My car still starts the day by blinking Service engine soon at me for a minute, before it stays on the dashboard for the longest time.

I got to work and started to work. iPod boy (DJ) walked in at around 10:00. He came over an hour later and told me how he was showing the former receptionist how to sync different iPods on the same computer. He then decided to deselect the Music option in iTunes, demonstrating something to her. Well, he forgot to select it to synchronize his music. So, on Friday, he didn't have any music and had to sync his entire iPod again.

He ultimately left work at 21:00 that night. I asked him if it was too dark to get to his cottage with his brother-in-law then. he said that he was up talking for a bit after that, so it was okay.

I talked to the president's son (PS). He went to see the latest Resident Evil flick. He said that he liked it. That's as much as a review that you'll ever get from him.

It was nice to have lunch at my desk again. Well, not so much the location, but the fact that I had my salad that I had made for myself. It was chicken and yummy. I even had a Jello chocolate pudding. It's difficult to tear the lid off it. Once it was off in three separate pieces, indulging in the pudding was heavenly.

I went out at around 14:35 to fetch my three parcels at the post office. I had thought about inviting DJ, but he was in a meeting. I saw him come out of it and decided not to say anything.

I got my three parcels. Sadly, the one woman at the post office who does not seem to recognize me and who insists on having me present photo ID was there to serve me. At least she was friendlier than she has been in the past.

I then went to vote early. People there were friendly, I guess because they weren't all that busy. The man performing the same Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) duties as I will next week ripped off the ballots beforehand. According to the training I got, you are not supposed to do that. Then again, the video that we had all watched showed the woman had ripped them out beforehand.

Anyway, the DRO wished me a great day. I thanked everyone working there. It was fun and it gave me great confidence about how the whole process works.

The moocher and I caught up with our lives. He's signing up his son for basketball in Ajax. He told me of the Imperial Buffet on Salem and Harwood. I have heard about it, but have yet to go there. He said the Alaskan crab was amazing. I updated him on my paperwork. I'm still waiting for my human resources contact at my future employer to complete my background check.

Sure enough, about twenty minutes later, the HR woman called me. I said that I'd have to walk out the building. I didn't want people listening in on my conversation and I didn't want to disturb anyone else. She told me that she was ready to talk to my boss about my work skills. As uncomfortable as it is to break the news to him now, I said I would do so tomorrow.

DJ was cleaning out his desk and gave me a few of his old business cards. I already had them. I suggested that he make his own deck of playing cards. He has already done that in the past. He even said that he made his own checkerboard and had it shellacked in a previous work lifetime. It was a fun conversation. It all started with him asking why people were so weird. I said that I needed more than a day to talk about that. I also felt it was progress on his part when I called him weird and he openly accepted it.

I actually managed to get the sales coordinator out of the building just after 17:00. We headed over to our usual parking lot down the road. She parked and got into my car. I drove along Huntingwood to Victoria Park, and then headed south. What was interesting was seeing a black Altima in the right lane, signalling to get into my lane. We both looked at each other. It was the moocher. I rolled down my window. He was picking up his other son from school. He saw the sales coordinator in my car. We briefly talked. I let him in. I kept driving as he turned onto a side street.

We got down to Sherbourne Street. The parking lot that I wanted to park in was already full. I parked just off Wellesley. I didn't know if it was okay, but it didn't matter.

We hit a Persian restaurant by the Phoenix. I had the hot hamburger sandwich. The sales coordinator had a hamburger. My food was pretty good.

It was a horrible idea for the concert folks to make us pay in advance, and show up to present ID and our credit cards to pick up your tickets. The lineup was long. Luckily, the sales coordinator and I kept on talking and laughing. She's addicted to this cooking game on DS Lite. We both made an inside joke about PS calling the new Resident Evil movie "apocalypse comes home now." She's fun company.

So, we got our wristbands, our tickets, had our bags searched, and went in. Sarah Slean was singing up a storm. She was great. She's quite the articulate, flamboyant, dramatic performer.

James Blunt came on-stage at around 21:30. Bummer about two really tall guys standing in front of us. I wish the floor area actually slanted in some way, so that everyone can see who's on stage.

I was pleased with the selection of songs he performed. I was so pleased that he played "I'll take everything." I probably play that song the most off his latest CD. I also was in heaven when he performed "Out of my mind." The sales coordinator did something illegal and recorded that performance.

He has a terrific sense of humour. When one guy yelled out, "I love you, James!" he said back, "Thanks, dad!"

I found that the show was rather short -- probably just under 1.5 hours -- but, I enjoyed it. I wish he had chosen a larger venue.

Here's the review from Canoe.ca:

Phoenix Concert, Toronto - October 1, 2007
2-hour line for 1-hour show -- not beautiful, but true
By JASON MACNEIL -- Special to Sun Media

TORONTO - In one of his songs, James Blunt sings the line "where are you now." And while the tune isn't autobiographic, he might be asking himself the same question with regards to his second album.

The singer, who performed a sold-out show last night at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, recently released his sophomore effort All the Lost Souls. The roughly hour-long show featured a decent blend of the new material along with tracks from his smash debut Back to Bedlam, both of which were lapped up heartily by the demographic-spanning audience. Even Tie Domi was there.

The bearded and rather shaggy-looking British-born singer-songwriter opened the show with Breathe as a four-piece supporting cast fleshed out the Supertramp-like ditty. Strumming an acoustic guitar and from a distance resembling NBA all-star Steve Nash, Blunt paced the stage strumming his acoustic guitar.

"Well, how you doing Toronto!" Blunt said early on to much applause and screams. The genuine appreciation for his fans was mentioned throughout, but thankfully the musician kept primarily to his songs such as the mid-tempo roots-y track Annie and also with Shine On.

However the biggest and perhaps strangest part of the evening (at least inside the venue) was Blunt's decision to go with his uber hit You're Beautiful extremely early in the set. Most would leave it to at least close if not wait for the encore but Blunt was done with it about 15 minutes in.

Blunt's voice isn't the strongest in the world and his warble at times can be a bit grating, but fans still enjoyed it during I'll Take Everything which featured him on keyboard on the far side of the stage. The ensuing One of the Brightest Stars, which had a certain David Bowie circa Space Oddity aura to it, also seemed uneven at times.

With a number of females (and one brave male) shouting, "We love you James!" repeatedly, Blunt and company seemed to gel during the edgier Give Me Some Love as he deliberately paced the stage, looking like he was about to give a Queen Elizabeth-like wave at one point.

Nonetheless, things took a turn for the better with the tender and hushed piano ballad Goodbye My Lover which set a record for the number of "shhhhs" uttered, creating a vicious circle of more "shhhhs." The groove-oriented Wisemen with its Elton John feel also hit the mark.

Throughout it all though, Blunt's rather unassuming manner was what endeared him to some and left some in the minority wondering what all the fuss was about. But Blunt closed things out in style with the new single 1973, a disco-tinged number that had the musician on top of speakers and clapping. While the show finished with songs such as Same Mistake and So Long, Jimmy, the performance was half as long as the wait many fans had outside. Using a ticket pick-up system deterring scalpers, the line had some people waiting patiently for two hours for their turn at will call. A good idea yes, but its execution could have been improved.

It was around 23:30 by the time we walked to my car. I got us a bottle of water each. I drove off and it looked like I had two leaves on my windshield. Nope, one looked like a parking ticket. I had to pull into a gas station off Don Mills Road. She grabbed it. $30. Oh, how nice. Oh well.

I drove her to the parking lot where her car was. We bid each other goodnight and I then headed to Shoppers Drug Mart. I had twenty minutes to pick up what I truly needed to but there. I then headed home.

I opened two of my three parcels. I packed my lunch for tomorrow, showered, brushed my teeth, and was exhausted. I turned in just before 03:00. I'll be feeling the effects of this tomorrow, I'm sure.

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Song that's stuck in my head: James Blunt's "Out of my mind"
Yummy food eaten today: Hot hamburger platter
What I crave: Raspberry lemonade

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
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A new year - 2008-01-01