Woohoo!

The big meeting I've been working so hard for all week was today at 11am and it went really well! I didn't have to say very much but when it was all said and done, we got the thumbs up from our CEO who told us we did a good job and it was a huge relief.

I left work early today and am now slightly buzzed from the wine I've drunk. :) My only plan tonight is just to play a vegetable. The weekend looks good - free of work (for the most part), catching up with friends over brunch, and date #2 with a fun boy. My initial impression is that it won't lead anywhere - he's a touch short for me - but he's pleasant company so we'll see...

I am slowly...

...going crazy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 switch!

You know when you're just so stressed and under pressure that if you don't laugh you'll just cry?

Well, that was me today. After my 8am meeting, I had a couple hours to make a bunch of changes in preparation for the noon meeting with one of the head honchos of our parent company and I didn't have time to think about how little time there was to get what I needed done done. All I could do was do.

Our 1 hour meeting went on for an extra hour and I somehow lost an hour because when I met my team for our status meeting at 3pm, I somehow thought it was 2pm! After stepping out of it for 20 minutes because I'd agreed to a 3:15 huddle with my work team, I finished the meeting laughing so hard I cried for a couple minutes. And it wasn't even that funny! My manager was wearing a striped sweater with striped socks and he's not the type to plan such things - you know, he's the guy who just pulls out whatever he pulls out of his sock drawer and puts them on without even noticing? Well, I, of course, noticed and asked him if he made a conscious decision to wear them...and he looked at me and said, "You know the answer to that question." And I started laughing so hard I couldn't stop and the tears started rolling out of my eyes and I felt soooo much better.

I laughed about it again the second time when I shared it with the manager on my work team. She looked like she could use a laugh too - but it wasn't nearly as funny to her...she only laughed because I was laughing again, so hard that I was crying. I know. Lame, right? Sometimes it's the little things that keep us from going crazy. This was it for me today. Thank you and good night.

Spring Festival

Given that the lunar new year is also known as the Spring Festival in China, I thought it appropriate to pick up a couple bunches of tulips last night on the way to dinner. Not only do they brighten up the space with their cheerful colour, but they also made working through the new year weekend a little more bearable.

I'm going to soak in my tub now and then ready for bed since I have an 8am meeting tomorrow...

Procrastinating...

I did some etsy shopping online last night to satisfy my need for retail therapy since I didn't get to do it after work in person and now I'm procrastinating again. But look what I found thanks to the link to Modern Dose from Desire to Inspire:

Flora Pouf

Lily Mirror

Macayle Chandelier

Keep Calm and Carry On

I have an 8am meeting Monday with, among others, my SVP, and in preparation for that, I have a 5-year business model to create so guess what I'll be doing this weekend? This project I've been working on, while interesting, is the bane of my existence and I can't help but blame my colleague (and I use this term loosely because she sees me as a threat and therefore underminds me at every opportunity and resents me) who dropped the ball to spectacular effect in October. So, instead of having a model which should have been started then with much time allowance for refinements and validation, I've had maybe a month to try to work through everything and now a couple days to turnaround something that'll be taken to the Head Honcho of our parent company later next week. Stressed much? Ya.

Anyway. So I'm feeling a touch overwhelmed by the work ahead....nevermind that it's Chinese New Year on Monday and I've got to clean and launder before that in preparation for a fresh start to the new year.

Now I care

I've never really cared about movements in the interest rates before but now that I have a mortgage and my rate is variable, I pay closer attention. So when I read the news that the Bank of Canada dropped their key rate 50 bps down to 1% and the Big 5 quickly followed suit, I did a little happy dance in my chair because that means the interest on my mortgage is 50 bps cheaper too! Yippee!!

My (mostly) finished Living Area

I met S&W this afternoon for brunch at Jamie Kennedy's Gilead Cafe. I dined on the tasty sandwich of the day which was smoked turkey with roasted red peppers and cheese and split the divine pulled pork poutine with S. W had plans with his brother so S and I went to the Metro in Liberty Village to pick up some groceries and stopped by the West Elm for a look-see.

I'm glad I did because I came away with some great finds, including a pair of the new medina stand and hammered trays which now serve as my coffee table. I had in mind the cabo coffee table here which I've seen described elsewhere as the waterfall table but I've also loved the look of the tray table in a space...probably ever since seeing a tour of Rashida Jones' studio in Domino. After inquiring about their return policy, I bought a pair to try them out and have decided that they're perfect.

So here's what my living area looks like now:


The picture ledge above my couch is still rather bare. I stopped by the nearby De Serres to order a couple mats for my prints and have yet to pick out all the photos I'd like to display but it's coming along!

Slumdog Millionaire

Went to see this tonight and it is fantastic. Go see it. You shan't be disappointed.

Close call!

I went in for a haircut with my stylist in Yorkville and even though she took off about 6 inches, my hair is still just past shoulder length. I feel like I've lost 5lbs! Anyway, because I had extra time on the meter, I decided to do some shopping. I'd stopped in the HMV on Queen West last night and picked up some DVDs and CDs on sale and wanted to see if there was anything different at the Bloor location. Well....I happened to pass by Holt Renfrew along the way and noticed the signs for their Now or Never Sale...so after a moment's pause to consider whether or not I wanted to tempt myself, I walked in. There was an amazing Bottega Veneta shoulder bag in an extraordinary purple patent leather but even on sale it was about $1000 - more than a mortgage payment! So I had to put it down.

BUT! There was a brown Coach leather bag that caught my eye and I walked around with it for a bit before one of the sales associates offered to hold it for me. So I put my name down and wandered around a bit...and in that time, I asked myself if I really truly needed another purse. And the answer was no. So I escaped unscathed...with just a teensy bit of regret because it was a really nice purse. I just need to be responsible now. sniff sniff.

Really?

I've been consumed with my current project at work, so much so that it feels like I've been back at the office for 2 months instead of 2 weeks. The last few days have been all about last minute conference calls and impromptu meetings and I'm so glad that it's Friday tomorrow because it's exhausting to be go-go-go all the time.

On a more personal note, my condo closed on Wednesday and I have joined the mortgaged. The last week and a half was made more stressful by the surprise levy the developer decided to tack onto my closing costs, in addition to the payment in advance of 2009 property taxes which, apparently, is not unusual. I was just shocked by the amount. My words to my lawyer: "They're robbing me. I feel like I'm being robbed." Anyway, long story short, I'll likely get some of that tax payment in advance back once my building is assessed (likely in 2010) and I disputed the levy which they agreed to remove 1.5 hours before I was due at the law offices. It was rather anti-climatic, actually. No bells and whistles or balloons or anything. Just a bunch of documents that needed my signature and then I was done.

It doesn't feel so different...except when I log into my banking online and see the 6 figure sum in my mortgage account. Talk about a shock. Such is life.

Paint: Check

I spent yesterday afternoon painting my bedroom with the help of NL. It took longer than I had expected because of all the taping we had to do. The bathroom I finished in 3 hours on my own at 1am - I could have finished sooner but I dilly dallied for a few hours after dinner. Here're the 3 colours that now cover the walls of my space:


Windswept lends my bathroom a soothing spa-like mood, Lilac Duvet makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a rich velvet throw in the bedroom and my own personal variant of Shy Blossom makes the rest of my space fell bright, warm and cozy, all at the same time. (I haven't yet figured out how to edit my scanned images so let's pretend that there are circles around my selected shades)

And here's a peek at what they look like on the walls:

The place is a shambles right now so no more pics until the place is cleaned up and camera-ready.

I can't begin to tell you how happy it makes me to see colour on my walls in place of the cold, builder's white! I was clapping my hands with glee and squealing - seriously squealing - as we were painting my bedroom. :)

Stressing

So, I was all set to go with Bank T for my mortgage because I'd locked in a variable rate of less then prime back in August, before the financial meltdown, which was great because if I was shopping for a variable mortgage today, it'd be prime plus. Anyway, I'd also locked in a fixed rate with Bank R as a hedge in case my closing date extended beyond the 6 month period my variable rate was good for....but my condo's closing in time so it's moot.

Why all this exciting talk about mortgage rates you ask? Well, I got a call from Bank R today to follow-up on my closing - the developer must have notified them. I informed them that I'd decided to go with another bank because they offered me a variable rate of prime less and Bank R countered with an offer that was better by 5bps. Granted, .05% doesn't sound like a big difference...but when I do the math, it adds up to almost a couple thousand dollars in savings! So, now I'm scrambling to gather up all the necessary documents to send to them.

At the same time, I feel guilty because the mortgage manager I dealt with at Bank T has been very nice and was referred to me by a friend. She's on vacation though and won't be back in time to counter the offer before my condo closes...besides which, I do most of my banking with Bank R anyway, so it'd just be easier all around if I kept all my banking in one place. Oh, and I went in this past Saturday to sign mortgage papers with Bank T so I'll have to call and cancel those proceedings...I called today to speak with the person who's covering for my mortgage manager and he's out of the office until Thursday!

Sigh.

My head hurts thinking about it. I know I shouldn't stress about this because it should be fairly simple, but I do because this is the biggest grown-up thing I've ever done on my own. I just have to calm down. Deep breaths...Breathe in. Breathe out.

Oh, and my current project at work is at a critical point this week with meetings in front of the bigwigs to get approval...so that's not helping either. Funny, JM, the VP who's leading my current project has been singing this familiar refrain: It gets worse before it gets better.

The bright spot is that I've made a date for this Saturday to paint. NL, who's back from 6 weeks in China with his family, is coming over to help me paint my bedroom. Maybe we can get the bathroom done too! And then I can organize and prettify my place for photos to share with you!

New arrivals....

My chairs were delivered later than expected yesterday which derailed my carefully scheduled plans this weekend - never mind the saga of the seemingly cursed Ikea cabinet for my study which required 3 separate trips over 5 days to get the right product with all the necessary parts! I shan't dwell on that though! What matters is that after all that, it's assembled and in place in my study and now all I have to do is find a proper place for everything! Witness the current disorganized state of affairs:


The chair is quite lovely though - no more red, old-school vinyl folding chairs that bring to mind all-night mahjong parties! Yay!

Happy New Year!

I was a very busy bee the last week of 2008, all in the efforts to begin 2009 organized and settled.

To that end, I spent all of last weekend painting my walls a fabulously fresh green with the help of my uncle and mother (who, incidentally, didn't paint but re-organized my kitchen cabinets instead)! Here's a sneak peak of the hall with the bevel-detailed mirror I picked up at Winners in Brampton(!), as well as the new clock I bought on Boxing Day at Urban Barn - it wasn't on sale, but I had to have it.

I've spent the days since then splitting my time between cleaning, organizing and assembling my latest Ikea buys, and visiting with friends who are back for the holidays. My dining chairs will be delivered Saturday afternoon so more photos of the (mostly) finished space to come!