Meet "Yoti"

Habibi.. Habibi.. That was maybe the only word in Arabic that Yoti knew, but it's still interesting to see people trying to be closer by speak your language...

I met Yoti through our common friend Hadi, who lives in New York and put us in contact by sending an e mail to both of us asking us to meet so I can know more people in Toronto and I can start having more friends..

After couple of phone calls with Yoti we agreed to meet for a morning coffee, and we met at Summer Hill subway station.. half way from his place and mine and we walked to Terroni on Yonge St.. It was sunny outside but extremely cold.. So I couldn't wait to get in and order a hot drink..

Yoti is Canadian Greek, which was a good start for our discussion as I'm a big fan of Greece, and I have two Greek friends one lives in London and the second in Lausanne, and we have what became a tradition of meeting in Athens and the Greek islands every Summer, we've been doing this for 6 years and every year it's lots of fun.. So we talked about Greece and Canada a lot, and he gave me insights and tips from the gym to where going for grocery shopping, to where to go for a nice message (as he saw me stressed with the move and the change and some of the difficulties I was facing to settle in properly in my apartment)  and ended our discussion about London (UK) and his dream of moving there and finding a good job..

The grass is always greener on the other side.. We always wish to move to different places and believe that our life will be much better.. And that was one of the main motives that pushed me to move to Toronto.. so I wished Yoti the best of luck and we agreed that next time we re meeting for a drink.. time to get wasted..

Meet "Merwad"

My dear friend and ex colleague, the one and only super talented Zina (Zinacomics.com) went through the immigration process that I m going through now and moved to Montreal 4 years ago, so the minute she knew I' m moving here, she started sending me contacts of friends and people I should meet in Toronto, and Merwad was on top of her list.. "You have to meet Merwad".. So I called Merwad and we planned to meet for a coffee after her work.. And here was the first shock knowing that Merwad spends every day 1 hour and a half commuting to work.. each way.. And had already a panic attack if my new job will require the same (I' m the lazy type who used to live 3 minutes away from the office)...

We met at Yonge & Bloor and walked to a nice cozy cafe "Littieri".. we ordered our coffee and of course we had to go through the Lebanese ritual of fighting who will be paying the bill :)

After sharing our stories and what got us here, Merwad was extremely helpful and she gave me lots of tips, and websites to look at once I start my job hunt.. After all she's a graphic designer and we work in the same field, and it seems she’s a very talented one with lots of taste.

But the nice surprise when we decided to add each other on Facebook and we discovered that we have 14 friends in common and this took us to another round of stories and how do we know these people be it from the advertising circle in Lebanon or from the days of university.. Merwad is a good friend to very close friends of mine and I believe we gonna be good friends too.. And we already went again for cheese and wine (I had the wine, she had only the cheese or what I left for her from the cheese) where she introduced me to her friend Maha, and she was kind enough to invite me to the AUB Alumni lunch where it’s a chance for me to meet people and make new connections.. and we booked tickets to see a concert at the end of the month and meet her friends too.. So here to more friends and cheers to all the good people out there..

Meet "Bashir"

My friend Maz started talking to me & Bashir individually about each other, and he was very keen to put us in contact as he felt we have some common interests like digital & mobile marketing, and since Maz was away most of the week, I agreed with Bashir to meet for a coffee in a beautiful cafe close to me "Dineen Coffee"..

I love this charming cafe and been coupe of times so far, and it's one of places where I felt I can go every day..

Bashir was slightly late, so I enjoyed my tea while waiting for him and once he arrived, as usual we started talking about my move and my plans for work and for studies and then Bashir started with lots of passion telling me about the business he's trying to establish in Mobile Marketing and about the company he launched Lokannounce and true I'm not much into the technical details but he tried to made me understand the step by step of Hylotrak (Hyper Local Track) he can offer to his customers..

We discussed the potential of working together and me helping him with the branding for his startup and that's a good opportunity for me as well to start building my Canadian experience and growing my freelance portfolio..

It was a very positive first meeting with Bashir, and for sure it won't be the last.. So thank you Maz.