Toronto Mayoral Election

In case any of you in the GTA/surrounding areas have been living under a rock for the last few months, you may not have heard about the Toronto Mayoral Election that is taking place.  For the rest of us, it has been all we've heard about for the last several months. 

As the election is nearing voting day, the debates and press coverage has become more in your face than ever. You can't listen to a Toronto radio station, or open a newspaper without hearing or seeing something about the election.

Although to some people, this might be irritating or annoying, it really is rather interesting, and important in our society. Election time seems to bring out the best, and the worst in people. The great part about elections though, is hearing all of the interesting ideas and proposals that are planned for the city. 

Coming in to the home stretch before voting day, I thought it would be beneficial for some people to go over the main policies and proposals supported by the three main contenders for mayor of Toronto. 

Olivia Chow

ü  Create 3, 000 more child care spaces

ü  Expand student nutrition plans to include 36, 000 more students

ü  Don’t immediately proceed with garbage outsourcing

ü  Reject Porter Airlines proposal

ü  Reduce TTC cost for people on Ontario Disability Support

ü  Support ranked ballots

ü  Increase tax by 1% point on homes sold for $2 million or more

ü  Keep residential property tax “in line with, or around” rate of inflation

ü  Allow businesses to obtain licenses online, rather than only at single East York office

ü  Ask federal government to ban handguns

ü  Keep Gardiner Expressway

ü  Supports open streets (close some roads to cars on certain summer days)

ü  Cancel 3-stop subway extension

ü  Build 7-stop, fully funded LR extension

ü  Expand bus service by 10% at rush hour

ü  Build DT relief subway

ü  Proceed with LR lines for Sheppard and Finch

ü  Support Eglinton Connect

ü  Build 200km of bike lanes in 4 years

John Tory

ü  Outsource garbage collection east of Yonge Street

ü  No position yet for Porter Airlines proposal

ü  Spend up to $7 million more on tree planting

ü  Appoint environment advocate

ü  Keep residential property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation

ü  Work to double the number of companies participating in the partnership to advance youth employment program

ü  Make schedule public

ü  Annually double the number of data sets made available through the city’s open-data

ü  No handgun ban push

ü  Do not tear down Gardiner

ü  Pursue hybrid proposal to reconfigure

ü  Build 3-stop subway extension to the Scarborough RT

ü  Explore the use of water taxis

ü  Create a 53km, 22-stop, $8 billion surface rail line

ü  Proceed with light rail lines on Sheppard and Finch

ü  Supports the DT relief line, but also called it the “wrong line at the wrong time”

ü  Does not support Eglinton Connect

Doug Ford

ü  Outsource garbage collection east of York

ü  Approve the Porter Airlines proposal for jets, and an expanded runway at the island airport

ü  Cut the tax by 15% at first meeting of council, then by another 15% each year for the next 3 years

ü  Keep residential property tax increase below the rate of inflation

ü  Invest in the auditor general’s office

ü  Preserve eastern Gardiner rather than tearing it down

ü  Build the council approved, and fully funded 3-stop subway extension to the Scarborough RT

ü  Build subways on Sheppard Ave and Finch Ave W, instead of the LR line

ü  Build eastern portion of Eglinton Crosstown LR line underground

ü  Cancel Eglinton Connects street renovation project

This election, in my opinion is going to be hard on voters. In my opinion, none of the three major competitors are a shining example for what the mayor of Toronto should be. 

For those of you voting in this election, think hard about what kind of policies and proposals you would like implemented in the city of Toronto, but also the kind of person you want to represent yourself, and your city. 

Talk to you all soon!!

Bye :D

Camping in Marten River

Hello again,

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of escaping to Marten River Provincial Park (just north of North Bay) for four days. It was a much needed refresher for the lungs, being in the 'clean' air, with plenty of trees and other wildlife. 

While there, I did plenty of fishing. We rented a boat for three of the four days we were there, and used it to its fullest potential. I could spend endless hours just riding along the river, soaking in the sunshine (with appropriate amounts of sunscreen) and feeling the breeze! 

The first day we were there was probably the best, weather wise anyways. Was also the only day that I got to wear a bathing suit (in July, yes I know). Did a little bit of fly-fishing that day, which was awesome (except didn't catch anything). 

The weather did get a bit cooler (I actually wore pants most of the trip...in July, I KNOW!) after that first day, but I prefer it that way anyways. Summer is probably my least favourite of the seasons. It only rains one night, and we've set up enough tarps that it really doesn't affect us all that much--except that we were out in the middle of the river when it started raining!!

I managed to catch 1 pike, 3 good-sized perch, and a BUNCH of smaller bass, perch and of course...sunfish! However, we didn't end up eating any of the fish because they all had parasites...which is terribly sad (for the fish, not for me...I had other food). Even the 'cleaner' bodies of water are becoming more and more polluted-which is incredibly unfortunate. 

All in all, the park was beautiful and the river was even more so. Such a shame that is a 5 hour drive (with good traffic) away from me! I'd love to be there every weekend. But, I will have to try new places!

If you want to see some of the pictures I took on the trip, have a look below:

Traumatizing people since 1996 (just kidding...I actually have no idea how long this little devil's been at it).

The work of a strong beaver no doubt. I actually saw a beaver when I was on the river...and plenty of beaver dams to go with them!!

Such a stunning view.

Where do you guys like to go to escape the city?

Bye!

Nostalgia

Hey guys,

So this past week I've been feeling a little nostalgic, and a little blue. You might ask yourself, "Why? Why could she possibly be blue?"...or you might not. Either way, I'm going to tell you. 

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I LOVE school (understatement of the year). One might even say I'm a bit of a nerd. I've loved going to school since kindergarten, and I'm not about to stop now (you can't make me!!!). 

Having recently graduated from university, I'm now left without class to go to. Although I'm thankful that I got a job so quickly out of school, I am also still quite sad about not going back to school this September. 

I was at Target this past weekend, and as I was perusing the aisles, I stumbled upon the 'Back to School' section. Filled with the joy of back to school season, I walked over and continued to look at all the cool new products, and wanted to start adding items to my basket. That is when I realized that I wasn't going back to school this September. This will be the first September since I was four years old (YES....FOUR!!!!) that I will not be going back to school. 

Some of you might think that's silly. I think it's odd.

I've spent nearly 83% (yes, I did say I loved school...didn't I?) of my life at school. Nearly 20 years people! That's the most time I've dedicated to anything really...aside from breathing and eating!

So for all of you going back to school this September, be grateful! 

Not only for the fact that you get to see your friends, and "have something to do"...because you're just "SOOOO BORED" with your summer, but also because you should be thankful for your education. Many people do not have the opportunity to receive one at all, and would give anything to go to school. 

So, the next time you are grim about heading back to school this September, think. Try and learn at least ONE new thing each day. That might be the easiest assignment you do all year.

Keep me posted!

Bye!

Scene Fest 2014

 Hello!

This June, my sister graduated high school, and so I thought it would be fun to buy her tickets to a 2-day concert in St. Catharines called Scene Fest. I bought us passes for the Saturday (because I didn't care much for the bands playing on the Sunday) and off we went! 

The concert was an all day event, but we didn't really want to spend 12 hours there, so we decided to head over around dinner time. We made a pit stop at a restaurant called Jack Astor's and then popped over to the venue. 

I was most excited to see two bands: Monster Truck and Matthew Good. I found out though that Abandon All Ships, Rich Aucoin, and Black Collar Union were also playing, and that was quite exciting!

There was one "main stage" and then several other concerts going on throughout the downtown area at bars (which were all ages until 11pm). We were in the second row to see Monster Truck, which was pretty amazing, and made for some great pictures! Unfortunately, since Matthew Good was at night, the pictures did not turn out as good! 

Here are some of the pictures that I snapped throughout the evening:

This last one is a picture of my sister (right) and I (left).

We had such an amazing time and stayed out much later than we had anticipated! 

Have you guys gone to any fun concerts/festivals this summer?

Bye!

Graduation

Hey everyone,

I have some serious catching up to do on here. I've been up to a lot recently, and figured I should do some posts about all of it! Starting with my graduation...

In June, I graduated from Brock University (not in English...clearly) and it wasn't really a huge deal to me...but my Mom made a monster deal out of it (being proud of me, and such...I guess?). She took way too many pictures, but I'll share only a few from my "special" day and from a few family celebrations following. 

This is how they had the gym all set up for the ceremony...made me feel a little fancy dancy. It was overwhelming how many graduates there were, and how many friends and family members were there to support. Brock did an amazing job at having everything timed and set up perfectly. 

This was my last look at the main tower before I graduated. Doesn't seem like much, but this was definitely a sad experience for me. I walked through this building almost every day when I was there, and spent many hours studying in there as well (as it is a 10 floor library...my dream!)

Enough with the boring school pictures, let's get to the food...am I right?! My family is so incredible, and my Mom made an awesome meal that night. To top it all off, pumpkin pie (my favourite!). The next night, some of my cousins surprised me with an awesome cake, and more food :) I am so blessed!!

Lastly, my cousin's super cute dog with his graduation cap on...he's an electrical engineer (of course!). My cousin also has a "blackboard" wall in her kitchen, and she wrote me this congrats! :)

All in all, the weekend was really great. Although, I'm extremely sad that I'm done school now--I'm one of those weird people who actually LOVES school!

Let me know if any of you guys graduated this year (from high school or post-secondary) :)!!

Bye!

Update: Playlist

Hey guys, 

So I thought I would do an updated music playlist for you, since I literally change this ALL the time. Hope you enjoy!

Beyonce-Drunk in Love

Big Sean ft. Kanye West and Jay Z-My Clique

French Montana et al-Pop That

Jay Z-Tom Ford

Kid Ink ft. Chris Brown-Show Me

MKTO-Classic

Sam Smith-Stay with Me

DJ Snake ft. Lil Jon-Turn Down for What

Trinidad James-All Gold Everything

Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne-Rather be

Theory of a Deadman-Drown (NEW!)

Red Hot Chili Peppers-Snow

Third Eye Blind-Semi-Charmed Life (FAV!)

Cage the Elephant-Come a Little Closer

I Sat by the Ocean-Queens of the Stone Age

Keep your Eyes Peeled-Queens of the Stone Age

Have a super day!! 

Bye 

Post Vacation Move Desire

Hey guys,

So I just got back from vacation to Florida about a week ago, and I can’t be the only person that has the overwhelming urge to move after a vacation.

Living in Canada during the winter makes anywhere tropical/warm feel like a great place to move, but the warmth has nothing to do with my desire to move. I could go to Alaska on vacation and still want to move after my return. Not necessarily to ALASKA, but somewhere other than where I am now.

When you’re on vacation, everything seems so much easier. You think to yourself, “I could get used to not working, doing as I please all day, and sleeping until noon.” You go home, back to working, alarm clocks, and deadlines and you think back to your vacation, wondering why you still live here and deal with this?! Why stay here and work when I could go there and relax?! Then...you put some serious though into this...that’s where the obsessive searching for houses on the Internet begins, and planning your new exotic destination life.

Then you wake up to reality, and realize that even the people in these dream spots work. There really is no escaping it, even if we think we can.

Besides, what fun would vacations be if you were on a permanent one? You’d have to start taking “work-cations”, where you went to work for a week as a break from all the relaxation. Thinking to yourself, “man, I’ve been relaxing TOO much lately...I could really use a work-cation.”

Anyways, for the time being I’m still in my “I want to move somewhere fun and amazing” phase. In a few days I’ll be back down to reality. I’ll see you all then.

Actually I’ll probably see you tomorrow, but you get the point.

Bye!