Toronto の Totoro

So it's not a relevant pun at all. I just like that hiragana character a lot. It's kind of adorable and peaceful all at once.

I took Greyhound to and from Toronto, since Amtrak's railpass won't cover that travel. Actually as I canceled my sojourn to Minneapolis/St. Paul and the floods in the Midwest robbed me of the chance to take the Empire Builder (and I'd later miss a jaunt to Montreal) I think the pass turned out to be an unwise investment after all. Meh. When the bus arrived in Buffalo from New York and discharged it's passengers for a fuel change, I saw that the majority were Chinese. So I knew I was on the right bus. A bit late due to a girl in the bus in front of us having fallen asleep and forgotten to get off and now stuck at customs without a passport, but the magic of cellphones enabled me to meet up with Geoffrey nonetheless.

Remember that theme I hinted at development in Buffalo? Well it flowered into full effect in Toronto. Geoffrey and I tend to be of one mind when we hang out, although our personalities and styles (especially when directing) differ greatly. This time we fulfilled the necessary tour of Toronto in an efficient few hours - necessary so I could say I saw Toronto (another place I reputedly spent time in when I was small and cute - that last state apparently existed as per my older brother's testimony) and so he could say he was a good host. After that we returned and played Starcraft II, Halo: Reach, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the occasional break to make risotto, sample sushi pizza and marvel at a lactose free refrigerator.



Games composed the greater part but not the entirety of our pastimes. On my final night, Geoffrey helped me balance out my forthcoming EPs tracks on Garage Band. You see, after some... altercations with the friend who graciously mixed them originally in abysmal (Photoshop analogy: take bunch of images. Throw them in a psd in layers. Flatten without regard to where they are or why - hm, I would use a graphic analogy for music. I did in fact mention to this friend how I don't really understand soundscapes and so I needed her help) I finally procured one take per song of each track of my recordings. I'd previously thought I would make a digital release date of July 22 to coincide with a house gig I'd planned, so now I needed to remix everything double time. Without my own computer, Geoffrey's Garage Band capable PowerBook gleamed enticingly and so I finally excused myself from being a good guest to do necessary work. (I'll be posting information on my EP presently.)

On a brighter note, Geoffrey and I composed a song one afternoon with that same wonderful software. From the piano and guitar to the computer and loops to lyrics based on his dog Kungming... maybe I/we'll finish it someday. Probably not. For now it exists as a bonus track on the physical version of my EP.

Song of the Days: Panda Song (unfinished) - Geoffrey Liu and Terrence Ho