Happy Birthday, Canada: I hope you like a nice kick in the junk. According to news reports, OC Transpo has decided that our nation’s birthday would be the perfect time to raise fares for most of their services.
Starting July 1, here are some of the fare changes you can expect from O-Town’s illustrious transit service:
- Monthly Adult Passes will be $84.75
- Monthly Adult Express Pass will be $106.00
- Bus tickets will rise from $1.00 to $1.15
- O-Train tickets will now be $2.50
According to the Ottawa transit committee, the fare hikes are necessary to cover the cost of fuel and labour, as well as expanding the city’s transit service. You know, stuff like the never-to-be-built O-Train expansion to Barrhaven, the proposed downtown “subway” and of course the transit strike that happened last winter.
Geez, I don’t even live there yet and I’m already raggin’ on the transit company. Still, all things considered, OC Transpo is better in many ways than the Toronto Transit Commission.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that on Canada Day, all service after 10PM will be free to riders so that they can enjoy the festiviies in the Capital and get home safe.
Last night was another sleepless night. I must have lay away for over an hour, playing out the events of things that haven’t even happened yet. The biggest question on my mind right now is: have I made a mistake?
Probably not the best time to be thinking this, amidst moving quotes, finished paper work, packing a house and uprooting my life. But of course that thought keeps coming back to me. Maybe I just need to get these thoughts out.
I talked to my friend Z about it and she let me ramble on until I finally said something that she was quick to draw attention to. I said, “Well, it would be easier to just stay in Toronto…”
Easier? When is anything in life easier? If things were easier, then people wouldn’t take chances. We would all just sit around and see what happens. And to quote Stewie Griffin “Jim Henson had a ‘wait and see’ attitude and now we have wrong sounding Muppets.”
Some times one has to take risks. But then again, why take the risk if right now everything is staying afloat? It’s not as if Toronto is being bombed – although it is crime ridden and overcrowded. I think back to the first few years I lived here and things were good. I was discovering new things about the city and enjoying it. I was writing a lot and was fueled creatively. Because of the city’s size, there was always somewhere new to go and something new to do.
And I know that moving to Ottawa will give me a chance to do that all over again. But as much as I have had it with Toronto, part of me can’t help but miss all the good times I’ve had. Which I can only assume is normal.
Yes, it’s too late to turn back now. And I don’t have any regrets to speak of, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my doubts. All I know is that I have no choice but to make a go of things.
I have chosen a moving company! The lucky folks who will be in charge of moving my worldly goods will be King’s Transfer Van Lines.
It only took a couple weeks and several visits by various moving companies before I was able to make the decision. Frankly, I had become tired of showing my house (sometimes as often as twice a day) so I figured with more than enough estimates giving me roughly the same price range, it would boil down to who could offer the best price and the most service.
While King’s wasn’t the cheapest, they did offer the best service quote and will do the most work. At this point, there’s even a chance my stuff could show up in Ottawa the next day instead of the customary day or so of traveling time.
Montreal Canadiens hockey fans will be happy to know that King’s Transfer Van Lines is the official moving company for The Habs. And being a former Montrealer myself, if this company is good enough to move the 24-time Stanley Cup Champions, then it’s surely good enough for me.
Remember the Abyss of Doom? My storage room. My place of forgotten favorites? The place where I dumped all my crap in order to keep that whole “out of sight, out of mind” thing running smoothly?
Well now that the move is going forward, I really needed to start clearing some junk out. And what better place to take my junk than Value Village.
Now, before everyone thinks that Value Village is a place to dump all your broken useless crap – especially in the face of a Toronto garbage strike – I should point out that my “donations” are all things that I think other people will be able to use. That, and a bunch of shit I don’t feel like packing.
Problem is I also don’t want to be rejected. (None of us do, right?) So to combat my fear of pulling up during business hours only to have someone in a red smock tell me that Value Village doesn’t want my stuff, my plan was to pull up in the middle of the night, unload my car and drive off like a negligent teenage mom.
The trick was to wait until a clear night (no rain, snow, tornadoes, alien attacks, etc) so my stuff would at least survive until morning when the staff shows up and see what people who have the same mindset as myself had left for them overnight. Kind of like a crappy Santa Claus.
So that’s what happened. I first moved everything from the storage room to the main floor. From there, I began to load my car (backseat and trunk) with as many things as I could. Once the coast was clear I drove to the nearest Value Village and spread the love.
Before I knew it, I was done. And it was good.
At this point, I could open the newspaper tomorrow and read a story about how Ottawa has been sealed in a giant bubble and now I’ll never be able to move there, and I would still sit back and say “Oh well, at least my basement is cleaner than it was last week.”
One of the many tasks when it comes to moving is taking care of the ol’ “change of address” stuff. In order to do that, Bell Canada has to be the the first to be notified. After them, then all of the other utilities, companies, people who send useless mail, etc can be contacted and informed of the change in address.
So now that I know where I’ll be living and when I’ll be there, a call was placed to Ma Bell this morning and the ball started rolling. Before you knew it, I had my 613 number. Again, to their credit, they made things very easy for me.
I can now move forward with other change of address calls and let everyone else know not only the new address, but also the new number. The next calls will be to:
- Ottawa Hydro
- Enbridge (for the gas)
- Bell (again, but this time for the Internet)
- All credit cards
- Rogers Cable
- Newspaper and magazines (for subscriptions)
- Banks and Financial institutions
- Loyalty and reward programs
- Car dealership
- Insurance companies
Except this time, I’m going to play it smart. When certain companies who I don’t want to be bothered by are informed of my new address, they will surely ask for my new phone number. At which point I will simply say “Oh, I don’t have one yet.” If they want to contact me that badly, they can bust out a pen and paper and write me a letter the way people used to do.
Thankfully the folks down at the Government of Ontario have made things easy for the little people by installing those Self Serve Kiosks everywhere. It is there that I’ll be able to change my Health Card and my Ontario driver’s license.
And there still remains the issue of the cell phone. I will tackle that in the coming weeks. Way I see it, more than likely I’ll be getting an iPhone which we know is on the Rogers network. So there’s no point in telling Bell to switch my current cell phone to a 613, likewise there’s no point in going to Rogers now and bringing my current 416 number over to their network for a month and a half.
The latest Canadian radio ratings are out and things are still not looking good for 106.9 Virgin Radio Ottawa — formerly known as The Bear. As always, radio (and TV ratings) are conducted by BBM Canada. The latest ratings are known as S2 2009 and were taken from March 2, 2009 until April 26, 2009.
It seems that Astral Media’s plan to change an already successful radio station and re-brand it under their newly purchased banner “Virgin Radio” continues to backfire. In a city such as Montreal where Astral also did some re-branding of Mix96, the name change made little difference to Anglo Montrealers who listen because quite frankly, they have no other choice. (Virgin Radio 96 is the only English Top 40 station in town.) They could have called the station “Sumo 96″ and between each song, played the sound of two sumo wrestlers slapping their bellies while saying “we think our listeners are stupid” and Anglo Montrealers would have simply said “Yeah, maybe so. But where else am I going to get my Lady Gaga fix? I’ll just keep listening.”
But in Ottawa, where you do have a choice when it comes to rock-oriented stations, it seems Astral fixed something that didn’t need fixing and it hasn’t worked out too well for them.
The latest numbers show 106.9 Virgin Radio (CKQB-FM) down from 5.0 market share to 4.5 market share. Their Central Reach (Ctrl Reach) drops from 114.5 to 101.4. Further more, you can see that the ratings from last year were higher when CKQB-FM was still known as The Bear.
Posted above are the latest Ottawa area numbers. Click to enlarge.
When I worked in the radio business I was always a little fuzzy on the numbers and how exactly they were calculated, but anyway you slice it, these new numbers are not good. You can see more detailed ratings by visiting the BBM site here and choosing the Ottawa/Gatineau Anglo link on the side of the PDF document.
The way I see it, with egg on their faces, Astral really has only a few options here. They can continue to let the numbers fall and hope that in the summer months, things turn around for them (as occasionally the numbers tend to as more people listen to the radio) or they can lick their wounds, put their tails between their legs and figure out a way to bring back The Bear.
Although I’m sure, as always, the suits at Astral will find a way to put a positive spin on this. Lord know how they will pull that off.
Now that I know the move is a sure thing, I have to start considering all the things I’ll miss once I’ve left Toronto behind. And it would be nice to see all those places, do all those things and enjoy all the enjoyable moments, one last time.
So that means it’s time for The Toronto Farewell Tour to get underway. As the slogan says, “Everything We Love… One Last Time.” (Yes, because of the massive amount of time on my hands and/or the creativity flowing through me, I designed a logo. And what did you do today?)
Yes, I do have a flare for the dramatic. And I do know because of work I’ll be back in Toronto several times a year. But for the sake of this, why not make it a real send off?
My plan is to make the list of all the things I’ve enjoyed over the last seven years and see if it’s possible to do them all again. One last time. Think of it as a Bucket List – Revisited. Things I want to do before I go — because I did them already and I liked it so much.
I have a few “stops” on my tour already in mind, and I know I’ll be adding some more over the next couple of months. And I’m sure I’ll even post them on this blog. After all, what’s the point of mentioning it if I’m never going to do anything about it?
Inspired by Hannah78 from Brightest Blue who did a Hate Meme last week, I decided to take a stab at it. Brightest Blue made it fun and interesting, while mine seems to be the calling card of someone who has a lot of bent-up frustration and disdain towards people.
1. Most hated food. Greek food. It’s not food, it’s meat…. on a stick. Cavemen did that too. And look where they are.
2. Most hated person. There isn’t enough bandwidth for this one. But let’s spin the wheel of discontent anyway… Dina Pugliese (from CityTV), Paris Hilton, Rebecca Eckler, anyone having anything to do with The Hills, Pink, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Justin Timberlake.
3. Most hated job. I worked at Costco Wholesale for about as long as it would take you to drink a cup of coffee. Hated it.
4. Most hated city. Probably any city in Greece. Because that’s where the whole meat-on-a-stick thing started. And the having-sex-with-goats thing. That started there too.
5. Most hated band. Instead of band, I offer a super-group of talentless losers, including: Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Kayne West, Pink. If these pencil-neck geeks ever unite to record a song, it will no doubt unlock the gates of Hell and bring about the end of the world.
6. Most hated web site. That would probably have to be something called Lainey Gossip. I can’t say I frequent the site, but from what I understand, she’s a Perez Hilton wannabe. By that logic, anyone who tries to be like Perez must be even worse.
7. Most hated TV program. ANY. REALITY. SHOW. They are fake, scripted and aimed at people who can’t find anything better to do with their time. Really, you’re watching Flavor of Love? Aren’t there dishes that need washing or a cat that needs petting instead? How about picking your nose? It would be more productive if you spent half an hour doing that. Also, TMZ. That “show” is the TV equivalent of Cancer. I also hated that show where Geena Davis was President, and the one where Kristie Alley was a fashion designer or something.
8. Most hated British politician. Funny thing here, I can’t think of one that I truly hate.
9. Most hated artist. I dunno.. the guy who crapped in a tin can and called it art.
10. Most hated book. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Worst. Name. Ever. for a book. You can add the Twilight books too. Vampires with messy bed-head hair and eyeliner are NOT real. And for good measure, anything written by Rebecca Eckler.
11. Most hated shop. Zellers. Most of the stores are so run-down and outdated. Probably not a reason to hate them, but it’s the best I could come up with.
12. Most hated organization. Any right-wing nut job organization that tries to take away the rights of someone else.
13. Most hated historical event. Probably all of the stuff that as human beings, we should be ashamed of.
14. Most hated sport. Golf.
15. Most hated piece of technology. The new “pin/chip” credit cards where I have to input the pin number I don’t remember every time I want to use my Master Card.
16. Most hated annual event. I can’t think of one. I guess if I don’t like it, then I avoid it.
17. Most hated daily task. Believe it or not, I don’t have one. Although getting ready for work used rank pretty high.
18. Most hated comedian. Dane Cook. Completely overrated.
19. Most hated movie. The Pirate Movie, Time Bandits, Glitter, Crossroads, anything with Jennifer Aniston in it.
Normally I don’t like to use the word “hate” as it is such a strong word. And doing something like this makes you realize that some things aren’t worth hating as much as you thought they were.
But then there are things that you just can’t hate enough. Such as everything listed above.
What a welcome to town present this will be for me. The night before the pay-per-view Breaking Point, World Wrestling Entertainment will hold what is known as a “house show” in Ottawa at Scotiabank Place on Saturday, September 12.
Tickets for the show will go on sale June 20th at 10am. The non-televised show features Superstars (owner Vince McMahon hates it when you call them “wrestlers”) from Monday Night RAW, Friday Night Smackdown and ECW. The good news is that the tickets start at $15 a piece. (Ring-side seats will cost more.)
In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m a bit of a wrestling fan. I’ve been going to events for the last 23 years and have fond memories of my father taking me to see Hulk Hogan wrestle in Montreal at the Forum when I was a kid. I find house shows are much more wrestling focused than the weekly TV shows, and frankly, are more interesting.
You’ll be able to get your tickets to what WWE is calling “the best value in entertainment” at Capital Tickets or by calling 877-788-3267
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain
Farah Nasser has done it again. She continues to prove that she is unprofessional and how she manages to remain employed with CityTV is a mystery.
It happened Sunday night while reporting on the death of a Canadian solider. Ms. Nasser, who was the anchor for the six o’clock edition of CityNews, couldn’t be bothered to take the time to double check the pronunciation of Cpl. Martin Dube’s name correctly before she read the story live on air. And of course, she mispronounced it. Granted, it is a French Canadian name, but that is not excuse. A true professional would have made sure of the correct pronunciation before going on camera and messing up — without so much as an apology afterward.
And I know that on-air mistakes do happen, but this is something that could have been avoided because it wasn’t just a case of stumbling over words or misreading the teleprompter – it was simply lack of preparation and professionalism.
I went easy on her when I mentioned her lack of respect towards people. But this recent incident goes beyond that. When it comes to the news and journalism, you have a job to do, so make sure you do it right.
Personally, I find her shanty anchor skills disrespectful and insulting towards Cpl. Dube and the Canadian military, as well as anyone who has ever had anyone in the service. I don’t know how she got her job – or how she manages to keep it.
On a side note to Ms. Nasser… Farah, maybe you have never had any family members fight for this country, or maybe you have. Either way, I can say proudly that I have. My grandfather fought in both World Wars, my grandmother’s brother was killed in WWII and I have friends and family members of friends overseas right now. Show them some goddamned respect and do your job properly.
Why don’t you actually do some research before you open your mouth?
UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that for the 11 o’clock Sunday night broadcast, Farah prounounced Cpl. Dube’s name correctly. Someone must have told her she messed up. Still doesn’t make up for her mistake the first time.
Bunny, being the practical one, has lined up movers in order to get quotes for The Big Move. It’s not as if I’m moving tons of stuff, but as it stands right now, a city-t0-city move from Toronto to Ottawa for the contents of a four bedroom townhouse will run me (on the high end of things) about $3,000. Naturally I want to see if I can get a better deal.
The good news is that some companies accept credit cards.
Yesterday, one guy from one company dropped in and I took him on a walking tour of my home. He made some notes, told some interesting stories, talked about how much he likes Food Network and collected all the data he thinks he’ll need for an accurate estimate. I should know the cost in a couple days. Today, we play the game again.
A few companies have said all I have to do is take inventory myself (being as detailed as possible) and they will make an estimate based on that. Of course the actual cost could (and always seems to be) higher than what was quoted.
Once all of this is done, I compare the quotes and what they offer (as well as payment options) and make my decision from there. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Of course this where I tell myself that the ends justify the means and everything will be worth it once I’m moved into my new Ottawa house.
Holy crap I must be getting old.
Ever since I was a teenager I looked forward to the MuchMusic Video Awards. I was even once thisclose to seeing them live when I was visiting Toronto in 1997 – despite being 21 years old, which I’m assuming is out of the Much demographic.
These days however, MuchMusic has gone from being an innovative media outlet that Moses Znaimer envisioned, to being a second-rate MTV knock-off. Catering to the Twilight crowd where people have messy hair and speak in senseless dialogue while trying to sound witty. Reality shows and teen drama plague the network and this year’s line-up of MuchMusic Video Award guests and performers – albeit slightly more A-list than normal – is painfully aimed at a generation who thinks “OMG” is an actual word. (It would also seem that once again Billy Talent had nothing to do on a Sunday night, so he accepted yet another invite to perform.)
And then there’s the web site promoting the event – written by someone who I can only assume failed out of high school and uses Twitter and her cell phone’s text message screen in place of a dictionary.
What’s worse is when reputable media outlets such as CTV (they own MuchMusic) have to hype the MuchMusic Video Awards as if they were the Oscars.
Now I know MuchMusic is aimed at the younger generation — but even when I watched while in high school and college, the network wasn’t “dumbed down” the way it is now.
Or maybe it was and I just didn’t realize it.
(For those who care or, who like Billy Talent have nothing to do on a Sunday night, the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards will be held June 21.)
Now that the cat’s officially out of the bag and the papers are all signed, it’s clear that the neighborhood of Barrhaven will be my new home.
Of course with this news, some have been asking “But why Barrhaven?” — or as I learned this past weekend, there are those who call it Far-haven. (Because, you know, it’s far out from everything else.)
Yes, it’s a 20 minute drive – with minimal traffic – from my future house to downtown. But as I’ve told everyone, it takes me 20 minutes just to get down the street from where I live now. (Toronto is really big, in case you hadn’t heard.)
Barrhaven has everything I could possibly need. From shopping to banks to parks to quiet areas and even the TransitWay and a VIA train station for when mom comes to visit. And everything else such as BestBuy and Future Shop – the only two stores that don’t seem to be on Strandherd Drive- can be found within a short drive up Merivale Road.
As much as I enjoy the downtown area, I also like to be able to come home and relax. I’m a writer, so I do spend a lot of time in front of a computer and I need to feel comfortable where I live and work. So that’s why Barrhaven was my choice.
Yesterday morning I got the phone call I had been waiting for. My heart was in my throat and I could barely find the strength to pick up the phone when I saw the number on the call display.
It turns out that the house I really wanted, the one I had already imagined myself having dinner in, or living in or waiting for pizza in, could very well be mine within 24 hours.
The other couple who was interested in the same house hadn’t submitted any information or applications or paperwork. The ball was suddenly in my court. Advantage, me.
Problem was playing the waiting game. I knew the next 24 hours would be the longest of my life. I thought about all the good times I will have in Ottawa if I get that house. I thought about all the thinks I like about Ottawa. I even thought about the things I know I will grow not to like – and how the house would be a perfect escape and sanctuary when things get me down.
Then I started thinking that it’s only a house. And if for some reason I don’t get it, there will be other homes. Similar to high school, when you have a crush on someone and it doesn’t work out. Your heart breaks, but you get over it and a better person eventually comes along.
All I had to do was pray to a divine power to insure that the other couple doesn’t act fast enough, forgets to send in their paperwork and thus the house becomes mine.
And it seems today is the day that everything is coming up Chris.
That means… the house is mine!
Although now the reality is setting in and I have to move fast. Must get the money to the owners. Must sign all the remaining paperwork. Must start filling out change of address forms. Must start packing! (Thankfully I have a To Don’t List for all of this.)
I know in time, everything will fall into place and when the moving trucks show up, I’ll be ready. But for now, the hardest part of this quest of mine is over. I am (more or less) officially on my way to becoming a resident of the community of Barrhaven in the city of Ottawa.
Summer time means construction time and it seems there’s no exception to that rule – even in Capital City. And as luck would have it, one of my favorite streets in Ottawa is closed – sort of.
Preston Street – home of Ottawa’s Little Italy – is currently under going a massive face lift in order to make the street more aesthetically pleasing, as well to perform some necessary upgrades in sewer pipes and whatnot.
That of course means that Preston is mostly closed to vehicle traffic. The good news is that the nearly 200 businesses that call Little Italy home, are still open.
And in an effort to make this known to folks, the Preston Street merchants have come together with the “Luigi” campaign. All around the Preston area, posters and signs can be seen with Luigi guiding visitors through the construction zone to parking lots and stores.
On line, there is a social media effort with Twitter where each day Luigi pops up at a new location and gives out prizes if you “catch him”. You can find out where he’ll be by following him on his Twitter account. There’s also a Facebook link too. The contest runs until August 31, which is good news because I’ll most likely be moved into my new Ottawa home by then and I can get in on the action.
It’s always rough when this type of thing happens. (Currently in Toronto’s Corso Italia on St. Clair West, streetcar track construction has the street narrowed making it difficult to get around.) But as long as people remember the shops and services and great restaurants are still open, a minor road-block (literally) won’t slow things down.
And for those wondering, the Italian Week Ferrari Festival will go ahead as planned from June 19 until June 21 despite the construction in the neighborhood.
What trip to Ottawa would be complete without a Jobthingy meet-up? We had been pondering some ideas that involved patios and finally setteled on Grace O Malley’s – a popular Irish pub in the east end of Ottawa. (Turns out they also have on the west side too.)
Jobthingy (right) and her man Raspbarry, seen here with myself and Bunny, enjoyed the evening as we talked about the months to come and the plans I have for when I finally move to Ottawa.
But that wasn’t where the merriment ended. Jobthingy came baring gifts a-plenty. A mini shopping bag that folds out into a full sized bag for Bunny – because she knows about the ridculous law Toronto has regarding shopping bags – and for me, a To Don’t List.
Those of you who read this blog are aware of my on-going To Do list, which often times seems more like a list of things that will never get done. Keeping this in mind, Jobthingy found the perfect way to track the promises I make to myself.
Taking a slight detour from all things Ottawa, one thing I can say with great pleasure is that Canadians won’t have to suffer through a seemingly endless supply of karaoke on TV this summer. There will be no Canadian Idol this year.
And yes, than means a little less Ben Mulroney. (See? There is a God.)
CTV, the network that lacked just enough vision and creativity to think that Canadians would obsess over a Canadian version of the American karaoke fest known as American Idol, came up with some excuse as to why the show won’t be back. I believe they said something about economic climate — despite (according to them) the show was the ” top rated program.”
Trust me, I’ve worked in the media. You don’t cancel your top-rated program — unless of course it’s not really top rated at all and in fact, nobody is watching or cares about the (predetermined) winners who were supposed to go on to become superstars but never did.
In case there was any doubt, this poll was on the CTV web site last year as the finals of the show approached. It’s clear to see why Canadian Idol won’t be back again.
That’s right folks, a whopping 80% of people could care less about a group of nobodies singing badly. In a nutshell, that meant that Canadians had something better to do with their time than watch crap.
Maybe there is hope for socitey after all.
UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that this post could in fact have something to do with Ottawa as the “winner” of Season IV of Canadian Idol was Eva Avila from O-Town.
If there was ever a sign that the time has come to move away, this would be it. A sad sight on Kingston Road.
That, in a former life, was Cougars, and most recently known as Kelley’s Korner. A small bar in the east end of Toronto that had been my little hang-out for the better part of six years. The beer was cheap, the people were nice and service was always friendly. The first night I walked in there I was made to feel at home and I had been coming back ever since.
When I moved to Toronto in 2002, one my concerns was finding a place that I would feel as comfortable at as I had back when I was in Montreal. It took some time, but I eventually discovered Cougars. (The bar, not the women. But it was because of the women that I found the bar.)
I’ll admit, I got a little nostalgic when I saw it was shut down. A lot of good memories came flooding back. Yet it wasn’t as if many great things happened there. I think it was more about the fact that time had passed. Still, it was my place and I always felt comfortable there.
Bunny had been bugging me for years to bring her there, and when I finally tried it, I saw it was closed down for good.
Now of course, as I mentioned last year, I will be looking for a new local bar where “it just feels right.” And while I’ve been to a few places in Ottawa already, I’ll just know it when I find it.
At Bunny’s suggestion, I decided to do the “smart thing” and get a real estate agent to help me find a house in Ottawa. I’ll be honest, it’s a lot easier to have someone do the footwork for you and line up appointments, rather than just throw a dart at a map and see where it lands.
I also made a few small changes to The Plan. The first one being I will be renting for the first year while I really get a feeling for the city. Then, after I have ruled out where I really don’t want to live, I will buy a house.
So I found an agent through a work contact and she was given the task of finding me a nice — and I do mean NICE — townhouse with at least three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, finished basement and everything else that happens to be on my checklist. Once she finds me the place, I naturally will be in touch with her to find me a house to buy in the next year or so.
And talk about fast! Within two days, my agent Joanne emailed me telling me that she had lined up a dozen places she thinks I would be interested in. This of course means — and try to contain your excitement here — that I’ll probably be coming to Ottawa next weekend to see the houses.
Not to be outdone, I’ve also lined up a couple appointments on my own with some developers who have townhouses for rent, hoping of course that you will decide to buy with them down the line once you get tired of “throwing your money away each month.”
Thing about renting is that I’ve done it for so long already, paying another 12 to 18 months in rental fees while I look for a place that I really want to call home, in a new city that I’m still learning, seems like a good idea to me.
As always, I’ll keep you posted.
I vividly remember 1993. It was the year I graduated high school. It was also the year my family took their last vacation together. But more importantly, it was the year my dad brought home The Entertainment Book.
For those who have never seen or heard of it, The Entertainment Book contains literally thousands of dollars in savings for local restaurants, attractions and even shopping. There are books published for many major cities not only in North America, but around the world.
And as luck would have it, there’s one for Ottawa.
When I moved to Toronto back in 2002, a friend of mine who ironically enough had just moved to Toronto from Ottawa, gave me a copy of the book to help me explore my new home. I really gotta hand it to her. Because of the book and its coupons pointed me in the direction of some restaurants I probably wouldn’t have gone to otherwise.
Currently, the 2009 Ottawa edition is available on-line. I considered getting it now, but I want to find out for how long the coupons and discounts are valid for. Since I still don’t know when I’ll actually be in Ottawa — although I am now aiming for August 1st — it makes no sense to get the book if the offers expire next month.
That being said, when I finally do get around to moving to Ottawa and I find out the details on the discounts, The Entertainment Book will be one of my first purchases because I really can’t think of a better way to explore the city and try new things.
Happy Birthday to this blog! It was one year ago today that I decided to start chronicling my adventures as a therapeutic way of planning a move to Ottawa. And 12 months later, where are we? Well, we’re still not physically in Ottawa, but we are closer than we have been before.
Truth is, I had been planning the blog for some time, but it only came to fruition 365 days ago. If memory serves, I was bored one day while working at “The Company” (something that happened often) and needed to do something to help pass the time.
Believe it or not, a lot has happened and a great deal of thought has gone into this move. I know it may seem as if I’ve been dragging my heels, but I don’t want to make any mistakes that I’ll regret and I want to be sure about everything I do.
Thanks to everyone who has been loyally reading over the last year and will hopefully continue to read now that things are really starting to pick up.
So it seems that Jobthingy tagged me in a recent post. And the rules of this game are similar to the one I played last year where I tag the person who tagged me, then seven other people, all while telling the world seven things about me.
Since everyone is clear on the rules, let’s begin. I should warn you up front that while most people enjoy talking about themselves and what they like, contrary to popular rumor, don’t live that much of an exciting life. But we’ll give it a second shot anyway
- I placed fourth at a Hooters wing eating contest back in 1998. The prize was more wings.
- I was Amy Winehouse for Halloween — complete with an authentic Amy-style wig.
- I still have plans of opening my own Italian restaurant. (Yes, I having training and I can cook. You’re welcome to see for yourself one day.)
- During an autograph signing at HMV in Montreal, I kissed former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell on the lips – and she slipped me the tongue. (No, I’m not kidding.)
- Dark elevator shafts creep me out.
- I get “beer headaches” if I drink too much. I guess it’s a built-in warning system of some sort.
- I have never — in the 23 years since I first started going — been in the city of Ottawa when the sun is shining. It has always been either overcast, snowing, raining or nighttime.
I guess that wasn’t so bad. Now you can make up your own opinions of me.
Oh, and as far as tagging seven other people, I’m still more or less in the same boat as before not knowing seven people who would play along. Therefor if you read this, consider yourself tagged.
It’s been seven years. Seven years to the day that I first arrived in Toronto to start my illustrious career in radio. Seven years since I was shacked up at the Comfort Inn for three weeks while I looked for a place to live. Seven years since I said goodbye to my friends and family and made my way west.
I remember it as if it last week. A warm spring evening as the sun was slowly setting. I called Bunny back home in Montreal from a payphone on Kingston Road in Scarborough to wish her happy birthday. I’ll never forget the lump in my stomach or the sickly feeling of “what have I done?” that was racing through my body as the reality of my new life set in.
Not a week goes by that I don’t regret moving from Montreal. But as my friend Donna asked me when I told her of my wish to somehow go back in time and refuse the job offer: “What else would you have been doing?”
How true is that, eh? Back in 2002 my father had just sold the company so I was “retired.” I was living on my own, but not employed in the radio business and I was always complaining about how, one day, I would like to live in Toronto. Ever since visiting Toronto on my own back in 1997, I had wanted to live here. Never once taking into consideration that it could never actually be 1997 again.
Sure, I often wonder how things might have been had I not moved away. But I also would have missed out on some great adventures. Not to mention a few really nice memories that I’ll forever be thankful for and that I could never replace.
It would take too long to list everything that I’m thankful for or that I’m glad I had a chance to experience, but rest assured that I am grateful for my time here in Toronto — even if it didn’t turn out exactly the way I hoped it would.
Truth be told, the last 2,555 days (give or take a few) have been alright. I’ve had a good run and now, I can look back and see that I’m happy where I am and with what I have done — and that’s how I know it’s time again to move on.
“So leave the memories alone. I don’t want to see. The way it is, as to how it used to be.
Leave the memories alone, don’t change a thing. And I’ll hold you here in my memory.”
– rock group Fuel from Leave the Memories Alone
Would have been nice to have been able to spend Mother’s Day with Mom yesterday. But sadly, at my ripe old age (33, the last time I checked) a nearly five-hour drive eastward drive down the Highway 401 is too much for me these days. Honestly, I start to go stir-crazy somewhere around Kingston.
However, when Mother’s Day rolls around next year, a short jaunt down Highway 416 from Ottawa to Montreal is a lot more manageable. In fact, since the door (or in this case, the road) swings both ways, I can foresee a Mother’s Day brunch being held at my house… in Ottawa.
Mom has already said she plans to visit frequently – something she hasn’t really been able to do while I’m living in Toronto. And since I told my father about my upcoming move, he also promised regular visits.
In keeping with the whole Mother’s Day theme, I find it amusing how when we’re growing up we’re sometimes embarrassed by our parents and can’t wait for the day when we can break away. Yet years later, we look forward to seeing them again and showing them just how far we’ve come.
I gotta give kudos to Bell Canada. As of late, their customer service has improved drastically. Unfortunately I still have to called half way around the world when it comes to getting technical support for my Internet service. (Bell has outsourced most of their support to folks in India) But in the recent months when there’s been a problem, they’ve fixed it right away.
I even called Bell TV (those offices are still in Canada as it seems most of the upfront home service offices are) to ask about getting a satellite dish for when I move to Ottawa. Again, very helpful and friendly.
I almost feel bad about my plans to drop my Bell Mobile service in favor of Rogers or Fido when I get an iPhone.
Almost feel bad.
So today is the day that changes everything. Are you ready?
For the better part of the last year, this blog has focused around my move to Ottawa in a hypothetical way. All blog posts mention the move to Ottawa, were written from a frame of mind where I wanted to move and would day, I would, but never from a point of view of someone who was actually about to call a moving company.
Then all of that changed.
Last month I put the ball in motion. Without getting into the boring details, all my eggs were more or less in one basket. And I needed to know the situation with that basket. And today I found out.
The email I had been waiting on appeared in my InBox.
I want to thank you all for reading and following and waiting to see if it actually would ever become a reality. I knew after I noticed almost a year had passed, that sooner or later I would have to do something about it. I would have to make it happen one way or another. Or least have a concrete answer.
And that brings us to the email. The one that will change everything.
So that’s it… the verdict is in.
We now OFFICIALLY know what will happen next.
And that is… (click “read more” to find out)
Did I forget to tell you? The “redneck assholes” who lived in the townhouse next door to me finally moved. Them and their crappy loud dogs. Turns out it happened several months ago. I just forgot to mention it.
There’s some debate about whether they were kicked out on their asses as they deserved asked to leave or whether they pulled a classic “midnight move.” Either way, they’re gone and my home is better because of it.
Problem now is that the roofs on my row are being redone in time for the summer. And you would swear that the owners of the complex hired WWE Superstars to work on it. In fact, as I write this, with all the walking and banging and hammering it sounds like a full feldged Royal Rumble is taking place. I’ve never tried to live under a wrestling ring before, but I’m pretty sure this is what it would feel like.
Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien’s trial got under way this week. And in a surprise move, the judge has allowed the use of Blackberries and smartphone devices in the courtroom. The judge also allowed the use of Twitter by those in the courtroom. This will allow those in attendance, including O’Brien himself, to “tweet” the events in real time as they happen.
This ruling has prompted a Twitter account written by Shane Ross who is covering the trial.
Mr. O’Brien faces two Criminal Code offenses. It’s alleged he tried to convince then-mayoral candidate Terry Kilrea to drop out of the mayor’s race, using money and the promise of a spot on the National Parole Board.
Something I wasn’t aware of at first (and that seems like a real “balls out” move), ol’ Larry “Lex Luthor” has said he will run again in 2010. That of course depends on the outcome of the trial. Naturally, if he were to be convicted, he would not be able to serve as Mayor of Ottawa.
One of my passions has always been photography. I studied on black and white film in high school (our school was cheap, but black and white looks great if done right) and I’ve progressed to digital. I currently own four cameras, two of which are Digital SLR. (All of them are Canon.) I’ve loved taking pictures for as long as I can remember.
Something else I like is a beautiful woman in a formal gown. Put that together with photography and you have the potential for a Trash the Dress photo shoot.
For those not familiar with Trash the Dress, it’s a unique and abstract way of taking post-wedding pictures that usually has to do with the bride (and sometimes bridesmaids) in non-traditional settings. (Click the link and read the Wikipedia article to get a better understanding.) Photo sessions can also be tailored for high school seniors looking to have some fun with their prom gowns.
Ottawa Diva, the blogger and skirt-hiker who I sung the praises of in a recent blog post, had some nice things to say about moi. She also took the chance to give me a heads up and offered her opinion of Ottawa area LCBO stores that close early. I honestly can’t do it justice, so I invite you to read the post on her site. She also reminded me that size does matter and even though Ottawa is smaller than Toronto, it’s all about the attitude, which I know I’m going to like.
Turns out Ms. Diva is away from Ottawa, enjoying life in Paris until, as she puts it, “jusqu’au jour du Canada.” (Which for those who failed third grade French, means “until Canada Day.”) But she did take the time to say Hi in blog form, so that rocked my world.
After many play-dates in the virtual sandbox, I finally settled on a header I like. (This isn’t really breaking or important news, but I hadn’t written anything for a while, so this is what you get.)
And as luck would have it, the banner header I chose is my old Elgin Street header! (The one I used from before the site make over.)I find that while Ottawa has some great architecture and thanks to Parliament, a distinctive look, there aren’t that many great shots of the city’s skyline.
Namely because of the lay of the land. It’s hard to get a good shot of the city from a vantage point where you can capture everything. Most of those shots are taken from Gatineau and even then, it’s difficult.
Either way, for now the Eglin Street header is back. Now you can all sleep better at night knowing this.
It seems that OC Transpo is making good with promises to bring rapid transit to all areas of the city. Even in the face of the mothballed O-Train expansion project, there’s still hope.
Today, Capital City: Moving to Ottawa has obtained this photo of OC Transpo’s newest light rail transit project. From the looks of things, I’m guessing this is either the Kanata or Barrhaven expansion.
After careful examination, it would appear that they are not only trying to be cost-effective, but also trendy as it seems LOL Cats are all the rage these days.
Okay, it’s obviously not real, but you gotta admit that’s cute. And on a slow day, it’s fun to watch.
Do I need more proof that I should move to Ottawa? Probably not. But it was sure nice of the folks down at MoneySense magazine to release their findings about which cities in Canada are the best places to live. But despite having everything a person could want, Ottawa-Gatineau slipped to Number 2, being replaced by Victoria, British Columbia.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this. So Ottawa was beaten by Victoria? Who cares. British Columbia is a beautiful place and I’m sure Victoria is nice. But other than TV anchor Julie Nolin on CHEK-TV, I can’t think of anything that wonderful about living there, so I’ll stick with the Ottawa plans, thank you very much.
On a note that should not come as a shock to anyone, Toronto didn’t place on the top 10. Or the top 25. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find Hogtown in the Top 50 places in Canada to live. Turns out Toronto comes in at Number 79 on the countdown.
Determining factors in this survey were such things as crime (of which Toronto has more than enough to go around), yearly temperatures, housing affordability (which is laughable in Megacity) and average salaries.
I swear to bacon, this XM Satellite radio thing is becoming more of a headache than it’s worth.
Because I own a 2006 Honda Civic, which when it came out was the envy of all who 1) buy cheap economical Japanese cars, 2) take public transit, my factory made and installed radio is part of the dash board and DOESN’T come with an RCA jack for iPods and XM hook-up — despite having a button for that for the “Aux” feature. You have to pay extra for that.
So I decided to see if the folks who sold it to me could do anything about it. Turns out they could.
Honda Dealership: Sure, sucker. We can install an aftermarket RCA plug in your radio so you can run an iPod and XM… for $500… maybe more.
Being a smart shopper, I decided to look around and compare prices. (Think George Costanza’s comments about getting work done at the dealership.) Here’s what some other people said… read more…
In today’s installment of Things I Won’t Miss, I give you Toronto’s uber-green, eco-friendly, tax-happy Mayor David Miller.
It seems ol’ Dave has a panache for making Toronto the greenest city on the planet. Being green is fine if you’re Al Gore, Kermit the Frog or care about the environment. But there’s also a line that shouldn’t be crossed. And as luck would have it, David Miller didn’t just cross it, he jumped right over it.
Banned are plastic shopping bags, not only at Loblaw/PC stores, but at ALL retailers in the Megacity. A 5 cent charge per bag will be automatically added to your bill if you ask for one. Can you imagine some American tourist coming up to Toronto this summer and being charged an extra couple nickels when he buys some Hudson Bay blankets and maple syrup? (As every good tourist should buy when they come to Canada, I might add.)
Then there’s the taxes. Oh, the effin’ taxes. Property taxes are up. (Again.) There’s a new $60 tax on all autos being licensed in the City of Toronto and of course, the taxes on recycling, garbage and household waste. While I’m sure there are some taxes in Ottawa for things like that, I doubt they’re as high as they are in Toronto. (Although I would love to know about it.)
There’s also the Toronto land-transfer Tax on all homes sold in Toronto too.
And the list goes on. And on. And on…
When I think about it, I shouldn’t complain. I did vote for him (twice!) But now the honeymoon is over. I’m sure he’s a nice guy as a person. But as a Mayor who indirectly lit a flame under my ass, the way I see it, I can either run against him in the next municipal election (which I kid you not, I have strongly considered doing) or I can get the hell out of Hogtown this summer.
While I can’t escape Premier Dalton McGuinty (the guy is still the premier of Ontario and he’s from Ottawa) and his Harmonized tax brain fart doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, at least I won’t have to suck it up like buttercup when it comes to every other thing that is taxed to death in Toronto.
Ever since co-host Dina Pugliese joined the cast of CityTV’s Breakfast Television in 2006, I have been steadily avoiding that show. With each passing day, Dina slips further into the annoying Kelly Rippa role and has me looking for alternatives when it comes to local morning television. There’s just something about an over-inflated ego that is too much to take at 7:30 am.
(And there were some of you who were worried that Farah Nasser was the only person I didn’t like on CityTV. I assure you that’s not the case.)
Needless to say, when it was announced that CP24 would have its own morning show since being purchased by CTV, I was looking forward to something new. Finally the morning airwaves would no longer be monopolized by “the Dina Pugliese show”. At last Torontonians have a choice!
Then I watched the first episode of CP24 Breakfast. Ann Rohmer and Nalini Sharma are professional. But co-host Matte Babel (of MuchMusic fame) is so bad it makes the show unbearable to watch. In fact, it’s a safe bet that unless Bable is replaced, I won’t be watching that show again.
There’s just no reason to start a morning like that.
So all that being said, you can imagine how much I am looking forward to being able to watch A Morning Ottawa. A new city, a new show. I expect better from my morning TV and I’m convinced that A Ottawa will give that to me. Besides, even if the hosts sat around and played cards all morning, it would still be better than what CityTV and CP24 are producing.
Now, you might be saying “Gee, Chris, aren’t you worried that in time you will grow to despise A Morning the same way you despise Breakfast Television and CP24 Breakfast?”
And I tell you “that’s not possible.” I could never despise anything that much.
I spent Friday night with Bunny and we decided to check out Prohibition Gastro Pub & Oyster Bar on Queen Street East. We’d been there before, but as Bunny reminded me, “the room was spinning a lot last time” so it was more of a first time for her.
Turns out the lounge’s original name (which is still visible under their new logo) was going to be Booze Emporium. But the Buzz Killingtons down at the Liquor Control felt that a name like that might give the wrong idea. (Yet Beer Store is okay I guess.) Nevertheless, that didn’t stop us from having a few drinks.
Since our last visit, they revamped their food menu and introduced some new items. Kinda like a Restaurant Makeover episode, minus the costly (and some times not-so-successful) renovations. One of the treats was a “one layer nacho” platter. Basically what it sounds like, it’s a layer of nachos served on a baking tray.
We also had the wings, but for the price ($12.00) they weren’t that great. Probably a better deal to get those on Wing Night, which like every restaurant on the face of the earth seems to do, is offered on Wednesday.
The cool thing about Booze Prohibition (aside from the atmosphere) is that they have a quasi Happy Hour that runs from 3-6pm and 10-12pm on some nights. It was always my understanding that Happy Hours were banned in Ontario because 1) they are fun and 2) they encourage people do drink. But I guess there are ways around it. Especially when you call it “Hooch Hour”.
It’s places like that I’m going to miss when I move and that I hope to find in Ottawa. I’ve mentioned I like the local bar hang-outs, but I also like the “cocktail lounges” and trendy places too. But not too trendy, as I’m there to unwind. Places that have a big-city feel, yet are comfortable and relaxing.
Worst case, if I don’t find one, I guess I could always open my own.
I know I promised updates regarding that whole “Moving to Ottawa” thing you’ve heard so much about for the past year. I also know I promised you would hear something this week. I had two posts ready to go depending on the outcome. But they are now outdated as I have heard NOTHING from the people I was waiting on. So I shall wait and blog my total and utter shock and amazement when the verdict does come in.
Whenever the hell that should be.
Yes, all that stands between my move to Ottawa and me being stuck here in Toronto for the foreseeable future is a “word” (so to speak) from a few people I have been known to work with. Basically the clearance that everything I do know can be done in Ottawa.
And that brings us to where we are now. The waiting game. Which is taking longer than I had originally assumed it would.
So I guess the verdict will be handed down next week and it is then that I will officially announce what I’m doing and if this blog has been for nothing all along.
Women will find this funny. Some men will find it funny too. I know I did.
I saw this in a unisex public bathroom at a local Couche-Tard convenience store during my recent visit to Montreal. Too priceless not to capture on film.
While amusing, kind of tragic that someone (probably a woman) had to put this sign up because said person was tired of cleaning up afterward.
For those who don’t speak French…
Notice to Men
Lift the toilet seat, please
Thanks
Also, don’t smoke in our toilet
Like I said, some people will find this funny. Sad, but funny.
The BBM (the organization that measures radio and TV ratings in Canada) released their numbers last week and I’ve been meaning to see how Ottawa’s Virgin Radio 106.9 did. Turns out, not so good. Those who were upset with the switch in name and format this past winter, will find some solace in these new numbers.
The ratings, at the best of times, are hard to understand. Depending how you look at them, you can tweak them to show improvement and tote your numbers as a victory. Once you get those numbers, you can break them down and by categorizing your listeners, you can actually be proud of your status. For example, if a radio station was looking for a target demographic of “people who sit naked… in their closet… at night… wearing clown make-up and pink fuzzy slippers” and of that particular group of people, two out of three listen, then that radio station can say “We’re number one!” (They of course leave off the important part about how they came to that position and don’t even mention that they didn’t survey people outside of that demographic.) In other words, it’s all in how you look at it.
That being said, Virgin Radio 106.9 has dropped ONE WHOLE POINT since they made the switch. The most recent survey was done from January 5 to March 1 of this year. And if you look at the results for Ottawa Anglo (use the link on the side bar and click Ottawa Anglo), you can see CKQB-FM (Virgin) has dropped from 6.0 in the fall of last year (when they were The Bear) to 5.0 now. They also dropped from 3.6 to 3.0 when it comes t French listeners.
Although I’m sure, knowing Astral Media (Virgin Radio’s parent company) they will find a way to spin it so that they make themselves feel better.
Ratings for the early quarter are always lower than the rest of the year, so it will be interesting to see if the trend in failing ratings for Virgin Radio 106.9 continues — and if so, what the suits plan to do about it.
I also wonder if it would be smarter just to cut their losses and relaunch The Bear. We can only hope.
Just a quick shout-out (do the kids still say “shout out“?) to friends, family and prospective Ottawa buddies and bloggers who read this site, wishing you all a Happy Easter (and a belated Happy Passover too.)
As you know, the long weekend has me in Montreal for a few days, where I’m back in the home I grew up in, spending time with Mom and Brother.
And guess what I learned?
Turns out Mom has visited Ottawa. Frequently too. As luck would have it, her friend’s son has a house in Orleans and the both drove down to see him recently. So that means (in my mind, at least) that Mom and maybe even Brother, could come see me if I end up living there. (Yes, we are speaking in an “if” mode just in case the whole Ball in Motion thing doesn’t end up working out. But I did say we would have some news next week one way or another… but I digress…)
The whole Mom in Ottawa thing comes as a shock because she doesn’t normally like to drive to places outside of Montreal without someone else, and she has only been to visit me in Toronto twice since I moved there seven years ago.
And when I told her about my Capital City plans (she doesn’t read this blog, so she still assumed that moving to Ottawa was a pipe dream or just something I talked about rather than something I am now working very hard towards) she seemed to like the idea.
So that’s the kind of Easter long weekend it’s been. Hope you’re all having a good one.
Now I’ve decided to join the masses who utter the famous plea “Follow me on Twitter!”
In case it was keeping you awake at night, you can now get your dose of Capital City: Moving to Ottawa in between posts (which if you’re a follower of this blog, you know can go for weeks at a time) by following me on Twitter. And if you’re 1) interesting 2) live in Ottawa 3) female and own a denim, leather or satin skirt or 4) are just someone who has something fun to say, there’s a good chance I’ll follow you back. (Really, you don’t have to live in Ottawa, but the whole female/skirt thing will sure score you bonus points.)
I’ll have to get around to adding a widget or graphic or something on the sidebar one of these days, but WordPress doesn’t always play nice with HTML. And I’m hardly a master of it.
Nevertheless, FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!
If there was ever a time when actions speak louder than words, it’s now. Because as of Monday afternoon, the ball is now officially, and without any restrictions, in motion for the Big Move to Ottawa.
That’s right. You read it correctly. What’s done is done. I told the people I freelance with that I’m moving to Ottawa and I would like to be there by the summer.
I should know by the end of the month what the situation is and where I stand with work-related freelancing and the move to Capital City. (No longer to be refereed to as “possible” move.)
I just need to be sure that I’ll be able to maintain the writing contracts that I have now in a new city — although after the conversation I had, I doubt will be a problem. Then it’s on like Donkey Kong, folks.
I’m not sure if I can stress how close to the move I really am now. Closer than ever before, that’s for sure. If all goes well, I could be having a BBQ in the backyard of my new house on Canada Day. — in Ottawa. That’s how close we’re talking.
I gotta say, it feels strange. A little weird and even a bit scary. After all the months of talking, planning, thinking and blogging, finally we’re starting to see results.
So that’s it. It’s done. I have officially taken the next step in moving to Ottawa.
This is where the real adventure begins.
Feeling that after almost a year, a change was long overdue, the web site got a makeover. Now I’m sure some of you won’t like it — after all, you can’t make all the people happy all the time, right? But in time you’ll grow to accept the new look for what it has to offer. (Or something like that.)
Gone is the fantastic shot of Eglin Street as a banner, but it has resurfaced as a side bar thing. The Eglin Street banner has been restored due to popular demand.
In addition to the new banner and the new look, I also decided that the post titles will be capitalized from now on. It just looks nicer. And, if that wasn’t enough, while the blog title is still (technically speaking) Capital City, the sub-name is now Moving to Ottawa instead of (Escape) From Toronto to Ottawa.
Funny how the site got a make-over, but the basement — that was supposed to be cleaned up by now — still looks like crap.
In case you didn’t figure it out — which given my lack of blogging recently could go either way — I didn’t end up getting away on a much needed spring break vacation. I am however planning a getaway for the summer. I just have to confirm a few details and then I’ll share my soon-t0-be adventure with the world.
I can tell that I’m feeling much better these days. Not only have I gotten back into my normal groove, but I’ve also started thinking about going places. Namely warm places. Like Florida, for example.
I can hear the voices now (namely the ones from Ottawa) saying: “Um, you know, if you’re looking for somewhere to go, have you given any thought to… OTTAWA?”
Yes, I have. But you see, once I move to Ottawa I’ll have all the time in the world to spend there. In the meantime, I’m stuck in Toronto and freezing my ass off. So Florida seems like a smart move at this point.
But why? Because it’s warm and I haven’t been there since 1993. Seems like two very good reasons to me. Of course it remains to be seen if I’ll actually get off my ass and go, but at least I’m seriously thinking about it.
Okay, just in case you were starting to wonder, I am still alive and I am feeling a bit better these days. Turns out I had a touch of the Flu that was going around and that was simply a precursor to lightheaded feelings caused by the viral infection.
Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it?
The good news is I’m okay and before you know it, I’ll be back to normal self.
Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes and good thoughts.
Okay… been very sick the last week. Not even feeling well enough to moderate comments or type a real blog post. So until the light headedness stops and my body feels better, this is all you’re getting.
Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.
Of all the things I will miss about Toronto when I finally move, I can safely say that Farah Nasser won’t be one of them.
For those who don’t know, Farah Nasser is a television personality/anchor on the Rogers-owned CityTV network in Toronto. She also has a so-called blog too, which she updates infrequently.
I’ve always tried to have a certain level of respect for media professionals. Namely because I’ve worked as one in the past, but it’s very hard to do that when you’re talking about someone like Nasser.
So where does this dislike come from? Aside from the countless stories and rumors I’ve heard from friends and colleagues who work in the industry, the one moment that sticks in my mind is that several people I know — including myself — tried to contact her for work related reasons, but she couldn’t be bothered to reply. I guess she saw freelancers or public relations people as beneath her.
I’m sure there will be those who say that she’s a nice person who takes the time to talk to people about her career and success, but the only reason she does that is because she gets to talk about her favorite subject — herself. But don’t take my word for it. I have it on very good authority that she does in fact act all high and mighty behind the scenes and it often comes across on camera too.
When I mentioned this a few friends, they told me to closely watch her during broadcasts. It’s easy to see that she conducts herself with an air of arrogance and egotism, almost talking down to the viewers because she’s on TV and they’re not. Body language is easy to read sometimes, and when it comes to Farah Nasser, she’s as transparent as a sheet of saran wrap.
Funny thing is that the freelance work I do with public relations and media outlets is often seen by media folks as a reason to pay attention to my emails – but that shouldn’t be the case. Media personalities should always be warm and welcoming to anyone who takes the time to contact them for whatever the reason may be.
Am I wrong? Then prove it.
Before the moving truck can be called, before the boxes are loaded with my valuables, before I even sign a mortgage paper, the basement needs to be cleaned up.
For those who have never seen my basement, it can sometimes be the hub of activity. On any given day, being that it’s a finished basement, it houses the home theater (complete with widescreen TV and theater-style chairs) it also has an air hockey table and of course my bar. (And when I say “my bar” I don’t just mean a rack of booze bottles. I mean a full bar, the size of a large bedroom. Complete with tables, chairs, bar stools and draft beer. But that’s another story for another day.)
The other part of the basement is where the laundry room is. It’s about the size of a two-car garage and gets very cold because of the fact that for some reason the folks who designed this townhouse figured it would be smart to leave that area unfinished. This is also the storage, water tank room and utility hydro thing room. Because of its unfinished nature, it became the dumping ground for pretty much everything that didn’t have a place in the house.
Naturally Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations and party supplies as well as tools, winter stuff and suitcases are kept there. But so is all of this shit…
And it only gets worse…
The hits just keep on coming…
Lazy or unmotivated? You tell me…
So now, for the next week or so, I am starting a new mission. And the name of my pain is “clean the goddamn basement.”
Everything will be filed into categories: Put Away, Throw Away and Give Away. The plan so far will be that everything that isn’t already stored away nicely in a bin or box, will find its way into a nifty (and easy to move) Rubbermaid storage bin. (That’s takes care of the “Put Away” things.) Larger items can be placed in appropriate places.
Give Away items (which believe it or not are already in boxes) will be taken to Value Village or Goodwill and left in a safe (and dry) place overnight so that when the staff comes to work the next day, they will have all “new” items to sell. I would drop the stuff off during the day, but that runs the risk of some kid in a stained smock telling me “Uh, we can’t take all of this. You’ll have to take it home with you.”
Throw Away items, well, that’s pretty self explanatory. But the problem, as you may have guessed, is getting the crap out of my basement and to the garbage bins. Being that I live in a “garden home” townhouse community, there are rules and regulations and all kinds of silliness that are in place to keep the area “upscale”. Meaning of course that I have to walk my crap somewhere far away if I want to get rid of it.
I know this has to be done before I can even think about moving because the notion of moving all this crap from one place to another place, just so it can sit around and do nothing is killing me. Therefor, the basement must be cleaned and if all goes well, I look forward to posting “after” pictures to proudly show off all the work I did.
Wish me luck.
Just figured I would mention that the John Pinette show at the Winter Garden Theater last Friday was awesome. John worked a full one hour set, and took the time to meet everyone after the show, signing autographs and posing for pictures.
Honestly, for a man of his size, it’s truly amazing to see how much energy he has – especially for his fans. Because even when the show was over, he still was “on” – making jokes and talking with the audience. Not only was he a professional on stage, entertaining and amusing, but off stage as well. I really can’t say enough good things about him.
I’m not sure what the format will be for his shows in Ottawa this weekend at the National Arts Centre, but if you get the chance, you really should check it out.
Submitted for your approval, a photo of John Pinette and myself at the Winter Garden Theater. (I’m the on the left, just in case there was any confusion.)
With one mighty click of the “send” button, resumes began papering the City of Ottawa like a flyer for a frat party. Well, not exactly like that, nor did I actually apply to the city itself, but I took that first step towards making Capital City a reality for me.
There were a few job leads I saw, noticed I would probably be good at some of them and very few folks would be burned, maimed or become ill as a result of my employment, so I sent in my cover letter and resume.
Again, this job search thingy is me creating a safety cushion. I’m doing alright money-wise at the moment with the freelancing and the photography, but I do like to have a safety net in place should I decide that I don’t feel like writing a travel piece about how exciting it is to vacation in Thunder Bay.
When I worked for The Company (damn it feels so good to say that in a past tense) I would often rub it in the face of Middle Management that the pittances they paid me was simply beer cash or gas money or spending money for hookers. (I didn’t actually say that, nor do I spend money on hookers, but it had been a while since I mentioned prostitutes on my blog – and nothing brings in the readers like a good prostitute or hooker tag!)
By letting the jag-offs know that the so-called salary they offered up was of little concern to me, they knew they couldn’t ever threaten me with a firing because it wasn’t like I would miss that money anyway. (Trust me, nothing makes people wonder more about you than when you go into a job with that attitude.)
Either way, it’s nice to have the hooker/beer fund there. It means I can sit back and coast on what I like to call real work (freelancing and writing). And since the places that I’ve applied to are nice (or so I hope) I won’t have to go in with the same “dick” attitude that I had with The Company.
(Really, I’m not a dick… it’s just The Company made me that way. They had it coming.)
So with any luck, I’ll be prepping for some interviews in the coming weeks and I can begin the whole house hunting task – which I know will have fun written all over it.
