Last night, the president's son (PS) called me and said that he wouldn't be at work today. I suppose he's still under the weather. He made no mention of not making it to the show tonight. I suspect that he was going to haul his butt there, regardless of how sick he was. After all, he did pay for the ticket and probably didn't want his purchase to go to waste.

He asked me to call him today. So, just before 09:00, I did just that and left him a voice message. Roughly ten minutes later, he called me back and said that he'd make it to the show. So, I said that I'd pick him up after work and would call just before I was leaving.

The sales coordinator came over to chat with me. She quietly said that PS indicated that we'd be going to a concert tonight. Yep.

The moocher kills me. He was talking about working out and how he wanted the shiny WWE heavyweight champion belt around his waist. I was laughing so hard. I asked if he had a bulldog and we just broke down. Selkirk boy came over and told us to cheer up.

I continued to edit that user manual. It's in good shape. I'm so glad.

My former, former boss came to ask me a couple of questions. I had to send him a document containing dimensions of one of our products. That I had, but I then had to call him on the phone moments later to figure out what format he wanted the document to be in. He then asked where on the network I had pictures of this product. I remembered that he had asked me that before. I needed five minutes to locate the folder. The cool thing was that he asked how I was and I said that I was busy. It's now my standard answer. It implies that I'm focused and I don't want to be bothered.

I got an e-mail from the president's stepdaughter in the afternoon. She had sent me a picture of a mouth-shaped urinal. It was funny, but strange. Obviously, PS had told her that he had taken pictures of the toilet a few months back using my camera. That's something that I didn't exactly want shared with folks. Oh well. She probably knew that we were going to a concert tonight, too. PS tends to tell the world about this, for such events are huge for him.

I called PS at around 17:10, indicating that I was leaving the building and would probably get to his place in fifteen minutes. I was amazed that I wasn't staying late today.

I arrived in front of his building at 17:30. It took him forever to get downstairs. He sounded better.

PS tends to use his hands a lot when he talks. I find it a bit of a distraction when he sometimes touches my right hand when I'm driving. Today, I was pretty sensitive about it. First, I didn't want his germs. Second, it sometimes startles me when I'm driving and he does that out of the blue. I told him not to. It might have come across as a snap, but he should be better at controlling his germs when he's sick. I wish I had hand sanitizer with me.

Unexpectedly, I ranted about various company policies to him. It's not like he has a say in that sort of thing, but our conversation just led me to talk about how absurd some of these policies are. He brought his mail with him and asked why the deductible wasn't deducted from his dentist bill. Well, that's because the dentist doesn't care about that sort of thing. The deductible should appear on his benefits statement. I think he got it after a couple of minutes. He's not stupid by any means. It's a strange act that he has.

We parked at my favourite lot that's fairly close to the Air Canada Centre. Naturally, he didn't bother shelling out $7 for parking and decided to stay in the car while I went to pay for it. Is it just me, or do guys seem to act like babies when they have colds?

I suggested that we go to Quiznos for dinner. We split a black angus sub. We both had chicken noodle soup and drinks. I shelled out $20 for dinner. He doesn't take any initiative whatsoever. I was shocked, however, when he gave me $10 for his share of the meal. Okay, I see improvement. Progress is good.

We had so much time to kill. We visited 7-Eleven and I bought some gum. I withdrew some money at the bank and we then bummed around Union Station.

I bought my Coldplay t-shirt just outside the main doors of the Air Canada Centre. I was so happy. PS naturally wanted a place where he could charge his purchase to his credit card. Anyway, we went in and I waited for him to make his purchase. We then made our way to our seats.

The woman next to me was friendly. She was busy calling her friends to figure out where they were sitting. Her boyfriend was a toned, tall guy. He, too, was friendly.

Opening up for Coldplay was Richard Ashcroft. The name seemed so familiar. Ah, yes, he was the lead singer of The Verve.

He was great. He performed barefoot on stage and worked it well. He played some songs from his old band. I've always liked the video for "Bittersweet symphony," and he closed with it. He's a talented guy. I may have to get his latest CD now.

PS went out to get a drink during the intermission. He came back and noted how he had just spent $4 on his drink. A woman came in late and sat next to PS. She asked him who the opening act was. He had no clue and had to pull me into the conversation. It was cool talking to her and I admired her for going to a show by herself to see a band that she likes.

The show started late. It was about 21:30 when Coldplay hit the stage. The band opened with "Square one." A huge clock was displayed behind the band, with pretty colours changes when the clock was removed. I felt like this was a continuation of the band's concert last August.

The crowd sang along to "Politik." I love such interaction, even if we were just singing, "Open up your eyes."

PS has complained about strobe lights at past shows. It was lights tonight. That doesn't really affect me much. Mind you, I'm so into the music that nothing really would.

Early on, Chris Martin said to the crowd, "We believe you to be the best audience in the world." That definitely made the crowd go wild.

"Yellow" was nice, with huge yellow balloons dropping on the crowd towards the end of the song. Chris used his guitar to break a couple, releasing the colourful confetti inside of them. It was like being at a huge party and getting along with everyone there.

I must say that the security guy in our section was good. He spotted a woman a few rows in front who had lit up a cigarette. He used his flashlight to get her attention and told her to extinguish it. Two points for the security guy.

Jonny Buckland sang a verse or two from "Don't panic," which was cool. Chris knelt on the stage a few times and then bent himself backwards, kind of like doing a yoga pose. He's one flexible guy. I enjoy when he hops on one foot while he sings and occasionally raises his hand up while he does that. It's nice to see that he's having a good time, too.

The rumour around the place was the this show was being filmed for a DVD. Woo hoo! I believed it. Banners were removed, mostly Maple Leafs ones. There were more cameras than normal there, including one on the left side of the stage that was on a crane.

More crowd-singing took place. This time, it was during "Speed of sound." That was so much fun. It was a good night to be up on your feet, dancing and moving to great music.

Chris came back and explained the cameras everywhere. "We auditioned audiences around the world, and we're afraid you came in number one." Again, more cheers ensued. He noted that Toronto was the "first proper stop" on the band's North American tour. Yep, the crowd sang along to "God put a smile on your face." It was fun singing along to that, too.

Chris was funny. He joked about and apologized for how both his hair and how the band looked. They looked like a horrible version of the Bee Gees. It was cute. He certainly made the audience feel comfortable, even when he recalled that the band had launched its current tour here last year the same day when an Air France plane had slid off the runway at Pearson. He noted that, miraculously, no one was injured.

Coldplay dedicated "'Til kingdom come" to the late Johnny Cash. It was done intimately and acoustically. It then did a cover of Cash's "Ring of fire."

There was an unexpected costume change at one point. "I hate to be such a shallow bastard, but Jonny and I might have to change shirts right on stage," said Chris. Sure enough, Chris took off his top and everyone went wild. He said that we shouldn't make fun of their body shapes and that he changed into the same shirt he had worn the last time he was in the house. He cited the necessary change due to excessive perspiration.

During the encore, Chris ran into the audience and sang. He hugged and mingled with the crowd. That was terrific.

The show ended with "Fix you," and it was poignant when the audience sang along towards the end of it. The band left the stage waving a huge Canadian flag. That was sweet.

This show was great. It seemed too short, though. It ended just after 23:00. Nevertheless, I had a great time.

I was full of energy afterwards. I walked so fast that I left PS behind at one stage. Mind you, he doesn't really walk terribly fast to begin with. I asked if he enjoyed himself. He did. That's good. He did nap a bit. He claimed that he closed his eyes, for all the strobe lights were bugging him. I didn't buy that. He goes into denial a lot. I took a picture of him napping.

I was shocked that PS did not fall asleep to and from the show. I pointed that out to him. I think all that sleeping during the day may have helped.

I dropped him off at home, thanked him for the good conversation we had from the show, and then left.

Normally, I don't hit a gas station at midnight, for either the prices have shot up or I'm too tired. I did, though. Gas was at 85.9 cents a litre. I filled up and then kept driving home.

It's now 02:30. The songs are still playing in my head. I'll get around to the playlist a bit later.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Coldplay's "Fix you"
Yummy food eaten today: Black angus steak from Quiznos
What I crave: Being at tomorrow night's Coldplay concert

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