We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
and let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.
Some things never change.
This may be true, but does it mean that we should ever stop trying?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Stats - The Opposite Sex Friend Issue
I love that you guys are slowly but surely participating! Considering I expected about 3 people to read this blog, I am blown away that we're in double digits and that you vote in polls and actually comment. Like with so many other things in life, getting feedback is what keeps me going. Last week's poll, "Can guys and girls just be friends?" sparked a few face to face debates which was good but disappointing because my memory is faulty when mixed with alcohol. It was interesting to see people change their votes over the course of the week because this is a topic most people are quite firm (a.k.a. narrow minded or stubborn) about.
50% of voters went for a direct answer, with 17% voting YES and 33% voting NO. As expected, the remaining 50% said it DEPENDS on the people involved. I think this is a reasonable answer because it's impossible to predict the success of friendships between males and females when there are an infinite number of factors to take into consideration.
You've all had a chance to read my thoughts on this but I have to wonder, do any of you readers want to elaborate on your answers? Sharing is caring friends so feel free to let your opinions flow =)
50% of voters went for a direct answer, with 17% voting YES and 33% voting NO. As expected, the remaining 50% said it DEPENDS on the people involved. I think this is a reasonable answer because it's impossible to predict the success of friendships between males and females when there are an infinite number of factors to take into consideration.
You've all had a chance to read my thoughts on this but I have to wonder, do any of you readers want to elaborate on your answers? Sharing is caring friends so feel free to let your opinions flow =)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Bling & Potatoes
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| Patio View |
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| Neon Tulips |
I'm not going to lie - with a name like Jewel, I was expecting something a little more showy. There wasn't much decor as I'm sure they wanted to showcase the room's potential, but what I really loved was the tenting set up on the patio. It's a nice touch along with LED lighting and space heaters and a great way to utilize the space even in bad weather. I love the choice of flowers (tulips just happen to be one of my faves) and thought that the colours chosen played really well with the lighting. It's little details like that which tell me they're willing to do what it takes to make an event a success.
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| Pick your fave potato toppings! |
My highlight of the night wasn't the band (Ten Souljers!) or running into friends and former instructors - it was the food. More specifically, the mashed potato bar. Oh yeah...you read that right. Collect a scoop of your choice in potato (Yukon gold, red, or sweet) and pick your toppings (peas, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, roast garlic, cheese, corn, chives, sour cream, and gravy). It was a great idea and definitely had people talking. Aside from the potato bar, there were long lines for what looked like a pulled pork/soft taco wrap type of station (if you understood that I applaud you!) and a sweet or savoury puff station that was always out of food. The dessert table featured mini pots of creme brulee, shots of chocolate mousse, spoonfuls of panna cotta, cake lollipops and milk and cookies! The most difficult part of having this much food is handling all the little dishes they come in!
All in all, a good night and a decent venue. I can see it looking absolutely stunning during the wedding season with the late sunsets leading happy couples into great nights of celebration.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Honesty & Crippling Guilt
Welcome back readers (if any)! Amazingly enough, some people were bored enough to actually read yesterday's post...shocking but not really surprising when you look at the lengths we go to in our attempts to avoid the work we should be doing. For example, instead of writing the next installment of the Social Scene series I started (I still owe you 3 more!) or the next Event Star profiles, I'm going to talk about two things that can go hand in hand for a person like me - honesty and guilt.
I like to think that I'm fairly good at helping people figure out their own lives while stumbling blindly through my own. You would think that this would be a case of the blind leading the blind but it actually works for me. My theory is that you're too close to everything in your own life to see things like solutions clearly. Obviously it's easier for an outsider to figure things out for you, which is why we always turn to our friends or family for help.
I've been the listener in a fair share of heart to hearts (especially when people get drunk and see the invisible sign over my head that says "tell me your problems!") and one thing I've learned is that most of the time people just need to let it out. They don't always need you to answer the question or give them a solution, they just want someone to share the burden with. If I do venture forth with advice, I try to be as honest as possible without being hurtful. If you can't trust your friends to tell you the truth, then who can you trust? This is true for any situation in life, not just the drunk ones.
For the sake of honesty, I'm a pretty private person (which can make blogging difficult sometimes) and it takes a while to really get to know me. There are quite a few things I blur the truth about because frankly, it's no ones business but my own but some people are nosy. With my love of television and books, I've got a pretty overactive imagination which meant I was a little too good at fibbing when I was younger. These days, I don't really see the point as most lies are exposed in the end and you just look like a moron once you're busted. I'm especially truthful when alcohol is involved, as my friends saw this weekend.
In one conversation, I told a guy why I thought he was good for my sister (thankfully it was her boyfriend and not some random) and in another, I told my friend why they weren't a good friend. It's conversations like the second one that bring out the guilt. I am a semi-practicing Catholic which means I don't go to Church but I keep the guilt (and most of the other traditions). Some of my friends know ths about me and use it to their advantage. Why do I let them take advantage if I know what's going on? Because I would feel guilty if I didn't.
This is the reason I try not to committ to anything unless I can ACTUALLY make it and it's why I'll go 30 min to an hour out of my way to make sure people get home ok. It's the driving force behind my phillanthropy efforts and an integral part of my workaholic nature. I cannot stand to disappoint so I do whatever I can to make things happen; lucky for you, difficult to manage for me. Hopefully now that you know this, none of you will use my guilt against me =)
I like to think that I'm fairly good at helping people figure out their own lives while stumbling blindly through my own. You would think that this would be a case of the blind leading the blind but it actually works for me. My theory is that you're too close to everything in your own life to see things like solutions clearly. Obviously it's easier for an outsider to figure things out for you, which is why we always turn to our friends or family for help. 
I've been the listener in a fair share of heart to hearts (especially when people get drunk and see the invisible sign over my head that says "tell me your problems!") and one thing I've learned is that most of the time people just need to let it out. They don't always need you to answer the question or give them a solution, they just want someone to share the burden with. If I do venture forth with advice, I try to be as honest as possible without being hurtful. If you can't trust your friends to tell you the truth, then who can you trust? This is true for any situation in life, not just the drunk ones. For the sake of honesty, I'm a pretty private person (which can make blogging difficult sometimes) and it takes a while to really get to know me. There are quite a few things I blur the truth about because frankly, it's no ones business but my own but some people are nosy. With my love of television and books, I've got a pretty overactive imagination which meant I was a little too good at fibbing when I was younger. These days, I don't really see the point as most lies are exposed in the end and you just look like a moron once you're busted. I'm especially truthful when alcohol is involved, as my friends saw this weekend.
In one conversation, I told a guy why I thought he was good for my sister (thankfully it was her boyfriend and not some random) and in another, I told my friend why they weren't a good friend. It's conversations like the second one that bring out the guilt. I am a semi-practicing Catholic which means I don't go to Church but I keep the guilt (and most of the other traditions). Some of my friends know ths about me and use it to their advantage. Why do I let them take advantage if I know what's going on? Because I would feel guilty if I didn't.
This is the reason I try not to committ to anything unless I can ACTUALLY make it and it's why I'll go 30 min to an hour out of my way to make sure people get home ok. It's the driving force behind my phillanthropy efforts and an integral part of my workaholic nature. I cannot stand to disappoint so I do whatever I can to make things happen; lucky for you, difficult to manage for me. Hopefully now that you know this, none of you will use my guilt against me =)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Distractions
I know I'm not in the mood to write when I let myself get distracted by personal finance! In an attempt to rein in my spending, I've got a pretty sweet spreadsheet set up to help me track what I'm spending money on every month. Like the true geek I am, it breaks down daily, weekly, monthly, and annual spending on various areas such as food & bev, entertainment, transportation, etc.
Did I just put you to sleep? Hopefully the answer is yes because I'm fading fast myself =(
I know I said no more crappy posts but let's be honest, if I'm writing EVERY DAY, there's bound to be at least one or two lame write-off's a month. On the plus side, the resulting guilt will mean that the rest of the posts this week will be good =)
Check back in tomorrow!
Did I just put you to sleep? Hopefully the answer is yes because I'm fading fast myself =(
I know I said no more crappy posts but let's be honest, if I'm writing EVERY DAY, there's bound to be at least one or two lame write-off's a month. On the plus side, the resulting guilt will mean that the rest of the posts this week will be good =)
Check back in tomorrow!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Champage Celebrations
As I posted yesterday, the weekend was a little tight on time to post. I know how disappointed all of you must have been when there was nothing new to read on Sat/Sun but we're back on track today! =p
Friday was more than just a regular 90's Night at Library Square - it was my birthday party! With a room booked at the Sutton Place and bottles of champagne ready to pop, I knew it was going to be a crazy night. While I absolutely cannot go into all the details here, I can post some photos and let you come to your own conclusions. All I can say is that I have some amazing friends who managed to keep me out of trouble (for the most part) even though they weren't able to keep me from getting hurt (5 bruises located to date but it feels like there must be more)! For those of you that were there, here are a few highlights: "I like Eileen...she's a nice girl!" - "STEAMROLLER!" - "Can I come out of the closet now?" - "He's one of my oldest friends - of course he's a jerk" - "Ask me anything. Ok, tell me something. That wasn't a question!" - "Muffin" I'm trying to think of other things to write but my brain doesn't want to help me out. I suspect it's a defense mechanism to keep me from remembering everything and becoming traumatized. Either way, thinking about this night still makes me laugh 3 days later. Enjoy the photos!
Friday was more than just a regular 90's Night at Library Square - it was my birthday party! With a room booked at the Sutton Place and bottles of champagne ready to pop, I knew it was going to be a crazy night. While I absolutely cannot go into all the details here, I can post some photos and let you come to your own conclusions. All I can say is that I have some amazing friends who managed to keep me out of trouble (for the most part) even though they weren't able to keep me from getting hurt (5 bruises located to date but it feels like there must be more)! For those of you that were there, here are a few highlights: "I like Eileen...she's a nice girl!" - "STEAMROLLER!" - "Can I come out of the closet now?" - "He's one of my oldest friends - of course he's a jerk" - "Ask me anything. Ok, tell me something. That wasn't a question!" - "Muffin" I'm trying to think of other things to write but my brain doesn't want to help me out. I suspect it's a defense mechanism to keep me from remembering everything and becoming traumatized. Either way, thinking about this night still makes me laugh 3 days later. Enjoy the photos!
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| Party on the dance floor |
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| Getting rough... |
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| Bathtub bed |
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| It's a drop shot kinda night |
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| Drunk vision |
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Back on Track
It's been a busy weekend which means I've had to re-negotiate the terms of my blogging agreement. Since I'm technically written more than required at this point, It's been decided that as long as my final total is 365 at the end of the year, I've completed the challenge. However, I can only miss a total of 5 days (4 now since I missed yesterday) AND the current post total has to be higher than the expected for the day missed. So I would have failed yesterday if I had only written one for each day so far. Being a keener DOES pay off! This post is cutting it close but I'll be back tomorrow with an edited re-cap of the weekend's festivities!
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