Edu (Free) and Employ ($3): Next 2 Field Trips--April 5th and 7th

Our next field trip is to one of Toronto's, and Canada's, most venerable citadels, the University of Toronto. On Tuesday, April 5, leaving the southbound platform of Sheppard Yonge Station at 9:30 a.m., we get off at Queens Park Station and head over to the Nona Macdonald Visitors Centre, 25 King's College Circle (click for directions).

The guided tour starts from the Visitors Centre at 10:15 a.m. Come armed with good walking shoes, a camera, snacks and water, and a bagful of questions! Depending on the time and circumstances, we may be able to have lunch somewhere on or near the campus.



UPDATE:  Some good news: the organizers have graciously offered us group admission at $3 a person. That should help!

And then, on Thursday, April 7, we're heading down to the Metro Convention Centre for the National Job Fair & Training Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Admission is $4.95. Again, we're leaving the southbound platform at Sheppard Yonge Station at 9:30 a.m. Those going on their own are to meet on the ground floor of the venue at 10:15 a.m., and you are free to stay all day (it closes at 7 p.m.). Make sure to dress nice and neat and bring copies of your résumé. If there are any changes, check this website to stay tuned for details.

Best wishes to all knowledge and job hunters!

Field Trip Wednesday March 30th: Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival

Our next field trip welcomes spring with one of Canada's best hallowed traditions and economic icons--maple syrup. And what a better time than at Ontario's Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival!

Here's what we'll do on Wednesday, March 30th:

• 10 a.m. Meet at MicroSkills Language Program (200 Consumers Road) and board the buses for the Sugarbush Festival
• 1:00 p.m. Gather and board buses to go back to MicroSkills
• 2:30 p.m. Arrive back at MicroSkills

Check out our previous trip to Sugarbush Festival!

Starting a New Business: Is This a Good Idea?

Some enterprising folk in the U.S. ran a "birthing house" for pregnant Chinese women interested in getting their newborns automatic American citizenship. Apparently, the whole thing is completely legal except for a building code violation.



Does this provide us any ideas in setting up a successful business here in Canada? What are the laws and business opportunities like? What are the potential risks and rewards?

Or maybe I'm too late--it's already a hot market out there?!

So, what do you think? Post your answers on your blogs, or submit your comments below!

Gaga over 'Sauga Saga

The standing ovation might have resulted in an encore had the lights not come on. Ranging from Canadian and American songs to Czech, Aussie, German, Hungarian, English, and Japanese pieces, the Mississauga Children's Choir gave a stirring performance at today's final Free Noon Hour Choir & Organ Concert. Conductor Thomas Bell opened with a processional he'd composed and ended with a piece incorporating O Canada in English and French. Nor did the organ solo performance by Canada's own Michael Bloss disappoint the busloads of schoolchildren.





MicroSkills participants (some pictured up top) were among the hundreds in attendance, and we had our own reserved section in the balcony.



Those who missed it should plan to be there in the fall, when the free concerts start again, God willing!

Extreme English-Only Policy

Glad we don't do this!

Field Trip Thursday: Roy Thomson Hall Concert--Arrive 11:15 a.m.

This Thursday we will get to enjoy another free noontime concert at Roy Thomson Hall, this time with the Mississauga Children's Choir. You may enjoy this preview:

Please be there by 11:15 a.m. to ensure that you get a seat reserved for MicroSkills participants. Latecomers can join the rest of the crowd lining up at the Hall.
Roy Thomson Hall is accessible by TTC via St Andrew Subway Station (see map below).


View Larger Map

See you there!

Saturday April 9: Government Services Fair

Some of you may like to consider working with or for the government, whether at the federal, provincial, or municipal level. Here's an information fair on a Saturday in April that features all three levels!

 

For the latest updates, check out their website.

This Blog Goes Odiogo!

From this evening, our LINC 4-5 Blog will feature free audio reading by Odiogo.

Just slip on your headphones, click on the following "listen now" icon at the top of every post, and you're good to go. Practise your listening, dictation, and pronunciation, starting right now.



Sorry, just a word about pronunciation: the reading may mangle some of your names, but so will some of the human readers you'll meet here in Canada! Can you say pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? What about words like Bermondsey, Strachan, and Grosvenor without butchering them?

So go ahead and enjoy the new audio, and blog about it! Who knows, but maybe some of your blogs will get an Odiogo "listen now" button, too, soon!

Should Newcomers Be More Canadian? Or Vice Versa?

Canada's proud to be a multicultural country, and here in Toronto, we're known to be the most cosmopolitan city in the world. But what do those big words multicultural and cosmopolitan really mean? Do they mean anything at all?

One viral video in the U.S. shows the frustration some people have towards newcomers, in this case Asians:



Is she an ugly American? Or are her neighbours and schoolmates ugly immigrants? Should she have minded her own business in the library and let the Asians behave as they wish? If she were to visit Asia, should they politely put up with her American ways that disturb Asians?

Think about it and share your thoughts Feel free to share your experiences as well. I look forward to reading your blogs and comments!


P.S. Check out the background story to the viral video here.
P.P.S. Latest: The UCLA student has quit school over death threats. Comments welcome!

Loaded, Fed, and Watered

So, the whole bunch of us MicroSkills participants show up at Honest Ed's last Thursday at different times, by different means. Even Zumurod's twin sister came along. We wasted no time tracing the aisles on the ground floor in search of who knows what.

Sherry, Sunny, Aisha, and Zumurod get ready for the haul.

Esther and Peter don't seem to feel ripped off.

John and Irene think they're in China.

Senay and Aisha invest in oil, hoping to eat like a millionaire.

Yuri and Xiuli get there first, like two millionaires!

Maybe Barack is biblical, but Hussein? Gotta be kidding!

No prizes on who's Honest Ed's favourite US President. But "prophecy fulfilled"? Gimme a break!

Father and son Mirvishes

Know some of these people?

Loaded, then fed and watered (rained upon) ...

Yay, feeding time, finally! But first, a lesson in rocket science for Amir:

So, um, how was the bulgogi?

Okay, somebody has to pay the tip.

March Break Idea: $13 for a 2-Person Pass or Family Pass for 4 to the Canadian Air & Space Museum (Up to a $27 Value)

More March Break Ideas: Toronto Star's 54 things to do during March Break

Justin Bieber, Toronto Zoo, the AGO, the carnival at Rogers Centre, and fifty other nifty family activities!

$13 for a 2-Person Pass or Family Pass for 4 to the Canadian Air & Space Museum (Up to a $27 Value)

It's Back! $49 for a Niagara Falls Getaway, Including 2 Nights Accommodation for 2 People, Continental Breakfast and Parking at Niagara Falls Super 8 ($98 Value)

Click here to secure your coupon.

Full disclosure: I get seven bucks' credit for every new member that signs up through the above link. I can see that dream cottage at Muskoka coming!

Thursday's Field Trip to Honest Ed's

24-Hour Precipitation Outlook (Click here for the latest weather outlook)

As of 7 a.m. Thursday morning

 
After a one-and-a-half-year hiatus, we're back! We're headed to one of Toronto's best-known shopping landmarks--Honest Ed's.

So, here's the plan:

• 9:15 a.m. - Meet at Don Mills TTC Station
• 9:30 a.m. - Leave Don Mills TTC Station via subway
• 9:45 a.m. - Leave Sheppard Yonge TTC Station from the Southbound Platform to Bathurst TTC Station
• 10:15 a.m. - Arrive at Honest Ed's (see map in the link)
• 11:45 a.m. - Dismissal from Honest Ed's

Please dress warm and bring a good umbrella.

Feel free to join your classmates in some Après Shopping at Korea Town or The Annex! Some of us are headed to Jinmirak Restaurant at 708 Bloor St. West for some Tofu (probably vegetarian) Soup, Bibimbap (at $7), Kalbi Soup, or Bulgogi BBQ Beef ($8). Sample pictures from Google Images:

Tofu Soup

Kalbi (beef) Soup

Bulgogi

Bibimbap

Any Online Business Ideas for These Segments?

How long do you spend online per day? Your granny? It's official: Canadians are glued to the Internet and social networks longer than anybody else, and for longer than anybody else, too!


Says today's Toronto Star:

According to measurement firm comScore, Canadians spent 43.5 hours online a month in the fourth quarter of 2010, which was nearly double the worldwide average and eight hours more than users in the U.S., the second-most plugged-in nation.
Canada’s web population grew about two per cent in the last year to nearly 25 million, thanks to a 12 per cent growth spurt in the number of users aged 55 and older.

Perhaps this is not surprising, given our cold climate:

The number of users in Canada aged two to 17 actually decreased by four per cent last year, users 18 to 34 stayed steady, and users 35 to 54 edged up by one per cent.
Social media usage by older users also spiked significantly.
The numbers of social media users in Canada aged 55 to 64 grew by 36 per cent. There was also a 34 per cent increase in the number of users older than 65 and their social media visits were up 45 per cent.
Overall, the number of Canadians using social media was up 13 per cent and in peak months, around 96 per cent of the online population visited a social networking site.
The most active times for social networking were during the colder months of the year, which could lend some credence to the theory that Canadians are world leaders online because of our wintry climate.

Read the rest of the article for a breakdown of Internet time by provinces.

Then check out LinkedIn, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and a competitor for each of those five in the graphic above (more cool graphics here). How do these compare with Groupon and other group-buy media?


Blog your business ideas for the future.

Take a Big Bite Off This Dental Deal

Dental work is notoriously expensive in this city for adults who need it most but can afford it least, those without dental insurance and need to smile their way ahead at home or at a job interview.

Well, there's no need to stare a gift horse in the mouth. Here's the link, if you want to pay just $59 for a Dental Exam, Cleaning, Digital X-Rays, Intra-Oral Photo & Cosmetic Consultation ($260 Value).

Full disclosure: I get three bucks for every new purchaser in this deal. That dream boat is coming!