There is one LRT driver who chats over the loud speaker to his passengers as they commute to and from work. He give the stop coming up next, weather updates, what time the Oilers or Riders are playing (and who they are playing) as well as his daily thoughts. He has a lovely soothing voice and I honestly could listen to him all day. I was lucky enough to ride the train on my way home when he was operating it one day. A few choice quotes from the ride:
“Thank you for choosing our service and lightening your carbon footprint”.
“I hope you all have a marvelous evening and hopefully I will see you all tomorrow”.
“Sometimes I worry that I take so many people downtown in the mornings that everyone won’t come back in the afternoon”.
Friday, 31 January 2014
Is Anyone Else as Upset As I Am About the Spaghetti in the Fridge?
I have been at my job since the end of October 2013. Since I have been there, there has been a tupperware container of spaghetti in the fridge. I always assumed that someone was bringing in the delicious spaghetti with Bolognese sauce for lunch…but then I started to get suspicious…no one could possibly eat that much pasta!!! They would have to be cooking it every night just to have leftovers to bring to work the next day. I have now realized that the container of spaghetti with sauce has been in the fridge since (at least!) October 2013. I can only assume that I am the only person who has noticed this. Who forgets that their lunch is in the fridge…for 3+ months?
Sunday, 19 January 2014
New City, New Phone Number.
Matt and I just recently changed to Edmonton phone numbers from our previous Ottawa ones. I thought I was being devious and fancy and chose a number that spelled my name. So clever! A word of advice, don't do this. Try to get a new number as you may run in to a whole host of problems like I did.
A week after having my new number, I received a panicked facebook message around 1130pm from a good friend that said: "I need you to call me now!!". I messaged her back immediately asking if everything was ok. She responded with: "Are you screwing with me? Are you Todd?".
Let me explain.
My new to me number was previously owned by someone else in Edmonton (coincidentally, her name was also Erin). This person decided on getting a new phone and a new number. Then, gave her old phone (also with a new number now) to her parents. I know all of this because my good friend, while trying to contact me through text, ended up having all of her texts sent to a person named "Todd". How strange! How is it that a phone with a new number is receiving the text messages for its old number that is now owned by someone else. Riddle me that. After talking to Bell (dear, sweet Bell), I found out that this is a known bug with apple phones. The imessage system in the phone, if not restarted will retain the old number and share the contact list of the new person that has the old phone number. The only way to fix this issue is to turn off imessage and turn it back on again and there was no way that Bell could contact them. Now, I knew was dealing with someone who was a parent and was probably not all that tech savvy. My friend managed to get the actual number of the supposed parent who was receiving the texts and gave it to me. I texted them with instructions on how to fix the problem fully thinking they were going to panic and think that I was trying to scam them in some sort of way. Who listens to a strange text from an unknown phone number? Nobody that's who!!!!!
Fortunately, I ended up talking to the daughter (Erin) on the phone and we eventually sorted it out. She was uncomfortably easy to find through a google search. My old phone number is linked to many of her accounts for things such as etsy and her old blog. This then led me to her new blog/current facebook page/at home business. I know that she is starting out a baking business and wants to sell her goods at farmer's markets. She also enjoys vintage clothing and jewellery. I found this out in less than 5 minutes along with her current phone number. Yikes.
Anyway, the point of this uber long post is...I am now the official owner of my phone number!
A week after having my new number, I received a panicked facebook message around 1130pm from a good friend that said: "I need you to call me now!!". I messaged her back immediately asking if everything was ok. She responded with: "Are you screwing with me? Are you Todd?".
Let me explain.
My new to me number was previously owned by someone else in Edmonton (coincidentally, her name was also Erin). This person decided on getting a new phone and a new number. Then, gave her old phone (also with a new number now) to her parents. I know all of this because my good friend, while trying to contact me through text, ended up having all of her texts sent to a person named "Todd". How strange! How is it that a phone with a new number is receiving the text messages for its old number that is now owned by someone else. Riddle me that. After talking to Bell (dear, sweet Bell), I found out that this is a known bug with apple phones. The imessage system in the phone, if not restarted will retain the old number and share the contact list of the new person that has the old phone number. The only way to fix this issue is to turn off imessage and turn it back on again and there was no way that Bell could contact them. Now, I knew was dealing with someone who was a parent and was probably not all that tech savvy. My friend managed to get the actual number of the supposed parent who was receiving the texts and gave it to me. I texted them with instructions on how to fix the problem fully thinking they were going to panic and think that I was trying to scam them in some sort of way. Who listens to a strange text from an unknown phone number? Nobody that's who!!!!!
Fortunately, I ended up talking to the daughter (Erin) on the phone and we eventually sorted it out. She was uncomfortably easy to find through a google search. My old phone number is linked to many of her accounts for things such as etsy and her old blog. This then led me to her new blog/current facebook page/at home business. I know that she is starting out a baking business and wants to sell her goods at farmer's markets. She also enjoys vintage clothing and jewellery. I found this out in less than 5 minutes along with her current phone number. Yikes.
Anyway, the point of this uber long post is...I am now the official owner of my phone number!
Thursday, 14 November 2013
Surviving Going Out in Public: Practicing a Resting Bitch Face
Whenever I am out and about- from taking public transit to work or wandering around on the weekend- the general public tends to approach me and either ask:
1) For directions; or
2) Some sort of odd line of questioning that I immediately try to get out of.
This has happened on countless occasions. I must look approachable or maybe I look like I know where I am going. I don't. I am directionally challenged and generally just wander around until I get to the place I want to go. I will give you directions if you ask, but you will probably end up meandering down some back alley somewhere, horribly lost and wondering why that nice blonde lady led you astray.
I have no problem helping people when they are lost...but I am slightly adverse to the odd line of questioning and conversations that I end up roped in to. Just this past weekend while sitting on the LRT, a well dressed man came up to me and said:
"Are you amenable to changing occupations? I work for a credit and debt counselling company and I want you to work for me. I will give you my number and you can give me yours and we can set up an appointment".
Now, this is either the worst pick up line in the history of pick up lines...or else the strangest job offer I have ever received. There were at least 50 other people on the train and he chose me as a viable candidate. Why? I guess I will never know.
In order to reduce the frequency of these little chats, I have decided to work on my "resting bitch face". The first time I ever heard of this was during a girl's weekend in Toronto. The original video is fantastic and should be watched if you have not seen it yet:
1) For directions; or
2) Some sort of odd line of questioning that I immediately try to get out of.
This has happened on countless occasions. I must look approachable or maybe I look like I know where I am going. I don't. I am directionally challenged and generally just wander around until I get to the place I want to go. I will give you directions if you ask, but you will probably end up meandering down some back alley somewhere, horribly lost and wondering why that nice blonde lady led you astray.
I have no problem helping people when they are lost...but I am slightly adverse to the odd line of questioning and conversations that I end up roped in to. Just this past weekend while sitting on the LRT, a well dressed man came up to me and said:
"Are you amenable to changing occupations? I work for a credit and debt counselling company and I want you to work for me. I will give you my number and you can give me yours and we can set up an appointment".
Now, this is either the worst pick up line in the history of pick up lines...or else the strangest job offer I have ever received. There were at least 50 other people on the train and he chose me as a viable candidate. Why? I guess I will never know.
In order to reduce the frequency of these little chats, I have decided to work on my "resting bitch face". The first time I ever heard of this was during a girl's weekend in Toronto. The original video is fantastic and should be watched if you have not seen it yet:
This past week I have been working on the resting bitch face. I thought I was doing well until a homeless guy walked past me on the street and yelled "HEY!!! SMILING IS FREE YOU KNOW".
I don't think there is a way to win this.
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Are you in your late 20's or early 30's? Yes? Then you are probably doing 1 of these 3 things.
Within the last few months, I've noticed that almost everyone on Facebook (well everyone on my Facebook, which I suppose is a general cross-section of mid-20 to early 30 year old middle-class Canadians) can be fitted nicely into a few categories based solely on their update status and photos, myself included. There are a few outliers of course...but in general, there are three main categories:
1) Expanding the family:
These are the people that are getting engaged/married/having babies. 99% of the facebook updates will include photos about the engagement/wedding/impending baby arrival. The importance of the correct shade of pale pink and off white (Eggshell or vanilla..ooo! Maybe ecru??) and hand made decor to compliment the upcoming nuptials show the dedication this group has towards a perfect wedding and a perfectly decorated baby room.
2) Budding Photographer:
These people like taking photos. They like taking photos so much they have spent thousands on Nikon cameras and fancy lenses to capture their entire life in beautiful, photoshopped, colour-enhanced or black and white detail. This group considers themselves artistic, being able to find the je ne sais quoi in the monotony of everyday life. This group has also starting up their own photography business (advertising on Facebook but of course) and going out every weekend to do photo shoots for the people posting about their weddings and engagements and also the people posting about their babies.
3) Head Chef and/or Smug Foodie:
Ahh finally...this is where I fit in. Except I was ridiculous enough to spend thousands of dollars and go to pastry school. Don't get me wrong, Cordon Bleu was amazing and I would do it all over again given the chance...but sometimes I wonder if I just has a mini quarter life crisis and decided to be a pastry chef/chocolatier.
This group fancies themselves the food critic of the group, finding new restaurants to go to and eat deconstructed meals for exorbitant prices. In many cases, lists are kept of places to try, plates are photographed at the restaurant, and meals are recreated at dinner parties hosted by the smug foodie. These people also have a large collection of cook books, a ridiculous amount of kitchen equipment and will talk your ear off over the benefits of maldon sea salt over regular old sodium chloride.
As one final comment, these 3 groups can also blend together (the horror!), resulting in smug foodie photographers, bride/groom chefs creating their own dinner and wedding cake for the big day and new mom's/dad's using a vitamix (ooo ya a vitamix...beautiful) to create gourmet baby puree...and then post photos of the artfully decorated jars on Facebook...in sepia tones.
1) Expanding the family:
These are the people that are getting engaged/married/having babies. 99% of the facebook updates will include photos about the engagement/wedding/impending baby arrival. The importance of the correct shade of pale pink and off white (Eggshell or vanilla..ooo! Maybe ecru??) and hand made decor to compliment the upcoming nuptials show the dedication this group has towards a perfect wedding and a perfectly decorated baby room.
2) Budding Photographer:
These people like taking photos. They like taking photos so much they have spent thousands on Nikon cameras and fancy lenses to capture their entire life in beautiful, photoshopped, colour-enhanced or black and white detail. This group considers themselves artistic, being able to find the je ne sais quoi in the monotony of everyday life. This group has also starting up their own photography business (advertising on Facebook but of course) and going out every weekend to do photo shoots for the people posting about their weddings and engagements and also the people posting about their babies.
3) Head Chef and/or Smug Foodie:
Ahh finally...this is where I fit in. Except I was ridiculous enough to spend thousands of dollars and go to pastry school. Don't get me wrong, Cordon Bleu was amazing and I would do it all over again given the chance...but sometimes I wonder if I just has a mini quarter life crisis and decided to be a pastry chef/chocolatier.
This group fancies themselves the food critic of the group, finding new restaurants to go to and eat deconstructed meals for exorbitant prices. In many cases, lists are kept of places to try, plates are photographed at the restaurant, and meals are recreated at dinner parties hosted by the smug foodie. These people also have a large collection of cook books, a ridiculous amount of kitchen equipment and will talk your ear off over the benefits of maldon sea salt over regular old sodium chloride.
As one final comment, these 3 groups can also blend together (the horror!), resulting in smug foodie photographers, bride/groom chefs creating their own dinner and wedding cake for the big day and new mom's/dad's using a vitamix (ooo ya a vitamix...beautiful) to create gourmet baby puree...and then post photos of the artfully decorated jars on Facebook...in sepia tones.
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
The joys of being serenaded on public transit
Edmonton...the capital of Alberta. A multicultural social hub, filled with artistic people...and at least one guy who decided to serenade me with "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden at 10am on a Sunday morning on the LRT (public transit train). It was our first weekend in Edmonton (I had just finished my first week back at work) and I was meeting a friend downtown for brunch. I was planning on taking the train downtown as it is a pain in the butt to find parking down there.
So, as I am waiting for the train to come (15 minute wait between trains on the weekend) a guy, smelling strongly of some sort of alcohol stumbled up to me and managed to slur out "Yuuur the prettiest girl I have seen allllll day". My first thought, "Well damn...I am rocking this U Ottawa hoodie. Gee, I didn't even have to shower today to get this kind of attention". Win.
He then pulled out sheet music for guitar (no he doesn't have a guitar, and no...he doesn't know how to play guitar...yes I asked) and said "Which song do you want me to sing to you?" I answered with the only possible option of "Oh gee...well uhhmm...the train is probably coming soon...soo uhh...just pick your favourite and I will back away slowly".
He chose "Black Hole Sun" and began to sing loudly about a foot away from me.
Thankfully the train came about 10 seconds later. Thanks for the welcome back Edmonton...I can tell it is going to be a good few years.
So, as I am waiting for the train to come (15 minute wait between trains on the weekend) a guy, smelling strongly of some sort of alcohol stumbled up to me and managed to slur out "Yuuur the prettiest girl I have seen allllll day". My first thought, "Well damn...I am rocking this U Ottawa hoodie. Gee, I didn't even have to shower today to get this kind of attention". Win.
He then pulled out sheet music for guitar (no he doesn't have a guitar, and no...he doesn't know how to play guitar...yes I asked) and said "Which song do you want me to sing to you?" I answered with the only possible option of "Oh gee...well uhhmm...the train is probably coming soon...soo uhh...just pick your favourite and I will back away slowly".
He chose "Black Hole Sun" and began to sing loudly about a foot away from me.
Thankfully the train came about 10 seconds later. Thanks for the welcome back Edmonton...I can tell it is going to be a good few years.
KoKo Chocolates and why it is awesome.
KoKo Chocolates is an Ottawa based truffle company that makes hand dipped chocolates. I had the opportunity to work there for 2 years or so. Jen Winter, the owner of KoKo was a fantastic mentor and wonderful resource for the goings-on and artisan events that were happening in Ottawa and the surrounding area.
Jen would always attempt to use local ingredients for new truffles and products with KoKo. Jams, spices, teas, coffee and even cranberries were all locally sourced and used in truffle and other chocolate making! While working there I had the opportunity to learn how to temper chocolate in a melter, dip thousands of individual truffles by hand and package those thousands of truffles. You know when you see a chocolate bar and it is wrapped in foil and looks beautiful? Yah...some poor sucker probably spent painstaking hours wrapping it and making the corners perfect! Enjoy that tinfoil wrapping!!!!! I digress.
When we left Ottawa in mid October, I finished my job at KoKo and am now working for the federal government again. I definitely miss making all the truffles (And eating the dudded ones). I can't wait to go back at Christmas and do some artisan shows (and eat a bunch of passionfruit truffles).
To check it out...and order some delicious truffles yourself: http://www.kokochocolates.ca/
Jen would always attempt to use local ingredients for new truffles and products with KoKo. Jams, spices, teas, coffee and even cranberries were all locally sourced and used in truffle and other chocolate making! While working there I had the opportunity to learn how to temper chocolate in a melter, dip thousands of individual truffles by hand and package those thousands of truffles. You know when you see a chocolate bar and it is wrapped in foil and looks beautiful? Yah...some poor sucker probably spent painstaking hours wrapping it and making the corners perfect! Enjoy that tinfoil wrapping!!!!! I digress.
When we left Ottawa in mid October, I finished my job at KoKo and am now working for the federal government again. I definitely miss making all the truffles (And eating the dudded ones). I can't wait to go back at Christmas and do some artisan shows (and eat a bunch of passionfruit truffles).
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| A sweet moustache...Movember truffle campaign, 2011 |
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| See, I am not always wearing a moustache while at work. Look at this, so professional. LAFF Ottawa, 2013. |
To check it out...and order some delicious truffles yourself: http://www.kokochocolates.ca/
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