Category: Around the World
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Happy year of the fire horse
A few nights ago, I went to a lunar new year celebration at the Royal Ontario Museum, which was very energizing. Last year, I happened to visit The Met a few days before the lunar new year and saw the AAPI Jazz Collective play. When I realized this, I felt like it was a cosmic…
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Why people still ask for directions
Maps were one of the first technologies. The earliest map we know of right now was etched into a mammoth tusk around 25,000 years old. Maps have come a long way, from tusk, to paper, to software. Now, an app can offer a huge, interactive, map of the world in your pocket, down to the…
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Good things happen when you can be flexible with timing
A company holds its holiday party in March. The venues are cheaper. Holiday party fatigue is over. The team looks forward to it, especially if January and February were thrashy. If you want to save money on travel, your best bet is to be flexible either with where you want to go, or when you…
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Third places on Christmas
When I grew up, Christmas was a day to spend at home or in someone else’s house. The convention was to be with family. Even if you weren’t, there wasn’t really an option, because most of the stores were closed. (Chinese restaurants were an exception!) That’s less the case now. There are several restaurants and…
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Two articles I wrote very early in my career
A couple of years ago, I wrote about my gig writing for Techvibes while I was an undergrad university student. I was a self-taught writer, and these posts are part of my very early work. Techvibes was acquired in 2016, and most of the articles were stripped of author credentials. Some of them have all…
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Imagining the future of The Path, after Cumberland Terrace
One of my favorite aspects of Toronto is the set of underground tunnels expanding out of the financial district known as The Path. Among its connections are a university, a mall, a stadium, a conference center, and a movie theater. The most northern point of the Path is the Atrium on Bay. Several blocks north…
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Notes from a season of movement
I’ve moved around the world more often than usual this year. I hadn’t written much about this, so I wanted to start with this post: My wife and I moved away from NYC, where we lived for two years, back to Toronto. I left my job as the director of marketing for FGX. I spent…
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Bias for novelty
If you’re used to the same routines every day—same route to work, same apps and websites, same friends—then you have a lot to gain by exploring. Try a new coffee shop, restaurant, or bar. Visit a nearby local town. Don’t order your favorite dish, set out to find a second favorite. Don’t be surprised to…
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Document whatever’s in front of you
On Sunday evening, I saw a man sitting at the back of a vintage shop in Daikanyama. He sat on a small stool, with his backpack tucked between his legs. His right hand held a blank notebook open, his left held a black pen. He drew the scene in front of him—racks of pants, shirts,…