Los Angeles Here I come for the 3rd Time!

In my whole life, I dreamt about going to Los Angeles and Hollywood, California. It was my first time in October 2012, and I must say I did choke up and was so teary. I Saw the Hollywood sign and I just lost it. I just couldn’t believe what I was looking at. Since I was a child looking at movies, television, ads in the paper, travel ads, magazines, entertainment stuff, and all I saw was LA, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and of course; the Hollywood sign. I knew where the celebrity central and the biggest entertainment capital of the world is.

As I was approaching the Hollywood sign above the Griffith Observatory, I cried up a storm. I was an emotional wreck. All my dreams of going to Los Angeles came true. I couldn’t believe I was close to all the stars, seeing the Hollywood Walk of Fame with all the artists, entertainers, then ending up right outside Jimmy Kimmel’s show studio set. Then seeing Capitol Records, and all these entertainment broadcasting corporation buildings. Then I saw the Iconic 405 Freeway everyone was talking about. They say that it was such terrible traffic and you are so right. So many lanes and still lots of traffic. Even the carpool lane didn’t make any difference.

In my mind, I was thinking of all the award shows, the red carpet, and I was keeping my eyes peeled and had my eyes everywhere with the hopes that I would meet a celebrity. That was highly unlikely, but It could happen and it has happened.

Anyway, my 2nd trip to Los Angeles was in May 2015, where we went through Santa Monica Beach where we hung out for a bit, then driving through Beverly hills. Seeing these huge houses where majority of them are covered in high bushes and trees, and a lot of the celebrities live there. You would see the home cleaners park their cars outside on the road, and them coming out with buckets, mops and other cleaning products, then you would see super expensive cars. This time, I did see Actor Hugh Jackman drive a black Porsche. It was definitely him. I can tell for sure. Then I looked online and it was true. We also traveled to Fresno, San Francisco, Drove on the Pacific Coast Highway, went to Newport Coast, Newport Beach.

My 3rd Los Angeles trip will be in about 3-4 months from now. I am excited to spend about 10-11 days there. I am definitely going to other parts of LA such as Pasadena, Glendale, Malibu, La Crescenta, and so many other places. I have a lot of time now to plan and I am going to be so organized. Gotta love LA. I cannot believe in just 3-4 years, I will have gone 3 times. I did not go all my life. I am really excited to be amongst the stars again.

I can’t wait to indulge into In-N-Out burger, and also the Famous Oscars Pizza Guy Edgars Pizza. Big Mamas and Papas, and amongst other great restaurants I have heard about.  I hope to see Ellen Degeneres, go to Warner Bros, CBS Studios, NBC Universal and more.

I just want to Meet Bradley Cooper, Jason Statham, Chris Hemsworth, and Channing Tatum. 🙂 Hopefully, will bump into them at LAX Airport or down a street walking or something. Now that would be awesome. I can hardly wait!

Our Ultimate 1308 Miles of California Getaway

A couple of weeks ago on May 21st, 2015 after a long wait and anticipation, Our ultimate California getaway had arrived when I went with my Family. We were so impatient and anxious to get to Toronto Pearson’s YYZ Airport to take our Air Canada Flight AC 789 to Los Angeles Airport LAX at 8am when it took off. As we submitted my boarding pass to the Air Canada attendant and as we made our way to the Aircraft and grabbed our seats, we were absolutely excited for the 5 and a half hour flight, which to us did not feel long at all, as we are used to flights. We arrived at 10:10am LA Time, so we had the full day ahead.

As soon as the aircraft attendants announced that we will be landing momentarily to LAX and as we saw the Los Angeles Buildings in Downtown while landing, the hills, valleys, and the beauty of LA, we began to get more excited then ever and then I said to myself, it is about to get real now. So much is waiting for me to discover, my family to see, my cousins wedding to attend to, Facebook Friends whom I met for the first time, and covering so much ground in so little time. 10-11 days went by like a dream.

It was an incredible time when we went through towns and cities, and firstly after getting our rental car, we made our way to Newport Coast, where we stood the night, taking the 405 Freeway, where then we began driving north to Fresno where my cousin got married, and reunited, and united with family and friends, then after Fresno, we made our way to San Francisco passing through San Jose, Oakland, and many other towns. After San Francisco, we ventured out to Highway 1 Freeway 101 which is the Pacific Coast Highway. It took over 8-9 hours to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles. We made a stop in Santa Barbara for a night, Then we stood in Northridge Area, visited Santa Monica Pier and Beach after that we went back to Newport Coast where we ended our trip with more family time. On May 30th we returned our rental car, then at 10:20pm we departed Los Angeles LAX airport to arrive back to Toronto on May 31st, at 6am in the morning our time.

In Beverly Hills, we were on our way to Santa Monica, where I saw Actor Hugh Jackman driving a black Porsche when he was getting out and stopped on one of the streets in Beverly Hills close to Carmelita Ave with the tall Palm Trees around the homes. All the cars were either Range Rovers, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW, Maserati, Teslas and so many more crazily expensive cars around there, and then there were cleaners and maids coming out of some of the stars homes as I was driving and watching the streets. It was quite awesome to see a celebrity in LA… What is a trip to Los Angeles without seeing a celebrity?

With all that you hear from Movies, TV, Entertainment websites and all the hype of Los Angeles with the home of Celebrities, Music Performers, Directors, Producers and a huge Population that works in the entertainment industry somehow are scattered all over Los Angeles area’s. LA is just so huge that you need at least a month to comfortably go all around. 2 weeks is not enough. There is just too much to see, too much to do. If I lived in Los Angeles, I would definitely be in the entertainment industry.

Now Los Angeles is not just about Film, Entertainment and everything. There is far more to it than just film making, awards, studios, mansions, Malibu beach houses, movie sets, the glitz, glamour, vanity, fashion and everything is not just everything about it. There is so much more to do. If you have never been, you should make a trip there whenever convenient for you.

Now, they say that the Highway 401 here is jam packed and so much traffic. You haven’t seen and heard nothing yet. We took doses of the 405, 110, traffic and that is extremely brutal. I do not know how residents of California, LA area can handle that day in and day out. It takes patience, skill and guts to go through that almost everyday. Highway 401 traffic in Toronto is nothing compared to what they go through on the 405 and 110. I would go crazy with that everyday. People of LA are brave.

I love Los Angeles so much. I am excited to make a return next year. I have been back for a couple of days now and I miss it so much already, especially my family and my friends there. Next time I will be there longer to see my other Facebook friends that I didn’t have time to see. Cheers to LA!

There is so much more that I have to say about my trip, but this was just the bit of it.
Now to take off my bucket list:

– I saw the Painted Ladies and the Full House TV Show house, and Alamo Square in San Francisco,
– I saw the Fisherman’s Wharf, also the skyline of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge.
– I saw the Santa Monica Pier
– I Drove on the Pacific Coast Highway
– I went close to the Hollywood Sign
– I saw Beverly Hills and glimpse of Celebrity Homes
– I saw a celebrity in LA – Hugh Jackman in his Black Porsche.

Understanding Social Media – Twitter

Since April, 2007, Twitter launched its social media website to the world. Twitter’s headquarters is located in San Francisco, California, where then eventually many offices were open in the United States, as well as the world. Millions of people have now created accounts since its launch. Twitter is a social media website where people share instantly without barriers of create ideas, advertising ones own business, as well as promoting events, causes, raising awareness on issues of the world, trending the news, popular words, phrases, currents events and more with 140 Characters or less.

In August of 2007, Chris Messina had incorporated the Hashtag “#” sign which is the number sign, which makes it easier and what will attract the world with certain keywords used to promote, advertise and make something popular with the hopes that it will begin to trend. For example, when you create hashtags such as #People #SocialMedia #Life #Love #Travel – and then if another person decides to write the same Hashtags, it will come up on the same page, and it will be like a chat room where people can communicate with each other, as well as if something is found to be interesting, they will add someones tweet to their favourites and re-tweet it on their page.

You will then receive notifications, that what you post on where it is and who has posted it on their pages. When people find something or someone interesting, they may or may not start following them and adding them on their list.
I know you are probably thinking, what can I write and share in 140 Characters or less? Well, there is a lot you can do in that limit. There is always something somebody is searching for and Twitter has made it easier to share it with the world. You can post photos, links, personal websites, and so much more which of course with obeying Twitters terms of service. Twitter also has a short link generator, which you can find the twitter short link generator and save space in the status message you are about to share. You can find it on a search engine site of your choice.

Introducing you the Executive Team:

Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer
Adam Bain, President of Global Revenue
Alex Roetter, Vice President of Engineering
Anthony Noto, Chief Financial Officer
Kevin Weil, Vice President of Product
Luca Baratta, Vice President of Finance
Vijaya Gadde, General Counsel
Adam Messinger, Chief Technology Officer
Gabriel Stricker, Chief Communications Officer
Brian “Skip” Schipper, Vice President of Human Resources

Board of Directors:

Jack Dorsey (Chairman)
Co-Founder, Twitter, and CEO, Square

Dick Costolo
CEO, Twitter

Peter Chernin
Founder and Chairman,
Chernin Entertainment and The Chernin Group

Peter Currie
President, Currie Capital

Peter Fenton
General Partner, Benchmark Capital

David Rosenblatt
CEO, 1stdibs.com, Inc.

Marjorie Scardino
Chairman, MacArthur Foundation

Evan Williams
CEO, Medium; CEO, Obvious Corp.

There are quite a few people that have told me, what is twitter? How can I understand it? why did it become so popular? Well, it is a social media website that has blossomed like wild flowers in the world. Like I said in my previous articles, people will search for anything, and when it comes on the news about a new website, and they begin to advertise so much on Media outlets, it will be a huge hit and sensation in the world. Twitter still is after 8 years.

I am so happy with Twitter. I feel that it has gotten so much easier to raise awareness about certain topics and issues of the world, and to address important subjects to our society. Thank you Twitter for giving us all an opportunity to get out there, to achieve, and to do what our hearts desire to the world. If you do not have an account with twitter, make one, it will make it so much easier to share blogs, ideas and so much more that you want to contribute to the world.

I wish Twitter and its staff all the best and many more years of trending, re-tweeting, tweeting, sharing and more. Thanks twitter.

The Social Media Information Overload

In the life and times of the society we are in, We keep hearing about Social Media and the many websites and how technology has changed so much with communication and how the internet is the biggest information/communication hub of the world now and I know in the last few posts, I have written about it, however this is such a thing as Social Media Information Overload, however that should never deter you from putting yourself, your ideas, suggestions, experiences, stories and more out there. There are many people in this world who want to look for different types of information in different context and there is always some type of information out there for everyone.

I know Social media is a huge topic and starting out and beginning your journey is something that can be frustrating and so intimidating, that you just want to give up quickly and not give it a chance. When I began blogging, writing and putting myself out there in the public eye, I never thought that I would get this far. I read many blogs, and tutorials on social media and how to get myself out there and I began following those instructions, then gradually I began getting so much feedback and so much more out of it. At first, I thought this is such a waste of time, and I won’t get anywhere, but then I gave it a chance, and everything fell into place. You just need to give it the green light.

I know some people are probably thinking, how of hundreds and thousands of blogs, twitter posts and all the writings, articles of the world, how someone can get to my site, and see my posts and things that I put out there to see? Well, it is very easy with over 3 Billion people who use the internet, it is very easy for so many people out of those billions of people who want to search for something that interests them and they will go through many sites to find it and they will get onto your site. It is pretty neat to be shown on Search Engine sites, and with searching for a topic or something is easy. People will sift through many search engine pages and when they see a blog or something that interests them, they will click on your site and see the content they want, then they might share it amongst their family and friends, and then will share it on their social media sites.

Some tips to take note of and a word of advice when beginning your social media journey:

– Be Patient
– Engage, Discover, Deliver
– Read Social Media Tutorials
– Get on Social Media Marketing websites and receive e-mails on articles
– Keep writing, Posting material
– Give yourself and your social media journey a chance
– Get on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
– When you are on twitter hashtags like this #hashtags #blogs #socialmedia is important to spread out with whatever topics you want to share in 140 Characters or less.
– Never take take take – Give as well.

When you are in social media, do not make it a competition of “Oh I am better than everyone else” approach “My material is the best” attitude. People automatically feel the way things are written online, and if people feel that someone is complimenting themselves so much and becoming a center of attention, it becomes less interesting to engage into that persons website. Never make someone feel that their material and what they write is something that is not good or don’t make people feel that what they have to say isn’t important. We are all important, and what we all have to say is something that is good to read. Never slander and insult somebody because of it. We all have something incredible and wonderful to contribute to in the world.

All in all, Social Media is a great thing to be in. It is a communication of information that can be beneficial for everyone. So take the chance and see where it takes you. Have fun and best wishes!

My Vision of Empowerment of Social Media

Since social media has been a big trend on the internet and the world, We all have different outlooks and perspectives toward the vision of empowerment and communications that social media has that a lot of people are in, however my vision for social media and what I want to get out of it is to inspire, share my views/opinions and to educate others in the life experiences I have had and will continue to have. My vision is to raise awareness on certain issues that have me deeply interested in and to make a difference one person and many people at a time.

Some people create blogs, and become active on social media to see where things will take each and everyone of us and the purpose we have to get to that point. Still, I think the traditional word of mouth is something much more powerful, however with this new age in technology, with communication that has gotten a lot easier than years ago, information gets sent instantly on the other side of the world with just a click of a button. It is incredible where inventions, technology has led us to a new realm of today, tomorrow and the future.

Social media has different levels of how we look at it, some always want it to be fun with posting funny jokes, memes, and doing funny things all the time, some post inspirational quotes, some post photos of themselves and/or with friends/family, postings about so many things.

Advertising has become a lot easier with posting events, flyers, sharing it on twitter, on Facebook news feeds, walls, inviting people to pages, fan pages, groups, also making it easy to RSVP to events, people post up greeting cards, Photoshopping, and all kinds of interesting and neat things. Social media is a huge thing in the world right now and it is getting more popular as time goes by.

A few people have messaged me in the last few years and have asked me “What are you getting out of social media”? My answer is simple, to empower, to communicate, to keep in touch, to meet new people, inspire, and with the hopes of changing the world and the perspective on life with my words and to spread love, happiness, joy and smiles across the globe. Once someone posts something, it is out there for the world to see.

We all understand social media in different context and ways and what we define our vision of it is. Some use social media to communicate with family and friends, some use it for business/commercial use and as well as many other things. No matter how we look at social media, we must always be very careful of the information we transmit and not post anything and everything that goes on in our lives for the world to see.

The biggest vision of mine is to communicate to the world through my eyes, my words, and my thoughts to the world as much as possible.

Great Airline Information Websites to Bookmark

Hello all, as you may or may not know, I am an avid traveler and a person who enjoys traveling especially on airlines. In the past little while I have been doing extensive research on the best websites to cater to my needs in finding out information on airlines, aircraft photos, different designs of the planes, and so much more. I then ventured out on the internet to find great websites to further educate myself on the travel industry, airlines, different aircraft and more, and of course my own knowledge, and education as I have experienced in flying with numerous airlines. Some I had the pleasure of flying with before they went out of service years ago such as Royal Airlines, Canada 3000, Skyservice, Armenian Airlines and so on and so forth. Well, without further delay, here are websites that I recommend when planning an air getaway:

Airliners — A website that has different types of Aircraft, photos, information and history.
http://www.airliners.net

FlightStats — Information on Airports, Airlines, Flight information – a one hub stop for all your needs.
http://www.flightstats.com/

Flightaware — Tracking live flights, aircraft descriptions, commercial aircraft and more.
http://www.flightaware.com

FlightRadar — Another Flight Tracker website which caters to how many aircraft is in the air as we speak.
http://www.flightradar24.com/

Planespotters — A website that lists airline fleet index, photos, latest deliveries, information and interacting with other airline and travel enthusiasts.
http://planespotters.net

SeatGuru — A website for airline information as well as locating your seat and find the best seats suitable for you onboard an aircraft and all kinds of aircraft types.
http://www.seatguru.com

Skytrax — Airline ratings, star ratings, quality, service and more.
http://www.airlinequality.com/

If you have airline, aircraft websites you would like to contribute and that you think are interesting, please list them in the comments below and I will add them to my list. Thank you. Enjoy the websites and all the best in your research before you travel..

🙂
Bon Voyage! Safe Travels!

 

 

 

The Griffith Observatory – My Hollywood Sign Story – Los Angeles

In October of 2012, just over a year ago now, I remember taking my first glimpse of Los Angeles of where the Celebs, stars, entertainment, and everything combined came into my mind, after arriving at the Griffith Park to head up to the Griffith Observatory. It was a sight that is still embedded into my mind and when I close my eyes sometimes I see it appear. Then I saw the beautiful Hollywood Sign on the Hollywood hills and that is where my emotions were uncontrollable with tears running down my cheeks. I started to cry so much that I had to take about an hour to register in my brain and in my life that I am actually standing before Los Angeles, before the Hollywood sign, that I was long awaiting to see in my whole life. It was my first time there. I felt this amazing connection that was so incredible.

Since I was a child, I had always seen Hollywood’s sign, the Los Angeles skyline and learned about California as I was growing up and watching numerous Movies, TV Shows that situated and was filmed in LA and California areas with the long Palm Trees and the California style roofs which was something that I just couldn’t register in my brain that I was actually physically there. I just could not stop crying. I did not want to leave. I was just staring at Hollywood and the areas and could not take my eyes off of it. You never know, you could be looking at a home and it could a celebrity home. So a lot of the faces of celebrities and movie directors came to my face with the hopes that I would bump into some when I was there, but that did not pan out, but they were filming a Ford Fusion Car commercial at the Griffith Observatory and that was super cool to see the movie TV Commercial trucks and the cars, the cameras, and all that. I said now this is something that was so cool to see in LA area.

I will never ever forget the feelings that were going through my whole body when I was there. i kept my eyes peeled of each car and each person passing by with the hopes I would see a celebrity there too on Hollywood Blvd where the stars are on the ground the walk of fame and the surrounding areas. Went on the 405 freeway and I could not believe I was on that Freeway I had known about since I was a kid. So then there too I was looking in each car and it was something that I totally was keeping myself busy with. I did see a Bold and the Beautiful actor driving a Cadillac Vehicle though but it was getting dark and we were stuck in traffic and he was beside us. It was quite amazing. Since then I keep on have recurring dreams about myself becoming a script writer where I would submit my material to Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and other Movie directors and then meeting up with Celebrities as well, going to the top Hollywood parties, enjoying going to the Golden Globes, Emmy Awards, Oscar Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, wearing a Vera Wang Dress on the Red Carpet while Entertainment Tonight or E-Talk Daily would come up to me and interview me, then I would get on the Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres show, Jimmy Kimmel and more..

I was thinking of all this when I was there. I was just sitting at the Griffith Observatory Benches and just thinking about it and talking to the Los Angeles skyline and to the Hollywood sign and just taking it all in. It was such a great feeling I could not even describe it. I was watching this movie the other day and I saw LA and I said Oh my goodness LOS ANGELES! out loud. I still cannot believe it to this day, but I keep looking at my pictures and I am still in disbelief. I can spend all day there and just glimpsing and enjoying my time there, to do a lot of thinking, to go above and beyond, but then when reality sets in. I was completely in shock and passerby’s saw me cry and they asked are you okay? I said I just can’t believe I am here!

I get emotional quite quickly when I visit places and I am a very sensitive person when it comes to places i have always seen since I was a kid through TV, Movies, Magazines, and Advertising, then when I see it, it’s a totally different thing and I just lose it. I will never ever forget the feelings I had and I certainly will never forget how that beautiful view made me feel inside. It was indescribable and I am sure those who have seen it from the Griffith Observatory can somewhat relate to me. I definitely want to go back in the near future and just spend more time there and enjoy myself again, but hopefully with no crying the next time. Hope I can go back there soon. I am going to make it a goal of mine to travel to Los Angeles again. I need at least a month there and I will learn the area. I am a very fast learner when it comes to that.

Anyway, it’s really not about the Glitz and the Glamor and Vanity of LA and Hollywood that really gets to me, and I know some people do not care about it and it’s not something important to me with the fashions and everything of the Hollywood and the media, but just being there was exciting all on its own.

Have you ever been to the Griffith Observatory? Have you ever seen the Hollywood sign up close and personal? What were your feelings about it? If you have not, its worth to see. It is gorgeous. Well, that is about it. Thank you for reading.

All the best.