Update...

... in the works. Possibly next week.

There's a lot to talk about, including

1- Convocation
2- National ISTAR/Calgary
3- Stampede Documentary
4- Toronto/Olympics contract

And more...

Stay tuned!

Please sponsor me for the World Partnership Walk (Montreal)

This year again, I'm walking in the World Partnership Walk (Montreal - Sunday, May 25, Beaver Lake on Mount Royal, 11am).

If you haven't heard me talk about it before, it's because I usually don't. I usually just put on some running shoes, maybe help out on the day of the walk, but mostly just show up and follow the pack.

When I was younger, I used to raise funds every year, by asking random adults in the community center to sponsor me. Now, it's YOUR turn to be the random adults.

But wait! What's this walk all about, you ask? Here's the official text (and yes, it's all true):

"World Partnership Walk raises funds to help improve the lives and livelihoods of families and communities in Africa and Asia through health, education and rural development programs as well as community-led initiatives. All of the funds raised go directly to programs supported by Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a private, non-denominational, Canadian development agency. Not a cent is spent on administration."

Now, I haven't raised funds in a few years, but this time, I want to contribute to the global community. With everything that's going wrong in the world, all the negativity in the media, it's nice to know that posing a small gesture can help someone so much on the other side of the world.

Help bring all of us closer. And as the Walk's motto says so well, "You'll make a world of difference!"

PS: I'll walk either way, but your support would be appreciated.

Thanks.

You can donate online through my secure website by clicking here;
Gimme a cash or cheque in person;
Or just show up on Sunday, May 25 at Mount Royal Park near Beaver Lake at 11am and walk with me.

Round 1 in Toronto

Well, Round 1 is over and Round 2 is underway. And I'm still in Toronto! Which is to be expected, and a good thing really. Except that I'm really starting to miss the euphoria and Habs fever of Montreal. Not to mention their weather, which has been considerably more sunny than Toronto ever since that snowstorm period in early April.

As for the job itself, I definitely settled into it. It's really cool to learn all about the different technologies, from the audio mixer to video switcher, EVS machines and a bunch of other stuff like tape archiving, etc. I think my internship at Sportsnet last summer definitely better prepared me for this job, because I at least had some idea of how a studio show and production studio works. Those rows of big yellow tapes in Sports Archives on the second basement didn't scare me!

In a way, I find studio production to be much more hectic in the control room than in a truck. I guess the truck is hectic in a different way. Even though Control Room 42 basically only produces the studio segments and related VTR items, when they're on, it's crazy. And I love it.

My only problem is trying to sleep after a show... All I hear is "roll Silver, cut Silver, mix to Blue" etc etc.

I've learned so much just from observing and listening, and I'm glad that the Hockey Night in Canada family is so open and friendly. Not that I was expecting anything different, but it's nice to be able to ask just about any production related question and get a real answer. You just have to know when to ask and when to just be silent.

Anyway, instead of boring you with more TV observations, I thought I'd try something different. Here's a summary of my time in Toronto from the moment I got to the airport in Montreal until the beginning of Round 2, through facebook.

Enjoy!

PS: The (m) is for mobile update. And it's in reverse time order, by date.

April 5

Naila is in transit. (m) 12:02pm

Naila is in Toronto, ready for her big debut! (m)3:49pm

April 6

Naila thought watching broadcast schedule making was awesome. So hectic. So worth it. (m) 11:02pm

Naila really enjoys the fact that if you miss the subway in Toronto it only takes 2 mins for the next one to show up. Even on weekends. (m)5:33pm

Naila loves that country is the music of choice at her homestay. 11:26am

Naila thoroughly enjoyed work today. 1:57am

April 7

Naila actually got home before 1 am! Impressive! (m) 11:13pm

Naila votes P.J. Stock for superstar of the day!That's 4 straight hours of radio,then 20 mins of TV. 6:32pm

Naila will try to read Total Stanley Cup today. 9:17am

Naila hopes the Habs give her a Bday present for Game 1. 12:34am

April 8

Naila might be getting a cold. Oh well. Even the best fall down sometimes. 9:20pm

Naila feels like today was longer than any other day, but in fact, it was 2h shorter! (m) 8:12pm

Naila can't wait for early meal break! (m) 2:23pm

Naila loves College station because of its beautiful hockey-related murals. (m) 10:46am

Naila couldn't sleep past 7:45. Silly brain. 8:37am

April 9

Naila keeps forgetting she can't get out from Front Street at this time! (m) 11:42pm

Naila just flashed back to last summer... another example of the love-hate relationship between trams and bikes. (m) 2:06pm

Naila just realized that people in Toronto who are not hockey fans think HNIC goes off the air onge the Leafs' season is over. (m) 11:57am

Naila totally is sick. But have no fear! Advil Cold & Sinus is here! 9:50am

April 10

Naila has had the best birthday ever and received an abundance of love and gifts, including the Habs' victory and a promise of a ticket to Vancouver from my dad! 10:36pm

Naila is excited for Ryan's graduation ceremony!(m)12:47pm

Naila has landed in her hometown. (m)10:00am

Naila couldn't sleep, with Ron and Don and Control Room 42 in her ear all night! (m) 7:12am

Naila is kinda impressed that facebook wished her a happy birthday! 12:28am

April 11

Naila has a papercut in the middle of her right index finger. What inconvenient placement! (m) 1:29pm

Naila is so very happy :).

9:27am

April 12

Naila can't believe how loud the Bell Centre is... and that's just on TV! (m) 8:28pm

Naila had a wonderful 2 days in Montreal and will definitely miss Habs fever! (m)10:44am

Naila is flying! (m) 8:09am

Naila feels totally blessed. 12:54am

April 13

Naila loves all these End of Year pics.5:29pm

Naila wonders how she got a bruise in the middle of her right cheek bum. (m) 2:24pm

Naila was looking at Olympic dates and just realized she didn't have to worry about starting school! (m) 11:54am

Naila loves. 10:29am

Naila is glad her prediction for tonight turned out to be wrong. 1:05am

April 14

Naila realizes how much she really does miss playing hockey after watching it day in and day out. 8:38pm

Naila loves her uncanny ability to cut or bruise herself on just about anything. (m) 1:12pm

Naila is glad it isn't as cold as it was supposed to be today. 11:05am

Naila apologizes. 1:02am

Naila was impressed by stellar performances by both early game goalies tonight. Not so much in Calgary. 12:28am

April 15

Naila is so happy for her boys!! (m) 10:36pm

Naila is having hockey related heart attacks! (m) 8:24pm

Naila just saw 2 random guys walking down King street in Habs jerseys. Oh yeah! (m) 3:06pm

Naila is sorta comforted at the fact that the subway fails in Toronto too... but why did it have to happen to me? (m)12:13pm

Naila will rock you. 10:00am

April 16

Naila wrote half her paper in shorthand on the subway ride in to work this morning. 2:23pm

Naila just saw a butterfly crossing the street!(m) 11:34am

Naila is ready for flip flops. 10:17am

Naila enjoys the luxuries in life... like having lunch with Lindsay! 12:09am

April 17

Naila thought that was pretty depressing. (m) 9:47pm

Naila has heart palpitations again! (m) 7:50pm

Naila has decided today is a HUG day. Any and all hugs will be accepted. 10:17am

Naila had fun learning a bunch of new things tonight. (m) 12:24am

April 18

Naila thinks these seagulls or wtv they're called sound like whining babies. Also, yey! sun! 2:24pm

Naila always forgets how different it feels to walk in flip-flop like sandals.11:56am

Naila is excited to hang out with Ryan tonight!!! :D. 10:38am

Naila is sad that her aunt who she hasn't seen in 11 years is in Montreal, and she's not :(. (m) 12:25am

April 19

Naila brought the flowers Ryan got her to the craft room. Now it smells exotic in there. 3:03pm

Naila had a blast hanging out with Ryan and work friends last night. 9:42am

April 20

Naila has decided she's pretty decent looking. (m) 11:20pm

Naila had amazing cake at work today. 7:02pm

Naila really has to get cracking on this act of citizenship assignment. 10:31am

Naila has too much pent-up frustration (not Habs related), but she wishes she'd punched something softer than an elevator mirror. 12:29am

April 21

Naila still can't stop smiling!! 11:29pm

Naila just can't believe it!! GO HABS GO!! (m) 10:22pm

Naila just saw Peter Mansbridge walking around level 4 of the CBC building. (m) 4:23pm

Naila thinks her paper is almost done. 2:42pm

Naila will have to finish this thing at work today. 11:01am

Naila needs to finish this essay. 1:05am

April 22

Naila is hanging out. 7:56pm

Naila saw a girl in a Habs smile Tshirt sitting on a bench in downtown Toronto... And then a guy in a Habs jersey having lunch a few steps away. (m) 2:09pm

Naila almost just walked in to a CTV shot. Can't escape the media forever!! 12:40pm

Naila can't believe she's actually done school. 11:17am

April 23

Naila has new clothes! 10:39pm

Naila would move to Toronto for Red Lobster. (m)8:01pm

Naila can't believe she's actually eating at Red Lobster for the first time since she was like 8. Omg awesome! (m)6:58pm

Naila has Hockey Night music stuck in her head! (m)5:05pm

Naila is shopping on her day off! (m) 3:46pm

Naila wanted to go out but the rain is putting a damper on things... 2:42pm

Naila should be sleeping. 4:31am

Naila has a day off!! 2:59am

And there you have it... the ups and downs of life in live TV...

It's that time of the year again...

... Birthday time, that is!

Sure, my birthday is still 14 days away, but that hasn't prevented people from asking me what I want.

Now, usually, I come up with a list for holidays and my birthday, but in recent years, I've found that I want less stuff. Either that, or the things that I actually want are very expensive. Most of the time, I'd like to receive immaterial presents like happiness or stability. Of course, you can't buy happiness - although I do truly believe that having a decent amount of money definitely helps... after all, how can you be happy if you can't feed yourself? - so my standard list is basically an Amazon wish list spin-off.

This year, once again, I'm stuck with the same problem. Except this time, I have a solution.

The one item on my birthday list this year is a 4x8 Centennial Plaza brick. Yes, a $200 brick.

Ever since I heard these were available, I've wanted one. I know it's not the best use of money, but it's an emotional decision. (Yes, I also understand that it's a brilliant marketing plan to make fans/taxpayers pay for the beautification of the "plaza" in front of the Lucien-L'allier train station).

But anyway. Here's the plan. If 10 of my friends want to get me $20 gifts... that would pay for the brick. I'm not a 100% sure, but I think I just might have 10 friends who would like to get me something for my birthday. Then again, I might only have 2 friends who think I'm gift worthy, and then they'd each have to spend $100 for this plan to work. Hmmmm...

I'm not vain; I know a lot of people can't afford gifts even if they'd like to give them. So even if the few gifts I do get end up paying for a portion of the brick, I'd be the happiest girl in the world! It's not that I can't afford one... I just think it would be so much more significant if my friends gave me this brick because it would have a double meaning and therefore be extremely symbolic.

So if you feel like participating in this historic gift idea... simply call (514) 925-5656 ext 8 and get me a Centennial Plaza Brick gift certificate!

PS: Thank you.

In case you were wondering...

I count stairs. Compulsively, perhaps. Subconsciously, most likely.

Most of the time, I start counting without even knowing it, only noticing once I've reached an abnormally large number or thought of something else. This is mostly because I get bored very easily. So I count steps and stairs. Though most often just stairs.

I also come up with nifty blog posts while I walk, although sadly, they never turn out that great when I finally sit down and type them up.

But back to the stairs.

Today, I worked the Habs vs. Bruins game at the Bell Center. I had a ridiculously awesome time. Ridiculous because for once, I actually fulfilled my job title. I ran around a lot! But it was all in good fun, and I stepped up and got things done, not only on time, but usually well. At least, that's what I've gathered from the feedback I received.

But that's besides the point.

The point is, I took the metro to get to work, and therefore got off at the Lucien-L'allier station. Did you know that, ironically, there are 24 steps leading up from the metro platform up to the exit where the security guard watches as you feed the machine?

24 steps for 24 Stanley Cups.

Hopefully, that symbolism won't be true after the Montreal Canadiens' Centennial celebrations.

I don't tend to count escalator steps, because, well, the number varies based on speed of ascension or descent, and because it just doesn't count.

However, I do know that there are 3 x 10 steps going from the metro station to the super secret super stinky tunnel to the Lucien-L'allier train station, and therefore, into the Bell Centre.

Usually, I cut through the train station and go down the stairs at the other end of the station, heading down to St-Antoine Street and the media entrance.

There number of stairs in that set has an average of 20.66666666666 (to infinity and beyond!), with the sequencing as follows (from station to street): 21, 19, 22. One has to wonder why they didn't make them all 20 or 21. I'm sure it would have worked out.

So to recap, that's a total of 116 steps and 3 escalators for me to get from the metro platform to the media entrance.

Not that I'm complaining... It's good exercise!

The story behind a Canadian Cyclist

Some months ago, I was asked to do a one-on-one interview with reporter Alain Gravel, host of Radio Canada's investigative reporting programme "Enquête". Gravel, as you may recall, is the reporter who broke the story of Quebec's biggest doping scandal. After many months of pushing, cyclist Geneviève Jeanson admitted to Gravel and his team that she had in fact taken drugs and had been doing so from a very young age.

The interview was published in Media Magazine, the publication put out by the Canadian Association of Journalists. Ironically, Gravel was, at the time of the interview, the president of the Fédération Professionelle des Journalistes du Québec.

This interview was particularly tough to write up, not because of the translation work required, but because of the sheer amount of content that the interview provided. Originally, I had planned on a 15 to 30 minute interview - MAX. Instead, I had just over an hour of tape to listen and sort through. Plus, the story itself was very complex, as there was a lot of back and forth before Gravel and his team were able to get a confession out of Jeanson. In fact, the story was so complicated that even Gravel had to think hard about the timing and sequence of the events leading up to his scoop. Not to mention that the story and the pursuit of the story were both very interesting and full of juicy details.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the article and with the editing job - with one exception. Near the end of the second page, the text mentions that "a Canadian cyclist had written about a marriage certificate" when it should instead say "Canadian Cyclist had written about a marriage certificate", meaning the industry magazine Canadian Cyclist.

Without further ado, here I am, on page 18!

Stay tuned for more goodies...

An Orgasm of News

It has been a fair amount of time since I last posted, hence the title of this blog. Also, I just want the random search terms to lead here. Because it's funny.

(*points and laughs at googlers looking for porn*)

A lot has changed since late February. For one, I don't look the same. No, I did not have major plastic surgery and I was thankfully not involved in any vehicular accidents. But I did cut my hair. Short.

How short you ask? Why, as short as I can ever fathom having my hair.

Why did you cut it? And why so short? Well, my friend, I cut it not only because it was so long that it was starting to get annoying - your hair choking you in your sleep? so not cool - but also because it was heavy. So heavy, in fact, that I lost .8 pounds based on a very unscientific poll which required me to weight myself in the same clothes before and after the cut, with no food or liquid intake in between.

But most importantly, I cut my hair because that was the plan all along. In fact, the last time I wrote a post, I was already planning my cut. Indeed, it would already have reached its new length had I not been so incredibly insanely busy during Reading Week/Spring Break.

For the second time in my life, I donated my hair to make wigs for children with cancer. It's an honourable mission, in my opinion. Why cut your hair when if you were to wait a couple more months, it would be long enough to give? Also, it's not like you can do much with it once it's gone.

Last time, I cut my hair in the States because it had remnants of streaks in it and the Canadian organizations wouldn't take it. Also, I got a free cut out of it ;) I sent that ponytail to Locks of Love.

This time, three years later, my hair was in pristine condition and dye-free, so I gave it to one of the many hair donation programs in Canada, specifically Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. It's based out of Ontario, but much more people friendly than the Quebec organization, which provided no instructions, simply an address.

My new haircut seems to have brought on winds of change. Changing my look seems to have changed my luck. After a period where everything I applied for went to someone else - without even a chance to prove myself in an interview - I had a nice chat with Sherali Najak, executive producer of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

And I'm headed to Toronto for the month of April to work as a production runner for Rounds 1 and 2 of the playoffs, helping with everything that happens in Studio 42, but also anything else that's show related. And so it seems my career does lie in sports, at least for the time being.

I am totally absolutely completely ecstatic about this opportunity. It is not only a great way to learn the ropes, but it also means I get to "cotoyer" to use a French word, the people who make the show look and feel so polished and authentic. It's truly an amazing chance to prove my worth, and maybe even get to explore other CBC productions.

And while I am extremely grateful for this wonderful promotion, I'm also a bit sad, because I won't get to feel the Bell Centre shake as 23,173 fans cheer for the Habs. It means that all this excitement that I've amassed over working the playoffs in Montreal is now diverted to working on the show. Which is awesome - but I know I'm going to miss my Habs.

The good news is, the Habs might have the stuff to go all the way, and since HNIC usually travels after the first two rounds, or at least, by the finals... I may yet have a chance to have my socks rocked off by the best fans in the NHL.

Speaking of sports... The 5th annual edition of the Rogers Sportsnet Sports Journalism Workshop, presented in conjunction with Concordia University's Journalism and Communication Departments, was an absolutely success, despite the crazy snow storm that was predicted. And yes, the snow did fall. And yes, I am so over winter. Especially since my "walking" boots broke 2 weeks before that impending storm of doom. We had a fairly decent student turnout... almost more than any of the other years I've been there - which is 3 total. Most of those don't even go to Concordia!!! (yet).

The bad news is... it took me 1.5 hours to get home instead of the 20 minutes no traffic time I usually clock. Definitely a long day.

And speaking of journalism... Tomorrow is our live show, aptly entitled One Night [News]Stand. As the script says, it's your chance to get a little more intimate with our work. We're expecting a live audience of at least 50 people, we have 8 wonderful guests that are sure to entertain you... And if that doesn't work, well... it will, because one of them is comic Paul Baluyot, and the other is Montreal rapper Rugged Intellect. Other guests include Jonnie Penn and David Lingwood from The Buried Life. We also have the crew from HabsCast, the deputy executive director from the charity In Their Shoes, and Dr. Laurie Betito, sex therapist and host of CJAD's PASSION.

As you can see, it's a full lineup, and I had a blast lining up the segments so they would flow into a beautiful show. And tomorrow, I get to floor direct/manage the show, which is sure to be an exciting and most likely hectic experience. Hopefully, I'll post about it sooner rather than later, so you're not hanging in suspense.

Last but not least, I just want to underline how stressed I am. All week, I've had a Post It full of stuff "To Do". In fact, as of Tuesday, I've had 2 or 3 different "To Do" lists.
Thankfully, I think I'll be able to manage with just one after Friday.

Most importantly, apart from the planning for the End of Year Bash, getting grad gifts for my fellow graduating students, ensuring that all the Historic Cities Program exhibition goes well, helping organize the first ever joint Journalism Students Association and Concordia University Alumni Association's Journalism Chapter event, aka Stories from the Front and doing all my homework, all I've got to worry about is finding a place to stay in Toronto that's relatively cheap and meet with my must haves: Internet, no smoking and no pets.

I'll let you know how all of that goes...