And no, I don’t mean the Bank of Canada lowering the overnight lending rate. Given the BoC’s economic forecast for Canada, the move to lower wasn’t a surprise at all. The banks quickly followed and lowered their prime rate. Although the banks didn’t match the BoC’s full rate discount, they still lowered their prime rate, which ultimately benefits the borrower. Back to what everyone is talking about. Good lord, it’s also not the Pan Am games being hosted in Toronto. Truth be told, the games have produced a collective yawn in Toronto. In no way is that a reflection of the highly dedicated and committed athletes who are participating. It is simply a case of Toronto not perceiving the games as being “big league”. If it was the Olympics, tickets would be hard to come by. Some may characterize our Toronto’s view of these events as arrogant, pompous or even self-aggrandizing. Rightly or wrongly, it’s just the way it is. What everyone is talking about is the other event that recently took place. That’s right, The Mortario Cup golf tournament.

Now for the few of you who do not know what I’m referring to…and that would be everyone other than the participants and their immediate families, let me explain.  The Mortario Cup started way back in 2005. It is a Ryder Cup format, played over two days. There are two teams – Team Blue and Team Red. These teams are made up of individuals in the mortgage industry in Ontario. The golfers are the who’s-who of the mortgage industry – well, at least that’s what we tell ourselves. The same two teams play against each other every year and the competition is fierce. What does the winning team get? Firstly, the Trophy, she really is beautiful. Secondly (more…)

Off for a vacation in Tuscany to explore the sights, and of course the food and wine.  I’m not much of a wine connoisseur.  I know good from swill but the subtleties of wine escapes me.  It makes me giggle when I see people make a production of the wine experience, especially when they’re not far removed from Baby Duck and Mateusz, to each his own.

The trip got off to a somewhat auspicious start.  Air Canada not leaving on time, combined with having to catch a connecting flight in the most idiotic airport in the Western Hemisphere, Frankfurt, it’s no wonder we missed our connecting flight.  If you’ve never been to the Frankfurt airport, don’t.  It is very un-German like, meaning no order and complete chaos. I suspect the individuals who were responsible for gate placement, human traffic flow and security clearance, first had to ingest two hits of acid, and then when fully hallucinating, they put it all together.  A little Purple Haze by Jimmy Hendricks playing in the background would be a great pairing. 

I’ve been brushing up on my Italian over last couple of weeks.  I grew up in an Italian neighbourhood so it’s all coming back to me. Like the word for “sandwich” is “sangwich”, and you don’t “turn the lights off”, you “close the lights” And my favourite, yous guys, like “where are yous guys going?”  Who needs Google translate?

Depending on the amount of wine consumed, I may skip next week’s blog.  I suspect I’ll be too busy shovelling pasta into my mouth, my absolute favourite cuisine, and washing it down with some chianti.  I plan on working off the calories by walking daily.  In honour of our Italian hosts, when walking I plan on falling down for no apparent reason. My way of paying tribute to Italian soccer players.  Italy is going to love me.

Until next time,

Cheers.

I was in Vancouver this week for a quick trip, and I had to ask the cab driver where all the traffic was?  He responded, March break.  Ah, that makes sense. That logic applies to every city in Canada, with exception of Toronto. Toronto’s new Mayor declared war on traffic in early in January, but it now appears that the battlefield combatants are suffering from battle fatigue. Slowly but surely Toronto’s traffic patterns are going back to “normal”, in other words, not moving.  So it was a nice treat to dive around Vancouver a couple of times with no traffic congestion.  I was actually thirty minutes early for all my meetings.  Building in an extra thirty minutes in travel time is a result of conditioning.  Nevertheless, it was nice to get be on a road where traffic wasn’t snarled and to be reminded that March break is here.

I suspect we all have our own individual signs of hope, meaning spring must be coming.  It’s been a chilly winter in the East, and signs of relief are welcome.  In fairness the temp’s have normalized in the East, which means more people may be going out to look at properties, which is great all around.  I have two signs of hope, the beginning of Major League Baseball spring training, and the Masters Golf tournament.  The timing is perfect, baseball spring training starts in March, and the Masters is always in April.  Seeing green grass, and people walking around in shorts, gives me hope that it can actually happen here.  And for those who can’t wait, and there is many in this country, it’s off they go to warmer climates next week. 

Like thousands of Canadian’s, (more…)

My name is Boris, and I’m an Air Canada Air Miles junkie.  It’s an insidious disease, an addiction that creeps up on you slowly.  But when it finally takes hold, you’re left with little choice but to succumb.  The addiction is so consuming that you end up making really stupid decisions – like booking a flight from Toronto to New York, by way of Manchester, England, to earn an extra 47 points.  Sure, the flight is 23 hours long, but you’re and addict so time is irrelevant…and there’s an extra 47 points to earn!

 Simply stated, loyalty programs work.  Thus the reason we’ve seen a proliferation of these programs over the last 10 years. The programs are so prevalent today that I actually find myself saying “no thank you” to many programs, which is odd. Mr. Bozic, we would like to give you free stuff, and my answer is “Nah, I can’t be bothered”.  There’s an explanation for that thought process, some things are just not worth the effort.  There’s a big difference between free fast food and a free flight. I have to hand it to Air Canada, when it comes to a loyalty rewards program; they’re good, really good.  It’s a shame that doesn’t always translate to great customer experiences.  (more…)

Another year draws to an end.  I keep saying to myself that I should keep a journal to capture the events that happened throughout the year.  I know it was busy, I know a lot happened, and I also know that I’ve forgotten a few things that have happened.  The days, months and years sometimes become a blur.  This is the time of year to take a short breath, share time with the family, forget the madness which is taking place in the world today and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

And to all that have taken time to read my blog, my sincerest thank you. I wish you all a Happy Hanukkah and a very Merry Christmas.  Who knows, maybe Santa will bring us all a successful and serine 2015; I certainly hope so.

We’ll chat again in the New Year.

Until next time,
Cheers.