December 29: Demolition

1. 10am: My dad helped me demolish the kitchen.
2. 5pm: My neighbour helped me remove the rubbish.
3. 8pm: My missing burgundy Syrian scarf reappeared.

Then some Tudors...

December 28: Butterfly

The Best of Ordinary Days, Errands Edition.

1. Fixed soles on my Marc Jacobs shoes (for cheap).
2. Soon-to-be-fixed Argentine rabbit coat (for free).
3. No day of repairs, mending, etc. would be complete without an extraordinary film at an art house cinema to end the day.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby. After suffering a massive stroke that left him paralyzed from head to toe, his mind intact (‘locked-in syndrome’), blinking his left eyelid was his only means of communication. The film is based on his best-selling memoir, Le Scaphandre et le Papillon, published just days before he died.

December 23: Tuesdays

1. Precious sleep: ‘There are twelve hours in the day, and above fifty in the night.’ - Marie de Rabutin-Chantal

2. Silver Tuesdays: All I wanted was a pair of low-rise, boot-cut jeans. Easy? Not so! After a painful hunt, it ended where it all started (thank you, Jean Machine).

3. Happy convert: $150 (plus tax) buys a 1hr facial in a fancy hotel; $50 buys that same facial - for 1.5hrs - in that same aesthetician's home.

‘If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.’ - Dale Carnegie

December 21: Baklava

1. The bootie boots I got yesterday are pretty hottie-hot!
2. Famished, I discovered baklava in the kitchen at work.
3. Thanks to a tip from Neil, I had fun exploring Good Business Day (a ‘continuously updated source of information on holidays and observances affecting global financial markets—bank holidays, public holidays, currency non-clearing days and trading and settlement holidays affecting exchanges’).

Happy National Unity Day, Zimbabwe.

December 15: Chit

1. A day wandering Kensington Market:
Market. Touch-ing exhibit. Helvetica film documentary DVD.

2. An evening at a houseparty:
Wine. Chopping vegetables. Turquoise ski pant advice.

3. A late night journey home:
Snow. Hailing taxi. Complimentary corporate cab chit.

December 13: Duprees

The Corporate Party:

My dinner companion shared her beef with me. (I always order salmon because it's ostensibly healthier, but as soon as beef is set on the table, I am like the family puppy.) That is my 1, 2, 3-in-one.

The Creative Party:

1. On telling the organizer I was a ‘guest of a guest’ – this was true – she replied that she appreciated my honesty, let me stay and even gave me a drink ticket.

2. A storyteller named Roger met Julia and Neil, whereupon they – all three possibly Duprees – voted on naked business cards and told each other stories.

3. At the end of the night, this to me from the remaining guests: ‘Hi, we're a bunch of straight guys and we just wanted to tell you that we totally looove your shoes.’

Bonus: Lessons

As holiday party season kicks off:

1. Keep an extra plastic bag at coat check in case you are the lucky winner of the oversized centrepiece in the middle of the dinner table.

2. If you're wearing stay-up nylons, for heaven's sakes, wear stay-up panties!

3. If your company is dim enough not to provide you with a taxi home, by all means feel free to act up in any way you see fit for free cab money.

Weekend Bonus: Random

This week, in no particular order, three good things:

1. Booyakasha! I finally remembered the numbers on my old combination lock. They were in my memory bank all along.

2. Hip. I was told by the young'uns in the mailroom that Nike Airs circa 1995 are coming back. My cross-trainers (in white leather) have been part of my wardrobe all along.

3. Eh? I finally got my first Toque. This Canadian classic features hand-knit wool, chin strings and long ear flaps. I never did wear one, though I was Canadian all along.

November 22: Fertile

One free poster. ‘Canada, the Most Fertile Country in the World’

Two new pairs of All Stars. It was high time, indeed – before I baked something!

Three (or four) business cards from willing retail sponsors (for an upcoming fundraiser).

November 19: Respite

1. Respite: running late, but meeting cancelled.
2. Vehicle: dad finally agreed to let me use his.
3. Insta-outfit: got my forgotten blazer back.

November 16: Senses

Coming to mine.

1. Inside the taxi, smell of salami (nose) followed by being truly heard (ears) over a delicious cup of tea (mouth). Followed by smiles (sight) and a hug goodbye (touch).

2. On a street corner, sipping my tea (taste) and taking phone calls (hearing), someone I know steps out of his office for a smoke (smell) whereupon we catch up on outstanding business. Followed by a handshake (touch) and direct eye contact (sight).

3. Lay eyes on a head-to-toe down coat (sight) and snuggle up in it (touch). In the presence of that brand-new smell (nose), get some great outdoor gear advice (ears) before unwrapping a fresh package of spearmint gum (mouth).

BONUS:

On discovering my two new coats are significantly cheaper in the States (anger), call an online retailer to ship to Canada (hope). Discover that many brands cannot be shipped outside the USA (outrage). An American friend agrees to accept the coats and forward them to me (delight). Savings: $450 (glee). Canadians, revolt!

Ačiū, Ingrida.

Three Things: Order

I have a lot of clothes, but never imagined I had six weeks’ worth of unmentionables. The order in which they disappear after the good ones are gone:

1. the ugly, stretched, oversized and rejected, then
2. the lingerie (lovely, but not always comfy), then
3. the bathing suit bottoms (really, how desperate).

November 12: Aprons

1. Aprons: with which to dry myself after getting soaked.
2. Sweaters: with which to dress myself after forgetting mine.
3. Undies: with which to postpone doing my laundry.

Bonus: Value

‘THE POWER OF ONE, THE VALUE OF MANY’

More on this later . . . I will leave you with that while I attempt to find a moment in which to blog.

(I have been attending lots of parties this week - it is hard work!)

Speaking of, I'd like to encourage everyone out there, as we move into party season, to ditch the black wardrobe. I propose white instead, or anything vintage and shiny.

October 20: Gala

Joining a black-and-white fundraiser gala for free is more than enough fun. Especially when you forget your dress at home and your friend helps you coordinate an outfit (which you may or may not have successfully pulled off, seeing as jeans were a part of the ensemble). So, what to do with the spare cash? Why, throw it into charity fundraising, of course!

Our winnings included
1. Gift certificates,
2. Fancy dinners, and
3. Manicure packages.

The trip to Italy eluded us, despite everyone's best concerted efforts to concoct a win, but we got a great return on our $20 bills nonetheless... and the drinks just kept flowing.

October 16: Pickled

1. Free replacement brake pads (already worn down). I'm going to keep biking through the winter: wear them down again!

2. Runway-hair-meets-bike-courier. Getting the up and down - in a good way - on the elevator. I love arriving at work in my bike-greased khakis.

3. Complimentary pickled ginger from the local Japanese restaurant. When all else fails, I cut it up and improvise tea. I refuse to get sick.

Now I'm pickled tink! This is my 365th post.

October 8: ‘Sole mio’

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia

A. The clock tower in the Public Gardens is chiming midnight 15 minutes early. It is beautiful, yet perplexing.

1. Feeling it as I am welcomed into several extended Korean-Portuguese families.

B. Email from old friends, wireless internet connections, chlorinated pools, hair straighteners, control top nylons, Titanic marine museums.

2. Feeling it as everyone helps me get to where I need to go in a hurry.

C. The privilege of hearing ‘Sole mio’ sung in Italian - with extraordinary feeling - from a husband to a wife (‘you are my sunshine’).

3. Feeling it as the Portuguese Adam Sandler (à la Wedding Singer) plays a Christmas carol over dinner.

September 5: Slingbacks

I remember this day:

1. Wearing pretty multi-coloured Marc Jacobs slingbacks with my pretty multi-coloured summer dress.
2. Greeting the two very special men who have had a significantly positive influence on my life this year.
3. Meeting new and old faces as colleagues in a fun, inspiring company staff meeting environment.

August 10: Ringtone

1. Diagnostic: My wireless router works just fine.
2. Skanky-pants: Snip, snip jeans into even better shorts.
3. Download: Rhythmicru now has a ringtone on Telus (check your provider). It's called ‘Turn it Up’ (not to be confused with Paris Hilton's). We downloaded it to my phone, to everyone's approval.

August 8: Advice

1. Fashion advice from my (exasperated) dad.
2. Career advice from a seasoned professional.
3. Industry advice from a friend who knows:

‘Don't accept any drinks and don't buy any land! There are a lot of film people out there who'll whisper sweet life-changing promises in your ears, and then the next morning you'll be waking up next to the Pillsbury Dough Boy looking for your shorts and wondering why you have a title deed to a swamp in Florida.’

God bless you, R, G and E!