"Sleep is for the weak" - I've often heard this and lived by it for many years of the life I've lived so far. SO not true, as yesterday proved to me - sleep is really good to get, and as you get older (I know, I know - I'm only 26...), it's something you come to appreciate a whole lot more. Yesterday was a good example - me, feeling tired as hell, decided to take a trip to the nearby mall after work to get some jeans, since all of mine are either too baggy, ripped in the wrong places or just not my style anymore. So all was well until I needed to get my butt home - ONLY TO NOT BE ABLE TO FIND MY SUBWAY PASS.
Well this was a problem. With the fact that I already pay $111 monthly for the pass, I wasn't too keen on paying extra fare in order to correct my mistake. But my mistake it was, so extra fare I did pay.$20 and one spent token later, I eventually made my way home, and emptied my bag of the day's contents. And what was at the very bottom? That's right. My April subway pass. Joy: Finding it. Not so joyous: Having bought tokens that I didn't need! Do I chalk it up to fatigue or am I just the idiotic victim of my own disorganization? I leave that to you to deci...Nah, here. Let's see what the magic poll says!
However, I did not write this just to whine and complain - I do come bearing gifts! Simple ones, but I hope they help some of my readers out there. I tend to skim through the main free papers in town day to day, and they're full of tons of info. The problem, though, is that they're placed in locations that're more convenient for commuters to grab and read while on the go - but the people who're looking for work tend to be home, trying to figure out the next steps that they need to take so that they can find another job. I've been there - I know that going outside wasn't a priority - in fact, it often took quite the effort JUST to get out there if the motivation wasn't there on a given day. So I'm going to try and get some of this material to the people who can actually use them. Today's material will focus on using the web as a means to find that next job! Using the Web to Find WorkThe PDF article's source: t.o.night newspaper (who've finally started getting their articles online!) http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/learn/article/501010--take-your-job-search-to-the-internet And for those of y'all who ARE working - are you using that money wisely? Alison Griffiths just might disagree with you. In fact, I could likely take some pointers, but that's not what this blog is about, is it ;) http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/comment/article/501220--what-exactly-are-we-spending-our-money-on Anyway, thanks for reading yet another of these fantabulous posts. Coming up soon:
My very first sponsored post - yes, I will write posts for money! Watch me do it!
The video post of Doomz! What's he up to and what does it look like?
My move from PC to Mac and how the heck it affects what I do!
The 2010 20K Running Total = $192.14Until next time, mi lectors!--case p.
A certain poll informs me that one of the things my readers would like to see is more interesting stories...
...so ask and ye shall receive - I've got one for you.
Sometimes a business deal just doesn't go how you think it will. I'm posting this because I anticipate that there may be some stories sent around that paint a situation in hues that may not be entirely accurate. If the parties involved happen to come across this, I hope this will provide a better understanding of what went down.
So, a month ago, Rami and I were hipped to a potential opportunity - a restaurant that wasn't doing all that well and could use a boost in order to get it up and going again. Sounded interesting. The owner was giving himself two months to get it up and running, or else he was going to call it a wrap. Hm, challenging. So, after getting the details from a mutual friend, Ram and I went to the restaurant to pay a visit and get a feel for the place. It was interesting - roomier than I'd expected and in a prime location. The food's prices were low and it offered a good variety of lunch items. A good mix of factors for a successful venture if handled correctly! So we chatted with the owner, briefly going over what it is that Team R&C could do for his business and how we could go about helping him get where he wanted to be. He introduced us to his chef, we exchanged digits, all seemed well. We even sent out an email that night to thank him for meeting us and to say we were looking forward to discussing things further with him at a later time. This is when things took a turn for the worse, though we wouldn't know it at the time.HIS BAD: He didn't reply to our email.That's fine, I guess - but after spending the time to send out a courtesy email, if you were actually interested in pursuing a business opportunity with someone, you'd likely try to keep the channels of communication open, no? OUR BAD: Taking too long to get in touch with him,To give us a little credit, we'd originally stated that we'd get back to him in two weeks - which we did. It was on Family Day, however - a statutory holiday up in these parts - and didn't realize that his shop would be closed, as most restaurants are open every day except on Christmas. Also, there was no voicemail so that we could let him know that we'd tried to reach him and would get back to him later. Past there, our paths wouldn't manage to cross again until this week. In the time that had passes, Ram and I had generated a plethora of ideas that could be customized accordingly to whatever amount of money was available to him for marketing and promotion. I think I remember us working about 4-5 hours straight just blue sky braimstorming and getting all of the ideas down into a document that we'd be able to provide if the client was genuinely interested in moving forward. HIS BAD: His reaction to the situation at hand.Since both members of Team R&C weren't able to both be present to contact the client through a conference call, I decided to touch base last night to see how he was doing and whether or not he was interested. After reminding him who I was, he was a little miffed that he hadn't heard from us in a bit and to pitch him whatever it was that we'd come up with. I informed him that it would be better if we could discuss further with him the next day - either I would come in or we could give him a call together to sort it all out, to which he rather curtly agreed. When we called today, he was pretty dismissive. Perhaps it was the way we worded it or perhaps he had already made his mind up, but when we brought up the ideas of wanting to sit down with him to go over the business and how it operated to make sure that we were giving him the best possible solution and that we'd prepared ideas at different costs, he somehow interpreted it as that we were unwilling to share our ideas unless he put some money on the table first. He quickly dismissed us and hung up, obviously wanting nothing to have to do with the entire ordeal. I don't know if he was having a bad day, or if his money was even tighter than I'd speculated, but it was a quick end to a brief discussion. LESSONS LEARNED:
If someone wants to cut to the chase without wanting to sit down and have a decent conversation over things, they're likely far past the point where they want to deal with any niceties and you're already facing opposition. You can't MAKE someone listen to you if they're making an active effort NOT to.
Keep your content from falling into the wrong hands. You worked hard on it, it's yours. This could easily have turned into a situation where content was provided prior to a contract being signed, an idea gets used without consent, and then it turns into a battle of the client's word vs the consultant's, and that's a sticky and possibly expensive legal situation that no one wants to get involved in.
Never see a defeat in one area as the be all and end all of a situation. For every 10... every 100 people who shoot you down, that's experience. That's content that you're developing that with further work and diligence can be used in another situation. You did your research. You've seen what doesn't work. That only means that you're one step closer to finding something that does.
All in all, I'm not pleased that it turned out the way that it did and I'm happy to shoulder some of the responsibility for it all, but no matter how it turned out, it's off of my plate, and I'll just move forward as I always do - one task at a time. The 2010 20K Running Total: $192.14 --case p.
Oy, what a day. So I tried to enter this contest which needed to have its entries postmarked today, key word being TRIED. Let me tell you alllll about it. So yesterday, I bought a postcard to enter this contest over at Midoco - which is likely my favourite art store in the city. (You'll often find me there fawning over their Copic Markers - some of the most coveted and overpriced art supplies known to humankind.) It's pretty cool - it's one of C.M. Coolidge's pieces where he painted dogs doing human things (you know the most famous one where they're all playing cards) - this one in particular is called The Reunion: Source: http://ibdennis.com/reunion.htmlSo, awesome. I ended up writing a story on it, called "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie", which you'll find attached to this post. Here's what my schedule today looked like:
9:30 - 6:15 work
6:15 - 6:55 travel to Sarah's, which took 20 minutes more than usual due to delays and our ever-reliable TTC subway system with which Toronto is graced [/sarcasm]
6:55 - 8:15 work on developing "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie", pretty much from scratch - I only had the concept of what I wanted the story to be about, and then I just started writing from there
8:15: head out to go find the nearest post office - the one around the corner had closed up shop some weeks ago; so the next closest one according to the Canada Post website was a Shoppers Drug Mart by Pape subway station
8:35: arrive at the Shoppers only to realize that they NO LONGER HAVE A POST OFFICE. Talk to the guys at the store to find out where the closest post office is, confirming on my BlackBerry...
8:45: After a bit of a walk, arrive at Postables, only to find that it closed at 7 pm
8:46: Call Sarah to let her know I'll be going to the Shoppers near Spadina station, as I distinctly recall it closing at 10 pm back when she lived close to there - she offers to look it up to make sure
8:47: Realize that my stupid BlackBerry needs a new battery as it doesn't seem to be able to hold a charge and died mid-conversation (I'd charged it up at work)
9:02: Arrive at the Shoppers near Spadina, only to find out that it closed at 9
So, to my chagrin, the story was never sent. My chances at a $250 prize shot! But perhaps this is divine intervention - God telling me not to spend the $20 entry fee unless I'm damn sure that I'm sending my top quality stuff in. Oh well, at least it made for a good story. So here I sit, listening to Shalamar, typing this up in order to vent and get it out of my system. Canada Post and I need to have some WORDS. This isn't the first time they've led me astray!!! Anyway, this weekend will be filled with sketching, working on updating my resume and portfolio, and just figuring out what opportunities lay before me. I've far from forgotten that the Threadless 2K10 challenge's deadline is around the corner, and that I need to get something on paper - IMMEDIATELY! Hope the rest of y'all have had a far more restful evening than I have.The 2010 20K Running Total = $62.20 The Google Adsense Running Total = $26.55 (thanks so much! please keep clicking ads at http://doomsdayblaze.livejournal.com! It's thoroughly appreciated!) There's also the option of donating to PayPal by clicking here: DonateAnd that's about it! Please let me know what you think of the short story :) T-t-t-that's all, folks!!!--case p.
After weeks of basking in the awesomeness of the event, I think I've finally calmed down enough to take a crack at writing a much-needed entry on the 2009 OPS Battle of the Bands. It was a great event - I haven't heard the official numbers on what the attendance was like as of yet, but I think the two charities that were being supported by the event - United Way and Ryan's Well - fully appreciated our efforts and that there were a number of winners that came out from it. But there was a long path that needed to be travelled first before we got there!
*CASEY PALMER: A CALAMITY* The first question to ask is how I got in a band in the first place! I come from a history of being in choirs and messing around with music, but it's not something I generally advertise, because well, I don't spend enough time at it to be awesome. But it went a little something like this: My team and I were out at lunch at a place we've nicknamed Lim's Garden. It was probably the first or second week that I'd been with the team, and my boss, Paul, was making an attempt at singing a Jason Mraz song to the team so that we'd all know what he was talking about. After numerous attempts, I helped him out with my rendition of the song, whereupon everyone recognized it immediately. Paul stared at me intently, and the only other words I heard at that moment was from a teammate at the table - "Looks like we just got ourselves a new band member!" *A PHENOM IN THE MAKING: PRACTICES* If you're going to perform in front of a bunch of important people, including the Secretary of the Cabinet (you know, the highest-ranking public servant in the province...), you're going to have to make sure that you're on your A-game! So practice was definitely needed. I started getting the invites to hit up my boss' place after work on Thursdays for practice, but I was always busy for a while. Whether it was wrapping up my summer Ultimate Frisbee league, attending a friend's birthday party or whatever, I remember that I didn't end up making it for a practice until late September. In the beginning, I remember the group being a lot smaller and the nature of the practices far different. We spent some time feeling out the songs we would potentially perform and had random jam sessions of songs such as Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Waiting in Vain" or The Police's "Message in a Bottle". I think we had a bunch of random people at first as well. In time, the people who would make up The Calamities that would perform at BotB started coming by while Paul took a three week vacation in India. (I'm still jealous.) At one point, our setlist included Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", but those were scrapped - one for being too campy (and the band's outright refusal to do a ska version of "Brown-Eyed Girl" despite a very insistent Paul) and the other for previously having been performed by the Calamities. With an ever-changing setlist (and practice attendee list to match) and tensions rising with incorrect lyrics and unwanted instrumental mishaps, one may have worried at a point that the Calamities might not have pulled it off. But as the weeks passed, with extra practices and refocused vigor, we came to a point where our sound was clear and our cues to remember. It was just about time to perform. *THE OUTFIT* So a special event needs a special outfit! Originally, I had no idea of what I'd wear for this, but our lovely vocalists Carny and Emily were quick to come up with a set of criteria about a month before the battle: Blue or black Yeah, those were pretty much the rules. But for the vocalists, they came up with an EXTRA rule: Sequined. What man owns anything with sequins these days??? Those went out with disco BEFORE I was born! But I'm a team player, so with the rules iin mind, I set out to find something wearable in Toronto. All I could come up with was a sequined hat from Malabar. I'm not the type to put just anything on my head, so no - the hat wasn't happening. I called up numerous costume shops and scoured their websites, but it didn't look like I'd find was I was looking for in Toronto. When all hope seemed lost, in the midst of one of the singers' (many) email conversations on how we planned for things to do at the battle, they sent a couple of links for companies who sell sequined vests in the US: http://www.sixstaruniforms.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=UV&Category_Code=VEST_SEQUINShttp://www.everythingsequin.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=40&gclid=COiGiPvDl54CFQ_xDAodOUiFlg (and sequined hats for good measure): http://store.malabar.net/product_info.php?products_id=3250 So a good week and a half prior to the battle, the vest was ordered (at $25 US for the vest, with another $22 on top for international shipping - the things I do for The Calamities, eh?) with a note attached reading: PLEASE get this to me by December 3rd, as I have an event then that I need this vest for! Thanks! So all was well, since yanno - New York is pretty close, and on the site, it said they'd take 5 days to ship it. Easy peasy, right? Oh so wrong. Let's take a look at a few things. *There was an EXTRA clause on the site. In addition to the 3-5 business days it would take them to SHIP the vest, they allotted another 3-5 business days on TOP of that to actually PACKAGE it. I don't quite know why they needed so much leeway, but eh *Customs can be a pain in the butt - had the vest been made of any explosive materials, it probably wouldn't have made it on time *I was having the vest shipped to my workplace, and since we're on the 8th floor, I didn't quite know where the vest would be shipped to: The post office in the basement? Straight to my floor? So I was happy that I'd have an awesome vest, but anxious to get it on time, or else I'd have paid all that money for nothing. Here's a look at what the schedule went like for getting the vest in:
Delivered Abroad, December 03, 2009, 2:51 pm, CANADA
At Foreign Delivery Unit, December 03, 2009, 8:04 am, CANADA
Out of Foreign Customs, December 01, 2009, 4:02 pm, CANADA
Into Foreign Customs, December 01, 2009, 1:36 pm, CANADA
Arrived Abroad, December 01, 2009, 1:36 pm, CANADA
International Dispatch, November 28, 2009, 6:21 pm, ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)
Arrival
Electronic Shipping Info Received, November 23, 2009
So as you can see above, it was a pretty close call. I was happy on the 23rd when they received word that they were getting the vest, but a little pissed that it took all the way until the 28th for them to actually SEND it. I started biting my nails a little by December 1st when it made its way through customs, but without any word of where the heck it was going after that. Things really hit the fan on the day of the Battle, with it being at the Foreign Delivery Unit in the morning. The day went a little like this:
Get in to work
See the vest is at the FDU
Call USPS to see where the vest is - they say it's at the FDU and to call Canada Post to check
Call Canada Post, who say that the vest WAS at the FDU, but is now in transit
Check with the post office downstairs to see if the vest would come there, but they tell me if it did it wouldn't be until 5 PM or maybe even the next morning. Well THAT won't work
Go back to the office - coworker calls USPS to give them a piece of her mind on the matter, they blame the company shipping the vest
We call the company to give them a piece of our mind and see what we can do about getting a refund
Go to dim sum for lunch, crestfallen
Go back to the office, find out that we have an office mailbox down there and one of the admin assistants have a key
Head downstairs to see if it's in the office mailbox
See a guy with a USPS box going in the OTHER elevator as we exit.
Me: "...nahhh, it... CRAP."
Coworker and admin assistant go to check the office mailbox, I chase the guy upstairs on the other elevator
Return to office to see coworker signing for vest
Get box
Tear it open
You get: SHINY ROYAL BLUE VEST!!!!
(Source: http://www.sixstaruniforms.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UV&Product_Code=SQ-189-ROYAL-BLUE) So it was an epic battle of patience and running around, but in the end it turned out okay. I was getting ready to head out, and my coworker asked something along the lines of "you're not wearing THAT under the vest, are you???" So then I found myself being forced to go to H&M to buy a black shirt to wear under the vest - and while at the cash register, I saw they were selling fedoras. FOR FIVE BUCKS. Yeah, there wasn't even a moment's hesitation there. My outfit was complete. I was ready to go duke it out with five other bands and see what they were bringing to the table! *THE BATTLE* The event itself was an ever-changing test run. We didn't really have time to do a soundcheck, since:
A lot of the needed musicians didn't turn up on time
The architecture of the building led to some interesting reverbations when you didn't want them
Equipment not quite working the way you wanted it to
As a result of these and other factors, we were left with no stage monitors and low microphone volume. Thus, you couldn't hear yourself sing, you couldn't hear the OTHER vocalists sing and you had to try and get those notes out. (Yes, this is my excuse for why I sound like I'm shouting through all the videos.) I still had fun though - our bands really came together in the end and I look forward to any future times we can come together and jam! I'm already thinking about potential songs for next year :) *THE AFTERMATH* In the end, I'm glad to have been a Calamity in this event. It was fun, it was energetic, and we were raising money for a good cause! (And we won the People's Choice Award for the second year running as a sidebar!) I'm hoping that we'll have another gig coming up in early 2010 so that everyone who missed the first one can see what the Calamities are all about! We even wound up on the internal website for our organization's newsletter, which was pretty cool:
I've posted most of these before, but for those of you who missed the event here's a ton of videos and clips to show what the event was all about!Heatwave (Part 1) Heatwave (Part 2) Superstition Solsbury Hill Could You Be Loved Gimme Some Lovin Photos and More Video Clips: Seeya next time!--case p.
A man of many projects. The current one is The 2010 20K - my goal to make an extra $20,000 Canadian on top of my annual salary in 2010. It's been an interesting start, but I'm excited to see where the year will take me!
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