Santa Clause Parade for Sick Kids

How Discovered: Found out about this while cruising the Sick Kids Foundation Website.
What it was: Job was selling Sick Kids pendants, hats and DVDs to people attending the Santa Clause parade in downtown Toronto.
With whom: Volunteered with my friend Sylvia who is an incredible sales person.
Experience: In just two hours we raised over $600, far more than any other of the volunteers. It felt great because we could have slept in and done nothing but instead we used our sales and marketing expertise to help raise money to help sick children. The event was well-organized and the organizers sent a nice card at the end.
Do it Again?:  Definitely!

International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront

How Discovered: My friend heard about it on the radio.
What it Was: Selling books at the International Festival of Authors.
With Whom: I did this one on my own.
Experience: Since I was on my own, I got to know the other volunteers and we shared our love of reading between book-buying crowds. It felt good to support the authors and to meet people who are passionate about reading – but I wasn’t helping the world as directly as I was when I was raising money for sick children. The organizers seemed a bit stressed and there was a lack of information-flow, which resulted in some egg on our faces, but in general it was pretty smooth. As a bonus I got to meet Harper’s editor Lewis Lapham.
Do it Again?: Probably.

Nuit Blanche for the French Consulate 

How Discovered: Found it through an ad in Craig’s List.
What it Was: Greeting people who sponsored the event at the Mars center and giving people information.
With Whom: My friend Nadia who has family from France.
Experience: From the beginning, the night did not feel right. My friend and I got some great shirts from Lacoste since they wanted us to work at the door (this honor was bestowed partly because we are fashionable and partly because we speak French.) We did not know the price we would pay for those shirts – we were not allowed to move away from the door for one minute, or else the Lacoste sponsors would get aggravated. Also, the organizers did not trust us with the money or the giveaways, so each of us always had to be with these awful, socially-inept women who treated us as if we were janitors. Although I thought the event was supporting art, my function was so sponsor-driven, it felt much more like work than like play. Plus we were not treated with respect. The only redeeming thing about the night is that I got the shirt and I got to stand next to Mayor David Miller.
Do it Again?: Never! Not if they paid me!

Here is a list of best books with their categories that I read this year. The synopses of the books are available through the links, so I have simply added my subjective opinions in the form of pros and cons. I hope that you will enjoy these to add to your balanced diet in 2007.

The Long Tail
Author: Chris Anderson
Category: Business 
Pro: Helped me see niche markets everywhere and reinvigorated my enthusiasm for our modern, connected world 
Con: It got repetitive at times and the idea is too new to have much credible economic research behind it 

Getting to Yes
Author: Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton
Category: How To
Pro: Made me argue against the truth behind my opponent’s argument, instead of simply fighting over their official position 
Con: There is not much wrong with this book – it delivered what it promised 

Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior
Author: Chogyam Trungpa
Category: Spirituality
Pro: Rinpoche a Tibetan who went to Oxford University – he has huge credibility and has a sense of humor as well 
Con: The title and cover art make it look like it is a cult handbook and the prose is sometimes awkwardly written 

Female Chauvinist Pigs
Author: Ariel Levy 
Category: Women’s Studies
Pro: A very interesting take on women in a cultural phenomena written in a very palatable form
Con: It takes some things that are not important too seriously does not lie on a solid foundation of research 

Self Esteem
Author: Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning   
Category: Personal Development 
Pro: The exercises are straightforward and it helped me work through some personal blocks in a painless way   
Con: It has a chapter on hypnotism which seems out of place

Hey Nostradamus!
Author: Douglas Coupland
Category: Fiction
Pro: Very creative, thoughtful and full of surprises
Con: Sometimes the light treatment of such a serious subject made me feel uneasy