Photo Credit: imagewerx.ca

Continuing my mission to find some alternative fitness beyond the usual yoga, seawall and mountains this week I began with 'sexy fitness.' After my dive in to lap dancing, I felt I was more than ready to take on Burlesque Aerobics.

I imagined a class of clothes peeling, nipple tassel-ing, and fan dancing. I was right only on one account- I got a fan! The first instruction Melody Mangler of Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society, gave the class was to find fans and grab a feather boa. It was then that I knew this was going to be my kind of a class.

I'm bored with Vancouver. I'm bored with the places, bored with some faces and I'm sick of my disinterest. To cure this I have proscribed myself a challenge; I will find cool things to do in this city, so help me, or I'm moving to Toronto.

Being summer and all, the first step in this adventure is to get moving before the gloom of the rainy season sets in. Vancouver prides itself on being a highly active community, but I've done the yoga thing, done the biking around the seawall thing, I've hiked the Grind (and I love it!). I'm looking for some heart rate rising activities that aren't offered at a Fitness Underworld.

First up: Tantra Fitness
Class: Lap Dance

I first met Al Di through Myspace, as was the cool thing to do a year ago. I'd left a comment on a friend's photo that he was in - something about karaoke- and Al began messaging me, obsessively. He pleaded with me to come to karaoke. I eventually did. That's when I began to understand the magic that is Al Di.

Born in China, 25 year old, Al Di moved to Vancouver a few years ago and began a career as a music journalist with China's Rolling Stone. Since then he has charmed musicians like Sam Roberts, Papa Roach, and Rob Zombie with his passionate, hysterical and enthusiastic interviewing in broken English. See, Al Di, LOVES music more than you can imagine. Al Di cares deeply about musicians and wants to understand how it is that they create such beauty. The result is the cutest and most random interviewing you've ever seen.

Al Di began filming his interviews for a program he calls "Al 'D' TV." Recently Al 'D' TV interviewedFall Out Boy and it made quite the buzz on YouTube.

The following is a Q and A with Al Di. He wanted me to clean up his English but I've kept most of it as it poured from his heart, because that's what makes Al Di, Al Di.

The first time I had it done it hurt so much I cried. Over time I've toughened up and now I think threading is THE best way to deal with eyebrows. For those of you that don't know: threading is a hair removal technique that uses a cotton thread that is twisted and rolled along the skin entwining the hairs in the thread, which are then lifted out from the follicle. The esthetician uses her hands to hold the thread and her (or maybe his) mouth to control the hair removal. The method originated in India and the Middle East and it's offered it in beauty salons all over Vancouver.

The best place for threading hands down is certainly beyond Robson, but it's worth the trip....

I remember in the 90s Improv was all the rage. At least I thought so, it seemed like "Whose Line is It Anyway?" was always on TV. But then what happened? Improv didn't disappear; I just stopped caring about it.

However Improv is on my mind again as I've become aware of the Vancouver International Improv Festival that's going on now and some of it actually sounds pretty cool. For instance there's going to be an improvised cartoon. Produced by Instant Theatre, this festival showcases a wide variety of improvisational styles from all over the world. In addition to showcasing some Improv's top dogs the VIIF also has it's own Festival ensemble, made up of top improvisers from all over, who work with top instructors in the day and then perform in the showcase at night. There are many shows to catch but only three days left. So get off your butts, turn off the computer and go out and see real people thinking on their feet.

Photo credit Grevel

I've had sex. I'll bet you have too. The question is with how many people? Recently I have been reassessing my number because of something a lesbian friend of mine insists: oral counts.

I've never included oral-only 'friends' in my grand total because, well, I didn't think it counted. However, in the lesbian sex-life oral is a major component of intercourse. So, if oral doesn't count does that mean lesbians don't have sex? You bet your dental dam they do.

My reluctance to include oral probably stems from a need to keep my number at a respectable size. Not that I've been a floozy but... I remember dating one guy who told me he'd been with over 60 women in his 25-year-old life. I chose not to join this club because of his number (60 women! Yeegawds), but maybe he was counting oral in amongst his notches.

Here are some arguments for and against including oral in your final tally: