I've got a bit of catching up to do here. The weather in Toronto has been absolutely superb as of late. I've been out and about for a few days now that sitting in front of a computer for more than an hour seems almost foreign to me.

So, these thoughts pertain to events on Friday, with a bit of Saturday tossed in there.

On Friday, I walked into work. I must pass the production manager's office (a.k.a. DJ) to get to my desk. I thought it was a perfect time to see him. He had a large coffee from Tim Hortons on his desk, and he was munching on what seemed to be a sandwich. I walked right up to his desk and stood there. Not a peep came out of me. I couldn't say anything.

He looked up. He reads me pretty well these days. "What's wrong?"
"A lot. I need to sit down," proceeding to pull out a chair and plop myself down in it. It's a sign that I have something that's difficult for me to say. I had never sat down in his office until Friday morning. I actually stalled, too. I looked at this poker cassette tape that he had on his desk. That broke a bit of the conversation.

"Do you play?" he asked.
"Nope," I replied, which is kind of true. I tried learning with a bunch of folks I used to hang out with in Rochester, MN. We played for Hallowe'en candy and food. I haven't really played much since then.

So, I decided to go ahead and say what I had to say. I looked up at him. "I don't know where to start, really... if I've said anything mean or offensive to you within the last four weeks, I'm sorry."

Surprisingly, that felt good. Instantly.

Without hesitating, he said, "Watty, you have never said anything that has offended me."
"Even yesterday?" This was about the getting-it-up comment he had made, and how I had joked that it didn't do much for a number of women nearby, including me. I was kind of being mean to him in the process.
"Nope. I knew you were teasing me. It was an end-of-the-day joke. I was fine with that."
"And the day before that?" He had told me to come out and enjoy the sunshine, and then remarked that I was squinting. I told him that I had slanty eyes to begin with.
"I told the president's wife because we've been friends for a long time and I thought it would make her laugh, which it did."

Interesting. I wasn't really worried about my job or anything. I thought it might have upset him, considering that he seemed rather upset by it yesterday.

"Watty, I have never had a problem with you."
"Sometimes, I say things and they come out funny," I admitted.
"I'm not perfect, either," he admitted. "It's okay. I'm sorry you felt that you had to apologize."

I don't really know what we discussed next, but I had made the remark about publicizing something on the company website. He then joked and said, "Yes, those with slanty eyes need to be perfect."

I knew then that all was good. I felt like myself. Coincidentally, he was looking at iPods on the web again. We discussed FM transmitters. "What do you have again?" he asked. We compared our reception tests. He had taken his on a fishing trip and loves it. I've been to Pickering and back with mine. I like it. Well, he's still debating whether he wants to upgrade his fourth-generation iPod for an iPod Photo.

He then talked about eating the chocolate mousse cake that I had given him on Thursday. I asked him if he had liked it. He enjoyed it, but agreed with me that he should have left it in the fridge for a bit. He had asked me the day before if he could bring it home. He admitted on Friday that it was staring at him. He went to the lunch room, grabbed a fork, and ate it just after I had left his office.

Our conversation ended with DJ thanking me for a good chat. Whenever we talk about iPods, we have good chats. I'm glad. We wished each other a happy day. It's never bad chatting with him. I tend to feel better about things and about myself.

The weird thing was reading my horoscope in the Toronto Star yesterday:

With Venus in Cancer, your guardian angel can never been too far away. You are still reeling from all the implications and the complications that a recent drama has created. Drop your anxiety and any sense of misgiving. Be open to the idea that, ultimately, all is well.

It couldn't have been any more accurate.

Work was fine. I updated a number of booklets and responded to an e-mail that my manager had asked us to review. I've got more work on my plate. Yay.

At lunch time, eight of us went to an East Indian buffet place up the road. Three of us took on driving responsibilities. My colleague from Selkirk took the sales guy, the IT guy took the new project coordinator (PC) and my manager, and I took compliance woman (CW) and compliance guy in my car. Three silver cars zoomed out of the parking lot. I was the last car out of the lot. I kind of knew where I was going intersection-wise. This idea was sponsored by my manager.

Up the road, we could all see my manager flagging me down, telling me where to drive in. He's a good guy.

Compliance guy was looking at my Joss Stone CD in the back. Our personalities are similar. We're getting along just dandy these days.

The buffet was quiet. It was good, although the place that we went previously was much better. The ice cream at this place didn't taste like ice cream at all. CW did the taste test and it was inconclusive. She had started off with dessert. I politely told her that. She likes going out with me. She thinks I'm her food tour guide. She dropped everything and headed to the curry section.

I am such a slow eater. Everyone at the table came back with seconds. I was still working on my first. If we were eating spaghetti, I'd finish a lot faster. I can guarantee that.

After lunch, my manager sat in my car, and compliance guy sat in IT guy's car. All three of us agreed that the food was better at the other East Indian buffet that we had all visited previously. I then remarked that PC had five huge plates of food. My manager said that it was rather scary for a twenty-seven-year-old guy to have such a huge gut. He said that PC looked like a mini buddha. We laughed. PC has a tendency to wear his pants up high, and kind of looks like Peewee Herman, except without the funny hair.

After work, I headed to my music advisor's place (a.k.a. Mishie, my friend, and music enthusiast and expert). Victoria Park was packed. I got there a few minutes later than I had anticipated. She didn't seem upset by that, which was great.

She was sweet to give me a copy of Tyler Hilton's new CD, and squeezed in some Coldplay b-sides. We listened to the CD as we headed towards the Keg mansion and chatted.

After circling around the block again (she told me not to throw any food at her at the restaurant after she told me to take a lane that I shouldn't earlier, and I was good about that), we found the place and parked. She told me that there was a couple necking in the car next to mine. See, that's why I need to be a passenger in someone's car. I miss all that good stuff.

The Keg mansion is lovely. It's elegant. It's like 529 in Winnipeg, except that you get Keg prices that you can afford. Everything in there is tastefully done.

We both had drinks. She went with a long island iced tea (it looked yummy, I must confess) and I had an orange martini (hit the spot... my craving for orange alcoholic beverages continues). Funny, but that Keg doesn't toss in free salad with your meal. Maybe it is 529 in disguise...

We both ordered prime rib. I asked for asparagus instead of a potato item. Sometimes, a change-up is good. I had to have dessert. A chocolate brownie sundae is what I had, with Mish helping me out a bit.

It didn't take much to ask her to walk around the Yonge-Dundas area with me. She's cool that way, particularly when I suggested going to a music store or two. I wanted to visit H&M. That store is nice. It's bright, with three floors. I ended up getting a heart key chain. It looked like a cheap version of crystal. The heart is light pink. I also got Snoopy earrings. Three pairs. Cute.

We then headed up to HMV. Mish suggested many CDs that I should listen to. If I were a millionaire, I probably would have bought every CD she had suggested that night, for I trust her judgement (well, most... she has a thing for MC and B2M, but I won't reveal them here...) and she knows what I like, too. I ended up getting four CDs. I've listened to the Coldplay Speed of sound CD incessantly ever since.

We then visited Sam the Record Man. CD prices aren't as cheap as they were at HMV, but it's definitely worth going in there to browse.

It was good to see her again. We went months without seeing each other at one point, and I think we've dined together a couple of times within the last two months, maybe? I'm guessing. I'm so glad that we've snapped out of that cycle.

I went to the Erasure concert last night. I'll post my thoughts on that shortly.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Coldplay's "Proof"
Yummy food eaten today: Prime rib with shrimp and asparagus
What I crave: Another orange martini

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