SIMPLY ELABORATE blog

Archive for the ‘just quickly’ Category

We’re not the same, dear, as we used to be
The seasons have changed and so have we
There was little we could say and even less that we could do
To stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you
- Death Cab for Cutie “The Ice was Getting Thinner Under Me and You”

Sometimes I feel like rainy days should be reserved for quiet Sunday afternoons, those days where nothing really needs to get done, but somehow feel productive anyway. Instead, it’s a Thursday in September. We’re on the cusp of fall; the last few days of summer are dribbling into early sunsets and closed toe shoes.

Autumn, the season of change, new beginnings – and goodbyes, always leaves me thinking about the last season switch. How quickly the time flew – again, and how much has changed – again. We’re growing up in this here city of Toronto. The humidity gets worse and worse every year, the pubs and patios a little more crowded and the drive up north a little more congested.

I’m left in the middle, sometimes wondering how exactly I ended up here and others, just enjoying the fact that I did. This season, this autumn has me intrigued at will happen next. I’ve got parties to attend (Boobyball – October 16^th), birthdays to celebrate (mine!) and holidays to plan. We move forward and continue going, planning, acting and everything in between.

Take a minute to stop as these seasons fly by. Just take a minute and breathe. The air is fresh – depending on which part of the city you’re in. Experience the moment, and enjoy.

“Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable than risk being happy.”

I saw this quote today and started thinking about life and the way we live it. The way we walk through each day, focusing on the people who cut us off while driving, the rude barista at Starbucks in the morning or the fact that no matter how early we leave to get somewhere, something always manages to make us late. I am no stranger to being this person sometimes. It happens. It’s inevitable. The inability to be positive at all hours of the day.

Then I can talk to people who really are able to put things in perspective for me. Like a sister. Who thankfully is bored enough at work that she can write me emails that remind me to live in the present and not worry about the past. And not the past like last year, but the past like yesterday. It really puts things in perspective, thinking like that. Realizing what’s important and what’s not. Realizing what’s worth expending energy into and what’s not – and remembering how to differentiate between the two.

I’ve happened to realize that nothing is life is simple. It really isn’t. And the harder to strive for simplicity and ease, the harder it is to find. It’s not about finding the perfect routine that will keep you calm at all hours of the day but more about finding that calm within yourself. So that when you are handed a situation that might make you a little colourful, you have that calm that allows entrance for ease.

The office renovation is complete. Well, the parts of it that needed outside hired help and payment upfront are. I walked around the office this morning and was pleasantly surprised at just how amazing a few days of hard work can change a place. I mean, check out these floors!

Tomorrow’s day will be filled with movement and cleaning and rearranging – all careful not to harm the new floors and freshly painted Koi Pond walls. I’ve been researching Ikea for different curtain/blind options that I feel will greatly depict the feeling of Simply Elaborate but haven’t had any luck as of yet (is it bad that I truly enjoy the multicoloured shower curtain?)

The work is piling up behind me, and new prospects are going on my to-do list with each passing day and I’m left wondering whether it is a smart idea for me to look into hiring someone to continue the Simply Elaborate business process. With each day I find another reason as to why I think it’s a fabulous way to go. I read once that the number one mistake that entrepreneurs make is that they do everything themselves and therefore either burn out or something isn’t done 100%. I’m starting to agree and I don’t like it because I don’t like doing things at anything less than 100% and although I’m not feeling burnt out, I can only assume it’s on the horizon.

There are a lot of changes that are going on in my life that are happening soon. For one, I’m going to be a Torontonian this summer. I decided to take up a friend on an opportunity to sublet a room in a duplex downtown and I’m quite excited about it. The move can’t come at a better time nor worse time in my life but when is anything perfect timing in my life?

With summer on it’s way, finally, I’m excited and yet already feeling it fly by quicker than expected and wanted. There’s one thing I’m excited about it – being single, being surrounded by friends and family, and having fun.

Who can’t get excited about that?

I heard a song called Oh Canada on my way to work this morning. It was by Classified (ie. someone I’d never heard of before) and I have to say – I kind of teared up a bit as the lyrics rang on and on. It’s how I felt with this I Believe song that’s blasting every which way from Sunday since the Olympics started last Friday.

It makes me have this unusual outpouring of pride that I reside in this country. The same kind of pride I have when travelling overseas and people find out I’m Canadian and not American. It’s like the look on their faces makes me proud to be a part of a country that produces that kind of stereotypical response.

It’s the reason that I made it my mission last year to see all Canadian provinces (I only have two left) and Territories (all three left :/ ). It’s such an amazingly beautiful country that many of us never see because we can’t wait to get out to the hot vacation destinations or Europe (don’t get me wrong – I love those too). But we need to remember that we’re not just Canadian during the Olympics and there’s a deeper reason that we’re so proud when some person we’ve never heard about before slides down a mountain on a snowboard and beats the “favouring” American. Or bounces up and down on a mogul path and becomes the “first Canadian to win gold on our soil”.

What’s your reason?

mom: I think that R is just really learning and having all these experiences on you that one day, he really is going to be that amazing guy – to somebody else.

… long pause.

me: …. I don’t think so. I think he’s just a jerk.

mom (interjecting): No … maybe you’re right.