Musings – Page 19 – KINETIC MOTIONS

June 27, 2017

I am a Third-Generation Weather Watcher

Sun, rain, snow, sleet, hail, hot, cold – it doesn’t matter to me. I just love to monitor the weather. If a TV remote control could have The Weather Network on speed dial I would program it. I have to settle for it on my favourites list. I start my day with a check of the weather and monitor it closely throughout the day. Of course before I go to bed at night I check one more time.

Modern technology only encourages my obsession, with live updates on various websites and of course my favourite, an endless choice of apps on my smartphone. I am partial to The Weather Network app, though I am sure many others will show me the weather patterns in other great ways. With GPS, not only will my app tell me the exact conditions outside my door, but I can keep up to date on what’s happening in Auckland, Hong Kong, Halifax and Paris too!

I come by this love quite naturally. One could say it’s genetic. I have fond memories as a child first checking the weather in the newspaper with my maternal grandfather, then when cable TV became popular, sitting with him on the couch as we watched the weather channel like it was the new feature movie. Even though the content repeated itself over and over, my grandfather’s attention never wavered. It amazed me how focused he was on the day’s temperature and how much rain to expect.

My grandfather passed this love down to his daughter, my mother. My mother often organizes her daily activities around the weather forecast and will call me, text me or email me news and updates when an exciting system is approaching. For my mother, there is nothing better than a massive thunderstorm that lights the sky in the valley across from our country home.I enjoy the beauty of a big snowfall in January, dense fog that takes over the sky in October, a big thunder and lightning show in July or a bright sunny day in May. What weather system is coming next? What is the temperature outside my window right now?

I often like to photograph changing weather conditions. It could be the blueness of a bright sunny day, snow, rain or fog. The changing colours of the sky at sunset are always a treat, especially when it’s what my husband’s family calls a “fake-o sunset.” That’s when it rains all day then suddenly, as evening approaches, the sky clears and you see a magnificent sunset. The sky tricks you into thinking that it was a beautiful day but really up until minutes ago it was too foggy to see anything.

So far, I have not seen this dominant gene appear in any of my children, but there is still time. My son does ask me what to wear each morning based on the weather, so maybe he is my best hope. I will start working on him now. In the meantime, I need to check my app to see today’s and tomorrow’s weather.

Are you a weather watcher? Does it run in your family? Do you have any cool photographs of a weather event? Post your comments here, or post a photo or comment to me on Facebook or Tweet me @AliciaRichler.

June 26, 2017

Sometimes I Have to Stop and Just Smell the Roses

My life is hectic. I am the mother to three young and active children. I am trying to be a writer and blogger and also trying to kick start my career. My house is cluttered and often messy, and sometimes I feel like I am really just a short order cook. I spend a lot of time in my car, driving one child to a play date or karate or baseball. I am always planning the next meal, booking a child’s haircut or changing a dirty diaper. Sometimes I have to slow down. Sometimes I have to stop and just smell the roses.

This thought suddenly came to my mind last week, specifically on Thursday afternoon, as I drove my children home from school. We were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, inching along the road when I looked out the passenger side window of my car and saw a bizarre but wonderful sight.

Please let me paint the picture for you of what I saw. Our car was on an unattractive section of a busy street in Toronto. This section of the street was dotted with many small, attached homes, most in a state of disrepair. Most of the homes had overgrown front gardens, cracked concrete steps and rickety front porches.

But, like an oasis in a desert, there was one home that had the most magnificent arbour in front, covered in vibrant magenta flowers. As I am not a flower expert (if someone can tell me what kind of flower this is I would appreciate it!), I don’t know if these flowers were roses or something else. But that is irrelevant. Surrounded by much ugliness and city congestion I saw before me great beauty.

And that’s not it. People were rushing up and down the sidewalk. They took no notice of this genuine splendour in front of a rather nondescript home. Then I saw one person stop. She looked at the arbour, moved her face close to it and took a deep breath. She literally drank in the look and smell of the flowers in one great deep breath. Then as swiftly as she stopped she was on her way down the street.

I was so taken by this act that I pulled out my iPhone and snapped a picture of the arbour and its flowers (see today’s feature photo). Suddenly the traffic and slow drive did not bother me. The children’s whines that our car was inching along seemed distant. All I could think about was this woman who, during her busy day, stopped, and she smelled the roses.

Sometimes I have to stop and just smell the roses. Nature’s beauty is calming and it reminds us all that it is healthy to slow down and appreciate our world’s simple wonders. That woman’s small act has inspired me and I hope to follow what she did, and maybe even pay it forward.

June 23, 2017June 24, 2017

The Rite of Passage for Every Camp Mom: Packing the Duffle Bags

Growing up, the month of June meant not only that school was coming to an end but also that camp was coming near. I’m not talking about day camp, which has its merits and is enjoyed by thousands of children, I’m talking about overnight. I mean parents sending their kids away from home for days, a week or in my case, many weeks, every summer.

I will get to my personal reflections about overnight camp (and one in particular) in a moment and why I feel so strongly that every child who can and wants to go should go. First, I want to tell you all about an important rite of passage for every camp mom: packing the duffle bags.

It never occurred to me as a child, as I arrived at camp and threw my sweaters, shorts, bathing suits and other miscellaneous items on the cabin’s wooden shelves, that my mother had painstakingly bought, collected, organized and packed every item in my two duffle bags. Oh, and not only my stuff but also the dozens of items in my sister’s and brother’s bags as well. My mother considered every detail to prepare me for every weather condition, activity and special event that I would face every summer.

My camp days are over, but 2017 marks my son’s fourth summer at overnight camp. I have to say that as I get older each year maybe it’s a good thing my memory is weakening and I forget about how much work it is to pack a child for camp. I have carried around my now tattered packing list with me like a baby and its blanket. There have been dreams in which my son arrived at camp and his bags were empty and the camp had to contact me to scold me. I have even had dreams where I too was back at camp and forgot to bring my duffle bags.

Packing a child for camp is very stressful, but it is such a rewarding feeling to zip the giant duffle bags closed, dump them in the car and send my husband off to throw them in the truck, ready for the journey to Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia you say? Alicia, don’t you live in Toronto? Why do you send your child over 1,500 kilometres away for overnight camp? It’s simple – Kadimah.

I attended four different overnight camps as both a camper and member of the staff. Each place had its positives and negatives, but my favourite camp, the one where I fit in best, was Kadimah. Founded way back in 1943 by the Atlantic Jewish community, Kadimah is rooted in community and gives children a warm, fun and safe experience summer after summer. It helped mold me and so many other children, teens and young adults into the adults we are today. My sister met her husband there, children make lifelong friends there and Cathy the baker makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies (she has been baking these cookies for decades!).

My sister and I at Kadimah almost 20 years ago. We haven’t changed a bit, don’t you think?

My sister and her then boyfriend (now husband) at Kadimah just a few years ago!

My kids at Kadimah last summer, with their first cousins. Yes it’s a family affair.

As I bought, collected, organized and packed every item into my son’s duffle bags this week my memories of my days at camp came rushing into my head. Will he wash his hair with the shampoo or dump it out on the last day of camp to make me think he cleaned himself regularly? Or, will he change his underwear daily, and if he does, will he place the dirty underwear in one of the two laundry bags I packed? Will any of the 17 pairs of socks come home? These are questions a mother asks as the duffle bags make their way to camp and the children follow close behind in the coming days.

Today is the last day of school, so that means camp must be near!

June 22, 2017

The Need to Bring Together Profit and Purpose

In previous posts I have asked if women can attain a work-family balance in a society where they are encouraged and expected to build a career and have a family. I have also sought advice and looked inward to see where my career is going and how I envision my future. These thoughts have stayed in my mind, and I have met with and spoken with many inspirational people in recent weeks and months who make me hopeful that I will find my way and follow a career path that is a good fit for me and the life I want to lead. I recently met with one individual who helped me give focus to my many musings about where my life is going, what I want to do next and where my skills and experience can make a difference. She reminded me to think about two words that I believe will help guide me going forward: profit and purpose.

Are these buzz words? Maybe. But their meaning is clear, especially when put together. We often look at organizations as being either for-profit (corporations, stores, restaurants) or non-profit (charities, civic groups, social welfare). They are looked at differently and treated as separate entities.

But I don’t think that should be the case, and many others across Canada (many much smarter than me) feel the same way. They ask the question; can we not profit with purpose? Or can a non-profit organization align itself with a for-profit, and the relationship be mutually beneficial?

Would for-profit businesses reap the rewards and gain customer loyalty if they partner with non-profits, stand behind important causes and care about the many unfortunate people in the community? Definitely.

Are many Canadian for-profit organizations, from small boutique stores to huge conglomerates, bringing together profit and purpose? Definitely, but still much of Corporate Canada, in my opinion, is either not on board yet or doesn’t know how to do it right.

I was fortunate in my previous job that I was empowered to bring together profit and purpose, but in a very limited way. While my employer had a legacy in communities across Canada of supporting children and youth in various ways, that support had eroded over the years. When I was given the opportunity to reinvent the corporation’s connection with the community and bring together profit and purpose in a meaningful way I knew I found something at which I was both skilled and that I loved.

My eyes were opened to a whole other side of strategic communications and brand development through my work (and I can honestly say my devotion) supporting the many communities where my company did business. I saw the vital role Canadian for-profit businesses play in shaping and supporting communities. I clearly saw that relationship was mutually beneficial, as these same families and communities were loyal to the brand that helped them.

So, it brings me back to the questions I have been asking myself about where I am now and where I want my future to be. Profit and purpose. Big or small business or big or small community organization, I want to support them both and bring them together to support each other. Each thought and decision is a stepping stone, and I believe that today I am starting to head down the right path.

June 20, 2017

The Butterfly Came Back the Very Next Year

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a fan of insects. I understand and respect the important role they play in our ecosystem, but most insects terrify me. If a spider crosses my path I run the other way. Mosquitoes torture me in the summer as they buzz in my ears and centipedes just scare the wits out of me. But then there is the butterfly. It’s an insect, but it’s beautiful. I would even count one in particular as part of my family.

I know very little about entomology, but I want to share with you something special I learned about the butterfly family that resides in my backyard. We moved into our current home in early June of 2014 and soon after were visited by one very friendly butterfly. We spend a lot of time in our backyard and noticed that it kept joining us as we sat on our deck or enjoyed dinner in the backyard. Day after day, throughout the month of June, this seemingly fearless insect sat with us. Actually, it didn’t just sit with us, it sat ON us! It didn’t just sit on us, it protected us. If a wasp dared fly by our dinner table, our butterfly swiftly chased the wasp away.

This butterfly had the characteristic orange, black and white lines of a monarch, so we assumed it must be a monarch. My daughter named it Monny. Day after day Monny joined our family, and once in a while we would see a group of butterflies flying around our yard wildly. Then one day they were gone.

Fast forward to June of 2015 and our butterfly was back. Or rather, a descendent of Monny was back. It looked the same, again it was fearless and just as friendly. In 2016, we hoped our butterfly would return and sure enough it was back, sitting with us and relaxing with us in our backyard.

This weekend, for the fourth year in a row, our butterfly returned. Last night it swooped in as we sat down for dinner and joined us at the table during our meal. It sits on the table, our shoulders and even our heads. It’s part of our family.

Our 2017 butterfly looks exactly the same as the first one who joined us back in 2014. I don’t know what kind of butterfly it is, but clearly this kind has some homing device that sends the descendants back to our backyard year after year. Our butterfly is beautiful, friendly and wonderful.

If there are any experts or enthusiasts out there who can help me learn more about my beautiful butterfly please leave me a comment here, contact me on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/alicia.r.kalman, or Tweet me @AliciaRichler. I would love to learn more about Monny and share my knowledge with my children.

June 19, 2017

Sometimes it just gets lost in Translation – The Signs of Travel

When you travel to a foreign country you want to explore all the unique sites, attractions and neighbourhoods in that country. Sometimes you want to see the traditional tourist spots and sometimes you want to immerse yourself into the place’s culture and feel like a local. For those of us whose primary language is English we often discover that while the main language in most countries around the world is not our language, many of the signs are in both the local language and English or to make life easy for tourists there are just helpful pictures.

I will admit that I get a kick out of seeking out these helpful signs, which, while they mean well, the message sometimes gets lost in translation. Sometimes it’s not even a translation issue but culturally it may look funny because of how strange it seems. Then there are some signs that are not meant to be funny at all, there is no translation issue and for no apparent reason I just think they are funny.

I will share a bunch of those signs with you here. Some of these photos are from my travels and some are photos people have sent me or posted on social media that just make me laugh.

I will begin with my most recent trip to New Zealand with my family. New Zealand is an English-speaking country, but I think they have a great sense of humour there and they also like to be very clear with locals and tourists about what the message is.

The first memorable sign from that trip was at our motel in the town of Turangi, in the centre of the North Island. The owner of the establishment was quite clear about what was NOT allowed to be cooked:

Turangi is near a ski resort, Mt. Ruapehu, and since it was summer there (early January), of course the resort was closed for the season. We had torrential rain and the scheduled hike was cancelled, so we decided, during a heavy downpour, to drive up the mountain and check out the ski resort. We came upon the beginner area, called Happy Valley Snow Park, and with buckets of rain pouring down I jumped out of the car to capture a few great signs.

Matthew soon joined in the fun seeking out interesting signage and we hit the jackpot at the volcanic hot springs at Rotorua. They wanted to make sure we understood just how hot and dangerous the pools were….

Then we just got silly a few days later, as we boarded, then traveled on the ferry boat that brought us from the South Island to the North Island.

Actually, we saw a few really fun and informative signs throughout New Zealand’s South Island:

Another favourite spot for great signs is Hong Kong. The majority of the local population speaks various Chinese dialects, but because of Hong Kong’s long-time connection with Great Britain there is a lot of English. Maybe some of the signs have translation challenges and maybe some are very clear but make no sense to someone like me. I traveled to Hong Kong a few years ago with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law and we found a few memorable signs.

British humour is admired the world over, and I have had the opportunity to visit the UK a few times in the last 20 years. I regret that I did not take photos of most of the funny signs I saw, and the two that I have I think may only seem funny to my family. But still they make me chuckle.

It is quite normal in Israel to see signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Most of the time the signs make sense, but this one was definitely lost in translation. The Hebrew sign says “Sakana! Borot Bakveesh.” The problem here is with the word “borot” which means HOLES in English. However, the word “boroot” means IGNORANCE in English. Oops.

You won’t find this sign on a highway in Canada….

My brother-in-law, Leigh, has racked up the air miles the last few years for work and visited some far-off places. He showed me quite a variety of interesting signs, some too disturbing to post here. But here are a few of my favourites:

This photo is courtesy of my friend Richard, who posted it on Facebook last week. It needs no description. Thanks Richard.

I love to seek out these signs when I travel, and yes, it’s fun to have a chuckle when I find them, photograph them and share them with family and friends. I know it is immature, okay it’s flat out childish, but I like it just the same. How about you? Have you seen any memorable signs in your travels? Share them with me on Facebook, Tweet me @AliciaRichler or comment here. I look forward to seeing what you have to show me.

June 16, 2017

The Craziness of Costco

Yesterday I wrote about the joys of farmers’ markets and how they support local vendors, build community and really just fill me with delight. Today I am writing about what may be the opposite, something that symbolizes capitalism, sometimes gluttony and the epitome of big-box shopping. I’m talking about Costco.

Until recently I steered clear of Costco. The idea of shopping for my family in a giant warehouse, crammed with people gunning for giant tubs of mustard and mayonnaise terrified me. I had joined my mother a few times to secure specific items like my favourite olive oil and maple syrup, but other than that I avoided the place like the plague.

Now that we are a family of five and I had spare time, last fall I took out a membership and ventured into Costco. I figured I would give it a try and see if I could find what I needed.

In the challenging retail landscape that exists today, with stores large and small jockeying for our attention in an age of online shopping, Costco is doing something right. Brick and mortar stores are particularly challenged getting any foot traffic in the doors. Clearly this is not a problem at my local Costco location.

Let’s start with the parking lot. Whether it’s 10:00 am or 4:00 pm, the parking lot is packed. Angry Annie and Raging Robert seem to make a bee line for this place daily, cutting people off and grabbing a parking spot when one is free. Somehow my children bring me luck with parking spots and I always get a spot.

How about the fact that you need to be a member just to have the right to enter this shopping mecca? If my local grocery store or department store at the mall even charged patrons $5 per year to shop, the place would be empty. But no, with a starting membership of $60 per year (a price which keeps going up and clearly people will pay), there’s a line-up at the front door just to flash the membership card to enter.

When you enter the store, you are faced with a wall of feature items that the Costco executives are sure everyone just has to have. New towels? Water bottles? An ink jet printer? It’s hard to pass by this section without considering one of these interesting impulse buys.

Each Costco store is organized into neat areas, with the electronics at the front corner, a pharmacy and pharmaceuticals in another corner, food in themed aisles and clothing, books, toys (adult and children) and seasonal items parked in the middle. Some areas of the store, such as the tables of clothing, always have huge crowds, while other areas, like the spice or pasta aisle, are usually a bit quieter. The quiet areas are my favourite.

If you are hungry when you arrive at Costco you are almost guaranteed to be fed by the friendly sample team, who are handing out everything from handfuls of popcorn or chips to mango juice to chicken nuggets. My one-year-old claps with delight as we approach one of the sample tables, having been trained at a very young age to enjoy the Costco experience.

I load my cart with key items, like specific organic food my family enjoys such as apple sauce packets and macaroni and cheese, much of the produce I need for the week, all the paper products a girl could wish for and kosher meat (only at specific locations) sold in bulk packages.

Each time I enter the place I always tell myself that I just need a few items and this time I will spend less than $100. But then I pass by a new featured food item I just have to have, cotton sleepers for the baby or a backpack for my son and my cart is full.

The final stop on any visit to Costco is the check-out line. Like the parking lot, whether it’s 10:00 am or 4:00 pm it’s packed and there are long snaking lines. I will give the employees credit that they get people through these lines mighty fast. Like the entry, you need to flash the membership card in order to pay, and you watch as the charges run up as you check out.

I’m no longer terrified of Costco. In fact, I love it. Their prices are competitive, it’s easy to find the items I need and the quality is consistently good. If I need to return an item they take it back with no questions asked. Because I am a member they can easily look up any item I have bought and know everything about me (which is of great benefit to any retailer).

Costco is not intimate or warm like my local farmers’ market, but it is an efficient way to shop. This retailer is a great example of value shopping – with their mix of high quality and low priced merchandise. I am not handing back my membership card any time soon.

June 13, 2017

I’ve Never had Job Security. Can I Find a Job that is the Perfect Fit?

Does job security exist anymore? Am I kidding myself by even asking this question? Did I ever have job security or did anyone in my generation ever really feel secure in a job? I know this is a question posed and discussed almost at infinitum, but I just can’t get it out of my head.

When my parents graduated from university a few decades ago not only did they – and their contemporaries – feel confident in getting a job, but they knew, for the most part, that the job was secure. They could grow in that job and stay there long-term if they wished.

The same is not true for me or my generation. I graduated with a Master’s degree in Journalism in 2001, with limited experience but great training in my field. It took me a few months to get an entry level job as a producer in radio, with bad pay, shift work and some long days. And I loved every minute of it. I got on the job training from some of the best in the business (sports and radio), experience as a radio producer and even some on-air reporting. When I started to gain a foothold after 16 months there, the station’s ownership changed formats and laid everyone off.

I was fortunate to have built strong professional relationships in that first job and was quickly scooped up and hired by a TV network, but losing my first real job like that has always affected me. I was the odd man (or rather woman) out in another job after returning from maternity leave with my second child, when the non-profit organization that employed me merged with other organizations and rebranded itself. Again, I jumped back on my feet, changed career paths slightly and joined the communications department of a large corporation. I gained new skills there and discovered, through that job, my passion for corporate social responsibility and my talent for raising a brand’s profile through community investment. When on maternity leave with my third child, last year, my position was eliminated and I lost my job once again.

I often ask myself, is it me? Have I done something wrong that I have had no job security in my fifteen plus years as a professional? Or is it just bad luck? Maybe I just haven’t found that perfect fit yet.

I will say it here and now – I am looking for that perfect fit. I know what I like and I know what I’m good at. I feel confident that I’m a good writer and editor. I have a knack for tackling strategic communications. I am committed to community investment and raising the profile of both for-profit and non-profit organizations. I also know that I can bring all these skills and interests together.

Can I do that through the firm I created, Kinetic Motions? Can I do that for a small, medium or large corporation? Can I do that for a community organization? Definitely. I don’t know what path I will take, but I’m excited (and yes terrified too!) to see where it goes.

Please, my loyal readers, send me your comments, questions and suggestions. Post a comment here, Tweet me @AliciaRichler, share this blog post on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or whatever format you prefer) and forward it to your friends.

Thank you for being part of my journey I look forward to see where life takes me next.

June 9, 2017

Who Elects our Leaders

When I created Kinetic Motions I decided to focus on various topics, including sports, travel, family and general musings. I thought I would avoid more hot-button topics like politics. I am not politically active, I don’t support a particular political party and I consider myself someone who has an open mind. Countries like Canada, United States, Britain and France are all democracies (though they are different kinds of democracies, such as a Republic or Constitutional Monarchy) and all have held federal elections in the last couple of years. I read a lot of news, watch a lot of coverage on TV and listen to many debates on the radio and today I ask myself, who elects our leaders?

The quick answer is simple – we, the people, do. That’s common sense as at the end of the day, the citizens who are the age of majority directly or indirectly decide who elects our leaders.

But, in reality it’s not that simple. Shaking hands at community events, knocking on doors, dropping leaflets in mailboxes and even personalized phone calls will not get you elected in 2017 (or 2015 or 2016). Maybe that was never enough to get you elected. While I think that mass media has always played a role in influencing political campaigns, never before over the last few years, have I seen media – traditional, online and social – play such a huge role to determine who elects our leaders.

In a democracy, it’s not just important it is imperative that we are educated about politics, that we vote and that we question our government’s actions. But have media become obsessed with doing that? For the last few years I can’t turn on the news on TV, check my Twitter feed or log on to a news website without finding headlines about the American political leadership in particular but also about scandals or battles between politicians in other countries around the world.

Without any statistics to back me up, I would say that a majority of journalists, bloggers and political analysts spoke out strongly, forcefully and often against one candidate in particular in the American Presidential election in 2016. Words such as liar, arrogant, buffoon or egotistical are some that I remember hearing and reading in their bid to discredit this individual. But could it be that their obsession with this candidate, their derogatory attitude and comments pushed a large number of disenchanted voters in the opposite direction and that these said journalists, bloggers and political analysts may actually have helped this individual win the election?

Could the same be true in other democracies? Has the obsession with certain candidates, whether they are liked or despised by media, influenced the outcome of the election in an obvious way? And does that obsession continue even after an individual is elected? In the case of the American elections I would say yes. Let’s continue to hold our political candidates and elected leaders accountable, but let’s also be responsible about how we do that – so that we, the people, can make a fair, educated and reasonable choice.

June 8, 2017

Inundated with Requests to Sell or Renovate my Home

It’s been headline news across Canada for years that real estate prices are soaring in a number of markets, most notably Vancouver and Toronto. Everything from fixer-upper tiny bungalows to remodeled three-story mansions have seen their values increase exponentially. Salaries have not increased at the same rate as real estate in cities like Toronto, where I live, which poses a frustrating challenge to both first-time buyers and people looking to move up to the next size home. With prices so out of control, real estate agents and professionals in the building and renovating industry have seen nice profits and are aggressively going after more and more business. It leaves home owners like me inundated with requests to sell or renovate my home.

I do want to state publicly that I am not looking to sell my home nor do I want to renovate it. Responsible home ownership requires regular maintenance and light renovation, but right now I’m happy with my home just the way it is. But that does not stop the daily onslaught of flyers, postcards, letters and even knocks on my door asking me if I have an interest to sell or renovate my home.

Yesterday my mailbox was stuffed with junk mail, including seven oversized postcards from local real estate agents. The cards boasted about everything from news that a charming home sold in my neighbourhood, that a “magnificent family home” was just listed or that they have the most spectacular home available for me to purchase. I particularly enjoyed the small print that asked me, “Thinking of selling? Now is the time, as the Toronto housing market remains strong,” or “NOW could be the time to list your home for sale.”

I also received a stack of pamphlets, flyers and cards full of home renovation ads. Do I have a wet basement? How about a leaky roof? Has my air conditioner seen better days? How about my tired looking backyard? It goes on and on, page after page.

Maybe I am just cranky because I really do not want to sell or renovate my home and have had enough of dumping a seemingly endless pile of junk mail into my oversized recycling bin. Everyone is trying to make a living and when the real estate market is hot there are more people in my city getting a real estate license or becoming a roofer, landscape designer or general contractor.

Now that the Government of Ontario has brought in housing reforms, will the market calm down? Just from my own observations, I see that homes in my neighbourhood that were snapped up in days are now sitting on the market much longer. But is that because the market has cooled or are there other factors such as an asking price that’s too high or a challenging location such as one or two houses in from a major street?

I do see many homes for sale in my neighbourhood right now and even more homes undergoing various levels of renovation. I know that my area is clearly ripe for the picking for real estate agents and renovation professionals. But I love my home, I love its location and I love it just the way it is. So, maybe calm down just a bit about asking me to sell or renovate my home. Thanks.