Throughout the academic year, Melinda Giampietro, Options Founder/President, will share some of her favourite things in her monthly Founder’s Feature. Melinda loves reading, data, research, and following academic and adolescent news around the world.
November Cookbook of the Month
I subscribe to America’s Test Kitchen online. While I don’t use it as much as my New York Times cooking subscription, I appreciate it for its videos, Learn section, and equipment reviews. I like that their recipe creators explain why a recipe works and what pitfalls to avoid. The fall is a very, very busy time of the year at Options, and I don’t have much time to cook. So, I recently purchased America’s Test Kitchen’s The Best Simple Recipes. It has easy, fast, and diverse dinner recipes, while offering many tips. I’ve really been leaning into fall flavours, and some of my favourite recipes have been: Lemon Chicken with Artichokes and Potatoes, Sauteed Pork Chops with Pears and Blue Cheese, Pasta with Pan-Roasted Vegetables, and Apple Butter Glazed Chicken and Squash.
November Book of the Month
A few years ago, I featured Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy, in Founder’s. I loved it; I found it unique, reflective, and brave. I just finished Wild Dark Shore, her new release. I found the two books eerily similar in tone, purpose, and theme. I think I would have liked Wild Dark Shore better if I hadn’t read Migrations first. Her new novel is set on a fictional island, Shearwater, near Antarctica. It is many stories all in one and defies a singular genre, exploring family, grief, love, survival, environmental devastation, and how place affects us all. I’m also a collector of new words that I have never seen before, and I learned the meaning of limerent from this book!
November Podcasts of the Month
My fellow consultant, Ronit, recommended an episode of the podcast, What We Spend. It is about a new computer science graduate and his struggles trying to find a job. I found it interesting. Then, I was surprised when The New York Times’ The Daily podcast featured a similar theme: “Big Tech Told Kids to Code. The Jobs Didn’t Follow.” Both podcast episodes explore the idea that these students followed a path they thought would lead to a financially stable career, but it isn’t panning out that way for them. As someone who follows career trends closely, both caught my attention.
November Event of the Month
I attended The Future of Entrepreneurship: AI in Action event hosted by The Forum in October. The featured speaker was Karla Congson, CEO of agentiiv. It was fascinating to hear about the pace that AI is evolving and its inherent risks. Not only that, but it was also interesting to hear about Karla’s journey as an entrepreneur. Karla generously offered attendees two months free use of agentiiv. I’m so excited to learn new things, simplify my systems, and dig into the agentiiv’s AI agents to help me build out a new initiative I’m working on. I’ll report back in the new year on how it has gone.
November Restaurant of the Month
Every November, we have a team brunch to boost us through the busiest time of our calendar year. This year, we chose Zarak by Afghan Kitchen on Main Street. I am still dreaming of their chai a week later. It even came with tea biscuits on top. It was a lovely experience with warm service and excellent food. I had the chicken and waffles with mango chutney. Everyone at our table ordered different dishes, and it was fun to share bites. I highly recommend this for your next brunch outing.
November Bucket List Song of the Month
Last Thursday, I got to check another bucket list song off my Notes List. We attended the Eric Church concert at Rogers Arena. Eric Church last played Vancouver in 2021; it was the first post-Covid show at Rogers. I have regretted not going until Thursday night. This show was so fun. He played all of his classic songs and most of his new album, but finally hearing “Hell of a View” live was a feel-good moment. It was well worth the wait.
To read more Founder’s Features, check them out under the Options News category.
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