Meet "Suzanne"

I went last Thursday evening to the Mix n Mingle gathering of the AUB Alumni Toronto Chapter, at the Proof Vodka Bar, Intercontinental Hotel on Bloor Street.

It was my second time I attend an event with the Alumni, even though I'm not an AUB graduate, but my friend Merwad is, and she invited me as it's a good opportunity for me to meet new friends and network with lots of people, especially that most of them are Lebanese as well.

And of course I had a catch up conversation with the people I met in the previous gathering, and then started meeting new people.

Merwad was having a laugh with two ladies who didn't attend the first event, so I introduced myself and started chatting with both of them, Suzanne & Hilda.

Suzanne lived before in Dubai then moved to the States before settling in Toronto, and in her work she deals with couples of advertising agencies so we shared our journeys and lots of stories about Dubai, Lebanon, Leo Burnett and the communication industry in general, and she was kind enough offering to introduce me to her friends working in Advertising in Toronto..

Suzanne is cool.. Very cool, Actually Suzanne is very very very cool..  (hope you're happy now Suzanne :) lol

Then it was time to catch up with more people, so I left the ladies thanking them for a super lighthearted conversation and hoping to see them again soon.

Meet "Maha"

Maha is the friend of Merwad, and we meet the three of us a week after I met Merwad for the first time. We went for a "cheese and wine" evening at Sassafraz – Yorkville. 

Maha used to live in Dubai for long time, so we had lots of stories to share about places, people and work..

It was a beautiful cozy night..

And after that we met again for the AUB Alumni Toronto Chapter Brunch, and the Mix n Mingle Drinks, Maha is part of the committee and every time she was really wonderful, introducing me to many people and checking if they can help me especially with tips and advices for my job search.

I’m glad to know good people like Maha and to feel surrounded by many new good friends.

Meet "The Bagpiper"

After having a wonderful breakfast this morning with my ex colleague Rena and her husband Dan, on my way back taking the subway from Osgood Station, ran by this band going for a St Patrick’s celebration.. Couldn’t but ask one of the Bagpipers to take a picture..

Great to see people having good time, and spreading smiles around.

And it’s true the official date is tomorrow but I wish you from now a Happy St Patrick’s day everyone, may the Shamrock brings you lots of luck and success.

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 "Sagal & Richelle"

One evening while I was working at home, I received a message from dear Merwad asking me if I like to join her for a coffee or desserts with two of her colleagues..
I really needed to go out a bit, so I got ready and met her at the corner of King & Yonge, and I was too lazy to walk so we agreed to take the streetcar to meet her friends at Jack Astor on John Street.

Sagal & Richelle work with Merwad at Seiu Healthcare, both in the communication department, where Sagal is a communication Specialist and Richelle is a Social Media Specialist, and that was interesting because we managed to talk about digital and social and told them about my blog and they were very kind to accept to be featured as my new friends on nice2meet365.

Merwad and myself couldn't resist the desserts menu and we refused to share, so each one of us ordered his one zillion calories dessert, while Sagal & Richelle had a proper dinner.
They had a seminar the second day so we talked about it, and about the work in their department.. Then Arthur, Sagal's boyfriend joined us for a bit and they both left, and we stayed discussing with Richelle art and volunteer work.

We didn't stay long cause they had to wake up very early for their seminar, so We left Richelle taking a cab back to her hotel.. and After that dessert, walking back home was a must.. And had to thank Merwad for always introducing me to super nice people and making my circle of friends bigger and bigger..

Meet "Maher"

I didn't see my friend Yasmine for a while, so we talked last week and she asked me if I'm interested to join for drinks at one of her friend's place, especially that Nabil, my friend and ex colleague from Leo Burnett Dubai, who is now friend with Yasmine as well is joining.

So I grabbed a bottle of wine and met Nabil in front of St Lawrence Market and we walked to Yasmine's friend place at the Esplanade..

Yasmine opened for us and introduced us to everyone there, especially to her friend Virginia who is hosting the drinks at her place.. And of course Yasmine was like: oh there is another Lebanese guy here tonight you should meet him, so I met Maher, who's been living in Canada for 8 years, and he worked for a while with Yasmine.

And then when Maher knew that I use to work with Leo Burnett on McDonald's he asked me if I know his girlfriend Rim who lives in Dubai and works at OMD, and works on McDonald's too.. And of course I knew Rim.. What a small world..
We talked about a Dubai, Toronto, and about the endless unstable situation in Lebanon which brought lots of Lebanese like us to move to Canada.

After having few glasses of red wine, and chatting with most of Yasmine's friends I left and hoped to see them again thanking Yasmine for her invitation and for trying to help me meet more people and new friends.

P.S.: if you're wondering who is the person wearing each pair of socks in different color, please ask Maher :)

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 "St. Lawrence String Quartet"

In my third and last part talking about the New Creations Festival concert I attended last Friday, I'm delighted to write about St. Lawrence String Quartet who played with the  Toronto  Symphony Orchestra, the 3rd part of the concert, conducted by the great Composer, Conductor and Creative Thinker John Adams, who appeared with the world’s major orchestras in programmes combining his own works with a wide variety of repertoire ranging from Beethoven and Mozart to Ives, Carter, Zappa, Glass, and Ellington.
Adams presented a Canadian Premiere, "Absolute Jest" for String Quartet and Orchestra.

Here is the background of the  St Laurence String Quartet:
Geoff Nuttall, violin
Mark Fewer, violin
Lesley Robertson, viola
Christopher Costanza, cello

Established in 1989, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has developed an undisputed reputation as a truly world class chamber ensemble. The quartet performs over 120 concerts annually worldwide and calls Stanford University home, where the group is Ensemble in Residence.

Lesley Robertson and Geoff Nuttall are founding members of the group, and hail from Edmonton, Alberta, and London, Ontario, respectively. Christopher Costanza is from Utica, NY, and joined the group in 2003. Mark Fewer, a native of Newfoundland, begins his first season with the quartet in 2014, succeeding violinist Scott St. John. All four members of the quartet live and teach at Stanford, in the Bay Area of California.

The harmony between the four of them was remarkable, and their performance was outstanding leaving the audience in awe and asking for more.. And the combination between the Quartet, the Orchestra and Adams's energy in conducting made it an unforgettable night and the least they deserved a stand ovation with lots of applause that kept running for more than 10 min.

I hope I'll get to see the Quartet playing again, get to know great Canadian Artists and embrace more the wonderful local culture.

St. lawrence String Quartet - Scherzo

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..