“GOT ME STATUS BACK!”

June 25th, 2009

Soundtrack:
Artist: Tosca
Album: Hassle

I need to start this blog post by giving props to Air Canada (pardon the airplane pun). If you have been following my blog you would remember that I lost my Aeroplan Elite status. This means that poor ole Greg couldn’t get into the executive lounge, couldn’t get the free drinks, couldn’t arrogantly walk past everyone in line and have priority boarding, you know, all the stuff I used to be spoiled with. Well I did an experiment, and I think it worked…if you work for Air Canada and are reading this, and then I would like to buy you a beer!

I had a chat with social media guru David Alston of Radian 6 a couple months ago in Halifax; he was explaining to me exactly what it was that Radian 6 actually did. I know they are always on Twitter, and are true digital media renegades, but I was still not totally sure what their products were. David explained that they have a very edgy product that tracks info on the web similar to Google Alerts, but far more robust of course. For those who don’t know what Google Alerts are, check them out…if you are interested in seeing if anyone is writing about you anywhere on the internet, then you can enter your name in Google Alerts and you will get a notification every time your name is mentioned. Or if you were a company like Air Canada, and you wanted to know if there were bloggers bitching about loosing their Elite status, then something like Google Alerts would be very beneficial for you. Google Alerts is a very elementary product however in comparison to Radian 6’s product. I am not about to explain their product to you because I have no clue of what else to say, but if David Alston or any one of our friends at Radian 6 get a notification about my mentioning of you, please feel free to explain in the comments field in this blog! Let’s see this in action!!!

When I wrote that initial Air Canada blog, I made sure that I used tags that would help me make sure that someone from Air Canada would find the blog; I used words like “Air Canada”, “Maple Leaf Lounge”, “Aeroplan”, “Elite Status” etc. I was hoping someone from the marketing team at Air Canada would read it, feel pity for my case and re-upgrade me back to my sacred Elite status…hey don’t roll your eyes at me, this is serious stuff…when you travel, and have the privileges and the ability to go into a comfy room with comfy leather chairs, free scotch, internet, food and a shower, you can’t imagine travelling any other way! Can’t you see? Its like my brother Mark who was always an incredible snowboarder, when he rode out West in the powder fields of the Rockies, he had a very hard time snowboarding again on our dinky east coast hills. I can relate with him! Ok, I’m just being a spoiled brat, but I love travelling in comfort.

So what happened? Well I show up at the airport Sunday night, got to the ticket counter, and as it turns out I have my ELITE STATUS BACK!!! I don’t know how it happened but it did! The magical Aeroplan Fairy must have paid me a visit whilst I was asleep. I am impressed! I proudly walked into the Maple Leaf lounge, tipped my hat at the staff at the front desk and poured myself a glass of Port, brewed an espresso, and ate a pickle…breathe it in baby! I might not have this forever! I also got an upgrade to the blue lit “Tron”-styled comfy pod beds in first class, there is nothing like stretching out 6 feet and having a full nights sleep on a red eye. Out like a light after the stewardess welcomed me with a glass of Champagne.

I have a theory that some social networking savvy cat from Air Canada read my blog, and gave me my Elite status back….to that I sad “RAD!!!”. Thank you! Hey, if you are the Air Canada guy or gal who hooked me up, let me know in the comments area, I want to prove that tag words work. If Air Canada never did read my blog, then I think Radian 6 should give them a call and get them to read my blog and sell them their product…I can see the POWER!!! The power of communication on the web never ceases to amaze me. TARGET THAT MARKET!

"Air Canada Breaks my Heart, and Filming ECMAs!"

February 25, 2009

Halifax – Deer Lake, Newfoundland

Air Canada Breaks Greg’s Heart

I just left the Halifax tarmac on a small Air Canada Dash 8 commuter plane enroute to the republic of Newfoundland! Yes it is that time again, the East Coast Music Awards. Hemmings House Pictures has been hired again to film many of the acts for Aliant.net. This year we are up for our second nomination for best DVD of the year. Wes Jagoe hired me years ago it seems to film a live video project from his living room, and now it has surfaced and a nomination is in our name!

“Get lit, Feel the power on the one, don’t sit, wait for the thing to come…”, thanks Daniel Lanoise. Great music always sets the mood right for my airplane journaling! Speaking of airplanes, I need to vent.

This journal since its inception has given so many props to Air Canada, I have written most of my blogs on Air Canada planes, or in Maple Leaf Lounges. In fact if you did a word count on this whole blog you would see multiple positive references to Air Canada.

SCORE CARD

AIRPLANE – 48

AIR CANADA - 26

MAPLE LEAF LOUNGE – 20

AEROPLAN - 8

I say positive references because I am addicted not to crystal meth, or peanut butter cookies, but rather to Aeroplan points. I have travelled enough on Air Canada that my Aeroplan fetish has pushed me to the point where I am finding myself paying more money to fly Air Canada just to get the damned things, not only that, I usually upgrade to higher cost fares to maximize my points potential so I can keep my “Elite” status…OK

HOLD ON…

This is where the story gets depressing. I feel like I have never flown so much in my life as I did in 2008, I was all over the place. 2007 was a big year of flights, but 08 I was sure was going to be the chart topper. So I get an envelope in the mail last week with my new Aeroplan card that pretty much tells me that I HAVE BEEN DEMOTED back to “Prestige” status! WHAT??? Are you kidding me? I have been stripped away of everything that I hold dear to me…Maple Leaf Lounge access, priority boarding, business class line access, P-I-M-P status! ALL GONE within the 2 seconds of me opening up an envelope that I was expecting to be filled with “Aeroplan Elite” membership perks like upgrade certificates and pats on the back and so on.

Many of you readers might say, “Suck it up you spoiled prick…live like the rest of us and use the public washrooms, pay for your drinks and food, and wait for your flight on the uncomfortable terminal seat!” Or others may comment, “Greg is not an elitist snob, I am surprised to hear that he is upset!”. Well I am not upset, I just feel like I have been kicked out of my own band, or I have come back to my home that I have built and there is a new lock in place with a sign saying SORRY GREG, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE ANYMORE!!!”. I feel abandoned, I feel humbled, I feel sad.

So why am I writing this pathetic post? Well I am hoping that someone from Aeroplan finds this blog via Google Analytics, or Google Alerts, or maybe by one of my faithful readers will post a comment as a message of support in this blog so I can take it to Air Canada and say, “Look, the whole world thinks that Greg deserves his Maple Leaf lounge privileges back!”. So if you are in the Aeroplan team, please know that I fly on Air Canada exclusively in and out of the country, even though this pathetic flight to Deer Lake cost me $1,200 in cold hard-earned cash for Steve’s Ticket from Saint John NB, and $800 for mine from Halifax….so yes, I just spent $2,000 on flights with Air Canada to get two of us to go to the ECMAs, and for me to have a chance to write in my blog as I fly Air Canada instead of West Jet or Provincial Airplanes.

Want to know the frosting on the cake? I get the Air Canada Web Savers every week, after we bough the $2,000 worth of tickets, I got a friendly little email from Air Canada with a special offer from Halifax to St. John’s for $79.00…I am sorry, that is just worthy of me shedding tears, a very cruel joke Air Canada. You have made me a pathetic, and humbled little blogger. To put sprinkles on top of the frosting of the cake, I am a stock owner of Air Canada, and to add some extra chocolate fudge on top of the sprinkles onto of the frosting on the cake, I purchased my Air Canada stock 2 days after 9/11…thinking in my universal wisdom that buying Air Canada would be a brilliant investment when the value of airlines stock sunk so deep…well I risked it and invested a couple handfuls of thousands into Air Canada and now my Air Canada portfolio is worth like 70 bucks. Ha, so much for me is a gambler. Is there any room for a candle on top of the cake? The last 2 times I travelled to Hawaii Air Canada lost my luggage, so I am travelling in the winter with winter clothes in Hawaii going for a snorkel in my snowsuit. I don’t complain though….why? Well because I am “Elite” status Aeroplan member and I appreciate the efforts they have made in assuring I have my Guinness and Scotch ready for me to go with my split pea soup and veggie dip every time I end up in the Air Canada Maple Leave Lounge. But those days are long gone. I will stop being so dramatic, you know it’s only for comic relief in these trying times of “being a young entrepreneur just trying to find my way!” ha ha.

Previous to the Heart Break

7 notable points of interest

• The last few weeks have been nuts as usual, I made two trips to New Brunswick, one to attend the Arts NB board meeting. I was asked this year to sit on the board, I was honored to except. Here is a picture of the board members!

• The well at my Acamac house went dry, I had to pay $11,500 to drill deeper, good thing I have a Visa Avion to pay for it with 18% interest. Oh well, at least I will get more points to travel on AIR CANADA more. FAAAAACK! I am seriously thinking about selling the legendary house; the place that Hemmings House Pictures was born, and the place of many legendary parties…I will miss it. I have hired the Mawhinney Group (www.MawhinneyBlog.com) to list the property…gotta pay off my credit cards. Well Drillers and Air Canada are sucking me dry. Dry as a desert, not a dessert (like cake and frosting and sprinkles and chocolate fudge and candles), a desert, similar to those you find in Egypt and other notable land masses covered in sand, cacti and non-water sources.

• Andrew is rockin the edit of Kardinal Sinners for RUSH HD to be delivered March 15^th, the show is rockin. We have found some heavy interest in the USA for the show, pursuing with much piss and vinegar. RUSH HD has been an absolute pleasure to work for / with so far. So nice to work with a broadcaster that doesn’t waste time with politics, and who is honest.

• We have moved our office into the Power Post building in Halifax on Hollis, and our new office on Prince William Street in Saint John is an amazing spot. We are all feeling “it”. This is the year, this is the year, this is the year.

• Jessica is very pregnant, she looks very cute, and baby peanut is kicking like mad, she is the funniest little alien! I can’t wait to meet her May 5^th! What a trip fatherhood is going to be. We had our pregnancy pictures taken last week by Jen MacLean, they look very cool.

• Jessica and I had some heavy meetings in Saint John yesterday and Monday, we made the drive through the craziest snowstorm in the history of the Trans Canada highway. I had a very significant meeting that is taking Hemmings House one step closer to having an international presence.

• My brother Mark took Lauchlan and some other Photography students to Mexico last week, very cool adventure and learning experience for Lock dog. A Cactus literally fell on my Brother Mark’s head.

“Do you realize that everyone you know, someday will die, and instead of saying all your goodbyes, let them know that you realize that life goes fast, its hard to make good things last, you realize that sun doesn’t go down, its just an illusion caused by the world spinning around…do you realize, you have the most amazing face.”

Thanks Flaming Lips for always uplifting…Wayne your bubble makes me smile and laugh. Time to go film the ECMA’s.