Where's My Calling

Week 28: Pole Dancing

2010-08-29T20:16:00.011-04:00

Exercise classes have certainly come a long way....
With the eighties came the step class, the nineties brought Billy Blank's Tae Bo, with the millennium came Hot Yoga. Here we are in 2010 paying $20 an hour to learn how to ride the rail from a professional stripper. Hilarious.

For week twenty eight, I headed out determined to learn a few fancy moves on the fireman's pole. Expecting to look and feel like complete fool, I B-lined to the back row of the class. Good God- why did they have a wall length mirror in here?

Seconds later the music started up. Unsurprisingly is was that sort of music that plays in the strip club scene of movies. You know the kind that goes BOW WOW WOW BROW. The instructor/stripper warmed us up by walking in a sexy (awkward for most of us...) way around the pole a few times and then a few bends and kicks. Next came the pole twirls and holds that were a lot harder than they look! My arms were starting to feel a little stripped-out at this point.

The instructor/stripper caught on that most of us were getting a little tired, so she taught us what she called "filler moves" that she uses on the job so that she doesn't have to twirl and hang upside down for a full 3 minute song. The commonality among the filler moves was the speed at which they were performed. Slow hair spinning, slow kicking and slow bending-over-to-touch-your-toes. Some how doing all of these simple things slowly was supposed to be sexy. I'm not sure I pulled it off, but I could see how it worked for her.

After an hour of instruction I was completely sure that pole dancing was not my calling. But it was worth the $20 and now I know if I was ever down on my luck I could have a back up plan (just kidding mom!).

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 2 out of 10

Week 27: House Yoga

2010-08-08T19:53:00.014-04:00

What a crazy couple!
From a distance, house music and yoga seem to go together like peanut butter and barbecue sauce or chocolate milk and tequila. But this week I learned that the unlikely union of house music and yoga is surprisingly tasty!
Two of my favourite things came together this week for one sweaty, mixed up, dancey, stretchy of a time. You can find house yoga classes every Monday night at 7:30pm at Aradia fitness on Queen street West.

You can expect to close your eyes and dance raver style while staring at your belly-button in your downward dog. What Fun!

I think this may be a little too niche to be my calling, but a serious good time! What is your favourite fitness class? Let me know by commenting on this post and I'll give it a try!

Overall rating on the calling scale: 8 out of 10

Words

2010-08-08T19:49:00.008-04:00

"You know life is so short and there is so much I want to do, like in a hundred years we are dust. So you gotta make hay when the sun shines."

-Douglas Coupland; author

Week 26: Hula Hoop

2010-07-29T21:56:00.008-04:00

Hula Hooping. Yes hula hooping... you know... that thing you did at age 7 when no one was available to jump rope and your mom sent you to "play outside for some fresh air"? Ya that.

Well let me tell you that hula hooping has come a longgggg way. Somewhere in the last twenty years hula hooping went from innocent hip waggling and pig tails to sexed up hip rolling and blonde hair extensions. This week I attended one of these "grown up" hula hoop classes at Aradia Fitness , advertised as North America's Leading Pole Dancing and Sensual Fitness Company offering Pole Dancing, Lap Dancing, Striptease, Bachelorette parties and... Hula Hooping?

I arrived at class to find the studio at Aradia lined with stripper poles, which I quickly learned were unfriendly obstacles to my hula hoop. We went over the basics for a while for those who hadn't thought of hula hooping since they graduated middle school. After a few minutes of my toes being crushed at the hands of my fallen hoop, I eventually picked up the simple hoop spin. Martina, our instructor uped the ante by having us try jumping, twirling and salsa dancing while hula hooping.

I was looking for a good time and I found it - watching a room full of grown women attempting to rotate their hips side to side while salsa stepping front to back - while also trying to keep a hula hoop up--- thats true entertainment. The class was about an hour long and we were challenged with a few other hoop "tricks" like turning in circles, standing on one foot and plieing while hooping. I tried not to glance at the wall-length mirror mid- trick, as my hula moves looked very similar to an electronic robot.

By the end of the class I was dizzy and bruised. I doubt this is my calling, but it was fun and I recommend you try it.

Overall Rating on the calling Scale: .5 out of 10

Good Hula Hooping outfits

Words

2010-07-14T21:12:00.006-04:00

"One thing I know, mediocrity is the enemy of success, and we should not fool ourselves into thinking good is great. "

- Mireille Guiliano; author of Women, Work and the Art of Savoir Faire

Week 25: Going GaGa

2010-07-13T21:59:00.015-04:00

This week I became fascinated by the cultural phenomenon that is Lady GAGA.
Why are people so obsessed with this absurd woman? I mean I know she’s bizarre and out there or whatever- but doesn't it all look just a little too familiar? Madonna already made all the same statements decades ago when it actually ruffled feathers to show catholic rosary beads alongside S&M and androgyny. We've all been watching Madonna's videos on lame re-run channels like Much More Music ever since music videos on tv were cool and they played the whole thing... the shock value wore off long ago. GaGa's "edgy" look feels more like a faux Gucci fanny pack knock off you get in one of those back rooms on Spadina.

Regardless of my annoyance by her image, I would be lying if I said her songs weren't catchy. So when my friend Christine told me about a Lady GaGa dance workshop, I decided to spend a night walking in her 11 inch heelless platform boots.

preparing for the transformation, I pulled out my hooded black body suit, magnified monocle and fingerless motorcycle gloves and headed out to a Lady GaGa work shop at the City Dance Corps on Queen St. West. I was unsure of what to expect because I know GaGa does a lot of posing and pouting, but not sure I’ve witnessed a whole lot of dancing...

The class began with a quick warm up of hip shaking and head rolling and then we moved into choreography. The dance routine was pretty simple with over 16 counts of snapping your fingers and stomping around in circles with waving zombie arms. By the time the class came to an end I was sweating a lot but probably due to the lack of AC in the dance studio - it's pretty hard to work up a sweat by snapping your fingers.

Fun times and all, but I don' t think going GaGa is my calling

Overall Rating on the calling Scale: 5.5 out of 10

Check It Out

2010-07-11T21:56:00.002-04:00

Where's My calling blog ws recently featured on popular Sogni e Sorrisi Blog! Thanks Connie- I love your blog!

Week 24: Make-up Artistry

2010-06-29T22:27:00.012-04:00

This week my older sister Caitlin volunteered my aesthetic services as a hair and make-up artist for her good friend's wedding. It should be noted that I have NOT done anyone's make up before, except maybe for Halloween or face painting at six year old birthday parties. I do like doing hair... but mostly my own, where there isn't the pressure of wedding photos, surely to be framed on mantle places for all eternity.

I was to be picked up by my sister at 11am to begin doing her make up and hair. I was a little nervous about screwing things up, but I thought I could handle it. Around 11:30 I started to get a little nervous when she was no where in sight. At 11:45 she finally showed up to bring me to the bride's house. On the way over she mentioned that oh there was "one other girl who also needed her make up done". Glancing at the clock I knew it was unlikely that I would finished for the 1pm pictures. As I walked into the house, in typical Caitlin fashion she causally mentioned, oh there are "two more girls who need their make up done". In one hour I was supposed to produce 1 fantastic hair style and 4 faces of make up ready to be photographed in 12 megapixel.

The next hour was a total tornado of hair spray, blush and lipstick. I was legitimately sweating and running around like a total maniac. At 1pm on the dot I burned the last curl into my sister's head and she ran off for photos. The hair and make up were far from perfect, but the ladies were stunning and made for great canvas.

Despite the lack of time available for this calling, I was pretty impressed at how much I remembered about make up and hair from watching a few cycles of America's next Top Model and project runway.

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 6 out of 10

Side Bar: How rad is my family at this wedding?

Week 23: Spinning

2010-06-29T22:09:00.003-04:00

Oh. My God.
I hate spinning. It is the absolute worst.
This week I tried a 45 minutes spin class at Quad Spin on King st. and came the closest to death that I have ever been. If you've ever attended a spin class you know what I'm talking about. 45 minutes of pain, panting, sweating, gasping and thoughts of jumping off the stationary bike and punching your instructor in the face.

Even though the pain was intense, its possible to burn up to 800 calories in 1 spin class. So if you have the will power to torture yourself for extended periods of time and don't mind walking around for two days with an extremely sore behind, I recommend spinning. If you are anything like me- stick to yoga.

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 0.0 out of 10

Words

2010-06-27T15:56:00.003-04:00

"The most beautiful makeup on a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy."

- Yves Saint-Laurent; fashion designer

Week 22: Vegetable Gardening

2010-06-15T19:33:00.012-04:00

The Centre for Addition and Mental Health may seem an odd place to explore the greenness of one's thumb, but it's vast grounds and positioning downtown leaves it as one of the last areas in my neighbourhood that has yet to be bulldozed over and replaced by a towering glass condominium. I volunteered to throw on some gardening gloves and grab a rake this week to help build a vegetable garden for the minimum security group at Camh.

Prior to my visit to Camh (or the "Provincial Lunatic Asylum" as it was sadly first named in 1850) I was unsure of what to expect. When I arrived I immediately noticed a large stone wall surrounding almost the entire property. I learned later through my volunteer training that this wall had to be built by the patients themselves in the late 1800s; when Toronto citizens at the time believed that the patients should be contained to the Centre grounds.

The first hour of my gardening session was dedicated to a volunteers crash course that explained the services offered at the Centre, as well as focused on breaking down the stigmas that still exist today towards people suffering from mental illness and addiction. Though I want to believe that we have come a long way towards accepting mental illness and addiction for what they are- illness and disease, there were not many well wishing visitors like at a conventional hospital. And there certainly was no gift shop with balloons and get well cards either. I was shocked to learn that 1 in 5 Canadians suffers from mental illness or addiction in their lifetime.

Once the training session was done we headed out in the pouring rain to a rectangle of thick shrubs. The shrubs needed to be removed, the soil turned and fresh top soil laid so that the Camh clients could have a vegetable garden. With the help of 16 other corporate volunteers and 3 broken shovels later we had the spikey bushes ripped out within the hour. I was absolutely COVERED in wet mud, and my wellies had spring leaks in both feet, but I had a great time regardless. A few of the Camh clients even came out to lend a hand and hauled along side us.

I set out to explore the possibility of gardening as my calling, but what I have realized is that it feels really good to volunteer my time to help out a bit in my community. I will definitely be adding more volunteer Callings to my project

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 8.5 out of 10

Week 21: Almost Parasailing

2010-06-09T20:20:00.018-04:00

I thought I had week twenty-one in the bag. I was heading down to Miami beach for a friend's bachelorette weekend and the perfect opportunity presented itself for me to try something that has always both intrigued and terrified me- parasailing. For those of you that may not be familiar with the sport (more leisure I guess...), you attach yourself to a huge balloon, which is then roped to a speed boat and you are lifted high into the air with the boat zooming around the ocean at faster than comfortable speeds.

Since my earliest beach-loving years, I have been watching para-sailors float by high in the sunny skies. I would gaze up at them for long stretches admiring the dangling legs from below the parachute, neglecting many half built sand castles as waves washed them flat. Always too nervous of heights to try it for myself; I was left to dream from afar.

Skip forward about two decades and 21 months into my "Where's My Calling" adventure, I was finally ready to parasail. Finding an easy companion in my adventurous friend Karlee, we headed down the beach, knees shaking, ready to take to the skies via half of a hot air balloon.

As we neared the parasail tent my heart began to pound and raise slowly from my chest until it logged itself firmly in my throat. I knew I only had a few minutes to get my ass strapped to that umbrella before I chickened out and ran back to the comfort of my beach lounger. Suddenly and without much warning, dark and angry clouds appeared overhead as we arrived at the parasail area. Our plans were quickly drowned by large cold droplets and speeding winds. Even though I was willing to accept this as a sign from the powers that be, I agreed to be back at the tent 10am sharp to set sail before our 1pm flight.

Feeling a little tired and not wanting to sit outside in the rain, I headed back to the hotel to relax. As I walked in the door I flicked on the television hoping to catch a little afternoon Dr Phil drama to narrate my nap. I turned to kick off my flip flops when I heard the news reporter on television read "BREAKING NEWS: Two Miami Beach parasailors have crashed into a sea wall and are being flown to hospital. Both in critical condition". Two Para Sailors! Critical condition! This was just too ironic to be true. I watched the story for a while and learned that the two parasailors were victim to a loose cord that detached them from the boat and they were dragged in the water until they slammed into the wall. Both passengers are in hospital but should be fine, however I will be taking this as a sure sign and can determine that parasailing is NOT my calling.

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 0 out of 10

Week 19 & 20: The Boot Camp Wrap Up

2010-05-31T21:13:00.004-04:00

4 weeks later
zero pounds lighter.

Over the course of the torturous one month bootcamp I managed to lose a total of nothing. Okay that is a fib; truth is I actually gained 1 pound. So much for Penny's promise of 5-10 lbs- guaranteed. uh no.

Even though I didn't necessarily lose any of the ol' ellBees I do actually feel a few hundred times better than I did in April. I wake up earlier, I stay up later, I have tried and liked almost every green veggie out there and I've learned to kind of enjoy the treadmill. Minus the negative pound loss I would call boot camp a success.

By the end of the session I envied Penny who happily stood at the front of the gym for 3 hours a week and yelled at people to "Lift ONE MORE!". Teaching bootcamp could be a nice way to put my kinesiology degree to work (See mom- it wasn't all a waste of money!). I think I may investigate!

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 9 out of 10 lbs

Week 18: Hottie Body Boot Camp Part 2

2010-05-12T19:52:00.007-04:00

OMG.
Bootcamp is insane.
like hellishly insane.
My body officially hates me and is starting to rebel for what I'm putting it through. My ass is sore, my back is sore, my arms are numb and barely functioning- even my hair hurts. The morning regime is absolutely killer and I have been this close to whipping my blackberry at the wall when the alarm rings at 6am. But as odd as it is I am starting to enjoy the workouts. I can feel that all the work is beginning to pay off.
Here are a few moves that I have been getting intimate with over the last 2 weeks...

Plie Squats

Leg lifts

Unilateral Pushup

If you are looking for a good overall workout that will get your butt into shape, check out this one from Women's Health Magazine. Got to head to the gym now! I'll report back next week!

Week 17: Hottie Body Boot Camp Part 1

2010-05-02T16:39:00.009-04:00

A few weeks back I opened my inbox to find an email from Flirty Girl Fitness Gym. (God knows how I ended up on that mailing list, but regardless...) the subject line sounded intriguing "Join Our Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge and Get the Hottie Body You've Always Wanted". Okay, who hasn't always wanted a Hottie Body? Isn't that a given? Even though I'm not a large gal, I- like every other Canadian get that extra layer packed on to keep the heat in during the winter months.

The Flirty email not so subtly reminded me that the threat of bikini season is right around the corner. Obviously I had to read on. It turns out that the Flirty gym is offering a program for the month of May called the "Hottie Body Boot Camp". 4 weeks of "intensity with Penny Phang" and a promise of 5-10 lbs weight loss through diet and exercise. Having never in my life tried a diet or work out challenge I thought this camp would make for interesting blogging, and hell, if I do look better in my bikini after a month that would be icing (with splenda of course) on top of my low fat, dairy free, sugar free cake.

I entered the Flirty Girl gym today and actually laughed out loud. the "gym" looked more like a King West nightclub. A pink sparkly chandler hangs in the foyer illuminating a table stacked with gossip and fashion magazines. The punching bags in the studio are hot pink, along with the boxing gloves and yoga mats. And the wall art (on three of four walls in the foyer, and in the change rooms) is centered around the Gym's mascot, a pink butterfly. oh and there are 20 built in stripper poles. I began having doubts about my choice of boot camp.

I felt much better once I met Penny Phang, my boot camp instructor. She is about 5'2 and looks like Kelly Reepa's asian twin. Her arms could strangle you in half a second. I knew at this moment that I would be in good hands.

My kinesiology background had me questioning some of Penny's nutritional advice, which was basic at best, but the rest of the class seemed to be soaking it up. For example, the woman to my left was shocked to hear that her 8 cups of coffee a day habit may be holding her back from her weight loss goals. Another was very concerned when Penny suggested we measure our carb intake by using one cup as a serving size- she didn't want to squish her bread into a cup...this was the point when I tuned out and waited for the work out to start.

The cardio and resistance section of the class was intense! Penny had us doing squats, jumping jacks, lunges and kicks all in different intesities and speeds so that we were constantly switching things up. She finished off the class with a weightlifting section that had my arms numb by the third set. I was sweating and totally light headed when the class was over, with 3 scheduled classes a week and 3 assigned running sessions on my own time I think it may be possible to get that Hottie Body.

Stay Tuned for my weekly Hottie Body results.

Week 15 & 16: Fashion Shows

2010-04-25T17:36:00.003-04:00

I've spent the last 2 weeks frantically sewing together ribbons and bows and taking apart vintage jewelry to put it back together in a new way for hair accessories. In the past 14 days I have sustained multiple burns from my dollar store hot glue gun and threatened to throw my 30 year old sewing machine off the roof top more than a few times.

All of this crafty preparation was to get ready for 2 fashion shows that FictionFaction sold headbands at during the last two weekends. The first was for Villanova college, a swanky private school in King City, and the second was the Elle Canada show in down town Toronto at the Carlou.

We did fab at both shows and had a blast!

As far as Callings go- this one is always fun fun!

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 9 out of 10

Week 14: Circus Silks School

2010-04-12T21:13:00.018-04:00

The class I went to was at a circus "school" (aka some girl's loft apartment space) and was just off of Dundas street west, close to Dufferin. It was a super tiny studio, no more than 800 square feet of warehouse, with a small loft that housed the instructor's belongings and bed. There were only 2 sets of silks hanging from the ceiling, along with a trapeze and a giant swinging hula hoop. So a pretty standard apartment if you wear oversized red shoes and a matching red nose.

First let me back this train up a bit and provide some background as to why on earth I would want to attend a circus class. Well; what very few people know about me is that I was once upon a time an instructor at the Big Top Circus School in Newmarket. I taught summer camp for two summers when I was sixteen and seventeen and fell in love with the circus. My mother half suspected I would run away with the circus at one point. I LOVE the Cirque Du Soleil and as lame as it is to admit, I shed a tear or two when I watched my first show live because I was so amazed.

Fast forward to age twenty-four to the apartment/circus school on Dufferin. I brought along my friend Christine for the circus experience because she is A) a fabulous dancer and I thought the skills may translate nicely to aerial arts and B) the only person who took me seriously when I suggested the class. We decided to tackle the silks for the first class, I mean Pink did an upside down routine on them while singing at the Grammy's -so how hard can they be right?

Christine and I learned proper foot positioning first while standing on a chair. Both hands are used to hold up your body weight and then you have to wrap your feet around the silk and do this quick circular kick move thing to lock in your feet. When you try this without the support of the chair beneath you its a whole other ball game. After a few near face plants we finally got it and were climbing to the rafters in no time. It was a blast! before long we were learning this split hold thing and this upside down criss-cross thing and this cacoon thing. I should probably put some more effort into giving clearer descriptions, but I was upside down most of the time and have no idea how to explain it. I'll just show some google supplied pics instead:

I had the most amazing time and am thinking about commiting to the eight week program. I will be sure to keep you posted on my progress.

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 9 out of 10 (I know- the circus? who woulda thought?)

Ps. I am looking for some people to interview who have found their Calling. Know someone interesting? send me their contact info puleeze

Words

2010-04-07T09:17:00.006-04:00

"You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."

- Steve Jobs

Week 13: Pet Trainer!

2010-04-05T22:11:00.010-04:00

I know this one sounds like a bit of a cop-out, but I got a new puppy last week and have been spending my days (and middle of the nights) yelling, "no -don't eat that", "don't pee there" and "drop my heel!" so it had to be explored whether or not puppy training could be my calling. Enter Stevie. A four pound Schnorkie with a huge attitude and a strong and growing disdain for the convenient condo-sized pee pad.

After a bag full of dog treats and a few afternoons of repetitive obedience practice, I thinks she's starting to get it....

Stevie's interpretation of "come here"

"look at the camera"

"Drop it!"

hm... maybe sending her puppy school isn't such a rip off after all, because puppy training is Definitely NOT my calling!

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 3 out of 10

Week 12: Television Star

2010-03-29T21:42:00.007-04:00

Rollinggggg...ACTIONNN!
I heard this scream close to ten thousand times this weekend when I spent a day as a television star on the set of UnNatural History. Okay, I wasn't the star... or even in the show... but I did sit in the star's chair and pretend like I was.

The day started with a 10am pick up from Sam, one of the studio's drivers who is one of the weirdest/funniest guys around, he has been a driver to movie stars for 10 years. Sam picks up stars and drives them to locations around Toronto for shooting. I knew he must have some interesting dirt on celebs so I probed to get the scoop. Suprisingly he had mainly nice things to say, except that Mandy Moore once got in his car and told him to "Get her a FUCKING STARBUCKS" other than that; the only juicy story he gave up was that Kelly Reepa's Husband (I know- Um who the hell is that?!) once snuck off for a weekend without the studio knowing on his private jet and invited Sam on for a look at the plane.... yea that was it... I wish I had a really good shit hitting the fan story for you about someone like Russel Crowe or Angelina Jolie, but Kelly Reepa's plane owning hubby is the best I got.

We arrived on the set and headed to makeup so Steph (star) could get her face on and hair did while we ate breakfast borittos. After she was lookin all pretty we entered the set. The first set I walked through was a school hallway. Seeing the classic after school show highschool hallway with no ceiling, filled with lights and made of cardboard was heartbreaking. Shows like Saved by the bell and degrassi high suddenly lost their romance.

The first scene was set in an office and took over 6 hours to film. 6 hours! for a 2 minute scene!! I have a lot of respect for actors, they have to stand there for six hours and say the same thing again and again and have to make it sound like its the first time they've said the line. And you know whats nuts? there is no less than 45 people standing on the set watching. That was the weirdest part of the whole thing, I wonder how they pull off sex scenes with the sound guy hanging out there, basically in bed with you.

Another interesting part of the day was the "shhhhh Guy". There was this guy who would walk around and shhhhh people to be quite before the camera's rolled. I swear that is the only thing I saw him do all day. I came pretty close to tripping him with a camera wire after he sshhh'd in my face. How the hell to you become the Shushh Guy on a movie set? Your CV probably has to have credentials like hall monitor and nark in order qualify.

One of my favourite things about being on a television set is the kraft table. There is never a shortage of food on set. For lunch there was everything from pasta to fish to burgers to carrot cake. I would gain minimum 25 lbs if I was an actor. maybe 30.

The acting thing was actually really cool. I had a way better time than I thought. After 6 hours I wasn't even a little bit bored. This might be something I'd like to try again!

Overall Rating On Calling Scale 8.5 out of 10

Week 11: Pussycat Doll

2010-03-21T19:47:00.019-04:00

Yes I know what you're thinking, wtf? A Pussycat Doll?... yes... you are not reading the headline incorrectly, yesterday I lived my life as a pussycat Doll. Me-ow...

A friend of mine (Stephanie/Italia- one with all the 'tude in the pic below) informed me that one of the ex-pussycat dolls was teaching a "pussycat" inspired dance class at a drop in studio at the corner of Richmond and Jarvis. Considering the catchy tunes "loosin up my buttons babe" and "don't cha" were two of my guilty pleasures in the summer of 2005, I knew this class was a must-Calling.

The Pussycat doll leading the class was Kimberly Wyatt, ex-doll, solo recording artist, and choreographer. She's a tiny little thing about 5'2 with an absolutely killer bod, who is a crazy good dancer. Kim started the class with a warm up of stretching, jumps and splits and then taught a combination to her new song Not just a doll with tons of hip rolling, hair flipping and of course, the classic pussycat doll move- finger pointing.

Italia and I were totally lost most of the time because the moves were crazy fast. We were cracking up the rest of the class due to our lack of pull off the pussycatness. At the end of class she had us stretching out the floor and asked us to "thank our bodies for allowing us to get out of bed today to live our dreams" I thanked my body for holding up during class and then cursed it for the pain it was going to give me tomorrow.

After the class we had our picture taken with kim.

Though I can't say that I would make a great pussycat doll, the class was the cat's me-ow (that was a lame one wasn't it....)

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 8 out of 10

Words

2010-03-17T20:48:00.004-04:00

"Money can't make you happy, people who think that money is the solution to everything, that is so not the solution to everything, knowing who you are- that's the solution to everything"

- Arlene Dickinson; entrepreneur

Week 10: Meditation

2010-03-15T22:51:00.003-04:00

Today I embarked on a quest for my inner chi by attending a meditation session at Tula Yoga Studio. The instructor was named Sarah and she was tasked with guiding us through 120 of the most bizarre minutes I've experienced in quite some time. First she asked us to sit in a circle crossed legged and close our eyes. She then proceeded to describe various aspects of the universe and demonstrating their sounds. Did you know that the sun sounds like a deep hum? ...(Don't worry I didn't know that either)

After what seemed like half an hour my back was aching and my ass was completely numb. Finally Sarah instructed us to lay down. Next we were told to breathe into various parts of our bodies "breathe into your knees...good.... now breathe into your toes... good... now breathe into your reproductive organs, they need oxygen to procreate"..umm...excuse me?! Am I seriously thinking about breathing in deep enough to provide oxygen to my bits and pieces? I think it was at this moment that I fell asleep.

The strangest thing happened next. For the reminder of the meditation I couldn't figure out if I was asleep and dreaming or if I was wide awake. If you have ever subjected yourself to complete uninterrupted silence for 2 hours you would be surprised by what your mind wanders to. Sarah kindly reminded us to "let our thoughts pass by with the wind". But when you are willing your mind to unthink the only thing it wants to do is think! Sarah narrated the class with interesting wisdom, here are some quotes worth noting:

"Let your mind be here, but also be here for your mind"

"Your pelvis is the centre of your solar system, focus on it"

"Listen for the sound of the stars"

Clear as mud right? Needless to say I wasn't picking up what Sarah was putting down, but I did have a decent half nap. Namaste

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 4 out of 10

Chatting With: Eden- Owner and Founder of New Moon Bakery

2010-03-11T17:16:00.011-05:00

Last week, In a moment of weakness and extreme hunger I ventured into to my local over-priced "fine food" store in search of something sugary and regrettable. As I strolled the aisles looking for the familiar blue Oreo bag, I came across a shelf of cookies in cute brown packages with names like "bite me" and "Oatmeal Goldies". The label said Wheat and Dairy free -a perfectly sweet compromise for a gal who consistently ignores her wheat and dairy allergies.

I proceeded to eat a few cookies on the way home... and then three more when I arrived home... and then the rest of the bag by dinner time. These are the BEST cookies I have ever tasted!

After discussing my new discovery with James (bf) I decided I needed to contact the bakery and let them know how impressed I was. And its a good thing I did, because Eden, the owner and founder of the bakery is one smart cookie (wink!) and agreed to sit down with me to chat about her calling; the New Moon Bakery

So Eden, What is your Calling?

My calling is certainly something I attempt to refine every day of my life. I'd say my calling is to create good things that make the world a better place - whether it's a cookie, or a great job for someone, or a stream of inspiration that encourages someone to reach for their dream.I think that there is this misconception that a calling has to be one thing, or one vocation - but a calling can be an intention that is expressed in many ways. This very question can really be a thorn in my side, because some days I'm not sure what my life purpose is, and other days I know I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to.If I felt assured in my calling all the time, then life wouldn't be half as interesting.

You mention on the back of your cookie bags (available at over 150 stores- yum!) that you weren't sure what you wanted to do when you graduated high school, how did you realize that baking was it?

During high school, I was a baker at a small cafe. When school was finished I decided to just sell my baked goods for fun and to make some money while I figured things out. When the question of what-do-next came up, I thought, "why would I go and do something else when I LOVE this?" I had many huge ideas about who I wanted to be and what I wanted to be, but the baking entered my life so intrinsically that I couldn't ignore it.

What has been the biggest challenge that you have had to overcome being an entrepreneur in the baking industry?

Burnt cookies (no - just kidding). The biggest challenge is to create my business completely authentically. For years I looked for inspiration from other baking companies and found it rare to discover one that hadn't gone very commercial or was building the business to sell it. I consider myself to be an artist, and my business my grand work-in-progress masterpiece. I realized that I can do this any way I want to, and that it doesn't have to be like anyone else's business. There have been many instances where I had to put sales and profit on the back burner because there were other, more rewarding elements of the business to focus on. That is somewhat un heard of in a business model. The way I see it, if the business is healthy, my staff are happy, and I'm living my life the way I want to - then things are going pretty well.

All of your products are dairy, egg, wheat, peanut and nut free. Why is this important to you and New Moon Kitchen?

When I started the business I was a pretty strict vegan, so all of my baked goods were too. When I put my first products out on the market,there were barely any baked goods that were healthy or allergen-free. The response was so great that we stuck with it. New Moon cookies are really unique, and even if we could use butter and eggs in them, I wouldn't - because they're so good as they are. It's a bonus that they're healthier.Personally, I think it's pretty amazing that we can put out such amazing cookies that are suitable for people with all kinds of special dietary needs. I'm not vegan anymore, but the cookies still are.

Where do you see yourself and New Moon Kitchen in 10 years?

I see myself with a half-truckload of kids, a few more pairs of nice shoes, and my business thriving all over North America. I also see the business expanding into more community support and charity work.

Thanks Eden and happy baking!

VerveGirl Magazine

2010-03-10T20:06:00.002-05:00

So guess what? Okay, okay I'll tell you...
I'm blogging for VerveGirl magazine this month, sign up for Verve emails and get my blog blasted to your inbox :)

http://tinyurl.com/ylc2rpb

Week 9: Pottery Class

2010-03-07T21:07:00.015-05:00

The great thing about this blogging adventure is that I've had so many great Calling suggestions from friends and strangers over the past nine weeks. I've been encouraged to try flower arranging, salsa dancing, mind movie making and even tarrot card reading. I love the suggestions and I promise to try to give every one of your suggestions a try before the year is out, so keep 'em coming! This week my friend Robyn suggested that I try my hand at the wheel and give pottery a go. happily; I accepted the challenge and on Friday evening I attended a pottery class with Robyn at the Gardiner Museum just south of Bloor St.

Sadly-upon arrival at the museum Rob and I received the devastating news that all of the pottery wheels in the studio were taken and we would have to settle for hand sculpting only. damn! Apparently everyone else in the city (see que below) showed up to pottery class and snagged all the wheels. Gah! Don't you people have anything better to do on a Friday night!?

Regardless, we decided to make the best of it and sculpt ourselves some pottery! Once we sat down the instructor plopped a massive pile of clay in front of each of us and told us to "have fun". I sat there for about five minutes pondering what I should create. I was totally stuck and just kept rolling balls to make snowmen, and then flattening them with a rolling pin. Robyn's first go was... well...interesting...

After a while I decided to mould and ash tray, which makes absolutely no sense because I don't smoke, in fact I hate it. Oh well. After the ash tray was complete I moved on to braiding clay, and lastly attempted to mould a head. Then I just put it all together. Please follow the steps below to create your very own Medusa Head Ash Tray.

Step 1. Braid blobs of clay.

Step 2. Attach braids to poorly moulded head using poorly moulded hat.

Step 3. Stick head into centre of pre-molded ash tray and Viola! One piece of pottery that will surely never get used, but will likely inspire questions from house guests. Look how proud I am of my pottering. ha!

Honestly, I think I'll have to give this Calling another shot sometime this year, I feel strongly that I need to work on the pottery wheel to get the full experience. Without the wheel, it was like a kindergarden class playing with play dough. If you are planning on trying this class (drop in classes Friday evenings 6-8pm and Sundays 1-3pm) ARRIVE EARLY to claim a wheel. Apparently pottery is so hot right now.

Overall Rating on the Calling Scale: 6 out of 10 (but I may recalibrate once I try the pottery wheel)

Week 8: Spanish Cooking

2010-02-28T19:50:00.017-05:00

Ola!

Last summer I back-packed through Spain and completely fell in love with the country-especially the food! In an attempt to recreate the experience I signed James (bf) and I up for a Couple's Spanish Cooking class at the Caphlon Culinary Center in downtown Toronto at the corner of King st. and Spadina Ave.

The class was organized like a perfect date, complete with spanish music, three courses and a devine dessert. We arrived at the center to find a yummy snack of manchego empanadas waiting for us and quickly mixed up some delicious Sangria. I was soon to discover that nothing is more fun than tipsy cooking! The class room was made up of three rows of mini kitchens with one for each couple, with the head chef instructing from the front kitchen. Our fellow chef couples were mainly yuppies of the collared shirt variety, sporting designer glasses and pointy leather shoes. We were the youngest in the class and probably a bit outside of the target market, but by the end of the class it was clear we were having the most fun (the sangria may have had something to do with it!).

Next up we made grilled shrimp and olives with caperberries, which probably would have been delicious if I hadn't gotten too chatty with our neighbouring couple and charred them in the pan. Needless to say James took over the cooking duties for the remainder of the class and whipped up the most delicious paella I have ever tasted. Just when I thought I was about to burst if I ate one more morsel of food, it was time for dessert. A lemon almond tart was the perfect finale for the perfect date.

Is Spanish cooking my Calling? I don't think so, but eating Spanish food could be!

Final Rating on Calling Scale: 8 out of 10

Week 7: Olympic Critic

2010-02-21T20:14:00.024-05:00

Because I am an alumni from the University of Western Ontario, I receive monthly emails informing me of "alumni events" happening in the city of Toronto. Usually these emails are packed with lists of galas, golf tournaments and tickets to random sporting events like the Toronto Rock. On any normal day I would probably skip right over, but last week something caught my eye.

There was an event listing for a lecture called "Olympic Proportions- The Olympic Money Train" located at the R.O.M. and put on by an old professor of mine; Kevin Wamsley. Though its quite apparent that I dumped my kinesiology degree upon the moment of graduation, I still have a slight obsession with the sporting world. After all, in high school I managed to successfully talk my way onto the volleyball, soccer, swimming, rugby, badminton and track and field teams.

Since the Olympic Opening Ceremony kicked things off in Vancouver I have become part of the sofa, screaming at my television and flicking back and forth between events, sometimes even spending an hour or two on that split screen thing that shows all 6 channels of Olympic coverage. I even shed a tear when we won our first gold.

Anyways I'm getting all Olympotional- back to my story. Last Wednesday I raced up to the R.O.M. on my lunch to listen to the Olympic Proportions lecture. (sidebar- apparently alumni lectures are usually held at 9am on week days so only really, really old people ever show up. I was the youngest BY FAR, and sat next the sweetest little old grannies- hi Sharon and Bonnie!) Here's what I learned:

Olympic venues don't get used. This is one of the most popular agruments for hosting the games, the idea that the facilities will be used for years to come. Apparently this is a myth. Jumbo arenas like China's Birds Nest and Water Cube sit empty the majority of the time. In fact, China is hosting the 2013 Asian Games and they aren't even using the facilities because they are too large. Does it really make sense that we build facilities for the Winter Games in Vancouver when we already have them down the road in Calgary?

The Olympics don't make money. I know what you are thinking,"you're nuts, cities bid billions of dollars to win the Olympics, they must make money from it!". But here's the thing, infrastructure repairs and improvement don't count towards the bottom line in Olympic accounting. That means things like the sea to sky highway overhaul (a cool 600 million) doesn't even count as "Olympic spending". Wamsley estimated that the Vancouver Olympics will cost well over 6 billion, and they are likely to never recover the dollars. Greece finished the games with a 17 billion deficit! The only games that has ever turned a profit in the history of the Olympics is the Los Angeles games held in 1984.

Sponsors probably don't make money. I've always wondered what company's like Coca-Cola, Visa and McDonalds pay for worldwide Oplympic sponsorship and if it's worth it. Wamsley explained that these sponsorships go for close to 100 million for a few years worth of World-Wide Partnership. Do they make money? well, since the Beijing games in 2008 share prices for 5 of the 10 World-wide sponsors have dropped, so its unlikely that Olympic sponsorship translates into dollars.

Depressing huh? I apologize if I rained on your Olympic parade.
So why do cities want to host the games? Why don't we host the Olympics in Athens every year and save ourselves a bunch of mula? Why do we build giant stadiums that cost millions of dollars just to out run each other by .002 seconds? I don't know, but I do know that men's freestyle aerial ski jumping is on right now and I'm missing it.

Is Olympic cynicism my Calling? Nope, I'd prefer to keep my rose coloured glasses on for this one. Go Canada!

Overall rating on the Calling Scale: 4 out of 10

A Chat with Someone Who Found Their Calling: Stephanie Italia Ricci

2010-02-16T21:55:00.007-05:00

So let’s start from the beginning- What’s your Calling?

"Acting, definitely."

Do you recall the moment that you realized acting was your calling? What was that like?

"I don't think there was a single moment. It's more of a passionate feeling that I think I've always had but up until about two years ago didn't realize I could actually try to seriously pursue the dream."

So because you’re one of my besties I know that since you moved to LA, the acting thing hasn’t always been a walk in the park (ie. you are known to steal ketchup and honey packages to eat as meal replacements from fast food restos). What motivates you to stick with it even if the outcome is unknown?

"Haha, you remember the great stuff don't you? I gave myself two years to try to make this passion a reality. Some people have given five, seven, even 10 years trying to catch a break out here. I've been very lucky and had booked pretty steadily since moving to LA. It's a very very expensive place to live as a Canadian, since your work visa specifically states that you can't get any work that isn't "acting". Which means I had no waitressing job to tide me over between bookings, so I literally was living paycheck to paycheck. It wasn't fun, but it's paid off!"

Flash forward to 2022. What is Italia Ricci doing? And has she had botox?

"Hopefully by 2022 "Unnatural History" has wrapped on the series, otherwise I might be 35 and playing 16. Professionally, I hope to be doing more films than television at that point. I would imagine by then that I will own a pretty house somewhere pretty and green...and with a view! And have a few little one's around. Maybe even a husband somewhere in the mix ;) Botox? My mom seems to have aged pretty well so hopefully I wont feel the need to go in that direction, but hey if it makes you happy - it's your life and you only live it once!"

Who is your favourite headband designer? (hehe… )

"What's that Wal-Mart brand?...just kidding FictionFaction baby!"

What advice can you give to someone whose calling forgot to call? Any suggestions of Callings I should try?

"Hmm. The best advice that I could possibly give anyone about following any sort of calling, passion, or dream, is that no one promised it'd be easy...they just promised it'd be worth it. Hmm, what should you try? Let's see...DJing, cooking or baking, tarot card or palm reading, maybe even yoga instructing. I'm sure I'll come up with more. I'll keep posting suggestions in the comments. Keep it up though, I love this blog!! xoxo"

Catch Italia's new show "An Unnatural History" coming soon to the Cartoon Network

Week 6: Photography Class

2010-02-15T08:28:00.004-05:00

My apologies that this post is a day late, I try to write every Sunday, but my boyfriend (James) banned me from "interneting" on Valentines Day. Instead I watched the Olympics the whole day and actually cried when we got our first gold. Go Canada!

Last April, James surprised me with a brand new digital SLR camera for my birthday. I was so excited to finally shoot some amazing images of my family, friends and travels. I read the whole help manual front to back and attempted to remember the rules of photography that I had learned in grade 12 art class. Needless to say my pictures turned out blurry or bright or not at all and by May I was back onto the automatic setting.

Determined to master the art of digital photography, I signed up for a beginner Nikon Digital D40 SLR course at Henry's School of Imaging. The course was 3 hours long and started right from the beginning, teaching the names of all the buttons and their basic functions. View my new skills...

I absolutely LOVE photography, and I'm excited that I will be able to shoot better images for this project. Is photography my Calling? Could be, I guess we'll have to wait and see...

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 8.5 out of 10

Week 5- Part One: Nude Life Drawing

2010-02-06T23:01:00.015-05:00

Okay.
haha.
Where do I start? This week's events were so bizarre I do not even know where to begin this post. I'm giggling as I'm typing this.
Because I was pretty short on cash, I signed onto craigslist and searched "free classes Toronto" to find my calling options for week 5 (5-time is flying!). And there it was, listed in bold capital letters, right under Adult ice hockey skills training and hair weaving and extensions lessons- NUDE LIFE DRAWING, with the following description:
JOIN US IN OUR INTIMATE AND INTERACTIVE GALLERY AS WE STUDY THE HUMAN FORM. WE WORK WITH PROFESSIONAL MALE AND FEMALE MODELS OFFERING A WIDE RANGE OF POSES.

I was way too chicken to go exploring the human form via some sketchy post on c-list by myself so I enlisted my best friend and business partner (insert FictionFaction plug here) Olga to come along. Olga showed up at my house on Wednesday night dressed in her most convincing artist costume armed with a lifetime's worth of art supplies. After a quick stop at a supply shop for some paper we jumped on the streetcar and headed to the BenNavaeeGallery.

The "gallery" felt oddly like your Grandmother's house, complete with floral print sofas. It was all pretty quaint, except for the giant oil painting of a breast hanging above the sofa. A large storefront window partially covered with a sheet gave models some privacy. At 7pm the models came out wrapped in pashminas, stood at the front of the gallery and dropped them. They were standing completely naked and proceeded to arrange themselves in various poses, leaving no room for imagination for the next 2 hours. No doubt my face was the shade of a tomato for the better part of the session. I felt like a pervert sketching someone's bits and pieces, so I left them out of my first few sketches. Olga however was much more comfortable with the situation and chose to zoom in and draw with much more detail.

My Finest work

Olga's finest work (strangely the same position as mine)

Is life drawing my calling? Probably not. But the naked sketches staring at me this morning from my refrigerator door did make me smile.

Overall Rating On Calling Scale: 6 out of 10

Words

2010-02-06T06:17:00.004-05:00

"I've always envied actresses, not for their fame but for the breadth of experiences their profession allows. An actress is required to "try on" a variety of personalities over the course of her career: She might step into the shoes of a surgeon, lead a rock band, teach gorillas to sign or marry a prince."

- Bernadette Morra, Editor-in-chief; Fashion Magazine

Week 4: Muay Thai boxing

2010-01-31T18:12:00.011-05:00

The Words below are definitely relevant to my Calling this week. To put it mildly, I was straight up terrified to try boxing. I listed off every justification I could think up this morning to talk myself out of it. After all it's a Sunday, who works out on Sundays? plus its -8 degrees outside! And is it really worth ten dollars to pay someone to punch me in the head? After a lengthy internal debate I finally dragged my ass to the Toronto Muay Thai Academy for 2 hours of hell.

The class started with a 30 minute "warm up" (torture is much more accurate). We skipped. We crawled. We ran. We crawled again. We did push ups. We did more push ups and clapped our hands in the middle. Oh and then we did more push ups. All the while jumping rope in between sets. I was trying to count the number of jumps, but I lost count after 650. By the time the actual boxing part of the class started I was jello.

Ajahn Amnat Yodkwain, Former Professional Fighter & Muay Thai Master was my instructor. He has got to be the scariest 5'2 man I have ever met. He was quick to inform me that he fought his first professional Muay Thai fight at the age of eight. And since then has won ninety percent of his fights. Catching the terrified look on my face, he choose me as the class demonstration, strapped pads to my arms and showed us how to kick continuously while yelling "ALAAASON open your eyes!"

By the time the class was over I had almost learned how to jab and cross punch properly, but Ajahn claimed I was mostly hitting and not actually punching (the difference between the two is unknown to me). Whatever Muay Thai skills I did pick up will no doubt be forgotten by tomorrow. Even though I was horrible at the sport I did appreciate the work out. The fact that my fingers and every other part of my body are aching right now is a good sign right?

Is Muay Thai boxing my Calling? No chance.

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 3 out of 10

Words

2010-01-29T19:51:00.004-05:00

"I am simply not interested in doing anything I am not afraid of".

- Marina Abramovic; artist

Week 3: Interior Design

2010-01-25T22:29:00.007-05:00

Well, the truth is that my Calling for the week was supposed to be meditation. A spiritual awakening of sorts. But as luck would have it, at the last minute my 60 minute meditation course was cancelled and I was stranded without a calling on a Sunday afternoon... the last day of week 3. So, nursing a minor hangover, and amidst pouring rain, I ran to catch the last few hours of the Interior Design Show. And thank god I did, because it was fabulous.

The creativity at this show was insane. There was recycled furniture pieces made from bungie cords, chairs made out of cardboard layers, fireplaces that hang on the wall like flat screen televisions and at least ten thousand innovative toilet designs.

Here's a slice ...

School Chair by Brothers Dressler
It's time to rethink our definitions of waste and value.

Twig Wall Sconce by Snob
Unique, One Of a Kind Finds That Tell All

Spade Magazine
a cool magazine for avant-garde lovers

I attended a lecture entitled: ENDURING DESIGN with Brian Gluckstein, Gluckstein Design Planning, Suzanne Dimma, Editor, House & Home Media and Mark Challen, House & Home Media. Some things I learned- buy classic looking furniture but take risks with accesories and decor (it is cheaper to replace once you get bored) and think about lighting (I didn`t have a notebook with me and can`t seem to remember what it is they said about lighting, but they did tell us to think about it).

The show was great, but it doesn`t take more than a peek at my messy apartment full of garage sale furniture to figure out that interior design probably isn`t my calling.

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 5 out of 10

Words

2010-01-22T21:41:00.001-05:00

"When was a little girl I did not know what I wanted to do, its not like I wanted to be a pianist or an actor, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to become. More than anything I wanted to be an independent woman"

- Diane Von Furstenberg; fashion designer

Tweet Tweet

2010-01-19T21:36:00.000-05:00

https://twitter.com/WheresMyCalling

Week 2: Bollywood Dance Class

2010-01-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

Bollywood is so hot right now. From its major successes on the big screen to its infusion into shows like "So You Think You and Dance" and Pussy cat doll remixes- I just had to check out what all the buzz was about. On Monday night I took Bollywood dance class at the City Dance Corps.

WOW! Let me start off by stressing that Bollywood dancing is both AMAZING and WAYYY harder than it looks! The cardio in this class rivals a three hour spin. I quickly learned that throwing on the Slum Dog soundtrack and jumping around my living room a few times to Jai Hoe does not count as Bollywood dancing.

The hour long session was a blur of jumping, kicking, spinning in circles (a lot of circles) and complicated hand placements. The moves were so fast it was impossible to catch your breath (or a picture- see blurry image above). I have no idea how Bollywooders do this while singing.

The class was a blast! But I'm not so sure that Bollywood is my calling.

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 7.4 out of 10

Week 1: Improv Class

2010-01-09T19:22:00.000-05:00

Welcome to week 1 of "Where's My Calling". I am excited about this project and hope that by committing to blogging about my weekly adventures and telling a few people about it, I may actually complete all 52 weeks and find my calling. It didn't take me long to figure out what the first week of this project should be. As many of my close friends can attest, I have always had this outrageous curiosity to know what it would be like to be an actor. So I thought, what the hell- may as well scratch that one off the list first! On Thursday evening I attended a level A improv class at The Second City training Centre.

I've never been to an improv class or even a performance, in reality my knowledge of improv expands only as far as rerun episodes of "who's line is it anyways"- so basically I no idea what to expect. The class was made up of about 16 aspiring improvisationalists (if that's a word...) and consisted of a jumble of ice breaker-type games like redlight greenlight, telling a fairy tale in a circle with each person contributing only one word and scene setting; where one character strikes a pose and the rest of the group builds on it. It went something like this:

Person A: "I'm a statue in a fountain"

Person B: "I'm a bird perched on the statue"

Person C: " I'm bird shit"

All in all, the games were quirky and forced you to be silly, the class managed to give me the proper giggles for nearly to 2 hours.

I didn’t know exactly what I was looking to find by taking this class, but luck was on my side, and Oprah would be proud to know my "AHA" moment presented itself in the first few minutes of class. The instructor seated the group in a circle and had each of us explain who we are and why we are at class tonight. Most answered “Christmas present from so and so”, “used to do drama in high school”, “want to be a better communicator at my job” and things similar to that.

By far the best reason came from a man across the circle in his mid seventies, decades beyond everyone else in class. His answer summed up my improv experience nicely. When asked why he was at class tonight he replied, “Well, I’m here to just be Norman. After years of wearing hats that don’t fit quite right, I am retired and now its time to find out who Norman is”. Well put Norman.

Overall Rating on Calling Scale: 8 out of 10