Using Utensils

FITC in the GTA

As a kid I was occasionally confused by Big Bird when he was talking about the last letter of the alphabet… one day it would be the letter “Zee” and the next it was “Zed”. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up close enough to the Canadian border and watch Sesame Street in US English as well as Canadian English and French. (At that time, they didn’t have cable in my hometown, but we had a fancy rotating antenna that could pick up channels from all over the place. )

The last few days I’ve been in Toronto for the FITC conference and it’s amazing how much it feels like I’m back home. It’s not that I spent a lot time in Toronto; it’s more that the people and products feel familiar:

• Dundas, Spadina, Bloor, Jarvis, et al. – Some of my favorite Toronto street names that you never hear in the states.
• CFNY 102.1 The Edge – Still my favorite radio station… however KITS Live 105.3 in the Bay Area is a close second.
• Tim Horton’s – My favorite coffee shop chain… their coffee definitely kicks Dunkin Donut’s ass! (I’m sure a few of my friend’s in / from Massachusetts will disagree with that comment. )
• Swiss Chalet and Harvey’s – Good ol’ fashion Canadian restaurants with chicken and burgers respectively.
• President’s Choice – Canadian food brand sold in multiple stores… think of it as Trader Joes without the storefront.
• The Bay – Canada’s version of Sears
• Pizzaville – Not the best pizza in the world, but they have the best tag line. For years they’ve been running commercial skits of a guy with a thick British accent correcting people’s confusion over the store’s phone number, “Remember the number is NOT seven, free sex, free sex, free sex… it’s 7-36-36-36”.

Enough about the GTA… back to the FITC conference.