Sometimes I Like To Relive This Memory

I filmed this on September 16th 2009. U2 was performing Until The End of The World (and then Stay) at the Roger's Centre when Bono decided to take a tumble and lay down on the stage right infront of Steph and I. Clearly, I couldn't contain myself as you can tell from my screaming.

Amazing day. Amazing concert. I took those pictures of the CN Tower that day.

Next show I'm dancing on stage with Bono. You can count on it.

A Year of Deadmau5 - Part One

Kendra's Talents:

1) extreme fandom                    

2) playlist making

3) internet procrastination

In 2010 my extreme fandom, playlist making and internet procrastination took a new direction as I fell in love with house music. This has resulted in Deadmau5 joining the ranks of U2 and Nine Inch Nails the musicians who define my existence. 

It's hard to believe that just a year ago I was among the masses that ask "What's a dead-maow-five?"

The brilliance of name like Deadmau5 is it allows the army of fans to immediately discover and initiate the new person who doesn't know it's pronounced dead-mouse. This is normally done by making fun of them to the point that they will a) never pronounce it wrong again and b) always make fun of others who do. 

Thankfully, I received my initiation from my good friend Stephanie Hannah. She's been listening to house for years, the influence of her british fiance. Unlike myself, she doesn't try to force her taste in music on others but when you've been friends with someone from almost 10 years the influence is inevitable. 

I had been taking the Ballet Bootcamp class at Flirty Girl Fitness for a couple months by January 2010. Just like most exercises classes the music was the same every week and  fell into the house/pop genre.  

I always looooved the first song of the class but I could never remember the lyrics to google when I got home. One day I asked the instructor for the name but the simple concept of writing it down eluded me.

A small miracle happened and I remembered a sole piece of identifying information. 

"Hey Steph, I'm trying to find this song...it's pretty and it's by someone and someone else who's name ends with five" 

"mmmm it's it 'Move For Me by Kaskade and Deadmau5?"

One simple youtube search later and an obsession was in its infancy.

Russell Peters Entertains The Grads

Here’s a portrait of your standard graduation ceremony:

Pomp and Circumstance.
Boring introductions.
Boring academic charging of the graduates.
Bad public address by the honourary graduate.
Awards that I never win.
The granting of the degrees/diplomas/certificate.
Joyous relief that you can leave the room.

Simply put 2-3 hours of torture so you can spend two seconds walking across the stage and take a million photographs of yourself in an unflattering cap in gown.

A few months ago I received an email with a date of the ceremony and one other small minor detail.

Lots of very talented performers come from the Greater Toronto Area so it should not have been a surprise that one of them was chosen to receive an honourary degree at my graduation from Humber College.

Russell Peters would be there.

At first I thought he wouldn’t come. I was sure that my professional fandom luck wasn’t that good.

But there he was on the stage providing the comic relief as only he could.

Being from Brampton and getting kicked out of college after a month, I guess it was quiet a special thing for him to receive a degree for doing absolutely no academic work.

His message to us was stereotypical yet inspiring in its unique delivery.

“Never do anything only to make money, do it because you love it.”

And as the graduates of the Comedic Performance Program received there diplomas Russell stood and shook the hand of every one of them.

Some random other graduates stopped to greet him as they walked across the stage and I had planned to do the same.

I do describe myself as a professional crazed fan. How could I pass up this golden opportunity to be meet a celebrity without being a total creeper?

Well, the truth of the matter is I chickened out. As the girl before me walked across the stage a voice from the audience yelled “THAT’S MY SISTER” and under his breath Russell said “why don’t you get your sisters name then” in a annoyed tone.

My nerve was gone. He was probably itching to get off that stage, and we were only half way through the graduates.

I settled for some solid eye contact and a smile from Russell. I made my way across the stage and back to my seat just thankful that the comic didn’t find something to make fun of me about.

I regretted my decision as soon as every one of the PR grads got a hug from him. A HUG. Suddenly, a handshake didn’t seem like such an inconvenience.

I made the right decision. He was on stage with 20 other people who I felt no need to interact with. Russell Peters may be a world famous comedian, but for those few hours he was just another Humber graduate. I’m glad that I treated him as such.

Growing as a Professional

So there is a school of thought out there by the "corporate professionals" That you should censor your online presence to make you appear responsible.

By this I mean no posting party photos on facebook and having limited profiles and only using linkedin for work connections.

I completely reject that notion.

I don't want to feel like I have to hide anything from anybody, including my boss and potential employers. Yes, I like electronic music, raving, concert going, dancing, drinking and general night life things that apparently make me look "unprofessional." However, I challenge someone to show me how my love of night life makes a bad employee?

Clearly, I have the capacity to make rational decisions.

For example.


Deadmau5 (or Dead Mau5 as the promoter called him) is playing in Kingston on Nov. 19th. My graduation is on November 20th. Now, as much as I love Deadmau5 and am dying to visit Kingston I made the responsible decision to attend grad. I'm not really happy about it but I suppose there are plenty of Deadmau5 shows in my future.

Steph is still going so at least I'll be represented in spirit.

I feel like I've failed as a professional crazed fan and excelled as a professional.

I Have A Professional Athlete Addiction

Growing up I was always playing or watching sports.  Baseball, in particular has been a main stay in my life for as long as I can remember. It was how I bonded with my dad. We'd watch Blue Jays games at home and if I was lucky he would get tickets from a client, and we'd make the hour trip to the SkyDome to see them in action. I would not change those memories for anything.

As a child my favourite players were always picked by who was the "best" on the team or who my dad like. However, as I got older this began to change.

Being female it didn't take me long to realize that professional athletes tend to be, ummm, rather attractive. My interest in sports suddenly was very swayed by this fact. In fact, I became obsessed with a new sport when I was 14 - Basketball.

Yup, the raptors suddenly became my centre of my universe, because Morris Peterson, became the centre of my crazy fantasy love life. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Morris Peterson and everyone knew it. I was devastated when he left for New Orleans as a free agent in 2007.

But, I quickly got over it.

My fantasy love life switched back the Blue Jays as Troy Glaus, followed by Alex Rios became the objects of my unrealistic desires. But then they both left and now all I'm left with is outdated jerseys and memories of my crazy fandom.

My problem is I feel no particular attraction to any of the current Blue Jays or Raptors. But the Raptors seem to get around 7 new players every year, so there is hope. And I think Travis Snider shows promise on the Jays side. Plus we're the same age - hello not so completely unrealistic fantasy.

So with the World Cup starting today, don't be surprised if my allegiance switches from Germany to which ever team has the hottest player. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a cute smile, hot body and millions of dollars.

My Personal Brand is U2

One of the first people learn about me is my deep love for U2. The music created by Adam, Bono, Edge and Larry inspires, comforts and defines my life on a daily basis.

Defining Smaller is a perfect example. The main picture of the CN Tower was taken at the U2 concert on September 16th 2009. You can see the edge of stage on the left hand side of the picture. Moreover, I've already mentioned Bono a bunch of time and this is only my tenth post. 

I'm proud of my wealth of knowledge about the band and the things I've accomplished because of their inspiration. It's easy for me to talk about and allows for easy conversation when talking with relative strangers.

When a new connection finds out about U2 and I it sparks a range of questions that allow for easy engagement:

Why U2?

Honestly I don't know. It started in high school because I loved the songs Beautiful Day and Elevation. I stole my sisters Best of 1990-2000 and The Joshua Tree and the rest is history

Favourite song?

In A Little While 

Favourite Album?

Achtung Baby!

Favourite member?

Adam Clayton

How many times have you seen them live? twice in 2005 and twice in 2009.

Even if the person I'm talking to hate U2 or hates Bono it allows me to 

engage in easy and interesting conversation. Normally, I ask why and listen to them with interest. I don't expect everyone to love what I do and respect their opinions (unless they Bono bash without a decent reason).

Most of the time people I talk to have the same passion for another artist. If that passion is there, it's easy to make a meangiful and memorable connect with someone that could transform into a great friendship. 

Dream Out Loud: Setting Goals

Today as I made my morning commute to class I picked up a copy of the Toronto Metro. Sitting at the back the bus I browsed my way through the paper. I glanced at my horoscope and couldn’t help but smile.

Under Sagittarius it read:

By all means set yourself new goals. By all means aim high. But don’t aim for perfection. For that can never be reached.

 

As I previously mentioned I am an extremely goal oriented person and I’ve always met my goals. 

For example: When I was 12 years old I decided I wanted to go to Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. I graduated from Queen’s in 2009 with a BA in Global Development Studies. During my second year of university I decided I wanted to be a Fundraiser.  Now I am just a few weeks away from completing my Post Graduate Certificate in Fundraising and Volunteer Management.

For the first time in my life I lack clear goals. That is aside from the obvious vague goals that most of society has: find a job, keep a job and maybe find a significant other. And my goal block couldn’t come at a worst time.

I’ve been reading many books about networking. Currently I’m reading Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. In chapter three of his book Ferrazzi describes the importance of having clear goals and understanding how to meet them by using a three-year matrix in which you outline your goals and sub goals and the people you will network with to help you accomplish all these goals.

He states the importance of sharing your goals with others. Apparently this will help you stay more focused on the task at hand. I can’t help but believe this to be true. I was very vocal with my friends and family about my earlier mentioned goals and accomplished them with little difficulty.

So blog readers (if you are out there) here are 4 personal goals I have to share with you.

 

  1: To gain at least 5 followers of this blog by the end of June.

  2: To find a house to live in that I love for reasonable rent by August.

  3: Find away to attend Toronto Raptors games for free or pay by October.

  4: To dance on stage with Bono in the summer of 2011.

Notice how all my goals have dates attached to them. Ferrazzi argues without a deadline a goal is only a dream. Dreams are often expendable, while my last two goals may seem like I’m living on dream land, they are very important to me and by giving them deadlines I am more likely to stay focused on meeting my goal.