Favourite Things Friday

STARBUCKS
If there was a Starbucks in the North end of Barrie I'd be in trouble. I'm addicted to their skinny vanilla, and it's $5 price tag. Luckily I received a number of Starbucks gift cards at Christmas so they've been free... sort of. I love to grab a skinny vanilla and sit down in a comfy chair and enjoy the free wifi. Barrie has 3 Starbucks stores, all within walking distance of each other. I'm not sure why, but they haven't migrated north to the Georgian College area.

WORKING OUT

Working out? Yes, working out. I'm not really sure why, but I enjoy trips to the gym. Maybe it's because it's a sort of getaway, I can turn my brain off. Maybe it's because I'm scared I'll weigh 205 again. Maybe I just like to sweat. I like the gym, and try to go on a regular basis.

ANDREW MCMAHON

Andrew is the lead singer of Jack's Mannequin, but that's not the only reason why he's one of my favourite people. I first heard about him in 2002. I was working at a radio station in the tri-cities and Something Corporate was playing a show in Kitchener. A couple guys from work and I made the trip to downtown K-Dub and loved what we heard. Here was this young guy with a killer voice, jumping on the piano, bouncing around the stage with so much energy. That nuclear explosion of energy was Andrew McMahon.

In 2005, at 22 years-old, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Just 3 months before the release of Everything In Transit, he was admitted to hospital to begin treatment. Thanks to a bone marrow transplant from his sister (Katie) Andrew made a full recovery.

Andrew documented his journey on video, which has now been made into a documentary called Dear Jack. Proceeds from the project go to the Dear Jack Foundation, a charity he founded to support cancer research.

Not only is he super talented, he's also got a great story and I'm a sucker for a good story.