Veronica Heringer

Os Torontonians adoram acreditar que o mês de março anuncia o início da primavera. A minha experiência pelas terras geladas atesta que o Equinox do dia 20 é uma tentativa acanhada de oficializar o fim do inverno enquanto a última nevasca de março ainda é esperada. Com o tempo, aprendi que a estreia da temporada de basebol é o anúncio real da primavera no Canadá.

Esse ano, a expectativa em torno do início da temporada do Blue Jays l é maior do que o normal. Ano passado, o time nem chegou perto dos playoffs – os jogos entre os finalistas da temporada. Em 2013, o gerente geral do time Alex Anthopoulos reestruturou completamente o time canadense que estrategicamente pouco se parece com time de 2012.

Para se ter uma ideia, proliferam-se nos jornais locais projeções sobre a temporada. A contratação do pitcher (lançador) R.A. Dickey iniciou o frisson em torno do time de 2013. Dickey é o único jogador na liga capaz de lançar aknuckleball – forma de lançar a bola usado as juntas dos dedos, minimizando a rotação da bola e criando uma trajetória imprevisível para o rebatedor.

Além do knuckler de Dickney, os fãs do Blue Jays alimentam grande expectativa em torno da performance de Jose Reyes. Conhecido como um dos melhores shortstopse rebatedores da liga, é esperado que a performance de Reyes transforme o Blue Jays num time mais dinâmico e “esperto,” já que ele vai ser a muralha dentro do diamante.

A única má notícia para os Brazucas-Torontonians é a partida de Yan Gomes para Cleveland Indians (boa notícia para os brasileiros em Ohio). No entanto, as estrelas Jose Bautista (que é a cara do meu grande amigo carioca Oswaldo), Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie e o queridinho das meninas J.P. Arencibia estão de volta para mais uma temporada no Skydome.

É oficial, meu povo. A primavera chegou por aqui. O Booster Juice – loja de sucos local – já trouxe de volta as fotos de Bautista, em tamanho real, promovendo a marca. Banners como o da foto se multiplicam pelas vizinhanças da cidade enquanto a neve derrete ao seu redor. Chegou a hora de comprar o passe da temporada e torcer para o Blue Jays!

Esse ano tem bonecos do Encarnacion e do Lawrie para os primeiros 20,000 fãs dos jogos dos dias 21 de abril e 11 de agosto, respectivamente. O Opera Bob’s Public House segue com as suas tradicionais atividades para os jogos do time em outras cidades. E é claro, amendoim, pipoca e cachorro quente ainda são os melhores acompanhamentos para horas e horas de basebol.

Seja bem-vinda, Primavera, sua linda! Let’s go, Blue Jays!

Artigo originalmente publicado em 24 de março no Blog do Noblat.

Seis anos de expatriada definitivamente me transformaram em estrangeira quando assuntos como inclusão cidadã e direitos humanos estão em pauta.Mas a distância também me permite apreciar ainda mais quem luta no Brasil por igualdade entre os seus cidadãos, sejam eles brancos, pardos, mulheres, crianças, gays ou transexuais.

Enquanto o presidente da Comissão de Direitos Humanos, deputado Marco Feliciano (PSC-SP), insiste em inviabilizar discussão de direitos importantes de cidadãos (e contribuintes!) no Brasil; por aqui, a preocupação com a inclusão cidadã dos canadenses continua mesmo sob a liderança de um governo ultra conservador.

Quem segue os meus relatos sabe que não sou grande fã do Partido Conservador Canadense. No entanto, na última semana, o apoio de 18 conservadores na aprovação da lei C-279, que transforma em ilegal qualquer ato discriminatório contra transsexuais, trouxe um pouco de esperança ao meu coração de new democrat.

O projeto de lei iniciado por Randall Garrison, passou pelo microscópio e ataques de todos os representantes conservadores. O maior deles veio do parlamentar de Calgary Rob Anders que momentos antes da votação argumentou que a “milhares de canadenses eram contra a ‘lei do banheiro.’” Segundo Anders, pedófilos usariam a lei para se proteger ao assediarem mulheres e crianças em banheiros públicos.

É inquestionável que o apoio de 18 conservadores soa irrelevante quando o resto da bancada (136 parlamentares) vota contra a mesma lei. No entanto, no contexto político canadense, onde o partido se une pela defesa de seus valores em qualquer tópico, o apoio de 18 conservadores sinaliza tempos de mudança e até mesmo o início de um novo posicionamento para o partido.

A C-279 segue para aprovação final do Senado. Depois de aprovada, ataques à expressão e identidade sexual serão considerados atos discriminatórios no código de Direitos Humanos canadense e crimes previstos no código penal do país.

Perante a nova lei, discursos contra a sexualidade de um determinado indivíduo ou grupo serão punidos da mesma forma que os baseados em etnia e religião.

Agora é fazer figa e esperar que a revolução no partido conservador se estenda a assuntos relacionados à imigração e direito das mulheres.

Artigo originalmente publicado em 24 de março no Blog do Noblat.

De longe, me parece que a rivalidade entre Brasil e Argentina se intensificou com a ascensão de Jorge Mario Bergoglio ao posto mais importante da Igreja Católica. Mas Papa Francisco à parte, o interessante foi ver a comoção gerada pelo Conclave aqui no Canadá.

Talvez na Argentina, Bergoglio fosse o candidato mais forte aos olhos da população; mas aqui no Canadá o papado era de Marc Ouellet. Orgulho canadense, Ouellet quase se transformou num popstar nos dias que antecederam o Conclave.

E como perfeito candidato à ídolo nacional, Oullet ponderou muito bem a sua exposição na mídia. Com Peter Mansbridge – ícone jornalístico canadense tão ou mais famoso que o Cid Moreira no Brasil –, Oullet se emocionou ao ver a torcida de sua família em um dos vídeos mostrados durante a entrevista e falou como o fato de ser canadense o faria um papa diferente.

A campanha do (quase) papa canadense foi explorada pela CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) com requintes de eleição federal. A entrevista, primeiramente dividida em duas partes, foi reexibida inúmeras vezes enquanto se esperava a decisão final do Vaticano. Embora a maioria dos canadenses que conheço pareciam pouco ligar para a nomeação de um novo papa, a insistência midiática me levou a olhar para o meu novo país com outros olhos.

Se formos generalizar estereótipos, Latinos são católicos e Anglo-saxões protestantes, certo? Eu pelo menos sempre pensei assim (atire a primeira pedra!). Mas ao olhar os dados do censo de 2001 – o último a gerar dados ligados a religião –, 42.6% da população se considera católica pelas bandas de cá. Daí a insistência da CBC em criar um ídolo católico para a população.

E o ídolo católico-canadense criado tinha potencial para ser o Maple Syrup dos católicos no norte gelado. Oullet, um jogador de hóquei na adolescência, encontrou a sua vocação após quebrar a perna durante uma partida numa cidade do interior de Quebéc. O tempo livre deixado pelo hóquei foi aos poucos ocupado pela leitura da Bíblia a orações.

Sem falar que o (quase) papa canadense, mesmo tendo nascido na província do Quebéc, fala um inglês perfeito. E o sotaque que raramente aparece é facilmente mascarado pela fala calma de um legítimo papa. Oullet não teve a oportunidade de convencer dissidentes a retornar à Igreja, mas se decidir virar primeiro-ministro com certeza vai conseguir convencer o Bloque Quebeçois a lutar pela soberania canadense!

* Essa carta é baseada no espanto da autora ao ver a natureza politicamente correta do canadense alterada por um Conclave!

Artigo originalmente publicado em 17 de março no Blog do Noblat.

Há duas semanas vêm-se discutindo por aqui uma recomendação polêmica enviada pela direção do Toronto School Board – equivalente a administração das escolas municipais no Brasil – aos diretores das escolas públicas.

Segundo o memorando, entrevistas a candidatos a vagas de professores nas escolas locais devem ser concedidas a indivíduos que se enquadrem na(s) seguinte(s) categoria(s): homens, representantes de uma minoria racial e/ou pertencentes a um dos primeiros povos do Canadá.

O memorando também destacava a importância de se considerar apenas profissionais qualificados, mas para quem trabalha na indústria a recomendação parece mais uma ordem.

O ensino fundamental e médio é uma das poucas indústrias (senão a única) dominadas por mulheres na América do Norte. Muitos são os fatores que determinam essa peculiaridade, incluindo o preconceito de que homens interessados em trabalhar com crianças e adolescentes seriam pedófilos.

Interessante é destacar que no ensino superior homens são maioria e melhor remunerados que professoras com a mesma experiência e qualificações aqui no Canadá.

A medida do Toronto School Board é motivada por uma das mais nobres intenções. Ao se pronunciar publicamente, o órgão ressaltou que a recomendação visa refletir a configuração racial local e de certa maneira inspirar alunos pertencentes a minorias a se conectarem a mentores que tenham passado pelos mesmos conflitos vividos por eles em suas comunidades.

É o mesmo argumento usado por mulheres em indústrias ligadas a tecnologia e ciências exatas: muitas de nós nunca considerou uma carreira em tais indústrias por ausência de um modelo e/ou pré-conceitos reforçados ainda nos primeiros anos da vida escolar.

A oposição ao memorando do Toronto School Board afirma que o processo de identificação entre alunos e professores é baseado em afinidades acadêmicas e personalidades. Recentemente, a professoraYuni Kim escreveu um artigo para a revista canadense Maclean’s relatando que dos 32 professores que teve no ensino médio, apenas três pertenciam a uma minoria, mas nenhum deles era uma professora asiática.

Aqui ou aí, o sistema de cotas, seja na aceitação de alunos ou na contratação de funcionários em qualquer empresa, continua um assunto delicado. Seria rotularmo-nos a nossa etnia ou sexo a melhor solução?

Honestamente, não sei, deixo a resposta para vocês!

Artigo originalmente publicado em 3 de março no Blog do Noblat.

Tudo começou há mais ou menos um mês quando a Torontonian de 61 anos de idade Elsa La Rosa sugeriu durante uma reunião aberta da prefeitura que a cidade limitasse o número de carrinhos de bebê em ônibus, bondes e trens. A sugestão de La Rosa foi além: cobrou da TTC – empresa administradora do transporte público de Toronto – que impusesse uma taxa de dois dólares por carrinho.

Toronto vem discutindo a validade da sugestão levantada por La Rosa com afinco. Verdade seja dita, os carrinhos de bebê parecem mais limousines infantis por aqui. Muitas vezes, as baby-limos servem como carrinho de compras para as mães enquanto a criança ocupa um dos assentos disponíveis.

Nem vou mencionar as ocasiões em que o carrinho de bebê é ocupado por crianças grandes, grandes o suficiente para não caberem nele. Mesmo assim, na opinião dos pais, o rebento tem o direito de bloquear três assentos para acomodar confortavelmente a sua cadeira sobre rodas.

Agora imagina esse cenário na hora do rush. Segundo estimativas do próprio TTC, ônibus, trens e bondes da cidade transportam aproximadamente 2.59 milhões de passageiros por dia. Quem já andou de metro entre 7 e 9 horas da manhã por aqui sabe que cada inch (polegada) do trem é valiosíssima. Por isso, a sugestão de La Rosa não é tão descabida.

Entre adultos sem filhos e pais enfurecidos, o TTC agora desenvolve um estudo para resolver a questão. O fato da comissão de transporte ter iniciado o estudo já afetou a popularidade do órgão na cidade e gerou uma série de declarações públicas afirmando que o TTC não tem planos imediatos de restringir o número de carrinhos de bebê em veículos.

Mas como reclamação na reunião aberta da prefeitura é reclamação investigada, o estudo segue em frente dividindo os Torontonians.

Eu não tenho filhos, nunca precisei puxar um carrinho de bebê por Toronto. Mas torço para que a polémica gerada por La Rosa sirva pelo menos de alerta aos paisjoselitos que por aqui transitam. O sistema de transporte público tem apenas um objetivo em sua existência: mover o maior número de pessoas da forma mais eficiente e rápida possível.

Quer conforto? Viaje fora dos horários de pico ou compre um carro porque eu e 99% das pessoas nesse trem queremos chegar na hora e sem problemas ao trabalho.

E no Brasil? A moda dos carrinhos-limousine já pegou?

Artigo originalmente publicado em 17 de fevereiro no Blog do Noblat.

Mind blowing! The projections, the music, the stage, there isn’t one single thing out of place in Maroon 5′s Daylight concert. North America and Europe, be sure to secure a ticket for your local Maroon 5 show, this is one of those that you’ll regret if you miss it.

As Adam mentioned half way through the concert, this show has the band’s dream stage and feel. Each song has it’s personalized background, which makes it easy to be carried away through Maroon 5′s discography.

I was surprised to see so many kids at the Daylight concert. It’s undeniable that Maroon 5 is a pop band, but it still hard for me to sing “I was so high I did not recognize the fire burning in her eyes” when I have a 8-year-old girl standing right beside me. But hey, Adam still trying his best “to feed her appetite, keep her coming every night.”

Anyway, watch the videos… and take your own conclusions.

For more info about the Daylight North American and European tours, visit Marron5.com.

Não, não encontrei por aqui uma festa brazuca para espantar o frio. Muito pelo contrário. Na sexta, o casamento de duas frentes, a Alberta clipper e a Texas-low, resultou em mais de 25 centímetros de neve pelas ruas de Toronto. Como não é qualquer nevasca que espanta a gente no norte gelado, o dia de trabalho seguiu com poucas ressalvas.

Eu sou a primeira a admitir que canadense joga conversa fora falando do tempo, da previsão do tempo, do sol ou chuva que faz lá fora. Mas, ironicamente, durante as minhas idas e vindas no metrô de Toronto, percebi que são os estudantes brasileiros em programas de intercâmbio que falam pelos cotovelos das quatro estações no Canadá.

Na sexta mesmo, me peguei escutando a conversa de um grupo de brazucas indo do centro da cidade à estação Eglinton. Hora do rush e os seis adolescentes tão que tão falando da vida para quem tem ouvidos para ouvir. Juro que não estava fazendo esforço pra escutar, até porque não precisei, a empolgação era maior do que eu podia imaginar. O assunto principal da conversa? O tempo.

Da reclamação do frio (já vi dias piores) ao preço das parkas (o casaco de inverno quente que usamos por aqui), os seis conversavam sobre como o tempo no Canadá é diferente.

“Eu já vi neve, já deu,” disse uma das meninas. “Mas você não viu a primavera,” respondeu um dos garotos. Outra seguiu falando que o outono era uma das melhores épocas do ano por aqui. A unanimidade era o frio, a estação mais odiada pelo grupo.

Sigo no caminho de casa. No elevador do prédio me deparo com um casal carregando esquis para a pista de track and field da escola do quarteirão.

“É a noite perfeita para correr, não acha?,” perguntou-me a minha vizinha ao sair do elevador.

A porta fecha, olho pro maridão e digo que precisamos comprar esquis de cross-country. Ele ri e pergunta se eu não quero ir para o parque com a Ipanema fazer bonecos e bolas de neve. Ele já sabe que a resposta é positiva.

Não sei se é a minha brasilidade desaparecendo ou se aos poucos aceito que inverno é inverno por aqui. Outro dia mesmo eu era mais uma estudante brasileira fazendo intercâmbio aqui, reclamando do frio, da neve e seus incontáveis nomes sem tradução em português.

É, a gente se acostuma a tudo nesta vida, não é mesmo?

Artigo originalmente publicado em 10 de fevereiro no Blog do Noblat.

I’ll be the first to admit it. It’s has been forever since I registered something inteligent in these virtual pages. I’m not proud of it! I could spend uncountable characters finding a reasonable explanation for my massive #366BlogProject failure. I could waste your time telling you everything, but I won’t.

The truth is writers forget to write when life happens (at least that’s the lie I’ve been telling myself since April). A new dream job, graduation, new challenges are some of the reasons why I didn’t show up here. That and all the catch up that I had to do with How I Met Your Mother, The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey, but that you can follow on Tumblr.

So no, I haven’t completely disappeared from the interwebs. The twitter feed still somewhat active while my Instagram account slowly dies. Vine is my latest addiction but it’s inundated by GIFs of my English Bulldog Ipanema. Luckily, my weekly obligation of writing for Ricardo Noblat’s prestigious blog in the online version of Brazilian newspaper O Globo has kept me sane and somewhat up to date with what happens around here.

Moving forward, I want to write more about TV and technology. I’ve been reading some great stuff at work that deserves more thought and your input. Since a big chunk of MadameHeringer.com readers come from Brazil, I’ll start to re-post the articles from O Globo on Wednesdays here. Just in case you didn’t have a chance to read it last Sunday…

See you soon…

Veronica has her hands full with her Master’s dissertation – or sometimes with the cutest bulldog ever –, but she still has eyes everywhere. In this case, I couldn’t be happier to represent MadameHeringer.com at Rio+Social.

The event seemed to be tailored to my interests: digital media and global politics. Rio+Social’s objective was to bring together social media opinion makers, leaders in sustainable development and technology innovators to find an alternative path to a better reality for the next generation. Or as the UN calls it, the ‘Future we want’.

Talks were delivered in a room packed with approximately 300 attendees, all typing furiously on their computers or twittering from their smart phones. Some traditional media was present in the conference, but most flashes were coming from the audience that was broadcasting the event online. I felt at home, but also a little slow since I am not used to bombard my Twitter and Facebook with so much content at once: I was writing and filming and taking pictures all at the same time…but so was everyone.

A multitude of well-known faces paraded through the stage, leading the discussions about technology and its role in a sustainable future. Facebook director Leonardo Tristão explained how Facebook pages can serve as a platform for activism; UN Foundation and CNN creator Ted Turner praised sustainable consuming; and Greenpeace’s Kumi Naidoo explained how the NGO engages activism on and offline. An avalanche of inspiration delivered in one morning!

#RioPlusSocial was the top trending topic on Twitter on June19^th. The hashtag  also trended worldwide and was twittered 16,000 times. According to the event organizers, around 1 million people were reached through Facebook as well.

However, can all this buzz on the internet make a difference? This was exactly one of the points made by Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable. Can online activism be considered slacktivism? Considering #RioPlusSocial results in just one day, it doesn’t strike me as a minimal effort from online citizens. At least I know I wasn’t slacking!

What do you think? Could Rio+Social create a global sphere of online communications by leveraging the importance of technology and social media?

 This article was first published in The Next Great Generation on April 5th, 2012.

While some less-than-classy Instagram fans vent about how the availability of the app to Android users will ruin the quality of their established community, I think to myself, it was about time to make my favorite app accessible to all.

Don’t get me wrong, I also believe that the content shared on Instagram is gold and as an addicted Toronto-based Iger, I believe that the communities created by the app is one of the most valuable currently active in the space. However, most of us are forgetting to look at this initiative as a very strategic move, not to mention the myths related to the threat that Android users represent to the homogenous community of iOS users.

Android Devices and the User Experience

One of the most popular arguments amongst iPhone users who are against Instagram for Android is that the rival devices will be adding low quality images to the community. Being an Apple user for years now, I confess that I started to have second thoughts about my loyalty to Jobs’ brainchild when I came across the sleek HTC One X 8 Megapixel camera. We are all drinking the Kool-aid, but it’s getting harder to ignore that Android devices are catching up with market demands faster than Apple can respond.

Apple fans may argue that the HTC One X is the top of line when it comes to Android devices and don’t really reflect the average quality of most devices out there. Fair enough, you have a point! However, when it comes to artistic expression, rudimentary technology can actually become the artist’s signature. Who am I to judge in a time when we are all producing and sharing content?

A Growing Community

As a business decision, the Instagram team had nothing else to do but enter the biggest mobile market. According to recent Comscore data, Google’s Android hit 50.1% share of the U.S. market last February and is not showing signs of slowing down.Research conducted by the website Business Insider last year concluded that Android users tend to be more loyal to the operating system than iOS users. According to the study, Android users would never buy an iPhone because they “hate Apple,” while iPhone users would switch to an Android device if it was better than the iPhone (guilty!)

When it comes to a community-based app like Instagram, growing its audience is crucial to the product’s survival. Nearly half a million people shared their email addresses with the company hoping to be notified early about the Android release after Instagram’s co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced the Android version of the app at SXSW. So far, the app has been rated by over 79,000 people on Google Play and is signing up more than 2,000 new users per minute.

Will the App Store be the Same After That?

Another important variable that has been ignored by most Apple fans is the impact that the Instagram for Android app will have on other apps used to develop pictures and/or use the Instagram API to offer additional services. Apps such as Camera Plusand PicFrame would be ignoring a great opportunity if their developers decide to stick with the iOS market. Now that Instagram have done it, it makes it okay for everybody else who is not a bank or the government to explore both markets and still be cool.

And for those skeptical iPhone users questioning the quality of Android Instagram pictures, take a look for yourself.

In your opinion, which other popular iPhone app will launch an Android version soon? Will the “Android user invasion” scare you away from the Instagram community? Let us know in the comments below!

March just flew by! Looking back, it’s hard to believe that I got so much done in only 31 days. The blog was left aside along with the writing for other websites, but my MA project seems to be under control as well as my personal life. As I said before, finding balance is key and leaving the blog aside for the last month, unfortunately, was part of that.

However, I have a world of great pictures to share with you. From Primetime in Ottawa to the arrival of the Canadian citizenship study guide, March awarded me with some incredible moments. Enjoy!

 What made March 2012 special for you? You can share your pictures with me on our Facebook page or email it to me at info [at] madameheringer dot com.

When I first read about an American ex-pat living in Rio called Don Blanquito in The New York Times, I thought he was far from being the bravest gringo living in my hometown. He wouldn’t be the first to appropriate from my culture and repackage it for international consumption. While I was reading the article, I came up with a list of labels wrapped in pre-conceived concepts. However, I am still a journalist at heart and when I decided to present a paper on Carioca Funk at the cross-cultural communication  class, Alex Cutler (Blanquito’s real name) seemed to be the perfect subject to spice up the discussion that I was trying to create.

It turns out that Cutler is a very nice guy. He replied to my email in a matter of hours and was very cool about helping a desperate MA student out. Knowing Rio well, I can imagine that entering the Carioca Funk scene was no easy task and kudos to Cutler for gaining the respect of a the locals. The interview published below is an edited version of last month’s email exchange between Cutler and I. Some of the answers can sound surprising to some readers, however, his sincere approach only shows that we ex-pats are constantly trying to make sense of a life divide by two different, but complementing cultures.

Days #69 – 71: The final days of #30DaysTo30 involved a whole lot of thinking about what I want the next 30 years to look like. My excitement with the start of this new decade is overwhelming sometimes. I know that I’ve talked a lot about how much more confident and mature the last decade has made me, and I know that you’re probably tired of listening to me talk about how incredible my first 30 years were. But there is something about this new decade that makes me feel really good about life. For some reason, I feel that things are just getting started and I finally have way more reasons to enjoy life and give more to the world. As one of my favourite poets, Renato Russo, says “when Saturn returned, I decided to live.” So here are the next 30 big things that I’ll be focusing on in the next 30 years:

# 1 Write a book

I know that everybody is writing a book these days, however, considering that in the past semester I wrote over 30,000 words just in research, I think I can come up with something interesting and sellable in the next three decades. If I come up with an interesting subject and keep the 250 word per day writing pace, I will probably have written 15 books before I turn 60. However, since the goal is to write a book, I think I have enough time to work on it!

Do you have a suggestion for an interesting topic? 

#2 Teach 

One great thing  about grad school is that you get to interact with great professors and learn more about your own teaching style. Thanks to my amazing supervisor Laurie Petrou, I had the opportunity to lecture to two different groups this year and I loved it! After 30 years of insane admiration for pop culture and technology, I know that I have lots to teach and learn from someone who is planning on starting a career in communications.

#3 Mentor

It goes without saying, but I love assisting my colleagues, friends and younger professionals in reaching their goals. Mentoring will be definitely continue to be a part of my professional and personal life in the coming years. It will also be my way to give back to the community after being mentored by so many inspiring Canadians in the past five years.

#4 Give back to my community

I don’t know how or when, but I want to help Toronto grow and become a better place to live at some point. Thoughts?

# 5 Live in Paris

Since Mr. Ames and I watched Midnight in Paris, we’ve been talking about how much we’d like to live in the city of lights. We have 30 years to figure that out, but it’s going to happen at some point!

#6 Climb Mt. Everest

(I mean, get to the base camp with Mr. Ames)

Yes, that’s a big surprise even for me, but Mr. Ames told me that he really wants to trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest someday. Since he moved all the way from Vancouver to Toronto to support me, I’ll be there with him in return!

#7 Visit the Amazon

I can’t go to Mt. Everest and miss out on my home country’s most important treasure. One day, it will happen!

#8 Volunteer Abroad

Build something to help someone who will make something big in the future without expecting any return on my investment. That in itself is already a big goal!

#9 Travel across Canada

Another family ambition: Rent a car, load it up with some clothes and the dog and drive across Canada without an arrival date, stopping at every single little town that looks interesting and taking all the pictures that we need!

#10 Learn to sail

I’ve never been in a sail boat. I have no idea of how to tie a knot…

#11 Sail around the world

After completion of #10!

#12 Speak about my ideas and experience

I will be speaking more about my research, ideas and experience in the coming decades. Netculture, Primetime in Ottawa and PodCamp Toronto were just the beginning of this journey.

#13 Enjoy cooking

Self-explanatory…

#14 Learn to cook

It’s a shame! I’m a 30-year-old woman who hates cooking and could burn water if left unattended. I hope I am able to deal with that issue in the coming decades, but I don’t have a lot of hope that it will actually work out for me!

#15 Be Healthy

I’ve spend the last 30 years fuelling my body with sugar and carbs, in addition to living a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Since I don’t want to die young nor develop cancer, the plan for the next 30 years is to work out and live a healthy life.

#16 Be patient

and keep a healthy pace while achieving my goals…

#18 Spend more time with family and friends

Now that we live far away from most of our family and friends, it needs to be a priority in our lives. It’s doable and rewarding though…

#19 Travel to Africa

#20 Live in Asia 

Japan and China are the top choices, but I’d be open to live in other countries though. I am mostly looking to learn more from a culture that is completely different from what I know.

#21 Knit a sweater

It’s sounds silly after listing 20 grand things up to now, however, I’ve never dedicated myself to a kniting project that would take more than 10 hours to complete. A sweater is a big challenge and will become a major milestone if I ever finish one!

#22 Travel with my mom

Mama Heringer often comes to Canada to visit, but we never had time to go on a mother-daughter trip. I definitely want to take her somewhere in the next few years…

#23 Learn to code

I mean really coding, not the simple HTML language that I know and often use to fix things. I mean coding, coding!

#24 Speak French again

It’s lost in my brain somewhere… I just need to reconnect the neurons!

#25 Keep blogging, tweeting, being social

I know I’ll never be one of those grannys that have no idea of what social media means. I am sure I’ll be one of those old ladies who hacks their grandchildren’s social media accounts to check if they’re bullying anyone, being bullied or behaving like little brats online.

#26 Know more about wine and cheeses

Mr. Ames needs a break from ordering my wine and figuring out what I like. A culinary trip throughout France is definitely the best way to learn more about my own taste!

#27 Run a marathon

Since Mr. Ames has been calling me cougar in training, I think that I should start training for a marathon and learn to enjoy running.

#28 Learn to swim

I am not the only immigrant that will drown if the ocean takes over the world’s major cities, but I want to learn to swim and will do it in the coming decades.

#29 Be happy

… always!

#30 Start something big!

I know that life will surprise me in the coming years, so I am leaving this one open for the next really big thing that will happen before I turn 60!

Days #65-68: My current quest to become the woman that I want to be involves listening to the advice of women who you admire. On Tuesday, I was lucky to volunteer at CWC’s Executive Series event and listen to veteran journalist and broadcaster Trina McQueen speaking about her career in broadcasting and her post corporate life. Currently an Adjunct Professor at the Schulich School of Business, Trina McQueen is a reference to women in communications here in Canada. She “retired” from a stellar career after achieving milestones such as COO and President of CTV Inc., founding President of the Discovery Channel, and Chief of News, Current Affairs and Newsworld at CBC. Yes, Trina is the type of Canadian icon that you really listen to if you want to advance in your career.

From “retirement” to securing a spot on a board, Trina covered it all during her interview with CWC’s President Stephanie MacKendrick. While listening Trina speak, I realized that I am on my way to where I want to be. It’s true that sometimes I haven’t planned every single step of my career, but it is still part of a successful journey. Through the whole hour that Trina talked about building her legacy, her advice on surviving the politics in the corporate world was what really stuck with me.

Keep your distance

When it comes to office politics and gossiping, it’s always better to keep a safe distance from the action. Knowing what is happening can be very tempting, but you’re often required to contribute to the rumours if you want to know what people are talking about. Participation often makes you the subject of the commotion and if you really want to advance in your career, you want to be respected by your peers.

Stay in the middle

You can still keep your distance and stay in the middle, they are non-exclusive concepts. Trina talked about how the right ally can help you understand what’s happening around you. There is always someone who you can trust even in the corporate world. Watch for the informal leaders; people who your peers will trust and share their impressions with.

Take care of your boss

We’ve all had bad bosses in our way at some point of our careers and we all know that it’s very tempting to bad mouth them when they are not around. However, we often forget that they are still our supervisors and probably the person who will help us advance in our careers. According to Trina, it’s our responsibility to take care of our boss and portray them in a good light. By taking care of our boss, we take care of our own corporate image and you never know who they know and where they can take you in the future.

101 years later, we still have a ways to go. Women like Trina McQueen really inspire me to keep fighting to build a world where we have more women in C-level positions and boards.

Happy International Women’s Day to all men and women who are committed to advancing women all over the globe!

Food for thought: International Women’s Day – Women in Media

And then, the first ten days without blogging happened! I confess that I have no idea where these days actually went. I am guessing PodCamp Toronto + my thesis project + Primetime in Ottawa + grading a whole bunch of exams was the lethal combination that prevented me from performing my daily task. I spent the whole day thinking about how I should report the last week and a half and still show my commitment to the project. The mash up solution seemed viable. It’s not the same, I know… but is a restart, at least!

Days #13 – 23: It’s happening and I am even starting to sound like a 30-year-old woman. I have memories, a busy life and responsibilities that are keeping me away from guiltless web browsing and my terrible habit of reality TV watching. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining,  just learning that the things that I wished for are really happening and therefore, I have no time on my hands to spare. Victory will be mine (sometime soon!).

PodCamp Toronto 2012

The craziness started at PodCamp Toronto last weekend. Renée, Roberto and I spent last Saturday preparing for one of the most exciting events in the local social media scene. Since I had two talks scheduled back-to-back on Sunday morning, Saturday, Feb 25th was a day that didn’t exist. My only memory is from allowing PhotoJunkie to take this great portrait of me (a skilled photographer performs miracles even when you look really tired!) and meeting some great people at the Search vs. Social session.

Both my talks went really well. Roberto kicked butt presenting our impressions on the Brazilian market while I added a practical approach to all the data discussed.  When the time to talk about transmedia and fandom arrived, Renée and I made a lot of people laugh and talk about their favourite TV shows and films. I am not going to point any fingers at anyone here, but Buffy, Dr. Who and Harry Potter were very popular amongst the PodCamp Toronto peeps this year.

Back to school (sort of…)

Last Monday was back to school time. The week before was what they call “reading week,” which is kind of a second chance to catch up with the course load and not commit suicide in the middle of the winter. Since I was heading to Ottawa on Wednesday, Monday and Tuesday were only for catching up with what was going to happen during the week, give a presentation on Funk Carioca at my Cross-Cultural Communication class and deal with my graduate assistant work.

(The research for the cross-cultural communication presentation resulted in a very interesting interview with the Amerioca Don Blanquito, which will be published here soon).

Primetime in Ottawa 2012

I left Toronto on Wednesday to join the Ryerson University team at CMPA’s Primetime in Ottawa conference. My fellow panelists Rob Haydari, Britney Darmanin, Wil Noack and I took #44 Via Rail train to tell media producers and broadcasters our impressions of the industry and forecast its future based on our experience as consumers and media professionals.

The conference was a great opportunity to “bump into” thought leaders like Digital Media Visionary Robert Tercek and author Robert Levine.  Even before our panel went on stage, I think it was clear to the delegates that the future of “free” content and online streaming was already a reality.

We, GenYs, haven’t shifted completely to online platforms in Canada only because of the “metering” in effect in some provinces, including Ontario. The truth is that is easy to get engaging and quality content for next to nothing online today. The current challenge is to find ways to fund productions and profit on ads and product placement.

 Primetime deserves an exclusive blog post, I know… I promise it will be live before the end of this week!

Sleeping, Marking, and Sleeping…

Back in Toronto, my weekend was dedicated to catching up on my sleep and marking exams for two different classes. I know that the post started with a life of glamour, girl power and fame; but I’ll end it with my tough reality… Graduate assistants have to work when students are relieved and trying to forget their latest exams. After a week of stardom, I am back with my answering keys, assignments, graduate research and blog posts…