Life Behind the Lens

I've Moved!

2011-09-24T09:26:00.003-04:00

After 6 years of living and writing in this space, I have found a new home.
Join me at mylifeuntethered.com to stay posted on where life has brought me today.

Cheers and happy travels!
-Alicia

A Gift to Myself

2011-05-16T23:20:00.002-04:00

oh hey blog, I feel like we've become strangers lately. I've been cheating on you with my work blog (and I'm not really sorry). I've been blogging and pumping out content more now than ever, but it's just not happening here...

The good news is I'm meeting some incredibly awesome people along the way. The bad news is I've been sucking at updating my digital scrapbook. Must find a better balance damnit. I love writing in this thing.

The REAL person I should be apologizing to is you, the reader.

Some of you I know, others are complete strangers.

I got a message the other day from someone saying they stumbled upon my blog and was so inspired reading it. I immediately felt guilt knowing I haven't been giving it my all lately.

So I'm giving myself an early birthday gift:

I'm buying myself a new domain and archiving this one.

I've been putting it off for so many years, but I'm finally ready for it.

Everything about this site will be a labour of love.
From the design, to the videos, to the places my travels bring me.

Big thanks to my bestie Erin Hogue for capturing these images. She always knows how to snap life's little moments. xoxo

Elect THIS!

2011-04-25T20:01:00.008-04:00

Meet Mike.
Mike is an awesome dude that I worked with at MTV who recently went back to school to study Law. He's also the Political Correspondent for MTV News and recently hosted a special called 'Elect This' which airs TONIGHT on MTV Canada at 9pm.

We be live tweeting #MTVElect

Here is a sneak preview of tonight's episode:

Be sure to tune it at 9pm to watch more. Young voters of all political stripes, including those still undecided, speak their minds on democracy and the issues they care about.
It's really important that everyone gets out to vote this election. May 2nd. Mark your calendars!

Lest we Forget the Daisies

2011-04-24T16:31:00.005-04:00

With all the tweets about Easter and chocolate goodies, it's sometimes easy to forget what this holiday is all about. Religious or not, it's a good time to connect with family and friends even if for a night of drinks (or tea). It's nice to kick back and reminisce on your youth (and have those people in your life remind you of the times you may have forgotten about) both good and bad.

Today is also Anzac Day in Australia/New Zealand and I had the honour of experiencing this first hand last year when I was in Melbourne. I remember waking up at 4am to head to the dawn service where hundreds of Aussies gathered around a monument for the ceremony and two minutes of silence.
I have never felt so solemn as I did that morning watching the sunrise...

And here I am one year later, thinking back to that day and being thankful for all the amazing things that came my way since that sunrise. One person in particular who made my Melbourne experience was Gillian. She not only was my personal tour guide when I first arrived in Melbourme, but the perfect piece of home.

She gave me a home when I needed it, was an awesome travel companion, and cooked so many yummy meals that made my soul feel good. She even made a giant Easter feast and invited every Aussie and Canadian she knew down under to enjoy it. (and trust me when I say, it was definitely enjoyed!)

The woman can cook up a storm I tell you! She always has so many tricks up her sleeve and I insisted that she start a blog so people like me could follow along. I helped document her first recipe which was a 'Ginger Soy Glazed Salmon' (I loved it so much, featured it on Chickadvisor).

Since then, she has started her own website called One Blonde Chef where you can read all about her cooking experiments. She also recently entered this Philli competition and has been shooting and editing all her own videos with a new recipe every week. Check it out here! I'm so proud of her.

Have you been thinking about starting a blog? Stop thinking and start doing! If photos are your thing, tell me your story through images. If there is something you're passionate about, geek out. I've been blogging since my first year of University in 2004 and it's so fun to look back at all the memories. Think of it as a Digital Scrapbook to your life. Still not convinced? Get in touch with me and I'd be happy to help you get started :)

Happy Easter friends. Get outside and smell the damn daisies.

Facetime in Van

2011-03-28T00:05:00.004-04:00

This past week I had a chance to hang out in Vancouver for work and ended up getting so inspired by the people I met, and capturing what this city had to offer from behind the lens.

I had a lot of meetings, ate a lot of awesome sushi, and drank some excellent seasonal brews.

Came across this mural on the wall at the Invoke/Hootsuite offices and had to snap a photo. Kinda looks like the Twitter Fail Whale, and I kinda love everything about this place (even the people).

Really excited to work with them... big shout out to Grace and Greg- you kids are doing big things and I like it!

Also met heaps of other blog babes and travel peeps at the Flight Centre Canada head office. I hosted a tweetup with Gregg and it was so great to meet people offline and get some serious face time in! I'll definitely be throwing another one next time I'm in Van again for TBEX in June.

I was stoked to finally get to see the Olympic Cauldron for the first time (I was in Australia when the Olympics took place last year... I know, I'm a poor excuse for a Canadian). Nonetheless, I embraced every goddamn second of it. I was even lucky enough to see it lit at night.

Overall, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed you Vancouver. The people, the food, and most of all, the incredible scenery. I could totally see myself living here one day :)

You give me something to fall in love with every time I come back (just don't tell Toronto).

Until next time Vancouver...

Making Tracks

2011-03-17T20:38:00.005-04:00

Came across this video series and completely fell in love with the concept:

I've been fortunate enough to spend time in these two places in Australia. By the time I left Tasmania, I felt exactly how Jasmine did. There is something about this country that brings a warm smile to my face.

Scoring the Best Travel Job Ever

2011-03-15T16:59:00.003-04:00

As I sit here writing a blog post for Flight Centre about my love affair with Couran Cove in Australia, I have to stop myself for a second to take it all in. I'm sitting here getting paid to write a blog about my travels and then share it with the world.

To say I scored a sweet gig would be an understatement. I'm on cloud nine and I'm thrilled where life has taken me. I never imagined myself here two years ago when I decided to quit my job at MTV and travel down under. Since then, I have met so many amazing people and truly 'found myself' if you will. It's true what they say about Australia, 'sometimes in order to find yourself you need to walkabout'

There was something different about me when I came back to the North American bubble. I suddenly didn't care about the clothes I was wearing, or the possessions in my house, or what party I had to be seen at. Instead I was talking for hours upon hours with other travellers online and editing videos from my travels because it felt so damn good.

I stopped spending my money on partying every week and started saving for my next big adventure. When I heard about the job recruitment for the Social Media job, I didn't even think twice about applying. (It did only take two minutes of my time)... the rest of the work was already done. And now, I'm working with an amazing Global Team which I'm thrilled to introduce you to:

The real challenge is the time difference between our countries- but that's what makes applications like Basecamp, TeamLab and Skype so great. It also means our social networks will be monitored 24-7 which as a traveller is comforting knowing someone is always around to answer questions. And with the recent New Zealand and Japan earthquakes, I'm seeing now more than ever how powerful social media can be.

Talk to me Baby

2011-03-05T10:22:00.000-05:00

Today is going to be a fun day. Not only do I get to shoot the Travel Expo in Toronto today, but I get to host the live webcast! I'll be broadcasting live from the floor at this year's Toronto Travel Expo at the Convention Centre and talking to some awesome travel people. You can join in on the fun at: http://www.flightcentre.ca/live

Did I mention I have some sweet giveaways? Make sure you participate in the chat and you could win yourself a sweet trip or some swag from our partners!

Some of the guests who will be joining me throughout the day include:

- Josie Dye of 102.1 the Edge and CosmoTV
- Evelyn Hannon of Journeywoman
- Best Travel Job Ever Winner Mike Corey
- Virgin America Provocateur Casie Stewart
- Mariellen Ward of BreatheDreamGo and Toronto Travel Tribe
- Nat and Marie of the Nat and Marie Show
- Heather Greenwood Davis of Globetrotting Mama
- The gang from Flight Centre
- Justin and Sean from Gap Adventures
- Sarah from Topdeck
- Katie Olsson from Intrepid Travel
- Michelle from Contiki Tours

and lot of other great vendors including the good peeps at Porter airlines :)

It all starts at 11am. Hope to see you on the chat!

Blogging in Brisbane

2011-03-04T08:31:00.003-05:00

Not sure if you've been following lately, but I've recently started a new job with Flight Centre Ltd as their Social Media Specialist for Canada. Merely a week into the job and I'm already on a plane to Brisbane to meet the rest of the global team.

Scored a business class seat to Brisbane and not gonna lie... it made the 14hr plane ride an enjoyable one. Big shout out to Quantas for hooking us up :)

I wasted no time upon arrival and spent the day exploring the city and doing some shopping at Queen Plaza- prob the best outdoor mall I've seen yet. I also can't believe how well this city has recovered from the floods. I thought it would have smelled and the clean up would have been intense, but most of the streets are in good shape and I only saw a few buildings that were still cleaning out their basement levels.

Over the next 24 hrs my team started to assemble as the other 'blog babes' flew in from their respective countries. Was really worried about Anele who was flying in from NZ literally the day after the earthquake, but luckily she wasn't in Christchurch at the time. It was great to see my new workplace step up and donate $1mil to the disaster relief fund. They didn't even think twice.

Once the team was assembled we had our first big meeting together at the Flight Centre headquarters in Brisbane. Got some goodies including a signed copy of Scott Stratten's book Unmarketing and a special video message from him (thanks again Scott!)

I'm really excited to be part of a global team and I can't wait to introduce you to all of them. I'm currently editing videos which will go up next week. Stay tuned! These are some serious blog babes coming your way ;)

Love at First Bite

2011-02-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

Received this lovely gift in my e-mail inbox from the awesome people at Nomading Film Festival:

Couldn't ask for a better Valentines Day gift really :)

Want to get your name in noodles? Sign up for their newsletter and make sure you're following them on Twitter. For all my travelling filmmakers out there, I sure hope to see some of your entries in their film festival this year! Submissions can be no longer than 15 minutes. Give it a go!

Love is Louder

2011-02-14T12:42:00.001-05:00

Love at First Flight

2011-02-13T18:18:00.005-05:00

As Social Media Week comes to an end here in Toronto, things are just getting ramped up again. Tomorrow I'm super excited to be starting my new gig at Flight Centre.

In case you missed my big announcement, I'll be working as their Social Media Specialist for the Canadian sector and part of an amazing global team. Allow me to introduce you to some of them:

Captain Tilston: Global Social Media Leader
J-Run: Global Social Media Technologist

@LaraNicotra: Team USA
@Sam_locke: Team AUS
@Serentonin: Team NZ
@40before30: Team UK
@FuthiDali Team SA
@Taggio: Team CA (That's me!)

As if life couldn't get any better, in exactly one week I'll be on a flight to Aussie where I'll be meeting these tweeps in real life! We're getting together for a conference with a bunch of the FC peeps and gearing up for Battle.

I have a feeling I'm gonna fall in love with them all. Plus, what could be better than seeing a bunch of blog babes in combat boots?

The Social Kickoff

2011-02-08T09:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the official kick-off to social media week here in Toronto and it was one hell of a great start!

When I searched the hashtag #SMWTO to see what tweeps were saying, I came across the @cruzeSMWTO account.

The brilliant marketers behind Chevy Cruze have teamed up with SMWTO and are driving around the city offering people rides from one event to the next. I thought it was so cool so I tweeted and asked them if they were free to give me and Mariellen a ride to the Wikibrands event in the Distillery.

Not only did they respond, but they treated us like queens!

When we hopped in, we saw prizes sitting on the seat for us. Got a sweet jacket, some chocolates and glowsticks so we could have a dance party the whole way there! Big thanks to Candice and Holden for making the experience a great one!

Candice mentioned she would LOVE for the writers of Wikibrands to sign her book, so of course I made sure it happened :)

Met lots of great peeps last night at the event and looking forward to meeting more today at the Social Collaboration event. It's all about integrating community content and social media with traditional journalism. Should be a good one!

Anyone else hitting events this week? Tweet the Cruze car and arrive in style!

Hope to see you soon!

Love at First Byte

2011-02-04T23:19:00.006-05:00

As I sit here on a Friday night with a whiteboard list of videos to be edited, my eyes light up in a total nerdgasm.
My mind is racing with all sorts of ideas. I love being this busy with work- and I don't care that I'm spending my weekends doing it.

But Alicia, aren't you in social media?
I like to socialize on weekdays and nerd out on the weekends. It's just what I do.

What else do I like? Interviewing inspiring people and watching their story unfold on my timeline. I shot a video for Coaches Ontario yesterday with a boxing coach named Savoy who started an all female boxing club here in Toronto called Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club.

She gave me so many good sound bytes and was so accommodating... she even offered to turn down the background music! It was like love at first byte :)

When I'm done making this video, I'm going to put together another one for her website with all the extra footage I have. Just talking to all of the other girls that go to her classes, you can see how much she has changed people's lives.

Savoy was nominated for a Coaches Excellence Award and the girls in her class are tough. If you're a female in Toronto and looking to get in to some hardcore shape then check them out!

She hooked me up with this awesome tank before I left which I'm definitely going to start wearing to the gym. I feel so badass in it and every time I see it, I'll remember to sign up for her class. You should too. Let's kick some ass together.

An Evening with Journeywoman

2011-01-28T11:52:00.004-05:00

There are some people in life that inspire you. The ones that have so much wisdom and kindness to offer that reminds you how great life really is.

For me, that person is Evelyn Hannon also known as @Journeywoman on Twitter.
Most recently Time Magazine coined her as one of the Top 100 Innovative Thinkers of the CENTURY for her work with women and travel. To be honest, I was more familiar with her daughters work, Erica Ehm as a VJ at MuchMusic (who sidenote- was one of my inspirations for wanting to work in TV in the first place). But behind every young successful woman, is an another amazing woman who raised her that way.

I had the pleasure of meeting Evelyn for the first time last year where we saw the movie 'Eat Pray Love' together and have become great friends over time through the Toronto Travel Tribe.

Last night I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with Evelyn and Mariellen where we talked for hours and hours about everything from social media to figure skating and she even read my handwriting and told me what it meant about my personality!

There has been lots of buzz in the Twitterverse lately about nominating her for a Shorty Award. She's currently in 3rd place and if anyone deserves this award, it's her!

But time is running out! So please take two minutes to vote for her here: http://shortyawards.com/journeywoman and send her to NYC! It would mean so much to me!!

Thanks friends :)

Happy Australia Day!

2011-01-25T23:38:00.005-05:00

It's Jan 26th down under which means one thing... it's Australia Day!

Big love goes out to all my Aussies down under (and those currently travelling the world).

At this time last year I was enjoying a picnic with some mates, and drinking the day away on a rooftop patio as we listened to the Triple J Top 100 countdown.

Even if you're not there to celebrate, tune in and check out some of the great music! I discovered some amazing bands while I was out there, and buy the Triple J CD every year.

If you haven't listened to Angus and Julia Stone yet, get on it! I especially enjoy this cover:

I'm so happy I'll get to return to Aussie at the end of Feb for my new job at Flight Centre.
If you're thinking about travelling down under, be sure to check out My Aussie Adventure blog. Lots of fun videos and blog posts from my time there :)

I've Got Something to Tell You...

2011-01-22T21:28:00.004-05:00

SO. This time last year I was dancing my face off at Big Day Out completely enjoying my life down under. One year later I am dancing my face off here in Canada with the best news ever :)

Are you ready for it?

Is the suspense killing you yet?

Well then I guess I should tell you...

that I'm the new Social Media Specialist at
Flight Centre Canada!!!

I'm so excited to be joining the team that changed my life by throwing the 'Best Travel Job Ever' competition last year. Not only did I score a free trip to Cali from it, but I met an entire online community of other travel bloggers around the world.

Since then, I started a little something called the 'Toronto Travel Tribe' with the ever-so inspiring Mariellen and have been continuing to meet other travel bloggers/writers and industry peeps.

I'm so excited to start this role and work with such an awesome company. The coolest part about getting the gig? The application process. Instead of submitting a resume, I submitted a tweet along with links to my Twitter/LinkedIn and other sites of my choice. Straight up, more companies need to get on board with this idea. The mastermind behind the recruitment process? Gregg Tilston. Learn the name... dude's gonna take over the social media world by storm. Literally.

He's currently travelling the world to hire other Social Media Specialists in Australia, New Zealand, The UK and the US. I am honoured to be chosen to rep Canada and cannot wait to meet the rest of the team!

There is a whole world of opportunity that lays before me and I'm so excited to just jump in and get my hands dirty. You can definitely expect some more videos, podcasts, blogs, tweetups and all the things that make me giddy inside :)

Although I'll be leaving my job at MTV Canada, I'll still continue to contribute to MTV Fora and other awesome blogs like Intrepid Canada, World Nomads, and Travel With a Mate in between all my travels. I reckon I'm going to have a lot of great stories and people to introduce you to!

My first stop? Brisbane!

Going to meet the FC team at the end of February and give some love to a city that could really use it right now. By the way, if you live in TO make sure you join the TO for OZ Facebook group and find out how you can help too!

Here we go kids. It's time to start another adventure.

African Lion Safaaaari

2011-01-11T21:57:00.006-05:00

Ever wanted to go somewhere exotic? I don't know about you, but I've been dreaming about taking an African Safari ever since I was a little girl.
I used to doodle lions and elephants on all of my school work- and turned my entire basement into a safari where I would take my sisters on an adventure with our Power Wheels Jeep.

Today, that dream may become a reality thanks to the good peeps at Intrepid Travel. They are running this crazy cool contest right now where you can win an African Adventure for you and 10 friends INCLUDING FLIGHTS!

Crazy right? Believe it!

Prize includes: flights, a 14-day Intrepid Travel Adventure, a private overland vehicle, and countless real-life experiences as you search out the Big Five on a Serengeti Safari, and then camp under a billion stars at Ngorongoro Crater. To top it off, you finish your trip on Africa's famed Spice Island, Zanzibar.

What's not to be a fan of? Seriously.

Question is- Who will you bring with you if you win? Head over to their Facebook Page to get started!

Contest closes Jan 21st.

As someone who speaks from experience from winning a competition like this in the past, trust me when I say you'll never know what you're missing if you don't enter! What have you got to lose? Do it now! Only one week left!!! Go! Go! Go!

the.update.

2011-01-09T03:54:00.005-05:00

Well it's the beginning of a new year and that means three things for me:

1) crowded gyms
2) time to rearrange my apt
3) create my 'Wish List' of places to travel this year!

You know you have the travel bug when friends are posting links like 'Best Places to Travel in 2011' to your Facebook wall. At the same time, I'm flattered that when people read an article like that or see a cool competition I should enter, they think of me :) I love getting comments from people I've inspired to travel. It takes balls to drop your life and fly to the other side of the world, but it's also the best thing you can do for yourself. Which is why I will continue to blog about my experiences.
I've been doing it for 6 yrs, why stop now?

That being said, I still have some loose ends to tie up from 2010. As much as I've loved all the work that's been coming my way, it's created a bit of a back-log in terms of blogging. (I guess I should apologize to all my favourite creepers ;)

You see, it's not that I haven't been blogging, it's that I've been blogging for other people. MTV Fora and Intrepid Canada have taken over my life. but I can't complain... I get paid to create content!

I've still got heaps of footage from Australia + California and interviews with some awesome travel bloggers to come which you can expect to see on the Toronto Travel Tribe site as well.

If you haven't heard about it- it's basically a monthly tweetup for Travel writers, bloggers, photographers, start-ups and industry peeps. In a nutshell: it's a community of awesome, inspiring people.

We always have a fun night filled with endless stories, and a plethora of ideas. We have our next meetup this Thurs Jan 13th. If you're in the Toronto area, you should be there! New members are always welcome :)

I'm really excited to reunite with my dear friends Lauren and Todd from Globetrooper.

Met these two back in Australia at the Sydney Travel Tribe and I love when we cross paths throughout the year amongst all of our crazy travels.

Alright enough procrastination, it's time to continue getting nostalgic while finding old gems in the digs.

Have any recommendations for my travel 'Wish List' this year? Let me know! If I love it enough, I might just make a video to thank you when I'm there.

From West to East

2010-12-27T20:18:00.006-05:00

After returning from sunny California, I decided the east coast needed some more love. So I hopped on a plane and flew to Moncton, New Brunswick.
After having a hot date with Mr. Porter, the amazing Mike met me at the airport and we road tripped out to Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy.

This is usually a hot spot in the summer, but going in the winter was a whole different experience. We went when the tide was low and explored the beach area. It was so pretty seeing the rocks covered in snow

It was also super rad having the entire beach to ourselves. I'm going to start seeing more attractions in their off- season. None of this fighting through the crowds to get a good shot and waiting in lines forever. You never know what you'll come across... I mean look at this frozen waterfall!

Mother nature is so pretty in the winter. We should all embrace it more.

Speaking of which, we've got heaps of powder the past couple of days which means one thing: perfect snowboarding conditions. It's no Whistler out here, but you have to embrace these conditions when they are presented to you. Time to strap on the boots and hit the slopes. So stoked for some apres drinks with the east coasters. If anyone knows how to drink- it's these guys out here.

Hope you're enjoying the holiday BREAK as much as I am :)

keyword break- you deserve it damnit!

Farewell Cali

2010-12-19T23:12:00.006-05:00

Well, it's only the beginning of a long-term relationship I'm sure, but after a spending my final days in LA- my Best Travel Job Ever road trip has come to an end.

I never thought I would like LA- but it's not so bad after all. (Still not a place I'd like to live)- but a place I will visit again I'm sure. The thing that made the experience so great? The locals! We stayed with my good friend Colt who lives in West Hollywood and even met up with my TV producers who happened to be out there on business.

It really is a small world :)

We saw the sights, and of course hit Hollywood Blvd- but I was only interested in one star.

My favourite night was our Urban Adventure Stars and Bars Tour with Intrepid. We got a fun tour of all the classic bars in LA and experienced mixology at it's finest sitting poolside at the Roosevelt.

Big shout-out goes to Matthew Biancanello for changing the way cocktails are enjoyed! In addition to having a huge selection of fresh produce on his bar top, Matt hand mixes his own reductions with the freshest seasonal produce and does it all with a charming confidence that is so refreshing. It was a pleasure to spend time with you Matt- watching you work your magic brought back fond memories of when I worked at Diageo in Sydney.

Before leaving, Mike and I headed to Runyon Canyon which has spectacular views of LA and a great place to get some exercise. We decided to make one last little video to say goodbye:

Big thanks again to Gregg and the team at Flight Centre for hooking us up, and Intrepid Travel for the Urban Adventures!

Thanks for following our little adventure. Your comments and recommendations always make the experience that much better :) Stay tuned for more updates - I've lots going on in Toronto- all of which involve more blogging!

Blog Babes Cruisin' Down the PCH

2010-12-02T11:04:00.005-05:00

It's been two days now of enjoying the beautiful scenery of the California Coastline. From sunsets to surfer boys, the Pacific Coast Highway has everything to offer and more.

If you're ever planning on doing this trip, take your time! Trying to rush this drive in merely a day wouldn't do it justice. After Mike and I stopped to enjoy some lunch by the water, we soon found ourselves overcome with the smell of fish as we drove along the coastline. I had a feeling there was a reason, and after making a U-turn and pulling up to another vista point, we found ourselves amongst the Elephant Seals:

Being the science nerd that he is, Mike's eyes lit up with excitement upon this random discovery. I was more interested in this little guy... he practically crawled all over me when I brought out the camera. Such a little star this one.

Speaking of stars, I will soon be walking amongst them on Hollywood Blvd as we enter LA. Really looking forward to our Intrepid Urban Adventure called the Stars and Bars tour.

Look out LA, two of Canada's finest blog babes are coming your way!

The California Coast

2010-11-30T14:14:00.003-05:00

After enjoying a beautiful weekend in sunny San Francisco, Mike and I are hitting the road to drive down the Pacific Coast highway to LA.

We picked up our rental car thanks to our dear friends at Alamo, packed some food, and our freshly charged cameras with no idea what we were in for.

Boy am I ever glad we split up this drive into two days. There is so much to see and do along the coast that rushing the experience wouldn't do it justice.

sunset in Santa Cruz

This road reminds me a lot of my Great Ocean Road experience, especially around the Big Sur area. There is nothing I love more than driving down the winding roads and hugging each corner like I'm in a video game. Life on the road is good :)

Hitting the Road: Cali style

2010-11-29T01:58:00.008-05:00

The time has finally come for me to embark on my Best Travel Job Ever journey. Long story short, I won a sweet blogging competition and am currently embarking on my California adventure.

It all starts here in San Francisco.

photo taken with the Hipstamatic app for iphone

I experienced everything from Black Friday to walking the Golden Gate Bridge. Mike and I are also having way to much fun filming it:

This city is so easy to fall in love with. As a Torontonian I connect many similarities between the two. But hands down, SFO knows where it's at when it comes to public spaces.

Whether you're in the financial district or roaming Golden Gate park, there is art everywhere. It reminds me a lot of Melbourne, especially with all the awesome bike lanes and effective use of alleyways.

That being said, I don't know how the eff the locals manage to bike up these crazy hills in the first place. The amount of shin splints I've developed just from walking up and down them was hard enough. You can obviously count on me to post a video on this topic alone.

Is this your secret to staying so young and fit San Francisco? Losing my breathe just to get to my hotel was funny the first day...

Good thing I'm staying at a frickin palace. Big thanks to Gregg from Flight Centre and GoGo Vacations for the hook up :) This place is rockin'.

It's been a huge learning experience travelling with another blogger. Mike and I have been Bursting photos, cutting together video clips and helping each other shoot photos and videos which is nice for a change when you're used to being a one man show (hence the title of my blog).

We've also discovered this great iphone app to help us navigate the city called SF Way and it's absolutely FREE to download! It uses location services to tell you everything from where the closest WIFI spot is to where to party at night. Do yourself a favour and download this thing if you ever come here. It's the future.

That's a Wrap!

2010-11-26T13:18:00.006-05:00

As November comes to a close, it's time to wrap things up. After a very successful season, I was happy to announce 'That's a Wrap!' to the cast and crew of Battle of the Blades Season 2.

One of my favourite jobs, this show allows me to floor direct from ice level (and being a figure skater my whole life) it really is a dream come true to work on this gig :)

We ended things with a very special taping called 'After the Ice Melts' which will air on Dec 5th at 8pm on CBC. Trust me when I say you'll want to tune it for that one!

Overall, I think I'm going to miss the Motts Clamato set the most.

The Motts peeps were so good to us and even let the crew take home free product at the end of the show. Thanks again guys!

Last year when I wrapped up on Blades, I went to Australia to travel. This year I'm hitting sunny California :) I won a sweet blogging competition with the Best Travel Job Ever from Flight Centre and will be starting in San Francisco and working my way down to LA.

It's crazy where life can take you isn't it? If I never made the decision to go to Aussie, I highly doubt I would be sitting here writing about all the new projects I'm juggling right now. Especially my baby the Toronto Travel Tribe. We had our last meetup on Nov 24th and the theme was India.

Held at Kama Indian Restaurant, we ate lots of spicy food, shared some great stories and Mariellen of BreatheDreamGo shared her Top 5 Myths about India with the group. Big thanks to Intrepid Travel, IndiaTourism and Davids Tea for sponsoring the event. Everyone was very excited with their gift bags which included some Assam tea and Saigon Chai. Check out a full wrap up of the night here on our website.

Since December is such a crazy month for everyone, that will be our last meetup for 2010. If you want to meet other travel writers, bloggers, photographers and industry peeps, be sure to join us in the new year!

Now it's off to California I go! Stay tuned for my (mis)adventures with Mike from Kick the Grind TV.

The Countdown is On!

2010-11-19T11:08:00.008-05:00

In less than a week, I'll be hitting Cali with Mike- the winner of My BTJE Ultimate Plus One competition :)

Two bloggers and the Golden Gate? I feel a Full House Parody coming on...

This could be way too much fun!

Our adventure starts in San Francisco and works its way down the coast to LA. We'll be seeing the sights, eating the food and talking with some pretty interesting locals.
Big thanks to Flight Centre for hosting this competition in the first place and to all of YOU for voting for me to win this thing! I promise to bring you nothing but the goods ;)

Have anything you'd like us to see or do out there? Let us know!

Leave a comment, or tweet me

So far here's what we've got coming in from you guys:

@missanjelica MUST have clam chowder in a bread bowl while sitting at fisherman's wharf!

@ExVacationIdeas Do the segway tour withhttp://citysegwaytours.com/san-francisco - they are the best and it is ALOT of fun!

Matthew C.X. Langford Arts cafe for breakfast (in sunset district).. So good and the Korean owners are sweet.

Get Your Steep On!

2010-11-04T23:13:00.004-04:00

So the Christmas season is fast approaching and if you're anything like me- you usually wait until the last minute to buy your gifts.

But this year, things are going to be different. You're gonna change some lives- all with the help of my man David. He runs a little business you might have heard of called Davids Tea and he's taking over Canada by storm. Whether you're shopping for a friend, significant other, mother, grandmother (or looking to make a wish list for yourself) this is the place you want to go!

For one, they have an amazing online store- and when you purchase anything over $50 Shipping is FREE. But trust me when I say you need to experience Davids Tea in person. The moment you walk in to a store you are greeted with friendly faces, a sample of tea and tins upon tins of amazing smelling teas that will cause your senses to overload (in the best way possible of course!)

As a huge tea nerd myself, I've decided to put together my Top 3 Fav Gift Items. You should also check out David's Holiday Gift Guide.
You're welcome :)

1) David's Starter Kit- The perfect way to introduce someone to the world of loose leaf tea. This box contains a perfect tea spoon, tea sacs, and a variety of best selling teas; from caffeine-free coco chai rooibos, to immunity boosting secret weapon, trust me when I say the $29.50 is totally worth it.

2) The Perfect Tea Mug- This bad boy comes with a stainless steel infuser great for any type of tea (especially great for the large blooming oolong teas!) It comes with a cute lid that not only keeps your tea warm while you steep, but acts as a coaster for the infuser when you're ready to drink.

3) The Glass Teapot- this sexy little thing is one hell of a statement piece. The key? Put a blooming tea inside of it and watch it grow. A great centerpiece and conversation starter that will have everybody talking. Oh and look you can get the matching tea cups with it!

Happy Shopping! Feel free to leave me a comment with any questions you might have. I'm cool like that...

I've Found my Date for Cali...

2010-10-29T21:33:00.004-04:00

and his name is Mike!

BIG Congratulations to Mike for winning the title as 'The Ultimate Plus One' for my blogging trip to Cali. At the end of November, we'll be hitting the west coast starting in San Fran and making our way down to LA.

After very careful consideration of all the nominees, my judging panel and I decided that Mike was the best man for the job. Starting with the fact that his video entry hit every single one of my criteria, I'm also very interested to see what video content we come up with when we put our heads together. (Also, I've never had anyone write a rap about me) so bonus point for that one!

Although he lives on the east coast of Canada, I had a chance to meet Mike when he was in town for the BTJE announcements and we got along like two peas in a pod.

water bottle interview

Hey Mike!

It's time to part with the east and say helloooo to the west, because

WE'RE TAKING A ROAD TRIP!

Thanks again to everyone that entered. This whole experience was a blast!

And the Nominees Are...

2010-10-29T16:35:00.014-04:00

After a week of receiving some amazing and hilarious entries, it has come time for me to decide who I'm going to bring with me on my blogging trip to Cali. Let me start by saying that the response from this little competition blew me away. Here I was expecting to get maybe two good entries... but alas people started coming out of the woodwork with some seriously creative stuff!

I wish I could bring all of these amazing people with me, but alas I can only chose one.

Let's create a little suspense and meet some of my favourite entrants shall we?

Meet Marayana:

She like to takes photos of meals she's about to eat, sunsets, and awkward self-portraits while winking with her mouth open. Known as the Liz Lemon of her group, this girl had me laughing every other line of her e-mail submission. She runs a blog, takes awesome photos, and tweets witty one liners often. Oh and did I mention her mom is one of the stars of Dragon's Den? No wonder, she's got so much awesome going on. It's in her genes. Thanks for the entry Marayana, I loved it!

Meet Brad:
If you've seen a cool spot ad on MTV Canada, Brad was most likely the dude that shot it. From short film docs to interactive multimedia installations, he's what we like to call a 'new media' artist. Check out his directors reel and you'll understand why I enjoy this one. As if being featured in Toronto Life magazine wasn't cool enough, I've been fortunate enough to work with him on a number of awesome webisodes for Chickadvisor.com. I thoroughly enjoyed Brad's stories of his awesome hippy family members that currently reside in Cali. They collect old flutes, make beach art, and have poetry salons once a week. A-maz-ing.

Meet Erin:

If anyone knows how to road trip it's this girl right here. She's spent most of her early twenties living out of a van and touring with the Skate4Cancer team as their photographer. While on her travels, Erin interviews lots of amazing artists in the skate scene for Push Magazine. She even sent me a list of artists she would like to interview in San Fran/LA including Tiffany Bozic. She's also a fan of the great outdoors- from surfing to skydiving, this girl is down to do anything.

Meet Mike:

I first met Mike online as a fellow contestant in the Best Travel Job Ever competition, and straight up his submission video was the best one of them all- (it's no surprise he ended up winning the grand prize trip to Australia). Since then, he's started his own website called Kick the Grind where he video blogs and shows us some really interesting characters and critters along the way. The coolest biology nerd you will ever meet, this guy is the full package. But enough explaining, I'll let his video submission do all the talking. Very impressive rapping skills Mike!

Meet Murtz:

Host of his own reality show Reality Obsessed, Murtz knows the LA scene and all of the reality stars living in it. When he's not at a finale or wrap party, you'll find this one dominating the web, radio and television screen. He's also been coined as the worlds 'most foremost reality television expert' because of his ability to predict, analyze and map out how programs will go. Hey Murtz- how does this one end? tehehehe.

But these are merely some of the awesome people that expressed an interest in joining me to Cali. As you can imagine this decision is not an easy one. It's been so hard, I've actually had to assemble a judging panel! Stay tuned for the big announcement!!

Get Your Vote On

2010-10-25T12:08:00.003-04:00

Toronto is the place I love coming home to in-between my travels. A city thriving with art, culture and the most interesting/brilliant minds.

Which is why TODAY, is a very important day for me and all of it's residents- ELECTION DAY! As someone who works in the arts/entertainment industry, I'm a big supporter of the Arts Vote TO movement.

I know a lot of people who like to stay removed from politics, but if there is one thing you CAN do, it's exercise your right to vote. Do it for Toronto- it's the best way you can have a part in shaping this beautiful city we all love :)

I personally love this little report card that Manifesto put together:

Polls are open from 10 a.m.–8 p.m. and you do not need to have pre-registered or received a voter information card in order to cast a ballot. If you are an eligible elector, all you need to do is show up at your polling place with proper identification. Easy peasy.

Now go get your vote on.

In Search of the Ultimate Plus One

2010-10-23T22:24:00.004-04:00

After winning the bonus round of the 'Best Travel Job Ever' - I've been awarded with a free trip for two to Cali. Since MANY of you were a big part in me winning (thanks again for all the votes!) I wanted to give you all a fair chance at joining in on this adventure with me.

So here's the scoop:

WHEN? End of Nov (dates are flexible- but I'm aiming for Nov 25th-ish)

HOW LONG? As long as we want it to be!

WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE?

-FREE flight to San Fran
-3 nights hotel accom
-free car rental
-memories with yours truly
-flight home from LA

WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR?

-someone who will benefit from the trip

-a creative mind
-sense of humour

-good taste in music

-photo/video skills an asset

*bonus points if you're a blogger

So pitch yourself and tell me why you want to hit up Cali- and more importantly, why I should take you with me. You can tweet, e-mail or leave a comment below.

I'll be announcing the winner on Friday Oct 29th so get on it!

Bustin out the Blades

2010-10-10T10:50:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again...

time to bust out the toques, scarfs and skates here in my home and native land. The Leafs are back and so is this really fun TV show I work on called 'Battle of the Blades'.

Last year we filmed the show at the Maple Leaf Gardens and it was so awesome to lace up and bring life to a place that had been collecting dust for ten years.

You could say I explored the building once or twice... and it was everything I wanted it to be and more.

This year we're shooting down in the film district and I think you should come see a live taping and visit me ;)

When I'm not hanging out in the Motts Clamato lounge, you'll find me backstage with Kurt Browning. He's a total hoot to work with and we have such a blast together.

I used to figure skate competitively and remember when Kurt came to my hometown and did a skating workshop with us and stayed for autographs after. I found this old photo and brought it to work for Kurt to see. We laughed about this one for a while.

Totally nuts that we're working together 10 years later eh?

Be sure to watch all the fun every Sun and Mon night at 8pm on CBC or catch up on episodes online.

Hope to see you soon!

Summer Days Drifting Away...

2010-09-21T23:19:00.009-04:00

Wow September. You're flying by and I've never been busier.
This month has been a mix of travel events, working long days on an outdoor TV set, Davids Tea, and social media stunts to the max... but I wouldn't have it any other way ;)

If you missed the Intrepid Treasure Hunt, you missed one hell of a fun day. I drove around with the Intrepid team hiding globes all over the city of Toronto, tweeting out clues for people to find them and Burstn sneak peak photos along the way.

$1000 Intrepid voucher hanging out at Flight Centre waiting to be found

It was awesome to see all the people show up at each location. What was even better? Seeing the reaction on people's faces when they found out what they won. This winner Jess had the best reaction ever when she scooped up the globe in Kensington Market and won a trip in China - of course I got it all on video ;)

Speaking of which- the Flip Mino HD video camera is incredible! I can't believe the picture and sound that come out of this little thing. Definitely bringing this one on the road with me. Cali is my next stop and being able to pop this into my laptop is too good to be true. #videonerd

If you participated in the event, but didn't make it in time to snatch a globe you most likely met the awesome Jason. He runs the Toronto Urban Adventure tours in Toronto and gave everyone who showed up a free voucher. I'll definitely be hitting up the 'Beer Makes History Better' tour through the Distillery district. Nothing like some good old Canadian brew to fill my belly :)

On that note, it's time to say cheers and welcome to my new readers!

Browse around, have fun and talk to me baby. I love to talk back.

Let the Hunt Begin!

2010-09-13T20:29:00.007-04:00

Intrepid Travel's Treasure Hunt
is here Toronto!

Starting at 9AM, Intrepid is hiding globes all over the city of Toronto and tweeting out clues about their locations. What happens when you find a globe? You could win an Intrepid trip in Peru, Morocco and other exotic locations along with vouchers of up to $1000!

So make sure you're following @Intrepid_Travel RIGHT NOW and playing along!
Even if you're a 9-5er, you could be returning from your lunch break $1000 richer... just sayin'

It could be here...

or here...

or even here...

Happy hunting & good luck :)

From the Ground Up

2010-09-11T09:52:00.002-04:00

To the families that lost their loved ones...

To the construction workers who are rebuilding something special...

To New Yorkers, for letting millions of tourists flock to the scene...

and teaching us what you're all about...

Know that today, and everyday...

You are loved.

Toronto, WE GOT THIS!

2010-09-06T18:54:00.011-04:00

Are you good at figuring out clues?

What if I told you there was a sweet treasure involved?

Mark your calendars Toronto friends: Tues Sept 14th!

This day is going to EPIC.

The good people at Intrepid Travel (who were one of the awesome sponsors involved in the Best Travel Job Ever Contest I recently won) are giving away even more!

GET INTO IT:

Over the month of September, Intrepid is hiding globes in five different cities around the world (Aukland, Chicago, London, Melbourne and TORONTO!)

http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/

Torontonians, Sept 14th is OUR DAY and I really want to see some of you win this stuff!

HOW IT'S GOING DOWN:

- 8 globes will be hidden in Toronto with awesome prizes in them like trips to Peru, Morocco and other exotic locations as well as up to $1000 in vouchers for a future Intrepid Trip!!

-Clues will be given away every hour starting at 9am on Twitter, so make sure you're following them @Intrepid_Travel

GOOD LUCK FRIENDS!

California Lovin'

2010-08-17T08:38:00.003-04:00

Most of you that have been following me the past few months would know that I've been involved in this crazy cool competition called the 'Best Travel Job Ever' by Flight Centre. Despite finding out about it a month into it (and on the other side of the world in Australia) it seemed like way to good of an opportunity to pass up. I threw together a video submission as quickly as I possibly could and starting social networking like crazy to get people to watch, vote and share it with others.

The response from friends, family and even complete strangers was truly incredible. Thanks to all of you, I made it to the Top 25! Unfortunately the judges didn't pick me to be one of the Top 6 semi-finalists (wah wah) however I was still able to compete in the bonus round which is a blogging trip to California.

I blogged about this a while ago and once again, you all came through for me with even more support.

This week we had the live announcements where the bonus round winner was revealed and the two grand prize winners were chosen. Crazy enough, my name was drawn as the bonus winner! And even better news, Mike was chosen as the Grand Prize Winner and gets to go to Aussie! How AWESOME is that?! I am so excited to finally explore Cali outside of the LAX walls. I've only ever been there for layovers and sadly have only seen the Cali sunshine from a window.

This whole journey has been a truly incredible one and I can't believe the amount of friendships that I've formed with some of the other contestants. For the final announcements, I decided to throw a meetup with some of them, along with friends that have been voting so we could celebrate the end of a very long six month journey. (YES this competition was 6 months long).

Some familiar faces showed up like Sonja from Team Asia, Mike from Team South America and Marie from Karmacake.ca. We had such a kick-ass time catching up, chatting about our experience over some bevies and skyping in for the live competition.

You can see our whole night go down on Burstn as the awesome Josh and Steve captured the whole event with live photo streaming on their iphones. Here are some of my fav's from the night:

Catching up with fellow RTA'er Sonya

Skyping in live for the announcements

freaking out over Mike's Grand Prize

Taking it all in :)

Big thanks again to everyone who took the time to vote and leave me a sweet comment on my submission. I'm still sticking to my word about taking a lucky friend with me for the ride so if you're interested in joining me in Cali, let me know and I'll put your name into the draw!

Cheers!

Life Unedited

2010-08-12T06:57:00.003-04:00

Imagine being at your favourite concert and having the ability to take photos and have them upload instantly for you while simultaneously saving to your phone and notifying your followers on Twitter/Facebook that you're taking photos in real time.

Now use the word Burstn to make that idea, a complete reality.

My talented neighbour Josh Davey and his business partner Dave Senior have been working (for what seems like years) on this free app called Burstn- which is completely changing the way we take photos. I can explain it to you with words, or I can simply show you how awesome this app is in 30 seconds:

Imagine having the ability to not only update your friends where you are in the world, but show them with a series of photos instantly!

Pretty cool eh?

I've been involved with the beta testing over the past few months and am so happy to announce the app is ready for download in the app store on any smartphone for absolutely FREE! So join the party, follow me so I can return the favour, and start snapping your life in real-time! This is as real as it gets. Life unedited.

Can't wait to follow your adventures!

Thanks Steve

2010-08-02T02:26:00.004-04:00

I'm at this incredible crossroad in my life where I have a bunch of opportunities thrown onto my lap and choosing one could completely change the course of my life. It's crazy exciting because I love each and every one of my options. I just wish I could do them all at once. Alas, my cloning machine isn't quite up to par yet (my Star Trek transporter has taken priority).

I remember blogging about this crossroad last year before I made the decision to travel to Australia and was scared shitless at how one decision could affect the rest of my life. Now I live for these moments.

What have I learned? It's important to surround yourself with good people, positive energy, and most of all people that inspire you. For me, it was Steve Jobs. Have you met him yet? Dude's got some serious advice to lend...

So with that, I leave you with a very inspiring speech and in particular my favourite quote from it:

"You've got to find what you love. And that's as true for work as it is for lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking...and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." -Steve Jobs

Now it's time for me to get back to work. I have a website that awaits it's launch :)

The Birth of the Tribe

2010-07-29T00:03:00.002-04:00

Since arriving back in this fine city of Toronto, it's been a whirlwind of meetings, tweetups, BBQ's and some freelance work thrown in there to pay the bills.

I've got some exciting projects coming up, and I'm so happy with where life is taking me. My work and love are one in the same and it's so incredible to be able to say that. I've been working some TV shows, shooting some cool art projects, and getting things up and running for the Toronto Travel Tribe.

I can't believe how many great writers and travel bloggers we have right here in Toronto. I recently went to a Travel Blogger Tweetup and was so inspired by the eclectic mix of people that I decided to co-found the Tribe with the fabulous Mariellen. Big thanks to the Sydney Travel Tribe for teaming up with us on this project!

If you haven't checked out Mariellen's blog Breathe Dream Go, I highly suggest you get on it. She has been to India more than you can count on one hand and recently spent her 50th birthday (yes I know, she doesn't look a day older than 30) watching the sunrise light up the great Himalayan range. She carries this magical aura that is so inspiring and calming to be around. Plus, she has a true love for tea which puts her even higher in my books ;)

I cannot wait to introduce you to more of the Travel Tribe. Each month we'll be featuring a different person/blog so you can get to know them and their brand. Trust me when I say these people will blow your mind. If you're a travel blogger/startup and ever in the Toronto area, feel free to stop by and meet the tribe!

Graffiti Love

2010-07-15T13:08:00.001-04:00

I'm not really a sucker for romance, but this one got me:

Graffiti Proposal

Really dig the style of shooting/editing which made me want to learn more about the production company. The guys that did this have an awesome site called shooteditsleep.com

They have some really cool techniques I want to try and learn with my next few video pieces.
One in particular is this bio piece on Ray Phillips:

Ray Phillips from PR!MO

Have some video pieces in the works for my neighbour Adrian Hayles who is one hell of a talented dude. He just did this piece of Hendrix in Kensigton Market (Toronto):

and last year brought some colour to life on our back deck with this mural:

That was my first timelapse piece and it was one hell of a learning experience. I can't wait to shot the next one with Adrian now that I know what to do/not to do.

What I Ate With My Mate

2010-07-06T20:49:00.007-04:00

Content.

I love creating it. Reading it, but most of all sharing it.

After recently travelling Australia for six months, I've started writing for various websites including Travel with a Mate, MTV Fora, Chickadvisor, and of course my own Aussie blog. But what I love most- is meeting all these other great people producing content as well. I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by some seriously creative and brilliant minds who offer nothing but support and encouragement. By the way if you haven't met the tribe, I highly suggest you get to know them ;)

I've really enjoyed being on the road- it's allowed me to write and completely produce my own content outside of a cubicle. I'm really proud of my MTV Fora pieces- the team has given me so much freedom to write whatever the hell I want, produce video, and even have a say in the design layout of the pages. If you haven't read 'From YYZ to SYD' I highly suggest you do so ;)

This month, I am pleased to give you: 'What I Ate with my Mate '

Stay tuned for my next article on Aussie fashion. I hit the streets of Melbourne to dissect the street style and try on some different hats-literally.

By the way- only one week left to vote for me in the 'Best Travel Job Ever' competition. Send some goddamn love my way would ya?

G20: Follow-up Vids

2010-06-28T12:58:00.006-04:00

As the G20 Summit comes to a close, the edit suites are busier than ever. Over the next coming days I'll be updating this with short films/videos from friends and other grass roots journalists. These are the types of things worth sharing.

Photo Credit: Matthew C.X. Langford

Check out Blog TO for more still images
Comments and share's highly encouraged.

SHORT FILMS:

COMMENTARY/CIVILIAN JOURNALISM:

G20: Behind the Scenes of Grassroots Journalism

2010-06-27T16:43:00.019-04:00

For those you outside of Canada who have no idea what's going on right now: The G20 Summit is taking place in Toronto with protestors from all walks of life filling the streets, along with local Torontonians, media outlets, and about 5000 Police Officers in armour. It is both awesome/scary.

Photo Credit: Daniel Villate

As someone who works in the television industry, I have many friends and colleagues out there on the streets covering Toronto from all perspectives (both for news stations and independent film productions).

I have been sitting here for over two days taking it all in via Twitter, TV, and phone conversations with friends watching it all go down. What bothers me most is the amount of tourists and curious Toronto residents that are flocking to these burning cars etc with their cameras.

My photographer friend Brendan Meadows put it well in his caption for this photo that said:

"1 idiot, 20 fools with cameras and 0 Progress"

I feel like in times of conflict or tragedy, everyone wants to be a goddamn journalist. There is nothing totally wrong with that (I'm a vlogger myself) and I feel civilian journalism is incredibly important...but there is a difference between capturing and offering productive commentary and just capturing it for the sake of saying 'you were there'. If you are one of those people... were you there for the Cause? or just BEcause? More cameras only fuel the fire and make it difficult for police officers to sort through the crowds. Unfortunately the purpose of protests (warranted or not) was completely lost on the vast majority of bystanders this weekend.

There is something to be said for the people who were out there working for news stations/blogs/magazines for endless hours upon hours. Take CP24 and CBC for example who had reporters/tweeters all over Toronto interviewing civilians and doing what they do best; breaking news as it happens (BIG shout-out to CP24 for bringing Craig Kielburger on board as a special correspondent). Both stations also had people like Maurice and Kim monitoring the activity online and reporting live what people weren't seeing on TV.

I've noticed a lot of people complaining that the same images get shown over and over again (usually the most horrifying) but you have to understand that people tune into TV at different times and 're-capping' what happens should be expected. News production 101.

With that, I would like to share with you things you won't find on TV: (see more here)

This first one is by a young filmmaker who captures some very moving images including reporters from various newstations amongst the madness:

And the second is from a friend, P.J. who is also a video blogger. He hopped on his skateboard and checked out what was happening at different parts of the city. From the riots, to the peaceful protests, offering up hilarious yet intelligent commentary along the way.
But what I liked most about this video blog? PJ doesn't get too wrapped up in it and most importantly knows when to call it quits and head home. What he says and shows at the 6:10 mark is exactly what I'm trying to hit on:

At the end of day, it's difficult to understand what people are protesting. But there are many people out there doing it peacefully (see also Derek's photo album of the true faces of the G20):

As a resident of Toronto, I thank you and trust me when I say your voices are being heard :)

An Ode to the Caesar: Part 2

2010-06-25T15:24:00.008-04:00

For those of you who missed My Ode to the Caesar's 40th Birthday last summer, basically I'm obsessed with this cocktail. Known to many Canadians as the hangover cure, this cocktail is my staple summer drink at the Cottaggio and a perfect patio drink.

When I recently travelled to Australia I was heartbroken to discover they don't sell Clamato juice there. The only thing close to a Caesar was a Bloody Mary. I tried... but it doesn't even compare! We had an Aussie friend visiting Canada who asked us if we'd like anything brought back. My Canadian friends and I jumped up in excitement and said 'CLAMATO JUICE!' She looked at us funny... but alas our mate pulled through and showed up at a party in Melbourne with two beautiful Motts jugs in hand.

Which lead to this... An Ode to the Caesar:

Did you know that more than 350 million Caesars are enjoyed by Canadians each year?
Help make the Caesar Canada's National Cocktail by signing the petition here!

The MIM (Melt in Mouth) Series: Part One

2010-06-20T16:09:00.004-04:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin

After spending the past six months in Australia, I came across some really great food dishes that made my experience that much better. But there is one recipe in particular that still makes my tastebuds water just thinking about it. So I decided to share it with the world by writing an article for my dear friends at Chickadvisor:

Be sure to check out the full recipe on Chickadvisor's Website.

Big thanks to my Melbourne mate Gill for her amazing cooking skills while I snapped away.

Feel free to check out more of our food experiments on her blog as well :)

Wanna Go on a Date?

2010-06-07T23:58:00.002-04:00

In Cali? Like for reals.

The Bonus round of the BTJE Competition is in full effect and THIS girl here is in the running to win a trip to Cali and blog about the adventure. Even better news... I get to bring a friend! So I thought, why not make a date of out it?

If you're too lazy to vote, all I ask is that you head over to: http://besttraveljobever.com/tagg and write me a nice comment :)

Every vote and/or comment I receive enters me in a draw to win the Cali trip for 2 (did I mention the dates are open?!)

Hope to see you in Cali ;)

xoxo
@Taggio

Meet the Tribe

2010-06-07T22:36:00.006-04:00

During my time in Australia I met a lot of really great people.
Some I've introduced you to, some I've kept all to myself... but alas
I'm finally learning to share. So with that I would like you to meet
the Sydney Travel Tribe!

Every month the tribe gets together to share ideas, business tips and

chat about their one true love: Travel.

I found out about the group through Graham who has been supporting

me on my Best Travel Job Ever journey. When he saw that I was leaving

Melbourne and heading back to Sydney, he immediately suggested I

come out for some beers and meet the tribe.

I’ve never been to a tweetup before
in my own country, let alone one on the
other side of the world… but I thought to
myself, what have I got to lose?

The moment I sat down and started
chatting with some of them I realized
how much we all had in common. We are
young entrepreneurs with nothing but
endless ideas spilling out of us the more
we got to know each other.

These my friends are the people of the future.
So with that, I would like to introduce you to the tribe:

@aussie_ian: The mastermind behind this whole thing,
Ian is also the founder of a realtime Q&A service called Travellr.
He’s also in the know of everything that goes on in the social media
world of travel and someone you should definitely be following on Twitter!

@brookeschoenman: A perpetual nomad, Brooke
has an awesome blog called Brooke Vs The World. She also sends
out a monthly newsletter called Female Travel Underground that covers
off-beat topics for the off-the-beaten path female travellers. Ladies I highly recommend you sign up now.

@grayum_ian: Founder of Project Wander, this dude
never sleeps. He devotes an obsessive (and impressive) amount of time
to following current travel news and trends via Twitter, podcasts,
conferences and personal experience. He’s totally crushing it…
oh and did I mention he’s Canadian?

@kevlippy: Kevin is one of those uber cool dudes that
has so many ideas in his head he can barely contain himself.
He’s been working really hard at launching his website Brokepacker.com
so keep your eye on this one if you want to save some serious cashola
while you travel.

Alicia and Katrina from World Nomads: These ladies were
kind enough to offer me some desk space and free (high speed) WIFI
at their World Nomads office in Sydney so I could upload some vids.
Big thanks to Ian for the hook ups as well :)

@trooperlauren: Co-founder of Globe Trooper, Lauren
came up with this brilliant idea to create a forum where people can
create their trips online and find like-minded travellers to join them.
I highly recommend you follow them on Twitter as well.

@vagabondquest: This cute backpacking couple
Dina and Ryan have been on the road for over a year now and have
a great blog VegabondQuest that offers tips, tricks, and awesome stories
from the road.

But these are just a few of the awesome people you will meet if you
ever attend a Sydney Travel Tribe. Their numbers are only growing,
so I highly recommend you check out their website. If you’re a
travelling vlogger/blogger like myself and ever in the Sydney area,
be sure to stop in and enjoy some beers with the tribe.
I can’t wait to reunite with them again in the future!

Birthday Travelganza Part 5: Toronto

2010-05-23T13:12:00.002-04:00

After two crazy weeks and five amazing cities, I am happy to announce I have made it to my final destination in my home and native land! Toronto embraced me with sunshine and smiles and it felt so damn good :)

I flew in from NYC with Porter which drops you off right in the heart of the city at Toronto Island Airport. Getting through customs was a breeze since there was basically 30 other people on my flight (yet another reason why I LOVE this airline).

I went straight to my Toronto apt, jumped in the shower, threw on the cleanest clothes I had and walked down Queen St to surprise my roomie Nicole at Davids Tea. It was so awesome to be reunited with her after 6 months you have no idea.

After this it was pretty much non-stop.
Had a rooftop beach party with my neighbours

Reunited with some friends at Betty's (one of my fav pubs in Toronto). It was a perfect night of people dropping in and out so I could have some one-on-one time with them and catch up. I've discovered how helpful it was to blog about my aussie adventure while I was away. Most confessed that they were living vicariously through my phot albums and blogs and already knew everything about my trip. I love that :)

The weekend was full of coffee dates, BBQ's, beers and very little sleep. My bod is still running on Oz time so I often wake up at 4am for no reason.

So it's official. I've hit the quarter century.

25 and still going strong!

Thank you to everyone from all the cities I visited over the past two weeks for making this experience an unforgettable one. It sure feels good to be back :)

Birthday Travelganza Part 4: LA/NYC

2010-05-19T09:57:00.003-04:00

I stood in front of this sign at the Sydney airport for a solid ten minutes and thought to myself

'am I really doing this?'

The answer was yes.

I ended up going with the window seat after all. But scored BIG time since I was in the first row in the economy section. I had heaps of leg room and didn't have to worry about bugging the french dude in the aisle seat anytime I had to pee. Oh and the cute male flight attendant would occasionally pop his head through the curtain and offer me warm croissants and other goodies only business class had the luxury of enjoying. Best Birthday flight ever.

So it's official. I am back in North America. I knew it the moment I stepped off the plane and the hostile airport security yelled at me where to go. What ever happened to 'Welcome to Los Angeles, please head this way to collect your luggage' ? Meh... a girl can dream can't she?

God I miss Australia already. Luckily it was a sunny day in California so after going through the headache of American customs and stripped/patted down to virtually nothing, I hit the bar. Met some cool dudes, some not-so-cool dudes, and some really creepy 50-something men who think they've still got game. I laughed, and continued to drink my beer.

I went to the ATM and realized how much I hate American money. It's so dirty, bland and boring. The Aussies not only have colourful bills organized by size, but it was rip/waterproof too. So brilliant my mates are :)

After finally making it to rainy NYC I realized how not attracted I am to this city. I used to think NYC was so cool, but now coming back to it for the third time I see nothing but an overpopulated piece of land that looks concrete old and rusty. Living in Australia has really changed by perspective on things... I realize now sitting here in an NYC cafe how much I never want to live here. #realtalk

But let's talk about something I do love about NYC shall we? The BAGELS AND CREAM CHEESE.

I kid you not when I say I was literally shoveling this stuff into my mouth. Australia doesn't specialize in this at all. It was VERY difficult for me to find places that had bagels anywhere in Aus and the ones that did tasted like crap. New Yorkers... now they know what they're doing when it comes to this shit right here. Hands down.

My time is short here in NYC but since it's so crappy out I could care less. It is afterall only a one hour plane ride away from TORONTO.

4 cities down. 1 MORE TO GO!
Toronto, this is it!

Birthday Travelganza Part 3: Sydney

2010-05-18T03:08:00.003-04:00

The official halfway point on my birthday tour, Sydney embraced me with open arms. I didn't realize how much I missed the smell of the ocean until I arrived back in Bondi. I'm seriously going to miss going for morning runs along the beach...big time.

It was so great to see old friends again and say a farewell to this beautiful country of Australia.

Had a nice big dinner at Bondi Pizza with both my Canadian and Aussie friends

Enjoyed many open bar nights on the rooftop patio of Diageo (the nights got a bit blurry)

Had a good old fashion Aussie BBQ with the Whalley Family- my long lost Aus relatives.

How cute is this little munchkin? I'm going to miss her big time

Another thing I'll miss about Australia? THE COFFEE.

None of this drip business- everyone here is a barista even in their own kitchen.

I find it rather fitting that I'm ending my time here in Sydney where it all began. Over the past 6 months I have learned so much and met some really great people. I couldn't think of a better way to ring in my 25 years of living than by going out and actually living it.

Goodbye for now dear Sydney... I will most definitely be back.

Next stop: NYC

Travelganza Part 2: Melbourne

2010-05-16T19:55:00.003-04:00

As if Hobart wasn't a great way to kick things off, arriving in Melbourne really kept the momentum going. If you're not up to speed, I'm travelling over the next two weeks to five different cities to ring in my 25th birthday.

Melbourne reminds me a lot of Toronto, but operates much more effectively.

The transportation system is brilliant weather you're driving, tramming it or riding your bike. My friend Erin snapped this photo out of the sunroof of our friends car as we drove through the city and I think it captures the beauty of Melbs perfectly:

I love cruising around Melbourne and checking out all the cool buildings. The architecture here is unrivaled with colours and shapes that will put anyone in awe of it all.

Hands down this is the culture capital of Australia. The people here don't have to try hard to be cool- they just are. You won't see girls running around in hoochie dresses and heels like they do in Sydney (and Toronto). Instead, you'll hear a live band jamming on the corner in a warehouse jam space or local pub. If you love music and beer gardens, then you'll LOVE Melbourne. Sidenote* sometimes you have to walk down a sketchy alley to get to a great bar, but trust me when I say the reward is always a great one.

I said my goodbyes to my roomies and our awesome Melbourne pad.

I'm REALLY going to miss Gill and Shannon. We had some of the best nights in Melbourne together and all piled into Shannon's warm comfy bed on our last night (yes we spooned and we're okay with that).

If you ever make it out to Melbourne, check out my Aussie Adventure Blog post 'Must Do's in Melbs'

2 cities down. 3 more to go.

Sydney: brace yourself!

Birthday Travelganza Part 1: Hobart

2010-05-10T02:36:00.002-04:00

One city down, four more to go.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about. Allow me to catch you up to speed:

I'm travelling over the next two weeks to five different cities and celebrating my 25th birthday along the way. I'll probably be completely sick of airports by the end of it, but having a laptop (aka- my child) with me makes things more tolerable. Now if only more airports had free wifi...
but I digress...

As I flew into the beautiful state of Tasmania I was completely taken back by it's beauty. As we drove into Hobart, I suddenly felt like I was in Vancouver -a city surrounded by mountains and right by the water.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and one that I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone travelling Australia. Here's what happened in a nutshell:

-Got a tour of the oldest brewery in Australia (Cascade)

-Road tripped out to Bruny Island where I ate a lot of cheese, drank a lot of wine, found the stairway to heaven and got shucked.

-Climbed a mother fuckin' mountain in Wineglass Bay (and told myself the whole way up I am not getting old)

-Drank the best coffee of my life, hit the Salamanca Markets and bought heaps of goodies for my fam back home (I've had to dump some clothes to make it all fit)

Next Stop: Melbourne. Bring. it. on.

two. five.

2010-05-04T10:07:00.003-04:00

Two weeks. Five cities.

Can she handle it?

Hobart

Melbourne

Sydney

New York

Toronto

let the madness begin.

Behind the Scenes

2010-04-28T16:59:00.002-04:00

video blogging on the streets of Melbourne and dissecting the street style. Full article coming to MTV Canada's new online magazine FORA this summer :)

Riding on a Dream

2010-04-27T06:59:00.007-04:00

Meet my friend Rob.

Rob is one of those rare people you meet in your life.
The kind that puts others before himself and inspires me on a daily basis
Over five years ago, Rob started an organization called Skate4Cancer
which has grown into a supportive community for young people
affected by cancer.

Although he does so much to promote cancer prevention, one thing he does
every couple of years is traveling to a country and skateboarding across it.
I made a documentary about his very first skate from LA to Toronto when I was
in Uni and will never forget the day Rob crossed the Canadian border with
Martin Streek by his side. I cut together a shorter version for Youtube-
but if you want to see the full doc. contact me :)

Since then Rob has boarded across Canada, New Zealand and has just skated
a major chunk of Australia. Unfortunately he was injured on this skate and
needs to take some time off to recover but there is no doubt in my mind
he will be back to conquer to remainder of Australia. When he starts
something, he is determined to finish it.

Rob started his Aussie skate in Sydney where I embraced him and the rest
of the team. I introduced them to my favourite spot in Bondi to watch
the sunset- a place that has played a significant role on my journey.

I met him with open arms again in Melbourne where the skate community
came together at Prahan Skate Park for a good old Aussie BBQ. When two
teenage boys came up to him and asked him to sign their boards I couldn’t help
but smile :)

It is so amazing to see how Rob has inspired people on a worldwide
level now. They are not only following him, but open their homes up to him
and the team anywhere they go- offering beds, showers, etc. It’s times like
these you realize how beautiful the world really is :)

So be part of the movement and support Rob on his journey.
Check out the website, subscribe to their Youtube Channel and join
their Facebook page to stay updated with events.

Lets Dream. Love. Cure. together :)

Fora Fun

2010-04-07T21:55:00.001-04:00

As many of you already know, I'm currently travelling Australia and blogging about it here.
Some even more exciting news, I've been asked by my dear family at MTV Canada to write some articles for them about Aussie Beauty in their new online magazine FORA.

It's completely interactive and streamlines beautifully with Twitter and other community forums. I'm really happy with how my page turned out :) You can move the polaroids around and watch a video I made called '5 Things Canadians Can Learn from Aussies'.

If you live outside of Canada, you'll have to watch the video on Youtube which I've also posted on my Aussie Blog.

I'm always interested to hear your thoughts/suggestions so feel free to comment or Tweet me.
It feels so good to be able to do this stuff while I'm travelling. My Mac and I are inseparable... it's getting kind of serious :)

skype me baby

2010-04-02T20:15:00.002-04:00

As a traveller, I actually look forward to holidays because I know I'll be able to spend some quality skype time with friends and family. So proud of mamma Tagg for learning how to use this program - she brings her laptop with her to every family function so I can be part of it from the other side of the world. Had a lovely Easter dinner with the fam today and loved catching up with everyone.

Even though I keep them updated on My Aussie Adventure, it's always nice to have some face time :)

Don't have me on skype? Add me: ataggio -and we'll have a video party!

2010-03-07T02:57:00.000-05:00

Dear Blogspot:
I have not forgotten you. I've simply been travelling my way through Australia and updating my Aussie Adventure Blog with Tumblr. I hope you don't think I'm cheating on you. He just offers me some things that you can't at the moment.

I promise to write more often when the trip is done. Please know you will always have my heart.
I can't believe it's been six years already. Looking forward to so many more <3

Love always,
-Alicia

Good Morning

2009-10-19T11:37:00.003-04:00

There is something about this song that completely changes the tenor of my day.
That is all.

Feels Like the First Time

2009-10-15T13:56:00.010-04:00

So last night I grew the balls to get on stage and do stand up comedy for the first time.

I don't really remember very much of it because it all happened so fast, but I was told afterwards that I did a great job. On a sidenote, this was also something on 'my list' of things to do before I die... so I am pleased to check that one off now.

If any of you are thinking about this, I highly recommend you try it.

My dear co-worker at MTV, Derek Forgie hosts the event about once a month in support of the HSSE. It's a very warm and welcoming environment for people who just want to get up on stage and try stand-up for the first time.

Join their Facebook Group and come out and participate in their next event. It's only $5 and each act is about 5 minutes a piece.

Here are some friendly tips I learned from last night:

-be prepared for the spotlight (it was so damn bright I couldn't see a single person in the audience and it was weird hearing them laugh but not being able to see them at all.

- don't be afriad to adjust the mic stand/take the mic in your own hands

-use the stage. Act shit out, especially when giving anecdotes.

-Chill out. Drink a beer before you go up and loosen up a bit.

-out of courtesy to the other acts, keep it as close to 5 minutes as possible.

in health and humour,

-A

MLG Time Lapse

2009-10-08T13:45:00.002-04:00

Pretty cool to see the transformation.

Also kind of creepy that I was being watched for 5 days...

Google Street

2009-10-07T11:20:00.004-04:00

Big news. Google Maps has just launched street level views for Toronto. What does this mean? I can finally explain to friends where the hell I live now!

Check it:

View Larger Map

To the left is Burrito Boy. To the Right is Tequila Sunrise.

Where does that leave me?

Heaven.

Back on blades again

2009-10-06T18:44:00.011-04:00

When I quit figure skating six years ago to work in TV, I never thought those two worlds would ever come together again for me. I was a competitive figure skater for over 10 years and stopped at the end of high school so I could attend Ryerson for television and concentrate on working in TV.

After years of freelancing with Insight Productions I received an e-mail from my producer saying that they were teaming up with CBC to create a new entertainment show called Battle of the Blades. Not only were they looking for a floor director, but they were looking for someone to do this from ice level. I couldn't believe what I was reading. This job had my name written all over it. The question was, could I fit back into my skates again? (The answer is no, but luckily my sisters always had bigger feet than me).

Walking into the Maple Leaf Gardens for the first time in over ten years immediately brought back all the memories. The smell of the arena, the runny noses, and the sweet sweet sound of my blades crunching edges into the ice. I felt right at home again.

We had our first meeting on ice with the participants when suddenly I was surrounded by hockey legends and figure skaters I looked up to growing up.

I think the general feeling at that moment was shared by all of us; we were excited to get going and bracing ourselves for the long days ahead.

Even though we've never done a show like this before, I felt completely comfortable knowing I had such an great team around me in every dept who I've worked with in the past. From the producers to the TVA's, I knew we had such a solid group on board.

I mean, look at this Leafs Dressing Room: Peter and Sandra brought life to a room that's been boarded up and vacant for years!

Before I knew it, it was our first show day. The audience started piling into the Gardens and really brought life to the arena again (some even sporting their leafs jerseys). As I skated around before the show, I thought to myself, 'Wow, I get to do the two things I love to do tonight: Skate and help run a live TV show.' And of all places, the Gardens!

So if you haven't booked your tickets yet, get on it. Tickets are $5 through Ticketmaster and are selling fast. Then let me know what day you're coming and make sure we get some embrace time. I'm only here for one more month before I head off the Aussie to conquer more TV.

and stay tuned for more pics from the rink!

After Hours

2009-09-18T18:51:00.009-04:00

One of my favourite people to drink with is my good man Clint. As an Instructor at the Toronto Institute of Bartending you can imagine why. Not only does he teach me how to make fun drinks, but his knowledge on the history of certain cocktails is impeccable.

After hours, we like to make our own drinks and play around with different mixes. The possibilities are simply endless. Last night, we decided to pay omage to our good man Tom Collins and somehow created what we like to call:

'The BumbleBee Twist: A member of the Collins Family"

So without further adieu, here is how you can enjoy one...

What You'll Need:

-lemons

-simple syrup (equal parts sugar/water)

-ginger beer

-Absolut Raspberry Vodka

-After 8 chocolate straws

-ice ice baby

How to Make it:

-mix 2oz vodka, 1 oz squeezed lemon, 1/2 oz simple syrup

-add ice, and shake

-strain into a glass filled with ice

-top with ginger beer

-garnish with a lemon twist

-use wedge from your twisted lemon and place on glass

-break After 8 chocolate straw and place in the grooves of wedge

-Serve and enjoy!

Stay tuned for more of our late night creations

New.Beginnings.

2009-09-17T01:04:00.013-04:00

Ok. So I'm at this weird crossroad in my life.

After working slightly over a year for MTV Canada which is a place thriving with incredibly creative and brilliant minds; I started thinking about my future in this industry. I absolutely love the company and love what I do so much that I could see myself working there for a long long time. This led me to realize how lucky I am at the age of 24 to have such a sweet gig. I must be doing something right if they like me enough to keep me around this long.

But then, it happens... every time I log onto a social network, (Facebook whore) I see yet another album of a friend who has posted their experience from Europe (or the like).

And then there is me... the one who has never been outside of North America. Seriously.

I've done my share of US states including the incredibly gorgeous Hawaii. And like any other college kid, had my share of spring breaks in Cuba etc.

But I've never lived outside of the city for more than a couple of weeks. Toronto is the only life I know. And I feel like now is that time go out and experience this sort of stuff before I settle down to a 'real job' if you will, (although working in TV is definitely not your 9-5).

So I took the leap of faith. I sat down with my producer and talked it out. She was completely on my page, in fact even had stories to tell of when she did the same thing.

Now it's happening... I'm taking this next year off to travel to Australia. I'm not just going for the beaches, boys, and sexy accents (although it is rather appealing) but to also try my hand at working in TV land out there.

So what's the point in traveling if you're just going there to work you ask?

TV works a little different...it's a lot of freelance which when planned out right can allow you to travel in between gigs. This could mean Fiji, New Zealand, Thailand. Hell, I'm going to try and hit everything I possibly can while I'm on that side of the world. The more money I make out there, the more I can do with it.

And then it became real. I found a super great deal through a company called VAustralia and literally jumped at the chance to book a flight. I had butterflies in my stomach watching the payment go through and the itinerary show up in my inbox.

I'm stoked. I'm reuniting with my Whistler homies and old friends. Everyone is telling me it will be an experience I'll never forget. "You'll love it Alicia. You'll never come back"

But then, my heart drops. My company posted a job two days after booking my flight for a position that has my name written all over it. As I read the qualifications I'm mentally checking off the list in my head:

-Online social butterfly? Check

-Understanding and evolving with these social networks? double check

-portfolio of writing skills? triple check

-Photography skills/photo editing- check check could this job get any better? check

-HTML/ web understanding - check check I can feel the tears forming check

I have to stop here... It hurts to replay this in my mind.

The perfect job at the worst possible time.

Why do I feel like I'm making a mistake by leaving?
I'm not. I just have to keep telling myself that.

I can't wait to look back on this day and laugh about it :)

a little inspiration from Steve Jobs

2009-08-17T16:10:00.002-04:00

As I stand here at a crossroad in my life. I stumbled upon this...

"Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick...don't lose faith. I'm convinced the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that's as true for work as it is for lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking...and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."
-Steve Jobs

Thanks Steve. I needed this.

EGG-cellent Choice

2009-08-03T11:55:00.006-04:00

So I'm the type of girl that enjoys making food but hates following recipes. You won't find teaspoons and measuring cups in my kitchen. I like to eye everything out and experiment with what works and doesn't when it comes to food. So if you're anything like me, perhaps you will enjoy my food posts. So with that being said, feel free to change/experiment with this one.

Weather you're cottaging, camping, or just feel like firing up some breakfast on the BBQ, this next recipe I'm about to share will change your life. My sister's boyfriend Adam has been making this in his family for years and it's not only delicious but super easy to make.

What you'll neeed:

-cupcake tin

-carton of eggs

-margarine/butter

-chopped veggies (onions, mushrooms etc)

-shredded cheese

-BBQ/campfire/grill

-friends to enjoy it with

-start by scooping a small spoonful of margarine/butter into each tin

-add chopped veggies

-cook over grill until veggies are cooked

-crack an egg into each tin

-cover the egg tins (to ensure complete cooking coverage)

-add cheese to top of each egg

-once cheese is melted, remove from heat, and let it cool briefly

-scoop each egg onto a plate

-serve and enjoy!

resting. in. peace.

2009-07-07T10:23:00.019-04:00

I awoke to yet another harsh reality on the world of Twitter. Martin Streek has passed away.

I didn't want to believe it, but when I saw Alan Cross confirm it and Josie Dye comment on it, I knew it was real. Tuning into the Edge this morning Josie could barely keep it together as she alluded to his death and played one of his favourite NIN songs.

If you've ever listened to Toronto radio, then you know who Martin Streek is.

I used to work on the Hour with Strombo who had nothing but great things to say about this man. Earlier this year, I arranged for my roommate (who was studying radio broadcasting) to sit down and interview Strombo and his thoughts on media, politics and music as a whole. I leave you with these words that he had on Streek:

"Martin Streak and David Bookman are so important to this city, what they do for music…Streek when he’s on the radio.. quality wins. They believe in music. They are the snipers waiting by the window keeping everyone on their game. Because their music knowledge is impeccable, their passion is unrivled and they’re not afraid to tell you. They understand how important a record can be to your life."
-George Stroumboulopoulos

RIP Martin Streek.

You were, and always will be a Radio Legend.

the conversation

2009-06-30T00:19:00.007-04:00

Nonna: Aleech, whenna you gonna geta boyfriend and get married and have kids?

Me: (laughs)

Nonna: (serious face)

awkward silence...

Me: umm, soon?

Nonna: Soon? I'ma gonna die and never get to see!

Me: Well you'll have to live forever then :)

The Way You Make Me Feel

2009-06-26T13:41:00.006-04:00

The rumours started when I was working at MTV around 5pm. All the TV's were tuned into CNN, CTV, and every other news station possible. It was starting to turn into a mad house as people anxiously hit the refresh buttons on their webpages. Ironically the only answers we were getting were from gossip blogs. TMZ, Perez, Twitter and Facebook were reporting that Michael Jackson had been taken to hospital.

I jumped onto Twitter myself and didn't even have to scroll through the trending topics because nearly everyone I was following was already posting links and for the most part posting "Michael Jackson dead?".

With less than an hour away until our live shows, producers immediately decided to throw their rundowns out the window and address the issue everyone was talking about. In fact, The Aftershow dedicated their entire show to MJ discussing their reactions, how they found out, and some of their favourite memories.

I brought the twenty somewhat audience members up to studio and immediately let them know that this was going to be a very different After Show. No applause. No joking around. MJ was gone and even I couldn't believe it.

What suprised me though was that the audience full of 16-20 yrs old really didn't care. They didn't get what the big deal was. In their eyes, MJ was a pedophile.

To me, MJ was my entire childhood. My dad who was a part-time DJ, had every MJ album on both CD and vinyl and blasted his songs at least once a week. Singing 'The Way You Make Me Feel' at the top of my lungs while daddy blasted the tunes, changed the tenor of my day and it still does to this very day.

During commercial breaks of the live show, I started snapping and humming some of MJ's classic hits hoping to get some sort of reaction from these kids...but they didn't know the words. They had no idea about how this one man changed the face of music. They just knew him as the guy that changed his face.

So for those who don't understand why so many people are paying tribute to the King of Pop (or why he has this title) please read below and take some time to do some research on your own.

"First, people forget that the Thriller album essentially saved the recording industry when it was released in 1982. Suffering from the double whammy of the post-disco sales depression and a brutal recession, Thriller almost single-handedly resurrected the music industry"- Alan Cross, (read his Metro article here)

When Michael Jackson released Thriller, he made a music video for "Billie Jean." It was a good one and his producer, CBS Records, knew it. But when they presented it to MTV it was turned down. MTV had never aired a black musician's video before. So, Walter Yetnikoff, the Chairman of CBS told MTV that if they didn't play Michael Jackson's videos, they wouldn't have access to any of CBS's videos. So, MTV gave in and aired "Billie Jean," which broke the colour barrier.

But he did so much more than just that. He gave music videos life again; creating short films and working with some of the best directors that experimented with new technologies including the face morphing feature in his video 'Black or White'.

And then there was dance. In my opinion, one of his most important contributions was his imperative to dance. Artists such as Justin Timberlake, Usher, Chris Brown and Ne-Yo may have ascended the pop charts because of their excellent songs...but they became superstars because your jaw dropped when you watched them dance. But no one has yet to recapture Jackson as a dancer- the Moonwalk completely rewrote the book on male sexuality in music.

Still to this day, dance groups everywhere are learning the choreography to MJ's songs. From subway dancers to television shows like SYTYCD, there is nothing that excites me more than when someone pays omage to the King of Pop.

So to all the tweeney boppers. I leave you with wise words from the great Alan Cross, "Forget the lurid allegations, the buying of the Elephant Man’s bones, the hyperbaric sleeping chambers, the plastic surgery and the dangling babies...Let’s not focus on the tabloid stuff. The man did enough that we should remember him for the great groundbreaking talent that he was."

R.I.P. MJ