Go, go, go, go...

Go me-ee... it's my birthday. There ain't no party, but it's my birthday. I'll have no Bacardi, but it's my birthday. And I know you may not care that it is my birthday!
Today was pretty good as far as birthdays go. First off, I didn't have to go to school today, because I had an STC meeting. It was a little draggy, but I got some good info from it. Another plus from that is that I get paid for a full day's work instead of the usual 85%, plus I get mileage. Bitchin'. I also got a free canvas bag and a metallic Dept. of Ed. travel mug (which C will get, 'cause I don't drink tea or coffee). Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day of school after a sub was in for me today.

This evening, I finished opening birthday things, and am suitably satisfied. I'd be pretty satisfied with next to nothing, so I guess I'm overly satisfied. A couple of books, a couple of DVDs, a few CDs, a subscription to Paste Magazine (check it out for sure), a little cash, and some odds & ends (like peach salsa, cherry salsa, etc).

C and I went to the Maple Grill tonight for supper. It was my first time there. It was good all-round. Not my best meal ever, but no complaints really. Nice enough inside, and very good food at OK prices. I had the blackened salmon with cucumber salsa and lime, with roasted new red potatoes. I had some chocolate ice-cream brownie thing for dessert. C had buttered chicken and a maple sponge cake for dessert. Well, the cake was for dessert, the chicken was the main course. 'Twas all delicious and good to the tune of about $41.

I got four CDs for the b-day (so far anyway). I got a couple of autographed ones (always nice!), "If It Was You" by Tegan and Sara, and "Destination Unknown" by two people I met, helped lug gear with, and saw in concert, Ron Sexsmith & Don Kerr. I have only listened to it halfway so far, so I won't post on it yet (but so far so good). The two I will make note of are:


Colin James, "Limelight"
I was a little nervous about this one. I had kind of thought Colin had gone the way of Eric Clapton. Come onto the scene with a bang, do some damage here and there with different things along the way, but make kind of bland studio albums after that. Well, his stuff isn't really bland... it's just that when I think of his last disc, "Traveller", nothing much comes to mind. It had a few good covers, and the CD was good, but nothing was too memorable overall. This one is a breath of fresh air after that. Just imagine his sound from "National Steel" mixed with some Blackie & The Rodeo Kings (thanks to Colin Linden's playing and co-production). Add a few hints of other things here and there, and it's sounding pretty great. The music's not stale... it's fresh and has some really cool twists in it. This CD was a pleasant surprise.


The Waking Eyes, "Video Sound"
I haven't had a good stereo listen with this yet, but overall it's good. It doesn't grab me by the ears 100% yet, but there's some good rockin' tunes on here and some good songwriting. It's definitely worth a listen, but I don't think it'll turn into an all-time fave or anything.

Thanks to Karen and Tara for putting in the effort to electronically wish me a happy birthday. It made the day that much better. It's nice to be thought of.