Time Off Well Spent

It's my last set of days off before the tour season is officially over and I've spent them doing things that I either never do or never have done. All activities can be classified on opposite ends of the Amount of Energy Required for Fun spectrum.

At one end: With complete honesty, I hardly ever watch TV. Ever since I moved away to school I watched less and less because I didn't ever own a TV and actually preferred it that way. Not only did I save my retinas from additional damage, I also saved on bills! But! Last night and today, I did little to nothing other than lay on the couch in my jammies and watch the moving pictures box for hours on end. With snackies. I have to say that even my TV time has been well spent. Not only have I become reacquainted with John and Kate Plus Eight (henceforth referred to as J&K+8) and What Not to Wear, I've also seen the likes of washed up stars like former N'Syncer Joey Fatone and former Spice Girler Mel B in those ultra-annoying commercials for The Singing Office. Is this what even reality TV has come to? Instead of letting the bad talent come to them, they have to pair up two has-beens and send them 'round to corporate America to seek it out? Honestly, if I see one more commercial for that show and have to listen to the ridiculous banter between those two (and with Mel B's accent too - urgh) any more than I already have... Let's say it together now: LAME!

The best reunion with an early 90s star so far has got to be with Joey Lawrence of Blossom fame way back when. Ashamedly, Alex and I were watching Master of Dance (what! it was better than Dance, Dance, Who Ever You May Be (whatever that is...)) and lo and behold, there was an older Joey Russo (sans masses of curly hair) hosting another ridiculous dancing show. What I would have given to hear him say, "Whoa!" And PS: When did he get so HOT?

In other television related news, Sex & the City makes me crazy aka a needy, emotional nutjob, What Not to Wear makes me want to go shopping, and J&K+8 makes me want to have multiple Asian-Caucasian mixed babies. Eight of them, to be precise. My god, have you seen how cute they are? Why are you not watching this show??

And at the other end of the Energy Required For Fun spectrum: activities that actually need me to move. I took Annia to the spa for a surprise birthday manicure-pedicure session and it went a little like this:

Me: Okay, so I have a surprise for you!
Her: PING! *shows me her nails*
Me: *eyes widen*
Her: PING! *shows me her toes*
Me: *mouth opens* Ohhh! So you got your nails done! *big toothy grin to hide horror* When did you do that? *smile bigger to hide desperation*
Her: Yesterday after work - there's a place right by my office!
Me: Ohhhh! Well, then! Isn't that ...GREAT?! *smile smile SMILE*

So, I plan a surprise mani-pedi spa session and she gets the mani-pedi done all by herself the night before. WHY do great minds have to think alike? As we were sitting in the spa after grappling with the front desk ladies as to how to resolve our little situation (I got the mani-pedi anyway, she went in for a facial), I said: "I'm so pissed" and she said, "This is so us" ...and she was right; it was SO us. In the end, she got her first facial ever and I got my first mani-pedi ever. All were ultra nice.

We got dolled up for a night on the town that night and went out to super nice restaurants/lounges. I loved the cast-iron decor of Fire on the East Side, but boys! be sure to take your ladies out to Fuzion and I tell you, she will swoon. Come on, an old Victorian mansion in the heart of Toronto's Gaybourhood? And hello! the private dining nook for two? I can imagine using that space for more than just dining. It's at times like these, when I crave that Sex & the City lifestyle (ultra-glam) that I miss having someone like Mr. D-Bag around. He was all about the fancy dining places and I can just imagine that if we had managed to hold it together, we would have fit into the upscale life so well. At times I want the classy, rich man to take me out and wine and dine me, and at other times, I want to find a man to go traipsing through the woods and roll around in the mud with. Naked.

Speaking of Gaybourhood (no offense intended - isn't that what the locals call it?), I have successfully been to my first gay bar. Woody's. I think I was one of four females in the entire place (the other two being ladies that were part of the same party), and oh my dear goodness, there was a lot of c**k in that place. I mean on the TV screens specifically. There was hard core porn everywhere. Suffice to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself there.

Since then, I've gorged myself at an all-you-can-eat Japanese place (so good! but so dangerous!), had two awesome runs/workouts to burn it all off, and watched a Canadian indie fim called Young People Fucking. Check it out. Be prepared to leave feeling pretty ...hormonal. To make matter worse, I've been listening to Usher's Love in This Club all day and now I want to ...well, you know. In a club. With a thug.

I leave you with this line from the movie: "But... respect is like, the opposite of liking someone!"

Off to Ottawa tomorrow!
6:54 pm