Journeyman Stories

It has been quite a few busy weeks that involved a round trip to Ottawa on Saturday and preaching during a Sunday church service (yes, I was surprised too when I was asked to do it). All this time I was thinking about what I would be writing about on this week’s blog. I had a vague idea, but I did not know how to formulate it. That was until I received a message on Facebook from a friend asking me to speak at an upcoming event in January. The topic of my presentation would be “The Moment that Defined Your Life”. The person who sent me the invitation did not know that I had been thinking about the same topic days prior to her message. It all started when I was at a Toronto Raptors game. I have been reporting on the games for almost two months now, but I am still in awe every time I am at the arena. I can’t believe this is happening to me. I have been in rooms with childhood idols, biggest stars of the game, coaches, reporters, you name it. And every time I am saying “wow”. Th...

Glad to be back We were working on the blog’s new look. I hope you like it. It is still a work in progress, but I like what I see so far. A few weeks ago, an entertainment industry icon passed away at the age of 95. I am talking about the American comic book  writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee. Stan Lee co-created numerous popular fictional characters, including superheroes  Spider-man,  the X-Men, Iron Man,Thor, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange and Ant-Man. He has surely impacted more than a generation. A co-worker of mine likes to quote “ Remember, with great power comes great responsibility” from Spider-man. I couldn’t help but remember the line time and time again as the passing of Stan Lee was all over the news. I was reminded of the quote these last few days. I have been struggling with lack of sleep lately. My daughter wakes me up at least 3 times a night, every single night. I can’t remember the time...

What a week! I did not even see the days go by. It has been very busy lately, but I am loving every bit of it. Every time I get a chance to report on a Raptors game, I go to bed almost at 3 am. I have to do the interview editing, write my article and send everything to the Radio station for them to air the report the next day at the latest. By the time I finish everything I am so exhausted but it doesn’t feel like work. It is a true blessing to be in a position to do what you dreamed for your entire life. It is a true privilege. I have to do the best I can to keep deserving the trust they have put in me to deliver on the work I was given Last week, I was at a big conference where the 300 of us where gathered at the Sheraton Hotel in Richmond Hill (North part of Toronto). The objective of the conference was for us to learn, network and meet experts in different fields including grant application, media relations, community empowerment, etc. I met so many people I haven’t seen in ...

I keep telling my friends, “Please don’t wake me up, I am dreaming.” It really hasn’t sunk in that I am doing this job: reporting, interviewing NBA players and coaches…. it is so surreal. My first game was last week on Wednesday. I had received all the paperwork I needed from the Toronto Raptors communication department (class people, by the way). I had to be there at least two hours before the game. Needless to say, I was anxious. I have been to the arena countless of times before but just as a fan wanting to watch the games. This was one of the reasons why I had chosen Toronto as the city I wanted to live in. It is the only Canadian town that has an NBA team. My dream was to attend at least a game (it has been over 33 years that I have watching the NBA). Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I would be going there as part of my job. Never! The Media room was packed. Reporters from different outlets were there. I pretended I belonged, but I couldn’t help being in shock...

Many years ago, I heard a businessman say that if you don’t have a dream, be around dreamers. Now, I am going to add to his statement and say that if you don’t have faith, be around people of faith. I met this gentleman over sixteen years ago when I first came to Canada. After a few months, we became roommates. It was very fun evenings among friends hearing and telling funny jokes. We didn’t know what we would become later, but I knew this guy was going somewhere. He was a devoted Christian man, playing music in two different churches. He had a picture in his room with a huge crowd on it and I knew he was meant to impact people’s lives. Little did I know I would be, many years later among the people who would be impacted by his life. We went our separate ways but kept in touch. He later became a Pastor (and I was not surprised at all by that), and I attended his church a few times. In 2013, I was going through one of the toughest moments of my life and I needed help. I d...

What do we do when our plans do not go the way we expected? To tell you the truth, I don't know. Each one of us has a unique way to deal with delays or sometimes heartbreaking shortcomings (I don't want to mention failures). Yesterday, my reaction was to put away the phone (or any other device) for hours. Yes, sometimes it can be too much. A project Paul (my business partner) and I had been working on for years was 98% done. It was a matter of days before we were ready for launch. Then, the person who was helping us to work on it called us to let us know that she couldn't see the data anymore. Long story short, the online provider could not find our data. All was gone! Everything! We are talking about more than two years’ worth of work! As we were "mourning" over our lost, we had to switch gears to work on another project we had been working for weeks. The deadline to submit the application (It was a grant application) was on Monday. We were almost there in...

Last weekend, I hosted a wedding for friends of mine and also brought my daughter with me. She had so much fun with the other kids who were there. When my MC duties were over, I was so exhausted that I had to find a corner to sit. It wasn't too long after when my daughter came to me and said that we had to go home. When my boss asks me something, I have no choice but to execute. As we headed outside, I remembered that I had left my daughter's jacket in the car. It was pretty cold. The next day, she started sneezing and coughing. Long story short, today I stayed home with her because she couldn't go to school. She had a high fever before she went to bed last night. Thanks to Tylenol, she woke up feeling better. After her afternoon nap, I thought to myself, "Let me see if she is able to do her remaining homework." To my astonishment she was already doing her homework and even finished it in less than ten minutes. You might say, what's the big ...

Toronto traffic can sometimes be hectic. I would even say that it is always hectic. If you really want to navigate easily, public transit may be the suggested way of transportation in the heart of the city (praying that there are no delays on the subway system). That being said and depending on situations, a car may be the sure way to get to your destination. I have a work schedule that varies a lot, depending on where I am in the city. What does not change is the time I must pick up my daughter at her daycare. I must be there before 6pm otherwise there are fines to pay. I have to admit that it is easier said than done. Hence, my mention about the traffic. I have to drive and pray, if you know what I mean. A few months ago, I was so stuck in traffic that there was no way I could get to the daycare by six o’clock. It was mission impossible (unless I turned into Tom Cruise). Out of desperation, an idea came to me: how about I use the GPS? Guess what? I arrived at...

I have to say that the feedback I received from last week's blog was overwhelming. It made me realize how selfish I was for not sharing my up and down journey. Many of you readers have reached out to share your journeys with me. I was so blessed by each of you and the part of your life journey you shared with me.  I have learned that whatever I am going through, somebody else is going through worse. That helps me put things into perceptive.     Thank you. Last Saturday I got to watch the rerun of the Basketball Hall of Fame Ceremonies. It was an amazing show. All the inductees shared their stories; some of them were very emotional while others were simply funny. It is quite an honour to be chosen to be in a select group of elite players, coaches, executives and many others who have impacted the game in many ways. As there is little chance for me to be a Basketball hall of famer (the chances are almost zero, but I am keeping an open mind), I am glad...

Ok, I know you probably aren't going to accept my apologies. I know that you have waited and waited for a blog and lost your patience. I know your inspiration tank is empty now because you were relying on my stories to be inspired. I know that what I just said is not entirely true, but that is what I tell myself anyways. It has been exactly a year since I posted my last blog. This is crazy because I broke my promise, again. I did not keep in touch with you. I have a good excuse. I went missing because I took time to work on some good stuff. Taking time away was not part of the plan but sadly it went in that direction.   I really wanted to both blog and work on this good stuff but with not enough time in the day and trying to meet all my other commitments I had to put it on hold.   I truly am sorry, and I hope you can forgive me... again. I hope once you discover what it is I was working on you will forget all the pain I have caused you by not talking to yo...