S.L.I. [Happy Halloween!]

Winter seems to have wrapped its creaking, bony fingers around our city already. You can feel them darting up your spine, leaving frozen fingerprints on the back of your neck as you hurry down the bleak streets, chased by fallen leaves – the dead nipping at your heels.

Midnight at 7:00 pm.

I was bundled up in a charcoal wool coat with the collar pulled high around on my neck, turning my own shadow into a lurking inkblot on the sidewalk. From streetlight to streetlight, it would twist and stretch in agony, turning from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde every four or five slabs. Neither personality seemed all too pleased about being bound to my sneakers.

The sound of the car engine in the distance lingered as I walked away from my parents’ house. I drowned it out with my iPod, realizing that the haunting quality of a Damien Rice song is not always relaxing.

Fact: my parents live across the street from a graveyard. Three trees stand over the graves that contort about five feet up their gnarled and warted trunks. I love them – nothing is naturally creepier than these trees. In the right light, they are cocked wrists with sharp claws on their many fingers. The hands of a puppeteer, plucking the strings of a fallen marionette. Fact: some nights I don’t like the walk home from my parents’ place.

The streetlights are sparse – too few to fight off the blackness that quickly envelopes the street in between each one. I’m not afraid of the dark. I haven’t been since I was a kid. I’m not afraid of the dark.

I would walk faster but when I was very young I decided that our ghosts and monsters can tell when we are nervous and that makes them stronger. I’m a grown man now. I am stronger and my calm, steady pace will tell them just that. I am NOT afraid of the dark.

I come to the end another pool of darkness toward another circle of light on the pavement.

Step. Step. Step.

I take a deep breath in, ready to smarten up and let go of childish fears.

Step. Step.

Directly underneath the lamp

Step.

my exhale turns into a moan as the bright beacon fades instantly to black hitting me like a punch to the stomach. I freeze but for my eyes scrambling to adjust to the sudden return to night. Grow up! You’re in Dartmouth – ghosts and monsters are the least of your worries. You are NOT afraid of the dark.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.

My stride becomes a bit of a scamper to the end of the block and the next streetlight. This one shutting off in sync with the pound of my foot against the sidewalk and the end of the song in my ears, making the loudest silence I have ever heard.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.

I hesitate before stepping into the next pool of light. Three is more than a coincidence. Three is something else. Three and I’m licensed to be scared. My eyes close as my foot pauses in air before crashing into the crosswalk.

Step.

The light still shines brightly as they open, squinting from both the contrast against the night and the giddy smile of relief on my face. I stand briefly, letting the light wash away my inner child before turning face my shadow leering on the pavement, swirling to meet the darkness closing around the lone lamppost.

Age be damned. It’s still okay for me to hurry home.

It's final

Canada Writes has just posted the top 5 finalists for the competition in Toronto. I'm SO excited! The other four folks are really witty and I'm awfully excited to meet them. You know, before becoming the cutthroat, heartless asshole of the reality show. The producers said they wanted character!!

Alright fine. I'll probably just be starstruck with judge Elvira Kurt and giddy about being in the big city on someone else's dime. The show will air at 12:30 AST on November 19, 20, and 21.

On another note, join the All Rights Reserved team at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 22 for one of the funniest classic movies of all time, The Princess Bride, for one night only at Empire Oxford. $10 for adults, $5 for kids aged 3-13. All funds raised will go towards showcasing literary talent from amateur to award-winning.

Check out the event on Facebook here and visit our website.

I'm in!

It'll be officially announced Monday afternoon but I just got word that I'm in the top 5 for the Canada Writes competition and will be heading to Toronto mid-November in order to undergo a bunch of challenges like the one below that got me my spot in the finals! Whoohoo!! Check out the main site Monday night to see the competitors!

In 200 words or less, write a movie pitch for a film destined to be a Canadian classic.

When Canadian self-made millionaire Michael Connors came under scrutiny for tax evasion in London, England, it was no wonder that Patricia Cooke was assigned to the case. A veteran of emotionless corporate litigation and the hard-assed British legal scene, she calmly steps on a plane with her young and naive protégé Duncan at her side – both ready to investigate the Canuck's company upon their arrival in the skating rink mogul's hometown of "Saint John, or, is it Saint John's? New.Found.Land".

From rocky cliffs to conducting interviews over coffee before early morning hockey practices at Tim's, to getting screeched in and imitating a local to further her investigation, Ms. Cooke realizes she was far from prepared for a journey that would drag her from city to village to outpost, looking for a man known only as "Mick" – the one who brought a hint of Canadian culture to the United Kingdom.

With an unchanging expression balancing dangerously between indifference and contempt, Patricia pleads audience with townies and baymen, hockey players and figure skaters, fishermen and even Danny Williams, reluctantly relying on the good nature of others in order to come closer to their verdict.

A missed call...

Of course the one time in the past week that my phone has left my side (in the midst of the job search), I arrive home in the evening to a missed call from area code 514. Turns out Canada Writes was in a big hurry to get a hold of me and asked that I call them back ASAP.

Got a voice mail and an email saying they would call me bright and early in the morning. Would they call to tell me I didn't make the top 5? We shall see...

Infusing a city

As promised, I'd like to report back on what seemed to be a rather successful start to our city's latest development/advocacy group: Fusion Halifax. I haven't really hidden that I'm quite excited by the idea of a network actively mobilizing young professionals (YPs) in Halifax. I think that a group that increases opportunities, arts & culture, urban design and development, and many more great things for the city is very much needed now.

Last night's Rock the Boat event at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic collected between 250 and 300 YPs and outfitted each with a nametag and a sticker - one that was responsible for the most stress and panic of the night. There were only two of each sticker among the crowd; finding your sticker-buddy meant receiving your complementary drink tickets. I never did find mine so to whomever had the rainbow SUPER! sticker, I'm very sorry.

Great spread of food if you could make it through the hungry shmoozers and the - I must say - very dapper crowd. We heard from Fusion Halifax board members as well as former liberal politician Danny Graham about the need for change and inspiration in the city. The speeches were nice although they failed in comparison to Ms. Rebecca Ryan who spoke last week at the Greater Halifax Partnership luncheon.

I'm excited to see where this goes and I intend to be at the monthly networking events (every second Thursday of the month) as well as joining some "action groups". My only concern - yes, I know a baby organization takes some time to getting to these parts - is the actual implementation and action. The plan so far is very contextual in hoping that through conversation and networking YPs will begin to inspire change. Sounds great, but I expect it will end up taking more than that. A casual conversation with one of the VPs (also a YP) revealed that Fusion Saint John has become a source of input for the provincial government...will we get there too?

Here's hoping. Go to Fusion Halifax and join as a free member.

A (wiki)ed success

Not to go all technical communications on everyone, but I thought this story was worth sharing. During one of my last classes of my degree I had to write a paper about collaborative communications. To me, it was a snooze but my prof thought it had merit. In it, I wrote optimistically about the inevitable rise of the blog and the wiki at a time where All Rights Reserved was trying to incorporate both into our internal communications tools. Finally, after a slow start, our little-wiki-that-could has shown its true abilities in bringing us busy folk together to accomplish more than we have at most meetings, at our own convenience, pace, and schedule.

Aside from tossing an idea out at the end of a meeting and agreeing upon it, we have debated and finalized every detail from the minute to the major for our Fall 2008 Fundraiser through our wiki. Did I mention that the bulk of the activity happened within a mere 48 hours?

Every step and thought has been recorded in an organized manner, while offering the same risk-free atmosphere for discussion as any ole chat program without the need for us all to be logged on at the same time. My main worry was that without a time restraint, there wouldn't be enough activity to get anything done, but it seems that the convenience of it all is drawing people in for comment numerous times throughout the day. Here's a brief excerpt to give you an idea of the feel:

Available Movie Choices:
***The Princess Bride ***
Fight Club
Romeo & Juliet (1996)

• Kimberly says: I'm stuck on which movie to choose because I don't know which one has the most mass appeal. I do agree that we have to make the choice right away though.
  I looked up all three movies on Wikipedia and all three of them have great qualities. The Fight Club has cult standing, The Princess Bride is consistently rated as funniest movie (IMDB), Romeo + Juliet was a box-office success (gross $46.3 million in Canada and the U.S.).


• Emily says: I like Fight Club, but don't see the relevance it has to literacy or a story like with the other two. Its cult status seems to be more with men than women, in my group of friends.


• Kristen says: for my age group I think the Princess Bride would have the most appeal and it is focussed around reading a story - linked to literature... so that is my vote. But after that definately Fight Club - I would not think we could garner a good crowd for Romeo/Juliet even though it is supposed to be the most famous love story...


• Ben says: It looks like Princess Bride is coming out on top as the first choice and I'd have to agree. I think that we're looking to blend out product with the movie's appeal to get an audience that is at least mildly interested in both. While Fight Club has cult hit status, the guys that would come out to see it are probably less likely to pick up a copy of the journal. Yes, we're trying to sell as many tickets as possible as a fundraiser, but it also has to make sense. I think The Princess Bride opens our audience up more (to kids as well as adults) and will sell just as well as Fight Club.
  

In the same format, we made it through pricing, promotion, date and time selection, and communications tools without having to worry about organizing ourselves in person or staying on topic during face-to-face meetings. I'm loving it so far and hope to see this sort of activity for our future meetings since our group has become notoriously difficult to bring together.

For anyone interested, our wiki success has been through http://www.pbwiki.com/ which has lived up to its mandate of simplicity. As long as you can edit an email or word document, you can survive on our wiki. We'll be announcing the next fundraiser over the weekend so stay tuned!

Disciplinary Action: Writing Edition

After self-indulgeantly posting my Canada Writes updates on my Facebook page, a long-lost friend from high school asked me for advice to help her as she tries to start writing creatively in her spare time. Now, keep in mind, I don't think I'm in any position to be a writing critic or teacher but I had some thoughts to offer:

*Just write. Write all the time. Write anything. Write long. Write short. Write write write. If you keep writing, you'll keep thinking and improving. This goes hand in hand with point two...

*Just read. Read all the time. Read anything. Read long. Read short. Read read read. If you keep reading, you'll keep exposing yourself (erp....) to different writing styles and techniques whether you know it or not. I pair this with point one with the first point to create the third...

*Keep a running list of interesting, powerful, creative or striking excerpts from pieces that I read. Here's one from Elle by Douglas Glover: The air is so cold it seems solid; it would freeze these words were I to speak them, just as it freezes my breath. I have pages and pages typed up for quick inspiration.

*Just blog. It's the easiest way to publish your own work thereby making you give it more thought and polish your work before you think you're finished. Whether people read it or not, it will improve the quality of your pieces and force you to take yourself seriously.

*Just share. Get other people to read what you write and listen to what they have to say. They don't have to be critics or professors but it certainly helps! Any feedback is good feedback and it'll help you move from writing for yourself to writing for others. When you're ready, submit a piece to All Rights Reserved. It's a literary journal publishing everyone from to amatures to award-winners and is a great spot to get started.

That's what I've come up with so far. Any other suggestions?

As for the Canada Writes competition, I did my writing challenge audition last night - writing a pitch for a movie destined to be a Canadian classic in no more than 200 words or one hour. My idea turned out pretty well but I'm not thrilled with how the phone-interview audition went today. I've got nothing to lose though! We'll all see on Monday if I make the top 5 and I'll post my movie pitch then no matter what the outcome.

New look

Just a quick note to explain the blog makeover. I ditched the old name due to its terrible cliché status as well as it didn't really reflect what was going on here anyway. I've replaced it with an excerpt from a speech my Dad where he questioned how my life seems to be such a rollercoaster when nothing all that bad ever really happens. He concluded that it has always been self-induced - that, when I really want something, I make it happen. I liked that and hope it continues to prove true.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for much more from a newly graduated me.

My fair city...[Fusion Halifax]

If you care at all about Halifax, arts & culture, economic development, urban design, or simply being able to build a career in one of the greatest cities in the world, read the following articles, join Fusion Halifax, and help make Halifax what it should be!

Fusion's sold-out launch 'Rock the Boat' is this Thursday, so I will report back this weekend. I'll be heading over with the SLevy and will surely run into a ton of my PR folk if last week's luncheon was any indication of the guest list - as a sidenote, Rebecca Ryan absolutely rocked my world with her presentation! I'm looking forward to a new, strong representation of the young professional demographic within our city. You should too.

-----

"If we wanted evidence of the desire for a broad-based organization for young professionals in the community, this is it," said Peter Moorhouse, one of a few dozen people involved in the Oct. 25 launch of Fusion Halifax, an organization dedicated to increasing community involvement and networking opportunities for people aged 20 to 40.

"We’re definitely interested in shaking things up a little bit as far as opportunities for networking and community involvement are concerned," said Mr. Moorhouse, who is director of investor relations for the Greater Halifax Partnership."
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Business/966400.html

-----

"Business people must take the reins when it comes to attracting and keeping young professionals in Halifax, according to a market researcher who's been studying the issue.

"If you wait for someone else to take the lead on this - 'Oh well, if we just had another council, if we just had more leadership at the provincial level' - it won't work," Rebecca Ryan, founder of Next Generation Consulting, told a luncheon Thursday. "We have to go with the horses that are ready to run, and I think that the business community in this region needs to step up. Leaders wanted."

http://www.novascotiabusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?sid=72822&sc=107

-----

"But to attract and retain young professionals, she said Halifax needs a game plan based on four strategies: create a broad-based young professionals organization that focuses on their ideas and interests; connect emerging professionals to internships, jobs, employers and the community; develop Halifax as a global talent magnet for the next generation; and reach out to people who have left and convince them to return."
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/966889.html

-----

"The goods-based economy is being replaced by the innovation-based economy, which is based on knowledge workers, she says. And the knowledge workers of today are different from their predecessors.

Knowledge workers, or young professionals, represent about 30 per cent of jobs but have a disproportionate impact on the economy in a positive way, by creating half of all wealth in society, says Ryan.

There will be a supply shortage of young professionals; it is a simple fact."
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/967119.html

Look at me! Look at me!

It was a very funny weekend. It is a well-known fact within my family that I am the attention-seeker of the offspring. In all honesty, I'm not quite sure how my brother resisted smothering me with a pillow long ago. "Ben did this!" "Ben's doing that!" "Isn't Ben special?"

Seriously...I would've had the pillow all ready to go.

But yet, in the past week, I think we all realized that maybe it's not all self-indulgence on my end. I know it's a bit ironic to say on a technological source of self-indulgence like this, but I don't think I actually like the attention as much rumours suggest.

Saturday night, I went to the Chancellor's Dinner under special request from the President's Office. Keep in mind, this is all MSVU - not USA. I would never EVER be invited to the current President's office, nor would I attend. Ahem. I brought the ever-lovely Maureen Joudrey, former roommate and current unattainable love of my life who will from now on be the date by which all others are measured.

I was unable to string coherent sentences together on the way there because I was so nervous. Even more so when we realized we were seated at a table with the univeristy's president, Kathryn Laurin, and the area's MLA Diana Whalen and her husband. This was even before they mentioned that we would be piped in as all the other guests (the Board and Senate) stood in our honour.

I must say, thanks to Maureen (to whom being on her A-game comes naturally), I managed to pull myself together for a couple hours despite being sick to my stomach about my duties the next day. The president, Mrs. Whalen and our other table companions were absolutely wonderful and interesting. Then it was off to yet another sleepless night cursing my classmate Leslie Earle (awarded highest aggregate of our program) who nominated me in the first place.

Sunday was even worse. From the rehearsal to the uncomfortable downtime before the ceremony, I was brainstorming of ways to get out of it. How injured would I have to be to get excused? What countries could I run away to? It wasn't until I was sitting in the full auditorium that the nerves went away and I think that was simpy because a certain part of my brain took over and said: Listen you, I'm not going to let you make a fool of us so you're going to drag your shakey ass up on the podium and deliver that damn speech so we can finally just relax!

And that's what I did. I remember walking down to the podium and opening my speech. Then I remember being back in my seat. Like many major presentations that I've given, I have absolutely no memory of it and have to rely on the biased reports of my family and friends.

Did I like the attention? Well, maybe afterwards...Is my brother getting tired of my keener achievements? Most likely but he's too good to me to actually show it. Besides, he got his words in. The cake that my family ate at an open house that evening said:

blah...blah...blah

yah Ben.

Valedictory Victory

As delivered this afternoon at Fall convocation. Don't mind the funky punctuation - it was more to give me visual cues while I was up there. Congrats new grads!!!

Madame Chancellor; Madam Chair; Madam President; Minister of Education; Distinguished Guests; Faculty Members; Graduates; Family; Friends; and Leslie who forced me up here in the first place.

It’s a bit ironic that I’m up here speaking to all of you right now…just when my professors and classmates were getting over having to listen to me every day in class. Oh yes…I was the keener that made your eyes roll and your thoughts drift to dishing out wedgies. But yet here I am…demanding your attention one last time.

Consider yourself lucky, folks; my family and friends will never hear the end of this. I’ll be playing the valedictorian card for years to come!

Why am I up here right now? Well…despite the fact that I’m male, I’m your typical Mount student.

Like you…I’ve fallen flat on my back on the way down the hill from Evaristus.

Like you…I’ve been giddy just because of Pasta Day.

Like you…I’ve spent weeks arriving to class out of breath and even longer wondering why all the classes are on the fifth floor of Seton instead of say, the first or the second. [Something to think about, Madam President!]

Like you…I’ve come to know my professors personally and they have come to know me…ending a course with a hug and an exchange of phone numbers is NOT something you experience anywhere but here.

Like you…I know all of my classmates by name, personality, interests and values making them far more than just classmates to me. They are men and women that I have learned from, look up to, and - most importantly - will stay with for free when I travel across Canada. Moving to Vancouver, you say? Fantastic! See you in July!

Like you…I’ve had many successes and just as many struggles. But, looking back, those successes and struggles are making this moment…this one right here…so much more important to me.

Now, we’re onto a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. Instead of juggling papers, and exams, we’ll be trying to juggle work, family, health, friends and integrity. In doing so, we join many of the graduate and returning students here today who know that’s an awful lot to keep up in the air!

But here’s where I’d like to share a secret…one that I learned from a modest but powerful paperback. The work ball is made of rubber and will bounce back if it hits the ground. The truly important ones…family…health…friends and integrity – are irreplaceable. If dropped, they can scuff…crack…or even shatter. Keep this in mind when you’re in the boardroom…classroom…lab…kitchen. It’s okay if the boss accuses you of dropping the ball…take a deep breath and remind yourself…it’ll bounce back.

And now… for the absolute last time… after four years of holding up classes with keener anecdotes and questions…I’m going to close my mouth, sit down and let everyone get on with it.

Go do good things…Find happiness…And…most of all…be good to each other out there. Congratulations, my friends…you’ve earned it…Now get the heck across the stage!

Sizing up the competition

Here I am!

Canada Writes has posted all the semifinalists from across the country allowing me to size up the competition rather than focus on tomorrow's valedictory address that I SHOULD be practicing. Instead, I'm reading and baking in order to keep my mind off of it...

I'm up against a lot of great writers. My favourites so far are:

Kevin Roberts from Manitoba.
Shell LeDrew from Newfoundland.
Derek Krismanich from Ontario.
Rosemary Rowe from British Columbia.

Hopefully I'll get to meet some of them in Toronto! I'll have to rope them into All Rights Reserved. Man, in PR there is ALWAYS an ulterior motive. Aside from mine (which you HAVE to like), which do you think are the ones to watch?

More posts after my glory or disaster as valedictorian tomorrow. Plus, this is my very last post before officially being a university graduate. :)

Today's adventure: Canada Writes

Last week I clicked on to http://www.cbc.ca/wordsatlarge/ to support my friend and colleague over at Alias Grace. She's an associate producer on the site and I like to tune in every now and then to see what she's cooking up. On this visit, I noticed the colourful little banner now posted here advertising what is being called "an exciting, beat-the-clock challenge,” according to Susan Feldman, Executive Producer of Literary Programming for CBC Radio. “We're looking for Canadians who have a passion for words, and are ready to put their work under the country's microscope and have some fun with it.”

Without thinking all too much about it, I flipped through my creative portfolio and found a piece that met the Canada Writes criteria - namely, anything less than 200 words. Mine fit into the humour category while others submitted blog entries, songs, ad copy and movie pitches.

This morning, just after eight - which, please note, is a hateful time to call me as I rarely have the comprehension capabilities required for conversation - I got a call from CBC saying that my piece was one of three chosen from the Maritime region. Whoo hoo! I recorded it and it was played on today's Maritime Noon. The judges explained that my piece had a solid voice, beginning, middle and end. Also, bringing a smile to my face and tears to my mother's eyes, they appreciated certain turns of phrases.

Yes, I sound very full of myself here but I'm just so flattered and happy that my work is being read by people who really know their stuff! I'm not entirely conceited...yet.

My piece will be available on the Canada Writes website for the duration of the competition but for now, here it is. Stay tuned to see if I get to go to Toronto as one of 5 national finalists!

You were wearing my pants. The South Shore Hospital scrubs. One of our lesser Frenchy's finds. Others would wonder if someone had died in them, but not you. Your beloved pantaloons, you'd call them.

One of the kids fell on the lawn off the side of the porch where we sat. A hidden hole the size of a soccer ball interrupted their reenactment of whatever the hip Disney princess movie was at the time. Cinderella lay crumpled in the grass like Beckham at the World Cup while Jasmine and Ariel stood by with arms crossed: Once a commoner, always a commoner.

You leapt into action, oversized pantaloons catching the wind, flapping like a cape. I smiled the way you always made me smile.

You ended up face-first on the ground, sprawled out like a skydiving accident but for one foot wedged in the villainous hole. The royal procession skipped off, wounds already forgotten. Comedic genius.

I tried to control my fits of laughter but couldn't stop picturing you say "We are not amused!" . Instead, you just clutched your swollen ankle and picked clumps of dirt out of your brown curls.

At least you were already dressed for the hospital.

Things not to say when winning a Nobel Prize for literature

Thank you Dorris Lessing for the following gems, you saucy minx!

From the Associated Press:
Reporters opened the door and told her she had won the Nobel Prize for literature, to which she responded: "Oh Christ . . . I couldn’t care less."

"This has been going on for 30 years," she said, as reporters helped her with the bags.

"I’ve won all the prizes in Europe, every bloody one, so I’m delighted to win them all, the whole lot, OK?" Lessing said, making her way through the crowd. "It’s a royal flush."

"I can’t say I’m overwhelmed with surprise," Lessing said. "I’m 88 years old and they can’t give the Nobel to someone who’s dead, so I think they were probably thinking they’d probably better give it to me now before I’ve popped off."

She acknowledged the $1.5 million cash award was a lot of money, but still seemed less than thrilled.

"I’m already thinking about all the people who are going to send me begging letters — I can see them lining up now," she said. The phone in her house, audible from the street, rang continuously.

For the full story, click here.

Hyphens are so over...

Excuse the valley girl title, but I thought it fit considering the losing battle that grammar is fighting against a new electronic world dominated by now common phrases including: "OMG! Wtf happend last nite?? Yer still my BFF! LOL!"

In The Globe & Mail today, Russell Smith wrote of one of the largest setbacks in quality writing thanks to The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

"The editors of the dictionary have decided, in an awesome display of ruthless language modification, that the conventions of hyphenation were arbitrary and needed simplification."

To offer some simplification to that statement, the Dictionary has eliminated approximately 16,000 hypens, opting instead to combine two hyphenated words into one (leapfrog) or to separate them into two (ice cream).

The reasoning behind the change can be chalked up to the fast-pace requirements of text messages and emails, and page designers who prefer the cleaner, hypen-free (gasp!) look. I'm very glad that Mr. Smith pointed out some obvious problems with the sudden exhile of the hypen (ambiguous: used car salesman, 50 year old kittens).

I'm not about to suggest an Orwellian takeover of language or culture, but I have to say that I'm starting to be concerned with the role dictionaries are playing. Sure, add "D'OH!" to the listings, but the removal of grammatical rules? That's a sure-fire/surefire/sure fire way to add to dropping literacy standards...

For the full article, click here.

Back to it...

After a brief absense from my own blog, I'm back in the game with a post of random updates!

*My personal life continues to be fantastic despite the employment roadbump. I had a relaxing week off before accepting a freelance contract with my old friends at the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. I'll be helping out with Holiday Parade of Lights activities until I find my next PR calling. On that note, please email me at dhbc@downtownhalifax.ns.ca if you're interested in joining a great team of volunteers on November 17 to bring smiles to the faces of over 90,000 people!

*Despite relentless difficulties in communication with MSVU, I am less than two weeks away from my graduation ceremony. Not only that, but thanks to a dear friend I will also be delivering the valedictory speech (although the Mount still isn't sure if my name will be on the Grad list...*sigh*). I'm honoured, excited and scared stupid that I won't come up with anything good.

*The Metro Transit strike has been luckily avoided since I now rely on the ferry to get to and from work. I was surprised though to see a full bus wrapped in an ad for Bacardi rum...am I being a stickler or is that somewhat of a mismatch?

*All Rights Reserved is at it again! A wonderful reunion with my communication colleagues resulted in a great idea for an event coming at you in November. Stay tuned for more details...

*Annie Lennox just released a phenomenal album entitled Songs of Mass Destruction. I didn't even know she had a record in the works but this one blew me away! Every song is moving, especially Sing which features 23 influential female artists including Madonna and Celine Dion. The song is her attempt to draw attention to the problem of HIV/AIDS transmission from mother to child in South Africa. Check out the album and the website.

*Proof that creative writing matters: a 15-minute vent to calm my own nerves after being berated by strangers on a walk had a larger impact that I could've guessed. Though I'd rather not post it here, it can be found on Facebook here.

*Lastly, the newf and I are beginning the adoption search for our very own rescue puppy. After over 20 years of pining away for a pup of my very own, we're making my dream come true while also helping a little guy or gal who's down on their luck to have a better life. I'm too excited for words...stay tuned for a Ben who treats his dog eerily like a parent would a child.

Whew...okay, won't do many more like this again. I'll be back on track from now on!