So as mentioned, I threw a successful charity auction at Canvas Lounge on May 22 and raised upwards of $16,000 (everyone together now: HOLY SHIZNAM!) I don’t know if it was because of the dates we provided, who we auctioned off, who was in the crowd, or perhaps it was a combination of the above.
The line up for the night was as follows. It includes the date, teh value & what it went for:
1: Sue: This aerobic instructor will work you into shape but promises no tricep dips at dinner. Date: $100 GC to Joe Fortés.
Value: $100, Went for $100. First is always the hardest spot but she also did NOT invite any friends to attend that night which helps bump your value up tremendously.
2: Jenny: This raven-haired temptress is nothing less than fashionably “awesome”. Date: Hut! Hut! Hut! 2 Tickets to a BC Lions Game + $50 GC at Yaggers.
Value: $125 Went for $125. Second is also just as hard but we do try & get in the very least the value of the date. I think if she was further into the line up she would have garnered more but she was a victim of last minute switcheroos.
3: Jeremy: A sucker for a cute girl in jeans & heels, this bachelor puts no one in a corner. Date: Salsa Lesson for 2 + $50 GC to the Jazz Cellar
Value: $115 Went for: $180… alright, starting to make some profit. Jeremy, I have to say is cute & managed to put on a salsa demonstration which started getting the women worked up.
4: Andrew: Share a couple of vodkas with this thoughtful traveler who can share his adventures from over 40 countries. Date: Share drinks & appies at Goldfish located in the heart of Yaletown.
Value: $100, Went for: $250. Not surprised he was able to pull a profit. Yes, Andrew IS cute and knows how to flirt. In fact, he managed I think to be purchased, buy a date, get a phone number & has since mowed his friend’s lawn over another girl. Furthermore, to my knowledge, is chatting w/ 2 other girls from the auction. Well done my friend…. well done.
5: Luciana: Words cannot begin to describe this Brazilian Beauty. Date: Get ready to laugh with 2 Tickets to yuk yuk’s + $100 GC to Watermark.
Value: $125. Yuk yuks isn’t that high end of a locale and watermark is a restaurant at kits beach. So someone would have to work it pretty good to get a profit & well, if I knew she could do this, I would have set her up with something of more value.. yes, she pulled in $1500. The highest bid … EVER. This made the night take a turn for the pricey!
6: Kim: Don’t dare to be late when facing the always ‘vibrant’ Kimmy or she may have you running laps. Date: Private Boxing Lesson for 2 + $50 GC to Wild Rice (post massage & physio therapy session included).
Value: $275 Went for: $ Ok, so it was mega hard to follow $1500 but she did not bad (I had forgotten that the massage/physio were included so I may have put her in further in the line up.)
7: Graham: This dimpled Rhodes Scholar and soon-to-be professor would like to teach you a thing or two about how to enjoy Vancouver. Date: Start with a Jazz Brunch at the Sutton Place Hotel followed by a Trolly Tour of the City & finish with the exhibit ‘KRAZY’ at the VAG.
Value: $200 Went for: $300 Was a friend of the MC and someone tipped me off during the auction he could do the splits. So mr. Graham increased his #’s w/ that little action.
8: Shaun: When not spiking the ball on any given beach on any given Saturday, this Motley Big Wheeler can be found pondering the meaning of life over a dish of poutine. Date: Indian Arm Luncheon Cruise for 2 with Fairweather Cruises.
Value: $140 Went for: $250. Shaun is my friend & did it up right that night w/ a 3 piece suit which he ended up taking off when on stage. What he got.. his very own stalker w/ buyer’s remorse (see below)
9: Jieun: Jieuniper may love to laugh but there is nothing funny about her short game. Date: Private golf lesson for two at Seymour Creek Golf & Country Club + $50 GC to Plan B Eatery.
Value: $175 Went for $400. Bachelor Andrew purchased this Asian hottie. She did manage to work it on the steps however..
10: Daesha: There is nothing retro about this bachelorette. Buy her a martini straight up & find out if you’re her Carey Grant. Date: BMO VIP tickets to Vancouver Whitecaps
Value: $250, Went for…. $1000!!!! Yes, Daesha is hot. Like it.
11: Kid Carson: Vancouver’s own morning show personality may like his fast cars but likes to take it slow on the beach all summer long. Date: Poolside Pedi’s for 2 followed by Drinks at Zin.
Value: Went for: $525. He is a radio host on Vancouver’s most popular station. We were excited to bring some celebrity to the auction this year which added to the advertising & promotion of the event.
12: Toby: This bachelor is not only a fearless Rugby player but a drinker to be reckoned with… nothing but Guinness for this British import. Date: Eco Sea Safari for 2 in Horseshoe Bay.
Value: $130 Went for: $400. Toby is hot. Although, the buyer claims it was partly because it was charity. I’m sure his english accent had something to do with it.
13: Alicia: When asked what is her favourite meal we were told: Dinner. Date: FORE! Enjoy a day of golf on Swan E Set.
Value: $160 Went for…. 0. She was the only disaster of the evening. When a bachelor/ette is purchased, they invite the buyer up on stage, they’re handed a rose & walked over to the cashier. Unfortunately for her, her bidding stalled & then the guy was reluctant to pay. (BS) A few days later a BH member stepped forward & offered some money & is taking her out this weekend. YEY! All worked out in the end. To add fodder to the evening: she had her hair done which fell apart, & then some dude commented that she would be cheaper in person which is why he didn’t bid on her. Poor girl was just doing me a favour & didn’t deserve that!
14: Nicole: 10 Across: She’s an 11 letter word for bold. 12 Down: Enjoys these cool ones on a patio. Date: 2 GCs for 6-week Bootcamp with Precision Athletics starting May 26.
Value: $500 Went for: $650. This was actually your very own Brutally Honest & thanks to the charity of our friends, she went for a fetching price.
15: Benjamin: “My emotions start running wild, my tongue gets tied, and that’s no lie, I’m looking in your eyes…” Date: Vancouver Whale Watching for 2.
Value: $230 Went for: $650. He is the morning show sidekick or rather the bitch. Kid gets him to do all sorts of whacked things which is why he is referred to as: Benjamin the Butler. A girl who happened across my event & thought it was a good cause bought the tix off me & she is the one that purchased him. They went this last saturday. Hope it was fun.
16: Dan: Third time’s a charm. Our returning bachelor is back by popular demand. Maybe this will be his year he sails away into the sunset. Date: Private wine & cheese cruise to Bowen Island on 43’ Yacht.
Value: ?? Went for: $655. He is the co-capt’n of our relay team & we use him AND his date every year. It’s a bit daunting to source 20 dates so when dates are able to come to the table w/ a date ready in hand, we take it. My friend who was in it last year & her friends pooled their money together to buy this date. Great idea!
17: Siobhan: Play hookie this summer with this self proclaimed water baby otherwise known as Shavie. Date: River Rafting on the Chilliwack River.
Value: $250 Went for: $750…oh, hells yea. I met this girl at last year’s auction. She sat at a table next to the stage & was helping raise the value of the bidding. I’ve since then kept in touch & joined her networking group. So naturally, she was the first person I asked to be in this year’s auction. It was her friend that dropped $1500.
18: Reisa: The last place Sillysweetsmart “Buttercup” visited was Montreal for front row seats to UFC fight. So naturally, she will travel to Seattle for a little favourite past time fun! Date: Pair of Closing Day Mariner’s Tickets against the Oakland A’s (parking pass included).
Value: $180-200? Went for: $1000. This is a date that I wanted to do. I was almost tempted to arrange with Brock to put myself in the auction and he’d buy me for those tix but then realized I could buy them cheaper on craigslist & get a more desirable date.
She was the last of our $1000 ladies. She rocked. She had a baseball hat & signage. One of her friends was helping up the price of her date & was holding at $800 and was touch & go there for a minute til buddy stepped in with $1000. He later commented that he loved Reisa but he can hang out w/ her for free any time.
19: Lance: Originating from the Okanagan Valley, Lance is a Successful Real Estate Agent who will find you your dream house, and spend the first night in your bed with you just to make you feel at home. Date: Fit for a dignitary. Bill Clinton has dined here. $350 GC to Ciopinnos
Value: $350 Went for: $1100. The only guy to break the 1000 ceiling. I have to say Lance is…………….. hot which is why I stuck him w/ that GC . I don’t think there is a girl there that didn’t get a picture of him w/out his shirt on .. oh yea, undid the buttons. Turns out, it was either his buddies ex or his ex’ friend that bought him. Can we say awkward??
20: Max: To Russia with Love… Jet, dive & dine your way thru the lower mainland with this bear fearing Bond man. Date: 25 min plane ride over the glacier falls, intro to scuba diving for 2+ $100 GC to Nu.
Value: $400? Went for $750 This was another date I would have loved to have gone on. He is a friend of Dan & his friend Emily is the one that prepared his date for him. She wanted to get a bond theme of Air, Land, Water… Way to go.
Anyways, I wanted to write all that out, for you to get a sense of the work involved, the fun it was & to show the range of values of dates & purchases. So when I get the following email last week, my mind was blown
“Leanne, there has been a snag on the date that I purchased, Shaun basically not interested to go on the date in the beginning, I tried to work it out with him for dropping out on the date but we did not come to an agreement. I would not have bid for these boat tickets as a prize on their own, and feel very mislead. I would like to still make a donation , but maybe I could give the prize back to you, and you could reverse the charge. I also still have not received a receipt for this anyway.”
All together now: WTF? First off, I fixed the receipt as I inputted her email address wrong into the system, but I would assume her credit card would have shown the charge on her statement as this email came 3 weeks later.
So I phoned Shaun as not only did I know he had been hanging out with her but I also double check w/ all the bachlors to ensure they like their date and are willing to participate so when someone tells me he was reluctant, I’m hesistant to believe as someone therefore is lying somewhere.
Sure enough, it was her that didn’t want the cruise. Yes, the weekend following the auction had a volleyball tournament down at Kits beach. Shaun was one of the participants. His stalker date went down there to watch him ALL day saturday & ALL day Sunday. When I saw her Sunday, she was alone. Watching him alone.
I talked to her briefly as I needed some more info to process her card. She was disappointed at the time that the luncheon wasn’t private & you couldn’t then stop to go swimming… uh, ok.
This was the last time I had chatted w/ Shaun before the email. So when I spoke with him & told him she wanted her $ back, he replied “f*&k her”… ok, then. Yes, he was tired of her by this point. She said she didn’t want to do the cruise, he said, not him really either so he instead took her out for dinner/drinks which is above & beyond his call of duty. Most of the time, the purchaser takes the activity & only calls the date half the time. It’s almost a courtesy to take the said bachelor along. He explained to her here that he wasn’t looking for a gf, would like to be friends & invited her to his buddy’s bday where she could meet some more people. She showed up again at this beach side bbq… alone… (i don’t think she has friends) and was all over poor Shaun all night. I myself am smelling a need in the air.
He quickly kiboshed all of this by shaking her hand when they said good night. She followed this w/ a phone call asking if things were awkward between them.. um, yes. Yes they are.
It’s about here where she emailed me but only after insisting he buy back the date because this isn’t what she signed up for. Hi, this isn’t a dating service. I apparently have to make a disclaimer next year saying: Boyfriends aren’t guaranteed.
I replied back w/ some rhetoric about how you actually cant’ refund a charity donation.
She answered me by saying she hopes no one falls for this in the future again as she was into the date not the activity & that she spent more then she wanted…
Here’s my question: Why did you raise your hand???? If you liked him that much, you could have just asked for his number for free. Is common sense lost on people? She got her date. One that she never paid for AND apparently shaun cooked for her at the mentioned bbq which is more then he has ever done for me as he pointed out (maybe why we never hooked up …)
I still haven’t wrapped my head around that one. I can’t believe there is someone out there so classless to ask for her donation back or is mad that a stranger doesn’t like her back. You wonder why she’s single.