Pop At A Movie Theatre

So, early in the week I posted about Weekly Money Challenges that Jason and I are trying to do and that the first one was to stop buying pop at restaurants/bars. Well, today we went to go see a movie (with Cailin, Nicola, Noah, and Kristen) and we couldn't determine what to do about pop at the movie theatre:

Jason's Side: Seeing that pop is over priced at movie theatres, it shares in the spirit of the challenge and therefore should not be purchased.

My Side: The challenge was only for restaurants/bars and a movie theatre doesn't count and therefore it can be purchased without breaking the challenge.

What do you think?

In general, those with us were split on the issue but Kristen did point out that free water is not served, I gather she has tried to get tap water in the past and they charged her for the cup. I really like the popcorn and it is so salty that not having a drink would be torture. On the other hand, when growing up my parents definitely never got movie food for me because all of the snacks are over priced and later on when I was in high school and university I would just sneak food in, so buying popcorn, candy and pop at the concession stand is a relatively new thing for me. I think it would be best to go back to sneaking food and drinks in, since that would save money and not change the experience, however it would take more thinking/planning ahead.

Malarkey!

Cailin found this yesterday and I have been giggling about it every since, 10 Insane Self-Published Books, by Dan Abromowitz. It is a hilarious list, but my favourite by far is:

How to Good-bye Depression: 

If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. 

Malarkey? or Effective Way? 

by Hiroyuki Nishigaki

Maybe I should try this? I guess it couldn't hurt. Really though, it is important to find a publisher for your book. (I may regret these words later on when I decide the only way to get my work published is to just do it myself, but at the moment, it doesn't seem to be a good way to go.)

Christmas Song Showdown

Every year, the WOTS office plays a game with Christmas songs - they listen to CHFI (an easy listening station in Toronto that plays exclusively Christmas songs around the holidays) and keep track of the number of times certain songs are played. If the song picked gets played the most over the duration of the season then that person is the winner; each empolyee has a dedicated song.

Last year was even more intense with a 'special work-out song' that when played the first person to jump up and start working out (lunges, squats, jumping jacks, etc.) got an extra point put on their song tally. Also the whole office would then work-out for the duration of that song. This year that isn't happening since the players are too scattered and some of us are in offices where jumping up randomly would not be as appropriate.

Other specific rules include a two person verification and a specific version of the song declared. Kristen, from her office downtown at her new job, and I are playing by proxy and just hoping that those in the WOTS office a properly keeping track.

Here are this year's songs:
Nicola - "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid
Cailin - "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms
Kristen - "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey
Me - "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springteen

Happy Holidays!

I hope you have started to listen to Christmas songs too...

Two Cute

Two In The Window Of The WOTS Office

By Cailin C.

SC - Matching

There was only three of us for Salad Club today, so I didn't have to make a lot. I decided to match that with a three item salad - a pared down version of the first one I did.

Not A Lot Of Time, Money, Or Ingredients Salad
- Defrost a bag of small shrimp
- English Cucumber
- Avocado
- Dressing: French (Kristen had Italian Herb)

SC - A Private Health Club

We stole this idea from Heather, but had been tossing around similar concepts for a while - The WOTS girls and I have created a 'Salad Club'. Each one of us takes a day and we make a large salad to serve at lunch for everyone. It is such a fun and healthy idea. (I have Thursdays, starting next week. I need to start thinking of fun salad ideas.)

This is also going to be the start of a new feature on Always Standing - each Thursday I will post the recipe for the salad that I make for SC (Salad Club). Stay tuned!

Book List 2012

I'm not going to give myself a time limit, but I do want to move through the following list quickly!! Canadian authors are identified.

ONGOING (2):
- My Future Listography: All I hope to do in lists by Lisa Nola. Gift from Erin AH.
- Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think by Dennis Greenberger & Christine A. Padesky. Purchased from gift cards from Uncle M and Aunt E, my cousins, and Kristen's Mom.

FINISHED (4):
- When Parents Text: So Much Said... So Little Understood by Lauren Kaelin & Sophia Fraioli. Gift from Kristen.
- Bossypants by Tina Fey. Gift from Teri.
- How Shakespeare Changed Everything by Stephen Marche (CanLit). A gift from Kristen.
- Various Positions by Martha Schabas (CanLit). Gift from the WOTS office.

READING (4):
- A Life of Pi by Yann Martel (CanLit). Gift from Uncle Simon.
- A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro. Gift from Mom and Dad.
- The Happiness Project: Or, Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin. Purchased from gift cards from Uncle M and Aunt E, my cousins, and Kristen's Mom.
- Ruska: The Novel of Russia by Edward Rutherford. Borrowed from a friend.

TO READ (51):
- Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherford. To be borrowed from the library.
- London: A Novel by Edward Rutherford. To be borrowed from the library.
- Social Media 101 by Chris brogan. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Idoru by William Gibson (CanLit). Gift from Uncle Simon.
- Making Pictures: Vision, Imagination, Skills & Techniques in Photography by Julian Calder. A gift from a family friend, written by his son.
- C'mon Papa: Dispatches from a Dad in the Dark by Ryan Knighton (CanLit). Prize won at WOTS 2010.
- Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. Gift from Aunt Dan.
- Fruit: A Novel About a Boy and his Nipples by Brian Francis (CanLit). Purchased on sale.
- Bridge at your Fingertips by Amalya Kearse. Stolen from Dad.
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff by Mark Hughes. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Worse Thing She Ever Did by Alice Kuipers (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Fictional Career Change of Jim Kearns by David Munro (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey (CanLit). Gift from WOTS office.
- Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. To be borrowed by Kristen.
- Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie. To be borrowed from the library.
- The Romanovs by Robert K. Massie. To be borrowed from the library.
- Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream by Stephen Watts. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Quiver by Holly Luhning (CanLit). Gift from WOTS office.
- The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture by Terry O'Reilly & Mike Tennant (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Pop: The Genius of Andy Warhol by Tony Scherman & David Dalton. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Fallback Plan by Leigh Stein. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston (CanLit). Gift from WOTS office.
- Writers [on Writing] edited by the New York Times. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Gift from Uncle Simon and Aunt Dan.
- The Fine Art Of Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills -- and Leave a Positive Impression! by Debra Fine. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming by Shreve Stockton. Gift from Mom and Dad.
- The Withdrawal Method by Pasha Malla (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Cat's Cradle by Michael Ondaatje (CanLit). Gift from Teri.
- The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart. To be borrowed from Kristen.- The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Earthgirl (Advanced Reading Copy, uncorrected proof) by Jennifer Cowan (CanLit). Gift from university Fiction Workshop instructor.
- A Guidebook to Contemporary Architecture in Toronto by Margaret and Phil Goodfellow (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (CanLit). To be borrowed from the library.
- Weight by Jeanette Winterson. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. To be borrowed from the library.
- A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Jpod by Douglas Coupland (CanLit). To be borrowed from the library.
- Microserfs by Douglas Coupland (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. To be borrowed from the library.
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel: Digital Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie. Gift from Uncle M.
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Story of Jane Doe: A Book About Rape by Jane Doe. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Everything Guide to Social Media by John K. Waters. Gift from Noah.
- Writer's Gym by Eliza Clark (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.