Browsing Tag

Dove

Play Review: Menopause The Musical

Las Vegas has something to offer for everyone, but if you’re looking for a show that’s tailored to an older audience, then consider going to see Menopause The Musical. If you visit with a mom, aunt, sister, friend or grandmother over the age of 40, then it’s worth buying tickets.

In fact, the show is such a hit that many hands went up when they took a poll at the beginning to learn how many audience members returned to see the show a second time. Twice would be too much for me, but if you can relate to the script and you can see it at a discounted price, then go for it.

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4 Reasons I Love Twitter

I’m officially a university graduate now and the day after convocation, the celebration continues: today is my fourth anniversary on Twitter.

That means it’s been four years since I first tweeted “Jewellery is not a toy” after a beaded necklace that I made broke. I still have those grey beads in a ziploc bag. Today, the manager who worked at Toronto’s Bead Cafe is engaged to a family friend. As Twitter reminds us every day, it’s a small world!

To celebrate this exciting occasion, I’ve created a list of 4 reasons I love Twitter:

1. Twitter Contests

Twitter is responsible for helping me win many products and experiences. Contest prizes have included touchscreen gloves from Target Canada, an Aroma gift card, and a Rob Thomas concert DVD. More recently, I won a free hour of bowling from The Ballroom, which I have yet to redeem. The most amazing prize, however, came from MuchMusic, who gave me tickets to see Arcade Fire!

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire

2. Job Opportunities

To apply for my current marketing role, I submitted links to my social media profiles, not a resume. And like the characters of The Internship, they hired me following an interview on Google+ Hangouts. Social media is a crucial part of the hiring process now and I’m curious to see how the relationship between social media and HR continues evolving. Twitter helps you showcase your industry knowledge and personality, so share your commentary and keep it clean!

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Back to School Inspiration

When a teacher encourages students to pursue their passion, their influence deserves to be recognized and shared. The Our Kids Private School Expo blog hop provides a great opportunity to express why my media studies teacher, Alice Trachimovsky’s classes are among my best high school memories.

Once I saw how Mrs. T handled a group of immature boys while substituting for one of my grade ten classes, I knew she was a woman from whom I wanted to learn. The following year in grade eleven, her exciting creative assignments ranged from a shopping mall analysis to a full-fledged public service announcement campaign, for which I learned how to create a teaser. Leading enjoyable discussions is one of her specialties, especially when it comes to Lady Gaga and Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. Her observational humour always piqued my friends’ interest in how the media industry operates, making it unsurprising that many of my high school classmates study MIT at Western now.

Smaller classes make it easier to form meaningful bonds that promote keeping in touch post-graduation. Three years later, Mrs. T and I still meet for coffee every summer to catch up (most recently at Aroma).

Mrs. T always supported my ambitions to ensure Hot On The Street lived on after its print editions and I’ll never forget when she challenged us to summarize an article in 140 characters.

A magical formula doesn’t move private school students from school A to first choice university B, and then onto dream job C – teachers play a fundamental role in helping students get there.

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Uncertainty

I re-watched Up In The Air for the first time since it inspired my debut blog post for Hot On The Street and picked up on different elements. Keeping in mind the themes of (un)happiness and uncertainty that it shares with Take This Waltz, I realized that those must be two of the defining social issues of this era.

When Up In The Air was released, America was in the middle of the recession. Now the economy is in recovery mode and people are still feeling uneasy and lonely. Magazines, movies and the like promote romance, offering tips to help you acquire it if you’re single, but ultimately leave people unsatisfied enough to make them continue subscribing and buying, hoping for that one life-changing tip.

Despite all the critics’ rave reviews, I walked out of Take This Waltz wishing that I hadn’t over-hyped it in my mind since its premiere at TIFF, which I missed because I was too busy needed to be in London for school. Then it had another special showing in New York at Tribeca Film Festival, which coincided with my first-ever trip to the Big Apple, but I couldn’t attend because it was sold out. It wasn’t a matter of being in the same place at the wrong time; sometimes there are circumstances beyond your control. Anyway, I was frustrated because I had such high expectations for a single film, and then walked out feeling disappointed.

Did I laugh when Lena Dunham tweeted praise for Take This Waltz? Absolutely. I tweeted her right back, with my fingers crossed that she would respond. She’s the girl who a lot of my peers look up to, waiting for her to put on HBO exactly what’s on their minds, yet they’re shy about expressing out loud. Part of the reason I’m drawn to her is that she’s got spunk. She doesn’t pretend like she rolls out of bed looking like a Hollywood diva; she allows herself to be seen by millions with somewhat messy hair and she just appears to be someone who goes with the flow. But as seen on TV with her character Hannah, we all have bad days. Girls feel miserable when they don’t have their periods. Just ask Dove. Those are the times when companionship matters most.

It’s not just about having someone to lean on when you get fired. People sweat the small stuff too – it happens. That’s when you need to recruit your personal support team – family, friends, professional mentors, even trustworthy acquaintances who may not call you a ‘friend’ per se, but you think the world of and respect.

If you have time to casually surf the web and read my blog right now, take a few extra minutes to compile a list of people to whom you can turn when times are rough and you can’t sleep peacefully anymore. Make the list and store it somewhere. Don’t publish it on Facebook and tag them all in it. Keep it in your nightstand drawer for easy access. If you never have to use it, consider yourself lucky.