Perfect Stranger

Im a bad blogger, will do more soon (Law course)

2012-01-22T10:11:00.003-07:00

I'll start posting more regularly once I get a break from my law courses.

In the mean time, check out this video, it's quite important that people be aware.

ACTA

Stalker boots on

2011-11-16T22:24:00.001-07:00

I put my stalker boots on tonight and I must say....

Your tweeter feed SUCKS! What a lame way to use it. You're either boring to death or quite unimaginative... I'm going to for BORING!

Alright, I’m getting my ass kicked!

2011-10-24T19:44:00.003-06:00

Figuratively of course... I love playing video games, Icould spend an entire week-end glued to my computer or on the Xbox orPS3...Sadly, I am also getting near the end of my MBA, meaning: I don’t havemuch time to goof around and I have been choosing video games too many timeover training. D bought me a kinect. It’s a device that attaches to the Xboxand allow you to use your body as the remote. I have always thought thatworking out in front of the TV was kinda lame and that it wasn’t going to bemuch of a work out to begin with. Well, I must apologize... it can be hard! Igot the game: Your Shape, Fitness Evolved and geeez, those lunges and squatsthat must be done in rhythm with weights in each hand are not easy! I mean, Ican feel my tights and ass (my two biggest problem areas) sore for few daysafter.

Call me crazy or lame, I don’t care, that thing is gettingme working out and doing lunges!

Speaking of the MBA, I just started the last core class forit. I will be done mid-December.. Yay!!! Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean I amdone. Yours truly was dumb enough to decide to concentrate in law. As a result,I’ve got 3 more classes to go and then writing my project. All in all, bySeptember next year, I should be done.

Lastly, I have been on the road again (hence the lack ofposts). At least, I have been flying in style....Gotta love those first classflat beds!

Amazing week end.

2011-09-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

D and I went to the Rockies with our friend B for someserious mountaineering... We were initially supposed to climb Assiniboine, butthe temperature wasn’t great for that climb and we decided to head toward LakeLouise for some glacier traverse, ice climbing and two summits in one day.

I can only say one thing: this was EPIC. I’ll let thepictures talk for themselves but it was so fun. There were scary parts (ex:traversing a huge crevasse and coming down a steep, sticky snow face), butoverall, the experience was incredible.

Well look at that!

2011-08-24T16:23:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine always tease me about how many pairs of shoes I must have since he believe that I am wearing something different every time he sees me. Well, he could be right, but he’s also a man, and when it comes to fashion, I have been less than impressed by their uncanny ability to not even notice the biggest changes in someone’s appearance. (Best example would be me coming home one night with a platinum blond do when I had bright red hair the very same morning. Either D is color blind (I refuse to believe this), D is a moron (some days I would say idiot, but moron would be farfetched) or just being a man (this is where I think he is).

Wow, that was a digression here; I meant to write about shoes... I caved in yesterday and took a picture of my “collection”. I must note that there are about a dozen pairs missing as I haven’t included whatever is in Canmore, the 4 spare pairs in my office, and all my hiking, climbing, cycling, skiing and whatever sport shoes.

So.. Judging by it..I think it makes me at about 100 pairs... Some would think it is crazy but all I can think of is that I don’t have brown riding’s boots yet, that I need a pair of nude open toes, would love some blue pumps and that I have never owned a pair of UGGs yet. Collection is incomplete...

Am I excessive?

I had to re-post this!

2011-08-17T17:01:00.000-06:00

I came across this and I had to post it here. I don't know that dude @urielabbadon, but you're hilarious!

So, God controls the entire universe except for this one place: hell. Now, hell is run by the Devil, and the Devil hates God. Alright, so you've lied, cheated, stolen, and been a dick your entire life. Why's the Devil going to punish you? He's going to really dig you. You're one of his boys.

It's not like if your good all your life that when you finally get into heaven that God is going to say, thanks for all your good work see that big titted whore with the line of blow running down her she's yours. Welcome to salvation. No, that's not going to happen.

All the good drugs and whores are going to be in hell. a.k.a The fun place.

What's hell got? Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.

What's heaven got? Eternal bliss. That's going to suck. Anything that's eternal means you will get used to it and then you'll be fucking board.

Be good and go to heaven and be bored for eternity. Be bad go to hell hang out with all your friends and party every night.

Suddenly the Devil's starting to look like an alright guy. Everything that we know about the Devil is from the bible, now that's God's book. The Devil's never put out a book. If you ask me, I think the Devil's being the bigger man because God's just writing all this shit about him, and the Devil is taking the high road and not even bothering to respond.

Have you ever noticed that the kind of people who turn to Jesus tend to be the sort of people who haven't done that well with everybody else?

Overheard

2011-08-15T13:14:00.001-06:00

At the office...

1st person: " I slept with crazy ABC this week end.... Why do I keep going back?"

2nd person: " Listen, sleeping with an ex is like masturbation. You know you're fucking yourself but you do it anyway."

A little something I am good at: ranting!

2011-08-11T16:56:00.001-06:00

So... it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that I am not a fan of Facebook and the likes. I have been on LinkedIn since the early 2000, way before it became popular.

My frustration is with random connection or even just acquaintance. I don’t connect with people I don’t know and/or have not done business with and I certainly do not want to read daily updates from connections that use LinkedIn as Facebook or Twitter.

So why on earth would people send, to someone THEY DON’T KNOW, a connection request with the generic LinkedIn connection request message? I mean, if you want to connect and get introduced to someone, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first and say why you want to be a connection?

Am I the only person that gets really annoyed by this?

Overheard

2011-08-10T21:33:00.000-06:00

A guy in cab telling a women walking by (not me): “You’ve got nice hair”

The women .. “go fuck yourself”

From my friend DY

“Why would I need an anti-virus? I live in a condo” (WTF!!!)

In the mall:

Lady 1: “ He said he wanted to lick my underarms”

Lady 2: “ Do they make flavoured antiperspirant?”

(WTF!! So not what I thought would be her answer back)

Is it creepy that I like eavesdropping on random strangers?

The kettle that calls the pot black

2011-08-10T21:13:00.000-06:00

Wow, it’s been a while. I guess Google + had me going for a little. Looks like an interesting concept (I love the possibility to segment people into circles so that you are not inundated by morons’ every thought as they post every freaking minutes). But what’s the point to it... I still haven’t figured out – I guess I’m anti-social – I’m quite fine by this.

So.. why haven’t I posted since the last time? Well, to put it nicely, blogging was the last thing on my mind. I completed another course in my MBA and it was mind numbing. I’ve got a whole new level of respect for accountants, how on earth can they sit through corporate finance and think of doing a career out of it? It’s dry, boring and time consuming – I’d rather slit my throat than go through an entire degree focused on accounting. Needless to say, it took a lot of will to do my assignments and complete the course material.

Then it was Ottawa time. We went to a great friend’s wedding anniversary. Their niece was there with her kids. I was dreading every minute of it as I ... well “hate” is a strong word but let’s say I don’t like kids at all. To my surprise, the 8 years old was super well behaved. He came and shook our hands to introduce himself without even being prompted, understood what “adult time” meant and was overall ok. Not to the point of having me reconsider becoming a breeder but still, I was impressed. He was such a far cry from our socially inept nephew... You would think that between 7 and 8 there wouldn’t be such a difference but wow, sorry D, but our nephew is not the normal one, he’s the execption.

On another note, by mother in law is in town for the summer. I was expecting D to want to see her more often but considering his new job and our brutal corporate finance class, I feel like they barely visited each other at all. I feel sorry for her, all she did was babysit and clean around the house.. I would have hoped she could do more stuff for herself while she was here.

Aside from that, I’ve been hiking and enjoying what we’ve had of summer. I’m climbing Assiniboine late August and that’ll probably be the highlight of my year.

Oh yeah... why such a weird title.... Well, I make fun of everyone that go see a naturopath because after, they all come back with sensitivity to milk and whey. D in particular went and got tested and although he wasn’t sensitive to whey, they had him stop eating stuff. I made fun of him like there was no tomorrow. Well, I guess it is his turn now as my doctor believes the pain and “non-ladylike air expulsion” are due to me being celiac and lactose intolerant. I got tested for it this week and should have my results later. If that’s true, I would consider my life to be ruined.... there are so little thing a celiac person can eat. I love food!

The summer that will never come.

2011-06-17T11:55:00.001-06:00

Ha! This title doesn’t mean anything. It’s just that Alberta has decided to skip a season and go to Fall straight from Spring. I guess the weather gods do not want us to get a little tan and sun. Such a shame, it can be so beautiful around here and we’re not going to get any sunny days to enjoy the magnificent view.

I’ve withheld blogging for a while as I had to deal with a rather unpleasant situation (no, I didn’t mean The Situation - this guys is a waste of oxygen). Thing is, I feel responsible for what happened. D’s been through the ringer lately. Because he wanted to quote:”Impress me”, he went through a massive jump while mountain biking and well.. ended up with few broken bones.

On May long week end, we went biking, as our ride was coming to an end (on the way back to our cabin) I see a training park and jumps and tell him :” Hey! I’d like to see you do that!”. Well, he went all-in. Stupidest.thing.ever. I ended up having to call an ambulance. He’s got a broken left shoulder and a broken right wrist... Yes.. he couldn’t use either hands for a little while.

Anyhow, he’s a lot better right now and I’m hoping he will be able to do some stuff soon so that if we do get a Summer, we can do fun stuff.

On another note... I’m going through a suffering time, my MBA is having me do a corporate finance class and it sucks! This is why I hire accountant to do things like that, it’s dry, it’s convoluted, it sucks. The nice things is that I’ll have only 2 courses left for the regular portion and will then only have to do elective and my thesis. Part of me wants to specialize in Law, the other feel like “just get it over with”...decisions decisions....

My alphabet, 2011 edition.

2011-05-26T16:15:00.000-06:00

I found this post from 2007 and while reading it, I realized how things change with time and how some things never change. So here is an updated version of my alphabet. I am leaving the old answer in to compare.

A
- Available: Nope (both in 2007 and today!)
- Age: (27) 30...Although I don’t like saying my age anymore...
- Annoyance: (Hearing a baby cry or incompetent people.) Baby cry and waiting after someone.
- Animal: (I’d love to have a Siamese) I have two Siamese, Hugo and Astro
- Actor: Clive Owen (still true)

B
- Beer: (The blueberry one from Brewster or any Red.) Rickard White
- Birthday/Birthplace: June 19/Baie-Comeau, Quebec (duh! Same)
- Best Friends: Dominic Coulombe (Although Dom is still my best friend, we don’t see each other as much. I would have to say Miss N-B, she’s like the sister I never had.
- Body Part on opposite sex: The “V” just below the navel. (oh yeah.. still totally accurate)
- Best feeling in the world: (Freedom) I like my 2007 answer, but I’d have to say the feeling I get after D say I love you.
- Blind or Deaf: Deaf (same)
- Best weather: Between 20 and 25, sunny. (Same)
- Been in Love: yes (same)
- Been bitched out? : yes (same)
- Been on stage?: Oh yes, theatre was a flop, singing was ok, catwalking was great. (same)
- Believe in yourself? : (most of the time) Yes, I am done repressing what I can do to be politically correct.
- Believe in life on other planets: I think so. (same)
- Believe in miracles: yes (same)
- Believe in Magic: No (same)

- Believe in God: No (same)
- Believe in Satan: No (same)

- Believe in Santa: I would love to. I believed in him for years! (same)
- Believe in Ghosts/spirits: Yes (same)
- Believe in Evolution: I would say yes. (same)

C
- Car: (Mercedes B200, bright red, Love it!) Got rid of the Mercedes-lemon. Such a bad car. I have a black Hyundai Tucson and a BMW K1000RS motorbike
- Candy: (Anything, bring the candies!) I prefer chips. I lied in 2007, I’ve always been a chips gal.
- Colour: red (same)
- Cried in school: no (same)
- Chocolate/Vanilla: chocolate (same)
- Chinese/Mexican: Chinese (same)
- Cake or pie: cake (same)
- Country to visit: (China, Russia, Thailand) China, South Africa, Everywhere where there is a peak to climb!

D
- Day or Night: (evening?) Day
- Dream vehicle: (Can it be a motorbike? (The new Katana)) I would love to have a sailboat.
- Danced: (Rave, now salsa as much as I can.) Not much anymore.
- Dance in the rain?: no, I’m singing in the rain…. Let’s singing in the rain… (same)
- Do the splits?: I was able back then, now, I can be flexible when I want ;) (same)

E
- Eggs: In an English muffin. (same – can’t believe I am not tired of eating this!)
- Eyes: blue (same)
- Ever failed a class?: Yes, a math class I quit in the middle. (same)

F
- First crush: Jerome Tremblay. A twin. (same)
- Full name: Top Secret. (same)
- First thoughts waking up: Torn between hit the snooze and pee. Just want to curl up on mister D back. (same)
- Food: (Sushi. Calamaris) Definitely sushi, or Vietnamese

G
- Greatest Fear: living an un-meaning life. (same)
- Giver or taker: giver (same)
- Goals: Becoming a CEO. Buying a Chanel purse in the short term! (same – although no Chanel purse, more shoes!)
- Gum: Cinnamon (same)
- Get along with your parents?: (My dad is my special man. I try very hard with my mom. One time out of two its work.) I do, time does wonder for broken soul.
- Good luck charm: A ring mister D gave me (same – although a different ring)

In guys/girls
Eye colour: green/blue (same)
Hair Colour: dark (same)
Short/Long: not too short but not too long. (same)
Height: taller than me (good luck, I’m 5 feet 10!) (same)
Clothing Style: (I like the “skater” type for a day but uniform or suit is nicer everyday.
Characteristics: loving, love sports and honest.) Suit up!

H
- Hair Colour: (Natural: blonde, now: 2-3 tone of Red with blonde.) (same natural, and now a shade or two lighter than natural)
- Height: 5"10 (same)
- Happy: (most of the time) Definitely
- Holiday: (I love Halloween.) Christmas
- How do you want to die: (I’m tempted to say while having a shag session but it’ll be pretty bad for D. Lets say quick.) While mountaineering.
- Health freak?: (Yes kinda. D’s a future Olympic medalist so healthiness have become more and more important.) I am done dieting, I had friends that only thought about calories in 2007, I eat whenever I am hungry, whatever I want, and the secret is moderation.
- Hate: (Liars, Boxer dog.) I still loathe boxer dogs. However, I learned that Hate is a strong word, and I am trying to use it with moderation.

I
- Ice Cream: Coconut (same)
- Instrument: (flute) Guitar hero?

J
- Jewelry: (watch, rings, earrings) Lots, getting married does wonder to one’s jewellery box
- Job: (Security Architect or Information Assurance Specialist.) Senior Manager on track to become a partner (if all works as planned)

K
- Kids: no thank you (same – although I love my new nephew and niece)
- Kickboxing or karate: Kickboxing. (same)
- Keep a journal?: If my blog could be called a journal, then yes (same)

L
- Longest Car Ride: (Quebec city to Miami for spring break.) Calgary to Walla Walla Washington for wine and cycling race
- Love: in love with Mister D (same)
- Letter: A for A team! (same)
- Laughed so hard you cried: yes (same)
- Love at first sight: yes. I believe this is what happened when I met D. (same)

LAST PERSON WHO...
1. Slept in a bed beside you?: Mister D. (same)
2. Saw you cry?: Mister D. (same)
3. Went to the movies with you?: (D, Stu and Karyn.) D
4. You went to the mall with?: (The IA Angels.) Miss P, my friend from UK that moved to Canada
5. You went to dinner with?: (The IA Angels) D, Mister DY, mister A and Mister J.
6. You talked to on the phone?: (A co-worker.) A client
7. Made you laugh?: (2 co-worker in the lab.) Myself, when I realized that I am addicted to Angry Birds.

M
- Milk flavor: (skim.) 2%, I like the taste better
- Movie: Hackers (same)
- Marriage: (I would love to, someday.) Done, on December 13, 2008
- Motion sickness?: no (same)
- McD's or BK: (I worked at BK so it’s banned now. McD's) I could eat McD every day.

N
- Number of Siblings: 2 (same)
- Number of Piercings: (I use to have 21, now 6) 5 functional
- Number: 2 (what’s this question?!)

O
- Overused Phrases: (pardon me?) Let me check my calendar
- One wish: (That D would accept to turn one of our guest rooms into a walking closet.) He did it!!!

- One phobia: (spiders and being eat alive by a bear while hiking.) I don’t think I’ve got any irrational fear anymore.

P
- Place you'd like to live: New-Zealand (same)
- Perfect Pizza: pepperoni-mushroom. (same – although BBQ chicken and Hawaiian are growing on me)
- Pepsi/Coke: coke zero (same)

Q
- Quail: nope. WTF?

R
- Reason to cry: being hurt (same)
- Reality T.V.: (I watched Survivor a while ago.) Does Iron Chef count?
- Radio Station: (I’m more MP3 than radio.) Sirius 20 on 20
- Roll your tongue in a circle?: I can’t anymore (same)

S
- Song: currently: (all good things come to an end.) Hello by Martin Sovereing
- Shoe size: 38 (same)
- Salad Dressing: (Balsamic) Sweet creamed Walla Walla onions. Got to import it to Canada
- Sushi: Bring them on! (same)
- Skipped school: oh yes (same)
- Slept outside: yes (same)
- Seen a dead body?: yes. (same)
- Smoked: yes, but not cigarettes. (same)
- Skinny dipped? Yes (same)
- Sing well?: I don’t know if it was well, but I did. (same)
- Swear?: (sometimes) I am trying real hard to rule swearing out of my language, it isn’t a good habit for a lady.
- Stuffed Animals?: no.
- Single/Group dates: depends. (same)
- Strawberries/Blueberries: Blueberries. (same)
- Scientists need to invent: a cure for diabetes. (I would love to be cured) (same)
- Time for bed: (Mister D time : 8 :-P, mine:10-10:30) Between 9:30 and 11:00. Unless I’m flying at 6:00am
- Thunderstorms : like the smell afterwards. (same)
- TV: Don’t really watch TV. (same)
- Touch your tongue to your nose?: That’ll be awesome! (same)

U
- Unpredictable: very much (same)

V
- Vegetable you hate: I like everything. (same)
- Vegetable you love: asparagus (same)
- Vacation spot: (depends who’s with me.) My vacation property in Canmore, it’s my peaceful refuge.

W
- When you grow up: I hope I won’t be bald. (hahahaha! same)
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: (Depends on the situation. Miss M for fews things and miss S for other.) I don’t think of any. Mister DY?
- Who makes you laugh the most: (myself.) Hugo, that cat is an idiot
- Worst feeling: being rejected. (same)
- Wanted to be a model?: been there, done that. (same)
- Where do we go when we die: I want to give my body to the science, or get plasticized and exposed in the monstrosity museum? (same)
- Worst weather: when it’s too cold to go outside. Freezing rain (same)

X
-X-Rays: had many, broken few bones (same)

Y
-Year it is now: (2007) 2011
-Yellow: bananas (same)

Z
- Zoo animal: (I want to see an elk!) I love the big cats (lions, tigers, etc)
- Zodiac sign: Gemini. (same)

I might as well drink a root beer

2011-05-18T17:28:00.000-06:00

Truth is, I don’t like root beer, it taste awful. In fact I don’t like many soft drinks, I can stand the occasional Coke Zero and that would be it. If I want something fizzy, I’ll take soda water with lime juice in it anytime. Anyway, I’d much rather drink water, or wine, or gin tonic.

I was told by one of my staff today that I am intimidating because people don’t know anything about me outside of work aside from the fact that I run (obvious, I sometime do it at lunch), cycle, married and climb mountains. I don’t like mixing social life and work life, which is the reason why I keep my private life... private. Well this isn’t completely true either as some people in my firm know that I am degenerated, addicted to food, loving a good debate and have split personality: the office me, and the outside me. They even had the social experiment pleasure of hanging out with the outside me.

It’s not really in my nature to open up, there’s too much rubbish out there. Silly if you ask me - coming from a girl that has been keeping a blog that long. For the readership, here are some random facts:

I’m a cat lady. If I wasn’t married, I’d probably be forever single living in a tiny condo smelling like cat litter, surrounded by half a dozen of cute kitty.

Once I’d die in said condo, they’d probably nibble on my feet and eat half my body before I’d be found.

I like “men” men, looking rough, beard, bad boy stuff.

I also like when a men suit up. It look incredibly sexy (well, aside from my office buddy).

I think a 5 O’clock bearded D in a suit is a godsend gift to me and my primal instincts.

I probably think about sex as much as the average 16 years boys. I have no shame about it. There is a difference between thinking and acting on it.

I have never been a bridesmaid. I secretly want to. I’m now too old for it and it suck.

I am pretty intolerant, borderline racist toward fat people, I’d like to not be like that because it isn’t socially acceptable to call off someone about their lard, but I don’t give a rat ass about being socially acceptable.

My best friend is gay, she’s the sister I never had and I became a better person since I met her.

I feel guilty of not seeing my family as much. I think I’ll be the aunt they get to see once every two years and don’t care about.

As much as my mum and I have our difference, I incredibly love her but can’t get around saying it out loud to her.

There are friends that I left behind in Quebec that I miss, and there are some that I don’t.

I could eat hamburgers every day. Or prawns, or meat macaroni, or scallop potatoes.

I like to cook and bake as when I do, I don’t eat as much.

I hate olives.

Well... was that a relief? Certainly not. Will that makes you know me more.... perhaps if you can read between the lines, appreciate the irony and keep an open mind.

I blew it.

2011-05-16T17:03:00.002-06:00

Or not. Depends how you look at it.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to see one of my favourite (if not my favourite) band on concert again (I saw them last July). D and I drove to Edmonton to see Rammstein.

Once again, it was EPIC. The sound was great, the pyrotechnic was unbelievable and it was an overall great show. In Quebec, they did only 1 encore, in Edmonton, they did 2 and lo and behold, they played my favourite song: Engel. I scored floor seat and the mushpit was pretty great. It was odd to see an almost 50-50% ratio of men and women, typically, every metal concert I went to was more of 80-20%, 80 being men.

When I say I blew it, it is for the day after the show. We stayed at the Matrix hotel and the band stayed there too. D had to leave early morning to be on the base for army range training, so I was left alone. I took the elevator and guess who was in too? Paul Landers, the rhythm guitarist from Rammstein! He’s got a great smile. We played a game of check the other out and well, I didn’t do anything when I left the elevator before him. I regret that I didn’t take pictures even it would have felt awkward... I can still think about the smile though...Wouldn’t it have been nice to get to have breakfast with Rammstein... I should totally have asked him out for coffee.. (Can’t quite drink at 9 am)

Paul Landers

So... is this my life?

2011-04-20T07:38:00.004-06:00

Once again I’ve been doing the long Calgary-Toronto commute every week. Don’t get me wrong, some perks are nice (automatic airlines and hotel upgrades) but really, this has worn out pretty quick. There is no excitement of flying executive first anymore...The only problem will be that when I’ll have to fly on my dime, I will hate being seated in the back in economy.

I can’t remember how many times I’ve been asked to move East (Toronto) by the higher up in my company. It is where our Canadian head office is after all. Trouble is, I don’t like Toronto, and to be promoted to partner, there would be a lot more competition there. The irony is their new approach: ’let’s fly your husband here for the week end, we’ll show you around town and see if he likes it”... Well, let me tell you one thing: “not going to happen”. I can make my own decision and right now, my (And I believe D would agree) Calgary it is. I did tell them that should I be promoted, I’d move right away. Only time will tell...

On another note, I have been a fervent Blackberry person for years and I am looking forward the Playbook. I don’t like that I’ll have to use tethering to connect to anything, but I’m hoping the new version (whenever it come out) will be better. Until then, I’ll carefully watch. Also, although I had Apple laptop and Ipod before, I always kept a personal blackberry on top of my work one (I never mix work with pleasure), I have received a super cute Hello Kitty case for Iphone... I am a moron when it’s time to use a touch screen and well... I caved in. I turned back my old device for an Iphone last week end. I am slowly starting to not be angry while trying to type (these touch keys are not very accurate) and am able to utilize the device now. The trick is to find wherever you need to touch to have the correct letter and then aim at that corner on every other letter...

Anyhow, been pretty boring in my life lately, been going to the cabin, been doing school and lots of work.

I’m leaving you with some pictures today detailing what is my breakfast once a week (Flight from Calgary to Toronto) and what is my dinner once a week too (Flight back home).

My breakfast once a week.

The pre-dinner salad

The Beef dinner

And the Ice cream and freshly baked cookies.

There is no reasons for me to photograph the obscene amount of wine I drink while flying...

Exciting news...

2011-03-30T12:57:00.002-06:00

I hope this time nothing will get in the way and we will be summiting another giant.

I don’t know if I ever mentioned it here, after all I’ve been blogging for close to 5 years; lots of things change in that period, I have this lifelong dream of summiting the “7 summits”.

D and I did Kilimanjaro in 2008 and we were scheduled to climb Denali in June 2010. Late 2009, our guide announced us that he had accepted to go on tour in Afghanistan. I have a lot of respect for him and admire his courage to serve his country for the greater good of the Afghan population. As such, we move our trip to May 2011, which would be in 2 months... Fast track to December 2010, D accepted a managerial position in a new company, thus taking a month vacation isn’t guaranteed and I got diagnosed with cancer- not knowing how severe my condition would be, this expedition was out of the question. Bummer!

Now that I’ve been cleared from my doctors to progressively start training again, the itch of mountaineering and the urge to check another one of the 7 got bigger and bigger each day. That is when we invited B. to our home for dinner and talk climbing. He’s been taking even more courses for guiding and he is now uber qualified. He had been hired to do a private climb of Aconcagua in Argentina. Private climb: One guide, one client = awesome. He promised to come by right after he’d come back to talk, dream and.... PLAN!

That’s right; February 2012 will see us reach the summit of Aconcagua.

At 22,841 feet (6,962 metres), Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside of Asia. Located in western Argentina, near the Chilean border, Aconcagua is one of the "7 Summits" - the highest mountains on each continent and thus part of my dream...

D and I are so stoked about it. We’re about to iron out the equipment details, training climb and overall training schedule. It’s not a super technical mountain (Unless we can do the Polish Glacier route, which I hope will be in good enough conditions to be open).

Anyhow, it’s great to have something like this to look forward to, makes me even happier to have bought that piece of paradise in Canmore where I can look at my mountains training field and be happy.

Cause I might be bad, but I’m perfectly good at it...

2011-03-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sex’s in the air, I don’t care I love the smell of it.

Well, that is just lyrics from a song that I have had stuck in my head for days. I guess I’m partial to it cause...well... let’s just not elaborate.

I don’t know if you are like me, but I associate a lot with music and songs can further lift my mood of bring me to tears depending on the moment. Right now, I am in a very upbeat mood and I could not appreciate life and music more. I had a very hard last few months and I am proud to say, it was all a blessing in disguise. You would say... are you crazy? How can cancer be a blessing in disguise?!! Well, it can.

First off, let’s spell it: tumor removed (mandarin size I was told). I was operated early enough that I won’t need radiotherapy or chemo. I get to keep my hair!! Woot!!

When faced with the cold truth of not being immortal, it gets some people thinking. For me, it had me think about how longs of hours I spend at work and how much pressure I self-impose. Yeah, life’s a rat race when you want to get to the top but you know what? I’m friggin young and I’m already way up there where people twice my age wouldn’t dream of being. Having said that, I know I’ll own the corporate ladder one day, it just doesn’t have to be tomorrow. I have been on an exponential climbing curve and it’s ok to walk up instead of sprinting. So I decided that I wouldn’t work more than 50 hrs/week unless I really have to. If something comes up on the week end, I’ll ask myself if it can wait to Monday (and it usually can) and I’ll do it then, I am done choosing work over D, training and eating my way through life. Also, D deserve more than being the “after work” plan.

For him too, it had impacts; he was already burnout of cycling after so many years without a break and passing on many activities and fun for the sake of training. He decided he wanted to spend more time with me and have fun (yay!)

So we’ve been going to our vacation home in Canmore every week end since we got the keys. I have never felt so relaxed and contempt, it is great to go some place where there is no worries, no rush, no need to put on the suit and just be. I love it.

My office this morning...

2011-02-22T15:44:00.001-07:00

Not even my birthday :)

Took my assistant and I over 40 minutes to pop them all.

I don’t know where to start.

2011-01-24T20:36:00.002-07:00

There have been many things that kept me from writing lately. The obvious one for everyone around has been my constant traveling. I have been on the road every week since August. Well, almost every week, I didn’t travel in the last two for a reason I’ll explain later on.... if you can keep reading what I think might be the size of a novel.

To get it out of the way, let’s start with what’s been up for me at work. Aside from the long longs hours and intense flying I am settling in quite well and if all is going as planned, I might be a partner in less than 5 years. Can you believe I made it 8,643 miles short of being super elite this year? If you don’t know what this mean, it’s 100,000 miles flown, or 100 qualifying segments - on Air Canada only. So that doesn’t include the WestJet flights I had to take and the flights on my miles to Ottawa and Quebec last summer. I don’t want to talk about what has occupied most of my times as it’s only work, and for those who couldn’t care less about business and information security, my work would be rather boring.

How about a belated “how Christmas was”?

You’ve got to admit that I am a trooper for flying every week for work and then, fly again for vacations! D and I went East to visit with friends and family. We started it all in Ottawa to meet with friends; we had an early Christmas where we ate too much and drank beyond what is reasonable. We then moved the party to Quebec City for a night and finally, drove all the way to where my parents’ lives. D and I brought our snowshoes hoping to get some quality time outside as it’s typically very snowy there... We were in shock as there was barely any snow. We resorted to walk in the wood and frozen lakes. What I still can’t get my head around is that we met my older brother children. I just can’t believe he’s a dad, and I think his kids are adorable! It was good to see my family and spend some time there.

I came home with a very ambitious project, and I will do my best to get it done: my mum let me leave with her handwritten, over 30 years old recipes book. I would love to cook and/or bake each of these childhood memories and take picture of the final result. Then, I could get everything put together as a book to give her next time I see her. I think this would be a wicked idea and I am sure it’ll make her happy.

The rest of the holiday season was spent relaxing at home and having dinner parties with friends. We did the annual Bolero dinner and I am excited at how the group grew over the years. We’ve gone from 6 to 8. It doesn’t look like much, but it mean 2 of the guys are now in long-term relationships! And, to add even more fun, these ladies are awesome. I generally can’t keep my girlfriends (I only have a few) because it always gets under my skin how women behave sometimes...It seem that B and C girls are different, they’re more guys girls than “oh my gosh, you’re going out without make-up, I would never do that!” kind of girl.

I also have two big news to share: one is a very happy new for D and I, and the other was originally very sad, but I’ve learned to grow from it and I’m super positive so I won’t allow it to take me down.

To start with the wonderful news: D and I bought a vacation property in Canmore! We were originally thinking of buying a newer house (and to hell with renos!), but we figured that we were really not the kind of couple wanting to live in a neighborhood where every houses look the same, even if they’re rather pretty. We wanted something contemporary and figured that a house in an infill contemporary neighborhood would be three to four time our current mortgage – this wasn’t really our cup of tea. So we started thinking, we both love the house and see great potential in it. We both love the easy mountains access and how we’re around everything we could need. So we figured, why not buy a vacation property in Canmore? Neither of us is as happy as when we are in the mountains. So we found our little piece of paradise (not that little, it’s 1400 square feet), it has zero restrictions on how long we can stay there or rent and we can do whatever we want with it. We’re taking possession early February and I’ll post pictures of it then. I am super stoked about it! I am so looking forward endless snowshoeing, running, cycling and mountaineering!!!

Alright, let’s break the news I have kept for myself, close family and friends for a long time... I would just preface it by strongly encouraging every women out there that is reading my blog to go and get their pap tests done regularly. The reason why I haven’t run, swam, bike or did anything exerting in a while is simple: I have been diagnosed with cervical cancer. I have been very lucky as it has been found while it was in the very early stages. I have another couple of weeks or few months where I will have to limit my activities, but all in all, I should be good. I had surgery early January and my doctor believes they took everything that was cancerous out. I will know in 3-4 weeks whether I’m cancer free or need more treatment. I am pretty sure I’ll be free of it as I am a positive person.

Anyhow, that should put a new light on why I didn’t write much in the last while.

I’m happy today...

2010-12-17T09:16:00.001-07:00

I am starting my Christmas vacations tonight! Well...technically at 22:42 when I land back in Calgary (that is, if there are no delays). This week end is going to be packed with stuff to do before leaving for a quick visit out East. We’re having an Egyptian feast Saturday night at a friend’s house. He’s been telling me bits of what he is cooking and my!! We’ll have to be hungry!

We’re also having D’s family for a pre-Christmas celebration on Sunday. And Monday, we’re off to Ottawa for 1.5 days, Quebec for 1 days and Forestville after. I’m back at work on the 29th...

I’ve also started planning the second annual New Year Eve party at our place... I almost set myself on fire last year when they let me go outside to light some fireworks... I had never hold fireworks while firing them... I melted half my shirt... Oh well, everyone had a blast laughing at me. This year... no fireworks for me!

D’s also almost done the renovations for the other bathroom. I can’t believe we’ll have refinished two out of three bathrooms this year. (Well, he worked; I designed and told what I wanted). In the New Year, I will re-surface the fireplace in our rec room. It’s in ugly red brick and the previous owner painted the wall an ugly shade of salmon... I am tearing the brick out to install a nice contemporary grey slate and will get a stainless steel front cover for the fireplace instead of that goldish thing we have right now. With a fresh coat of paint, the room will look so much better.

We then only plan to re-do the flooring all over (currently ugly fuzzy blue carpet) to install hard wood on all floors but the dining area and re-do the kitchen cabinets. Once that is done, we will have completely gutted out this house and transform it from a 1980’s traditional layout and decor to a 2011 ultra sleek contemporary design.

I don’t think we’re going to touch the outside of the house....We will do proper landscaping (dreaming of a hot tub here), but that should be it.

On another note, I am done the first half of my MBA! Wow, I can’t believe I am already half-way and I can’t believe I am only half-way if you know what I mean... I never thought it would be so difficult to have a very demanding full time job and do a MBA at once. I know people that did degrees while working, my hats to them, but very few of them had jobs where they had to travel as much as I do, work more than 40 hours a week and cannot work on school while at work. Parts of me wonder why I left my previous company as they were ok with me working on school a little bit while at work. I guess the answer is that I am now an executive and wasn’t there... Perhaps it explains the differences in demands...

I can’t wait to be home and in vacations for a week. I am also looking forward not traveling for work until the New Year (Toronto again 1st week of January....)
Happy holidays to all!

Happy 2 years

2010-12-13T08:57:00.003-07:00

Wow, it has already been 2 years....

To D:
Thanks for making my life so much better, happier, funnier and all the good things.

Happy wedding anniversary.

An awesome meal

2010-12-08T17:02:00.002-07:00

I am traveling for work again this week (Is it a surprise?)

Well, I had to be downtown Toronto this afternoon and I decided to dodge the traffic and go for sushi. I went to Sushi D on College Street. It isn't the fancy Japanese restaurant you would imagine. It's small, they have funky rolls and such. What made my meal awesome was the rock shrimps (unbelievable), the pepper tuna tataki and the tiger roll. I am completely full, but I agreed to try their banana vanilla ice cream, apparently it is the best.

And the service is great too! I never had to get a refill of water or tea.

I recommend it to all my Toronto readers (If I got any)

You know ... when ...

2010-11-29T09:41:00.002-07:00

You know you travel way too much when the flight attendants on your flight greet you by name and ask you when you'll finally decide to move instead of flying every week.

You know you stay at the same hotel too much when they greet you by name, complimentary upgrade you every time, offer you to keep a box of your stuff there so that you don't have to haul it every week. Set your room temperature warmer than the rest as they know you like it hot + leave Perrier water + chocolates + fruits in your room.

You know you rent cars too much when the Avis guy give you the same car each time and hold it for you as he know you like it. And set the radio station to your choice + put a mineral water bottle in it.

You know you travel too much when you are constantly mixed up between time zones and are hungry when you shouldn't and awake when you definitely should sleep.

You know you travel way too much when your cleaning lady tell you she's going to skip a week as there isn't much for her to do.

You know you travel too much when you haven't updated your blogs (fairytaste too)because all your "free" time is spent doing more work, school work or getting away from a computer.

I am not dead

2010-11-22T11:36:00.001-07:00

I'm just a slave.

Got tons of crazy stuff to write about. Only need a little bit of time.

Oh dear… another addiction.

2010-08-31T13:41:00.000-06:00

I survived the week end doing the classroom and confined (pool) portion of my scuba diving lessons. There were 6 of us in the group and the 3 that I hung out with were taking lessons for their upcoming trip to New-Zealand (one day I shall visit this country too).

I loved every minutes of it. Well…. Most of it… There is a “drill” that consists of entirely removing the mask and put it back on while under water. It took me 3 times in order to do it well. I could take it off and put it back in, but when it was time to clear the mask, I would always get water through my nose, choking and jumping to the surface. After the second time, I figured that there was no rush and that if I timed it with my breathing, I should manage. That is all it took! I “mastered” the skill by staying calm and taking my time (I am not used to take my time).

Anyhow, I think I’ve got the hitch now. My friend M from Ottawa will be more than happy that I’ll finally accept to join him and his wife on a scuba diving trip.

Next is the dry suit certification and open water dive…

On another note, D wanted me to join him for an activity yesterday. He had wanted me to go with him to yoga so that I could finally relax and de-stress. I decided that I would say yes and go with him. When I got home, getting out of the house was the last thing I wanted to do as my days have been long and my nights have been short lately. Anyhow, I need to stop being all about work and I went.

He decided that we were going to do a hot yoga class… I really wanted to like it but… I HATE being so warm. It was way too hot to be comfortable and I struggled to breathe even before we started the class. I thought I was going to pass out few times through the class. Apparently, it was hotter than usual. I don’t know if this was D trying to convince me to give it another try, but I really do not like sweating like a pig in public.

I told him I’d go to polar yoga if it exists and if not, then we would go to regular class…

The challenge isn’t really doing the poses, it’s to not be bored and get my mind spinning in every directions.

Underwater breathing

2010-08-27T23:09:00.003-06:00

I have always wanted to try but never took the time and went for it. Before moving to Calgary, I wasn't surrounded by very adventurous people so needless to say, going scuba diving was probably not on top of my friends' priorities.

I received a gift certificate last Christmas to take the scuba diver and the open water certification. This is where I am spending my week end. I am just coming back from the Friday night class and I am still uncertain of the feeling. It's quite odd to always breath through the mouth and being under water and on and on and on....

I shall see, who know, maybe I will have to add this on the list of things to do (running, riding, skiing, climbing.....)

Now... need to find time!

Oh, and that is not me, it's a photo from a South Asian Padi pamphlet. I just think it is so beautiful....

When it rains, it pours...

2010-08-18T14:42:00.001-06:00

So if you ever read my blog (For the numerous follower on the right – yeah right!) you probably know that I have been robbed yesterday. It’s a pain in the arse if you want my opinion. I think the material is just material, that what insurance are for, but the violating feeling is much worse. I think this made me dislike my car.

In French, we have a say: Jamais deux sans trois. I could loosely translate it by: you cannot only have two, a third one is coming. I know, we’ve got weird expressions (but not as weird as yours, flying pigs....now THIS is weird!)

Well today, I’m experiencing the second, third and probably fourth and more coming little stabbing pains. I have decided that I wanted to cut back on my coffee consumption. I had none this morning and I’m sitting at my desk with a throbbing headache. Caffeine withdrawal headaches are painful.

We’ve got to go to see my parents for Christmas (I haven’t been there for Christmas in years) and we needed to book our flights. I’m more of a last minutes kind of gal for flying but D wanted to book early and use our points. I manage to find flights that would have us fly business all the way. We both click “book” at the same time, his go through, mine came back with flight is now full- sorry. He’s got business flight while I have to pay full fare and fly economy. That sucks!

Speaking of Christmas, D and I already fought about it and it’s more than four months away. D knew since last year that I have to go visit my family for Christmas as not only I haven’t been there in a while, but they have grand children’s now and it’ll be more like the Christmas of my childhood (I also never met my niece and future nephew). Also, D’s mom was not supposed to come back to Canada until next summer. Well, his mom is coming back every 6 months, thus will be here for Christmas. Can you see where I’m going now? Don’t get me wrong, my plan wasn’t to book flights that wouldn’t allow for any time with his family, I’m not that selfish. But my plan wasn’t to be in Quebec only 3 days either – it’s a trek to drive all the way to where my parents are, especially in the winter. Since we do not know when she’ll be coming and D wanted us to book our flights, we might get to see her only 2 days (wow, can you believe that caused drama? 2 days in 1 year, that is more than I can say about me and my own family, I haven’t seen my brothers in well over two years).

Anyhow, the fight wasn’t so much about not seeing her enough time at Christmas, the “fight” (I put quote because it wasn’t so much of a fight but me having complaining verbal diarrhea) was because D wrote that since he may not get to see her enough, he might have to book a trip to Macau. That’s when I exploded. Why did I explode? All I could understand was his me, me me! A trip to Macau is not cheap, it will require $ and time. I don’t have time, I’ve got 4 weeks and this is it. The climbing trip will require 4 weeks. The climbing trip will be very expensive. He’s got a point when he wrote back and said that he wanted me to go with him, but what he didn’t seem to get is the lack of time. I got frustrated as I felt he couldn’t see it from my angle.

I think there are nothing worse than “fight” through chat.

You... dumbass!

2010-08-17T17:21:00.001-06:00

I know the likelihood of the police finding who you are or finding my stuff back is next to nothing but I will get it out there anyway.

You’re a piece of shit and a waste of air for us around. Dumb fuck petty criminal.
I don’t like having people in my stuff, let alone people being in MY things when I’m not around. You violate me, you ruined my space, and you ruined my day!

I do appreciate how kindly enough you dumped all my paper files in the bushes. At least that saved me days/weeks of work.

What an idiot like you hadn’t thought of is that when a waste of skin steals a corporate laptop, there is a very likely chance that it will be encrypted and loaded with software that will prevent you from using it at all. Way to go champion, use it a doorstop as you won’t be able to use it for anything else.

I just had to let it out there.... Thought something stored in a trunk, in a locked car, in a locked garage would be safe... duh.....

Corporate survival guide

2010-08-10T14:55:00.000-06:00

I had an interview today. Last year, I have been interviewed by the Globe and Mail for their report on business magazine. I was chosen because I am pursuing an MBA while working full-time. The G&M wanted to interview senior employees or executives that chose to “go back to school” for an MBA while working full-time. Completing the program is an achievement no matter what, but doing it while working full-time is harder. I think the G&M wanted to showcase the differences between a MBA graduate that has zero work experience (did the graduate program right after their bachelor) and the MBA graduates that has been working for several years.

I was their perfect target as I am a women, I was a director at the onset of the program (now an executive –woot!) and had worked for several years prior to going to graduate school. I thought last year’s profile would be the end of my “public” days.

Well, the G&M doesn’t think so…

They’re doing a new profile with a corporate survival guide slant. Maybe I’m starting to become someone if the G&M feels that interviewing me would bring value to their magazine… or they completely ran out of ideas.

On a side note, if I wasn’t so busy with that MBA and work, I would totally love to start a “corporate survival guide” blog for ladies.

Macau

2010-08-04T17:12:00.001-06:00

Well this is it, we had a farewell dinner yesterday and the immediate family was at the airport to send her off (Although I think I’m immediate family, I’m the only one that isn’t retired or has a full-time job where I need to get my ass in an office (Sometime wish I was a contractor working from home like D)). Besides, I’m pretty sure there is going to be a lot of crying out there and I know I don’t do well with criers. Not that I am a believer of “men don’t cry” – I cried when I watched Lion’s King, but she’ll be back in 6 months, I don’t see the point of weeping like she’s gone forever. Call me heartless, but I saw my folks for the first time since my wedding (1.5 year) and when I left them, neither of us were crying like a baby whose bottle got stolen. It really isn’t that we don’t like each other; it’s just that we can get by with phone calls, emails and when we’re together, we really enjoy our time. Quality over quantity is my thing.

Anyhow, D’s mom is probably in the air on her way to Macau in China where she will teach for the next two years. There are multiples reasons for which she chose to pursue a dream and go teach abroad and I won’t elaborate about them on this blog. Let’s say there are some positives reasons (follow a dream and well… getting away from moochers) and the other are probably quite personal and I don’t know them.

I envy her a bit. Asia has always interested me and I’ve always wanted to learn Mandarin (Mainly because I’m persuaded that it will be a “must-have” in the business world when I rule the universe). Part of me would like to move to a foreign country for a year or two and try it. I would love New-Zealand or South Africa but for now, I have to stay here, I have to choose between working abroad or building the career that will allow me a lot of travel and vacations abroad (Without forgetting an expected retirement age of 50 – yes, I wrote 50). D and I will have to have a “talk” as I know he will want to visit his mum and I want to go climb Denali next June. That is pretty much conflicting priorities… I’ve got only 4 weeks vacations per year and well… both can’t happen at the same time right? I think I’d be pretty ticked off he was to go and leave me here, I wouldn’t leave him here while I’d go climb a peak or enjoy vacation while he’s providing so I think we’ll have to discuss this. Maybe skip China this year and go the following, then we’d have both our trips.

D isn’t the super emotional guy either; I wonder how he’ll be tonight.

JT’s Stagette

2010-07-25T22:41:00.000-06:00

Wow, I can’t believe JT is getting married next week end! Seem like yesterday she was one of my bridesmaids and single....

Well, yesterday was the big girls’ night out. JT and I started the day with lunch on a patio, followed by manicure and pedicure...

We met with the rest of the girls at Pole Junkie where we learned some pole dancing moves... I must say that it was pretty hilarious at first but then the 8 of us got really into it and tried everything we could. Also, pole dancing is a HUGE workout! I couldn’t believe how much of a workout that is. It gets your heart rate up and then you use a lot of muscles... I know D is going to ask to see some move but I’m not sure I am up to the task...

One thing for sure, I kinda want to try their classes. Not only I think it would make me feel more comfortable in my body, but I could learn some sexy things to do to my man and keep him as a happy hubby!

After the pole dancing class, we went to JT’s place and drank some more wine (after all, we had to help her chose the wine for next Saturday.

After that, we all went to West. Had food (Their tuna tataki is beyond this world) and stayed to dance the night out. I could not believe that there were 9 stagette that night all in the same club.. This was weird.

Also, although the food is great, it felt like every girls out there was 19 years old and the guys were all creepy. Don’t know, I think I am more a pub kind of girl than meat market club scene such as Calgary.

Anyhow, Congrats JT!!!!

Rammstein

2010-07-21T15:16:00.003-06:00

It was so totally worth it!

So I flew in Quebec City last Friday morning. I took the red eyes flight as I wanted to spend as much time as possible out there. I had my folks coming into town to meet up with me. We had the most fabulous weather and a bright and hot sun the entire time we were there. I had the time to catch up with some really good friends (you know, those that stick around when you move away) and Sunday night, I got to be on the Plaines D’Abraham enjoying one of the best (If not THE best) show I have ever been to. I have been to wicked concerts in the past, but being outdoor, in a perfect temperature, surrounded by over 100,000 people was just epic. Rammstein was EPIC!

I sent a voicemail to two friends that couldn’t make it and I so wish they could have been there, I had such a great time. I know that next time this band is coming to North America; I will have to fly there and enjoy the show.

Those pics have been taken by my friend G who brought his camera, I was so happy when he sent them my way.

At which point….

2010-07-20T15:36:00.001-06:00

Should people stop saying that something they did in the past defines them?

I’m asking as I had a very frustrating conversation today. A colleague was telling me how much of a runner he “is” and how is PB on the 5km was so much better than mine (his: 22:09, mine: 25:11). When I asked him what was his goal and when he did the PB, he told me it was 5 years ago and that he hadn’t run that much since then…. I was like fuck! You can’t say that you are a runner if the last time you ran was 5 years ago. Hell, I don’t even call myself a runner yet! I’m aspiring to become one.

I use to model in high school and play soccer in college, should I go and brag about “accomplishments” that are over 5 years old (Well… more than 10)? I don’t get it, I look nothing like Alessandra Ambrosio anymore (Not that I ever did) and I rode the Tour of Alberta last year, does that makes me an avid cyclist, can I still call myself a model (Please pretty please)? I mean, do people put their high school jobs on their resume when they are in their mid-twenties or later on? I am pretty sure they aren’t, so why on earth should they keep telling the same story about how hot they were back then?

Guess what, if you feel compelled to use old stories to make you look interesting, perhaps you are not that much of a deal right now. It’s kind of lame and rather a shame that you relinquish your past glory because back then, you were the football guys with the hottest chick in town while right now, you work in a call centre and your wife is as wide as she is tall.

The big 3-0

2010-07-06T10:11:00.001-06:00

I have always been told that women should never reveal their age. I seldom cared about this as I thought it was only a bunch of old gals that refuse to age, probably the same kind of women that over indulge in cosmetic surgery. Don’t get me wrong, for years I thought of buying myself a pair of boobs until I realized that I was having body issues because of the guy I was dating (so glad he never proposed even if he had asked my dad for his blessing). I think cosmetic surgery is an OK thing if one is truly troubled by its body image, like a massive nose or protruding ears. However, I don’t think it’s OK to get the “chicken wings, fat thighs, tummy and etc” sucked out because one is too lazy to do exercises or excessive botox because one wants to look 20 when she’s 50.

Anyhow, I digress. I turned 30 about 2 weeks ago and I was sure it would be horrifying. Well, it isn’t.

I think my 30th year will be one of the most rewarding and exciting to date. I finally know what I want (and do not want), am in a great relationship, have money to do things (and keep eating), am healthier than ever, feel confident and cleaned up my life from people that were mostly sucking my energy dry.

In my twenties, I’ve learned to let go.

I’ve learned that:
-You can’t please everyone
-You have to be yourself, not someone others wants you to be
-There is no reason to fight the little things; will they make a difference in few years? Chances are, it won’t - and you would have lost time arguing
-Do and be NOW
-Don’t maintain friendships just for the sake of it, it is OK to breakup with a friend if they makes you unhappy
-There will always be someone better than you, so will there always be worse
-I’ve got two ears and one mouth, I should use them in proportion

I could keep going on and on.

It’s funny how I thought 30 would be old. My mum had three children in school by 30! Now, I’m not afraid of saying my age in fear of being deemed old, I rather keep it secret for work purpose. I am the youngest in senior management at my company and I am not sure they know how old I am. I think they are assuming I’m a little bit older. When I was hired, we talked about possible admission to the partnership after 3 years….Now that I work there; I hear the youngest partners are around 35 years old…. Three years from now would make me the youngest partner…..I am afraid that if I tell them my age, they’re going to make me wait it out.

I can’t believe I did this.

2010-06-14T18:26:00.000-06:00

I am usually pretty on top of these things and today, I let a huge mistake slip by. The worse thing is that part of me will cherish this mistake for a long time.

I am away for business (Again) and I’m in Baltimore. (Chesapeake Bay is incredible, so is their aquarium). Since tonight is my last night and I do not have any work function, I have decided to go for sushi because well... Baltimore is close to the water so the fish is fresh and yummy.

I had the finest, melting, delicious, incredible tuna sashimi. There were simply divine. Problem is, after my meal (there weren’t many people sitting at the sushi bar chatting up the sushi masters) the waitress told me the uber delicious fish I had was Blue Fin tuna. Blue Fin tuna ring a bell through my mind and I decided to use Google as soon as I’d get back to the hotel to either find a restaurant in Calgary that would serve Blue Fin tuna or understand why it sounded so familiar.

I now know why it sounded so familiar. Blue Fin tuna is an endangered species. I read few articles about it a while back and had “vowed” not to eat any. I failed at doing my part to “save” this fish. And I feel even guiltier because it was the tastiest fish I have ever had.....

2:26:19

2010-06-01T13:32:00.002-06:00

It’s a first. I should be ecstatic but I am not. I know I could have done a lot better, I could use excuses (we were at a military function that ended late the night before after all, and I slept only four hours) but I am not going to make excuses: I was just over confident and I didn’t train enough.

I was dumb enough to think that I could swing it without preparation. I was dumb enough to believe it didn’t matter that I had never tried the distance before, running is running right?

Well it isn’t, there is a huge difference between running 15-16kms comfortably and running 21kms, in the wet cold. The last 5-6 kms are killers and this is where the body break. It is around that time that my un-treated knee injury started to bug me and it’s right about that time that I slowed down annihilating my hope of doing a half-marathon sub 2:15. Oh I know the “but you’ve ran a half-marathon, that’s one thing to be proud of already”, it just isn’t enough for me. I have got to realize that I can’t do these things without at least some training… I’m no wonder woman and my 2-3 days a week of light training isn’t sufficient for long distance. I could do a short 10k in my heels if I wanted to, but what’s keeps me going is the long distance stuff, the place where the mental play a role as important as the capacity to run.

Anyhow, I’ve got to figure out a way to keep doing my MBA, work my arse off AND get some quality training in. Maybe I’ll get a coach?

Here little snippets of what was going on through my mind while running last Sunday at the Calgary half-Marathon…

6:56 AM, Start line:Time to take the bulky jacket off and warm pants and give it to D who was there to support me. I want to puke, I having serious doubt about my ability to run 21km straight. There are hundreds of people around me.

7:00 AM; gunshot announce the start of the race.

7:03 AM; I finally make it to the start line and start running.

Km 1: It is incredible the feeling to be surrounded by hundreds of runners, I feel invincible as I run past people and I am losing the puking feeling. I can’t believe I’m already at KM 1 as it felt like 30 second.

KM 5: He’s right there, as he promised. I smile to D and throw him my 2 outer layers as I’m getting warm. He yells something that I didn’t catch as I turn up the volume on my ipod. The legs feel good and I’m surprised the lack of sleep isn’t showing. Crack open the bag of yummy berry shots. I can’t do the gels as they’re too tick for my liking when I run. I can use them while riding, but when I run, I’m mono tasking, chew I can do, suck on a gel, I can’t.

KM 8: There are people cheering up on the side, violins players and such. Why didn’t I ever go to a running race just to cheer? Does cycling races count? As he had said, D was right by the KM sign. We exchange a smile and he tell me I’m faster than he expected and that if I can keep this pace, I’ll be finished few minutes under the 2 hours mark. I’m over the moon. He tells me he would be at KM 16 or the half-marathon turn-around mark.

KM 12: It’s getting colder outside. Where are my gloves? Fuck! I left them in the pocket of the jacket that I gave D at KM 5. I’m still passing few people, but I’m also getting passed and I hate it. I’m also seeing people on their way back to the finish. It’s crushing to see people on their way to the finish while I’m still there for probably close to 45-50 minutes.

KM ?: turn-around point. YAY! I’m starting to have little farts. This is probably why every seasoned runner I have talked to emphasis on the need to go number 2 before the race. No one wants to end up like the girl I saw at the Ironman (She had shit her pants and had skid marks all over her legs). I had never paid attention to it, but when you’re running 21km, you’ve got time to think and thinking of it; I do have little farts all the time when I run. I wonder if I’m the only one that has them.

KM: 15: here is Steve, my front door neighbour. He’s doing the full marathon and he’s at KM 12.5ish, it’s going to hurt. His dad told us this morning he had a grand total of 68km scattered through weeks. He’s basically un-prepared. I’m not better prepared than he is, but I am not fool enough to register for the full marathon. Speaking of hurting, my right knee is feeling funny; I hope it isn’t going to be hurting like my ski injury did. I don’t want the big needle going under my knee cap again. I think I’ve got a blister under my big toe too.

KM 16: There he is! Keep smiling, in few hundred meters; it will be the longest distance you have run in your entire life. Quick smile to D, beg for my gloves and am reminded (scowled by him) to take my last Enervit (yum). He told me I have slowed down my pace a bit (I know, my fucking knee hurt!) he said I’m on my way to a little bit over 2:00. I want to cry.

KM 18: Fuck, it’s like on my skis. I’ve got that sharp pain in my knee and I’ve got to walk. WALK! Fuck.

Run, walk, run, walk…. Goes like that for a KM or 2.

KM 20: I hate my life. Why on earth am I putting myself through this, it’s cold, I’m wet and I want my bed.

Last mile sign: Phewww, should I start sprinting? Can I run the last 1.6km without walking? Can me knee just stop working in the last km and then I’m a DNF? That would suck. I’ll just keep the pace I’m at, it isn’t fast, but that is the fastest my knee will handle without me crying like a baby.

I’ll probably see the finish line after this turn… no

This one? No

A guy shout “last 500 meters, go, go, go!” My eyes are wet now, I’m about to finish my first half-marathon. Screw the knee, I’ll crawl if I need to but I’m going to run those last meters as fast as I can.

Around the corner, I see the finish line, I also see D there. He’s smiling, I am grinning.

Pass the finish line, smile. Turn around; see my 2:26:19 time, cursed like a sailor.

I finished the half-marathon, but it’s bittersweet to be over my goal.

My lack of posts.

2010-05-25T17:22:00.000-06:00

I haven’t posted in a while on either of my blog. It’s not really that nothing is happening in my life (Or that I haven’t cooked a thing), it’s mainly because I tried to make the most of the little time I had outside of work.

I have moved up the food chain once again and with bigger title come bigger responsibilities and longer hours (as if it can be possible). Changing job is always weird; you have to navigate new surrounding and get to understand the office politics. I always thought that at a certain point, “hyper sensitivity and take everything personally” would disappears since business is business after all- WRONG! There will always be people reading hidden message that doesn’t exist or thinking that everything that is being said pertains to them. Self absorbed people: I do not talk between the lines and the world doesn’t revolve around you.

Anyhow, I’m loving it.

The MBA is progressing and I’ve managed to remain a grade “A” student. It isn’t always simple as some courses are quite demanding (it is graduate studies after all, cannot be a walk in the park). My biggest challenge is to find a balance between work, school, my training and life. I seem to pay a hefty price with my sleep but I keep telling myself it is only for another year and a half. I am learning though and I find it extremely exciting. The undergrad in computer science wasn’t very interesting as it was more or less the same as my three years college degree. Back in Quebec, they aren’t giving you a college degree in a year without philosophy and math classes! I’m quite happy to be learning something new of further my understanding of business concept I have to deal with at work. Sometimes, I am reviewing my notes and so hope that I had known the concept before. It could have saved me time and headaches.

The cats are enjoying a blissful life. Astro (aka Toothless) is thriving and is growing up to be a stunning Siamese. He’s moved on from his skittish way and is now more sociable.

We’re once again living in a shop. D and I are renovating two (yes two!) bathrooms at once. As such, there is a bath in my office, a vanity in the dining room and we only have one functional bathroom in the house instead of three (who can survive with only one bathroom!) We had a very promising start but D has registered to so many races that I don’t know that we will be done by the end of the year. This is going to cost him a lot of brownies points as I hate living in a mess.

Speaking of D, sometimes, I wonder if I married a ghost. I’m a pretty independent person, but he has been on the road a lot this year (and we’re only in May) and it’s taking a toll on me. We have to juggle his travel with mine and so far none of them were at the same time. When he’s in town, I am away (like in Atlanta) and when I am here, he’s gone. I wonder how some people can be apart most of their lives and not struggle.

So confused…

2010-04-28T10:21:00.000-06:00

Time pass by very fast. It feels like yesterday that I drove in my B200, enjoying the smell of a new car. Well, it is now the time to change (And my Mercedes is a piece of crap). I am so confused; I really do not know what to buy. Part of me wants to buy a cheaper car so that I we can fix the house sooner and I can get a motorbike for the summer and the other part of me is well…. Spoiled from having driven a luxury car, comfortable, silent and… branded.

Since D got a truck, there is little need for me to get massive storage so I can technically get a small car with a smaller trunk. The thing is, I’ve started to really enjoy having a hatch back, and it’s so convenient. So I am looking a small SUV, or hatchback cars….

There are so many!

OMFG!

2010-04-27T11:18:00.001-06:00

Quebec, July 18th, 2010.

Rammstein.

I.Cannot.Wait.

This is embarrassing

2010-04-20T15:53:00.000-06:00

I have lived one of the most embarrassing moments of my life last Saturday. When it happened, I didn’t know if I should start crying, panicking and I wasn’t quite sure why I couldn’t control this insane laugh!

I good pooped on by a bird.

That is right. I was enjoying my first patio of the year with a friend when I leaned over to grab my pint. I felt something falling on me and there it was; crazy color, easily recognizable bird shit. Once the first shocker past, cleaned up with a tissue and went to the washroom to ensure there was nothing else left. Came back outside and we really couldn’t stop laughing.

I spent the entire evening looking out to see if I had developed chemical burns.

Ewww!

HIMYM

2010-04-12T11:24:00.001-06:00

There are times like this when even though you have stuff to do, only the bare minimum gets done and you spend an entire week end lounging, eating at odd hours and watch TV shows.

Last week end was one of those.

- Do the bare minimum in my university class: check
- Eat lunch at 3:ish and dinner at 10:30: check
- Stay in underwear the whole day: check
- Drink beer and eat chips without guilt: check
- Watch a marathon of How I met your Mother: check

D and I spent the week end relaxing and having much needed cuddle time. Of course we trained and did the usual week end stuff of cleaning and ironing clothes (why this is the only thing my maid services won’t do?) But most of the week end was spend on our sofa watching this awesome TV show.

It’s crazy how so many of the situations in the show can apply to us and/or our friends. As we were watching, almost every episode had us (well, mostly me) ask question based on what was going on the show. There was question such as: “are you still friend with your exes or has it turned out like the show? Do you think has been through that too? What is my but?” and on and on and on…
See? I am a very curious person.

To top it all, I don’t know how my parents met, I’ve got to ask them.

Exhausted.

2010-04-04T18:02:00.001-06:00

Today, I’ve done a rookie mistake. I took my bike out for a ride with Mister H. and we rode, rode and rode. I went up hill most of the time and I suffered from a very bad rookie cyclist mistake: Alberta is freaking cold in April and open fingers gloves with no booties over the shoes really make for a sucker of a ride. About 20km in, I couldn’t feel my toes, my ears were becoming warm (you know when you’re so cold that you actually feel warmth?) and my fingers were curled up and I thought they were to be stuck in this position forever.

When I got home, I had to get in a bath and stay there until I de-frosted. It took a good 30 minutes for me to feel my toes and it took me over an hour to feel warm.
If only the cold was my single worry.... I rode on the trainer this winter (either reading my school material, watching tv shows or playing video game – I’m trying to multitask), I haven’t experienced the wind since last summer and gessh, I’ve lost my legs! It took me a good 10km to warm up and get the cadence going. Only now do I realize that I might have trained for no reasons.... the studying isn’t optimal as I’m pedaling at the same time (But got to learn to use aero bar – Thanks D!) and the riding is sub-par as well.... I’m reading a fucking book at the same time!

It’s for time like this (Disappointing) that I realize how much I have on my plate and how I’ve got to “delays” things. I know I can handle the long distance things as I’ve done close to 200km in a day and regularly can do 100km. Problem is, I’m slow! I would love to get faster but it’s quite hard to do when you have limited time. I’m thinking of building strength and do hills repeats, but I’m worried I will end-up with gigantic thunder tights.
Running is so much easier.

Two links...

2010-03-29T21:26:00.001-06:00

Both need speakers.... sorry for my geekiness.

Woahhh

Cake

Several hundred $$ of pure bliss

2010-03-25T12:36:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I finally took the plunge. I was in Edmonton for a series of meetings. Most of them were in Commerce Place, which is also the home of Holt Renfrew Edmonton. It just so happen that I had time to kill between two of them and I decided to pay my store a visit.

I’ve started with the top floor, liking a dress very much but withholding buying it because I still haven’t worn the Salvatore Ferragamo dress I bought in Las Vegas. Down to cosmetics, nothing in there was tickling my fancy… The corner of my eye catch a glimpse of bright red, I felt immediate attraction to where it was coming from: the shoes department. Usually, the Holt in Edmonton does not carry many manolos, Choo or Louboutins. Well, yesterday was the end of a four day event where they had these in stock. Not only did I get to see, touch and feel a good chunk of Christian Louboutins’ collection, I got to enjoy a very rare event: Louboutins’ shoes at a discounted price.

I really couldn’t resist anymore, I took the bait, put them on, loved every second of it and bought these pretty pumps!

I really don’t know how I’m going to tell D I spent more on theses than on a monthly Mercedes car payment. On the bright side, they were close to $250 cheaper than regular price….

Tonight is the night

2010-03-19T08:29:00.001-06:00

I’m overdue and tonight is the night

I haven’t gone shopping since Las Vegas (yes, more than 3 months!)

I need:
-Suits for work, you can never have enough
- A new black belt
- Shoes, same as above, can’t always wear the same pumps can I?
- Laptop bag, The Company gave me a monstrosity; I’m not going to look like a dork while carrying my computer every day.

So… tonight is the night, once done work, I’m heading to this mega mall they built in Balzac. Nine West better be ready. Anyone up to some shopping?

When I grow up…

2010-03-18T12:32:00.001-06:00

I’ll be a business woman was my answer. I think it’s done now, so does that mean I am a grown up?

Lately, I’ve been consumed by the same thought over and over again: What if I was to peak in my early thirties? I mean, it’s never been a secret that the C family is where I am headed, but what happen after? Living with an athlete taught me that timing is everything, what if I have been on fast forward all those years? Don’t get me wrong, I like the challenges and I am quite sure I’ll enjoy the corner office, but what then? Can people really be CEO/CISO/CIO for 20+ years?

I’m lucky enough to have a mentor (well few) but this man is special; he has always pushed my limits, believed in me and had insightful perspectives. I met him yesterday; he told me that he believed that I wouldn’t be in IT Security forever. He believes that once I make it to the top of the ladder in a corporation, that work won’t be my main priority anymore. I was sure he was going to say I’ll get children but no, he didn’t. He said that I have too many passions to stay bored. We talked about individual reinvention and I must say, I’m looking forward what will be the next me.

Moodiness

2010-03-16T15:51:00.001-06:00

It happens each and every time. One would think that by now, I am used to it but no, it still happens.

The first and last evenings/nights are always the hardest. Whenever he leaves for a camp/race, I become restless and bored to my mind (Even if I have a shitload of things to do) and I postpone my bed time as long as I can handle. Yesterday was one of those evenings where I know all I have to do but can’t seem to be able to do anything. Fidgeting around, moving stuff around, turning in circles. He’s gone for two weeks on another training camp. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that this year is going to be hard with all the travel planned.

I don’t understand these old couples that can live almost separate lives. Living in another city for work and seeing each other only on the weekends or worse, spending months apart. It doesn’t seem to affect them. How do they do this? How do I not become one of them? Is it only the years passing by that make distance and absence bearable?

Another rant on Quebec’s civil servant

2010-03-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Once again, I’m going to have to rant about the civil servants in Quebec. I know few of you are reading this blog and I’m ready to take your excuses or even insults – I wouldn’t be surprised if it came to that.

I’m going to talk about the fact that in Quebec, civil servant can accrue their sick days and retire earlier or take them as vacation. They have 12 days a year on average and they get carried over each year if someone is not “sick”. Don’t get me wrong, I really believe it is important to allow an employee to take a sick day if he or a direct family member is sick. What I do not agree on is the opportunity to accrue these unused days’ years after years. They are for being sick, in every industry aside of the Quebec’s civil service, sick days are not carried over the next year if you are not sick. In general, people are not planning to be “sick” on a Friday nor ensuring that they use all of the sick days in a year. In my company, we have an “honour policy”; if you are sick, stay home, they aren’t counting the days, but they are relying on their employee’s honesty. Everyone knows that they can stay home if they are sick because there is no “sickness limit”.

I started this post as when I was reading the news this morning, I read the two civil servant union’s leader complain about how the government was low balling them and doing something really un-ethical by stating that they were to prevent such accumulation of sick days. They weren’t going to prevent the carrying over of sick days, but just reducing the outrageous accumulation that allow some people to retire 2-3 years prior by using sick days. I’m wondering if these union’s leaders really stopped for one second to consider who’s really un-ethical in this…. I believe it’s the union and the crying employees that are: Sick days are for being sick. It’s un-ethical to take a vacation day under the pretence of being sick just because you can.

Just because you can doesn’t make it ethical or smart. Just because my banker has a bowl full of candies on his desk doesn’t mean I’d be right to take them all.

Another leap of faith.

2010-03-09T16:42:00.001-07:00

I’m on week two. Few of weeks ago, the courtship started; it was the usual dance as to why would I leave a pretty good position where it’s somewhat predictable to jump into the unknown only a year and a half after settling down comfortably? Will I be more nurtured, what will the stress/travel level be, how would I like the people there (everyone knows that I am anti-social), why is it better than where I am, will I lose my mentor? All those ponderings made me sleepless for quite some time. But then, they were probably wondering if I am full of shit (which of course I am), was I worth the pretty penny they were putting forward, would I fit in, was it wise to hire a youngster for this level of position and would the previous and comfy job would beg me to stay?

Begging….. They kind of did.

I’ve changed company. I’ve joined a big, global firm. Only once I started did I realized how much I missed playing with the grown up. (I mean company size, don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some seriously smart and business savvy co-workers in the past)

Anyhow, it’s week two and so far, I am loving every minute of it. Of course I’m still doing some security thingy, but I do much more management than in the past (and I was a director before, so that should speak volume).

I’ve also finished the course of hell (AKA Managerial Economics) and I cannot believe that I managed to get an “A”. Not quite my usual “A+” but I couldn’t care less; all I wanted was to be over this one. I’m on a University hiatus until the 15th, when I will start a Human Resources Management class, this should be fun.

Speaking of getting smarter, D ordered me the books I wanted from Amazon. I wanted some business books written for women. I’m starting on the “Good girls don’t get the corner office”. That should be enlightening, I don’t have a corner office yet, but I sure have my own (coming with a shared assistant –thank you). I had a manager when I moved to Calgary; she was saying that she had hit the glass ceiling and that it was as far as she would get in the company... I can’t quite believe or understand this. I do think there are still areas where we have to fight a little more to get it, but I also think you can only go as far as one step above where you should work (the so sad promoted one step above capacity syndrome) before someone notice your full of it – shit that is...

Serenades...

2010-02-28T21:39:00.002-07:00

I love classical music, I have two favorite composers: Chopin and Tchaikovsky.

D and I have season tickets at the Calgary philharmonic orchestra and last night, he surprised me with a fabulous evening...

It all started with an exquisite dinner at my new favorite restaurant; Murietta's. We shared their phyllo-wrapped goat cheese with honey-onions chutney for appetizer and I couldn't resist and ordered their Brome-Lake duck. It was divine! Paired with a great wine, I was already in heaven when we left for the show.

The show was amazing,the sounds from the cello and violins were out of this world. we missed my favorite ballet by a day (Swan lake), but we were there for the serenades evening and I was a very happy girl.

I am so lucky to have found someone that can enjoy cultural evenings!

Memories

2010-02-23T11:13:00.002-07:00

Memories....

I’m cleaning up my computer and every time I am doing so, I catch a glimpse of the last few years/months… I am a happy person and I had a lot of fun in the past and I still do. It is always nice to have a look at pictures from a time where you were having a blast; you can almost get back in time and feel the same fun.

Well, this time around, I found some pictures of a day trip to Lake Louise with Miss B. We had so much fun skiing, eating like pigs, hot spring craziness and all around a nice day. When I look at those, it makes me want to stop working so much, take a breath and enjoy life. It has been too long since we last went skiing together; we must do so this winter.

Every time miss B and I hang out, it’s always crazy.

Tales of two spoiled cats.

2010-02-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Me: I think they’re cold, Hugo’s always on the heating vents.

Him: They’re cats, they have fur, and he’s not cold.

Me: What about a heating blanket?

Him: They’re cats, what is the point?

Me:….

Two weeks later…

I bought them a polar heating pad. They’re happy as hell, always lounging on it and goddam! They’re not waking me up anymore.

Me: Take that…..

My husband the blogger…

2010-02-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Third time the charm they say... we will see. My husband re-ignited his old blog. He’s been told that most athletes are using social media and that it help with sponsors. He didn’t want to join “stalkbook” so he decided to blog. I’m quite surprised that he managed to post 3 times since he re-started and he even put pictures. I am in shock.

Anyway, this isn’t a blog about him, it’s all about me (ahahahahah). I am three weeks away from finishing this class and I cannot wait. I have had my midterm assessment and I am a little bit disappointed. I got an “A”. Part of me is pissed because I am used to “A+”, but the other part is just happy to pass because this class is so time consuming.

Aside of this, I’m spending my Valentine’s Day with a great friend of mine. Since D isn’t in town (Tucson training camp- the CCA really knows how to screw athletes in relationship) she’s coming over for good food, video games and maybe some sappy movies….

I am getting close to halfway.

2010-01-20T13:00:00.001-07:00

I feel like a child counting the days before Christmas. The thing I am looking forward is not happening soon enough. I want to be done this managerial economics class. It is the driest thing I’ve ever been studying and it is so time consuming. I have no life since I started that class. I am almost halfway and there is 5 weeks to go. CANNOT WAIT!

I’m also starting to look for a new car. My lease is expiring in early August (I know it’s early but sometime it can take up to four months to get a car ordered). As much as I like the Mercedes brand, my car is the worse lemon you can think of. At one point, the hatchback door stopped closing, then it was the lock that wouldn’t work, then the wiper fluid wouldn’t come out and all the other crap… It’s already expensive enough; I do not want to go to the garages that often. I do not know what to get, there are so many options out there…

I’m presenting in Edmonton tomorrow, I have not finished my presentation yet. It will be another live performance I guess. My only hope is that no-one ask question I don’t know the answer.

Astro boy, the survivor

2010-01-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

I didn’t want to blur the update about Astro with another post. He deserves to be talked about on his very own post.

He’s a little survivor and the child of Satan seems to be more eager toward other people than me (he wouldn’t let anyone near him aside of me). The surgery went super well and the vet has been able to save all of his back teeth and extract only the four canines. He was wobbly on the first night after the surgery but he’s back eating and running around. I am so glad he isn’t suffering and is healthy. He was hilarious with his lamp-shade collar!!!

I couldn’t write about Astro without mentioning the Killarney Cat hospital. I am going to sound like a sales person, but I cannot believe how great they all were!
The vet called me just before the surgery, Astro was initially in for the extraction of all his teeth. It was going to be a very drastic procedure for him and probably painful. After he was neutered, the vet looked at his dental x-ray and saw that his back teeth were all perfect. There was only an infection and the obviously crooked canines. He called me to offer an alternative (he wasn’t going to make as much money). He said that he could remove the bad teeth and then test him for low-grade virus in case the infection was caused by something from the cattery. He was obviously going to inject him with antibiotics, but he said that we could probably save his teeth and cure the virus so that Astro would be having a better life quality and less intrusive procedure. I was shocked that he wasn’t going to go with the money making alternative without asking.

Then, he called right me right after the surgery. He let me know that everything went perfectly and that Astro should expect full recovery. The vet waited for me to pick Astro up even if it was after his shift was complete so that he could introduce himself and discuss why he wasn’t suggesting removing all the teeth.

I cannot believe how professional they were and when I saw them handle Astro, they treated him like he was their own baby, not how people treat pets. I was truly amazed by their kindness and compassion for kitties. They’re going to have all my business (Hugo the King kitty and Astro the little boy) and I’ll refer anyone that is looking for an ethical vet that won’t do un-necessary procedure just to make few more bucks.

The brutality of managerial economics.

2010-01-08T16:11:00.001-07:00

So… I am trying to get smarter (I hear you laughing, stop it!) I am apparently doing the hardest class of the whole MBA program. It is the dreaded MEQA, which stands for managerial economics.

It isn’t hard at all, it is finite mathematics and the concepts are quite simple. What I find brutal is the sheer amount of work every week. For those of you that know me, you probably are well aware that I am a grade “A” student and that I will keep my 4.0 GPA at all cost. Well it seems like this course is going to be at the expense of my social life for the next 8 weeks. I cannot believe how much reading and participation this class is requiring.

So far, I have been able to train as I do most of the reading on my bike. It doesn’t allow me variety and running (I miss running!). It’s is not optimal training or learning as I can’t go full on the bike and I can’t focus as much on the reading… meh! Get to meet in the middle right?

D’s also been pretty good about it. I know it’s hard for him to let me do schoolwork without disturbing me and I know he miss hanging out. He usually waits for me to go to bed but he cannot right now as I have to work on my school. I do have a pretty demanding job and I have the MBA commitment, we won’t be seeing each other much in the next little while. He hasn’t complained though, I notice only because he’s been hugging me more and working his schedule around mine so that we maximize our time together. He’s amazing.

First week is almost done, 7 more to go.

A whirlwind of emotions

2010-01-05T16:09:00.003-07:00

Bear with me, this post is going to be long. Where to start is the question, so much has happened since I last wrote.

Work:

That should be the easy topic right? I haven’t seen December at all this year. I worked 20 hours/day every day until the 22nd on the evening. Yes, that includes the week end and in between Christmas and New Year Eve. There was just so much to do. I am glad it is behind me as I was becoming seriously burned out. As I reflect on 2009, I cannot believe the changes in my career! I’ve been officially promoted to the North-American Director for the company Security Practice. I’ve been a keynote speaker to a conference (frightening!) and I keep being invited (and obliging) to be guest speaker through multiple information security groups/events throughout Canada. My team has more than doubled its size, my revenues are flourishing and work keeps pouring in! All I can say is: “You were wrong” to those that didn’t like my ambitions, didn’t believe I could make it without a PhD or simply thought that since I was the fourth one trying to build this business it would fail. I strive to prove people wrong when they doubt my capacity and this is probably what will happen again next year. Wait until 2010 is done!

Anniversary:

I truly cannot believe it has been a year since I married D, it feels like yesterday! If the saying is true (first year is the hardest), then being married to him will be a piece of cake! We both had our share of moron in the dating scene and I guess we were ready to find each other.

Christmas:

Next year, I think we will have to visit the East coast as I haven’t been with my family for the holidays since 4-5 years. Santa was quite generous with me, I got tons of kitchen accessories (perfect for the foodie that I am), scuba diving lessons, games, and a heating blanket. Don’t laugh; I wanted a heating blanket for so long! D thought it was a trap, but when he got it and saw how happy I was, he believed me! As our other gifts, D and I decided to celebrate our first year and Christmas in Las Vegas (D had never been)

Las Vegas:

There is a lot to write about Vegas, but in a nut shell, we ate, saw shows (le Reve is fantastic, I can’t believe the people who go to Vegas without watching at least 1 show) got a day couple package at the spas (soooooo nice) and shop. The shopping ruined us. I didn’t think that D would be able to handle an afternoon at the outlet, but I was wrong. He stayed until the very end and would have asked for more!

I discovered that D is addicted to Salvatore Ferragamo. When we went to the store, he bought shoes, ties and more ties. I splurged on a $1,200 Ferragamo dress. I can’t believe the deal, the regular price was $5,600. I hesitated before buying it, but when I saw the look on my men face when I tried it on, I had to buy it! We then did an awful lot of damage in the Hugo Boss store (finally found a Hugo store that carries the women business suits) and hit the Burberry hard. When we started dating, D didn’t understand my designer mania, I am afraid I converted him and now he won’t accept to wear anything that isn’t hand-made or labeled.

New Year Eve:

Hosted a party at our place! We had fewer turnovers than we thought, but the people that came, left quite happy! I had a lot of fun and I believe this is a general consensus!

Big NEWs:

My friend from the awkwardness of life has popped the question, he’s engaged! And a dear friend of mine asked me to go at the bridal fair with her as she and her boyfriend have been ring shopping! So exciting! I love weddings.

The SAD new:

I am worried for my little boy Astro. When his baby teeth fell, some stayed. When his adult teeth started to grow, they were all crooked. We went to so many vets trying to find a solution for him and his pain. Most of the vets in Calgary are downright thieves! They were asking for so much money that a month of salary wouldn’t have covered it (AND Director of security don’t come cheap!) We thought we may have to put him down since it was way over priced… I simply could not fathom the idea. I cried so much. On the day we had to book the appointment for the euthanasia, I called every vet in a 50km circle around Calgary and found a hero; Dr. Stephan Porostocky at the Killarney Cat hospital represent the ultimate animal lover and ethical Dr. He told us he could do everything that Astro requires for less than $2k and that those that tried to overcharge were greedy. When he told me he could do it (Cat dentistry isn’t a common skill) I broke down and cried with relief. He’s in surgery tomorrow, I’ll cross my fingers that everything will be fine. Think of him!

Well, he’s got some redneck in him.

2009-12-20T18:11:00.002-07:00

We tried to avoid buying a second vehicle for a long time as D wanted to keep commuting on his bike as it ensures he gets some training in. Well, it has been quite cold here for the last few weeks and D found it quite hard to ride his bike as I could not drop him and pick him up since my customer were all far from downtown and the opposite direction as where he was doing his contract. Also, I had to be there by 6 am so that would not work anyway.

Anyhow, the redneck comment comes from his vehicle choice….. He got himself a pickup truck! Not the standard truck you’d see around, a big black truck with a gettho sticker and that is jacked up a bit and look mean. Sigh… I married a redneck.

1 year

2009-12-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

It has been 1 year since I became Ms.D wife.

Woot!!

What a great year, I don't think I've ever been that happy!

How to look ridiculous 101

2009-12-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

D and I went to a restaurant this Tuesday. It’s called the Flat Iron and it’s in the N.E. I went there because it is close to where D is finishing up a contract. I was surprised by the décor, its a little mix of Joey’s, Fuel and Moxies. I liked it and I loved the massive 3 sided fireplaces. It was warm and cozy to sit next to it yet; we were still in urban contemporary surroundings.

I had the maple glazed pork tenderloin with green beans, finger potatoes and grainy mustard. It was perfect! (I know, this is drifting closely to an entry I should have put in my food blog).

Anyhow, the how to look ridiculous 101 gave a chuckle to half a dozen of men while it made me giggles nervously. It also made me realize I work way too much and the life-extension I carry everywhere (A.K.A. Blackberry) has to be left in the purse more often so that I’ll avoid embarrassing situation like Tuesday.

Here we go: As we were leaving the restaurant, I started following D thinking he was getting to the door. I, as addicted to this “you shall be reachable 24/7 and work at all time” as it can, started answering work emails and typing back all while walking behind D. Few seconds later…. I hear giggles, then a very audible sigh from D and feel him gently pushing me away and telling me: “Not in here”. I look up…. Fuck! I am in the men washroom, there are half a dozen men laughing at me, my face is beet red and I struggle to get out – stupid contemporary design that has toilet look like labyrinths.

Once out, while waiting for D to come out, 2-3 of said men walk by, wink and giggle…
Ridiculous 101… indeed.

cuteness overload

2009-12-07T21:49:00.002-07:00

If only you could hear them purrrrrrrr.

Mister D is cheap.

2009-12-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of. We have an automatic controller for the temperature in our house. The problem is, D like to have the house at about 18 degrees when it’s time to sleep. The trouble right now is that I have a lot of overtime to do and I basically have to work 6 to 8 hours at home each night, when he gets to bed, I start freezing! When I raise the temperature, it automatically reset itself. I hate it. I am in IT, I can secure an entire banking system if need be but man I am technologically challenged when it come down to that type of devices and/or remote controller.

I’ve realized I didn’t write on this blog for a while. I don’t have many excuses… I finished my first MBA class, traveled for work (Edmonton –ugh! And Vancouver- yay!) and I simply am working too much.

I’ve managed to put some training in, but it is less than stellar. Meh! What can I do right? It’s just about Christmas time and I won’t drool in front of my friends and family plates because I want to lose 200grams. I’ll enjoy life to the fullest, eat, drink and be merry.

On another new, I have earned two titles lately: Best wife ever and best “boss “ ever.

For the first one: I am taking D to Las Vegas for our first year anniversary (He’s never been there) and for his Xmas gift, I bought a package online at the Las Vegas speedway. I was torn between renting him a Ferrari or a Lamborghini… Well I got him both. Should be a great experience!

For the second one, let’s just say that I’ve taken the guys in Vancouver to a place where men are in heaven, enjoying a great show and sometime private show.

I'm getting old

2009-11-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

It’s already this time of the year where Christmas parties are everywhere. We had our first party last week end. My company almost completely books the Delta hotel in K country. We spent the week end mingling, playing in the pool and enjoying the hot tub (I so want one!). We also got a couple massage and for once, the massage therapist was outstanding. I’ve had some good deep tissues massage in the past, but every time I get a massage in a hotel resort, it’s more relaxing than deep tissue.

I had not partied like this in a while. We closed the ballroom, than closed the resort pub. At this point D went to bed; it was still 2:30! I’ve followed some co-workers and we partied in a loft room, there must have been 30 people in there! At one point, the security came and kicked us out; we went partying in the hotel lobby. At about 5 in the morning, I called it a night. It was horrible on Sunday. I had barely eaten Saturday night so it was pure hangover.

Anyhow, it was a good time and D was “the” hot guy there. I even had comment from one of my male co-worker (complete straight guy) telling me D was insanely hot. I felt pretty good, I felt even better when he said we were very well assorted :D.
I am in the last stretch of my MBA class, it has been interesting and I think I’ve learned quite a lot. I like going to school when I actually learn something. I was taking class before just for the sake of the paper, I couldn’t care less about the content as it was the same as I took before, just for a couple of hours more per semester. Anyhow, I’ll be on school brake until the New Year and I intent to cook, bake and sleep. I neglected my cooking blog for too long.

Oh, I’ve booked my present for D for our first wedding anniversary. He’s never been to Vegas so we’re going to be there (And escaping Christmas!). I’ve booked a super hotel on the strip. I can’t wait to go shopping (where I am going to hint at him that I’d like to add a third Burberry purse to my stash or finally get another pair of Louboutins- I’ve worn mine to the ground)

H1N1

2009-11-15T20:55:00.002-07:00

I don’t know if this is what I have/had but I have not been sick like this in a long time. (Hence the lack of posts). Heck I even missed work and wings night twice in a row, WHICH says how sick I am.

I picked up D from the airport last Monday afternoon. He was in Manchester for the track world championship. I am so glad and happy to say that he made it on the podium! He came home with a bronze medal. Finally, all his efforts were rewarded. Of course, he would have preferred a gold medal but still, third in the world, how great is that!

I am almost done the first MBA class. I initially thought it would be a lot more work than what it is right now. Yes, I do spend time working on it but it isn’t as crazy as I thought, I mean, I am not working on school 40 hours a week. I do not sleep or train as much as I’d like to, but it’s an investment of two years for a lifetime benefit. I must also say that D has been gone for part of it so it make it a lot easier for me to work at night since he was not there to distract me.

Aside of this, little Astro is doing fine, he’s been playing with Hugo the king kitty and competing for my attention. I don’t’ know why, but Astro is skittish and would not let D get close to him. I’ve had to put Hugo on a diet because he was becoming a fat cat. Little did I know that the organic cat food I am getting him has thrice the calories as the cheap thing most pet store carries? I don’t care much about the price of his food, he’s my cat, and he’ll be spoiled for the next 20 years. What I care about is his health, I couldn’t let him get obese and have cat diseases. So I’ve reduced his portions and hope he will get back into shape.

As for me, I have given a shock to everyone at my work on Halloween day. I wore a short dark brown wig. Everyone believed it was my real hair and that I had cut my long blonde curls into a short bob. I had a lot of fun letting some people believe it. That night, I finally accepted to go dancing with Miss B. I love to dance but I hate the feeling of being a piece of meat. I do not like being touched and I don’t like random guys grinding on me. I don’t know why, but there is always a dude coming up to me and trying to get me home, they don’t get the obvious wedding ring on my finger and they don’t get my no. However, Miss B had a trick; she told all of them we were on a date and that she wasn’t the sharing type. Haha, got me laughing hard. A least, they were keeping their distance.

After that day, I became sick and I have been sick since then. I am planning on going to see a doctor because of two things:

1- My mum, the nurse (since she started at the new hospital, she’s freaking out about how many people my ages got really really sick) She’s not going to stop calling and worrying until I have been checked.
2- I am tired of being sick. It’s been over a week and I still not feel great. I have too much on my plate to be ill.

Open letter to the weird co-worker

2009-10-29T22:46:00.000-06:00

Hey Dude,

When I first met you, you seemed like a normal guy; you had no detectable body odour, you were wearing pants, and you didn’t look like a criminal, all things I look for when meeting new people. However, after a while, I now know that you may very well be the child of Satan.

I understand that it's hard to make friends; you need to find people who enjoy the same things you do and then cultivate that relationship until it turns into mutual respect. But you have chosen to bypass that system completely by just showing up in my office at random intervals throughout the day and spewing whatever garbage comes to your mind. I don't care about the weather and I don't want to know what you did this weekend, although I'm sure that playing world of warcraft must have been an awe-inspiring experience.

Every time I want to get up and pour myself some coffee from the kitchen, I need to plan my route with ninja-like efficiency to avoid any face to face contact with you. Thankfully I have plenty of experience from dodging the smelly co-worker of doom from my previous work that I know that the best way to distract you is by knocking on a cubicle and then running in the opposite direction when you approach. Still, somehow you manage to corner me in the most awkward rooms in the office at the most inappropriate times. Here's a tip for you: if I have anything in my hand that is either edible or have closed my office door, it is probably not the greatest time for a conversation.

Now I must admit that I may be guilty of provoking you from time to time. I do have a tendency to ask co-workers "how's it going" when I pass them in the halls. Normally when I ask this kind of question I'm looking for the simple response "good" or occasionally "great," but the last thing that concerns me is how you are actually doing.

If you do think that it's appropriate to summarize the latest chapter of your life, I at least ask that you know when to walk away. After all, I do need to do work, so when your story reaches the finish I would appreciate it if you walked away instead of finding other random topics to talk about for 20 minutes.

Hawaii pictures post.

2009-10-29T11:24:00.004-06:00

I am feeling lazy, so here are some pictures from a very nice place on earth.

Big Banyan tree, they are all over and so big!

Us in a garden in Hilo (Other side of the big Island) Hilo get a lot of rain compared to Kona (Which is very dry)

Walking on the lava fields!!

That is what happen when you are a stupid blondy that forget her tripod!

Yep, that is me on lava, I had a little accident while running and the bandage is there to cover a missing patch of skin the size of two toonies.

Us again..

Hugo the king kitty got company!

2009-10-29T11:15:00.001-06:00

Two Sundays ago, we introduced to our Hugo a new friend: Astro.

Our almost year old cat was bored and I felt terrible of having him alone all day. We thought some company would be beneficial and we were right! They love each other, playing and they are both cuddly so I am in heaven!

Here some pictures of the loving kitty!!!

white tiger

2009-10-21T22:01:00.000-06:00

You Are a White Tiger
You have a strong individualistic streak. You are unique and outspoken.
You have firm ideas of right and wrong. You will stand up for your unpopular beliefs with pride.

You believe that learning the truth is important. Even if it's ugly, uncomfortable, or awkward.
You give it to people straight, and you expect them to do the same. You can't stand ambiguity of any kind.

What kind of big cat are you?

Ford Iron Man - Hawaii

2009-10-21T17:21:00.001-06:00

What a race it is! Alright, I’ll do a completely un-required comment here but gosh did I felt fat and un-athletic that day! For those of you that know me, you are probably surprised at this since I train regularly, am fit and can go on for hours on long distance sport. Well, these people are just ripped! I have never seen so many “Brad Pitt muscle V” (the “V” spot on men-yum) and so many ultra fit women. I thought I had great abs, well, I have nothing compared to most of them. I have 6 of them; they have 8-10 packs. Some are feminine, others are not, but my fascination comes from how sculpted they are and how they push their bodies to an extent I am not ready for… YET.

I have to say this was really, really, REALLY inspiring. I know the 180km bike isn’t a problem for me. I did it while I had not been on my bike for a month so if I get regularly on it, it won’t be a challenge. I know that I can do the run, I routinely run 15-20km so it’s only double right? My problem is the swim. I am a terrible swimmer, it was way too cold to have a pool where I grew up and I never took swimming lesson… until this fall. What started as an “I’ll go with you so we can spend time together” has now became a challenge where I NEED to improve. I won’t be satisfied until I know I can swim that 3.9km within the time constraints.

Anyhow, I’ve read tons about it, talked with some Iron Man and I added the Ford Iron man to my bucket list of things to do before I die. (Yeah, I know it’s quite a long list)

So, what is better than few pictures right?

This is D and B on the tandem, coming out of T1.

This girl is Chrissy Wellington. She started competition only a few years ago and she completely destroyed all the women in the race. She is racing against the men. What really impressed me is how she is there on the run, smiling and waving at people. One day, I hope I’ll get half of her willpower and physical capacity.

Sunset around the finish line. They did it in a little bit less than 12 hours. D was quite disappointed. He was there as a pilot for B and he said that 2/3 of the bike, B was done and basically stop working. They had to walk and run. D’s hooked and he believe that if he does it alone, he’ll get a far better time. Let’s just hope he’ll chose 1 sport so that I am not a triple widow (cycling, military and Iron Man)

What a bad start

2009-10-09T20:52:00.001-06:00

It has been a long trip to get there. First, the snow had our plane arrive late in Calgary, so we left a lot later than supposed. I had less than 15 minutes to get to my connection in San Francisco so I didn’t even made a pee stop. Arrived in Kona, my suitcases weren’t there. I was bringing ton of stuff for the Ironman for D. (because obviously D’s a last minute guy that got me running around on Wednesday to find and pack stuff he’d forgot – and wait to tell me until the very day before leaving….)

Anyhow, his wheels and my bag were nowhere to be seen. So I got to the condo and called visa. They told me I could go shopping for $500 and that they would pay back providing my suitcases were late for more than 4 hours. They were, it took them more than 12 to locate and ship them here. So I was a bit excited to go shopping, which was before I realized that there are no shops in Kona! There are few board shops, but nothing too exciting. As I was putting stuff on trying to find clothes for a full week, D asked me to buy a speedsuit. I became very grumpy then. He was basically asking me to wear the same outfit for a full week so that he could buy a speedsuit with the money… speaks about egocentric. I said no, and then I pouted because he did not understand why I was upset. He said I would have gone shopping even though visa wouldn’t have paid the stuff back. Yes, I would, but it doesn’t mean that because you get a candy for free that you have to give it to someone else.

Sighhhh, We had a group assignment to put in today, turns out only 2 people out of 8 in my MBA syndicate helped put it together. It is going to be a long 8 weeks…

I am wondering how tonight will be, we have to wake up really early for the Ironman tomorrow and I am wondering what will tonight look like. I will be going to watch the start of the race and the first transition. I will then browse around for breakfast and lounge by the beach with my school book. After 4 hours, I will go back to the transition area to see them coming in and start the running leg. Then, I will wait for a couple of hours until the finish and I can immortalize the moment.

I’ll keep you posted, because after tomorrow, my real vacations start, direction volcano climb, kayak and snorkeling. WOOT!

Hawaii!!!

2009-10-07T23:04:00.001-06:00

In less than 24 hours, I will be enjoying the sun and the beaches of Hawaii!!

I can't wait.

Breakfast of champions

2009-10-04T17:13:00.003-06:00

I love breakfast; I pretty much love everything food but there are little things that I like better than going to a restaurant for breakfast with a close friend. This is what I did on Saturday morning. I met with Miss J. at the market mall for breakfast and some quality shopping. She said she needed a “personal shopper” for help in finding work interview appropriate clothes. I think I’m qualified for the task for many reasons but mostly because I am catwalking the power suit every day.
Speaking of suits, we stop by Banana Republic and as always, I couldn’t get out without adding yet another suits to my wardrobe already overflowing. This one is quite different as it sports a military-style jacket and the fabric is thicker, almost like velvet.

As a random fact, as I was working on my MBA last night, I noticed something was wrong outside my house… I couldn’t believe we were already there; it was snowing! Snow means cooking something that reminds me of my parent’s house (in this case cabbage rolls), drinking tons of Jasmine tea and watching a girly flick.

An irrelevant note: someone in the neighborhood purchased an ugly car that make a lot of awful noise. And he drives it like crazy when we’re right by a playground zone… I am wondering how long it will take before someone put a complaint.

Hugo the King kitty exploring the snow.

I’m a graduate student and loving it!

2009-10-01T22:19:00.002-06:00

So far…

The MBA is officially started. Currently, the pace isn’t too crazy and it’s possible to fit it in without going nuts. My work is incredible and asked me to record every minute I spent working on my school so that if I am around exam time or stretched at work, they are not going to throw even more at me. I have also been told that I could work on my school while at work providing I have downtime. I like the idea, it’s a nice thought but I do not remember the last time I had free time at work. We’ll see, maybe one day I will be able to benefit from this.

So I’ve done my second assignment tonight. I went shopping for shoes (I wanted a pair of red shoes so I got them) then went home for some school work. A good cup of coffee and my cat Hugo on my laps, I was set for the task.

There are two of my co-workers that are looking to do a MBA as well. It would be great if they were to do it at the same University as I am. I know that I will have to postpone at least one class (can’t do school work while climbing a mountain right?), so that if they are consistent, we may end up in classes together, that would be so nice.

Anyhow, I’ve got to get some sleep.

Party on a Monday

2009-09-30T22:31:00.000-06:00

Wow does it feel like Friday! I was attending the Critical Infrastructure conference this Monday and Tuesday. There was a dinner on Monday evening and a vendor offered to have us and some of our customer at their table.

I went to the conference in the day and in between the dinner and the drinks before dinner at the bar, I went downstairs at the pub with some co-workers. What was supposed to be one drink turned out into three. What I didn’t notice is that my friends remembered what I drink and got it for me before I got downstairs; I am a gin tonic girls for those who wonders.

Went to the bar to meet the vendor and our customers, had some drinks and very nice discussion. Then went to dinner, had more drinks and after, took my customers out for more.

What a Monday!

It feels like winter.

2009-09-27T22:21:00.002-06:00

My feet are cold and all I can think of on evenings is to have a nice hot cup of tea. I think even my cat is cold. When D is around, we keep the house a little bit cooler. It is easier for me to put a sweater and booties than for him to strip down. I don’t get it, I am the one that is supposedly a furnace at night yet he’s the one always too warm. It must be something in his genes. Hi family is like it, I am always cold whenever we visit them, and his mum has even been kind enough to get me a pair of furry booties so that I stay warm without having them suffer through the hot temperature I would set.

It must be in my gene, my mum was always cold, and we always had the house way too warm.

I’ve set up my computer and all the software that are needed for my MBA start. I must say that I am a wee anxious. I’ve few friends that keep telling me I am living my life 1000 miles an hour and that I should take the time to breathe and smell the roses. Truth is; I do not like the smell of roses. I don’t mind the flower much per se, but I’d much rather have lilies or daisies.

I didn’t bake or cook this week end, I did nothing much really. The only notable event is that D and I agreed on the hardwood we are going to get for the house. I was expecting some arguments but he happened to prefer Maple over oak, which made sooooo happy. I don’t like the wood grain showing too much. Then I thought we would argue over the color but to my excitement, we both tried to grab the same sample at the same time. It was nice to conclude within minutes that it was the one we both liked the best.

I love renos when there are no arguments.

Long Long Week

2009-09-23T21:38:00.000-06:00

For those of you in the consulting world, you will totally appreciate what I am going through this week. For the others that have a 9 to 5 job, this week, I kind of envy you.

I have been overbooked and commitment has been put forward to the customer prior to me being engaged. Therefore, I have to work the 16 hours + a day to try to meet these deadlines. The funny thing is, I am not supposed to be full-time billable. So I am here working late for customer but I also have to do all the management tasks and ensure all the RFPs questions and so on are answered. This is a very long week and I am looking forward its end.

Then, I’ll have an easy start next week as I am attending a two days conference in Calgary. This is the second time I am going and last year has brought great value since I made invaluable contacts and also got to see new technologies.

I am counting the days to Hawaii. I am so excited, I’ve never been there. I cannot wait for the shopping, the beaches and the sun!

There is also a little creeper peeking over the corner…. The MBA is about to get in full force and ugh!

Anyhow, I am still at work, taking a break, before my head explode. I am lucky since a guy sitting not too far from me as a great MP3 playlist. Since there is only him and I in sight, we get to enjoy nice beat.

I miss my IA girls. It has been so long. Want to do breakfast on the 4th?

hahaha

2009-09-21T21:14:00.001-06:00

Hahahaha! THIS is hilarious.

Hugo the king kitty

2009-09-19T15:41:00.002-06:00

I love my cat Hugo. He’s a 10 months old Siamese Seal-Lynx point and he loves to cuddle. I am wondering how he will react when we will bring home professor happy cat in mid-October. I actually can’t call our new kitten professor happy cat in front of D but I think I will do it in his back.

Anyhow Hugo the attention seeker is unaware that he’s enjoying his last few weeks of king kitty in our house.

A long post

2009-09-19T15:13:00.003-06:00

I finally found my compact flash reader. Therefore, this will be a lengthy post as I have some nice pictures and for once, few things to say.

I had a big meeting at work the other day where I was to get confirmation on some important stuff. When I got back in my office, I told D that all was positive and that things were awesome. Awesome indeed they were as when I got back after lunch, I had this little flowers arrangement with a note from him saying he was proud of me. awwww, I am such a lucky girl.

I’ve started biking more seriously this year. I am by no mean close to D’s shape or passion but I enjoy a nice ride. I was using D’s old bike and it was too large for me. We had to change pieces and for very long rides, it wasn’t super comfortable. We sold it to a friend of mine. I was left without any ride and I was starting to regret the move as I had the itch to go out and ride. Well, we stopped by Speed Theory and I found my new ride. I’ve got myself my very first full carbon frame bike. I bought an Orbea Onix bike. As soon as we got home, I ransacked D’s stock of parts and changed the cranks for a set of full carbon cranks. With my new saddles, it is just perfect!

And today, it was our annual girls and guns. We’re a bunch of military wives/girlfriends and we get together about once a month to do an activity. Today, we went to the shooting range and fired up some guns. I had never used a shotgun or hand gun. It was quite the experience. My shoulder is still sore by the shotgun. Part way through when I was shooting the big gun, I was thinking how impossible it would be in real life for Linda Hamilton to shoot Terminator with only one arm to load/reload and shoot a big shotgun. I’ve also realized I am not as though as I thought. When I first fired the shotgun, my eyes filled with tears as it felt really weird. Anyhow, I think I would have killed the bad guy if my sheet is right.

Why so hungry for power?

2009-09-17T16:45:00.000-06:00

I have always been following the news regularly. I like to be informed and I like to vary my sources (So that I don’t fall into the propaganda of only one media). For those that have read this blog since I started it, you probably know that I love politic. I like a good debate when people can bring valid arguments and articulate themselves. I can’t care less for single minded people that are afraid of the world or can’t see two sides of a story and question their own arguments.

I am afraid we will face yet another useless election this fall. Ignatieff is hungry for power. He has spent most of his life outside of Canada and he’s demeaning to all Canadians when he addresses the country. I cannot believe he will pursue the election route when it has been shown across the country that no one wants elections. We had our last one not even a year ago and we can’t possibly be heading toward another round. It is really pricy to campaign and we would get another minority government anyway. All that tells me is that Ignatieff wants power. He need to have Prime Minister next to his name, he wants the prestige and all the glam around it.

Arggh, I guess I needed to get it out there.

I have a new title

2009-09-13T21:16:00.002-06:00

Last week, I earned a new title. D called me the best wife ever (As if he’d been married before). The thing is, I know how to surprise people with unexpected gift or treats. Well, last Thursday was quite the treat for him!

I was in a massive rush, I was in Edmonton for work Wednesday and Thursday and I had to be back in Calgary no later than 5:50pm. I am taking swimming lessons to overcome my lack of skills and I kind of need it if one day I want to move from duathlon to triathlon.

Anyhow, this isn’t the subject of this post. I believe that to make love last, one has to do things for the other and always find ways to make the loved one happy. I’ve found a way that earned me the best wife title!!!

D has been a fan of Marilyn Manson for ages; he wanted to see him in concert in 1997 when the show has been canceled. Nice thing is, Marilyn Manson was in town last Thursday and D didn’t know. How come he never finds out blew me away; it must be the satellite radio not broadcasting anything local. I’ve managed to get floor ticket and to keep it secret until I had to tell him (He was making plans for the exact same night).

The show was alright, he got tame, and he isn’t as controversial as he once was but meh! My husband was quite excited and loved every minutes of it so I guess it is a success. What is even better: he turned to me and said:”you are the best wife ever!”

Cloud 9 it is.

So, I’ve got to blog.

2009-09-08T12:47:00.002-06:00

I remember the time when I use to write every day. I liked it, I wrote tons of stuff, laid out almost everything that I was doing at the time. Right now, I’ve kind off slacked off a lot. From the daily post, I am around once a week if so. I’d like to say this is going to change but I do not have high hope of turning back to my old self blogging ways. I’ve got too much on my plate. I don’t blog at work and at night, well, I’ve got nice things to keep me entertained.

I don’t think I became boring overnight, I just think I’ve stopped making the time to write. As such, here is a condensed pack of what I’ve been going in my life and/or through my head.

I became an aunt for the second time. I wasn’t an aunt for the birth of my nephew, I wasn’t with D then. My older bro and his girlfriend welcomed to this world a little girl last week making me an aunt again. I had promised myself I would be the boring aunt and that I would only open a fund for the kid so that if she ever decides to go to university, it’ll be paid for, or close. I know the brother isn’t making much and a university fund is way out of his mind so I’d rather have the kid eating than the bro thinking about the future. Anyhow, I failed, I did open the fund and programmed the monthly $ wiring, but I also sent a huge package to them. It’s a little girl; it’s like a life size doll that I get to dress in designer goodies no one can find in the neck of the wood they are living in.

We’re getting a second kitten. We realized that our cat Hugo is quite lonely in the day and he could use the company. So we’re getting him.

I want to call him “professor happy cat” as a tribute to the original lolcat but D doesn’t like the idea much. So I guess he’s a no-name cat for now. He’ll be ready to come home right when I’ll get back from Hawaii so we’ll see how we will call him. (I think I will call him professor happy cat behind D’s back)

I’ve look at an ex boyfriend web page. (I know!) Turned out I saw picture of him with past friends. Funny thing is: these friends bad mouthed him when we broke up and told me they were annoyed by him most of the time we had been together. Glad they are over it and traveling together. We may not have relationship/friendship anymore, but it doesn’t mean I wish them bad, I am happy they’re having fun.

We have done major house reno two week end ago. We had a “feature” wall with bad cabinet that served only one purpose: collect crap. We ripped the entire thing out and finally got storage! I have a baking cabinet!

Our tenant left to go live in Ontario, we weren’t in a rush to find someone else but we got a young engineer to rent it out starting October 1st. He’s from Saskatchewan. The only thing I can think of when I hear this province name is: “ Saskatchewannnnnnnnn, tu m’as pris ma femme!” for the non-franco speaking, it’s part of a song.

I’ve cook like crazy this week end. We have a freezer in the garage. I like to think D unplugged it, but he said it’s not him. Having no business to do in the garage at all (let alone plug and un-plug stuff) I think we have a “un-plug fairy” in our garage. Anyhow, turned out the freezer had been un-plugged. Things were starting to thaw and I had to cook most of it. (And trash some). We had turkey dinner! Yay!

I’m still traveling for work and I’m starting school in 3 weeks. Woot!

Evacuate the dance floor.

2009-08-26T17:58:00.000-06:00

I’m infected by the sound.

Well, technically not. It’s just that I haven’t been out and danced since Stampede where I got wasted and might have done some career limiting moves. (Was a hell of a great night though!)

I am itching to go out, whether it’s the pub with “that guy” or a bunch of friends or going out for some salsa dancing (I am over trying to be a piece of meat in the Calgary’s clubs- please, I’ll let that to the frustrated in dire need of sex/attention/whatever- besides, I’m married)

I am worried I have to jam pack my remaining of August and all my September since my MBA start on the 28th or Sep. I think I will have even less of a life once I start the classes.

I feel like hitting a wings night somewhere. “That guy”, any chances you can get a sitter so that you, your lady, D and I can get together and enjoy some brews and chicken?