CASIE STEWART

THIS IS MY LIFE • BLOG EST. 2005
BOOKS MUSKOKA

Giving Thanks All Year Round

Giving Thanks All Year Round

This weekend has been so nice. I spent most of Saturday sleeping and watching Netflix. I started This Is Us, no wonder it’s a top-rated show, it’s amazing. The storytelling, the acting, the realness. I only cried a couple times. I highly recommend it. I binged all 18 episodes over 2.5 days. I tweeted my love for the show and one of the lead actors, MiloVentimiglia, who plays Jack, liked my tweet and I fangirled a bit.

I also started a new book, The Party,  given to me this week by The Book Cupid, aka Jen Kirsch. So far it’s good. Killed 100 pages of it on the dock in the sun.

This time of year always gets me inspired. I make lists of my winter plans and what I want to focus on over the colder hibernation months. I love the energy a change of season brings. 

This week I’m working on some stuff with 1188 and speaking at a conference in Collingwood. On Friday my sister and I are going to a haunted house.

 

I’m thankful for a relaxing couple days at the cottage. Warm air. Cool nights by the fire. Eating snacks in the afternoon. Naps. Quiet time alone to write at my computer. Makin lists. New sketchbook. Netflix. Hot coffee. BUtter tarts with vanilla Kawartha ice cream. Layered outfits. Scarf season. Long drives on country roads. Family & friends. Fresh running water. Morning sunshine. Yoga classes in my schedule. My iPhone. And so many other little things every single day. I’m grateful all year round. 

LIFE Playter Estates

An Old House on The Danforth

An Old House on The Danforth

It had been ages since I was inside Broadview station. I used to go there all the time. The second Toronto house I lived in was on Playter Crescent, Danforth and Broadview. Playter Estates, it was beautiful. I moved in after ending a relationship and had been living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My sister came to rescue me and take me home.  I was so thankful for her. For the first few months, I slept on a cot in the dining room. It wasn’t that bad, I was with my sister, in a big old house for the first time in ages, and I was back at my old job.

We lived in the big brown house on the left, top two floors. I eventually moved into my sister’s old room when she moved out. It had huge windows with full sun all day. It was bright and I love the morning sun. I think back to the two years I spent there with changing roommates. There were 4 bedrooms and at first, it was my sister and girls from school and by the end, it was me and a couple other roommates. We had so much fun living there. Hanging out with the neighbours. Sun tanning on the roof. I was nice to go back and remember those moments.

ttc gif pape station, casie stewart
I went to Pape Station on my way there and home via Broadview

 

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Speaking CENTENNIAL COLLEGE, TORONTO

Speaking at Centennial College – Advanced Social Media

Speaking at Centennial College – Advanced Social Media

Here I am on the TTC again. I really wish I had headphones but they’re still in my travel bag at home. I’m heading over to Centennial College to chat with a class of Advanced Social Media year 3 students about my life and work. I try to say yes as often as I can when a friend or close contact asks me to chat with their class. It’s always an opportunity for me to learn.

I love their questions. I love reminding them that the job they’ll have one day might not, and probably doesn’t even exist. It’s ok if they don’t know what they want to do yet. I remind them to find something they love doing and become really, really good at it. I tell them to explore creativity and try new things. To not be afraid of other people who can’t see their vision or grasp their unique idea. There have been so many times in my career where the person/people I was working with or for, didn’t get my idea. Most the time it was because only I could see so far ahead, not as far as me. They weren’t there yet. Having the skills and knowledge to see an idea before anyone else will often keep you ahead of the pack. 

When I worked at CTV for Much/MTV Canada I remember telling my boss it would be a good idea to put the show hashtag on the tv screen. He totally thought I was crazy and made me feel bad about my ‘dumb’ idea. We all know how that turned out, eh? Another time at an agency job I suggested we get this cool InstaPrint thing from NYC. It involved hiring a guy to man 4 machines onsite for the event that would print little photos of any Instagram w/ the hashtag. I had to fight for it to stay in the budget and I’m glad I did. The launch event trended across Canada and thousands of photos were printed that night.

casie stewart, speaker, laurier, centennial college, toronto, NSB, national speakers bureau

The talk was good. I sat at a desk like everyone else in the class and told them my story. Shared some challenges, exciting things, and took questions. No presentation, I was there for a talk. I wanted to be on their level. I asked them things too! Instagram was the most popular app in the room. One guy sends a lot of memes via DM. They’re still on FB. Some like Snapchat. Left an open call for interns.

The students varied in age but they all laughed at my jokes. 

Thanks Jessica for inviting me to speak with your students!

If you or someone you work with is looking to have a guest speaker at school, office, conference, or host an event, get in touch with my speaker agency or send me an email!

 
Tech TELUS HOUSE

#MillionHours + #TelusCelebrates + New iPhone!

Last week I attended an event at Telus HQ in Toronto to celebrate how they’re creating change in communities across Canada. Telus is unleashing the power of the internet and mobilizing people around the world to donate an hour of their time to collectively donate a MILLION HOURS this year for Canada 150.

casie stewart, telus, #millionhours

As a company, Telus is working with partners and local business leaders to make the future friendly. They’re collectively dealing with crisis, addressing social issues, and building a brighter future for Canadians. They’ve created Telus community boards for community giving with 13 boards across Canada and 5 globally.

In 2016, Telus gave out $6M in charitable grants & 600 projects in Canada. Earlier this year, Telus made a donation in my name a charity of my choice. I picked SKETCH, a Toronto arts-based charity that helps youth and the donation went towards their new Media Arts program. I’m planning to get involved with the program!

 

 

 

One cool project supported by the Telus Media Fund last year was CUT OFF a documentary by VICE. It was shot by Sean’s company OCCUPIED VR! You can see his business partner J Lee with Chris Mooresby beside the camera, behind Justin Trudeau below. Watch the doc on VICE here.

IN OTHER NEWS…

I was totally caught off guard when a very cool person on the Telus team asked me about my iPhone and then surprised me with A NEW PHONE. I’m now on the new iPhone 8 Plus and will be testing out new features and sharing my thoughts on it soon.

If you’d like to get involved with the Telus #MillionHours initiative, check out this link and sign up! Here’s to making the future friendly!

You know this already but I'm on Team Telus and have been for years! Check out previous posts and giving back efforts we've worked on together over the last 8 years here.
LIFE TTC TALES

Finding a Friend in Yourself

Finding a Friend in Yourself

The subway is kinda weird. I don’t mind the streetcar. I used to take TTC to work every day from Broadview station to Yorkdale, then a 15min bus to the office. It was my first job after university when I moved to Toronto. I remember writing TTC Tales on my morning commute and posting to the blog when I got to the office. On the way home I’d write about my day. I don’t think WordPress mobile had photo uploading back then. I used Picasa to upload and get a URL then added that to the HTML tab in WP-Admin. Those early days of blogging were what made me fall in love with journaling. I know it’s really helped me live a better life. I love looking back at people, places, things. It’s a great reminder of where you came from and good motivation for where you’re heading.

They say there are all kinds of benefits to writing and keeping a journal. I highly recommend it. It’s kinda like finding a friend in yourself. Although my diary is public, I’m often writing letters to my future self, talking through feelings, or making memory notes. A couple years ago my mum & her bf sailed to the Bahamas and lived there for a year. During that time I would write a lot of notes to her so she could read what I was up to when she had wifi. Hi Mum!

There’s a lady’s crotch fairly close to my face, she’s wearing a pager and reading a medical paper. Someone who really smells like BO just came near me. Thank god this is my stop. xo

 

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