July 7th, 2000. “I’m bored Katie, what do you wanna do tonight?” The question. I asked it, I admit it, but what else was there to do? I drove too. Man.

So Mary, Katie, and I went. Toronto. “Where should we go?” is the new question, but Katie knows the perfect place. I’d been there before with her, after the Coal Chamber concert, and it was fun then, so why not?

Velvet Underground.

Not a bad club at all. Gothic in theme, hard music, not too busy. We went, drank, danced. Katie got drunk. “Hey Katie, look at that guy wearing vinyl… yeah the guy with the bleached hair… isn’t he hot?” Katie agreed and went up and grabbed him. She then vanished.

Going home, Katie confessed she had kissed him and they agreed to meet the next week at the same club. “Oh, does that mean you wanna go next week? Sure sure… let me check my work schedule.”

And so it starts.

That guy with bleached hair and vinyl has since been named The Boy. Him and Katie are blissfully in love and see each other more than Fridays… after the summer their meeting once a week got to be not enough for either of them. Velvet Underground got crowded, less like the beginning.

Zen Lounge was adopted. Still on Queen Street, they play Tool and Nine Inch Nails and Disturbed… and lots of bands you wouldn’t hear at any other clubs. It was fun.

I stress was.

One week we went to Savage Garden, just to try it out. Not a good idea. One week, instead of the routine, I went to Turbo with Greg, Wes, and Ryan. Not a great time at first, but once my mushrooms kicked it I loved every minute of it.

Katie and I vowed to go down to Toronto every Friday for one year. Good idea when you make a pact like that… life changes though, people change. What if I don’t want to dance one Friday? What happens then? I’m scared of finding out.

In Canada, it snows. I don’t know if this is news to anyone, but being born and raised in Southern Ontario, this is not news to me.

So sue me, I didn’t want to go downtown. “Well, the weather is extremely bad and I’m the one who drives, so no I don’t think it’s a good idea… besides the last few times we went it’s been the same thing, I’m not having a good time anymore.” After being told to grow up, and reminded of the pact made seven months ago, I felt guilty. Of course I didn’t want to ruin anything, but aren’t my feelings important? Katie doesn’t get it because she doesn’t drive… that’s what some of my friends concluded to me.

The last two weeks in a row I didn’t go to Toronto to dance. I miss it, let me tell ya. Dancing, for me, is a release. I’m not there to pick up men, I rarely drink since I drive, I don’t smoke pot that often anymore. When I’m there, I’m there to enjoy the atmosphere, the dancing, the energy. When you do that every week for seven months and then miss a week, you feel it believe me.

It’s just… I dunno… it’s changed.

On Friday I agreed to try Club 107. Same idea, just that Zen Lounge is getting old. The Boy even offered to drive. So I’m gonna try it.

It’s weird you know… like a relationship. Like, how do I tell Katie I don’t want to go downtown every week, just every once in a while? I don’t wanna hurt her or lose her friendship, but I’m afraid I might. For those of you who know Katie, you know how stubborn she is.

Fuck, it’s just dancing. It’s just Toronto. Been there, done that, ya know? But the just shouldn’t be emphasized because to me it’s more… I’m changing though and so is Katie. The spring is coming and it’ll change again.

I guess I’ll just have to adapt, what else is there to do? Fridays… Fridays… dancing forever, till July. What happens when the one year is up? What then? I guess I’ll have to grin and bear it till I find out.