Lactose-Free Milk or Gratitude

I was in the kitchen at work, washing my dishes, and started spacing out when I noticed a carton of lactose-free milk (organic, too) sitting on the counter, well, standing on the counter (we’ll talk about my semantic hangups with the “sitting” expression some other day), and I thought, my god, in this society we have so much to choose from, so much to  please us, we are free to align ourselves with any belief, any brand, movement and organization and so many take it for granted or absolutely don’t realize that in almost any other part of the world things are not the same way.

I thought back to my Eastern European days, and my country men’s love of sour cream and other dairy. There was no lactose free milk there (but then again, I never met a lactose-intolerant person back there, either), no talk of veganism, gluten-free food and other gastronomic curiosities, self- or doctor-prescribed. What would a vegan do in Sarajevo? Heck, there would be no vegan in the first place, or there would be serious health problems after 1-3 years of veganism. And what about Africa, dare you even mention spelt bread or organic, sustainable, wild/farmed salmon?

I’m not condoning those things, these are great additions to our wonderfully cushioned life in the West, but they are things that a lot of those born here take for granted. Things that don’t even exist in the majority of the world, or for the majority of people. I suppose I’m saying that people should be a little more grateful, or not scorn the poor barista for over/underheating their venti skinny half-sweet hazelnut latte with extra foam. Bitch less about the excess of what you have and instead be grateful for all the wonderful opportunities under your nose.

There’s a Russian expression which applies perfetly: [Они ]с жиру бесятся.

Filed under: the world eh , food, pop culture, society, work

Big City Small City

We were talking about there perceived friendliness of people in various cities that we have both been to. And I often try to notice patterns in systems or in modes of human interaction; I’m interested in how people form clusters and what makes them tick, what makes some people enter the hubs/communities, what makes them leave and the like. I guess It seems that the smaller a city is, the less likely the people are to connect with outsiders, or welcome a newbie into their clique.

My friend moved to Vancouver ages ago, and spent over a year there. He noted that despite having no problem finding one-time hookups, real friendships didn’t really blossom. Another friend went west recently and had East coast-hating vitriol spit on him by those who never even visited Toronto. I return now and, besides enjoying and nurturing my established circle of old friends, have not a single time even had an opportunity to randomly meet a person. These days here I/we meet a new person almost every night. Or I have no problem talking to people, and they’re friendly. Bigger cities with their bigger ponds possibly mean that there is always more fish out there? Or you will never see that person again, why not try your best now? Or practice makes better, especially when you’re in a megalopolis?

In New York I have strangers come up and talk to me a lot. Montreal are a brave folk, except when they start addressing me in French which I speak 0 of, at which point I think they become turned off. Whatever the case, it got me thinking about the super small community, for example, Tiny, Ontario where I spent few nights at a friend’s cottage. Well, there was nobody to meet and socialize with in the first place Small (and I mean 1-2 million residents in a greater area is still small) communities, in my experience, tend to stay more centered on their own groups and are less open to newbies. Maybe it’s just the elitist West coast communities, I don’t know. Need to explore Europe more for a better understanding.

PS. No hate, please, these are just my opinions.

Filed under: the world eh , cities, city life, montreal, new york, toronto, vancouver

Harvard and Realities of Unrealities

There is something unreal about Harvard, yet it pinches you with an overload of reality. What does that mean?

Every person, who is conscious enough, knows about Harvard, heard about its excellent programs, 340+ year history, accomplished alumni and, most importantly, the hefty price tag of the brand name degree.

But not everybody gets a chance to visit the campus, or has the desire to. I won’t preoccupy myself with those who don’t want to visit, but those who do. I’m one of those people. I haven’t had a lot of prior images of Harvard before I showed up, neither did I really research the school. Actually, little did I know that Transformers 2 boasted a stint on Harvard campus, involving some massive destructions inside the Widener Library, until I went and checked myself.

Being on campus, though, was certainly real. Yet the whole time I felt like Harvard was still this imaginary place that exists in this unapproachable world. A lot of people never think they’d come to the best educational institution in the world. And those who do, are probably in awe. One can only imagine what an enrolled student feels like. Or should probably feel like.

I feel that this visit has influenced a change in my middle-term strategy, a change that’s going to flower in the next 5 years or so…

Filed under: Great Times, the world eh , changes, education, film, future, harvard, movies, plans, travels, university

at Bar Gagarin

Originally uploaded by dreamtiger

This is one of my most favorite photos of me. This one is like a secret that I’m not telling, just look at those cheeky eyes. There’s something special about being in Berlin, sitting on a bright red chair that matches my hair, under a large pretty umbrella with a bright orange neon backpack, purple watch, teal shirt that says “It’s not over, not over, yeah” (which is, in my opinion, influenced by the Klaxons’ “It’s not over, not over, not over yet”), and teaching my friend about the proper ways of drinking vodka, according to the Russians. Our plate is called Intelligenz, and it includes chopped herring with apple, pickles, rye bread, onions and some other goodies.
I’m actually glad there is quite a number of us Russian folks in Berlin. It’s always nice to encounter fellow men so far away from the Motherland.
By the way, few days later, when I was in Barcelona, someone (an Eastern European fellow from Talinn, Estonia) who used to follow my Livejournal a while back messaged me and asked me if I was at Bar Gagarin in Prenzlauer Berg on such and such date. I said, yes, why. He said he was there at exactly the same time, and recognized my red hair. Wow, talk about coincidence!? Small world, folks, small world. I can only imagine what my life is going to be like in 5-7 years.

This is Dave drinking his portion of the Intelligentz

Filed under: the world eh , Berlin, Europe, food, friends, fun, memories, photos

New Slang

I just got my daily dose of awesome via TrendCentral, which in my opinion is the best trend-watching and relevant service out there. All you marketers better get on the end of it. I dream of going to their Trend Schools in New York or L.A. In the past, I have narrowly missed them, but not next year! Interestingly, I started practicing hatecation last fall by eliminating the words “hate”, “don’t like”, “can’t stand” and constructing my sentences differently.

RECESSION-INSPIRED SLANG
Povo (po-vo)
adj. Spawned from the increasing popularity of new HBO series Summer Heights High, the Aussie slang for poor has infiltrated the vocabulary of recessionistas everywhere
“Caroline, I can’t go out to dinner tonight: My pay cut has left me totally povo.”

RELATIONSHIP SLANG
Ex-hole
n. Your ex boyfriend/girlfriend who dumped you via Post-it/text/drop-off-the-face-of-the-earth-disappearing-act and who is now flouncing around town with a new love interest
“I bumped into my ex-hole this morning – she said she was so sorry that she cheated on me, blah blah blah. I wanted to puke.”

Hot Room
n. A social setting that involves a mix of people whose relationships to each other are, well, complicated
“I was sitting next to my current flame and then my ex-hole walked in with his current girlfriend, who I had a falling out with in high school – total hot room!”

DIGITAL SLANG

Geequals
n. Two people who are equal in depth of arcane knowledge
“I knew I had met my geequal when Frank showed me his Star Wars light saber iPhone app.”

Myselfish
adj. A term used to describe people’s need for recognition and self-fulfillment via the Internet. This is accomplished with incessant Facebook status updates and TMI-Twitter feeds, and serves the purpose of making one feel important and/or noticed
“My friends consider my need to Twitter detailed accounts of my trips to Trader Joe’s, the gas station, and my opinions on anything, really, to be annoyingly myselfish. I consider it shameless self-promotion!”

THIS YEAR’S REHAB
Retox (ree-tox)
v. To go back on your New Year’s resolutions and do the opposite of the goals you set for yourself
“Instead of following my resolution to get fit this year, I decided to retox and take up cooking classes instead. Oh well, no one follows New Year’s resolutions anyway, right?”

Smashed Potatoes
adj. Drunk, inebriated, similar to the term “hot mess”
“Sorry I bailed without saying good night, but I was smashed potatoes.”

STREET SLANG
Hate-cation
n. Taking a vacation from being a hater where you are committed to not saying anything bad about anyone or anything; synonymous with “moral cleanse”
“Whatever, I know you have an opinion but just can’t speak your mind because you are on a hate-cation.”

Obama/Not Obama
adj. London street reporters proclaim that our new President has become synonymous with “cool”
“Yeah, that is so Obama!”

Alt-worthy
adj. A term used to describe people or things considered to be cool or trendy
“The pop-up art gallery on Elizabeth Street is alt-worthy.”

Filed under: the world eh , fun, fun facts, funny words, marketing, trends, word

Toronto Transit Commission Should Feel Sorry

Before I started commuting, I gave the TTC a break – puny subway system, old school buses shuffling about at snail speeds, and old-fashioned streetcars. The subway, which has an attractive slogan of “Ride the Rocket”, is really a toy rocket prone to in-between-station stops and power outages. Besides having a poor fare system ($2.75 one way without any 90 minute windows, like in Berlin or Vancouver), the subway doesn’t cover major routes or hubs of activity, like the northwestern part of the GTA etc. But that’s my wishful thinking.

So here is my first rant. I started commuting. And while I was happy to be riding in the westward direction, thus missing the morning rush, I already managed to be part of two mishaps in two weeks. Last week, in my attempt to leave work early to make it to an event that we were organizing, our streetcar collided with a car! 30 minutes later, we resumed our ride. So much for leaving early This morning I decided to get to work early, but it was not meant to be. The driver got ont he wrong track when trying to leave the Humber loop, and couldn’t turn back, since the reverse wasn’t working on that streetcar. “Sorry folks, this car is out of service”. Come on! Don’t the mechanics check their fleet? I am starting to grow weary of streetcars, considering the two incidents in 2 weeks, and I haven’t even mentioned last Friday’s power outage.

Any stories you might want to share?

Filed under: the world eh , city life, toronto, transportation

La Tomatina

for the win

Ever since I’ve opened a Spanish language textbook at the age of 16, and learned about la Tomatina – I always wanted to go; except the idea of going was constantly being pushed into the undetermined future. Until last year, when I and four of my friends set our vehicular sails for Buñol in the province of Valencia. We arrived on time to park on the outskirts of the pop=9,000 town. More than 30,000 fellow fighters walked to the center of the town with us, happily yelling at each other and laughing at the unsuspecting flip-flop wearers and camera-ready enthusiasts.

note that our shirts are white

First we got a bit of a squish session with the masses circa my Prague 2000 escape from Vaclavske Namesti along with 40,000 others. Then we moved to the front row (because we are lovable fighters), bewildered by the buildings covered in Tyvek or something similar, and watched 6 trucks slowly roll one after another, raining tomatoes on us little guys. It was on! Our goggles, €5 shoes with double laces and swimsuits didn’t help much, and the tomato juice still burnt the eyes and the skin, so we screamed Agua! Agua! to the gods above and it literally rained buckets from residential balconies. 

I got hit in the head so many times, and I scored some good shots myself. Our team fought some folks on the other side of the narrow street, tomato river kept getting deeper and deeper, people bathed in the tomato sauce, people screamed, shouted, took photos with their waterproof cameras, tried to fix their goggles only to get hit in the face. But more than anything, everyone had an absolutely unreal experience. You didn’t know that 120 tonnes of tomatoes can do this magic?

After a 90 minute battle that seemed to go on forever, we stumbled to the river and bathed, proud of ourselves, drained, feeling like the different people that we became and simply happy to be alive. We then drove to Valencia to swim in in the sea and feast on authentic paellas.

Filed under: the world eh , art, Europe, excitement, food, friends, fun time, Spain, tomatina, tomatoes, travels

On Talking Fast

Last week at work a young handsome man of African descent told me that perhaps I should speak a little slower. He said something about 50% slower. I shrugged it off, and said that people can actually adjust to a fast pace, especially if you’re making crystal clear sense. It’s definitely easier to adjust to a faster speech than an accent or incomprehensible blabber; worse yet, it’s incredibly hard to understand a poorly constructed or illogical dialogue.

Now, I’ve looked at the Introduction to the Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy, and guess what: “I advised the reader to restrict himself to ninety words a minute in television commercials. It is now known that, on average, 200 words a minute sells more of your product. Pitchmen in open-air markets know this, so they talk fast.” (p. 17) That was in 1988. Twenty years later, I’m willing to bet on 300.

Why am I likening myself to television commercials (obviously, the effective ones)? Because I see myself as the product. My own self. A Brand. Those of you who know me personally (and not), know exactly what I am talking about. I am selling myself, and it usually works. In addition to talking fast, the mind has to be going twice as fast, as I’ve to come up with punchlines, think about possible objections or answers to questions before you get to formulating them. Most of the time, it’s intoxicating to listen to a fast speech :-p My thinking doesn’t stop when my mouth stops. Imagine what a blessing it is when writing exams and papers. Wouldn’t you, as my employer, want to have someone who can outthink the sceptics and plunge into problem-solving before the vast majority does?

Filed under: advertising, the world eh , advertising, brand, marketing, ogilvy, pop culture, productivity, research, self

Back

My Blackberry and an iPod got stolen at a club in New York. Love club, mind you. Despite the Function One system I will not be going back there again unless I’ll have no purse on me.

If someone texted or called me between 1am on 26/10/08 and this afternoon, I probably didn’t get that. Sorry, folks. I’m working on procuring a Blackberry from friends and their acquaintances.

Other than that, I’ve had the best weekend since Europe. A lot of dancing happened, a lot of food, friends, fun, and outside-of-the-box experiences! Stay tuned for Brighton Beach, Coney Island’s Freak Show, spontaneous house party in Central Park, cops who don’t know their shit, and photos/videos (the latter will happen when I get the time, euh).

Filed under: the world eh , 2008, friends, loss, new york, photos, strangers, toys, travels, trip, weird

Lusting After Truest Blood

Those who know me probably know that I don’t own TV and don’t watch television series much. I do have a thing for Heroes (and am enjoying season 3), and I enjoyed Arrested Development. The new show on the block that I got sucked into is True Blood (oh yeah, recommended by Hans yet again!). I’ve always been a fan of vampires (heck, I even went through that whole stage in high school!), so this is fun to watch. Bill Crompton, ze vampire, is always interesting to watch.

Alan Ball, who was behind Six Feet Under, created this series. Only five episodes have been aired so far, so you can catch up on SideReel or Surf The Channel. The show has got violence, humor, Southern cliches, and lots of (sometimes rough) sex. There are also a lot of evil humans, hilarious characters, accents that stick with you, and a whole lot of other goodness.

It’s a lighter show, but definitely worth it if you want to some lighter entertainment with a supernatural twist. Plus, Anna Paquin is cute!

Oh yeah, and as a marketer, I must point out several sites that revolve around this show (which I think are great tools for solidifying loyalty to this series). LoveBitten is the human-vampire dating site, and there is also the official webpage for Tru Blood, which is what vampires drink in the movies if they want to keep their killing practices on the low. If they do, when they do.

Filed under: the world eh , pop culture, series, silly, television, true blood, tv

CDOs, CDOs squared, cubed, synthetic…

Ladies and gentlemen, these days I cannot express how outraged I am at the financial world, or rather, the organizations that let things plummet to such lows. Today, for the first time ever, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 777 points, resulting in a $1.1 trillion loss.

I don’t need to reiterate what you can read on the Marketwatch, Yahoo! Finance (being my favorite) and the likes.

The news that really affected me and me question the point of saving these ethically challenged companies is the fact that Lehman Brothers had a $2.5 billion to spread between 10,000 employees days before the bankruptcy. What.the.hell? I know, working for the company like that is probably a blast, since you get rewarded for driving the firm to the ground, but for Christ’s sake!

I am taking a really good class this semester – Ethics in Finance with professor Allen Goss. It’s amazing. Although Finance is my minor (Marketing being teh major), I am really quite enjoying this class and am never bored. I also appreciate a healthy dose of current events as opposed to the theoretical boredom. I am also a fan of “overthrowing” (i.e. pushing aside as ‘irrelevant’) traditional views everyone gets taught in finance. We just got exposed to the Agency Theory Capital Structure and Pecking Ordering Theory as opposed to the Static Theory…

The point is, I am becoming increasingly sensitive to the ethics at play in pretty much any industry. I am becoming more concerned with socially responsible brands, with sustainable practices, with the things that won’t blow up in your face pretty much. I don’t know what it is, but my Gordon Gecko days are over; same as the days of adoration of Gordon Geckos are over.

Filed under: the world eh , 2008, autumn, changes, class, crisis, dow jones, ethics, finance, gordon gecko, improvements, outrage, ryerson, self, subprime, university, wall st, wall street

Platja den Bossa

I really like this photo, which I took in Ibiza, on Platja den Bossa. I haven’t even noticed the great composition – look at the man and the woman! And then check out the couple in the distance – their heads are almost on the same level as the couple’s in the foreground. Yeah!

Playa d’en Bossa is the longest beach strip on the island (2 km). It’s full of beach cafes, bars, restaurants that often have famous DJs spin some tunes before performing at major clubs of the island (Space, Amnesia, Pacha, Privilege, Eden, did I forget something?).

We rode our scooter to the beach after spending most of the day in Eivissa town (where we scootered all the way to the top! See other photos), and relaxed. Be warned – numerous umbrellas beach chairs (is that what you call them?) that fill up the area have to be paid for. Watch out for the collector man.

Filed under: simple life, the world eh , 2008, aesthetics, beach, ibiza, life, self, Spain, travels, trip, vacation

You Sound Like Youre From East London

I just got a haircut from a man who’s been cutting hair for 28 years (including frou frou Kitsilano in Vancouver and 1985’s Spanish Harlem), and I realized than instead of going to hipstertown and seeking out the gayest, skinniest youngster with amazing hair, you should go to men of experience. Just make sure you explain your dreamcut really well. So yay to Islington’s Rough Cut!

I am currently sitting in Wellcome Collection, which is a unique mix of galleries, events and meeting, reading and eating places spread over six floors. Its goal is to engage public with health and well-being; it brings modern art, medicine and peoples ordinary lives to create and exciting place of interest. I am here, so should you when in London.

I went to Camden yesterday evening and had quite a good time. Besides picking up some flaming vintage pieces and trying Moroccan food (my next travel place of interest), I met some nice folks and managed to keep the happy hour prices in a bar way past the happy hour time. Camden is full of Italian daddy’s girls looking for bargains, handsome punks, prima donnas of the burlesque scene who will never see 30 again, skater boys, American Apparel sect members and random misplaced people. It’s heaps of fun, as my Australian friends would say!

By the way, I haven’t been updating a lot lately because I have been busy experiencing life here, but I have certainly been taking notes on what to post about. My autumn schedule will be busy, but calm busy, so expect posts very often!

Filed under: simple life, the world eh , Europe, food, London, mobile, neighborhoods, self, travels, trip

BCN to LGW

I am a little sick, hence getting tired way sooner than usual. But not to worry – I have been writing down things to blog about, even if I have no time.

When I was leaving Barcelona, on a Friday night, I decided to take the train to the airport. I got to the Sants Estacion and went to the train station, got to the right platform and then jumped on a train that was there. Some other people followed and we waited. I was an idiot enough to drag my suitcase up the mini stairs and took a seat.

Then the kids who got in after me quickly ran off the bus, and I panicked. I dragged my suitcase down the stairs and as I was about to jump off, the doors closed. Right in front of me!

A kind man came up to explain to me that I won’t be going too far and that I should get off at the next station. So I got off at Bellvitge train station and that messed things up.

I decided to grab a taxi. But there were none. I had 50 minutes before the EasyJet check-in closed.

I tried calling a taxi, but they hung up on me because I had no street address (hello, Vancouver taxi cabs; same story there) to give them. I panicked even more. I tried to run up the overpass to get to the other side of the train station – second entrance. And as I was half way through, I saw a cab! I missed it.

I started to get really worried, I could’ve missed my flight to London after all. I ran down with my 23kg bag and got upset. Some elderly couple tried to help me figure out where to catch a cab, but that didn’t help.

I started crying right in the middle of the street, panicking, scared of missing my flight, when a young man came up asking me (in fairly good English!) what was wrong. I told him. Him and his girlfriend called me a cab, but none came. We dragged my bag to the main avenue of the suburb, and waited. I had no Euros left, save for €10, and hence couldn’t fully the €15 fare to the airport. The couple gave me €10 more! Then the cab came. My God. Am I not lucky? After this incident I’m pretty much convinced that nothing will go wrong in my life anymore, and if it does, a guardian angel will help me out. (This is sort of what happens in Harry Potter all the time, eh. The boy’s just so well connected and gets help when he’s in trouble)

God bless the couple that helped me out. I found that Spanish people in general are really warm, helpful, and empathetic. These two lovely strangers didn’t need to help me at all, but they did take the time out of their evening to make sure I got on my plane!.. And I don’t even know their names

When I ran up to the EasyJet, panting and still shaking from stress of missing the flight, the check in guys laughed, but in a good way. They also didn’t charge me €30 for every kilo that my bag was over the limit… And it was over by 4 kg. Am I not lucky?

Crazy day, that Aug 29. Most ridiculous day of the month, actually, hehe.

Filed under: simple life, the world eh , 2008, barcelona, Europe, miracle, mobile, Spain, strangers, travels, trip

More on Europe

Berlin was such a satisfying sight when it came to the roads (among many other things) – all the cars were either Mercedes, Audi, Opel or BMW. I saw ONE Ford and shivered to the bone. What’s a Ford doing in Germany? What kind of a nitwit would buy a Ford when they can buy a probably better Audi for that price?

Another note on Spain – Ibiza island is full of roundabouts. At first it was sort of tough on a scooter, but then we eased into it and found it much more practical than lights or highway exits. Roundabouts! I’m so happy that my Ibiza experience was just as wild as it was chill. Master of balance ze Karina.

I’ve been thinking about Hemingway a lot here, his Spain. I was trying to pick up one of his book to read since I am in Spain and I love reading books set in locations which I am traveling through. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything super intriguing of his (and I couldn’t deal with reading so much about bullfighting, considering Barcelona was the first city in Spain to protest against bullfighting or bull running). Instead I got Faulkner’s Light in August. It sounds quite promising; I spent several hours in a cafe yesterday reading it.

Hey, I just arrived in Bunol! Going for La Tomatina. Tomatoes, here I come!

Filed under: random facts, simple life, the world eh , 2008, Berlin, Europe, fun facts, literature, mobile, Spain, travels, trip