OMG

Thank you!

Thanks to all of you who voted for me on screwyourecessionintern.com. I managed to get into the top ten meaning I'll be interviewed for the position! One step closer to landing the sweetest job imaginable.

Thank you Thank You Thank You!!

Common SenseLESS

"Common Sense": how common is it? It is my perception that a significant number of people share a certain understanding of the way people should behave. A lot of common-sensical ideas are enforced by laws (i.e. don't steal, kill etc...) and some are unwritten standards of behaviour (i.e. don't pick your nose in public...).

You would think that most people, especially in North America, especially in Canada would share a certain degree of common sense. Well it turns out, this belief system is not as streamlined as I thought. Let's take a trip to Manitoba, shall we?

An 8 year old is currently being taken out of her mother and step father's custody for, get this, coming to school with Neo-Nazi and racist symbols (think swastikas) drawn on her body and relaying graphic instructions of how to kill people of colour. Although her parents are openly associated with white supremacist groups, they deny encouraging their daugther to commit violent behavior against racial groups. Here's the full story in all of its glory.

This type of behaviour would be typical of WWII Germany where millions of lives where taken at the hands of an ignorant nation. Considering it's 2009 in one of the most liberal countries in the world, how much did this couple think they could get away with? And how common is this blatant display of hate?

Though this case is extreme, it is definitely not isolated. We constantly see manifestations of hate all the time; pre teens are comitting suicide because they are being teased, police partake in racial profiling, states such as California deny granting legal unions to same-sex couples. All of these demonstrations of hate bring us two steps back when we try to take a step forward.

What are people afraid of?

Doors way open

Osgoode Hall, pretty awesome.

As an advocate for fun free things to do in Toronto, It's no surprise I participated in Doors Open Toronto. This was an opportunity to see inside of buildings we don't normally have full access to.

Here are some pics from my Sunday adventures :)

Hart House

Queen's Park

U of T building

Flatiron

Osgoode Hall or Beauty and the Beast?
'The Great Library'

Some clearly found this event less exciting than others

Model of Toronto in City Hall. Pretty cool eh?

Great Virgins think alike

In the midst of the battle to become Virgin mobile's Summer Intern, I stumbled upon this ad for Virgin Trains:



It reminded me of my application video for some reason...



I just can't put my finger on what it was ;)



Thank you for clicking my button every day. Please continue voting! www.screwyourecessionintern.com

Finding Toronto

ahh this is the life (High Park)

Apart from being in Waterloo schooling for the past four years and spending my first six months of life in small town Saskatchewan (don't ask), I've lived in Toronto all my life.

The city has always been loved by its inhabitants, envied by some, and hated by everyone else mainly for being "too Americanized". I would fall into the "loved" category in describing my relationship with the city. Since I was 12 I've been travelling via the TTC all over the Toronto. More recently, It has become my conscious quest to discover every unique neighborhood, street, attraction, event etc... The majority of Toronto residents don't even realize how much there is to see and do in Toronto and how much of that involves nothing more than a TTC token and some walking shoes.

Here are two of my favourite places to go in Toronto that don't involve breaking the bank. I'll keep updating this throughout the summer.

High Park is the ideal place to spend a day without spending a cent. There's 398 acres of walking space at your disposal along with a zoo (With llamas!!!), public pool, and an adventure playground (I know you are too old for this but as soon as you see it you'll be wanting to play 'I'm the king of the castle'). Fan of Mister Shakespeare? Thou art in luck. Canstage presents Shakespeare in the park for your viewing pleasure. Bring a blanket, some food, perhaps a bottle of wine/ multiple beer bottles, and enjoy a green High Park afternoon (not THAT kind of green, you naughty people).

**Also, the Bloor West area around high park (on Bloor St., obviously) has some cute shops and great restaurants. The Yellow Griffin, for example, has the most unbelievable selection of burgers so if you have some extra cash, I would recommend spending it there :).


Harbourfront Festivals. Not only is the Harbourfront a cool place to walk around at night, but they offer some really great festivals all summer long. The great thing about these fests is that most of their attractions are FREE! Events such as Smirnoff's Beats, Breaks & Culture and Canadian Voices offer free shows and demonstrations while the South Asian food festival can fill you up on samples and educate you on cultural cooking. For a list of summer festivals at the h-front, click here.

Stay tuned for some more Toronto hot spots and events.

Anywhere you'd like to see on here? Comment away!

VOTE!!!

Hey Guys, I'm applying for an intern position at Virgin Mobile. To get an interview, I need to have people vote for my video submission. Please please go to www.screwyourecessionintern.com to vote for me (once a day!).

Thank you so so so so so much.

I love you all :)

Romi

New synergy? News Energy?

I have just received the best thing ever from fellow blogger and Radio Laurier alumni Dan Zinman (Visit his blog here).

As most of you probably know, the name of my blog comes from an episode of my favourite show on the planet, 30 Rock. In light of this, Mr. Zinman gave me the honour of providing you lucky SOBs with this. "This" is a link to a glossary of words and phrases coined by Liz Lemon and associates on the show.

Haven't seen the show? BY THE HAMMER OF THOR, get on that.

I like Mr. Giggles

I am pretty good at admitting defeat and this is one of those times. I like jimmy Fallon. There I said it. In a previous post, I expressed my uncertainty regarding the quality of his late night show. I take it back. Yes he is awkward, interrupts people, and laughs at everything (including his own jokes), but he is quite charming. I like that he has fun with his guests, getting off of his ass for the sake of comedy. He also has a genuine appreciation for his predecessors and the entertainment industry as a whole including his fellow celebrity guests. It's nice to see some genuine interest and excitement. And The Roots as a house band? I'm surprised there hasn't been more crazed superfans that want to jump them. I would in a second (Not in a sexual way, I promise). Maybe they have to sign something before being on the show

Jimbo, if you're reading this, please give me tickets to your show and a flight down to NYC. I promise not to assault your band.

Thanks,

Sincerely RJ

Stay alert, stay employed.

Being unemployed and looking (sounds like I'm looking to date hehe), I've been very weary of my e-presence and so should you. If you have been hibernating or cryogenically frozen for the past couple years, you best be aware of the ever increasing cyber stalking of current and potential employees by companies. As private as you think your info / pictures is, it aint.

Not only can your boss look at your facebook pictures from that night downtown where you lost your....dignity.... but they can also scan the content on other social networking sites such as Twitter.

Results can be detrimental and humiliating so you better watch yo self.

I'm no angel, but you won't see me posting an album entitled "huge hits on the bong" any time soon. What should and should you not post on these sites? That's common sense, my friend but here are a couple tips to keep in mind:

1. If you look intoxicated, even if you are not, people can assume that you are.

2. If you can't decide if it's appropriate or not, it probably isn't.

3. Don't talk smack about your boss or employees like these people did in your status / on Twitter

4. you can change the privacy settings on facebook. Limit who can see your info. This may not stop some employers but it will make it harder at least.

Be careful out there, young grasshoppers!