Spend Locally

Brace yourself, it's a random-assed post.

1) Out on Screen: had comp tickets (if you don't know what it is, it's Vancouver's queer film festival--and I'm going to use the word queer even though there was much discussion during the Q&A about preferred terms), and went to The Love that Won't Shut Up. It was a short film commissioned by Out On Screen's Queer History Project, made by Veda Hille and Ivan E. Coyote who both performed several songs/spoken word pieces. Bill Munroe (one of the people in the film) also performed. The film was mainly about different perspectives on the history of the queer community in Vancouver. It was great because I learned a lot that I didn't even realize I didn't know about the topic, and it also reminded me that (even though things seem super progressive living in the West End) there are still a lot of people out there who don't accept the queer community. There was still a tangible hurt in the room when topics such as gay bashing, gay marriage, and those who are no longer with us came up. I think it's easy to forget these things are still huge issues. I had a sad moment when I started thinking of one of my most favorite profs from my undergrad who died from AIDS in April of this year, and realized that probably everyone there knew him.

2) Went out after the film and was promptly reminded how prevalent homophobia is, when I blurted out "That's really not appropriate" in response to a comment made by one of the other people around the table. I think that the environment in which I live and work is soooo progressive/left wing that I've become a bit complacent about these kinds of issues. But it was jarring to find myself sharing a table with someone who so genuinely didn't "get" it. I mean, what if one of the other people there was in the closet? You never know! There are people in my life who are gay/bi/etc. who I have so much respect for and love so much, and I just find this kind of attitude intolerable. Then I hopped the bus back to the West End, and on the walk home passed by a gay couple holding hands (a very common sight in my neighbourhood) and felt like the world was an okay place again.

3) Onto the non-queer topics... Is it me or does this site (found through a link on Richard's blog) have one of the most amazing header graphics/layout? I love it.

4) I got my hair cut/coloured yesterday. It's the first time I've had my hair coloured at all, it's not drastic but it's awesome. Martin is so great, I am so glad to have finally found someone who gets my style and can help refine it (because he's far more stylish than me), and is just a really talented and super guy! If you are looking for a hairdresser in the area, I highly recommend him. I'll try and get a photo that does justice to it and post it up.

5) How much do I love the farmer's market! I never fail to leave the market thrilled with my haul--it's tomato season, and if you don't go buy tomatoes at the market you're really missing out. There were so many varieties that even though I bought two bags of tomatoes, I didn't come near sampling all the varieties. It's insane. If you want to read more of me ranting about my love of the market, I posted on SpendLocally.ca yesterday.

I'm sure I had more to say, but it's getting late and I've got lots to do today, so I'm off.

That's right, Spend Locally! It's my new website, I've been tinkering with it for a while, and decided to cram and get it up and running in time for BarCamp this weekend. It's going to start out as a blog, but hopefully turn into more of a directory of local businesses. Why do I care about this?

Well, although my business, City Girl Designs, is temporarily closed, I do own a local business... and I work for a locally owned web company, Raised Eyebrow. And a lot of friends and family either work for or own local businesses... And when you think about it, that's what really makes up strong communities--diverse, locally owned business. The owners actually live here, so they care about what goes on and contribute to the community. Often they source out a lot more locally owned products to sell. And as far as stats, if you spend $100 at a local business, nearly half of that money stays in the community, whereas with a big non-local company, only about $15 will stay in the community (Portland Buy Local). Add to that the fact that locally made products save tons of energy used for transportation, are often made under more environmentally and socially ethical conditions, and you've got a win-win-win situation.

SpendLocally.ca is going to begin as a blog where I profile local (BC) businesses that I think are awesome, and in the future I hope to turn it into a full-out searchable directory. So, subscribe to the RSS and find out about all the great local businesses we've got around here!