My cough is disappearing slowly. I hope I'm not jinxing this. Unfortunately, I still have a sore throat, so I'm not completely out of the woods just yet.

I didn't sleep all that well. My throat is sore and gets irritated in an itchy sense, causing me to automatically clear my throat by coughing. The good news is that my phlegm production is nearly back to normal. So, I truly have a dry cough. It's not the hacking kind like it used to be, thank goodness.

I do feel a bit sluggish and achy. I think part of that is due to my iPod slipping underneath my upper back, and my being so into getting some sleep that I continued to sleep on top of it. The iPod is durable. It still works. I did manage to move it the first time, but I ended up sleeping on top of it again.

Yesterday, the online tool that we use to manage the office hockey pool went down for maintenance. It's back up now, but my stats are screwed up for my team. I actually have two more wins in the goalie category than I should have. So, the stats claim that I'm leading 13-5 today, but that is fairly inaccurate. The good news is that it only took two full hockey-playing days for me to meet the minimum number of games played by my goalies. I couldn't meet this number last week, which caused my losing my match-up and falling from sixth to eighth position in the pool.

My mom was up this morning. She is once again constipated. I wish her pills didn't do that to her. She eats prunes religiously to avoid this, but it doesn't seem to work at times.

I remembered this morning to visit my bank before going to work. I needed to take out some money for tonight and deposit a couple of cheques.

I finished writing a subsection of my ongoing project at work. I feel like I'm not progressing as quickly as I should be at this stage, but I'm taking it one subsection at a time. It feels good to be chipping away at such a huge chunk of work, one day at a time.

Lunch consisted of my working and eating at my desk. I had a meeting at 14:00 regarding release notes. Compliance woman (CW) was pulled into it, too. The new quality assurance (QA) person doesn't seem to enjoy taking the initiative. She asked my former manager to type out the meeting minutes and I ended up having to design a document template for our developers. CW confronted QA woman about her "testing in the near future" statements that she constantly made throughout the meeting. She has yet to test the software. CW and I have to wait until she's done her testing before we can both run with the release notes that the developers will eventually give to us.

The moocher asked if I was going to grab some lunch outside today. Nope. This meeting prevented me from doing that. I think he borrowed the purchaser's car to get something. He's not only a good moocher, but he has this knack for bumming free rides off people.

So, after I did my first draft of the template, I went to QA woman to discuss it. She then had a question about who it would impact. She said that she'd ask the manager of IT. I said I'd tag along with her. We stopped about ten feet away from his door, just past my cubicle where iPod boy (DJ) was. He was talking to the sales guy behind my desk area who annoys me. I had a question for her about the software section of my template.

Trying to get clarification from her (it's difficult to understand her sometimes with the thick, northern Chinese accent that accompanies her sometimes broken English, this is how the conversation started:

"So, I should scrap this section," I said to her, pointing at the software version section at the top of my template that I had printed out.
"Absolutely!" said DJ, walking past me and eavesdropping on the conversation. He then stood behind us. "You should remove that. It looks too cumbersome," he added, with a grin on his face. Recently, I had done something like that to him. I guess it was payback time. I also think he was seeking attention. He got it.
"Speaking of cumbersome...," I said to QA woman, pointing at DJ. I then looked at him and he was smiling.
"Oh, look!" he exclaimed. "She [QA woman] has Post-It notes!" He was seeing if I'd pick up on that reference. I did.
"Yes, so you can write notes from the fairy broad brother," I replied. He walked away. Even though is back was facing me, I could tell that he was smiling.

You can read the entry that I wrote two days ago to understand what the fairy broad brother reference is about. I will add that I had made changes to the website page the other day, incorporating DJ's request. I had asked him to review the page again in an e-mail, but I added, "When you're done writing fairy godmother/father/broad brother messages to folks on Post-It notes, can you please review the change that I made to the section?" He got back to me early yesterday morning, indicating that the changes were fine.

Well, QA woman and I saw the IT manager. She, for some reason, waited for me to pose her question. Strange. It was her question. Why would I be the spokesperson? So, I didn't give in. She eventually started the conversation, but didn't exactly pose her question. Yes, I had to give in and asked it on her behalf. I got a lot of good answers from him, which would help me refine my template.

So, after having been pulled away from my tasks, I was in no mood to work. Instead, I occasionally heard CW teasing me about doing QA woman's work. We joked about that for a bit and talked about what we were going to wear to the Christmas party. I have no clue.

The president's son (PS) came over to my desk, leaving both his mail that he had to drop off and his man-purse. He had to change into cleaner clothes. I went to first sign out, and then headed to the washroom to wash my face and freshen up. I've got these wipes that you lather up to wash your face and then you toss them out. I like them. They are extremely handy.

I walked by DJ's cubicle and noticed that he was still there. He had music on. I approached him.

"What are you listening to?" I asked him, hovering over his cubicle wall. I just heard three notes. "Ah, it's Guster."
"Where are they from again?"
"Massachusetts," I answered.
"Massachusetts," he repeated with a grin on his face.
"I just saw Guster play," I told him.
"Oh ya... where?"
"New York city," I said.
"I didn't know you went to New York. When was that?"
"It was last month... I went down there for a weekend," I said. I think he liked the fact that I shared such tidbits of information with him.
"I hadn't heard of the band until I listened to your iPod and the CD you gave me."
"My iPod?" I asked, trying to figure out that reference.
"Yes, you had tons of Guster music on it." I had sold him my old iPod with roughly 1600 songs on it.
"I now have over 4000 songs on my iPod," I said.

He was telling me that the receiver guy in the back was trying to stump him on music. He told me that he grew up with REO Speedwagon, Journey, and such, and knew them all. I didn't think that he'd get stumped on that sort of thing. He then played me some jazz that he had. He even had weather jazz, which kind of intrigued me.

CW and the accounts receivable woman passed by, saying goodnight to me. DJ took offence, saying that he was there, too, that I wasn't holding myself up because I had fallen ill. It was cute. CW told me that PS was at my desk. Okay, he had completed his freshening up.

DJ started to play a bit of "Baby, it's cold outside" for me. The lightbulb in my head went off.

"I have to go. I have another concert to go to," I said.
"Who are you seeing?" he asked curiously.
"Depeche Mode," I stated with enthusiasm.
"I hope you have a good time tonight,"
"Thanks... have a good night," I stated.
"Goodnight," he said, as I walked towards my desk.

PS and I left at around 17:20. He told me that the sales coordinator got a new car. It's a silver Toyota Matrix. It looks impressive. The other night, I was watching the news about this cool product that you stick on the sides of your car to prevent other cars from putting dings into yours. I'd like to get them. I'll have to drop by a Canadian Tire soon.

PS vented about work. I vented about QA woman. We talked about a lot of things, but we fell quiet towards the end of the hour, in downtown Toronto. I actually took the longer route down there, but we parked in my regular lot at around 18:20. You can't really complain about paying seven dollars for parking smack in the middle of the downtown core.

We had dinner at Le Bifthèque restaurant across the street. It was busy, which was a departure from the last time we were there. I guess that being a Thursday, people want to go out. I rarely see a concert on a thursday. Anyway, I had prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes. He had a hamburger with cheddar and bacon. I ordered a rum and coke. He followed suit. He's a frugal guy. It helps if I order first. He then decides to splurge.

He puts ketchup on everything. He literally had ketchup all over his fingers while eating his fries, as if he had accidentally cut his fingers off with the steak knife. He pays for everything using his credit card, which explains why I end up paying for parking all the time. Oh, and he can't tip for beans. He wanted to leave two bucks for a bill that was over $40. That might have worked back in the 1960's, but it doesn't really work these days. Our server was terrific.

While we were eating, his cellphone went off. CW can't figure out why he has one. Not too many folks phone him. Anyway, it took him forever to get it off his belt. When he did, his phone stopped ringing. He just stared at his phone for a good two minutes and then put it down on the table. I guess that he had forgotten to put it back on his belt. I waited for him to come out of the men's washroom. He came out and was panicking that he didn't have his cellphone. He asked that I check the table. I went to the wait-here area of the restaurant. I started to ask the woman at the desk about whether she had a cellphone that may have been returned. I looked down at the desk and there is was. I picked it up, thanked her, and returned it to PS. We then walked out the door.

PS gets concerned about the smallest things. He had to find a mailbox immediately. Um, mail pickup isn't until 09:00 tomorrow, so it's not like he couldn't mail it either tomorrow morning or after the show. He is the strangest person I know right now. He then went on about how it was $1.90 on the bill for the cheddar and bacon. He couldn't figure out that from that sum, that each item was 95 cents each. I think my chiropractor's PDA with that Tipster application and the built-in calculator would be perfect for PS.

We popped into the 7-Eleven, so I could get some cough drops. I also got these cool mints that come in a dispenser. They were good.

We got to the Air Canada Centre at 19:40. PS had his man-purse checked for any drinks that he may have been smuggling into the venue. We then walked in and tried finding the vice president's son. He had told PS that he was working at one of the food stands on the first floor. We couldn't find him, so we went up to the third level.

The ritual of my buying a t-shirt at a concert continued. I bought a black one with the members on the front and the stops by country on the back. We didn't have to wait long at that merchandise stand. That was great.

As we were walking towards our section, we heard a cover of Buddy Holly's "Everyday" playing. It sounded good.

The two folks we encountered in our row were nice. I asked what their seat numbers were, thanked them, and counted in. It was midnight black and I could barely see my feet.

The Raveonettes were opening up. The band can rock. I like them. It was their last night touring with Depeche Mode. Towards the end of their performance, they invited Martin Gore, who had invited them to be an opening act, to sing a song with them. It was great.

So, during the break, PS wrote down how much he had spent at that stage. He carefully put all his receipts in his special portfolio. I had to break up his predictability by drawing pictures in his notebook that contained all his finances.

Just past 21:00, the ACC was dark again. A silver globe on the left side of the stage started spinning around. Lights went around it. Red and blue lights were lighting up various parts of the stage, as if I spaceship were taking off. The guys came on stage. Sirens were going. It reminded me of playing the band's first song off Playing the angel, except that I was actually hearing "A pain that I'm used to" live.

I first heard about Depeche Mode in the mid-80's. My friend loved "Strangelove" so much back then that I was forced to listen to it. I thought it was okay. It wasn't until 2000 that I listened to more of the band's CDs and their music grew on me.

Dave Gahan, the lead singer, came out dressed in black. He wore a black vest. He looked good. It was incredible seeing this guy spin in circles while twirling his microphone stand during "A question of time". There were a lot of moments where the crowd just sang. The energy was high. The band didn't say very much, other than "How are you doing, Toronto?" The cheering just got louder as the show went on, and the show itself just got better and better.

I'd say roughly two-thirds into the show, Gahan took his vest off. He has such a lean body. Again, he looked good. Really good.

Martin sang a few songs as Dave took a break and headed off the stage. Martin's voice reminds me of Andy Bell's voice, except that Martin was wearing a strange head accessory. It was black and it looked like a black bird was trying to fly out of it.

PS actually fell asleep early in the show. He went to bed the previous night at 20:18. I don't recommend doing that. He eventually did get on his feet like the rest of us. I had a fun time dancing and singing along. I'd say the majority of folks at the sold-out show were standing up and enjoying the band's performance.

Highlights for me were singing and dancing to "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the silence," with the latter being my favourite Depeche Mode song. It was nice to see Dave stretching his arms out and smiling when he was singing "Walking in my shoes." Everyone went nuts and were screaming. The screaming happened a lot.

I was cracking up whenever the guy next to PS was dancing. He was moving his arms all about that it looked like he was going to take PS's head right off his body. Better him than me.

The band had not one, but two encores. I can't remember when I had last experienced that. I must say that Depeche Mode definitely earned them. I had a blast.

Depeche Mode
Touring the angel 2005-2006
Air Canada Centre
Set list
A pain that I'm used to
John the revelator
A question of time
Policy of truth
Precious
Walking in my shoes
Suffer well
Damaged people
Home
I want it all
The sinner in me
I feel you
Behind the wheel
World in my eyes
Personal Jesus
Enjoy the silence

First encore
Somebody
Just can't get enough
Everything counts

Second encore
Never let me down again
Goodnight lovers

I asked PS afterwards whether he enjoyed himself. He did, except for the strange dancer fan next to him. It was a warm night out. The snow was starting to fall. We got to the car, got in, and drove off. PS basically fell asleep for most of the journey to his condo. I got to the security area and the guard was asleep, too. I had to yell to get his attention. He lifted the barrier up. Cool.

My drive home was nice. I enjoy driving home at night, when there are only a handful of cars on the road. I got home just after midnight and went to bed.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the silence"
Yummy food eaten today: Prime rib
What I crave: Rest

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