Monday 29 February 2016

Toronto Maple Leafs 1, Tampa Bay Lightning 2

Deo, a fella Gord works with, had been given some tickets to tonight's Maple Leafs' game.  He didn't want to go so he gave a couple to Gord.

The Leafs were playing the Tampa Bay Lightning.


Here are the players warming up.


The Leafs aren't doing so great this year.  They haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.


It must have been thrilling for this kid to have the chance to skate around the ACC!

Saturday 27 February 2016

Toronto Rock 17, Rochester Knighthawks 6

Gord and I are season ticket holders for the Toronto Rock lacrosse team games ... the Rock is a professional lacrosse franchise in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).  This is our fourth year going to the games and our third year having seasons tickets.

Roger, Gord's friend and co-worker, went to the game with us and he brought his dad, Ben.  The Toronto Rock Cheerleaders were greeting fans arriving to the game.  Ben got friendly with Katie.


The Rock were playing the Rochester Knighthawks tonight.


The Rock won their first game of the season last Friday ... that was an exciting game!


Iggy, the Rock mascot, charmed the crowd before the game.


As usual, Scotty Newlands sang the national anthems.

The Strath Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper before the Toronto Rock game this evening at The Strath Pub (in the basement of the Strathacona Hotel at York/King W).  Roger and his dad, Ben, went to the game with us and met us at the pub.


Gord ordered lemon pepper wings with a side Caesar salad.  He really liked the wings.


Roger and Ben ordered a burger and fries.  They said their meal was good and both finished everything.

Friday 26 February 2016

Book ~ "Don't Say a Word" (2011) Barbara Freethy

From GoodreadsEverything she's been told about her past is a lie ...

Julie DeMarco is planning a perfect San Francisco wedding when she comes face-to-face with a famous photograph, the startling image of a little girl behind the iron gate of a foreign orphanage - a girl who looks exactly like her. But Julia isn't an orphan. She isn't adopted. And she's never been out of the country. She knows who she is - or does she?

Haunted by uncertainty, Julia sets off on a dangerous search for her true identity - her only clues a swan necklace and an old Russian doll, her only ally daring, sexy photographer, Alex Manning. 

Suddenly nothing is as it seems. The people Julia loved and trusted become suspicious strangers. The relationships she believed in - with her mother, her sister, and her fiance - are shaken by new revelations. The only person she can trust is Alex but he has secrets of his own. Each step brings her closer to a mysterious past that began a world away - a past that still has the power to threaten her life ... and change her future forever.

Julia is a DJ, in her mid-20s and engaged to Michael, who is pushing her to set a wedding date.  Her mother has recently passed away.  Her father immediately sold the family house and moved into an apartment and is drinking too much.  Liz, her younger sister, moved in with her when their father sold the house.

Then she sees a picture of herself as a child in a Russian orphanage.  How is that possible since she was born and raised in San Francisco?

She contacts Alex, the son of the late photographer who took the picture.  Together they start digging to see what is going on.  Both Alex and Julia are in for some shocking surprises.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and found the story interesting.  There were some twists and turns.  It's written in third person perspective, with a focus on Julia and Alex.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thursday 25 February 2016

Boston Pizza, Brantford, ON

I had meetings in Brantford today and had lunch at Boston Pizza (on Wayne Gretzky Parkway).

I sat on the dining room side

I ordered what I always order when I go to a Boston Pizza ... Broken Lasagna (without onions and Parmesan).  It was delicious.  It was loaded with spicy Italian sausage and crunchy bacon.  Usually I take half home but I was hungry and ate it all!

Monday 22 February 2016

meowbox - February 2016

Morgan is not allowed on the table.


Morgan KNOWS he's not allowed on the table.


But he knew he got mail!

Morgan and Crumpet's February meowbox arrived today.

meowbox is a cat subscription box full of surprises, delivered to your door every month. Your meowbox is brimming with yummy cat treats and fun cat toys, specially selected for quality and uniqueness, to cater to your cat’s discriminating taste. 

We carefully research and select items that are high quality and unique. We pick food and treats that are either made with natural ingredients, are tasty, nutritious, grain-free, organic or locally made. You won’t find just the regular run-of-the-mill stuff in your meowbox. Our goal is to excite kitty and put a smile on your face. 

The cost ranges from $22.95 to $32.95 a month, depending on the plan, and shipping is free.

We believe that if we have the opportunity to give, then we should share what we have. This philosophy comes packaged neatly within the heart of every meowbox. For every meowbox you buy, we give a can of food to a shelter cat on your behalf. One box can make a difference.

Our can of food is en route to the The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas, NV.

Are you going to open the box or what?!

Sunset Grill Restaurant, Toronto, ON (Danforth/Coxwell)

I had lunch today at the Sunset Grill Restaurant on Danforth Avenue (at Coxwell).


I felt like having breakfast for lunch so ordered 3 eggs (over easy) with ham, white toast and a glass of milk ... and it was good.


The servers weren't overly warm and fuzzy but they were efficient.

Sunset Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sunday 21 February 2016

Book ~ "You Raised Us - Now Work with Us: Millennials, Career Success, and Building Strong Workplace Teams" (2016) Lauren Stiller Rikleen

From Goodreads ~ Millennials are often stereotyped, they are "entitled," seek promotions prematurely and require constant praise. They see themselves, however, buried in historically high student debt and thwarted by an outdated workplace structure. 

This ground-breaking book is an indispensable resource to help Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers create a more effective work environment. 

The book separates myths from reality, and provides practical advice, based on detailed research, to strengthen intergenerational teams and develop the next generation of talented leadership.

There are three generations comprising today's workforce:
  1. Boomers - born between 1946 and 1964
  2. Gen X - born between 1964 and 1978
  3. Millennials (or Gen Y) - born between 1978 to 2000

This book had four goals:
  1. Analyze and build upon research about the Millennials and provide new insights on how Millennials view work as they begin their careers in the midst of an economic crisis
  2. Help Boomers and Gen X better meet the opportunities and challenges that Millennials bring to the workforce by providing practical recommendations for strengthening intergenerational teamwork and relationships
  3. Help Millennials navigate their way through the complexities of today's work environment
  4. Highlight the opportunity available to all generations to make needed changes in the workplace that will benefit everyone

There are three parts of this book:
  1. The key behaviors attributed to Millennials as well as Millennials' reactions to what other generations say about them
  2. The impacts of the behaviors in the workplace, including the ways in which disinterested leadership styles, inflexible work practices and ineffective management can play into Millennials' reputation at work
  3. The adaptations that are needed in the workplace to adjust to changing demographics while offering advice to Millennials as they learn to navigate their career

It was interesting to read about how different the Millennials are from the Boomers (like me) who raised them and why they are the way they are.

Millennials rely on social networking and text messages as their preferred form of communication.  When they get to work, it's a different story and they must feel like they are stepping back in time where primary communication is face-to-face, by phone or email.  In some workplaces, the use of social media is forbidden and/or blocked.  So even though they know/think that their communication styles are more efficient, they must adapt to the way it's always been, the way that most Boomers and Gen X are more comfortable with and in a lot of cases, don't realize there is indeed a better way.

Millennials grew up having their parents manage everything for them.  They watched their parents work hard to get ahead in their careers and be able to provide their children with everything.  The Millennials don't want this lifestyle for themselves and are willing to give up higher salaries and working longer hours for more time for themselves and with their families,

It will be interesting to see what things will be like as more and more Boomers and eventually the Gen Xers retire and the Millennials take over as our business leaders.  Will there be much of a change?  Will the Millennials be able to handle being leaders?

Saturday 20 February 2016

2016 Toronto Winter Brewfest, Toronto, ON

The inaugural edition of the Toronto Winter Brewfest was last night and tonight ... Gord and I went tonight.  Apparently they organize them in Ottawa.

Today we read reviews about last night's session ... mostly bad (the crowds, expensive drink tickets, etc.).  Friends we were going with decided to not go and sold their tickets.  Gord and I went ahead with our plans.  The doors opened at 5pm and we got there shortly after 6pm to avoid a line-up.  We were in line for about ten minutes.


We'd bought our tickets last month ... they were $20 and included a sample mug (there were two styles).

Mine
Gord's

Drink tickets were $1 each ... drinks were two tickets and up for four ounces.

Apparently tonight they increased the venue size by 25%, had more staff, dropped the ticket price of over 15 beers to two tickets per sample and there was free bottled water.

There were DJs playing tunes all night.


Besides beer, you could also get samples of cider. hard liquor and wine.

Book ~ "Weird Sh!t: True Stories to Shock, Stun, Astound and Amaze" (2016) Mark Leigh

From Goodreads ~ Did you know? Salvador Dali sometimes wore a perfume of fish glue and cow dung to attract his then girlfriend, Gala. Have you heard, seen, or read about something so bizarre and incredible that it leaves you bamboozled for the rest of the day? 

No? Then you haven't read "Weird Sh!t". 

This eclectic and eccentric mix of news stories, events, concepts and conceits reveals a world removed from reality as you know it. Prepare to depart from this seemingly conventional life and arrive at a destination full of downright weird and wonderful shit.

This book has bite-sized bits of information about animals, crime and punishment, the law, religion, weird leaders, entertainment, the rich and famous, and more.

Though an entertaining read, there are no sources for the information so it's hard to know if the info is true or not.  In the book, the author said that Charles Manson had auditioned for the Monkees.  I found this hard to believe so went online to confirm ... and it's not true.  So it this isn't true, it makes me wonder what else isn't?

Friday 19 February 2016

Toronto Rock 14, Buffalo Bandits 12

Gord and I are season ticket holders for the Toronto Rock lacrosse team games ... the Rock is a professional lacrosse franchise in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).  This is our fourth year going to the games and our third year having seasons tickets.

They were playing the Buffalo Bandits tonight.


Iggy, the Rock mascot, worked the crowd before the game.

Hi, Iggy!

Going into tonight's game, the Rock was 0 - 6 and had the worst record in the league.


The Toronto Rock Cheerleaders welcomed the Rock players onto the field.

The Strath Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper before the Toronto Rock game this evening at The Strath Pub (in the basement of the Strathacona Hotel at York/King W).  It's been about a year since I was there last.