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  • 28Sep

    High School Reunion – well the unofficial one this past weekend

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    A while back I got an invitation via Facebook, to attend a high school reunion for all the people who graduated in the 1980’s. This sounded great, as the last reunion I went to was attended by primarily people who graduated in the 1960’s and 1970’s. They truly overshadowed and made up a much larger group of people than those who attended in the 1980’s, especially those who graduated in the late 80’s.

    They themed the larger gym with 1960’ and 70’s photos and memorabilia, while fashioning the smaller gym with 1980’s and 90’s photos and pop references. As the dance portion of the school anniversary reunion went along, it became apparent that the big gym was packed and the smaller gym with the more recent (1980’s, 1990’s and the 2000’s) was almost empty. This made me believe that it was too soon for my classmates to consider reuniting.
    When I arrived at this reunion there was plenty of people from the early 80’s and again not many from the late 80’s. Surprisingly, there was about 7 people from the class of 1989 who I recognized, but not one from the class of 1987 that I knew.

    I made the best of the daytime event, which the facilities permit office for the school board forced them to call the ”unofficial reunion” because it was not a school sanctioned event. We were restricted to the cafeteria and the auditorium. We could not go look at our old class rooms or our lockers. I really wanted to see my locker and see what was written on it.
    The second part of the “unofficial reunion” was held at a local pub called Lion ON the Beach, our school mascot was a Lion, so this kinda worked.
    It was at this later party I ran into more people that I actually went to high school with. My comfort level went up.

    Along came a woman who said “I know you” and I clearly did not remember her from high school, but I recognized her. She graduated from my high school in 1984, three years before I did and a year before I transferred to the school. We struggled to figure out how we knew each other and eventually gave up.

    Today, I was in the kitchen of my Toronto office space grabbing a cup of the free complimentary coffee, I ran into this woman I had seen before at my Toronto downtown office . It was the same woman I met at the reunion. It turns out we did go to the same high school, but that was not how she recognized me.. It was meeting in our shared office space that we had run into each other .

    When I had shared office space, I was there in the evenings and she was there in the days. So we did not see each other until I took my Toronto executive office space and started coming into the kitchen during the day that I ran into her.
    Wow, small world that we live in.

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  • 22Sep

    Adventures with salesmen farmer Bob and Skippy the over enthused sales guy

    Office Space, Office Space Toronto 1 Comment

    How hard can it be to shop for a printer, pretty hard when you get the sales people I did this weekend at 2 of the stores I visited in Belleville today. Yesterday I went down to Belleville to visit my first in-laws and to help them out with some computer issues, like I do on a regular basis. The last time I was down two weeks ago, I helped them buy a new computer that was powerful enough to run some high end architecture software. We got a great deal on a new computer that runs 64 bit version of Windows 7. This new computer was really fast and everything worked great with it, except for one of their printers. The printer used a serial port to USB connection that would not work with Windows 7 and this new computer did not come with a serial port.

    After trying a few things that others had suggested to me, we gave up and decided to look for a replacement printer that was Windows 7 64 bit compatible. Today we went to 2 different stores in search of a replacement printer and were really shocked by the lack of product knowledge of the sales people.

    In the first store, the sales guy “Farmer Bob” (who had a strong aroma of sheep) did not even know what 11” X 17” paper was, but tried to assure us that all of the printers they sold were capable of any type of paper. When I showed him the size of the paper, he suggested folding it in half to put it through the printer. That is when I knew he was not someone I wanted to buy a printer or any other computer equipment from. I would be afraid if I asked this guy for some RAM, he would have gone into the back and came back with a sheep. Even the soldier on his way to Trenton to head over to Afghanistan walked out when this guy tried to sell him a 22” purple laptop, when all he was looking for was a small netbook.

    We went across the road to another major store and who pulled in behind us, that same soldier looking for a netbook. We went to look at the printers ourselves and the soldier went straight to a sales guy in a blue shirt (manager). We found two printers that were clearly labelled as being able to print on 11” x 17” paper. The first one was a “4 in one” multifunctional printer for $279, but it had small ink cartridges which meant more changing of cartridges more often. Across the aisle was the same brand as we were looking to replace, but a newer version.

    There were no boxes to look at and only display models with limited description of the product, we now needed a sales guy to give us some important answers. Then along came “Skippy” the junior sales guy in the red polo shirt and black shorts (guess he did not get the memo that the day before was the last day of summer). He was so happy to want to help us, it was creepy. I told Skippy that we were looking for more information on this particular printer and wanted to make sure it was 64 bit Windows 7 compatible and wanted to see the size and specs on the ink cartridges. Skippy marched us over to the cartridge area and read the box that gave the estimated page count, this was satisfactory. But Skippy went on to try to tell us that these numbers were just estimates based on some 10% something … dude you gave us the information move on with the next question… but he kept reading the box and the differences between the print yield of the black vs that of the other three colour cartridges… again dude, we are sold!

    I told Skippy that we now just needed to make sure of the Windows 7 compatibility. He went to check the manufacturers website and left us for about 5 minutes. When he returned to inform us he could not get on the manufactures website as it had crashed. I suggested that the answer would be on the box and we were 99% going to buy it, so we would need him to bring us one anyway. Here is where Skippy gets really funny. He goes to the back in search of one of the four listed in inventory on their computer. Ten minutes later Skippy reappears with a box. He tells us that the box does not say it is Windows 7 compatible, he was able to get another associate to pull more information off a website that said it was.

    Great, we will buy it! That is when Skippy tells us the box he brought out was one that had been returned with a broken paper drawer. He was not able to find one of the four good ones the computer said they had in stock. He asked us if we wanted him to continue to look, but quickly reminded us that he was off in 5 minutes. Yes, please go look, we want to buy one. About 10 minutes later, a manager in a blue shirt came up to us and asked us if we needed any help. I told her that Skippy was looking for a printer for us. As I said this I noticed him down the way leaning against a counter talking to someone (with his jacket on). I said to the manager, “yeah, Skippy (real name) is looking for a printer for us” pointing at him. She walked down to him and he quickly took off his jacket and ran over to tell us that he spent the last five minutes of his shift looking for the printer but could not find one. It seems Skippy had forgotten to come back to tell us he could not find it, but instead punched the clock and was ready to leave.

    Those who have read my blog that is published on the web site of my Toronto office space at Telsec, know that I try to tie in a plug about my small office rental at the end of each blog. This time I can not be more sincere about my thankfulness of having a great Toronto office business centre that has modern office equipment (including the ability to print 11” x 17” documents) without the hassles of ownership of these pieces of equipment. Being able to use this equipment on an as needed basis, sure saves me from having to go buy it from “farmer Bob” or “Skippy”.

  • 20Sep

    TIFF is over, now what?

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    I did not get a chance to chase after celebrities this year at TIFF, but many photographers did. What most of them did not realize is that throughout the year there are many celebrities who visit Toronto for other purposes.

    Stars like Rob Low, Drew Berrymore, George Clooney, as well as directors like David Cronenberg and Henry Wrinkler, all made appearances.
    Toronto is a place to film for many actors and actresses, even with the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, telling film makers to stop making films north of the border. This is the real reason the Governator did not come to TIFF.

    Without Hollywood productions, Toronto is seen as a place to film high quality films.  Toronto is very well known for the high quality production crews and support staff.

    Film production aside, Toronto office space at Telsec is also well known for hosting companies that want a great location and quality serviced offices Toronto. But more films seem to be coming to Toronto and many need temporary production offices while they film here. A great deal of film productions that want to be near the local film studios, chose to have there Toronto office space at Telsec.

    With flexible office space Toronto options, many film office location managers want flexible office space options that are close to the various studios. Several new studios have opened along the Toronto lake front, that are easily accessible from Toronto downtown office space.

    Toronto is Hollywood North and the governor of California can not stop that.

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  • 20Sep

    The Sign of Fall is The New Television Season

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    It was only last week that I watched the season finale of my favorite summer show “Big Brother”. I have another blog I will be writing about the ending and the Jury’s choice of Hayden over Lane as the winner of “Big Brother”.

    One summer show (that I did not watch this summer) that ended last week was “Americas Got Talent”.  I only heard about that show from listening to the “Howard Stern Show” on Sirius Satellite Radio. The most interesting thing I heard about “Americas Got Talent”  is that they promoted the fact the winner would take home a million dollars, but it was the research staff of the “Howard Stern Show” that publicly outed the show when they discovered that the winner would receive $25,000 for 40 years. Had one of the older contestants won, they would not likely be alive long enough to collect their $1,000,000, they probably would have had to take the $300,000 buy out.  This is a lesson to anyone who thinks they will actually win a million dollars on a reality TV show.

    Back to what I was started this blog about, the new TV season and the fact that it is the true sign that fall is here.  This week many of the new returning fall shows are starting or have already started. The one season premier that I have already seen is “The Apprentice”.

    I think Donald Trump has come up with an amazing concept this season of “The Apprentice”. He has taken 16 professionals who have been hard hit by this recession and given them a chance to compete for a lucrative job within his organization. He is also giving those who he fired an opportunity to meet up with another top business executive for another chance.

    I found that it was very interesting that the first task for the contestants was to design and set up modern office space in New York City. The teams could have saved themselves a great deal of time by researching office space New York on the Telsec website.

    One of the people who won on a previous season of “The Apprentice” was given a chance to oversee the new Trump Tower Toronto Project, which offers luxury condos, a hotel and prestigious Toronto office space. This building is nearing completion and I do not know if “The Apprentice” winner is still on the job overseeing this project.

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  • 15Sep

    Congratulations Taylor, but why do you want to know the sex?

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    Today while I was in the kitchen of my office space Toronto, I found out that the women two offices away from me is pregnant. When I went to get my second cup of complimentary coffee, Taylor was getting herself a decaffeinated cup of herbal  tea.  I had to ask her if the news was true. She confirmed that indeed, her and her husband are expecting their first child in February.

    During my conversation with Taylor, I found out that she was going for her 20 week ultrasound next week and they would find out the sex of the child at that time. I had to know if she wanted to know the sex of the child from the ultrasound or did she want to wait until the birth of the child. It turned out that she was intending to find out the sex of the child from the ultrasound.

    Since she would know the sex, an office pool on the sex of the child’s birth would not work. So now the office space pool will have to be on the date and weight of the baby. Yes, I love those office pools, over the outcome of a pregnancy. I have won several of these pools over the years, to the point that people wonder if I am physic.

    I did ask Taylor what she intended to do about her business and her office. She reminded me that as an entrepreneur, she was not eligible  for EI maternity benefits and that she would have to keep her business going, even on a minor scale.

    Without the ability to service her major clients on the same scale, she would need to pare back her expenses. One of the expenses she would need to pare back on was her downtown Toronto office space. Not wanting to give up her prestigious office space address, she was going to reduce her office space contract to a virtual office package that included a Toronto mail service and an telephone answering service Toronto package. This would allow her to stay in touch with her clients and keep a great address.

    Once the baby was born and her business picked up again, she could pick up from where she left off. She would not need to change her prestigious business address and continue on from where she began, without changing her address or phone number on her business card.

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  • 14Sep

    Your office is Best Before September 29th

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    Best before dates

    Over the past 20 years or so, best before dates have appeared on many products that our parents would have never thought had an expiry date. Spam and other canned products were the things we were told to put away during the cold war. now they have Best  Before dates. What changed?

    Products like hand soap and disposable towelettes now have best before dates. What is next to have a Best Before date, toilet paper and paper towels?

    These days, it seems that every product we consume, seems to have a best before date.  Some say this is a safety issue and that all products should have that best before date listed on them. I am starting to believe that some products are listing Best Before dates to force consumers not to keep them, but to replace them on a regular basis.

    I have not yet seen any office space Toronto locations list expiry or best before dates, but that is only a matter of time.  I do not see the day that I find an Office Space for Lease Toronto with an expiry date, is the date that I will have to move my business.

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  • 09Sep

    How many times can one actor be seen in the background of one scene of Degrassi?

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    As an actor or someone who stumbled into acting (that is another story), I have done my dues as an extra in crowd scenes, along with many appearances as a background performer with specific directions. I have also done some bit parts without lines and even a few bit parts with spoken lines. One day, I realized that I wanted to act and not just be in front of the camera, so I no longer wanted to do extra work. I enjoyed stepping into a role and making it my own. I did not care if anyone actually recognized me.

    I started to take acting more seriously and had to prioritize acting over just getting my face on camera just so I could brag to my friends. My agent saw this and so did some local casting directors. I started to get more auditions for minor roles that were pretty much SOC (Silent on Camera) roles portraying specific characters who did not have lines.

    I started to get some bit parts (with or without lines), but that is when I really got back my acting bug. I took more lessons and auditioned for more roles. Once I started to get some more minor roles, I knew I would rather take one acting gig over one hundred background jobs. I liked having a role with a more specific challenge even if it meant less pay due to only spending one day on set.

    This panned out for me and I got a few minor roles in some small to medium productions. I did a few acting roles and even a few lead roles in some student films (without pay) and a couple of low budget TV shows (again, at low rates), but I enjoyed working at my acting craft. HEY! How many other people do you know can say they played the mayor of Toronto in a Chinese soap opera?

    I wanted to pursue an acting career, decided to tell my agent and my background agent, that I no longer wished to do background work. I was not saying it was beneath me or that it was out of my league, I just did not want to do that type of work anymore… This decision almost bit me, as I almost automatically turned down background work on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

    When I got called to do some background work (after my choice to no longer do it) I almost turned it down, until I found out it was as a pizza delivery guy on Degrassi. I took the gig only because it was Degrassi. I grew up watching the original Degrassi series, so I was pumped to get a chance to be a background player on this new series. I was saddened by the fact that I ended up on the cutting room floor.

    A year later, I once again got a chance  to be a background player on Degrassi. I almost turned it down, figuring that I would not get seen and that I really did not want to be in a crowd shot again.  But again, just for bragging rights, I took the job. This time, I did not expect any exposure, but I did it for the quick cash I would make.

    Just the other day, I happened to find on the  CTV.ca website, a special called ”Degrassi Takes Manhattan”. In clip 4 of this special, I recognized the last work I did on this show. Sure enough, I was able to spot myself in several shots.

    Remember, I do not act for the money, fame or else wise, I do it for the love of acting. I did Degrassi for myself and bragging rights. I did it because I grew up with the original series. I wanted to be able to say I did something on Degrassi, even if it was background work. When the episode did come out, my scene did not make it. I was a little disappointed, but hey it was a paid gig and I at least got on the set of Degrassi.

    A year later, I got another call to work on Degrassi, I agreed to take the background work, only because it was Degrassi. This time it was a casino scene and I was going to be a gambler. I was placed so that I was crossing and hanging out behind the main actors who were playing black jack. I figured now I would be seen on Degrassi and my dream would be fulfilled. I would no longer do background work and go back to seeking acting work.

    As most actors will tell you, you cannot make a full time living as an actor in Canada. While I continued to audition and take workshops to improve my chances at getting roles. I kept a roof over my head by running my own business. Even though my work was primarily done at home or at my clients location, I knew I needed to have a prestigious business address to show potential clients that I was serious. I looked at several Toronto office space locations and quickly realized what I needed was a virtual office service, to give the appearance of having a real office.

    As many of my readers know, I soon found that I needed more than just a Toronto mail service or even a mail and telephone answering service. I decided to take a serviced office at the same Toronto office business centre, without having to change my address or telephone number.

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  • 06Sep

    Another Heatwave in Toronto came and went fast

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    Where did those heat waves go?  The weather of the last week and this Labour Day weekend has many almost wishing we had those heat waves back.

    It was only in the last week of August, just when we thought we could enjoy the last weeks of summer without melting, along came another heat wave. The City of Toronto issued an extreme heat alert due to temperatures rising over 30 degrees Celsius, with the humidex factor it was almost 40 degrees.

    Not only Toronto, but most of Ontario was baking under high temperatures again. The humidex advisory that was affecting Toronto also stretches from Windsor to Kingston and east to Ottawa and north to Muskoka.

    During the  extreme heat a week ago, I decided to be kind on the environment and not contribute to the smog levels by taking transit instead of driving my car to my downtown Toronto office space. It was a good thing that the buses I had to take were air conditioned, otherwise I would have gone back home to get my air conditioned car.

    Instead of taking the bus that stops right in front of my office at One Yonge Street (where I have my office space for lease Toronto), I opted to take the bus that let me off just north of my downtown office space and take the 5 minute walk. That was probably not the best choice on a sweltering day like it was last week, but this week I would need a sweater to take that walk.

    Now with fall like weather (while technically still summer) and most people returning to work from summer holidays or just the Labour Day weekend, I am not looking forward to my commute down the Don Valley Parkway on Tuesday.  I am thinking that once again, I may just take the TTC and let them do the driving.

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