As 2014 approaches, you may contemplate how you will better yourself in the New Year. Usually, this will involve making a vow to improve your diet, or increasing your level of exercise.
However, Vancouver’s citizens are from typical, and with Vancouver being the special city that it is, it turns out that us Vancouverites have a distinct set of bad habits we should resolve.
Here is a list of 5 Resolutions, for individuals who call Vancouver home:
1) Resist the purchase of Lululemon and Ugg items.
They’re comfy. Really comfy. However, they have become somewhat of an everyday uniform for too many of our kind. Take five minutes to people watch on Robson street and I’m sure you’d lose track of how many dedicated Lululemon and Ugg worshippers passed by – from teenage girls to men!
I used to think that this was just a trend I noticed, however the Youtube video “How to be a Vancouverite,” proved others think the same!
Coincidentally, in 2011, Canada MSN Travel reported that Vancouver was the third worst-dressed city. Yikes!
Not that there is anything wrong with these items (we are all owners of them), but how many pairs of these items do we really need?
2) Find a cheaper, winning hockey team to root for
Ok, ok. I know some non-bandwagoning Canucks fans won’t be impressed with this one, but have you ever tried to purchase tickets to watch these guys play? Go to another city, and tickets drop dramatically (do teams hate playing in Vancouver so much, that we need to pay them extra?)
Also, besides the Vancouver Millionaires’ win, we have failed to get ahold of the Stanley Cup – lets hope 2014 brings a win, because if “we are all Canucks”,
I don’t want to be a losing one!
3) Stop complaining about the rain and cold
It’s hard, I know. However, it’s time we all accept the fact that we don’t live in Los Angeles, or even sunny South Surrey. We live in Raincouver, which Environment Canada’s Senior Climatologist rated number 76 for the “most sunny days year-round.” At least there are 24 cities below us on the list!
If you feel this feat is too hard to accomplish, then change resolution #2 to: “Move to somewhere warmer” – we’ve all considered it!
4) Eliminate your Surrey jokes
Poor Surrey always seems to take a beating. Much like Simba, in the meme floating around the web a few years ago, we have all been warned of the supposable danger, the city brings.
However making cracks at the city not only can result in glares from Surrey residents, but it can also land you in the midst of quite a controversy with legal implementations (Recall the “Better safe than Surrey” t-shirts that made news early this year).
So in 2014, we’ll show acceptance of our crime-ridden neighbours by focusing on Surrey’s positives, like the awesome Guildford Mall expansions, and ignore their record -high murder rate for 2013.
It turns out we are all poking fun at the wrong city anyways, as according to Statistics Canada, the city of Kelowna knocks Surrey out of the park with the highest crime rate in Canada for 2012.
5) Increase your transit courtesy
Ever hopped on a skytrain during rush hour or after the 1st of July fireworks? If you are lucky enough to say no, then don’t try it.
Nobody enjoys being crammed into a moving vehicle. It’s made even less fun when the person beside you starts clipping their nails, sneezes on you, or seriously needs a shower – it’s a germaphobes worst nightmare! Or how about when there are two open seats in a row, but a person chooses to sit beside you instead?
In 2014, lets all promise to be courteous transit users (Please!). Until then I suggest bringing Purell on all transit trips – you don’t want to know what I have seen people touch before the handrails on busses!
Written by: Kerri J