Ali and Alex ~ honeymoon in Spain May 2005I have been a very naughty blogger.
The truth is, writing is not the easiest thing for me so posting on the ChickAdvisor blog as often as I do is already quite an accomplishment. With the amazing coverage the company has been getting Alex and I have been invited to speak at a number of events and I have another coming up on Feb 20th. I'm not complaining, we're thrilled. Just doin' a little 'splainin' for my absence is all.
A really interesting speaker that came into one of my classes last week said you should always keep up with your blog and write about the things you are learning and what is happening in your industry. So... I will attempt to write here more than once every 4 months ;)
I'm finally finishing my degree in April so I expect to have a more reasonable schedule shortly. In the mean time I'll leave you with this story that few people know but is quite unbelievable: How I met my husband... and business partner, Alex.
Part 1: Kicked off Campus
I am originally from Winnipeg. About 8 years ago I was studying at the University of Manitoba and took on a part time job doing field marketing for a company with several clients including a new online textbook retailer for university students called ProfessorJones (now defunct). I promoted ProfessorJones on campus together with a small team I hired, and we handed out cd roms, put up posters and encouraged fellow students to buy their textbooks online instead of paying through the nose at the University bookstore. After a couple of weeks of intense promotion, we were kicked off campus because the university bookstore was upset about the competition and pulled out an old contract that said they had exclusive rights to sell text books on campus. The university paper wrote up a nice little ditty on the brouhaha here. They quoted me for it.
I didn't think anything more about that job until several years later...
Part 2: Living in T.O With The Roommate That Wouldn't Share
Shortly after my stint with ProfessorJones, I moved to Toronto by myself. I was working in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster, which I hated. I was very young, unconnected and underpaid. I knew I had much more to offer than assessing the value of a torn asshole from a slip and fall in a grocery store - yes, this was one of my files. One of the last. Despite the fact that I could hardly pay my bills, I put away 10% of my income every paycheque. After 3 years I had just enough to quit but didn't have the guts. I decided to downsize from living in my own jr 1 bedroom to sharing a 2 bedroom with a roommate. I found a beautiful apartment in Bloor West Village but didn't know anyone I could share it with. I told the landlord that I loved the unit but needed to find a roommate first. He mentioned that another tenant had a friend who was also looking for a roommate. We met later that week and realized we could stand to live together.
Part 3: Love at Second Sight
New Roommate had two guy friends help her move in. One of those guys was a somewhat grumpy but athletic looking guy named Alex. Our apartment had no air conditioning, we lived on the top floor with no elevator and it was 30 degrees outside that day, so understandably, Alex was no fun. We were equally unenthralled with each other.
Two months later we all joined a beach volleyball team and it turns out, Alex was not only the best player of the bunch, he was also a lot nicer than our first meeting. We found we had a lot in common. I didn't know much about him, but there were definitely mutual sparks. The Roommate saw the sparks. The Roommate didn't like the sparks. The Roommate said she didn't want her Roommate and her good friend to date. And so we didn't.
Part 4: Love Over a Bowl of Paella
Six months later, Alex threw a Paella night where he invited a bunch of friends over to share this traditional Spanish dish. He invited Roomie.... and me! By this time I realized Roomie was selfish in many ways and no longer cared if she was offended by me getting to know someone she had no intention of dating herself. He invited for 7. I came at 7. Everyone else came at 8. ... The Paella was delicious.
Part 5: Destiny
Two months later in casual conversation, Alex said, "well at my first company, ProfessorJones, we blah blah blah..." I nearly lost my lid. I said, "WHAT?! ProfessorJones?? I worked for you!!!" We immediately went online where he showed me his articles on ProfessorJones and I showed him my notorious affiliation.
He convinced me to quit my job and go back to school. We got engaged 5 months later and married 9 months after that. This May, we celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary. Our anniversary as business partners follows shortly after.
Do you believe in God - Fate - Destiny now?
The truth is, writing is not the easiest thing for me so posting on the ChickAdvisor blog as often as I do is already quite an accomplishment. With the amazing coverage the company has been getting Alex and I have been invited to speak at a number of events and I have another coming up on Feb 20th. I'm not complaining, we're thrilled. Just doin' a little 'splainin' for my absence is all.
A really interesting speaker that came into one of my classes last week said you should always keep up with your blog and write about the things you are learning and what is happening in your industry. So... I will attempt to write here more than once every 4 months ;)
I'm finally finishing my degree in April so I expect to have a more reasonable schedule shortly. In the mean time I'll leave you with this story that few people know but is quite unbelievable: How I met my husband... and business partner, Alex.
Part 1: Kicked off Campus
I am originally from Winnipeg. About 8 years ago I was studying at the University of Manitoba and took on a part time job doing field marketing for a company with several clients including a new online textbook retailer for university students called ProfessorJones (now defunct). I promoted ProfessorJones on campus together with a small team I hired, and we handed out cd roms, put up posters and encouraged fellow students to buy their textbooks online instead of paying through the nose at the University bookstore. After a couple of weeks of intense promotion, we were kicked off campus because the university bookstore was upset about the competition and pulled out an old contract that said they had exclusive rights to sell text books on campus. The university paper wrote up a nice little ditty on the brouhaha here. They quoted me for it.
I didn't think anything more about that job until several years later...
Part 2: Living in T.O With The Roommate That Wouldn't Share
Shortly after my stint with ProfessorJones, I moved to Toronto by myself. I was working in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster, which I hated. I was very young, unconnected and underpaid. I knew I had much more to offer than assessing the value of a torn asshole from a slip and fall in a grocery store - yes, this was one of my files. One of the last. Despite the fact that I could hardly pay my bills, I put away 10% of my income every paycheque. After 3 years I had just enough to quit but didn't have the guts. I decided to downsize from living in my own jr 1 bedroom to sharing a 2 bedroom with a roommate. I found a beautiful apartment in Bloor West Village but didn't know anyone I could share it with. I told the landlord that I loved the unit but needed to find a roommate first. He mentioned that another tenant had a friend who was also looking for a roommate. We met later that week and realized we could stand to live together.
Part 3: Love at Second Sight
New Roommate had two guy friends help her move in. One of those guys was a somewhat grumpy but athletic looking guy named Alex. Our apartment had no air conditioning, we lived on the top floor with no elevator and it was 30 degrees outside that day, so understandably, Alex was no fun. We were equally unenthralled with each other.
Two months later we all joined a beach volleyball team and it turns out, Alex was not only the best player of the bunch, he was also a lot nicer than our first meeting. We found we had a lot in common. I didn't know much about him, but there were definitely mutual sparks. The Roommate saw the sparks. The Roommate didn't like the sparks. The Roommate said she didn't want her Roommate and her good friend to date. And so we didn't.
Part 4: Love Over a Bowl of Paella
Six months later, Alex threw a Paella night where he invited a bunch of friends over to share this traditional Spanish dish. He invited Roomie.... and me! By this time I realized Roomie was selfish in many ways and no longer cared if she was offended by me getting to know someone she had no intention of dating herself. He invited for 7. I came at 7. Everyone else came at 8. ... The Paella was delicious.
Part 5: Destiny
Two months later in casual conversation, Alex said, "well at my first company, ProfessorJones, we blah blah blah..." I nearly lost my lid. I said, "WHAT?! ProfessorJones?? I worked for you!!!" We immediately went online where he showed me his articles on ProfessorJones and I showed him my notorious affiliation.
He convinced me to quit my job and go back to school. We got engaged 5 months later and married 9 months after that. This May, we celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary. Our anniversary as business partners follows shortly after.
Do you believe in God - Fate - Destiny now?
