A: Good times, good limes

I've recently been into a band called the Beta Band. I discovered them when I re-watched High Fidelity the first time; their song "Dry the Rain" is used in a very notable scene in the movie and I decided I wanted to find out exactly how interesting this band was. It took me a few listens to decide whether I liked them or found them bland, but I decided it was just calm enough without being tedious. Like the Coral, it'd be a hard sell for me to recommend them, but if you want to check out that song, "Dogs Got a Bone," "Inner Meet Me" and "Needles In My Eyes," you might enjoy them. And if you're a media-arts type, it would make good soundtrack music. (Good enough for Stephen Frears, right?)

Part of what got me down yesterday was reading old comments. I don't wanna sound like a little whiny bitch, and if you don't have anything to say, I'm not going to beg, because what is there to say? Those who used to comment more fervently (good word) have gone. I don't comment on everything I read, I know that. But it's nice, sometimes. (Of course, now that I've brought it up, I don't want one.)

I was writing last night's entry, the time-warped Feb 29 edition, but I got stalled. I got distracted by re-reading old entries and then after a few paragraphs I actually had to go. so I didn't even finish it until earlier tonight, but for the sake of my own amusement, I kept the original date intact.

Around 7:45, I got a lift out to the Executive Snooker Club to catch Joe's Fourth Show there. I caught his first show back in early January but was unable to make any of the following onesuntil I made myself determined to see this one. Thankfully Dad was able to give me a ride, I had put off asking him just out of sheer procrastination.

He had given me a lift to the first show. When I told him I was going back, he said "You're very supportive of your friends. I like that." I guess this was in combination with my recent going to the shows at WOSS. I humbly said well yeah, I'd just hope anyone would do that for me, so of course I support my friends. And I thought it was a weird and nice thing to say, that he "liked that." My dad's not necessarily a reserved guy, on the contrary quite open and honest, but only when he really thinks something. Anyway, we also ended up getting into an unfortunate conversation about University fees and paperwork. Sa-igh.

So I got there, and there was Joe surrounded by various friends from various spheres of his life. Mansoor got there a moment after I did, and we got to catching up. I think it's important, when meeting up with old friends, that you have something to talk about other than "What's new with you?" To remind yourselves that you're still friends and can relate on the level of interests and senses of humour. The conversation on this day related primarily to boobs and tits. Permit me to explain.

Well, do I really need to? Boobs and tits. Self-explanitory, right? Well not exactly. Mansoor, the best-case scenario as far as employment post-Sheridan goes, was telling me some of the stories of his time working at Queen's Park. His boss, an MPP whose name I continually forget, was riding with him in a car and just randomly struck up a conversation with him, "So Mansoor, what do you like in a girl?"

Mansoor, the modest, quiet type, (who may even be embarrassed by my including this anecdote,) answered about how he likes girls who are a bit like him, introverted, a little nerdy, and so forth. The MPP nodded and replied with his own answer:

"I like big boobs and tits."

So at this point I'm laughing my ass off and Mansoor is explaining that his boss elaborated upon the distinction between boobs and tits; "Boobs are, like, rounder and softer, whereas tits are pointy." I'm not sure if I agree with that particular classification, but hey man, big is big, right?

Mansoor used this anecdote as an example that politicians are really just normal guys with high-stress jobs who need to blow off steam every now and again. The guy admitted that his wife did not, in fact, have "big boobs or tits."

So we had a laugh at that and caught up a bit more while waiting for the gig to start. We discussed some of our mutual friends who could not make it and what they were up to. We also talked about one former classmate. She may be reading this but I strongly doubt it. The words "crazy bitch" came up, half-jokingly, as well as some of the scandalous bits about her.

Then Joe and I swapped some stories - I told at least one of my more interesting anecdotes as seen on this blog, and Joe gave up one of embarrassment during a recent social drinking escapade.

Our waitress came by; nobody wanted a drink, but her eyes lit up when she saw Joe. "You're the music guy - I like you!" Everyone smirked at one another, whilst Joe blushed and introduced himself. "Hi Joe, I'm Natalie. If anyone needs anything, just grab me." After she went on her way, we all had kind of a warm moment with Joe and one of his friends, JB by name I believe, tried to convince him to dedicate a song to her.

Finally it was time to go in, and after a sound check for a later band, Joe took the stage. I ordered a Stella (not sure why, pretty pricey) and hung out across a table from Mansoor and next to a friend of Joe's, Tina by name. Over the course of two drinks for me and one drink (not even an alcoholic one) for her, we joked around a bit; she ordered a Coke with lime (hence the title of this post.) I actually got buzzed a bit easier than I usually do because I was in a hurry to down my drinks and as a result may have been uncouth to some degree, or just plan weird. She made a reference to something on the Food Network at one point and my response was "Here's what I know about Food Network... Good Eats... and Nigella. All I know is there happens to be a chef named Nigella, and she happens to have fabulous breasts." Har har. Maybe a bit drunk. I don't know what may have been going through her mind at the time, but me, I should probably be kept away from other people when drunk sometimes.

Joe played a really good set. He played a couple songs I'd not heard him play before, including a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" during which he broke out the harmonica, complete with its own holder. He also played my personal fave Chammas song, "Hourglass," which he dedicated to Miss Natalie, causing her to squeal a bit with delight. This seemingly genuine reaction did not abate the fact that Tina and I were convinced that, like all service people, she was just out for tips. Sweet girl though.

After the next act - an electro-acoustic performer, kind of an Asian Jewel (a somewhat embarrassing moment occurred during Risk where I had to explain to Chris that Jewel was a singer-songwriter from the 90's, known for her snaggletooth) Joe and Mansoor were about ready to go. I convinced them to stay for the following two reasons: 1) I had seen the next band doing a soundcheck and wanted to hear them, and 2) I was likely not in a healthy state to walk out of there. So I convinced them to hang around.

The band, whose name I unfortunately forget, did a good set indeed, playing a bunch of originals and really rocking out. Mansoor was glad he stayed, comparing the group to U2 and remarking how polished they were. I wouldn't have said U2 but couldn't exactly describe what they sounded like to me.

So we said our goodbyes and left on our way, I with Mansoor and Joe with his other friends. Joe shared a chaste word with Natalie to cap off the running story of the night, at the behest of his friends (seriously though who talks like I do?) On the way home, Mansoor and I had a lengthy conversation about 1) taking chances in life and 2) the Beatles. That's your typical Mansoor conversation, haha, what a guy.

In my stupor I attempted to watch Saturday Night Live but really just passed out for the most part. I downed some juice and headed for bed.

Today was totally un-noteworthy except that we went out to dinner with Granddad, who is headed to Palm Springs. We went to this Tex-Mex place by the airport (Lone Star's) and dad privately scoffed at the waiter (Ace.) Dad had a "po' boy" bsandwich, three others had steak sandwiches, Granddad had the very Tex-Mex Fish & chips. I had Fajitas, and as always, walked out with a bit of a doggy bag. But eating in public is getting easier.

I have to admit it's getting better, getting better all the time.

I didn't mention this last post because I was rushing a bit, but I actually went out and got my hair cut, which is an experience that has changed considerably over the years. Time was I'd jsut walk into the hair place and wait for somebody to be open. In the last few years, I've gotten very comfortable with the same barber, (and even sent a friend to her, although I dunno if he actually went.) So I go in and ask if she's in; yeah, but there's a bit of a wait. See, everybody now asks for their preferred barber, which leads to my girl and this toher guy being more busy than their co-workers, who at one point were sitting around unable to cut anyone's hair. I felt a little guilty; I didn't used to be this guy.

But the truth is, I like my barber. It isn't that I think she does a uniquely wonderful job on my hair. She does it very well but I've never come away from any haircut thinking "this sucks." But it's the very personal matter of barber chair conversation. I used to dread haircuts because I never knew what the fuck to say while I was sitting there, letting these people fiddle with my hair. I'll stop at nothing to avoid awkwardness (I know I said in an earlier post that "awkward was what I do best" but the two matters are not contradictary I suppose.)

So we taked about your usual small talk. Her stepson, my plans for the future (I have none) her desire to win at Roll Up The Rim, so on, so forth. I got it done shorter than usual. It looks a bit off for now, I think, but may pay off later when it starts to get really long. After all, I won't step foot back in there until at least June, maybe July. The fact that my barber always remembers me after such a long time is part of the reason I always ask for her.

During the wait, I stopped in at HMV, then went to Source and picked up some new earphones. There's nothing wrong with my iPod earphones but during a browsing trip with Amanda several weeks ago, I decided it was about time. My iPod earbuds are getting worn to an unreasonable degree - the rubber bits are worn off, they're looking ratty etc. (I write "etc/etcetera" a lot. I say it a lot too.) They still work fine, although I thought that was not the case when I bought a new pair over the summer (which broke in the fall.) I have an unfortunate history with head/earphones. I am continually finding myself replacing them, which is why I shelled out $7 for free replacements over two years. Because I know I'll need them, so it's an investment rather than a bet. If these suckers last two years I'll gladly shell out the money. As it is, the sound quality is pretty good, very different from te iPod ones. They're also soft and comfortable, and the bass is really sharp.

And they're blue.

So I've posted twice tonight and could probably stand to chill out a while and go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Of course, I'm not a reasonable person so we'll see what happens.

Keep on rockin'
-Scott