2 Wishes

via

One thing I learned: Friendships change and sometimes, not for the better.

One thing I'm grateful for: My brother, who picked up a tub of Oreo ice cream for me while he was out on a snack run.

One thing that made me laugh: My masseuse, J, who tried to cajole me into finishing her Xmas shopping while she was working out all the kinks in my shoulders.

I went to see The Nutcracker last night at the Four Seasons Centre, a truly fantastic venue. To be honest, the ballet was sort of secondary, as I'd seen James Kudelka's version of The Nutcracker twice before. Our original intent was to try and get tickets for Sleeping Beauty, which I had never seen before. We weren't able to get tickets for the night we wanted but we still wanted to see the new opera house, so we decided on the National's annual Christmas production.

And it didn't disappoint. Among my favourites was the dance of the Snow Queen and her Icicles, but especially the pair of dancing bears - the one on pointe and the other on roller blades. There were a lot of kids in the audience last night - the ballet is staged to entertain the children, after all - and crazy, but true, I rather look forward to one day bringing my kids to see this production and seeing it through their eyes. Will they love the dancing bears as much as I do?

We met friends for drinks afterwards and it was rather...lame. I've known this for some time now, but it occured to me last night that I have very little in common with a pair of friends that I thought I would be friends with forever. We certainly have a lot of history...but that's not really enough to sustain a friendship...particularly when, in hindsight, the friendships were a matter of convenience for them. I used to get rather upset about it, but it is what it is...c'est la vie.

I've got to get ready to meditate now. Ya...you read right. I'm going to meditate. My energy-healing cousin is going to give me a healing tomorrow and my homework is to think about 2 wishes and how I'm going to go about making them come true.

I will try and "feel the wishes" in my meditation and ask them to reveal themselves to me. I was given instructions to "trust the energy," to "just be in your body, not your mind." I'm still not sure how this is going to work...but I will give it a go. Wish me luck.

************

From the Stacks Challenge Update: I finished The Princess Bride, and am now onto The Line of Beauty. One down, 4 more to go...

Look! Condo! Progress!

I love live feed! Check out the progress on my condo in the last month and a half! The building is 84% sold and my floor is sold out! So exciting!

November 4 @ 9:16pm

November 7 @ 10:55am

November 14 @ 1:16pm

December 4 @ 1:03pm

December 11 @ 11:45am

December 12 @ 9:27am

December 14 @ 1:15pm

December 15 @ 12:55pm

Yay for offsites!

One thing I learned: I'd make a terrible fighter pilot.

One thing I'm grateful for: My mom, who still packs me a yummy lunch to take to work.

One thing that made me laugh: Matt's dancing video at Wherethehellismatt.com. Check it out.

My new Serta mattress was delivered this morning and I'm lounging in bed as I write this. It has this funny smell which I hope will go away...new mattress smell is certainly not as pleasant as new car smell.

I've spent the last 2 days offsite: Yesterday was our department holiday party. We had a meeting in the morning, and then went offsite to the west end for a catered lunch at a place where you can simulate flight in fighter jets. Ya, you read right. How's that for a corporate event? It was...interesting. Not something that I would go seek out and do on my own, certainly. I crashed and burned....a lot. I don't think I had any "kills" while I was in flight. At the end of the day, I was given the "Combat Drone Award" for "the selfless provision of missile target practice by using ones self as a live target, to aid in the skills development of your peers."

Today we volunteered as a group at the Chum City Christmas Wish warehouse for the morning filling toy orders. If you're interested in giving, there's a shortage of gifts for tweens and teenagers both male and female. We finished around 12:30, went out for lunch as a group and were given the rest of the day off....so I did some Christmas shopping and spent the remainder of the afternoon writing my Christmas cards.

I surprised myself by heading to the gym tonight. I had a good run - no cramps while I ran my 5.3km - and no anger to motivate me this time...just pure determination. And it felt damn good. :)

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.

I need a name!!

One thing I learned: "It's the process, not the product."

One thing I'm grateful for: my mentor/friend E, for her enthusiasm, advice and support.

One thing that made me laugh: Curtis doing yoga on Take Home Chef.

I took the afternoon off and met with my designer friend at her studio. I've been flirting with the idea of starting a jewelry design business for a while now and wanted to pick her brain on how I might go about it since she's been in the fashion business for 30+ years now.

I took the microbusiness seminar at beadFX last month and came out rather discouraged. While there was some great information, the focus seemed to be on getting out and selling at craft shows - which I just can't see myself doing.

Anyway, I'm not particularly interested in mass-producing designs - I think it sort of takes the fun out of designing. Besides which, I prefer working with semi-precious gems and pearls, which translates into higher price-points. E planted the idea of doing custom designs for brides when I first talked to her about starting a business in the summer, so that's what I'm going to do. The great thing is that she designs for a lot of brides in her studio and has offered to give me some primo display real estate when I'm ready. Yay!

Now I've got lots of work to do...I need a name for my new venture...I have to get a business license...design business cards...work on creating more samples...SO MUCH! A new project! I'm so excited!! :)

I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping: I bought ingredients for the chocolate chip cookies I'll be baking for my hair stylist, who I'll be seeing for the last time tomorrow before she goes on maternity leave for a year. (I'm going to miss her...as will my hair.)

And I bought Christmas decorations. I wasn't going to bother this year, but my mother is throwing a post-renovation housewarming on Boxing Day so the house needs SOMETHING festive. What do you think:

I got the cool bowl from Pier 1 Imports which was marked down from $50 to $35. Then when I went to pay, I found out that it was further reduced to $28! Score! And then I went to the Michael's next door and got a bag of assorted pine cones scented with cinnamon sticks that turned out to be on sale too! 50% off at the check out! Yay!!

I bought the runner in Hong Kong at the Temple Street Market 2 years ago and sort of forgot about it. It only just occured to me how perfectly it co-ordinates with the soft greens and neutral beiges in our family room. (I think the linen shrank a little after I washed it - that's why it looks wrinkly even though it's ironed.) I like how clean and simple the room is - I'm not into over-the-top Martha Stewart-y holiday decorations. I'd like to get an amaryllis flower for the hall table (I wonder if it's too late to get one to bloom in time for the party?) and maybe a few poinsetta plants to put elsewhere in the house and I'm pretty much done.

I know the floor looks bare, but I'm still on the hunt for the perfect area rug which I hope to pick up in the next week. :)

Dirty Dancing - the MUSICAL!

I was browsing the Star online and my eyes glanced at the breaking news headlines in the middle of the page and immediately clicked onto Musical 'Dirty Dancing' coming to T.O.

This is one of my favourite movies of ALL TIME. The summer before OAC, I had jaw surgery and couldn't eat solid foods for a month. I was in self-imposed house arrest because my face was all swollen and my neck was all bruised from the internal bleeding of the surgery and my sister felt sorry for me and rented Dirty Dancing. I don't know why, but I watched this movie over and over again.

Patrick Swayze is not on my hot list - never has been as I'm not a fan of the cleft chin, but when he stands up to Baby's father at the season-end talent show and says "Nobody puts Baby in the corner" my heart melts.

I have mixed emotions about this being a musical though. What if it's AWFUL?? I'm scared to see it but I'm also curious.

The London production got mixed reviews but sold crazy $$ in tickets so that says something, doesn't it?

Spotty Leopards

One thing I learned: Leopards don't change their spots - no matter that you wish they did.

One thing I'm grateful for: my friend WL, who reminded me that leopards don't change their spots.

One thing that made me laugh: OK, this one didn't make me laugh, but it did make me smile and bop along - Today's Traffic Flow Mix Show with DJ Starting from Scratch. I tuned in on my way home and it was a sample of some good 'ol 90s RnB (for the most part) bookended by the (New Edition alum) Bell Biv Devoe-produced Another Bad Creation at the start and New Edition at the end. The mix was as follows:

Aisha - Another Bad Creation

Motownphilly - Boyz II Men

Rub You The Right Way - Johnny Gill

Candy - Cameo

It Takes Two - James Brown/Lynn Collins

Rock With You - Michael Jackson

Cool It Now - New Edition

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

So, my manager's got me hooked onto the CHFI Loyalty Club - not that I'm really a loyal listener. Although it's one of the presets in my car, I sort of cycle-through the stations when I don't feel like news and listen to whatever tickles my fancy.

Anyway, you can collect points by completing online surveys, answering trivia questions on the daily songs and entering special "gift card" codes. Points can be redeemed for special CHFI events like movie premieres, CDs, DVDs, etc.

One of the perks that I'm enjoying at this very moment is the exclusive CHFI Loyalty Club Christmas Station online - no radio announcers to interrupt! :)

Dried honey wafers, etc.

One thing I learned: "Feeling the pain, the anger, the discomfort is already 50% of the healing..." (I already sort of knew this but this serves as a reminder)

One thing I'm grateful for: my cousin A, who sends me love while she sleeps on the other side of the pond

One thing that made me laugh: my brother, who just came home from studying complaining about the 2 guys going on about one's girl issues (you had to be here)

I came across this exercise in daily reflection on a discussion forum awhile back. I thought at the time that it was a good idea because so often we go through the motions of daily living without really living. I had to think hard about the first one though...I didn't want it to be trivial, like, for example, I learned that the National Honey Board launched dried honey wafers this past summer at several trade shows, and I thought to myself, cool, maybe I'll drink more chamomile tea since I don't have to deal with messy honey. But that's dumb because it can't be profound everyday - more often than not, it'll probably be something silly...and that's OK.

I was on MSN this afternoon chatting with a friend from mandarin class about our final. While I was among the first to leave, he had stayed with some others to talk to our professor, who was impressed with our overall progress. He said that some students were advanced enough to skip Level 2 and proceed to Level 3 since the former is largely review of Level 1 (we'd use the same textbook but go at a much faster pace). He convinced a few students to take Level 3 and mentioned names of other students who should also skip ahead. Apparently I am among this group. Funny thing too, because I only just registered for Level 2 this morning after procrastinating for the last week. I'm not sure how I feel about skipping ahead...if we use the same textbook in Level 3 as in Level 1 & 2, then ya, I will probably consider it....perhaps I will email my professor to ask.

I went for another run tonight to work off some lingering anger. I replied back to the ex late last night, very easy and breezy, but there has been no reply. What is UP with the passive-aggressive manipulation!?

Anyway, I realized my mistake a minute too late because I was already committed to my set: the guy next to me running away had some serious BO. I tried to take shallow breaths but it's kinda hard when you're running so was I ever glad when he finished his run 12 minutes into mine. Although I only ran 4 sets, the average pace I set today was an improvement over yesterday's. Yay for me, again!

I'll take a break from the gym tomorrow - our first proper snowfall is forecasted to begin after midnight tonight...about 3-5 cm. 680 News advised that we all get up an extra 30 minutes earlier tomorrow so as to account for the longer expected commute into work. Ha. As if.

Maybe I'll start my holiday baking tomorrow night...

LTR - Week 4: W1/R6 & Anger as Motivation

I got an email from my ex today. It was kind of unexpected but not really because it was around the holidays last year, about a month after we had broken up that I got a surprise phone call from him wishing me a Merry Christmas.

I saw it in my inbox this morning when I got to work. It was just 4 sentences, 4 short sentences that don't reveal anything about him except that I apparently still come up in his thoughts "from time to time." Why? What is the point of this email?

The last time we communicated did not end very well. He was scheduled to be in town for work and we were supposed to meet for a friendly "catch-up" brunch but he stood me up. I called him, and he was still out on the west coast. He knew the night before that his trip was cancelled but he didn't have the courtesy to call me. Apparently I called him before he had a chance to. He lamely apologized and I promptly hung up on him. Words were then exchanged via email and I thought I was never going to hear from him again.

And now this FREAKIN' email to say that he still thinks about me "from time to time."

WTF?

OK. Perhaps I'm a little angry. Still.

I decided to take that anger and put it to good use. My Learn to Run Program had sort of stalled. I've been re-running Week 3 off and on for the last month because my first and last attempt at Week 4 resulted in cramps half way through the session so I gave up and stuck to Week 3.

But tonight, I felt like going for it and I did. I did the full 5 sets of W1/R6 and only broke out in a little bit of sweat. And I didn't even feel a cramp threaten! Normally, the hint of pain lurks in the shadows but today I was strong. I rocked the treadmill! AND! I broke 5K! I ran 5.2 km tonight! Yay for me!!!

I haven't replied yet because I don't know what to say. I don't want to ignore it because then he'd think I still cared...which I do, because if I'm honest he still comes into my thoughts "from time to time."

Damn him.

A taste of the many weekends to come

It was very busy Saturday. I had my mandarin written and oral final in the morning and they went well: we had 1.5 hours for the written exam and were scheduled for 10 minute intervals afterwards for our oral exam. I was the 3rd to submit my written exam about 30 minutes in, and followed my professor outside to translate about 10 sentences from English into Mandarin. I was chastised for thinking in Cantonese (my not-so-secret weapon) so had to correct myself a few times.

I was out of there by 11am and had about an hour to kill before I had to head downtown so I went to Ikea to check out their Xmas decorations. We had donated all of our Xmas decorations to the Salvation Army before the renovations started - I figured since we were all grown up anyway there was no point in keeping the tree, etc. - so we're starting from scratch. I thought I'd just buy some green, blue and gold Xmas balls, arrange them in a bowl on the coffee table and call it a day. I didn't buy anything at Ikea though because the shades of blue, green and gold available weren't quite right. So the search continues...

I met SA&WC for lunch at Jules on Spadina and then headed to the One-of-a-Kind Craft Show with SA. I was there to check out the jewelry competition - and there were over 90 vendors there! I knew prior to going that selling at a craft show wasn't my thing, and I'm even more sure of it now. I'm in the market research phase of my jewelry business venture and the more I look into it, the more I think perhaps it's best to keep it a hobby.

It was my first time at the show and I had been warned prior by colleagues that things there were expensive. I'll admit that some things were, but I do believe that hand-crafted, unique items warrant a premium in price. There was certainly stuff there I wouldn't classify as "one-of-a-kind" but whatever.

Debra Jackson

I saw works by a few artists that I really liked, but because I don't yet know how I'm going to decorate my condo, it's premature to buy anything. Some of the paintings by Debra Jackson had a Georgia O'Keefe vibe. She had some fantastic flower paintings that I thought would look great if hung in a series of 3. (I really like the assorted white flowers on the dark brown backgrounds done in acrylic she had on display at the show, similar to the image above) There was another painter that had these bold paintings of fields of flowers but I didn't pick up his card and now I'm kicking myself because I don't know his name. There was also an artist represented by an agent in Montreal (Christopher Fenn) who featured various instruments done in watercolour and embossment that would be perfect, I think for a music room or study - neither of which I have in my condo. Maybe one day when I have a house...I thought Jan Phelan's clay pieces were lovely too.

And Liscious Inc. was there. I've seen their products in a few home furnishing stores in Toronto - I even bought the frosted Bamboo motif panels for my best friend as a housewarming gift. I really like these panels (maybe the cherry blossom motif?) and will probably include them somewhere in my decor...I like the floral black motif wall tiles too...

Anyway...so what did I buy? Dvorak from BC was present and accounted for so I bought their Better Than Sex(!) Chocolate, which I'd discovered last year at the Granville Market. It's dark chocolate that's 72% cocoa - but it's brilliant marketing because who can forget a name like that?! And it IS really, really good. As for whether or not it's better than sex...well, as with everything I suppose it "depends" doesn't it? ;)

I bought some moisturizers too: humble'bubble's organic antioxidant body butter that smells good enough to eat, sort of like - sniff sniff - sweet peanut-chocolate-butterscotch brittle, and Urban Venus' shea butter sticks that I thought would be perfect to take out with me every day - no more having to up-end a travel-size bottle of lotion while I'm waiting at a stoplight!

Oh! And shortbread! The most heavenly, buttery shortbread from Coach House Shortbread Co. (featured this month in Toronto Life) Among their sweets, I tried their original, lemon and orange cardamon (which I ended up buying - YUM!) and of their savoury, the stilton-rosemary and cheddar-chipotle.

It took us about 3 hours to get through the show and then we headed back to SA&WC's place to wait for our friend WL to go out for dinner at Sushi Time on Queen. This is the 2nd weekend I've spent hanging out downtown in what will be my 'hood next year. My best friends live within 5 minutes of each other now and about 10 minutes from where I will be moving to next September. WL predicted that I'd be spending every weekend downtown from now until then...which probably isn't too far off considering I've already got plans down there for the next 2 weekends.

SA and I spent the rest of the night at WL's watching movies...the original plan was to watch Mean Girls, but he couldn't find it, so we ended up watching Imagine Me and You, a movie in which the actors all eerily look like someone else:

Matthew Good = Rupert Everett
Piper Perabo = Jennifer Garner
Lena Headey = Keira Knightley
Darren Boyd = Jay Mohr

The movie starts with a wedding - and this is how I sort of envision my own wedding. I love Rachel's hair (so elegant!) and her dress (the style and shape is lovely but I'm not crazy about the length of the gown) and the purple flowers everywhere!! :)

We followed it up with Disney's Sleeping Beauty, which neither of us girls had seen before. W said it was really gay - high school gay, that is - and it was. But it was also gay-gay because W knew all the lyrics to the songs, hehe! Anyway, S and I were a little exasperated by how dumb Flora, Fauna and Meriweather were but I suppose it's just the jaded skepticism of our old age(!) Perhaps if we'd seen it first with the wonder and innocence of childhood, we'd feel differently.

Today was far more low-key. I slept in til about 11am, puttered about before going out for a 1pm massage, came home for a late lunch with my mother before heading out again to buy a new mattress. That was pretty much it.

From the Stacks challenge update

I finished Brick Lane Wednesday night and had good intentions to start the challenge...but I looked at the books on my list and didn't feel any of them. I perused all my titles and finally settled on The Princess Bride (one of my all-time favs!) which my friend WC gave to me (I think) for my birthday, back in the day when we still gave each other gifts. In lieu of gifts, my friends and I now go out for a great dinner instead....this is something we've been doing for at least the last 6 years, so this title definitely qualifies as from the stacks.

Can I just say how pleasantly surprised I am from the the hour or so I spent with it last night before going to bed? It's William Goldman's 25th Anniversary edition of The Princess Bride and there's a great introduction by him explaining his fascination, love and passion for the story. He not only wrote the book but the screenplay as well, and he shares the tale of how the book finally became the film after it seemed like all hope was lost.

Can you tell I'm procrastinating instead of studying? Oh look. It's almost 1am. Time for bed.

Friends and Family Days

You know 'tis the season to shop when all the retailers have their Friends and Family Days. They lure you into their stores with their 30% off discounts to try to get you to spend (more). I'd like to say that I'm strong and that I don't fall for these cheap ploys. But I'm not strong. I'm weak. And I succumbed.

The office closed early today for our holiday party which I didn't go to because I have my mandarin final tomorrow and even if I didn't, I wouldn't go because I'm not particularly fond of very many people at work that I'd choose to go and spend a Friday night with them. It requires far too much energy to play nice.

Anyway. There have been various emails flying about in the last couple weeks for F&F Days and I was thinking of ignoring them, but I got a Banana Republic one this afternoon that's only good for this weekend, so I decided to check it out...because there's no way in hell you'd find me at the mall on a weekend. That's crazy talk.

So, instead of going for a run at the gym (I'd packed my bag and everything last night!) as was my original intention, I drove to the mall armed with my F&F invites for the Gap and BR. There was nothing at BR I wanted badly enough to buy, but I did end up shopping at the Gap. I bought an adorable outfit for my mother's friend's granddaughter* and a cowl neck sweater for myself that I'm not completely sure yet whether I want to keep but it was 30% for this weekend only. See? Marketing WORKS!!

Then, after dinner today, instead of studying like a good girl, I let my brother twist my rubber arm and went with him back to the mall. I wanted to take another look at the cashmere sweaters at Club Monaco because I'd gotten an email invite to say that they were all $99 and I've presently got a weakness for cashmere. I'd dismissed them yesterday as being too blah but ended up getting the black v-neck because it's such a great basic. I was thinking of getting this crew neck from J. Crew that was on sale earlier this week for US$99 and thought better of it...there'd be the additional charges of exchange and duties...besides which, I don't even really LIKE crew necks! So all in all, everything worked out.


*My mother does not like to shop. She finds it BORING. So I'm often tasked with the gift buying. Funny thing. Last year, I bought aforementioned friend's grandaughter these adorable Baby Gap denim overalls (on sale!!) which she loves loves loves. She wears them ALL the time...and my mother's friend is so jealous because she's bought her granddaughter lots of clothes, including a pair of denim overalls, but there is no item of clothing she loves more than the pair I picked out for her. Apparently, to this day, it's a sore spot for grandmama. :)

'Tis the season for giving

The warm weather we had up until yesterday is now gone. No more days in the mid-teens...looks like Old Man Winter has finally arrived because I can hear the dull roar of the wind outside.

Work today was pretty much a write-off. What did I do? Well. I was on Friday Snacks duty, so I stopped to pick up a dozen chocolate croissants, bagels and assorted cream cheese for my group. It rained pretty much ALL day today so I was delayed getting into the office until about 9am, which left my co-workers rather restless, waiting impatiently for breakfast to arrive. All told, we killed about an hour chatting about nothing. I went back to my desk and pretended to work, but mostly just shuffled papers about and surfed the net.

My company is participating in the ChumCity Christmas Wish and matching all employee donations: for every toy that is donated, they will match it with a $20 donation, and for every food item, $2 will be donated. Each year, my colleagues and I contribute $20 each to a pot and then go out to Costco to buy food. I collected $240 earlier this week and went shopping during the lunch hour with some co-workers. We cruised the aisles, grazing on the samples (the 6 cheese pizza was tops on my list today) and stocked up on various canned goods, pastas, baby formula, etc. When we checked out, we warned the cashier that we had a budget to stick to....and boy were we close! We could have been on the Price is Right because our final bill was $240.60!! We joked about how we'd have to collect an extra nickel from everyone in the group.

We didn't do an actual count of how many individual items we bought because some were cases of 12 cans, others were 9 or 6 and there were shrink-wrapped packages of 6 or 9 or 24 boxes of dried goods like instant noodles. But if I were to guesstimate, there were probably about 250 items....so our combined donation yielded a return of about 300% to the charity drive.

We were talking, too, the other day about how we can make the most of our giving...and my friend had suggested buying toys for the toy drive in which part of the proceeds of its sale were earmarked for charity...we'd essentially be giving 3 times! The first time when we buy the toy, the second time when we donate it to toy drive, and the third time when the company matches it with the $20 donation!

The great thing is that these toys don't usually cost very much either...these ones at the HBC family of stores only cost $5.99, and all net proceeds go to health, wellness and educational programs in local communities! So, if you were going to spend, say, $40 on a Barbie, you could make your money go that much further by spending it on a $6 plush toy - particularly if your company has a policy of matching individual donations by $x. There are lots of other retaliers with similar programs...so it's a great opportunity to make the most of your gift.

From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge

I've been procrastinating when I should have been reviewing my Chinese grammar and vocabulary for my final written and oral exam this Saturday.

I came across the From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge (via) which seemed right up my alley since I am a bit compulsive in my book buying. I'll accumulate with the intention of reading the title sooner rather than later but my neglect in some cases dates back YEARS.

Assuming the average cost of a book is $20 @ about 50 books....ACK! That's a lot of freakin' cashmere sweaters I could have been wearing!!

So the 5 books I have picked for this challenge are:

The Know-It-All - A.J. Jacobs

The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst

The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan

Disappearing Moon Cafe - Sky Lee

Instructions for Visitors - Helen Stevenson

I'm a couple chapters away from finishing Brick Lane so I can get started on this list soon....I have until Jan 31st to complete the challenge.

I will NOT fail!

Le Smoking Forever

I was perusing today's paper and Thursday's edition of the Toronto Star includes the Fashion section and there just so happened to be a feature about the woman's tuxedo, aka, Le Smoking, (merci, M. Yves Saint Laurent, who's original sketch from 1966 is at right) is making a comeback!

I have a mental list of what I consider wardrobe staples and I don't know why, but a tuxedo is on that list. To that end, I tried having one custom-made last year, but it ended up not working out, for various reasons that I am not going to get into. I didn't go to NYC looking for a tuxedo but I lucked out and found one while shopping at Ann Taylor Loft in Soho. The style and fit are great and the price was right, so how could I say no?

Anyway, I have this reputation amongst the guys in my group for being a shopaholic...which is really not the case. But since I'm the only girly girl in a group of all guys, it's all relative. When I got back to work last Monday, the guys were like, "What did you buy?" When I told them I bought a tuxedo because "every girl should have one" they all thought I was crazy. Ignorant boors, the lot!

Here's my list of wardrobe staples...it's by no means definitive and is my first attempt at putting it down in writing:

- long black wool coat
- jean jacket
- trench coat
- light spring/rain coat
- tuxedo
- little black dress (duh)
- white dress shirt
- dress pants - black, charcoal
- perfect blue jeans
- black leather jacket
- brown suede jacket
- pantsuit - black, gray or navy
- v-neck sweaters in merino wool, or, even better: cashmere! (not a big fan of the crew-neck)
- tweed skirt
- summer dress
- flirty summer skirt(s)
- white t-shirt
- hoodie
- pashmina wrap
- knee-high black leather boots
- black dress pumps
- strappy sandals
- comfy walking sneakers

Jewellery:
- pearls
- watches - 1 metal strap and 1 leather strap to alternate for everyday and a dress watch with a bit of bling
- diamond stud earrings
- cocktail ring
- pendant necklace
- simple chain bracelet

Looking but not seeing

You know how you can look but not see?

I look in the mirror every day when I'm standing in front of the sink brushing my teeth, washing my face and putting my make-up on. I check myself to see if my outfit matches and there aren't any VPL. I glance quickly before I'm out the door to make sure that my jacket buttons are done up right and my scarf isn't askew. I look again periodically through the day as I'm washing my hands in the washroom sink...I see my reflection in the glass door as I'm walking across the street to get coffee, and again on the way back to my desk...when I get home and take off my jacket to put it away in the hall closet and so on and so forth.

The point is I see myself probably more than 30 times a day and it wasn't until I was drying my hair just now that I realized: My hair is freakin' long! When did that happen?

I've scheduled a visit with my stylist about 3 weeks from now...I would have liked to go sooner, but she's going on mat leave in January for a year so I must delay my last cut for as long as possible so as to minimize the visits I make to her stand-in...I'm going to miss her. : (

The World's Fastest Chocolate Mousse

I was channel surfing before dinner tonight when I came across the sight of chocolate melting in a double-boiler, so of course, I stopped. It was an episode of Chef at Home and he was making chocolate mousse.

I love chocolate mousse. I have this recipe for Chocolate Chiffon Cake that calls for a tunnel to be dug out of the finished cake that's baked in a bundt pan which is then filled with chocolate mousse...I haven't baked that in awhile actually...anyway. My mousse recipe calls for heavy whipping cream to be whipped stiff, gelatin, cocoa and icing sugar...a bit laborious and time-consuming.

This recipe truly is the fastest and you know why? How's this for crazy talk: it calls for silken tofu in place of the whipping cream/gelatin. So not only is it fast, it's healthy!

I've GOT to try this recipe to see if it tastes any good!

Ingredients:
8 oz. silken tofu
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Melt chocolate in bowl set over pot of simmering water
2. Puree tofu in food processor until smooth
3. Add melted chocolate and vanilla and puree again until smooth
4. Chill and serve

Source

La Senza acquired by Limited Brands

Dammit, I’m irked! I was driving home today when I heard the news that La Senza was being acquired by Limited Brands in the US, the company that counts Victoria’s Secret among its stable of brands, for $48.25 per share!

I know this is completely irrational, but I bought 100 shares of La Senza at $12, oh, I don’t know, about 4 or 5 years ago, after reading an article in some random business magazine while waiting to get my teeth cleaned. I am by no means a savvy investor…I actually have no interest in investing, but I had some cash and I thought, buy what you know, right? I know I like lingerie, and the article had mentioned that La Senza owned Arden B, a store in the US that I had shopped at and liked too.

Anyway, I had to sell my shares earlier this year because I needed the cash for my condo down payment. At the time, I thought I was getting a pretty good deal since I had almost doubled my investment…and as the year progressed, the stock price rose to $30+.

Today, trading halted at $32.65 upon the deal’s announcement. If only I had held onto the stock, I would have quadrupled my investment! I know, I know. 100 shares is nothing. But still!

"You're stunning."

It's not everyday that a girl hears that line.

I normally drive to work, but this morning I was on the TTC for 2 stops after parking my car to make it to our Fall Town Hall meeting at a nearby theatre. I mind my own business on the subway. When I used to commute to work downtown, I'd drive to Finch station, and then subway down. I was once more considerate of the environment and took public transit all the way, but after being stalked by a guy who waited at my bus stop, I opted to join the many park and ride commuters.

So this morning, I got off the subway and walked out onto the street towards the theatre and I was stopped by a guy who was on my train. We had sort of made eye contact briefly when I was scanning the train for other people from work but I didn't recognize him. Anyway, he told me that he couldn't help but notice me because I was stunning and that he "doesn't normally do this" but he'd like a chance to get to know me better.

I was cautious and rather suspicious of being stopped by a stranger given what had happened in the past, so I was less than receptive. In hindsight, he seemed nice enough, and maybe if I had found him attractive, I might have taken his card, when he offered it to me. But I didn't. Instead, I fed him the "I have a boyfriend" line. Lame and dishonest, but under the circumstances, the easiest thing to do.

It would have been a great meet-cute story, huh? Who knows if there may be another one in my future...?

Cashmere...I want more, please

I'm a neophyte when it comes to cashmere...before this trip to NYC, I've only ever bought cashmere/wool blends, on sale, no less(!) and have one little cashmere scarf.

Now all I can think about is my next cashmere purchase...it might have something to do with being bored at work...but that's besides the point. I'm wearing the long sleeve v-neck tee in graphite today that I bought at J. Crew and it's sooooo soft and cozy. There may be better quality cashmere sweaters out there, but so far, J. Crew is total luxury, as far as I'm concerned. I tried on a couple 100% cashmere sweaters at Uniqlo, Japan's answer to the Gap which debuted in Soho this past Friday and they just didn't feel the same. Considering the lower price point I suspect they were a lower quality.

Anyway...I went to the J. Crew website and discovered all these other colours. The selection in store was limited but online there's pink and white and 2 shades of purple! I'm contemplating buying a couple more...they're such a great basics and the fit is fantastic.

I'm crazy. And bored...that's my problem.

Soho and real friends

Our last full day in NYC. Brunch at The Brooklyn Diner on 43rd near Broadway which opened just a week ago and then off to Soho for some more shopping.

Our first stop was at Ann Taylor Loft, where I did the most damage volume-wise. I've been wanting a tuxedo suit for a couple years now and ended up buying one here. The jacket is a perfect fit and the pants have traditional satin stripe up the sides. So elegant and smart.

I LOVE Ann Taylor pants because they fit me perfectly, so I ended up combing their sale racks for pants in my size and bought all the wide-leg dress pants in my size. The bonus? An additional 20% off the lowest ticketed price! I also bought a fantastic Minnie Rose cashmere kimono shawl - so soft and so must-have.

I found LOTS of other beautiful things that I coveted...like the jacket at Calvin Tran with a satin tie; the pretty chiffon dresses at Rebecca Taylor; and the japanese kimono silk dreses at the store that I don't know the name of....so lovely.
But my favourite? My favourite store was the calm, fragrant oasis of Nancy Koltes at Home where I spied the pink cashmere robe to the right. I sat in the comfy armchair opposite to rest my weary feet and to just take in the ambience. I love how everything in the store was edited. I admired the lovely robe, which would have been crazy for me to buy because I don't use robes at home anyway, besides which, I think it was $400+. sigh.

By about 5:30pm, we were tired of shopping...and looking forward to dinner. I'd made reservations at Cafe Espanol on Bleecker at Sullivan for 7 and we ended up arriving early. I'd discovered it a couple years ago while in NYC with my cousin A. I was looking forward to this meal all weekend. Their paella marinara with the half lobster was as good as I remembered, and we also ordered a lobster and shrimp in garlic sauce. It was pretty decadent considering it was just us 2 girls but it's such great value! Lobster and big juicy shrimps for $23? You can't beat that! And their sangria! The best sangria I've ever had with the fruits drowned in brandy overnight. :) We lingered over the sangria for more than an hour after paying the bill and ended up ordering flan for dessert and staying another hour.

We had a vague intention of going out to a jazz club but after making it back to our hotel, we ended up just staying in for the night. We packed and we chilled. I don't see W very often, in fact, the last time we saw each other was 2 Xmas' ago on holiday in Hong Kong, and we don't correspond regularly, but she's one of those special friends that it doesn't matter how much time has passed since we last saw each other, we can pick up like it was just yesterday since we last chatted.

The weekend was far too short. We're already thinking about our next girls' weekend...maybe it'll be NYC again...perhaps I'll meet her there when she's back on the east coast on a buying trip...or maybe it'll be somewhere warm where we can loll on the beach (though I'm not very good at that!) or perhaps it'll be gay Par-ee....? Regardless of the where, we know it'll be fun with lots of shopping, despite our best intentions - we are each others' good luck shopping charm. So good, but also, so dangerous. :)

(The Princess Bride is on TV, and despite being really tired, I have to watch til it ends at 3am)

Garment District and 5th Ave (sort of)

Woke up bright and early for our first full day in NYC. Our plan for the day was to hit the Garment District - beads for me and fabrics and trim for W since she's starting her own fashion design firm.

We started with brunch at Yuca Bar on Avenue A - I had the Arepas Benedictos with Serrano ham (yummy!) and W the eggs and chorizo sausage. With our stomachs full, we headed back to the HoJo to check out and made our way uptown to drop off our bags at the Millenium Broadway where we'd be staying for the next 2 nights.

We spent 8 hours pounding the pavement. We hit a few bead shops and I managed not to buy everything in sight. W found trimming for her samples and we walked some more.

I don't remember what street we were walking down but we noticed these parking lots with the car elevators to maximize valuable real estate. I'm pretty sure there's a condo in Toronto being developed with these car elevators as a feature...and I know my Dutch cousin's condo in Amsterdam also makes use of these space saving lifts.

The parking lot attendant kindly posed for us. He was a funny, charming guy since he made a big show of checking to make sure that his tie was straight, his hair was in place and his moustache was just so.

I took this pic later on in the afternoon, after we'd decided to quit the Garment District for some serious shopping on 5th. I'm not sure what building this is and can't remember what corner, but I like the colours in the taller structure with the blues and purples. Oddly enough, the short orange-red cubic building reminds me of some of the movie theatres in the suburbs near to home...I think it's the colours. And how about that big, fake chocolate bar? I think it's a Snickers...most satisfying, indeed!

Our intention to make it up 5th got us as far as Rockefeller Centre. We killed a lot of time at J. Crew (one of W's favs) where I tried on lots of cashmere and ended up buying a lovely grey V-neck, and then at Anthropologie, my all-time favourite girly-girl store. I LOVE this dress but they didn't have it in-store . I tried on lots but in the end, bought this pretty pink sweater only. I figured I'd done enough damage to my poor finances for one day with the beads and the sweaters.

After a full day of shopping, we headed back to our hotel to change for dinner. Our room's on the 50th floor and it's so much better than the HoJo. Here's the view from our window of some random buildings and what may be the edge of Times Square, and the Chrysler Building further down. Not too shabby. :)

"Need some asian food!"

I'm all fresh and showered on this first night in NYC. We're staying at the HoJo in Soho and moving to the Millenium Broadway tomorrow (long back story which I will not get into). NYC hotels are freakin' expensive and I knew that when I had suggested it as a destination for our girls' weekend but I had sort of forgotten. Duh.

Anyway, my girl W and I had an amazing Korean bbq dinner at Kang Suh on Broadway (open 24 hrs!). After a week of fine Italian dining in Milan for business, she was desperate for some asian food. She'd apparently been dreaming about kimchi fried rice, so we ordered that (girl wasn't kidding about the rice because she pretty much finished the entire order on her own!) some delicious kalbi and my favourite, chap chae, along with a bottle of soju (so smooth!)

After dinner to catch up on our own, we met up with some friends who were having dinner out on the patio of Markt, and stayed for drinks and dessert. I love NYC because there we were, at the corner of 9th and 14th after midnight and the streets were still bustling with people walking around.

It's great to people-watch because you can observe certain types of people out and about. There were the wannabe cool preps in their casual uniform of jeans, untucked dress shirt and jacket; there were the party girls in their short jean minis and black tops; the mature gentlemen dressed in comfy stylish sweaters and their ladies in elegant coats and scarves. My favourite was the SJP-Carrie doppelganger who paused at our corner dressed in this fabulous A-line cocktail dress with crinolines. So pretty.

sigh. I love New York.

Sunset in NYC

My flight that was supposed to arrive at 4:15 was late - first because we were delayed 40 minutes leaving Pearson, and then we spent another 20 minutes in a holding pattern outside of NY airspace because of high volume at JFK. Consequently, the sun was just setting by the time we were making our way towards JFK to land. It was brilliant as it made its way down the western sky...the horizon was a lovely pink that deepened into a muted orange, and where the sun was peaking through the clouds the rays were like a hot pink.

I was glad to see from my plane window that the leaves are still on the trees: red, orange and yellow...I love the brilliance of the fall colours. This is my favourite time of year to be out and about for a walk.

Touchdown.

Hello New York!

Leaving on a jet plane

This is the weekend I head to NYC for some QT with one of my favourite girls. Normally, I'd have much of my time there planned and organized in a spreadsheet (I know, I'm a geek and a freak, but lovable nonetheless) but not so this weekend. We're going to play it by ear, sort of. I still pulled together a spreadsheet of potential restos to dine in and possible nightspots to hit--just because nothing's planned doesn't mean I'm not prepared!

Meanwhile, I got an email yesterday from Air Canada announcing a Euro seat sale. A round trip flight to London is $400...and for a few minutes, I entertained the thought of actually flying to London for a short visit. I'd have free accomodations with my cousin who I absolutely adore, and I could ride the slides at the Tate Modern! But reality set in when I realized that I'd have to pay $250 in taxes on top of the airfare...there goes that decadent, jetset fantasy!

No time to dwell though! New York awaits!

Rain = 2x as long a commute

What is it about a bit of rain that traffic slows right down?? I've written about this before and on this evening again, it's the Traffic Flow Mix that sees me through with a fantastic set of head bopping tracks.

It's funny that there was a report today about StatsCan's study on the work commute. Apparently, "people who drive to work are more likely to enjoy their commute than those who take public transit." I wonder if these same people feel the same when there driving time is doubled because of not-so-foul weather?

Generally speaking, I don't mind my drive to work because it would otherwise take me twice as long via public transit. Besides, I really need my sleep and I like the freedom of being able to run errands or go offsite for lunch during my noon hour. But when I'm stuck in stop and go traffic because of inexplicable volume caused by weather or having the bad luck to get stuck in the flow of traffic rather than the ebb, I get irked and irritable.

"...motorists’ enjoyment of their time on the road is probably linked to a sense of freedom...Even if they’re in a traffic jam, they are still in their wonderful shiny cars that they put a lot of money down to own,” says Roger Keil, a York U professor.

I wanna know who these weirdos are that don't mind being in a traffic jam? Where are these freaks hiding?

LTR Hiatus

I'm on a break from my LTR program after a really crappy run last Friday. I got out of work an hour early and went to the gym all excited to get a good workout in to start my weekend off but it was not to be. I ended up with a cramp and quit after 20 minutes, something that didn't even happen my very first time out.

To add insult to injury, I suffered really bad shinsplints that lasted until Wednesday. So, no running for me this week. I wasn't a complete stranger to the gym though as I went to Bodyflow* last night. I worked myself hard and am beginning to feel the soreness in my gluts today--there was this one leg/core strenthening yoga move (I don't know what they're called) that saw me fall over because: 1) my core's not strong enough yet and 2) my muscles were feeling a touch jelly-like after the earlier standing series. How embarassing.

I suspect I will be sore for the next few days, but this is good. I love the feeling of sore muscles after a workout because I feel like I've done my body good.

* Bodyflow is a combination of Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates

Apple

I went to the Factory Theatre tonight to see the Toronto debut of Vern Thiessen's Apple. The image above is the publicity still--provocative, huh?

This was the story of a man, Andy, torn between his wife, Evelyn, and lover, Samantha; just as he's made the decision to leave his wife, she tells him she has cancer and he must decide to stay or go. Based on this brief outline, the symbolism of the tempting apple and the closeness to the couple's names to Adam and Eve, I expected a drama examining the theme of temptation and the difficult choice one is forced to make between one's desire and one's duty. What I got was another thing entirely.

I thought I would be sympathetic with Evelyn, but she was a complete bitch from the start. I expected the adulterous husband to at least have a backbone, but he was a weak loser who had just lost his job and couldn't seem to stand up for himself. And Samantha? Well...she was messed up too.

Things get rather twisted when Evelyn, a real estate agent, meets Samantha after she's considered selling her condo. Fast forward a little and Andy and Evelyn meet at the park they used to frequent early on in their relationship. Andy wants to tell Evelyn that he's leaving her, but Evelyn, as usual, beats him to it and tells him she has cancer and it's his job now to look after her.

Given that it's a 3-character play, can you guess who's the medical intern assigned to Evelyn? If you guessed Samantha, you'd be right. I don't even want to go on about the plot because I'm too tired and disappointed to think about it any longer. I couldn't find any sympathy for any of the characters. It felt rather like a blind date that you knew was going to be bad as soon as the first greeting's exchanged.

At least I had fun prior. I met my friends at the National Ballet box office to get tickets initially for Sleeping Beauty, but since the seats in the Ring we wanted weren't available, we got tickets for the Christmas institution that is The Nutcracker. We then walked across Queen for dinner at Shanghai Cowgirl where I had the yummy Chicken Club Sandwich. The salad was overdressed and the side order of sweet potato fries was oversalted, but the chicken breast was perfectly tender and juicy. Will return again.

Wicked and porno bathrooms

I went to see Wicked at the Canon Theatre today and I understand now why it was so successful on Broadway. The story of Elphaba and Glinda is funny and touching, and the lyrics and music are smart and catchy.

I've had a weekend of good stories, beginning with The Thirteenth Tale and now with Wicked: I found out how the Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion came to be, as well as the flying monkeys; and the significance of the ruby slippers came to light. All in all, a very clever story.

It was a funny coincidence to find The Wizard of Oz on television. I tuned in long enough to see Dorothy and her entourage's first visit to the wizard and her subsequent capture by the wicked witch of the west.

It was so freakin' windy today that I thought I was going to be blown away while walking down the street. It never occured to me that I might have been hit by some flying debris--like the poor woman who was knocked unconscious and bleeding with injuries to her head and leg when a falling tree branch hit her. And then there's the story of how the winds were so strong that they were able to blow down a townhouse under construction!

As to the porno bathrooms, I first heard about them from my friend who had gone to visit a new condo development in King West. The design was much-hyped so we thought we'd go for a visit for curiosity's sake.

So what makes a bathroom a porno bathroom, you might ask? Well, it's as simple as a window or glass wall seperating the bathroom from the bedroom. We saw a second PB in another model suite not 10 minutes away...is this the latest trend in condo design? I find it tacky...and rather alarming. Call me a prude, I don't care.

The Thirteenth Tale

Half my book order was waiting for me when I got home from work last night and I was wary of getting into either of them right away. I knew the first title would be The Thirteenth Tale given all the buzz, besides which, I wasn't in the mood for the non-fiction that was So Many Books, So Little Time. Given my book funk of late, the pessimist in me was worried that I would be disappointed, the optimist in me was worried I would get so caught up in the mood that I would neglect practicing for my Mandarin class. (I've been a very bad student all week having not opened my textbook at all since class ended last Saturday.)

Can I just say: Wow.

(warning: spoilers ahead)

I started the book last night around 9:30 as the rain fell (after spending a couple hours practicing my vocabulary, of course) and was up until almost 2am reading. I was caught up in the story right away because of the main character, Margaret. Her passion for reading reminded me of my own not so long ago when I used to read through the night because a certain pageturner had captured my imagination. The anecdote about why she never stands when she reads made me laugh out loud: when she was a child, she sat on a wall reading The Water Babies. She was so taken in by the evocative story that she unconsciously relaxed her body completely as if she were weightless in water--only to fall off the wall and knock herself out. "Reading can be dangerous," she deadpans, and this is when I knew that I had found the right book.

I must admit that as I got deeper into the novel, I was a bit scared about how it would end. What if it was completely predictable...I found the incest between Charlie and Isabelle to be a bit trite, but the rest of the story was great.

I was amused by Dr. Clifton's prescription to Margaret after she had fallen ill from a night out in the rain: he asked her if she liked to read books like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Sense and Sensibility. His reply when she replied yes inspired a smile: "You are suffering from an ailment that afflicts ladies of romantic imagination. Symptoms include fainting, weariness, loss of appetite, low spirits...unlike the heroines of your favourite novels, your constitution has not been weakened by the privations of life in earlier, harsher centuries...You'll survive." And his scribbled prescription? This, too, made me laugh: "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes. Take ten pages, twice a day, till end of course." Ha!

After class and errands about town, I settled in for some more this afternoon. The twist in the plot surprised me as I didn't see it coming...but it made sense in the end...everything mostly tied up in a neat little bow--except that we don't ever really know for sure who survived the fire...

The Thirteenth Tale of the story is revealed...and it struck me immediately how this make-believe book and its stories sounded similar to Politically Correct Bedtime Stories. Anyway, it's clear that the reason why this last story was unfinished was because this was the story of the mysterious Miss. Winter. It's brilliant how everything came full circle in the end--the fictional thirteenth tale is revealed just as the truth is finally recorded.

Finally, I loved the ending...how Margaret finishes the tale by taking into consideration the feelings of the reader in wanting to know what happens after the story ends--does everyone live happily ever after? We're left with a teaser of a potential romance and that's the end. Just brilliant!

I'm looking forward to Brick Lane. I suspect it will arrive on Monday since I got an email yesterday to say that it was shipped....I'm rubbing my hands in anticipation already!

Slide, baby, slide!

There was an item in today's paper about a gigantic slide at the Tate Modern in London. Carsten Holler, the German artist to which we have to thank for this fabulous playground thinks they're a great means of reducing stress and depression. To me, they look like pure fun.

According to the website, the exhibit runs until April 9 of next year. I wanna go!!!! I wasn't planning on going back to Europe again so soon...but my cousin DOES miss me, and I'd love to spend time with her and meet her new beau...and now there are the slides!!!

Commitment-phobe am I

After a very domestic weekend shopping with my mother for new occasional tables for the family room and a dishwasher for the kitchen, I felt the need for a little retail therapy for me and me alone. And since I had a $50 gift card for Indigo, I went online for new books—as if I needed any more, given the reading funk I’ve been in lately.

As usual, I’ve got a glut of unread books on my shelves but nothing seems to appeal long enough to hold my attention. I never used to cheat on my books…I would make the commitment and read one and one alone. Now I find it difficult to be faithful so I have 2 or 3 on the go. The last title I found engaging enough to compel me to spend the entire weekend reading was The Kiterunner around this time last year…that’s quite the dry spell, wouldn’t you say?

My latest purchases include:
- The Thirteenth Tale, the latest international bestseller which has gotten a lot of buzz lately;
- Brick Lane which was one of the big titles from a few years ago that I've heard about and had been meaning to pick up;
- Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: Around China by Any Means Necessary by Polly Evans, who wrote It’s Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels, a travel memoir about her cycling trip across Spain which I quite enjoyed; and
- So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Evans who chronicles her goal of reading a book a week for a year. The idea of reading a book a week has some appeal...I seem to recall a column published in the Globe and Mail(?) about just such a feat, but I could have just imagined it.

These books should arrive on my doorstep sometime next week since they’re all available for shipment within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, I’m also keeping myself busy trying to figure out what to do in NYC in a couple weeks—there’s just so much to do and only 3 nights and 2 days to do it in once travel days are taken into consideration. Not enough time!!!

I call bullshit

Oddly enough, one of the things I really miss about working downtown--aside from the great people watching and shopping in the PATH on my lunch hour--is my commute in on public transit because this was my time to read the newspaper...I'd get through the hard news and business on the ride in, and save the features and crossword for the ride home. Now, I listen to 680 News--all news, all the time and traffic and weather together on the ones.

This morning there was a news item on a study in Maclean's magazine about how the internet is a complete disappointment despite all the money that's been invested in it. Well, I call bullshit.

Yes, the internet has opened the door to scam artists, identity theft, and viruses...but what about all the good? Thanks to the internet, we're all connected: we can keep in touch with family and friends all over the world and access resources when we need answers.

Consider this article about Ask Metafilter, a community weblog akin to Google Answers in which members post questions and get answers from the community. The fantastic question cited about the member looking for a Vienna phonebook circa 1938 in the hopes of finding the apartment where his grandfather lived before fleeing the Nazis is here. It gives me the warmfuzzies and wonder about the kindness of virtual strangers.*

On a more personal note: if it wasn't for the internet, I wouldn't have gotten the lovely surprise of an email in my inbox from none other than my crush, Alain de Botton(!) Apparently, a fan of my blog (I have a fan??) at M&S, his Canadian publisher, sent him the link. Eeek! How embarassed am I to know that he's read the gushy ramblings about my school-girl-crush on him? I haven't yet had the nerve to reply back.

So, yes, I call bullshit. The internet is da bomb.


*Speaking of the kindness of strangers, check out the book of the same title here. It's a collection of true stories by travellers who were helped by a Good Samaritan along the way. Some of them are quite exceptional.

The Clean Break

I just got off the phone with my cousin in Amsterdam, and it's funny how I was dishing out relationship advice that I should have been heeding myself all along.

Long, complicated story short: she broke up with him and he's not ready to let go....which is essentially the position I was in a year ago. The difference though is that they live in the same city while my relationship was handicapped by geography as well as time zone...the former, of course, is far more conducive to relationship post-mortems in cases where one party wants to try to work things out.

I know it's dangerous to be giving out relationship advice, but he called me twice before finally getting through to me so how could I not be there for him when it's clear he needs someone to talk to at 3am?

From the outside looking in, it sounds like she's already left the relationship and there is no going back to try to make things work. My advice was for a clean break--if she really thinks he's the one, then who's to say that she won't still be there when he comes back from working abroad? Who's to say that he won't meet someone else? If they were meant to be together, they will be together.Things as they stand now are too complicated and I've lately become a believer in the KISS school of thought--Keep It Simple, Stupid.

So a CLEAN BREAK now so that maybe, just maybe there can be a clean beginning later on. This is not to say that he should be living in the past, wallowing in the hopes that she'll come back to him. (Been there, done that.)

His words? "I hate you."

To which I retorted: "You only hate me because you know I'm right. And you really love me or you wouldn't be calling me at 3am."

Heh. Hindsight. Always 20/20.

The Traffic Flow Mix sees me through

After my miserably rainy drive in this morning, I was dreading the rainy drive home...but it turned out to be not so bad after all. And it was all thanks to the Traffic Flow Mix with DJ Starting From Scratch on Flow 93.5:

I was greeted by some great tunes from the Bad Boy era of Biggie Smalls and Total, which flowed into Donnell Jones' Knocks Me Off My Feet...NeYo's Sexy Love...TLC's Baby Baby Baby...SWV and Love Will Be Right Here...which, interestingly enough segued perfectly into Maroon 5's This Love, thanks to the rockin' bass in the background....the perfect drive home mix that had me bopping my head and singing along despite the gloomy skies and gridlock! : )

Rain Rain Rain

What is it about rain that traffic slows to a crawl?? I woke up this morning to the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof and grey skies peaking through my blinds and all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep.

But I drove into work and here I sit, trying to get into a research report. blah.

LTR - Week 3: W1/R5

I just got back from my run...a run that I was tempted to bail on but didn't because I felt guilty. Plus, I don't want to face that disapproving look from my friend A tomorrow at work when he asks me if I went to the gym. Nothing like peer pressure sometimes to haul one's ass to the gym.

I'm glad I went because I feel great. I'm going to hurry and hit the shower so I can spend some time tonight working on an idea I have for a necklace with citrines and carnelians!

The BIG dig

Ever since I discovered that my condo development had live construction feed on its website, I've been dropping by just about every day. I know. I'm a total geek. But it's certainly far more convenient than driving by the actual site.

I especially enjoy seeing the construction workers walk about--they remind me of Lego toy men. ;)

The hole just gets deeper and deeper....I wonder when they'll finally get around to pouring the foundation....? Hopefully soon as it's supposed to be ready for occupancy next September. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be ready on time....

September 20 @ 11:57am

September 21 @ 1:03pm

October 1 @ 4:40pm

October 6 @ 11:18am

October 12 @ 10:51am

October 16 @ 11:49am

Achey head. Must sleep.

The Star's architecture critic interviewed my crush, ADB, and the article was in today's paper here. He's just brilliant. And has a point about architecture in Toronto.

I went to my mandarin class this morning and after waffling for an hour or two, decided to go for a run in the afternoon. I spent a couple hours playing with my beads, had dinner and now have a headache that I just can't shake. : (

So to bed I go to sleep it off.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

My alarm rang at 7am and the thought crossed my mind to call in sick after last night's interrupted sleep.

Running in the evening leaves me a bit wired so I end up sleeping later than my usual midnight. This being the case, I turned in around 1am, only to be awoken an hour later by my brother clomping up the stairs from the basement to complain that our home alarm system was going off. It was not the loud, obnoxious siren that signals a breach of security, but an irritating, incessant, high-pitched beeping coming from the basement.

The "Trouble" light was on but there was no trouble to be found and punching in the code for the system didn't do the trick. After about10 minutes of frustrated swearing and hitting of buttons, the beeping stopped and we returned to bed. 15 minutes later, the beeping began again. This time around, my mother and I ignored it and left my brother to deal with it.

I considered getting up to help, but what could I do? I figured it was about time he took some responsibility around the house anyway, and acted like a man instead of a baby. And he dealt with it. He called the alarm company, and around 3am, the beeping stopped. He came upstairs to tell me to re-set my clock since he had to flip the switch in the fuse box to stop the beeping, and that was that. The silence of the night reined again.

Alain de Botton at DX

Photo Credit: Charlotte de Botton

I have a confession to make: Since hearing him speak tonight at The Design Exchange on his latest book, The Architecture of Happiness, I am slightly embarassed to admit that I have developed a full-blown-school-girl crush on Alain de Botton.

All my worries about him not living up to expectation in real life were for naught because he was as erudite and subtley funny as I had hoped he would be.

He gave an hour-long lecture that seems to follow the structure of his book fairly faithfully. In the 20 minute Q&A that followed, he was asked to comment on the popularity of loft living and his reply impressed me since he prefaced it by saying that he didn't yet have an opinion. He essentially suggests that it's quite telling that loft living is an urban phenomenon since it's typically white-collar workers who are attracted to these industrial-like spaces; the last thing a blue-collar worker would want to do after a long day of toiling in the factory is to return to a home that reminded them of work; they would choose to be closer to more natural surroundings (i.e. the suburbs with green space, etc.) He elaborated further and I just fell a bit deeper into my little crush.

I bought his book afterwards and we shared a moment because he smiled at me when he handed me back my signed copy. Definitely way cuter in person. ;)

I couldn't help but gush about my dear Alain as we were walking to Spring Rolls for dinner. Despite complaining that my crush had made him lose his appetite, my friend still managed to finish all the tofu I'd left from my pad thai, this, after polishing off his own meal too. I guess he wasn't that put-off after all.

Learn to Run - Week 2: w1/r3 redux

I just got back from the gym and feel so energized! My LTR program was interrupted by duties around the house and after 2 weeks away, I'm finally back and am determined to stick with it.

I walk/ran 2.5 miles today in 34 minutes...all in all, not bad, considering I upped my running speed right from the start and didn't succumb to the dreaded cramps halfway through my run. Yay for me! ;)

Real Home Renos: Kitchen B & A

We spent most of our Thanksgiving weekend trying to get the main floor organized and cleaned up in time for our family dinner last night. Here's the before:

and the after:

The kitchen isn't completely finished since the piece of wood that should run above the sink covering the potlights is still missing. The original piece that was cut was too short so once that's installed, and we get a new dishwasher and microwave, the kitchen will be done done done!

We left the layout as before since the existing work triangle of sink to stove to fridge was perfectly functional. I've gotta say that I'm loving the convenience of being able to take a hot pot straight from stove top to granite counter without having to worry about placing it on a trivet. And while you can't tell from the picture because it was taken in the absence of sunlight, the kitchen is sooo much brighter.

I'm very pleased.

Boys are more than stupid

My brother got on my last nerve tonight. I've been waiting for him to help me put on the doors to our last Billy bookcase and he's been unavailable for the last couple nights.

He was surfing on the laptop with the TV on in the background when I asked for help and he said he'd help me "later." And that's when I lost it on him.

Even though the renovations are done, the house still looked like a mess. My mother is slowly losing her mind (no joke here--among other things, she's completely forgetful and I worry about her sometimes) and I've been busy at work doing NOTHING when I'd rather be home cleaning and organizing so that the house looks like a home again.

My brother? He comes home, eats dinner, and then decides that he's going to go to the gym to work out when there's shitloads to do at home. He's NOT ONCE asked whether he can help with anything. And when he's asked, it's on his time.

So I got pissed. So pissed that I couldn't articulate how pissed I was. And I cried angry, frustrated tears. And my mother had to get pissed too.

After much yelling on both our parts, he finally hauls his ass upstairs from the basement and he's giving me attitude, as if I was in the wrong. For something that took him all of 20 minutes to do, he had to be a jerk and get everyone upset.

One thing we have in common in our family is quick tempers...but the good thing is that we don't hold grudges. He realized what an ass he was in the 20 minutes it took us to finish putting on the doors and he ended up helping the rest of the night. And what a difference in the house.

The paint cans and other stuff that littered the centre hall have been cleared away and we hung up some art work. My mother's little TV in the kitchen was installed and that brought a smile to her face.

Our house looks like a home again...mostly. There's more work to do this weekend but the house should be in some semblance of order for Thanksgiving dinner. What a relief that is! :)

Status, NYC and Billy doors

I didn't do anything at work today because there was no work for me to do, so I surfed the net. My bi-weekly status meeting was scheduled for today, so my manager and I went out for a coffee. Over the course of our 1 hour meeting, I told him I was bored and he asked me if I was looking for a new job, so I told him yes. It was a fairly honest meeting, and considering he is just as frustrated by how not busy we are, he understood where I was coming from. Long story short, he offered to serve as my reference if I needed one.

When I got back to my desk, there was an email waiting for me from my girlfriend based in LA. We've been talking about doing a girls' weekend somewhere and after some discussion, decided on NYC sometime over the Remembrance Day weekend. She's arriving at JFK via Milan as she'll be there for business, and I'll be flying in from Toronto to meet her. With her travel itinerary confirmed, I could book my flight.

I was hoping to book a flight using points and went through all the reward programs I'm a member of: I had more than enough Aeroplan points for a flight but the times that there were seats available were just not convenient. I also had enough points to book a flight through my Avion Visa, but the cost of my flight exceeded the maximum allowable dollar value. My final option was through AIR MILES, and I was a little skeptical as to the availability of flights, but lo and behold, there were plenty of options available.

Now, flights from Toronto to NYC normally land in LaGuardia, but I'll be flying American Airlines this time and there just so happens to be one flight from TO to NYC's JFK. The happy coincidence is that my flight arrives just about the time my girlfriend will probably clear customs from her flight via Milan, so we should be able to meet at JFK and get a ride into town together! Yay!! NYC, here we come!

The rest of my evening was rather frustrating as it was spent trying to put the house back in order--which, like the renovations before this, seems to be taking forever. My brother helped move more furniture up from the basement and then decided to selfishly go to the gym. (I hate that I always have to remind him that he lives in this house too.)

Anyway, we had spent this past Saturday putting together our Billy bookcases but hadn't gotten around to putting the pretty Nickleby doors on. I thought it would be so easy but it turned out to be so hard. Even with my brother's help it took us a stupid 1.5 hours to put a pair of doors on! We still had one more Billy to see to, but by the time we were finished the first pair, it was 11 pm, and we were tired from our ordeal. There's time enough to deal with it tomorrow.