Birthday Bonanza

This year I decided to make my birthday extra special; five celebrations and a ton of free goodies. I had so much fun getting things for free that I thought I would share, a little early birthday present to all my friends! Generally you just sign up and they email you a coupon, but if you have issues check out where I got all my ideas from here or here (there are a ton of dinner options on the aforementioned sites so check that out also!)

Enjoy!

Booster Juice - free regular sized smoothie!

Sephora - free body wash/shampoo

La Senza - free undies with membership

Quiznos - free combo and cookie

Starbucks - free drink after 1 year membership

Boston Pizza - free starter and pasta or dessert

Williams Fresh Cafe - BOGO value meal

Orange Julius - BOGO 20 oz. Julius or Fruit Smoothie

East Side Marios - free appetizer with entree purchase

Warning!

I love and I hate walking to work in the morning. It feels great to be outside and breath in the fresh air, except that after making the move to Toronto the air isn't fresh anymore.

I was excited to move to Toronto, but what I was most thrilled about was that I could finally walk everywhere I wanted to go. Only when I actually started walking everywhere did I realize that there were so many people who smoked. It feels like each day at least one person blows a puff of smoke directly in my face or flicks a butt in my general direction. I am very happy that Ontario has banned smoking indoors, but we need more. Things are starting to improve; buildings now have designated smoking areas away from doorways, many outdoor public spaces have done the same and on top of that packaging updates may help to further deter smoking.

For 8 years Canada had been working on new warning labels for cigarettes. It was argued that the current labels were stale and had become less shocking to smokers and that a toll-free quit line should be included to help promote change. Since, new labels were unveiled and strict laws about the way cigarettes are displayed have been put in place.

This year the United States will be working to get their new labels ready for Fall of 2012. Progression was stalled by a federal judge earlier this month who argued that the new labels were not factual. Whether or not this is true, smoking is an annoyance and health risk for everyone and it is not fair to compromise the well being of others.

I am hopeful that my generation will help to decrease smoking and that I will have to deal with the invasion on my personal space less and less the longer I live in the city.

Not Cutting It!

The International Energy Agency released its annual World Energy Output this past Wednesday and it doesn't sound good. After reading a couple articles I decided to take a look at the presentation, I was disappointed to see that despite the attention the environment is gaining, it is still not enough.

• Economic concerns have diverted the attention from the energy policy

• CO2 emissions rebounded to a record high

• Energy efficiency for the global economy has worsened for a second straight year

• Spending on oil imports is near record highs

• Rising incomes and population will increase energy needs

• Heavily polluting coal could increase 65% by 2035

I try to do my part, but at times it feels like it makes little difference. While Canada kept it's promises to reduce energy consumption, the savings were over shone by the excessive usage in less developed countries. It is disappointing to see reports like theses, but hopefully the International Energy Agency will be successful in promoting positive change for our global energy consumption.

At The Salon

A couple of Tuesdays ago I decided to stay late at work then head over to the Design Exchange for their first Salon Night. The idea for the evening was that a designer of the DX's choosing would ask another designer if they could interview them, creating live entertainment for the twenty-something people that were in attendance.

At first I found myself a little uncomfortable, I quickly realized that everyone brought a friend with them and that perhaps I should have done the same (worry not, I have a partner lined up for next time). Things quickly changed when the interviewer, Jeremy Vandermeij, started asking the interviewee, Paddy Harrington, a few surface questions.

After learning a bit about Paddy, the questions got a lot more interesting and I pulled out my notebook to jot down a few things. I would fancy up my scribbles but it seems that Raylene Knutson from the Toronto Standard has already done a much better job of it, check out this link for a fantastic recap of the evening!