There were a few snowflakes flying around this morning as I stared out the window. My entire family was up before 08:00 and noticed this. At least it was kind of sunny outside.

I seem to be getting to work later with each passing day. It was still early enough for me to nab a parking spot. That was great.

I spent the whole day working on a brochure for the sales department. A number of them are going on business trips starting tomorrow, so they want this brochure to be ready for distribution.

The sales guy behind me continues to annoy me. He started off my saying that there was an executive discussion about what the name of the new product should be. He said its new name to me, so that I could use it for the brochure. So, I jotted it down and continued to work. He then said that he'd forward the e-mail to me. I said that it wasn't necessary, that I had written it down. Moments later, he said that it was too late. He had sent it off to me. I told him that was fine and that I'd delete it. Either tell me the information and not send me the e-mail, or send me the self-explanatory e-mail and don't talk to me.

Unfortunately, I had to ask him a question about my diagram. He was helpful, but then he wanted to look at "the picture" that he had printed out the other day. I had to ask him which one. He had printed several of them. He then wasted good coloured ink to print the same picture out on our fancy new printer. That's fine, but I'm not going to use the competition's product in our sales brochure.

The sales guy probably has little to do. I was talking to the president's son. He physicially came between us and stared at what was on my monitor. Yes, it was the brochure that was up on my screen. It seems like he wants to know what I'm doing all the time.

Towards the end of the day, he came up to my monitor, looked at it, and then asked if he could see the "progress" I've made. I told him that he'd see it soon. I was writing up an e-mail, sending it out to him and his manager to review. He's not my boss. I don't need to check with him and submit status reports. He was worried that I wouldn't get it done because he was sitting on his butt with all the information. If it hadn't been for the vice president of sales and I discussing the fact that I hadn't received any information from this sales guy, I wouldn't have finished this brochure a day ahead of the tentative deadline.

iPod boy (DJ) wasn't in all day. I asked the receptionist if he was sick. She had no idea and she's the one who has to know the whereabouts of every employee. I hope he's okay. It was awfully quiet walking past his cubicle area today.

I went out for lunch with my former boss and compliance woman (CW). My former boss didn't bring lunch and his car is dead now. So, he asked if I could drive over to the local Chinese mall for food. I was game. He likes how I drive. CW thinks I'm a confident driver, but feels that everyone drives faster than she, including me. We had a good chat. For the office party, we're thinking of having all three of us and Selkirk guy at the same table. Cool.

After work, I drove downtown again. I parked in the same lot. The lot attendant recognizes me now. I paid, put the ticket in my car, locked everything, and then quickly headed towards the Eaton Centre. I had to find a washroom. It wasn't an emergency situation, but it would have been in another fifteen minutes.

It was getting windy as I walked towards the mall. I found a washroom. Four different stalls did not have toilet paper. It's essential to have stalls stocked with toilet paper, particularly the women's washroom. It's not a known fact at the Eaton Centre, I'm afraid.

I met my friend and we grabbed a quick bite to each there. We then headed out to HMV. The Pickle Barrel has reopened downtown. Cool. I'll have to dine in there sometime soon to check out the new digs.

The Live 8 DVDs are out now. The other day, I got the Toronto DVD, simply because Jann Arden was on the card and I didn't see any of the coverage on TV. I was doing my summer road trip and only heard snippets of the show on the radio in New Brunswick. I watched her performance first and then played it from the start. The volume fluctuated when I played the DVD. It flipped from being incredibly loud to a softer performance, as if I child were playing with the volume setting on the player.

Anyway, I got the four-CD set yesterday. I hope to see at least one of the DVDs this weekend. I also picked up a couple of CDs. I seem to be buying CDs every day.

We then walked to the local Esso station. I needed to get some cash. Gas was at 86.3 cents a litre. I had filled up yesterday at 84 cents a litre. For once, my timing to get gas for my car was perfect.

A guy was painting the outside of a store across the street. White paint. He looked cold.

We went back to my car to drop off my bag of goodies. The parking lot guy approached us and asked if the car next to mine was there earlier. Nope, it wasn't. Perhaps it didn't pay for parking? I don't know why he asked me that.

We both didn't have watches on our wrists. I tend not to bring my cellphone when I'm with friends. I leave it in my car. It's out of respect that I don't bring it to a restaurant. I don't need the extra distraction.

We visited the Eaton Centre and walked around for a bit. I looked at my digital camera and it was 19:35. We talked and then slowly walked towards Massey Hall. It was my second Jann Arden show this week. She's playing five nights in a row. I think she's got the stamina for it.

Bob Kemmis started the show, wearing a white shirt with black stripes running vertically and blue jeans. One fan yelled out, "Hey, Bob! Like your shirt!" He smiled and said, "Thanks! It's new."

Bob changed up his songs. He started off by saying that he'd sing a song that he had ended the show with last night. He got this inspiration from watching 24. He sang Freak luck first.

The crowd was happier and more alive than on Tuesday. Bob sang "Harder than you know," which has a few pauses in it. Folks were clapping along at the beginning. Just before encountering the first pause, he stopped singing and said, "Are you guys going to clap through the entire song?" It's not gonna work! I've had no one do that in my entire career."

Bob was chatty. He shared a secret with us, with us promising not to tell Jann. He said that whenever he sees female performers on stage, that partway through the show, he has this crush on them. By the end of the show, the crush is gone. He concluded that singers and songwriters are up to no good, and that it wouldn't be good for him to be in such a relationship. He avoids doing so. He went on to say that probably everyone in the audience felt the same way about him tonight.

I love how he introduces his song, "Tomorrow doesn't look good either." He does it in such a deadpanned voice that it's hilarious. He has a wonderful sense of humour.

The song that he sang karaoke-style on his iPod was different tonight. Just before singing "Figured out," he shouted out, "You thought I was joking about the karaoke thing, right?" It was a wonderful performance. The crowd really got into it.

He ended this segment with "Late night advice," which was a strong number. He was great.

The woman next to me came in late, smelling like several packs of cigarettes that were still smouldering after someone had lit them all at once. Other than that, she was fine.

Just before 21:00, Jann came on stage. She was wearing blue jeans that were not ripped, a white shirt was visible underneath her pale orange leather blazer with a dual-way zipper. I was trying to figure out whether it was the same style of blazer that she had worn in Winnipeg. Towards the end of the show, I had concluded that it wasn't the same one.

Despite the show being her third in a row, she sounded better than ever and you couldn't tell that it was her third. She had so much energy. She waved to the audience. She danced more throughout the show.

She said that we'd have a good time and to ignore the review that appeared in the Globe and Mail the other day. It's the worst review I've read of hers in quite some time. Poor review guy. I don't think it was fair of him to compare her songs to either the Beatles or Gordon Lightfoot, which was probably why he felt he was let down by her performance.

There were a few gifts that were by her feet on the stage. She said thanks and stated that she likes receiving "stuff." She asked if the packages would explode. She then chatted with a pregnant woman seated in the first row. She asked when she'd be giving birth. She's giving birth in March to twins. It made Jann exclaim, "Oh, my crotch," which made everyone chuckle. She suggested that her delivery date was so close to her birthday that maybe she should name them Jann and Arden...

She introduced Russell Broom, saying that the three days when they weren't either collaborating on songs or touring was when he got his wife impregnated. She introduced the new guy in the band as a vegan and was amazed that he can stand on stage for that long. She also teased him about everything he was wearing being edible. He sang a forty-second song, with him kind of acting like he was nervous. It was a different tune. It was nicely done. After the set, Jann said that she knew the entire band had practiced this number. She imitated her mom, saying that "... the audience likes him more than you... that he's more perky that you." It was cute.

More introductions took place. She apparently had a brief adult porn career, meeting the keyboardist in the process. She is just a hoot.

I can't remember which number it was, but I was taking photos of Jann. The usher (a.k.a. photo nazi) shone her flashlight on me and kind of gestured to not use the camera. So, I obeyed, for I had a number of photos I had taken of her already. That was okay. A woman three seats to my left took pictures later, and predictably, photo nazi was on her heels, too. Sadly, photo nazi was the only usher being a pest.

She told the popcorn-landing-on-her-cotton-gusset story again. I don't get tired of hearing it again. Her delivery is impeccable. She even laughed while she was telling us the story. The hilarious elements of having the 780-litre drink in its own seat was still there. She remarked that it was a collectible, but that it "might as well have [her] picture on it, for it looked like shit." She went on about the layers of Becel on her popcorn and how she put three straws together, created a long tube to stick in her drink, using the least amount of energy to eat, drink, and watch the flick.

She demonstrated the pee check that her mom had taught her three years ago. The crowd definitely had a sense of humour. You could hear this huge roar of laughter. She demonstrated in slow motion how she ran from her car to the guest washroom. It was a scream. She talked about all the boxes of feminine protection being knocked over by not clearing the garage door in her leased Volvo. The punchline was nearly the same, but she added that she looked at the kernel of Becel-layered popcorn and said it was still good to eat.

"Could I be your girl" was partly performed with jazzy overtones. It was nice. She asked the drummer to pretend that he was drunk at a club.

Bob continued to swap out both Russell and Jann's guitars throughout the evening, but would strap Jann's guitar on her. "Bob always flicks my hair out of the guitar strap, so it doesn't get caught. Awww... he's so sweet," she remarked. One person in the crowd yelled out, "Hi, Bob!" as he walked away. He waved. It was cute.

Jann has so many great songs and going to her concerts make me appreciate her material even more. I fell in love with "If you loved me" from her Love is the only soldier CD when I first got it. It's incredibly moving when performed live. "Good mother" never fails to bring the house down, either.

She came back to do her encore, bringing her manager's son, Ike, on stage. She began singing, "How much is that doggie in the window?" with her band seated in a semi-circle behind her. By the end of the little diddy, he once again clapped happily. It was cute. She handed him back to her manager and they waved to each other. He's a sweet guy.

At the beginning of the show, she thanked her former manager who was in the audience. It was mighty kind and civil of her.

Her encore was made up of "The sound of," "Waiting in Canada," and "Insensitive." Before the last song, she thanked everyone for supporting her and for allowing her parents to take many long trips. She's the best. She should ignore that Globe and Mail review. She's terrific.

Someone yelled out that she's a proud Canadian. She agreed. Another yelled out that she looked good, and a third voice screamed that she's the best. She gave a puzzled, startled look, and then continued to sing. It was a great show. I'm lucky that I get to see her again on Saturday.

It's wonderful that I didn't have to drive my friend home. She had driven down, so all I needed to do was drive myself home. It took me twenty minutes from parking lot to my home. I love that. I had Jann's latest CD in the car playing. It was fitting.

I talked briefly with my parents, said goodnight to them, did a few things, and then went to bed before 01:00. I then slept exceptionally well.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Jann Arden's "Where no one knows me"
Yummy food eaten today: Peanut butter cups
What I crave: Seeing Jann Arden in concert... again!

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