dream deferred

Vendy ironed her shirts, whitened the kitchen sinks and made pancakes this morning. She ran out of regular flour, so she used S’s baking flour. Which S is not using. Even though he’s been fantasizing about baking for a year.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

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super keen

The chocolate farmer @ Hot Doc

The book maker @ Hot Doc: How to make a book with Steidl

The robber @ Bell Light Box

living in the edge

Edge of Russia @ Hot Doc

Edge of Heaven @ Home: The Turkish immigrant in Europe lives in the edge. Turkey itself lives in the possibly expanding edge of the European Union.

Edge of Continent: 2010 trip to Turkey

wine + herb 2011

Saturday, a penetratingly sunny day. Perfect for biking: Taylor Creek > Brick Works > Mount Pleasant Cemetery > Nicole MacNicol Parkette > Sunnybrook > Taylor Creek. Dinner with my parents. dad made perfectly textured fish fillet

Sunday, S playing soccer. Jotting down memories from the wine + herb weekend. I’m a red wine person, because red wine is clearly more keen. But I do have a soft spot for the acidity of Riesling and the aroma of Gewurz.

Inniskillin Wines
2009 Riesling
Inniskillin Tom Yum Soup Ontario Edamame Enoki Mushroom Lemongrass
best wine + soup pairing ever

Marynissen Estates Winery
2007 Cabernet Merlot
Ploughmans Lunch
not usually a salami person but bison salami + Merlot is wow

Hillebrand Winery
2009 Artist Series Gewürztraminer
Spring Lamb Sausage with Organic Mint Yoghurt
can’t say I understand this pairing of wine and food, but the pairing of lamb and mint is amazing

The Ice House
2006 Northern Ice Vidal Icewine
Garlic Shrimp Crostini with Ice Wine
one of my goals in life is to eat seafood. for breakfast. for brunch. for lunch. for dinner. now for late night dessert too

Dorchester House
Crepe with Sauteed Sauerkraut and Mushroom Garnished with Dill
Barbara runs an amazing bed and breakfast and cooks amazing food

sixty year forecast

Although an actuarial science major, I have never thought deeply about insurance.

No need to think too deeply about mortality. I accepted the term insurance offer when I signed my mortgage papers. I picked the maximum coverage when I enrolled in group benefits at work. Before age 50, life insurance is not that expensive. After age 50, it’s not necessary. not planning to make enough money to make tax planning necessary

Too early to think too deeply about longevity. Retire at age 65. Use retirement savings to pay for living expenses for 10 years. Sell house at age 75. Use proceeds to pay for living expenses including long term care expenses for 10 years. Use retirement savings to fund inflation-linked longevity protection that kicks in at age 85. hopefully inflation-linked longevity protection will be available in the Canadian market before I turn 75

No point to think too deeply about non critical illness. The best insurance is to marry a doctor. The second best insurance is to live in a place with a good public health care system. Because a good public health care system is the best way to keep costs under control.

Denise is considering buying critical illness insurance because hiring a care giver can help alleviate the burden on family members. I’ve always assumed that critical illness & disability would lead to lack of longevity, so it would be okay to use retirement savings. Maybe this is not a good assumption?

S making waffle brunch

choosing to NOT respond is keen

5 pm on a Friday preceding a long weekend. The office is quiet. Which is great when I’m trying to clean out my inbox and my desk. Which I do everyday before I leave work. Because choosing to NOT respond to some requests is a keen way to end the work day.

S is making pizza tonight!

six year forecast

• 2005 Plan: PhD
• 2005 Actual: Milliman

• 2008 Plan: MBA. Management Consulting.
• 2008 Actual: Oliver Wyman. Manulife.

For the past six years, although Actual deviated significantly from Plan, I met my skill development goals: risk > pricing > product.

One of my dreams is to work somewhere really emerging (e.g. Vietnam). I wonder whether it makes more sense to make a move now or later in my career. Having spent the past two years reviewing products sold worldwide, my current thinking is that people everywhere want the same thing and skills developed in one market can be transferred to another market. So the most important thing is to develop the right skills.

Over the next six years, I hope to broaden my horizons:  product > marketing > distribution. But I don’t have a plan yet …

• 2011 Plan: ?
• 2011 Actual: ???

• 2014 Plan: ?
• 2014 Actual: ???

S is planning to grow tomatoes and peppers. In a condo. Clearly a keener.

clearly not a slacker

illustration from gemma-correll

• Bounced out of bed at 6:30. Walked from 6th floor to 33rd floor. Good warm up. Rowed 30 minutes. Took the elevator down. Shower. Moisturize. Spent 30 minutes napping. clearly not a slacker
• Grabbed bottle of Kaiken Cab Sauv 2008 on my way home. S cooking eggplant

Vendy: Do you remember that day last year when we went for a really nice walk in High Park?

S: Yup. Then we went to The Beet for some beet juice. We passed by this guy repainting his house brightly. He asked us if we like the color.

Vendy: That’s right. I forgot to blog about it. Now I can’t remember which day it was. I’m sad.

free standing structures are meant for jumping

• Rolled out of bed at 7. Roll is somewhat less energetic than bounce, but still keen. Munching on utane bread with scrambled egg white (saving egg yolk for facial mask) while squinting at CN tower.

S: I think that’s edge walk.

Vendy: Boring! Free standing structures are meant for jumping.

• Cooked turkey sausage, pork tenderloin, basa fillet, green tea udon and tomato.
• dad bought me super high tech iron

S’s father: Why is your shirt wrinkly?

S: I didn’t iron it.

S’s father: Ask Vendy to teach you to iron.

Vendy: Dad, do you have a spare iron?

Vendy’s dad: Yes, but there is a super high tech one on sale at Canadian Tire.

bounce is how keeners get out of bed

• Bounced out of bed at 7:30. bounce is how keeners get out of bed
• Walked from 6th floor to 33rd floor. Good warm up. Rowed 30 minutes. Took the elevator down. not keen to get knee surgery
• Ate oatmeal + shrimp dumpling + bitter veggie while reviewing this week’s calendar. feeling good about the weekend because I reserved hotel/bike two weeks ago
• Drank coffee while admiring Alessandra Ambrosio. me thinks checking out Victoria’s Secret models is a keen way to start the day >.<
• Shower. Moisturize. Spent 30 seconds thinking about black skinny pants versus gray wide-legged pants. Throw orange and lunch box into bag. mum made tofu and purple rice for me
• Walked to work. Distance from the Esplanade to Bloor is perfect for prepping oneself to respond to emails claiming that my concerns regarding liquidity risk is killing product innovation.
• Working late because S plays soccer on Monday nights. Munched on sushi from Longo’s while pondering over Le Pen, Marine Le Pen. Kashi bar for dessert. Cherry dark chocolate Kashi bar is a dream. Reminds me of cherry dark chocolate bread in France.
• Walked home while listening to economist.com podcasts. Was not impressed. does anyone make podcasts for keeners?
• Rid kitchen counter of butter chicken stain while S washed his soccer jersey.
• Asked S what he wants for lunch tomorrow. pasta with extra lean ground beef and orange pepper in butter chicken sauce, which I made on Saturday morning
• Asked S what he wants for dinner tomorrow. riblet soup with sweet potato, potato and carrot, which he made last week
• Sipped a glass of Cabernet Franc before bed. In Argentina, dinner is very late, so I got used to drinking before bed. me thinks a glass of wine is a keen way to end the day >.<