I wasn't disappointed at all. It was a sold-out show, too.

So, I broke an old tradition. I did not buy a t-shirt after the show. Instead, I walked around a bit and then headed to my car. I broke another habit. I didn't take the highway home after the show. I decided to take the side streets home instead. It was a clear, warm night. I wanted to say out there as long as I could.

Naturally, I paid the price of doing so today. I could barely get myself out of bed. However, I was full of energy after an hour had elapsed.

Work was fine. I continued working on the website. Nothing new to report.

Compliance woman (CW) and I went out for lunch. We hit our happy place to have sushi. She's a good person. She reads me well. I found coconut-flavoured peanuts at the store and immediately grabbed a bag. She told me to treat myself, that I treat others nicely that I don't take the time to do something nice for myself. I did. I also got single portions of tiramisu and chocolate mousse cake.

CW told me that the newest project coordinator (PC) has been making a stink about how long folks are out for lunch. I swear that if he does that with me, that I'll have a few choice words to say to him. I literally force myself to go out each afternoon and take a break. I've taken lunch twice this week. I work hard. The last thing I need is a colleague to be a time nazi.

To clarify, his complaint wasn't aimed at me. He had read that reply to the vice president that I had written a few weeks back. I think he knows not to mess with me. Rather, he was complaining to our boss about the new compliance guy. Compliance guy doesn't take more than an hour for lunch. There's nothing wrong with that. He's a good worker so far.

Compliance guy and I get along well. We both drink water. We both love Altimas. He's a cheerful guy. He doesn't annoy me. Life is good.

It was another warm, sunny day outside. Chatting outside with a number of folks this afternoon, the production manager (DJ) decided to go under one of the flaps of a huge garbage bin nearby and have it rest on his head. He then said to the shorter shipping guy, who was also underneath this flap, that he was "keeping it up for him." The president's wife told him that his wording was rather bad. DJ replied, "Whatever turns you on." I couldn't resist and replied, "That's the problem. It does nothing for us." Everyone around me laughed.

Seriously, I think that I had upset DJ yesterday. He told the president's wife today what we had said to each other yesterday afternoon. I was there. She laughed. He told me that he didn't mean it that way, that he wanted me to come out and enjoy the sun and that he was trying to be nice. I apologized to him. I felt bad. So bad, that I gave him my chocolate mousse.

He doesn't need to try being nice. He is genuinely nice. I feel I need to apologize to him in private. I'm nearly back to my normal self, but I'm different now. I say things now that I used to hold back blurting out. He has obviously noticed that and is on the receiving end on a number of them. I do need to bite my tongue like I used to.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. I'm pooped.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Joss Stone's "Super duper love (are you diggin' on me?)"
Yummy food eaten today: Sushi
What I crave: Iced cappuccino

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