I went to the Alanis Morissette concert last night. I left work a bit past 17:05, and actually opened the door so that the president's stepdaughter could get in. The side door automatically locks after 17:00. She was grateful. I joked and said that I felt so used. She giggled.

Standing in the middle of the parking lot was the production manager (DJ). It was difficult to determine if he was staying or leaving. Anyway, with my windows rolled down to air out my heated car, I heard him yell out, "Goodnight, Watty!" I think I said, "See ya," and continued to get myself over to the Shops on 404 to pick up my friend.

Traffic along Steeles Avenue East, around the 404, is horrible. I'm sure that I was on that shallow bridge for a good ten minutes. Anyway, I arrived ten minutes late, but my friend (formerly my favourite manufacturing colleague) was standing in front of Sears dressed all in white. It was nice.

She likes to talk to me. A lot. She's comfortable with me, for she knows that I understand what she's saying most of the time and it gives her a chance to practice her English. She joked, citing that most folks don't have the patience to figure out what's she's trying to convey. I don't think that's true, though.

So, we ended up going all the way down Don Mills, which ultimately becomes Pape, and then Carlaw. It's one of my favourite routes to take when I have to avoid the DVP, but still get downtown. She liked the drive. We got to do a bit of sightseeing in the process.

We parked around the St. Lawrence area and ended up grabbing a bite to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory. It's odd that I've lived in Toronto for a good part of my life and, including last night, had only been there twice. I've been to the ones in Winnipeg and Minneapolis a lot more. The food was fine. I had spaghetti and meatballs, which I love. The meatballs are nice and the portions are just right. She had spicy sausage with penne, which looked really good. I had a craving for a rum and coke, and got my fix there, too.

It was nice seeing her again and listening to what she has been up to. She's happy. I can tell. She's like a giddy teenager when she's in a good mood. It's cute.

After dinner, we walked over to the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts. It was my second visit there. Unfortunately, I had to check in my camera. I really should have slipped it in my pocket or something. Oh well.

My friend helped me pick out an Alanis shirt to purchase. It's black with a nice, colourful picture of her on the front. All her tour dates were on the back. I didn't realize that she decided to kick off her tour in T.O. She asked me which Jason Mraz CDs I owned from the ones that were displayed on the table. I told her every one, except for his newest one that hasn't been released yet. She seemed impressed.

While driving down there (yes, my thoughts are all over the map right now), she asked how often I went to concerts. This week has been rather unusual for me. I've been to three concerts in a week. We both laughed at that. I give a funny impression to others. Folks think that I'm always reading or studying. I do like a bit of fun mixed in, too. It keeps me sane.

My friends are a constant reminder of what I'm like. She has this childlike perspective and a sense of wonder about everything. I'm kind of like that, too.

We sat up in the balcony. It was roughly the same place where I had seen R.E.M. late last year. The view was wonderful.

We had a minute to spare before Jason Mraz walked onto the stage. He introduced his percussionist, Toca, to the audience. My friend told me after the first song that Jason sounds like a girl. Yes, he can hit the high notes well, with a touch of soul added in for good measure.

Jason was wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt, jeans (I recall him knocking his knees together when he was strumming away on his acoustic guitar), sneakers, and a brownish cap. He sang "The remedy (I won't worry)," which drove primarily the female persuasion to scream and chant, "We love you, Jason!" The crowd sang like a choir. We were asked to sing, "I won't worry my life away," repeatedly as he sang and conjured up brilliant lyrics effortlessly and on-the-fly. Brilliant.

At one stage, he threw in his take of "Where is the love," which made me melt. I love when artists do covers as if they had written it originally. He sang that from song the heart.

Behind the two gentlemen were four signs. They spelled out M R A Z, but it cleverly displayed as M R. A-Z, which happens to be the name of his new CD. He said, "Ay to zee," but instantly realized that he was in Canada. To appease us, he said zed. Cute.

He also sang "You and I both" and his new single, "Did you get my message?" I think I'm going to like his new album.

When his thirty minutes were sadly up, he and Toca ripped the letters behind them down, and the letters displayed were T O C A. Clever couple of guys, I tell you.

Intermission came and left, for my friend and I were busy chatting away. She told me that I think that everyone at my workplace is nice to me because I'm nice to everyone in the first place. Folks have no choice but to be nice back. That's her theory.

She told me that when we both have more vacation days, that she'd take me to China. Wow, you don't know how touched I was. She actually trusts me so much that she wants to bring me over to Shanghai to meet her family and take me around her country.

The place went dark. All you could see on stage was a small side table with incense burning and a lamp on it. Out walked Alanis. Cheers ensued. She started singing "Your house" a capella. At times, I though my ears were starting to ache when her voice got stronger during that number, but it was done nicely. The black curtain behind her dropped down after she had finished, revealing a cozy atmosphere behind her. Small carpets were on the stage. There were sofas scattered around, with her five-piece band (three guitarists, a keyboardist, and a drummer) behind her. There were two square windows towards the back, which beamed pictures of her, her dog, and some nature shots, too (raindrops gliding down the glass, for instance).

I didn't know what to expect. I've never seen her in concert. Her songs were redone tastefully for her acoustic tour.

It was quite an interactive evening. One person yelled out, "Where's Ryan?" She picked up a framed picture of him on that small table and said, "Here he is... he's coming."

At another point, someone else asked her, "What are you drinking?" "It's tea." She wanted to say that it was whiskey, but she couldn't lie to us.

She, too, sang song after song. My friend looked over and asked if I knew every since Alanis song. Pretty close, I must admit. She did a tasteful version of her dance hit, "Too hot," which sadly, I remember how that went when it was first out and was being played on the radio. It was fun. She said right before she sang it, "For those sixteen-year-old days..."

I was pleased that she sang "Sister blister," for I like that song a lot.

It was an enjoyable night to hear her sing. I think you appreciate her lyrics more each time you listen to her music. I liked the acoustic spin to everything. It was refreshing to me. Perhaps others might think otherwise, but it did the trick for me.

Her dog came on stage, too. She took his leash off and carried him in her arms, saying, "This is my son. I think he looks more like Ryan!"

"Ironic" got a huge response. Mind you, a lot of her songs from Jagged little pill did. She changed the lyrics a bit, singing, "It's meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful husband." It was unexpected, but it was cool.

Alanis got two standing ovations. I asked my friend when the show was over if she had enjoyed going to her first concert since her move to Canada. She did. I could tell. She laughed and clapped enthusiastically after every song that was sung last night by both Jason and Alanis.

I quickly jotted down the songs she had performed last night. I hope I got this right:

Setlist:
Your house
You learn
Right through you
Perfect
Sister blister
Ironic
Forgiven
Head over feet
Hand in my pocket
Mary Jane
All I really want
Hands clean
Wake up

Encore 1:
Not the doctor
Too hot
You oughta know

Encore 2:
Everything

Interestingly enough, I'm not sure if I got the encore breaks correctly. I was distracted by talking to my friend a bit. Normally, I keep quiet during a concert, to soak up everything. She had questions, so I answered them along the way.

After the show, I went to pick up my camera, and then I drove her home. She's a chemistry genius in my mind. She is, however, bad when it comes to her sense of direction. I have never been to her new home, but she had pointed out her backyard at a major intersection. I just turned in and asked if this was where she lived. She initially said no. Twice. Then, she didn't realize that the way I had driven to her house was even faster than her method of doing so. Just lucky, I suppose.

She makes me laugh. She grabbed my jean jacket from the backseat and wore it. "Watty, you have long arms!" She's above average for a Chinese woman height-wise. She told me that she seems so short when she walks next to me.

After I dropped her off at her home, I then went to fill my car up with gas. At roughly 23:35, gas was going for 78.5 cents a litre. I then headed home. Waiting on my cellphone was a message from my friend's husband, asking if she was with me. He must have left it minutes before she had stepped through the door.

Well, I promised her that next time, we (that is, my friend, her husband, and I) will all go out to see a concert. The couple rarely goes out. There's so much to see. There's more to life than working like crazy.

Tomorrow, I'll talk more about today and tomorrow. I'm tired now. Bye!

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Song that's stuck in my head: Alanis Morissette's "Sister blister"
Yummy food eaten today: Pizza
What I crave: Water

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