Category: Life

bookmark_borderShameless!

Posted on by Christine Elias

I am shameless — totally shameless — about feeling delighted when people think I am younger than I am. I know it’s not very progressive or feminist of me but I don’t care, I just love it to death.

Today in the coffee line, the barista and I were chatting about my stomach. You see, I had to get tea instead of my usual coffee because I could tell that my stomach was just not going to embrace coffee.

I made a joke that acid reflux was just one of the joys she could look forward to when she got older.

And the barista — bless her mid-twenties (tops) heart — said you’re not old.

I insisted I was indeed old. And she guesses (without any prompting) that was maybe 31 or 32.

I set her straight and then I danced all the way to my office with my tea in hand.

Shameless behaviour? Maybe. But I wasn’t fishing for a compliment — honest.

Can I help it if people in customer service positions are more than willing to flatter their aged customers?

bookmark_borderWhere the City of Roses meets the Paris of the West

Posted on by Christine Elias

I was in Windsor this weekend celebrating my birthday. Windsor may sound like a strange location for a celebratory getaway but it has its (somewhat hidden) charms.

Windsor has the highest unemployment rate in Canada and it sure feels like it when you’re here for a visit — but I can tell that this city has some grit. That it will come back.

But diversification is not easy. Caesars Windsor, a massive casino, convention centre and hotel aimed at the 17m Americans who live within a three-hour drive, is suffering along with the car industry. Its workforce has shrunk from a peak of 5,400 before 2001 to 3,800 today. “It’s not true that casinos are recession- proof,” says Keith Andrews, the casino’s spokesman. He is sitting in the hotel’s 10,000 square-foot (930 square-metre) lobby, where statues of Roman gods and goddesses outnumber guests.
~Source: The Economist

Hurry up US economy — for both the “City of Roses” sake as well as the “Paris of the West” which also could use some good news. This beautiful region needs a break.