Errybody got their Bob Ross on! Photo courtesy of Paint Nite Toronto
Last updated on November 12th, 2020 at 11:17 am
Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Once upon a time, drawing was all I’d ever do. I carried sketchbooks and supplies wherever I went, transforming my imagination into all sorts of pieces. I don’t know when I stopped, but if you’ve got a good thing going, never stop, because you never know when you’ll pick it up again.
Other than sketches in the margins of meeting notes done in ballpoint pen, my days of drawing had become a distant memory—a dream deferred, perhaps never getting the chance to see reality.
But that doesn’t mean I ever stopped thinking about it. When I daydream, it’s like an animated movie playing out in my head, all my characters playing their part in a grand sci-fi odyssey. But I never make the time to make the ideas in my cranium any more than that—mere thoughts.
Which is what made Buytopia’s invite to a Paint Nite so appealing.
Courtesy of Keith Allison via a Creative Commons License.
Last updated on October 18th, 2020 at 05:35 pm
My Dad loves baseball. I don’t know whether it’s something hearkening from his days in Jamaica or a burning desire to show patriotism in his later life as a Canadian, but he’s fiercely followed the progress of the Toronto Blue Jays for as long as I can remember.
There must’ve been a time where sports played a greater role in my life as well; I remember one birthday where I was thoroughly excited that I was going to a Jays game with my Dad—on the 100 Level of the SkyDome, no less… the good seats.
I know there’re likely several Torontonians out there still reeling from the Stanley Cup slipping through the Maple Leafs’ fingers for the 46th time—but never fear, baseball’s here!
Not all weeks are created equal. Some have events that you may have waited ages for, like a vacation, a birthday or a milestone in your life—but some will pass by in the blink of an eye, without you fully realising what you did or why you did it.
So, in the spirit of making the most of the life I have, every now and then I’d like to put together posts called “A Week in the Life…”, a quick look at the madness I get up to and the lessons I learn from my experiences (if any).
Let’s start with May 5th through 11th!
SUNDAY the 5th
Saw Iron Man 3, and despite some clever one-liners, was generally underwhelmed by the closing act of the Iron Man trilogy. Also planned some downtime—a picnic down at the Toronto Islands, because you can’t be on “go time” all the time.
MONDAY the 6th
Went to ING Canada’s #SaverSearch as a +1 and got to see the launch of their ING Superstar Saver Search with their special guests and partners, Walk Off the Earth 😊
Got an email from Nicole letting me know that we were only a week away from BiSC and to get ready!
THURSDAY the 9th
I took Sarah to Kraft’s SodaStream promo events at 2nd Floor Events.
What we got:
SodaStream-carbonated drinks
appetizers
a SodaStream source and Country Time lemonade mix
candy
How it was:
Okay. Mostly mingled and took photos; we had a good chat with someone we met named Avery about travel, Twitter and how the Internet is changing the way we live. But the SodaStream is ridiculously amazing! We’d put it in action at Sarah’s birthday party later in the week (see below)
Danforth Pizza House
FRIDAY the 10th
Got together with some fellow Ingress players from the Enlightened faction at Pour Girl to socialize…
…ending the day with some Indian from Banjara Indian Cuisine, eaten with Sarah’s siblings to celebrate her birthday 😊
SATURDAY the 11th
We wrapped up the week with Sarah and a number of her friends to celebrate a milestone birthday that I won’t mention any more specifics on. It was a good time at the house and at Danforth Bowl, and I’m prettysure she enjoyed herself!
Until next time,
–case p.
Tell your wife, tell your kids, tell your husbands:
Shant Behesnilan is a man who’s passionate about customer service. He’s done what many only dream of—making the jump from working a safe job to working the right job.
With a family history in the restaurant trade, Shant grew up working in all areas behind the scenes at Phoenicia Restaurant in Glendale, California (aka one of the favourite Armenian restaurants of the Kardashians), owned by his uncle, Ara Kalfaian.
After travelling the path of many a Canadian—go to school, get a job, pay your dues—Shant soon discovered that life behind a desk wasn’t for him and went on a quest for something different.
Originally looking to open a frozen yogurt shop, Shant was thrice denied by fate, once having lost out on a lease to Menchie’s by seconds; once seeing a Yogurty’s opening up across the street from a spot he was viewing; and when he looked one last time, up the street was G… for Gelato and Espresso Bar, a family-owned business founded in November 2011 that had astounding family recipes covered, but to take customer service to the next level, needed some outside help.
Under Shant’s new management and ownership as of fall 2012, G for Gelato has a ton going for it—a scenic view of St. James Park across the street, authentic Italian food and customer service that brings it all together.
The good thing about doing reviews for Buytopia.ca is that it gets me to find cool places in Toronto that I wouldn’t make time to visit otherwise, and I’m glad I didn’t miss out on this one!
With recipes coming from a small Italian town and brought to Toronto for our delight, G for Gelato has a lot going for it:
it’s ranked #1 of 4,065 restaurants in Toronto on TripAdvisor
all the food’s made in-house, especially the gelato made daily at 7:30 AM with hand-squeezed flavours, pasteurized for healthiness and rotated more often than your average gelato shop
espressos made with a Faema Emblema machine based on designs from Giorgetto Giugiaro (who’s designed some obscure cars called Lamborghinis and Ferraris to name a few)
The flavours at the Bite Me Bakery get a lot more colourful than the names listed here! Check it out!
Sarah and I had a great time getting to know Shant and his team, and I hope to visit again sometime. If you don’t happen to make it to the St. Lawrence Market area, they’re also delivering through orderit.ca, so you can get your gelato… and eat it too! (Especially if you take advantage of the Buytopia deal on until end-of-day Sunday, March 24, 2013!)
–case p.
[Disclaimer: As a Buytopia Inner Circle blogger, I get to test deals out to give you an honest review so you know what you’re getting into. Shant was kind enough to comp the delicious meal! Thanks, Shant!]
Tell your wife, tell your kids, tell your husbands:
Even though I don't really like coffee, I still enjoyed the heck out of this!
Last updated on May 17th, 2021 at 10:49 pm
He’s had to upgrade to four wheels since his start all those years ago, but everything else remains much the same!
Today we take a short break from the November to Remember series to talk about an amazing experience I had last night, which involved one of the few things that’ve paralyzed me in my tracks for years —
— cooking.
Back when my Dad used to run a restaurant, he would give me my first set of jobs ever. While I was really good at customer service and bookkeeping, there was one thing I really sucked at—and that was anything having to do with the kitchen.
No matter how hard I tried, I could never do prep work fast enough. Or cook anything right. The only thing I was good at in the kitchen was messing up. So after I got through that horrendous experience, I never got anywhere near cooking again!
So imagine my surprise when Buytopia.ca offered me the chance to get a 2-hour cooking class, where Chef Pino Padula would teach me how to make a 5-course meal, presumably without burning down the house!
