Meet "Moe"

My very dear friend and ex colleague Dana, left Dubai almost a year ago, got married to Moe in Jordan, and then moved to Canada to live with him… But I never had the chance to meet Moe before moving here (heard a lot about him, when they were preparing for the wedding, but I never met him)..

And when I moved to Toronto I was so happy to have Dana and Moe living very close in Berlington, even if we can’t see each other often but at least have good friends around is always great.

So after couple of weeks we decide to go for Dinner, so they picked me up and we went to Guu, at 559 Bloor Street West.

It was nice to meet a person I heard a lot of.. and get to know him more.. Moe was extremely friendly, and I felt like he’s a friend I knew for a while, and after living here for many years he was able to share with me lots of tips, and offered his support if I need anything, which I really appreciated.

We talked about Dana :) and the days of Dubai, and the long hours at the office, and the way forward now where me & Dana will be looking for a job here.

We left and we agreed that we should meet more often..

And last week, we decided to meet again, but this time with Nabil as well, who used to work with us at Leo Burnett Dubai, so we do a nice reunion the 3 of us, and of course with Moe.

We went to Khoa San Road, the Thai restaurant on 326 Adelaide West, the place was packed so had to wait a bit to get a table and then we were seated..

It was a great gathering, each one of us sharing the way he’s adapting so far to the life here, and what we’re learning and how we’re discovering the city more and more, and of course there is always a big part of the conversation talking about the weather, and comparing life with our previous years in Dubai.

And of course not to mention that the food we shared was great and the ambiance was super lively and vibrant.

Once again I felt lucky to have good friends living here and I hope we will keep sharing together great moments.

Meet "Anju, Clevin and Ali"

Today in my post I'm not talking about new friends, but about three friends I was very happy to see in a very unexpected trip..

While in Toronto, I received a call from my friend and ex colleague Jad M. Asking me if I'm willing to fly to Beirut to attend a TV commercial filming as a freelancer as the Creative Director and his associate in Dubai were super busy with a huge presentation that is taking place at the time as the shoot. I answered "yes" on the spot without even thinking of it, as it was an opportunity for me to work on an interesting job, to see my family, to earn some extra money, and to escape the snow for few days..

And what made this trip even more exciting is catching up with great friends, coming from Leo Burnett, to attend the shoot, and here I mean Anju (TV producer), Clevin (Copywriter) and Ali (Account Supervisor)..

The work was hectic, and stressful, shooting in average 15 hours a day, but we were going out every night for dinner and drinks, evaluating the day, and laughing at some bad acting from the cast and getting a bit relaxed before going to bed to wake up very early  the second day..

Ali used to live in Toronto for years, so we had a chat about my experience so far, and where I stand so far with the job hunt..

When I thought that it might take me sometime to be on a shoot set after I left Dubai, this unexpected trip was a great experience and a real pleasure of seeing the guys, spending a week with them, and sending lots of kisses and greetings to the whole team in Dubai wishing to see them again in the very near future.

Meet "Toronto"

After almost 10 years in Dubai, the city that is considered by many people the wonderland of the 21st century, and after waiting for 7 years to get my immigration visa to Canada, I decided to leave everything behind.. A great job with Leo Burnett, amazing friends, a beautiful apartment and a life full of ups and downs but was a fantastic 10 years of my life.. I decided to leave and move to Toronto, (and maybe only Lebanese people can understand this urge of leaving and looking for a better tomorrow in a more stable place) to embark in a new journey, to look for a new adventure and discover a different world.
Obviously every move has its challenges, and a key challenge is to get to know the culture, the people, the city and adapt fast to the social environment.. And usually having friends or family can help a lot, and I was lucky to have a cousin who lives very close to Toronto and she with her husband showed me lots of support from the minute I landed.
Now after few weeks, I moved to my new apartment, started my class in Digital Communications Strategy & Social Media at University of Toronto, and will start soon the job hunt.
And to get to know Toronto up close & personal I m taking this challenge of meeting a new friend every single day.
A friend can be my new barber, a waiter in a restaurant who made me feel welcomed and pushed me to visit again or a new Canadian artist that I discovered or a place that I felt I ll be visiting often and of course all the new friends that I hope some of them will be close friends and for many many years to come.