The Official Website & Blog of Paxton Allewell. Communications Specialist, Educator, Writer and Designer.
Fall Cleaning
Sep 5th
We all know the saying “spring cleaning” (which is what you’re supposed to do in the spring) but what about “fall cleaning”? What, are we only supposed to clean in the spring? Heck no!
This labour day weekend I did some solid Fall Cleaning/Organizing. I spent about an hour organizing files on my computer on Saturday, and yesterday I spent another couple hours cleaning, purging, organizing, backing up my data on my computer, etc. It felt great when it was all done. I still have more to do, but I made a good dent.
I have a number of exciting things coming up in the next couple months (hopefully you do too) and using some of my long weekend to get things in order was well worth it. I feel more control and clarity in my life already. I’ll have to remember this for next year. In fact, this should be a season ritual of mine – spring, summer, fall and winter cleaning.
Ever feel stuck and unsure what to do next?
I’d suggest that one of the best first steps you can take is to clean up your surroundings. The bonus of getting organized is that it can also help to open up space or room for new things to come into your life; or who knows, you might find some older things that you forgot you had.
Once you’re all cleaned up and organized, next step might be simply start working out regularily to get the blood and endorphins flowing again. These two simple things might be all you need to start thinking clearly and finding your direction again.
Have you seen the movie “Limitless” with Bradley Cooper? The one where he takes a new drug that helps him tap into his brain? Do you know what is essentially the first thing he does after tapping into the full potential of his mind? He clean’s his apartment! Other steps he takes? Starts working out. Gets a haircut….some very simple steps, but powerful ones.
So, have I inspired you to get your fall cleaning on? I hope so. Have any comments or cleaning suggestions? Comment here >>
Have a great fall season!
Flickr photo credit: Todd Baker
“Sorry” Versus “Excuse Me”
Jul 22nd
Last Friday, I went to a live taping of 100 Huntley Street with my sister and niece.
I’ve passed by the Crossroads building (where they film 100 Huntley Street) in Burlington a number of times and I’ve had the inkling to check out the building for awhile now. It has a neat church and a number of brick houses built into it, making it look like a little village.
My oldest sister from BC (that’s not her picture to the right) – who’s taking Seminary right now – was recently in Ontario to visit our family with her husband and daughter and I thought I’d be fun to go check out the building as an outing. She suggested we find out if they were taping the broadcast that day too, and if so, if we could sit in the audience. It turned out that they did in fact tape live and that we could sit in the audience, which we were told is typically small.
So on Friday morning my sister, niece and I went to the 1-hour live taping (we were the only three in the ‘audience’) and ended up meeting Ron and Moira the hosts of the show (who were very nice – as expected) and got a tour of the building and studios. It was a really good time.
Epiphany in the washroom?
Ok, so all that being said, the real reason I am writing this blog was because while we were there I went to the washroom, as most people do when they go out somewhere, I ended up having an epiphany!
As I pushed open the door to enter the washroom, it just so happend to be at the exact same time as someone coming out who was pulling the door to exit. I’m sure you know the scene I’m talking about. We’ve all had that happen to us before on both sides of the equation. But can you remember what you say when those awkward moments happen?
Well it turned out that I instinctively (and immediately) said “sorry” as we crossed paths to continue on our separate ways. It turned out the other guy said nothing, except “no problem”.
Just after I said “sorry” I wanted to kick myself. “Sorry, was I really sorry?” I thought. “No, no I’m not sorry. That’s ridiculous. So why did I say it?” I should have just said “excuse me” instead, I thought to myself. Especially when the other person didn’t say a thing!
Now I know we Canadians like to use our sorry’s and excuse me’s a lot, but in this case I believe it called for an “excuse me” instead of a “sorry.” I think it’s probably fair that the person entering says “excuse me” for sure, but the person leaving could say it too, but not sorry!
Since this epiphany I’ve found myself paying more attention and noticing what people say in these types of situations. My conclusion so far is that I think we’re all saying sorry way too often when what we really mean is excuse me. We’re not sorry for getting in your way, but we know we did get in your way, so a simple excuse me is justified.
Do you agree? Do you use “sorry” too much? I’d love to hear what you think!
Beauty Day Documentary – Cap’n Video
Jun 18th
Last week a film enthusiast friend of mine asked me last minute if I wanted to see a local documentary playing at the Pen Centre Theatre in St. Catharines. I said sure, sounded interesting.
It turned out to be Beauty Day a documentary about a local Niagara guy who had his own cable show called ‘Cap’n Video’ who was essentially the first “Jackass.” While I’m not drawn to the Jackass-style humour, the doc was outstanding and I’d certainly recommend it. The story, character and style is entertaining for sure, and it was definitely neat to see some local characters and locations in the movie. I wonder if I might see these people around somewhere now? I tend to be pretty good at recognizing people/celebrities.
Anyways, below is the trailer for the doc. Below the trailer is also a video from the premier of Beauty Day at Hot Docs 2011 in Toronto, which is pretty cool and fun.
I’m currently staying tuned for the 20th anniversary show that they made as part of this documentary. Cap’n Video said he’d post it online (as it was not allowed to be aired on TV), but there’s no sign of it yet. It should be fun to watch.
official website: www.beautydaydocumentary.com
Podcast Interview Feat. Melanie Mullen, Green Activist & Entrepreneur
Mar 4th
Talking all things ‘Green’ with Melanie Mullen
.
Melanie Mullen
Ever wonder what really happens at the UN Climate Change Conferences? Would you like to know the definition of “green” from someone who even has the word green in their email address? Ever thought about retrofitting your home or apartment? Curious about the Green Party? Looking for some Green tips? If so, then this podcast is for you!
* * * * *
In this podcast I have a chat with Melanie Mullen, ‘green warrior’ extraordinaire. Melanie currently runs her own eco-imagineering consulting company (re)cover inc., and has had significant involvement in the green movement over the years (since the age of 10!) where she has established a strong profile for herself.
In recent years she has attended three global UN Climate Change Conferences, worked in Ottawa as an Innovation and Development Co-ordinator for the United Nations Association of Canada, and on the political front, in 2008 she was nominated and voted in as the Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Ontario and a Candidate in the Provincial elections….and she’s not yet 30 years of age!
I hope you enjoy this 2 part, approx. 30 minute interview with the ever-fascinating and inspiring Melanie Mullen. I have a feeling you’ll want to be more green after listening, which would make her happy.
In PART 1 Melanie talks about what she’s up to in San Diego (hint Grammy Awards!), she defines “green” for us, talks about attending the recent Cancun, Mexico Climage Change Conference, ‘Hopenhagan’ and Bali conferences, and she discusses Canada’s involvement and (lack of) leadership…
In PART 2 Melanie discusses her reasons for running for the Green Party in 2008, she tells us about her company (re)cover inc. where she uniquely combines her Environmental Engineering degree and green passions, and she ends off the interview with some green tips…leaving us wanting to learn more.
Special THANKS to Melanie for taking the time to chat with me! If you have any comments or questions please post them below, or contact myself or Melanie directly.
Enjoy!
Podcast (part-1): Download (Duration: 18:29 — 7.4MB)
Podcast (part-2): Download (Duration: 18:41 — 7.5MB)
.
For more information on Melanie please visit her website:
.
Parlez-Vous Français?
Feb 20th
I’m currently taking French classes at College Boreal in Niagara and it’s been great so far. Winter is a fantastic time to take a class…it definitely helps with the winter blahs.
So it’s been about three months now that I’ve come to a place in my life where I’m finally committed to becoming Bilangual. I grew up in Ottawa and went to French immersion school as a kid, and on a recent trip back to Ottawa I had an “Aha!” moment. I was hearing French basically just as much as English and it was like finding an oasis for me. I loved it, and I missed it. So, it’s been back to school for me and I was happy to find a good place to study in Niagara…
I was watching some videos on YouTube the other day and this Google ad below played on one of them. It’s called “Parisian Love” and it really connected with me. It’s not only a clever ad using google search to tell a story, but also speaks to my efforts to learn French. I know i’ll be using Google quite a bit through this learning process and already have. So I guess I should say “Merci Google!”
My Winter Homecation
Feb 17th
My parents took off last week on their annual getaway south and here I am stuck in winter. Fortunately the last couple days have been unusually warm, but let’s not kid ourselves it will get cold again very soon.
If, like me, you don’t have a warm winter getaway planned, then you might want to consider the gold ol’ ‘homecation’ option.
Homecation: “With the high cost of travel, people are opting to stay at home. In many cases, they are transforming their homes into a resort, which entertains their local family and friends in the comfort and security of their “personal resort”. (source: Urban Dictionary)
I’ve compiled a couple videos below that have helped me with my winter blahs, hopefully they might help you too.
It was great the other day. My room has a nice big window facing a park and the sun was out and super bright so I took off my shirt, grabbed a comfy seat, put my feet up and soaked in the rays while listening to the sounds of the ocean from these videos. Try it sometime 
The first video is a ‘BEST FLORIDA BEACHES’ video from a dvd company “Relax Now”. I like this one because it reminds me of vacations past, and it holds the shot for a few minutes adding to the effect of actually feeling ‘there’. The first shot with the seagulls in this video isn’t the best one by any means, so wait it out, it’s worth it. If this video isn’t for you, they also have these same type of videos from beaches of Hawaii, Bahamas, Carribean and California and more….just youtube “Best Beaches” and you’ll find them…they’re awesome!
The second video has some beautiful pictures of the ocean, especially the sunset shots, and it also has a soundtrack, which the first video doesn’t.
Cheers to homecations!
The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition – Diet Coke Commercial song
Dec 9th
I was watching some clips on Conan O’brien’s new show’s website teamcoco.com (conan rocks!) and noticed that Diet Coke was a major sponsor. Diet Coke’s intro commercial on one of the videos featured a clip of a song that sounded really cool. I took a second to look it up on google and found that the band “The Temper Trap” not only had a great song, but a sweet video too….I love the triangles spinning and the galaxy feel in this video. Enjoy!
Niagara goes Viral…
Dec 8th
You’ve probably seen the “Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujuah Chorus” YouTube video sensation which now has close to 15 million views. If you didn’t know, it was actually filmed at Seaway Mall in Welland, Niagara.
Congrats to Chorus Niagara and the video production team for hitting the big time on YouTube. Marketers literally dream of making a viral video like this. In fact, a guy I know who’s tried to create viral videos told me he was really jealous.
I met one of the members of Chorus Niagara by chance just about two weeks before this video project happened. And I bumped into him recently at the Pen Centre mall in St. Catharines after the video had gone viral and he told me they were going to be on Canada AM and have been getting a lot of requests to sing.
Today, they were in fact on Canada AM. You can see their live (recorded) performance on http://www.ctv.ca/canadaam. I found it fun to see them all in their normal clothing and dressed up a bit. Some look a lot different (haircut, no glasses, shaven, etc.) from the original viral video too.
Here’s also some great coverage from CogecoTV of today’s Canada AM filming at the Seaway Mall…
The Official Video: