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Master's level educated: I've attended 3 different universities: Brock University (undergrad), University of Tampere in Finland for an exchange, and the University of Dundee in Scotland for a Master's degree.
Well-travelled, 21 countries thus far
Fitness enthusiast; I did varsity wrestling in university Adores my pets
Follows politics closely
And I've even made money playing video games. I'm crafty like that.
And I wrote an article for the CBC when I was stuck in Finland because of the Icelandic volcano eruption in 2010. Side note to that: I later visited that volcano in 2011 and took a picture of me shaking my fist at it.
Well travelled, for the most part. 21 countries and counting. From dog sledding in Lapland, Finland in the dead of winter to going for a real polar dip in Northern Norway in December to camel back riding around the Great pyramids and sleeping under the stars in the Moroccan Sahara, it's evident that travelling is my thing.
What's your favorite accomplishment?
Master's degree, for sure. Oh, and the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 210 km bike ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls for which I personally raised over $5000 for cancer research. I did it twice.
How do you define cool?
Not being like everyone else and not trying to be anyone special.
What is your secret to uncovering trends?
Experiencing them.
What do you enjoy most about Trend Hunter?
Keeping me up to date on what I'm not doing, yet.
What is your favorite trend?
Popular, mainstream bands that not many people know about. It's an oxymoron, I know, but it makes sense to me. For example, my favourite bands: Nine Inch Nails and System of a Down. Both very successful and well-liked but if you were to ask the average self-professed music fan to name 3 songs by each band, I'd bet they'd draw a blank. And remember, Trent Reznor (NIN) won a Golden Globe and an Oscar a for his work on The Social Network.
What are your tips for writing a juicy post?
My professors both in my undergraduate and in my Master's degree programs told me that I can put together very well-written pieces but they are sometimes a bit flamboyant. I don't mean flamboyant as in oiled-up half-naked Carnaval dancer on a float made of flowers flamboyant, I mean I subliminally try to make boring things (like politics) interesting for the reader by using terms and phrases that are not generally accepted in the academic world. "Horrendously over stating the estimates to a point of inexplicable contempt for reality", for example.
How do you reset to be creative?
The gym. I'm a self-prescribed fitness nut and because of the gym and the calmness it brings to my mind, I hardly stress.
What inspires or excites you?
Travel, the future, my pets, and my friends. Simple, perhaps even cliche, but it's true for me.
Predict something awesome for 2020?
At home robot assistants. iRobot type of deal, except for the whole killing all human aspect.