How to Announce a Fire Alarm

My husband and I have lived in a certain downtown condominium for nearly 3 years, and we have yet to hear a single concierge make a fire alarm announcement that sounds like they know what they are doing - much less like they know how to speak. I find this highly annoying. Take tonight's alarm at midnight:

-> 12:00am - Dude leans on a warning buzzer for about 45 seconds, which is done to notify us of an upcoming intercom announcement. Different concierge hold it down for different lengths of time. Some to the point where you want to go downstairs and throttle them. It is a very loud, horrible sound, of which, 5 seconds or less would be more than sufficient.


->12:06am - Crackling and chewing sound (Dude was probably eating a sandwhich or something). Attentionattention (chomp, chomp slurrrp!) There is a, um, this is the concierge... ... speaking... ... Mumble, mumble mumble (chew chew gulp)... Fire department (more terrible mouth sounds)... notifiedstayin... ...yourunitsattentionattention (and repeat of above horrendous sounds).

For some reason the fire alarm in our building goes off up to several times a week. I'm sure Toronto Fire Services are not pleased. This means we are exposed to horrendous concierge Fire Alarm announcements on a regular basis and it pisses me off every time because they are always horrible like the one tonight.

Luckily, this time as my ears were assaulted once again, I devised a fool proof plan for them to prevent this from happening again.:

1. Have a pre-written blurb they can say and a time limit for how long they can hold the buzzer down. I suggest 5 seconds. If pushing the buzzer and saying the announcement is too complicated for one person, have one person be the official buzzer pusher and the other can do the announcement.

When doing the announcement, read the it off the paper. Pretend you are speaking to humans (who may or may not have been sleeping) - and try to sound professional. Easy peasy.

2. When hiring concierge, screen them first, by having them perform a test on their button pushing skills and ability to read off a piece of paper in a pleasant sounding manner. If they fail the timed button pushing exercise or the fire alarm announcement making test, send them on their merry way.

I'll have to suggest this to the management right away. I'm looking forward to getting my sleep back. Though I have a new problem now since I can hear Alex snoring in the bedroom.

Would You Wear The Prada Turban?

Apparently, while I've had my nose in the books for school, I failed to notice that Prada came out with the most ridiculous accessory for spring.... the female turban.

This is a scary, scary thing and here's why. Muiccia Prada is considered the fashion leader when it comes to new trends. When she does something, others will follow. Please. Someone stop her!

Just look at Style.com (where these pictures are from) to see a whole runway of turbans from Prada. I look at this and I think Aunt Jemima? WTF? My head would look like a bowling ball with this on, what with my big cheeks.

This reminds me of another terrible idea: the horrid Balenciaga riding hat from Fall 2006. Woof!

What do you guys think? Would you wear either of these looks?

The Canadiana Version

Oh Canada! I'm so tired of seeing how afraid we are when it comes to taking risks. Though we have a nice talent pool for Internet, film, television and pretty much every other industry, we're always afraid to try something new. Nope, the Americans have to do it first - and then it comes to Canada. Here's a few recent TV shows that immediately pop to mind:

America's Next Top Model -> Canada's Next Top Model

Deal or No Deal -> Deal or No Deal Canada

Entertainment Tonight -> Entertainment Tonight Canada (I still can't figure out how they managed to clone Mary Hart's voice box and implant it in Cheryl Hickey)

American Idol -> Canadian Idol

I know there are loads more and it's not just television, but I'm sick today and those are the ones that stuck out through the fog induced by my cold medication.

I applaud the Americans for taking chances and constantly innovating. I also applaud Canadian companies who do the same and don't fit this stereotype. I just don't think there are enough of you out there. Canada needs to step up and take more chances. We need more original programming, more innovation, and more funding to support that innovation.

Unless of course the goal is to be:
United States of America -> United States of America Canada.

Sexy Canadian Designers Part I: Rudsak

We recently posted a poll on ChickAdvisor to see what you all thought about Canadian Designers. While 46% of you have already purchased Canadian designer labels and loved it, or plan to in the future, the majority of you said you either never buy designer, or you had no idea Canada even had a fashion industry. We thought this was a travesty that needed to be addressed. Soooo, we're going to start filling you in on a few Canadian designers we think are sexy, innovative and fun.

Rudsak:
We've been big fans of Rudsak ever since we first started attending Fashion Week in Toronto. Rudsak is a Montreal label designed by Evik Astoorian, who started his career in footwear before getting into the leather business with his family.

Though they launched in 1994 and are one of the fastest growing labels in leather garments in North America, they've only recently started getting the street cred they deserve. This is largely thanks to their popular shows at Toronto and Montreal Fashion Weeks, and more recently, their newly opened boutiques on Queen Street West and Sherway Gardens in Toronto and a few in Quebec.

Rudsak is known for its signature leather accents in jackets and coats, and leather accessories. This is a great store to buy a trench for spring, a winter coat or an uber cute leather jacket. You'd probably also like the leather handbags and wallets.

They carry mens and womens apparel and even have jeans and a few tops, which are reasonably priced. This is a must shop for Canadian designer wear and the prices are comparable to big chain stores. Regular priced coats run from about $200 - $600.

visit www.rudsak.com for more pictures or lorealfashionweek.ca to watch a video from their latest collection.

* Photo credits: www.rudsak.com

Skipping Out on a Conference to Shop

Alex and I spent the last several days at ICE '07, (Interactive Content Exchange), which is a huge multimedia conference with delegates visiting from all over the world to discuss the latest and greatest in multimedia.

While the conference was a great networking opportunity and we met a lot of invaluable fascinating people, I got a wee bit distracted and somehow found myself downstairs in Winners buying these uber comfy Micheal Kors pumps. It wasn't really pre-meditated, it was friggin' freezing in the Carlu and I needed a sweater. I wasn't about to go about in my winter coat. I just happened to pass by the shoe rack and without meaning to, I ended up trying on these.

Alex was there and insisted we buy them. I don't like to argue, so I bought them. Now that I have them at home, I'm feeling a little indecisive. They were $100 (CAN). What do you guys think? Yay or nay?

We won 1st Place!!

We're still here at the conference (people are speaking as I rudely type this) but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who wished us well. It wasn't as scary as I imagined and we got 1st place so we'll definitely be talking more about this. Yay!

ChickAdvisor is a Finalist at U-Pitch!

We recently entered our street podcasting concept "Where'd You Get That?" for the U-Pitch competition for Ice '07, "the world's coolest interactive media business event".

I found out this Thursday that I am one of 5 finalists who will be presenting our concept to a panel of industry experts in an attempt to win a cash prize to develop our idea. This is taking place in Toronto on Wednesday at 2pm. Whoo hooo!

I'm officially peeing my pants.

Public speaking terrifies me. I blurt out words that don't exist. I say things backwards like, "it's mreat to geet you!" If you're still trying to figure out what that means, you understand how odd I can come across. It's not that I don't know my stuff, it's just that crowds are very imtimidating to me. Especially crowds with media toting video cameras who can broadcast my bumblings to the world. Ironically, video cameras alone don't bother me at all. Go figure.

Sooo, here's to me speaking English, not fainting or tripping on the stage and making us proud. Goodness knows we need the cash. At 2pm this Wednesday please send positive vibes my way. I'll let you know how it all goes down...

L'Oreal Fashion Week F/W '07: boutique le trou

I made this little video using my little digital camera. It came out pretty good considering it's supposed to be for taking photos. I wish I would have thought to make all my videos like this instead of lugging around a 35 lb DVC Pro Camera and broken 40lb tripod all week. I guess I know better for next time!

boutique le trou is on the hip Queen Street West strip. The owner, Marlene Shiff, is an absolute doll. I got a chance to talk to her last night. I'm hoping to include that interview with my fashion piece, which should be ready some time next week.

Anti-Fashion Week Conspiracy at Ryerson University

The Ryerson Goblins are at it again.

They already have me in a perpetual state of disheveledness with huge bags under my eyes, horrendous hair and bad skin from many demanding assignments. They had the balls to assign work over reading week, which included meeting with a professor for clearance on our topic of choice, then going out and filming a local event and editing it in addition to scheduling major exams and assignments immediately thereafter. Reading Week is supposed to be time off so we can all go lie on a beach somewhere and contemplate our bright futures. Balls. Now I am being forced to miss out on the most brilliant night of shows at Fashion Week - AGAIN.

Every year, Toronto Fashion Week falls in mid October and mid March. Coincidentally (though I argue this is in fact NOT a coincidence), this is also the time of year where Radio and Television Arts goes from extremely busy to flat out, mental. It's bad enough that I suffer through 11 hours of solid class on Wednesdays, but this Wednesday also happens to be the most packed day of the shows I want to see at Fashion Week.

This time, I am forced to blow off Rudsak, Comrags (Your website is creepy), Andy The-Anh & David Dixon (Do you HAVE a website?), to name a few. I am not happy about this.

It's not like I can skip class since all of my most major assignments of the year are to be delivered on this day, including a huge presentation from 6-9pm. Again I say, Balls! My theory is that Ryerson purposely schedules all major tests and assignments to coincide with major events in Toronto so they can suck every last vestige of joy out of our lives. Then they laugh evilly at the site of our gloomy, weary and unfashionable faces. (All my villains laugh evilly).

I will cover what I can despite my sketchy attendance. Just please forgive my bedraggled appearance on camera should I chose to torture you with it.

Far Coast: A New Favorite Cafe

I finally had a chance to check out this fabulous new cafe on Bloor Street West + St. Thomas St. I just picked up my fashion week passes from the Intercontinental Hotel and needed a spot to do a little studying for a major test tomorrow (which clearly I am not doing as I type this!!). As I ran along the street in the cold fighting every urge to pop in one of the warm inviting stores and just go shopping, I spotted this place across the street with it's huge windows and funky decor that I could see from far away.













I'm really glad I checked it out. It's so adorable! Fresh aqua walls, hardwood floors, eclectic mismatched furniture, comfy couches and lots of little nooks to read a book or get a little work done.

I'm having the Raspberry Roobois Tea, which tastes like hot fresh raspberries. There's lots of room in this two level cafe and it's easy to sit here for hours people watching and avoiding studying, which is so dull by comparison. The only problem with this location is fighting the temptation to go shopping.

Hmmm... that reminds me, what on earth am I going to wear to Fashion Week??

A Stranger and a Cell Phone

This picture has nothing to do with my cell phone, except that I took it with my cell phone.
The most ridiculous thing happened last night. I took a cab to a friend's birthday party (pajama party theme!) and in my fumblings to find an appropriate tip for the driver, somehow left my cell phone in the cab.

I didn't realize this until I was trying to buzz in and realized I didn't know what floor my friend lived on. I tried 5 times but they kept buzzing me in without speaking to me so they couldn't hear me shouting "What FLOOR are you on?"

I put my bag down on the dirty floor and rummaged around for my cell phone so I could call her and tell her I didn't know where to go. That's when I realized my phone was sitting cozily in the back of the cab speeding through town.

So there I was in the lobby of her building with no phone and no way to get into her apartment, mentally calculating the cost of a new cell phone and various accompanying service charges from the evil corpora- er, cell phone company.

Just as I rang up a 6th time my friend came down the hall in fuzzy slippers, pink pajama pants and a tiara, "Hey Ali, I've been trying to buzz you in forever!" Ya, I know. I told her about my phone and she gave me a big hug. As soon as we were inside, she lent me her phone so I could call my cell. I tried several times but there was no answer. Just as I was calling Alex to get him to cancel my phone, a call came through from a woman who found my phone!

Turns out she lives in my building (!!! what are the chances of that?!) and left it with the concierge for me. I still can't believe the coincidence. I got my phone back within 3 hours of losing it with no harm done. Someone else might've taken advantage and called a few overseas relatives.

Thank God for people like her and Thank God for coincidences like that.