the (w)rite of spring

this blog was born just a little over a year ago. right around the time Spring had pleasantly surprised us with its very early and uncharacteristic balminess: on march 21/12, ottawa -- as in, the city that's home to the world's largest skating rink -- was some 27˚C! a far cry from spring 2013, which has included one sizeable snowfall and, more recently, midday temperatures hovering somewhere around 6˚. this return to climatic normalcy should probably offer some comfort on the global warming front (*fingers crossed*). yet it seems the contrast between this year and last has some people very, very confused about what to wear. or so says a quick scan of this here coffee shop...

on the one hand, there's the bare-legged young woman in line sporting the increasingly familiar itsy-bitsy black stretch-skirt, which does indeed reveal almost all of her "its" and "bits". meanwhile, there's february's birthday boy, who's now leaving the premises wearing a big fluffy red toque. but it's while watching Birthday walk away that i notice today's most memorable character: a dapper fifty-year-old man, standing by the door in full business attire. dress pants. suit jacket. fancy schmancy shiny shoes. posh purple tie. shades. and just the right amount of 'tude. the fact that there's no sign of a coat or gloves (or a toque, for that matter) isn't particularly shocking. what is startling, however, is that he's got one hand in his pocket, and the other one is -- nope, not hailing a taxi cab (though he does seem to be waiting for one), or wielding a briefcase, or even clutching a cup of coffee. (pfff -- those would all be too obvious!) no, the other hand is holding...a pair of cross-country skis.

poof! just like that -- and just like spring -- the coffee shop has once again proved it's completely unpredictable. "ski suit" will never mean the same thing again.

and now back to translating...