I WANT...

...a Macbook and have been thinking pseudo-seriously about getting one for the last week now - visiting apple.ca, reading reviews online and talking to my friend N in Denver on the phone for the last 1.5 hours about, among other things, the possibility of him buying one for me in the U.S. (it'd save me $300+!!) and bringing it back when he returns home for the holidays.

I've always been a PC user and am wary about switching but this Toshiba Satellite A70 is getting on in years and the Macbook is ever so enticing with its sleek design. I know. I'm superficial. But S wants her next laptop to be a Macbook too - she used them for a couple years in Japan when she was teaching and prefers them because they're user-friendly and are less prone to crashing. I spent some time reading raves by ex-PC users who are now converted to the wonders of the Macbook...I'm skeptical of such glowing reviews and will seek out more balanced ones before making a decision.

It's ever so lovely though.

Success!

Yesterday was D-day for the project that I'd been working on since the summer. We presented to our EC and I wasn't quite sure at first how it went since the debate was lively and very engaged (and I don't do well with perceived conflict) - at least on the part of my SVP who was very passionate in his objections about the proposed sales strategy. After 75 minutes of debate - which was centred around implementation as opposed to go or no-go - we left the meeting room with a greenlight to go forward with beginning the build for the new product. Success!!

To celebrate the late nights and weekends working, we went out for drinks and dinner - me, the Director I'd been working with so closely for the last few months, my sr. manager, as well as a couple other sr. managers who helped provide guidance around the strategy and production requirements.

Our first stop was at Elephant and Castle for a couple pints and then we headed over to Crush Wine Bar, where I had reserved a table for 6:30. Can I just say how great it is to eat on expense? We each ordered the soup of the day which was a great wild mushroom soup with truffle oil, along with a few other appetizers to share, including the Crush Charcuterie Platter, the Goat Cheese plate and Scallops. Since we ordered what was the first of 2 bottles of the 2002 Rioja Reserva YGAY, Marqués de Murrieta, I ordered the veal, which was soooo yum! And because we were dining on the company's dime, I was all set to order a glass of the 20YO Tawny Port for dessert but ended up trying a glass of the 2003 Banyuls Blanc instead after hearing our server describe it as cocktail-like with hints of pineapple and lavender, among other things.

I didn't expect the evening to end so late, but we didn't leave the restaurant until about 11 last night because there was much discussion at the table about the dysfunction in the organization. It was very interesting as the most junior person at the table to hear the dish on what they thought was wrong and how it might be fixed, with the understanding of course, that what happens outside of work, stays outside of work.

Now that I have this project behind me, I'm feeling much more content about my job. While it's a complete drag to be so busy I have a manager who, now that I've gotten a chance to know him better through this project, is pretty good about providing guidance when I need it. He's also great at providing timely feedback...and rewarding as it is to hear that the work I've done is great, I feel embarassed too...and I don't know why that is. This positive experience certainly gives me more confidence to tackle the much larger project ahead of me - and if I just don't think about the fact that this project is 10x the revenue potential of the one that just wrapped, maybe I'll be OK. :)

A Girl's POV

wL and I went for a run yesterday at the gym and it was when I dropped him off at home that he mentioned that he had decided it was time for him to buy a new suit. So I told him that I wanted to be there when he went shopping for this new suit - I like playing personal stylist, and have gone shopping with him before. Apparently he'd promised to go with a co-worker, but invited me along as well. Who wants to be the tag-along girl friend giving style advice?

Anyway, it turned out that she couldn't go with him after all so I went with him for the pre-buy at Harry Rosen and found him a great Hugo Boss suit, which he didn't buy tonight because he had promised his co-workers(!) that he'd buy it with them. Yes, that's right, after spending an hour with the lovely sales guy trying on a few suits before deciding on the right one, he asked to put it on hold to buy the next day so his 2 female co-workers, who he'd promised could be there for the sale, could take part in the decision making.

I admire wL's sense of honour? principles? but I don't think I would have done the same...but then again, I'm a girl and can make my own shopping decisions.

Enchanted

The subway stations here have been plastered with movie posters advertising Disney's Enchanted for the last few weeks now and until I read the review in the paper today, I thought the wicked witch in the poster was a man in drag, so how surprised was I to learn that underneath the heavy make-up and fake lashes is the fantastic Susan Sarandon!?

How do I want to live?

I'm catching up on my weekly shows and browsing furniture at the same time and here's what I've found via South Hill Home - through the link to Bolier & Company, this gorgeous armoire with macasser ebony veneer:

I like the clean, elegant lines of this tufted sofa, which is ideal given my leanings to this style of late:

But I've also always loved the feminine shape and style of this Paris sofa:

And was reminded of that when I got an email a few days ago about Gus Design Group's e-warehouse sale that included a promotion for the Audrey Sofa here, although it's a little too comfy-casual for me:

I have a DATE!

I just got home from working late at the office...and likely have at least a couple hours more work ahead of me before calling it a night to go back for more tomorrow. My hope is that I will be able to finish the financials for this business case tomorrow with little if any more work to do over the weekend. My contribution to this project will be mostly over Monday when the pre-read goes out to our Executive Committee in preparation for our presentation to them Thursday morning. So one project down...one more to go, and the next one will be a doozy. sigh.

I had great news waiting for me at home though in the form of a letter:

Dear Ms. C,

We are please to inform you that this letter is confirmation that August 13, 2007 is your firm "Occupancy Date" for unit 123 at 456 A. St. We will be contacting you to set up a Pre-Delivery Inspection, which will take place approximately 10 days before your "Occupancy Date" to allow time for any minor repairs if required.

In order to co-ordinate the availability of the elevators on your date of occupancy you must contact me too book your move in time....

I suspect it should actually read 2008 rather than 2007, and I was a bit distracted by the typos but whatever! I have a date!!! A firm date!! And it's August 13! :)

Girls' long weekend!

Work has been busy busy busy and am exhausted. When I booked this trip last month, it seemed like a good time to get away for a long weekend but I hadn't anticipated being put on the additional project. Now I'm bringing my laptop with me to do some work in the hopes that I will come back not overly-swamped and prepared for the meetings that are booked for Monday. sigh.

But enough of the complaining. I'm leaving on a jet plane tomorrow night! Bound for LA! Where it's warmer! And sunnier! And my dollar goes a lot further! I will indulge in retail therapy which is well-deserved and I have the promise of many a great meal including dinner Thursday night at Crustacean! The yummy taste of their Cracked Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab and An's Famous Garlic Noodles haunts me to this day...

So now I must pack. :)

Split-runs

I received an offer in the mail awhile back for an annual subscription to Time Canada. The discount off the news stand price was pretty deep, so I thought, why not? I got my first issue last week and I'm really disappointed because the only thing Canadian about it is the ads - not even a nominal article on Canadian news, which reminded me of a paper I wrote for a university international economics class on the the US-Canada trade war over "split-run" magazines.

I feel a bit cheated...and I wish now I'd subscribed to Maclean's instead for a true Canadian news magazine. That's all.

Design Inspiration

I'm still vegging with The West Wing in the background while surfing the net for interior design inspiration.

I'm also sleepy and just paid for subscriptions of Domino and Elle Decor online.

Finally, the weekend.

It's been a hellishly long week. I worked late every night this week and still brought work home save for Tuesday night, when the consultants on one of my projects took us out for a fat cat dinner at George. The project working team was established in the spring and I joined not even two weeks ago in the latest phase, so I lucked out on this dinner - the food was great and the wine just kept on coming.

Anyway, after the crazy-busy week of meeting after meeting, I had the added stress of a presentation to give to my group in our monthly status meeting yesterday morning. Public speaking and presentations have never been my strong suit and I was nervous and anxious before and during but it turned out better than I expected. I had 30 minutes on the agenda and followed my scripted notes fairly closely. I shared with my group the learnings from the course I took in the summer on building business cases and the material generated more discussion than I had anticipated, so 30 minutes became 60. I wasn't quite sure how the presentation went but the feedback I got from my big boss in particular was good, so I'm glad I did it.

More meetings followed after that and finally the work day was over. It'd been a long while since my last condo update and since S&W moved midtown, I don't linger downtown after work or have a reason to head down on the weekends to check up on it - never mind that I've been swamped of late.

So, when S suggested midweek that we have dinner Friday night to catch up, I asked that we meet downtown so I could stop by the site to see what's what. I hung out at Chapters to unwind with some fashion and gossip mags until S called to say that she was on her way down to meet me at BLVD. Here's the latest on the site, on approach from the east:


...and from the west:

Still no walls yet, but it's coming along.

S, W & I had a drink in the second floor lounge at Czehoski and then headed over to its sister restaurant, Coca, across the street for dinner. It was so nice to be able to relax with friends and not have to think about work for awhile, even though I brought it home with me for the weekend. sigh.

I woke up this morning and practiced for my mandarin oral test today and then went to class, for some reason, completely exhausted. In fact, I'm pretty sure I looked like hell, and volunteered to test first so I could get outta there and head home to nap at first opportunity...which I ended up not doing after all. Instead I spent the afternoon sorting through all the crap on the loveseat and dresser in my room and now I'm vegetating in front of the TV watching the third season of The West Wing on DVD because all the shows I'd taped during the week were messed up because of the delayed change to Standard Time. Grr. So no Gossip Girl, no NCIS, no Private Practice, and most importantly, no Ugly Betty. I be sad. :(