dolla' dolla' bill y'all!

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see Raekwon the Chef @ Spirit Bar in Nelson, BC on my birthday weekend... how classic is that?

The Loss of a Creative Genius~

The tragic death of Lee Alexander McQueen this past thursday is one of huge impact. He was more then a designer to me. As a fashion lover who's love grew out of an appreciation for artistic creativity, I was first drawn to fashion by the work of Mr. McQueen. He showed me how fashion translates into art and vise-versa. He made pieces for those who saw beyond the trends of the day to a wonderful place called originality. His shows were spectacles of creative thought and dark passion that live somewhere deep in all of us. I only wish I was well enough established to have collected some of his beautiful work, I hope that I will still be able to acquire some in the future. He will be greatly missed, and impossible to replace.

Van City 2010

The day has arrived. Go team Canada!

I believe our citizens will show enough support that we will not regret the decision to host the games.

9 days and counting...

Vancouver 2010~Friend or foe?

Since that one fateful day they announced that our beloved city would host the 2010 olympics the tension in even the friendliest of circles has been in need of a machete. When the topic of the olympics was brought up with even the most passive canuck it would induce a rant on par with that of Rex Murphy.

It started for me when the BC Hospital Employee's Unions' wages and benefits were cut 15% by the Campbell government. Unfortunate for my family considering both of my parents were HEU members. Just weeks following this announcement my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the rarest kind and the next day his position in the maintenance department of our local hospital was terminated. This was not because of his job performance, but because of further budget cuts. His oncologist had to threaten to go to the media with my fathers story before he even received his measly long term disability. Seriously, that is no joke. It honestly happened. Olympics before health care? Not for me!

It had to be expected, where else could the money have come from aside from our social services? Not from the corporate sponsors who so enthusiastically escort our torch trough every corner of the country, or from Gordon Campbell's wadges! The BC Federation of Labour website states: "Because of the high cost of living, BC has long had the lowest minimum wage in terms of buying power. Approximately 293,000 workers in BC earn $10 per hour or less. In 2007, Gordon Campbell voted himself a 54 percent pay raise which took his annual salary to $186,000." All this and there has not been one increase in minimum wage since the BC Liberals took power. Why can't the rich take a cut since they stand to be the only ones who gain from these games anyway?

The inspiration for this rant of mine came from a lecture my younger sister received today from her sociology professor at UBC. Her class was informed that in the last four years since the 2010 games were announced the amount of Vancouver residents living under the official poverty line has increased three fold! Not what I would call a positive boost to Vancouver's economy.

That is not to say that I disagree with the idea of the olympics, what better way to promote the tourism industry in BC? What better way to promote sportsmanship and acceptance of diversity? Lets just hope that VANOC has it's ducks lined up so as to not relive the horrors of Montreal... scary thought. I have to stress, even though it might not have been such a smart decision for us to host the olympics we must now support them as best as we can. The commitments are made and money spent, no amount of protesting will bring back the estimated $6 billion spent "unofficially" according to the Vancouver Sun. So, lets do the best we can to show the world what an honestly amazing city Vancouver is, lets promote our games and hope for the best return possible. I can believe.

Consideration

My own personal favorite blogger The Sartorialist has today inspired me to talk about a very important topic. You don't say much sir, but when you do you say it with grace...

Be honest. How often do you take the time to acknowledge the small gestures your partner offers as tokens of love? A working dad changing a newborn's morning diaper so mom can sleep five more minutes before the morning feeding deserves just as much thanks for that small consideration as he does for bringing home the bacon.

My husband and I have a cute and personal way of acknowledging the small gestures that show our love and appreciation for each other. We have used it since the beginning of our relationship... every time one of us does some small considerate thing for the other we say "and that is reason (insert some large, random number here) why I love you" it never gets old, even after 7 years.

I've never spoken about our little "thing" to anyone before, probably to save my husband from the ridicule of his boyz. However, reading Scott's request for us to thank the men in our lives made me want to share with you in hopes that all of those good men out there get the credit they deserve. 'Tis the season to consider the one in your life who loves you. Let them know how much you appreciate them and the small things they do for you in the name of love.

Multiple Money Shots?

Dear Mrs. Candor,

Since you said nothing is off limits... why is it that men always tell people that they want sex more than women?! Then, when it cums down to it they do it once or twice and then they're done!

~Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Well, to put it quite simply men can't control how many rounds their dick will stay hard for... they may want to continue having sex, but Jr. just doesn't have it in him. Our vag on the other hand is always open, lest we forget the lubricating qualities of saliva. This gives women an advantage, if the yearning for sex is there the body will cooperate. There is also the matter of persuasion, if a man can sense while speaking with you that you are one of those prized women with a ravenous sex drive he may just tell you that he can go six times in a row so that he can get off the one and only time he requires for satisfaction. This is not to say that all men act in this deceitful way, you must simply approach a man you've never slept with with no expectations in regards to the quality of lay... no matter what he says to get you in the sack.