I still don't understand why my mom insists on getting up at roughly the same time as I do on weekdays. It's not like she has an appointment to get to. Sharing the use of the kitchen sink is getting a tad tiresome. She says it's because she can't sleep well. She has been experiencing problems with her mattress since the weekend, so I can sympathize with her. However, I'm assuming that ever since she saw me eat a rather small breakfast one morning, that she's keeping tabs on me.

This morning, she suggested having these shui mai (dim sum) that was made with minced fish (allegedly). I heated up a couple. I had one bite of one of them and nearly threw up. It was sweet and horrible! It apparently had water chestnuts. I like water chestnuts, but the combination was disgusting. So, my mom saw me have little to eat for breakfast. I'm sure she'll still be getting up at the same time as I do to see what else I have for breakfast.

At work, it was another productive day. I continued working on that production document that iPod boy (DJ) could have edited, but didn't. I could tell that he seemed intimidated to approach me, for he probably suspected that I was somewhat perturbed that he had given me more work to do. Additionally, he is nosy, constantly looking at what's on my screen. He hasn't bugged me about it since I worked on the document that he technically should have been working on.

The sales coordinator's ex-smoking buddy sent me an e-mail, indirectly asking why my software release notes weren't on the network drive. I explained that neon boy (PC) had taken notes from my folder that were intended for a commission and sent them to a customer, which caused some grief afterwards. Since then, I've simply removed the folder off the drive and this sort of mess hasn't recurred.

Anyway, I asked him if he could set up a folder in my directory where a handful of people who need to access it can do so. He said that he'd work on that for me. Cool. In the meantime, I had to send him a couple of documents on changes from nearly two years ago.

The developer with whom I work closely the most out of all of the programmers sent me some more release notes to do. I'll get around to that tomorrow.

PC sent a rather irritating e-mail to me today. He asked me to choose two out of the five photographs of products that he had attached and asked me to remove the backgrounds. He went on to say that he needed them in a presentation and that he needed these images by tomorrow. He had to toss his manager's name into the picture and said that this request was urgent. I would have none of that.

I wrote back to him, copying my manager. I told him that I was exceptionally busy. After all, I was working on DJ's work right now. The original request came in on Friday and I was still working on it. I told him that I could not guarantee that I'd get his work done by tomorrow. I need more notice than that. I guess reality had finally sunk in. He wrote back to me and said to not worry about it. You think? He could do this task himself. If it's a last-minute presentation, show that it is by inserting the pictures as-is.

I managed to print off that document, and sit outside on the picnic bench (don't ask why one is tucked away from practically everything), and revised it. It was nice to get some fresh air while working. Twenty minutes later, I went back inside, made my final changes to the document, and then called it good. I proceeded to send it off to the vice president of operations.

Twenty minutes before I was to leave, I went upstairs to talk to my manager. I had to get him to sign my vacation request form and to ask how I could get a DITA software package paid for by the company. He just told me to state why I needed it and how it would benefit my writing to him. He'd then forward it to the president. Now, I just have to find some time to write all this out.

I left at precisely 14:30. I didn't say a word to anyone. I typed goodbye to the sales coordinator on MSN messenger. That was it. DJ was on the phone, talking away. I quietly walked to my car and waited for the president's son (PS). I waited for a bit and then called him. I then heard him call my name. I looked back, and he was there. I told him to quickly get into my car. I then exited from the back way. It was an exciting getaway!

We stopped at Casey's for lunch. We shared a chicken quesadilla, which was yummy. I had the three-cheese bison burger with a caesar salad. I couldn't eat it all. I left about a third of the salad and half the hamburger bun. PS went with the jambalaya. He liked it.

The rain was coming down hard. We were watching the entire thunder-and-lightning show from our table. It was nice to watch, but I was glad to be indoors. I was more excited that this fairly heavy rainfall would get the bird poop off the passenger-side window of my car. Woo hoo!

It was raining gently when we left the restaurant before 16:00. We drove down to the Molson Amphitheatre. We were in a bit of a traffic jam. I had to take Lake Shore Boulevard, and the folks wanting to go on the Gardiner Expressway affected our lanes. Anyway, we parked at around 17:00. PS was kind to pay for parking. I used my parking brake. I don't do that too often, but I was parked on a slope and didn't want to take any chances. We then walked over to the venue.

The bag search was fine. He didn't see my digital camera at the bottom of it, which was nice. I bought a t-shirt, and purchased drinks for PS and me. We stood around for a bit before we were allowed to enter the venue.

Our seats were good. I wasn't crazy about the two folks sitting in front of me. They kept on talking, which meant that it was fairly difficult to take pictures. I still managed to, despite this minor hurdle.

The following review appeared on Canoe.ca. I find it missing some parts, which I hope I can fill in afterwards.

Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto - June 19, 2007
By JASON MACNEIL -- Sun Media

TORONTO -- She sang, she danced, she headlined. Oh and she bopped too.

The first True Colors tour made its lone Canadian stop at the Molson Amphitheatre last night, with Cyndi Lauper closing the five-hour, six-act show. And while she'll be turning 54 a few days from now, the singer still wowed the crowd with a bevy of hits from her heyday as well as some new material.

Opening with Hole In My Heart and wearing an umbrella-like hat with an orange wig underneath, Lauper and her five-piece cast energized the already energetic crowd by dancing barefoot, shaking hands with those on the floor and going deep into the audience.

The tour, created by Lauper, is in support of the Human Rights Campaign aimed at bringing awareness and advocating issues facing the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. A portion of the show's proceeds also goes to Pride Toronto.

After thanking the crowd for coming, Lauper, who came on roughly 25 minutes later than originally planned, tore through songs such as the disco-tinged new tune Set Your Heart before dishing out When You Were Mine.

While fans enjoyed the early songs, Lauper left her best for last, with the punchy pop tune Money Changes Everything and the almost obligatory Girls Just Want To Have Fun slated for the homestretch.

Although she was the headliner on the bill, it appeared that Lauper might have been upstaged by British dance faves Erasure. Led by the flamboyant dancing maven Andy Bell, the group's electro-meets-techno pop was well received from start to finish.

Opening with Sunday Girl, Bell, keyboardist Vince Clarke and three female backing singers shone with Chains Of Love, Oh L'Amour and especially during A Little Respect which made the roughly two-thirds filled venue feel like a discotheque.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Debbie Harry, not for what she performed but more for what the lead singer of Blondie singer didn't.

Although showcasing some new material from her upcoming album Necessary Evil, Harry never dished out a single Blondie hit, instead relying on basically unknown pop songs like Whiteout and the ballad-ish If I Had You. The result left many sitting on their hands.

While Harry didn't go over so great, fans lucky to arrive early got an eyeful and earful from rock trio The Gossip. Fronted by the rather hefty but extremely dynamic Beth Ditto, the group's dance-rock set closed with Standing in the Way of Control. Ditto also managed to rip off her dress for the song, wearing nothing but her undergarments and leaving little to the imagination.

Other opening acts included the cabaret-meets-rock duo Dresden Dolls as well as local band The Cliks, who seemed to take pride in the fact they were playing at home during Pride Week.

My thoughts on the show:

Margaret Cho

• Hosted the event. Funny. Vulgar, but appropriate for the tone of the show.
• Her rap towards the end was priceless. Had a wig on with a female comedian, playing a lesbian couple. Hilarious!
• Mocked Paris Hilton, George W. Bush, and her Governor, Arnold. I enjoyed what she had to say.

The Cliks

• Band for Toronto. Songs were pretty good. New album in stores.
• I'd estimate they played for thirty minutes at the most.

The Gossip

• Amazing band! Lead singer was lively, working the stage well. Great singer.
• She surprisingly tore off her dress and paraded around in her bra and underwear. Gutsy and daring. Good for her.

Debbie Harry

• Looked stylish and terrific. Must be around sixty years of age by now.
• Sang what seemed to be new material from her upcoming album. Good stuff, but the crowd wasn't into it as much as I had predicted.

The Dresden Dolls

• Drummer had a white dress on. Lead singer played on the keyboards. Liked the record-skipping part of one of their songs. Done extremely well.
• Drummer removed his dress. Had tight pair of red shorts on. That was it. Played guitar.

Erasure

• The duo did not disappoint! Sang "Sunday girl" right off the bat. Was impressed that the guy in front of PS knew the words to the song. Similarly, he looked back and seemed pleased that I was singing along, too.
• So much energy when they came out. Andy Bell talked about how he was treated at customs. Customs officer asked how much his nice carry-on suitcase was. He couldn't remember, which bugged the officer.
• Good mix of older songs like "Oh l'amour" and "A little respect," as well as two new songs, "I could fall in love with you" and "Sucker for love." The duo was the best act out of the bunch.

Cyndi Lauper

• Came on-stage with a long, red-orange wing, as if she were doing her "Time after time" video. She sang a new song and then removed her wing. The wig gimmick seemed to be a recurring theme with a few of the acts.
• Cyndi sang and went into the crowd a few times, which was normal for her. There were a couple of technical audio difficulties, which sucked.
• She did sing "I drove all night", "Time after time," and "Goonies r good enough." Great job.

Finale

• All acts came on stage. Large, colourful air balls/balloons were launched into the crowd. Everyone on-stage sang "True colours." Andy Bell has such a sweet voice. He sang lead for a bit. It was incredible. They also did an ABBA cover, before wrapping up a delightful show.

We walked to my car and I drove PS home. I then drove home. A guy in a van in the next lane seemed upset a number of times when I had passed by him each time. At one point, I would guess that he was doing closer to 100 km, just to make a point zooming past me that he was the faster driver. Whatever.

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Song that's stuck in my head: Erasure's "Sucker for love"
Yummy food eaten today: Chicken quesadillas
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