It was great seeing some Minnesota players honored at the Hockey Hall of Fame, including Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team. I bought an advance ticket for the Blue Jays baseball game as I was near the stadium. I will be attending on Sunday. After the purchase I heard some music playing. It was 'Heartbeat Song' by Kelly Clarkson, so I stayed to dance to it. When some passers-by noticed this, I said 'Love that Kelly Clarkson'. I also heard 'Shook me all night long' by AC/DC today while out and about. I liked seeing the Olympic-style flame near the stadium, which serves as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies. Other notable things included seeing another street performer, but this one was much more tame than the snake guy. It was somebody who was showing off soccer ball skills in front of an Adidas shop. He was likely hired to bring in customers, since it is a sportswear shop. I also liked hearing the story of one of the locals, who spoke of being a stripper. She was an immigrant from Palermo, Sicily, Italy as a little girl and hasn't spoke to her birth dad since age four. She also spoke of having ADHD and taking meds for it. I felt bad for her, but I know this kind of story is fairly common sadly. It is a joke I had heard at the comedy club before: strippers often have daddy issues. It made me think of the song 'We Can't Stop' by Miley Cyrus, as it speaks of a strip club- in reference to the act of 'Twerking'. I also thought of the song as another line in it was 'only God can judge you'. But I liked the one right after it more- 'forget the haters, because somebody loves you'. It also makes me think of the song 'Everybody's got a story' by Amanda Marshall, as she sang of how everybody has got a story that could break your heart. Then there's 'White Men in Black Suits' by Everclear, which also mentions a stripper in it. I thought of how as a comic I am not all that much different from her, as I am broken as well. It explains why I do comedy as it is a coping mechanism. Other notables were somebody who said his name was Raymond and for some reason I didn't think of 'Rain Man' but another movie, 'Forrest Gump'. Much like a visitor from Hartford, CT, we got started talking at a bar when I was having a drink. Time and again, I think of how deep down we aren't all that much different. I probably thought of 'Gump' as I had a hard time making friends for a while. But he spoke to me before others did. So I liked meeting this 'single serving friend'- which makes me think of yet another movie- 'Fight Club'.
I went out to Ajax again today as I had another day-pass for the baseball games. The US team played the final of three games, so this was why I had plenty of time to do other things which was nice. The US team beat Canada 4-1, and I was outnumbered by Canadian fans in the stands. I didn't want to lose my seat as the stadium was nearly full, so I stayed there for a while but eventually I knew I needed to get food. Some food vendors made it into the stands, but didn't have what I really wanted. Near the end of the game, when the US was leading and a few people had left, I felt more comfortable leaving my seat to get food. I got a bag of popcorn. This made me a legend in the stands. as I guess some liked how my quest had finally been fulfilled. I said the food wasn't coming to me, so I went to it. This did remind me of the 'hot dog story at Wrigley Field' I sometimes tell. It was a valuable lesson about how sometimes you have to tell people what you want, and I learned you can't for people to just offer it to you. A man on the shuttle bus found out I am an American, and he started asking me about presidential candidates, and I got bored rather quickly. I said I would much rather talk about entertainers. Not sure why he asked, maybe since I am in the minority in terms of Americans who can name Canadian prime ministers. I had to read the paper to find out who is the current one, Harper. I could name some others from yester-year, such as Trudeau, Mulroney, Pearson, and Chretien.
After breakfast and a shower this morning I went to the internet café. The shower was backed up in one bathroom in my section and the toilet was ready to overflow in the other. For some reason I flushed it twice, as I couldn't see where it was clogged. The staff came to clean and a plunger worked on the toilet. I made it to the hall of fame around midday after eating at an A and W, and before that having some massage therapy near the food outlet. My back can ache at times so it is helpful. I ate on a tin plate, and I am used to having hard plastic trays. The metal tray looked a lot like a little cookie sheet. The look of this fast food chain is slightly different in Canada, as the trademark or logo has an arrow encircling the A and W. And the menu includes the burger family, as in terms like uncle and cousin. I got a teen burger. At the hall of fame I got a few small souvenirs, one was a hologram postcard of the building along with a little plastic puck and some hockey cards. I liked seeing mention of teams and leagues I knew of, like the Iowa Wild and the Chicago Wolves. There was a wall of pucks near the entrance, it included a Chicago Cougars puck, a minor league team before the Wolves, in the 1970s. I was intrigued at how this team, as I read on Wikipedia, had to move some games to a shopping mall in the suburbs, Randhurst in Mt. Prospect, a mall I did go to when I lived there. But this place is a depository of many things hockey-related, so maybe this shouldn't surprise me much. I didn't want a picture with the Stanley Cup as it was an extra fee that I didn't want to pay. I had back to my hotel after I was done touring as I needed to get my baseball ticket. I made it to Union Station much earlier this time, and aided by an express train I was at the venue before the game began. But since I didn't want to wait in line for food, as I knew the game was going to begin soon, it meant waiting longer than I had planned on.
I went out to Ajax again today as I had another day-pass for the baseball games. The US team played the final of three games, so this was why I had plenty of time to do other things which was nice. The US team beat Canada 4-1, and I was outnumbered by Canadian fans in the stands. I didn't want to lose my seat as the stadium was nearly full, so I stayed there for a while but eventually I knew I needed to get food. Some food vendors made it into the stands, but didn't have what I really wanted. Near the end of the game, when the US was leading and a few people had left, I felt more comfortable leaving my seat to get food. I got a bag of popcorn. This made me a legend in the stands. as I guess some liked how my quest had finally been fulfilled. I said the food wasn't coming to me, so I went to it. This did remind me of the 'hot dog story at Wrigley Field' I sometimes tell. It was a valuable lesson about how sometimes you have to tell people what you want, and I learned you can't for people to just offer it to you. A man on the shuttle bus found out I am an American, and he started asking me about presidential candidates, and I got bored rather quickly. I said I would much rather talk about entertainers. Not sure why he asked, maybe since I am in the minority in terms of Americans who can name Canadian prime ministers. I had to read the paper to find out who is the current one, Harper. I could name some others from yester-year, such as Trudeau, Mulroney, Pearson, and Chretien.
After breakfast and a shower this morning I went to the internet café. The shower was backed up in one bathroom in my section and the toilet was ready to overflow in the other. For some reason I flushed it twice, as I couldn't see where it was clogged. The staff came to clean and a plunger worked on the toilet. I made it to the hall of fame around midday after eating at an A and W, and before that having some massage therapy near the food outlet. My back can ache at times so it is helpful. I ate on a tin plate, and I am used to having hard plastic trays. The metal tray looked a lot like a little cookie sheet. The look of this fast food chain is slightly different in Canada, as the trademark or logo has an arrow encircling the A and W. And the menu includes the burger family, as in terms like uncle and cousin. I got a teen burger. At the hall of fame I got a few small souvenirs, one was a hologram postcard of the building along with a little plastic puck and some hockey cards. I liked seeing mention of teams and leagues I knew of, like the Iowa Wild and the Chicago Wolves. There was a wall of pucks near the entrance, it included a Chicago Cougars puck, a minor league team before the Wolves, in the 1970s. I was intrigued at how this team, as I read on Wikipedia, had to move some games to a shopping mall in the suburbs, Randhurst in Mt. Prospect, a mall I did go to when I lived there. But this place is a depository of many things hockey-related, so maybe this shouldn't surprise me much. I didn't want a picture with the Stanley Cup as it was an extra fee that I didn't want to pay. I had back to my hotel after I was done touring as I needed to get my baseball ticket. I made it to Union Station much earlier this time, and aided by an express train I was at the venue before the game began. But since I didn't want to wait in line for food, as I knew the game was going to begin soon, it meant waiting longer than I had planned on.
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