The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

18 economist suntribune etcetera thursday jan 20 2000 its a living an every day girl friday by fred simpson staff writer if youre living on borrowed time lisa dyer may be just the person you need in your life shes a girl friday for every day of the week i actually do wardrobing for quite a few men said dyer who was catching her breath in between buying groceries for her clients running errands and maybe even purchasing furniture on thelr behalf some of them dont have the time to go shopping or simply hate doing it thats where dyer enters the scene with her yearold onewoman borrowed time service borrowed time she says is dedicat ed to providing customized personal services to help save your time people are very busy these days and it can be a hectic time keeping their household together our full range of services means theres no need for you to run all over town to get things done operating out of aurora dyer travels all over the gta in a neverending cru sade to save her clients valuable time borrowed time offers a variety of ser vices including gift buying shopping errands outsourcing and coordinating services its also one of very few personal assistant services in canada and the only one located in york region said dyer people are very busy these days and it can be a hectic time keeping their household together her customers include business owners business managers entrepre neurs right down to single moms who need an extra hand one of my clients is a single mother with six children shes also an actress so it gets pretty hectic keeping the house hold together so i do the grocery shop ping for her she said i also did some christmas buying for her as well steering her to a lot of home services such as finding her a nanny and finding someone to put up hsr christmas lights a typical day for dyer will usually see her start off grocery shopping morning is the time i usually do per sonal shopping running errands or even just mailing a letter she said i have people i shop for on an ongo ing basis they give me a standard shop ping list and can fax additional lists to me i not only purchase the groceries but i drop them off at the home and put them away if requested dyer tries to leave afternoons for last minute requests or special jobs that may come up i did a lot of christmas gift buying last year for people who wanted to avoid the lastminute rush dyer acknowledges that women tend to be more hesitant in letting someone else shop for them but they soon learn to have confidence in her tastes but men are a pushover ive purchased everything for men from running shoes to a complete wardrobe she said staff photomike barrett lisa dyer of aurora runs a girl friday business called borrowed time and has a steady flow of customers who ask her to gift grocery and clothes chop dyer even set up one mans new condominium selecting everything from drapes to dressers and cutlery to linens on one occasion a male customer had just bought a new condominium apartment and wanted everything brand new i spent 212 weeks shopping for him and buying everything from dishes cutlery glasses furniture right down to sheets for the bed she even chose colour combinations for the ceiling walls and floors i got to know his tastes and basical ly i bought everything sight unseen for him i had to return only one item a larger dresser to the store she said dyer agrees that buying for people can be nerveracking at times you have different type personali ties to deal with she said thats why its very beneficial for someone to hire me on an ongoing basis so i do get to know them and their lifestyle borrowed time is more than just a shopping agency it also offers other ser vices i wont dust your furniture for you said dyer but i can pick up the phone and refer someone to you who will do it she does recall that on one occasion she was in a private home waiting for the delivery of a new bed the delivery people had said they would set it up but left without doing it so i put it together myself nothing to it dyer came up with her personal assistance idea while employed as a store retail manager she has more than 16 years of specialty retailing and pro motion experience it was especially bad at christmas with a lot of people obviously frustrated shoppers she said i put together a service where peo ple could phone and give us their list and then we would do the shopping for them all they had to do was come into the store and pay for the articles it was then that dyer got the inspira tion to go into fulltime business herself i thought offering a personal shop per service would be a great idea it was business is good people are getting busier and busier all the time and thats where i come in she said dyer now has 15 regular ongoing clients and at any given time has from one to 50 projects on the go she is also her only employee at the moment but hopes to expand in the near future most services range from 20 to 30 an hour and gift certificates are avail able as for who shops for the busy dyer my husband she smiles for additional information on borrowed time and the services it offers call lisa dyer at 905 7269904 oremail dyeiqsprintca markham youth theatre auditions for superstar markham youth theatre is gearing up for the millenni um with five shows on feb 18 is you laughin at me an improv comedy cavalcade tickets are available through the myt hotline at 416 4104001 next is the much anticipated third annual spring pro duction of jesus christ superstar in concert auditions are this month for singers and musicians call the hotline to set up a time this summer myt hopes to once again have two pro- ductions at the civic centres outdoor amphitheatre in june playingin thepark2000 a collection of original one- act plays followed by shakespeares lovers in july the fall mainstage production will be the the whos legendary rock opera tommy vancouver chinese performing artists hotel the french comedy written by georges feydeau and maurice desvallieres will be performed by the vancouver chinese performing artists entirely in cantonese at markham theatre for six shows only jan 27 to 30 this coproduction with network production communication is part of markham theatres multicul tural programming initiative that began last year with the soldout run of ray cooneys run for your wife per formed by the same troupe the classic farce plot revolving around two couples staying at a hotel and the ensuing attempts at secret affairs is guaranteed to bring the house down with laugh ter this production was recently performed to critical acclaim in vancouver as part of the millennium celebrations the vancouver chinese performing artists troupe was established in 1995 with a mandate to provide theatrical entertainment to the chinese community in vancouver over the past five years the society has performed a num ber of dramas and comedies the most successful being run for your wife which included the markham theatre run the society is comprised of film and television actors who have attracted chinese fans from around the world during the span of their careers gigi tsui chik sum sarr wong yt patricia leung kai shu ngai ngan mei soo and wai keung poon bring their talents to markham theatre and promise to grow their loyal fan base with their outstanding comedic talents show times for hotel are jan 27 to 28 at 8 pm jan 29 to 30 at 230 and 8 pm ticket prices are 38 and 55 and are available by calling the box office at 3057469 monday through saturday from 11 am to 6 pm quartette with stuart mclean quartette with stuart mclean promises a performance of outstanding musical talent and remarkable storytelling at the markham theatre feb 1 and 2 at 8 pm caitlin hanford cindy church gwen swick and sylvia tyson join voices and hearts as quartette together they create a musical mosaic of rb soul cajun and gospel all solidly rooted in folk and country since its first appear ance at torontos harbourfront in the summer of 1993 quartette has become one of the most dynamic and inspiring musical collaborations on the canadian music scene this wonderful music by quartette will be interspersed with performances by the award winning writer journalist and host of cbc radios vinyl cafe stuart mclean one of canadas best known and loved storytellers with many popular bestselling books to his credit tickets are 2995 and are available at the box office 171 town centre blvd monday through saturday from 1 1 am to 6 pm or by calling 3057469 annual skating party next week cedarena is celebrating its 73rd annual skating party next tuesday from 730 to 10 pm this event is for adults 18 years of age and over admission is 5 and includes hot chocolate and doughnuts there will be door and spot prizes as well to get to this event take hwy 7 to reesor road for merly 10th line then two miles south to cedar grove for more information call 2940038