It’s been a while since I last posted and now it’s time to make an exciting announcement: I’m joining the Global Saskatoon morning news team as their new social media host. It’s a position I’m really excited about as a social media enthusiast and I’m excited to be doing something I love. The morning show airs on December 5th at 6 a.m. so make sure you don’t miss out. We have a talented crew over here and we’re all incredibly excited to make this happen. Stay tuned!

I’m lost. Swept up by huge, modern buildings my heels scrape against the ground.

When I was little I always imagined moments like this as sophisticated and grown-up, but I’m lost in this city and I don’t know where to go. I jingle change in my pocket, pulling out coins to give the bus driver. He eyes my outfit. I try to stare back but it doesn’t work.

Every corner looks the same yet I constantly look for differences, things that will pull apart my surroundings to make them unique. Strings of lights join everything together. One big mess. Each street is decorated with identical houses and Starbucks coffee shops. The people inside type on their MacBooks pretending to be writers, artists and hippies. I wonder if they’ll change the world the way they suggest.

Anyone who says that every city is like the rest should really get out of their house more often. I watch from the window of the bus, my back sticking against the blue leather seat. I occasionally gaze at my phone, feeling like I should pretend to be busy in this bustling environment. People march down each sidewalk. They’re all encapsulated by their identities. There’s the Goth girl, the hipster guy, the sociopaths, the girl doing the walk of shame. I wonder if I’d fit in right between any of them.

The excitement of solitude surprises me, just knowing I could go anywhere I wanted and no one would know where I am.

I came here to be original but I’m pretty sure I ended up looking like the rest. Most people move places because opportunity calls. Others crave the extended vacation feel that relocating can give you; the fresh start that you get when you wake up in the morning realizing you don’t know a single person. But like other places, this one is full of working clones. Who wouldn’t get lost here?

Even in a place where there’s always some sort of cultural revolution it’s easy to feel as though it’s the same as the last. It’s especially hard to feel these people are fighting in a dignified manner when there is civil unrest in other places. There are people lighting themselves on fire. But my friends are fighting over a boy in a bar.

It disturbs me that I could take a different bus route everyday but I might be taking the same bus. After all, what’s the point of doing something differently if you can’t do it all the way?

A while ago I read a hilarious dating guide for people in relationships with journalists. It was so great that I decided to make my own list based on, erm, listening to my journalist friends talk about their own experiences.

Rule #1 Thou shalt listen

Journalists put up with a lot of crap everyday. While you’re sitting in your safe little cubicle we’re sprinting to the next news scene, dealing with complete idiots and spending way too much time convincing the next person that their children are NOT a news story. Therefore we always need to vent at the end of the day. Listen up, or get out.

Rule #2 Thou shalt not be intimidated by stalking

Right after we met you we Googled you during that lengthy “bathroom break” we took. We know an awful lot about you. We already know your mom’s name, that you have a dog, that your ex-girlfriend has brown hair, that your granddad died last year, your favorite restaurant and color. When you tell us in real life, we will nod as though we didn’t already know to avoid looking like a freak. Don’t be scared by this piece of information. We’re PAID to stalk people daily. P.S. We also know where you live. It’s called 411.ca.

Rule #3 Thou shalt not be hurt if we reject you

We reject people every day. We receive numerous pitches, phone calls, emails and more from people vying to be on TV, the radio or print. We will tell them no in a polite way once, but only once. After that it’s just a plain NO. We will do the same to you. We’re trained to be blunt.

Rule #4 Thou shalt understand we may write about you

Ok, don’t feel special when you read that. We write about everybody. We get news tips from hairdressers, the guy who fixes our dryer, the cab driver, the people sitting next to us in the restaurant and more. At one point in time you are apt to give us some sort of idea for a story. You will be mentioned. Face it or get out.

Rule # 5 Thou shalt put up with our long hours

We work messed up hours. We’ve come to terms with it but chances are that you haven’t. No, we can’t take our Saturday 5 p.m. – 1 a.m. shift off for your best friend’s cousin’s birthday. We likely miss our own birthday. We rarely get vacation. We will probably never see you. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Deal with it.

Rule #6 Thou shalt accept that neurotic is the new sexy

We drink a lot of coffee. In between the coffee we tend to drink massive amounts of sugar laden tea, and Red Rain—the poor man’s Red Bull. We talk a lot. We are extremely contemplative. We speak sarcasm like a first language. Deal with that too.

A male friend of mine asked me the other day, “what’s so great about Kelly Cutrone after all?” My question to fellow fans, “how are you supposed to explain this to a guy?”

Kelly Cutrone is a role model for women of my generation for several reasons. She’s kicked some serious ass by creating renown PR firm, People’s Revolution. How did she do it? She’s smart and she knows what she wants. The title of her first book alone, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You, explains why all in itself.

In today’s world, many women most likely agree that our own moms got married at the age of 23, had kids and raised them. Although we might have wonderful parents many of us are raised with the notion there is a natural societal evolution of “grad high school, go to college, get married, have kids, and if you have a true calling of life maybe get a job too.” It doesn’t help that we’re living in a paradox; while women are becoming more successful in the work force, many think that a quick read of Cosmo is liberating and that plastic surgery will fix their problems.

Regardless, we chase our dreams. Many of us have been lucky enough to have great mentors in our lives. Yet, the natural ebb and flow of today’s world works against us. My own mother has suggested that I should work for the government instead of chasing my goals in journalism. Although her suggestion is probably well intentioned it matches the advice that many mothers would most likely give their daughters. Try hard, but not too hard just to be safe so you don’t get hurt. Oh, and earning money, at the end of the day, is more important than happiness.

Kelly Cutrone’s book gives you the opposite sort of advice. For this reason, she’s the role model that many of us have never had. In fact, her book oddly gives me solutions to most of the problems I have in my life. In many ways it’s hard NOT to perceive this in stark contrast to the media. Unlike the usual culprits like Elizabeth Gilbert’s wishy washy book, “Eat, Pray, Love,” Cutrone has a get real style that’s easy to relate to. Like her, she encourages women to relinquish power over their goals with brains AND beauty, a beacon of hope for those who are frustrated by today’s sullen admiration of Ke$has and wannabe Madonnas.

Kelly Cutrone embodies the type of a woman I want to become, quite frankly. She doesn’t take any crap from any guy, no matter who he is. For god’s sake, she had the chance to work with Donald Trump but didn’t because she disagreed with that fact that he associates with men who degrade women. She’ll tell you the truth but she still has a heart. She hasn’t allowed her success to change her. She, herself, moved to New York on a whim and made her way owning next to nothing even though her parents told her it was a terrible idea. She is a selfless person.

Whether we like it or not, we’re still living in a world that generally subsumes a woman’s achievement within the political sphere as a ground breaking event. Sure, Alison Redford became the first female premier of Alberta but am I the only one to think “um, hello, it’s 2011?” This should have happened well before the 70s. This is heartbreaking to me, and perhaps that’s why I like Cutrone so much. As she says, “We as women are accepting crumbs, when we should be feasting at the buffet.”

When you Google “women to look up to,” not much surfaces. Kelly Cutrone should.

Oh baby. Now THIS is more like it.

Wow, I never could have imagined how chaotic these last few days would be. But here I am, finished the food basket challenge. I’m not feeling much healthier because I’ve gotten sick. I guess that’s what happens when you subsist off things like potatoes for one week.

Nevertheless, I am overwhelmed with an odd concoction of emotions. Sadness. Anger. Frustration. Even happiness. I know I’ve come out of this experience as a better person, and I wonder if the others feel the same too. I am unable to meet with everyone tonight as I need to wave off this illness. My work life depends on it.

I’ve gotten all the podcasts from my radio interviews over the last week. Here’s one from last Friday from John GOrmley Live when I lamented cheating on the diet the night before:

And from yesterday, at the tail end of the challenge I spoke with host Brent Loucks about coming closer to the finish line:

Also from yesterday, I give my wonderful boss Gormley an update on the challenge and reflect over some of the questions I have been confronted with as a result of the challenge:

From the early morning hours of this morning with CJME’s lovely Andrew Dawson. Other than sounding a little sick I think this is one of my favorites:

As well, a (little odd looking) video interview with CKOM’s Chris Morin about my food basket challenge afterthoughts:

And last not but least, as cheesy as it is, a video that describes how I feel right now. Laugh your heart out but I mean it. Thanks for the support everyone!

I had an incredibly busy day today. At 6:15 a.m. I was on-air with Andrew Dawson and at 7:15 I was interviewed by Brent Loucks. If you missed it then you can listen below.

Not a huge fan of oatmeal (don't mind my diabolical look)

Hi everybody. Today I started my first day of the Food Basket Challenge and talked about it on John Gormley Live. For one week, starting today, I’ll be eating below the poverty line. I am equipped with a select amount of food that I must manage to ration. Please listen to the podcast from John Gormley Live today. Enjoy!

I read Kelly Cutrone’s If you have to go cry outside and other things your mother never told you as I headed for my first job interview on a busy Air Canada flight. And trust me, finishing it so quickly wasn’t an issue of it being small. In fact, for such a compact biography I was incredibly impressed by the quality of Cutrone’s writing. I could have been reading a newspaper to prep myself for my first journalism job interview, yet I would argue her book prepared me better than anything else could have.

Cutrone’s writing carries the same tone you’d expect from your brutally honest best friend; the one who you know is always right even if you’re not yet ready to admit it. Yet, its non-apologetic tone isn’t condescending. Cutrone takes us on her journey of moving to New York from a small town as a young adult (much to her father’s dismay) and sneaking her way into a public relations gig with a nursing degree. She struggles with rent as she goes through boyfriends and money while zigzagging through New York City’s complex social enclaves.

Cutrone’s book is written for the woman who’s either totally lost in the world or who’s just graduated and is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants from the world. However, even if you’re not of this demographic, you’ll probably manage to get a few good laughs. She reminisces about her perils as a young woman in a humorous way— bringing to light the paradox of trying to find yourself when realistically, being lost is the best thing that can happen to you. One quote that explains exactly this is “When life deals you blows, there are blessings to be found in them if you look hard enough,” and “Sometimes, if not most of the time, you find out who you are by figuring out who and what you are not.”

What I enjoy the most about this book is its uncensored motif. Cutrone urges girls to go grab the world by its balls, something most mothers forget to tell their daughters. Cutrone is the relentless, unapologetic and powerful woman that many of us want to be, but just haven’t figured out how to be yet. She sets a standard for young women in her book, showing that your boyfriends, enemies and even your parents should never validate your identity or future. It’s your life. I’d definitely urge anyone in their twenties to grab this book.

I’ll leave with you some quotes from the book that speak to its mission.

“You can’t fake hard work.”

“It’s the village girl who will change the world.”

I haven’t said a lot about my current role as John Gormley’s producer so I think it’s time to enlighten everybody. First of all, I’m incredibly lucky to be doing this job. It has given me the incredible opportunity to hone my skills via the wide variety of tasks I perform at the station on a daily basis.

John, to me, is like a 2nd dad. With this said, we naturally disagree on some issues which is why we’ve started putting the Producer Chronicles on-air. Once in a while we run into a contentious issue of which we debate on the show. Today that issue was pregnant women and how they’re smug, in my opinion at least. Watch the YouTube clip below to see where I’m coming from and then listen to the clip taken from John Gormley Live today. Cool job, hey?

The Producer Chronicles: Pregnant women are smug