I slept in a bit on Saturday morning. I drove everyone to my mom's acupuncture appointment. I brought a couple of magazines with me. Instead of throwing them out once I'm done reading them, I bring them over to the acupuncturist's place and leave them there.

So, I continued taking up reading Chinese entertainment magazines at the acupuncturist's. I then needed a break and leafed through a copy of Lou Lou magazine. I also brought my iPod with me, so that kept me content.

I changed my Saturday regimen around a bit. I exercised and showered in the afternoon. I also burned a couple of CDs to give to my friend, my favourite manufacturing colleague who used to work with me until she moved into the pharmaceutical industry.

I left the house just after 17:00 and drove to the Shops on 404 and Steeles to meet her. Like clockwork, she was standing outside Sears. She got into the car, hugged me, and said that her husband was going to be here in five minutes. So, I pulled into a parking spot and we chatted. She gave me a huge package of chocolate-covered wafers and a package of tulip bulbs (she realizes that I'm good with plants and thinks that I'll be successful at growing tulips now). She estimated correctly, as we made our way towards the entrance to Sears. Her husband came over to meet us five minutes later.

We all made it over to my car. They thought that we should grab some dinner at Warden and Steeles, but it had taken me ten minutes to clear that intersection to get here. I suggested that we get some grub downtown, so we'd be close to the concert venue. That worked. They both thought that I had bought a new car. Sure, I recently got a raise, but it wasn't enough for me to splurge on a shiny, new car. I had simply cleaned out the backseat. It has been clean for months now.

Our conversation in the car was nice. We all laughed and ended up talking about the president's son (PS). He's an extremely frugal guy. She told me about her experience shopping with him at Wal-Mart. He kept complaining that things were "too expensive." We both analyzed his meticulous receipt-gathering after he makes a purchase. We also discussed how cheap my employer is. I hope that changes one of these days.

So, I pulled into a lot that I particularly like. I backed into a spot, something that I don't do often, unless I have to parallel-park on the street or I'm backing into the driveway at home. The same lot attendant was there. I have been there so often as of late. Instead of saying hi, he now asks me how I'm doing. We both know the whole routine. I hand in the money and tell him what my car's licence number is, he gives me the ticket, and we say bye.

My friend's husband gave me a package of sweet plums. I left them in the car. They wanted to leave their backpacks in the trunk, so we did just that. We then went to the newly renovated Pickle Barrel. It used to be one huge floor. It's now two huge floors. It kind of looks like the Moxie's at the MTS Centre, except you neither have a fireplace, nor a television set in the washroom.

We had to wait for about seven minutes. It was worth it, though. We all talked so much that the waiting time didn't exactly bug us.

Both my friend and her husband's English skills are improving steadily. They're nice people. We ordered borscht (I was craving it and remembered how great it was at Alycia's, but this was fine... it had huge chunks of cabbage... more like cabbage soup without the sour cream in the middle), a steak and shrimp dish with root vegetables, and seafood paella. It worked out exceptionally well. Her husband ate most of the mussels in the paella. The beef and shrimp were terrific, too.

Her husband asked me if I had any siblings. I didn't have any, but said that his wife is like my younger sister I've never had, which they both liked hearing. It's incredibly true, though. She cares a lot about how I am and fusses over my hair. She's sweet.

My friend's husband paid for dinner. That was such a gracious gesture. Mind you, I had invited them to the Jann Arden concert as my guests, so it kind of evens out. Well, by the time we had left the restaurant, he checked the time on his cellphone and said that it was two minutes before the show was about to start. Luckily, we were only a couple of short blocks away from the concert venue.

The ticket-taker ripped both sides of our tickets. That was odd. I wasn't expecting that. You'd think that ripping one side would be fine. Maybe the joint was keeping tabs on which folks came to the show late? In any event, the usher helped us get to our seats. Bob Kemmis was just about to finish his first number, so we got there in time. I took my jacket off as we were walking down the aisle, so I could just sit down and minimally disturb the folks behind me.

We were seated in row E. Essentially, I was seated in the same seat as I was for the first concert, except I was three rows back. Bob was hilarious. He said that he could hear the conversation taking place in the first row. We all laughed when he introduced a song from his Tomorrow doesn't look good either CD, especially my friend's husband. I'll have to buy Bob's other three CDs one of these days.

Intermission came and we all chatted. They liked Bob. My friend thought he wrote funny songs. He does. He's hilarious.

Jann came on stage. This concert was probably the best one out of the three this week, although I strongly believe that I will like every Jann concert I ever attend. I will have a complete setlist soon. I did something I haven't done for a bit. I decided to record the whole show on my iPod. It turned out well. It's easier than pulling out a pen and paper when she begins to perform each song. On top of that, I get to relive the whole concert experience by having it on my iPod.

I will, however, highlight some moments from the show:

• Jann and Russell posed for a man in the audience who was using his cellphone to take pictures.
• She found it ironic that we couldn't take pictures with a flash. Yet, she has two beams of lights on her at all times.
• Photo nazi from two nights ago was there, but decided to take a pill this evening and let us take pictures.
• The bassist, Maury Lafoy, showcased his talents by doing his version of Britney Spears' "Hit me baby one more time." It was good. Jann had to ask if he had written the song himself.
• The keyboardist, Darcy Phillips, sang John Lennon's "Let it be." That moved everyone. He has a great voice.
• A fan interrupted the show between songs to ask Jann to pose for a picture with her. She was up on the balcony. Jann called her Juliet. The fan said that she neither had a husband, nor any children. Jann replied, "Welcome to my world!" Someone in the audience shouted out to the fan, "Don't be so selfish!" She asked the fan to come down anyway.
• Jann sang another tune. Afterwards, she invited the fan and her friend up on stage. They each got to hug Jann. The fan then asked Graham Powell, the photographer and newest member of Jann's band, to take a picture of them. Jann placed her microphone strategically between her legs during it.
• Instead of the popcorn story, she talked about holding her mom's hand as the latter went into the operating room a few years ago. Two fans had asked for her autograph, but Jann was too concerned about her mom. Before entering the room, she told her daughter that she could spare a bit of time with her fans. She hasn't forgotten about that incident ever since.
• Just before Jann came on stage for her encore, everyone sat down. I hadn't seen that happen in a long time. When she came back on stage, everyone rose again to their feet. It was odd.
• Jann had her microphone pack in her hand for the last three songs. I hadn't seen her do that during the three previous shows.
• She dedicated a song to Marilyn Denis, CityLine talkshow host and radio personality on CHUM FM, and her son, Adam. She and Marilyn are friends. After the show, both Marilyn and Adam walked right in front of me. She must be about 5'4". She looks good in person. Her son has sandy, curly hair. He must be around the same height... perhaps even a tad shorter.
• Considering that it was Jann's fifth show in a row, it was close to being full at the venue.

You could tell that, despite the poor review that she had read of her first show in the Globe and Mail, she had a great time in Toronto. She felt like she was following in Gordon Lightfoot's footsteps and was slowly getting over it.

I asked what my guests thought of the show. They loved it. My friend prefers Jann over Alanis Morissette. This was her second concert in Canada.

We walked over to the lot, pointing out the Canon Theatre and the Olympic Spirit (I still think its establishment was premature) building on our way. They both told me that they now live by the York University main campus. Great. I took the 404-401 combination to get there. I got to see Finch Avenue West, where all that water damage had taken place during the summer. I had to cut through York University. It has changed so much since I was last there. I even figured out where tennis stadium was.

Naturally, they couldn't figure out which street I should take, but I did get them home by 23:45. They had a good time out. It was terrific seeing them again. Her husband said that he wouldn't forget this night out. I hugged my friend. We hope to see each other once more before the year ends.

I took Steeles Avenue all the way home. It was a good drive back home. I arrived home well past midnight. I just drank a bit of water, changed, did a few things like check how I was doing in the hockey pool, brushed my teeth, and then went to bed.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Depeche Mode's "Precious (Sasha's spooky mix)"
Yummy food eaten today: Seafood paella
What I crave: Listening to more Jann in concert

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