lowering the common denominator

in halifax, for some reason, the team likes to dress up in the mornings in real clothes. invariably, following morning rounds, they have to change from their normal person clothes into scrubs. now, do not get me wrong, that does sound pretty sweet. in fact there are two dudes who actually have pretty nice style. one wears rather outstanding shoes most days. the other one's shoes are okay I guess, but his forte lies more in the soft goods - shirts and ties and whatnot. anyway, this playing dress-up would be all good and fine but for a number of issues:

first, I am not going to waste some killer outfit when I am going to be changing out of it less than an hour later, at which time it will only have been appreciated by a rather select group of individuals. plus it is dark out in the mornings and they have not yet turned on all the lights in the hospital, so I do not even know if full appreciation is even possible.

second, where do they expect me to keep my clothes after I change? my blazers would certainly not appreciate being crumpled on a locker floor, and last I checked there were no cedar shoe trees hanging out in the call room.

so I have been bucking the trend and wearing scrubs for the past bit. sweet shoe guy is still forging ahead with the business-caj (nice sweater vest on the weekend btw), but one by one the others have started to succumb to the sweet luxury of polyester drawstring pants. I guess you would have to say I am a trendsetter of sorts. I do not think I have ever been so pleased at being so low.

strictly speaking

if I lived on the east coast for any period of time, I am pretty sure I would affect a maritime drawl. perhaps I will acquire one sometime this week if I get a chance.

unsuitable behaviour

finding a suit for the pending nuptials is proving to be somewhat of a challenge. mila recently tried to pressure me into settling for a nondescript garment of rather too coarse a fabric for the occasion. obviously I ignored her, but at the same time I was somewhat hurt that she did not share my same drive for finding something with just the right amount of sheen (a sheen that whispers words of gentle seduction in an accent of uncertain european origin, yet at the same time coos "whatever, I'm just a suit" before taking a studied sip of her gutsy barolo). the drab lining of another candidate was similarly an absolute deal-breaker, mila's claims that "it's fine, honestly" notwithstanding. I assume that "can we go yet?" and "where's the bathroom?" were simply mila's way of articulating her immense displeasure with the cut of the trouser and the offensively high gorge on the next two specimens, but she had disappeared from the store before I could confirm.

halifax demographics

friendlier, and with more beards.

shout-out to my girl

to mila, "am I too old for birthday shout-outs?"

happy birthday. not to worry, you are not yet too old for EV birthday shout-outs.

I am so ready to look at art

I sincerely hope the weather holds up for tonight's all-night art fest, because let's just say that I have got a killer all-night art fest look ready to go. and let's just say that it might involve some killer asymmetric hair.

choice voice

if I had a radio announcer voice I think I would choose the harvey's guy. deep and resonant, with a touch of restrained irreverence.

I am the very model of a modern... man

to the gardiner last friday, for some of locavore jamie kennedy's understated cuisine. the space was handsome and the food confident, but of even greater note was my encounter with their sommelier (a fiesty young woman in flat-heeled boots; an addition to the fiery-haired drummond, one hopes, rather than a replacement). having settled on the black cod, but not digging the suggested pairing (an ontario sauvignon blanc, if memory serves), I asked the som for an alternative:

"I'm not feeling the white tonight. anything else you like with the cod?"
"for sure! the 2005 was a great year for the pinots, and I'm pouring a couple by the glass I think you might enjoy," she offered.
"hmmm..." I thoughtfully replied.
"well, I must say you look like a modern man..."

needless to say I was immensely flattered. I suspect it was my urban yet relaxed manbag that tipped her off.

"...so let me make a suggestion: how do you feel about rosé?"

by george

at george, between bites of exquisite lamb tenderloin (brilliantly paired by chef loseto with sauternes-poached cherries and a foie mole), who should pull in but joe mimran (of club monaco and joe fresh style fame, natch) and wife kimberley newport-mimran. unfortunately, despite mila's best efforts at thrusting her $3 joe fresh style shoes in the direction of joe and kimberley's table, mr. mimran appeared to pay us no heed.

fashion victim

from jeanne becker's FQ: "amelia earheart's aviator-chic look is being cast all over the runways!"

okay jeanne she was actually an aviator you know. that was not her "look."

I need some new magazine subscriptions

hanging out on the subway today, I spied a man next to me reading not only restaurant monthly (canadian edition) but also food service news. nestled amid articles on how to boost appetizer sales ("salad daze") and restaurant design ("creating a mood for food") were juicy adds for mini burgers ("mini burger, big sales! burger power!"). also there was a contest for best drink menu redesign.

denim tuxedo

ginormous problem: I am taking the bus to work tomorrow which means I have to wear real clothes and change into hospital clothes once I get there. so I was going to wear some monday-casual jeans but here is the humungo problemo: my only jacket is denim so I am either going to be very cold or very tuxedo.

I wonder how soon they will be divorced

from a true life person on a true life wedding blog that I obviously do not read in true life because that would be silly:

"So we have 150 white cocktail napkins with our plum monogram on them, 150 plum napkins, and 150 raspberry napkins. I'll let my MOH have the task of collating them so that they alternate."

milking it

did you know that 1% milk has only twenty more calories than skim milk? I cannot believe I have been wasting my entire life drinking skim, all for twenty calories. do you realize how insipid a skim milk cappuccino foam is?

p.s. when I was back in london every once and a while I would make an absolutely killer cappuccino. I am talking about 100% textbook microfoam. fyi.

p.p.s. one of my current doctor bosses has an espresso machine in his office. hello role model! too bad he is into camping and canoeing and other such unsavoury pastimes.

thanks for asking, everyone

why yes, I have started tucking my scrub shirt into my scrub pants.

wolf blitzer have you gone mad?

"could the presidential campaign turn into a dance-off?"

I need a tivo

I hope they understand if I am not 100% perky at work tomorrow. really, if they are not going to let me watch olympics during the day, they will simply have to understand that I am left with no choice but to stay up all night and watch the 29th olympiad live.

p.s. have you heard that there is a new scoring system for gymnastics? do not worry if you have not yet heard, because the ceeb is running a new-scoring-system newsflash every 10 minutes or so. I think it may be worse than brian williams' clapskate-ad-nauseam updates of 2002.

I am going to provide exemplary patient care

in the waiting room at a clinic last week, piled atop a wood-veneer side table of unknown provenence:
june 2005 chatelaine
may 2007 flare
november 2003 national geographic
and a time magazine of surprisingly recent publication

really I do not know how patients are expected to get well when they are left languishing in a waiting room with nothing but outdated cancon rags to read. well at least my patients will get cured, because I am going to have the sweetest magazines in my waiting room.

most beautiful thing I have read in a long time

"Forty kilos of veal, for instance, yielded no more than five kilos of jus. It was with this jus of the previous "sacrificial" deglazing that he deglazed the pan in which the veal chop had cooked. The sauce that ennobled the veal chop and accompanied it to the dining room was the product of this double deglazing, bound and thickened with foie gras."

olympic fever

omg why did no one tell me the olympics start so soon? as of august 8 I am fully volunteering to take care of all the patients on dialysis. and if the dialysis unit just happens to have a tv, well I guess I would just watch olympics all day.