And so it begins

It's just before noon and I can hear my stomach grumble. More than that, I'm pretty sure the guy who works at the cubicle beside me hears it too.

I'm hungry because I didn't eat a proper breakfast, one piece of toast with peanut butter at 7:05 simply didn't cut it. Wow, even typing that out seems odd - 7:05. 7:05 AM. Just over a year ago I would have seen that time flash across my microwave clock on the way in from the bar. Brussels was like that though. Lazy school days that began at 2pm and finished at 6, leaving plenty of time to shop for groceries afterwards, relax with a glass of red wine (that only cost me about $6 a bottle) and then cook and have dinner with my roommate around 8. Then by 9 friends would join us for conversation and some dessert, a few more drinks and we would head out to the bar or club by midnight - to quite literally dance and drink until dawn.That was the life.

Fast forward one year and I still woke no earlier than 10am to get ready and catch a bus for an 11 o'clock class. That hour of prep time included breakfast, a shower, the Ellen DeGeneres show and a personal debate over fashion, hair and shoe choices. Thankfully the Ottawa buses were fairly reliable, and I only lived a 10 minute ride away from Carleton, my university. The nightlife in Ottawa was far less glamorous than that of Brussels, mostly due to provincial laws that prohibit bars serving alcohol past 2am (thus putting me in bed by 3 at the latest). However it was still fun, exciting and a staple in my existence.

Now, I have graduated and am part of what most people like to call the 'working world'. The alarm rings at 7:05, I rush to shower, get ready, eat and be out the door by 7:45. Goodbye Ellen, leisurely shower and relaxing morning. Now I rush to be in the car on time so my dad (whom I carpool with) doesn't leave me behind. I never do my hair anymore and my makeup gets applied in the car but there is one thing I simply cannot compromise on, no matter how rushed I feel - my shoes.

Even though I sit in a cubicle most of the day I still feel incomplete without a pair of great shoes quietly waiting to be seen from under my desk.

So as I begin my journey in the working world, I have decided to write this blog chronicling my daily climb to the top of the corporate ladder, steep as it my be, and I will do it...In great shoes.