My new career on Net radi E love e-mail. I especially love the e-mail T get in response to my columns. It keeps me in touch “with how readers feel about what I write (good and bad), and that feedback is really important to me. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about looking for a new job, and I gor a lot of well- “ intentioned advice. - I'd like to _~ thank those. of you who e- mailed me with job offers and suggestions for. new careers. * Some of them were actually - legitimate; whereas others I'm not sure about, like the gentle- - a man who volunteered to let mie clean his bathroom once'a week instead of wri riting this column. “: ° “In fact, I have ; a new job, and so far, it’s been a huge « Kicks ['m working at a new radio/television station that broadcasts live programming over the Intemet from a store io downtown on Georgia Street. Te’s called and view- can simply log. nto our Web size to plug into one of three different kinds of Fresich “Geved _ Pappas of North Vancouver-base ad PE NRAAT programming: live talk, con- temporary music, or alterna- tive music. I'm working in the alk end of things (big, surprise) with Fanny Kiefer on her show, which airs from noon to four weekdays. Instead of broad- casters, we're called “Webcasters.” When Fanny first called me, and in her deep husky voice said, “Look kiddo, at the very least the job will be interesting, and hell, you're unemployed anyway so what have you got to lose?” I could- n’t resist. My experience with media jobs is that there are usually long hours involved, but the learning curve is pretty steep, and I like that. And since my kids have assured me that they don’t require my presence in the home beyond the time it takes me to perform basic housekeeping, duties, I figure : the timing is good. Sul, had no idea what I was in for until I sat in the stu- dio With Fanny and our guests this week, Here are just a few of the things I learned: Sally Warren, who wrote the book’ Dumped, informed me that when your marriage ends, it takes at least three years before it isn’t the main thing on your agenda. Rats. ” Another year to go. In case your marriage isn’t ending, and you simply need to spice up your sex life, - there’s an enormous rouP of people who refer to themselves living EA MTA as “the lifestyle,” with whom you can party, pet, and even have full on sex without really | “cheating.” Terry Gould, who studied this lifestyle for I 1 years was in our studio this week. He explained that the idea behind swinging is thar jealous sex is really awesome sex. (Studies have shown that men ejaculate three times as much sperm when they're jeal- ous.) Gould estimates that there are over four million people in North America today who meet to flirt, titil- late, masturbate and copulate, all the while maintaining their emotional monogamy. And they're people with good jobs and happy marriages. His book, titled The Lifestyle: the erotic vites of swingers is very interesting, even if you’re not into that kind of thing yourself. And speaking of books, Mary Trentadue, who owns 32 Books was in the studio too, She’s just moved her North Shore bookstore to Edgemont Village. | learned from her that just because a book like The English Patient _ Sells millions, it’s not necessari- ly a good ‘read. What a relief. T hated that book because I could never figure out who ~ was who, where and when. Trentadue didn't like it much either, nor did Fanny. And all the while I thought I was just too dumb to understand. Monte Clark was in the studio to talk about art. I’m . The. pipe comes with an ‘amber mouth- piece and a fitted leather case with a silk lin- ing marked Ecume De Paris. It is five inches _long. The figure with'a helmet is that of a French fireman circa 1870. Meerschaum is a « fine white’ clay-like mineral ‘that: floats on: water when ‘dry. Meerschaum has tradition- ally been carved into tobacco pipes, cigar © holders and similar objects for centuries, par- - ticularly in Asia Minor. Although very col- ” lectible, such pipes are reasonably priced. For insurance purposes this pipe would be valued at $350. An auction éstimate for this ‘item would be $175 to $206. - — Information and object ie by Ted West Coast _ Estates Auctions. Call 1-800-463-1195. ° cement, igate collision totally ignorant about art, but I learned that the way to edu- cate yourself is to start visiting galleries and talking to the owners. As Monte says, the best thing about art galleries is they're free entertainment. From art to cosmetic surgery is not such a stretch, according to Dr. Ben Gelfant, a plastic surgeon. Breast aug- mentation is still the most popular cosmetic surgery, fol- lowed by facelifts, he says. To my great disappointment, I learned that if you want a chin lift you have to do the whole face or you'll look like Carol Burnett. Incidentally, they do have a surgery for those fatty upper arm flaps, but apparent- ly the scarring is considerable. Guess I'll stick with the tong: sleeved shirts. [ learned from the car guys that you shouldn’t buy a car unless you fall in love with it within the first 15 seconds of sitting in it. And I never knew that there were over 50 kinds of garlic until a hobby farmer named Randy brought some in for us to try. Finally, from Mark and Park, the wine experts, I dis- covered that I really shouldn't’ be serving my homemade wine to guests. In fact, you can buy relatively inexpensive wine that’s very good. The “recommend the Sumac Ridge. The biggest lesson I got this week is that [ really don’t know much abou anything at all. Guess the kids Were right.- - _ so shannonn@relus. net. Platinum pendant. 1G baguette diamonds. -60ct centre ruby. $1.050. Chain extra. While at Trio, ask about having your old gold and gemstones refashioned into new jewellery. Quality, "Sp and integrity: Frio Diamond & Gold Showroom above Bank of Montreal: #26 - 1501 Lonsdale .. 986-9591 a SAVE! We have limited quantities” “of "the Premium Series BWI-3OTN ‘on le now for $240