…and that’s not including labour fees!

I went to visit a friend today and while I thought I was OK to hit the roads I guess I was wrong. I suppose I should be lucky I didn’t get into an accident while I was driving on the roads.

I ended up taking the driver’s side rear view mirror off my car by backing into a cement post in a parking lot. How smooth is that? After getting off the phone with Honda, they told me the entire mirror to replace will cost me $229 for the part alone. That’s just insane.

Besides that, it was a nice, sunny day. I went back to school today, dropped off some books to sell, ate some doner at my regular doner-kebab place, inherited an MD-player/recorder, and showed my friend all my Europe pictures while her sister grudgingly slaved over assembling her new toy, an easel.

I need to buy a new mouse as well, to top things off. blah.

I was in downtown Toronto for no more than 2 minutes before I made a hasty decision and decided to head back to Mississauga only because I had left in a rush and had forgotten pretty much everything that I was supposed to bring to my concert at the Molson Amphitheatre. After arriving at the Streetsville Go station I had to walk home in the scorching heat that made me sweat like there was no tomorrow. I couldn’t believe how hot, sticky and humid it was today. It actually felt hotter than when I was in Europe because of all the humidity.

I took a quick shower, picked up my mic, and Norah CD and started walking back to Streetville station hoping that I would catch the next bus to TO. Fortunately the bus arrived right when I got to the station. I met my friend after the 1 hour plus ride to downtown and we both headed to the EX.

The concert was actually pretty good. I may have enjoyed it moreso than last year’s at Massey Hall. I never really listened to her second album so some of the songs were new and a nice welcome for me. Norah has also learned to be less shy on stage and even laughed and giggled stories throughout set changes and songs.

Sadly I was unable to meet her after the concert as I was given the boot by the security people. Maybe next year! Sometime later, I will have the concert up on my site for all to enjoy.

After a long 2.5 months away from home, I finally arrived back safe and sound. Even the guy at customs gave me a nice smile with a warm “welcome back” as I innocently passed by with nothing to declare.

It’s weird though… when I woke up at 6:30am on Monday – and even the night before as I was walking about in Amsterdam – I got my second wind and I actually felt like I could travel for a lot longer again. I had that urge to go to a new country (not Canada) and explore the sites and culture of it. I guess I do have to leave some travelling left for my next trip though.

My first impression as soon as I arrived home was “wow, this house is big!” I’ve been accustomed to so many cramped corridors, hallways, and houses that I never knew exactly how large of a house I lived in. It sure is nice! I was pretty tired, hungry, and my ears were ringing badly as I’m the kind of guy that just can’t intentionally pop my ears even though I try real hard at times. Even today, I woke up with my left ear still not at par.
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I remember talking with Marie-Pier and Isabelle in Istanbul about what I would like to eat as soon as I get back home. One of them answered poutine (they’re both from Quebec City). I had told them that a big, thick juicey soy-sauce flavoured steak with white rice would be really nice. Either that or Japanese styled curry-rice.
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As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, what I saw sitting on the countertop was just to die for. It was a big, thick, juicey steak marinating in soy-sauce just waiting for me to devour it with all my might. Unfortunately there was no white rice to complement it but I lived without it.

So rather than going to sleep right away, I satisfied my appetite with little “tapas” here and there with my parents as we discussed both of our trips to Europe. After dinner I was greeted by my friends who welcomed me back with some homemade jam that they had made in Sudbury. I viewed some pictures of my parent’s meditteranean cruise, and called it a night… afterall, it was around 4am in Amsterdam time.

Now, as I sit in front of my computer with the sound of my laundry spinning in the background, I’m slowly clearing the mess I have made by unpacking my bags. My room is a pig stine. I haven’t even had the chance to organize my film rolls yet. I’m estimating somewhere between 25 -30 rolls in all. I need to get them all developed and digitized since I am planning a fairly large site based on my experiences in the past 2.5 months.

In any case, time for me to clear my room and do more cleaning…