MY NEW YORK ADVENTURE

The yellow cab pulled up in front of the hotel. Being in the state of New York (although not directly in the famed city part for which this commuting experience is more commonly known for), I instinctively, though not entirely consciously, put on the seat belt. I was somewhat distracted. I had to do a double take, because it was Kevin Federline (or least someone who resembled the few glimpses I've ever seen of this supposed celebrity) behind the wheel. The slightly off-centred, backwards tilted baseball cap and the large gold chain that hung around his neck, along with a face that couldn't have been older than 17 years, should have set off some warning bells that perhaps my original cab driver was a victim of a robbery and this impersonator had his next victim strapped in. But his authenticity was validated as he radioed in his status. Except he wasn't familiar with the road of where my destination was, and relayed this back to the dispatcher. "What the F*&#! Are you trippin'? It's off Western!!" As this exchange was going on, I had whipped out the Google Map that I had printed off ahead of time, showing the step by step direction of how to get from the hotel to my destination. The next thing I knew, Kevin took the map from me and, as he was whipping down the road in what I envision as typical New York cabbie breakneck style, carefully studied it. While doing so, he managed to dodge through traffic and speed through 2 amber lights. At the one red light that he couldn't make (maybe because there was already cross traffic that was blocking his path), he throws the map back at me and reaches into the driver's side door pocket. For an Egg McMuffin. Obviously, he appears not to be able to drive with BOTH hands free. After inhaling the breakfast sandwich, he proceeded to finish off an extra large coffee. I finally arrived at my destination, wishing I hadn't agreed to the hotel's free continental breakfast.

I'm not sure what these things do to your brain, but at some point during an all day training session, you start losing it. Or you start hearing what should be benign things that just make you crack up hysterically. Anyone in energy knows that it's an industry that has way too many acronyms. People can carry entire conversations without using a complete word. I'm trying my best to comprehend the information about an accounting and settlements system that I've just been pummelled with for the past 5 hours when I hear: "Back in my office, I'm having problems downloading the B.O.; can you send me something for my B.O.?" I look around and people are agreeing, apparently experiencing the same challenge. But they all look so serious and that makes me want to crack up even more! "Have you tried customizing your A.D.D.?" I can't contain myself. I have to step out because if I bite my tongue any harder, I would never be able to taste food again.

And I love the accent of the people here. They sound like they could be from Toronto. Then, all of a sudden and without warning, they'll say "awwwwwwl" with the deepest of Brooklyn drawls. It's like a switch that can be turned on and off!

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for life. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF THE EMPORER OWNS ALL THE EXCLUSIVE FISHING RIGHTS?

GO LEAFS GO!

At this time of year, the leaves start turning into their flamboyant colours, detaching themselves and slowly pirouetting to the ground. As if they can't wait to remind us of the other stuff that will soon be slowly floating to the ground. This time of year always sparks memories from my childhood. It is cold enough that, by the time I had run back to the house, the sweat from playing outside all day had already turned into a cold, damp towel around my body. After a quick, warm shower, I would make my way to the kitchen, usually to help Mom get the table ready for dinner. Any stubborn chill still remaining in my body disappears as I drink some of her warm "tong", a Chinese soup that was always present at dinner. But, despite her efforts at preparing, yet, another amazing meal, I would wolf down the food as fast as I could. That was because at 7:30 p.m. sharp, I would always be found, religiously, in front of the TV, watching Hockey Night in Canada. My weekly devotion to my beloved Maple Leafs. My mom actually started objecting to me watching hockey at one point because I would get so excited (or so upset, depending on the outcome of the game), that I couldn't sleep properly. For the better part of the past year, I've had to be a closet Maple Leaf fan. Living in Calgary, EVERYONE is a Flames fan and there's a reason for their passion. (Pro) Sports fans here really only have hockey and (Stampeder) football to choose from, so their loyalties tend to be less divided. And if you're not a Flames fan, you might as well change your name to Sophie and declare that you have six toes. So, I managed to pick up tonight's game between the Leafs and the Flames on my bunny ears (it's odd, when I refer to my TV antenna that way, people give me strange looks) and it turned out to be a great game. Especially when Mats Sundin scored the winning goal in overtime with the Leafs shorthanded due to a very questionable, very late penalty! I was hooping and hollering (probably the only in the entire city). Yeah, I don't think I'll be sleeping too well tonight!

PROPS TO YUNUS

Well, my work with Kiva just got a little busier. I suddenly remember back in February that it was just announced that Bono was nominated for this year's Nobel Peace prize. Well, this year's winner is Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Many consider him the founding father of microfinance. And now, I'm seeing a lot more posts about microfinance in general, and the growing interest in Kiva.

From reading these blogs, I get the sense that people living in an affluent society don't think that giving is necessarily a bad idea. The challenge is finding the right vehicle that is practical and relevant. The fact that Kiva loaners can follow how their "investment" is doing through frequently updated journals and to actually see the progress of how much the loan has been paid back, makes one feel more connected to the cause. YOU START TAKING OWNERSHIP OF WHAT HAPPENS. Plus, most people in this society could easily spend $25 on coffee alone in one week's time without thinking twice. This is more than just giving money out of charity; this is about creating something that is sustainable. This is something that prompts all who are involved (the ones who are in more need and the ones who are in less need) to become better people. Quick, band-aid solutions rarely offer the opportunity for ongoing community and dialogue. But I also realize that this is a journey that everyone needs to travel down (for me, it started with the question "What should I do if a homeless person asks me for money?") and different people will arrive at different intersections.

So, what does Bono do when, in the rare occassion, he doesn't win an accolade for his humanitarian efforts? He goes RED! It's an interesting concept of trying to engage an already materially distracted society for a good cause. Although it's amazing (well, depends on how cynical you are, because it could be seen as an attempt to gain good social responsibility PR credits) to be able to gather such an all star line up of lifestyle branded corporations, it doesn't help to stave our addiction to things. In fact, if you didn't own an iPod up to this point, you might even convince yourself to buy a red one just for the sake of that $10 being donated. It's a good first step; but back to people becoming better people. Nevertheless, the manifesto is worth the read..

HEADS UP!

I've come to really enjoy my current Wednesday night ritual, where you will find me in some high school gym playing some elementary school game. DODGE BALL. It's actually quite funny thinking about the concept: grown women and men, running around an enclosed space, chucking red rubber balls at each other. And because grown people have bad memories, they've really dumbed down the game: it's not King's Court or any sophisticated variation. When you get hit, you're out until one of your teammates catches the ball. The team of six that doesn't have all of its members eliminated wins. I certainly see the appeal amongst grown-ups playing this game. What better way to work out life's stresses than by projecting them onto the ball and throwing it away as hard as you can? And it's quite a work out, running around, squatting to avoid being hit, launching the ball as hard as you can. But the thing I find most interesting about this game is that you can win this game defensively; if a team decides not to throw a single ball at all, they can still win. This is because whenever you throw the ball and it is caught before it hits the ground, you're out. So, playing a defensive game has many appeals.

1. It's so awesome seeing your competitor become deflated after they throw the ball as hard as they can and it's caught (plus, the rubber balls make quite the smack when you catch it in your chest, adding even more of a dramatic effect)
2. When you catch the ball, one of your teammates who was out gets to come back in (you're actually doing communal good)
3. Catching requires less energy than throwing the ball, accurately, as hard as you can.

So, in my opinion, they should call this game Catch Ball, although it probably wouldn't have the same marketing appeal. Time to go practice. I'm sure I can find a willing participant, because, as they say "If you can dodge wrenches, you can dodge balls!"

STRANGEST LUCK

I must be living one of the most ironic lives. Take for example this morning. I'm riding my bike to work and get to the point on my route where I need to ride over a gravel road to get to the joining pathway. The tires on my bike are "slicks", manufactured with no grooves for traction. I turned too sharply and, before I knew it, I was tumbling to the ground, unable to unclip out of my pedals fast enough to brace myself against the fall. Having fallen enough times this year, the shock or embarrassment no longer bothers me. I did see, however, that my chain had fallen off the rear cog. Thinking that it would be easier to replace the chain with the bike upside down on its handlebars, I proceeded to flip the bike over. In doing so, I pulled something in my back. So, not even a scratch from falling off my bike, but I now have a screwed up back from trying to fix the bike!

Kind of like the time I went and did the CN Tower climb with some friends. Excited about my results, I decided to jog back to my (then) place at Harbour Square. I turned the corner too fast on a patch of mud and was sent sprawling to the ground. It wasn't until I got home and washed off the mud did I see the huge chunk of skin that was missing from leg. Again, not another battle scar worth bragging about.

Or that year in high school, after an injury free season of full contact football, I get put in the hospital after taking a badminton shuttlecock in the eye (during intramurals, of all times).

VIDEO BLOGS ON HOLD - I'M WITH KIVA!

I am going to put making video blogs on a hiatus for now. I've gotten involved with something that could use the 2 hours that I normally set aside for making a video.

It's been a lingering desire of mine to get involved with microfinance. My recent transfer to my company's finance department couldn't have been more timely, although corporate finance (at EPCOR) is slightly different from the idea of eradicating poverty through microloans. However, the ideas of valuation, risk management and capital costs are part of the same language that is found in both. I stumbled across an organization called Kiva (Swahili for "agreement" or "unity") who facilitate microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. On their site, you choose a business initiative that interests you, find out what their loan is going to be used for and then make a loan. The loan (most people loan out $25 at a time) is done securely through Pay Pal. The loan is for a set period of time at which point the money is returned to your Pay Pal account for which you can then withdraw or reloan to another intiative. There is no interest earned on this loan, but then, most who engage in this initiative are probably more concerned about the social returns. Well, they were looking for volunteers and I contacted them. I received a response right away asking if I had time to help with some of their marketing initiatives (weird how another part of my work history now comes back into relevance). Basically, I "crawl" through the blogosphere, looking for posts on Kiva and thanking the writers. I then ask if they would consider placing a permanent link or banner on their site (there's no cost to this, just pasting some code into the blog). What this does is extend the shelf life of Kiva's message as readers return to their site. It's about 10 hours a week but I'm loving it: I get to read about other people's involvement in microfinance and I get to stay up to date with how microfinance is developing in the world! Of course, I would't be adding much credibility to my comments if I didn't put a Kiva.org banner on my own blog!

Standing at a bus stop, a teenaged kid is grinding his skateboard on the edge of an overturned newspaper box. What else is a kid with a skateboard, waiting for his bus, supposed to do? Back and forth, back and forth, riding up to the metal box, and then hopping onto it, sliding the entire length of the box with the skateboard's tail. Clearly, the lady sitting on a nearby bench was not impressed and I'm sure she was reinforcing the ongoing bun fight between the general public and skateboarders in her mind. The bus pulls up. The kid does one more grind. THEN HE PICKS UP THE NEWSPAPER BIN AND PUTS IT BACK IN PLACE ALONGSIDE THE OTHER NEWSPAPER BINS. He even takes an extra 5 sections to straighten it out!