I'm a single mom finally on the fast track to her career. I have a fantastic job that offers limitless possibilities and opportunities and I have a beautiful daughter that I throw all my free time into raising.
People are entitled to their own opinions. I get that. But thrusting your opinions upon someone else – that’s just wrong. Even worse is when your opinion/belief affects someone in a way that threatens their livelihood. This is what happened to Karen Clarke, owner of True 2 You, and her employee.
On September 10, 2011 Karen received a call from the manager of Trails End in London, ON where she has a booth at their weekly market. The manager informed her that if she were to have transgender people working for, she would have to “take your business some place else”. There wasn’t an incident that spurred this, the manager and owner just agreed that they didn’t want “those people” working at Trails End. Here’s a link to a breakdown of the conversation between Karen and the manager, Vic.
This morning, I listened to interviews of all parties involved on AM 980, as well as feedback from people in the area. I was appalled by the owner’s stance. The owner, Ed Kikkert, thinks he has done nothing wrong and clings to the excuse that the issue is about the facilities not having proper bathrooms for “those people”. He spoke about how people would be “upset and worked up” if a transgendered person used a mens or womens washroom. When the interviewer pointed out that this was not the responsibility of the employee or any other transgender patrons of Trails End but that of the owner himself is responsible, the owner refused to comment. AM 980 has also published an article about the situation with Trails End and True 2 You. You can view the story here or you can listen to the interviews here.
One statement made by the owner of Trails End really stuck with me. He said over and over that Trails End is a family market, catering to families. The way he spoke, it was as if he were saying transgender people are monsters. No person, regardless of race, religion, sexuality or gender, should EVER be treated this way. It’s disgusting.
One positive thing that’s come out of this horrible situation is the positive response and resounding support that has come from London community, as well as individuals across Twitter and Facebook. Currently, a petition is being circulated and you can sign your name by following this link.
This week has been a week of firsts. New daycare on Tuesday, 1/2 day at the new school Wednesday and today ushers in a brand new experience – the school bus. This morning, my daughter and her best friend Alice boarded the bus for the first time for their first FULL day of school. Today is also the first day that she didn’t cry. Every day this week has included tears for one reason or another but this morning, she boarded the bus like a big girl and waved goodbye to the parents at the bus stop. I cannot believe how grown up she looked as she climbed the steps onto the big yellow school bus.
Hopefully, the rest of today continues to be amazing and tear-free.
In other news, today is the first day of the Western Fair!! I didn’t win the blogger contest, but I somehow snagged a bunch of free passes! If you’ve never been to the Western Fair, I highly suggest you go. There is literally something there for everyone! The munchkin is excited about the rides and animals, and I love to walk through and look at all the booths. There’s always something interesting to look at and I usually walk away with at least one or two things. I’m sure this year will be no different.
On a side note – If you’re in London, check out the Groupon! It’s an amazing deal!
Year after year, I go to the Western Fair in my city. It’s always full of good rides, interesting food, loud music, crowds of people, bright lights and a buzz of excited. This year, I have a feeling all of the things I just mentioned will be better and more exciting. The Western Fair has had quite a year already. They re-branded themselves, relaunched their website and revamped their social media efforts.
One big thing they did was run a contest to drive traffic to their new page. Over 10 days, you had to collect puzzle pieces and build an image (this image ended up being their brand new logo). If you collected all 10 pieces, your name was entered in a draw to win 1 of 10 iPad 2′s. Surprisingly enough I won. This is not the reason that I am now a huge supporter of Western Fair District. I’m supportive of the company because they’re a part of London’s heritage. They’ve been around since 1867 and have provided London and the greater community with entertainment and fun for many years.
If the first contest Western Fair District wasn’t enough, they also ran weekly contests on Facebook to announce the bands coming to the fair this year. The response was incredible. Every Monday, a few dozen people would throw out every possible name, trying to win the tickets. The first person to guess the band, won 2 tickets to the show. This year, the person hiring the musical acts has outdone themselves. Sam Roberts, Colbie Callait and Down With Webster are joined by country music’s Paul Brandt and Bachman & Turner. Today, the final band was announced and it is none other than the infamous Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. I am completely blown away by the line up this year and cannot wait to sample everything the fair has this year to offer.
The last contest Western Fair is offering is astounding. The Real Serious Blogger contest. 5 bloggers will be chosen to represent the Western Fair this year and tell the world about their adventures in London. The winner gets 10 admission passes, parking for 10 days, 6 ride-all-day passes, 2 concert tickets to the show of their choice, a Real Serious Blogger t-shirt and a FREE Rogers product (worth $550)! I have officially entered and am awaiting the announcement of the winners on September 1st. Wish me luck!!
Now only one question remains: Is it September 9th yet?
When I was 16, my mom insisted that I open a savings account. Being 16, I thought this was the stupidest idea ever! She also insisted that it be with this new bank called ING Direct. Again, because I was 16, this sounded like the worst idea. The part I found most disheartening was the fact that it would take at least 24 business hours to get my money out when I wanted it. I was an impulsive teenager when it came to money (that really hasn’t changed all that much) and the fact that my hard earned money would be in some virtual bank a million imaginary miles away was downright depressing. That being said, I still listened to my mom and opened up an ING savings account.
Now, 10 years later, I still have that account. I stopped using it when my banking needs changed but it was never closed. It laid dormant for years, collecting interest and awaiting inevitable return. That time has arrived! ING Direct has made a number of amazing changes. The biggest one being they now have chequing accounts!! This was always my issue with ING. I loved their no fee/high interest accounts but couldn’t stand the wait times. Well NO MORE! With ING, you have access to your account at any Credit Union with NO FEES! (ING is pretty big on “No Fees“)
Honestly, just take a look and you’ll agree that this bank rocks. I’m in the process of opening up a THRiVE chequing account with them and think you should too! Worst case, you have an extra chequing account that doesn’t cost you anything.
Another amazing thing ING does is they reward their customers. Right now, if you open an ING account with $100 or more, you get $25! Click here and start saving!! (and don’t forget to use the code 24064715S1 to get your $25 bonus!)
Oh, and did I mention that they offer other amazing personal finance products?? Mortgages, TFSAs, RSPs…. The list goes on!! Check out the link above. You won’t be disappointed! They also have one of the best customer service departments I have ever dealt with, so feel free to give them a call or chat with them online. Their telephone support is 24/7 and gives you the option right away to talk to a real person!
It’s that time of year again…. Cards, flowers, candy and jewelry are flying off the shelves of every store at an alarming rate. And I, perpetually single, am told once again that I’m bitter. I’m not bitter. Seriously. My distaste for valentine’s day has nothing to do with my marital status.
In my opinion, valentine’s day is just another day. In the past, when in a committed relationship, I always felt pressured to do something bigger and better than the previous year or holiday, regardless of cost or lack of time. Valentine’s Day is stressful. It’s also a HUGE boost to the gift sector of the economy as people in relationships are guilted into buying anything and everything to woo one’s sweetheart. I’m all for boosting the economy and I’m also not against making your loved ones feel loved. But why can’t you celebrate the wonderful people in your life every day?
February 14th is just a day. There are 364 other days I like to use to honour and love the people in my life.
To my friends and family: I love you all. I don’t need a special day to tell you. I’ll probably tell at least one of you once a day that I love you until the end of time and that’s never going to stop.
I read an article today on the Globe and Mail about helping parents prepare for back to school and survive the toils of back to school shopping. In the article, they listed a website to make things easier for parents, toolsforschool.ca. Being the eager mom sending her little one off to school for the first time, I logged onto the site right away and looked for my daughters school. But, to my dismay, it wasn’t there. Most of the schools in my area weren’t there. The one school that was listed didn’t even list my daughter’s grade (JK) so I still have no clue what to get.
Today while reading blogs I read on a daily basis, I came across two articles that articulated the changes taking place today with regards to US Copyright Law and the DMCA (Digital Millenimum Copyright Act). The posts were on TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb. Both these sites are FANTASTIC resources and usually have the news before anyone else!
Piracy of digital media is a problem currently over policed (and guarded by punishments to archaic they no longer pertain to the current media offerings available to the general public) and under punished for those serious offenders. The punishments haven’t changed (that may be next for US Copyright Law) but the law itself has gotten a fresh new face and I couldn’t be happier! A number of exceptions have been made to the DMCA today and I couldn’t be more excited!
I’ve listed the changes below. How will this effect your media consumption? What does this mean for the video store? Is everyone going to start critiquing the newest movie on their own blog? All I can say is kudos to the United States Copyright Office for being adaptable, but you may have left too many loopholes for the general public to exploit.
1. Defeating a lawfully obtained DVD’s encryption for the sole purpose of short, fair use in an educational setting or for criticism – Permission for college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos
2. Computer programs that allow you to run lawfully obtained software on your phone that you otherwise would not be able to run aka Jailbreaking to use Google Voice on your iPhone
3. Computer programs that allow you to use your phone on a different network aka Jailbreaking to use your iPhone on T-Mobile
4. Circumventing video game encryption (DRM) for the purposes of legitimate security testing or investigation
5. Cracking computer programs protected by dongles when the dongles become obsolete or are no longer being manufactured
6. Having an ebook be read aloud (is for the blind) even if that book has controls built into it to prevent that sort of thing.
A friend of mine passed along this amazing Swedish beer website that has an incredibly awesome application allowing you to customize a playlist based on musical preference and mood. You can change your “mood” using the slider at the top of the page and the youtube video will change accordingly. Check it out!
Also, I found a new video that I really like! Take a look!
I’ve been neglecting my blogging responsibilities again. I’m so sorry! It’s been a crazy past month or so… So crazy, that I can barely remember my last post! I promise to post something much more substantial this weekend. I have a lot to write about, but my time seems to be the current issue.
As some of you may know, I have an obsession with Macs (even though I have yet to own one… I still love them and use one whenever I get the chance, and will be getting one as my next computer). So when I saw this contest, I just had to enter! While I was entering, I checked out the blog that is hosting the contest. Its called Week in Rewind. This guy knows his stuff! If you want to know some of the latest news in movies, check this blog out!
Whitney Barrett
