A little while ago I had the pleasure of sitting down with my friend Caine Chow. Caine used to have a tiny  hidden shop called Kokedama Atelier at the back of a men’s store called Stuff4Him. I was amazed when I saw these weird tiny trees and plants growing out of… moss balls. Fanstatic art. And such an eccentric and positive person. Male presenting at the time. My wife and I have had the pleasure of befriending Caine as a entrepreneur, artist, parent, and recently a transitioning female.

In this episode Caine and I sit down to discuss her life leading up to today. The parallels between pushing out of the corporate world and her movement to find her own identity were fascinating and I am planning to continue our conversation. 

Check her work out @kokedama.ca

Last year I was accepted into the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB Financial. The founder Karen Unland has partnered with ATB Financial to bring local Albertan podcasts to bring to you local Albertans by connecting local sponsors from Alberta to us. 

Sponsors like the TELUS World of Science Edmonton, home of the Canadian debut of Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes. This special exhibition runs until February 17 in Edmonton. It will feature more than 300 artifacts, costumes, props and interactive elements to bring the Marvel Universe to life.  Imagine traveling through the mysterious mirror dimension of Doctor Strange, digitally transforming into Iron Man, and posing for selfies with Black Panther, Spider-Man, and other iconic Marvel characters

Visit telusworldofscienceedmonton.ca to buy tickets and check on special hotel deals if, like me, you’re not in Edmonton. Hey Marvel fans, this is the only place in Canada right now where you can see this exhibition. 

Speaking of local podcasts. Karen herself has a great podcast where she sits down with her daughter to learn about what being a teen actually is about. Need some teen-spraining to catch you up on recent things? Press play on their conversations on “That’s a Thing?” 

You can find their informational sessions on any podcasting platform or through the APN website www.albertapodcastnetowrk.com.  They’re in the Movies and Pop Culture section. Just scroll to the bottom!

A quick sponsor note. Many of you know of my recent health issues. I mean who gets diagnosed with Epilepsy at age 41? #notbitter. And I’ve been very vocal of my amazement of the awesomeness of Alberta Health Services. But outside of particular chronic or major emergency issues and the speed in which their system integrates everything (at least compared to the Toronto I left 7 years ago) their amazing general services (shout out to 811! Nurses rock!) have been a key part when Helen and I worried our son Emerson was sick. As he grows older he’s learning to have great confidence in our  health system. They have a quick 30 second spot they’d like to  hear.]