The thing I have found with energy levels is that the earlier I get up the more energy I seem to have. This winter was a particularly sluggish one for me. I was hardly excercising and I felt pretty crappy a lot of the time. I went to see a TCM and re-learned a few things that my mom always told me when I was growing up, but seemed to have forgotten.

I want to quit destroying my hearing.

I love music. Always have, always will. But I've definitely seen one too many rock shows. And it shows in my hearing! So I've decided this summer that I'm going to start using ear plugs whenever I see a concert.

I know it sounds silly but it's actually not so bad. A lot of people use ear plugs at concerts. Which is good because then I don't feel so silly with pieces of stuff sticking out of my ears.

I used to be quite a good biker, both mountain and road. Never really great, but pretty good, and I was happy. But ever since I got older, and got married, I have just become a total slug. I really need to just get out more, come home from work and just get on the bike! That is the life I want. And who knows I might start bike commuting too, I take transit everyday right now so I feel like I am doing my part for the environment, but what about zero-emissions?

I've had the chance to write about a lot of public policy initiatives. But few have given me more satisfaction than Vancouver's four pillars strategy, especially the safe injection site.

On one level, it's the sheer impact that the site has had in saving lives among a population that has little voice and less influence at City Hall, the Legislature and Parliament Hill.

And on another level, the entire initiative said so much about our willingness to embrace creative solutions that break out of preconceptions in the name of just working. The drive towards this came from some of the most marginalized people in Vancouver, yet was embraced by a mayor from the NPA, and then enacted by a former cop. The initial wave of understandable fear gave way to strong community support, with one of the strongest opponents running in the last municipal election on behalf of Larry Campbell's Vision Vancouver team. (And following Sarah's example of full disclosure, I wrote several speeches for Mayor Campbell and one for Vision in the last campaign.)