Ladies and Gentlemen, On this joyous day following Christmas we gather every year to celebrate and honor the music talent that grace our lives. What we're about to see are 10 songs who ultimately made 2009 what it was. They accompanied our tears and our laughter, the wins and losses, the loves and the heartbreaks.
10. Colbie Caillat - Realize (November - December) Q4 #1
9. The Cure - Friday I'm in Love (August - September) Q3 #1
###LISTENER'S CHOICE###
Brad Paisley - Then (June - October)
8. Taylor Swift - Breathe (January - October)
7. Katy Perry - Waking up in Vegas (July - September)
6. Rascal Flatts - Close (May - August)
###LISTENER'S CHOICE###
Katy Perry - If You Can Afford Me (July - September)
5. Lady Antebellum - I Run to You (February - September)
4. Jason Mraz - I'm Yours (January - August)
3. David Nail - Red Light (February - June) Q1 #1
###LISTENER'S CHOICE###
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road (March - September)
2. Taylor Swift - Love Story (January - October)
1. Caitlin & Will - Even Now (April - August) Q2 #1
Pat FM Breakthrough Artist 2009: Lady Antebellum
Pat FM Artist of the Year 2009: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift: Five top 10 hits: Love Story, White Horse, You Belong With Me, Breathe, Our Song
Love Story: remains a top song all year and remains the #2 song of the year for the
second straight year. Becomes the #1 Pat FM Song of all Time.
Lady Antebellum: leads the Country Wave of '09 with their top 10 hit I Run To You. Follows up
with subsequent hits: Love Don't Live Here, Need You Now. With new
album on the way, sure to impress us more in 2010.
Country Wave of 2009 swept through Pat FM in early February and revolutionized the preferred genre of the station. Over 80% of Pat FM plays were country and the trend looks on to continue in 2010.
We now turn the page on 2009. A Brand new chapter awaits us with our relocation to Tampa for the first part of 2010. What will it hold? Stay Tuned to Pat FM
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Pat FM Q2 Top 15
It has already been 3 long months and we've been blessed with some of the greatest songs ever created on our little home here at Pat FM.
Today we take a look back at the top songs from the 2nd quarter of the year and how they fared in the rankings.
15. Jason Aldean - She's Country
14. Miranda Lambert - Dead Flowers
13. Rodney Atkins - It's America
12. Keith Urban - Kiss a Girl
11. Miley Cyrus - The Climb
10. Taylor Swift - Breathe
9. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
8. Brad Paisley - Then
7. Rascal Flatts - She'd Be California
6. Taylor Swift - Love Story
5. Taylor Swift - Our Song
4. Lady Antebellum - I Run To You
3. Rascal Flatts - Close
2. Caitlin & Will - Address in the Stars
1. Caitlin & Will - Even Now
So there you have it. Your top 15 songs of the past 3 months. An homage can be given to Taylor Swift for taking 4 of the spots to herself. She really has been the star of the first half of the year. Love Story's run in the top spots is incomparable. We look forward to seeing what she has up her sleeve in the second half of the year.
And it's no surprise to see the Flatts back strong on this chart with their hit album Unstoppable released in early April. Look for their songs to be in the top spots as the year continues.
We finish by congratulating Caitlin & Will for their performance in these past 3 months. The duo that has come out of a CMT reality show featuring duets has sure made an impact on Pat FM listeners and they have been rewarded with the top 2 spots of this chart. Earning a #1 on a quarter countdown is hard enough. Getting both #1 and #2 is a feat all in itself. So we look forward to hearing more from them as their young career blossoms.
As we said in the opening, this has been a great year for us at Pat FM. And Q2 only continued it with amazing music. And you can clearly see that Country music has taken over every top position in our countdown. The power of this genre has been shown and Pat FM is proud of the direction it is heading in.
It is now time to begin 3 more months of fantastic music. We've already heard some great new songs this July and they will only become more in numbers. So enjoy yourselves and we will see you in October for our Q3 countdown.
From all of us at Pat FM,
Thank you
Today we take a look back at the top songs from the 2nd quarter of the year and how they fared in the rankings.
15. Jason Aldean - She's Country
14. Miranda Lambert - Dead Flowers
13. Rodney Atkins - It's America
12. Keith Urban - Kiss a Girl
11. Miley Cyrus - The Climb
10. Taylor Swift - Breathe
9. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me
8. Brad Paisley - Then
7. Rascal Flatts - She'd Be California
6. Taylor Swift - Love Story
5. Taylor Swift - Our Song
4. Lady Antebellum - I Run To You
3. Rascal Flatts - Close
2. Caitlin & Will - Address in the Stars
1. Caitlin & Will - Even Now
So there you have it. Your top 15 songs of the past 3 months. An homage can be given to Taylor Swift for taking 4 of the spots to herself. She really has been the star of the first half of the year. Love Story's run in the top spots is incomparable. We look forward to seeing what she has up her sleeve in the second half of the year.
And it's no surprise to see the Flatts back strong on this chart with their hit album Unstoppable released in early April. Look for their songs to be in the top spots as the year continues.
We finish by congratulating Caitlin & Will for their performance in these past 3 months. The duo that has come out of a CMT reality show featuring duets has sure made an impact on Pat FM listeners and they have been rewarded with the top 2 spots of this chart. Earning a #1 on a quarter countdown is hard enough. Getting both #1 and #2 is a feat all in itself. So we look forward to hearing more from them as their young career blossoms.
As we said in the opening, this has been a great year for us at Pat FM. And Q2 only continued it with amazing music. And you can clearly see that Country music has taken over every top position in our countdown. The power of this genre has been shown and Pat FM is proud of the direction it is heading in.
It is now time to begin 3 more months of fantastic music. We've already heard some great new songs this July and they will only become more in numbers. So enjoy yourselves and we will see you in October for our Q3 countdown.
From all of us at Pat FM,
Thank you
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Lost Diary Entry #3
I didn't think this was worth mentioning when it happened but since they might have just re-appeared, it might be now. Back when they found the caves and the corpses laying in them, one of the Losties (Jack or maybe Locke) found a little pouch with 2 stones, a white and black one. Now later, in Claire's dream, she is strolling around the jungle and stumbles upon Locke and he looks up and his eye balls have been replaced by a white and black stone.. WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN. We know from S5 finale that white and black have a significance on this island.
INTERESTING... The psychic Claire sees tells her that danger surrounds her child, and that at no cost let someone else raise Aaron. Something real bad will happen if he does. We know Kate raised Aaron. What's going to happen! INTERESTING AGAIN.. Charlie realizes this when Claire tells him what happened with the psychic. The psychic insists that she must raise the baby but then tells her its not important and she should give it to a couple in LA. But that she MUST take that one flight to get there. So he knew... I wonder if he's just really psychic or he has some sort of connection with the Island.
INTERESTING... The psychic Claire sees tells her that danger surrounds her child, and that at no cost let someone else raise Aaron. Something real bad will happen if he does. We know Kate raised Aaron. What's going to happen! INTERESTING AGAIN.. Charlie realizes this when Claire tells him what happened with the psychic. The psychic insists that she must raise the baby but then tells her its not important and she should give it to a couple in LA. But that she MUST take that one flight to get there. So he knew... I wonder if he's just really psychic or he has some sort of connection with the Island.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Lost Diary Entry #2
Hello All,
Watched the first Sawyer back-story episode today. Only thing worth mentioning is the appearance of this letter Sawyer has that we saw him write in the S5 finale. Nothing really noteworthy about it, just neat to see.
Watching the next episode now. It's just so memorable to see these things happen that spark the memories of 'oh yea that's going to happen next'. Like Sayid going off on his own for a while. Gets captured by Danielle. And he's also stumbled upon the famous cable. I had no idea this was found so early. Never the less, this is the first contact the Losties have had with a non-Oceanic (still no Ethan.) She asks where Alex is. Oh how little we knew back then.. And just as I say that, Ethan shows up. He's so creepy already. Rousseau mentions 'the other's for the first time. Can't believe because of her that word has stuck. She does say she has not seen anyone else on the island.. I don't know if she's just dillusional or not at the moment.
Not so much to mention in these two eps. Preview clip of the next ep shows the dream Claire has about someone trying to hurt baby. Could get some good stuff from that.
Until then!
Watched the first Sawyer back-story episode today. Only thing worth mentioning is the appearance of this letter Sawyer has that we saw him write in the S5 finale. Nothing really noteworthy about it, just neat to see.
Watching the next episode now. It's just so memorable to see these things happen that spark the memories of 'oh yea that's going to happen next'. Like Sayid going off on his own for a while. Gets captured by Danielle. And he's also stumbled upon the famous cable. I had no idea this was found so early. Never the less, this is the first contact the Losties have had with a non-Oceanic (still no Ethan.) She asks where Alex is. Oh how little we knew back then.. And just as I say that, Ethan shows up. He's so creepy already. Rousseau mentions 'the other's for the first time. Can't believe because of her that word has stuck. She does say she has not seen anyone else on the island.. I don't know if she's just dillusional or not at the moment.
Not so much to mention in these two eps. Preview clip of the next ep shows the dream Claire has about someone trying to hurt baby. Could get some good stuff from that.
Until then!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Lost Diary Entry #1
Hello All,
It has been a short while since we have been together. I can say that I have not really had the inspiration to write here so it has kind of been put on hiatus. I imagine there will again one day come a time when this place will be all that it was meant to be.
But for now, I have a new purpose for it. I am currently re-watching the first 5 LOST seasons and am discovering so much that could help decipher the mysteries that engulf the current times. So I will use this place to write notes on my findings. Since I have already watched the first 6 episodes.. I will mostly mention short questions/statements about what I remember. While I'd like to keep this Spoiler free, it's hardly possible so read at your own risk.
1. I don't think this has anything to do with anything, but I really don't know what they did with the place wreckage. It's gigantic and all over the place. And nowhere to be found in later seasons. I may easily find out later where it went as it seems weird to just have no explanation for it. Looking at a LOST map earlier today, I saw that there is a second beach camp, so maybe they just moved.
2. This has been one of the major points of discovery so far. In 1x04 - Walkabout, Locke, Kate and Michael go out to hunt for a boar. When they are attacked by one, Michael is hurt and Kate takes him back to the beach while Locke goes out by himself to try to kill their attacker. On their way back to the beach, Kate, high above a tree is spots something of quite a large size ruffling through the forest heading straight for Locke. From dialogue mentioned then and later, it appears to be smoke monster. We later see Locke come face to face with whatever has chased after him. The shot ends with Locke looking in fear at whatever is facing him. Later he denies any encounter with anything and in 1x05, he tells Jack that he has looked into the eyes of the island and seen its beauty.
Now I'm really curious as to what could have happened to Locke at that moment. Seems like it could have something to do with what we have come to know about Locke and his present connection to the island.
3. This one refers to Christian Shepard. I had completely forgotten that his body had been on the plane. Which kind of lessens the confusion I've always had about why he was always there. If we know the Man in Black or Jacob can take over the body or at least the likeliness of a someone's dead body on the island, it easily could have been done with Christian (And Claire for that matter ).
4. Who do the corpses which lie at the Caves belong to?? Apparently 40 or so years old.
That's all I can remember that's worth mentioning from the first 6 episodes. Tune back in for more as we progress through the past.
It has been a short while since we have been together. I can say that I have not really had the inspiration to write here so it has kind of been put on hiatus. I imagine there will again one day come a time when this place will be all that it was meant to be.
But for now, I have a new purpose for it. I am currently re-watching the first 5 LOST seasons and am discovering so much that could help decipher the mysteries that engulf the current times. So I will use this place to write notes on my findings. Since I have already watched the first 6 episodes.. I will mostly mention short questions/statements about what I remember. While I'd like to keep this Spoiler free, it's hardly possible so read at your own risk.
1. I don't think this has anything to do with anything, but I really don't know what they did with the place wreckage. It's gigantic and all over the place. And nowhere to be found in later seasons. I may easily find out later where it went as it seems weird to just have no explanation for it. Looking at a LOST map earlier today, I saw that there is a second beach camp, so maybe they just moved.
2. This has been one of the major points of discovery so far. In 1x04 - Walkabout, Locke, Kate and Michael go out to hunt for a boar. When they are attacked by one, Michael is hurt and Kate takes him back to the beach while Locke goes out by himself to try to kill their attacker. On their way back to the beach, Kate, high above a tree is spots something of quite a large size ruffling through the forest heading straight for Locke. From dialogue mentioned then and later, it appears to be smoke monster. We later see Locke come face to face with whatever has chased after him. The shot ends with Locke looking in fear at whatever is facing him. Later he denies any encounter with anything and in 1x05, he tells Jack that he has looked into the eyes of the island and seen its beauty.
Now I'm really curious as to what could have happened to Locke at that moment. Seems like it could have something to do with what we have come to know about Locke and his present connection to the island.
3. This one refers to Christian Shepard. I had completely forgotten that his body had been on the plane. Which kind of lessens the confusion I've always had about why he was always there. If we know the Man in Black or Jacob can take over the body or at least the likeliness of a someone's dead body on the island, it easily could have been done with Christian (And Claire for that matter ).
4. Who do the corpses which lie at the Caves belong to?? Apparently 40 or so years old.
That's all I can remember that's worth mentioning from the first 6 episodes. Tune back in for more as we progress through the past.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Top 15 Songs - Pat FM Q1
Well we're one quarter through the year and throughout all of 2009, we'll be presenting you with the top 15 songs played during each quarter of the year.
So the following are the top songs played between Jan 1st and March 31st, 2009. The infusion of new music so far this year has been incredible and we only hope it continues as we head into the summer. Thanks to Last.FM for their hard work at keeping all our airplay data.
15. Katy Perry - Hot N' Cold
14. Taylor Swift - Hey Stephen
13. Montgomery Gentry - One in Every Crowd
12. Lady Antebellum - I Run to You
11. Darren Kozelsky - Good Day to Get Gone
10. Randy Owen & Megan Mullins - Holding Everything
9. Taylor Swift - White Horse
8. Taylor Swift - Love Story
7. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
6. Taylor Swift - Breathe
5. Rascal Flatts - Here
4. Gloriana - Wild at Heart
3. Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
2. Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye
1. David Nail - Red Light
So there you have it. Up and coming artist David Nail nabbing the number 1 spot as he made his mark in the first quarter with his chart topping single. Hard to ignore the magnitude of Taylor Swift's success so far this year so we congratulate her for her outstanding 4 spots on the top 15 (including 2008 #2 song Love Story.)
So we're proud of all these artists and want to thank them for their great music. We'll be back at the end of June to announce the Q2 Top 15, and we can probably expect to see alot of these great artists and songs still kickin' it at the top.
So the following are the top songs played between Jan 1st and March 31st, 2009. The infusion of new music so far this year has been incredible and we only hope it continues as we head into the summer. Thanks to Last.FM for their hard work at keeping all our airplay data.
15. Katy Perry - Hot N' Cold
14. Taylor Swift - Hey Stephen
13. Montgomery Gentry - One in Every Crowd
12. Lady Antebellum - I Run to You
11. Darren Kozelsky - Good Day to Get Gone
10. Randy Owen & Megan Mullins - Holding Everything
9. Taylor Swift - White Horse
8. Taylor Swift - Love Story
7. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
6. Taylor Swift - Breathe
5. Rascal Flatts - Here
4. Gloriana - Wild at Heart
3. Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
2. Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye
1. David Nail - Red Light
So there you have it. Up and coming artist David Nail nabbing the number 1 spot as he made his mark in the first quarter with his chart topping single. Hard to ignore the magnitude of Taylor Swift's success so far this year so we congratulate her for her outstanding 4 spots on the top 15 (including 2008 #2 song Love Story.)
So we're proud of all these artists and want to thank them for their great music. We'll be back at the end of June to announce the Q2 Top 15, and we can probably expect to see alot of these great artists and songs still kickin' it at the top.
Monday, March 9, 2009
A Hint of Spring
I may neglect you all more than Angelina's adopted African children, but I don't forget. I have recently been presented with an alternate personal environment for me to share and express myself in, so that explains why I have had less motivation to spend even more time writing here. But stuff is going on and I feel like talking about it.
First off, let me just say how amazing this Daylight Savings is. I'm not really sure what the 'real' time is. What I mean by that is what the original set of time was before this DST was invented. Whichever, it should just be what it is now. I don't understand why a person would rather come home in darkness as opposed to waking up in it. It's simply depressing. Spring is on our doorstep and I could not be happier. Above freezing temperatures and 6pm sunlight is making March a happy month. We're almost through!
In other news, last night was the official 2009 IBL Draft. This was a very special draft for all of us as it featured a full set of 12 teams for the first time since its inception. It makes me quite proud that the league we started 5 years ago with five simple teams now has grown to a full-sized success. Not only that, but we have now switched to a keeper format. This will enable us to possibly turn our franchises into full-fledged dynasties. This only made this year's draft that much more important. And I am fully confident that The Raccs, entering its sixth season of existence, has come out with yet again a terrific team that will contend til the final weeks of September. I was able to follow my prepared plan very well and it worked out quite possibly even better than I thought.
So watch out league, because these are... The 2009 Raccs, The Dynasty Starts Here.
First off, let me just say how amazing this Daylight Savings is. I'm not really sure what the 'real' time is. What I mean by that is what the original set of time was before this DST was invented. Whichever, it should just be what it is now. I don't understand why a person would rather come home in darkness as opposed to waking up in it. It's simply depressing. Spring is on our doorstep and I could not be happier. Above freezing temperatures and 6pm sunlight is making March a happy month. We're almost through!
In other news, last night was the official 2009 IBL Draft. This was a very special draft for all of us as it featured a full set of 12 teams for the first time since its inception. It makes me quite proud that the league we started 5 years ago with five simple teams now has grown to a full-sized success. Not only that, but we have now switched to a keeper format. This will enable us to possibly turn our franchises into full-fledged dynasties. This only made this year's draft that much more important. And I am fully confident that The Raccs, entering its sixth season of existence, has come out with yet again a terrific team that will contend til the final weeks of September. I was able to follow my prepared plan very well and it worked out quite possibly even better than I thought.
So watch out league, because these are... The 2009 Raccs, The Dynasty Starts Here.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Filming With the Stars
I've got a lot to say today so I'll try to keep everything compact. This should really be several posts. I'm considering splitting them, but it's so fresh in my mind and I don't want to lose it.
So as promised, I'll rehash the events of the past weekend. As we all know, this weekend was the big Doc Shop 6 workshop weekend at the NFB offices in Saint Laurent. It was overall a pretty good experience even if we were all exhausted the entire time. It was Friday from 12-5, and Sat and Sunday from 8:45-5. And it's not close to start. But it was nice to be able to go into the actual NFB complex. I had always seen it when driving by it on the Metropolitan ever since I was young and always wondered what was in it. Well it's ground zero for the Canadian film and documentary industry so it was a privilege one might say.
The first two days we're mostly guest speakers and some screenings of films. We got to meet the head of the NFB, and the woman in charge of programming for CBC. Overall it was pleasant to listen to all these people speak about the business and give us their advice. On Sunday, we got to be split up into smaller groups and have dedicated camera and sound instructors to really work closely with getting our technical skills up to par and receiving more personalized advice on questions and fears we might have regarding our own productions. The 3rd day was absolutely the best and most valuable. I only wish we could have had two days of this and just one day of speakers. But overall a good weekend. I look forward to the next event in the beginning of March where we will be screening our first rough cuts at the CBC offices downtown.
As we all saw last night was the series finale of The Wonder Years on Pat Tv Late Night. I have to commend the series on a fantastic run with us. We began the 1st season back in August of last year and have been running it daily since. So a 6 month run that spanned alot of time and events. And I have to say, I will usually get emotional during any finales from which I've been involved with. I cannot help it and I'll usually get those watery eyes. But I don't know what it was last night, those last five minutes was one of the most emotional experience I've gone through from a television show/movie. I was almost bawling. Which I guess is understandable from a growing-up show like this that's not a sit-com type a la Growing Pains/Boy Meets World. So my hands are off to The Wonder Years, a terrific show that was a pleasure to run. We didn't know when it would finally finish, but now it is and we're going ahead with our plan to air a lighter but not lesser show, the classic Cinar adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
Well that was mostly what I wanted to say. Before ending, I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate Sugarland on their Grammy win last night. Stay is a wonderful song and definitely deserved the award. Keep up the good work.
So as promised, I'll rehash the events of the past weekend. As we all know, this weekend was the big Doc Shop 6 workshop weekend at the NFB offices in Saint Laurent. It was overall a pretty good experience even if we were all exhausted the entire time. It was Friday from 12-5, and Sat and Sunday from 8:45-5. And it's not close to start. But it was nice to be able to go into the actual NFB complex. I had always seen it when driving by it on the Metropolitan ever since I was young and always wondered what was in it. Well it's ground zero for the Canadian film and documentary industry so it was a privilege one might say.
The first two days we're mostly guest speakers and some screenings of films. We got to meet the head of the NFB, and the woman in charge of programming for CBC. Overall it was pleasant to listen to all these people speak about the business and give us their advice. On Sunday, we got to be split up into smaller groups and have dedicated camera and sound instructors to really work closely with getting our technical skills up to par and receiving more personalized advice on questions and fears we might have regarding our own productions. The 3rd day was absolutely the best and most valuable. I only wish we could have had two days of this and just one day of speakers. But overall a good weekend. I look forward to the next event in the beginning of March where we will be screening our first rough cuts at the CBC offices downtown.
As we all saw last night was the series finale of The Wonder Years on Pat Tv Late Night. I have to commend the series on a fantastic run with us. We began the 1st season back in August of last year and have been running it daily since. So a 6 month run that spanned alot of time and events. And I have to say, I will usually get emotional during any finales from which I've been involved with. I cannot help it and I'll usually get those watery eyes. But I don't know what it was last night, those last five minutes was one of the most emotional experience I've gone through from a television show/movie. I was almost bawling. Which I guess is understandable from a growing-up show like this that's not a sit-com type a la Growing Pains/Boy Meets World. So my hands are off to The Wonder Years, a terrific show that was a pleasure to run. We didn't know when it would finally finish, but now it is and we're going ahead with our plan to air a lighter but not lesser show, the classic Cinar adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
Well that was mostly what I wanted to say. Before ending, I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate Sugarland on their Grammy win last night. Stay is a wonderful song and definitely deserved the award. Keep up the good work.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Oh February
Time for our first post of February. Hopefully we can match our large total of 3 for January.
Can you believe we're already a month into this new year already. It literally seems like it was just New Years. To be honest it seems like it was just December. 1/12th of the year is already done. January went by in a flash. Though it seemed to drag out a bit towards the end. But we can finally now say.. 2 months left of winter! I just hope we experience some more modest temperatures as opposed to the deadly conditions we've suffered in the recent past. I'll say it again, we're not meant to live on these lands. That's why the natives migrated to South America. The earth is dead for half the year here! How can we survive. The natives who did stay here covered themselves in animal skins and furs. We have cheap cotton jackets!
Anyway... It's been a busy past couple of weeks. Not that I'm at the liberty to even discuss it as of yet, but it's coming don't worry. Operation Bulls is the single biggest undertaking I've had the opportunity to launch so far and I'm just glad I was able to successfully get through the initial process. I got the support necessary to make it a possibility. Now we wait til most likely March to find out if it's a reality. The only reason I'm preventing myself from discussing it is that there is no point if in the end if falls through. But if it doesn't... next year will be very interesting.
In other noteworthy news, The Pat Network welcomes back its MySpace affiliate this week. We've decided to give it new life once more in hopes that it can be a substantial part of our presence. Former visitors of the site already got the benefit of a special tease regarding our special project. I'm going to be looking into ways of collaborating it alongside #pat. I've considered universally posting these entries, but that could defeat the original purpose of #pat and its exclusive content. So we'll see.
For those in the know, this weekend is the big NFB/CBC Workshop I'm attenting. Check back in the latter parts of the weekend to find out all the details about what happened and all the excitement.
Can you believe we're already a month into this new year already. It literally seems like it was just New Years. To be honest it seems like it was just December. 1/12th of the year is already done. January went by in a flash. Though it seemed to drag out a bit towards the end. But we can finally now say.. 2 months left of winter! I just hope we experience some more modest temperatures as opposed to the deadly conditions we've suffered in the recent past. I'll say it again, we're not meant to live on these lands. That's why the natives migrated to South America. The earth is dead for half the year here! How can we survive. The natives who did stay here covered themselves in animal skins and furs. We have cheap cotton jackets!
Anyway... It's been a busy past couple of weeks. Not that I'm at the liberty to even discuss it as of yet, but it's coming don't worry. Operation Bulls is the single biggest undertaking I've had the opportunity to launch so far and I'm just glad I was able to successfully get through the initial process. I got the support necessary to make it a possibility. Now we wait til most likely March to find out if it's a reality. The only reason I'm preventing myself from discussing it is that there is no point if in the end if falls through. But if it doesn't... next year will be very interesting.
In other noteworthy news, The Pat Network welcomes back its MySpace affiliate this week. We've decided to give it new life once more in hopes that it can be a substantial part of our presence. Former visitors of the site already got the benefit of a special tease regarding our special project. I'm going to be looking into ways of collaborating it alongside #pat. I've considered universally posting these entries, but that could defeat the original purpose of #pat and its exclusive content. So we'll see.
For those in the know, this weekend is the big NFB/CBC Workshop I'm attenting. Check back in the latter parts of the weekend to find out all the details about what happened and all the excitement.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Return of the King
Yesterday was my grand return to work. I had been looking forward to this for some time now. Since I was delayed a week after returning from Florida, I was even more excited to finally go back and see everyone.
Although it was a radical shift from the last time I worked, it was good to be back. You can imagine since my last day was Boxing Day, it was a 95% decrease in customers. But at least everything is clean now. And most of all, I don't have to be angry at the customers anymore.
You really get a sense of how disgusting people are after having worked the holiday season in retail. To get an idea, there is actually a Facebook group dedicated to retail workers who have gone as far as to lose their Christmas spirit because of their experience. It really makes you lose faith in our society.
Just how lazy can people be. Being responsible for the toy department in a store, I got the worst of it by far. They will just leave things anywhere that offers support for an item. And that includes the floor. People will continue pushing their carts while dragging an item until it becomes dislodged and can be kicked aside. It's ridiculous.
I know many will say, well that's not my job to clean the store. Well certainly it isn't. But it was also your job to be educated enough to have the courtesy to put something back where you put it instead of throwing it on the floor. In the end, you're ultimately hurting yourself. We as employees only have a certain amount of time to do work. The only duties we had in December in terms of tasks were to assist customers, and clean up the store. If you figure how packed the store in December, there is pretty much someone who needs help at any given amount of time. So there is little time left to clean.
So the little time we do have when we're not helping someone, is spent cleaning. And in this type of environment, 'cleaning' can only mean picking things up off the floor. We can't possibly begin to put things where they belong. Because nothing belongs anywhere anymore. As customers have shuffled everything out of place. As a result of this, I'm forced to remove all the price tags from the shelves. Otherwise a customer will demand the item for free when he feels cheated by the misguided price tag. So for the better part of 2 weeks, 95% of inquiries were 'How much is this?', 'Why are there no prices??' Well that's why there are no prices. And we don't have time to put new prices because we're too busy cleaning up the mess. At the end of a typical last week before Christmas day, the store ends up with about 15-20 carts of merchandise to return to its department. Either from items left at the cash, returns, and most likely items misplaced throughout the store. How is that relevent? This blew me away, on one of these days, 2 CARTS worth of toys were found in the clothing department. That's 2 carts of toys left in the clothing department by customers. Sickening.
Anyway, this was not the intention of this post to go on a rant. But I needed to paint a picture as to why such a rage against customers had been bloomed before going on vacation. But after 3 weeks off, I come back and I'm at peace. I can be happy to help the customers again. Nothing makes me happier than to have someone thank me for my help.
So it is good to be back. Even though no one else shares my enthusiasm.
Although it was a radical shift from the last time I worked, it was good to be back. You can imagine since my last day was Boxing Day, it was a 95% decrease in customers. But at least everything is clean now. And most of all, I don't have to be angry at the customers anymore.
You really get a sense of how disgusting people are after having worked the holiday season in retail. To get an idea, there is actually a Facebook group dedicated to retail workers who have gone as far as to lose their Christmas spirit because of their experience. It really makes you lose faith in our society.
Just how lazy can people be. Being responsible for the toy department in a store, I got the worst of it by far. They will just leave things anywhere that offers support for an item. And that includes the floor. People will continue pushing their carts while dragging an item until it becomes dislodged and can be kicked aside. It's ridiculous.
I know many will say, well that's not my job to clean the store. Well certainly it isn't. But it was also your job to be educated enough to have the courtesy to put something back where you put it instead of throwing it on the floor. In the end, you're ultimately hurting yourself. We as employees only have a certain amount of time to do work. The only duties we had in December in terms of tasks were to assist customers, and clean up the store. If you figure how packed the store in December, there is pretty much someone who needs help at any given amount of time. So there is little time left to clean.
So the little time we do have when we're not helping someone, is spent cleaning. And in this type of environment, 'cleaning' can only mean picking things up off the floor. We can't possibly begin to put things where they belong. Because nothing belongs anywhere anymore. As customers have shuffled everything out of place. As a result of this, I'm forced to remove all the price tags from the shelves. Otherwise a customer will demand the item for free when he feels cheated by the misguided price tag. So for the better part of 2 weeks, 95% of inquiries were 'How much is this?', 'Why are there no prices??' Well that's why there are no prices. And we don't have time to put new prices because we're too busy cleaning up the mess. At the end of a typical last week before Christmas day, the store ends up with about 15-20 carts of merchandise to return to its department. Either from items left at the cash, returns, and most likely items misplaced throughout the store. How is that relevent? This blew me away, on one of these days, 2 CARTS worth of toys were found in the clothing department. That's 2 carts of toys left in the clothing department by customers. Sickening.
Anyway, this was not the intention of this post to go on a rant. But I needed to paint a picture as to why such a rage against customers had been bloomed before going on vacation. But after 3 weeks off, I come back and I'm at peace. I can be happy to help the customers again. Nothing makes me happier than to have someone thank me for my help.
So it is good to be back. Even though no one else shares my enthusiasm.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Surf our way
Yes! Believe it! Channel Pat is back!
We hope we didn't scare you into thinking this place was dead.
I'm just wrapping up the end of my vacation this weekend so it's as good of a time as any to return to what we had so enthusiastically started at the end of last year. Consider this our first full-season premiere.
What I really want to start off and say is just how much excitement has surrounded me since the beginning of this year. 2009 feels so fresh and new and full of potential. I see 12 empty canvases for me to craft the most I possibly can. And do I ever have things planned for this year. For some reason I feel more in control over my life than ever before and it seems like anything I want to do is simply at the reach of my fingertips.
To give you a little sneak peek at whats coming up, here are a few things. We're of course about to begin pre-production on our CBC documentary. Which has the potential to be very good if we can commit to doing the best job possible. At the very least its great experience and a decent amount of exposure. We have signed a contract which gives CBC a 1-year control over the rights of the film. So they will be posting it online, as well as broadcasting it on network television. On top of that, their award division will submit the film should it merit to various festivals for us. So it's all just amazing. It's going to be a fun couple of months.
Apart from that we're also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of our departure from Florida this year. So stay tuned for fun little treats from the past as well as a more official announcement regarding the 2009 Pat World Tour. That's right, after such a success last summer, we're bringing it back with hopefully some new locations. Keep in mind that it wouldn't be much of a 10-year anniversary if we did not return to South Florida. So as I said.. stay tuned!
We're also coining 2009 as the Year of Driving. If all goes to plan, we can be licensed by May, and be purchasing our first automobile by the end of the fall. It's a big engagement for sure, so we can't be certain of anything. But that is the plan and I'm certainly 'driving' towards it.
School is back in full swing and we return to work on Monday. I'll wait til the week starts to discuss those returns in more extended details. For now I bid you all a good end to the weekend.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
For a New Year has Come
So it has come. 2009. The new year.
It certainly is something to look forward to. And it's not a year change like ones I've seen in the past. Where I will say that this new year will be a good one. This time I already know it will be good. I just can't wait to see how good and what exciting things continue to happen.
It's the last year of this decade. A decade which has encompassed my entire growing up from teenager to adult. Needless to say that there have been some great years and some pretty lousy ones. But I think we can take 2008 and revel in how great it was all around. If there was any indication that we are doing well, it's that year. It shows me how I'm on the right path and I just need to keep going.
We set out to do the things we wanted to do this year and much more. We can feel proud in the accomplishment of our summer tour. We set out early on in 08 with the desire to go to HK, Florida, and New York throughout the summer. And we successfully did go to all of them. Resulting in a blissful summer. So I know I'm not crazy when I tell someone I can do anything.
We can take what we learned this year and continue building upon it. We can already see great seeds planted in 08 now ready to soon blossom in 09. And even if they don't, we at least know that sometimes the greatest things aren't planned and come and go into your life when and in the form you least expect it. So if what we foresee is already great, imagine what we're not.
Maybe the biggest task is to leave unfinished roads in the last pages of December. Maybe the obvious is for that to be done. But simply forgetting and ignoring all that has happened will never create a resolution. Those roads aren't finished for a reason. And have something at the end.
That is my new years inspirational speech. Happy New Year to all. May it surpass all others. And if you're as much of a fan of 2008 as I was, stay tuned. You won't believe what I've got in store for 2009.
It certainly is something to look forward to. And it's not a year change like ones I've seen in the past. Where I will say that this new year will be a good one. This time I already know it will be good. I just can't wait to see how good and what exciting things continue to happen.
It's the last year of this decade. A decade which has encompassed my entire growing up from teenager to adult. Needless to say that there have been some great years and some pretty lousy ones. But I think we can take 2008 and revel in how great it was all around. If there was any indication that we are doing well, it's that year. It shows me how I'm on the right path and I just need to keep going.
We set out to do the things we wanted to do this year and much more. We can feel proud in the accomplishment of our summer tour. We set out early on in 08 with the desire to go to HK, Florida, and New York throughout the summer. And we successfully did go to all of them. Resulting in a blissful summer. So I know I'm not crazy when I tell someone I can do anything.
We can take what we learned this year and continue building upon it. We can already see great seeds planted in 08 now ready to soon blossom in 09. And even if they don't, we at least know that sometimes the greatest things aren't planned and come and go into your life when and in the form you least expect it. So if what we foresee is already great, imagine what we're not.
Maybe the biggest task is to leave unfinished roads in the last pages of December. Maybe the obvious is for that to be done. But simply forgetting and ignoring all that has happened will never create a resolution. Those roads aren't finished for a reason. And have something at the end.
That is my new years inspirational speech. Happy New Year to all. May it surpass all others. And if you're as much of a fan of 2008 as I was, stay tuned. You won't believe what I've got in store for 2009.
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