44R jacket. Matching 34/32 slacks. Complimentary 17 dress shirt. Vibrant, yet professional, tie. I’m a time bomb? Okay, not exactly, but considering I put it together in under an hour at Value Village while retaining current-century fashion sensibilities is worthy of a little fist bump. Such was my Friday afternoon last. An unforeseen, panicked shopping […]
Know Thy Golden Handcuffs
Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” The man was centuries ahead of his time with that meme-worthy nugget. He was Facebook before Facebook was cool. Or invented. He was also full of shit. Truth is, knowing yourself is the beginning of depression. And self-loathing. Knowing myself has never so much as […]
Crude Awakening
“It builds character.” These words of encouragement, long-favoured by well-intentioned relatives and friends, cycled endlessly in my mind as I sat behind my faux-wood desk in my soon-to-be-former cubicle on the west side of the fourteenth floor of Gulf Canada Square in suddenly not-so-opportunity-filled Calgary. I was numb. A few minutes prior, my phone had […]
I Am Obsolete
There is a moment when the last lingering doubt withers away and you are finally forced to accept that you no longer have the skills to resume a former career. An instant when evidence cuffs you upside the head and reality sharpens to pinpoint focus. It is not a pleasant moment but it is surprisingly […]