Thursday, August 20th/09, Ottawa/Toronto, ONT

Oh, the humidity!

We stayed in Fara’s apartment, woke up to a friendly cat and slightly more than energetic weiner dog named Rocky. It was humid out, a little more than what us island boys are used to, a cool breeze, rain for 5 minutes every hour, no matter what season. It was a sauna, and I’m sure Ottawa is used to it this time of year, but we like to complain, it’s a gift. The shower was nice and very much appreciated. We all had a slight grease build up after the past few days, due to the amount of moisture we managed to accumulate just by merely sitting in the van and walking around. Dan explained to me later that the reason it is so muggy in this province this time of year is because of something to do with the surrounding massive bodies of water and heat not being able to escape with the prevailing winds, hence there is a build of moisture and the heat settles and so on and so forth, other nerdy explanations. Dan, for some reason, has this way of making you feel better about a situation in which you do not understand, he seemingly knows everything, well not everything, that’s impossible, but if you ever want to know all about something that’s not really relevant to everyday living, but insanely interesting, like the origin of tic-tacs or who co-starred in Star Trek Deep Space Nine Episode 20 or how the A&W corporation works, or even the difference between the terms “Chode” and “Choda,” Dan’s your man. He then explained to me, that when challenged with a tough question or thrown into a debate club, he refers to wikipedia, temporarily changes the write-up or article so that he is always right. Brilliance.

For lack of anything better to do, we cranked The Grateful Dead and drove to Toronto. Little did we know that there would be a sonofabitch of a rainstorm, and hell, why not even tornadoes, thrown in our path. We hit construction (wow, really?) got held up, and then the storm hit. It was fairly brutal and unsettling in the van, but the lightning was pretty bitchin’. It passed rather quickly and we made it to Toronto by midnight. 3 of the best bands in the world, our new friends, “Brights” and “The Snips” and “Party at the Moon Tower” were playing at Sneaky Dee’s, so we decided to follow these heartbreakers there like the ball and chains that we are. We hung around for most of the night and watched some amazing sets by amazing bands, one band whom I’ve never heard, but was pretty stoked on, “Junior Battles,” delivered some sweet punk ballads right into my eardrums. We ate some awesome burritos and then met up with everyone outside the club, including our good friend, Lanny from Vancouver (what a babe) only to be confronted by a surly and clearly upset, middle-aged man in an expensive suit. Let me just say, this man used alot of curse words distastefully and really did not care for a few things, things like purple shirts, breast implants, douche-bags, homeless street-performers, youtube, but DID care a great deal for God and Woody Allen. We gave him an Amen and he eventually wandered off, leaving us befuddled and with an experience we will not soon forget.

I was stoked to fall asleep at my sister’s house. She was nice enough to put us up for the night and allow us access to her shower, cereal collection, wifi, coffee-maker and her floor. It was a great end to a fun-filled day, and we didn’t even play a show.