Tap tap tap

One thing I learned: A "firebreak" house is among the last to be built in a neighbourhood to prevent the spread of fire in case one should break out while construction is in progress.

One thing I'm grateful for: The breadth of knowledge and experience I am able to tap into as I embark on this new venture of mine.

One thing that made me laugh: Some of the names that came up from the impromptu brainstorming session at dinner tonight.

I went out for dinner tonight with a group of friends I first met in my CMA class 4 years ago. We met in the prep course, sat the entrance exams together and endured the 2 year professional program that followed, so we've been through a lot as a group.

In the 18 months since graduation, there have been 3 weddings in our group of 7. The last time we had all gotten together as a group was a year ago...there have been smaller group get-togethers since then, so there was a lot of catching up to do. Among the news was that the last of the 3 marrieds had recently bought a house. When once the talk was of weddings, the talk is now of new homes, furnishings, and how big is too big for a flat-screen TV. (Apparently, 60" isn't as big as you would think - who knew?)

I took advantage of the experience and creative talent at the table and asked them to help me come up with a business name - there were some really cheesy ones for jokes, and some that I had already considered and discarded. One of my friends is a brand manager and we used to tease him all the time in class because he's in marketing and his group always had the "prettiest" presentations. I've already tapped him into helping me brainstorm a name. :)

Meanwhile, I've looked into jewelry design courses to learn how to draw "properly." I can sketch but they're hardly professional, and if I'm going to be creating custom designs, I can't show up at a client consultation with grade school renderings of design ideas now, can I? The class is scheduled for 2 nights a week over a period of about 1.5 months. This, coupled with my mandarin class on Saturday afternoons, workout commitment of at least 2x a week and the time required to develop my business, means I'll to be a very, very busy girl next year.