| Phoebe Lawson Morrow |
[Oct. 31st, 2009|12:09 pm] |
When my father first told me, driving down Nassau Street on a spring morning some 18 months ago, that he and my step-mother were going to have a baby, I was excited and a little bit surprised.
When he called yesterday afternoon to tell me that my little sister had been born, healthy and eight pounds, twelve ounces, at 10:20 a.m. at Mount Sinai, I was happy, if a little regretful that I wouldn't be able to see her right away.
But it wasn't until yesterday evening, sitting in a Halifax bar with three travellers and relaying the news to them, that the reality -- and everything that it means -- finally sank in. I have a little sibling. I'm going to be babysitting her, taking her to movies, teaching her how to ride a bike and climb trees. Some day, perhaps, I'll be helping her with homework and giving her life advice. We'll be sharing food at family meals and -- some day in the distant future -- drinking together. That's so amazing.
I guess that's how it is with any major event. It takes time to really absorb, and there are always those moments when it suddenly and surprisingly becomes clear what it all means.
So, here she is, the latest addition to the family and my first sister, Phoebe Lawson Morrow:
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 12th, 2009|09:05 pm] |
i like me some pizzer with tomatoes and olives.
yummy yummy. |
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| Get it first and play it big |
[Sep. 16th, 2009|06:39 pm] |
Much as I hate to insert shop talk here...
Amit and his crew got a really big scoop in this morning's paper, discovering that Ryerson is in serious talks about getting into Maple Leaf Gardens. In fact, it was so big that the school rushed out a press release a few hours after the paper came out to confirm it was true. Great work by the Eye, and Amit especially. Not only did they get the story first through some slogging reporting, but they put together a great package covering every angle, with all the context and background for it.
The funny thing is, the Ryersonian doesn't seem to understand that they got beat. I guess it's why the Eye has always had them on the ropes. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 19th, 2009|10:34 pm] |
I'm such a smelly bum.
I talk so much. i can't stop |
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| Cuff the duke |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|02:17 pm] |
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One of my favourite bands is apparently providing some of the soundtrack for Hockey Night in Canada. Good on the CBC for highlighting indie bands. Still, the combination of soul-probing alt. country and montages of guys getting slammed into the boards is a little incongruous. |
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| Tableaux |
[May. 26th, 2009|09:05 pm] |
It's late on a Wednesday night, and I'm standing at the top of a small slope, overlooking Montreal's Old Port. Over my head is a statue mounted on a column; behind me is the city's neo-classical, copper-roofed city hall; in front an open, illuminated square nearly devoid of people, lined with the strange mix of chichi restaurants and tourist-trap stores housed in austere stone buildings that characterizes the historic centres of so many cities. The last time I was here, it was tourist high season in mid-August many years ago. The square was packed with street performers, American tourists and wealthy locals. The patios were full. I was 14, and I imagined this area, with its tall old buildings and narrow streets was what Europe looked like. I felt just a little ashamed that there was nothing comparable, nothing as elegant or as old or as grand in the city I live in. I'm a lot older and a little more worldly now, but I can't help feeling the same way. I know there are quarters like this one all over the world, but I can still appreciate how unique it is. I'm still impressed by it, and I little ashamed there's nothing quite as perfectly pretty where I live.
( Read more... ) |
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| Of Niagara Falls and Montreal |
[May. 21st, 2009|04:49 pm] |
It's been a long time since I posted. Not much time to write, even now. So, two important things:
1. I had an awesome and far-too-short weekend with Sadi. It's been a great year :-)
2. Montreal is gorgeous. I thought it was just my memories, made at 14, that built this place up to be so amazing. But no. It's just as impressive and beautiful and off-beat as I remember it. |
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| And one more thing... |
[Mar. 17th, 2009|02:07 pm] |
The Eye swept the student category of the CCNAs (the awards they give to weekly newspapers in Canada), with best campus paper, best campus news story, best campus feature and best campus photo. I'm really proud.
I picked up a couple of awards -- one with the Eye and one with Fast Forward. Really hoping I can make the awards night (it's in Montreal in May). |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 16th, 2009|01:48 pm] |
Been busy the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to post many updates. So in point-form, here's what's happening:
-- There was a minor scandal on campus over an explicit photo Laura ran in the Eye's Love and Sex issue. The photo itself was pretty harmless, but it definitely reveals how prudish a lot of the campus (not to mention the Eye's masthead) is.
-- My team came in second in the Drink Olympics.
-- I've finally connected with Emily and Elissa a couple times, which was awesome. And pretty drunken.
-- I had a great time on Friday having dinner and kicking around downtown with some old friends.
-- Work is amazing, and I want to stay at this newspaper for as long as they'll let me.
-- Sadi is amazing. Enough said. :-)
-- I finally got down to Hamilton for a day to visit Mom on her birthday. Little by little, I'm getting to know that city. Who knew there was a neighbourhood on the same strip of land as the Burlington Skyway?
-- I also finally visited the new AGO.
That's it for now. |
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| Better than drugs |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|12:26 pm] |
Seven hours sounds like a long time. Usually, it is -- almost a full day at work, or a full night's sleep. But on Thursdays, it's all too short. Thursdays are show days, where my class produces and airs a live television newscast. We come into school first thing in the morning, and we have until 3 p.m. -- when the show goes to air -- to find stories, write the show and film our interviews. On those days, seven hours go by like a flash. But the time frame also focuses you, makes you work quickly, as the day counts down to 3 p.m. Peter, my T.V. prof, says that live television is better than drugs. The payoff of the countdown is the adrenaline rush, the thrill when it's done.
I wake up at 7 a.m., giving myself enough time to shower before heading out. I walk to school. The day is overcast but surprisingly warm, and the snow is melting. An absolutely perfect day for filming outside -- warm enough to do it, but with no direct sunlight to wash out the shots. On the way, I pick up a coffee at Moonbean and buy a paper from the vendors on Dundas. I get to school just before 8 a.m. The countdown starts.
( Read more... ) |
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| Pay it forward |
[Jan. 29th, 2009|07:56 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Sadi threatening to punch me in the junk | ] |
I'm trying to get Sadi to make me a toque. So, in the interest of good karma:
So, let's have a meme
Pay it Forward
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
What I create will be just for you.
It'll be done this calendar year.
If I don't have your address, I will ask for it. I hope that you like it.
Let me know if you're interested. |
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| And the good news: |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|05:57 pm] |
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I'm going to be moved up to general assignment reporter for the summer, and I couldn't be more excited. |
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| Roll me over |
[Jan. 12th, 2009|11:04 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | The Constantines | ] |
I'm a bit late on the New Year's post, but here goes anyway...
I put together a few photos of my year. What strikes me now, going through them, is how little they relate to the craziness (momentousness?) of the year as a whole. Sure, there were moments (like seeing vacant condo towers in Miami, victims of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown; or seeing a bar-full of jaded journalists erupt in cheers when Obama won the presidency), but for the most part, my life continued on the same. There was work, and school, and good times. Maybe the significance of everything that happened this year hasn't really sunk in yet?
( Read more... ) |
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| Sometimes... |
[Dec. 7th, 2008|10:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  content | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Wilco | ] |
Sometimes trying to be a great reporter, a decent student, a good friend, a loving boyfriend and a dutiful son stresses me out, and I have to remember that I'm working towards a career I love, school is pretty fun and so are my friends, I have an awesome girlfriend who always makes me feel better and a family that (almost) all live just a train ride away. What more could I ask for? |
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| We'll take the next train |
[Oct. 19th, 2008|01:46 pm] |
It's a Monday night at the office. I'm sitting at my desk editing a story, surrounded by 10 other editors all working hard to get the paper out. This is like most of my Monday nights for the last year and a half, but so much has changed. ( Read more... ) |
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| Was it all a dream? |
[Sep. 1st, 2008|03:46 pm] |
I woke up this morning in the same room I fell asleep in, drunk, four months ago. The sunlight on my face woke me up, rested and sober. Outside, I could hear kids playing in the pool down the street and the old oak trees of Forest Hill rustling. Was I really in Calgary the day before? Was it not long ago I was playing grounders on a hillside playground in Montgomery, overlooking the lights of Bowness and the darkness of the river valley?
When I fell asleep on my last night in town last spring, I thought I had a good idea how the next few months would play out. I'd be in Calgary, and I thought I had another summer of drinking beer on 17th Avenue ahead of me. Another summer of living in Punxylvania, but barely there. For work, I figured I'd knock off the EnCana story in the couple weeks and spend the summer writing news features. If I worked on a major project, it would probably be something city-related. I was wrong on pretty much everything.
EnCana became my major project for the summer, as did a series on Fort McMurray. Unlike last year, I was drawn away from the city and out to the small towns and countryside where the subjects of these stories live. Within the city, I spent more time in the glass and granite jungle of downtown talking to oil industry people than I did in the Beltline or Kensington. I also spent more time at Punxylvania than I thought I would. After a couple years of fearing the drugery of a domestic life, I got a taste of it and realised it's not that bad.
The biggest surprise, though, was getting back together with Sadi. I'd hoped, at the start of summer, to hang out with her a little, drink the occasional beer and try to build our friendship. Instead, we spent most of the summer together. It's amazing how easy it was to fall in love with her all over again. The last two years, I've been busy and dismissive, and avoided commitment. It takes being in a relationship with someone as awesome as her to remember how good it can be.
I'm sitting in the Eyeopener office, on the sunny and deserted university campus where I've spent the last two years building a career and a new life 2,000 miles from home. Sitting here now, it feels like no time has passed sice the last time I was here. But it has. And as I head into another year, with no idea how anything will turn out, I know I'll often think back on what a great summer it was. |
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| 99 bottles of beer on the wall |
[Aug. 25th, 2008|04:59 pm] |
We had a party at Punxylvania this past weekend that was one of the most fun nights I've had in a while. It involved just 12 people, 99 bottles of beer and about 6 hours of drinking. It started out pretty chill -- we passed around the bottles, sang the song and blasted through the first 50 beers in an hour and a half. Then, someone busted out the costumes (including a matador outfit, a tight-fitting French maid dress and a cop uniform), and Billy started singing Bruce Springsteen. Later, Mark wrestled people on the trampoline, Julian tried to videotape Charles having sex and I toasted the Saskatchewan wheat pool for some reason. I think someone also got beat over the head with a swiffer.
We were surprisingly less hung over than you'd expect. Except for Billy and Alex, whom I found the following morning sitting on my couch and rocking back and forth. Oh, and someone threw up in a flower pot. Good times. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 22nd, 2008|11:21 am] |
There's a lull at work. It's that space between making all the calls, and waiting to hear back. I just finished a story, and I'm waiting for a few interviews before plunging into the next one. The last month has been pretty eventful -- Folk Festival and a work-related trip that should yield our major project of the summer.
Folk Fest was really fun. I made it in for all four days, and camped out with Sadi and Chelsea on the Saturday night to snag a good spot for Ani DiFranco. It was rainy, so we borrowed an enormous industrial tarp from a construction site and slept under it in line. There were a few good acts. The only really disappointing one was Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), who didn't seem to be having any fun and then chastised the audience for not dancing enough. I finally got to see the Weakerthans, after missing them repeatedly. I even got an autograph from John K. Sadi also said hi to Ani DiFranco. Otherwise, there was time spent in the beer garden, and I saw a few of the old Community crew again.
I went up north the week afterwards to work on a series we're doing on the oilsands. Fort McMurray is a microcausm of Alberta: breakneck growth taken to the extreme, social problems no one was expecting, politicians and business people who don't seem to know how to deal with it all. Were it not for the sands, it's actually a really pretty spot, with low-lying forests of black spruce and jack pine growing over swamps and peat bogs. I wrote the first part of the series (just a business feature on how much the oilsands will grow and the problems standing in the way). I'm also working on part two, about the future of Fort Mac itself.
Otherwise, it's the usual summer stuff. Drinking on the occasional patio, having people over. Not to mention lots of lying around and watching movies. Tomorrow we're having a 99 bottles of beer party (taking each one down and passing it around the group). I'm gonna miss these lazy days when I go back to Toronto. |
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| Dog day afternoon |
[Jul. 21st, 2008|04:17 pm] |
It’s high summer. The sky is cloudless and dusty, stretching pale blue to the horizon. The concrete and asphalt of the city bake in the midday heat. It’s 30 degrees by mid-morning every day. Everyone overheats, gets lethargic, wants to escape the city, and only a light, dry wind that blows across the plains keeps the air from being stifling. This is the summertime Calgary I remember — hot and dry and lazy. Everything slows down, almost grinds to a halt, news starts to dry up and everyone would rather escape to the park or the patio than return phone calls.
The last few weeks have been a combination of the laziness above interspersed with bursts of hard work. I finally finished the EnCana feature that’s been hanging over my head for months. I ended up reworking the entire thing, doing 30 new interviews and sifting through close to 1,000 pages of documents. I decided to make it my main legacy piece at Fast Forward, and I wrote it in a magazine style, with a tonne of softer stuff – colour, detail, scenes – and a few recreations. While the farmers who are angry at the company ended up being the meat of the piece, I personally had the most fun learning about the business side of the company. EnCana’s business model is pretty shrewd, and it’s not surprising its become as big as it is. I think the story turned out pretty well. I ended up unearthing a few things that have never been published and a bunch more that have never been made public in Canada before. At the same time, I’m glad I’m finished.
I’ve also assigned my first two stories for the Eye next year. I decided I want to remake the Features section somewhat, and these two pieces should hopefully kick that off. I really hope they work out. What I’m going to try is a bit of a gamble, but I don’t want my Features section to be a copy of Karon’s or Jesse’s.
The rest of the last month has been dominated by laid back drinking, games and movies at the Bike Rack; cutting work early to sip beer with co-workers; a Cypress Hills camping trip with Sadi; and occasional bar-hopping. On the home front, everything is pretty good. We held a secret café/bar to fundraise for Roadbike’s surgery (there was also a great dreamy bikeride the night before) and I got to play waiter, complete with bow-tie and swallow tails; Sadi’s mom and sister moved down from St. Catharines and stayed at Punx for a couple weeks while they found a place; Rodeo moved out into a sweet apartment in Sunnyside and otherwise, everything’s pretty much what you’d expect in summer, a lot of sipping cold drinks and having people over. |
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