Like I said, lines spun into paragraphs and into chapters. I read 11 chapters each day over the weekends, 8 on Monday, and the remaining 6 plus the final epilogue today. I could not resist putting the book away; besides always stopping at the wrong chapters, chapters before an exciting story event, whoever flips the pages are bound to be enchanted by a Book-Binding Curse. There were highs and lows in The Deathly Hallows. The ending wasn't what I had in mind, but probably all for the better. If done properly, the movie could be very visually engaging, and potentially be the best in the series, as with the book.

The heat is here. Even the soles of my feet were uncomfortable with prickling warmth. Bear, 2 days more to our own air-conditioned apartment!

This does not include spoilers regarding the seventh, and possibly final, book of Harry Potter, his friends and adventures, nor do I need any. A copy of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows is in hands. Literally fresh out of the box from the Chapters bookstore right next to the Scotiabank Theatre where we caught The Order of The Phoenix in 3D IMAX.

Dinner at Milestone's with my sister and Marina hours before the 22nd-hour movie was eventful. Great food, and we were constantly asked about our dining experience. It's not uncommon to be asked that, but it felt like there was pressure to enjoy, agree and leave quickly to make way for the people waiting in line for a table.




Strawberry Lemonade


Spinach & Artichoke Dip


Mexican Corvina Sea Bass for me


Marina with her Prime Rib


Ali with her dessert
After the meal, we spent the remaining hours at Chapters, browsing books, listening to music, and even snoozing (that would be Ali). I discovered many good reads for future pastimes, but for now, The Deathly Hallows has to be the one and only choice.

My brother joined us for the movie. We were handed 3D viewing glasses upon our entry, and being up front in the line, we scooped prime seats. Before the movie, there was a light display for the IMAX presentation where they boasted about the large screen and impressive surround sound system. Then an announcement came on for instructions on when to put on the visors: 3 flashing green glasses appear at the bottom of the screen, and when red substitutes flash, it's time to get them off.


The HP movies gets darker and more adult-oriented each time, and I appreciate them for being so and recognizing how the audience has grown together with the series. Probably the better of the lot, but I disliked, and am sure Potter-fanatics will stand with me on this, how they altered (cough, not Cho-Veritaserum-betrayal) and left out important plot points. Otherwise, they succeeded in bringing out Harry's isolation, and acting-wise, the main trio have improved. Luna 'Loony' Lovegood and Dolores Umbridge were perfecto in their parts. And the Department of Mysteries fight-scene in 3D? Awesome!

Ah, I'm so torn between diving straight into HP7 now, since my concentration should be on packing for our house-moving on August 2nd. The current tenants just moved out yesterday, so we hope to get the key, record some dimensions, and hopefully move small items in before the big Thursday move. There is 1) more packing to do, 2) scheduling the movers on Monday after Judy, whom we bought 2 second-hand loveseats from, confirms Thursday's plans with us, 3) and still a whole lot of packing if I've failed to mention. The move is exciting, the process towards it just isn't.

Likely, a few lines, which may unsurprisingly lengthen into paragraphs and chapters, of magic before bed. And before I become aware of it, I will know how Harry Potter ends.

Please, not by you.

Seriously, what an awesome show Travis put up? My throat is sore from the screaming and 'singing', my feet are sore from the pogo-ing, my arms are sore from throwing them up in the air. They tore the Haus down!

When me and Marina arrived at Kool Haus around 6pm, there were aleady people in line. I guess you could say we were the early birds, as we ended up standing about 3 rows from the centre stage. The crowd kept growing behind us, and we tried to stand our ground and not be pushed away. Our only obstacle was an obnoxious girl next to us, who got drunk and wanted to party hard. She was screaming, shovelling, grinding into a taken man, spilling beer everywhere, and most ridiculously, smoking in the crowded venue. Her friend did nothing to control her. Getting off to such a rough start wasn't exactly what we had in mind, but the pest soon wriggled away from us thanks to Travis.

After the opening act, Strata, performed, 2 hours had gone by since our entry. The lights dimmed, spotlights circled above us. People started to turn their heads to the back and the lights focused into the crowd. Cheers erupted. The wait was over. The boys emerged dressed in boxing robes and the crowd parted for their entrance. All four were in arms length from where I stood, I felt dizzy already!

There was a mix of old and new songs, with Fran Healy on vocals and guitar, Douglas 'Dougie' Payne and Andy Dunlop on guitars, Neil Primrose with the drums and Swede touring pianist, Claus Bjorklund. Everyone was singing along to the tunes word for word. The boys were very interactive with the crowd. They got us to welcome Claus by shouting his name repeatedly while pointing at him, so to pressurize him into doing his best. I was hoping they did Big Chair and One Night, but one can't always ask for all..

Fran told us backstories for some songs, like how My Eyes was written for his child. When security was going around cracking down on people recording the performances - guilty as charged here - Fran came to we video-camers' aid and encouraged us to take as many pictures and videos we like, jokingly adding how more Live DVDs are long overdue and that we should upload our videos on YouTube and MySpace. They also got us to wave and make noise at a lappie perched atop a speaker, as it had been recording us come and go, and hopefully it will be up on Travis' MySpace.

While performing All I Want To Do Is Rock, Andy leaped over the barrier and charged into the crowd to where I was standing. He continued to rock the guitar on the floor in front of my very eyes, and shaked Marina's hand! It was crazy.. After the solo encore of 20, Fran was joined by the band for a Flowers In The Window singalong. At one point, he lifted his hands, and Dougie strummed while Andy took care of the other end of Fran's guitar.

As the final performance of the night rained on us, Fran urged us to 'pogo' (jumping up, down, up, down..) to the final chorus of Why Does It Always Rain On Me? I pogo-ed so hard that even though my legs felt like they were going to give way, I kept pushing myself and throwing my arms in the air. I did not care who I was bumping into as I landed on my feet each time, and we just went on till the last tune sounded and we were left breathless.

I would have posted this sooner, had it not been for the difficult picture/video-choosing decision. The night's setlist is captioned with the pictures..


Travis imprint


Opening act: Strata


Spotlights overhead


Fran and Dougie


Dougie and Neil


Fran, Dougie, Neil and Andy


Hey Selfish Jean


Eyes Wide Open in the darkness


Interval after Writing To Reach You


Love Will Come Through


Travis breaks and discusses


As You Are


Ya ya yay, ya ya yay, you got My Eyes


Pipe Dreams


Fran ties his shoelaces like we do


This Line Is Fine


The grass is always greener on the other Side


Drum stunt with Driftwood


I have a Good Feeling, followed by Closer


Sing to the Battleship


Andy says: All I Wanna Do Is Rock


And so he does


Power to Turn


Flying solo with 20


Flowers In The Window, it's such a lovely day


Dougie guitaring on Humpty Dumpty Love Song


Fran mimicking the violin start to Why Does It Always Rain On Me?


Goodbye boys!
And for the videos.. Finally settled on a few that have slightly scrapped by recording my awfully out of tune and cracking voice on tape. I thought my voice blended in with the crowd's.. Apparently not. My camera somehow managed to pick that up.


Closer


Sing (credit to Marina)


20 and an introduction to Claus (credit to Marina)


Flowers In The Window and Fran's freehands


Why Does It Always Rain On Me? and sadly cuts off as I was doing the pogo!
Seriously, what a blast! I enjoyed it so much, even more so than Mr Rice's, sadly for him. The merchandise store was flooded with people, and despite the shortage of sizes, I got an XL Selfish Jean t-shirt, the very same design Fran was wearing, to serve as a token of reminder of the fabulous time I had. Because I heart them so, I'm spreading the Travis-love around. Do give them a listen if you haven't.

They may have taken the backseat for a while, but Travis proves that they still have the soul, energy and commitment of the band that founded the sounds of Brit alternative-rock. If they ever come to town again, and they better do, consider myself present.

Travis @ Kool Haus in 5 hours time!

And I cannot contain myself. I am more eager now than I was for Mr Rice. Travis is at the top for the 'My Most Favourite Music' list. Meeting with Marina at Union Station at 5.30pm, grab a bite, then make our way to the venue. We hope to be there early to get good standing positions, if not front row. To past the remaining time, I am getting myself better attuned with the melody and lyrics of Travis' songs.

I can never look at automobiles the same way again, without expecting them to undergo some major transformation into some extra-terrestrial robots. Transformers proved to be an enjoyable ride. This late-last-night movie was planned the day before. Harry Potter was definitely a no-go, besides we prefer the IMAX experience for it. I was worried Trans would be the 'HP5-overflow choice', but the theatre was relatively pro-formers, responsive to the movie with claps and laughters, and not bitter about being there. Everyone must have somehow made it to see Harry & Co.

I was very much looking forward to Frosh 2007, but the two straight days of brutal training have put a damper to it, for now. I was introduced to the possible ugly side of such large-scale University orientations. It can be intimidating, since UofT's orientation involves the three campuses and the rivalries will tag along. But it will never be Frosh without fun and madness. It runs from September 4th-7th. I'm going to be dead beat when school begins on the 10th. We GLs bear heavy responsibilities: In our hands lie the experience and well-being of our Froshies!

Sweet, I got into all my courses. A 9-courseload school year, I can handle it.. Right?

Fall 2007
BGYB10 Cell Biology
BGYC58 Consequences of Global Change
BGYC59 Advanced Population Ecology
BGYC61 Community Ecology and Environmental Biology
EESC04 Biodiversity and Biogeography

Winter 2008
BGYB11 Molecular Aspects of Cellular and Genetic Processes
BGYC54 Animal Behaviour
EESB03 Principles of Climatology
IDSB02 International Development Studies: Development and Environment

After undertaking only 3 courses last semester, I'm having a hard time imagining for I will be able to adjust back to the 4, 5 courses per semester workload.

With Live Earth happening right now, it adds larger significance to 07-07-07. Many concerts held over the globe, that seemingly always never in TO or SG, but always in those few- Tokyo, New York, London. I get it, they are major cities in time zones clashing with my choice, and have heavier music influences.

(+): Politicians and performers involved raise profile of situation and awareness to the cause; The stages and props all make use of recyclable items; Carbon emissions from event offset from replanting trees and introducing new green technology and items; Music brings people together and likely will impact the world.
(-): Slight hypocrisy detected when suddenly everyone talks how they practice this and that; How many people at the concerts and at home tuning in is clearly getting the event's message?; Will this 'interest' last and lead to concrete actions?

Overall, pluses shadow minuses. Give it a chance to change the minds of Earthlings. Back to the 28-hours broadcast on CTV. I tried to keep up with the marathon, but gave way to slumber halfway through Sydney. London is on now, NYC to follow. I enjoyed all the acts so far, and the clips promoting the cause were entertaining and informative.

ANSWER THE CALL.

The phonecall for me yesterday caught me off guard. I scored a job interview for Mexx Canada (similar to G2000), who is hiring via Service Canada, in the position of Fashion Consultant. I don't know what impulse of my body led me to apply, but I did and it felt good getting a callback.

I was running to my destination, all nicely dressed up in black as requested, on desperation this morning; desperate to get the job, desperate to find the building. I was pleasantly told I was early and arrived first among those in the same interview time. 3 candidates to 3 interviewers. Straight-forward, usual questions that could have been memorized from practices ("What is teamwork and customer service to you?" "Tell me about yourself") were posed to us, together with this quirky one. "If you can be a kitchen appliance, what would it be?" My choice: A frying pan, since it plays a part in many dishes from the appetizers to entrees. Group interviews are misunderstood. They can be intimidating if there is that one person who outshines every other, either by constant chatter and charm or just by pure abilities. But the 'in your face' tension or awkward silences are the least of worries. Plus, it's always nice to hear what others have to say.

But so long to the 9am-6pm training session scheduled for tomorrow, so long to the 3 days of hard work next week to set up the new store at Queen St W and Spadina, so long to the hours working, pay and employee benefits, so long to the title of Fashion Consultant. I did not get a call this evening.

Another Canada Day gone by. This year's turned out to be quite an experience.

My sister's first July 1st signified the need to enjoy a spectacular fireworks display. As per my memory, Ontario Place's fireworks were grand, being shot out from ships anchored out in Lake Ontario. The lake breeze and glittery sparks served against the dark night made up for a wondrous light display. A fateful Japanese dinner resulted in excruciating stomach cramps for both of us. And the nearest toilet was kept away by entrance fees; $13 a person for the washroom and a place by the lakeside for the view. We refused, nearly caving in, opting instead to search for another on the parking grounds much to no avail after much walking.




Frowning for the cold and the missing washroom.
All ended on a good note. We found solace further inland and came across elevated parade seats to enjoy the fireworks from afar that turned out to be over before we knew it. We saved $30 from being stubborn. I will likely never return for fireworks.






Future Miss Canada presents the now night-lighted CN Tower.


My best impression of the evil Professor Snape.