I had a sesame bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese. I then went to work. It felt strange. I got to my desk and didn't say a word. I just wanted to slip in quietly and figure out what I should be working on.

iPod boy (DJ) walked in. He said good morning and I returned the friendly greeting.

"Are you all cupped out?" he asked me. I had a puzzled look on my face. "That didn't sound too good."
"Nope, not at all," I said, smiling. It's that conversational chemistry we have that I have missed. It's all in good fun.
"Are you happy to be back at work?" he asked me.
"I don't know yet. I think so."

I talked to the accounts payable woman. I had dropped her off at the Scarborough Town Centre LRT station last Friday, so she could take a bus and fetch her car at the mechanic's garage. She told me that the guy put two crappy tires on her car instead of Bridgestone ones and didn't fix anything else. She wasn't happy and will be taking her car to a different mechanic. During this time, DJ peered over to see what we were doing, said hi, and then kept on going. He does that. He likes being a part of conversations that I have with others for some reason.

The moocher came over, yelled my name out, and proceeded to lightly shake me by grabbing my shoulders for a good ten seconds. It was a nice welcome-back gesture. He asked how my trip to see the Grey Cup in Winnipeg went. It was fine. He said something that made me laugh. DJ then said that what has been missing at work was my laugh. So, the moocher and I talked. I gave him a Grey Cup shooter. He thanked me and said he'd put some vodka in it at his desk. I asked that he share the bottle with me, which made us both laugh.

I strongly believe that DJ missed me. He kept on talking to me about various things, including another warehouse meeting that the president had held with all employees yesterday. I think he's worried that more folks will be leaving the company. It was strange that the vice president of sales was talking about how great the show in Las Vegas was. Apparently, a couple of hours later, a woman in the warehouse was canned. Nice how that pep talk was strategically timed.

DJ showed me some Hallowe'en and Vegas pictures he had developed at Sam's Club. His older daughter was a little kid in pajamas, with a pacifier in her mouth. His younger daughter was a doll. He had taken two close-up pictures of her and her friend. One had his daughter blowing a green bubble with her gum. The other had her friend blowing a bubble. I had to ask if it was the same piece of gum. Luckily, it wasn't.

It was nice seeing shots of his hotel room at Wynn Las Vegas. The view was incredible. I saw the television set behind the bed. I didn't think you could watch TV in bed until DJ told me that the TV had an arm that you could swing anywhere. That was cool. I saw pictures of him and his wife. There was one where he held her fairly tight, to the point where you could see his fingers indenting into her upper arm a bit. They are a loving couple. He also was in a picture with impersonators (Joan Rivers looked the best out of the batch) and he actually stood next to Pete Rose, who was signing autographs and introducing his slot machine. DJ seemed impressed that I knew who he was and also showed me an autograph that he got from him.

The receptionist and the president's son (PS) noticed my haircut. I like it. They liked it, too. I'm not accidentally dipping my hair into anything I happen to be eating or drinking anymore.

I had to go home and fetch something. I also realized as I was driving home that I never got a replacement card from Think Credit Union, which is my bank in Rochester, MN. I basically took an early lunch by leaving work at 10:45. Several heads turned. Most thought that I was leaving for the day.

I sensed that several folks at work have missed my presence. That always feels good. When I came back after my lunch break, DJ immediately noticed that I was back. Butter girl thought that DJ had driven me away. I said nothing. I just smiled politely.

The most interesting conversation between DJ and I took place in the afternoon. I was working on my guide. DJ decided to talk to me.

"Did I tell you that ever since I added the extra RAM to my computer, I haven't complained about [the sluggish performance of] it?"
"I know," I said. "You haven't yelled at your computer and you have stopped raising your fist in front of your computer monitor," I replied.
"Yes,' he said, with a faint smile on his face.
"It only took you, what, three months to finally listen to me?" I asked, but it was really a statement.
"That's pretty good for me," he admitted. "I normally don't listen to folks."
"I do know a thing or two about computers," I said.

After work, PS and I hopped into my car. I had to get some gas for the car, and stopped at my favourite Sunoco station. After filling the gas tank up, I bought a small can of sour cream and onion potato chips. PS was too cheap to get anything. He said he was fine.

It was kind of foggy driving up highway 12. PS didn't notice. He had fallen asleep halfway to Rama. He noticed the fog when he woke up. Well, he woke up after I had exclaimed that we were approaching Casino Rama. The fog was thicker earlier. What he was seeing was nothing. Anyway, it's a good thing that I like listening to music.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the entertainment centre. I got a hot dog and a bottled water. PS tends to copy me by asking what I'm getting first. I don't even answer anymore. He can see what I have in my hands. He got a hot dog and a Fruitopia. Actually, he couldn't pronounce the drink, which was scary. After chomping everything down, I felt like getting a stuffed pretzel. We shared it and then went into the venue.

We had good seats, which were just off stage right, twelve rows back Jewel came on just after 20:00. She wore a burgundy, spaghetti-strapped dress and high-heeled boots. She sang "Somewhere over the rainbow" a cappella, which was wonderful. She then belted out song after song, switching between her two acoustic guitars, which were on either side of the small table that had beautiful flowers in a vase.

I didn't realize that Jewel has a terrific sense of humour. She talked about meeting her idol, Bob Dylan, when she opened for him. His stage manager told her that she'd never meet him. However, a few shows later, she did. She said that her dream of meeting him did come true and that they'd kiss, because her dreams tend to go a bit further than the average dream. However, that never happened, so she remarked that "he must be gay." It was funny. She said that as women, we get half-pissed when men don't pay attention to us, and half-pissed when they do. She's so true.

I did like her tribute to Dylan when she sang "Stephenville, TX." As with her songs, they are thoughtful, insightful, and heart-wrenching. "1000 miles away" was poignant. She sang "Morning hands," a request from many who simply shouted what they wanted her to sing. That was neat. "Hands," "Who will save your soul," and even "Intuition" were performed with poise and style. The folk-country singer is simply incredible to hear and watch live.

She talked about how she tends to fit under any man's armpit when she gets hugged. She made the whole sound effect, particularly when the hugger is sweaty. She's a riot! She talked about weird people and how this one guy wanted her "in his chair." It turned out that he was a dentist.

She ended her show 2.25 hours later by singing and yodelling. It was worth driving two hours to see her.

After the show, I took PS for a tour of the products that we manufacture at work for casinos. He seemed interested in locating them. After that, we walked to the parking lot. It took us about twenty minutes to exit it. Luckily, there were police officers handling all the cars trying to leave the venue.

So, for pretty much the entire trip, I was left to listen to my Madonna music off my iPod as PS slept. That was annoying. On a road trip, passengers should keep the driver alert and entertained. Unfortunately, this rarely happens with PS.

I took highway 12 for a bit, before taking 48, which becomes Markham Road. When PS did wake up in Scarborough somewhere, I let him have it. He said that he wouldn't "fall asleep if [he] had a driver's licence." Huh? That doesn't follow in a logical sense. You can have a driver's licence and fall asleep, too. Frankly, I think if he were a licenced driver, that he'd be a threat to society. He can only focus on one thing at a time. I gave him a shot, saying regardless of what he had, he'd be asleep.

I dropped him off at around 00:25. I got home about twenty minutes later. I was so happy to be in bed by 02:00.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Jewel's "Standing still"
Yummy food eaten today: Stuffed pretzel (had a zinger of a kick)
What I crave: Diet Coke with lime

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