The Men of Summer

Sure, big league players may be called the boys of summer, but the Sac Flies of the Beaches Men’s League? We be the men of summer.

After discussing summer activities throughout one of the mildest winters in Toronto in history, a bunch of my closest friends decided to put together a softball team. Slow-pitch may not be nearly as epic as the Majors, but we’re definitely making the most of the summer so far – and it’s still spring. Here are a few pics of our team and shirts. Special thanks to System Music Warehouse and Kelsey’s @ Eglinton and Warden for sponsoring such a horrid team.

How To Be A Boss

As last semester wrapped up, I found myself writing a memo to a future student who will take on the Executive Chair of Logistics role I had in our Humber events management course. I was supposed to outline my responsibilities and give some pointers. However, as many of us are on the verge of entering the workforce, I thought this may come handy:

4 Steps To Being a Better Boss

1) Be the boss. Do not be afraid to delegate. Your team will actually appreciate you taking the lead. If you leave too much room for people to make choices all the time, nothing will get done, and they won’t look to you as a leader. Divide the group’s responsibilities into a few core teams and gradually give everyone specific roles.

2) Focus on communication. Being the boss doesn’t mean be a tyrant. Delegate, but do not lose yourself to the power. You are in a communications program, and your most difficult task will be keeping your team in constant, effective communication with each other and the rest of the class. Establish a framework of communication right off the bat.

3) Organize. Right off the bat, collect the team’s contact information and begin setting up weekly meets with the team. Take extensive notes in the client and class meetings to keep your team meeting agendas in check. Your friends may poke fun at your obscene attention to detail, but your colleagues will praise you for it.

4) Be flexible. I love baseball, and I love curve balls. Clients will become difficult. Classmates will get lazy or unenthused. Allow yourself cushion space for these bumps, and remember: you’re here to learn too. You may not handle every situation perfectly, but learning from your mistakes is more valuable than learning from your successes.

If you are reading this, you have likely been selected as the Chair of Logistics for your class’ event project. In other words, you’re probably a natural leader, one that enjoys planning anything from your best friend’s birthday to your pet’s funeral, and are likely a little crazy. Before you feel insulted, know that this is a major compliment. As the Chair of Logistics from my class, I can vouch for all of the above and empathize with all of your future successes and headaches. I am also writing this memo to help you reduce the headaches and increase your chances of success. First of all, let’s review what I have been responsible for throughout this project. In putting together the Author Showcase for the Writers and Editors Network (WEN), the Logistics team was responsible for handling all things related to venue, décor, food and beverage, entertainment, A/V needs, as well as scheduling and liaising with the class secretary on devising and distributing thank you letters. As the chair of the team, I was responsible for organizing the team, including task delegation and internal/external communication between the team, our teacher and our client(s). This involved meeting with the client, teacher and fellow executive members on a weekly basis, setting up weekly meetings with my team, and being ready and able to field questions from both parties via phone, email and other communication platforms. That being said, there a few musts and must-not’s you should consider if you want to minimize the bumps along the road. 1) Be the boss. Do not be afraid to delegate. Your team will actually appreciate you taking the lead. If you leave too much room for people to make choices all the time, nothing will get done, and they won’t look to you as a leader. Divide the group’s responsibilities into a few core teams and gradually give everyone specific roles. 2) Focus on communication. Being the boss doesn’t mean be a tyrant. Delegate, but do not lose yourself to the power. You are in a communications program, and your most difficult task will be keeping your team in constant, effective communication with each other and the rest of the class. Establish a framework of communication right off the bat. 3) Organize. Right off the bat, collect the team’s contact information and begin setting up weekly meets with the team. Take extensive notes in the client and class meetings to keep your team meeting agendas in check. Your friends may poke fun at your obscene attention to detail, but your colleagues will praise you for it. 4) Be flexible. I love baseball, and I love curveballs. Clients will become difficult. Classmates will get lazy or unenthused. Allow yourself cushion space for these bumps, and remember: you’re here to learn to. You may not handle every situation perfectly, but learning from your mistakes is more valuable than learning from your successes.

The Future is… Camp?

Okay, the future is not camp… or chocolate milk… or now.

Though it should be all of the above.

Nope – the future, by definition, is yet to come. Judging by Stanley Kubrick’s forecast of 2001 there’s no telling where we’ll be or if we’ll stay connected in the future, and that’s ultimately what Future Camp with my HumberPR pals was all about. How to stay connected.

So how will we stay connected? How will I stay connected? Will we fail? Will I ever get internet at home again? Something valuable I learned from Kalene Morgan in Writing Lab this semester was the Power of Three. Read further for my three vows of Future Camp.

Vow #1 – Face the Book

To think that I was actually starting to believe that Facebook was facing its downfall before I walked into Michael Cayley’s social media class… I can agree with Ben that I’ve stopped ignoring events and group messages for months now. There’s no doubt that when it comes to organizing, showcasing or the occasional creeping, Facebook continues to reign supreme. I vow to keep my Facebook profile up-to-date and will never ignore event invites again.

Vow #2 – Tweet the Beat

Just like Facebook, my opinion on Twitter has swayed a little since we began this course a mere four months ago. We’ve had guest speakers who swear by it and others who are not convinced, but my confidence in the microblogging sphere is on the rise. I think using the #YnotW hashtag for HumberPR to organize Why Not Wednesday meet-ups will prove to be successful and I plan to keep tweeting @ Humber hombres for time to come.

Vow #3 – Think Outside the Inbox

But not too far. I think we can all agree that e-mail continues to hold gold for online communication. I’ve been using it since I was 12, and based on past successes and failures on organizing events, e-mail will undoubtedly aid our HumberPR community in staying connected. E-mail with pride, my friends.

For more thoughts on the future, check out the always-classy Zack, Jenna and Johnny, organizers of our classes’ Future Camps this year.

3 Reasons For Señor Cayley

Here are three quick reasons why I think (and hope) my Social Media professor, Monsieur Michael Cayley, should not get mad at me for not acquiring a mentor yet.

Reason #1

Reason #2

Reason #3

They also double as 3 reasons why he, and you should come out to the:

Clean Train Student Coalition (CTSC)

Information Meeting

Wednesday April 14, 2010 7-9 p.m.

Innis Town Hall

2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto ON, M5S 1J5

Of course, if he still shakes his head at me this Monday I wouldn’t be surprised. My bad, sir. Now this is transparency, eh?

First Street Meat of 2010 – OM NOM NOM

The Spirit of Summer: Basketball, Baseball, Fishing, Golf, Patio Drinkage, Beachbumming, BBQs & Front St. Street Meat! Go Jays Go!

Posted via email from chefdeafjeff’s posterous

Jays Home Opener – Here We Come!

A week ago I expected to get maybe 30 to 40 people from Humber to come out for the Jays Home Opener… After about a week of organizing that estimate turned into 65… All I can say is, April 12th, the Chi-Town White Sox better watch out… The Heckling Humberites will be in yo face! Until then, ya’ll better get incredihype!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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What To Do In Montreal!

An ongoing list of things you HAVE to do in Montreal. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to eat at L’Avenue, Bronwen – I’m going back in the summer though so definitely then! Also, if any of you have any other must-do, must-see or must-eat places in Montreal or Quebec City, be sure to comment below or on the YouTube page!