Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Good morning, Fort Macquarie, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You've tuned into the Mac CD morning show. I am your host deli, if you are, and we're going to start the show off the same way we start every episode off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time, and the fact that you spend with us truly doesn't mean the world to me. So thank you on that note, Tanner hit him with you.
Speaker 1 00:00:19 Oh, she caught me, loves near listened to the next city morning show.
Speaker 0 00:00:28 Hey, and we're back. I got a big smile on my face, cause I know how much Tanner loves that intro and listening to it every single day
Speaker 3 00:00:36 Again, or hit him with the intro just has like a different meaning now. And I like it. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:00:41 Yeah. Coming soon inside joke. Okay. Ladies and gents, I'm extremely excited about today's guest. As you know, I don't introduce my guests, so I'm going to let her do that herself, but uh, I've been following her online for a long time and I feel like I know her, but this is the first time we're actually physically getting to see each other in person to chat. So I'm on top of the world right now. So on that note, can you please tell everybody at home who we are and what you're about?
Speaker 4 00:01:04 Um, my name is Kyla Mullins and what am I about? Um, I'm abode kindness and I brought my son and about people and they're both kids. I love kids.
Speaker 0 00:01:19 Those are good things to be about. Okay. So the first time I stumbled upon you was probably about three or four years ago, you were making, I'm just going to call them YouTube videos. I know you're putting on Facebook and other social media platforms, but for all intensive purposes, their YouTube videos. Um, why did you start making those? What was your inspiration and for the people at home who probably, or maybe have not seen them, what were they about?
Speaker 4 00:01:46 Uh, they were both different topics. Um, I didn't want to boat drugs. Uh, I didn't want to boat, uh, guys trying to pick up girls and the best lines that I've ever heard. Uh, just about being kind, using your manners. That's a really interesting question. Why did I start doing them? Uh, I don't really know. I just, um, one time I used to work at the airport Earls and this man came in and he told me this story about this, uh, drug addict. He used to work on site with him and I didn't the way this situation was handled, made me really, really sad in my heart. And I was just like, I want to speak to the world about this. So I was like, how am I going to do this? So I just made a video and put it on YouTube and just kind of went from there.
Speaker 0 00:02:36 Well, yeah. What was the YouTube like? Oh gosh,
Speaker 4 00:02:40 It was like three or four years ago, like Elliot said. Um, I do not know. Maybe Kyla. I don't know. That's so bad, but I forget.
Speaker 0 00:02:51 Yeah. Okay. I'll find it while you're talking. I'll go on my phone. I think I still follow you on YouTube. So it won't be that hard to find, but yeah, you made one. My one that sticks out in my memory was you made a basic, um, white girls video and like drinking pumpkin spice and wearing scarves. Hilarious. But you were trying to be polite about it. So like maybe like for the older crowd, they wouldn't have got what you were saying, but if you knew, you kind of knew, that was hilarious. So, but yeah, so that's how you kicked off. You heard a story and then you just started and then it snowballed from there. Interesting. And so why did you stop doing it? Because I don't think you do it anymore. I haven't seen any in awhile.
Speaker 4 00:03:33 And um, I got a little bit busy
Speaker 0 00:03:38 Right
Speaker 4 00:03:39 Now. It is. I didn't realize that. Um, I didn't, obviously I wasn't internet famous people would be telling me, like, I really like your videos and I love it when you put them up, but it was hard just with the consistency. Um, like at the time I was going to school, I was working two or three jobs and uh, then I hate to say this, but COVID happens. And I just kind of got of the groove, I guess. Um, right now I am going, I went back to school in September and I'm still working two or three jobs. So sometimes you just don't find the time to go.
Speaker 0 00:04:15 It's tough. Like, people don't recognize how much effort it takes to even if the video is only like one or two minutes, the thought process, like, okay, what I'm going to shoot. Okay. What's my storyboard going to look like filming time editing. Like it's a whole
Speaker 3 00:04:33 Thing really suck if we had to do any of
Speaker 0 00:04:35 That. Hey. Yeah, I would, yeah. I got time for that now. Well, I
Speaker 3 00:04:39 Used to make, I don't even do that
Speaker 0 00:04:42 For two years. I made a video a day, five days a week, I should say. And like to create all of that content daily for two years was like, it was crazy. I loved doing it. It was fun. And it really, it propelled my career as far as like the marketing side of the company. But it was tough and same like yourself when COVID happened. I'm like every day I'm like, what am I going to make a video about today? Like, there's really nothing for me to do. And I didn't think like the people at home, cause I was kind of fortunate. A lot of people had it like really tough and I like financially, it was okay. And so what, like, what am I going to do? Like, Hey, I'm doing okay, I'm eating healthy and I'm working out. I'm like getting great quality time with my son. I'm like, there's, that's going to rub a lot of people the wrong way. So then I figured out, well, let's do the Mac city morning show. And now this guy does all the editing behind the cameras.
Speaker 3 00:05:36 Yeah. And it is not nearly that hard. No, I think storyboard is like the opposite term of whatever. We
Speaker 0 00:05:44 Were very different
Speaker 3 00:05:45 Store. Our storyboard is blank. You just show up, we reworked right. It as
Speaker 0 00:05:50 That's right. So what were you taking in school?
Speaker 4 00:05:53 So I, when I first went, I got my bachelor of arts in psychology at Carlton university audit one. I did it all online. Okay. Um, and then currently I am working, um, at a preschool starting place preschool and I'm getting my level two for working in a daycare. Nice.
Speaker 0 00:06:14 Are you from Ottawa?
Speaker 4 00:06:16 Um, so kind of, I was born in a small town called Smith falls is 45 minutes away from Ottawa. So I was born there then my parents, because my dad is from PAI. They moved back to PEI and actually lived on PEI for 18 years. And so when I, yeah, and then I moved. Yeah. And then I moved from PEI back to Ontario. My parents got divorced, but I was older. I was like 18 or 19. And then I was in Smith falls for three or four, five years. And then I came up here and I've been up here for 13 years
Speaker 0 00:06:48 In forefront for 13 years. What brought you to Fort McMurray? My dad. Okay. Your dad got a job here and you came with, or how did this?
Speaker 4 00:06:56 Um, so my dad was up here, so he owned his own painting business and PEI. And the story with him is he said it wasn't doing so well. So he had a friend out here maybe relative, I can't remember. And he was like, I'm going to go out to forming Marie and I'm going to start painting up there. And it was back when the boom was going on. So he just did well and he just decided to stay. And then he asked me, oh, you need to come up for three months. You'll make all this money. So I said, okay. So it was probably like an embarrassing story. So you don't know, but um,
Speaker 0 00:07:33 We love those here. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 00:07:38 So I did one for three months. I worked at Earl's and I met a guy he's from Texas. So I'm like, we didn't date for that long. Right. I said, I was young, early twenties, like, oh, I'm going to move up here for this guy. So I came up here to be permanently. I went home to get my stuff and I came back up here and I was like talking to him when I was in Ontario. And then he, um, was with again Syncrude site and he got a speeding ticket. So he got banned from site. So they shipped him back to Texas, but he didn't tell me, oh no. I came out here with all my stuff. I'm trying to get ahold of him. I'm like, what's going on? And then, um, yeah, it's embarrassing. But it did happen. It is. And then, um, fortunately like we didn't date for that long, so it wasn't like that bad. But since I had already brought my stuff out of here, my dad was here. I was like, you know, whatever. I'll just stay moved all the way up
Speaker 0 00:08:37 Here, but you didn't date that long. So not that bad. Yeah. It wasn't major heartbreak. That's a great story. That's a good one late, listen. I truly believe life is just a combination of stories. And the more stories you can accumulate while the more interesting and like fun your life is going to be. If everything just went according to plan B kind of a boring life. I know it depends how cool that plan is. Yeah, I guess so. But no, that's cool. That's a, that's a very unique story for coming up to Fort McMurray. Do you, do you know what happened to this guy that went
Speaker 4 00:09:10 Back to Texas?
Speaker 0 00:09:13 That's hilarious. Awesome. So you're working at Earl's, um, bar or restaurants I fueled or,
Speaker 4 00:09:22 Um, I was doing the restaurant side. Okay. And then, so like two months later I met this other gentlemen and um, so we kind of started seeing each other and then, uh, so we broke it off. And then after like a couple of weeks I found out I was pregnant. So then I had Ethan, that's my son, um, him and I did actually try dating after I found out I was pregnant, but just didn't work out. And um, even it's kind of part of the reason that I stay up here just cause, um, this is what he knows. This is where his friends are, this home. And then my mom and her new husband, they ended up moving out here. And then my two brothers moved out here. My sister tries, she didn't like it. So she moved. So, and then my one brother, um, he did recently move to BC, but my other brother actually met someone new here and got married. So he has a family here.
Speaker 0 00:10:25 So you got to like the family circle here to help support you and your kid, uncles, grandparents, everybody. That's awesome. Yeah. So, so you're telling me that, like that basically that one dude in Texas started a Domino's effect.
Speaker 4 00:10:42 No, he said, well, the stories, cause I was like, that's what made me think about how a couple months later I know I'm getting pregnant and then here I am
Speaker 0 00:10:48 And everybody's here with you. That's so things random dude from Texas
Speaker 0 00:11:03 Yeah. Cause you still talk to him on Facebook. that's so funny. Okay. So now that everybody's here, your like you just outlined some siblings you're there's four of you, where do you fall within that mix? I'm the oldest. You're the eldest of all of them. Okay. So they follow their big sister out here. They did.
Speaker 4 00:11:24 Well, you know what? I wish that I hope they watch this and hear you saying that because I'm not sure if that's what they would say, but yes,
Speaker 0 00:11:31 You should make a shirt that just says trendsetter and just like at Christmas time and like family, all it is is just like, we're just saying we got to get it on the mag city merchants. We should. Yeah, the trendsetter that'd be hilarious.
Speaker 4 00:11:44 And you know what, actually, so my one husband from PEI, he moved out here too. He just moved here a couple of years ago and then his brother moved out here at, in August, September. So I like everybody's here. You're right. This is because of me. You're welcome guys.
Speaker 0 00:12:02 Exactly. Look at your bank account. Well, that's hilarious. So when you're in PEI, we had a guest earlier today. That was for PTI. I've been to PAI tons. I love PDI. Yeah. What, what part of PAI did you live in?
Speaker 4 00:12:15 So right when you get off the bridge, there's a little, a little town called Borden Carlton. And that is where I am from.
Speaker 0 00:12:21 Okay, cool. And you like grew up there for most of your formative, you said 18 years. Okay. I've only had the pleasure of going there in the summer spring foam. I've never experienced a PEI winter. I hear they're pretty brutal in regards to the snow.
Speaker 4 00:12:37 Well, okay. So actually just talking to someone about this the other day. So I, it was cause it would still, we get snowed in, they have snow days, like legitimately shut down everything. So then we moved my family minus my dad. We moved to Ontario and um, I didn't go to high school there cause I was too old. But my brothers and sisters did so they have bad weather, but
Speaker 0 00:13:02 No snow days,
Speaker 4 00:13:03 The high schools was still open and everybody's going to work. And it was like, I know this sounds like almost ridiculous, but it was a culture shock to us. Like what is, why does, why are we driving on the roads? Like what is going on? Then we furthered it and came to
Speaker 0 00:13:18 Yeah, no such thing, no such thing. As a,
Speaker 3 00:13:22 I had one snow day through my entire high school and it was optional. Like, it wasn't even like, no don't come to school. It was like, you don't have to send your kids. But if you do, we'll still watch them. And I lived a block away from the school. So my mom was like,
Speaker 0 00:13:37 There was one time and I was an adult at like, so this, there was one time in Fort Murray's history where, what happened was, and you probably were in school for this. Yeah, there w it was late into the spring and it snowed like a huge snow dump. And most of the time it still is informant where you're like, whatever the plows get out, you can, you can go. But it had been summer for so many weeks and or months that the municipality had sent away all of their snow removal gear. So they didn't have it. And they was all like parked up. So literally they couldn't clear the streets
Speaker 3 00:14:11 And it was, and it was snowing so hard that it was white out.
Speaker 0 00:14:17 They couldn't close the schools. The schools had to stay open just in case some people still went, the buildings had to remain open. So it was an optional. But like, I remember people were on their skidoos and stuff, just like dropping kids off to work, like whatever. Yeah. It was crazy. I forgot what year that was. That must have been, I graduated in 2001, I was working at the time. So that must've been around 2006, 2007 that year. And you would have totally.
Speaker 3 00:14:44 Yeah, because I was in elementary school, in my elementary school was like, literally I could see it from my back gate. So my mom was, yeah, I know you can't see the school, but you know the directions. So
Speaker 0 00:14:55 Yeah. We never had snow days and you'd watch it on TV and they'd be like snow day and it'd be like, mine is 50 outside. I'm like snow day. I'm like, get outside here.
Speaker 4 00:15:06 So flabbergasted by that, I actually like maybe, cause it was the way I was raised. But actually if it is too cold, I will let Ethan stay home.
Speaker 0 00:15:17 Yeah. He gets his built-in snow days with his mom. That's awesome. I
Speaker 3 00:15:21 Know. Minus 40, my mom did not
Speaker 0 00:15:23 Care. So listen, we have this segment on the show called the max CD minute. It's the under segment where he's going to ask you some questions. I don't know what he's going to ask you. I wish you nothing, but the best of luck hit her with the max 30 minute.
Speaker 3 00:15:34 That's number one. What has been the most interesting story you have from your time being a server?
Speaker 4 00:15:42 Oh, um, what is the most interesting? That's a good question. Um, okay. You know what, actually, this did not, this was actually one of my YouTube videos. This did not happen to me. This happened to one of my friends. So she was bartending. We were in the, uh, working at that airport Earl's and this man had a crush on her. Okay. Was fine. That's cool. But he had already bought his plane ticket and he just wants to like whisker away with him, but she wasn't interested. And he went up to her and he was like, talking to me like, is she single? Like what can I do to change your mind? Like, man, I don't. I think she's pretty sad. I think he's just get on your plane and kind of, and it was like, you know what? I wish I could remember the quote. I'm probably gonna say it wrong, but it was something like, um, the mountain didn't go to Muhammad, Hammad, went to the mountain and then he approached her and was like, I would like you to get on this plane with me right now. This was a real polite. She said, oh, I've got school. Thank you though. She turned him down. I've got school, like, okay, cool. But she was in her twenties. She was going to, so she wasn't lying.
Speaker 0 00:16:57 She didn't get whisked away on a plane. I wish somebody buy me a plane ticket.
Speaker 3 00:17:01 Never happens to
Speaker 0 00:17:02 Me. I would've said yes, let's
Speaker 3 00:17:03 Go. Where we go. You can whisk me anywhere. You want to go. Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:17:07 Oh, you know what? I have one more story time. I worked at Earl's and they used to make us Polish, the wineglasses. And we were in the dining room. So I had these guys that came in and they kept trying to tell me, they knew me. And I said, I don't know you, maybe I have served you. But I apologize. I don't remember. And they whipped out their phones and they had taken pictures of new polishing, the wine glasses, creepy
Speaker 3 00:17:30 SAP, and also very like ballsy to then show the person you're like, Hey, I took creepy pictures of you. One time check.
Speaker 0 00:17:38 Yeah. They could, they, they could be applauded for their like boldness, like the bravado. Yeah. I'm going to say creepy though. Good stories.
Speaker 3 00:17:46 Question number two. What is your favorite part of with children at the start of their education?
Speaker 4 00:17:52 Favorite part is how they greet me and how innocent they are and how for the most part they're always so happy. I love it. That's my favorite favorite part. And they get so excited about everything. Like what color shirt are you wearing? It's like, I love it.
Speaker 3 00:18:11 Question number three. What was your first reaction when you first got to Fort McMurray?
Speaker 4 00:18:18 Do I have to be honest,
Speaker 0 00:18:20 But it always helps
Speaker 4 00:18:22 2008 back when they had that little small airport, I'm on this little plane, I'm flying into trees. And I was like, literally what the beep? Just in case my mom watches this, what the beep am I getting it? Where am I going? Like, what is this? Thanks a lot, dad, job here. Probably not.
Speaker 3 00:18:46 And that was it. Nobody's going to be mad. Cause that was your reaction 13 years ago. And you stuck around you still here. So like most people came here and had that reaction. So
Speaker 0 00:18:57 That's okay. My mom came here in 1976, give or take and my mom and my dad, but, um, he was here actually a few months before, regardless the airport back then was just a trailer.
Speaker 3 00:19:11 So it was the hospital.
Speaker 0 00:19:12 And like the highway coming in and out of Fort McMurray was like two lane, dirt road. It wasn't even paved. And like my mother and father are from south America, Guyana. And so they they're used to like tropical weather. And so they had lived in Toronto for a little while first, but she came to Fort Mac and like December and she's like the temperature and she had the same choice words you probably use. So yeah, it's when you fly in, it's not for everybody, but then you know what? I think your story, like my mother's is a very common one. You were thinking like, what the hell am I getting into? And then fast forward, 13 years later, you're like, man, I love this place.
Speaker 3 00:19:52 Question number four. How is raising your child in Fort McMurray helped you appreciate the town?
Speaker 4 00:20:01 Oh, that is good.
Speaker 0 00:20:06 He comes with me. He comes with the heat. Um,
Speaker 4 00:20:12 There is a lot of opportunity for them. I don't really have a lot to compare it to obviously, because this is the only place I've ever raised a child where he goes to holy Trinity. Oh yeah. That's cool. Is a freaking amazing, he's very artsy and it like supports him a hundred percent. It's so great. Um, I do, I came from a very small town, so, but he doesn't know the difference to him. This is a small town, but I like the smallness of it. And um, I do know a lot of people, so I appreciate that. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:20:50 So he had a good sense of community. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:20:52 There you go. And your final question, what is your favorite part of having your family follow you out to Fort McMurray?
Speaker 4 00:21:00 I really hope they watch this. Um, so to be a hundred percent honest with you, um, I do work with kids. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this, the pay is not the greatest, but I love it.
Speaker 3 00:21:17 You don't have to say that everybody knows that about teachers. Okay.
Speaker 4 00:21:20 So, but if my family wasn't out here and wasn't as supportive as they were, I actually would not be able to pursue that dream. Yeah. There we go. So that would be my biggest thing. Like I'm so happy that you guys followed me up there and I love that. Um, we're like a very close family, so it's nice that we get to spend all the time together. Sometimes we like each other. Sometimes we don't.
Speaker 0 00:21:42 Yeah. I'll be in a family. When five questions. There you go. Good job, Tanner. Listen. Um, we burned through our 20 minutes. I know we already went over the 20 minutes, so sorry, not sorry at home. Uh, but before we cut you loose today, um, everybody gets a shameless, shout out our plugs. So you got the mix to cameras. Lights are on, you have fun.
Speaker 4 00:22:02 You've caught me off guard. What do I
Speaker 0 00:22:04 Shameless? Shout out or plug anybody, anybody you want to give a shout out to or say hi to promote anything. You've had
Speaker 3 00:22:09 People shout out their cars, their cats, their moms,
Speaker 0 00:22:12 Whatever, their jobs themselves Talon was a good one.
Speaker 4 00:22:18 Who would I want, um, you know what? I'm wanting to shout out to Mitch Mullins and Cynthia committee. That's my mom and dad because I love them. And they helped me out so much. And I'm going to give it a shout out. I purposely wore this sweater cause it's my favorite sweater. It says cultivate kindness. So I encourage everybody to do that. And this also came from my brother. So, uh, oh, how could I forget? I would like to give a shout out to my son. Ethan. There you go. He's going to be super jealous. Actually. Didn't tell anybody that you asked me to be on this show. So Yeah, my mum thinks I'm still working, so I was like, I'm going to surprise them. That's all.
Speaker 0 00:22:58 So I love it. Well, listen, uh, please come back again. And again, obviously we burned through to 20 minutes. There's so much more that we can talk about. So I'm super pumped that we finally got to meet. So thank you for coming. Thank
Speaker 4 00:23:10 You for having such an
Speaker 0 00:23:10 Honor. Yeah. And be it be a returning guest. Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Well for Macquarie wood, Buffalo and the rest of the world, that's been another episode of the Mac city morning show. Thank you so much for tuning in. Really do appreciate it. I hope you're having a great day and we'll see you tomorrow. Peace.
Speaker 1 00:23:26 I just dies that desk. Another Mac city morning show Don.
Speaker 5 00:23:44 Talk about quenching your ugly thirst.
