Blogggggin

The first week back from Reading Week has been nothing short of induced stress, deprivation of sleep, and constant self-doubt.

Reflecting back, I am glad that I took the time to come to the school during Reading Week to get some assignments finished, because, if I had not, I would most likely be lying in a puddle of tears.

I managed to get everything finished, albeit not to the standards that I would have hoped for, but everything is done and is about to be handed in.

Today has been pretty rough so far, yesterday I was at the school at 7:30 a.m. and left at 8:15 p.m. only to go straight to work and work until 2:30 a.m. I fell asleep around 3 in the morning and woke up at 6:40, so yes, I have been sluggish and quirky all day. I am looking forward to going home and having a nap before closing again tonight and again tomorrow, only to open on Sunday...#Livinthelife

I had planned on creating a video with the babies, as they have been lacking from the blog lately, but I ran out of time and energy. Next week looks to be calmer, so I hope to bring the world back to the kitties, the reason this blog exists.

As for right now, I'm going to close my laptop and close my eyes for half an hour. Good day y'all.

Reading Week, hurray! ..."Not so fast," said CreComm instructors.

We have arrived at another Reading Week, usually a time for students to regroup, reenergize, and revamp for the final stretch of the school year. However, this year, our teachers have decided that instead of "allowing" us the luxury to doing the aforementioned actions, they have instead plagued us with a laundry's list of assignments that are due the week we return.

In years passed, I've slept the days away, I've caught waves on a catamaran in the Dominican Republic, and I've amped up my the number of shifts worked. 

As each day passed this week, another assignment was forced upon us. First it was the IPP proposal for WC, then it was the Midterm for CW, next it was to read a book and answer questions in J, Thursday it was a proposal strategy for our magazine, and finally to round out the week, a radio assignment.

I was not exaggerating when I said something new every day, it was and remains true. 

Speaking to classmates, they like me are looking forward to having the opportunity to sleep-in during the week. However, each and every one of them say they are as tired as I am and as a few of the teachers have pointed out, we look deflated and appear to lack energy to participate in meaningful conversations. 

Following the final class on Friday, the CreCommers will be taking a stroll down to the

self-proclaimed CreComm watering hole, the King's Head to put behind all the assignments that we, or many of us, recently lost sleep over, the newsletter, the magazine feature article, and our full-page magazine ad.

Needless to say, the libations will be flowing freely, and our worries, albeit temporarily, with them.

This post has more or less been all about the doom and gloom of the impending Reading Week, BUT, there was one single highlight of this week, I am dubbing it 'Catgate'. Earlier this week, an individual Tweeted a photo involving their dog and as the Favourites and Retweets ensued, so did people's desire to include their own pictures, but of their feline companions. This lead the person who created the thread to take a stance against the cat population and go so far as to denounce their inclusion into the feed. This fallout led the masses to choose which side of the aisle they would support, Cats v. Dogs.

It was all in good fun, and I enjoyed the playful banter that came along with Catgate. It was an opportunity for me to take a step back, breathe, relax, and remind myself that all would be ok. 

Here are the two posters that I posted in my class, as an attempt to sway dog lovers over to the cat side.

Remember Y'all, Vote Democats!

And to my fellow classmates, even though we have a heavy amount of school work to do over the break, take a moment and do something that you enjoy, because, after the break, it's going to be chaotic.

Post Super Bowl

Soo the Super Bowl. It was a big deal to 114+ million people in the states alone. It was an entertaining game- especially in the second half. 

I did not lose faith in Tom and co. as many people around me had thought I did. I was confident in the fact that the Pats D would be able to withstand the push from the Shit Hawks. Turned out that it wasn't a bad play call by the Hawks, rather, it was an extraordinary play by the D. They played it to perfection   As Butler said, he had practiced against that play in practice and was not caught off guard. 

It was a split decision that changed the outcome and the legacy that is Tom Brady. Instead of start 3 for 3 and going 0 for 3, the Pats managed to pull through, even though another once in a life time catch went against them. 

It was a great win. And I couldn't be more proud to be a Pats fan than I am now. And as long as Tom continues to play at a high level, the young Pats have a good chance of finding themselves in the big game next season. 

Super Bowl XLIX

***Warning, this post is gambling themed and I do not encourage gambling***

The Super Bowl is upon and today we were given a gift by the CRTC (for once). They announced that starting in 2017, Canadians will be able to watch the elusive American commercials that can run upwards of 4.5 million dollars for a 30-second spot.



For many years, the regulatory board that says what we see on TV has told us that the, usually, entertaining, high-octane commercials that the big brands produce, namely Budweiser, Doritos, and Go Daddy, for the roughly 111.5 million people in the US alone. And this year, that number is expected to surpass last years astounding number. In what could be described as the worst PR year in the history of the NFL, the owners are laughing all the way to the bank with their bags of gold.


The other day, someone asked if I would be watching the Super Bowl, and if so, who would I cheering for. I laughed because clearly this person didn't know that I've been a Pats (not a Patriots) fan since the days of Drew Bledsoe. I said the Pats, hands down. But it will be a close game.

We agreed on the second part and we began to talk about the prop bets that accompany the game itself. There are hundreds, literally hundreds of prop bets that anyone can wager on, from the coin flip, to what Katy Perry will sing first during the half time show, and what colour the Gatorade will be that douses the winning coach.

Gambling 101
1-3 means, if you wager $100 you will win $300 this can also be written as
+300
Ex. Cliff lives the rest of his life with only cats for roommates -145. This means that you have to wager $100 and if you win, you receive $145. (- means it's a favourite)
Conversely, Ex.2 Cliff wins the lottery and buys a country, +250. This means you have to risk $250 in order to win $100. (+ means it's the underdog)

Inevitably, whether you think Perrys first song will be (My money is on Dark Horse which is currently 12-1, strong begining and opening sequence lets someone introduce her)

After some research, I've found 7, yes SEVEN locks. Follow these and you'll be bathing in Dom Perignon afterwards.

1. Will either team score 3 unanswered scores (TD, FG) -200
YES- The last 3 SBs a team has scored 3 unanswered times and in both conference title games both teams managed to do this.

2. Will Gronkowski score a TD -170
YES- The Seahawks are the 18th rated team in the NFL when it comes to stoping tight ends and Gronkowski is the #1 TE in the league.

3. Will there be a safety in the game +550
YES- The last 3 Super Bowls all had a safety at some point in the game and there have been 23 safeties this year.

4. How many viewers will the game have? over/under 113 million +/- 100
OVER- take the over, go all-in on the over, bet your kids inheritance on the over, book it!

5. New England will convert a fourth down +130
YES. New England converted 6 of 10 attempts this season. They are one of the best teams in the league at converting on fourth down.

6. Receiving yards by Michael Hoomanawanui Over 6.5 +165
Yes- Averaged 14.7 ypg in the regular season and 9.8 ypg in the post season.

7. Will Marshawn Lynch grab himself in celebration after he scores a TD +400
YES-It is likely that he will find the end zone, and this has been a trademark celebration for him along with media scrum antics.

Alright folks, here ya have it. These are my locks, win or lose I know that I will enjoy watching the game with friends. Hopefully, I can shake this bloody cold that I've been battling these last couple of days.

Oh, I almost forget...What about the actual outcome of the game you say?! Like that matters....

New England +1 

and the over/under of 47.5...This is a tough one...but I like the over but just barely

Wagers $100

Potential winnings $1425

Happy Super Bowling Y'all! And if you're going to a house party, don't be that guy.

Major Day!

Major day can mean one of two things. The first, that there is some significance to the day, and the second, that we had to select our majors for next year.

So which is it you ask? Well like everything else in CreComm, "It depends"

Today we did select our major and up until a week ago I was sold on Media Production. I enjoyed working with video, pictures, and even the radio...I find that it comes easy to me.

BUT, something happened last week in PR class. We were to look at mission statements for a company that we either have worked for, or just one that we were interested in.

I chose Canad Inns,the company that I have worked for over four and a half years. It took me a while to find their mission statement, I actually had to log into their staff section to find it. And when I did, boy o boy...Here it is. I was disappointed in this, it is very ambiguous and doesn't really say exactly what they do...

I'll come back to this...



Now onto why today is a major day.

Today is a major day because I am going to interview the person who I am writing my feature article about for my magazine. His name is Michael Champagne, he is kind of a big deal and if you don't know who he is, you should. He does a great number of things for the North End and young aboriginals and people in Winnipeg.
I am going to the Meet Me At The Bell Tower rally tonight for the first time. I have a feeling that tonights rally is going to be extra packed because of the recent Maclean's magazine article labelling  Winnipeg as the city in Canada with the largest racism issues.
I'm hoping to get some wicked shots tonight and if I do, I'll post a few for all to see. I'm also hoping that i'll be able to get some good quotes as well.

Alright, back to the major decision...


And here it is, public relations is the choice. I am nervous yet excited to be going forward with PR as my major. I feel like I am more suited for it and believe that it is something I could spend a long amount of time doing in the future!

So, let's hope I made the right choice and all turns out A-OK!

Anyways, I'm off to go do some "real" journalism!

Wow...what an experience. I was able to speak to Maclean's magazine writer Nancy MacDonald, it was brief but interesting!

I spoke and interviewed Robert-Falcon Ouellette, I froze but he was kind of enough to notice and keep the "interview" going.

Met reporters from CTV and CBC, watched their live hits...Was even put on "snowball duty" from Jillian Taylor. Apparently, there were snowball bandits out there and I had to help protect her being pelted live on-air.

Then I was able to sit on my first Meet Me At The Bell Tower meeting. It was informative and interesting, there were many different people all walks of life that attended and spoke up and out against issues that are happening in the North End.

Nancy even came to the meeting and was kind enough to say a few words. Her message to the people in attendance was "I want to come back in one year and talk about all the positive change in Winnipeg–thats my dream."

Then I spoke with a visually exhausted Michael Champagne. He told me his day started at 4 a.m. and consisted of 10 interviews on TV and radio. The guy went all out today.

I let him know that I wouldn't be asking any Maclean's related questions and there was a sense of relief that I felt. We chatted about all sorts of things ranging from his upbringing, the things that he is part of now, and where he hopes to see himself...No spoilers guys sorry, guess you'll just have to read my article when its finished.

Here are a couple of the pics that I took tonight, enjoy!

first streeter

so this morning we had our first streeter of the second semester and our first journalism assignment since Remembrance Day.

For those of you who do know what a streeter is. Well, you are given a list of a few topics. Then you must leave the campus and find 2 strangers, interview them, hustle back to school, and writer a "news story" involving your topic and sources all within two hours. It is stressful. 

I braved the elements at a brisk 8 a.m. and managed to find two people to interview. I, and as it turns out, and many other people decided to talk about Target shutting its Canadian doors for good.

I think it turned out alright and here it is. (I've removed the peoples names that I interviewed)

Target Corporation decided to shut its Canadian doors for good Thursday morning. The perception amongst some Winnipeggers was that of indifference.

“Believe it or not, the only time that I’ve shopped at Target was in Victoria (British Columbia),” said Lady A, Exchange District resident. “Truthfully, I haven’t been to any of the stores in Winnipeg.”

Brian Cornell, Target Corporation chairman and CEO, issued a statement saying that, “after a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021.”

Target Canada, which opened to the public in March of 2013, had a rocky start from its inception. Having empty shelves and higher than expected prices, Target drove many potential repeat customers away.

“I shopped there twice and was disgusted,” said Lady B. “The prices weren’t competitive with those in the US, and there was a poor selection of items and often had empty shelves.”

Target currently has 133 stores operational in Canada and employees roughly 17,600 people. Target Canada has said it hopes to offer its employees a minimum of 16-weeks of severance. According to social media, many people found out that they were out of a job through Twitter, Facebook and local radio.

“I think it was handled poorly,” said Lady A, who works as a human resource manager. “Local management should’ve brought its employees in and told them what was happening, because this decision wasn’t made over night.”

Lady B, who enjoys shopping at Target in Grand Forks, feels that the business plan in the States is strong and works well but is confused as to why it was not able to transfer into the Canadian market.

When the stock market opened yesterday, Target (NYSE:TGT) stock price had raised $3.01 per share to $77.21 but has since fallen back to $74.20. Management believes that it expects to lose approximately $5.4 billion of pre-tax loses on discontinued operations in the fourth quarter of 2014. Earnings-per-share is expected to come in at $1.43 to $1.46, about six cents higher than anticipated despite the failings above the border.

In like a lion out like a lamb

All good things come to an end, or that's what I've always been told. However, this year though, the break came in like a lion and left like a lamb. I was excited to rest my mind and body as the final stretch was gruesome and rough. That being said, come the final few days before the break ended I was jonesin' for class to come back. It was cold and unpleasant outside and I was bored and going through the motions at home and at work. It was time to start thinking creatively and critically again, I was excited for the new semester and what it had in store for me and the rest of my peers.

This is not to say that the break wasn't enjoyable, but that is far from the case. I had fun going to parties, eating lots of food, being with family (who I don't see enough with my busy life as a CreCommer and a bartender) and relaxing.

I ate more food than I should have and probably drank more than I should have, but it was worth it. I helped out with Christmas dinner and the preparations, not a big deal as I usually help out. I even got a couple of cool gifts such as: An intervalometer (a fancy automatic timer for taking pictures on my DSLR), some more Canadian Tire money to get my Car Starter finally (still haven't gotten it, but soon hopefully), a nice blanket for my couch, a French Press which I have been using everyday thus far. And wait for it.... Cat-Opoly yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Monopoly, but in cat version. I haven't played it yet, but am looking forward to it! I also got other little things here and there.

The break wasn't all peachy though. I had car issues. Rant time. I picked up some friends and we went to a friends place for a bday/going away party. Upon arriving, I noticed that I had a flat tire. No biggie I thought, i'll just pop it off tomorrow and put some air into it at a local station. The following day, I got a ride to my car, not too far from my place but far enough, and jacked up my vehicle, popped off the tire and noticed that it was shredded on the inside. Suffice to say, I wasn't thrilled. I took my dead tire home with me and began calling all the tire shops in the city, and apparently tire shops either close early or aren't open on the weekends...I don't know why that's the case, but I digress, I managed to locate a tire way out at the McPhillips Kal Tire(I live in Osborne). I called a friend, she picked me up and we drove out there. The serviceman replaced it in 15 mins and all was well.

That is until I was driving someone home from work that evening. On the way home I noticed that my car felt uneven, so being paranoid, I pulled over and looked and noticed that I now had a second flat tire is as many days.FML.

I apologized and said she'd have to walk the rest of the way home (only a couple of blocks) and I parked my car on the side street and walked home (also only a couple of blocks). The following morning I went to my car, jacked it up, took the tire off, examined it and felt like it was just a leak that needed to be filled up, no biggie. I wheeled it to the Shell station and plugged in my Loonie to start the compressor, air came out and into the tire, the tire began to swell but wasn't filling after that. I stopped filling and heard a hiss, i found the hissing sound and realized that maybe the tread was screwed. I knew that wouldn't be a hard fix, so I wheeled my tire across the street to my apartment and began calling Canadian Tire. The man said it would take about an hour to fix and cost me roughly $35. A big relief, or so I thought.

I took a cab to Canadian Tire and somehow there was a huge influx of people wanting to retread their tires at the same time as i wanted. He said it would take 2.5-3 hrs. I decided the most logical decision would be to go see a movie at the Cineplex. The Imitation Game just came out and I had some interest in going to it, so I figured I would check it out. It was a good movie, I enjoyed it. Had a strong story line and better than average acting.

I came out of the theatre and immediately got a call from Canadian Tire, they told me my tire was screwed and unrepairable. FML X2.

My sister came to pick me and my wheel up (left the tire there) and went to my parents. My dad suggested that I return my first tire and go through MPI and do their Winter Tire Program . It was a good idea. The following morning I made a call to Kal Tire on Pembina, (much closer) and they told me that they would have to order the tires in and should be good to go the following day.

My car was still stranded on the side street where I had left it the other night BTW.

I hopped on the bus and was dropped off right across the street from the Kal Tire and brought my rim into the store. Explained my story again, which for some reason the service person didn't understand though it was pretty clear. He popped on the tire and I bussed back to Osborne, wheeled my new winter tire to my car and put it onto my car. However, I noticed a ticket on my window for illegally parking on a snow route, bastards. My car was jacked up missing a tire, how would I move it? I'm going to fight it, and I feel like I have a strong case to overturn this slight.

I took my car with 3 different tires on it back to Kal Tire to get the remaining ones sorted out. There was a new person working who clearly had no idea what was going on. It took a solid 20 minutes for her to grasp what was happening, but it all worked out in the end. Now I have 4 winter tires on, a full spare (my spare was flat before all this happened, should've mentioned that earlier) and an extra tire for the next issue that arrises.

That was my shitty weekend all wrapped up in a nice $1200 bill.