Revelation in the 'hood

We don't have much contact with our neighbours on one side. Other than the "Good morning", "Hello" and occasional "How are you?" I can count on two hands the number of conversations we've had with them.

When they're not around we talk about them. About the way she's always the one shoveling the snow, painting the fence or hanging laundry. About "his" tomatoes that she always seems to be tending. About the grandma who sits on the front step and keeps watch over the flowers and the neighbourhood. About the boys who stride across our parking spot and acknowledge our presence with a cursory glance. About the number of male inhabitants compared to the number of females who seem to be looking after the place.

Today I caught a glimpse of something else. One of the house-work-challenged, always-running-off-somewhere sons was out by the basketball nets...without his brother or his friends. I blinked. He was out with his grandma, coaching her on how to shoot hoops. I watched for a while. His patience and quiet respect were evident - even from a few hundred yards away.

Although I can't vouch for his work ethic, clearly I've been too hasty to assume the worst. Instead of the usual arrogant, demanding, self-absorbed behaviour, I caught a glimpse of something more - a young man who loves his grandmother.

I'm leaving on my first international business trip tomorrow - ten days, London and Aberdeen. Yes, I am excited.
And also rather nervous. One of my gf's pulled me aside on Sunday for a little pep talk. Thank you. I needed that.

Look out world, here I come....

It's been a while. Things are going well though.

- I'm keeping busy at work. It looks like there will be a major opportunity opening up in March so I'm excited to see how that pans out.
- We celebrated our six month anniversary this past weekend. I can't believe the time has gone by so fast.


That's the latest. Hope you are all doing well.

Enjoy the last day of 2008.
Best wishes for the year to come.

Fashion news

Whether this is simply a matter of coincidence, or a sign of the economic times there has been a rise in fashion related news. In the hopes of spreading classic fashion cheer I thought I'd share some of the recent ongoings.

A Suitable Wardrobe, one of the blogs I regularly follow, is dedicated to men's classic fashion and has featured a number of interesting posts lately. I found the post on black enlightening as I often wear black simply because it's such a "safe, professionally acceptable" colour. While you're there, check out the rest of the blog. Yes, I realize it is directed towards men, but I firmly believe that women also have a responsibility to uphold classic fashion. (If you happen to know of a good women's classic fashion blog, send it my way).


Since we're discussing fashion, read through this short article about Tom Ford that appeared in the National Post. The article is more of a general read than fashion advice, but there are a few good suggestions.