An American Idiot in the Great White North

Well, it’s been a few great days so it’s time to pass on what’s happened.

Let’s see, last time we heard from our fearless hero he had just gotten back from the war. Well, I had a fantastic and moderately productive week.

Tuesday I was a slug. I was just totally beat after all of the traveling. Hereward and I went to lunch and hung out for a couple of pints, but that was all I had in me. Wednesday was significantly more productive. I went to the Dictionary of Old English project and chatted with them. I got a copy of the Old English Corpus and have really enjoyed prowling around through it. We also chatted about their resources and plans. Dr. Antoinette diPaulo Healey is in charge of the project and she is wonderfully enthusiastic and charming. I was fortunate to get there on cake day, the day that they have cake for all of the birthdays during the month with their tea. It was very informative and also very charming. Grandma would have enjoyed it too.

Wednesday night Hereward and I went to the Eoforwic meeting. The meeting was supposed to be over the ins and outs of Pennsic for new people, but there was only one person there who had never been to Pennsic, so we went to the bar. We hung out at O’Grady’s having a fabulous time. Eventually Hereward had to go to another pub to watch Toronto FC play Real Salt Lake with the Toronto FC supporters. After everyone had left O’Grady’s I went and joined him and we got pretty drunk together. Tomorrow, I would be joining Eoforwic again but I’ll be doing something else. More later on that.

Thursday I spent with Medb. It was really good to reconnect some with her. We haven’t chatted as much over the past few years as much as I would have liked, but we’re both so busy and I’m so bad about keeping contact. We ate at a really good Chinese buffet and watched Labyrinth. I hadn’t seen that in a looooong time. It has aged some, but still a fun movie and Jim Henson was a magician.

Friday night was pretty laid back, but Jocelyn and I had a good time on Saturday. She is breaking up with her husband for many of the same reasons I broke up with Holly. We talked a lot at Trillies about our respective experiences, and the similarities are striking. She’s going to counseling, which helped both Holly and I quite a bit, and we are enjoying comparing notes. Saturday, we went to the ROM and walked around for four hours, then went to see Ocean’s 13, then had dinner at a Korean table grill place. A nice relaxing evening between friends.

Sunday was more relaxation amongst friends. I went out to Adrielle and Nigel’s place in Lindsay. Berend, Mahault, Colyne, and Thorfinna were also there. We didn’t do much of anything but sit around, chat, grill out, and pet Gilchrist the dog. The big highlight has to be the ice cream truck. I have to say that Berend does mentally handicapped wayyyyy too well.

Monday was kind of an odd night, much of which was spent in Lakeside Park enjoying the sights. On the one hand was Lake Ontario, and I have always felt the call of large bodies of water. Other people might see a nothingness of gray or blue, but I see a shifting kaleidescope of energy and soul. I also was able to do some anthropological research as I watched the people at the part.

Then we get to tonight. Hereward and I just got back from the Weird Al concert. It was amazing. First of all, the concert was at Massey Hall. Massey Hall was built in 1894 and it is a fantastic place to watch a concert. We were 16 rows back, essentially in the center, and could see pretty much every detail. Al puts on an incredibly detailed show. The music is the music, but the band changes costumes a lot, and during those breaks he has mock interviews with various people on the screen behind him. These are absolutely hilarious, and give him time to put on the Amish costume or the Jedi costume or the Fat costume or the Nirvana costume or the…, well you get the picture. His bandmates are also constantly changing as well. One great highlight was the harmonica guy. This guy was one of the roadies who during Al’s parody of Billy Joel’s Piano Man came out and held the harmonica. He was very funny, shaking out the spit, combing his hair, looking bored waiting for his moment. Later, he came out in drag for another song. The concert was a little over 2 hours long and it flew by. It was, as I say, amazing. Perhaps the most ironic moment was hearing Weird Al do Canadian Idiot in a century old Toronto venue. Awesome.

One of the things that Hereward and I have been doing is watching lots of soccer. He’s a rabid fan, and I really enjoy the game, so we’ve seen lots of games. It is especially enjoyable since the US has done really well so far in the FIFA U-20 Cup. Tomorrow, instead of going to Eoforwic’s meeting, he and I will be going to see the US play Uruguay in the round of 16. I’m pumped.

Thursday, we’re going to the Dora Keogh, an Irish pub that is supposed to have fantastic Irish music. I don’t know what’s happening on Friday or Saturday, but I am definitely looking forward to Eoforwic fighter practice on Sunday. More later, eh?

6 thoughts on “An American Idiot in the Great White North”

  1. We hung out at O’Grady’s having a fabulous time. Glad to hear someone had a good time. It only reminded me why I tend not to go to the pub stuff.

    1. ps

      We haven’t chatted as much over the past few years as much as I would have liked, but we’re both so busy and I’m so bad about keeping contact.

      You’re forgetting there are other reasons for that, which I’m not going to get into here, but I’m still very much conflicted about.

  2. How are you going to celebrate your birthday ?

    I hear that it’s your birthday next week. What sort of plans do you have for celebrating it ?

    Btw, next weekend we’ll be celebrating Jocelyn’s b-day with a trip to a falconry centre (with a BBQ and or go-karting on her actual birthday a few days later). Can we tempt you out for that ?

    1. Re: How are you going to celebrate your birthday ?

      Huh? When did that get announced? I can’t make it due to a previously planned trip to London, but I hope my email isn’t losing messages…

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