The Daily EO: October 18th, 2012

Women between the ages of 30 and 45 still want to look stylish and fun yet sophisticated and not slutty.  Why is it that I cannot seem to find a middle of the road priced stores that sell normal sized clothes for someone who wants the above?

Most of my shopping trips involve walking into store that’s either a little too young for me – shorts jumpsuits and reaching around back to the hanger in the pack that is gaping because it is such a “huge” size.   Or a little too old for me – cut too roomy, too high on the waist or too much elastic in general.

If I find something gorgeous, it is usually priced gorgeously.  Or things that I think look so fabulous – like shift dresses, or blousey tops – look not right at all on my curves.  It’s a dilemma, I tell you.

I must tell you that I am both fashionably and make-uply retarded – though I think I’ve mentioned that before.   How to wear a scarf, layering and accessorizing?  Really?  I can barely match my pants to my shirt.  I like dresses because then there is no matching at all – except trying to find the right shoes.  Sigh.

So I sent an e-mail to a personal shopping company today to get more information about their services – well, frankly, to get more information about their prices.  Doesn’t help to use the clothing budget to pay someone to tell me what to wear when I can’t afford to buy it any longer.

Apparently they also offer life consulting too.  I wonder if I need that?  How do you know if you do.

October 18th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  I do many things well, yet shopping not so much.   No, I just get a bad case of mall disease and want to come home.

The Daily EO: October 17th, 2012

It doesn’t matter what you make or where you do it, the principles of manufacturing are the same.  And, no matter what, you’re going to meet all kinds.

So, if I have made electronics, sinks, auto parts and ice cream treats, surely I can make Natural Health Products.  And it seems that I am right – I can.   Well, in moments of confidence anyways.

But it’s those conversations that you realize that despite it taking place in English, you really have no idea of what anyone is talking about.   And wonder if  you ever will.   I tend to spend about 50% of my time not knowing what question to ask first and the other half of the time trying to figure out who I should be asking those questions to.  What am I doing?  What are you saying?  What?

Skills that have served me well so far:

  1. Ability to repeat word for word what someone has told me – even if it is just sounds to me.   “It is my understanding that the didicator is disrupting the lubrication flow into the main chamber.  It is causing insufficient cooling and creating warp within the finished goods.  We need tear down and insert a refabricated piece to protect the integrity of the machine.  All in all, I think it will take about 4-6 hours.”  Just what did I say?  I don’t know, but boy did that sound like I was up on what was going on.
  2. Looking interested and engaged on the outside despite roiling turmoil on the inside.  “That was great coverage of the issues at hand.”
  3. Appearing to be soliciting the team’s opinion when you’re just really hoping someone can tell you what to do.   ” Hmm, that is a complex problem.  I know how I’ve handled similar in the past.  But do yo you have any recommendations on how we should proceed?”
  4. Sincerely apologizing for your ignorance when all of the above fails.

October 17th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Maybe I can do this?  I am not sure, but I am either going to do it, or build more strategies to fake it.

The Daily EO: October 16th, 2012

I started watching Downton Abbey and though I enjoy the show, and the peek into society 100 years ago in England, I find myself distracted by the actress who plays Mary Crawley.  According to IMDB, the actress is Michelle Dockery, and I think she plays the naïve, aloof and self absorbed Mary well.  But it is her eyebrows that garner all of my attention.  The lift like wings above her eyes and provide such an aristocratic look to her that I cannot help but consider them every time she enters a scene.  Glorious, really.

I have been long in love with sharp and well done eyebrows.  Overplucked – too short or too narrow – horrify me.  It is my great consternation that I cannot see properly, nor have the skill with make-up to create such masterpieces.  Oh, I covet.

October 16th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  I have a crush on Lady Mary Crawley and she’s not even nice.

 

The Daily EO: October 14th, 2012

When I was child and I visited Vancouver, my Grandmother would take me to Chinatown.  I had no idea  that – at the time – the place might have been considered a bit dodgy to take a child to.   She didn’t drive, so we’d take the bus and I remember crammed little stores, and shops selling strange things.   I really didn’t know where it located, I followed her and we arrived.  But now it is in our backyard.

My grandfather came to visit and check out the joint, but as he doesn’t drive anymore, we picked him up and took him back to Burnaby.  He was absolutely fascinated the activity on the water, and relieved that he still recognized the area despite the many changes and years that had passed.

Emile’s immune system finally collapsed and the virus has got in – so as we returned home after our visit, he told me he wanted wonton soup to soothe his aching body.   I, on the other hand, was feeling nauseated and queasy from a terrible back seat car journey where I thought it would be a good idea to start to write one of these Daily EOs on my phone.

I directed Emile to Chinatown and we found ourselves on Pender Street.  Emile pulled over and ran in to get the wonton soup he wanted.  I waited patiently until I saw a bakery across the street.  Surely a bun or pastry would settle my stomach.

October 14th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Sweet Custard Steam Buns.   How could my grandmother take me to Chinatown and not feed me this delicacy?  I must truly be the miserable rotten kid she always said I was.  All this time, I thought she was joking.

 

Emile and Grandpa Discussing the View

 

The Daily EO: October 13th, 2012

My car smells like IKEA. I don’t know how to describe that smell except woody or cardboardy. It’s universal similar to how Value Villages smell the same. I think I am an expert in this smell field of retail stores because I have lived in two provinces.

I understand why IKEA stores smell the same because all of those products come from some low cost geography allowing me to put pretty wine glasses on. But I am baffled by thrift stores. How is it possible with thousands of different donors that the scents all blend to smell the same?

But that is not the topic. My car smells like IKEA because we purchased a wardrobe and Besta storage for our condo. The wardrobe was 8 feet tall but we managed to get it in the car. I had to sit cross legged in the back seat but the truck door closed.

We awoke on Saturday morning facing the I appropriately heavy for size flat boxes. The wordless instructions were fairly clear and we managed to put together our items fairly easily.

I think IKEA has ruined us for other furniture. We think it should be cheap, come in flat boxes and be made of alternative building materials. Where are the antiques? The family heirlooms?

October 13th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary: another two cheap allan keys for my collection. Perhaps they could be the family collection in the safety deposit box.

The Daily EO: October 12, 2012

When I was a young kid, mom had our curtains in the living room replaced.  I don’t remember the old curtains, only that they were regular curtains.  When Mom told me she was going to have the curtains replaced, she was not specific, she used the term “curtains” to mean “window coverings”.  At that age, I didn’t understand that there are window coverings other than curtains.

When you’re a kid, the smallest things are exciting, so I remember well the day the people arrived to install mom’s new curtains.  It was a husband and wife team who made and installed them.  (I also remember that their daughter had “helped” with the prep and she did it wrong, so they had to undo all of her work at our house and redo it.)

It turned out that the curtains I was expecting were actually vertical blinds.  This was in the late seventies/early eighties, and I had never seen vertical blinds before.  And I couldn’t fathom how these two people were going to turn these strips of fabric into curtains.  I watched intently noting the steps and how they did it.  I was that weird silent kid in the corner staring.

It’s the first time that I remember considering how something is manufactured.  And it was interesting.  Good thing it still is.

3 days in.

October 12th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Vertical Blinds do not magically fuse into curtains.  It is very disappointing.

The Daily EO: October 11th, 2012

From our condo we can hear the Steam clock every 15 minutes.  And at 9 pm, a cannon is fired off.  I can hear the door upstairs when it gets slammed.   And generally you can hear the general hum of the traffic underpinning all of this.  Nothing disturbing or terrible, and we’ve already come to accept the noises in our new home.

October 11th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  A fireball exploded on the street below us tonight.   And a flaming car raced down the street.  The film industry continues to use Vancouver as a locale.

The Daily EO: October 10th, 2012

There are pivotal moments in life – and we all know to grab our camera to record it.  One such moment happened this past weekend.  Our friends’ son got his “big boy bed” and moved from his crib for good.  The sheets were Lightening McQueen and Mator and Carson was so proud, so happy.

Big Boy Bed

There were no cameras when I left for work this morning.  I sat in the kitchen at 7:20 am awaiting the clock to turn over to 7:40 so I could leave.  I slipped into the traffic and drove out to Coquitlam only to find that I arrived early.  I checked mail.  I listened to music.   Then it time.  I got out of the car.  I pulled open the door to begin my future.

October 10th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  I was locked out.