So Good to See You, I've Missed You so Much

   Being back for 5 days has been an interesting experiment in readjusting and acclimatizing to Manitoba life. I've seen my parents, I got my dog back (she is a little depressed to be without another dog to hang out with, but Copper didn't even really like Penny, so I'm not sure why she needs to be so mopey), I've filled most of my evenings with at least some sort of social event/interaction, drilled-out a bunch of holes in some metal plates for my buddies' Christmas/All-Season Lights business, and I've told jet lag that it can bugger off. It's been a bit a of a whirlwind at times, it does seem like there is some considerable angling for my time occasionally, especially with all the added responsibilities of being at home (my hedge is out of control, that's definitely on the schedule for today). Thankfully (sort of...) I haven't been called into work this week, so I have a few more days to catch up on what I missed, and to reorient myself to being back in my own home, in my hometown.

 I've woken up a little confused a couple times since getting home, thinking that I'm waking up in a hotel room or a guest house, looking around for a moment or two, realizing I'm wrong, freaking out a bit for a second at the realization that I'm not where I thought I was, followed by calm (with a hint of melancholy) when my body remembers the sheets and comfort of my own bed. It's disorienting and uncomfortable, and something I'm definitely not used to. I unfortunately didn't spend my early 20s passing out on couches in weird houses, only to wake up with a massive headache and an acute case of "Where the hell am I?" Although that does kind of sound like fun. It would be like experiencing a temporary amnesia every weekend, which would obviously be a little terrifying, but people love roller coasters and scary movies right? Go ahead, save yourself a few bucks, sleep on a weird couch. Hell, sleep outside in a part of town you don't venture to very often, that's certain to give you some thrills!

  I love having my friends within arm's (or telephone's rather) reach again. Of all the things that I missed due to my not being in Winnipeg, ultimately it came down to missing the people that I would have been seeing at those events¹. Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending a barbecue at a friend's home just outside of the perimeter, which has become somewhat of an annual event. The company is always varied and as a result, I get to interact with a number of people from considerably different walks of life than my own. And it's always fun, sometimes even complete with dizzy gum! Anyway, I got into a conversation with a girl who is leaving Winnipeg to move to the UK with her boyfriend, and we discussed at length what makes Winnipeg so great. Although I profess my love for Peg City more than often enough, I do actually recognize that Winnipeg can be a frozen shithole a city that is lacking in excitement occasionally, or that it has some serious problems with racism and poverty, or a place where you can be lucky enough to be assaulted in the "Greatest Neighbourhood in Canada."

  There's a strange tension inside most Winnipeggers, torn between the love they have for their birthplace and the knowledge that at any point in the year, they are either freezing their asses off, or are no more than 6 months from freezing it off again. Rather quickly in our conversation in became clear what makes Winnipeg so great that even though the weather is better suited to a polar bear for half the year, we still endeavour to endure - the people. Winnipeg has its fair share of shitty people of course², but overall your average 'Pegger is essentially a good person. Sure, you walk by the bars in the middle of Winter and you see some poor girls in line for the club who have forgotten to put their pants on, and some dudes who have suffered some sort of horrible fake tanning/malfunctioning aerosol cologne nozzle accident, but even if you think have almost nothing in common with that strata of society, I guarantee you could have have a great time with them. There's a intangible quality about most Winnipeggers, almost a humility that is somewhat unique to prairie dwellers, and I strongly believe that's an enormous part of what makes Winnipeg "One Great City." The winter sucks, the transit system is laughable, our mayor is a former coke-addled smut peddler (allegedly) who kicks minority kids in the face (definitely), we've got higher residential property taxes than the rest of Canada (that's about zero percent logical), and that dude who refuses to mow his lawn³. But we've got beautiful people, inside and out, a thriving arts community, a load of pretty great bars (that are also pretty reasonably priced), a populace that is finally getting a little more comfortable with cyclists on the road, a landscape that literally stretches as far as the eye can see, and a slightly world-worn, but positive outlook that pervades almost every word that travels down our tongues. I love Winnipeg, even though it's given me my share of hard-knocks. And that won't change anytime soon.


 ¹Obviously missing Folklorama was a tragedy. I mean, what can't you discover about a culture through eating some food and watching some disinterested dancers? If there's a culture out there that's so diverse that the subtle nuances of their customs aren't made explicit through the aforementioned activities, I don't want to know about it.

²I haven't let bad apples spoil an entire bunch for quite a while now, and if you leave the bad apples in the barrel long enough, you can get drunk on them.

³And he's been a real dick about it too.