Julie

I’ve just finished watching the Canada v. Russia AND Canada v. Slovaks Olympic Men’s hockey games and, obviously, I’m on a total hockey-high.  Those were some incredible games of hockey.  It made me realize that I don’t just love Olympic hockey (particularly when we’re pounding on old rivals), but hockey in all of its wonderful forms.

With that in mind, those of us who are masochistic enough to be Leafs' fans haven’t had much to celebrate in a while.  It’s easy to forget, though, that the Leafs aren’t the only ticket in town.  The Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (The farm team of the Leafs') are quietly playing some excellent hockey just a short ride away.

A friend of mine is going through a tough time.  She’s experiencing a lot of backlash from her family for introducing them to her boyfriend, who is of a different race and religion than they are.   We searched online together for suggestions for coping with her situation and we realized that it’s a pretty common occurrence here in Toronto.

We live in an extremely diverse city.  It’s part of what makes this such an amazing place to live.  We have the benefit of exposure to so much rich culture and experience (and food!).  It’s also a potential minefield when it comes to dating.

With casual dating across cultures becoming more and more prevalent, it would seem that now is the perfect time to discuss the importance of open-mindedness and frank communication in order to avoid accidental offence and enjoy the perks of dating someone from another culture (did I mention food?).

By Toronto standards, the weather really isn’t all that bad right now.  We haven’t had that many really bitter cold days and we certainly can’t complain about the amount of snow we’ve seen thus far.  Still, I think we’re overall summer people here in the city.  There’s no denying that we love our patios.  When I used to wait tables, there was always such joy on the faces of those brave souls who would don their coats and toques and sit on the patio on the first day it opened, pretending it was warmer than it invariably was.

If you’d like to inspire the feelings that those heady, carefree days of summer bring out in many of us, bring your date to one of the heated, enclosed patios that are scattered around the city.

The response to the earthquake in Haiti from Canadians has been pretty incredible.  Almost everyone I know has donated something, even a few dollars, to help with the relief effort.  I even know a couple of people who've gone there to do what they can.  The kindness and support that people all over the world have shown for their fellow mankind is truly a beautiful thing.  It kind of gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling inside, doesn’t it?

So it got me thinking about making that feeling last, and sharing it with someone else.  What better way to do that than to do some good right here in our o

If you want to impress a date, nothing beats the romance and grandeur of a night at the opera.  It’s one of those cultural activities that we’re all conscious of, but so few of us have actually experienced.  Lucky for us, we have a world class opera house here in downtown Toronto.