The first event I went to during my stay at the Tigh-Na-Mara was Swirl (hosted by this same hotel, where I stayed). I arrived to Nanaimo via Harbour Air Ltd (which offered a generous discount – thanks for that!). I was driven to the Tigh-Na-Mara and got changed quickly (you may remember my tweet about what I chose to wear) in order to get to Swirl on time. I was prepared for food and wine, but not for THIS much!
Kicking off Parksville Uncorked is Swirl. Festival goers will enjoy the best BC has to offer from fine wines to gourmet cuisine. Whether you are discovering BC wines for the very first time, or revelling in selections to tempt a sophisticated palate, this festival of taste excites all the senses. Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre is proud to host Swirl 2010. Live entertainment from 6pm – 9pm.
Honestly, for the price ($ 69+taxes), I found the Swirl event pretty fairly priced. The entertainment (an entire jazz ensemble, with a female lead voice who was fantastic) was excellent, the wines were superb (I fell in love with a few Pinot Blanc’s) and the food was absolutely delicate. And the event was entirely packed! You’ll have to forgive the lack of clarity in some of my photos as I took those with my iPhone and the lighting wasn’t conducive to photos without flash.
I had a fantastic list of what wines I had tried and which food I had paired with it, but unfortunately that list got lost somewhere on my way back, but I can recall that I tried several Pinot Blanc paired with a few delicacies. I also found a really neat trick to eating paired food – a clip that helps you hold your wine glass while you are eating (as shown by Luba here).
I would definitely go to Parksville for a couple of days and one night and stay for the Swirl event, it was totally worth it. And the fruit fondue cones… delightful!
Disclosure: My dinner at Swirl at the Tigh-Na-Mara was sponsored very generously by the Parksville Uncorked Festival. I wasn’t paid to write this review, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this media trip was to report on the event. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form. For the rest of my Parksville Uncorked posts, you can check them here.
My friend Beth Snow and I were chatting on GTalk earlier on Sunday, and she tweeted that she had a hunkering for Mexican food. Despite my vast knowledge of the state of the Mexican cuisine in Vancouver, I hadn’t tried any restaurants in the geographical proximity of the neighbourhood where she was located. So, we went back and forth thinking about where to go for an early dinner. We thought about Las Tortas on Cambie and 17th, but settled for Bandidas.
I’m glad we did, because (a) it gave me an opportunity to try a new restaurant and write a review and (b) allowed me to try a new Mexican (or sort-of) place, particularly one that has only vegetarian options, as well as (c) hang out with Beth, with whom I rarely spend enough time, although we chat on Twitter and GTalk all the time.
I recently told a few of my friends that, contrary to common misconception, Mexican cuisine is primarily vegetarian. The main staples of Mexican cuisine are, as accurately indicated in the Wikipedia entry, rice and beans, although chiles are also an omni-present element of Mexican dishes. Well, Bandidas very smartly exploits the nuances of Mexican cuisine and adds a few changes here and there.
Someone wrote on Yelp that Bandidas is kind-of granola-munching, hipster central. It kind of looks that way (all due respect to hipsters). But that doesn’t detract at all of this place. It’s really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The burrito I ordered was the Ronny Russell (with roasted yams and onions, fresh guacamole, black beans, green salsa, purple cabbage, & pumpkin seeds).
It was important for me not to order anything with cheese (which I hate) nor sour cream (which is bad for my stomach as I am lactose-intolerant). As for the food itself, the burrito was REALLY big and filling. I’m glad I chose it over the tacos. While flavourful, I wasn’t really excited until I added a bit of salsa to it. Admittedly, I continue to like Mexican food the way I was brought up – with lots of spice and chile. Both Beth and I were full around 3/4 of our respective burritos (she ordered hers with cheese, though), but we were brave and finished them all.
Overall, I now know why Glenn Gaetz, Hilary Henegar, Stephen Hui and Paul Jarvis rave about Bandidas. Add me and Beth Snow to the long list of Bandidas fans.
I have had a love-hate relationship with Robert Downey Jr. While I have always recognized his talent, it’s hard for me to really fall in love with his acting. He could ace a role, or he could just destroy it. But I’m a total sucker for his portrayal of Tony Stark (Iron Man). I’m a superhero movie geek, so when I found out he was going to be Iron Man, I totally thought he was going to be horrendous.
And he wasn’t. He was, surprisingly, fantastic in that role. I loved Iron Man.
For Iron Man 2, we have Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow, my very favorite Russian spy. I totally wanted Famke Janssen as Natasha Romanov, but after seeing the second trailer, I’m quite ok with Scarlett now. Please, please, please, don’t let me down – I really want Iron Man 2 to rock.
Below is the first official trailer, I couldn’t find the embed code for the second one (which looks awesome).
I will be organizing a “Let’s Watch the Iron Man 2 Premiere” tweetup. Anyone want in?
A while ago, I tweeted that it was hard for me to realize how much women have had to fight to break what is often called “the glass ceiling”, considering that I had been raised by a very strong woman, whom my father saw as his equal. My Mom has always been my best friend, and she knows A LOT of stuff that probably not everybody has shared with their mother.
I have always had very strong, very smart female friends. My cousin M has also always been a great friend, as have my sisters in law. That’s the kind of women I hang out with. I guess in a way I surround myself with women like my Mom. So, I ask for forgiveness for sometimes forgetting that the fight for women’s rights has been a long one. Celebrating women in my life (you all know who you are). Happy International Women Day (tomorrow, March 8th).
There’s some degree of benefit to quiet Sunday afternoons. Today has been probably the first day I’ve dedicated to myself and myself only. It’s usually the time when I get to spend some time doing the things I like to do in a relaxed manner. Most of the time, I feel so stressed about preparing lectures, doing research, etc., that even on Sundays I work. But I think yesterday marked one of those days when I just relaxed and it was great for my soul.
I had the TV on the background today and listened to Robbie Williams singing a medley of his most popular songs. I absolutely adored this one (No Regrets). I didn’t particularly like the end of the song, but most of it was fun (if poignant!). A bit along the sounds of Pet Shop Boys, but in the most Robbie Williams way possible, if there’s such a thing 😉
Tell me a story
Where we all change
And we’d live our lives together
And not enstranged
I didn’t lose my mind it was
Mine to give away
Couldn’t stay to watch me cry
You didn’t have the time
So I softly slip away…
No regrets they don’t work
No regrets they only hurt
Sing me a love song
Drop me a line
Suppose it’s just a point of view
But they tell me I’m doing fine
I know from the outside
We looked good for eachother
Felt things were going wrong
When you didn’t like my mother
I don’t want to hate but that’s
All you’ve left me with
A bitter aftertaste and a fantasy of
How we all could live
No regrets they don’t work
No regrets they only hurt
(We’ve been told you stay up late)
I know they’re still talking
(You’re far too short to carry weight)
The demons in your head
(Return the videos they’re late)
If I could just stop hating you
(Goodbye)
I’d feel sorry for us instead
Remember the photographs (insane)
The ones where we all laugh (so lame)
We were having the time of our lives
Well thank you it was a real blast
No regrets they don’t work
No regrets they only hurt
Write me a love song
Drop me a line
Suppose it’s just a point of view
But they tell me I’m doing fine
Everything I wanted to be every
Time I walked away
Everytime you told me to leave
I just wanted to stay
Every time you looked at me and
Everytime you smiled
I felt so vacant you treat me like a child
I loved the way we used to laugh
I loved the way we used to smile
Often I sit down and think of you
For a while
Then it passes by me and I think of
Someone else instead
I guess the love we once had is
Officially dead
So, from a conversation last night with a very close friend, we were pondering about the relationship between best friends and significant others, and the degrees of emotional attachment. I think the question applies anywhere, from the realm of same-sex relationships to heterosexual relationships, to whatever in the middle. I asked the question on Twitter too
Question – is our emotional attachment to our best friends closer/equal/similar/not equal to that of our spouses/partners?
We were pondering about the argument that you always need a “best friend” and a partner/spouse, and that both of these individuals may have similar degrees of emotional attachment. In some ways, they can be both one and the same, but in other ways, for example, women may want to have their best female friend to go out shopping, or even bounce ideas, feedback, etc. Same with men.
Does this make sense? Ponderings and musings from a Sunday morning.
I had been trying to get together with my good friends Arieanna and Ianiv Schweber for a long while, and our schedules had been just next to impossible to mesh. With the beginning of the semester, teaching took an insane toll on me. Also, the Olympics just completely borked my schedule too. So, this weekend I made an executive decision: come hell or high water, I was leaving my Saturday and Sunday mornings free to ensure I could go out for brunch with Ianiv, Arieanna and their baby Aiden, who is now 4 months old (and still has the most beautiful blue eyes!)
We finally had a chance to get together this past Saturday (yesterday) so we met up and went for brunch. Arieanna and Ianiv took me to this place in the Capilano area of North Vancouver that is apparently legendary and an institution for brunch. They were slightly surprised I had never been, given that I write so much about food and that I eat out a lot, but it’s always nice to try out new places. I’m at 100% batting score when I go out with Arieanna and Ianiv, as I’ve tried Bin 941 and Deuce with them and I’ve had fabulous meals. I figured that just by virtue of pure statistics we would keep our score at 100%. Arieanna and Ianiv were right. The Tomahawk is GREAT.
We arrived at The Tomahawk Barbeque close to noon, and while it was almost completely packed, the hostess made sure to speed up our seating. We waited barely 5 minutes and we had a table. The waitress was super kind in bringing almost immediately a high chair for Aiden, although we did not need it at that particular time.
Since it was my first time there, I ordered what I figured was the feature, most distinctive item of the menu (the Yukon breakfast). At $11.65, it’s more expensive than a few other Vancouver brunch spots, but not much more than say, IHOP or Denny’s. It’s definitely around the price of what the same dish would cost at The Well on Main Street).
The Yukon breakfast contains
Five generous slices of Yukon-style bacon. Two country-style eggs served fried or scrambled, a heaping portion of golden-griddled hash brown potatoes, and two thick slices of Klondike toast.
The eggs, while not as fluffy as I am used to at Crave and other restaurants alike, were really good. And who can say no to bacon, even if it is back bacon? Mmmmm. Bacon. The carafe of orange juice ($12) is not really inexpensive, it comes on the high side of pricing. The hashbrowns could use a little bit less oil, but overall, it was a really good brunch. I didn’t feel hungry at all until about 6 pm!
I would gladly come back, and I am very grateful that Arieanna and Ianiv took me there for brunch, as it was actually a very good experience. And on top of that, I got to hang out with two of my best friends and their baby! What else can one ask for? Good food, good friends, good conversation.
I first met Cathy Browne when Isabella and I were looking for someone to do the Public and Media Relations role for Mental Health Camp Vancouver. She had recently arrived from the San Francisco Bay area and was relocating to Vancouver, armed with over 25 years of experience in the PR world. She recently moved permanently to Vancouver with her husband Dave, whom we also have grown to love and adore. Cathy has become sort of a beacon of the Vancouver tech/social media/PR community, always there for people when they need her, and in particular, she attends most of the social gatherings, meetups and tweetups.
I have nothing but words of praise for Cathy, as she did a fabulous job at Mental Health Camp Vancouver ’09 and I am hoping (counting on) her to be again the Public Relations and Media Concierge for MHC Vancouver ’10. Many of us in Vancouver run to Cathy when we need advice or a word of comfort.
Much love and all the best wishes for you, Cathy, and for Dave’s speedy recovery!
Ever since I first listened to Smurf & Perry’s Lovin’ You I have been enamoured of this tune. I don’t really know if I’ll ever get the deep house, dance-able version that I love, but here is another version. Hope you like it.
Gus Fosarolli is a very close friend of mine whom I met through the Vancouver social media community. We see each other like brothers and that’s fantastic (particularly because sometimes, I *do* need someone to talk to that I’m close to and that is not my family members). Gus is Argentinian, so the fact that we both share Latin blood has been also fundamental in solidifying our friendship.
Gus, today and every single day, I wish you the very best. I will raise a glass of wine to your health! You know how they say that 40 is the new 20? I toast to your becoming of age! (40 = 20, so 41 = 21, which is legally the age that you can drink legally in Canada). As always, much love.
So, this is going to sound totally self-absorbed, but frankly, I do have very neat and pretty handwriting. I spent thousands of hours writing hundreds of letters, using different colour pens, finding the right pen that would highlight how pretty my handwriting was.
In my traditionally chauvinistic undergraduate school (chemical engineering), my colleagues would say that I had “girl’s handwriting” (because it was so neat and clear). I think in English you would call it “printing” rather than “handwriting” (I write mostly without the flowy, interconnected letters).
So, because of the fact that I love my handwriting and I love writing with actual pens and in actual notepads and notebooks, I am the kind of guy who will, very happily, browse through complete, entire isles of stationery. I love felt pens (extra fine point, though – otherwise my printing doesn’t look as good). I love notebooks. I love Post-Its. I can live happy in a stationery shop.
Which is the reason why I love the Vancouver Pen Shop, and why I’m surprised I hadn’t stopped by and seen this wonderful shop. The owners are really knowledgeable and they let me browse through their isles and shelves. I love this place, and I would strongly recommend it. They also get the Olympic and Paralympic spirit. They have an actual welcoming sign for the Paralympics. That totally melted my heart.
The Vancouver Pen Shop is located on West Hastings, near Richards Street.
When I began writing my blog (almost four years ago), I wasn’t on Twitter (I can’t even recall if it existed), I didn’t really know much about the Vancouver social media/PR/tech scene, I was pretty much unknown. I blogged because I liked it. I wanted to share my thoughts with the world, for whoever in that world wanted to read them. I really didn’t care much whether I had a small or large readership. I blogged without looking at my stats, I knew that only 3 people read my blog (in April 2006). That number, right now, is much larger. And, admittedly, I do promote my posts on Twitter. I publish them to Twitter (using WordTwit).
Often times (particularly with contests and ticket/freebie giveaways) I will tweet about them over and over (I do try to promote them on different occasions, at varying times of the day and week). If it’s a post that relates to a cause of mine (like those where I reference Mental Health Camp), I’ll also tweet about them several times in a week.
Or if I think the content of my post is valuable, or if I’m doing a review of an event, or something. That’s usually when I repeat the same blog post over and over. If I need feedback from my readers, I’ll re-tweet it to no end until I get enough comments on a post that I feel confident I don’t need more commentary.
Today, I tweeted asking about when did “informing people about something I did” become “self-promotion“. I really asked with the intention to make sure that I didn’t sound too self-promote-y. Why? Because, really, I don’t *need* to promote myself. I feel incredibly successful as I am (here I go again with the lack of humility – ooops) right now. And I’ve previously written that it’s not always “all about me” (although I’m very self-deprecating and often times, I write that it *is* all about me, and that I rule).
My friends Jen and Derek responded to my question with equal candor, and I think (and Jen agrees) that Derek put it best. I appreciated Jen’s honesty in reminding me that sometimes, humility is not my best quality (I do try, though!).
But Derek’s description is a beauty, and it’s the rule I plan to live by. Thanks Derek. No wonder you’re a PenMachine. You DO have a way with words.
I do plan to keep promoting my stuff only inasmuch it serves and helps my readers and Twitter followers. I don’t actually think I need to promote myself that much. And I hope that people will call me on it (within reason and with tact) if I ever become too self-promote-y. Although, as my friend Jo Van Every says, some people will say that any promote-y will be “too self-promote-y”. So, if that’s the case, I’ll ignore those 🙂
I will fully admit that I pride in my proper use of grammar. I have written a whopping total of 2,242 blog entries on this blog (not counting all my academic and non-academic, freelance writing as well as my research blogging). I do the majority of my writing in a language that isn’t the one I learned first. However, my degree of fluency is considered (in the lingo of those who know) as near-native. I think, joke and write in English.
Since I started teaching at the university level here in Canada, I have always included the following sentence in my syllabus – “I am a strickler for grammar“. It’s true. I hate bad grammar. It makes my eyes bleed (well, not literally, but figuratively). I pride in maintaining high grammatical standards and will swiftly deduct marks from any student paper due to poor grammar.
Today, I learned that March 4th is National Grammar Day, so I just wanted to celebrate it. I know that sometimes, on this blog, I write in American English and I say “favor” instead of “favour”. Please, my dear Canadian and British readership – forgive me, for I have sinned.
EDIT – I did type “strickler” instead of “stickler”, on purpose – answering Jen’s question! I was wondering who would notice!
I am, under no circumstances, out of my crushing student debt. I am always careful with my money and I try to stay within the tight budget I have for my month-to-month expenses. However, there is one thing that I learned when I was doing my Masters of Business Administration (MBA) that just stayed with me: the goods are to remedy the bads (that’s a Spanish phrase, “los bienes son para remediar los males“).
What that phrase means is, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And taking a taxi cab is one of those things. A few weeks ago, the night that I had to speak at The PR Group on relationships with bloggers and traditional media, I was running late. I wasn’t feeling well, had been ill all week, and I didn’t want to cancel on Sara Pereira’s event. So what did I do? I took a cab. It was certainly $ 15 dollars, and probably I went over my budget for transportation that week by THIS much.
But I arrived warm and dry, ready to sit around a round table of very smart PR people. I decided that my health (I was feeling very sick) was worth much more than $ 15 that the cab cost me. I decided that it was too rainy and cold to take the bus. Those are the kinds of decisions that sometimes one has to do. You know, by one I mean, those of us who don’t own a car and use public transit and/or bike/walk everywhere (I do walk everywhere and use public transit).
This may not be a super crucial topic to blog about, but these situations have reminded me about the value of a taxi ride. Sometimes, I just take a cab to be somewhere fast. My currency is my time, and it’s too valuable to waste it sometimes in a 45 minute bus ride, or a 1.5 hour walk.
I was invited a few weeks ago to cover the Parksville Uncorked Wine and Food Festival in Parksville, British Columbia, and I gladly accepted. I’ve done other media trips before (Sidney by the Sea and Salt Spring Island), and this one focused on an area of Vancouver Island I have never explored before (Northern Vancouver Island).
I was lodged at the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, and as soon as I heard the word “spa” I thought “Yes! Woohoo!” (I’m pretty sure that’s what I said, heh). The Tigh-Na-Mara is a 22 acre resort with an assortment of cottages and cabins. I stayed in a cottage room that was about twice the size of my current apartment. I’ve included some photos of my room in my Flickr set.
Particularly impressive to me was the commitment to implementing sustainability initiatives at the Tigh-Na-Mara. I noticed right away with the temperature controls, the energy-efficient measures, water saving devices, etc. I will fully admit that they had me at wooden cabin. I was raised in a household where wood was associated with warmth and family values, so the cottage room where I stayed brought me fond memories of my parents’ house (which has a lot of wood in it).
When I arrived, I’ll admit I was a bit shocked. I didn’t realize this resort was so popular. By the time I arrived on Friday, I saw the resort’s parking lot bustling with activity, people arriving and bringing their luggage. Clearly, this is a favorite destination for vacationing folks. I don’t blame them at all. My stay at the Tigh-Na-Mara was superb. I had a jacuzzi in my suite, a full kitchen (not a kitchenette, but a full-blown kitchen). I could have easily brought two other friends along with me to stay and we would have fit without a problem.
The Tigh-Na-Mara not only has the Grotto Spa, but also a fully equipped gym and a swimming pool (which was great because I really wanted to exercise and swim – I didn’t want to get out of my routine). There were a myriad little details that made my stay really comfortable, but there was one that I really valued. At every point during my stay, everyone in the staff (and by everyone I mean, every individual from the maid who cleaned my room to the servers to the lady who was helping deliver the buffet-style breakfast) were incredibly attentive to detail and generous.
I will, definitely, come back and stay at the Tigh-Na-Mara on my own dime. I was really impressed, and I am pretty sure everyone who stayed there at the same time felt the same way. I had the chance to chat with some of the folks who were lodged there and they seemed to share the same impression of excellent service and kindness on the part of the TNM staff.
I will be writing separate entries for the Mission Hill Winemakers dinner and the Swirl event, both of which were really a lot of fun, and very much worth the money. If you want to read what me and others thought of Parksville Uncorked, you can read the Twitter Search stream here.
Disclosure: My stay at the Tigh-Na-Mara was sponsored very generously by the resort. My expenses to travel to and from Parksville were covered by the Oceanside Tourism Association. I wasn’t paid to write this review, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this media trip was to report on the event. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
From my dear friend Lisa Thomas-Tench (@lisamedia on Twitter)
This is one of those situations that only comes along once every decade or so. One of my oldest friends, Christine, just lost her husband in a sudden car accident 3 days ago. He was hit by a bus and died only a few hours later. She has a one year old baby, her name is Sydney. I have known Christine since she was 3 years old and I was 7. She is the kindest person, and waited a long time to find Lauchie, her husband, and got pregnant right after they got married.
As Christine quit her job to raise her child, her husband was her provider. For the next three months or so, his funds, and thus her income, is tied up in legal stuff. Her parents are retired so she can’t count on them for much. I can’t imagine being in her situation. I know that Sydney is the only thing that is keeping her going right now.
I’m not asking for money — but if people happen to have some gift cards that you will likely not use (for a normal store like grocery, gas, Shoppers, or the Bay, that kind of thing), it would be super awesome if you could pass them my way. I don’t think she would accept cash from strangers easily, so I thought gift cards might be the best thing. I’m just really trying to find a way to give her some support during what is the most awful time in her life. If you’re able to help, just drop me a note @lisamedia.
Lisa is organizing a fundraising Tweetup for Christine – details here –
Tweetup for a cause, free appies on Glowbal’s dime! drinks on me (Lisa) w/donation. Tuesday March 9th at 5pm at Afterglow Lounge Yaletown
Lisa was thinking donation suggested around $15 cash and donors will get one free drink! Or they can just bring a donation of a gift card or similar and buy their own drinks.
I have been following topics of mental health for the past couple of years and I just recently found out about mental health and social media chat – a discussion that apparently takes place on Tuesday nights on Twitter. You can find the whole discussion by Twitter Search. I arrived late to the discussion, so the ScribbleLive livetweetage started close to 8.15pm Pacific Standard Time. I think the theme for tonight was “anonymity and mental health”. For the record, Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2010 will be about breaking free from the stigma of silence, through social media.
UPDATE – I just found out via @MHSMChat that Twapperkeeper can store hashtagged tweets. So if you want to see the full discussion go here.
During the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people on the streets of our fair city. I also happened to be sick for part of the Games, and not really able to provide as much coverage to the events happening around the Cultural Olympiad. I missed a substantial number of pavilions. But the one I didn’t miss, happily (because I walked by this morning and because it’s still going to be open until April 17th) was Canada’s Northern House.
As it so happens, my brother used to live in Inuvik, and I’ve always had some degree of fascination for Canada’s North. I am someone who doesn’t really cope with low temperatures well, but I absolutely adore the cultural, social and anthropological aspects of what the Northern territories bring to the table. Moreover, my good friend ML is a cultural resource management anthropologist, and she does fieldwork and consulting work up North. So, I’ve had some exposure to what is there.
Canada’s Northern House brings all the richness and diversity of Canada’s three northern territories under one roof during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Anything you want to know about visiting, living or investing in Canada’s North can be found at Canada’s Northern House in downtown Vancouver.
Located at 602 West Hastings (very conveniently near Skytrain and Canada Line Waterfront stations, and just two blocks from my own office at The Network Hub), Canada’s Northern House is a treasure that we should all visit.
Every time I get asked what I teach, people seem to be surprised that I teach in the department of political science. Well, my comprehensive exams and my minor are in cross-national comparative public policy (focus on environmental policy). I have taught public policy analysis at the domestic (national) level, and this semester I’m teaching comparative public policy. I am also an enthusiastic user of social media tools, and I love to combine both my interests.
Last year, I was asked to be the editor of an online, pluralistic, non-partisan website that aggregated information from all sorts of online sources to inform citizens about the choices they could make for Premier of British Columbia. On this blog, I interviewed Carole James (NDP), Jane Sterk (Green Party) and Gordon Campbell (Liberals). As someone who teaches public policy, and uses social media tools (and sometimes teaches ABOUT social media), I am always looking for good case studies and examples of “good” use of social media by politicians and government officials and agencies.
I asked the question on Twitter, and I’ll be compiling the responses. However, if you do have some ideas as to good examples and case studies, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you all!
On Valentine’s Day, one of my closest friends and I went for dinner and a movie. Coincidentally, the movie was “Valentine’s Day”. We have instituted the rule that we will never spend Valentine’s Day alone, and we love that we get to spend such an often-commercialized day together, as we love each other profoundly. I was the one who suggested watching the movie “Valentine’s Day“, admittely.
February 14th, Valentines Day, is not a national holiday, but it is one of those days that must be celebrated. There are “special someones” in your life who expect to receive romantic gifts from their lovers. Commercialism has put a tremendous amount of pressure on men to give their lovers a romantic day with all the trimmings. Women are under pressure to have a man, or they feel desperate and unloved. Valentines Day follows the lives of several couples during this day. Their stories are told through the interconnections they have with each other. Some will find romance in their relationship, and others will feel the heartbreak of ending a relationship. In this Russian roulette world of finding love, everyone in the film is asking for advice on how to find and keep true love. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)
Shedding tears after or while watching a movie is not unusual for me on Valentine’s Day. I celebrate my friendships, I also celebrate the love I lost (thank goodness, even though we were engaged, I am glad we didn’t get married, otherwise I’d be divorced and very unhappy right now). But more than anything, I use Valentine’s Day to celebrate that, no matter where I am or what I am doing, there’s a gazillion people out there who love me, wherever they are and whatever they are doing.
As for the actual content of the movie, I found that it had some good points for thought. The first one, that relationships are complex and layered. The second one, that it is, indeed, worth it to love with passion and intensity. That’s how I live my life, that’s how I love. And I’m grateful that I can do that. I would strongly recommend you to watch this movie, although for some people, it may be a rental 🙂
You know those friends you can always rely on, for whatever you need and whenever you need them? Those friends who are always there in subtle ways, whenever you are facing tough times? Those friends who call you up in the middle of the day and say “hey, want to go for lunch? I’m in the neighbourhood of your office”. Well, my dear friend J. Karen Parker is definitely one of them.
Karen is the mastermind behind the WordPress customization of Hummingbird604.com. She made sure to customize the theme to represent me the way I want to be represented. She has hosted me and a number of other friends for poker nights, brunch and Pride-parade-watching, etc. Karen is always there when you need her and that is one of the many qualities I appreciate the most of her. She has helped me in many more ways than I can describe on a blog entry. And here I am, in the geekiest form of them all, wishing her a happy birthday with a blog entry!
Happy birthday, Karen! Hope you enjoy your day! Is there a party we must attend? 😉 (wink wink nudge nudge)
The first thing I do either on the night of the last day of the month or during the first day of the month is to plan for the month ahead. I look at my Google Calendar and examine which days I’m going to be teaching, which days I’m going to be devoting to consulting, to working on my research, when I’m supposed to be travelling and where, what talks I’m supposed to be giving and which projects I’m supposed to be devoting time to.
Since we are already in March (end of Q1 or quarter 1, as people call it), I do a double-whammy examination. I plan for the month, but I also plan for the two other time frames I am working on (namely, the 4 month time frame of the semester that is about to end, and the six-month frame). For example, today, no matter how late I stay at my office, I will set my goals towards this month, the end of this semester (4 month semester, or term), the next semester and June 2010.
It helps me to break down my project tasks depending on the timeframe. So, for example, my teaching I structure it around terms. My coaching clients, I structure their activities on a 6 month schedule. My research, I plan on a yearly and 6 month basis. And my consulting, of course, is planned around the short- and long-term goals. Of course, I prioritize the tasks that are more urgent, and break down the plans I make up to the weekly level.
And yes, this month, I do plan to make sure to publish some more productivity tips!
Enough said. You know where my allegiances reside. I know, I’m a scholar of North American environmental politics (cross-national). I have compared Mexican, American and Canadian environmental policy making for over a decade. But still, my heart resides in Canada (as does my body, by the way).
So, GO, CANADA, GO! I will be watching the gold medal match between Canada and the United States of America in the comfort of my suite at the Tigh-Na-Mara in Parksville, but I will probably miss the last hour of the game. If that’s the case, please keep updating me, either drop a comment on this post or send me a tweet at @hummingbird604.
I have asked almost everyone who has told me that he/she reads my blog “why do you read my site?”. This may sound like a counter-intuitive and almost stupid question. After all, if (as I argue everywhere on my blog), I write for myself, why would I care to know the reasons behind why people read my blog? Well, the truth is, I am always curious. Every time someone asks me “so, how did you become popular on social media?” or “why do you think people read your site?” I am left almost speechless.
Lately, I have come to realize that my hypothesis as to why people read my blog may be somewhat true. My friends, obviously, I could fathom that they read my blog to keep up-to-date with what I do on an almost everyday basis, particularly if I don’t see them often in person. But people who arrived here through Google or my Twitter account seem to stay hooked because I write “de chile, de dulce y de manteca”.
This expression in Mexican Spanish (chile, sweet and lard) refers to the types of tamales people tend to cook. An assortment of tamales, so to speak. Also, please note – it’s TAMAL, not TAMALE (e.g. tamal is singular, tamales is plural). It’s used as a metaphor for variety. And I think that’s why people read my site. Because I write on a variety of topics. I can write serious, deep and personal entries, like the one I just did on mental health and stigma. I can also write about very inane things. I ask questions about the state of social media, I write restaurant reviews, I cover events, I give away tickets and freebies.
I’m a “de chile, de dulce y de manteca” kind of guy. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. On my birthday of two years ago, my dear friend Derek K. Miller dropped a comment on my post, saying that he wrote about whatever interested him at the moment. And truth be told, I think he’s right. I also write about what interests me whenever I write. Which, I have to admit, writing about tamales has just made me hungry.
I’ve been pondering for weeks about the slogan for Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2010 (Isabella Mori, one of my closest friends and my co-organizer for MHC is in Europe at the moment, and she has been having to deal with personal stuff, so I haven’t wanted to bother her with bouncing ideas back and forth). We agreed before she left that the theme for Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2010 would be around how silence fosters and perpetuates the stigma of mental illness (stigmatization through silence). Not speaking about mental illness and mental health neglects its importance and cripples the sufferer of any mental illness by not having anyone to tell or anywhere to turn.
Recently, two celebrity parents (Marie Osmond and Walter Koenig) suffered the painful loss of their children, former child-actor Andrew Koenig (who took his life and whose body was found in Stanley Park in Vancouver) and 18-year-old Michael Blosil (who according to reports, leapt to his death this past Friday). A recent TrueSlant article by my friend Lorraine Murphy makes the point that
Celebrity is a two-edged sword, ask anyone famous enough to have an IMDB page, but sometimes that sword can be uplifted to cut through barriers which should never have existed in the first place.
To which I say – ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Lorraine is right. The fact is, if Walter Koenig, Marie Osmond and many other celebrity parents and celebrities themselves can encourage people afflicted with deep depression to seek help when afflicted with suicidal thoughts, the better. I have on more than one occasion said that if there’s anything that I do that has an ulterior motive is use my social media and online popularity to highlight worthy causes (like cancer research, HIV prevention and speaking out about mental health). That’s mostly why I do what I do.
Up until November of 2003, I had NEVER been afflicted with depression. An overachiever pretty much since I was born, I was one of five amazing brothers. I have had a life that I wouldn’t trade for anyone. Outstanding brothers, adoring parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts, a family that many wish they had born within. And I clearly remember when I told my Mom and Dad “wow, I am so lucky … I don’t know what depression feels like…” Little did I know that I would be heartbroken less than 2 weeks after I said this.
I survived my heartbreak, in no small part thanks to the support of my family, my parents (Mom, primarily) and my friends. And I did seek professional help (I went to Student Services’ Counselling). Five years later, in late November of 2008 (a few months before I even thought about organizing Mental Health Camp), at around 2.40am, I started feeling horribly depressed (not sure why, to this day). I felt like a loser, someone who had accomplished so much in previous years only to be a nobody then. And through talking on GTalk with Lorraine Murphy, she got me out of my rut, helping me reframe how I perceived myself more in line with how others perceived me (a highly successful blogger who came out of nowhere and became very visible in the Vancouver social media community).
Credit: Karen Hamilton (Tiny Bites) on Flickr
After that one episode on November of 2008, I never have felt again really that depressed. I have, on occasion, felt down, blue, and I recognize that I am strongly affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so I have a SAD lamp always available. But I always monitor how I feel, and I always have close friends on speed-dial, Twitter, Facebook and Google Talk.
I have many, many friends who have spoken out openly about depression and silence and speaking out and how it has affected them (recent ones I’ve found are Smutty Steff’s and Cheeky Cici‘s. Sitting in a panel at Northern Voice ’09 on Coping Digitally (organized by Airdrie) and listening first hand the stories of how my friends Tod, Air and Isabella have faced depression/bipolarity, was the one thing that galvanized me to jump and tell Isabella that we needed to organize Mental Health Camp.
Terra makes a really good point – just because we speak out, it doesn’t mean that everyone HAS to speak out. But we both have chosen to do so. I have chosen to speak out, about homophobia, about stigma and mental illness, about the issues that matter to me. I choose to share how I feel because, as Robert Ballantyne pointed out to me on a phone conversation, people appreciate the fact that, no matter how successful or how much of an overachiever I am, I always show myself as I am. I show myself vulnerable.
I have shown you, on this post, that at least on two occasions, I’ve been deeply depressed. And I survived. Thanks to my own internal strength, but also thanks to the fact that I shared how I felt with people who love me and care about me. I have found that sharing the story of my life on my blog, on my Twitter account, helps me a lot. It helps me rebuild strength on a daily basis. You all, who read my site and my tweets, all of those who don’t read my online stuff but with whom I share a bond of love in real life as well, strengthen me on a daily basis.
I choose to speak out because I am tired of silence. So, while I have found the actual motto that I wanted to use for Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2010, “Seeing the Invisible, Speaking about the Unspoken”, I can’t really use it. Why? Because it is the title of a position paper on homophobia in sports by the The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS). So, lovely title, but a cause near and dear to my heart already owns it.
So, I came up with this other motto/slogan – “Breaking free from the shackles of silence: Speaking out about mental health through social media”. It may be a tad too long, and of course, I need to run it by Isabella first, and share it with the rest of the organizing committee, but I figure it kind of encompasses what Isabella and I are trying to accomplish: provide a safe haven for folks to share their stories, to stop the silencing.
The first event I went to during my stay at the Tigh-Na-Mara was Swirl (hosted by this same hotel, where I stayed). I arrived to Nanaimo via Harbour Air Ltd (which offered a generous discount – thanks for that!). I was driven to the Tigh-Na-Mara and got changed quickly (you may remember my tweet about what I chose to wear) in order to get to Swirl on time. I was prepared for food and wine, but not for THIS much!
I had a fantastic list of what wines I had tried and which food I had paired with it, but unfortunately that list got lost somewhere on my way back, but I can recall that I tried several Pinot Blanc paired with a few delicacies. I also found a really neat trick to eating paired food – a clip that helps you hold your wine glass while you are eating (as shown by Luba here). 
