|
In mere moments we are leaving the office for our Christmas party and I am shutting down my computer and switching off the lights here for the last time. I thought I’d be jubilant, but right now it just feels weird….but a good weird. I wish I could celebrate with a tall, golden, bubbly (alcoholic) beverage…but my short, plain, cold glass of chocolate milk will have to do. Here’s to a 365 day ‘holiday’. It doesn’t get better than this.       As I was deleting all of my email messages from my work account (you can’t imagine a better feeling), I came upon an old favourite of mine. The story goes that my sister and, her now fiance, Mark were out at a bar one night in Washington DC, and lo and behold, they see Dan. My Dan. On a random weekend. Without me. They were perplexed until they realized that it wasn’t Dan at all, but an imposter. A wannabe. I wonder if he thought it was weird that they were snapping pictures of him? Meet Fake Dan.Â
December 15, 2006 - 10:34 am
That’s not me? I even have that shirt!
December 15, 2006 - 10:44 am
You don’t have those massive chops though. Maybe you should consider being Fake Dan for Hallowe’en next year. If so, you’d better start growing the chops now.
December 15, 2006 - 10:51 am
Holy…fake Dan is really quite a good replica! He’s like the “Realbok” of Dans (sold exclusively at Giant Tiger).
December 15, 2006 - 12:08 pm
It even looks like Fake Dan is drumming the table with his fingers which Drunk Dan is known to do from time to time. That’s creepy. Gary and I frequent a website called Be Early, run by John Budden and Rob Snow, two personalities from Ottawa talk radio station CFRA. It’s a bit of a mess of a website (for example, if you use Firefox, all of their embedded media files play all at once. Nice.), but there is invaluable information buried in that mess. Financial acumen does not always go hand in hand with expert web coding. 3 common themes:
Two items made my head spin from yesterday:
Well, that’s like me quoting my financial situation today without referring to my house mortgage. Sure I have some money in the bank, but I owe the bank mortgage payments every two weeks for the next 25 years. If the analysis is done including future social security obligations, the 2006 deficit is $3.5 trillion. $3,500,000 million. $3,500,000,000,000. That’s not their total debt, that’s just how much they fell short this year, if they were to fund future obligations properly. I’m curious how Canada compares … Anyway, if you are at all interested in investing for your future, this is a great website to lurk on. 3 areas get updated daily:
I really missed my calling. What am I doing in engineering? Should have went into finance …
December 15, 2006 - 12:13 pm
I’ve been thinking the same thing recently Dan. I think Finance is the way to go, especially considering that the AVERAGE Christmas bonus at Goldman Sachs (investment bank) this year was over $600k. Several key traders got bonuses over $10 million.
January 23, 2007 - 8:22 am
It’s never too late Dan. You wouldn’t be the first person to turn one’s hobby into a business!
December 15, 2006 - 10:23 am
Speaking of youtube and since many of you blog readers hail from Saskatchewan I thought I would add this youtube video to the roster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmZqH2cFRgw If you aren’t a resident of Ottawa, you probably don’t recognize the word shawarma. You may know its cousins as doner (Turkish) or gyros (Greek). For whatever reason, there is a shawarma restaurant every 5 blocks in Ottawa. They serve several different dishes like falafel and fish, and some even dabble in burgers. But their raison d’etre is shawarma. I estimate that I’ve visited 75% of them at least once, from the sketchy Vanier shawarma, to the fancy gourmet shawarma on Somerset street. I’ve had a few bad experiences (Shawarma at 11am isn’t good. The skewer of chicken hasn’t cooked yet), but the vast majority have been on the good side. And some stray into excellence. My current favourite is Shawarma Andalos, which shares a building with a Burger King at the intersection of Hunt Club and Merivale. Delish. A shawarma consists of a split fresh pita bread, upon which a healthy dollop of garlic sauce is slathered. Small quantities of shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and spiced onions are added for some crunchiness and to add complexity. They usually save the best vegetable accompaniment for last: sticks of fuschia-colored pickled turnips. The color alone is To finish the sandwich, you then have your choice of either seasoned chicken or beef, which is carved off a rotating skewer cooker. The sandwich is then rolled into wax paper and placed briefly in a sandwich press to seal the deal. I’m quite certain that I could eat shawarma every day for the rest of my life and be quite content. If we ever move away from Ottawa, I may need to open my own Ottawa-style shawarma restaurant in the new city, both to spread the gospel of shawarma and to ensure my own supply. I can see it now in neon: Shawarma Fullerton
December 14, 2006 - 1:13 pm
Shawarma Fullerton sounds very authentic lebanese. My favourite shawarma stand is Marroush on elgin, but at night it gets sort of crazy and gross. There’s actually a lot of shawarma places in Montreal. I’m pretty sure I had shawarmas there before I had one in ottawa.
December 14, 2006 - 1:58 pm
The pickled turnips are my favourite. I get very annoyed with the Shawarma place across the street from my office because they substitute them with pickled cabbage. Wrong on so many levels. So is the 11 am shawarma.
December 14, 2006 - 2:13 pm
Guess what? There is a Shawarma King in Calgary! But it should be noted that it is currently on the City of Calgary website as 1 restaurant of many that has been recently shut down due to failure to comply with food health standards. I visited there once, and it was disgusting. I miss Ottawa shawarma’s. (You forgot to mention the delicious-ness of falafels!)
December 14, 2006 - 2:23 pm
Will comment on Shawarma later… But you have both been tagged. Go to my blog. (I’m sorry).
December 14, 2006 - 4:36 pm
Tagged? I’m so intrigued. Be right there.
December 15, 2006 - 8:58 am
I love Shawarma Deluxe on Dalhousie. Super sketchy, busiest at approximately 3 a.m. and the garlickyiest sauce around. Mmmmm. Will have to try this Hunt Club/Merivale Shawarma. I also love pickled turnips. I had shawarma for the first time within two weeks of arriving in Ottawa and instantly fell in love. To take your shawarma eating to a whole new level, please visit “Really Lebanese Food” on St. Joseph boulevard. The owner, who refers to himself as the Shawarma King, cruises around Orleans in a minivan with a glass dome inserted into the roof. Occasionally, you see him inside the dome, crown on head, waving a regal wave. When you’re inside the restaurant, please note his throne in the corner (facing the 50″ flatscreen). He wears shiny disco-esque shirts and jokes and chats with every customer. It is a true experience. However, the man behind the cash is totally creepy and doesn’t brush his teeth often, which grosses me out. Still…you HAVE to go. At least once. The shawarma really is excellent. |
|
hypnotic but the taste is inexplicable.
Heather - Congrats!! I don’t know you, but I’m excited for you. Can’t wait to see pics of the wee one. Good luck…you know with that whole giving birth thing.
Kristin - Congrats Shan! See you tonight.
Danielle - Congrats office buddy!
As happy as I am for you (and Peanut I might add, who gets to arrive soon!) I’m sad for me and my lonliness that will hang around the office until you come back. The office WILL NOT be the same without you…. please visit me!!
Happy vacation week! p.s. be on gmail chat tomorrow? 🙂
shannen - Thanks for the wishes, Gals.
It’s Monday morning, I’m up and already feeling weird about NOT having to be at work today…or tomorrow. Not bad weird, just weird. I think good weird will grow on me.
Heather: You can guarantee that this little one may be the most photographed on forgetful.ca. She may even out-do the Humph, which would be difficult.
Kris: The Hat game rocked. Your partner should try out for the Gilmore Girls. I’ve never heard a contestant ‘clue’ that quickly.
Danielle: You. Me. Gmail. It’s on.
Sonja - Congrats Shan! I hope you still come and meet me for coffee during the week even though you will no longer be across the street.