woc 2008

did anyone attend the world of concrete 2008 conference? because I sure wish I had. I would probably have spent most of my time in the concrete pump truck area, because they are one of the best types of truck, I would venture. also, I might have browsed the concrete media zone, because I certainly was not aware of the broad array of publications available to the concrete professional ("concrete construction monthly" has a very interesting lead story on the burj dubai this month, though "residential concrete" seems to have a bit more mass market appeal. "concrete surfaces" unfortunately does not have a website, but I am sure it is also an excellent read).

chef's table

school you are ruining my life again. I just found an old draft menu from a dinner party, tucked away in an old folder on my bookshelf. (incidentally, this is none other than the dinner which introduced the revolutionary chef's table, the standing-height table located in the kitchen, where guests were invited to take certain light courses (fish 1, intermezzi 1 & 2, shellfish, predesert and composed cheese, if I recall correctly) right in the middle of the drama of a kitchen brigade deep in the weeds. actually it may have been devised to appease guests as they sat for interminable lengths of time between courses, but really who can remember these kinds of things so many years out? HOW HAVE I NEVER DISCUSSED CHEF'S TABLE ON EV BEFORE? IT WAS ONE OF MY GREATEST STROKES OF GENIUS IN THE REALM OF CUSTOM DINNER PARTY FURNITURE EVER.)

anyways, all I want to do is go sit in a chair and write a sweet menu and build a new chef's table but instead I have to go to school. maybe my application for an exemption from my ob/gyn rotation will go through (grounds for exemption: that stuff is gross). that 6 weeks would be the perfect time to get cracking on a menu or two.

lunar eclipse review

grossly underwhelming. 1 1/2 stars.

p.s. that is out of five stars. do not for one second think this lackluster darkening of the moon would merit 1 1/2 stars out of four.

wednesday thoughts

1) we ran out of milk as I was making my hot chocolate, so I had to add a tablespoon or two of water to fill my mug. I feel dirty and cheap. maybe I will go eat some butter.

2) what is with people who double click on the internet? honestly.

3) I read about some petition to get the default margins in word reduced, in order to save paper. okay, that is obviously the worst idea I have ever heard. white space is the best space, you know. sure, they might save a couple polar bears, but does that mean my documents must look cluttered and busy? rest assured, I did not sign that petition.

p.s. if it is a four day week, is wednesday still humpday? if anyone is friends with any office dwellers (preferably secretaries) please enquire.

long weekend haiku

addicted to wii,
I should be studying now,
but super mario galaxy is more fun so I will probably stay up until 4am playing and then have a wii hangover.

sommelier rapport

if anyone has any wine pairing questions, feel free to send them my way. I would be happy to pass them along to sara d'amato, sommelier at truffles. I guess you could say we kind of have some serious rapport. I am talking david-lee-at-the-hot-line serious (p.s. do not worry, just some toronto chef humour there, sara will get it.)

this all started when she stopped by the table to see how the wines were going. I mentioned that I thought the nose on the sauvignon blanc (washed-rind cheese) may have been somewhat strong against the ocean trout with which it was paired. she agreed that it was certainly a very polarizing wine, and after a brief discussion on its use of oak, she solicited my opinions on the riesling that she had paired with an earlier foie course. I complimented her on the choice, noting that the subdued sweetness and lingering acidity were spot on. I then went on to congratulate her for her win in the 2007 toronto wine tasting challenge. she graciously thanked me, and then suggested that if I ever had any wine questions in the future, or if I wanted a good pairing suggestion, that I ought to email her at the email address she subsequently gave me. she also suggested I give her a call next time I am heading to truffles, no doubt so that she can set up an off-carte tasting or something. WE ARE LIKE BEST FRIENDS PRETTY MUCH. the food was rather underwhelming given the recent superlative review from chatto, and the ambiance was nothing short of depressing, so I will probably never go back. but maybe I will go back just so that I can call my new BFF and chat and then go for dinner and have some killer rapport.

pop quiz

when simon grows up and has a business office, will he have a killer espresso machine in it?

yes, he will have the sweetest espresso bar and a little espressso bar fridge underneath with a selection of milks and his favourite espresso accoutrements.

HE HAS EATEN AT THE FRENCH LAUNDRY AND EIGENSINN FARM. MORE THAN ONCE.

the plastic surgeon I am currently working with is my new role model. it is like I have been speaking a foreign language my entire life, and I have just now found another human with whom I can communicate. "those skeletal rubino brothers," "michelin stars" and "oestra caviar" roll off his tongue like the fine bordeaux he no doubt drinks.

"I hear the new chef at truffles did her training at el bulli," I said. to this he astutely replied: "I have got to get over there and try adria's food. I fear molecular gastronomy might be a bit overdone, though." HE THINKS MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY IS OVERDONE. I WOULD BE CONTENT IF HE HAD EVEN HEARD OF MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY, BUT HE ACTUALLY HAS AN OPINION ON IT.

needless to say, I will be informing him first thing tomorrow that I have successfully secured a reservation at per se over the march break. I am sure he will be as excited as I am.

sag awards canadian fashion review

ellen page: tres cancon. you're at the sag awards, not the junos. don't let your movie title fool you.
sandra oh: oh no.
ryan gosling: I want to steal your suit and that sweet formal-brokeback-plaid shirt.

I would boycott them if they weren't so delicious

dear whoppers, the candy, not the burger:
I cannot believe that you have replaced the pastel-coloured robin's eggs with the plain, standard-issue chocolate whopper. do not think for one second that you can sweep this under the carpet with a little bit of easter-themed packaging. if I were not so thoroughly immobilized from having eaten half a bag of your malted confectionery delights, I would be writing some harshly worded emails, that is for sure.

number one reason I would consider general surgery

all the general surgery residents get these smart white coats with cinched in waists. I think they would look quite flattering on me, if I say so myself. sign me up!

and she forgot the syrup

this weekend, per mila's request, I whipped up a hollandaise and made her some eggs benedict. then, since I am working night shifts this week, I prepared her a week's worth of meals, all neatly packaged and labeled. wanting to make sure that she was seen as pulling her weight, mila reminded me that she had, after all, made me waffles this weekend. I reminded her that she had put two eggos in the toaster and called it a day.

least emergent emergency of the day

the paper towel dispensers in this hospital all feature an "emergency feed knob," in case the dispenser fails to automatically dispense a paper towel and you really need one, I suppose.

the only emergency here is the lack of freshly folded white terry hand towels in a basket beside the sink, not to mention the conspicuous absence of designer hand lotion. HEALTH CARE FUNDING CRISIS SOLUTION BRAINWAVE: l'occitane-sponsored washrooms.

p.s. white linen is also acceptable.

go pistachio

I love those pistachios in the bottom of the bag that have fallen out of their shells so that I can munch them without having to do any work.

by way of corollary, I cannot stand those pistachios that have just a tiny little slit in the shell. they always hurt my fingers and they simply are not within my acceptable range of work to food ratio (cf. pomegranate. I wish I were one of those roman guys who lounged about all day on a chaise longue and had individual pomegranate seeds fed to me).

overheard in the ER

"...and so he's all like 'venti half foam double shot no fat extra hot two vanilla decaf capuccino' and I'm just like 'can I get a medium regular?'"

what is this, dave barry circa 2003?

anyway, and needless to say, riotous nurse laughing ensued.

the last thing I heard before changing the channel, a series of four

"first, take some light cream cheese spread"
"why make when you can buy!?"
"replace the cream with some chicken stock - it's a great way to cut calories!"
"I'm rachael ray"

how can I learn in this environment?

to the doctor who is wearing what appears to be either jeans (casual!) or navy pants with a black shirt and shoes (clashtacular!) in her online teaching video:

your use of big words like "postulated" and "extravasation" does not mitigate the fact that you are wearing either jeans or navy pants with a black shirt and shoes in your online teaching video.

also, your overzealous hand movements are distracting me from properly learning about the appendix. too bad they are not distracting me from your jeans or navy pants with a black shirt and shoes. and brown belt. honestly.

p.s. your patently fake writing during the 'office encounter' with your 'patient' would look somewhat more realistic if you did not spend the entire interview writing over the same 2 lines in the chart.

p.p.s. your nervously fumbled sexual history-taking is probably the funniest thing I have seen in an online teaching module this year. I particularly like it when you suddenly interrupt your inappropriate joke about the patient's number of sexual partners with a fortissimo "HURTS A LITTLE, DOESN'T IT." I assume you are referring to her abdominal pain, but perhaps you are trying to double bill for some psychotherapy and are in fact delving into the woman's shattered love life. interesting technique.

p.p.p.s. I really feel your patient appreciated that you took the time to explain the rosving sign to her as she writhed in pain while you pressed on her abdomen.

christmas contraband

I am pretty sure you are not supposed to have real christmas trees in the building, but having smuggled one in back in december, we are now left with the dilemma of disposing of it. the garbage chute is a possibility, but then what if it gets stuck half-way, leaving a stump of a christmas tree sticking out of the chute and a trail of pine needles leading back to our apartment? we could perhaps carry it over to the park behind our building and consider it a donation to the local ecosystem, but the incriminating evidence may linger too long in these sub-zero temperatures. it seems the only remaining solution is to install the tree in the foyer and hope the super assumes she put it up in a nog-fueled christmas daze, and disposes of it accordingly. I suppose we should also leave a pile of needles outside our neighbour's door just in case the super decides to investigate matters. a charge of contraband christmas decorations would sure teach that condo dweller to blast her avril at inconsiderate volumes.

p.s. ebert and roeper called amy adams' breakout film, junebug, "perfectly executed," while the LA times called it "deeply resonant". mila called it the worst film she saw in both 2007 and 2008.

book review

water for elephants, the most recent work from canadian author sara gruen, features some of the most spectacular ligatures this reader has seen in some time: the tail on the capital 'Q' trails on not just under the subsequent 'u' but well into the next letter as well. spectacular! luxuriant! 5 stars!

sartorial jesus, the crucifixion

o how the king of kings hath fallen; o how the lord of lords hath stooped low. what false messiah is this? what judas is he, as he betrayeth those who did once praise him? he of impeccable tailoring and sumptuous fabrics, I shall forgive him not his sartorial sins. it is but lucifer himself who could be possessed of such sloth, such a deadly sloth as to come before us in a polarfleece pullover.