Ross (the Boss) of NDG's Blog

Almost 20 years ago I was embroiled in the Nigeria 419 internet scam.  The details are beyond this email - suffice it to say that as the result of my bank - the CIBC on Somerled's mistake in cashing a bogus $35,000 cheque - I had my accounts cancelled and was blackballed by the entire Montreal banking community for a very long time.  It also ended a friendship (just friendship) between Antoinette Guerierrero - the head teller and myself - which has never recovered. For almost 10 years I did not have a bank account of my own. At a certain point I tried to get an online account with Tangerine - and was successful.  I have a no fee, unlimited transaction (e-transfers, debit card use...) chequing account which I love.  It is accessible to everyone.  The drawback is that Tangerine does not have physical locations, but you can withdraw funds from over 3,500 ScotiaBank ATMs for free nationwide. In 2020 I moved from our home on Hingston Ave to a beautiful condo in The ...

They say that some people come into our lives for a moment - some for a season - and others for the duration.  My process over the last 20 years has been replete with this.  Many people who were with me for the majority of my adult life have moved away from me - good friends - great friends - because we have had differences of opinions. God is good.  Actually - God is awesome!  In their place He has showered me with a whole host of new friends and contacts - who have filled the gaps very admirably - and have ensured that not only does my life maintain the status quo - but that it continually elevates - that my life continues to be an upward, continuous and never-ending spiral through the infinite levels of Heaven (on Earth). There is quite possibly no better example for this than a man named Jad Saikali.  I was researching the local world of reflexology - as my girlfriend -  Christy-Anne Strike  - was searching for someone great to assist her efforts t...

For those of you who do not know the essence of my blog posts, I write about how we can find Heaven in the everyday journey of our life here on Earth.   For the last several days I have had a very sore middle right finger - being swollen and full of pus.  I think I made it worse rather than better by sterilizing a needle and trying to prick it unsuccessfully!  This morning I decided to do something about it - and headed to the Queen Elizabeth Urgent Care Clinic on Marlowe in NDG for 7:30am - in order to be one of the first in line when their doors opened at 8am. I sat in the waiting room and was joined by another man - who looked about the same age as me - and had on jeans with a multitude of patches - the most notable being a big peace sign - along with a patchwork bag which also had a big peace sign on it.  I couldn't help but to initiate with him and asked about the peace signs - thinking this may be one of his causes or missions- but it wasn't.  His na...

This past Sunday - my love - Christy-Anne Strike and I had occasion to go to Quartier Cavendish .  My recent trips to the mall had been mostly in the daytime when there was not much activity.  On this Sunday - the mall was alive!  The entire food court - which is not the size it used to be - was full of families enjoying meals!  The walkways were filled with people and there was a distinct buzz in the air!  There was a little petting zoo in the middle court - with youngsters clamoring to pet and feed the animals - and a little train circulated the mall - filled with children and their parents. We were there to see Wicked - and the sole detraction from the entire experience was that there was a group of 4 younger children - unsupervised - who likely didn't even have tickets for the show and made incessant noise throughout the show - despite our request for them to either keep quiet or move (the theatre was near-empty). We returned to the mall this afternoon and...