Tagged: Winnipeg
Welcome to Winter
- by admin
Truth be told I actually love Winter.
Maybe not the -40 days (definitely not), but I always feel a bit giddy when we get our first snowfall. There's something wonderful about Winter that I can't help but fall in love with every year.
Let's get serious for a moment
- by admin
I have a bone to pick with the University of Winnipeg.Before I go any further let me preface: I like my university. I love the downtown campus. I appreciate the availability of coffee, the various types of spaces available to study and socialize, and the overall positive vibe I get while lugging my stuff from classroom to classroom. It's great that we have the new science building and the dorms (though I don't use them) and although apparently it's going to cost me an additional sixty dollars a year in tuition, it's cool that they're going to be building a new state-of-the-art wellness complex. I get that.
So why the Hell is it that with all this expansion and renovations happening on campus, all my tuition being funneled into these new projects I can't connect to the goddamn wifi?!
At first I thought it was just me. I being my iPad to campus and that's generally how I (try to) connect to the wifi. Last year it was choppy and dropped frequently at the best of times, but this year it has become unbearable. Unless I'm on campus after 7pm there is no signal. And that's between the UW Students wifi (which I have a password for), and the UW Visitors and the UW Conference, which are apparently unsecured networks but I can't seem to connect to.
What I usually wind up doing (and am currently doing) is connecting to a Personal Hotspot from my iPhone, which is ridiculous considering that tethering takes away from my data plan while there's a wifi signal all around me that is so weak that I can't even connect to it.
Ever single student I have asked about this issue either has zero connectivity on campus, or has a signal that is so weak that they can barely use the Internet while on campus. Let me repeat: Every. Single. Student. And as someone who has a full course load and has engaged with most of the students in all of my classes on this issue, that's a lot of frustrated students.
So why hasn't this been remedied?
I mean, the tuition that we students pay every year is one of the lifelines that keeps the university going. We students are the reason (in theory) that this institution exists in the first place. And yet we can't get a simple service like reliable wifi? It's a joke.
Last week the University of Winnipeg Student's Association had the student body vote to pay an extra 60$ annually to go towards the new Bill Wedlake Fitness Centre, which we happily obliged. How much would it cost annually, per student, to provide a better wifi signal? It baffles me that something like wifi that every student uses every day largely ignored, while we're asked to shell out for a new fitness centre that maybe half of the student body will even use while they attend this institution.
Of course, Lloyd Axworthy can't brag about the reliability of his wifi connection to possible investors. He needs physical things like a new science building and a new fitness centre to draw investment attention to the university. Running a university is a business, after all, and as long as the employees -or in this, case, students- sit by and let their needs be ignored, nothing will change.
Yesterday was super chilly
- by admin
and I would have rather not been outside.this super blurry & dark photo was taken outside, however, at the #OccupyWinnipeg event last night. My Politics and the Mass Media prof brought us to check out a meeting they were having to see how they resolved their issues as a collective, as well as to talk to them about why they were camping out when it was nearly below zero, and why they felt it was important.
lots of things were discussed including organizing meals, security, the placement of the tents, building a barrier for the North wind (since Memorial Park where they are located is pretty much an open space in front of the Legislative building), raising money for a portable toilet, etc.
naturally I was live tweeting the event
I have to say that I really admire people taking a stand for what they believe in, no matter what the reason. It's unfortunate that local media seem to be dismissive not only of the rally held in solidarity with #OccupyWallStreet on Saturday, but also with these people peacefully protesting in Memorial Park. I've never really gone out and protested so I can't speak to this personally, but claims that these people are just 'playing along' or 'don't know why they're there' generally seem to be from people who haven't even taken the time to go down there and listen (if not be a part of) the process.
We live in a Democracy, and these people have a right to be on Crown land protesting for what they believe in, both in the lawful sense and in the sense that they live in a country which apparently supports that. It would be nice if local media could at least attempt to shine a positive light on their efforts (in particular one right-wing throwaway paper has been particularly negative).
And besides, if they really didn't believe in what they were protesting, I highly doubt they'd be out there in the cold night after night in downtown Winnipeg. I know I sure couldn't handle that.
Rats off to ya, #OccupyWinnipeg!
If you want to help out or donate to the #OccupyWinnipeg cause, you can visit their website or the FaceBook page.
Welcome to my office
- by admin
it's gloomy outside but I'm all sunshine in here. got a coffee with my boss first thing this morning and worked on some hand-outs listening to This American Life all morning. love that show, Ira Glass is one of my heroes.
had a session today where I helped the sweetest lady look up the tiny town in Italy that she grew up in. she hadn't been back to visit in over 45 years and started to cry when we found her elementary school because she was so happy to see it. it's reasons like that why I love The Internet.
last night Tyrone and I had a home-made pizza party.
we got most of the ingredients from this fantastic locally-owned Italian store called La Grotta del Fromaggio on Sargent Ave and witnessed the sassy Italian cashier (possible owner?) argue with three of the other older men working there because the computer connected to the register wasn't working. we wound up being there ten extra minutes because they were sassing each other, but it was so worth it. I love locally-owned businesses specifically for that reason, you see the authentic side of people and it's such a better experience as a result.plus I got a massive hunk of prosciutto for only 9$ :)
busy day today. have another training session in ten minutes and a jam-packed afternoon followed by class this eve. this is my jam today:
The Zombie Gait destroyed my hips
- by admin
but it was all worth it!
Winnipeg Zombies were out in fine form last night, even Triangle Head from Silent Hill made an appearance as we all rallied at The Forks screaming for brainsssssssssssss
but we settled for Lil Pizza Heaven (twice! I know! and now I'm craving their garlic-buttered pizza crusts again... omnom!)
Zombie Afterparty at Pure. we tried to go to The Zoo but were deterred by the double-kick black metal playing (I'm not a metalhead, can you tell? hehe) and rallied there.
saw so many undead familiar faces out last night, it was so good hanging with everyone before I finally dragged my exhausted, undead self home. Tyrone had a shower with me to un-zombiefy and though that's not usually the sort of stuff I talk about on this here blog it was just too cute and fun, peeling the fake skin off each other and laughing, to not mention. it was the highlight of my night :)
it's already afternoon but it feels like morning to us. slept in like crazy and am currently lazing around in our pajamas. eventually I plan on dragging Tyrone out for some pho for lunch, I think (shh he doesn't know yet)
Half Pints 5th anniversary party at Lo Pub tonight! Can't wait!
Happy Caturday! xo
This is my pretty friend Rhonda
- by admin
she's standing in front of a mural at Nuit Blanche in the Manitoba Museum.
the museum was a 'dry event' which we didn't know about and decided to make the best of it by traipsing around the museum half-cut which was great until we went on The Nonsuch and I found out it never even sailed the seas (!!!) and Rhonda got yelled at for touching a rope so we booked it out of there asap.
last year's Nuit Blanche was substantially better for me considering we actually got in to the WAG unlike this year where there was a lineup 400 people deep by 10:30pm. riiiight. we tried to sneak into Stella's but our waiter half-confronted us and Shawna said "oh we came in through that door" (obvious back door) so that didn't go too well. I spoke to some peeps on campus today and some people waited an hour and a half to get in to the WAG are you kidding me? unreal.
in hindsight we could have gone to the party that was apparently happening in the Exchange District but to be perfectly honest none of us knew what was going on down there which is odd since Tyrone and I spent a good chunk of time trying to plan an itinerary which was consequently ruined by the dry event we didn't know was a dry event.
ideally next year will be more of a success and we will camp out at the WAG all night and just not leave like we did last year (should have learned our lesson).
I worked all day and had class all night and am tired and worn our and cranky can you tell?
Tyrone is getting frustrated with Super Paper Mario so I am going to go console him here is a video to make up for all my whining:
been busy learnin'
- by admin
we went on a Winnipeg General Strike Tour with my History of Winnipeg class which was fun and hilarious but required that we shuttle around the city and poor Hayley was driving and Eva was giving directions and I sat in the backseat on my phone being useless and probably annoying and we were late to all our destinations but one and I realized at the end of it thatwow
shuttling around places in 30 degree weather in a black leather and shorts and tights stresses me out more than I thought it would
(also printing on campus is expensive)
but today in my other class we talked about Ptolemy and also Spirograph (or something like it)
and since I've been busy learning here's some learning for you, too
(because I wouldn't want you to miss out because ILU)
dude on a bike asked me for money today
- by admin
I was sitting at the bus stop going to class and he rode by me and asked as he rode past "do you have any change??"and I realized that I've been in a lot of weird situations that involved someone asking me for money and on the bus on the way to class I made a list of the weird ways in which I've been asked to give someone change and here they are
- by two guys who tried to get me to drink out of the bottle of straight whiskey they were sharing which I declined to do
- by a woman in a clown suit (I didn't ask)
- by a woman who was so drunk she fell head-first over the waist-high railing of the patio I was sitting on (she was okay)
- through the window at a coffee shop
- by a little kid who yelled "can I have a dollar?" at Tyrone and I as we rode past on our bikes
- on the bus and then he sat next to me for the entire 20-minute bus ride asking for change from everyone around me
- in the waiting room of a walk-in clinic once when I was sick
in other news I'm dressed like a big hipster today and this is what I look like
I want to be in a Soap Box Derby
- by admin
like the one we saw at ManyFest yesterday.
if I were competing in a soap box derby we'd have a theme which would be "Yellow Submarine" and we'd decorate our soap box to look like the Yellow Submarine and we'd all dress up as the psychedelic Beatles and push it since we're in #Winnipeg and there are no hills to compete on down Broadway and I would be dressed up as Ringo of course
I'd do a horrible shop of my face over his but I have mega schoolreads to do tonight and to be honest I just don't have the time so you're spared me mutilating this lovely piece of Beatles art
and speaking of The Beatles and speaking of Yellow Submarine and speaking of doing acid (because they're all related, right?) Tyrone picks me up from my evening classes and tonight as we were walking home this extremely cheerful dude asked 'the preppy guy' (Tyrone) for a lighter and as he was getting around to lighting his smoke he offered to sell us some 'really wicked' acid because he was 'flying high wish us guys' and though we didn't take any it was nice of him because who sells 'really good acid' to complete strangers?
that guy, I guess. it was weird.
almost as weird as seeing a giant box of Chinese take-out coming up the street
