When I was picking what University to go to, I have to admit I didn't put a whole lot of thought into the fact that I would not only be picking my program, but I would be choosing to become part of a new culture for at least four years of my life. It never occurred to me to become involved in the city that I was going to University in, because when you are part of the campus bubble, you feel more like a temporary resident, than someone that can actually have an impact on that city.
However, it has become quite apparent to me now, how naive and irresponsible that was of me. I lived in Windsor for four years of my life, but I never really became overly involved in what that city had to offer until after I had graduated. It wasn't until last December that I went to the award winning Phog Lounge for the first time, and that was only because I had a show there. After playing another show there this past weekend I realized just how much I was missing out on by not engaging in the city that I lived in. Sure tons of students might venture to the downtown and contribute to the thriving bar scene of your city, but that's akin to taking a road trip on highways through the country. You only get to see the real country by taking the back roads.
There are so many gems in any city that go mostly unnoticed by a transient population. I grew up coming to the London area for concerts, but it wasn't until I became an intern at the Aeolian Hall that I attended my first concert there. Students miss out on so many amazing events that go on in this city that occur during the summer months when the majority have gone home. London really does have festivals that go on every single weekend in the summer.
Home County Folk Festival
These situations aren't exclusive to Windsor and London where I've gone to school, but happen in every city. Student's can contribute to the economy and the culture of the city just as well as anyone else. It's a huge challenge for most businesses to constantly appeal to the ever changing student populations of their cities.
So I make this challenge to the returning students, and students attending school for the first time in the fall: get out of your dorm rooms, the over populated student housing you live in, the student bubble you occupy, and the downtown or nearby bar district. See the real community that you are living in. Experience the culture, and maybe even contribute to it. Explore the different neighborhoods, side streets, and markets. See the real city you have been missing, and you just might be pleasantly surprised.
I am often times reminded of a particular episode of "Family Matters", where the father, Carl, was having a fight with his wife Harriette. She is driving him nuts and the fight is only resolved, when he realizes that the things that are driving him crazy, are the same things that he fell in love with her for. Cheesy? Absolutely. Was Family Matters amazing? Yes.
Now, the reason I bring up one of the greatest shows ever is not to reignite Jaleel White's career, but is to ask a question? Why did you originally come to London, or where ever you live, in the first place? The reason I ask this is because I find that I hear more people having to rationalize staying here, than staying out of love for this city. So there must be some reason why you came here in the first place.
Earlier today I was talking to someone and she turned the question on me, "Why did I pick London in the first place?" Well, I was fresh out of University, and there wasn't sure where to go, and my group of friends from high school were all spread out all over London going to Fanshawe and Western, and it seemed like as good as time as any to all live under one roof.
Also, when I was growing up, I lived in a town right in between Sarnia and London, but as I got older, I began to gravitate more towards this city than Sarnia; but why? Well, London had an amazing music scene when I was in my teenage years. The Embassy was still putting on nightly shows, Call the Office had incredible shows every night, and there were always shows going on at houses across the city. It was the playground for a teenager that loved music.
While the London that I knew then has changed (the Embassy is now a pile of stones), you need only take one look at our website, www.londonmusic.ca , to realize that the shows never stopped, but some of the venues may have changed.
What Would Carl Do?
I know it may seem like a tough decision for many as to why would you stay in this city when it may be much easier to find a job elsewhere, but I would ask you to examine the roots of why you chose it. Heck, even if you don't live in London, and find yourself struggling with the city you live in, ask yourself, What would Carl Winslow do? I love London because it isn't as big as Toronto. However, with that means that there simply won't be the opportunities. Sometimes what you loved about the city, is the same thing that drives you crazy.
There have been few inventions that have caused my life ease over the past year than Skype. What is Skype you might ask? Well, according to that ever so clever Wikipedia;
Well, that is true, what Skype has done for my industry, is to allow thousands of people to work from where they want to, primarily their homes.
This has been a big year for me. Me and two of my friends started a web design business together. It was a lot of hard work, but we managed to move into an office, where all three of us can work together. The thing is, that there are usually only one, maybe two of us there. One of the guys has never lived in London, spending half the year in Toronto before moving to Forest. However, thanks to Skype, he is basically in the office with us.
Which of These Guys Looks like a Scientist to You?
It is hardly fair to say that Skype invented the technology they use. What they did was make it easy to use, fairly reliable, and pretty. Sure it is built on the century old ideas of the telephone (allegedly invented by Alexander Graham Bell, but that too is up for debate), and film (evolving from Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope... who may or may not have invented it... starting to see a bit of a trend) but like any great invention, it's not about creating an idea out of nowhere, but of consilience; the unity of knowledge.
Literally right now as I'm writing this, I have my two colleagues on a Skype call as we work through the night on a website. Not sure if you are doing something wrong on your end? Why not just share your computer screen with a developer and have them tell you that, yes, you in fact are doing it wrong on your end.
I know that there are other alternatives out there (Google + Hangouts are actually pretty amazing), but until the next ride starts, I just wanted to express my thanks to such a great invention.
I got married in August of last year, and after that my wife and I didn't have the time for a full blown honeymoon, so we went on a smaller trip, camping and hiking through southwestern Ontario. Eventually, our trip took us to Tobermory, the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.
Now, why is this a noteworthy story? Well, I'll get to that.
The Start of our Hike
Our last morning in Tobermory we got to talking to someone who worked at our hotel. We told them that we were thinking about going to Mantoulin Island, and they seemed hesitant. They said that it was a lot more boring we thought it would be, and instead made some recommendations of some trails that "only locals know about". We thought this seemed like a great idea, and mapped out our route.
My first indication that this was a bad idea, should have come from how far it was to even get to the start of the trail. It was roughly 15 minutes of driving from the entrance of Bruce Peninsula National Park to the point where the trail started. Also, because this wasn't part of the main park, there was an honor system for parking payment.
So we set out on our estimated 10km hike in high spirits. It's not too bad at first, and there are some amazing views of the cliffs. however, maybe 2km in, the trail gets remarkably more difficult in the vertical sense. The once flat path had become an onslaught of 90 degree rock walls. So after wall after wall, in the summer heat mind you, we were both pretty pooped. We took a brief rest, and kept going. However, the walls kept going too.
After another couple kilometers of hiking that could defeat even Chuck Norris, my wife was calling it quits. She said, we could turn back now and know how far we have to go, but we don't know how much farther this trail goes. I took a look at the map, and figuring that we had already gone more than half way, assured her that the most reasonable idea would be to keep going, as it was shorter, and couldn't possibly be more treacherous. While we were stopped, we ate the tuna that we had brought, and like any responsible hiker, I took our Garbage with us. I guess at this point it would be good to tell you about my fear of bears....
We finally get to the turning point in the trail after about another half hour of hiking, however we are also met with a sign, "Danger, Bear in Area". At this point my heart sunk. Bear's and tomatoes are my only down fall. If I saw a bear eating a tomato, I don't know what I would do. So we kept on trucking, but at this point I said, it would probably be wise to continuously talk about anything just so we made noise.
Next, we reached another fork in the road. However, there wasn't supposed to be a fork in the road. After careful examination of the map, we realized that the trail back we had chosen, was not a hiking trail, but in fact a snow mobile trail. However, we did believe that it led back, so we chose that, and started our trek back.
As we were walking, extremely exhausted by this point, we start to hear this rattling sound from the side of the path. Ohhh.. so this is probably a good time to tell you that Tobermory is home to the only venomous snake in Ontario, the Massausauga Rattler. So what was that coiled up a mere foot from me? A frog. No, it was a Massausauga Rattlesnake. Now, I at first thought it was just a squirrel, because the sound was pretty much the same. My wife however, was the one that looked back, and saw the snake ready to strike. Now, she didn't grab me as she sprinted away like Usain Bolt, however, luckily I noticed the cloud of dust where she once stood, and took off too. It was only after we stopped that I found out how close I was.
So now we are at our stress limit, and every vine on the ground looks like a rattlesnake, every jumping frog a lethal attack. It was then that we came across the incredibly fresh bear poop. How do I know this was bear poop? It was pure evil, that's how. And fresh? Oh yes. So now, we are on incredibly high alert, and no idea where we are. Our dollar store compass has surprisingly stopped working (unless every direction really was north from there). It was at this point that we relaunched our, never stop talking campaign.
After another couple kilometers, we finally we got to the end of the trail, to the road we had come in on, and after a short walk we ended up back at our car. Never had I been so happy to see that car.
My entire life I loathed pineapples. It went beyond a simple dislike, because unlike most foods you don't like, pineapple juice lingers. That's right. Someone orders a Hawaiian pizza, guess what? You can't just pick those pesky things off, the juice has tainted it forever. It was a bombshell moment for me then, when I found out that I actually do like pineapples.
You see, taste buds are interesting things. Scientifically, taste bugs can change as a reaction to chemotherapy, with age, with a healthy lifestyle, and most famously with pregnancy. The one they never explain in scientific journals, is why do so many university kids become lethargic and adopt a predisposition for Doritos and Kraft dinner?
The fabled pineapple experiment happened because of a lunch place next to our new office. They include a fruit salad with your sandwich (this is riveting stuff, I'm telling you). To my surprise it was chalked full of pineapple. So the first day I left all the pineapple for the other guy I work with, but the next time I went for it. In a feat of courage that hasn't been seen in years, I ate a piece of pineapple, and it was delicious.
So is the point of this blog? Well, its been a busy week for one. ALSO, try new things. Your taste buds will change for the rest of your life, and something once thought you hated, you might love.
