I'm kind of sleepy today. I'm alert, but I didn't sleep all that much last night. I got home just before midnight, fell asleep before 01:00 and got up before 04:00 to drive my friend from Winnipeg to the airport. I then went home and slept lightly for a couple of hours. I need coffee. It's rare for me to call coffee a necessity. Compliance woman (CW) gave me a bag of jasmine tea. I think it has some caffeine. I think I need six bags of the stuff to get me to a normal level.

Having done rotating shifts for three years straight quite some time ago, I had forgotten how much I love driving around in the wee hours of the morning. Sure, both the collector and express lanes of the 401 were closed in different spots due to construction, which made switching back and forth driving on them to be a tad of a nuisance, but I got there in less than twenty minutes. It was great. I said goodbye and suggested that he not take the first flight out of town the next time he visits the city.

Work was good yesterday. I helped CW with a small spreadsheet assignment. It was fun, although it took up an hour of our time.

My colleagues at work seem interested in figuring out what I do on my lunch breaks. First, it was the moocher, asking where I was going. My standard these days is simply that I'm going out. Sometimes, I'll form a sentence and say, "I'm going out for lunch."

I quietly walked past iPod boy's (DJ) office. I didn't say a word. He has that sharp eye. He initiated the conversation. It happens once in a blue moon.

"Is that Watty?"
"Yep, it's me," I said, as I walked back to his office door.
"Are you going for lunch?"
"Yep," I said
"Where are you going?"
"Out," I replied.
"What are you getting me?"
"I don't know,"
I said. DJ pouted for a moment. I giggled.
"What do you want from the outside world?" I asked.

He never answered that question. Rather, he showed me that he needed to update the building's floor plan, but didn't have a soft copy of it. He only had photocopies. He drew in some shelves that needed to be added to the plan itself. He wanted to know if I could help him. He didn't say that in so many words, but I can tell when he's about to ask for some assistance. I said that I'd think about it. He told me to go out and enjoy my lunch. We'd talk later.

I picked up my friend from Winnipeg and took him to a nearby Quiznos. We split an angus beef sub. Yummy. I then dropped him off and went back to work.

Towards the end of the day, I walked through a set of doors. DJ was chatting to a sales guy, but did manage to glance over. He wanted to talk, but I didn't want to interrupt his conversation. I just went to my desk, got my stuff, and headed out the door. By the time I had started my car and was driving out of the lot, DJ walked several feet in front of me and saw me. I didn't think that he wanted to talk there, but he did.

"Hey, what about that floor plan?" he asked as I was turning the corner. I stopped. I backed up. Politely, he said, "You don't have to back up." He was walking over to my car.

So, we talked. He's going to scan the plan for me and I'll then make the additions. We said goodnight to each other, with my driving off and with his looking at my car, almost making sure that I was okay driving out of the lot. It was kind of sweet in an interesting way.

I picked up my friend and we headed downtown. He finds it entertaining to be a passenger when I'm driving. He particularly enjoys when I fear for my life and tell really horrible drivers that their driving skills suck. I filled up at a gas station on Richmond Street. Gas was at 121.1 cents a litre. I had to fill up. My gas tank was pretty close to being empty.

We parked at one of my favourite lots. We then visited Le Bifthèque once again. I had sirloin with shrimp. He had the same dish we had there a few days ago. I told him that service was fast and that I was out of there the last time in 45 minutes. Yesterday was no different.

With grub safely in our stomachs, we walked to the Air Canada Centre. It was an older crowd for the concert, as I had expected. We walked in and got our t-shirts. I got a white t-shirt this time. I have way too many black ones, and the ones for sale last night that were black did not appeal to me.

Elton John played his second sold-out show last night. He started promptly at 20:00. There was no opening act. He plainly was all you needed to see. He wore red shoes, black pants with what looked like a flower motif, a long, black coat with the same flower motif on the back, and a white shirt underneath.

He started off with a number of songs from his Peachtree road CD, which is also the name of his tour. He dedicated "Porch swing in Tupelo" to those affected by hurricane Katrina. He said that he was extremely proud of his new CD. He had to invite the gospel choir members who were on his CD to go on tour. I'm glad he did. They were wonderful.

Elton was backed by his five-man band. There were two uneven screens (as far as their heights go) behind him that were kind of split in two, with enough of a break for the folks behind him to look down on the stage. Yes, it was a packed house.

He likes Toronto. He explained that he has been to Toronto on and off for nearly thirty-five years. His fiancé happens to be from Toronto and he has recorded several songs in this city, too. Anyway, I thought it was nice that he talked about being drug and alcohol-free for fifteen years now, but wrote about how he felt about his financé. "My elusive drug" was poignant.

His piano-playing was mesmerizing. It was nice seeing him straddle his piano stool every so often. He stretched out briefly on top of his piano during "The bitch is back." He signed autographs when he came out for his first encore. He did his trademark raising of his right eyebrow on numerous occasions while singing.

He has an excellent rapport with the audience. He introduced "They call her the cat" by saying that it was about "a sex change. Not that I've had one... yet. Good publicity stunt, though."

His performance of "Rocket man" blew me away. The concert got better and better. He went three solid hours singing and playing. His stamina is second to none.

He talked about how it was a huge highlight in his career to have worked with Ray Charles, in Toronto, two months before he passed on. He then sang "Sorry seems to be the hardest word," the song that Elton had rerecorded with him.

The choir came back on stage to sing "Levon" and a few other songs that followed. The audience sang along to "Saturday night's alright (for fighting)," which was fun. I loved the encores, too. There were very few people who weren't standing up towards the end of the show. Well, except for the older woman next to me, who managed to squeeze in a brief nap.

The best part was seeing a woman, probably in her late 70's, accompanied by two younger folks who assisted her to her seat. I hope that when I'm her age, that I have that spirit and determination to see a show.

Elton John
September 7, 2005
Air Canada Centre
Set list

Weight of the world
Porch swing in tupelo
Answer in the sky
Turn the lights out when you leave
My elusive drug
They call her the cat
Freaks in love
All that I'm allowed
Pinball wizard
Bennie and the jets
Daniel
Take me to the pilot
Rocket man
I guess that's why they call it the blues
Tiny dancer
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
Funeral for a friend / Love lies bleeding
Are you ready for love
Philadelphia freedom
Sad songs (say so much)
Levon
Don't let the sun go down on me
I'm still standing
The bitch Is back
Saturday night's alright (for fighting)

Encore
Crocodile rock

Second encore
Your song

Anyway, I'm extremely tired. Bye.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Elton John's "I'm still standing"
Yummy food eaten today: Steak and shrimp
What I crave: Music

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