So my adventures in Winnipeg continue and I finally got to the gym for the first time in a couple of weeks. I wasn’t at my strongest but was still able to keep going. $10 for the day pass, a price I’d say is steep but then I was quickly reminded by the voices in my head about how often I dish out $10 on whatever (beer, movies) and think nothing of it. And yet going to the gym is something I have to think about. I guess part of it is that it’s the clean up required. Once a movie is over I just go home, but going to the gym requires showering, changing, and then making sure to eat on time.
I went to my usual place when I’m in Winnipeg, Brickhouse Gym, a place I’ve been going to for years, probably since it opened on Corydon some years ago. One of the better aspects of the gym is that they have instructional articles around the place that give ideas on workouts and how to properly use some equipment, particularly boxing equipment. It’s also a gym for lifters which means people go there to work out, not just sit on their phones and update Facebook (wait, Steve… weren’t you doing that? Yes… but, my postings were in an effort to help achieve a greater understanding of the world and its people. Really? You posted a complaint about having to convert from kilograms into pounds. Yes. Again, greater understanding of the world. 😀 ) In any event, since I brought my gym stuff I figure there was really no excuse not to get at least a few workouts in during this time off from work.
After I went to the gym, I wandered about Osborne Village, an area I’ve discussed before in regard to its music scene, to see what had changed. Quite a few of the buildings had changed tenants, notably the former American Apparel store which was, in turn, formerly the Collective Cabaret, a bar at which I played, was now an Anytime Fitness gym. That now makes three gyms within the three blocks that make up Osborne Village: Brickhouse, Snap and Anytime. Seems like there is a gym craze going on.
The Second Cup on the corner of River and Osborne is still closed, a year after it had to renegotiate the lease or had some sort of franchise problem, I’m not sure. I have noticed the general absence of Second Cup cafes, the supposed Canadian contender to the Starbucks giant. I know the stock price tanked but I didn’t think the company was in trouble. It seems like Tim Hortons, which used to be seen as the contender to places like McDonalds or Dunkin’ Donuts, has become the main contender in Canada’s coffee market. (And Tims is set to expand into China in the years ahead.)
And across the street from that still shuttered Second Cup is an infamous “circle” wherein it was known that one could buy pot. Or at least it was the place to buy the stuff when the street still had actual music venues (the Toad in the Hole and Cave are still there). Now? I’ll admit that I don’t actually know where to buy pot but I do know that Canada was supposed to have legalized the stuff back in July. The new legalization date has been set for October 17th of this year and it seems to be on track.
Since I work and travel overseas quite a bit, a lot of people talk about Canada as being one of the few countries to legalize pot and then question why their own countries aren’t doing the same. Further, the Big Money of the Markets have also become interested in the sector since quite a few of the larger growers or dispensers have listed on the TSX. Some money managers are doubtful of these stocks because they aren’t profitable and that the typical fundamental information many money managers use to determine whether or not to buy certain stocks is simply missing. But that confuses me: we know there’s a huge market for it, it’s been regulated, and there will be checks and balances in place to keep things in order and not in the hands of the black market, right? Or am I missing something here. their balance sheets don’t look good at the moment, which is something I don’t get. Wouldn’t these companies be just like the tobacco companies?
Anyway, it was with these ideas in mind that I ventured into one of the “tobacco and glass shops” to have a look around and see if I could learn more. Here are some of the things I learned:
- To be clear, these shops do sell tobacco such as cigarettes or cigars, but they also sell glassware for consuming tobacco and… um… other “related” substances. Hence, “glass-related” items could refer to whatever substance you’re putting into those glass bongs or vaporizers, etc.
- However, many “glass” shops are only that and nothing more. If you mention what you will be doing with the items you purchase in these glass stores, many will refuse to sell you anything. This includes detoxifying glass-related items.
- Manitoba was only issued four (4) licences for businesses to sell “glass-related” items, including those items that might be considered “health-related”.
- Why the small number of licenses? A few ideas were bounced around, one was Winnipeg’s crime rate, another was an unwilling government, among other ideas. No real answer was given but it seems that there may be more licenses issued at a later date.
- It’s hard to find good workers to actually work at these places. Apparently many of the people who apply for the jobs are, well, a little too laid back for the position if not entirely lazy. The best people are those who have a customer service background so they can talk with the customer and find out what they need and suggest the appropriate item.
- Knowledge is easier to teach than customer service skills.
- In general, there seems to be a general lack of education about the topic among the greater public, despite many if not much of the general public already having some type of encounter with these “glass” products.
- Older people (+50-60) make up a good portion of those who are buying “glass-related” items.
- There still seems to be a concern that the so-called “black market” will drop their prices to beat out the federal rate set for these products. I’m not sure how that will go seeing as though alcohol can be made for personal use yet many people still choose to buy from the store.
- In general, this new sector of “glass-related” items could provide Canada with another revenue source other than commodities such as oil and gold. One person I spoke to said that Manitoba itself, by not issuing more licenses, was restricting the amount of tax revenue it could glean from these sources and put the number in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Not to mention the new job prospects in the sector, both selling and growing, but also educating and, well, the true glass-related items.
- There are restrictions on advertising these items, both on how they are presented and to whom, in addition to where they can be used or consumed. For example, notice how there aren’t any cigarette ads any more? It’ll be the same for these “glass-related” items in that they can’t advertised by the people who produce and sell them.
So it was an educational day for me in terms learning about the legalization of pot. Seems that no one is against the legalization but people are wondering what the fallout will be.
And then to cap off the day I was able to attend the last pre-season Winnipeg Jets game at the BellMTS Centre (formerly the “MTS Centre” and something I just call “the arena”). We lost, 5-3.
Overall, it was a decent game and I was able to catch up with my brother-in-law during the event. I had to have a coffee during the game to stave off the jet lag throughout the evening (the Tim’s only sold large coffees, no smalls!) And now that the pre-season has ended the regular season begins: 82 games followed by the playoffs. The Winnipeg Jets are supposed to be a good team this year and The Hockey News has them making the Stanley Cup Finals (the last and final series that usually takes place in June). (I sound smart but it was my brother-in-law who filled me in on everything to do with hockey!)
I should remind you that during the 2017-2018 season, the Jets finished somewhere near the top of the league (first or second) and made a decent run in the playoffs, losing out to the newcomers Las Vegas Knights. So this year the team has a lot of expectations placed on them. If they do make it to the Finals, then that would be a first in the franchise’s history, both the old team and the new team.
The game has changed only slightly since I was a kid. There is less fighting overall; there is now a penalty for things like shooting the puck over the glass in your own zone (known as a delay of game); there are massive nets to stop the puck from flying into the crowd; ticket prices are set according to what teams are playing (Tier A, B, and C I believe); quite a few people were drinking beer (mostly Budweiser, a beer I cannot recommend) but no one was rowdy; there was security at the front door, which is not something I remember going through when we were kids.
Oh, I was the only one who recorded the singing of the national anthems at the beginning of the game.
And In figured I’d post a snippet of the game for those of you who’ve never seen ice hockey before.
Oh, and I was wondering why one of the Jets hats had the Japanese characters “東京” (dong jing, which means “Tokyo”) on it. No one seemed to know the reason.
Long post, I know! Maybe tomorrow’s will be shorter. Day 5?!