Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Rock'n any Style

Ok, so I Totally piched this article online, and in no way am I fashion-savvy. BUT, Rihanna is one of the most stylish and naturally beautiful people in music today. I thought you would enjoy the info.
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Known for her hit records, sexy music videos and stunning good looks, Bajan beauty Rihanna is not only at the top of the celebrity A-List, she’s also one of the hottest faces and most stylish stars in Hollywood. Blessed with incredible hazel/green eyes, luscious lips and a killer fashion sense, Rihanna has the ability to pull of any look from sophisticated glamour to rebellious punk rock with ease.

Here's the link, it's a great article and will be a series! CLICK HERE

Monday, October 27, 2008

2 Strangers Questions

So many have asked the question "Do you know what the bride really looks like?" The honest answer is NO... and the staff here at Energy have worked REALLY hard keeping her away from us "on air folk". Have I met her? Maybe? I really don't know what she looks like. IN fact, I may have been riding the elevator with her all week for all I know.

Saturday night, MONDAY BRIDE slipped into the Whiskey this past Saturday Night... found her friends and then asked 1 friend to bring a note to Tripp West and me in the DJ booth.



We strained to see MONDAY BRIDE... and follow her friend back to the gaggle of gurls that accompanied MONDAY at the Whiskey. Alas, we lost her. So, nothing to report on what MONDAY LOOKS like. YET!

Friday, October 17, 2008

ABS BY MAUI

It's been about an entire month now of my ABS BY MAUI venture I'm doing with my friends ROD at spiritfitness.ca. If you've even begun a workout routine, you are well aware that you hit many plateaus that can be VERY discouraging. That is why I've invited you to make some of the diet and life changes along with me.

In reality, the biggest things I've done is eating organic yogurt for breakfast with mixed nuts, and one protein shake. Other than that, it's been eating fresh foot, and spreading out my meals every 3 hours, as I was clumping food and meals together in a bad way. Try that, and you'll see changes right away!

It's been busy,it's very hard stay motivated when we're all so busy. 2 days ago, I was reserved myself to the fact that I wasn't going to make it. Then, my bride paid me a compliment last night saying that there is a BIG difference in the squishy middle I had developed. It was nice, and I jokingly flexed in the mirror. And, sure enough... wait.. is that.. no. can't be.

Ok, no abs yet. BUT, if I pull my tummy fat out of the way, I can see ABS! How, I just need to keep trimming the love handles! LOL! Ok, there are muscles below my fat.. I know that.

It's OK to try it, get in front of the mirror.. and squish the belly fat out of the way. I'm sure you'll find muscles! Now, go do some crunches!!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Whiskey Saturday Night Live to Air

Every Saturday Night we broadcast the music from the Whiskey... we being Tripp and I along with Energy 101.5. It's a blast, tons of people... but mostly just a great place to DANCE!

Join us on the radio after 9p on Saturday Night, or even better just come down and join the fun.

This week, I think I've talked MONDAY BRIDE into coming down to the Whiskey. You see, last weekend, MONDAY was at home listening to Energy 101.5, and said she really wanted to go out dancing. So, THIS SATURDAY, the MONDAY bride is planning on heading out on the town for a little dancing. Here's the catch... I don't know what she looks like. She could come a request a song from me, and I wouldn't even have known it was MONDAY. So, come down to the Whiskey on Saturday Night. I guess you could always ask EVERY girl if she's the MONDAY Bride... not that she would admit it.

You never know, you could be the one last dance of MONDAY's single life before she gets married!

VIEW WHISKEY PICTURES HERE

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A friendly reminder...

Don't you love friendly reminders? I got one of those this week from my boss. Don't forget to keep your blog up to date! OK, things have been crazy!

So, I thought I would blog about my boss. He's crazy! But, he's fun crazy... and he's not really a nag at all. Although, he is a bit of a media ho, everytime you see Energy 101.5 on the TV, watch for the guy in the funny glasses (they're really cool) walking back and forth through the camera shot talking on his cell phone. That's him. And no, he's not ACTUALLY talking to anybody. In fact, I figured I needed to take some time to thank some of the people that AREN'T on the radio each day, but really do make this place tick.

With 2 Strangers and a Wedding going on, we really don't have to worry about it. Our teamates do. In fact, they tell us "Personalities" that "you don't need to worry, concentrate on your show and I'll get this". Great people.

In NO particular order...

Rob Kealy is our imaging producer, and has been here 7 days a week for weeks now, and LOOOOONG hours too. He puts together ALL those clips you hear on the radio of the Brides, etc. And the lie detectors.. and everyhing. And I mean EVERYTHING! He's the guy to ask what the Brides look like. He interviews them. And yes, I've offered him cash for info. No go. Although he does firmly believe that that hardboiled eggs are too much work for how much food you get to eat. He has a point there...
Rick Volpatti is our steady-eddy.. or steady-ricky. He makes my Boogie show and commercial recording so easy, it's absolutely no stress. Not to mention, he's the most forgiving guy in the building.
SUZE in traffic makes sure everything gets on the air each day... and puts up with us on the air. And I can't speak for others, but I screw up ALL the time... and she's the "OOPS POLICE". SUZEE is the best.
Khazma in promotions has been here from 6am until Midnight since we launched the station, it seems. But her dedication is something to look up to.
Shalini in promotions is all over the city for Energy. She's always running around EVERYWHERE making "stuff happen" for Energy!
Matt the Engineer will hit me no matter what I write here about him...
Doug the writer is ALWAYS there when you need him, both personally or professionally. thanks Doug
Rob the boss, as mentioned above has a crush on Sarah Palin (American Politics, the Alaskan Governor). Rob has already packed his parka and is ready to move to Alaska
James Something... I forget his last name. He's the GM. But he puts up with me, so I guess he's cool.

Our sales staff (Gavin, Conan, Leyland, Pietra, Monica, Claudia) are sales people with personalities. How many companies can say they have "FUN" sales people? Except Gavin, he's weird sometimes... but he looks like Superman.

We do have a new on-air lineup by the way.

Freeway and Meg in the Morning (with Ian MacKinnon and Heath Brown) - The BEST morning show in Calgary! I still think Freeway and Meg are Ex's from another life :)
Erin Wilde 10a-3p - Calgary's most popular mid day show, and that's because Erin is genuine with her listeners. She cares and it shows.
ZACK! (ME!) from 2-6p Weekdays
Tripp West Evenings from 6p-11p. Calgary's newest and FINALLY a fun radio show on in the evenings!
JOJO on the Radio - Weekends. JOJO has been on the radio in Calgary before, and is a total PRO, bringing fun and a Woman's perspective to Energy weekends.
Carlos the Goodwill Embassador. Hey.. he's Carlos, everyone loves that guy.

Don't forget, this Saturday @ the Whiskey! Saturday Night Live to Air starts at 9, and you can get VIP access on the ENERGY FM Facebook group.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Your happy place

My Bride really is the best thing that has ever happened to me. But where did my happy place go? I had lost it. I think it was the periodic careless days of watching "whatever" on the TV... or going out for dinner with friends. Now that family life really does dictate My Bride's and my EVERY move... the happy place has vanished. I think I found it though.

We bought a hot tub, and last night, Cheryl and I sat and bubbled away while it rained (really heavy rain too!!) I think we found the place again.

You see, the place doesn't have to be anything at all. It can be Yoga.. driving.. a walk with your pooch. But, it really needs to be there. 5 minutes of ME.

How's your belly? Ok.. that sounds absolutely disconnected from the Me place, doesn't it? But it's not. Stress is a huge part of our lives, but do you manage it? Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution? My #1 is my family... that's stressful, then my radio station and show. Then there is my business, websites, DJing, and other stuff. So stress is real for me, as it probably is for you too.

In my quest for Abs by Maui, Rod from Spiritfitness and I talked about stress, and it's direct correlation with your mid section. We've begun the 100 day challenge, to train from a distance with Rod and look fit for Maui. It is about life changes, more than anything. You need to make time to work out, you need to ACTUALLY show up to work out. You need to drop the fast food from your diet, and eat RIGHT... and at the RIGHT TIME. But just as much as all that, you need your ME time. Drop the stress, and the workouts will move so much better. Maybe your workout can be your ME time... there, 2 bird solution. You've wanted to "clean things up", make small changes each day. Each decision you make gets you a step closer to a better balanced life. Including stress management. And Rod has helped me get there. Except for the changes he's requested to his website, spiritfitness.ca. Which I haven't done yet Rod.. sorry. I was in my hot tub. :) Hey, you told me to do it!

FYI - Rod, I hate lunges. You and I are fighting now. :) At least until I can walk up a flight of stairs again.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Leftovers are killing me...

Abs by Maui is not easy! I though for sure all I need to do was stop eating fast food, and watch a few Billy Blanks (??) infomercials and I'd get skinny!

Rod from Spirit Fitness has been helping every facet of changing my body... and I have conceded breakfast to him. My breakfast is now yogurt with hemp hearts, nuts and berries. But, I can't waste money.

I'm a Dad, I work through Dinner 5 days a week. My Bride is at home with the kids and makes the evening grub. So, I can only imagine, how at the end of a long day with the kids that baking chicken breasts and a high maintenance dinner is just not in the cards. Now, we eat well most days... but, sometimes it needs to be larger dinners that have leftovers. IE - roast beef, lasagna, meatloaf, etc...

I can't NOT eat leftovers and spend MORE money. We are a family on a budget. So, how can I still manage to eat leftovers and have a "LIFE" but still get fit.

Well, Rod has shared that if we cannot always make the perfect dinner decisions, that timing is important and sometimes that will ease the pain for a "not as perfect" meal. Today we had PIZZA @ Energy for a staff meeting. I'm not going to walk away from free lunch, to go spend $15 somewhere else. That's crazy talk.

Rule 1 of Abs by Maui - Life Happens, deal with it.
Rule 2 of Abs by Maui - Stress and Life Management are as important as the diet.
Rule 3 of Abs by Maui - Rod's workouts are WAY harder than mine are! OUCH!

Feel free to ask your questions of Rod through our journey, because I know I'm not alone in trying to manage life, a job, a family and more while trying to regain control of my ever expanding mid-section.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Chad Horn - RIP

Sometimes you meet people you don't remember, and sometimes you don't remember people. Chad was a guy I met a couple times, but I remembered him. I didn't know him though, and details I quote here may be slightly off, but I'm trying to remember.

But I do remember him, somehow.

Here's what I recall. I was DJing at Outlaws in Calgary, and a guy named Chad came to work as a busboy. I didn't think anything of it, until he quit. I mean, he was a nice guy, but I've met a lot of bar staff that worked for 2 weeks then quit. It was about 2 weeks before he quit. As far as I knew he was friends with Candace, a friendly regular who I still get to see once in while.

Why do I remember this guy?

Chad quit because he signed up for the military. I remember, I thought he was crazy... but he was so excited. SO EXCITED. And, he was gone from the club. Then, some time later I recall him coming back with some army buddies to fire it up and celebrate completing their training. His hair was gone... but he was so happy. Then he was gone again. But for some reason, I remembered Chad even though I didn't know him. Each time there was a report of someone getting hurt in Afghanistan, I would wonder if it was "that crazy busboy... wonder what he's up to? Did he ever go there?", and then life went on.

Maybe I remember his enthusiasm?

Well, it happened last week... with 2 Calgary Soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Candace sent me a message and told me it was Chad. I even had to ask her, "was it that crazy busboy guy?"

Strange, but I remembered him.

YES. The answer was yes, Chad was killed.

My heart sank. For some strange reason, our random meeting stuck with me. Chad, I honestly didn't know your last name, but I remembered you. And I certainly will now. Thank you Chad for what you've done. That busboy is a bigger man that I will ever be. Thank you Chad for making me remember you. And for Chad's colleagues still fighting the fight, thank you.

I hope in your life, you can meet some random person that you don't even know, but sticks with you. I'm going to stop asking WHY now, and just accept it.

Maybe I remember him for the story. The story that I may tell my kids one day, about "CHAD the busboy" who eagerly chased bad guys half a world away so they could have their freedom. Maybe that has to be the only reason why.

I doesn't matter if I've remembered the details of our paths crossing. That's what I've learned. It's remembering why Chad has stuck with me. His enthusiam for being selfless.

"If you love your freedom, thank a soldier"

This presentation was put together by Candace for the funeral this week. I recommend you watch it, and realize how real life this is. And, I watched it too and remembered more of Chad.

Coming on Monday

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Grub-update

Is it possible for a Baker to go on a diet? I mean, it could be professional suicide.

Anyway, here's my effort to be transparent through that, as I'm not alone in trying to get fit... eat a little better and be a parent that is employed. That's where the hangup is. LIFE HAPPENS. And my friend Rod from Spirit Fitness and I are trying to come to a common ground. Rod gives me the idea scenario and plan, and I get as close as possible to it.

In my case, it's more about being committed (definite should be committed! Look out Ponoka!) and dedicated. And Rod is understanding that LIFE HAPPENS. The fact that I try to run a small business each day makes this tough enough.

OK, this isn't me complaining... just trying to relate to you. My schedule is different that yours, your job might start at different times of the day and your kids might be older and you're running to hockey and ball at night time. Regardless, we're busy. That is what I mean.

I challenge you to write down everything you eat in a day. It will shock you and make you aware how crappy our food can get. It's about making smarter decisions. And my weight is up... nuts.

Today - 200lbs on the nose.
Workout - Dug a hole for my new hot tub (comes Thursday!) About 3 hours of heavy lifting and breathing
Food (I'm trying to spread out my meals right now)
2 slices Multi grain toast with Peanut Butter. Coffee with milk @ 9a
turkey/spinach sandwich on multi grain @ 1p
1/2 liter of water
1 small slice of Freeway's Birthday Cake @ 3p
turkey/spinach sandwich on multi grain @ 4p
1/2 litre of water
Prime Rib with mashed potatoes @ 6p
And, I will have a glass of red wine watching Big Brother tonight.

Rod will post his thoughts and corrections to the day soon. Add your own comment/question for Rod too if you like!