Just making note of my own, personal, goals for the coming year. If you don't write them down, they're not real, right?
Here is what I hope to accomplish in 2015...
1) A visit with my parents in Palm Springs.
2) A vacation with Tracy to someplace tropical.
3) Read 10 books.
4) Learn 10 new songs on guitar.
5) Grow my birding Life List to 275 species (plus see 200 birds in Canada alone, 175 birds in Ontario and see 250 bird species in the calendar year).
6) Renovate one of the rooms in the house (either the kitchen or one of the bathrooms, or remove carpet from the stairs and upstairs).
7) Book (or go on) a trip overseas to Ireland, Scotland, England with Tracy.
8) Continue to grow Big Machine's market share at radio.
9) Get back down to 175 pounds.
10) Visit the dentist.
We'll check back in sometime in December of 2015 and see how I did.
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Cheeseburger in Paradise?
A few years ago I took Tracy to visit Ottawa for the first time. We arrived in the late evening. After checking into our hotel we wandered out and grabbed a late night snack. I took her to the Parliament Buildings and we sat on the front steps eating our cheeseburgers. Tracy was amazed that we were allowed to wander right up to the building and sit without having to go through any sort of security. We were there for quite a long time before an RCMP vehicle pulled up. We had a chat with the officers. They were doing their job, making sure we weren't up to anything. They told us some great stories about the building and the surrounding monuments and gave us a bit of a history lesson. We commented on how great it was that we could come and sit on the steps of Parliament any time we wanted. It was one of the great things about being a Canadian, we all agreed.
After the terrible events in Ottawa yesterday I wonder if we will ever again be allowed to enjoy a midnight cheeseburger on the steps of our nation's capital. I hope so. If not, was that our last cheeseburger in paradise?
After the terrible events in Ottawa yesterday I wonder if we will ever again be allowed to enjoy a midnight cheeseburger on the steps of our nation's capital. I hope so. If not, was that our last cheeseburger in paradise?
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Bird Brain
Had a great day of birding on Friday. Took the day off and managed to visit two great spots. In the morning I visited High Park in Toronto and saw 27 species of birds including two species that were new to my life list; a Winter Wren and a Nashville Warbler. In the afternoon, after a conference call (yes I took a conference call on my day off), I made it to Woodland Cemetery in Hamilton and got to see the 2 Eastern Screech Owls that have been reported there. I also managed to get down into the Hamilton Harbour, just outside of the cemetery and I think I may have just found my new favourite birding spot. In just 45 minutes I saw 20 different species of birds including Great Egrets, Blue Herons, Mute Swans, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, an Osprey, and another new life list bird, a Long-billed Dowitcher. In the harbour I also managed to get a photo of a Greater Yellowlegs and a Lesser Yellowlegs standing beside each other. It makes it easier to tell one from another when they're standing together like that.
My goal for 2014 was to see 200 different species of birds. I am now at 213 for the year and my life list is now up to 246 birds.
My goal for 2014 was to see 200 different species of birds. I am now at 213 for the year and my life list is now up to 246 birds.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Update
Ok. I have to get better at blogging. I used to love doing it, and I think I still have a passion to write. So why I haven't I written a blog here in almost 3 years? Good question.
Here's the biggest problem: I commute almost 3 hours a day. That is 3 hours a day, stuck in a car, barely moving, along with a bunch of other schmucks as we go through the daily grind. I no longer have the time I once had to sit in front of a computer and type out all the crazy thoughts that go through my head over the course of a day. Trust me, stuck in traffic for 3 hours a day, I still have a lot of crazy thoughts, maybe even more and even crazier thoughts, just no time to put them down in blog form.
I'm going to try to get better at making the time. We'll see how it goes.
So, what's happened over the last 3 years? A lot. A hell of a lot. Where do I begin...let's start with the career trajectory that I was going with at the end of my last blog back in January 2012...
EMI did get bought by Universal but it took most of 2012 for the deal to get worked out. When it all shook down, I was asked to join Big Machine and run promotions for the label in Canada. The day I signed the paperwork, the person that Big Machine had doing marketing in Canada, gave her notice. I moved over to Big Machine on November 1, 2012 and was responsible for promotions and marketing. It was a HUGE learning curve. After 6 months I found myself drowning and needing help. Thankfully, the label allowed me to get some help. We ended up hiring my old friend and co-worker from PolyGram and Universal, Donna Lidster, to handle the marketing end of things. Together, along with our old friend Charlotte Thompson handling publicity for us (through her own company, Red Umbrella), we are Big Machine Canada.
Big Machine is a great company to work for. I've enjoyed a lot of success working songs by the many great artists at radio (9 #1's in my first full year). Since I joined the label, Florida Georgia Line has exploded into one of the biggest acts on the planet, Tim McGraw has enjoyed a major career resurgence, Taylor Swift has evolved into a full blown Pop artist (and one of the biggest on the planet) and Big Machine has grown by leaps and bounds, adding new label imprints, signing new artists and expanding the staff in America.
I still really enjoy working in the music industry. I'm coming up to my 25th anniversary of working for record labels (Dec. 1). Most of my friends are people I have met because of my job. I enjoy working with music every day and I still get a rush out of helping to build careers for artists that have dared to dream the dream and follow it. I still get excited about traveling, although as I get older, I've noticed it does take it's toll on the body (mostly the lack of sleep I think). Aside from maybe returning to radio, I don't know what else I would do for a career. My high school friend, Jack Veasey, nailed it when he had to write my bio in our grade 12 yearbook: "The kid likes music. If Ron Harwood (Rompin' Ron, Rockin' Ron, Raunchy Ron, or simply Eddie Van Harwood) could be an inanimate object, he would surely be and electric guitar. Or maybe a juke box."
On a personal level, the last three years have been great.
Tracy and I finally got married this past July 25th. We had a simple ceremony and dinner with immediate family and a few very close friends (less then 30 people) at the Riverbend Inn at Niagara on the Lake.
As for my girls, Hope is now in grade 12 and will be graduating next spring. Mally is in her last year at her current school and will move into high school next fall. Ella, is becoming a great little artist. I am so proud of all three of them.
As for me, I have become obsessed with birding over the last few years.
It started with seeing the movie "The Big Year", starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, on a flight back from London, England. I had learned a bit about birds back in Boy Scouts. I could tell a sparrow from a swallow but I had no idea just how many species of birds there are out there. I decided to combine my love of photography and my love for walking and roll them into my new passion. I try to make time wherever I travel to squeeze in some quality birding. I've seen so many birds over the last 2 and half years and there are still so many more to see. My life list is only at 241 species now and there are close to 800 in North America alone. I know I will be enjoying this new hobby for the rest of my life.
Along the way, I have discovered that my love for birding goes beyond just seeing new species to add to my life list. I really enjoy watching birds and how they behave. We can learn so much about our planet from the birds. I'm sure I will get into more detail in future blogs, but I know that I am growing more concerned for our planet's well being, and a lot of that has come from what I've learned while watching and reading about birds.
Well, I think that catches us up for now. Looking forward to writing some more soon.
Here's the biggest problem: I commute almost 3 hours a day. That is 3 hours a day, stuck in a car, barely moving, along with a bunch of other schmucks as we go through the daily grind. I no longer have the time I once had to sit in front of a computer and type out all the crazy thoughts that go through my head over the course of a day. Trust me, stuck in traffic for 3 hours a day, I still have a lot of crazy thoughts, maybe even more and even crazier thoughts, just no time to put them down in blog form.
I'm going to try to get better at making the time. We'll see how it goes.
So, what's happened over the last 3 years? A lot. A hell of a lot. Where do I begin...let's start with the career trajectory that I was going with at the end of my last blog back in January 2012...
EMI did get bought by Universal but it took most of 2012 for the deal to get worked out. When it all shook down, I was asked to join Big Machine and run promotions for the label in Canada. The day I signed the paperwork, the person that Big Machine had doing marketing in Canada, gave her notice. I moved over to Big Machine on November 1, 2012 and was responsible for promotions and marketing. It was a HUGE learning curve. After 6 months I found myself drowning and needing help. Thankfully, the label allowed me to get some help. We ended up hiring my old friend and co-worker from PolyGram and Universal, Donna Lidster, to handle the marketing end of things. Together, along with our old friend Charlotte Thompson handling publicity for us (through her own company, Red Umbrella), we are Big Machine Canada.
Big Machine is a great company to work for. I've enjoyed a lot of success working songs by the many great artists at radio (9 #1's in my first full year). Since I joined the label, Florida Georgia Line has exploded into one of the biggest acts on the planet, Tim McGraw has enjoyed a major career resurgence, Taylor Swift has evolved into a full blown Pop artist (and one of the biggest on the planet) and Big Machine has grown by leaps and bounds, adding new label imprints, signing new artists and expanding the staff in America.
I still really enjoy working in the music industry. I'm coming up to my 25th anniversary of working for record labels (Dec. 1). Most of my friends are people I have met because of my job. I enjoy working with music every day and I still get a rush out of helping to build careers for artists that have dared to dream the dream and follow it. I still get excited about traveling, although as I get older, I've noticed it does take it's toll on the body (mostly the lack of sleep I think). Aside from maybe returning to radio, I don't know what else I would do for a career. My high school friend, Jack Veasey, nailed it when he had to write my bio in our grade 12 yearbook: "The kid likes music. If Ron Harwood (Rompin' Ron, Rockin' Ron, Raunchy Ron, or simply Eddie Van Harwood) could be an inanimate object, he would surely be and electric guitar. Or maybe a juke box."
On a personal level, the last three years have been great.
Tracy and I finally got married this past July 25th. We had a simple ceremony and dinner with immediate family and a few very close friends (less then 30 people) at the Riverbend Inn at Niagara on the Lake.
As for my girls, Hope is now in grade 12 and will be graduating next spring. Mally is in her last year at her current school and will move into high school next fall. Ella, is becoming a great little artist. I am so proud of all three of them.
As for me, I have become obsessed with birding over the last few years.
It started with seeing the movie "The Big Year", starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, on a flight back from London, England. I had learned a bit about birds back in Boy Scouts. I could tell a sparrow from a swallow but I had no idea just how many species of birds there are out there. I decided to combine my love of photography and my love for walking and roll them into my new passion. I try to make time wherever I travel to squeeze in some quality birding. I've seen so many birds over the last 2 and half years and there are still so many more to see. My life list is only at 241 species now and there are close to 800 in North America alone. I know I will be enjoying this new hobby for the rest of my life.
Along the way, I have discovered that my love for birding goes beyond just seeing new species to add to my life list. I really enjoy watching birds and how they behave. We can learn so much about our planet from the birds. I'm sure I will get into more detail in future blogs, but I know that I am growing more concerned for our planet's well being, and a lot of that has come from what I've learned while watching and reading about birds.
Well, I think that catches us up for now. Looking forward to writing some more soon.
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