And so my time ends in Winnipeg after being here for three weeks. Such as it was that I was supposed to go down to the States for a couple of weeks but, in the end, I decided to simply lounge around and visit family here. I don’t think of it as a waste at all, rather, instead of doing what I wanted to do, I think I did more of what I needed to do.
Will I miss anything? Yes, aside from friends and family… Mini Wheats. I forgot to pick some up and bring them with me when I left. Unfettered internet access, too, will be missed. But I did bring plenty of coffee.
Won’t miss the cold. Even laying over in Vancouver for the evening was warmer than Winnipeg. Beijing is about the same as Vancouver except there is some coal dust in the air now. And I don’t think I’ll miss the social media hysteria that seems to have gripped so much of the online world. I guess that’s the reason it’s there, but the whole Kavanaugh trial, he said/she said and then how it disappeared from the lime light so quickly once he was elected into office makes my head spin.
Overall, I got about 14 or 15 blog posts done, which was something I’d been wanting to do for a while. In this job it gets tough to find time to be creative enough to type out a blog post so, since I had the chance in Winnipeg, I did just that. This time I focused on documenting so of the things and places around where I live. Perhaps the next time I’ll focus on another aspect of the city, such as other districts or whatever. This has got me thinking about going back to Winnipeg a bit more but for shorter durations.
Put some more videos up on YouTube, too, mostly drone videos, while also adding another 20 or so pics to Instagram. Winnipeg is a leafy city so when the seasons change, you can see it pretty quickly. I was surprised that in the three weeks that I was there the leaves turned yellow and then fell off. And just like that, the trees were bare. Good photo ops.
The flight back wasn’t bad, just under ten hours in total. I was beside a rather chatty Chinese lady who spoke good English. Her kids go to school in Canada and she was just visiting them. This is something I never experienced when I grew up: being sent overseas to study in a foreign country at such a young age (her daughter is 7 years old). The food was pretty good, too, and I had a few bottles of wine to help with sleeping. Also managed to watch All the Money in the World and the rest of Deadpool 2. Productive, I suppose.
There seems to be more of a pulse to Winnipeg now, but it’s very faint, and it’s no doubt in part due to the hockey team. When the NHL Jets left back in 1997 it was a huge hit to the city, not just financially, but in terms of pride. Winnipeg can take comfort in the fact that many US cities have been hit by declining sales and have had their teams sold and relocated. I’ve always wondered why the Winnipeg Jets aren’t more owned by the community itself rather than a few individuals at the top. It’s just an idea.
Anyway, it’s back to work which means there will probably be a significant drop off in my posting here. Hope everyone is well and that the Winnipeg winter isn’t too harsh!