Meet "Liberty Tax Service"

Yes, it's the time I file my taxes for the first time.. 

I tried to fill them online, but was worried to do something wrong especially that I didn't understand some of the steps.. So my friend Merwad gave me the contacts for Liberty Tax Service, who are based on 1775 Danforth Avenue.

I called to take an appointment, but they informed me that it's on first come first served basis, so I gathered all my documents and took the subway to Coxwell, the closest to Liberty Tax office.

Arriving there, this maple leaf mascot was receiving people (I believe to lighten up the mood as when it comes to money and taxes people can be stressed).

They were very welcoming and helpful and I didn't expect to be done in 10 minutes.

I felt it was like an official baptism to the Canadian life and looking forward for my tax assessment in couple of weeks :)

Meet "CTV"

I spent the whole day at home, but had a friend entertaining me, and keeping me informed.. CTV (CTV News Channel & CTV Two).

When you live in Canada and you want to know what’s happening, CTV is your reference..

CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of news, sports, information, and entertainment programming.

Even though for the last 3 month, most news were about the weather if not about Rob Ford, but at least I feel this is another way of getting closer to what’s happening around. And of course it’s another opportunity to see lots of Canadian commercials, so I know more insights about the different brands and the way they communicate which is extremely important for my job, or let’s say future job.

Meet "The Streetcar"

Before moving to Toronto, I never used the Streetcars except for one touristic ride in San Francisco, and now I take the streetcar more than I take the Subway, and it’s making my life, to go around downtown, much easier..

My first ride was interesting, because I didn’t have 3 dollars change which is the fare for a trip, I only had 50 dollars so the driver was kind enough and let me stay until I reached my destination.

The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, and is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates back to the 19th century. Unlike newer light rail systems, most of Toronto's streetcar routes operate in the classic style on street trackage shared with car traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses.

Toronto’s streetcars are not heritage streetcars run for tourism or nostalgic purposes; they provide most of the downtown core’s surface transit service, and four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. Toronto’s streetcar network carries 250,000 passengers each day, more than GO Transit’s entire daily ridership.

Over the past 90 years the TTC has had four streetcar vehicle series, but the first streetcars hit the road before the TTC even existed. Horse-drawn streetcars arrived in Toronto in 1861, followed by the first electric- powered vehicle in 1892. The TTC was established in 1921 and the “Peter Witt” streetcars began driving the streets until they were retired in 1963. The familiar “PCC” or “Red Rocket” was introduced in 1938, and the last of this fleet was retired in 1995. The current fleet includes the CLRV and the ALRV – ready to retire after over 30 years of service, to introduce the made for Toronto Bombardier Flexity.

The streetcars in Toronto are another element to add life to the city, and keeping it buzzing with people and making their life a bit easier, and for me it’s another friend, where we meet almost daily, giving me the chance to go around while escaping the crazy never ending cold.

Meet "The Distillery District"

While my friend Ziad was visiting me from Montreal for few days, he suggested to go for a walk at the Distillery District, Since Ziad used to Live in Toronto and he knows all the good places.

And simply I can say, I loved it.. loved the shops, the restaurants, the bars, the galleries, and the community feel in this pedestrian only village. It feels like you are living in the village right in the middle of the city.

If you’re into art, you will love it here, on top of unique dining and lots of entertainment all year round, where there is something for everyone’s tastes and interests, as the Distillery features more than 70 cultural and entertainment establishments in the restored red brick, Victorian-era buildings of the renowned Gooderham & Worts Whiskey distillery, that once played an important role in the growth and wealth of both the city and the nation.

The distillery began operation at 1837, and the business grew and prospered in the 1850s until the 1914, where the war and prohibition nearly killed the distillery.In 1990 the Distillery closed but found a new life and it was reborn between 2001 and 2003 to quickly become a vital part of the city and one of Canada’s top tourist attractions.

We jumped from one galley to another, we had lots of chocolate at SoMA chocolatemaker, and end it with a nice lunch and few beers at Mill St. brewpub.

If the Distillery District was closer to the subway I would have definitely considered moving there, but in my first winter, and not knowing how cold it can get outside, I preferred to be the closer to the subway, but was happy to have such places in Toronto where I can go, for culture, food and fun.

Meet "Diana"

Couple of weeks back, my friend Ashraf asked me if I'm willing to volunteer and help with some creative work, so my answer was positive and he arranged a meeting with Diana Khong, who is the Marketing and Community Manager at Inside Out, who organizes the Toronto LGBT Film Festival, that takes place in May at TIFF | Bell Lightbox.

We had to postpone the meeting couple of times between my trip to Montreal and then Beirut, but finally we met at the cafeteria of Richmond 401, where their office is.

I didn't know at the beginning what was expected from me, or what will be the scope of work, but it was very simple, Diana needed to hear a different creative opinion, get a different point of view to decide how to move forward with the materials they are preparing for the next festival..

Diana was extremely thankful, and I assured her that I can help with more if needed.
After a long chat about the festival, the creative campaign and a nice tea, I left happy with yet another great person I meet, and getting to know more about another cultural event that happen in Toronto.

Meet "Vincent & Shauna"

In my post yesterday, I was talking about the New Creation Festival, and the concert  I attended at the closing night of the festival, where the first part of the concert, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra played the Three Pieces for Orchestra from Brian Current, and then the second part of the concert, the Orchestra played, and always conducted by Peter Oundjian, four pieces from the Composer Vincent Ho.. Beautiful four pieces (Dusk, Overdrive, Nighthawks and New Dawn)..

In writing his cello concerto, City Suite, Vincent Ho counts as his chief inspirations the Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, whom he had in mind as the performer of the work.

And from Vincent notes on how Toronto inspired him to write his City Suite:

The first movement of City Suite, “Dusk”, he describes as “inspired by a melancholy evening I had in Toronto...sitting in front of my hotel window taking in the view of downtown. As dusk settled, a feeling of “coldness” crept in as I watched the city transform into its darker alter ego. Emotionally speaking, this movement represents the initial turmoil I felt many years ago that begun my period of sadness.” The second movement, “Overdrive,” was inspired by the fast pace of urban life, while personally, it “represents the anger I felt that followed the turmoil I spoke of in the first movement.”

The third movement is named after Edward Hopper’s famous painting, which Ho encountered in a book of the artist’s collected works. As Ho describes, “The sadness and desolation it evoked immediately resonated with me... I knew I needed to compose my own musical interpretation of the image. This movement also represents the next stage of the emotional process I was undergoing: sadness.” The final movement, entitled “New Dawn”, evokes the joy of a new day of life in a city. “This feeling of a fresh start provides a sense of comfort and a degree of optimism...as well as the closure I feel when I leave the day before behind. It also represents the reconciliation I needed to reach after all these years of carrying my inner conflicts.”
As the Award-Winning Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, she injected more life to Vincent's music with her wonderful performance, so for a while I lost focus on the whole Orchestra and I was simply mesmerized by her, by her cello and this amazing relation between them.

I was so happy to discover in one night great Canadian artists and tomorrow I'll be writing about the third and last part of the concert.

You can listen to some of Vincent work on his website vinceho.com

And for Shauna captivating Cello play..

Meet "Brian Current"

I got a message from my friend David, asking me if I'm interested to attend a Classical Music Concert presented by Toronto Symphony Orchestra, part of the New Creations Festival at the Roy Thomson Hall. Without any hesitation I accepted his invitation and got super excited to see the Orchestra playing in this wonderful venue.
It was the closing night of the Festival, and 3 conductors were on the program of that night.
Peter Oundjian, the internationally sought-after Music Director and Conductor and the host of the night, introduced the first composer: Brian Current.
Brian was born in London, Ontario, in 1972.. He composed in 2013 three pieces for Orchestra.
And from Brian's notes about these pieces:
Like many composers, I like to put up drawings around the piano while working. These are just an impulse at the time, but when unpacked later, I am surprised at how clearly they articulate the central idea of the music. One little sketch, a single line under a cloud of densely tangled lines, ended up describing much of Earth So Much Like Heaven, Heaven So Much Like Earth. In the music, the two layers are always present and are always inseparable. I’m not really a religious person, but the relationship between these two layers has increasingly become a metaphor to me for heaven and earth. The string orchestra plays the lower, simple line, and a group of instruments (percussion, harp, piano, solo violins and flutes) play the upper texture. In many of these patterns I am trying to create music that is very active and very calm at the same time, like water or like sunlight.

The title of the second piece, Without Grace The Universe Is Just An Explosion, is from a text by the Canadian poet Christian Bök. This title seemed appropriate as it described the music I wanted to write—a piece about violence and beauty—and also spoke to why we might need music and symphony orchestras in the first place. Overlapping gestures fade in and out throughout the piece, and many sounds are inspired by electronic effects.

The final piece is called Motion Is The Default State. This sentence was another impulse taped to the piano when trying to describe the music in early stages. The first half is about assigning separate overtones to different instruments to create huge, pulsating blocks of colour. These get progressively bigger until we explode out into a middle section inspired by the fist-pounding energy of rock music. The final section features enormous, pin-wheeling arcs of colour, which grow and overlap with one another into a celebratory finish.

The 18 minutes passed like a dream, and the music left me in awe.. hypnotized me and totally captivated all my senses.
I'll be definitively looking for more magical music from Brian and was so happy to discover this great Canadian talent.

To know more about Brian, check http://briancurrent.squarespace.com/about/

Brian Current talking about the Three Pieces for Orchestra..

Meet "Eden"

One thing I was super excited about when I moved to Toronto, is the facilities available to continue studies, and the great courses Toronto universities are offering, so after working in a Advertising for years, and after focusing a lot on traditional medias, I wanted to increase my digital and social knowledge, and started checking and doing research for courses in different universities.. Until I decided to enroll in the School of Continuing Studies at University of Toronto to get a Certificate in Digital Strategy and Communications Management..
While I felt from their profiles that the instructors of the courses are of high caliber, I was particularly interested in the profile of Eden Spodek, and decide to take the foundation course with her.

If you check the website of U of T, you'll understand my reasons for taking the course with Eden:

"Eden Spodek is a digital communications strategist with a unique perspective on emerging media, developed over 20 years in the communications industry. Agency-side, client-side, high profile blogger and community builder, she’s seen the digital world from many angles. In 2010, Eden was named one of 20 leading women in social media in North America by Media Style. Eden has extensive experience as a communications and marketing strategist, consulting with top-tier brands in various industries: consumer products; consumer technology; health care; travel; food and beverage; retail; manufacturing; and financial services. Previously, she was corporate website producer at a large institutional investor and web project manager/acting producer for a broadcasting company, where she launched an online community for tweens in 2001. Eden is an active participant in many facets of social media most notably through her blog Bargainista.ca, as lead volunteer organizer for PodCamp Toronto, mentor and public speaker. Eden graduated with distinction from U of T and holds a certificate in Public Relations."

Eden has a very friendly approach and after the first class you feel how interested she is, and her will to share with the students her knowledge and her expertise and always ready to help and give any advice or tip when needed. And what's more impressive is her ability to stay updated with what's trending.

Thanks to Eden, and the course, I now started this blog, and I'm planning to have another one too, but more importantly I'm thankful to them for fulfilling my excitement to know more and be more active in the digital and social world.

Meet "VIA Rail Canada"

I planned two trips to Ottawa and Montreal within 10 days, and decided to take the train, the Via Rail, as I heard it's a nice easy trip, where you don't need to be two hours before at the train station, no crazy security check, free wifi and an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery for few hours..
So I booked my ticket couple of weeks before and was super excited of taking my first train trips in Canada.

I live very close to Union Station, so it took me five minutes to reach it more time to reach the Via Rail Terminal as I was walking in the opposite direction of most people arriving early to Downtown, it felt like moving between the crowd in a demonstration.. And once I reached the gate, I had to queue for 5 minutes before boarding the train.. And then the staff directed people each one to his compartment.. Mine was the last one, number 5.. I placed my luggage, took my seat, and the train moved few minutes after..

Even though it was snowing most of the time and was super cold outside, But inside in the compartment it was so hot, we had to ask the crew if they can do something about it..
The wifi was ok, not super fast but couldn't watch any video, but at least it helps to stay connected online..
The sandwiches and snacks , and the staff serving it was super kind..

The five hours going to Ottawa passed really quick, between reading, whatsapp chatting, Facebook checking, blog posts writing and of course contemplating the white, very white beautiful nature.

My next trip with Via Rail was to Montreal, and I'm sure there will be many trips to come by train to discover more and more Canada, my new home.

Meet "Daniella"

Another great lady that I met at Laura's birthday in Montreal...(check my post "Meet Laura" published on Feb 23)
When I arrived with my friend Hadi to Laura's birthday party, Daniella was the first person greeting us at the door, and since she didn't see Hadi for some time so they were happy catching up and of course when she knew I moved to Canada few month ago she asked me how is it going so far, if I like it, if settled in, if enjoying it..

And then she was kind enough to introduce me to most of the people at the party, invite me to the buffet and ensure I was enjoying food and drinks.
I had a great time with them. We danced to "Happy birthday Laura!" I left with some wonderful stories and with a longing to meet them all again.

Meet "Da Silva"

Ok.. Time for a bit of drama..
It was February 14, Valentine's day.. I was enjoying a walk alone in Montreal, taking pictures, especially of the beautiful graffitis on St Catherine street and St Laurent street, it was around lunch time, and I felt Like have a bite, so passed cross this little restaurant, looked from the window and was attracted but the charming interior, it was a Portuguese restaurant.. Da Silva, Grillades Portugaises..

They had at the door a poster with a special offer that day for couples.. And here I had this dramatic look on my face.. What about the single people like me? But still I walked in and ordered a grilled salmon with rice and vegetables.. It was great.. And the ambiance was super cosy and warm and the staff very friendly..

I enjoyed my meal, payed and left wishing that next year I won't be alone, so if I'm in Montreal I'll be definitely going again to this restaurant but at least I can get their special Valentine's deal :)

Joke aside, if you're in Montreal and feel like having Portuguese grills, give Da Silva a shot, I'm sure you'll enjoy it the way I did.

Meet "Ane Brun"

Last year, My dear friend Michael downloaded for me three CDs for Ane Brun, and strongly recommended that I listen to her songs and her great voice.. It was the first time I hear of her, and I was so pleased with this discovery as I really fell in love with her amazing voice and her music.. And I started following her on Facebook to know know her updates and her latest releases..

Ane Brun is a Norwegian international songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums and one live DVD. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden since 2001, where she writes, records and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings) when not on tour.

And couple of weeks ago I discovered she's coming to Canada in a tour and three concerts between Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, and that weekend I was supposed to be in Montreal, so I looked for tickets but didn't book one waiting for my friend to confirm if he will join.. Then I kept postponing and the night I arrived to Montreal first thing I did is calling TicketMaster to check if there is any tickets left so they informed me that I have to call the venue as I'm calling super late..

I called L'Astral, where the concert is taking place, and I was so happy to know that there is 4 tickets left so I urged them to keep one for me as they don't take payment through the phone and I rushed to get mine..

By mistake I took the west side of Saint Catherine street where I had to go east, and when I realized I'm heading in the wrong direction I started running like a crazy in super cold Montreal until I reached the venue and got my ticket (huge smile)..

My mobile battery was dying, and I thought I need to take some picture of the concert, I had an hour left before the concert so I rushed to the hotel where I plugged it on the charger for 20 min and ran back to Salle L'Astral..

The venue wasn't huge but the ambiance was really warm and cosy, had a glass of wine waiting for Ane to come on stage..
I was alone but I was feeling so happy.. Listening to her wonderful voice knowing all the songs and enjoying her pleasant character..
I didn't want the concert to end -the whole audience didn't want it to end- and make her go on stage again for another round of 4 songs..

I will not talk much about her golden voice.. Her songs and let you enjoy few links..
After this concert I became a bigger fan of Ane, and her songs are my friends making my moments more enjoyable every time I listen to them.

Ane brun "One"

Ane brun "Do you remember"