On Reading Week

Good news, everyone!

Reading Break has left me feeling more calm and collected than I have in months! And this more relaxed "ME" comes at the right time since March is going to be an absolute whirlwind of school writing, class presentations and paper drafting. Upcoming deadlines include leading a class discussion on March 3, and a research summary due on the same day, a class presentation on March 14, a first draft of a paper due on March 30 and another due on March 31.

And then in April, I've got papers due on April 8, April 11, and mid-month (flexible deadline). In other words, except for coming up for occasional breaths of fresh air, don't expect to see me out and about until past my birthday. At least the whole "Well, I've got to eat at some point!" reasoning will come in handy in terms of scheduling compulsory breaks. That and the aquafit classes that I've built-in to my schedule.

Thankfully, this past week has allowed to me get a good chunk of everyday class work and advance research and sourcing done before the deadline crunch really hits me. Surprisingly, instead of getting increasingly stressed as time went by and I wasn't able to meet my stringent self-imposed deadlines, I actually felt myself relaxing. How can I tell? Well, my chronic wrist pain has mostly dissipated and my posture feels less tense, despite basically sitting all week.

There are two or three events that I've committed to, despite my heavy schedule, and I'm sure they will be welcome distractions - and good for forcing me to get work done under pressure. Apart from an upcoming quickie Toronto weekend with the family, I'm also heading back to Montreal to catch a Habs game in March. Plus, there's the Limestone New Media Group meetup in March at my favourite Kingston restaurant, The Tango that I will most certainly be attending, provided I don't have a deadline the next day. The lovely group of people who actively participate in @lnmg activities have become my core of friends in this city, and I absolutely love them. Can't leave them hanging, now can I?

And on that note, back to class-assigned readings and longing for the summer months, when I will be able to expand my "currently reading" bookshelf to include non-academic literature. The sunshine and springtime can't come soon enough!

On Moving Forward

I know, I know... Long time no blog!

First off, a quick round-up: My trip to Toronto during the G8/G20 Summits was pretty uneventful. I didn't get arrested, I wasn't disturbed by the security perimeter and I stayed far away from the protesters.

Yes, the protests did prevent family dinner plans from happening but my alternate dinner scenario was just as yummy, and the family dinner simply got postponed since it was raining anyway. Yes, a bona fide raincheck! Overall, I had a great time, from the Jays pounding the Cards, to my solo walking tour of Chinatown and Kensington Market and my mall day(s), to the huge wedding I attended over the weekend.

Once the Summit was over and done with, I walked around the areas I'd seen on TV and heard about in news reports and via the Twitter coverage of Saturday's protest.I thought it was really cool to visualize the trauma spots after the fact. It helped put things in perspective, even for the areas I was previously familiar with.

When I got home, I went straight into "moving mode", sorting through storage bins, leafing through pamphlets and searching for products online. And then came the buying. After just over one week of nearly daily purchasing, I think I'm done. Well... Except for those two raincheck items I need to keep an eye on. Otherwise, I think my credit cards are going to get a well-deserved break.

Now, it's time to seriously start packing and sorting. No more excuses!! I've had moving boxes - and packing paper! - for a few weeks now, courtesy of a friend who'd used them previously, and those boxes aren't gonna build themselves! Of course, that's the easy part. The part that's taking forever - and causing me quite a bit of anxiety - is going through all my stuff.

I'm not the kind of person who accumulates stuff but I tend to keep things... press passes, ticket stubs, books from my childhood and that hair elastic I bought for that outfit I don't have anymore. I'm pretty good at getting rid of clothes but anything that holds knowledge - like my old journals, school work and art - is really hard for me to get rid of. The creative items especially, because they feel like an integral part of "me".

Plus, last time I moved, I just took all my stuff and brought it home. So those storage containers are in dire need of a "sort, donate, throw" regimen. Slowly but surely, I'm sure I'll get it all done. I do have another month and a half to get through it! Well, minus my 2 weeks of full-time work just prior to the move in August. Four weeks is totally doable though, right?

Oh boy, here comes the anxiety again... Who knew moving forward with life could be so stressful!?!

On keeping busy

The month of April has come and gone, bringing us sun and flowers, then taking them away with freak snow and wind storms. Life goes on, no matter how busy you are, and I have been so busy that I haven't had time to Facebook, tweet or blog properly, though I've been trying really hard to keep everyone up to date.

My World Partnership Walk fundraising campaign has been going well, thanks to some very generous donations from some people who are very dear to me. Their kind words have helped boost my efforts, both on the personal front and on the not-for-profit professional front. I'm very excited about the involvement of local media in the 2010 Walk in Montreal and as soon as I officially can, I'll share some of their plans with you.

Meanwhile, two articles I have written in the past few months were finally published! The first one is available online, at The Ismaili.org. It touches on the Bridges That Unite exhibition that was held at Concordia University in March, and in 5 other cities before then, showcasing Canada's development work and 25-year partnership with Aga Khan Foundation Canada. You can read it here.

The other article I wrote appeared in The Ismaili Canada Magazine, which is distributed mainly to the Ismaili community in Canada periodically. It touches on women's role in development and how empowering the women in the developing world can help break the cycle of poverty. I've posted it below for your enjoyment.

Apart from writing, working on the Walk, and translating, I've been doing a fair amount of TV work! HBO Boxing, Versus Hockey broadcasts, CBCSports' coverage of the 2010 Canada Cup... It's been pretty much non-stop work in one field or another for me since my birthday. But hey, I'm not complaining! I am, however, very much looking forward to my mini-escape to Toronto from June 22 to 28. If you want to meet up while I'm in town, you know where to reach me! :)

And now, please excuse me as I go back to translating. Stay tuned...


Empowering women to break the cycle of poverty
By Naila Jinnah

How much do you make in a year? A typical Canadian family with two earning adults made approximately $100,000 before taxes in 2007. Imagine if that amount was cut in half. Could you offer your family the same quality of life on just one income?

In many developing countries, families have to rely on the inadequate salary of only one earner. These families work hard, but often do not see financial returns. In many rural regions, crops are consumed for subsistence rather than sold to the market. This reduces the revenues a family has available to ensure a higher quality of life.

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) estimates that women represent 70 percent of the world’s poor. Statistically, women are more likely than men to be poor due to the discrimination they face in areas of education and employment.

So how can women be empowered to break out of the cycle of poverty?

There are short-term and long term approaches to this challenge. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), strives to provide economically viable solutions to poverty in the developing world by investing in entrepreneurship and offering financial services to those who are not usually eligible to receive them. These programs go beyond micro-lending into the area of private and for-profit enterprise. One example of AKFED’s investment ventures is Kenya’s
Frigoken Ltd.

Frigoken works with small-scale farmers to stimulate regional economies by providing business development services like price guarantees, quality control, training and seeds. This venture works on two levels. First, it enables entire farming villages in the coastal rural region of Mombasa to confidently invest in their crops, providing a higher and more stable source of income, and allowing families to educate their children. Second, it stimulates the national economy by providing factory jobs for trained workers who process and package the vegetables
for export.

Approximately 2,700 people work in the Frigoken factory. Most of them are women who are providing a valuable secondary income for their families. There is also an on location daycare service for the younger children. But often where agencies like AKDN are not active, employment opportunities for women remain limited.

Unskilled women with limited education are dispensable in the economic chain. In the city, these women are confined to low-paying and low-status jobs like domestic and cleaning services. Even in Canada, many immigrant families are stuck in low income lifestyles with no apparent way out. Single mothers here resort to night jobs in factories or mid-day shifts in the hospitality industry in order to accommodate their dual role as parents and earners.

The root of the poverty problem lies deeper. According to UNIFEM, women make up approximately 60 to 80 percent of the manufacturing workforce, a struggling industry in the
ongoing global economic crisis. How can they save their families from the desperation of poverty?

The solution is education. Offering proper educational services that are tailored to girls’ needs from early childhood through to adulthood is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Fortunately, children in Canada are provided with free, quality education until the age of 16
regardless of their backgrounds, providing hope for a better life for future generations.

But in developing countries, it’s not that simple.

Children living in cities are well serviced by primary and secondary schools. But in rural areas, educational facilities are less accessible. One common form of early childhood education is the madrasa, a religiously focussed pre-school. AKDN partners with villages in East Africa to build madrasas, allowing the community to unite and effectively run the schools. Along with providing financial support, the AKDN trains village women to be teachers, ensuring that a secular curriculum is taught for at least part of the day. This allows children from all backgrounds to attend and accommodates responsibilities at home.

Girls benefit the most from this arrangement; they can still tend to sick family members or help in the kitchen or farm before and after school. Since the teachers are local women who are paid by the village, the madrasa project also empowers women on a secondary level.

Most parents understand the value of education in providing a better future for their children but they cannot afford to lose their workforce for extended periods of time. Many girls drop out of school in their teens, while boys often finish high school. The issue lies in the sensitivity to girls’ physiological and practical needs, rather than cultural considerations. Many girls stop going to school when they reach puberty because schools do not have proper latrines tailored to women’s needs. Even when they do, the poverty is so extreme that girls cannot afford feminine hygiene products. Worse, many girls do not have spare undergarments and uniforms and must go home to wash and dry them, which disrupts the school day.

The Aga Khan School Improvement Programme (SIP) is one AKDN initiative that directly addresses this challenge by providing a forum for girls to discuss issues that are relevant only to them in a secure, private setting and make suggestions to the school on their educational experience. Programs like SIP invest in girls by providing them with the tools they need to escape poverty on a practical and educational level. It empowers girls to change their lives and livelihoods and opens up a wide array of possibilities for their future. Many
dream of being doctors and teachers.

In his speech at the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the madrasa programme in Mombasa, Kenya, in 2007, [The Aga Khan] noted that, ”… we sometimes give too little attention to the schools which prepare young children for life itself—in all of its holistic dimensions. And yet the evidence accumulates steadily showing that an investment made in the earliest, pre-school years can bring enormous dividends as a child proceeds from one level of education to another.”

Women perform 66 percent of the world’s work, produce 50 percent of the food, but earn only 10 percent of the income and own a meagre one percent of the property. With services that are sensitive to their issues, women have the opportunity to provide a higher quality of life for their families. With some support, these girls could one day lead the developing world out of the devastating cycle of poverty.

(First appeared in The Ismaili Canada Magazine, Issue 1, March 2010)

On #IN09

Wow.

What a whirlwind couple of days IN09 was! I really should have blogged about it earlier, but when I came home to Montreal, I also came home to a pile of work. Not that I'm complaining...

But I digress.

Last week, I flew to Toronto for The Interactive Exchange, formerly known as ICE, which took place from March 17 to 19, 2009.

It was amazing. I met so many interesting people with so many interesting thoughts, working on so many interesting projects. These people are truly innovative. They have experience being successful in our tumultuous times. They have great ideas about where the industry should be headed.

Sure most of the creative ideas came from social media types while traditional media emphasized that they wouldn't work as a business model... (Check out #IN09 on Twitter for all the fun.)

Still, an amalgamation of points from both sides might lead to sustainable platforms, both in terms of business and content. Don't ask me which points though... I'm not that smart!

Some highlights?

• The huge use of Twitter. Including the Twitter wall and panelist David Crow tweeting while on stage for "Future of the Medium (2): The New Rules".
• Meeting people I only knew online and making new contact who have become online friends.
• Discovering the variety of opportunities in interactive media, from news to gaming to social networking.
  
• Seeing what everyone else is planning, implementing, raving about, working on...
  
• Realizing that ethnography, aka the socio-anthropological impact of anything online is what really interests me.

And most importantly...

Finding out that there IS hope for the industry. Even though a lot of the news-related panels were a bit defeatists, I'm actually more optimistic now than before because I know the depth of creativity and the willpower of all those involved in helping the industry survive... no matter how different it will look and feel once it emerges from the turmoil.

Every panel I attended, whether I was there by choice or because I was assigned to it - via my super sneaky plan to get into IN09 by volunteering - gave me a wealth of knowledge and helped me grow as an online media content producer and enthusiast. Some filled me with wonder and others with so much information that I'll probably take another couple of weeks to finish processing it all.

And so, while this post was meant to be super insightful and full of goodies you may have missed if you didn't attend IN09, I'm just gonna leave it at this. And maybe I'll revisit the topic in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, check out the Twitter stream. It's worth it.

Welcome, 2009!

While I did want to write a blog post about my crazy weekend in Tremblant with a few friends, the time has come for a recap of 2008 post.

(For the record, the Tremblant story included setting off the house alarm, being stuck in the driveway because of freezing rain and slippery roads, having no food and sending two of our folk out to the grocery store in a taxi - then the taxis stopped running and they had to beg a good Samaritan for a lift most of the way home. Oh, and the spa jets spewing everywhere because it wasn't full - or warm - enough.)

< /2008>

2008 was a year full of endings and new beginnings. Some of my bittersweet endings include finishing school and temporarily losing my HNIC job. But endings are simply the door to new beginnings, and those were simply awesome.

There was working the playoffs for HNIC in Toronto and making a bunch of new friends in the process, then the week in Calgary for National ISTAR, which also included being part of a documentary on Stampede and caveing in Canmore. In August, I worked on the Beijing Olympics, which was a great experience work-wise and for my personal life. I earned a lot of confidence on and off the job thanks to this stint in Toronto. I made and strengthened friendships, some of which will last a lifetime. I also learned a lot about myself, and grew emotionally - though not always due to positive events.

August was also the impeding doom month, health-wise. On 06/08/08, I broke a tooth biting into soft pastry. On 08.08.08, aka, Opening Ceremonies, I had an acid attack and wound up in the hospital. I had additional dental issues throughout the year, but nothing too crazy - just expensive!

The Fall was odd for me because I didn't go back to school. Instead, I travelled to Kingston to visit Ryan, worked at HNIC for the beginning of the Habs Centennial season, went to Toronto for the Golden Jubilee Darbar, then back to Kingston for Ryan's graduation. I also went to NYC for Labour Day week(end), visiting my cousin at school.

I also made it to Ottawa earlier this week for the World Junior Hockey Championship, seeing Team USA vs. Kazakhstan at Scotiabank Place. It was the second time I made it to Ottawa in 2008 (or was that 3 times?), since I met up with a bunch of Habs fans in the Capital City for Habs @ Sens for Hockey Day in Canada.

This past year was also a good year for boys. And that's all I'll say on that topic ;)

So much happened in 2008, and as you can tell, I can't remember most of it - especially the early stuff.

But what I do know is this: 2008 was a year of change and growth, whether professionally or personally, emotionally or rationally.

Overall, there were a lot more positives in this past year than negatives, and I hope that 2009 will continue this upward trend... despite being faced with a series of depressing events in late 2008.

So, 2009, I welcome you with open arms. Maybe this will be the year I accomplish my destiny!

<2009>

What I've been up to

Finally, after much anticipation, here's that 2 minute wrap of the past 6 months...

1- I graduated! I'm all done with school for now, having finally obtained my B.A. Specialization in Journalism (Print and Broadcast) from Concordia University, in my hometown of Montreal. As much as I love school, I was ready to get out in the real world, where people are theoretically as committed to their work as I am. How naive of me! Still, I have the stamped piece of paper, and I'm not planning on going back to school until the summer of 2010 so as to not compromise any chances of working on the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in that same year.

2-In early July, I made my way to Calgary for a trip I will remember for the rest of my life. Not only did I meet some wonderful youth in my community, I made some very good friends, albeit much younger ones ;) Though that shouldn't come as a surprise to those who know me well! The purpose of the trip was for the National ISTAR (aka Ismaili Student Total Academic Recognition) Awards. It was the first time these awards were handed out on a national scale. Though I was nominated in a couple of categories, namely Arts and Culture, I didn't make any finalists list or win any prizes. That experience helped me realize that no matter how creative journalism is, most people don't consider it to be an art. I guess it is more of a technical trade in the mind of the general public. But then again, journalism isn't as well regarded a profession as it was in the time of legends like Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite.

3-While I was in Calgary, I got to attend my first ever Stampede. The quick version? LOVE! The awards were purposely timed to correspond with this exceptional Calgary event. The country music fan in me was totally and utterly thrilled. I caught my first ever country shows, Emerson Drive at Nashville North and Dierks Bentley at the Coca-Cola Stage. I also went behind the scenes at the Stampede grounds thanks to my press pass, obtained because of my participation in a documentary on the Stampede that used the Ismailis' values of volunteerism and community as a central character. I was one of three young girls who were chosen - mostly due to timing and availability - to be stalked over three days in Calgary. It was an experience on several levels. I made good contacts with the staff working on the documentary, and I learned a lot about shooting in the field. To be able to understand both sides of a documentary was extremely interesting to me, and I have to admit I had a lot of fun secretly communicating with Mike the sound guy!! For days after the shooting finished, I actually missed knowing someone was listening to my random conversations and lame jokes. Oh, the tapes are going to be a hilarious listen...

The documentary was made for CityTV and should be broadcast nationally sometime before Stampede 2009. I can't wait to see what made the cut, how silly I look and speak, and what ends up on the cutting room floor! And, of course, I wouldn't mind flying out to Calgary for the premiere ;)

4-On my way home from Calgary, I made a pit stop in Toronto, where I got started on my Olympics contract. That's right! I had the honour of working on the 2008 Beijing Olympics with CBC. For the month of August, I was working night shifts covering the events in Beijing - but from Toronto. Basically, with a producer, announcer and editor, we put together 2 minute video highlight updates based on what the main network was putting out. The updates were due every hour and a half, which amounts to about 6 a shift. It was a lot of fun because I got to keep track of a lot of the Olympic happenings. I also got to get re-acquainted with a lot of the people I met and worked with during the NHL playoffs last season.

I'm very proud of myself for achieving my Olympic goal 2 years earlier than anticipated. I'm still working on making a bigger impact for 2010, but as Scott Moore, head of TV Network Sports at CBC said at the wrap party, "Every element, every person who worked on the 2008 Beijing Olympics contributed to our success and made it that much better a product."

That's a loose quote, of course.

This most recent trip to Toronto made me realize that I was psyching myself up for a potential move to Canada's main business hub. And so, I thought I actually wouldn't mind living there too much. What I realized, once I came home, is that the city itself is toxic. In fact, I wouldn't enjoy living there. What I like about Toronto is the people that I know there. I have a whole lot of really good friends in that city, and that's what I miss when I miss Toronto. Also, it helps that whenever I'm there, I have a job and a certain amount of independence that I don't get in Montreal... but that aside, Toronto is no more spectacular than it was before.

My Olympic experience also helped me build new contacts and regain my faith in the ability to successfully work in sports (and media in general) in a city other than Toronto. Hopefully, some of this networking will pan out sooner rather than later!

Also when I was in Toronto, I attended the first ever (hopefully annual) Rhinestone Country Music Festival at Downsview Park. What a blast it was!!! I only went for day 2, but I got to see a bunch of new artists and current favourites: Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean specifically. Those who have seen the pictures know how much fun I had wearing my cowboy boots, enjoying the sun and singing along to every song.

The trip as a whole helped me centre myself and re-discover my priorities. It wasn't just hanging out with friends I hadn't seen in a while or making new ones. It was about having the time and ability to ask myself what I really wanted and what I really care about. A lot of those conclusions are having an impact on the decisions that I take daily, and in a positive way.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with my summer, although I sometimes wonder where the time - and sun - went! Now back in Montreal after my quick trip to New York City, I have to reacquaint myself with the changing downtown landscape of my city. But with hockey season just around the corner, the city is starting to come alive again like it does in the middle of the winter.

And that's what I love about MY Montreal.

Round 1 in Toronto

Well, Round 1 is over and Round 2 is underway. And I'm still in Toronto! Which is to be expected, and a good thing really. Except that I'm really starting to miss the euphoria and Habs fever of Montreal. Not to mention their weather, which has been considerably more sunny than Toronto ever since that snowstorm period in early April.

As for the job itself, I definitely settled into it. It's really cool to learn all about the different technologies, from the audio mixer to video switcher, EVS machines and a bunch of other stuff like tape archiving, etc. I think my internship at Sportsnet last summer definitely better prepared me for this job, because I at least had some idea of how a studio show and production studio works. Those rows of big yellow tapes in Sports Archives on the second basement didn't scare me!

In a way, I find studio production to be much more hectic in the control room than in a truck. I guess the truck is hectic in a different way. Even though Control Room 42 basically only produces the studio segments and related VTR items, when they're on, it's crazy. And I love it.

My only problem is trying to sleep after a show... All I hear is "roll Silver, cut Silver, mix to Blue" etc etc.

I've learned so much just from observing and listening, and I'm glad that the Hockey Night in Canada family is so open and friendly. Not that I was expecting anything different, but it's nice to be able to ask just about any production related question and get a real answer. You just have to know when to ask and when to just be silent.

Anyway, instead of boring you with more TV observations, I thought I'd try something different. Here's a summary of my time in Toronto from the moment I got to the airport in Montreal until the beginning of Round 2, through facebook.

Enjoy!

PS: The (m) is for mobile update. And it's in reverse time order, by date.

April 5

Naila is in transit. (m) 12:02pm

Naila is in Toronto, ready for her big debut! (m)3:49pm

April 6

Naila thought watching broadcast schedule making was awesome. So hectic. So worth it. (m) 11:02pm

Naila really enjoys the fact that if you miss the subway in Toronto it only takes 2 mins for the next one to show up. Even on weekends. (m)5:33pm

Naila loves that country is the music of choice at her homestay. 11:26am

Naila thoroughly enjoyed work today. 1:57am

April 7

Naila actually got home before 1 am! Impressive! (m) 11:13pm

Naila votes P.J. Stock for superstar of the day!That's 4 straight hours of radio,then 20 mins of TV. 6:32pm

Naila will try to read Total Stanley Cup today. 9:17am

Naila hopes the Habs give her a Bday present for Game 1. 12:34am

April 8

Naila might be getting a cold. Oh well. Even the best fall down sometimes. 9:20pm

Naila feels like today was longer than any other day, but in fact, it was 2h shorter! (m) 8:12pm

Naila can't wait for early meal break! (m) 2:23pm

Naila loves College station because of its beautiful hockey-related murals. (m) 10:46am

Naila couldn't sleep past 7:45. Silly brain. 8:37am

April 9

Naila keeps forgetting she can't get out from Front Street at this time! (m) 11:42pm

Naila just flashed back to last summer... another example of the love-hate relationship between trams and bikes. (m) 2:06pm

Naila just realized that people in Toronto who are not hockey fans think HNIC goes off the air onge the Leafs' season is over. (m) 11:57am

Naila totally is sick. But have no fear! Advil Cold & Sinus is here! 9:50am

April 10

Naila has had the best birthday ever and received an abundance of love and gifts, including the Habs' victory and a promise of a ticket to Vancouver from my dad! 10:36pm

Naila is excited for Ryan's graduation ceremony!(m)12:47pm

Naila has landed in her hometown. (m)10:00am

Naila couldn't sleep, with Ron and Don and Control Room 42 in her ear all night! (m) 7:12am

Naila is kinda impressed that facebook wished her a happy birthday! 12:28am

April 11

Naila has a papercut in the middle of her right index finger. What inconvenient placement! (m) 1:29pm

Naila is so very happy :).

9:27am

April 12

Naila can't believe how loud the Bell Centre is... and that's just on TV! (m) 8:28pm

Naila had a wonderful 2 days in Montreal and will definitely miss Habs fever! (m)10:44am

Naila is flying! (m) 8:09am

Naila feels totally blessed. 12:54am

April 13

Naila loves all these End of Year pics.5:29pm

Naila wonders how she got a bruise in the middle of her right cheek bum. (m) 2:24pm

Naila was looking at Olympic dates and just realized she didn't have to worry about starting school! (m) 11:54am

Naila loves. 10:29am

Naila is glad her prediction for tonight turned out to be wrong. 1:05am

April 14

Naila realizes how much she really does miss playing hockey after watching it day in and day out. 8:38pm

Naila loves her uncanny ability to cut or bruise herself on just about anything. (m) 1:12pm

Naila is glad it isn't as cold as it was supposed to be today. 11:05am

Naila apologizes. 1:02am

Naila was impressed by stellar performances by both early game goalies tonight. Not so much in Calgary. 12:28am

April 15

Naila is so happy for her boys!! (m) 10:36pm

Naila is having hockey related heart attacks! (m) 8:24pm

Naila just saw 2 random guys walking down King street in Habs jerseys. Oh yeah! (m) 3:06pm

Naila is sorta comforted at the fact that the subway fails in Toronto too... but why did it have to happen to me? (m)12:13pm

Naila will rock you. 10:00am

April 16

Naila wrote half her paper in shorthand on the subway ride in to work this morning. 2:23pm

Naila just saw a butterfly crossing the street!(m) 11:34am

Naila is ready for flip flops. 10:17am

Naila enjoys the luxuries in life... like having lunch with Lindsay! 12:09am

April 17

Naila thought that was pretty depressing. (m) 9:47pm

Naila has heart palpitations again! (m) 7:50pm

Naila has decided today is a HUG day. Any and all hugs will be accepted. 10:17am

Naila had fun learning a bunch of new things tonight. (m) 12:24am

April 18

Naila thinks these seagulls or wtv they're called sound like whining babies. Also, yey! sun! 2:24pm

Naila always forgets how different it feels to walk in flip-flop like sandals.11:56am

Naila is excited to hang out with Ryan tonight!!! :D. 10:38am

Naila is sad that her aunt who she hasn't seen in 11 years is in Montreal, and she's not :(. (m) 12:25am

April 19

Naila brought the flowers Ryan got her to the craft room. Now it smells exotic in there. 3:03pm

Naila had a blast hanging out with Ryan and work friends last night. 9:42am

April 20

Naila has decided she's pretty decent looking. (m) 11:20pm

Naila had amazing cake at work today. 7:02pm

Naila really has to get cracking on this act of citizenship assignment. 10:31am

Naila has too much pent-up frustration (not Habs related), but she wishes she'd punched something softer than an elevator mirror. 12:29am

April 21

Naila still can't stop smiling!! 11:29pm

Naila just can't believe it!! GO HABS GO!! (m) 10:22pm

Naila just saw Peter Mansbridge walking around level 4 of the CBC building. (m) 4:23pm

Naila thinks her paper is almost done. 2:42pm

Naila will have to finish this thing at work today. 11:01am

Naila needs to finish this essay. 1:05am

April 22

Naila is hanging out. 7:56pm

Naila saw a girl in a Habs smile Tshirt sitting on a bench in downtown Toronto... And then a guy in a Habs jersey having lunch a few steps away. (m) 2:09pm

Naila almost just walked in to a CTV shot. Can't escape the media forever!! 12:40pm

Naila can't believe she's actually done school. 11:17am

April 23

Naila has new clothes! 10:39pm

Naila would move to Toronto for Red Lobster. (m)8:01pm

Naila can't believe she's actually eating at Red Lobster for the first time since she was like 8. Omg awesome! (m)6:58pm

Naila has Hockey Night music stuck in her head! (m)5:05pm

Naila is shopping on her day off! (m) 3:46pm

Naila wanted to go out but the rain is putting a damper on things... 2:42pm

Naila should be sleeping. 4:31am

Naila has a day off!! 2:59am

And there you have it... the ups and downs of life in live TV...

An Orgasm of News

It has been a fair amount of time since I last posted, hence the title of this blog. Also, I just want the random search terms to lead here. Because it's funny.

(*points and laughs at googlers looking for porn*)

A lot has changed since late February. For one, I don't look the same. No, I did not have major plastic surgery and I was thankfully not involved in any vehicular accidents. But I did cut my hair. Short.

How short you ask? Why, as short as I can ever fathom having my hair.

Why did you cut it? And why so short? Well, my friend, I cut it not only because it was so long that it was starting to get annoying - your hair choking you in your sleep? so not cool - but also because it was heavy. So heavy, in fact, that I lost .8 pounds based on a very unscientific poll which required me to weight myself in the same clothes before and after the cut, with no food or liquid intake in between.

But most importantly, I cut my hair because that was the plan all along. In fact, the last time I wrote a post, I was already planning my cut. Indeed, it would already have reached its new length had I not been so incredibly insanely busy during Reading Week/Spring Break.

For the second time in my life, I donated my hair to make wigs for children with cancer. It's an honourable mission, in my opinion. Why cut your hair when if you were to wait a couple more months, it would be long enough to give? Also, it's not like you can do much with it once it's gone.

Last time, I cut my hair in the States because it had remnants of streaks in it and the Canadian organizations wouldn't take it. Also, I got a free cut out of it ;) I sent that ponytail to Locks of Love.

This time, three years later, my hair was in pristine condition and dye-free, so I gave it to one of the many hair donation programs in Canada, specifically Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. It's based out of Ontario, but much more people friendly than the Quebec organization, which provided no instructions, simply an address.

My new haircut seems to have brought on winds of change. Changing my look seems to have changed my luck. After a period where everything I applied for went to someone else - without even a chance to prove myself in an interview - I had a nice chat with Sherali Najak, executive producer of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

And I'm headed to Toronto for the month of April to work as a production runner for Rounds 1 and 2 of the playoffs, helping with everything that happens in Studio 42, but also anything else that's show related. And so it seems my career does lie in sports, at least for the time being.

I am totally absolutely completely ecstatic about this opportunity. It is not only a great way to learn the ropes, but it also means I get to "cotoyer" to use a French word, the people who make the show look and feel so polished and authentic. It's truly an amazing chance to prove my worth, and maybe even get to explore other CBC productions.

And while I am extremely grateful for this wonderful promotion, I'm also a bit sad, because I won't get to feel the Bell Centre shake as 23,173 fans cheer for the Habs. It means that all this excitement that I've amassed over working the playoffs in Montreal is now diverted to working on the show. Which is awesome - but I know I'm going to miss my Habs.

The good news is, the Habs might have the stuff to go all the way, and since HNIC usually travels after the first two rounds, or at least, by the finals... I may yet have a chance to have my socks rocked off by the best fans in the NHL.

Speaking of sports... The 5th annual edition of the Rogers Sportsnet Sports Journalism Workshop, presented in conjunction with Concordia University's Journalism and Communication Departments, was an absolutely success, despite the crazy snow storm that was predicted. And yes, the snow did fall. And yes, I am so over winter. Especially since my "walking" boots broke 2 weeks before that impending storm of doom. We had a fairly decent student turnout... almost more than any of the other years I've been there - which is 3 total. Most of those don't even go to Concordia!!! (yet).

The bad news is... it took me 1.5 hours to get home instead of the 20 minutes no traffic time I usually clock. Definitely a long day.

And speaking of journalism... Tomorrow is our live show, aptly entitled One Night [News]Stand. As the script says, it's your chance to get a little more intimate with our work. We're expecting a live audience of at least 50 people, we have 8 wonderful guests that are sure to entertain you... And if that doesn't work, well... it will, because one of them is comic Paul Baluyot, and the other is Montreal rapper Rugged Intellect. Other guests include Jonnie Penn and David Lingwood from The Buried Life. We also have the crew from HabsCast, the deputy executive director from the charity In Their Shoes, and Dr. Laurie Betito, sex therapist and host of CJAD's PASSION.

As you can see, it's a full lineup, and I had a blast lining up the segments so they would flow into a beautiful show. And tomorrow, I get to floor direct/manage the show, which is sure to be an exciting and most likely hectic experience. Hopefully, I'll post about it sooner rather than later, so you're not hanging in suspense.

Last but not least, I just want to underline how stressed I am. All week, I've had a Post It full of stuff "To Do". In fact, as of Tuesday, I've had 2 or 3 different "To Do" lists.
Thankfully, I think I'll be able to manage with just one after Friday.

Most importantly, apart from the planning for the End of Year Bash, getting grad gifts for my fellow graduating students, ensuring that all the Historic Cities Program exhibition goes well, helping organize the first ever joint Journalism Students Association and Concordia University Alumni Association's Journalism Chapter event, aka Stories from the Front and doing all my homework, all I've got to worry about is finding a place to stay in Toronto that's relatively cheap and meet with my must haves: Internet, no smoking and no pets.

I'll let you know how all of that goes...