Rationalizing

I got a piece of mail from Rogers, my cable and internet provider this week announcing changes to their cable pricing.  Normally I just toss these into my recycling but I've been reading Money Sense so fiscal responsibility is top of mind.  I thought about the TV that I actually watch - none of which lately include the specialty channels I've been paying a premium for so I called and downgraded my package, which saved me $30 a month.

Next on my list was my internet usage. I've been paying for 60GB of usage a month when my history for the last 6 months shows an average of about 5GB per month.  Stupid, right?  I'm actually rather annoyed at myself for throwing my money away but no more! The 20 minutes I just spent on the phone with the customer service rep will save me almost $500 a year!  So, yay for saving money!

Friday in Sao Paulo

It’s Valentine’s weekend in Brazil and I came back to my room at the Intercontiental to find roses waiting for me. Lovely, right?

The best thing about the Intercon, besides the comfortable bed and pillows is L’Occitane’s Verbena line of toiletries. My favourite scent! I’ve tucked away the little bottles every night before going to bed and when I come back to my room the next evening, there are new bottles waiting for me.

Anyway – this trip to SP has been muito otimo (very awesome), despite the usual intensity of traveling with senior execs because I’ve a colleague, J, from Toronto who’s here part-time that I’ve really bonded with. The execs left yesterday afternoon and I’m now able to get down to the work I was meant to do on this trip. I spent the day in the office and we called it a night around 7pm and spent the next 4 hours at a local pub for “happy hour.” I ordered a caipirhinia followed by a couple caipirsakes which are far smoother then the former. A Caipirsake is apparently unique to Sao Paulo and is a caipirhinia with the cachaca swapped out for sake which results in a drink that taste like limeade. YUM!

We ordered a fantastic carpaccio pizza and stewed beef 2 ways – one flavoured with gorgonzola and the other with mustard – and had a fantastic time. There was a lot of talk about work, but also about life.

J has raved about how generous and open all the Brazilians have been towards her – from our partners here and how open they’ve been in taking care and seeing that she’s felt welcome to the cab drivers who’ve given her a discount on her fare because her ride took longer than it should have because of construction which is clearly beyond their control. After tonight, I can attest to kindness of the cabbies myself. I don’t know any Portuguese so it was a very silent ride but my cabbie was attentive enough to notice my interest in all the furniture and home décor shops on the street we were driving down so he turned on the light when I pulled out a pen and paper to write down the street name. He said something to me in Portuguese – I didn’t understand precisely, but I know it was a comment on the concentration of shops, so when he wrote out my receipt for me, he turned it over and added something extra, and the something extra was “Gabriel Monteiro da Silva, Lojas,” the street name. How sweet is that? I left the cab smiling.

Meanwhile I’m crazy-itchy. Mosquitoes have feasted on me – my left side in particular since I’ve a bite on my elbow and not one, not two but THREE bites on my the lower half of my leg. Plus I’m allergic so they’re super-swollen. UGH!

Heading back to SP

I've been working much of this weekend in preparation for a business trip back to Sao Paulo. I leave tomorrow night with 4 others but instead of returning before the weekend as I have the 2 other times I've been, I fly home Sunday night! This means I'll finally have my chance to see the city beyond my hotel, the offices and the restaurants our partners take us to for dinner in the evenings.

I will be spending the weekend with another colleague from Toronto who will be staying for an extra week thereafter.  We'll be there for the kick-off to the World Cup so there's bound to be lots of festivities in soccer- (or should I say football?) mad Brazil.  Ooh!  And maybe I'll go shopping!  I don't know what the big tourist attractions are in Sao Paulo.  I know there are football stadiums and a public park comparable to Central Park....and there's a fancy mall with a really cool bookstore that I want to see.  Other than that, I'm just going to go with the flow.

I'm already planning my wardrobe for the week ahead so I don't over-pack!  Now, back to work!

Skinny Minnie

I've been working with a personal trainer now for 9 months and have seen significant results. Pants that used to fit are now saggy in the butt and hang loose off my hips, but on the plus side, I'm shopping my old wardrobe, now able to fit into pants that had grown too tight over the last few years, and shirts that made my muffin top all too apparent.  How thrilling is that?!

You know what's even more awesome?  I'm actually wearing belted skirts with my top tucked in!  I don't think I've EVER done that before in my life - at least not with a measure of confidence!!

Despite how proud I am of my leaner self, I'm rather embarrassed by the attention it's garnering.  It's not that I haven't been transparent about my efforts.  I've talked openly about my workouts and the changes I've made to my diet including the days I go low-carb/high-protein now that I'm in burn, so I should be happy that people are noticing.  But when my manager says, in the middle of a conversation, "Check out the pipes on this girl!" I squirm.  If I was a guy, I'd probably flex my arm in response just to show it off but instead I feel self-conscious.  And when another manager callls me a Skinny Minnie and my colleagues comment on how great I look, I feel uncomfortable because of the attention.

I know I should get over it, turn it around and be proud because I've worked so hard for these results.  But changing one's self-image takes time.  Not to say that my self-image was horrible before.  I know I sound like an ass when I say this but I know I'm pretty, and have even been called beautiful on occasion, though not usually cute, which is fair because I'm far too serious to be considered cute.  (I know, I'm an ass, but please, indulge me here.)  Yet I've never had the stereotypical thin Asian girl body.  I take after my decidedly pear-shaped aunt so have always been self-conscious about that, always comparing myself to other Asian girls. 

I know I will never be a skinny Asian girl - my hips will always be curvier and my bosom will always be, um, shall we say, modest, but I can learn to revel in the strength of my body.  I can do straight leg deadlifts and one arm rows with 65lb dumb bells and 100lb bar squats; I can even do real push-ups - 2 sets of 15, no less! - and I don't look like a butch.  I made it very clear to my trainer that I didn't want to look butchy.  How many skinny Asian girls can say the same? 

The Piano Teacher

I finished Janice Y. K. Lee's The Piano Teacher today and that's when it occurred to me that this book, like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, was also set during WWII.

I've always had a particular weakness for non-/fiction written by Asian authors - Chinese ones in particular because I'm curious about how the customs and beliefs I've grown up with and am used to thinking about in the Chinese language are articulated in English.

For example - the Chinese preoccupation with food.  In Chinese culture, one doesn't ask "how are you?" but "have you eaten?"  Maybe it comes from living through famines over the many centuries of Chinese civilization - the most recent one during Mao's misguided Great Leap Forward in which an estimated 30MM Chinese died.

Whenever I speak to my mother or aunts and uncles on the phone, they always ask if I've eaten yet.  Without fail.  And sometimes, I surprise myself with how Chinese I am and beat them to the punch by asking them first.  Lee references this fixation in the novel and I was mildly amused by it, despite the tragic context.

I'm a bit ambivalent about the book...it was good but not great. And I think my next book will have to be contemporary in its setting - I need a break from the tragedies of WWII.

From the back cover:
In 1942, WIll Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls passionately in love with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite.  But their affair is threatened by the invasion of the Japanese and World War II overwhelms their lives.

Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter's piano teacher.  Seduced by the colony's heady social life, she soon begins an affair...only to discover that her lover is hiding a devastating past.  As the threads of this spellbinding novel intertwine, impossible choices emerge - between love and safety, courage and survival, the present, and, above all, the past.

I want one

I love books - the look and feel and smell of them - so I'm rather a luddite when it comes to eReaders. When the Kindle was introduced I had no desire to get one but with the Kobo, I'm reconsidering. I don't think I'll ever stop buying books but this light-weight reader would be perfect for travelling. It comes pre-loaded with 100 classics and can store thousands of books. And at $149, the price is just about right.

Itchy...and random

I've been on a loose spending fast of late and am seriously itching for some retail therapy.

I've cheated by redeeming my air miles for $50 Indigo gift cards to buy these gorgeous clothbound Penguin Classics that now grace my bookcase:

Last Saturday, I went back to Anthropologie to return 3 tops I'd picked up the weekend before after my haircut and left with the pretty embellished sleeveless number below and on Sunday, before my massage, I killed time browsing around Yonge and Davisville where I found this adorable Frog Prince tealight holder:


See? Weak.

Anyway. I've been holding out on buying some new clothes after losing about 10lbs with all the training I've been doing because I've only really just started this first "burn" cycle and am fairly certain there's more weight to be lost.

I woke up this morning to sunshine and thought, maybe I'll head out to browse the shops. But now it's raining so I guess I'm safe from temptation.

Perfect day for a 10K

Every year, on the first Sunday of May, Yonge Street shuts down for a few hours so thousands of runners can participate in the Sporting Life 10K. This is my third year running it and I ran my best time: 1:03:35. My goal had been to run it in an hour which I obviously didn't manage. In hindsight, I probably could have but I was too cautious of running out of gas too soon.

Here's a view of the crowd ahead of me:

The forecast had called for thundershowers and I was all set to bail if faced with heavy downpour in the morning but luckily the rain held until I was about 5 minutes from home, and then it only rained for a short while. It was actually the perfect morning for a 10K with nary a chill in the air. My first year was brisk to say the least.

I celebrated my best time with brunch at Earth beginning with a Kir Royale.

My trainer gave me the greenlight to use this day as a cheat day to eat anything I wanted, so I had Earth's version of Steak and Eggs - soooo good! What made it even better? We sat indoors so there was no chance of a little extra seasoning from the birds above ruining my perfect dish.

And dessert! I was allowed dessert! So I had the chocolate torte. It turned out to be a little too rich, an issue that would have been resolved if dessert had arrived before my latte ran out but service was s-l-o-w.


On our way back to the car which I'd parked on Roxborough, I noticed this amusing sight:

Someone's got a cheeky sense of humour! (I quite like her stripe-y tights!)

I'd booked myself a massage uptown and had an hour to kill so browsed the shops, leaving with this adorable frog prince tea light holder:

I rounded out my Sunday with groceries from Chinatown, lunch-making for the week, a quick dinner of salad and a nice long soak in the tub.

I really missed Sundays like this...

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I stayed up last night until 1am to finish reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This, like The Lovely Bones and The Time Traveler's Wife, is another book that I wonder why, having finished it, it took me so long to discover. It was absolutely delightful.

Like Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine, TGL&PPPS unfolds through letters and correspondence. I pride myself in being able to pick up on hints the author drops in order to anticipate the plot but I did NOT see the ending coming, which was a very pleasant surprise.


From the back cover:

January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

Coolest Teeny-Tiny Flat EVAR

Gary Chang, an architect in Hong Kong has designed the coolest multi-room flat ever with 24 rooms in all of 344 sq. ft!

Little Bee

I picked up Chris Cleave's Little Bee at a Target in Washington state when I visited my sister in Vancouver last month and finished it early this morning.

It was a really good read since it was engaging and enlightening. For example, I didn't know anything about the conflicts in Nigeria over oil, nor did I know much about immigration in Britain. The ending seemed a little rushed though.

I don't want to spoil the story so I'll just reiterate the spare description on the back cover:

This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is how the story unfolds.

And there you have it - you've been told. :)

Working Weekend

It's a working weekend for me. I spent a few hours in the office this afternoon and then made myself a yummy healthy dinner of baked salmon with black bean salsa and quick corn saute. The meal's a quick and easy recipe out of Clean Eating magazine. I got a subscription with my personal training package and had been meaning to try a recipe out of it forever now. So glad I did because it was so tasty!


Now, back to work!

Retail Therapy

I got my hair cut this morning and got bangs! Honest to goodness bangs, which was a spontaneous decision on my part after flipping through May's Cosmo while I was waiting and happening upon a picture of Jessica Alba with bangs. It was time for a change.

I'm not yet sure how I feel about having hair on my forehead - it'll take some getting used to. The next test is to style them myself which may be tricky but we'll see. I'm comforted by the speed at which my hair grows though so if I decide I hate them, then it'll just be irksome for a couple months.

Anyway, my appointment ended with 30 minutes left on my parking meter so I decided to drop by Anthropologie for a quick browse and left with this pretty top, as well as a couple others that were on sale.

Yes, I am weak.

30 hrs in Sao Paulo

I found out last Thursday afternoon that I would be flying back to Sao Paulo Sunday night to spend a day and a half in meetings before leaving Tuesday evening to return to Toronto. Given that it's a 10+ hour flight one-way, I was gone for 3 nights - 2 of which were spent in-flight.

Now, I never really imagined that I would be jetting off at such short notice - I used to think that it sounded rather glamorous but it's not really....although I must admit that I did enjoy flying Executive Class to and fro.

It was the same crew on the plane for both flights and the attendants remembered me which was rather nice. I got my champagne at the start of the flight and my port with dessert. Yum. I shouldn't have given my training and diet but I decided to throw caution to the wind and indulge because when next I fly on my own dime, there certainly won't be a choice of wines with my choice of entrees for the in-flight meal!

We landed around 5:30AM and after cabbing it home, I unpacked and took an hour-long nap to make up for the very light sleep I had on the plane - despite ear plugs, the roar of the engines is deafeningly loud. I managed to haul my butt into the office around 9:15 and then spent a fairly productive day, though I hit the wall around 3:30. I stuck it out until 6:30 though and was rather proud of myself for that. I don't know how people who travel regularly for business do it.

Alright then. Time for bed! Early morning meeting tomorrow! G'night.

Bird Nest Vase

Isn't this ever so pretty? New at Urban Barn...tempting...

Library District

For a bibliophile, Library District Condos, much like Library Hotel in Manhattan, has got to be the place to be, right?


You can bet your clothbound Penguin Classics that I registered to check it out! :)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I first heard of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from Adrienne over at Bookmark My Heart about a year ago and was reminded of it again late in the year when I read that Natalie Portman was connected to the film adaptation.

R: the original cover, L: the cute post-it I used to cover up the zombie because I'm a chicken and it freaked me out to look at it (no joke.)

I finally got around to reading it and finished it a couple nights ago. Yes, it was campy and fun but I was also annoyed.

Why? First of all, it was poorly copy-edited with the odd transposed word, extraneous article, and "coy pond" on the grounds of Pemberley which should have been a "koi pond." But the absolute worst for me was this glaring factual error in chapter 43:

The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking English woman, dressed in a kimono and shuffling about on bound feet.

For the record, the Japanese never bound their feet so don't go mixing up the "Oriental" cultures - that's just ignorant - never mind that training in China was considered inferior to that in Japan - I'll let that go.

Anyway, despite it all, it was amusing and I'm mostly glad I read it, though I don't think I'll be checking out Quirk Classics' subsequent title, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters:

Oh, Joe!

Aren't these colours delightful? I'm thinking perhaps I should visit Joe Fresh for a look-see...

Long Weekend Update!

It was the Easter long weekend and I'm happy to report that I didn't get up to much. It was a short work week with Good Friday off but it seemed like the longest short week ever because I was in meetings for, oh, something like 80% of the time.

The problem with meetings is that there's usually work that comes out of them but because I'm not at my desk to do the work during the day, I have to be there later to do it. Incidentally, my trainer was stricken with the stomach flu all week so going to the gym didn't conflict with work.

Anyway, I spent Friday with my family. It was Qing Ming this weekend so we went to visit my father's grave. After dim sum, I stayed in and watched Season 2 of Bones on DVD while browsing new condo development websites for my brother who is thinking about getting into the real estate market.

Saturday was another day spent loafing. I made it out for a 6.5K run in the morning down by the waterfront after being woken up by my aunt and couldn't get myself to head out again despite the good weather. Typically I'd head out for a stroll along Queen West to browse the shops but since my preliminary tax prep suggests that I actually OWE money this year, I decided to avoid temptation altogether and stay in to watch some more Bones. So begins my spending fast...

Today? Dim sum with my aunt and cousins, grocery shopping with my mom, and then home to chill and prepare for the work week ahead.

I lead quite the exciting life, right?

Here's a pic my sister posted to FB yesterday of Piglet "reading" a book to herself. She never, ever fails to make my smile. I love her chubby little feet. :)

Camp fire!

This lamp is freakin' adorable!

via Apartment Therapy