Argos – Page 2

Hair today…

September 8, 2014 by koalateagirl

I have a love-hate relationship with my hair. It grows quickly, which is both a blessing and a curse (my one experiment with a fringe was extremely frustrating as I had to trim it weekly to keep it out of my eyes). I’m never sure what colour my hair is – it’s either light brown or dark blonde depending on the lighting and the season. In the summer, I get gorgeous natural highlights. I’ve dyed my hair twice – not permanently, and not recently. Again, the quick rate at which my hair grows would mean that I’d be forever touching up roots and that isn’t something I want to spend time and money on. My hair is what my former stylist (he retired from the haircut business to teach others how to work magic on hair at the high school trade level) calls “poker straight”. I will never need a straightener. It is also incredibly soft. So soft that clips and pony tail holders often slide out. I’ve had some success with curling irons but it usually involves mousse in damp hair and half a container of hairspray to get a couple hours of moderate curl. My hair is fine – when it is short (at my ears or even at my chin) it seems even finer. So for the last decade or so I’ve kept it shoulder length or longer. Every couple of years I donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. The minimum donation length is 8″ but I’ve donated 15″ twice (I still had “medium-long” hair afterwards too). I’m at the point where my hair hits the small of my back so I need to do something about it. This is where the trouble starts.

I’m not a fashionista. I don’t like looking through beauty magazines because doing so often brings up all sorts of body image issues. I don’t know what type of hairstyle would look good on me and though I want a change, I don’t want a drastic one. My best friend has been hounding me for years to get a short haircut. I don’t think that going from below the bra line hair to a short cut would be too drastic for me. I also have a practical need for slightly longer hair – I work with kids who have special needs and being able to pull my hair back so that it can’t be pulled is really useful. I don’t want to have to pull it back all the time and right now it is so long that having it tied back is the only practical option, whether it is in an updo or a braid. I’d love to have hair that didn’t need to be tied back or done up all the time but I’m not sure what that would look like. The other problem is that since my stylist retired, I’ve been bouncing around and haven’t yet found anyone I trust completely. I have had some really bad haircuts in my past when hairdressers didn’t listen to me or when their idea of a trim ended up being 4″ shorter than my idea of a trim. I’m not the kind of girl who washes her hair daily (it’s too soft as it is, and washing it daily makes it even softer and completely unmanageable). I own a blow dryer but have used it mostly to make melted crayon art. I don’t want to buy (or use) a ton of hair products, and I really don’t have time in the morning to spend more than 10 minutes on my hair trying to make it look “right”. I need a style that is pretty much wash and wear.

The final issue is that the last time I donated my hair, it didn’t go as planned. I raised money to support breast cancer research, and donated my hair at a Toronto Argos game. It was my 4th donation so I knew what to expect – two elastics, hair cut in between them. Except the volunteer hair stylist (a friend of a friend) didn’t follow the program and cut 2″ above the top elastic. This made my hair seriously uneven and when it was evened up, it was too short to pull back. I cried for days. It grew back, as it always does, but I don’t want to have that happen again. Given that horrible experience, you may ask why I want to donate my hair again. The answer is simple: it’s something I can do to help others. After the last debacle, while I was feeling sorry for myself after the game, someone approached me to thank me. He told me that a close friend had received a wig through the Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign and that it had given her a much needed boost in morale at a very difficult time in life. I have never forgotten his words that night or the picture he brought to show me at the next home game of his friend. I feel that donating my hair is something I should do because I can and because it is a small gesture that can help a woman going through hell. So I’m announcing it here – I’m going to donate my hair in the near future.

Now all I need is to figure out what to do with it after my donation. I’m including a pic of what my hair looked like 6 months after my last donation it grew out quickly – it took a lot of fussing with the curling iron to get it to flip and there is a section at the back that flipped the other way so I don’t really want to do this again. Besides it’s not really a style it’s just shorter hair that still doesn’t do anything. My hair looks like that now except it’s a good foot longer.

The Grey Cup with BlackBerry

January 11, 2013 by koalateagirl

It’s no secret that I love my BlackBerry devices. I also love the Canadian Football League. With the 100th Grey Cup practically in my backyard, I decided that once again this year, I was going to go and report from the big game without taking my old and heavy laptop. This year, however, I did add the BlackBerry Bluetooth keyboard for my PlayBook. This gave me more functionality with very little additional weight.

I also added a second battery and charging case (which is basically a small case for the extra battery that you plug the regular micro usb adapter into) for my trusty Bold 9900. I knew I would be putting in some very long days and didn’t want to need to find somewhere to plug in my BlackBerry. Between the 2 batteries, I got somewhere in the range of 12-13 hours of heavy use out of my Bold each day. My BlackBerry was in hand from the time I got up (around 6am each day) until I finally got back to my hotel room somewhere between midnight and 1 am.

I was pulling double duty at the Grey Cup this year – as a member of Argonotes (the official pep band of the Toronto Argonauts) and as a member of the media for Rouge Radio.com. I could not have successfully done both things without my BlackBerry calendar to help me keep track of where I needed to be and when. It was indispensable for getting press releases, schedule updates, and interview requests into my hands immediately so that I could add or adjust my schedule accordingly. Between my Bold and my PlayBook, I had everything I needed: email, calendar, documents to go, a voice recorder, cameras, a phone, access to text messages, Twitter, Facebook, and, of course, BlackBerry Messenger.

I recorded interviews on my PlayBook while tweeting and taking pictures on my Bold or vice versa. I typed game notes on my PlayBook with the keyboard while watching the game. I freaked out another reporter by using the remote control feature to type on my PlayBook from 2 rows back in the press box. Having words appear on the tablet next to you that you were asked to watch for a couple of minutes can be a freaky experience, especially when the words are addressed specifically to you. (Yes I know, it was wrong to use my PlayBook to freak out other people but it was a prank I’d been planning for awhile and the opportunity presented itself at the Vanier Cup on Friday night.)

The combination of my Bold 9900 and my PlayBook were all I needed to make the most of my Grey Cup experience – no need to lug around a heavy, awkward laptop, a voice recorder, or a camera – just my trusty BlackBerry Bold 9900 and my PlayBook.

I will note that being able to update my Facebook, Twitter, and BBM statuses with things like “I just drank out of the Grey Cup” was awesome. I uploaded a ton of Photos, directly from my devices, often while walking between events.

Have you ever used a tablet instead of a Laptop? Would you consider leaving the laptop at home for a major conference or event?

Banners outside the Rogers Centre

Thoughts on She’s Connected 2012

October 24, 2012 by koalateagirl

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been blogging over at my other blog Adventures with my BlackBerry for the last few months. I’m going to have another wrap up there but from the technological side of things – how my BlackBerry helped me make connections and made my conference experience more enjoyable. This is more about the experience I had at She’s Connected (or SCCTO which was the twitter hashtag for the event), what I learned, and the great people I met.

Overall, I had a great time at She’s Connected. The getting up at the crack of dawn wasn’t something I was looking forward to but I had great carpool with Courtney and Jacki and not only did we get to the hotel an hour before the conference breakfast was supposed to start, the fabulous people at the Renaissance Hotel were able to check us into our room super early (at 7am) so that we didn’t have to come back later and check in or try to do it after the conference when we were tired etc. I have to say that the Renaissance is a fabulous hotel, and I wish I’d spent more than just one night there! I’d go back for Grey Cup in the blink of an eye but it’s definitely out of my price range!

I learned a lot about myself at the conference. I learned I can be funny and witty in real life even with strangers and when I’m scared to death that I’ll say something stupid and they will write me off as a moron. I learned that mink eyelashes are pretty cool and very dramatic but take a long time to get used to. I learned that having a professional do a blow out on my hair leads to the same result as me doing one – flat hair in less than an hour! Not that the stylist from Blo wasn’t really good, but my hair is stupid that way. It looked fabulous for the hour, but then it was just messy and full of product. I learned that I really get a kick out of people complementing me on my business cards (which were super fabulous thanks to Lindsay from Grace Announcements).

The sessions were amazing. It’s impossible to pick just one to single out as the best. One of the best part of the sessions was that the panelists and speakers were more than willing to meet and speak with the attendees after the panels. There were 2 time slots in which I couldn’t find a session that I really wanted to attend, one on Friday and one on Saturday. This worked out pretty well because it gave me a chance to hang out in the McCafe lounge and get my nails painted and enjoy a chair massage. On Friday I got to hang out in the Molson 67 lounge and learn about pairing Beer and Cheese. This was really awesome and I’m never going back to wine and cheese again.

SCCTO - Molson 67 - Beer - Cheese - Tasting - — Beer and cheese = nature’s perfect pairing.

I learned a lot about trying to find a niche in the overcrowded world of online writing, editing and social media. I got some awesome advice from awesome people. I got to meet people with whom I’ve been tweeting and BBMing for over a year (I’m looking at you Christy and Christine). I learned that if I love blogging (and I do) I should keep doing it. That getting a chance at a community manager position isn’t as impossible a dream as I thought it would be and that some brands and agencies are okay with paying bloggers.

I missed the Friday ’80s Party because I wanted to go watch the ~~Argos Lose~~ Argo game and play with the Argonotes. I love playing with the best band in the CFL. Even when the team loses, we get to go out and entertain thousands of people. I did, however, stick around for the Shades of Grey party on Saturday night. There’s not a lot to say about that Party other than wow. I got gel nail polish put on – it’s supposed to last 2 weeks and so far it’s lasted through me digging in sand and typing so I’m impressed. The food was delicious! It’s A Cake Thing made some of the best cookies and cupcakes that I’ve ever had! They looked as good as they tasted.

Cupcakes - shades of grey - SCCTO - — The Shades of Grey Cupcakes

All in all it was a great 2 days. I’m glad it was only 2 days because I was exhausted at the end of the party. I know I’ve missed some wonderful people and things in this wrap up but the point is, it was a great experience and I can’t wait to go again next year.

The Good, the Bad, and the Argos

September 3, 2011 by koalateagirl

I’m not going to play armchair GM at 2 am the morning after a loss. Especially after a home game where I didn’t see all of the game because I was playing in the band. Yes the Argos played badly, no I don’t have a magic fix to make the season all better. It wasn’t just one thing or one player that made the team lose, it was a number of factors working together. It’s really easy to lay the blame at the feet of a single player but football is a team sport. Part of the Argos’ trouble seems to be an inability to deal with unexpected changes such as a key player going down to injury. If left to their own game plan, the Argos seem to be a decent (Not spectacular) team; but when a monkey wrench is thrown into the works, such as Rob Murphy’s injury this week or Kevin Eiben’s injury a few weeks ago, the team collapses in on itself. I think it goes back to confidence and the Argos seem to be lacking in it. When everything is carefully scripted, they’re fine but going off script is disastrous because the players are worried that in doing so they’ll make a mistake. The most dangerous thing to be in football is cautious – it’s also the most boring! There’s nothing worse than a team playing to not lose. I can root for a losing team, but not a boring team. Other than some spectacular special teams plays by Chad Owens. the Argos were boring tonight There was a lot of potential to not be boring – there was a great string of 1st downs in the first quarter but then the drive ended with a rather anti-climatic field goal. Turnovers were not capitalized on, turning an exciting event into nothing. Again I’m not sure how to fix it but I’m hoping one of the coaches on the Argos does.

Even with the loss, the Argo game was fun tonight. That’s the best thing about being in Argonotes – even when the team on the field is less than entertaining, the band is always awesome. At halftime tonight, we did our usual show – 4 or 5 songs to a small but loyal crowd by gate 5. As we were playing our first song, I noticed 2 little girls dancing along to the band. I went over to our ~~director~~ Dictator’s big bag o’ musical toys and dug out a tambourine and gave it to the girls. The look on their face was of pure delight. They shook it together and were generally adorable. Their dad took some pictures and the girls were having a great time. For the next song, I asked the girls if they wanted to play WITH the band. Our fantastic bass drummer Tyler came in front of the band and let the younger girl “help” play the bass drum and the older girl got to play the tambourine in front of the band, wearing the Dictators furry blue hat. The looks of joy on their faces made my whole night. To make things even better, when I was walking around the Dome after our half-time show, I saw the family. The girls came up to me and thanked me and then the older one went to call her mum and was eagerly telling her about being IN the band. The grandmother told me that we had made their night extra special and that they’d remember it for a long time.Thinking about that makes me put the loss in perspective. The Argos may not have won, but this Argonote sure did.

Bye Week

August 28, 2011 by koalateagirl

So it’s the bye week for my team the Toronto Argos – I’m going through withdrawal even though there were 2 very good teams playing football this week. The Bye week means that we’re halfway through the CFL season – It feels like it just started yesterday. I’m not ready for the regular season to be over in 8 short weeks! the CFL season is so short compared to the off-season. Pretty soon it will be November and November means PLAYOFFS. I dearly hope that my Argos turn things around and make it into the playoffs! There’s nothing better than playoff football. And while I root for the Argos, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good game no matter who is playing. This week was a prime example of why I love the CFL – Both games went down to the final two minutes, and both of my picks were right (but boy was I nervous!).

I was rooting for Winnipeg primarily because of the flak Tina LaPolice got for daring to express an opinion. I don’t believe that anything is different because she is the wife of the Head Coach of the Bombers. I think she has a right to cheer for the team and not take crap from certain loudmouthed players and fans on twitter. It even says in her twitter bio that her opinions are her own. I LOVE her twitter bio Football wife, mother of 2 gorgeous babes! Opinions are my own, not that of my husband! It’s not the 50’s..I say what I want! Still!! I think the whole situation got seriously blown out of proportion. When Dave Stala commented about wanting to take the swag out of swaggerville, she replied “We’ll see hacky sack boy!” – the Hacky sack boy comment refers to a touchdown celebration in which Stala plays hacky sack with the football (how this doesn’t run afoul of the non celebration rule still boggles my mind). That’s it. That was the comment that got everyone riled up. Seriously? Don’t you people have better things to do with your time? Tina is a strong woman who has strong beliefs – she was a Bomber’s cheerleader too so it’s natural for her to stick up for her team. I know I’m in the minority here, but I salute her and hope that she continues to show confidence in her team. They are one of the best stories of the 2011 CFL season to date – Yes Calvillo breaking the passing records is a great story but it was expected. I’m not sure that anyone expected the Bombers to be 7-1 at the midway point. Instead of making a twitter tempest in a teapot, let’s celebrate the great season the Bombers are having – and this despite the untimely death of their Assistant Head Coach Richard Harris earlier this season.

I will also add to the twitter follower who told me after I tweeted in support of @tinalapo … “Of course you’d defend her your (sic) a mouthy broad too”. Thanks. I will take that as a complement.