life & style // 10

Deck the walls

» Personalizing your living space

| Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

Ferns has their own
personal space. For some it
might only be a small bedroom
or dorm. For others it’s an

apartment or house. Even those :

living with a roommate or
significant other generally have
areas they have domain over.
Beautifying and
personalizing an area to make
it feel more “yours” can bea
challenge. This is especially
the case in smaller living
spaces, when the walls may be
very bland or even feel bleak.
Decorating the walls in some

way can do wonders for the look

of an area, and make it feel a
lot more like your own in the

process. There are many ways to :
make a wall more than just a big :

piece of insulated plaster.
Posters: The most popular
form of wall decoration,
posters, are sold almost
anywhere and can be of almost
anything. Whether you want
movies, bands, people, sports,
or animals, posters are a cheap
and large way to add some life
into the room. They’Te easily
put up and moved around. In
fact, the easiest way to makea
room look different is to switch
all the posters around. Frame

your posters for a more upscale
look.

Artwork: Like posters,

: visual art can depict almost
anything. However, most art
: that is put up is more subtle and :
: often relaxing compared toa

* poster depiction. Many believe

art is too expensive or difficult
: to find, but this couldn’t be
: further from the truth. Cheap

prints can be found at many

: mall stores, at local cafés or
* galleries, and even sold directly

 

: on the street in some parts of
: Vancouver. There’s a wide range :

: of talent and style to be found,
: and even just one or two pieces
: of art can make a space seem

* more vibrant.

theotherpress.ca

Photos: Not just for your

: high school locker anymore!

: Prints of your memories of

: vacations, friends, family,

: or good times and events

: can create an extremely

: personalized environment.

: There are almost as many ways
: to organize them as there are

: types. They can be spread out,

: clustered together, individually
: framed, or placed in one multi-
: photo frame available at any

: department or furniture store.

: Digital photos are very easily

: printed at most retailers with an
: electronics department.

Mementos: Just as

: personal as photographs,

: putting mementos on the wall

: creates a fun miscellaneous

: blend of items important to

": you. They can be souvenir

" : T-shirts or jerseys, concert

: tickets, clippings, hats, or

: anything else that can be affixed
: to your wall.

Wallpaper: When all else

: fails, aroom can be wallpapered
: without too much difficulty

: using the self-adhesive kind.

*: Getting a funky new colour does
_.} absolute wonders for changing

: the mood of a space. Painting

: aroom can have the same

: effect—but it may bea bit more
: labour-intensive.

Sprucing up your wall has

: benefits for both your space

: and mood! Look out for posters
: sales and deals at framing stores
: in order to cheaply make your

" room your own.

 

Stop HIV & hep C now

» Mite that be a vampire?

Andrea Arscott
Columnist

f you're eating, you might

want to put aside your
meatball sub for a few minutes
while you take this in instead.
Now let’s talk about tiny
insects that like to call your
body home. There are several
types of blood-sucking critters
that enjoy feeding off you,
especially at night. I’m sure

picking them up.

The first of the blood-
smoothie lovers is pubic lice,
a.k.a. crabs. These teensy-
weensy insects hang around

armpits and other hairy areas,

including your eyebrows. Pubic you'll likely be itchy wherever

; they are nesting, and you'll be
: able to see itsy-bitsy brownish
: crabs and/or tiny white eggs

lice were given their nickname
because they actually bear a
resemblance to crabs. Like

: many other living creatures,

: they too lay eggs—at the

: bottom of your pubic hairs.

: These eggs are called nits. Not
: “nuts,” but “nits.”

Lost your appetite yet?

If you’ve contracted them,

: amongst your hairs. Don’t

: adopt them like pets; get toa

: drug store or pharmacy and

: buy the lotion, shampoo, or

: special cream to treat them,

: : otherwise they’ll be tied to you
: You're probably wondering how :
: you get crabs. There are several :
: ways to catch them, but none
: of them involve launching a

: cage into an ocean—unless

: you consider your genitalia to
: be a booby trap and your bed
: ., : to beasea of wild animals.
youd like to know how to avoid : That’s right, crabs travel from
someone else’s pubes to your
: pubes during sexual contact.
: They’re also transmitted

: from one person to the next

: by sharing towels, clothing,

your pubic hairs, as well as your : bedding, and mattresses.

forever.
Another infection you

: want to control is scabies. If

: you had to choose between

: crabs and scabies, you'd want

: crabs. Why, you ask? Scabies

: gets under your skin. They

: are tiny mites and they creep

: below the surface of your

: skin and lay eggs, causing

: you intense itching, mainly at
: night. Signs of scabies might

: include a rash in the following
: areas: between your fingers, on
: your wrists, abdomen, ankles,
: the bends of your elbows, or

: around your genitals. You may
: also develop sores, as a result

: of scratching. Because scabies
: look like any rash, you may

: need a doctor or nurse to make }
: a diagnosis before heading to
: the pharmacy.

If you have scabies, the

Public Health Agency of

: Canada recommends that you
: wash or dry clean everything

: you have touched or worn

: (all linens, towels, clothes,

: etc.) in hot water and vacuum
: anything else that can’t be put
: ina washing machine, such as
: your mattress and carpet. The
: agency also advises that if you
: can’t wash your bedding and

: clothing, to store it in sealed

: plastic bags (like garbage bags) :
: for one week to kill the mites.

The BC Centre for Disease

prevent spreading scabies to

: other people and your sexual
: partners.

So, don’t have sex if you

have scabies or crabs. Get

: treated. Remember, if you have
: sores or cuts in and around

: your genitals, it’s easier for HIV
: and hep C to enter your blood

: stream. Stop HIV and hep C

: now.

Come down to the Purpose

Society testing clinic at 40
: Begbie Street in New West
: the first and third Friday of
: the month from ua.m. to1

p.m. for anonymous and rapid

: HIV testing, and STI and

: HCV testing. We also provide
: Control suggests that all sexual :
: partners be treated and that if
: you shared any of the above-

? mentioned items with anyone
: else in your household, those

: people should be treated too.

: Please take precautions to

vaccines, free harm reduction

: supplies, and condoms! You

: can also get your questions

: answered by emailing
sexyquestions@purposesociety.
: org