Live-nov2014
Looking for some good wines?
Looking for some good wines that won’t break your bank account? Try these and be ready to wow your guests this holiday season!
I recently enjoyed the Caliterra Reserva (Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013) with a meal of osso buco and risotto – delightful! Even better that it’s price tag is $9.95!
Family Reunion in Arizona & Day Trips to the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Tombstone Ghost Town
by Valerie Sayah
For my vacation this year I ventured out to desert state Arizona for a family reunion with cousins I had not seen in quite a few years. Another cousin and part of his family joined us from Sydney, Australia. I was surprised to discover great flight deals to Phoenix (under $500 return trip). While I was fortunate to be meeting my family in a place like Arizona, it seemed only natural to visit some of its special towns that have been on my ‘bucket list’ for many years.
We left on a 4 hour drive, from Mesa, to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and not before stopping at “Cracker Barrel” for an old fashioned country breakfast with all of the fixin’s.
As would be expected, the trip had an element of suspense to it, especially when we realized that one does not actually see the grand display of layered colored rock until you’ve passed the Double Eagle Trading Company gift shop,
and arrived and parked your vehicle. You then, eventually start to approach and see the very striking geologic formations! These form part of the Canyon’s 277-mile length and was sculptured over 3 million years by ongoing erosion via the snow-fed mighty Colorado River, in an arid Plateau climate. It is the work of geologists that have contributed to the Grand Canyon’s reputation for being “the most sublime of earthly spectacles”. What an amazing experience, coming face to face with the Grand Canyon! I was able to capture some pretty amazing vistas.
While we were in Arizona we also visited the magical red rock city of Sedona where native human history began about 4,000 BC and where the elevation is 4,500 feet higher and some 12 degrees cooler than in Phoenix. Sedona has been sculpted by erosion over a long period of time and it was inhabited by Native American cliff dwellers some 1,400 years ago and their apparent sudden disappearance has become a topic for debate by historians. You may have heard of the Sedona energy vortexes that are created, not by water or wind, but from spiraling spiritual energy that favor the facilitation of prayer, mediation and healing. I paid a visit to one of Sedona’s spiritual centres and found it to be an interesting experience for me. I plan to spend some more time in Sedona, in the future.
After stopping in at our now favorite “Cracker Barrel” old country store/restaurant for breakfast, another day trip saw us headed down south to the Mexican border’s 1879 Tombstone ghost town aka “The Town Too Tough to Die” with the beautiful backdrop of Superstition Mountain. We happened to arrive just in time to witness a ‘just out of a movie’ shoot-out between the Sheriff and 3 bad guys. Tombstone was a nice tourist attraction in the desert with 2 hours of historical happenings scheduled in Bird Cage Theatre. A 2010 census reports Tombstone’s population at 1,380. On the way back we were stopped and our vehicle searched at a border check.
I thoroughly enjoyed and treasure every memory spent with family and I picked up a few precious mementos along the way!
What Does Your Work Space Say About You?
– by Rebecca Volk
It’s amazing what you can learn about your colleagues at the College by checking out the space where they work. A visit to the International Education Centre offices on the fourth floor of C building will bring you to the spaces that Michelle Cameron and Sue Hodgins call their home at work.
Michelle’s office is bright and filled with treasures and trinkets from around the world. India, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia are all represented. Despite the beauty of the international artifacts, one’s eye is drawn immediately to a large print, framed and above a book case. It is a photo of a young woman playing a cello, seated in a shallow stream with a melting winter landscape surrounding her. Her background is black and white, as befitting a fading winter. She is in bold colour, however – her red coat and chestnut-colored instrument dominate the photo. It is a magnificent piece of art – and the story behind it is even more wonderful.
The photographer is Chau Nguyen, an international student from Vietnam who studied in the College’s Photography Program from 2010-2012, an honour’s student in at least one of his 4 semesters. Michelle reached out to him to assist with a photo shoot for the International Student Handbook, for which he produced some great photos. After Chau had left the College to return to his native Vietnam, Michelle happened to strike up a conversation with Gary Carter, the then Coordinator of the Photography Program who told her about the photo of the cellist. Chau had taken the photo while a student and his subject is a fellow international student. Gary’s praise for the work was so exuberant, Michelle just had to see the work. Her love for it was immediate and Gary made her a gift of a print.
Michelle’s passion for the success of this student and all of the international students she interacts with is evident as she recounts Chau’s and other student’s stories. In her role as Manager of International Student Integration, Michelle supports our international students(over 1,500 now from countries all over the world) in their Orientation, to Canada and to Ottawa, to the College and to their academic programs of study.
Step into the next-door work space and enter into the world of Sue Hodgins, International Marketing, Recruitment and Student Services Officer for the International Education Centre. Her space is equally adorned with treasures from far-flung lands. One wall in particular displays mementoes form Central America and Mexico: a gilded plate, a painted representation of the month of May and various statuettes of burrows and indigenous peoples. Ask Sue about these treasures and one is transported back 20 years to the early, formative years of the International Department, when the College’s international student body numbered 6 and was located at the Heron Park campus! And Sue was responsible for recruiting them all!
In the early 1990’s, Sue made many trips to Central America and Mexico. Fluent in Spanish, Sue connected with prospective students and their parents at recruiting fairs. In fact, Sue thinks that a number of students came to Algonquin because their mothers felt comfortable entrusting their care to her! Back in the day, the International staff did it all: recruited students, picked them up at the airport, found them a home stay, took them on weekend trips to Quebec City and (the ever-popular) Niagara Falls, and organized holiday parties. The numbers of students were small, everyone knew everyone and Sue was seen as the den mother.
In her almost 30 years at the College, Sue has been a part of the transformation of our international efforts to the vibrant and global initiative that is the International Education Centre. Twenty years ago, students came to Algonquin primarily to learn English. Now, while many still come to us to enroll in our ESL programs, others are honing their skills in programs across the College.
Michelle continues to be in touch with Chau Nguyen, mostly through Facebook. He appears to have his own photography studio in Vietnam. Sue still maintains contact with many of “her” former students also through Facebook and has attended 3 weddings of former students in Mexico!! Thanks to Michelle and Sue, our international grads are realizing their hopes and dreams.
So, next time you’re in the neighbourhood of the 4th floor of C Building, check out office C429, say hello to Michelle Cameron and Sue Hodgins and “see” the stories of our international students.
A t-shirt company is born
It all started with an idea, as most ventures do. Going to fitness trade shows and conferences for the past ten years, there was rarely any clothing that I connected to; this is where the idea of doing my own line of fitness clothing line was born. I began sketching and working on different ideas on my computer until one day I decided to take the jump and have some test t-shirts printed.
As we all know Algonquin is a wealth of talent both in its faculty and its students, so I contacted a colleague in the design program and explained the type of work I was looking for. She immediately had a student in mind and put me in touch with them. Working with students is a win-win for everyone; the student gets to make some money for their work and I get their cutting-edge skillset. Working with Brendan was great, he took my pages of notes, drawings and even suggestions of music to listen to while designing the art and with that we completed my first series of t-shirts.
Propaganda Fitness was born…sort of. I printed a handful of t-shirts for myself as well as to give away in order to gauge a reaction from others. The response I received was overwhelming; people were asking to purchase the t-shirts on the spot. With such a reassuring reaction, I went to work. I had the website worked on by an Algonquin graduate, had the online store set up and prepared to attend my first fitness exhibit as a vendor. Amazingly the t-shirts sold out, social media picked up and the news of the t-shirt line reached the ears of the Campus Connections bookstore who, and after finding out that it was the creation of a staff member, students and graduates all from Algonquin, it is now being sold in the bookstore. I am now beginning my second series of t-shirts and other clothing items with Brendan for the New Year.
Moving forward, I will be working with photography students to have photoshoots of the products and models wearing the products for posters and print ads. I am very excited for the next designs and am currently preparing for the Toronto Pro Show, which is Canada’s version of the Olympia, this summer to release the t-shirts and new line to the trade show audience.
Wayne Boucher
Winter Staycation in Ottawa
Cathy Lee
The winds are blowing outside your frosted window, your boots are crunching on the crisp snow and brittle ice underfoot, and everything is about to completely covered with white snow and lots of it. Does all of this make you want to start trolling Expedia for a warm destination to escape to?
So, let’s see. That means dusting off your passport and making sure it has not expired, getting the family to agree on the same destination or resort, booking a kennel for Rover, arranging for a reliable (?) teenager to shovel your driveway and walkway while you are away, getting your shots up-to-date, piling all of your out-of-season clothing into your suitcase, pulling it through the snow at the airport, and settling into a tight seat next to a guy with the flu, while the woman in front of you has pushed her seat back into your nose. Whew! Not really my idea of relaxing.
Maybe you should just stay home and have a staycation. Although many of us feel like hibernating this time of year, this is no time for that, with so much to see and do in Ottawa. Let the bears hibernate.
Why don’t you dig out your woolies and your warmest boots, and make a plan to entertain yourself and your family with so many choices of fun activities and tasty delights.
Pull out your skates from the basement, or swing by Foster’s Sports on Bank Street to buy a secondhand pair, take them to Home Hardware to get them sharpened, so that you can execute your dazzling pirouettes, and head down to our world heritage site, the Rideau Canal. If you can at least glide over to the Beaver Tails shack for a cinnamon tail and a steaming hot chocolate, then you can count that as having skated the canal. Tick.
While you are in your basement, you should really dust off your cross-country ski equipment, and head up to Chelsea, Quebec, to the amazing trails for a wonderful ski in the gorgeous Gatineau Hills. There are trails for all levels, and the peaceful woods and fresh air will clear out all of your office cobwebs. Slip into Chelsea’s Pub to keep your hydration up, and drop into Doozy Candle Factory to bring some amazing candles home to warm your nose, your toes and your heart. Tick.
Since you already have your skates warmed up, Winterlude is one of Ottawa’s not-to-be missed winter highlights, including dancing under the stars to a DJ, admiring ice sculptures being created with chain saws and blow torches, watching entertaining outdoor skating shows, and getting a hug from Mr. & Mrs. Ice Hog. Tick.
When you need to go inside to warm up your fingers and toes, why don’t you head off to the Winter Jazz Fest and heat up your soul with some cool sounds and tap your feet to amazing musicians. Tick.
If you are an avid fisherman and are missing trolling for bass at your summer cottage, you could try your hand at ice fishing. There are lots of local places along the Ottawa River where you can rent a hut, already located out on the frozen river. You just need to bring a friend or two for company, and some liquid refreshment to while away the time. And a bag for all of the fresh fish you will be bringing home for the barbecue. Tick.
New Year’s Eve you also have some outdoor choices for entertaining the gang in downtown Ottawa. Sparks Street Mall is putting on lots of family fun activities on the mall, and Parliament Hill has an annual concert, if you want to brave the elements to dance with the crowd.
Or, my favourite, you can invite a couple of friends to your home with their overnight bag in tow, build a roaring fire, light the candles, and slide a standing rib roast of beef into the oven while you watch the Times Square ball drop, pop some bubbly, and toast each other for the brand new New Year. Tick.
Happy winter. Happy New Year. Happy staycation.
