Oct. 13, 2017 "Dumped on reality TV": Today I found this life essay by Tina Petrick in the Globe and Mail:
I looked her up. This life essay was average. It was more about getting on The Bachelor Canada and then leaving after one night.
You can't go home again, especially after you've suffered embarrassment on reality TV. A few years ago, I was a contestant in Season 1 of The Bachelor Canada. I didn't last long, so I empathize with the women about to get dumped on TV.
After my first-and-only rose ceremony, I was hungover or, more probably, still drunk. The cocktail party wrapped filming as the sun came up and I hadn't slept a wink. I was put in a white van filled with skinny women with puffy eyes and wine breath.
As the effect of the Champagne wore off, I realized I was doomed. Worse, I was broke and homeless, with two suitcases full of evening gowns.
Dumped off at the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal in Victoria, I bought a ticket with a debit card that I prayed wouldn't be declined, then clumsily wheeled my suitcases onboard and found an empty row to occupy. I curled up in my seat, hood up and sunglasses on, shielding myself from the world. With my cellphone blinking low battery, I called my mom only to get her voicemail, an exercise I repeated five times, as though Sisyphus expecting salvation at the top of the hill.
I couldn't go back to my West End, Vancouver apartment, which I'd subleased to a man in his mid-20s. He responded to my Craigslist ad, desperate to get away from his psycho roommate.
Even still, he was tentative about our arrangement when – because of the confidentiality agreement I signed to be a contestant – I couldn't answer simple questions such as, "Where are you going?"
"Well, as long as it's not prison," he said, finally giving in and signing the rental agreement.
On the ferry, I mentally flicked through my Rolodex of options. I could go to Monique's Yaletown condominium and crash in her spare bedroom. A week earlier, we were constructing my Night One outfit – laying out jewellery and matching lipstick to my freshly purchased dress from Holt Renfrew.
"If you get sent home early," she said, "you can stay with me." Except, while filming, my mild nerves, calmed by fiddling with vintage earrings on loan from Monique, escalated so severely that I unconsciously twisted the delicate French wires until they snapped in half and the earring's semi-precious stones were lost on set.
(To this day, I wonder if Monique noticed the continuity error: I wear her earrings at the beginning of the show – before my mascara smears and my teeth are stained with red wine – then I show up with bare lobes at the night's end.)
I was too ashamed to ask friends for help.
Savings squandered on heels and high-definition makeup, I played cash-flow roulette and took a cab to a three-star hotel in Tsawwassen, where I loaded up on Advil, chased with Gatorade purchased from a vending machine. I prayed my mom would call me back.
What was I thinking? That I'd find my future husband on a reality TV show? Rationally, no.
Most couples who meet on dating shows go their separate ways once the camera stops rolling, itching to pursue contracts as anchors on entertainment news television.
Did I think I could launch my own celebrity? Establish a lifestyle brand? Nix that, an empire? I don't even have an Instagram account. My tips are confined to gems only fellow lawyers would appreciate, such as: "Keep a highlighter on your bedside table for nighttime reading."
I used to have an objectively "great" job at a downtown law firm, which could be simultaneously boring and stressful. I had great friends, whom I often pounded back cocktails with, numbing myself from said boring work stress.
I even assure you, I had no problem meeting men. (Dating men, however, was a different story. It's hard to get to date No. 3 when you are forced to bail on a night out in lieu of urgent court briefs.)
My mom returned my call and, thanks to her Airmiles account, I'm soon on a plane, touching down at a blip of an airport surrounded by dense bush.
In the months before the show airs, I hide under a rock as big as the Canadian Shield, in rural northwestern Ontario. My tulle miniskirts and sparkly blouses look ridiculous on the clothesline in our backyard, contrasted against white pines and birch. I let my eyebrows grow bushy and missed calls collect.
"You're hiding out in Thunder Bay?" my friend, Jennesia, exclaims, when I muster the courage to answer her call, "Are you crazy? You don't go to your hometown to avoid gossip."
I eventually found a job at a local law firm, citing "wanting to be closer to family" as my reason for abandoning big-city life in Vancouver, although I quickly became unsatisfied with the quality of cases on my desk, which were mostly simple slip and falls and rear-end collisions.
One day, I heard my name on the radio as I drove to work. The news was out. I felt nervous arriving at my office, there are only a handful of radio stations in Thunder Bay.
I soon had a text message from a childhood friend, Alexandra. "Oh my God! Tina, we MUST have a viewing party! I will invite the girls!"
But I won't be there, I thought. I handed in my two-weeks notice. I'd accepted a job back in Vancouver. Sure, it was cowardly, but it turns out I'm not a lover or a fighter. I'm a flighter.
Tina Petrick lives in Calgary.
May 17, 2022 "A Taste of Love" TV show: This was back in May 2020. I was in the MacEwan University Facebook group and there was this ad for a casting call. You don't know this, but I was about to send an audition tape.
However, I didn't. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I would go on Blind Date or the Canadian TV show Teens Dating. I don't care if the TV producers make fun of me with those graphics and funny comments. What if I could find love here?
I didn't because dating is personal and private. Then you throw in an audience to watch you.
I can go to a job interview, and you can be judged by the interviewer/ boss (or more than one boss) and maybe it's a group job interview.
I will write about all my job interviews, but I will never put the company name.
You’re between the ages of 18-35, you’re single, and despite this COVID situation (or maybe because of it?) you’re ready and willing to connect with someone on a virtual blind date. You enjoy good food, you can cook(ish), and you have a favourite dish you’d love to share. You’re able to put together a short demo video telling us a little about you and your favourite dish and why you’re ready to meet someone new. You’re awesome. You’re you.
We’re folks at an Edmonton-based Production Company looking to cast the pilot for a TV series called ”A Taste of Love.” We are the ones who set up the blind dates. We, too, like good food. And we would love to hear from you ... whether you have a demo video for us, questions about the show, or even a recipe you’d like to share.
Contact Lucy@showtellmove.com for more info!
We believe that love is love and encourage all sexual identities to apply.
A TASTE OF LOVE – ORIGINAL SERIES PILOT
By Lindisfarne | January 4, 2021
Lindisfarne Productions is excited to introduce our own original series pilot: A Taste of Love. Produced with the support of TELUS STORYHIVE, we were honoured to have the opportunity.
Secretly, our team at is always happy for the opportunity to play matchmaker; and so A Taste of Love was born! A Taste of Love explores new and unconventional ways of finding love during a global pandemic. Each episode features a blind date where two love-seekers find out if food is truly the way to someone’s heart. Adding to the challenge – dating while maintaining social distance!
So what is a Taste of Love?
A Taste of Love has humour, charm, diverse Canadian identities, and of course kitchen bloopers. Our pilot episode sees two love-seekers, Andrea and Kyle, coming together for an online dinner and blind date. Prior to the date, each of them receive a recipe and ingredients for their date’s “signature” meal. They must then create that meal using whatever cooking skills they can muster. Audiences catch a glimpse of personalities through the recipes chosen, and how they handle the “heat” in the kitchen. Ultimately, audiences see Andrea and Kyle meet online to discuss food, kitchen fiascos, and finding love. Will they be smitten in the kitchen?
Creating a show during a global pandemic
Making a series pilot during a pandemic was a new and challenging experience for Lindisfarne Productions. We had to get creative to design and produce a show following current national and regional production guidelines for COVID-19. Our crew captured our blind date entirely with 4K remote controlled cameras, mounted production cameras, and masked cinematographers. It was imperative to use the right gear to capture a real and convincing sense of dating life under quarantine.
A Taste of Love offered our team the opportunity to test our creativity and production skills; making a project that is innovative and timely. We had a lot of fun and can’t wait to see where A Taste of Love will take us!
A Taste of Love - original series pilot - with support from Telus Storyhive (showtellmove.com)
Here's the video:
A Taste of Love
Jun. 5, 2022 Table Topics Daily: I asked: "Would you go on a reality TV show? Why or why not?"
D: She is a woman in her 60s and likes Survivor and The Amazing Race. She travels with her husband and pretends she's on The Amazing Race.
E: He's in his early 20s and would go on a outdoors kind of show.
R: He is Australian and would go on a sports show.
My answer: I did audition for So You Think You Can Dance Canada in April 2009, and I didn't get on the show. I wrote about it here:
the fog/ entertainment/ dance
This week's theme is about dating:
"I'm single, and not looking to change that"/ "It's okay to love being single"
"Dane Cook's bringing recipe for comedy to Calgary"/ "I was boozing too much' Pitt admits"
My week:
Jun. 6, 2022 "Almost a quarter of Canadians report eating less than they should due to rising prices: survey": Today I found this on CBC news:
The survey, conducted by Mainstreet Research, found almost a quarter of Canadians reported eating less than they should because there wasn't enough money for food — a figure that nearly doubled for those earning under $50,000 a year.
It also found that one in five Canadians reported going hungry at least once between March 2020 and March 2022.
The comments are to ask for a raise, raise the minimum wage, go on the Keto diet.
My opinion: The lack of money is the root of all evil. I sent these articles below to a friend who was struggling to buy groceries and she's single.
Here are a couple of blog posts about how to save money on groceries:
"What should you spend on groceries?"/ "Grocery savings: here's the only list you'll need"
"Canadians flocking to food rescue apps to reduce grocery bills and waste"/ "How to save money on your grocery bill amid empty shelves and higher prices"
Jun. 5, 2022 "Plant-based faux meat proving to have lots of sizzle, but little steak": Today I found this article by Pete Evans on CBC news:
While vegetarianism is a steady and growing force in the food business, Somogyi says most people interested in plant-based eating are happy to eat more fruits and vegetables and conventional proteins like beans and lentils, as opposed to factory-made plant products that masquerade as meat.
"They were all the rage and consumers were curious to try them out, but now they've tried them and that fad has sort of worn off," he said.
Plant-based faux meat proving to have lots of sizzle, but little steak | CBC News
Jun. 7, 2022 "Ford family house fire" charity: My old classmate from MacEwan, Jenn Ford had her house burned down on Jun. 3.
"Jenn is an awesome person who is always there to support her friends and family. They suffered a terrible tragedy Friday night when their family home was destroyed in a house fire. Lucky they are all safe but having lost everything and the new baby coming soon they could use some help."
Fundraiser for Jenn Ford by Michelle Morrison : Ford family house fire (gofundme.com)
Amy Robinson
Yesterday at 1:52 PM
Hi Friends, I am reaching to share that 15% of this months book sales will be going to Jenn Ford and her family to help out after a devastating house fire .. Jenn is a beautiful mom of two youngsters with the third on way who sadly lost all possessions in the fire. Please take this opportunity to spread the love for reading while helping a family in need
Jun. 9, 2022 The Andy Roddick Foundation: This is a really good charity about helping kids summer learning programs, after school programs, spring break camps, etc.
Over the last two decades, we’ve been guided by the belief that children are shaped by the chances they have. But children of color and those living in low-income communities have far fewer opportunities than their peers. And the gap between them is the biggest outside the classroom.
That’s why we create new chances for children to grow in literacy, STEM, art, sports, and social and emotional learning –– all during months and times of day when statistics show they’re typically most at risk and falling behind.
In 2020, we impacted more Central Texas youth and families than ever before.
Andy Roddick Foundation (arfoundation.org)
Andy Roddick was nine years old when he realized what he was born to do. These days, he’s devoted his life to recreating that moment, over and over again — but not for himself. It turns out that one of the greatest tennis players of all time was born not just to pursue his own passion, but to help others discover theirs.
“Let’s expose these kids to everything, and let’s hope something sticks with them,” Roddick says. “That moment I had at nine, when I picked up a tennis racket and it clicked with me––it built my self-esteem and gave me a sense of self-worth at a young age because I could do something well. That’s the moment we’re trying to hit with these kids. And we’re going to give them every chance to find it.”
Roddick is talking about the kids participating in programs orchestrated by the Andy Roddick Foundation, his Austin, Texas-based nonprofit working to take the time children spend outside the classroom and turn it into real opportunities. Through an innovative and acclaimed six-week summer program, investments in collaborative out-of-school time activities, and other joint initiatives with key groups throughout the city, the Foundation is creating new chances for kids to grow in literacy, STEM, art, and sports––all during months and times of day when statistics show they’re typically most at risk and falling behind.
“The biggest learning gaps take place during the summer months,” Roddick explains. “Kids that have access to great programs don’t miss a beat when they go back to school, but those who don’t are playing catch up.”
The Foundation extends and broadens learning possibilities and puts students face-to-face with a broad range of local professionals, from scientists, chefs, and artists, to politicians and financial advisors during “Career Field Trips” to places such as Austin City Hall and PricewaterhouseCoopers. “We had Keith Kreeger, an artist who makes this amazing pottery and has his dinnerware in a lot of the big restaurants in town, come out and do a workshop with the kids,” Roddick remembers. “One of them looked at Keith and said, ‘I can’t believe you actually can have a job doing this!’” He laughs and adds, “That’s the moment we want.”
Roddick was still a teenager himself when he decided to help kids. In 2000 at 17 years old, he was the No. 1 ranked Junior tennis player in the world. It was time to go pro. As he stared down a future rife with pressure and expectations surrounding his jump into the world he’d been working toward his whole life, he remembered some advice his hero Andre Agassi had given him when Roddick had asked the legend whether or not he had any regrets. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to start my foundation, Agassi had said. So at just 18, Roddick launched the Andy Roddick Foundation.
Andy Roddick — Andy Roddick Foundation (arfoundation.org)
