Earning Less Money Than Your Partner

Do you earn more or less money than your partner?  Are you married, serious relationship, or starting to date?  My boyfriend and I are in a pretty serious relationship - we have been together for about a year.  I've just finished college so I don't have a full time job yet.  He is on co-op at college though so he's making quite a bit more than me right now.  During the school year, he was doing full time co-op and I was working two part time jobs making minimum wage.  So, really, he's always made more than me while we've been dating.

Sometimes it does make me feel a bit insecure.  I don't want to be with him just for his money (okay, I'm obviously not).  But I feel bad when he is the one often paying for dates and stuff.  I do try to still pay for dates on occasion, but he definitely does more often.  For me, I try to do little things that don't cost money that kind of make up for it.  But I still feel bad when he is paying for most things.

But he will be done co-op and back in school in September.  As long as things go well, I will be paying for more starting then.  We are both still students so our salaries will fluctuate quite a bit until we get settled.

I feel like even if we got married and everything and he earned more than me, I wouldn't feel too bad.  I would help more with cooking and cleaning if he had more income.  But if we were working the same amount of hours then I'd expect him to do some of that too!  It also might depend on the difference.  If he's making $5,000 more than me a year, that is different than making like $40,000 more than me a year.  But still ... hmmm!

I just read about this on a forum that I frequent, I thought it seemed interesting.  I don't feel too insecure about it now but I guess a lot of people do!  Tell me what you think about this.

Amazing Place: Supervised Injection Site

Check out some more information at http://supervisedinjection.vch.ca/

I just really heard about this Supervised Injection Site the other day.  I have to say that it is the most amazing thing ever!  2010 statistics - no deaths!  Overdoses, yes.  But no deaths.  Isn't that amazing?  They are focusing on harm reduction.  I think it is great for them to be helping addicts!

Before I get too excited, let me explain a little bit about their services.  They have nurses, counselors, and support staff working there.  Clients (usually drug addicts) can safely inject illicit drugs using clean equipment while nurses are there.  Essentially, they allow users to use drugs in their facilities safely.

The result?  No one has died there in the past year.  Some overdoses?  Yes.  But they are greatly reduced.

Now think logically.  What are the dangers of drugs?  Here are a few of the main dangers that I know of:

1. Sometimes mixed (or cut) with something more dangerous or that does not mix with the drug you are using
2. More potent than you expected
3. Sharing needles with someone who has a disease
4. Not having accurate information on it (believing myths)
5. Getting caught by the police and going to jail for years

Do you know how all this could be solved?

... Legalization and moderation ...

If drugs were monitored and labeled (ex. 100 mg of pure mdma) then there wouldn't be the risk!

1. The labels would tell you what was in the product
2. The labels would tell you how much was in the product
3. You could buy clean needles with the drugs
4. Research would be permitted on the drugs and myths would not be as common
5. You couldn't get in trouble if it's legal

This injection site is a great step.  Although the Conservatives want to shut it down (guess what way I'm voting?  Anyone BUT Conservatives) ... it is helping people!  It's GOOD for people!  How is that a bad thing?

Drug users are not bad people (in general).  Sure, there are a few that kind of ruin it for everyone but isn't that the same for every generalization?  Yes.

Keep this injection site open!
And vote anyone but Conservative!

Failed My Work Placement

This past week and a half has been quite drama filled.  I started a work placement, which is necessary to graduate.  The point of the work placement: to get experience and expand on what I learned at college.  What did I do?  Sort through folders and carried heavy piles of folders and boxes.  Definitely not what I have learned at college.  Anyway, so I asked them about it.  Basically said, I was hoping to use my skills, is there something else I could do.  They kept saying I'd be doing data entry later.  But that never happened.  So I asked again.  They basically responded with "all employees do filing".  What I was doing was not really filing.  And there were only two of us doing it.  If I had done a little bit of that and then done something else, that's would have worked.  But no, it was straight moving folders.

This was my cleavage!

One morning I was called down to my supervisor's office (who hasn't even been there for the past couple days).  He gives me two options - 1. Find a new placement. 2. Go home and change.  If you look at the picture, that's how much "skin" I was showing.  I had full pants on, my shoes even had socks in them, and my shirt was definitely long enough to cover my butt and everything!  So my supervisor gives me a copy of the dress code and tells me that I have been dressing provocatively and revealing.  He tells me how distracting it is.  I'm thinking that this is not my problem.  I have worn that combination of tops in my other office positions.  I don't see how this is provocative at all!

I went to see my teacher, who wasn't at the school.  I found myself another work placement.  But it turns out that isn't allowed.  And then I met with my teacher today.  I guess she is upset with me for standing up for myself.  Apparently saying "manual labour" is rude.  Hmmm.  Then the chair doesn't want me to graduate this year or something.  And the whole faculty hates me.  Saying that I am representing our school poorly.  Just for standing up for myself!

It's been a mess.  Now I have to complete my work placement in May.  Ridiculous!

I'm pretty upset with the college.  And the teachers.  And the work placement.  It is rather annoying, and frustrating.  Especially since I have plans for May that involve work and moving.  Not volunteer work placement!  I do have a lead though, so hopefully that will work out for me.  Cross your fingers ... 

My Favourite Things

I've been having a terrible week, and I know the next week and a half will be equally bad.  This is due to a terrible "unpaid job" that I have to do as a requirement for graduation.  So I've decided to try and be more positive by thinking about all the things in life that I love ... or enjoy ... or something.  Well, things that make me happy!

1. my boyfriend
2. my friends
3. amazing music
4. dancing and partying
5. swimming
6. getting dressed up
7. baking delicious cookies
8. challenging myself with a computer problem
9. vanilla scent
10. cats

Random ... I know.  That's the point.  So name a few things that make you happy?

Alexis Jordan - Happiness

This song is very heartfelt and just beautiful.  When I hear it, I can just feel the music and lyrics through my whole body.  I love songs like this, where you can really connect with them.

The lyrics are wonderful.  It is about finding happiness in yourself before you can find it in someone else.  That is so true.  You need to love yourself first.  That is the most important thing.  If you don't love yourself, if you don't have confidence, how can you expect someone else to love you?  It's also about relationships - you have to be happy in love.  So many people are just not happy with their partner, yet they claim to be happy with them.  Are they really?

It is also about that one person - who makes you truly happy - truly in love.  And how one person can bring so much into your life.  Having someone like that is pretty amazing.  It is like, he or she isn't just a boyfriend or girlfriend, it seems like more.  When you meet that person, you have to go for it.  Don't hold back.  Follow your heart.

This song is just so beautiful.

If you would like to read the lyrics, go to http://www.sweetslyrics.com/748501.Alexis%20Jordan%20-%20Happiness.html
And if you'd like to see the video and listen to the song, go to her official site at http://www.alexisjordanofficial.com/ca/videos/alexis-jordan-happiness

It's worth a listen to.  It also has some amazing remixes that are made into club songs as well.  But the song, in general, is just amazing.

Concert Review: Ke$ha

So, the other night, I went to the Ke$ha concert at Kool Haus in Toronto (it is part of Guvernment, if that helps anyone out).  It was an all ages event which really wasn't the greatest.  I went with me boyfriend (he is 21 and I'm 20) so the 15 year old screaming girls didn't appeal to us.  Okay, maybe I should have guessed that before I got tickets.  Luckily for us, there was a 19+ area.  Neither of us drink but it was nice to have the option to go in there.  Plus, we got pretty decent spots in there.  And I was able to see, which was a bonus!

Ke$ha was fabulous though!  There are certain people that have that stage presence.  She is, no doubt, one of them.  She did some crazy dances and just got the crowd all excited!  And her outfits were unique, as I presumed!

I don't know all of Ke$ha's songs so I wasn't able to sing along to all of them.  There was one or two that I wasn't fond of.  But, for the most part, I enjoyed the ones I didn't know.  I hadn't heard her dinosaur song yet.  The dancers on stage had walkers and stuff, it was hilarious!  By the end of the song, I knew the lyrics.  Also she sang Grow A Pair.  She invited a guy in the audience up on stage and it was really funny!

There was one main negative.  Her opening act was some guy named Beards.  Now I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt but this guy was just terrible!  His style of music didn't fit the target audience.  He expected people to sing along with his songs but no one knew them.  He was old, and unattractive, which is not great for this audience either.  He had no charisma or stage presence.  And what was with his voice?  No one there was clapping, fist pumping, singing ... Anything!  I finally started clapping when he announced it was his last song.  I wanted him to be off and Ke$ha to be on!

Now, I'm sure this guy would have done fine at some other event.  But this was not his type of thing.  Throughout his opening segment, my boyfriend and I kept thinking of ideas of why he was chosen.  We have yet to come up with one.

All in all though, it was good!  Great Ke$ha performance.  Great venue.  Great 19+ area.  Not even too bad of a line up (although all the underagers smoking got quite annoying) - we were only outside for an hour.

I would probably give it 4 stars out of 5.  Negatives - definitely the opening act.  I would have given it five stars if it wasn't for this Beardo guy.  Positives - everything else.  Awesome songs, great stage presence, and great venue.  I would recommend that anyone going to her concerts arrive an hour late so you miss the opening act!  But Ke$ha herself was amazing!

House Hunting

I've been "house hunting" for some time now.  If you don't know what I mean by house hunting, I'm just looking for a room in a house/apartment to stay in for the summer.  I've been trying to get a summer sublet so that it is less expensive for me.  House hunting is just so frustrating though!  I visit so many houses and none of them are what I want.

Of course, I have a lot of criteria such as

• 400 - 550/month
• utilities included
• enough washrooms (one washroom for four people is just not enough)
• close to a bus stop
• has a full kitchen (stove, fridge, microwave, etc.)
• unfurnished
• nice location (I do not need to live in a sketchy part of town)

So I have found a decent place.  It comes furnished which really isn't that big of a deal.  One of the things I can do without.  The other criteria it doesn't meet is that it's more expensive.  It is 580/month which is more than my limits.  It does come all inclusive though (including Internet).  It is in a pretty decent place of town.  Not the best part, but certainly not the worst.  It doesn't have a living room either.  There are some good things though!  It has a balcony, which is pretty awesome.  It substitutes for a living room (almost) in the summer anyway.  It also has one room for the shower and another for the toilet which I think is pretty cool.  Oh, and it comes with a cat!  I get to look after the cat.  I got a rent reduction (from 630 to 580 per month) because I'm looking after a cat.  The awesome thing is that I was thinking about getting a cat anyway.  Now I get to look after a cat and not have to pay for food, littler, etc.  Bonus!!  And it's downtown which is pretty convenient.

It was the first place I visited.  When I first got there, the outside looked pretty sketchy.  But the inside is nice.  And the room is very large, especially for a place downtown.  The kitchen isn't too big but there are only three of us and it has counter space and whatnot so it should be fine.  And the balcony looked fun.

I am planning to sign this lease.  I was going to spend another weekend looking at houses but it's just gotten to be too much for me!  I mean, I'm at school full time and I work and going house hunting on weekends is not what I want to do.  I saw a number of other houses that were all a lot worse.  (Well, one was a bit nicer but he needed me to move in now instead of at the beginning of May, which didn't work out.)

I'm pretty happy with my choice.  I think it will be a really great place to stay over the summer.  Okay, now I'm just excited!!

March 2011's Best Songs

1. Selena Gomez - A Year Without Rain
I think this came out a while ago but it's just so fun!  Plus there are tons of great remixes of it out there.  They just make the song better to dance to.  She has a great voice though ... and, come to think of it, quite a few other great songs!

2. Chris Lake - Minimal Life
This song is just - ahhhh - okay it is amazing!!!!!!  Definitely one of those songs you need to dance for.  It may be pretty obvious that I like songs with great beats to dance to - and this is one of them.


3. David Guetta - Gettin' Over
This song is fun.  It is pretty catchy!  David Guetta always comes up with some great songs!


4. Keshia Chante - Set U Free
The first time I heard this song, I just thought it was incredible!  I have no doubt that there will be quite a few remixes made of this song.  It's just - one of those songs, you know?  I can't help but sing to it whenever it comes on the radio!  Another catchy song!


5. Adam K and Soha - Circadian Rhythm
Yes, this is one of the tracks that I love for the dancing.  Being in a club, surrounded by this song, just dancing your heart out - it's just a wonderful feeling.  Some of the effects in this song are just incredible.  It isn't one of those super repetitive songs, it mixes it up, but still keeps you interested.  It's just ... simply put ... amazing!