Another thing that happened on the weekend was Nadine's going away party. Yes, that's right, my jazz-singing friend has left for England. She found the Canadian scene a real bitch to break into and so, with a couple of leads in London, she decided to up and go. It can't be worse there, plus it puts her closer to the not insignificant jazz culture of continental Europe.

Anyway, my intention was to visit for only a little while, but when I arrived at the place the party was being held and was given food and drink, extricating myself became more difficult. You should only know what this condo was like. It was hosted by Nadine's friend Shauna and my goodness was her place incredible. It was three levels with the kitchen, dinning/living room on the first level, her bedroom on the middle level, and a lounging area on the third, which also happened to open onto a fantastic L-shaped balcony overlooking downtown Toronto. *drool*

I talked a lot to Errol, Nadine's cousin, who I'd met on at least one other occasion, and to this other fellow named Louie who has a band. Louie, I think, dug me, but I left him with no contact information and took off (eventually) when he was distracted by the arrival of his friends. I'm so evil. *cackles* Anyway, it was fun. It was a lovely send-off for a cool, cool chick. I hope she does well in London.

Last night, skipping ahead to the very near past, I went to Paul's house. Paul being the boyfriend of Tracy. You see, Tracy, the night before, had visited me (and we'd both visited her Mom) and left her wallet/day-planner thing at my house. It was hiding under the Arrow-launching Action Aragorn (or whatever it is called) that she had given me for my birthday. So, after work and dinner, I drove up to Paul's neighbourhood to return this very important article to its rightful owner. Silly Tracy. I haven't been to Paul's house in at LEAST five years, but probably more.

Anyway, I got to meet her parrot, Coral, who tried to bite me, and then sat very quietly on my finger. When Paul arrived, he demonstrated how much Coral doesn't like him. Coral screams at Paul and tries to get away from him. It's quite funny. Then Paul and Tracy introduced me to the myriad of creatures residing in the house. Aside from the three cats, the dog, and Coral, there are countless spotted geckos (quite cool), a larger lizard that feels like a small pinapple, some fish, and two cameleons, male and female. I left smelling very much of animal, especially after hugging Paul goodbye after he'd worked all day in a barn. *laugh* It was a very nice visit and a very long time coming.