It's another day of not speaking to either my mom or iPod boy (DJ). I don't really spend that much time at home these days. I only have to endure her at the dinner table. She's not going to say sorry, so I have nothing to say. It's that simple.

As for DJ, he was at his desk with blabber girl, talking up a storm as I walked to my desk. I actually ended up talking with my cubicle neighbour, the controller's assistant. I told her that it has been a crappy week for me. She let me know that she's going to see her son in Kentucky and will driving there with the former compliance woman (CW) and CW's husband. DJ just watched us chatting.

CW called me. I was pleased. We both were thinking of each other. We need to do another group dinner again. She also sensed how sad I sounded. She told me she'd call me again to vent to her. I was happy to hear her voice again.

I booked tickets for a couple of upcoming concerts. I'm seeing John Mayer for the third time and The Killers for the first. I'm looking so forward to seeing both shows.

At work, I've been exceptionally productive that I had to think about what I was going to work on today. I decided to update that huge manual I first put together last March.

The sales coordinator got all worked up over comments that one of the sales guys (I dub him deaf boy, who used to say that I was loud... seems like decades ago, in comparison to the other loud folks sitting within the vicinity) made to her. I suggested that she breathe and talk to her manager. She did.

The president's son (PS) came over to talk and look at something on my screen. DJ was on a conference call. For some reason, he decided to turn his head towards us, while talking on the phone. It got so loud that I swore, saying that it was getting pretty loud. PS was shocked that I had cursed. It's not often that I swear, but DJ was talking really loudly that I couldn't hear PS speak. Even the sales coordinator had noticed that, too. I could see DJ from the corner of my eye whenever I looked at PS.

At one stage, after his conference call was over, DJ looked at me while he was standing up. It looked like he wanted to ask me to go out for lunch, like we normally do on Fridays. He couldn't do it. Instead, he put on his coat and walked out.

He came back half an hour later and was eating in the lunchroom. It almost seemed like he was relieved when I was still at work. He still has no clue what is bugging me, but knows that I'm upset with him. We both aren't talking to each other.

The moocher asked me how I was doing. He's like the big brother I never had. I told him. He thinks he'll come around. He asked me if I was going to the Police concert. I had no idea that tickets were going for $200 each. I told him about seeing John Mayer. He told me that he had appeared on the Dave Chappelle show. I watched the clip. It was cute.

I left work just after 17:00. PS watched my PDF document generate on my computer as I walked to the reception area to sign out. I continued to not say a word to DJ, as PS and I left my cubicle and walked to my car. We both said goodnight to the sales coordinator and the former helpdesk manager. The latter had sent me an e-mail to help put together a service bulletin. We talked for a bit. We talk more, mostly because we both hang out with the sales coordinator, but in different ways.

I found a coin wash on Victoria Park, just north of Lawrence. There are twelve wands. I was in heaven.

I had to park in the lot across from my favourite one downtown. I managed to back into a fairly tight spot. I even surprised myself. I wasn't thrilled about parking next to a two-door car, though. I just feared getting more car dings.

We had dinner at Quiznos. PS bought me dinner. I had the angus beef and PS went with the meatball on flatbread. We both had the hearty vegetable soup. He is such a copycat when it comes to food. I thanked him for buying dinner.

We walked down to the Royal Bank. I had to take out some money. He told me something confidential. He said that the president's wife had a list of people she felt deserved to be at the gala for that fake business award. She had apparently fought to have me there. That was thoughtful of her, for she knew that I had done so much work on it. However, her husband still left me off the list.

I'm both touched and frustrated. I did more work on this awards application than any of my colleagues who were at the gala. I still feel unappreciated. All I want is a thank-you. I don't ask for much.

So, we got to the Air Canada Centre and had no problem getting in. I bought a cool t-shirt that had a few letters in sign language on it. I love it! It was my first Barenaked Ladies show. I don't mind their music. I can't say that I'm a megafan, though.

The show started at 19:30. Tomi Swick opened the show. He was great. His cover of Paul Simon's "Graceland" was incredible. Then, there was David Suzuki, driving home the environment message he is carrying across Canada. It was unexpected and neat.

Messages about World Vision and the environment flashed across the screens at the ACC. The Barenaked Ladies started the show with a guy writing out words on sheets that already had Barenaked Ladies Are Me printed on each one, which happens to be the name of the band's new CD. So, you got Barenaked Ladies Are Meean-spirited, Barenaked Ladies Are Meatballs, Barenaked Ladies Are Meticulous, Barenaked Ladies Are Mezzo-sopranos, and so on. It was funny. Finally, you just saw someone rip the second-last sheet of paper, which then revealed Barenaked Ladies Are Here.

It was a delightful show. Both Ed and Steve rapped a couple of times. I think Ed wins in that department. Steve has such an amazing octave range. They joked about recommending having a fireman's pole in the CN Tower and told a hilarious story about curling rocks in London, where they had performed last night.

I was surprised that I still knew a lot of their songs and lyrics. I had a great time, standing up for practically the entire show on the floor. I was 27 rows away from the stage.

The band played until just before 23:00. There were two standing ovations. I had a great time, and so did PS. He actually didn't fall asleep.

The following Toronto Sun review of the show is worth sharing:

TORONTO - Bravo to the Barenaked Ladies.

Only the fun-loving Toronto fivesome could turn the Air Canada Centre into a cozy-ish hockey hangar on a cold February night in front of a nearly sold-out, hometown crowd.

"I don't know if you guys noticed but we're actually from here," said singer-guitarist Ed Robertson to huge cheers last night.

"Everywhere I look is someone I know."

Currently touring in support of their not quite two-week-old new album, Barenaked Ladies Are Men, and its companion, last September's Barenaked Ladies Are Me, the vital-sounding pop veterans opted to open their two-hour-plus show with two back-to-back older hits, One Week, and Old Apartment.

However, it didn't take long for Robertson, singer-guitarist Steven Page, guitarist-pianist Kevin Hearn, bassist Jim Creeggan and drummer Tyler Stewart, to delve into the new material.

First up was the sweet mid-tempo love song, Sound Of Your Voice, and it was followed by plenty more, including Bank Job, Wind It Up, Angry People — complete with synchronized dance moves — Take It Back, and Easy.

But it was the group's blue-grass style acoustic gathering around the microphone that really shined; particularly Robertson playing banjo on the new song, Everything Had Changed and Stewart wailing away on bongo drums during the oldie but goodie Enid.

Other crowdpleasers stretched back over their 15-year discography — Bruce Cockburn's Lovers In A Dangerous Time, which prompted a huge sing-and-clap-along, Get In Line, Too Little, Too Late, Falling For The First Time, Pinch Me, Alternative Girlfriend, It's All Been Done, Brian Wilson — the latter ending with Page belting out Melissa Manchester's Don't Cry Out Loud — and Call And Answer.

As is usual at a Barenaked Ladies concert, comedy was also a major factor, from an abbreviated banjo version of Pat Benatar's Love Is A Battlefield to a funny story about Robertson's search for curling stones in London, Ont.

Tomi Swick was the Ladies' actual opener but in between musical sets, environmentalist David Suzuki came out to address the crowd.

He was preceded by video clips of Canadians talking about what they would do for the environment if they were prime minister of our country.

"You think you could do a better job than the current guy up there?" asked Suzuki, and the audience screamed in the affirmative. "I thought so."

He then encouraged the crowd to go to the website davidsuzuki.org to upload their own video.

"When enough of us get together, the politicians will have to listen to us," he urged before getting volunteers to shoot T-shirts into the audience.

"How good is it to see David Suzuki whipping t-shirts?" said Robertson afterwards.

After the show, we walked over to Timmy's for some hot chocolate and honey crullers. We then went to my car and I drove him to his dad's beach home in Pickering. It's huge. It's in a little resort area.

I deposited the expense cheque I got. It was nearly $800 from paying for my technical writing conference's registration fee. I then got home at 00:23.

It's now 03:18 on Saturday morning. I'm off to fall asleep.

|

Song that's stuck in my head: Barenaked Ladies "Enid"
Yummy food eaten today: Blank angus sandwich
What I crave: Happiness

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