I Don’t Have To Go Home, But I No Longer Wish To Be Here
I have no ill will toward Winnipeg, things just didn’t work out for us. It was me, not them.
Three days of gray and rainy weather, one very breezy day, followed by a day where I was sick, followed by a few more days of normal days with little spectacular activity.
I chose what should have been a sweet hotel location downtown; little did I know that that downtown wasn’t the cornucopia of activity that I wished it to be. The food in Winnipeg was okay, and even though I eventually finally made it to Alycia’s yesterday for a good lunch, I never found any thing special. Believe it or not, I never made it into one real bar during the entirety of this trip. Thanks to my illness I missed the opportunity to go to the race track. I fell asleep before the big Canada Day fireworks display. I drove miles (kilometers) of road to only find farm land and uninspiring lake views. The bright spot was that I was able to walk to attend two minor league baseball games for which I had great seats.
ITP Flickr Pic
Another shot from my walkabout through downtown Winnipeg.
I was humored by the Kraut King’s positioning at the bottom of this parkade’s (US = parking garage) ramp.
And So On, And So On
Last night I was going to try a bar which is right across the street from the hotel. It’s open from Wednesday through Sunday and on Wed-Sat they also serve Mexican food. The place is called Times Change(d) / High And Lonesome Club and had been on my list of places to hit before leaving.
Last weekend was Winnipeg’s JazzFest weekend so I didn’t bother to try and get in, and last night being the first night it was open since (it was closed on Canada Day) I figured that it was high time I tried it for dinner and a beer.
As I entered the outer door I found a tattered sign which said “private club inquire inside about membership.” The only thing I could think was “Piss off!” and I turned around and left. It seemed to be the fitting end to this trip and I wandered down to Johnny G’s for my fourth dinner in eight nights.
I’ve Never Worked So Much To Get One Meal
I finally made it to Alycia’s. After another long drive through Manitoba farm land I decided to turn the car around and head back to Winnipeg for lunch.
This time I correctly calculated that the day was right, the hour early enough, and the wind just right to eat at Alycia’s.
I ordered the “North End Special.”
What you see are pierogies, cabbage rolls, back bacon (maybe just ham) and in the cups — mushroom gravy, slaw, and sour cream.
The verdict? The food was good, really good in fact. Was it worth the effort? Probably not, but at least I found out.
Sad But True, I’m Looking Forward To Using My iPhone Today
I’ve gone one week without the use of my iPhone. It’s not that I’ve missed using it, but I have become accustom to having a computer in my pocket at all times in order to look up information and get mail.
As friend and ITP-Reader Barb informed me perhaps it was a good thing that I had no coverage. Barb sent me an article about Adam Savage (of Mythbusters) which contained the following:
If you are planning a trip to Canada these days there’s two important things you should remember — first your passport and second to turn off all Internet access on your phone and data card.
Failure to do either of these could put quite the damper on your trip and as Adam Savage of Mythbusters found out cost $11,000.
After a recent trip to Canada AT&T sent Adam Savage a bill for a few hours of Internet usage totaling $11,000 and shut off his phone.
$11,000? Crap, with that sort of money I could fix my plumbing.
I have a two-hour layover in Chicago today, I’ll probably run down the battery using it today.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – way fat, looking forward to getting back to my routine, scared that I’m waaaaay behind at work and have so little time to prepare for Black Sheep on the 19th
Current Music – listening to the “Daily Giz Wiz” podcast
Website Of The Day – Have a decision to make? Use the decision engine Hunch to help you make the decision.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – some walking
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0
July Goals
- Regain interest in my life
- Not get fired from my job
- Plan and lay a successful Black Sheep hash on July 19th
2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
You should have gone in and inquired about the membership. In Utah they need memberships also (or at least used to). So, you either pay a cover, or buy a member a beer (who then sponsors you for the night). Kind of a scam, but what the hell……
I thought about going in Barb because I have been able to buy my way into a private club in the past, but at that point in the trip I was fed up with all of the nonsense.
I’m a member of a couple of “private” clubs in the TexArkana area because that’s how they get around the local liquor laws. It’s usually equivalent to a cover charge, but I agree it’s somewhat off-putting to see the sign when you’re headed into a bar.
Sorry Winnipeg wasn’t all that…but vacation still trumps work!
No real regrets.
I’m taking the hashing approach to it all — “You pays your money, you takes your chances.”