Had a really successful exam today to finish off my Publicity and Public Relations certificate from the University of Toronto. So often we gauge time passing by the seasons, and if I evaluate 2009 on that precedent, it has passed at an acceptable rate. Yet if I consider the fact that I began this scholastic adventure in February it makes it seem that the year has passed much faster. None the less, it is now complete.

What I will do with this certification is subject to significant internal discussion, between my wife and I, and some other external factors that are yet to be determined. In other words, I am not ready to share my ideas, not to mention that my goals aren’t entirely within my control. I really enjoyed this education and I am quite taken by the public relations discipline. We’ll leave it at that for now.

We’re celebrating with a movie tonight, going to see Julie and Julia, a show about Julia Child. It apparently centres around cooking and a young woman’s inspiration to blog about food. Sounds a lot like my wife. We’re both looking forward to it. It’s the first Hollywood movie we’ll have seen in nearly three years, and I’m not ashamed to say that. Hope it’s good! I’ll let you know.

My life has three distinct elements protruding in a variety of telescopic lengths from a relatively stable core. Much like a tripod (or an ammonia molecule, if I were the nitrogen atom and these elements were hydrogen, but I digress…). Those elements would be my work, my school and my photography.

My work is commanding much of my energy and attention at the moment. Advertising is a tough slog at the best of times, and the current “economic climate,” or “tough economy,” or “recession,” is adding flour to the already-thick soup. In advertising you can bust your ass and not get anywhere, which is counter-intuitive to a results-oriented person like me. While the stress and tumult is offset by a healthy income, I long for more stability and reward for the hard work.

Speaking of results and hard work, my school is continuing at a good pace, if not a bit quicker than I would like. I have a mid-term project due in the next two weeks which will require a great deal of research, time and effort, supplemented by a few pages of writing. This course, which will complete my certificate, is much more intensive than the last one. I am scheduled to finish my course work by August.

Amidst the work and studies, photography compels me these days. I am excited with my results, with learning, and I am bolstered by the praise and acknowledgement from my peers and colleagues. I am often trying new things, thinking of ideas, and just shooting. I bought a tripod yesterday (well, paid for everything, but only received 1/3 of my set-up; the rest are on backorder). The legs, which I took home, are the Gitzo 1541 Mountaineer. The head I ordered is an Acratech GV2 leveling ballhead. I also ordered the quick-release plate specifically designed for my Canon 5D mark II. These items should arrive early next week. The total package will weigh less than 3.5 lbs and be about 2′ tall when compacted, which is great for hiking and traveling. I bought this stuff at Vistek in downtown Calgary, and my salesperson had no qualms about matching their competitors’ prices.

I’m very excited about finally having a tripod. Not only have I had an itch recently to go out at midnight and shoot some long exposures of the city, and not only am I interested in heading out to the mountains to take some landscapes, but I’ve been keen to set up a mini-studio in my basement. My wife and I have a large drafting table which can lay flat at about waist height, and I’m interested in setting up some lights and trying some still life. She’s asked me to shoot a few things for her website.

Speaking of which, Nest and Sparkle is getting some serious attention of late. Her website has been prominently featured on several lifestyle and home & gardening websites, and she’s enjoying triple or more the traffic that I get, which is exciting. I have to say I’m a bit jealous, but while my website muses about superfluous ambiguousness, her site is quite intrinsic and focused, and is one that people can easily latch on to for improving their own quality of life. Her success is motivating her as well.

Don’t forget, we’re both on Twitter: cdub  nestandsparkle

In less than two weeks’ time we’re heading to Banff for a couple of days of mountain air and relaxation. We’re going to find some day hikes and enjoy the early moments of summer.

Friday night was our 4th anniversary. Back in 2006 I decided (unilaterally, I’ll admit) that a great way to celebrate our marriage would be to buy a bunch of 2005 Bordeaux futures and enjoy a bottle each year on our anniversary for as many years as we have bottles. I didn’t break the news to my wife until we were through our first bottle of wine at our ridiculously memorable dinner at Babbo in New York last summer; two years after I’d paid for it all, which was one of the comments I used to excuse myself. For all you non-winos, 2005 was a killer vintage in Bordeaux; one of the best in the last half century. Producers large and small, at every price point, made some of the best wine in their history.

So when the futures offering came out, I jumped in with both feet. I bought a case of Chateau de Fonbel, a very modestly priced St. Emilion Grand Cru, as well as a case of less modestly-priced Chateau Fleur-Cardinale and a case of the least modestly-priced Pontet Canet. These wines were all rated very highly by a number of critics, featured prices I could swallow, and based on how they showed at barrel tasting, seemed to be able to age 20 years or more.

I received my wine this past winter, therefore we were able to crack our first bottle of Fonbel yesterday. My tasting note is as follows:

Clear rim; pink quickly deepens into bottomless abyss of brilliant purple. The nose features bright plum, raspberry and strawberry, plus some interesting and unforeseen barnyard, and underlying tar and asphalt. After some time in glass, notes of roses and cherries come forward. The palate is shocking. The wine is very rich and very tight. Tannins are round, dense and sandy. Palate consists mostly of graphite, tobacco and tar. Very tight (worth mentioning twice) and closed. Unpronounced flavor profile, yet enormous weight and body. For now, super rich, super concentrated, almost unapproachable. Intriguing and frustratingly so; playing hard to get. Let’s not forget this is a $22 wine.

My wife noted a number of these elements, but in addition picked out blue plums (a small variant of plum that I’ve never tasted) and ocean brine on the nose.

The 2005 Chateau de Fonbel is absolutely not ready to drink yet. I think there’s a lot of promise though; some great fruit, intriguing balance and structure, and a finesse that is trying to break out of the dense, almost explosive cloak of tannin and mass. I eagerly await the next bottle next year, and the ten following it! It almost worked with a homemade bison shepherd’s pie, but again, just too heavy.

Tonight, that being the day after our anniversary, we had my father and his longtime friend over for dinner while my mother and his wife are out in Golden at a ladies’ golf tournament. My wife loves hosting people and being cuisine-creative for guests. The meal we enjoyed rivals anything you’d ever find in a restaurant – save for perhaps only the finest of dining experiences. She served up a fresh spinach salad with sliced strawberries, goat cheese and a lemon poppyseed dressing, followed by fresh halibut fillets perfectly poached in dill and wine, topped with an intriguing stewed zucchini and tomato salsa, and accompanied by fresh baby potatoes with a chive and yoghurt dressing. We capped the dinner with a rhubarb and strawberry pie. Wines included a 2004 Burrowing Owl chardonnay, a 2004 Blue Mountain striped label Pinot Noir (that was showing tremendously) and the remaining half bottle of the Fonbel.

The meal was to die for. The wines showed very well, with the Blue Mountain leaving an exceptional statement. Surprisingly, a day later the Fonbel didn’t open up any, reassuring me that this wine needs a lot more time to figure itself out. Our guests left very happy, and we, too.

This weekend is only half over, but wow, have we eaten well so far! Tomorrow night we’re celebrating our anniversary ‘for real’ with dinner at Calgary’s River Café, our unequivocal favorite restaurant in this city. It is very similar in philosophy and style to the Sooke Harbour House – another favorite of ours. A big emphasis on local, fresh and simple, with a nod to slow food. Sunday is free corkage night, and we’re going to take a bottle of 1999 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque to celebrate. Should be marvelous, though tonight’s meal will be tough to beat.

Happy weekend everyone!

The cold weather has finally given us reprieve here in Calgary – just as we all came back to work yesterday. Sweet. The recent cold snap and a flu that I charitably passed on to my wife meant the two of us were highly domestic over the past week, which worked out fine, considering both her and I spent the time busy.

She built herself a blog, sort of – at least a website – which focuses on her enjoyment of life and the things that bring her happiness on the home front. It features cooking, baking, gardening, reading and all the attributes and wholesomeness that her lifestyle brings her. It’s expressive and introspective in that by providing opinion and commentary on what she enjoys, I think she learns something as well. The ideology is bigger than the website she has developed – in fact it is the foundation of greater goals for her further down the road. Her concept is called Nest and Sparkle (or Nest & Sparkle, not sure what the brand book dictates yet), and her website can be found at www.nestandsparkle.com. She would love for you to visit, but she warns that it only recently launched and is lean on design and information for the time being.

While she was busy building her website, brand and concept, I, after months of deliberation, planning and saving, finally bought a new camera (as immodestly evidenced in last post‘s photo). I bought myself a Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR kit, which includes Canon’s highly pragmatic general purpose 24-105mm F4 L IS lens. Needless to say this came at a significant expense, but I justified it in several ways (at least to myself). I decided I wanted a full frame camera (best for my favorite subjects: portraits – hey a family will be coming eventually; travel/urban, architecture and landscapes), one built solidly with an ability to last me several years, and one that provides value but also satisfies my penchant for being amongst the best [my] money can buy. Some of the features that sold me on the new 5D Mark II aside from its quality include full HD (1080p) video recording, the most up to date processing technology, an enhanced 920,000 pixel 3″ screen and greater ISO range, sensitivity and handling.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of its enormous 21 megapixel resolution, however, and would have rather had a 16mp sensor with Nikon’esque noise control and autofocusing, but I dismissed Nikon early on because for one, Nikon is even more expensive (the lenses are at least 30% more expensive across the board), and two, I own and have owned Canons in the past and I’m comfortable with Canon technology, terminology and operation. And my Dad and several friends own Canons and you never know when a field trip might facilitate trading lenses for a day! I don’t intend for this endeavor to make me any money, but there’s no harm in getting better at it, which is why I’m registering in a photography program at a local college.

I decided to buy a new camera because I’ve become increasingly frustrated over the past few years at not having a creative outlet for myself. This tumult goes back at least five years since I last contributed to a hobby and it’s been grinding at my soul a lot lately. I believe it is crucial to have a release mechanism for life’s stresses, otherwise they build up and poison your motivation, desire and overall satisfaction. Each of us needs something in our lives to release us from our day-to-day and to recharge ourselves. Something without pressure, deadlines and third party expectations. I used to golf a ton, used to DJ, ski, sail and take pictures – each with measured mediocrity but equal satisfaction. I’ve become quite accomplished in the world of wine, but although it is intriguing and enjoyable, wine does not allow me to express myself because my work revolves around it. I’ve been traveling a lot lately and while I love to travel, instead of finding satisfaction I am feeling exhaustion (doesn’t mean I’m going to stop though). Sadly it’s taken me this long to realize that personal creativity has been missing and the impact this void has had on my general happiness.

In another effort to expand my horizons, one with more concrete intentions, I recently enrolled in a PR/publicity certificate program at the University of Toronto. It’s online, which is great, and must be accomplished within a year, which is also great. Why am I doing this? Well, for one, I want to change what I do for a living, but methodically – I’m not jumping ship nor leaving without somewhere to go – therefore I need to build myself a bridge to get to my destination. Where I want to be is defined, and this program will contribute to helping me get there.

Another reason is due to a realization that I expect more out of myself than what I’ve already done; add to that the fact that a simple bachelor’s degree doesn’t get you very far anymore, and both my wife and I have bigger long term plans than where we are. Hope that’s not too convoluted.

My friend Davin is blogging about the same sort of thing right now, and it is in part a credit to him that I have registered in this certificate program. He’s back at school too, exploring new found motivation and aspirations. I share his feelings about having enjoyed a break from school and feeling a desire to go back. Continuing studies/post-graduate school is attractive in that it will not interfere with my day to day work, rather it will compliment it; I’ll incorporate my work into my studies, and apply my school to my work.

Hey, we’re always learning, right? And it sure helps with the taxes to be a student.

Look for a modest redesign of this website in the next little while, to better represent the pictures I will share with you.