Last weekend I made my yearly trek to IKEA to pick up the Christmas tree. This year, my orders were to find that fattest, most robust and healthy looking tree I could locate. I am not sure if that was a back-handed way of saying that my previous Christmas tree picking expertise was just not up to snuff (exasperated!).…

I am back in University. In mid life? At my age? I can't believe it...

It was brilliant! I stumbled across someone at a seminar a few month back. We chatted briefly about how they were not satisfied with their career, and decided to take a few college courses to update their skills, and course adjust their career path. It was a brilliant idea, as I reflected on…

One of the nice things that starts to happen as the nest begins to empty out is that you are able to start turning your attention to "the bucket list". This past October, Loreen and I picked San Francisco and the Northern California wine region of our list and we certainly were not disappointed. While our San Fran tour was very nice, save for this shot from the bay, I want to focus this posting on our wine country visit.…

Every year, if it is at all possible, my good friend Simon Ralph and I find a way to connect. I came to know Simon during my almost 5 year tenure at IATA in Geneva and he has become a close and life-long friend.

Largely, we have managed to find a way to do this...either Simon will visit Dubai or I will visit Switzerland. This year it was the latter, as I had a…

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you view it, I can't say that I have a parent or grandparent that served in a world war. I guess that it is a great thing that we can say that we have generations of families that have not been involved in a war.

However, this year, in Canada, after two soldiers have fallen on Canadian soil within the last few weeks, all of us are reminded about the brave souls who protect our great country both inside our borders and throughout the…

The CBC has long been a source of great content with shows like As it Happens, Quirks and Quarks and now the infamous Q.

I would LOVE to see or hear the CBC host an interview show where Jian Ghomeshi is interviewed by his "lovers". Now this would be great Canadian programming :-)

P.S. I'm not judging whether he is guilty or…

It is with sad hearts and teary eyes that we watch the final trip and funeral of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was gunned down while standing guard over the National War Monument in our nation's capital last Wednesday, October 22.  

Thank you for your ultimate commitment to our country and our freedom Nathan.

Also, on behalf of our Canadian members at Kamazooie,…

As you may have recognized by now, my postings come from emotional experiences that I have gone through. It is pleasant and convenient for me and for readers is when the emotion is positive, heart-warming, experiential, or exiting. 

Unfortunately, the emotion that I have been dealing with over the last few weeks has been anything but positive. However, another underlying premise in our community is that we can help one another through experience sharing, even when these experiences…

Over the past several years I have managed to (thankfully) arrange a side trip up north during my summer vacation. To be honest, doing this isn't as easy as it sounds. As an expat when you come back for summer or Christmas vacations, time is short and demands on your time are high. As our children have grown older, it is a bit easier to carve out some time...but largely my trips north have been a result of taking longer holidays. I used to take 12-14 days but now have stretched it to 3…

It seems that over the last few weeks, I've come across a few occurrences of girls/women being someone they are not. I have to say that this is something that has struck a chord with me and I have to question if I'm always who I really am or who others want me to be.

The first is that I just finished a great book that is soon coming out as a major motion…

One of the many benefits of being Canadian, is the amazing variety and beauty of the geography and the diversity of people that populate it. In September I had the opportunity to visit the far north of Canada...specifically Iqaluit on Baffin Island...for the first time and was blown away by the haunting beauty of the landscape, the thriving wildlife and multi-cultural nature of the community of Iqaluit itself. My longtime friend Steve Polak put the plan to visit Baffin Island in motion last…

You may have heard about the interview Mike Tyson did with Nathan Downer on CP24, a news station in Canada. The interview was intended to preview Tyson's one man show at the ACC named "The Undisputed Truth" which covers his journey through boxing, acting and other key elements of his life.

In an earlier interview Tyson said that the upcoming show covers how he…

For me it began on the Labour Day weekend in 1966 when I realized, there was no getting out of this, I was going to go from my life of freedom, playing and hiking…

Nothing philosophical today, just a couple of shots of my quick visit with Mom (Hilda) this Friday and Saturday.

It was a really nice visit as usual. Went for chicken at Swiss Chalet and ate way to many fries but it was yummy. Mom even had a glass of wine.…

As the Toronto International Film Festival looms large the local and international media, I thought it would be a good theme to use for this week's community post while at the same time promoting some of our recent postings.

Some of you may already have noticed that we've gained a movie producer amongst our membership, Michael Dragea. Recently, Michael posted his own introduction to the community and also introduced his first movie "It was you Charlie" which premiered at…

Anyone from Toronto will immediately know and recognize what the CNE, is. It is the Canadian National Exhibition. Very near Downtown Toronto - it is a huge amusement park that opens mid August running through to Labour Day (September 1st). 

Like all things, it has evolved over the years. I remember my mom (and on a rare occasion my dad) taking me there…

Never having gone to a premiere film night, this was a new experience for me. Fortunately, Michael blogged about the premiere of his movie "It Was You Charlie" in time to purchase tickets and make it to the premiere evening show. It was a great movie with an uplifting ending, and the opportunity to see and speak with the stars, directors, producers and cast members -…

Although the worst possible timing to post this self promoting blog, in light of the tragic loss of an amazing entertainer, Robin Williams, i've been encouraged to share some extraordinary news with the Kamazooie community.

For those who have not read my blog about my very non-linear career trajectory... Hello my name is Michael and i'm an Architect.  (Now…

Hello Kamazooie community!

I'm often asked, about my profession... and its interesting but, there is no simple answer to give.

Technically speaking i'm an Architect.. but I specialized in project management... I lived and worked in the arctic for several years managing infrastructure and housing development projects across the Nunavut Territory,…

It was with shock and heavy hearts that we heard yesterday that Robin Williams has made his last curtain call and left this world behind. It is even more shocking to hear that it is suspected that this fabulous actor/comic took his own life. If you are a follower of my blog, you may recognize that I write/post from an emotional standpoint, inspired by things that happen…