I left the house at 07:30 and drove down to my usual parking lot when I tend to see a concert at the Air Canada Centre. It's actually faster for me to ride the GO train downtown than it is for me to drive it.

Well, I backed my car into the spot on the sixth floor. I then got lost trying to get out of the parking lot maze. Of course, I had left some of my belongings I had to bring with me to work and went back to the car to fetch them. I eventually got to work by 08:45.

I got feedback on the work I had done on the website from my cubicle guy beside me. I thanked him for it, which he seemed to appreciate.

My friend shot me an e-mail and then walked over to my desk. I had just under an hour to figure out whether or not I was going to attend the company Christmas party. It's going to be held at the convention centre. That's mighty huge! She sent me links and some pictures she had taken last year. She advised it was a lot of fun. She decided to do the departmental booking, for the usual person has moved to a different department.

I was asked by the project coordinator to join a departmental meeting. I met another member of the team. She seemed to be happy seeing another Chinese person. Anyway, the meeting was kind of a status report on what we were up to. I basically fumbled my way through it, saying I was doing website and translation work. Everyone was helping me. My boss seemed pleased. I supposed it helped that the cubicle guy said that he was working on the web migration project with me and that I was doing a good job with the website.

I worked until 11:45, decided to skip meeting-happy woman's meeting. I did chat with the Chinese woman in the kitchen. She seemed like a friendly woman, but a bit nosy.

So, our entire group walked over to Richtree for lunch. I got to talk with the coordinator a bit, as it was her farewell luncheon. The market has tons of fresh goodies. I ended up getting some chicken penne, a small salad with sliced cucumbers, with a creamy dill dressing. I also went for a raspberry, banana, and orange juice. Yummy!

We had seen our manager at one of the food areas a few minutes ago. When we got to the lunchroom, a few of us had noticed she wasn't there. That was when the project coordinator said that our manager had slipped on something on the floor and had fallen, potentially breaking her index finger. Some said it was her left (dominant) hand. Luckily, a colleague standing next to her got a taxi chit to get her to the hospital. I must say that it was difficult to eat lunch after that.

My friend is quite the chatterbox. We sat across from the Chinese woman. She asked my friend about whether or not I was invited to my friend's wedding. Wow, how awkward was that. We both basically said that we had only recently reconnected on Facebook.

The restaurant felt a bit guilty about our manager slipping on its premises, so we got free dessert. It seemed so odd, as our manager was in the emergency room while we were shovelling down desserts.

Each time you visit a food station, you have to give the person your card to be swiped. When you're done, you check out of the market. My lunch came up to $17.71. It was yummy, but I wouldn't dine there every day!

An hour later, I had a meeting with my cubicle guy and the website migration guy. It was a productive meeting. It was nice that cubicle guy pulled me into the French translation part of the discussion.

I had to attend another last-minute meeting. It was fine, except that I had little to add to the discussion.

Our boss came back from the hospital. She had a Mr Sub bag in one hand, and a splinter on her right ring finger. She said she was fine. Her finger was dislocated, which was better than hearing that it was broken. She said she was fine. Luckily, we could all collectively stop worrying now.

The president's son (PS) is horrible at communicating. I wrote to him, asking when he was thinking of leaving work to head downtown. He wrote back to me and said at 16:00. I had indicated that my cellphone was dead and that he should call me at work. He did so. An hour later, he was at Union Station. Too bad he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. I said that I needed fifteen minutes before meeting him across from where I work. He didn't get it at first, but then said he'd walk around before meeting me. Cool.

So, I met him at the Royal Bank Plaza. I had to take some money at the ATM. We then walked up to Quiznos. The pavement was wet from the light dusting of snow that had apparently fallen when I was working indoors. He paid for dinner, which consisted of a roast beef and swiss submarine with a drink, a double chocolate brownie, and chicken noodle soup. PS paid, for I was currently paying $25 for parking my car in the lot since this morning.

We went to my car to put some of our stuff in. We then took the PATH, the underground pathway to various buildings and attractions, to get to Union Station. It was fun.

We got to the Air Canada Centre fairly early, but went in and got our merchandise. I got a blue t-shirt and a key chain. PS forked out money for his t-shirt and a mug. We then found our seats up on the 300 level of the centre, after I had purchased a vanilla and chocolate Drumstick.

The show started at 19:30 with Fictionplane. They were fine, although I found that a few of their songs sounded the same. It was nice to see the lead singer and guitarist leap off a few amplifiers. Roughly fifty minutes later, they walked off the stage.

At around 20:45, The Police came on the stage. Lots of screaming and cheering. The band certainly made a terrific entrance. It was a nice night of nostalgic music. The band sounded really good.

Here's the review from Canoe.ca:

Air Canada Centre, Toronto - November 8, 2007
By JASON MacNEIL - Special to Sun Media

TORONTO - After waiting for more than 20 years to see them back together, last night marked the third time in less than six months The Police played Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

And while there were a few moments during the trio's nearly two-hour set where one asked if reuniting was such a good idea, the majority of the evening left no question it was the right decision.

Whether it was Sting's strong, powerful vocals that have yet to fail him, drummer Stewart Copeland's meticulous and precise performance or guitarist Andy Summers' adept solos, The Police often seemed to sound timeless, beginning with the opening Message In a Bottle from 1979's Reggatta de Blanc album.

After quickly introducing Summers and Copeland, the latter wearing a T-shirt featuring the Ghost In the Machine digital cover art, the group kicked into Synchroncity II as splashes of blue, yellow and red appeared on three video screens overhead.

"I want this to be the best night," Sting said when mentioning the four nights the band were in town. And for the most part, the near-capacity crowd didn't disappoint, singing along loudly to the reggae-tinged Walking On the Moon. Here Sting, who did a little curtesy to those seated behind the stage, kept to the core of the song, rarely resorting to the jazzy, lounge-like renditions of The Police tunes in recent solo tours.

Perhaps the first highlight and surprise was how well the melding of Voices In My Head with When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best Of What's Still... came off. It was also during the tune where the chemistry between all three was clearly displayed, with Sting playfully striking the cymbals at Copeland's drumkit.

Yet the first clunker quickly ensued when Don't Stand So Close to Me was dusted off. Although the verses were almost spot on, the punchy chorus seemed to be lacking. Nonetheless, it didn't seem to get the crowd's knickers in a knot.

The trio, one of the last stubborn holdouts to join forces for a reunion tour, have come a long way since their humorous and rather ragged tour launch set at the Whiskey A Go Go earlier this year. At that time, Copeland was yelling chord changes to his cohorts. But on this night it sounded like a well-oiled machine for Driven to Tears, the up-tempo Truth Hurts Everybody and the crowd pleasing Every Little Thing She Does is Magic which had all dancing.

The second half definitely had more memorable moments, whether it was the soothing Wrapped Around Your Finger that had Copeland standing and hitting chimes, cymbals and a large gong behind him or the toe-tapping De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da that evoked another loud sing-along.

Probably the oddest moments came during Walking In Your Footsteps which opened with Sting blowing into a tiny pan flute that even Zamfir would refuse to use. Also, images of dinosaur skeletons were superimposed on the screens, perhaps a subtle knock at other bands long in the tooth who cashed in on farewell tours the last decade.

The concert's homestretch was certainly nothing to sneeze at, beginning with the perky Can't Stand Losing You and the show-stopping Roxanne that has lost none of its verve or intensity.

The Police returned for a brief encore highlighted by So Lonely and Every Breath You Take, driving home the point they while they are definitely cashing in, they're earning their keep.

After the show, PS and I walked through PATH. I got tired of him waiting for me to always open the door. So, I just stood there. He eventually got the hint after the tenth door and open one for a change.

I mentioned that it would be interesting if I was his guest at my now former employer's Christmas party. He fell even more silent than normal. I jokingly said that I'd have to crash the party. He didn't say anything. I felt that something was up. We'll see if I'm right.

PS changed the topic and asked if I wanted a hot chocolate. He actually wanted some juice. So, he paid for my medium hot chocolate.

I drove PS home, taking the DVP to save some time. On Sunday, he had left his lip balm in my car. I returned it to him. Guess what? He got out of the car and the lip balm rolled under the car. Rather than trying to fetch it, he asked that I move my car. So, I drove. I drove right over it. So much for saving his stupid tube of lip balm.

I got home at around 00:20. I showered, synchronized my iPod, and finally turned it at 02:00.

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Song that's stuck in my head: The Police's "Every little thing she does is magic"
Yummy food eaten today: Roast beef and swiss sub
What I crave: Hot chocolate

Recent thoughts:
Readings, lights, and random thoughts - 2009-03-15
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