Pull Up Your Socks

Places to Remember

2011-07-21T22:27:00.000-05:00

I was thinking today how places connect us with people. They remind us of someone, something or a time in our lives when we were happy or sad. Recently I found out that one of my regulars at work died from cancer at the age of 37. 37. Way to young. Apparently it was quick, she found out she had cancer and within 6 months she passed away. Her and her husband use to come and have drinks at this small-“home-town” bar that I work in. They always seemed like they were having such a good time and were so much in love – absolutely loving their lives’. She passed away on a Monday, and on Friday he was in for a couple of beers. Everything seemed normal, but at this point I had no idea. He just sat there with his beer alone in a place where you use to come with his wife, a place where they had fun. There’s no doubt in my mind that he was thinking about her while he was there. I wish I would have know. I wish I would have said something or bought him a beer. But maybe that’s why he came into the bar that night. He came in because he knew he could be left alone if he wanted, or he could talk to someone if he wanted. Whatever he needed my co-worker and I, and the other regulars, would be there for a shoulder to lean on.

Sometimes I really want to the bar. But, then moments like these happen when someone comes in and remembers all the amazing times they had with a special person, and they can know that the people around them are there if they want them – that’s something you can’t find to many places.

A look at a town's history

2011-04-16T12:10:00.000-05:00

For documentary class, my friend and I produced a doc about the crumbling limestone kilns in Stonewall. The kilns are more than just crumbling, the history of Stonewall is crumbling with it. It's amazing how something can be a symbol of a place's history, and once it's gone a lot of that history is gone too. The doc examines what the limestone kilns mean to this small Manitoban town, and how a small group is trying to save them.

I'm just going to keep saying it

2011-04-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

Did anyone watch the leader’s debate tonight? I did, and it was honestly the first time I watched an ENTIRE debate. It reminded me of when a group of friends does nothing but tell inside jokes as other people look on without any clue of what’s going on. Sure I watch the news and read the paper, so I know some of what they’re talking about but ultimately I don’t think they were talking about much of anything.

Do debates like this get young voters interested in the election? I don’t think so. I tuned in because I was interested in what they had to say, because, like I’ve said before, it’s important to vote and express our opinions on how our country should be run. Honestly, I just wanted to turn on a movie, but I’m trying, I’m trying really hard to be engaged in this election.

I read this really interesting article online today, which talked about young voters and how very little of us VOTE. The article quotes a study that found if young voters didn’t vote when they first had the chance the likelihood of them voting in future elections is slim to none. So please, read the article and prove this study wrong. We have the opportunity to have a say so use it. If you don’t you might not regret it now but you probably will in the future, and by then it might be too late for a change.

Have your say, vote in May

2011-04-02T12:42:00.001-05:00

It’s seems as if the media here in Canada is doing more to encourage Canadians to get out and vote than the political leaders and their parties. Every night I turn on CBC’s The National there is tons of news about the election, but if the news didn’t cover it would I hear anything the candidates have to say? I don’t know if I would.

I’ll vote because it’s my right. Millions of people in other countries are fighting for democracy. Thousands of people are dying in Libya, hundreds of people died in Egypt and countless people die in countless countries because they want the right to vote but don’t have it. But Canadians don’t vote. In the last federal election in 2008, only 58.8% of Canadians voted. Holy crap, does any one else think that’s that ridiculous?

But why don’t we vote? Is it because all the parties are pretty much the same, so really who cares? Is it because Canadians are so not interested in politics we don’t even take the time to learn about what each party, each candidate stands for? Or is it that neither of the parties makes us care about them?

I think it’s a combination of all of these things. So where are the leaders? Why aren’t they reaching out to the public more through Facebook or Twitter? Sure, they travel around the country holding town halls, but how many of us actually go?

CBC is trying to get Canadians interested in the election through an online poll they’ve created called Vote Compass. The poll asks you a series of questions regarding important issues and calculates which party most aligns with your values. The poll is super simple. Fill out a bit of information, and then clip through a series of questions – literally it took me 5 minutes. As of the other night, over 800,000 Canadians had been on Vote Compass. Hopefully this is a sign that more Canadians will turn out to the polls this year to make their choice. Go on to Vote Compass, and find out which party most aligns with your values. Then scroll through the Election 2011 information to find out more.

We have this great liberty to vote, so let’s use it. You decide whom you want to make a change in our country, don’t let the rest of the country, or 58.8% of it, decide fore you. The 800,000 people that have gone on Vote Compass are only a small portion of the 33 million people in this country. Make your vote count this time.

Forgiveness is hard to do

2011-03-26T15:06:00.000-05:00

Lately I’ve been trying to practice the idea of forgiveness. Any self-help, yogi guru, motivational speaker and positive person says that holding grudges let’s the person you are angry with control your life, if only a little piece. This gives them the power, and that’s exactly what I don’t want.

This isn’t any easy practice for me. I find it really hard to forgive, because I trust everyone wholeheartedly. I’ll give you the chance, but if you mess with me I will never forgive you – but now that’s changing.

I don’t want the people who have crossed me to control my life. I don’t want these people to hinder my ability to be open to love. I want to forgive and forget.

So, I’m really trying; trying harder than I ever have to let go of these feelings and to let these people go from my life.

Since my 2 and ½ year relationship ended last year, I started to think more about myself. I always thought this was a pretty selfish thing to do. Thinking about myself always felt bad. But I’ve begun to realize that if I don’t think about myself and sometimes put my needs in front of others I start to lose who I am. How can I be open to helping and loving others when I don’t

listen to what I want and need?

In order for me to be open to others and give my friends and family all the love they deserve is for me to let go of these negative feelings I’ve been carrying on my shoulders for so long. So it’s time to forget. Time to forget how much you hurt me. Time to forget how you once made me feel good and bad. All the people I feel who have ever wronged me are physically out of my life, now it’s time for them to be emotionally out of my life.

Changing the world one person at a time

2011-03-21T19:08:00.000-05:00

Raise your hand if you like to read depressing books. Now I can’t see any of you, so I expect to see a few comments about some of the books you’ve read that aren’t the fluffy, feel good kinda books.

I like reading these types of books, because a lot of the time they make you think; they expose you to issues, tough issues, which many shy away from. The book I’m reading right now is probably the most depressing book I have EVER read. It’s called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The writers of the book, Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, won the Pulitzer Prize for their tremendous work.

As the title suggests, the book talks about the violence and atrocities women are subjected to in poor countries. This book has opened my eyes to some of the most horrible things you could ever imagine – worse than death – and some of the most amazing stories of overcoming adversity I have ever heard. While the book tells stories of horror and wonderment all in one package, it spreads the word of the importance of educating women. As women become more educated the more they are able to fight back against the cruelties they face and make their own decisions.

While this book is definitely the most depressing piece of writing I have ever undertaken to read, it is also the most rewarding. To hear the stories about how women in very poor countries rise above stereotypes and fight oppression is amazing. To hear what goes on outside our North American bubble truly makes me feel so lucky to have been brought up here in Canada.

But it also gets me thinking about my sisters’ abroad, and what could I possibly do to help them in some way. According to the book, “more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century.” This stat is outrageous! I hope this blog post doesn’t scare you from reading this book, but encourages you to read it and want to help change how women are treated at home and abroad. Women everywhere need our help; we should do whatever we can, because we could have so easily ended up in their place.

Graduation, I can smell you you're so close

2011-03-10T21:22:00.001-06:00

Today was the second day of the IPPPs. For those of you who aren’t a part of the CreComm Mafia, the IPPPs are the Independent Professional Project Presentations. You’ll probably remember me telling you about the rock concert I put on, the Children’s Rehab Rockout, for the Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation. Well, today Christa and I presented our project to our peers, teachers, parents and supporters. This presentation marks the official end to this year-long-independent project. This means I am one step closer to graduating – yay!!

Before we presented today, we had to come up with a presentation, which had to include some sort of visual element. Christa and I produced a video to showcase the event night with footage shot by two amazing CreComms *hugs* Jeff Ward and Jérèmie Wooky. Let me tell you that putting this video together was pretty much a disaster. The editing part wasn’t hard the part, but all the technical difficulties we faced were a pain in the ass. I won’t bore you with ALL the problems we had, but let’s just say it was down to the wire, on the eleventh hour and any other cliché that demonstrates the fact it almost didn’t get done on time.

But I digress. The video got made and that is that. Since you all probably want to see it so bad I will post it on the blog sometime early next week. Most importantly, though, we presented today and it went as smoothly as I hoped. Christa and I were a little nervous. The nervousness only hit me when I was sitting a lunch with my parents. All of a sudden I felt, “oh, wow! In just a few hours I’ll be presenting my IPP to so many people that are important to me! Eeeekkk.” But it went off really well, and as far as I’m told I didn’t look nervous and I did an excellent job – except, Miss Sandra Klowak informed me, “My paper was shaking a bit.”

All you CreComms past and present know this means my IPP is done! And I am one step closer to graduating. I can’t believe it. It’s been what seems like a long road. First, three year of university. Then, 2 years of CreComm, which often times felt longer than my three years at university but a million times more fun.

I’ll miss you CreComm, but not enough to want to go back J. To all my instructors, thank you for all the valuable lessons you’ve taught me. And to all my classmates, you are all amazing people whom I’ve come to know and love. This is honestly the best thing I’ve ever done.

The Power of love

2011-03-01T19:42:00.000-06:00

I couldn't help myself, I love these cheesy karaoke videos

I was inspired to blog today after reading Caitlin MacGregor’s blog, lookingforloveonline.com.  For the last 8 months or so she’s been putting herself out there on online dating sites to see what all the fuss is about, and if you really can find your “true love” online.  As a newly single person, I too contemplated looking for love online.  I was actually surprised to find out that quite a few of my CreComm friends have also been trying the online dating thing.  Berea found a smoking, hot hottie who sounds like an awesome guy on plentyoffish.com.

I’m newly single, but by no means waiting for the one who got away to come back.  I’m completely over him, and I feel empowered to be a twenty-something-singe lady.  I’ve started checking out my options, but with the last month of school nipping at my heels I’m in no hurry to start anything serious with any one specifically – give me a couple of months, though, and I will probably change my mind.  So needles to say, I’ve stayed away from the online dating thing.  Maybe I’m not ready to deal with some of the weirdos that like to message good-looking, non-crazy girls – at least that’s how I like to think of myself.  Or maybe I still want to try the old fashioned way by going out there and meeting people face-to-face, and then maybe letting them say something dirty to me, LOL.

I feel like now more than ever I could totally go up to that hottie across the room and introduce myself.  It’s amazing how a break up can change a person.  Not a lot, but just enough to feel better about yourself and a lot more confident.  I’m no longer afraid to be alone, if that’s how things work out for me.  No longer will I settle for some guy that shows me a little bit of attention.  No longer will I suppress what I’m looking for in a person, because I’ve found someone.  It’s time to be a little selfish and start putting what I want in front of what someone else wants.  Ultimately, it’s my life and I have to live it and I want to make it as awesome as possible.

A blizzard can't keep Winnipeggers in

2011-02-25T17:30:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday the weather looked a little something like this.

crazy blizzard

And this was after a week of beautiful weather. I mean, beautiful. The sun was shining, the snow was melting – there was no windshield. Anyway, I digress, the point is that last Thursday on the worst day of the week Christa and I had our IPP event, Children’s Rehab Rockout.

But like the hearty Winnipeggers that most of us are, people braved the blizzard and reduced visibility to make it out to the Pyramid to get together and listen to five great Winnipeg bands. It was such an awesome night! All the bands did an amazing job; we even exposed quite a few people to bands they never heard before but really enjoyed.

Pizza from Presto Pizza

Prophet

Mas Headspace

Crowd at the Pyramdi

Rena from Power and J. Williamez

Acidscar

Belle Air

I want to thank our hosts Rena and Holly from Power 97 and Mr. Jeremy Williams, aka J Williamez. I also want to thank all the volunteers for braving the weather to help us and. My five bands; Mãs Headspace, Acidscar, Prophet, Belle Air and The Beasts for offering us their talents for free. Without you guys this event would have been nothing, and thank you thank you for not cancelling on me last minute! And to all the people who came out that blizzardy night to rock out to raise money for kids with special needs words cannot express my gratitude. You helped us raise $1,500 for the Rehabilitation Centre for Children Art and Jam Program, so kids with special needs can learn and love through art!

Photos courtesy of Denise Meilleur

Dreams keeping me up and keeping me thinking

2011-02-09T21:01:00.001-06:00

One week to go until my IPP event, the Children’s Rehab Rockout. Holy crap, only at week left?!?! Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday that it was last March and I sat in the Park Theatre watching the second years present their IPPs with sparkles in my eyes and a lump on my heart of what was to come in second year.

But here I am only one week away from the biggest project of my life to date and the end of my post-secondary education, at least for the time being. Next week I will for sure get into how excited I am, but this week I thought I’d talk about how my anxieties are manifesting themselves in my dreams.

I’m having stress dreams, and remembering every horrifying moment of them - I think. I’m the type of person who hasn’t remembered a dream in a LONG time; so long I don’t even know when the last time I remembered one until last week.

Last week was by far the worst yet. I woke up in a cold sweat around three in the morning after I dreamed I neglected my girlfriend’s baby. She had left the baby in my care and I forgot all about him. By the end of the dream he was crying bloody murder wanting me to change him, feed him or just plain pay attention to him. I was totally devastated by this dream; I thought this was some premonition to the fact that I was going to be a horrible mother. So I checked out the website Dream Moods. It said that forgetting about a baby means you feel over overwhelmed by the responsibility of taking care of somebody else, like the five bands playing at my event possibly.

Dream Moods in general says that dreams about forgetting signify life’s anxieties, an unconscious desire to leave something behind. All of which could be true but not all necessarily involving my IPP. This year has seen people leave from my life and will see the end of my time in school, so there really are quite a few important things that have left my life or will very shortly be leaving my life. This new chapter in my life is SUPER exciting; I’m finally ready to move on, let go and let love in. But obviously my subconscious isn’t quite ready to leave some things behind yet.

Learning Lessons on the Job

2011-02-02T17:52:00.000-06:00

So I so totally screwed myself when putting together a brochure for my work placement this January. The organization wanted a brochure to highlight the film side of their organization, so after talking to them about what they wanted – an old fashioned film kinda look - I set out to find some amazing pictures to fit the look.

After some searching on google images and looking through the organizations archived photos, I found exactly what I was looking for: a great photo of the outside of the RRC campus on Princess Street, some old fashioned film reels and the best, most amazing photo of Buster Keaton with an old video cam. So I started putting it together. I spent hours cutting out this picture of Buster Keaton to make it look just right and then added a shadow to make it look somewhat real. It looked amazing! Everyone was super excited about it and thought it looked great, until someone asked the question I should have asked myself days before.

American actor an filmmaker

“Do we know the copyright laws with this picture?!”

Me, “No. Damn it.”

The Buster Keaton photo is absolutely epic, and ever since we decided not to use that photo – the organization could potentially be fined $2,000 - it’s been so hard to find a replacement. Ugh I’m so mad at myself. I KNOW better than that. After a search that lasted WAY too long, the organization and I have FINALLY agreed on a photo we both like for the cover but we don’t love it.

At least I’ll know better next time.

Adventures in Ringette

2011-01-30T11:12:00.003-06:00

As some of you may or may not know I’m suppose to write a blog every Friday for school, but this week I’m a little late. As usual, I procrastinated because I really didn’t want to believe that I was back to school and back to doing homework. Today I woke up and said to myself, “there is 7 more weeks of school and then you’re done, so get your freaking act together.” I can really be persuasive when I want to be.

This week I’m going to do something I haven’t don before in my blog, I’m going to use pictures to talk about one of the first IPP events that went down this weekend. Ashton Friesen and Melissa Marlatt had their fundraising event for MS called Move Your Soul. It was a ringette tournament and social, and they literally knocked it out of the park. These ladies seemed so cool, calm and collected that it was impossible to know whether they were panicking a little on the inside, especially with all the youngins at the social last night.

Before you see some pictures, I want to tell you a little about the ringette tournament. I had NEVER played ringette in my life, and neither had the majority of our team. So for the first game we played Friday night we knew we were in trouble when the other team showed up with matching jerseys and we had yellow pinnies. We all felt like the Mighty Ducks in Mighty Ducks 1 and thought briefly of a moment of grandeur when we smoked our opponents, like they did at the end of the first movie. But sadly we had no Emilio Estevez and we never reached our full potential. Regardless of whether we lost both our games by like 7 points, tied or won, our team had an awesome time supporting the fight for MS and Melissa and Ashton – really that’s what it’s all about.

Go CreComm Pylons – I really want to know who chose that name, we could have thought of something way better.

The Pylons

Lauren's game face

My game face

Our team getting instructions on the rules

Me in action

Lauren celebrating something, but I don't think it was a goal

And you thought fourletterword was a bad thing

2010-12-07T10:24:00.001-06:00

This interview was an assignment for TV class. We were asked to interview an industry professional. Glenda and I interviewed Leanne Havelock who owns her Freelance company, Fourletterword Media. This was an amazing project to work on. Leanne is wonderful and very helpful, and we've finally learned all the elements that go into shooting and producing a video - shooting, sound, lighting and editing. Now it's time to take my skills and go out into the world!

Don’t blow in a dog’s face - unless you want to get bit

2010-11-26T16:19:00.000-06:00

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. Don’t blow in a dog’s face because it will bite you. Don’t ask me why I didn’t know this, but any time I’ve done this before dogs just squirmed and tried to get away – this apparently is not the case, especially if the dog is quasi-crazy and dominant.

So now I have this freaking ugly looking scratch on my face. But I guess we’re both responsible, because he should have know better and I should have know better – it’s a case of the should have known betters.

I was crazy upset at first, but when I had a chance to calm down I realized this was a valuable life lesson. Not only did I learn dogs don’t like this, but also that this lesson can transcend into my relationships with people both in and out of the PR profession.

One, if someone doesn’t like something stop doing it, because the last thing you want to do is ruin a perfectly good relationship or the chance of one.

Two, stay away from crazy people and animals. Sometimes a fight is just not worth fighting; so don’t even waste your breath.

And three, try, try, try your hardest not to piss people off especially ones with exceptionally large teeth and those who are your superior.

This ugly looking scratch on my face is now a constant reminder of how I should leave stuff alone, but only sometimes. Sometimes battles are worth fighting. However, the key is to know when it’s worth it, what price you’re willing to pay and what you’re willing to lose.

RRC Princess Street Campus, what’s the real name?

2010-11-24T12:52:00.000-06:00

Since I started school here last year and since even before that I’ve been calling the RRC campus downtown the Princess Street Campus. But it came to my attention last week that the campus might actually be called the Exchange District Campus. So what is the campus actually called?

I can understand why the college might have all these names flying out there for the college. The Exchange District Campus for one is an homage to the area and the combination of the old and new architecture. The Princess Street Campus, on the other hand, is a signifier of where the campus is and makes it easy for people to find. So how do you edit the name of a place to both blend it into the area and make it easy for people to find?

But wait, there’s another name to add to the list: Roblin Centre at the Exchange District Campus. Will this name become THE name for the campus, or will it just be another name people use?

Gleeful news conference

2010-11-19T17:41:00.000-06:00

The PR students put together a news conference on Thursday for the Broadcast J students. It was so much fun – for us PRs. If you don’t know about Broadcast J all I have to say is be very afraid. No, I’m kidding. It actually sounds like a really fun class, but it’s intense. The students have very strict deadlines to meet, and both Journalism and Media Production students are thrust out of their comfort zones and have to swap jobs very once in awhile.

Needless to say, there was a huge difference between the PRs’ experience at the press conference and the Broadcast J students’ experience.

First, I want to extend my kudos to Melanie for creating an excellent assignment. At the beginning she was so excited about the day of the press conference, but I had my doubts. Melanie, I’m sorry I doubted you. I thought it would be a lot more nerve racking then it actually was. But I digress; the assignment was actually super fun. In our group we created and put together a media kit. We did it all. We wrote the content, took the pictures, and created the design and concept for the media kit itself. We had a lot of fun. We ate candy and listened to music and literally did arts and crafts all day Tuesday.

Then came the day of the conference. After meeting at school bright and early at 8 a.m. to get ready, our news conference started at 11 a.m. I admit I was nervous, but once we started playing the soundtrack from the first season of Glee and every one in the room was dancing and having a good time all the anxiousness went away. I even did an interview with Kiran Dillion, and I think I did a great job. I stuck to my group’s key messages and had a lot of information to provide.

So while the PRs were tickled pink that it was all over, the Broadcast J students went about doing their thing. From what I hear it was hell. Most of the shooters and editors this week were Journalism students, and well some of them are more apt with shooting and editing than others. To be fair they don’t get a lot of chance to practice with final cut pro. There was some crying and sadly a lot of assignments that weren’t handed in on time. So while the PRs were hugging and eating candy, the poor Broadcast J students were quietly crying in their edits suites. Sometimes us PRs cry too. But the thing to remember is that CreComm hurls the worst at us, and hopefully when we get out of school and into the real world it really won’t be as bad – at least that’s what I tell myself.

Editing reality

2010-11-18T16:10:00.000-06:00

I’ve been sick the last couple of days, and like I’m sure you all know when you’re sick you really don’t want to do much – except lie on the couch and watch TV. There isn’t much to watch on daytime TV, so I find myself watching “reality” TV. Some stations are now entirely dedicated to “reality” TV, like Global reality and A&E.

But how real is the “reality” TV we watch? For example, is Chef Ramsey on Hell’s Kitchen really that mean or is it all an act? To be honest, I never really thought about how fake things on reality TV could be until I watch a CSI: Miami episode about a reality TV star that gets killed. Horatio and his team find out that every single thing on that TV show is a shame – even the characters aren’t who they claim to be. I know it’s only a TV show but it got me thinking. Before I might have thought certain things on reality shows were staged, but now I’m questioning the entire existence of “reality” TV. Needless to say, “reality” TV can’t get anywhere near as real as a documentary.

Here’s a thought, maybe it’s called “reality” TV because it changes the lives of real people. What do you think?

Remembering our veterans

2010-11-12T16:39:00.000-06:00

*this story is something I wrote last year but wanted to share. Lest we forget.

Quiet tears stained the faces of people at the Remembrance Day ceremony at Bruce Park on Portage Avenue yesterday.

As the parade of service men and women, family members of fallen solders and Girl Guides and Scouts of Canada made their way onto the grounds from Portage Avenue not a sound came from the crowd except the cries of a young child.

The service began with the singing of ‘O Canada’, and the flag that began resting at half-mast slowly made its way to the top.

The crowd this year was bigger than Muriel Barton has seen in awhile.

“We usually get over 1,000 people, but today because of the beautiful weather there was more,” said Barton, who has been involved with the St. James Legion branch number four for over 25 years. “I handed out around 700 programs, on top of the 700 my husband Bruce handed out, and there was still a lot of people that didn’t have one.”

After the opening prayer by chaplain Captain Gordon Mintz, Major Brian Slous read a somber thank-you to the veterans of the First and Second World Wars and a heartfelt message to the men and women serving in Afghanistan.

As the Canadian flag once again descended to half-mast during the Last Post, a young boy holding a portrait of a family member killed in Afghanistan buried his face into the arms of his silent family.

At 11 a.m. for two minutes not a word was spoken as the crowd silently thanked the men and women who put their lives on the line so that Canadians would never have to experience war at home.

Near the end of the ceremony, wreaths were placed on the war memorial that read, ‘Their names live on forever’. MP Pat Martin, representing the Government of Canada, laid a wreath in memory for all those who sacrificed their lives. MLA Bonnie Korzeniowski laid a wreath for the province, and Councilor Scott Fielding presented one for the city.

With the sun shinning bright, the solders gave their final salute and began the parade down Portage Avenue.

Editing my habits

2010-11-10T13:01:00.000-06:00

The other day I was asked to do a survey regarding my drinking habits. Now you may be thinking the survey was just asking about my “drinking” habits, but it included how much coffee, water, pop and alcohol I consume. So I was pretty honest about most things, but when I got to the section about how many servings of alcohol I may drink each week I really had to think about my answers.

This is another form of editing. While I don’t have any “issues” with alcohol, I still wanted to lower the number of servings. I edited my habits to so that the person on the other end of the survey didn’t send me an email with a link to AFM – even if the survey was anonymous. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to rack up the number of servings of alcohol you consume each week.

Canada's big PR issue the Russell Williams' case

2010-11-09T18:51:00.001-06:00

Over thinking headlines

2010-11-03T18:16:00.000-05:00

Part of this week’s headline assignment was to revise two of our own headlines from our blogs. Picking the bad headlines I wrote wasn’t hard, but I did find it challenging to revise them. I knew what I hated about my headlines, but it was difficult to figure out what was the best way to fix them.

The Canadian Press Stylebook provides a lot of useful information when writing a headline, but it can also be very daunting. The Stylebook says to be specific; give enough information about the story but don’t give it all away; use strong verbs, and the list goes on. But as I struggled to revise my headlines I tried to keep all these “rules” in mind, and come up with headlines I would find interesting but that a larger audience would also understand.

After working on this assignment, I realized how very important headlines are in the editing process. Not only does it sum up the basis of the story, but it also gets people interested in the story and the newspaper, website, journal or whatever as a whole. A headline is what sells, and if the headline editor doesn’t get it right people won’t be interested in reading what the publication has to say.

The Best Show for a Great Cause - Children's Rehab Rockout

2010-10-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

I know last week I promised more about Russell Williams, but my presentation was over 20 slides, and I really don't want to put all that on my blog. Instead, I thought I give everyone a little update about my IPP.

Like most of you know, I'm working with my partner, Christa, to plan Children's Rehab Rockout, a concert to raise money for the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation. So far things are going really well. I've got four bands on board so far, which makes me really excited. I have quite a bit of anxiety about the whole thing, though, because I'm terrified that some of them will end up cancelling on us. I'm staying positive, and I do have faith that the bands will show up and do an awesome job. But there is always that thought in the back of my mind that something WILL go wrong.

My next step now is to set up meetings with the bands that are onboard. I need to get them to sign a contract so they are, hopefully, less inclined to back out at the last minute. I also need to get some music and photos from them so that we can start our contest for "Winnipeg's best local band." I need to get that done in the next couple of weeks so that our website can get up and running - October is virtually over and before we know it the concert will be nipping at our heels.

One thing I'm really impressed with over the course of planning this event is the enormous amount of help from the foundation. On Tuesday for the first time, I met the new fundraising coordinator, Erin Kangas. Because of my job this summer, I never had the chance to meet Erin, but when I finally did I was overwhelmed with how amazing and helpful she is. She gave Christa and I some really positive feedback, and overall she is an amazing person. She offered to get me in touch with a lady who works with local bands in order to help fill the last spot. I couldn't believe how quickly she got in touch with the woman and directed her to me, so that I could answer any questions she had. Erin was also really impressed with the work Christa and I have done so far. I just want to say that Christa is doing an amazing job with the sponsorship stuff, so I have a lot to live up to. Erin thinks we are way ahead in terms of getting our stuff together. In the "real world" she said we are way ahead of the game, which is really nice to hear.

There is still so much to do, but at least I feel good about what we accomplished so far.

Mistakes we maybe don't want to fix

2010-10-27T12:42:00.001-05:00

What is one to do when they've printed out a bunch of promotional materials, like Red River College for example, and someone that they've used in their material changes jobs? Does one A) make the change and get the poster reprinted, or
B) leave it because they use to work there and that's good enough anyway?

This is precisely one of the issues I came across the other day when I saw one of RRC's promotional posters hanging in the atrium highlighting Ms Eva Kovacs. If you don't know, the RRC promotional posters highlight graduates, where they work and the position they hold. The poster with Eva says she's the co-anchor of Global Winnipeg's Prime News. Well if any of you ever watch Global News, you will know that Peter Chura has been the lone anchor since December. Eva has moved over to the "dark side." She currently works in the Public Relations department at the WRHA.

So RRC, what are you going to do? She was an anchor and that's cool, but now she works somewhere else; highlighting her new job will show the rest of Manitobans how versatile your grads are. Time to update RRC's promotional material. I wonder how many others are outdated?

"Canada's golden lie"

2010-10-21T22:32:00.000-05:00

I don't want to spoil my presentation on Tuesday, but there was some serious PR today on the part of the Canadian Government about the Russell Williams case. Both Prime Minister Harper and the Air Force made statements today regarding Williams. I haven't had the chance to really dig too deep into it yet, but from a quick google search the earliest statement that I could find from the Air Force was on February 8, 2010, the day after Williams arrest. Lieutenant-General André Deschamps, Chief of the Air Staff made the statement on behalf of the Air Foce, but there appears to be no other statements in the months leading up to Williams court appearance this week.

So it seems as if the the government and the Air Force were letting police take the lead on any comments to Canadians, and decided instead to keep their comments to themselves after Williams was convicted and sentenced off his 88 offenses. Now I'm not going to say too much more, because I have a lot more research to do and I don't want to spoil anything good I've found or might find for my presentation next week. Check out my blog next week when I post my presentation of my analyses on the PR surrounding this case.

OOOOOooopppppssss

2010-10-20T10:57:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, but I don't know if I have anything to say about editing this week. I'm trying to think how having a crappy week has anything to do with editing. I don't think it does. Maybe instead I'll talk about how disappointed I was with my own editing this week. Well not this week, but an assignment I got back this week.

Yesterday I got my PR communications strategy back. My good ideas where lost on the fact that my editing skills were crap. I'm not sugar coating it, I lost big marks because of it. How upsetting. How stupid. As I reread the document and the comments all I could think about was, "What the hell was I reading when I edited this?" It's hard to believe I actually spent time editing this document, because my editing sucked so bad. To be fair to myself, because I'm starting to sound like a Debbie Downer, all the attention I paid to proper names paid off - that's a bonus.

I find it amazing that you can spend an enormous amount of time editing something and there are still errors. It's funny how the eye plays tricks on you when you're brain knows what you wanted to say. The moral of this sob story, give yourself time and give yourself a break when editing so that you can catch all the little tricks your brain is playing on you.

33 miners freed, but what happens now?

2010-10-14T21:51:00.000-05:00

Over the last 30 hours, 33 Chilean miners were rescued from the San Jose copper and gold mine over 600 meters underground.

The rescue was absolutely amazing. Family, friends and countrymen gathered at the site in Copiapo, Chile, and over a billion people around the world watched and waited as each man came up to deafening cheers. According to cbc.ca, the rescue took only 22 hours and 39 minutes much quicker than the he original estimated time of 36 to 48 hours.

But what happens now? The mine collapsed because of poor conditions and lax safety standards. This time the Chilean government and the mining company, San Esteban, can’t put a band aid on the problem and make it go away. The whole world witnessed this ordeal, and the safety issues and overworked miners have become front and centre of the issue.

Now it’s time major public relations comes into play from the government and the San Esteban company. In a cbc.ca story updated October 14 at 10:59 a.m., Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said, “This mine will definitely never open again.” Pinera also acknowledged that his government will not allow safety issues to be ignored, and that the accident “will not go unpunished. Those who are responsible will have to assume their responsibility.”

Great. Pinera is beginning to restore his country’s faith in this ability to look out for THEIR best interests. Talking the talk is not all Pinera’s been doing to restore his country’s faith in his government. He’s fired top regulators, and created a commission to investigate the mine’s regulatory system and the San Jose mine collapse. He’s also been at the site. He’s talking with family, friends and miners; he’s working hard to be accessible to family members and the miners. Pinera was also one of the first people to greet each miner after they came up.

So what has the San Esteban company done to build relationships? From what I can see it’s not done much. On its website there is a link to a small story, but no mention of the collapsed mine its news section. Also company press releases can only been seen by logging in with a special username in password. Not very open and transparent.

As President Pinera works to better protect Chilean workers the company that employs many of them remains silent. Sooner or later the San Esteban company will have to issue something publicly. As a president and his country look for answers, and 27 of the 33 rescued miners are suing the company for negligence and compensatory damages San Esteban better speak up soon.

Editing more than words

2010-10-13T10:19:00.000-05:00

I’ve been thinking all week how editing works its way into our lives. Last week in class, Sandy brought up a really interesting point about editing a debate. I never thought about that before, I mean editing outside of writing. But editing is a part of everything we do. We edit our lives by keeping secrets and deciding whom we share them with.

We also edit photographs. We shape the poses and gestures of the models so they tell a story the way the photographer wants. We edit photos to show perfection or the impossible. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. This class is called Editing for Print and Online Media and my class after is called Image Editing.

And that’s precisely what we do. We’ve learnt how to create one holistic image out of many different images, and we’ve learnt how to manipulate objects and people to make them look exactly how we want. The image editor can take off years or pounds or blemishes simply by clicking on the right tool.

It’s amazing the amount of editing in suspected and unsuspected places, and it’s amazing how it can affect people in different ways. By re-touching a model a girl can feel ashamed about herself and idealize a look that’s impossible to achieve. But by putting together images of hungry children people feel inclined to give and that child gets a second chance.

Where do you draw the line?

2010-10-08T16:49:00.000-05:00

In business there is a fine line between the bottom line and pleasing the customers. Now just let me be clear, I don’t have an business degree and the closest I’ve gotten to a business is working in restaurants. But, I do believe that pleasing the customers to the best of your ability creates an excellent relationship between business and customer, which in the long run will benefit the bottom line. This is especially true for small business, because there is a much, MUCH smaller customer base.

For five years I have worked as a server/manger at a local St. Vital restaurant. Throughout my years of serving, I’ve notice that nine times out of ten customers appreciate you going the extra mile; not only in the tips they leave behind but the fact they return time and time again. So why would I not continue to help make my customers’ experience the best possible one they can get? As a public relations specialist, the goal is to meet or increase the businesses’ bottom line by creating valuable, long-lasting relationships with clients.

Last Friday, for example, I was at work and friendly couple came in to have a couple of drinks and some food. I could tell they were good for business – they ordered drinks, one of them a double, and a bunch of food. The guy ordered a plate of our famous nachos, and asked me if it would be ok if he substituted the salsa for an extra sour cream. No problem, until I went into the kitchen and told them what I wanted.

“You’ve got to charge them,” the guy said to me.

“You can’t be serious?!! They only want to swap.”

“Sour cream is more expensive.”

“I really don’t care. Give them what they want.”

According to the cook, my bosses informed the kitchen that anything more or extra needs to be charged for the bill. This is bull. I mean, what are they thinking? Money, money, money, mon-eh. The business has quite a bit of competition with some pretty serious companies, like earls and Montana’s, pleasing the customers should be common sense.

If you make the customers happy they’ll come back again and again and again. But where does that fine line end? When is it time to put the breaks on giving the customer whatever they want just to keep their business?

Feed the Sex Line?

2010-10-06T08:32:00.001-05:00

Regardless of whether you’re a sports fan, you may have heard of the big, BIG, B-I-G typo that hindered the fundraising efforts of Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.

On a box of Ochocinco's, that's a cereal in Ohio, there was a toll-free number that was suppose to connect people with the charity Feed the Children. Instead a single number error sent would be donors to a sex line where seductive voices answered the phone. OOPS.

Once the error was discovered late last week, Ochocino cereal was pulled from the shelves, but will be sold again once the mistake is corrected.

Ochocinco’s went on sale in early September so either no one called the number until recently, or no one has wanted to donate until last week.

According to the Detroit News, Ochocinco told a local TV station the number was CLEARLY a mistake and he’s sure the maker will fix the problem.

When was the last time a typo was big news, or even news for that matter?

Planning what? Confessions of a non-planner

2010-10-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

I've never been one to plan, anything. I just kinda go with the flow, and if it ends up biting me in the butt later than, well, I have no one to blame but myself.

Most of the time it works for me. I've travelled around the world and only one time did I have most of my trip planned out. Even then we deviated from the plan and almost missed a huge part of the trip, but there were unforseen circumstances, like our bus getting tear gased. But if we had stuck to the plan I guess that wouldn't have happened.

Let's take Tuesday as the most recent example. There was a bake sale at school and my boyfriend suggested that we make cream puffs, what were we thinking? Cream puffs need to be refrigerated, hence the cream part. Ok, covered. I brought a cooler to school and figured I'm set. NOT. A cooler is not a fridge. The cream melted and, of course, I didn't think to bring whip cream to school. So, with melted cream on the cream puffs, I set out to Young's Market on William to get whip cream. Needless to say that was a disaster, because not to many people had ever bought it. I was stuck with moldy Cool Whip - one of the grossest things I've ever come across. So the cream puffs were not all that creamy, but I'm told still super good. Ugh, stress.

But I digress. The point is I'm going in to the professional field of public relations, and it's high time I step it up and plan. I'm going to need to be prepared not only for my sanity, but also the fact that I need to keep my clients happy. I've heard other people mention that in second year CreComm Melanie talks about being prepared for EVERYTHING - absolutely everything - and having a "what if" kit. This kind of terrifies me. Not only because I'm not a planner and have NEVER really planned anything out in my whole life, but also what if I forget something? I don't even know where I'd begin.

Can a non-planner be reformed? I really hope so, because if I don't I have a long, hard road ahead of me.

Pencil marks

2010-09-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

What would you do if this were your assignment? Would you cry? Would you turn it over to see the next page?

Maybe not, but I did. I did, and I was pleasantly surprised to see what it said.

The comments say, “Way to go!” That’s right, Steve Vogelsang used an exclamation point. “Your best work so far!” Twice!

If you look closer you will see most of the editing notes are check marks – good job – or very good and really good.

Regardless of what most of the comments say, it’s daunting to see all that pencil on 438-word story. The fact of the matter is, though, that as a writer, a professional one to boot, there will always be small changes or big changes or comments that an editor will make to help IMPROVE a writer’s abilities.

As a writer learning that someone will always have something to say about your work or know how to say it better is a hard pill to swallow. But it’s best to choke it down because an outsider’s opinion can sometimes lead to amazing ideas.

...continued from Friday

2010-09-28T19:59:00.000-05:00

2010-09-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

I’m officially a videographer this week. Well sort of. For the first time this week, Nicki and I edited a short silent film we shot last week for continuity. It was totally amazing to put two different images of the same action together and have it tell a story. I don’t know if any of you reading this blog has done this, but it is a totally amazing feeling to know that you can tell a story with film.

(I wanted to include the silent film here, but it's taking forever and this blog is due at 6.)

Another notch on the old videographer’s belt is recording sound. Until today I had NEVER recorded sound. Before last week I didn't even fully comprehend just how important and difficult sound is. In first year, I filmed and edited a montage but that was just one music track and the continuity assignment was silent. This morning Nicki, Glenda and I finally took out the sound equipment to record a phone call. I held the boom mic over Nicki's head as she played her part, and watched as the audio levels peaked up and down - it's really important. Next week involves taking all we learnt, shot composition, editing for continuity and sound, and put it all together to create a piece that is officially a video.

I'm really excited to see how it all LOOKS and SOUNDS. If you had asked me two years ago if I ever saw myself doing or even liking this I don't if I would have said yes. This last year has opened my eyes to so many different things I could never have imagined.

What's the U about?

2010-09-22T08:38:00.000-05:00

“Dad, why do we use U in words like colour and neighbour?”

“I don’t know that’s just what we do. It’s kind of silly actually.”

That’s my dad, spoken like a true Canadian with British heritage – we have no freaking clue.

When you spell words like colour, flavour, honour there is always that little red swiggly line from your old pal spell check letting you know that word is spelt wrong, and if you’re like me you don’t change it. But do you know why? Maybe it’s something in our subconscious telling us that we, Canadians, spell these words with a U just to be different.

After a little research, I found that there is no earth shattering reason why we do this. The British do it this way so we do it this way. The website I found hints that Americans changed the language as a way of breaking free from the British – big shocker there. Canadians, on the other hand, continue to use the British spelling as a way of preserving a sense of heritage and tradition.

U isn’t the only thing Americans changed in the English language. Here are some others that even Canadians adopted:

British	American
aeroplane	airplane
aluminium	aluminum
arse	ass
bogeyman	boogeyman
fillet	filet
moustache	mustache
mum	mom
pyjamas	pajamas
scallywag	scalaway
speciality	specialty
titbit	tidbit

Why do you say paper jam when there is no paper jam?

2010-09-17T17:52:00.000-05:00

My printer is giving me a headache – a huge freaking headache. It keeps saying paper jam when there is no paper jam, or at least is there is no reason why there should be a paper jam. The paper is just sitting there nice and neat until it goes in the printer, and before it can even get half way done it jams. UGH, not again. Freaking paper jam.

The first time I notice how crappy this printer is was the other day when I had to print something out for school. I hit print and then I got an error message, “communication error.” Ok, let’s try this again. Print… “Communication error.” Why are you doing this to me, just print! Again and again I tried for about an hour. Press print then hold the paper as it feeds into the printer. “Communication error.” Shit. Then I tried to change the black ink cartage. “Communication error.” Ok, ok, let’s try changing the colour cartage too. “Communication error.”

After that I gave up. This is absolutely ridiculous. I’ll just print it out at school.

The day after fighting with the printer for over an hour, I decided just for fun that I would try to print something. Like a bad horror movie when the victim runs upstairs instead of running outside, and all the audience can do is yell, “don’t go upstairs – run outside,” the printer decided to work. That stupid, freaking thing worked – the first time.

Damn you printer! I’ll show you. I’ll go buy a new one and then take you out to the field behind my house and smash you to pieces just like they did on Office Space. Just wait, you’ll get your headache.

Edit me life why don't ya

2010-09-15T12:47:00.000-05:00

On Facebook people are always posting what they think, what they’re up to and just any random thought that comes to mind. Sometimes everything in the sentence is grammatically correct and sometimes it’s not.

I specifically remember a couple of posts I made this summer while tired or aggravated that may not have been up to the editing standards of my instructors at RRC. But whatever, I didn’t think I was going to get a hard time from anyone, because after all it’s a social networking site and not everyone is perfect all the time. I mean I wouldn’t post some of the comments or pictures a lot of people put up there - I’m not judging - why does someone feel the need to judge me?

I don’t remember what I said, but there was an error, not a huge error but an error nonetheless. A few people, who are only Facebook friends, made comments like, “Aren’t you in a writing program or something?” or corrected my mistake for me. I was so annoyed that I wrote a grammatically correct post with no spelling errors about how I’m human, and as long as I’m not handing in a project to an instructor or employer it isn’t the end of the world. We all make mistakes sometimes, but has Facebook and Twitter given people the power to make editing comments regardless of the medium?

Epicurious, you bet yah!

2010-09-09T11:26:00.000-05:00

Apps are everywhere. Apps can pretty much do anything you want, need and anything you can and can’t think of. As a Blackberry user, I found out with a tinge of sadness today that I’m missing out on some apps. When I search apps for my phone I don’t get the enormous array of possibilities that are available on iTunes for iPods and iPhones and iPads – I’m jealous.

Whatever.

I found an awesome app. It’s called Epi. It’s a free app from Epicurious.com, an online food magazine, which pretty much entails every thing that deals with food and eating it.

The app allows you to search from over 28 thousand recipes from top chefs, popular cookbooks and leading restaurants.

Identification principle

Epi answers the question “What’s in it for me?” by giving its users thousands of recipes at their fingertips. People are busy. Whether it’s a student swamped with schoolwork, a family busy running kids from play dates to piano lessons or a single guy planning a romantic dinner, Epi allows you to find recipes easily and create a list your of favorites so you can always find them. No more hunching over cookbooks or searching the web, you can find recipes anywhere.

Action principle

Epi not only helps users get recipes anywhere any time, it also makes preparing to cook easier with the shopping list feature. By putting in what you’ve got in your fridge, Epi will find the best recipe for any occasion or diet. If you do need something from the store, it creates a shopping list for you and checks off each item. If you can’t make it to the store, you can send shopping lists via email, so if someone is out and about they can pick up whatever you need.

Principle of Familiarity and Trust

Epicurious.com works together with familiar cooking magazines, like Bon Apétit and Gourmet magazine and use to have a cooking show on the Discovery Channel. By using recipes from cookbooks, chefs and restaurants we are familiar with it gains the users trust - we know it’ll be good. iTunes says Epi has already had 1.6 million downloads and was voted Best Mobile Application in 2009 by the American Society of Magazine Editors.

Clarity principle

Like I said earlier, I don’t have an iPod, that’s app compatible, iPhone or iPad so the only way I can really see the Epi app is to look at screen shots. It looks to be organized into what type of meal you want to make for any diet. Let’s say you want to make something with grilled meat. All you have to do is click on “grilled meat” and recipes with pictures will pop up. I love pictures because they always make my decision easier to make.

On top of making it easy to help you decided what to make, the shopping list function breaks down your list into sections, so when you are in the produce department you know what you need to get.

Now all I need is a 32G iPod.

The REAL power of words

2010-09-07T22:48:00.000-05:00

A single word can take on so many different meanings. Take the word REAL, for example. It can be used in many different ways. When you use the word REAL you usually intend it to mean one of the following:

1 actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed

• used to emphasize the significance or seriousness of a situation or circumstance

• Philosophy relating to something as it is, not merely as it may be described or distinguished.

2 (of a substance or thing) not imitation or artificial; genuine

• true or actual

• [ attrib. ] (of a person or thing) rightly so called; proper : he's my idea of a real man | Jamie is my only real friend.

3 [ attrib. ] informal complete; utter (used for emphasis) : the tour turned out to be a real disaster.

noun ( pl. reals or reis |rā sh; rās|)

the basic monetary unit of Brazil since 1994, equal to 100 centavos.

• ( pl. reales |rāˈäles|or reals) a former coin and monetary unit of various Spanish-speaking countries.

ORIGIN Portuguese and Spanish, literally ‘royal’ (adjective used as a noun).

Needless to say, words can be confusing, fantastic and multi-functional.

Editors like to play with the meaning of words. They take familiar words and use them in many different ways to make us think.

Five minutes away from my house is a little market gardener. Like all market gardeners, they sell mostly local produce. This local farmer, however, loves to advertise his home-grown goodness by calling it “REAL” - “REAL” corn, “REAL potatoes and “REAL” blueberries.

These signs annoy and intrigue me. Why would anyone call local produce “REAL” ______? What ever happened to using good old words, like local, farm fresh, homegrown? I mean “REAL”, really? Oh course, it’s real. I can feel it, see it and, most importantly, taste it.

Whoever chose this slogan thought of a way to get my attention and to get me thinking about their product with one word. This is the power of words. They can get us thinking and feeling about anything.

As an editor, it’s important to attract your audience with interesting words and visuals that stops them in their tracks. With all the competition in the market, it’s important to use whatever means you have to stick in the audience’s mind, and words can have a huge impact on getting your audience's attentions.

New blog, new look

2010-09-03T07:45:00.000-05:00

When I decided this morning to write my blog I knew I was going to move away from just writing about health and wellness to writing about things in my everyday life. I had no idea, however, that my blog would become entirely new, minus a URL change, this morning at 7:49.

First, logging in was a bit of a challenge. As you know, I have not blogged since school ended in May. So, needless to say I couldn't remember my password, which is a common occurrence - I forgot my twitter password too.

Second, the minute I finally logged on new templates popped up. I tried them all out to see which one would be a nice fit for this "new" blog. I decided to pick the one with the flying birds, because I though it fit in nicely with everything that is going on in my life and my new beginning after school this year.

This year is my fifth and final year of university/college, and I always want to look back on this year to remember the trials and tribulations I went through. This blog will be like a journal as I deal with CreComm, work, family, boyfriends, friends and everything else in between.

Stay tuned...

Quit smoking, now it's time to be serious

2010-04-23T13:25:00.001-05:00

A couple months back I saw a commercial for the birth control I take - Don't be surprised everyone I'm not saving myself for marriage. The commercial warned that there are some serious risks when taking the birth control, Yasmin. It was all the usual stuff, like women shouldn't smoke because of the risk of stroke. But it wasn't so much the risks as the fact that lots of women have been affect by the side effects after using this pill.

So, of course when I was at my Dr. I asked her about it. She said, "I wouldn't be worried about it, if you haven't had any problems at this point everything should be fine." Should be fine, what does that even mean? I expected her to tell me to quit right away, or what was I thinking smoking? But she didn't. So out of mind the worrying went, because why would I want to worry too much about something like that? After all, I'm young I'll be fine.

After a few months, the warnings came back to haunt me. While re-filling my prescription I noticed that right on the packing on a bright yellow sticker was the warning once again right in my face. It said, " Smoking while taking this pill can cause circulation and heart problems." Yikes, that scared the shit out of me especially after my mom had told me the day before that stroke and heart problems are prevalent on both sides of my family - good to know. I started worrying, I'm cold all the time especially in my fingers and toes, clear signals that my circulation isn't the greatest.

Needless to say this worries me a little bit. This brings me to two choices:

1. Stop taking the birth control, or

2. Quit smoking.

I choose option 2, quit smoking. This is a lot easier said then done. As some of you may remember I tried to quit smoking at the end of last term, so why not try again as this term and this year officially come to an end. Follow me as I try to quit smoking during the most toughest season to quit smoking - summer, patios and drinks.

Magazine writing isn't as easy as it seems

2010-04-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

Since it's the end of the year, I thought I'd stop nagging everyone about health and wellness and instead share with you some of the things I've done this semester. One thing I'm particularly proud of is my magazine article, "A Place to Call His Own". Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed, after some difficultly, writing it.

After losing his job two-years ago, Sean Keenahan felt lost. He copes with an intellectual disability and without the stability of his job he was struggling to see where he fit in. He knew he needed something to call his own, somewhere he could feel like he belonged.

So Keenahan decided to renew his lifelong love of sport by joining the Uptown Rollers, a Special Olympics 5-pin bowling team that practices at Academy Lanes

. Now two years later, he’s got a spot on this year’s provincial team and the excitement of an upcoming wedding to a teammate.

Growing up the friendly 43-year-old lived and breathed sports. From baseball to bowling, Keenahan enjoyed being part of a team and building friendships with his teammates.

“I like to play as much sports as possible,” said Keenahan, who reaches six feet tall and is built like a solid athlete. “I like the team atmosphere and the way we cheer on each other.”

The Special Olympics have been helping Manitobans with a wide range of intellectual disabilities for 30 years. It reaches across the province from border to border and goes as far north as Thompson. The goal is to create a community where its athletes feel a sense of belonging and build confidence so they can reach their personal potential through sport.

After only 2 years bowling at Academy Lanes, Keenahan made his way onto the provincial 5-pin bowling team for the 2010 Manitoba Winter Games in Portage la Prairie.

In order for athletes to participate in this year’s winter games they must compete in a regional tournament. Keenahan didn’t expect to compete and was caught off guard when his head coach, Yiu Lee, entered him in the event. Unlike previous regionals where any athlete over the age of 18 who met the competition criteria could sign up, they are now chosen and mentored by their head coach.

“Sean is a natural athlete,” said Lee, who’s been the Uptown Roller’s head coach since 2007. “He’s a excellent bowler with quite a high average.”

Going into regionals, Keenahan’s bowling average was 179, but he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He had to compete against athletes from Winnipeg’s seven other Special Olympics bowling teams and place in the top three in order to make the team.

At regionals, Keenahan didn’t think he was doing very well. After checking the scoreboard near the end of his second frame he saw that he was behind many of the other players. He resigned himself to the fact he wouldn’t get to this year’s winter games, but was happy he made it to regionals. But another athlete came up to him and said he had made the team. Still Keenahan was doubtful when he heard the news.

“Really? Uptown made it second? Really?” he reminisced.

But it didn’t take long for his shock to pass and the good news to sink in.

“I’m like, ‘oh my gosh, we’re one of the top teams.’ I was really thrilled about that,” he said.

While Keenahan was surprised how well he did, his teammate, Nancy Hamilton, back at Academy Lanes had no doubt his talent and perseverance would pay off.

“I’m really happy for Sean, because he’s been working really hard,” said Hamilton, a long-time Special Olympics bowler. “I’m going to cheer for Sean because I know he can do it.”

Another person he can count to cheer him on is teammate and finance Annette Cresswell. She and Keenahan met in 2008 at a Valentine’s Day function at Coronation Lanes just after he joined the program.

“I have a disability and I wanted to meet people like me,” said 46-year-old Cresswell, lightly squeezing Keenahan as she looks up at him with wide eyes.

After dating a year, Keenahan popped the question and the pair will tie the knot in 2011. While it may be hard for them to articulate their feelings for one another Keenahan gazing at Cresswell taking her turn to bowl says it all.

Two yeas ago it may have hard for Keenahan to see how much he had to look forward to, but now he’s got a team and a fiancé who are behind him every step of the way.

“Going into provincials,” he said, “I’m hoping to do my best and do what I can for this team and for the bowling alley.”

march 25

2010-03-25T23:37:00.000-05:00

Is there something you’re so afraid of that just the thought of it makes you cringe, shake your head in disgust and then cover in eyes?

I’m terrified of snakes and spiders. I'm also absolutely terrified of someone opening the door while I'm flying on a plane. I realize that the former are fears are extremely common among people, but there is something about the slithering and the creeping and the crawling that curls my skin like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Over the years, I’ve talked to people about what they’re petrified of, and I find myself surprised at the number of people who have “phobias” and what they are. Some are afraid of the sound balloons popping and I even know a girl who is terrified of the word coupon - what?

Phobias can be nothing more than shying away from whatever it is your afraid of. But if it takes over your life it's become a mental health issue that needs to be addressed in order to stay healthy.

The snow is gone, but is it too early to celebrate?

2010-03-17T00:03:00.000-05:00

This weekend was GORGEOUS and the week is shaping up to be much of the same. On Saturday the temperature reached a snow melting ten degrees, plus ten! Most of the snow around the city and all the snow in my backyard is gone, really gone, and it’s only mid March. As you can imagine, I’m really happy about this. So happy in fact that getting into a fight with my boyfriend and having difficulties with the ENG cameras were only minor inconveniences. This lead me to wonder, are people happier when it’s nice outside? Of course they seem like they are, but are they?

I mean I’m happy in the winter when we set our clocks back an hour and not when I lose an hour when the clocks move ahead. But, this doesn’t last long because there is less daylight, and when it gets dark outside I’m less motivated to do, well, anything. I’m much happier, however, when it’s warmer and a lot less likely to let anything get me down.

Like the other day I was talking to my grandma and we were talking like we always do about the weather. She said to me, “I won’t be surprised if we get a snow storm before it gets too nice.” “Really, grandma,” I said. “Even with all this El Nino stuff?” Oh course, she went on to say. This made me feel a small tinge of apprehension. Yuck, I didn’t want winter to come again after it just went down the drain I just started to feel a lot better about, well, everything.

I wanted to find out just how much the weather affects emotional health, so with the help of Google Scholar, I found an academic paper on the winter blues called Winter Blues: A SAD Stock Market Cycle. And you’ll never guess what the first few lines of the paper say. It says “Depression has been linked to seasonal affective disorder, (that’s what SAD stands for) a condition that affects many people during the seasons of relatively fewer hours of daylight.” Wow, this is actually a disorder. Then I started to wonder, what can be done about this? Move somewhere warm 12 months a year; that’s not going to happen anytime soon. So then what? What can we do to help alleviate seasonal affective disorder?

Olympics bring Canadians together like never before

2010-03-01T10:03:00.000-06:00

The 2010 Winter Olympics have come to an end. After 17 days of events, Canada truly owned the podium winning a record breaking 14 gold medals at home creating a sense of community among a nation that has struggled to feel united. One question that seems to be on the mind of many is, does Canada feel more united because of the games? Personally, as someone who watched ridiculous amounts of Olympic coverage, I feel that Canadians are more connected after these last 17 days because of the sense of pride we feel towards our athletes regardless of winning a gold medal or any medal at all. I am amazed that a sporting event can bring a country together.

As a Canadian I feel like it's always been a struggle to unite the country because of the enourmous geographic distance between us as well as a lack of identity among us. But somehow sport seems to bridge the gap between people who have little in common. As Canadians around the country and the world sat in front of their TVs or stood in the stands in Vancouver, I believe we felt like we where achieveing a common goal; We wanted our athletes to do the best they could and we wanted the rest of the world to experience the amazing and wonderful things that we love about our country.

I wonder would it feel different if the Olympics were held in a different country? Did having the games at home create a magnitude of feeling that just cannot be replicated any where else?

Feeling the burn while in the comfort of your home

2010-02-23T22:23:00.000-06:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the gym. With such a busy school schedule it gets hard to make that trip. I plan to go an hour and I end up spending 2 hours by the time I get there and back and cleaned-up. So instead of going to the gym, I’ve decided to work out at home with Beachbody’s P90X extreme home fitness program. This work out is a butt-kicker. It works using muscle confusion to ensure your body pushes past a plateau in your workouts and moves beyod boring workouts. That means when you’ve worked out the chest you then go ahead and work on your back. The program includes 13 DVDs to work out the butt, the back, chest, arms, cardio, abs and flexibility in all sorts of different ways while pushing your body to its limits. The DVDs focus mainly on using your own body weight as resistance to build strength, power and endurance, and every once in a while throws in dumbbells for a little something extra.

Now these workouts are tough. The toughest I’ve ever done. I’ll admit I’ve never had the guts to push my body to the extent P90X does, but now I’m willing to try. I’ve just finished my first week of the program and I was sore every day. But I pressed on even if I couldn’t finish all the different moves or had to modify some of the exercises so I could actually do them. 6 days a week this program works you out hard. In the first week I kinda dreaded doing the workouts, but after I finished I felt awesome and glad I got through it.

The creator behind P90X is Tony Horton. He’s a great guy to have around when I really want to quit. He keeps me motivated by yelling through my TV: telling me to keep going, add more resistance or that I’m half way there. Before P90X I would go to the gym to do my thing and get out. I never had anyone but myself to get motivated and work hard, and now that I think about it I may have just half-assed it.

So I know I just started, but so far I love using this program. I get my hour work out done and then can get right into all the school work I need to do - this is the best thing about it. P90X may not be the workout for you, but I think the important part is to make time anyway you can to get some exercise into your life. Home workouts are a great idea, because they give you freedom and flexibility to workout any time you want. There is lots of great workout DVDs out there to help you burn calories and build strength at home, so give one of them a try. It can be cheaper than joining the gym, and if you don’t like one just switch to another with no cancellation fees.

Facebook and Twitter, what's the difference?

2010-02-12T15:37:00.000-06:00

This week, Melanie asked the pr class to blog about the differences between Facebook and Twitter beyond the 140 character limit. While both are very helpful to get messages across to friends and target audiences the way both go about it are through very different ways.

First of all, after I speaking with my friends I found out that a lot of them use Facebook and not Twitter. Personally, I have both Twitter and Facebook pages, but I haven't used my Twitter page since before Christmas break. I think this speaks to the fact that Facebook is where people go to form online communities and share aspects of their lives, whereas Twitter is about sharing info that is dynamic. I say this not only from my experiences with both, but through other people I've talked to about their use of both sites share. A lot of people use Twitter as a way to get their news. Others, like what Melanie preaches to us, use Twitter as a means to see what people in their profession are doing and as a way to be on the up and up.

Facebook, on the other hand, is about connecting with old friends and making new friends. It's also a way to keep an online album of yourself so that people you haven't seen in awhile can see what you've been up to a vice-verca.

While both are similar in that they allow for their users to share information, they can be used to form different relationships. Twitter is a get your message out type of tool, whereas Facebook is about building lasting relationships.

Radio dramas anyone?

2010-02-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

Have you heard of this thing called the radio drama? Up until I became a CreComm student I had never heard a radio drama. I didn’t even know they still existed after being usurped by TV. But apparently they do, and since we’re devoting a good chunk of creative writing class time to the creation of one people must still care. But who listens to these things? I haven’t heard of anyone in their 20s ever say anything about them, or for that matter their 30s, 40s, or 50s. But maybe it’s because I never asked.

Having never heard a radio drama, oh I don’t know, before last week, I’m surprised we learn about it at school because I don’t feel it’s something people in my generation, I’m almost 25 by the way, can connect with. Most of us don’t listen to the radio and when we do it’s in the car flipping through stations desperately looking for one that isn’t in the middle of a 15-minute commercial break. But I think radio dramas might have gotten too quick a shove out the door.

I think a radio drama would be a lot like reading a book, but some one else is the one that’s doing all the work. The medium of radio is a visual one, and dramas create those visual through voices and sound FXs. In the 21^st century we have what I think is a new version of the radio drama, we have audio books that re-create the characters in the story and the feel of the story. But I don’t think enough people take advantage of these audio books, because like the decline of radio people are more interested in seeing the visual instead of imagining it for themselves, and with the internet quickly becoming the centre of how most people communicate and watch TV the auditory mediums are something, I fear, that will be lost from our society.

Let it snow

2010-01-29T10:02:00.000-06:00

Just like the weather, I can’t decide whether I want winter to officially make its mark or have spring get here as soon as possible. But regardless if I’m ready, winter finally reared it’s ugly head with Winnipeg's first blizzard of the season and temperatures hitting -30s. Like many Manitobans, I hate the cold. But as ironic as this may sound I love winter sports, ugh. One of my new favorite winter activities is snowshoeing. I love how I can go wherever I want and don’t need to follow tracks and go through any amount of snow I want.

For Christmas, I got a fancy set of Atlas snowshoes and with all the mushy weather and bad scheduling, I haven’t been able to make it out. But now after parts of Manitoba got a 30cm snow dump this weekend I ready to go out. Hitting the snow is a fun workout and way to enjoy the winter. While winter seems to last 8 months out of the year why not take make the best of it instead of hibernating inside and putting on those unwanted winter pounds.

Controversy in the chamber

2010-01-19T11:58:00.000-06:00

The Rachel Brown Theatre on Bannatyne was a packed house Friday night for the second showing of In the Chamber, but I have to wonder if the show was sold out because of the 50 odd Red River CreComm students?

Regardless, each seat was full with people eager, or anxious, to see the play written and performed by Steven Ratzlaff and Gordon Tanner. I’ve got to tell you, I went to the play not expecting much, and I still don’t know how I really feel about the whole thing.

The play was two acts with each of the writers performing a monologue. In the first act, Gordon Tanner gave his monologue in front of a video camera destined to find its way to his big boss of some multi-national hog farming business. Tanner spoke about how the animals are treated at these farms, and how research has concluded that hogs really don’t need much in the way of space to stay healthy. What I enjoyed about his monologue was the compelling research and information about what goes on. His character was an employee of the company, which made his comments and accusations all the more believable. I was also shocked to find out just how little space is given to the hogs in their pens as Tanner knelt in the small space he described as being the dimensions of the cage.

But what I didn’t like about it was the jargon, the long tangents Tanner went on as he dealt with his mixed feelings about the whole situations. He would make a good point and then get distracted by his thoughts leaving me struggling to keep up. After about 20 minutes of this I gave up. The dialogue was way too long-winded and the writing did nothing to interact and engage the audience. Another thing I disliked about Tanner’s monologue was his use powerpoint. With the stage lights lighting up the set I had to squint to see what was presented on the screen.

While there were some things I did and did not like about the first act, I can tell you for sure I didn’t like the second act. Steven Ratzlaff took the reins and began to delve in the very controversial and difficult subject of health care in this country. Let me just say, I had no idea what Ratzlaff was talking about. I know his character had lost a child and then went to work for the very industry his wife believed killed his child – wow. Either way, all I have to say is the system isn’t perfect, but what system is? The system allows Canadians equal opportunity to get the health care they require, but it struggles to keep doctors in the country and keep up on all the new medical technology – even though I think we’re doing pretty good. But how can you compete with our neighbour to the south who offers limitless money and resources for doctors, because it’s the individual who pays and they will pay any amount of money. In a capitalist society, how can you blame doctors for only getting what they deserve for all their years of education and hard work? But think of the millions of people in the states who don’t have health care, and don’t even have a chance to pay for the treatments they need to survive let alone the services of a family doctor. Private health care will not make our system better; it will only make it worse.

I felt the play was boring and lifeless, but I blame it on the writing. I thought the actors did a wonderful job trying to explain extremely complicated and difficult subjects. Tanner and Ratzlaff made excellent points and brought up topics that many people might not know anything about, but the dialogue fell short of keeping the audience wanting to hear more.

Fibre 1, is it your best source of fibre?

2010-01-14T21:34:00.000-06:00

How much fibre do you get everyday? Do you get the 21-38 grams of fibre/day that is recommed by Health Canada? Chances are you don’t. According to Rennie Benedict, registered dietician, most Canadians only get around 12 grams/day. According to an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted in October 2009, one in four Canadians believe they aren’t getting enough fibre. When asked how much fibre they consume each day only 16% said they consumed 25grams and 60% had no idea how much fibre they consumed each day.

But fibre is super important in order to be in good health. It helps keep you fuller longer, because of its bulk. There are two types of fibre: insoluble fibre and solubable fibre. Insoluble fibre is found in the skins, peels, seeds, and roots of fruits and vegetables. This type of fibre helps bowel movements flow nice and smooth, and may decrease the risk of colon cancer and gastrointestinal disorders. The second, soluble fibre, works to control blood sugar levels and reduce cholesterol levels. Soluble fibres are in oats, oatmeal, beans, and fruits like apples, strawberries, and citrus fruits.

The point of all this is that fibre is crucial to include in your diet. So crucial in fact that a lot of companies, like General Mills, started to make great tasting snacks to help people get their daily recommend intake of fibre. Fibre 1 is a great tasting fibre bar drizzled with chocolate or caramel with tasty chips inside. From just one fibre bar, General Mills claims that you’ll receive 20% of your daily intake. But just how good are these bars for you? The first ingredient on the package is glucose-fructose, which is just the scientific term for sugar. As you keep reading, you’ll find the whole grained rolled oats, crisp rice, and barley flakes; but in between are these huge, unpronounceable names that most people don’t know what they are. So I decided to take a look into some of them and what I found changes the way I look at these bars. But decided for yourself.

High Maltose Corn Syrup (concentrated sugar)

· Largely suspected that it is a contributor to American obesity, diabetes, and other blood sugar ailments because it is found in so many of the foods we eat.

· Limit dietary intake

extremely high amounts are bad

· Research has shown that it’s no worse than regular sugar. All sugars should be consumed in moderation

· Corn syrup is not natural and it may contain mercury

Honey Glycerin

· Sweet tasting

· Most commonly used in soap and other beauty products

Palm-kernel oil

· Extracted from the seeds of the oil palm, a tree native to Africa.

· Not really healthy. It is extremely high in saturated fats and low in essential fatty acids. In other words, it’s not good to have it in your diet.

· Straight palm oil is much healthier, but palm-kernel oil is cheap.

Maltodextrin

· Is produced from corn, potato, or rice.

· Considered to contain fewer calories than sugar.

· Used in all types of foods from canned fruits to snacks.

· More easily digested than regular sugar, so scientists believe it no does cause as many health issues, which could be a good thing for people with type 2 diabetes.

· Has less than four calories per gram and extremely small amounts of fiber and protein.

Monoglycerides

· Is hydrogenated oil/fat, usually know as “trans fat”.

· This is something in the ingredients that should be avoided.

Tocopherols

· Also known as vitamin E

· Fat-soluble antioxidants

· Protects red blood cells

If you want more information from people who have more knowledge than me or just a good opinion check out these other sites:

Diet blog

Fitness Mantra

Cheap Eats

A hypnotizing public relations event

2010-01-08T11:50:00.000-06:00

The mind is a mysterious thing. The way we feel and think affects every aspect of our lives. But people tend to neglect the importance of their mental and emotional health and spend more time bettering their physical health. Mental and emotional health is difficult to understand and I think intimidates people. For many years problems with mental and emotional health have stigmatized people with being crazy. But things are changing. Society is beginning to urge people not to disregard mental and emotional health issues, but instead nip them in the butt.

One way in which people try to find out what’s going on in their minds is through hypnosis. Hypnosis can help people get over their fears, quit smoking, deal with confidence issues and many other matters of the mind. On January 4, 2010, World Hypnosis Day, a British hypnotist named Chris Hughes organized Socialtrance, a hypnosis session on Facebook and Twitter. Hughes was trying to set a Guinness World record for the biggest online hypnosis session. Over 31,000 people from 85 different countries logged onto to the session. Hughes attempted to test the power of his hypnosis by locking together participants hands and making it impossible for them to open their eyes. Hughes’s goal was to help people have more self-confidence and motivate them to achieve their goals in 2010. By January 5, 17 hours into the session, lawyers stepped in and cancelled the event due to their concerns participants would get stuck in the trance. However, Hughes still feels the event was extremely successful. He said he has received over 1,000 email from participants saying how amazing the experience was and how they would have never tried hypnosis if it wasn’t for this event. Even if the session was stopped by lawyers, Chris Hughes achieved his goal of educating people about hypnosis and getting them to try something they normal would not have.

Thanks to this event Hughes received coverage is British newspapers and online as well as getting the hypnosis community interested and talking about him.

I feel like I'm all alone

2009-12-16T15:21:00.000-06:00

The other night, I was out with some girlfriends for Thursday at the Marion. At one point I found myself all alone. All of the five girls I was with went outside for a cigarette, except of course for me. Now, I'm not going to pretend I haven't had a cigarette because I have, but I have max one a day and I usually only do have one when I'm with my friends who are all smokers. Being the one left behind made me realize I need help to quit. I don't think I can rely only on my ability to resist - I need like a nicorette or I've heard about these thrive lozenges. I need just a little something to take the edge off when I'm left feeling awkward by myself in a crowded room of people I don't know.
Does anyone have any advice about what's a good stop-smoking aid? I like to hear your opinions on effectiveness, side-effects, and price.

One week, almost, and I'm doing fine

2009-12-09T17:13:00.001-06:00

A lot of you sound surprised that I smoke. And yeah, it's even crazier that I'm so in to health and wellness but yet I'll inhale poison into my lungs. But the truth is I'm not a heavy smoker. The amount I smoke varies like a graph of this year finances, but I do it none the less. Or should I say did it.

I found out something this week, which I wasn't all that surprised to find out, my smoking triggers are when I work and when I drink. And while I can't give up either of those I have to learn to deal. So, I won't lie. I smoked a little this weekend. But, it could have been worse. On Friday night I worked and had one then. It was a temporary lapse, but the only way I get a break is if I have a cigarette. It's almost become like a habit with another habit. If I break this cycle I'm golden.

Another time I smoked this weekend was when I was out Saturday night, but I only had two. I've got to say I was pretty proud of myself; hanging out with my friends who are smokers and not having more than that.

I'll keep posting my journey to quit.

I'm quitting smoking

2009-12-03T21:51:00.000-06:00

It's Thursday at 9:52 p.m. and I've decided to quit smoking. Ok, I've decided that I would quit more times then I'd like to admit, but today, tonight is the time. I'm ready, at least I think I'm ready. I along with many others find it extremely difficult to quit smoking. What is it, beyond the addiction part, that makes it so hard? Is it that I think I look cool because movie make it look so freaking good? Am I afraid to gain weight? Or have I really associated reliving stress with smoking a cigarette? The latter is why I've failed so many times in the past. But this time is the right time. I'm ready. I've started to hate the things the bad things about smoking more than the excuses I make to continue smoking. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

My blogs continues to be off topic - Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert review

2009-12-03T21:34:00.000-06:00

It’s hard to believe Christmas is only weeks away.

While Winnipegger’s bask in unusually warm weather, the only telltale sign of Christmas are the lights strung around lampposts on Main Street. But snow or not, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) put Winnipeggers in the Christmas spirit Monday night bringing the world’s biggest light show back to town.

As the temperature reached a surprising 10 C, the crowd of over 8,500 at the MTS centre got their first taste of the approaching season. After 11 years on the road performing its winter tour, TSO still rocked its enormous holiday repertoire with help from a killer light extravaganza.

Pyrotechnics heated up the place. Green lasers descended from the stage, engulfing the crowd with light. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, hundreds of coloured lights danced to the wail of instruments and voices. If Pink Floyd were there, they’d have been on their knees shouting, ‘we’re not worthy’.

For almost three hours, beer lines were empty. Not even a lineup for the bathroom. Instead the crowd stared unblinking, mouths open on the sight before them.

The show began just after 7:30 under a shroud of darkness. The only sound came from lone violinist, Roddy Chong, dressed in a black tuxedo adorned with coat tails. His white violin wailed. As he jumped around the stage hammering out Christmas tunes, like Oh Come All Ye Faithfull and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, the traditional stillness of the music was blown away.

It was easy to forget Silent Night is a holiday favorite among carolers. Instead of a group of tuque-clad singers, headbanging guitarists took their place. But behind the longhaired guitarists, a string section from Winnipeg’s own Symphony Orchestra kept the outright rock flavor from spinning out of control.

These musicians regularly pay homage to classical music. But on this night, they accompanied the erratic commotion of rock music with a peacefully soft tone creating an electrifying genre.

While the music exploded from the stage, two male vocalists occasionally took over hypnotizing the audience. Former Journey vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto’s, leaped between octaves like a kid playing hopscotch. The other, husky baritone Tommy Farese guided the crowd through the Christmas tale.

The first half of the show was dedicated to TSO’s holiday albums Christmas Tales and Other Stories and The Christmas Attic. A single narrator led the audience through the holiday selection by regaling the crowd with stories of angels. The story was difficult to follow because it came between songs leaving the audience struggling to remember what had happened before.

While the music reminded the listeners of the nearing holiday season, over 90 minutes of Christmas tunes left the crowd itching for something new.

After playing for an hour and a half straight, TSO took a quick break as New York vocalist Farese introduced the more than 20-member band.

Finally, without missing a beat, TSO gave the people in the stands what they came to see. They pounced into renditions of classical symphonies from their new album Night Castle. With tickets ranging from a mere $25 to $66, TSO left the audience with their hard earned money for the holiday season.

CHECK this OUT

The benefits of Twitter

2009-11-27T13:15:00.000-06:00

I'm new to twitter. So far it's a really useful tool for school; I can see what classmates are up too and follow people in the industry.

Ok, this is my attempt to write a blog in 140 characters or less, but, man, it's hard. I always have so much to say. But now that I think about, maybe it will be a way for me to practice putting what I have to say in the least amount of words possible. So far it's not going too well - 425 characters.

Elevators just aren't that fun anymore

2009-11-19T20:12:00.000-06:00

Hey guys, has anyone noticed the take the stairs challenge at RRC Princess campus? I bet you all have, and some of you are just ignoring it – Jérèmie Wookey and Jeff Ward. You have no idea the benefits to your heart and your waist simply by taking the stairs every time you go up. I know you’re probably thinking who cares; I’d rather deal with awkward silences than walk flights of stairs. But the truth of the matter is that taking the stairs gets the blood flowing, just like we’ve been talking about, and makes you feel good that you did, at least, a little physical activity for the day.

I can hear people at home going, but Kiley if we all decide to take the stairs the stairway will get way to crowded; then taking the stairs will be like dealing with rush hour traffic in Winnipeg. Well, I really don’t know what to say, except, there are way more stairs on campus, two per building in fact, than there are elevators. So, get your butts in gear and get up those stairs because if you’re not injured, disabled, or below three and above 80 years old you can do it, I have faith in you!

Weekends are for rest and relaxation, so gosh darn it use them

2009-11-09T21:35:00.000-06:00

After another week of CreComm the weekend has arrived. Weekends are a great way to put the past week and the week ahead into perspective. They give you a chance to relax rejuvenating your mind, body, and soul. It’s important for your mental and social health’s to use your weekend to your advantage. Clearing your mind of stress is a great way to become more productive; you can think more clearly about the work ahead, and leave you open to finding inspiration. Whether you sit at home reading or watching TV, or go out and enjoy the wonderful weather use your weekend to forget about whatever’s been stressing you out and spend time on you.

Do you know how important your mental and emotional health is for you? Check out this website at helpguide.org to find out for yourself.

Challenge yourself to eat local

2009-11-06T16:45:00.000-06:00

Pull-up your socks Manitoban’s and challenge yourself for the month of November to eat within a 100-mile radius of your homes, or more specifically 160 kilometers. The 100-Mile Challenge encourages people to buy and eat local foods. It’s amazing how far the food in our grocery stores travel simply to end up on our plate, and while thinking about that think about the insane amount of energy that gets used to get our food from point A to point B. On average the ingredients on our plates have traveled at least 1500 kilometers.

Winter is coming meaning local food will be harder and harder to find; Peak of the Market is a good place to start, but try to do a little of your own research and find farmers close to you that can provide you with some of their foods and I’ll make it a bit easier for you just click here and go to farms and stores.

I found 11 reasons on Manitoba's 100-Mile Challenge website why you should challenge yourself with the diet.

1. Taste the difference. At a farmers’ market, most local produce has been picked inside of 24 hours. It comes to you ripe, fresh, and with its full flavor, unlike supermarket food that may have been picked weeks or months before. Close-to-home foods can also be bred for taste, rather than withstanding the abuse of shipping or industrial harvesting.

2. Know what you’re eating. Buying food today is complicated. What pesticides were used? Is that corn genetically modified? Was that chicken free range or did it grow in a box? People who eat locally find it easier to get answers. Many build relationships with farmers whom they trust. And when in doubt, they can drive out to the farms and see for themselves.

3. Meet your neighbours. Local eating is social. Studies show that people shopping at farmers’ market have ten times more conversations than their counterparts at the supermarket. Join a community garden and you’ll actually meet the people you pass on the street. Sign up with the 100-Mile Diet Society; we’ll be working to connect people in your area who care about the same things you do.

4. Get in touch with the season. When you eat locally, you eat what’s in season. You’ll remember that cherries are the taste of summer. Even in winter, comfort foods like squash soup and pancakes just make sense – a lot more sense than flavorless cherries from the other side of the world.

5. Discover new flavors. Ever tried sunchokes? How about purslane, quail eggs, yerba mora, or tayberries? These are just a few of the new (to us) flavors we sampled over a year of local eating. Our local spot prawns, we learned, are tastier than popular tiger prawns. Even familiar foods were more interesting. Count the types of pear on offer at your supermarket. Maybe three? Small farms are keeping alive nearly 300 other varieties – while more than 2,000 more have been lost in our rush to sameness.

6. Explore your home. Visiting local farms is a way to be a tourist on your own home turf, with plenty of stops for snacks.

7. Save the world. A study in Iowa found that a regional diet consumed 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet bases on food shipped across the country. The ingredients for a typical British meal, sourced locally, travelled 66 times fewer “food miles.” Or we can just kept burning those fossil fuels and learn to live with global climate change.

8. Support small farms. We discovered that many people from all walks of life dream of working the land – maybe you do too. In areas with strong local markets, the family farm is reviving. That’s the whole lot better than the jobs at Wal-Mart and fast-food outlets that the globalized economy offers in North American towns.

9. Give back to the local economy. A British study tracked how much of the money spent at a local food business stayed in the local economy, and how many times it was reinvested. The total value was almost twice the contribution of a dollar spent at a supermarket chain.

10. Be healthy. Everyone wants to know whether the 100-Mile Diet worked as a weight-loss program. Well, yes, we lost a few pound apiece. More importantly, though, we felt better than ever. We ate more vegetables and fewer processed products, sampled a wider variety of foods, and ate more fresh food at its nutritional peak. Eating from farmers’ markets and cooking from scratch, we never felt a need to count calories.

11. Have more fun while traveling. Once you’re addicted to local eating, you’ll want to explore it wherever you go by trying the local ingredients used by the people themselves.

What I love about blogging and why you should start one if you haven't already

2009-10-27T11:52:00.000-05:00

Blogging has become the means for people both young and old to express themselves. Once upon a time, people were confined to whatever space the editor had available in a newspaper. Now there is an infinite amount of space to say what needs to be said, and a number of ways to get your message out there.

This year's PR assignment to create a write a blog every week was the first time I had ever thought about blogging. Unlike many people in their 20s and 30s, I am completely clueless when it comes to the internet. Sure I know how to send an e-mail, check my facebook, and search the web, but when it comes down to actually using the internet to my advantage I chose to stay away – I’m paranoid about screwing up my computer. But I was thrust right into the heat of things with this assignment; in class we set-up our blogs, and ta-da my work was officially online.

In order to write at least one interesting blog post a week I needed to find something that I’m passionate about. It was pretty hard to decide what I cared most about and what I had enough knowledge about that I could sustain over a long period of time. I really enjoyed asking myself, what do I care about and how can make other people care about it?

After days of throwing back and forth ideas, I decided I would blog about health and wellness. The topic of health and wellness comes from my love for being active and trying new things to stay healthy. But health and wellness is way more than how physically active a person is; it includes so many other facets that I feel people forget about because of the “get fit, eat healthy” rhetoric that has exploded in the media. I saw this blog as a chance to inform young people, and hopefully all sorts of people, that in order to be healthy they need to think not only about physical health, but also need to think about their health in terms of the mental and emotional health, a good blog to read on love is Kiran’s; social, spiritual, occupational, cultural and environmental healths, another good blog is Sandy’s on her struggle to be green in suburbia. I feel people have this misconception that they if work out they are healthy, when in fact there are so many areas of your life that can be unhealthy that can leave you vulnerable to disease.

I really love that every week I get to post a blog about a different health issue I feel is important. Some may feel that my blogs jump all over the place, but like I said, health and wellness includes so many aspects of our lives. My topic also leaves room to discuss other issues that I’m passionate about that I felt when setting up my blog would have been too hard to sustain. I can talk about environmental issues, different social issues and its importance in people lives, and many more things I feel are important or that my audience wants to know about.

My blog allows me to be creative and give people information they may not hear about in the world of mass media and information. In turn blogging has led me to other blogs on various different subjects and has opened my eyes to opinions and stories that I may have never seen.

Check out the top 11 reasons why to start a blog http://www.markevanstech.com/2009/07/12/11-reasons-why-blogs-still-matter/

It's better than a top ten list.

Never too late to get in shape!

2009-10-22T23:08:00.000-05:00

This is what my dad looks like now. Can you imagine that only 15 months ago he weighted 75 pounds heavier? Now he won’t tell me how much he weighted before but you can really tell the difference from what he loving refers to as his fat photos.

For 23 years of my life, I can honestly tell you that I don’t remember my dad ever once doing any physical activity. Back when he was in high school he was frighteningly skinny weighting in at a whooping 118 pounds with 23’ waist – that was probably the last time the phrase physical activity entered his brain.

But you know, it really wasn’t that hard in the end to encourage him to change his mind about being active and eating healthy. In our family, we have a high incidence of heart attacks. My dad’s father had a few massive heart attacks during his 50s and 60s that nearly claimed his life; my dad was plagued by high blood pressure and cholesterol, so the odds weren’t looking too promising that he would elude a heart attack.

My mom tried for years to get him to change his eating and physical activity, but he really didn’t have any motivation to change. Like a lot of people, he probably felt that it wouldn’t happen to him. Luckily it didn’t. I intervened before anything could. I’m not ashamed to say I played the daughter card; I told him I really wanted him to be around for a while to see the milestones that I would one day achieve (before he got too old anyway). I told him that at the rate he was going with his health there was a very good chance that at heart attack would take him away from us before his old age could.

To my amazement he agreed. When we spoke, I came fully prepared with numbers of a gym that I felt would work really well for him. I hooked him up with Barb Cajas, who is a kinesiology professor at The University of Winnipeg and co-owner of Core Training & Therapy at 107-912 Portage Avenue. At Core they have wonderful personal trainers, and to tell you the truth if my dad didn’t have the support and motivation from his trainers and the staff I doubt he would have shed the weight he has. They’ve taught him more than just the mechanics of working out; they’ve taught him about eating healthy and the importance of incorporating physical activity into all facets of his life both in and out of the gym. And you know what else, he has less old guy pain than he did before.

The important thing about my dad’s story is that you’re never too old. Not only are you never to old, but also it’s also never too late, no matter your age or how unfit you’ve been, to change your life in a drastic way and become a healthier you.

*Check out the video on the top right hand corner of Core's Home page

Buyer beware - Halloween Safety Squad

2009-10-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

Since my days of trick-or-treating, which was a while ago, things have changed a lot. I remember every October I would was so excited to decide what I wanted my costume to be, find the pattern, and help my mom put it all together. Sometimes in order to really bring my costumes to life I had to use face paints. From what I can remember, not a lot of thought went into choosing the right face paint for my sensitive skin. My mom and I never debated which product went on the best, which would stay on all day at school and still be on when I went out trick-or-treating, which would come off the easiest, which one wouldn’t irritate my skin, which one wouldn’t come off after sweating underneath my costume and my parka, and which one would come out of my clothes if I just so happened to get it all over.

These days, after my skin was red and raw from the ingredients and scrubbing the stuff off, consumers are beginning to look out for products that could potentially be harmful for their children. What better way to take the guess work out of choosing the “best” face paint for parents than by getting five students from Red River College to submit their skin and their dignity to rigorous testing. Stacia, Angèle, Kiran, Jeremy, and I tested the six most common face paints we found at places like Walmart, Superstore, Value Village, Dollarama, and Party Stuff.

Trusting Angèle’s purchasing abilities, the group sent her out to these five main retailers that we thought parents were most likely to purchase Halloween supplies and costumes from. She came back with six different brands: Lucky Art, Fun World, Seasons, Danson Décor, and Dollarama.

For five days we tested out different face paints. Every morning before class we met to decide what we would paint on our faces that day and who would paint our faces. After the first day we all decided that Angèle would be in charge of application because, and I’m sorry to rest of the group, she was the best. It was difficult to have my face painted everyday. People would stare and ask, “How can I get my face painted?” Unfortunately, it was just for a project so we couldn’t get many other people involved. After each day we were required to fill out a survey on each brand answering and grading each of the six criteria we were testing.

Over the course of the five days, I had lots of fun working on this project. Our group worked really well together to complete our designated sections, which I find is often difficult because some people end up doing more than others. I found that our work was pretty evenly divided. Angèle was in charge of purchasing and summarizing what our research would entail; Stacia made the template so that at the end of each day we could grade each category and make observations, and she also wrote the intro for the project. Kiran took on one of the biggest jobs; she took all the data we had collected and found the common results to decided which product was the best and the worst. Jeremy G. spoke with our experts’ dermatologist Dr. Minuk and face paint specialist Simbo the clown. It was Jeremy’s idea to talk to a clown and I think this was an interesting angle to include. Lastly, I was in charge of washing clothes. It was my job to see how well the paints come out of clothing. I had two cotton samples for each brand. I sprayed one with Spray ‘n Wash and the other I left as is, and after the first and second wash I recorded what happened.

After a week of walking around with our faces’ painted, a winner was finally declared: Lucky Brand from Party Stuff come out on top with a rating of 8.9 out of ten. We choose this one because it scored the best out of all our six criteria, but it also stood out in one criteria we hadn’t expected, which the ability of the paint to stand out on darker skin. I felt so bad for Kiran because every other product we tried looked absolutely horrible on her skin. The colours did not go on well, or even last till the end of the day.

We had nothing bad to say about the Lucky Art brand. The only thing was that we needed to be really careful about touching our face or putting objects near the painted area. The day we used Lucky Art I was talking on my phone and when I hung up I noticed that the face paints had gotten all over it. Fortunately all I needed to do was wipe it off. The whole day I remember being worried that I was smearing the paint and that I would look even more ridiculous than how I started, but the little bit of paint that came of didn’t affect the drawing the was one my face.

We believe this is the best product for parents who are looking for a good product for their kids, but are not looking to spend too much money. Halloween can become quite expensive for families once you’ve bought costumes and candies, so we know that some people don’t want to spend tons of money on something their child will use only once. For $1.99 parents can be sure that their buying their kids’ a quality product that will last, will go on easily and brightly, will not bug their skin, will come out of their clothes, and can hold up after a night of running from house to house with their parkas on.

I think you should take Provencher, Wookey

2009-10-09T17:44:00.000-05:00

Recently my mornings have been a lot better. I’ve been laughing my butt off and having a great time before I get to school with my carpool mates. For the first couple of weeks I had a car to drive to school because my parents were away for a month. But that month is up and I won’t have too many chances to get a car. I could get rides to school with my brother, Ian, but he’s there a lot earlier then me except when I start early.

So needless to say I was a little worried that I was going to have to start taking the bus at some insanely ridiculous time before sunrise when it’s -40˚. I have no idea why but after living in Winnipeg all my life I’m still not cut out for winter.

I was wondering what in the world I could do to avoid taking the bus, to save some money, and ease my conscious about unnecessarily wasting fossil fuels. A brilliant idea struck me as I was walking alone to my car one day; I thought I should see if anyone from class who lives in my area wants to carpool. I knew whom to ask. Since the first day I knew basic background info on all the people in my class.

I ended up getting a really awesome group of people to carpool. With the phenomenal Jérémie Wookey as our driver, Alexa, Angèle, and I get safely to school every morning. Carpooling is a great way to socialized in the morning when I feel the most angry and irritated – I’m not a great morning person. I have such a good laugh with these people that I quickly snap out of my bitterness. Also, I think it’s a great way to keep my mind active and sharp all the while being happy and positive. I wonder if anyone else thinks this way?

Although we haven’t worked it out quite yet, I think carpooling will end up being cheaper than getting a monthly bus pass, which costs $58.30 a month. I think if we end up getting this parking spot we want it might cost $40 each a month including gas. This works a lot better because taking the bus in this city is painful.

Even better then saving some extra cash, though, is the fact that we took single-person vehicles off the road, which reduces emissions. I think more people should consider carpooling, and I challenge anyone to not notice a difference in their mornings, a difference in their pocketbooks, and a difference in the amount of cars on the road. But not enough people consider this an option, and the city presents no incentives to even try it. If you’re like me, I like to make the most of my time in the morning and sometimes carpooling can end up taking awhile, but if the city installed carpool lanes traffic could go at a much quicker pace. I think it’s great that the city is encouraging people to leave their cars at home and take their bikes with all the new bike lanes and pathways, but really not that many people ride their bikes’ to work in the winter. As a winter town, god I hate saying that, the city needs generate interest in carpooling and make it appealing to people to do so. Unfortunately people need to know what’s in for them before they even consider making a change. But I can tell you that your mental, social, physical, and environmental healths’ will improve all because carpooling creates an environment where there is less stress, more fun and interaction with others, and less wasted fossil fuels.

Find out how many people that you work or go to school with live near you? You might be surprised at what you find.

I wish I had more time...

2009-10-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

It’s the fifth week of school and already my activity level has dropped like 50 percent. I’m still trying to run so I can drop everything from school, work, and life for an hour so I can think about absolutely nothing. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my brain actually hurts when I get home from school everyday. All I want to do is sit on the couch and read the paper or just watch TV. I feel frustrated and down on myself that I haven’t been hitting the gym and doing weights, but after a few hours of doing work the last thing I want to do is grab my gym-bag. And it’s not like I have so much to do that I’m overwhelmed, I just miss my old routine and now I’m struggling to find one that will work better for me. But I guess this is the best time to figure it out. This is the kind of schedule my life will take from now on, and I have to get use to fitting my priorities around a busy work schedule.

This program is nothing like university where I could pick and choose my class times and have spares throughout the day that would accommodate my need to go to the gym. It’s become a whole different ball game and I realize certain things may need to be pushed aside, moved, or forgotten about until I do the work that needs to be done. I need to overcome this mentality that if I can’t do something when I want to do it I just won’t do it at all. I need to schedule and make a list of my priorities outside of school that I want to accomplish every day or every other day and stick with it – this will be my personal challenge.

Here's some advice from the experts about using time wisely.

To supplement, or not to supplement that is the question

2009-09-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

Now I’m not a dietician and I’m not going to pretend I have all this fabulous knowledge about food and its multiple benefits. However, I did take Nutrition for Health and Wellness, KIN. 2501/3, at the University of Winnipeg with the wonderful, educated, registered dietician Mrs. Rennie Benedic t, which I feel leaves me qualified to give my opinion – Rennie’s notes are really great and informative and if anyone wants to look over them let me know.

Recently, a fellow blogger and classmate was curious to know my opinion about taking vitamin and mineral supplements. Now this person is taking supplements because her mother, which I totally get because our mothers only want us to be healthy, suggested it to her. But unfortunately taking supplements when we don’t need them can actual harm us and prevent our body from absorbing other vitamins and minerals, which are also called nutrients, that are important to staying healthy. Rennie, and the rest of the science community, refer to the ability of our body to absorb a nutrient through diet as bioavailability. In her class notes, Rennie says Bioavailability depends on several factors: our physiological need for the nutrient when it’s consumed, vitamin-mineral interactions, interactions between some plant compounds and minerals, like a compound found in spinach and rhubarb called oxalic acid renders the calcium these plants contain unable to be absorbed, and last but not least mineral-mineral interactions. Now mineral-mineral interactions refer to the interaction between the nutrients we get from eating and the nutrients we get from supplementing.

Several minerals are constantly competing with each other to absorb into the body. Rennie says that when our bodies have too much of one it can steamroll another, which limits our body’s ability to absorb that mineral. She also says this usually happens when people self-prescribe large quantities of individual minerals. And that is one of the problems; because supplements do not need to be prescribed by a doctor people often take them thinking vitamins and minerals are good for me so it can only be awesome for my body if I take more of them. But here are some questions to think about when considering taking supplements:

1. Does my diet give me all the nutrients I need to be healthy?

2. Do I have any food allergies to wheat, milk, protein, or fruit?

3. Have I been diagnosed with a disease, deficiencies, or malabsorption syndromes?

4. Am I planning to become pregnant, am I pregnant, or breastfeeding?

5. Am I over 50?

6. Am I at risk of developing osteoporosis?

7. Am I vegetarian or vegan?

If you’ve answered no to these questions chances are you don’t need to supplement your diet because the food you eat is enough to cover all your body’s vitamin and mineral needs. So watch out when considering taking a supplement. If you feel you need to supplement because your diet is poor think about taking a multi-vitamin. Multi-vitamins are constructed in a harmonious balance of nutrients so that none compete for a place in the body. If you’re still not convinced go check out NIH Office of Dietary Supplements for more info and here's another list from Rennie about the hazards of supplements:

1. Taken in megadoses supplements can be harmful.

2. More is not always better. Extra amounts either serve no purpose and just end up in your pee or are harmful, so why waste all those good nutrients?

3. An excess of fat-soluble vitamins, like A and D, and many minerals, like iron, zinc, copper, and selenium, are stored in body tissue and can reach toxic levels.

4. An excess of one nutrient can affect another creating a nutrient deficiency, and they you’ll really need to take supplements.

Holy Plastic!

2009-09-15T20:05:00.000-05:00

Sorting the recycling can be a daunting task. There are plastic bottles, plastic containers and plastic packing en masse not including all the different plastic that goes in the garbage. I

put plastic in the recycling each week because I believe that something is being done about it. And while there is a lot being done to recycle these products there is just so much of it that it’s difficult to control.

But I had no idea how much is out there.

The other evening I was given a shocking dose of reality when I watched documentary filmmaker, Ian Connacher, unfold an eye-opening story about plastic.

His film, Addicted to Plastic, is one man’s journey discover what happens beyond the recycle box. Connacher travels around the w

orld in search of answers to what can be done for this epidemic of plastic that is filling our world’s landfills, cities, and waters. The filmmaker from Toronto created a fantastic documentary that is both staggering and very insightful. Connacher’s playful way of presenting the facts along with amazing alternatives that are out there gives a jolt of reality with an optimistic sting.

You may be curious as to why this is any way relevant to my blog. Health and wellness is not just about eating right and being active. It has become an umbrella term that also implies mental and emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, cultural, and environmental health.

Environmental health is such a huge aspect in our overall achievement of health and wellness, because it pollutes our water, and gets ingested by animals we may eat. These factors leave us vulnerable to an attack on our overall health and well-being.

Do you know what happens to the plastic you throw out?

The Great Outdoors - One Great Workout

2009-09-10T21:02:00.000-05:00

Health and wellness has quickly become the buzz phrase on the minds and on the tips of tongues of people throughout North American. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done to begin incorporating these aspects into everyday life. Everyone has good intentions. You join a gym and start including healthier foods into your daily lives, but then life starts getting crazy and all your good intentions fall by the wayside, and you end-up paying for a gym membership that never gets used. The thing is, and this is my own personal feeling, that many people who want to start living a healthy lifestyle become so overwhelmed with the idea of using the gym and changing eating habits. But it doesn’t have to be; it can be really easy if little steps are taken and you work on solidly changing one negative aspect in your life at a time.

For my first ever blog, l'd like to address this issue of physical activity. If anyone is like me I feel I get a better burn at the gym than say going outside and running. I feel like I can challenge myself more in a gym setting by increasing the tension or incline, because god knows you can’t find too many hills to run-up in Winnipeg. But I was completely foolish and blind to the bulk of outdoor activities there is to do in and out of Winnipeg. Just this past Labour Day weekend two friends and I decided to load the canoe onto my friend’s Rav 4 and head toward Caddy Lake in Manitoba’s Whiteshell Provincial Park for an amazing three-day canoe trip.

Now the great thing about heading towards Caddy and its surrounding lakes is one, there is no fee to get into any federal or provincial park for the next two years, in case you didn’t know. Two, even though at times you feel like you’re the only one on the lake your really not, so if anything were to happen there are people around to help. And last, but not least, canoeing these lakes is totally, and completely easy, but please make sure you have at least one person that knows how to steer a canoe. So off my friends’ and I went with our GPS in hand, which by the way I really recommend, paddling across Caddy Lake through two tunnels to reach our destination of North Cross Lake.

The paddling wasn’t crazy intense. But it got us working hard increasing our heart rate, which makes our bodies work harder in order to pump blood quickly to the muscles being used to give them energy. The more energy our muscles use means burning down more of our bodies food stores, which leaves us with less unwanted body weight and a healthier heart.

The amazing thing about going on this canoe trip was not only that we got to be physically active, and really we worked our butts off, but also we had a great time doing and that is the most important thing about being physically active. Canoeing is a great way to have fun and be active with the whole family, or with a girlfriend or boyfriend, or with friends. Please remember that you need to be prepared. Plan your trip; bring a GPS, tell conservation where you plan to paddle, and bring the right equipment because you still need to remember your on the water and in the wilderness so you do need to be prepared. On top of being prepared for anything please, please remember to take your garbage with you because it’s important to leave nature beautiful and free of garbage not only for us, but also for our kids and their kids.