Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Isabel Kanaan: Toronto Mike'd #1281

Episode Date: June 28, 2023

In this 1281st episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Filipino-Canadian actor, writer and comedian Isabel Kanaan about her career and new Omni series Abroad. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, the Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris, The Moment Lab, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

Welcome to episode 1281 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and

entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Season 4 of Yes, We Are Open, the award-winning podcast from Moneris, hosted by FOTM Al Grego. RecycleMyElectronics.ca Committing

to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. The Moment Lab. Brand marketing and strategy. PR. Advertising and production. You need The Moment Lab and Redleaf Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making her Toronto Mike debut is actor, writer, comedian, Isabel Canaan, but she told me I can call her Izzy. So from now on, it's Izzy Canaan. Welcome to Toronto'd, Izzy. Thank you for having me. Woo! Ooh, I love the enthusiasm. And thank you for being here.

You came a long way to be here. I almost feel bad, so I will be giving you some gifts to take home with you just to make it worth your while. Oh my gosh, is it these lovely gifts in front of me? Oh my goodness, yeah. Izzy, so I have gifts for you you but I did learn something before we can I pry a little bit just before we get to know you and you're like I said you're your superhero origin story but you do not drink am I right in that assumption yes I don't drink anymore

so you used to drink yeah did you have a problem with your alcohol consumption or is that too personal no no it's not that it's I think it came with age where as I grew older, I wasn't getting the same hit that I got when I was older. You're still so young. I guess so. But alcohol just hits me differently, I guess. Oh, okay. Yeah.

And then I would get the hangover, but not the fun stuff that happens the night before. So I was like, this is pointless. So just like you said, hey, I'll drink water. Yeah. Okay, is that what's in this thermos here? Yes, it is. You're not sneaking anything in here, but that's actually H2O.

Yes, just pure H2O. Okay, so the reason I learned you don't drink is because I offered you a cold beer and you politely declined. So do you live with anyone who consumes alcohol? Yes, I do. My partner. You have a partner who drinks beer? Yes, I do.

Okay. What's his name? Or her name? I make assumptions. I'm from the 80s. See, I slipped there. I've actually retrained myself when I don't make assumptions anymore. What's their name is what I meant to say. His name. Okay. It is a his. It is a his. I don't make assumptions. His name is what i meant to say his name okay it is a his okay i don't make assumptions is andre okay you're bringing home some fresh craft beer for andre and it's courtesy of great lakes brewery so glb is sending you home with some fresh craft beer perfect he's gonna love that andre is now i'm'm now Andre's best friend.

Yeah, you are. You really are. Is Andre a giant? I'm looking at my mug here. That's Andre the giant right there on this mug. We actually were just talking about Andre the giant

because we were talking about how giants and how their bodies cannot exist in the real world. Anyway, but he is 6'3". So, I mean, that's giant-y enough uh it's all relative yeah giant to me I'm 5'4 so okay so giant to you and a giant amongst men and living in the hammer

how is it going in the hammer what's it like living in Hamilton oh it's lovely it's like a suburban version of Toronto but not too suburbia just yet you know what i mean it's the perfect balance is it still uh what is this ralph ben murgy moved he was a toronto guy and he's an fotm you're now an fotm izzy that means friend of toronto mike yay so ralph ben murgy moved to hamilton with his family and he uh he called it like toronto's brooklyn like i don't know Like Toronto's Brooklyn. Yes! That's such a good way of describing it. So there you go. I'll hook you up. You can, you'd love Ralph Ben-Murray, by the way.

And maybe your neighbors for all I know. I don't know how big is, it's pretty big, I guess, Hamilton. Yeah, it's pretty big. It's pretty big. Just yell his name, Ralph, and see if he answers you. If he does, oh my gosh, it's meant to be. Well, this appearance is meant to be. I got to like a, I want to call it like a, I get a lot of emails from people who say,

hey, would you talk to this person? I get a lot of these. But yours struck me because you're Filipino Canadian. Yeah. Represent. And I married a woman, a Canadian, whose family emigrated from the Philippines. Oh, lovely.

So you know the culture. I know it very, very well. And I have at least one. So one of my four children is a Filipino-Canadian, you know, a woman of Filipino descent, a female of Filipino descent. And then I started thinking, I just started thinking about representation

and how many actresses do we see out there in movie land and television land and streaming land that are of Filipino descent, like Filipina actors. And then I started thinking, I came up with a couple of names in my head, but not that many. The big name I could come up with was Vanessa Hudgens.

Yep, that's the big one. Yeah, okay. But then I had to go way back to Wayne's World. Yes. Tia Carrera. Yes, exactly. Yep, yep. Like that's not a lot of representation, right?

Yeah, hence why I'm doing this, I guess. Okay, so we're going to build the superhero and then we're going to unveil this latest venture and what you've done to change things. But I was excited to have over, to have a long-form conversation with an actor, writer, and comedian who is a Canadian living

in Hamilton, but born and raised in the Philippines. This was what caught my eye and I said, yes, I would like to make izzy a an fotm like this was uh was important to me so let's build you up so you're you're getting beer for andre no beer for you but one more gift before we continue do you izzy enjoy italian food ah yes oh thank goodness it's like, what if your rules were like, I don't do beer and I don't do Italian food.

I'd be like, I have nothing for you. Okay. So I do have, now, okay, one more question. This is really going to hurt when I get the answers. I'm going to close my eyes and do a little prayer here. Okay. Okay. Are you a vegetarian?

No. Okay. Oh my God. I'm so relieved. Because I just got a delivery. I literally, this box just arrived from Palma Pasta with a large meat lasagna in it. It's frozen solids. It's going to make it all the way back to Hamilton with you,

put it in the fridge overnight. And then tomorrow stick that in the oven for 45 minutes at like 375 degrees Fahrenheit. And you're going to have, and Andre maybe gets a couple of slices too, but you're going to have delicious Italian, delicious lasagna from Palma Pasta. Amazing. And it's all for me because Andre is pescatarian. Okay. So this is okay. Listen, Andre gets the beer, you get the lasagna. Exactly. There's a lot there. So I don't know if there's any friends or family that you can invite over. It's going to be enough for you to eat like for a good week there so perfect those are gifts for you yay and did i miss anyone other than vanessa

hutchins who my oldest daughter knows well from the uh those disney movies high school musical yeah that was her thing her jam and vanessa hutchins who i don't even know it's like full filipino like she might be half filipino do know? Do you have any intel on this, Izzy? I believe she's half. Yeah, you know what? She's half. Okay. So Tia Carrera is a long time ago.

I don't know what she's been up to, but not a lot of representation. So we're going to talk about how you're fixing things. But can you give me a sense of where you were born and raised? Tell me about your upbringing in the Philippinesilippines and then why your family moved here to canada give me that story sure i was born in manila sun one metro manila to be more specific um i was born there in 1991 and was there till i was 16 so you know i was a full-on teenager? Yeah. No, 16 is full-on teenager. I was right in the middle of it.

I had a partner at the time. I had my friends. And then my parents were like, we're leaving. And you're in the big city. Manila's a massive city. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I loved it.

I love the people. I love the energy. I was like, yes, yes, this is where I live. I thrive off this. And then they were like, we're moving to the suburbs of was like, yes, yes, this is where I live. I thrive off this. And then they were like, we're moving to the suburbs of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Okay, so when you get this, is there like a family meeting? Okay, so fair enough.

This was a long time. Heads up. Yeah, it was a long time coming. They told us that they were applying. This was back in the day. I don't know how long exactly, but years before they told us they were applying. This was back in the day. I don't know how long exactly, but years before they told us they were applying for Canada, specifically because my two brothers have autism and the opportunities in the Philippines,

they weren't that great for them. And so them being proactive, they were like, we're going to find a country that would do right by them. And Canada was the one. Well, actually, I'm happy to hear Canada's the one. Yes.

Because they obviously did research like, we beat Denmark? Or was that not in the running there? To be honest, I don't think they looked at Denmark. We beat Australia? Did we beat Australia? Yes, you did. Who did we beat? Just the states, maybe.

You beat the states, Australia, I believe New Zealand. Okay. But also, at the time, I guess Canada was like, yes, let's get immigrants. So that was also a factor. Okay. And this is great news. So special needs siblings

and we were able to offer the care that they needed here. Now I'm thinking, so my son likes to ask me these trivia questions. I don't know if they're from websites or whatever. This my third born okay so shout out to jarvis he says to me one day recently he goes daddy if you didn't live in canada what country would you want to live in and i actually like i gave it some serious thought okay so i'm leaving canada where am i going to live because i've never considered leaving canada and i decided denmark like i'm moving to copenhagen

like this was the answer I came up after like really thinking on it and looking at the world and I said, I'm going to move to, I have no idea what that would entail and I'm not doing it. It was like a question, a rhetorical question. But that's why I asked you,

like, did we beat Denmark? I feel like Denmark is a good place to live, but I'm glad Canada won that decision that your parents had to make. It is. It is. It is. Although I love Denmark as well. I just love like that area.

The Nordic country is, you know, and all of those places are doing extremely well right now. And yeah, but hey, back in the day, it was either Canada, Australia or the States, I guess, especially in the Philippines. Like that's where people migrate to. Okay, more questions though. Did you have any extended family that was already in Ontario? Yes, one. Where were they? Like in Burlington?

Yes, they were. Okay, see, I'm deductive logic here. Okay. Who was it? Like, what is this, an uncle? Who's in Burlington? Aunt and her family. So yes, an uncle as well.

But it was my dad's sister and her family moved here in the 90s, sometime in the 90s. And then we moved in, what was that, 2008. And they hyped it up. And my parents were like, all right, I guess that's the place for us. Okay. So we did have this massive advantage. Okay. That is a big advantage. Okay. But we got have this massive advantage. Okay. That is a big advantage.

Okay. But we got your family. Canaan. Am I pronouncing it right? Canaan. We pronounce it Canaan. Canaan. Say it again.

We have like a glottal stop. Canaan. Canaan. Yeah, exactly. Canaan. Okay. Just last week, I mastered Ana Balao. Oh, all right. Like it took me a Anna Balao. Oh, Balao.

Like it took me a long time. So Kanaan. Yeah. Like there's like a space there between the two A's. Yeah. And just like relax after a while and just be like Kanaan. Kanaan. Yeah.

Or just Izzy maybe. Cause you're like Madonna, Cher, and Izzy. Izzy, by the way, I, I gotta say cool name Izzy. Like I'm thinking of all the great Izzy's in this universe. Oh, my gosh. Do you want to know how that came about? Yeah. Because when I first moved here, I had an accent and I couldn't say Isabel. And I couldn't. I would say Isabel. And every time I'd introduce myself to people, I'm like, I'm saying it differently than how other people say it. But I couldn't deduct what it was.

And only until I went to acting school where they said, no, no, no, it's a Z when you say your name, like Isabel. And that was the thing I was missing. I was saying Isabel, like with an S. And so, I don't know, someone in high school was like, oh, Isabel, Izzy. And I'm like that, I'm taking that. Thank you. Yeah, Izzy's a great like, oh, Isabel, Izzy. And I'm like that. I'm taking that. Thank you. Yeah, Izzy's a great handle, actually. Just roll with Izzy. Shout out to Izzy Stradlin.

I'm thinking of all the great Izzy's here. Okay, so 16, your parents say we're moving to some place near Toronto, I guess, because you probably know where Toronto is. And you're like, although your aunt lives in Burlington, so maybe you know a little more.

But had you ever visited Canada before? Yes, yes we did as almost like a recon mission i think it was 2004 so about four years before we moved and yeah we came during the winter time i think my parents were like this is what we're gonna deal with yeah you should see it at us at our worst so you know you're not going to be hit like surprise. Exactly. And we really did. My parents handled that really, really well. No surprises on our parts. And what kind of weather were you used to in Manila?

Just remind us, those of us who have never been. What kind of weather typically do you get year round in Manila? Okay, it's either sun or rain. Those are our seasons. Some people don't understand that not everywhere in the world has, like we don't have seasons. It baffles me what seasons are. The fact that I need a closet of clothes for each different season.

I just thought, okay, I'm going gonna have my summer clothes. And then in the wintertime, I just put on a coat. That is not the case at all. And I had to learn about this for years. It took a long time for me to adapt to seasons. Yeah, that's all I know. Right. So it's all about what do you know? Like, so I get that's all I know that we have these four seasons and a couple are kind of similar because my my fall and spring stuff is kind of like just like you know whatever yeah but in winter it's very different from summer you know like now i'm in the whole like socks are oppressive i throw on a t-shirt and shorts and i go that's it but in like in the winter it's like there's layers and it's just this is how we roll in the gta but in manila you said you got your sun

you got your rain yep and that's it like cold that doesn't even and the cold what is a cold day in manila like a cold day in manila is in the movie theater when they like blast the ac that is a cold day right right okay so uh speaking of course the international language of celsius if you found out in manila it was 18 degrees is that a winter day in manila give me a give me a vibe there yeah i think um before i left the coldest it ever went to was 17 and i remember we were busting out the jackets. We were like, what is this? The apocalypse is coming. Meanwhile, that's like summer in Burlington, right?

Oh, yeah. Yep, yep. Oh, my goodness. All right. By the way, is Burlington getting what we're getting here? I just went for a bike ride and I wore a mask because of the air quality. Is that like that in Burlington right now? It's a bit less, but yes, it still

is. Okay, so you're rocking a mask due to the smoke? Yep, yep. Okay, smart. I don't think it's good for us to be ingesting all that forest fire smoke. Okay, so 16 years old, you're moving to Burlington.

It sounds like you have a boyfriend in Manila and you have a uh like a boyfriend in manila and you got a teenager life you're in high school did you consider like tapping out and just saying i'm gonna stay here like uh or you're still 16 you don't have this uh right or ability to do they actually gave us a choice they gave us the choice to move we all had to land we all had to land in canada and come back or we just land and stay and at that point i was like i don't wanna you know back in the day school started in july in the philippines and here in canada it started in september right and we moved in august so if i move here land and then move back i'm like no you know? Let's just start a new year here.

And you're so close to being done high school, right? What do you got? One or two years left when you get here. One year. Wow. I came during senior season and everyone was not looking for friends. Right. All the cliques are like assembled, right?

Yeah. You don't let in a new joiner in the last year of high school exactly and everyone's already moving on because in their heads they're going to college university or even taking a trip to europe you know backpacking and i was there like hey want to be friends no one did no one what did you do this sounds terrible like uh did you find some friends finally like what did you do? This sounds terrible. Like, did you find some friends finally? Like, what did you do? I did eventually. Some people took me in and it was nice, but it was very much like survival friendship. We were we were friends for one year and then we all lost touch.

and then we all lost touch. Okay, so you're finishing up your high school in Burlington. I have family in Burlington, but I still never go. Even though I feel like I could bike to Burlington. It's not very far. That's not very far. Okay, so you're in Hamilton now, though. So your family moves to Burlington. What do you do after high school?

I'm curious when you get this acting bug. Oh, technically I got it in high school in the Philippines already. Okay. Okay. That's an important detail. So you're in the Philippines, you're a teenager and you want to act. Yes. And that was, I wanted to go to the university of Philippines, um, in the theater program. That was my goal back in the Philippines. And then I moved here and I was like, what? I didn't know the distinction of Hollywood, US, Canada. To me, it was all like the Western world. And so I thought, oh, this is where Hollywood is.

And I'm like, I can't be an actor here. So I was like, screw that. So I put it in the back burner and I went into math. There's a University of Philippines. Like that would be like having a University of Canada. Yeah, there is. Is that the biggest university in the Philippines to get that title? Like that to me is amazing to name a university after the country because normally we name it after the city or the region or something. Yeah, I don't know if it's the biggest province. My wife went to the University of Alberta. Right, right.

And that's a province, but obviously but University of Philippines. Wow. I had no idea. Okay. Amazing. And that's obviously in Manila and you were going to take theater there. So what did you end up doing after high school? I went into math. Okay.

My wife went into math. This is amazing. Okay. So you went to university to uh study math yeah um i wanted to get into teaching um so i was like all right let's do that and slowly when i was there i met some teachers at the time and they were or or should i say graduates of the teaching, you know, lifestyle. And they said, Oh, no, there are no jobs right now. Yeah. And they were having such a hard time. And I was like, well, what am I what am I doing here? And then I met somebody who just graduated the acting for camera and voice program at Seneca College. And he was like, talking it up. And I was like, and at this point, I've been in Canada for what, four or five years. So I've come into my own culture shock is done. And so I'm

like, okay, I think I can do this again, you know, and that was when I was like, okay, you know what, if, if the teachers are telling me not to go into this, And this new actor is telling me to go into this. I'm like, all right, maybe I can do this. So I did it. You did it. Now, my most recent guest also was going to be a teacher. And this is a Monday night I recorded with a woman named Kim McDonald.

And she was going to be a teacher because her parents were teachers. She was going to be a teacher. And she got the bug not to act, but to be like a radio personality. Like she got the, I want to be in front of a teacher and she got the bug uh not to act but to be like a radio personality like she got the uh i want to be in front of a microphone and talk for a living bug and then she pursued that and she's been at the uh weather network which is in oakville so kind of between uh for like 25 years wow that's amazing yeah so you you were gonna be a teacher

and you got the bug to be an actress. But you weren't going to move to Hollywood? You were going to try to do it from here? Yeah, yeah. Because, you know, back when I was a kid and Canada and the States were all the same, once I got here, I realized, oh, the States is completely different from Canada. And Canada's way better. Thank you. I've been telling people that and they're like,

well, what about, you know, USA is the biggest country. I'm like, no, no, Canada is better.

Yeah. Yeah. So I, I still don't have the bug to move to the States for acting or anything really. And, and hey, but, but,

but Izzy, you revealed you were born in 91 and I did the math. You know, you're not the only one who can do math and you're still young enough. You might change your mind and end up in L.A. like many a Canadian pursuing a acting career. I mean, maybe who knows, but I just bought a house in Hamilton. I mean, come on. If this isn't settling down. Okay, well, we're going to get to some of the hot stuff you're doing here in Canada.

But I wanted to ask you about maybe like the most famous thing on your resume as we kind of build you up here, which is that you were a member of the sketch comedy troupe Royal Canadian Air Farce. Yeah, yeah. That's a big deal. Now, the Air Farce, no more, right? I mean, I had Don Ferguson in the basement. Yeah. Oh, amazing. I love

him. Is he a good guy? He's a very good guy. I actually know that because he was here and I felt he was a good guy. I wanted to hear if you thought he was a good guy. He was a good guy and a chill guy. He did that forever. Yeah. When it was radio only. Don Ferguson's an OG of the Air Force.

Oh, man. He's amazing. Goals. To be that chill at that age in this industry, yes. So how do you end up as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force? And give us a vibe of when you were there and who were your fellow cast members. of like when you were there and who were your fellow cast members so i was at second city doing the um i i i just finished the conservatory program and then i got into the nbc universal bob curry fellowship and that sounds i don't know what that means but it sounds like impressive

yeah i mean i make it sound whenever you say whenever you say fellowship whoa she's in a like a fellowship wow i wish we had rings but no there wasn't um anyway and there was this showcase where we had to showcase things that we wrote and we had to act in it in front of the second city stage and the producers there were from air force they saw me and um at this point they were looking for new faces for their and maybe if i may they might they might be thinking hey enough of like white faces what if we had a face that wasn't white exactly luckily they saw my face and uh they invited me over to audition and back in this day i did not know royal canadian air force so to me it was just another audition so i was just like all right i'm just gonna google it beforehand

at this point i was just getting so many auditions that i'm like okay what is this it's a sketch comedy show great okay so this is like a so and again, just cause for a while they were just doing like New Year's Eve specials at the end there. Like, so this is a CBC sketch comedy show. Yes. But you didn't really care for the legacy of this, you know,

long running institution in this country. Although we, you know, we did kill this institution. It's gone now, which we'll get to later in a minute, but okay. So you just

auditioned like you would audition for anything and they liked what they saw yes they did and um they got me in for the actually the what is it canada 150 canada 150 special that's it and so i was in that special and they brought me on uh for the new year's eve specials after that right and that was so fun and i did my research after and i mean shortly after like i did the audition yeah and then i started telling people i i got it and they were like you you know it was a big deal right i'm like really and then i went on the internet and i was like oh oh awesome the royal canadian air farce can you remember any of your fellow uh cast members at this time you were with their uh the royal canadian air farce john ferguson was in there okay john ferguson he's an fotm please continue uh luba goy you know i

gotta get lube on the program yeah of course luba go Luba Goy. Yeah. Daryl Hines. Who was there at the time? Daryl Hines. There are no other kinds. There was, oh my gosh, I'm blanking on their names. They are going to kill me. But I was a new one. Was there a gentleman named Craig?

Yes. Yes. Okay. Only because he's at FOTM and I was waiting for you to name him. Oh, Craig's amazing too. I'm sorry. I forgot you, Craig. No, I didn't because he's at FOTM and I was waiting for you to name him. Yes, oh, Craig's amazing too. I'm sorry, I forgot you, Craig. No, I didn't forget. I'm not forgetting them.

I see their faces. I'm really good at faces, but I'm really bad at names. There is also, I know you have it. I know you have it. No, but now I feel like I put you on the spot and maybe I should let you off the hook here. Yeah, gimme, gimme, gimme. I don't have it.

You want me to Google it? What? Yeah, just Google it. I know the faces. Keep trying and I will Google it. Oh, Jessica Holmes. Is Holmes your last name? Jessica Holmes, absolutely a member of the Air Force at this time. Yes, yes.

I don't even need to Google that. Oh, I love that. I loved her. And, and, she got pregnant. Oh, okay. I like this game. Who else? Got pregnant.

Comedian. She's in the Beaverton. I'm not going to be able to bail you out on this one. I just saw her in the Comedian Screen Awards, too. Penelope. No. No, okay. I don't know. I actually don't know i i mean i can go in but

emma hunter i was about to say of course emma hunter all right oh here's a photo of all of you here so uh this is the the 150 okay so one two three four five six seven eight okay eight people and they're not all white that's actually quite the uh and i was a new hire with chris wilson at the time as well. Okay, shout out to all these wonderful people. So the Air Force, in fact, I had, I think the very last New Year's Eve special was 2019 and Don Ferguson came over to talk about it.

But sadly, that's the end of the Royal Canadian Air Force. That's a shame. I know, just when I found out about it. Yeah, just when you got on the cast. I was like, what the heck? I just got here. Let's go another 45 years. Am I cursed? Well, maybe.

I don't know. We'll see. Let's walk through things. What did you do after the Royal Canadian Air Force or even concurrently? Because I know you actors can't just do one thing at a time. You got to do multiple things at a time. Exactly.

What did I do at the time as well? Oh, well, I lived in Toronto at the time. So I was doing Sunday Night Live in the Comedy Bar with the Skechersons. Okay. Yeah. That's cool. The Skechersons have Okay. Yeah. That's cool. The Skechersons have won a Canadian Comedy Award.

Yes, and that's fun. I just wanted to dip my toes in every Canadian legendary troupe out there. I did 22 minutes also. Oh, that's okay. One season or whatever that was series yeah yeah that's another huge cbc comedy institution this hour has 22 minutes so you were already at your young age you've been a part of the royal canadian air farce and this hour has 22 minutes that's amazing yeah

yeah it's cool you're you're putting together you're doing so well that you were able to afford a home in toronto's brooklyn that is known're doing so well that you were able to afford a home in Toronto's Brooklyn that is known as Hamilton. Amazing. When you were living in Toronto, what neighborhood did you live in? I lived by the stockyards. Yeah, like, of course. You know, when I was growing up, it smelled there, like bad.

Like, all the packers. It still did. It just perked. You're right. Because my oldest son played at George Bell Arena. Do you know where that is? It's not far from where you are there. And there is still some packing plants down that strip there.

And there is still a bit of a stench. But that St. Clair and Keele area was just stinky. But hey, I'm from the Philippines. There are wet markets in every... Is it stinky in the Philippines? Yes. I hate to say this, yes it kind of is um and so the stockyards was nothing compared to that would i like the philippines uh i know since i met my wife she has not been back to the philippines she had been there previously but i i like would i love the

philippines you don't sound you're supposed to say, of course I would. No, but tell me the truth. Would I like the Philippines? Do you like heat? Yeah. Then yes. Because I know some people, a lot of Canadians, they're like, I cannot do heat. Oh, I like heat.

So yes, you're fine. You're fine. In fact, Izzy, sometimes, I'm very emphatic to tell you, like sometimes it'll be like, I don't know, they'll say it's like 30 degrees today. Don't be careful because with the Humidex, it's going to feel like 35 degrees and people will be like, Mike, you're not biking today and 35 degrees. And I will actually, not only will I do my regular bike ride and go for 90 minutes of hard cycling, but I will think to myself, I could do another five degrees i like that

feeling of like that wall of heat yes i like it gosh you would thrive in the philippines let's go forget denmark i'm changing my answer but what about the fact that uh here i'm ignoring calls i hope i'm not doing anything important there what about the fact that i don't know like this there's a bit of a crazy dictator there like i'm not like like should i be worried about the fact that, I don't know, there's a bit of a crazy dictator there. Like, should I be worried about the stability of leadership in the Philippines? Oh, yeah. I mean, if you're on vacation there, it's fine. But just don't move there.

Because you have a Marcos, a family of the Marcos family is in charge. Yes, yes. And we all know about Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And this is their legacy i guess and you know he's um he's there i don't know what else to say about this you're not responsible for this i'm just trying to get my ducks lined up before i uh before i make a decision to uh return but you're telling me uh i would enjoy it because it's hot. Yeah, yeah.

And for vacation. Don't move there. You know, there's still corruption there and all that stuff. I mean, we move for a reason. The previous president, am I right?

Like if I got caught smoking weed, I could be like killed? That's bullshit, Izzy. Yeah. Can you imagine I'm smoking a little weed and they can put a bullet in my head

because of this drug use? See, I think that's why I was so baffled by Don Ferguson's chillness because in the Philippines, because there is no weed that's legal, the just chillness is not almost a thing. So, yeah. I think it's Dawn's chillness

due to cannabis consumption. I need to get him back here. I had no idea. I just thought he was a natural born chillster, but cannabis would help with that. Absolutely. That's, I just talk, I actually, I don't care how hot it is

in the Philippines. I'm not going. I can't go somewhere. Not that I need to consume cannabis. I could easily not consume cannabis when I'm in the Philippines. But the whole idea that you're going to shoot someone for doing especially because there's a thing called izzy i'm not going to mansplain addiction to you but like there are people addicted to drugs okay yes they might even need to you know shoot up drugs because of their

addiction and this is something that you know we that's why we have safe injection sites in this country and that's why we have methadone clinics and we're trying to help people kick their opiate addiction, their heroin addiction. Imagine making that, criminalizing that to a point where you could be killed. I'm offended. Well, guess what?

What is it? In the Philippines, divorce isn't a thing. And guess what? Oh, God. I'm definitely not going there. It's also illegal to, what is this? To cheat on your partner. I mean, which, you know, you shouldn't anyway, but for it to be illegal and you could be

jailed for it. Because this is consenting adult stuff now, right? So consenting adult out of wedlock because you're married to someone is jailable offense. Yeah. And because there is no divorce, it kind of happens a lot. I'll bet. Okay.

So the Philippines likes to trap people. I'm a divorced man. I would be, it would be illegal what I did in the country of the Philippines. Oh yeah, oh yeah. They like to trap you in a marriage in a non-drug use environment

and when you stray um okay well this explains maybe this is also part of the reason your your parents said hey let's move to burlington here that's a lot of rules oh yeah oh yeah okay okay all right i'm sticking around here so and uh i do i will just say that the um the stockyards is a great neighborhood now like it's you're pretty much junction there and there's uh it's it's amazing neighborhood what a beautiful neighborhood in toronto that you were living in but of course you're in hamilton now that's how much you loved it in the uh stockyard i mean i was west end i figured i'd just keep going west well you're from Burlington,

so you already had the head start there. Okay, so you're on this hour has 22 minutes. Can I play? This is a little left field. I don't know, but I'm going to play a little clip of something, and then I'm going to ask you what the hell I'm playing. Sure.

Are you ready, Izzy? Yeah. This is not very long, like 40 seconds long. Let's listen to this. Receiving the Top 25 award meant the world to me because as an immigrant, we always deal with this identity crisis of like, we don't know where we belong. We don't know where we call home. Receiving that award made me feel like Canada finally embraced me and that I can finally call it my home. Every immigrant wants to feel that we aren't any lesser than anyone else. We are all equal.

And this award really celebrates that. Izzy, what was that? That was the RBC Canadian, wait, how do I say this? RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. So congratulations. Thank you. That's a prestigious award. Yeah.

I love when people are like, so you got an award for being an immigrant? And I'm like, no, no, no, no, for being a great immigrant. One of our very best immigrants. This is a country built by new Canadians. That's amazing that you recognize. So RBC, what did you get? A plaque? What did you get?

Yes, I did get a plaque. Okay. And do you have it like prominently displayed somewhere? So I just bought the house and so we haven't moved in yet, but it will be. Oh, I'm learning so much. So, okay. So you have, is it a brand new home or just new to you? It's new to me.

Okay. So the closing date hasn't come yet. Oh, it just came. Oh my God is that where andre is right now he's closing he's getting the key okay this is exciting okay i'm here and i mean hamilton they're not giving away houses in hamilton right like this is it's not like yay i bought a house for 20 grand no like this is you know it's still like no i saved my butt off yeah did andre help what is his career am i allowed to ask or is that private oh no of course you can ask um he's in sales right now but we actually met during a fringe show in toronto uh back in the day we were both actors young actors oh my god and young actors in this country

buying a home now i I've seen everything. Okay. No, no, no. Um, that's the thing. Um, and then we grew up, uh, we like, that's where we met. And then recently, uh, two years ago, we reconnected and then got together and then bought a house just this past week. Good for you. Congratulations on that. So, okay. So I'm going to give you something that might help you because you might have the house and you might not have the hydro turned on yet

because you got to work that out with hydro. I have a flashlight for you, courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home. Amazing. Pillars of this community since 1921. I'm actually recording a remote episode tomorrow. So tomorrow's Thursday, June 29. I don't know.

Around 6 30 PM at Lakeshore arts, which is, which is in Mimico. I'm going to be like recording live with Brad Jones. It's not an episode of Toronto Mike. It's going to be an episode of Brad's podcast, life's undertaking. So if anyone in Mimico wants to drop by,

I think it's open to the public. You can drop by and chat up Brad Jones and I, as we record from Lakeshore Arts on Lakeshore in Mimico. Shout out to Mimico. Okay. Also, since again, you don't drink the beer, Andre's got the beer, but you do get this wireless speaker courtesy of Mineris.

Woo! Awesome! What kind of music do you listen to? I actually just, coming over here, I was listening to classical. I just put on Spotify. What happened to you? I love it!

Sounds boring. No, it, dude, I put, it's a specific playlist called Epic Classical. Oh, so you know what's on there? Can I guess? It's got Ride of the Epic Classical. Oh, so you know what's on there? Can I guess? It's got Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner. There are two playlists. One that does have all the classic classical.

And I think this is Epic New Classical or something like that. Oh, there's new classical? Yeah, exactly. People are still making classical music and it's great. But now it's all like movie scores. Yes. I also listen to a lot of movie scores. Yeah.

John Williams and such. Absolutely. Or like, yeah, I'm going to listen to the score from like Lord of the Rings or something. Yeah, exactly. Okay. I'm that person that I- So no lyrics in your music. Well, I do listen to Viking shanties every now and again and-

Really? Really? You really should have gone to, you know, Scandinavia there. Yes. your uh music well i do listen to viking shanties every now and again and really really you really should have gone to you know scandinavia there okay yes i do love it okay viking that's cool i knew it made a comeback i had a guest on from great big c his name is sean mccann and he literally just goes and tours around singing like sea shanties now like they're they're big right now. I love the harmonies that they do and just the low bass. And oh, it's so good. I love it. And this might be because you're a TikToker,

which means I've never seen you before in this game. So I'm not on TikTok. But like all the good stuff in TikTok will usually find its way to me via Reddit or Twitter. Just as a Gen Xer, I just want to let you know i'm not i'm not allowed on tiktok but sea shanties were big on tiktok for a while there and you're you got a tiktok thing going on right yeah i do i do someone listening might have a tiktok account so shout out your like like what they just search for i mean it's just my name isabel isabel canaan yeah okay and it's spelled isabel for

everybody i s a b e l k a n a a n and you can find me on tiktok insta facebook is just all the same finder okay so tell me about the filipino channel like you're like are you still the canadian correspondent uh tell you joined the filipino channel at some point yeah yeah so uh jury it was actually during the pandemic and oh talk about the last president that we had so the uh our network in the philippines there there were these two big networks gma and abs this is duarte duterte this is the guy real big on shooting the drug yes exactly fuck that guy yeah so he was like okay so there are two networks um one likes me better and so i'm gonna shut down the other one that was abs cbn and so they are in charge of the dictatorship you know these are signs of your little dictatorship

did you democratically elect duarte they did yep all right well you know hitler got elected democratically i think in the beginning before uh you know removing that little feature of democracy okay please but but you know um again corruption who knows if the votes were actually counting right that's like when uh vlad Vladimir Putin tells you, I want another election. Exactly. My 99% of the votes. Yep, yep, yep. Oh, man.

So anyway. Anyway. Okay. So the Filipino channel. Yes. So they decided, okay, he's going to shut us down here. Let's bring the Filipino channel to the rest of the world and so they were needing people in canada they saw me they reached out and i was like uh yeah i watched

you growing up you were like the cbc of the philippines so there because because there were two so yes it was one of them i guess it was cBC1 and CBC2. But this president shut one down because it was unkind to him? Yeah. Wow, that's bullshit. Yep. And here we are, the Filipino channel, and I was doing a show there called BRGY, which is barangay, which means the town.

And that was really cool. It's like, I'm part of the community so yeah and we would do news segments we would interview people from all around the world um you know that have filipino ties and you know we even had like one theme that were who people who just love the filipino culture so they themselves were not filip, but we just got them in because we're like, yeah, we love people, love the Philippines. Yeah, shoot, right on. Yeah, a lot of lovely people from the Philippines, even if there's some fucked up shit going on over there.

Okay. So I did not, I failed to tell you why I gave you it. Why did Mike just give me a wireless speaker? Like just to listen to your classical music? No, because in addition to your classical music, Izzy, you're going to listen to season four of Yes, We Are Open. This is an inspiring podcast

hosted by FOTM Al Grego. Al's been traveling the country conversing with like small business owners and entrepreneurs, gathering their stories to share with you and I. It'll inspire the mess out of you. Season four of Yes, We Are Open. It's a Moneris podcast.

That's what you're going to listen to on that wireless speaker. I will, I will. Right in between my Viking shanties. Oh, you want to sing with me? All right, cherry picking a few things here before we get to abroad, which is I have a clip I want to play before we talk about abroad because my wife is is very excited about abroad i just want you

to know we're excited in this home what was tita what is tita collective tita collective was a um a group of like-minded filipina um we were friends and we were like let's do a sketch comedy show and so we did and that's that well tita like i know because i'm in the club here that's like ant right it's like a you know you're tito and tita yeah tito mike i get called tito mike it's very exciting okay and you won some awards for the tita collective yes We did Fringe and we won the Best Outstanding Comedy or Best New Comedy. I forget. You won something.

Yeah. And then we won Best Newcomer Award in the Toronto Sketch Festival. Yes. Yeah. Good for you. Okay. Selected TV credits that I was just looking i just want to shout some of these out because these are like some canadian institutions here but hudson and rex

yes did you get to go to like newfoundland yes i did amazing okay how was that it was hilarious because i didn't realize that as you were doing your bit you know you you you're in the scene and you're just supposed to talk i didn't know that the um what are the what are they called like the handler of the dog so as i was delivering my monologue yeah they would just go i forget the dog's actual name but let's say it's like gabby they just go gabby gabby and i'm just like huh and they're like why is she stopping keep going and I'm like oh oh I just have to go through oh okay okay oh that was funny that was my first time acting with a dog okay well you know if they ever do a reboot of Turner and Hooch yeah you don't remember Turner and Hooch I think it was a Tom well Tom Hanks I think was in Turner

and Hooch but it was a movie with I'm trying to think of like a people and dog things. Turner and Hooch jumped in my head. Okay, but they do a reboot. You have experience now working with a canine. Okay, so Hudson and Rex. Let's shout out a couple more here. Let's shout out Nurses. Yeah.

So this was a, is this still active? I mean, it's a global show. So Hudson and rex you can find that on city tv i believe uh nurses on global and if you have something you want to add to this but i'm going to list a few more uh the good witch yeah that's a hallmark uh is that like a hallmark movie or no it's a tv show okay i don't i hear about hallmark things i'm like i don't know where hallmark is but wow okay uh this artworks that was a cbc arts uh you forgot you did that didn't you uh second gen but gen of course j-e-n that's on omni okay so that's gonna segue nicely to abroad but uh i want to shout out

uh bruce mccullough uh i think he was directing tall boys so you did that's another sketch comedy and i mean they were they were filming very close to here but that's a cbc sketch so you're just going through all the sketch comedy shows yeah i mean might as well you got to get on kids in the hall that's my favorite sketch comedy show of all time oh of course of course you're gonna bruce mccullough okay and they are like i don't know if that new c i think it did i like the new season they did a new season on prime and i liked it quite a bit i hope they make another one oh nice yeah yeah if they do i just hope you're in it izzy that's all i'm just trying to help you get on uh at least one member of kids in the halls and fotm i just want to get you in on all these sketch comedy shows i just have like a bingo card of sketch comedy shows. I just have like a bingo card of sketch comedy shows.

All right. So we're going to get to Abroad now. Did I miss anything else like you would like to talk about before we dive into Abroad? I don't want to have skipped over anything. I know you were one of, I don't know,

I think your bio's got some interesting stuff in there. There was the mirthful mix. Oh, yeah. I don't know. There's lots going on here. But is there anything you wanted to shout out before we get to abroad? Shout out to the Toronto theater community. Okay.

And the Toronto improv community. All of them. Do we have a thriving improv community in Toronto? Oh, my gosh, yes. That's why I got into it in the first place. Like, sketch comedy was because of the improv community. But now you're in Hamilton. That sounds far away from Toronto, but close enough, I guess. Yes, close enough in my heart. Because now you're looking bigger now, like series and movies, you know, you're, you know,

so you could do that from Hamilton because you can fly to places. Hamilton even has an airport. Yes, they do. I know. I've made it. Sometimes you can, you know, it's could do that from Hamilton because you can fly to places. Hamilton even has an airport. Yes, they do. I know. I've made it. Sometimes you can. You know, it's cheaper to pick someone up in Hamilton than it is at YYZ. So I'm giving you some pro tips here. Oh, my goodness.

Here. Couple more quick hits before we get to abroad. I got a great clip to introduce it to. But I want to shout out RecycleMyElectronics.ca because if you, Izzy, or Andre have some old, maybe you're moving into your new home in Hamilton and you got some old electronics or old tech or some old devices you want to get rid of, don't throw them in the garbage.

You go to recyclemyelectronics.ca, find out the closest depot that they've accredited where you can drop it off to be safely and properly recycled. Thank you, recyclemyyelectronics.ca. And if you need any improved representation with regards to PR, Izzy, I'm just going to let you know about my friends at The Moment Lab. They do brand marketing and strategy and PR

and advertising and production. And I'd be happy to introduce you to Matt or Jared. They are at The Moment Lab. They have a great team that will help you strategize and design your PR goals. So thank you, The Moment Lab. You want me to play this clip, and then we're going to get into this?

Let's do it. Okay, let's listen. Oh my gosh, you're here! Okay, okay. Welcome to Abroad! My name is Isabel, and a little about me, Filipina, immigrant, Amateur Food Crocheter.

Teka, nanonose bleed ako sa kaka-Inglis. Mag-Tagalog nga muna tayo. Para sa mga di nakakatagalog dyan, huwag kayong mag-alala. Tumingin lang kayo dito. Can you believe it? Immigranting Filipina may sariling palabas dito! You don't see us Filipinos too often on TV.

Except when we're singing our hearts out on America's Got Talent. Abroad is like an all-inclusive vacation, minus the free buffet and epic hangovers. Para to sa lahat! Immigrants, second-genners, even you, Doug from Winnipeg. We see you. This show has everything. We even have special guests like Bruno Mars! I'm about to get my Filipino funk on.

And to all my fans out there, Mahal ko kayo. I'm so excited! 24K magic, if you know what I mean. So, sit back, eat some chich so sit back because we're going abroad oh my goodness we're going abroad this is an omni tv show but tell me about like you're not just a hired gun to act in this thing like tell me everything you've done for abroad tell me how this came to be talk to me about abroad my wife is very excited to dive in well it started actually the producers

of airfars um they liked me and i liked them and so they were like we want to do a show especially because you know air force ended we want to do a show and so i was working closely with them pitching shows here and there and i decided to do some tiktoks because i just learned about tiktok and it was my sketch diary because I don't know, I just love videoing and recording and editing. And so that was the social media platform for me. And so I did some sketches there, some minute long sketches, even 15 second long sketches. And because it was TikTok, I would also put it up on instagram for people to see uh that's for the older people exactly and that's where they saw it and they're like izzy we want to do a show around

this and i'm like wait what we're on my tiktok and they're like yes we want to do a sketch show around you and i was like okay buddy um wow that must have made you feel good i didn't it was i was like imposter syndrome to the max i was like what no you you're no and um i don't know i just didn't believe that my tiktoks you know what i mean like based off my tiktoks i'm gonna be like we want to do a show about this i didn't believe it and shout out to them because they believed in me more than I did and supported me and you know all throughout this process they're they are very good at giving me what I need for for the show and that abroad was made because of them, because of us, because of us.

So you're a co-creator. Yes. Yes. And you're the star. Yes. And this is now season two. Yes. That literally debuted.

I'm looking at like a couple of weeks ago. Yes. June 11th. Yeah. And am I right that you, these, these episodes are available in English and Tagalog? Yes.

Did I say Tagalog right? Yes, you did. I am very proud of that. How do you want me to know? Yeah, it's a half and half show, and don't worry, there are subtitles for those that don't speak either. Good, good. That's good.

Now, okay, so, is it available? Is this like one of those shows where it's only in Canada? Are there other countries interested? Is the plan to sell this to other countries? I'm just curious because right now

we get it on Omni and what's the plan for the world to enjoy abroad? Yeah, that is the plan later on, but right now

we're doing the Canada rounds, as you will will and so omni is it well no you know canada's a big country no shame in that but you know these you know so again just to be clear here uh it's is it it's not just for filipino canadians like the fact is filipino canadians this should be mandatory viewing okay because this immigrant experience of particularly, uh, Filipinos, uh, moving to Canada, like you, that's the heart of this thing. But I, I think anyone who enjoys a comedy, uh, would enjoy this or, you know, you gotta be Filipino Canadian or GTFO. You tell me. Yeah. Uh, it's amazing because we've been putting up clips also on social media and

the comments aren't just from Filipinos they're people from different cultures saying oh my gosh my auntie does this my nana does this I think Russell Peters right who's from Brampton big deal but his comedy you don't have to be an immigrant from a certain country

it's almost like he captures the essence of the immigrant experience so you don't need to, you might not have necessarily your family might not have emigrated from the Philippines. You still will appreciate the sentiment of being a new Canadian. Yes, exactly.

Like your first time at Costco, like we remember that experience? We've captured that in abroad. Right, okay. Do you want to shout out any, who else is in this series with you? Even though you've captured that in abroad right okay do you want to shout out any who else is in this series with you uh even though you play bruno mars and many other characters like like like who else is in this series series with you we have nico lorenzo garcia joy castro justine santiago aldrin bundock um one two three you better you better remember this cast my goodness is that everybody

are they all filipino canadians or canadians of filipino descent yes yes they're all filipino canadians and it's amazing because uh we're all in different styles, kinds of immigrants. So, for example, Aldrin was born in the Philippines, but moved here at four years old. But then Justine speaks Tagalog, but she was born here. And you know what I mean? And then Nico was actually, yeah, he was from there as well. And he speaks Tagalog and moved here. But then there's my wife, I will say, who was born in Edmonton.

Okay. Because her parents emigrated, obviously, before she was born. But doesn't speak a stitch of Tagalog, even though her parents, and I actually don't understand. I'm like, why can't you speak some Tagalog? You know, what's up with that? She's upstairs. Maybe before you leave, you can ask her for me.

What's going on? But she completely lacks that language. I mean, I don't blame her, though, because when I first moved, I remember some people in my family telling me, you know, don't speak Tagalog out loud. Oh, this is like an assimilation bullshit too, by the way.

This is, this is Canada. We were, we're not a melting pot. We're a cultural mosaic. And so I thought that's what I had to do also. And so, hey,

maybe they were taught this the same way, right? On that note. So I just played like that intro clip to, is that the first episode of season two no it's the first episode one yes okay so there's that was the origin story there okay it's like i was thinking like we used to have theme songs that explain the premise to us okay think about the brady bunch or guildigan's island or even like the fresh prince of bel-air

like there are these theme songs and you listen to them and it's like okay now i know where we're at like or something like it's like those intros they explain everything but when i listen to in that clip i hear the philip because i hear this accent quite a bit as you can imagine i was at it did you have a debut do you know what a debut is yes yes when you turn uh 18 when you turn 18 you have this big birthday party yeah yeah i was just at my first debut uh two weekends ago i want to say in ajax ontario and i had a lot of questions like what do you mean it's a debut like what are we talking about here and it's like yeah it's a massive like there were candles and you had like 18 people stand up for you and it was a whole like a

ceremony and it was my first experience at this at this debut but where am i going with this okay i'm going with this you sound like you have an accent in that clip i played that i don't hear talking to you for the last hour it happens it happens it comes and goes when i'm speaking to my family it comes when i'm just thinking in tagalog because especially there i go back and forth between English and Tagalog, right? And so if I'm going back and forth, you know, the placement of Canada tongue is in the back of the throat,

where Tagalog is more in front. And so when I think in Tagalog, my mouth just automatically goes to the front of my mouth. And so... There it is. There it is. Okay, you know, because my wife's name is monica and if i hear a member of her uh family from the philippines say your name it's it's more like monica like it's monique

it's not monica it's monique monica yeah yeah yeah monica yeah i don't know if i'm allowed to do that maybe i am you know i'm married So abroad, available now. So if somebody wants to stream abroad, do you have any tips on how somebody right now might want to check out abroad? You can go to omnitv.ca. There's no app, but everybody can go on websites, right? Well, people can know how web browsers work, right? Exactly.

I mean, I pulled that clip. I was able to watch that first episode streaming from the website. So you can find abroad and, and, and again, you're not just a co-creator, but you're,

I guess you're, you're writing this thing or you're starring in this thing. Like, you know, the idea is for abroad to take off and travel the world like Schitt's Creek. Okay. This is the idea. Abroad's the new Schitt's Creek.

Is that the plan? I mean mean you'll settle for kim's convenience is that what i'm hearing i am a big believer in not taking a place of something and we have space for all of these so well you know their schitt's creek is over now you're not taking their place but uh but okay and what like because you're still very young and things are starting to move and shake for you Izzy so I'm just curious big picture wise like

where do you want to go with this do you envision directing your own are you going to be the next Sarah Pauly I know you don't like to take over because she's not going anywhere there's room for both of you but is it like you want to be a Sarah Pauly I'm not trying to put words

in your mouth you tell us like what is your like plans for world domination i'm a very go with the flow person i don't have a goal in terms of like i want to do this or the you know in terms of like i want to have this award or i want this under my belt it's not necessarily you don't want a canadian screen award yeah i mean if oh by the way again i'm interrupting you how rude but abroad was nominated for a canadian screen award yeah that was fun i just did you go like are they did you go to these canadian screen awards yeah i did where were they uh it you don't remember because you're living the life you have no memory of where you were when you were at the Canadian Screen Awards. Honestly, I remember I had to leave early because I had a shoot the next day. It was in Toronto, actually.

Yes, it was in Toronto. It was in Toronto. Boring. I thought they sent you somewhere exciting. Okay. Nah. And who beat you? Do you remember?

I believe it was Tall Boys. Okay. Okay, Tall Boys. Okay. Okay. Tall Boys. I'm still mad that Bruce McAuliffe didn't reply to my handwritten note I gave him on the set of Tall Boys here in South Etobicoke. Okay. And I did rudely interrupt you, but I wanted to shout out your Canadian Screen Award nomination. Maybe season two, you win one.

Now that you're an FOTM, it can't hurt. Lots of the judges are listeners of this program. But you were just in the middle of telling me about how Abroad is going to be, you know, six seasons and a movie. No goals. But the one goal in terms of doing that I do have is I will keep creating.

I think I just love writing and making stuff. So that will never go away. So you can always see me doing something in terms of that. But don't get comfy now that you're in this like Hamilton mansion or whatever and living the good life with, you know, Andre's closing deals. You know, that phone is ringing off the hook,

closing deals, getting his commission. Just don't get complacent there. You got to keep, you know, keep scratching that creativity itch. Oh, I always do. And I think this whole time that's what got me to the point that I am in is because I never stopped creating. And I say this on behalf of my beautiful daughter, Morgan, uh,

we need more Filipino Canadian representation. Like we need, she needs to see herself on the, uh, screen. And that's where you have come in. You, if all these roles don't exist,

you'll create and write them yourself. Exactly. So good on you. Honestly, what you're doing is amazing. And I hope everybody listening checks out abroad and I hope it becomes a big, big fucking deal.

And that, uh, people, you really can go by one name. Izzy, none of this, uh, Isabel can not on,

but I love teaching people how to say it though. I know. And I think I did. All right. Right. Okay. How was this for you? Did you enjoy your Toronto mic debut? Yes. But I love teaching people how to say it, though. I know, and I think I did all right, right? Yeah. Okay, how was this for you? Did you enjoy your Toronto Mike debut?

Yes, I'm glad to be an FOTM. I would say come back one day and kick out the jams with me, but I bet you all your jams are, they have no words. They're all going to be just like movie scores and classical hits. And I would do that if you wanted to kick out the classical. But thanks for doing this. What a pleasure. Thank you. And that

brings us to the end of our 1,281st show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Just one more time, Izzy. Remind everybody where and how they can follow you. Follow me on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Do you ever tweet?

No. But I do have it. It's just there. What is the handle? Because I would tag you on it because I do a lot of tweeting. It's the same thing for everything. Isabel Kanaan. I-S-A-B-E-L-K-A-N-A-A-N.

It helps to have a unique name. Yep. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. This beer is going to Andre. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. That pasta is going to Izzy. Moneris is at Moneris. Recycle My Electronics are at EPRA underscore Canada.

The Moment Lab is at The Moment Lab. And Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley FH. Couple of programming notes. We have Toast with Rob Proust and Bob Ouellette live in the basement. But it's going to be Sunday at 11 a.m. That is actually July 2nd. Originally, it's going to be Sunday at 11 a.m. That is actually July 2nd. Originally, it was going to be before Canada Day,

and we're kicking out quintessential Canadian jams. A day late, but it's still the season, still the long weekend. So you can watch us live at live.torontomic.com at 11 a.m. Sunday. Again, Rob Pruce and Bob Ouellette, a.k.a. Coy and Vance, in the basement, kicking out quintessential Canadian jams. That's right. Toast is Sunday.

See you all then. Juggle explodes And I'll play this guitar Just the best that I can