Wife aastyie DADE Ol Ni BUDGET Flushing away the wealth By Stephanie Trembath, Life & Style Editor everything comes with a price; nothing you do is without a cost. This small but infuriating factoid occurred to. me while I was getting ready for school, shaking dimes and nickels out of my cat-shaped piggy bank, and hiding the fact that I was scouring for money for a coffee from my boyfriend (he neglects to understand that even though we have a French press and almond milk in the fridge, Starbucks is still an absolute must sometimes). The price to merely exist in our society increases with every breath we take; every action, movement, moment, comes with a heavily calculated and weighted price. This made me think about how I can’t even go to the bathroom without it costing me. Think about it: toilet paper costs money, and so does the establishment where-you are using the toiletries. If I were to squat down outside and urinate, not only would I be publically humiliated and scrutinized, but if a cop drove past I would receive a fine [eeriise somes at pico for public indecency. What's indecent is the fact that such a basic and primitive human need costs me twenty-five cents for a roll of toilet paper. A roll of toilet paper, on average, lasts five days in an American household with two occupants; per person that’s nine sheets per trip to the toilet. The toilet paper industry all on its own generates $200 billion dollars annually in sales in the United States. Doesn’t that seem like an absurd amount of money for something our ancestors did for free? This isn’t including the cost of the running water, soap, and other utilities involved in keeping your washroom running. In England there are certain areas that charge $1 per entry to public washrooms to cover the maintenance fees and overhead costs. While I was visiting London I avoided these bathroom trips, and instead opted to buy a three-pound (or six Canadian dollar) Starbucks coffee and hit up the washroom for free. At McDonalds the commercial jingle claimed “smiles are free,” but upon testing this theory out my friends and I were told in order to hold a place in line and receive said smile, we had to purchase something. Needless to say, this scenario ended badly and we never received our “free” smile. (We didn’t purchase anything either so we left with grim satisfaction). Once I decided to purge myself of all clothing purchases for the next year, I tried to take my revolutionary new way of thinking and apply it to my entire life, only to realize that there are things you have to buy in order to succeed and exist in our society; yet most of these items so tedious and unnecessary it seems ridiculous. Whoever decided to charge twenty dollars for a box of tampons is a genius. My new philosophy is to scrutinize every purchase with a “do or die” mentality; will my life come to a screeching halt if I don’t buy floss? Am I going to look back and kick-myself for not spending hundreds of dollars on course materials? Is my life going to drastically change if I don’t purchase sharper knives, laundry detergent, hand lotion, or raisins for porridge? Probably not. While I may curse my stained clothes, dry hands, and lacklustre breakfast cereal, I don’t need these things to make me a better person or drastically transform my life. While I realize that spending money is inevitable, and usually makes me feel better about myself (especially if I’m buying a new book or clothes), I loathe the idea that I am unable to escape the system. I cannot stand the notion that even if I choose not to, not spending money is unavoidable. Aside from necessities like rent, cellphone bills, car payments, gas, food, utilities, and tuition fees, there are dozens of little tedious things I cannot help purchase; making my overhead cost of living an exponential monthly fee I cannot afford. All that I can say is that it’s a sad, sad day when one is totally and completely unable to excrete waste for free. Decidedly undecided; Douglas College’s two-year Diploma in Therapeutic Recreation By Stephanie Trembath, Life & Style Editor t seems that the longer I attend university, the more advantages and opportunities reveal themselves to me. ~ When I graduated from high school I had a vague idea of what university offered from an educational stance, and I immediately reviewed my options: Bachelor of Arts versus Bachelor of Science, try to avoid math at all costs, and stick to classes that allowed me write essays over midterms. What I didn’t realize was the vast expansion of diplomas offered from smaller colleges that— much like BCIT— provide practical skills to increase the chances of finding a job upon graduation—unlike BAs, which often leave students grovelling for jobs and opting to take their PDP and become teachers. One of these newer diploma programs is Douglas College’s Diploma in Therapeutic Recreation. This two year program allows candidates to work in recreation as therapeutic aids, recreation planners and programmers, recreation leaders, and recreation therapists in a variety of settings. Health departments, hospitals, youth centres, group homes, rehabilitation centers, and municipal recreation centres are a few places that hire students with this diploma. Typical starting wages for students working in therapeutic recreation are roughly twenty dollars an hour, or about $45,000 per year. After completing of the two-year diploma program at Douglas College, students have the option of then taking a full four-year degree to obtain a Bachelor in Therapeutic Recreation at either Douglas College or the University of the Fraser Valley. The University of Calgary also has a Community Rehabilitation Degree, so students who finish a two-year diploma at Douglas have an opportunity to transfer to schools outside the Lower Mainland. Perfect for students who enjoy working with people of all ages in a recreational environment, the Diploma in Therapeutic Recreation at Douglas boasts 90 per cent success rate for finding a job after graduation. If you are taking random classes trying to decide what you want to do, it is worth sitting down to discuss options with an academic advisor to see what is best suited for your needs. Comfort foods to avoid this fall Healthy alternatives to seek out and try By Gurneev Panesar e all love doughnuts, fries, pizza, WV esse sins fudge cake, and croissants drizzled with icing; the list goes on. A safe haven for most of us, but we all forget that our immune system is the weakest during the cold. However, all it takes is an extra 100 calories per day to pack on those extra pounds over the course of a year. For those of you with a sweet tooth, I am sorry to say that sugar can not only greatly compromise your system, but it can send you into a free fall and the next thing you know you’ll have a cold. However, choosing a healthy snack does not have to mean sacrificing flavour. There are many ways to make traditional snacks more waistline-friendly. When it’s cold outside, reach for a healthy snack instead of something that will ruin your diet! Some are mentioned below: Soup Be it chicken or tomato, a low-sodium soup is a nutritious snack choice and a tasty winter comfort food. Avoiding cream-based, high-calorie soups makes this a healthy choice while vegetable soups can provide fibre and vitamins. Oatmeal On a cold day, a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal can help to warm you up, and also provides health benefits. The soluble fibre in oatmeal helps lower “bad” cholesterol known as low-density lipoprotein. Soluble fibre also slows down the absorption of cholesterol in your bloodstream, reducing overall cholesterol levels. For added fibre and nutrients, add blueberries, bananas or raspberries. Baked sweet potatoes ey Sweet potatoes are simple to make, easy to clean up and make a convenient snack that = also provides valuable nutrition. Sweet potatoes contain a large amount of beta-carotene, which helps the body make vitamin A, and they contain fibre, vitamin B-6, potassium, vitamin C, calcium and magnesium. Hot chocolate While hot chocolate may not click in our mind when thinking of a healthy snack, there are ways to make this winter drink a healthier option. For example, choose a low-sugar or sugar-free cocoa mix, and use fat-free or 1 per cent milk to cut calories and fat. This drink provides calcium and vitamin D, and cocoa provides antioxidants that help protect cells against damage caused by free radicals