Pearson, the intern has landed!

So....blog... its been entirely too long since I've last added things to you. Its been another crazy time in which I've been completely and utterly drained creatively. Thankfully I have tons of news to report on. The biggest and more interesting is that ... WE HAVE AN INTERN! As of yesterday, our intrepid traveler has landed in Toronto, flying all the way from Paris, France! I'm truly honoured and excited to have her on board with Simplicity and for her to have chosen us out of all the Event Planning, Catering and Staffing firms in Toronto. These next few months do sound promising and I'll keep you all posted on whats been going on and also revisit the past. I've been totally swamped and have such a back log of updates!

Tossing the Intern into the thick of it: Melanie and I network it up at a new venue event for in-industry professionals at Ballet

Destination: Plan B Organic Farm

Through my volunteering at Alpha II Alternative school, I finally had a wonderful opportunity to go with the students to their yearly visit to Plan B Organic Farm.

I was pretty hyped about this trip since it was something of a very important connection for me.  I needed to see for myself personally what a real working organic farm looks like.  Having one so close to the city really hits home the fact that we can have sustainable food sources locally and organic.

One of the first things that struck me is the way the farm is.  Its not your typical vast track of organized rows of plants and produce.  In fact it literally was quite an organic layout.  One of the owners of the farm Alvaro took us on a guided tour and showed us the benefits of all the key trees, plants and organisms that contribute to the richness of the soil.  What really struck me was the natural approach of letting nature balance itself in terms of soil conditions.  So much of the traditional farming is spent shaping land and chemically forcing it to be harvesting environment.  Here at Plan B Alvaro carefully balances all living things to contribute to the overall health of the soil and thereby producing organic food so close to Toronto!

One of the most stunning aspects of the tour was the organic shiitake grove.  Nestled in the heart of a patch of coniferous trees, they used felled logs with spore plugs.  It was truly a sight to behold as the forest gave off a quiet richness that one simply had to be there to experience it.  I had a chance find a fresh shiitake that missed the initial harvest and we all had a chance to try garlic, shiitake and other organic produce straight from the ground!

(left) - One of the few shiitakes that missed the last harvest. Om nom! You can literally eat them straight off the tree stump!




(right) - Our host, Farmer Alvaro shows us how the spores and cultured into natural and completely organic shiitake mushrooms

Organic Shiitake mushroom harvest in the making!

My trip buddy Evie gives a thumbs up to the organic garlic, shiitake and catnip we got to take home.  



A really big thank you goes out to Alvaro for giving us and especially myself an opportunity to see first hand organic farming at its finest.  Thank you too to the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment for funding the trip and Alpha II Alternative school for once again giving me the opportunity to volunteer and learn right along with the students.

(Google Map Link)

http://planborganicfarms.ca/

Inspirational Underdog: WRC for $500

When I originally read this story on Jalopnik it was a complete and utter joy to read.

This story was a source of inspiration of a guy, doing something down right cool. He started with little money, a whole lot of time and the will to actually do the stuff he wants to do instead of just talking about it wistfully. One of those things was to compete in the World Rally Championship. He managed to do so with a $500.00 car he bought off Craigslist! To me this is all about following through on what you're passionate about, and a great inspiration to all entrepreneurs out there. (Especially to those that think you need to have a whole lot of money to start a venture and be successful)

Somewhere along the way I forgot about it and in some strange way found my way back to Jalopnik to find that article again. Re-reading that story is such an underdog inspiration to me that I simply had to post it on the blog.

There are some priceless lines in here that I simply have to quote the author of the blog post, Sam Smith, who is a good friend of Bill Caswell.

"I once asked Bill why he insisted on going through every spectator section crossed up and with the engine banging off the limiter. "Dude," he said, "I don't care if it costs me a couple of tenths. It makes the fans go nuts."

I love this portion because you know Bill Caswell is doing it for the love of it. Not just for the possibility of just cold hard cash and the sponsorship. To me, it speaks volumes about how spending time with the folks who take their time to support you is essential.

"Part One: First, We Broke A Lot"

As an entrepreneur you need to make mistakes. The more we made in our first year of operation the faster we learned. Most folks think mistakes are terrible things. Its something that is beaten into us through school. However, it is even more terrible to not learn from them. The important thing is striving and then striving for something greater. Its easy to play Dirt 3 and rally on your home PC, (which is still fricking fun!) its waaaay harder to follow through and rally like Bill
Caswell did.

"Part Two: Some Dude Mooned Us?"

Perhaps it seems odd, but one of the most important things is to enjoy the details. Even when its someone mooning you when you are flying down a dirt trail at 60-100 mph. In any given day someone mooning you would indeed be something strange. But doing a World Rally Championship event in a $500 BMW (that is older than most of your competitors who just happen to be driving $400,000 plus cars custom built for the job), and then getting mooned? Well that just adds to the experience doesn't it? The very same can be said when you do something awesome like follow your dreams and passions, every detail becomes all the more memorable and worth it.

"Part Three: We May or May Not Be Legit"

Legitmacy is something we all struggle with at one time or another. It even happens in school, with our peers and in the work place. As an entrepreneur this is was an epic struggle that always lurking around the corner. After facing it so many times it becomes familiar, through persistence it becomes less of a horror to encounter. Wrestling with the question of legitimacy becomes so second nature that through the defying and constant testing we end up getting tempered by it. We make it look easy with blase and simply kick butt. Its like that uber hard boss in Final Fantasy that you spend hours trying to defeat, and when you're 20 levels above it, kicking it down only nets you 1 or 2 xp. Before we even realize it legitimacy simply fails to matter anymore.

"Shit happens. (This is proof)"

I love this bumper sticker, because it remind me that some times you just have to let go. Shit will happen and having a tight rein on things is no way to go about running an event planning business. Its an organic process that you really need to adapt and roll with.

I really do hope they make a movie out of Bill Caswell's exploits!

Random Thoughts on Food

I had a half of a fresh made panini sandwich the other day.  It left much to be desired.

At first, I jumped at the idea of prosciutto with fig jelly toasted in a sandwich with the topping of bocconcini cheese on top.
Turns out, its a complete *yawn*!   I'd almost wish to serve this as a backup to NOT offend any pallet.

Things I would have done to spice it up:

1.) Dump the bocconcini - it added nothing to the other two, since you have sweet + sweet and + mostly lost texture.  The subtly of bocconcini is great for salad and for yummy simplistic appz like tomato and fresh basil ( which I might add is also pure kanso).  This sandwich needed a cheese that said "I am a cheese!".  Something stronger to compliment and yet counteract the sweetness of the figs and prosciutto

2.) Choose better prosciutto! - I was surprised at the amount of prosciutto on the sandwich.  It ended up being pretty gummy and hard to chew.  I find that good prosciutto is almost buttery and shreds easily as you bite into it.  I finished the rest of my sandwich during class and I felt and looked like a caveman using my hands to help masticate a buffalo because the prosciutto just wouldn't shred!  I've recently found a Spanish prosciutto that is pure buttery goodness and unique enough to be subtly different.

3.) I know it sounds a bit odd - but I like searing my prosciutto!  Oh my god it must be the Filipino genetics or something, but giving a slice of prosciutto a bit of heat really does open it up and give it an almost smokey flavour.  This would really shift the taste when its placed beside the sweetness of figs.  Perhaps then the bocconcini would make sense. Which reminds me - some other time I have to discuss the love of Sandwich Making.  It is an art and sadly this prosciutto panini was made without love.   See Arthur Dent -

`So,' said Old Thrashbarg to Arthur. `Is it written that Bob shall once more take back unto himself the benediction of his once-given sandwich maker?'

Ford almost went back into his crouch.

`It's all right,' muttered Arthur, `he always talks like that.' Aloud, he said, `Ah, venerable Thrashbarg. Um, yes. I'm afraid I think I'm going to have to be popping off now. But young Drimple, my apprentice, will be a fine sandwich maker in my stead. He has the aptitude, a deep love of sandwiches, and the skills he has acquired so far, though rudimentary as yet, will, in time mature and, er, well, I think he'll work out OK is what I'm trying to say.'

Old Thrashbarg regarded him gravely. His old grey eyes moved sadly. He held his arms aloft, one still carrying a bobbing pikka bird, the other his staff.

`O Sandwich Maker from Bob!' he pronounced. He paused, furrowed his brow, and sighed as he closed his eyes in pious contemplation. `Life,' he said, `will be a very great deal less weird without you!'   ...

`Go!' shouted Thrashbarg. `Go and meet your destiny, Sandwich Maker!'

[From the book Mostly Harmless, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy in Five Parts, Douglas Adams - Thank you to tomsnyder for posting that snippet on Angelfire!]

Thank you Mr. Churchill!

I came across this quote the other day.  It struck me on so many levels.

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."  - Winston Churchill

Either that's V for victory or..."I still have my two fingers..."

It also made me think about the roll of what an entrepreneur really is.  With the rise of over credentialization, it seems that even the local university now has an "Entrepreneur program".  I came across someone during a cellphone purchase who was in the program and was given a phone and support for his app development.

It seems to me anathema to go to university to learn how to be an entrepreneur.  At least that is the way I've found it.   A university doesn't seem to me like the sort of place where you learn to embrace failure, roll with tough breaks, and take a unique path that many others dare not tread.  As I've found and experienced in university, you learn, regurgitate, cite/reference and essentially jump through as many administrative hoops of burning glass to be done with your degree for the hope of a higher education and asking salary.  Well I guess the hope bit is the common theme.

Still, some how the thought of institutionalized entrepreneurship just makes me shudder.   Though I'm sure another viewpoint and some more light could be shed on this.  I'll let you know in a bit.

24 Meals in 24 Hours

It always amazes me when people suggest I go to the local big box mega store to pick up food to cater for an event.  It usually begins when we bring up the topic of catering and the price tag that comes with it.

The conversation sometimes goes like this:

"How much can you get me for $X dollars a head."

(At this time I usually do my best to give them what we can do, and still maintain quality.  X being somewhere in the single digits)

"Thats it? Why can't we just go to (insert big box bulkfood store here) and pick up some frozen appetizers?"

24 Meals in 24 Hours

It boggles me why they did not bother to instead shoot the documentary in Toronto and not new work since it is CBC and Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver would be more relevant to its viewers.  

Food for thought:


"No plan survives contact with the Printer."

Revisiting Inspiration: Professor Randy Pausch

It has been A CRAZY few months!  As you may well know, it all started with me losing one of my "kids".  My wonderful chubby fluff-accordion of a Cat - Ookie; passed away on September 2nd.  From there its been a wonderful two months of joy, nervousness and new opportunities.

But before I continue, mid way through this rollercoaster that I'm still on, I needed to revisit inspiration.  I'm sharing it with you here.



Enable peoples dreams.  That's what I realized I created Simplicity for.  It originally was "to make a difference, no matter how small in peoples lives." Now this refines things to be more precise, perhaps, even more simplified!

Whenever I get bogged down in the annoying tidbits of life...

I look at pictures like this.

This is a picture taken by the Spirit rover from Mars at Earth.  Pictures like this continue to inspire me to keep doing things despite the little annoying things that can often bog anybody down.  When you stop and think about the two NASA rovers themselves, which were only designed to last 90 earth days and ended up lasting 2,695 days. 


Now that is endurance.

To tweet or not to tweet?

That is the question. So much so that I thought of writing this. Well Shakespeare wrote it. I just modified it to my own thoughts. Its quite apt.

To tweet, or not to tweet, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the possible time suckage arrows of outrageous time spent tweeting,
Or to take arms against a sea of the social media band wagon,
And by opposing end them? To poke?, to tweet?,
No more; and by a sleep to say we (actually stop trolling on the net)
The eye-ache, and the thousands of irresistible posts
That refresh is inherent to: 'tis a time consummation
Devoutly to be wished to be followed. To post, to spam;
To spam, perchance to connect. Of something useful– aye, there's the rub:
For in that spam of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause – there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the flames and dislikes of the net,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy tweets,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare blogkin? World web spidering bears,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country of entrepreneurship from whose bourn
No entrepreneur returns, puzzles the will, challenges the spirit
And makes us rather bear those ills we have to try something new
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus popular trends does make bandwagoneers of us all,
And thus the native hue of screen resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thoughtful content,
And enterprises of great promotion and marketing,
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. Soft you now,
The fair Muse! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my tweetful inspirations remembered.[1]

Originally by that awesome dude Shakespeare ( mod by Rolo)

The Modern Marriage - CBC Doc Zone

J and I watched an interesting documentary by CBC Doc Zone entitled:

Thoroughly Modern Marriage.

It was fairly interesting but I found it lacked some depth into exploring some of the concepts it covered. It really did give me a feeling of wanting to know more like an unfulfilling appetizer. Case in point, it does not go into detail about the "open-marriage" presented in the documentary, I dunno about you, but the sociologist in me definitely sees some under-tones in that arrangement.

I do like however that it highlights a transition to marriage as a "cap-stone" for couples.

There is also a lovely bunch of ideas for making ones wedding unique and their own. I love the lantern signal for the bride to begin her procession!

This may sound heretical, but I think $100,000 is a ridiculous amount to spend on a wedding. I'd rather work with my client to effectively spend $10-15,000 of that and refer them to a good investment broker, NGO, or charity (Sick Kids Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Bicycle Commons, to name a few...)that could use the help.

What would you rather have?

One fleeting day of opulence or the ability to make a difference on a larger scale?