It's been a while...

I have turned into a horrible blogger. I blame my lack of home computer/laptop. I have very good intentions of getting a new one however I am still struggling with the Mac/PC debate. Mac has way more votes from my friends/family however still on the PC side is the ~$1000 savings and the fact that I have never used a Mac and suck with technology (you will notice that my little blog is still blogspot and never really changes...)

Anywhoooo...

I was sent a very nice email by someone asking if I would plug their event and still high on the free swag from when IKEA thought that I was popular enough to invite to their media event, I thought I should do my blogger duty of promoting Winnipeg things, lest I never be on another invite list.

The Dance Downtown event also seems to be free and we all know I'm a touch cheap frugal. So this Sunday if you're looking for something to do, why not check it out?

Hoping to blog more soon,
Winnipeg Girl

It's not my fault

Since I know the readership of my blog although it goes far and wide (Qatar, haven't seen you lately, where you at?) it doesn't have a massive readership so I doubt it was me that ruined it...

Last May I blogged about the Aeroplan Star Challenge and volunteered to take a flight on Virgin's Upper Class. No one has offered me that ticket yet (hint, hint). I did however complete the challenge and received my 16,500 Aeroplan points.

Aeroplan has rolled out the Star Challenge again this year, although they've tweaked it quite a lot in their favour. I spent some time reading their terms and conditions and like much of the Aeroplan reward program it leans towards helping the rich stay rich (the people who benefit the most from Aeroplan perks probably don't even pay for their own tickets yet they, not the person who pays for them, get all the freebies).

Chuck the Channel Cat in Selkirk (thanks Wikipedia)

So this time you can earn up to 25,000 Aeroplan points which is pretty impressive. To put that in perspective that means a ticket to anywhere in continental Canada or the US. However, they wised up a little bit this time and now have a minimum spend required in order to accumulate the stars in the promotion. Last time it was theoretically possible to get a free flight from one province to the next (the value of the points available) for about $40. This time the average person is looking at a minimum spend of about $470.

Broken down to the simplest form the program goes like this: Collect 100 stars to receive your 25,000 points. Chances are if you are an avid Aeroplan collector you have some sort of affiliated Visa card, so that gets you 5 stars right of the bat. You also get 1 star for registering. Great, only 94 to go. You receive 2 stars for every eligible purchase at an online retailer through their eStore, however this time it excludes eBay which was a source of many of my stars last time. You also get two stars for an in-person shop at a storefront retailer. Ones that the average Winnipegger is likely to shop at? Esso, Rexall, Sobeys and Home Hardware (when visiting rural relatives or Chuck the Channel Cat).

There are a bunch of other basically fake opportunities to earn stars with flights and car rentals but they almost all require that you both purchase and complete those during the contest period (March 11 - April 10). No one can afford to fly Air Canada without strategic planning months in advance grabbing sale prices, who are they kidding. Ditto goes for earning points with hotel stays with Aeroplan partners - no booking on a cheaper site (not eligible for Aeroplan normally) nope, you need to book directly with the hotel which almost always costs more. Do you know who might benefit from that? Business travellers who already earn hundreds of thousands of Aeroplan miles a year.

There is one slightly attainable way to earn extra stars, by using your CIBC card at special Aeroplan Bonus restaurants. You will earn one extra star as well as double the Aeroplan points on your transaction. Of course this means you will also spend way more than $470 to collect the 25,000 points. In Winnipeg restaurants include Hermano's, Chamberlyn's, Hu's, Wasabi, Deadfish, Star Grill, Carbone Pizza and Olympia Diner. If you live outside Winnipeg use this website to find restaurants in your area. Maximum of 5 stars through this method.

So since I can't imagine when I might have more money then time, so I expect to put $10 worth of gas into my car every day at Esso starting Monday (hopefully this can cover about 20 of my transactions, although I don't usually go through $200 of gas in a month, maybe I'll have to roadtrip somewhere...). I will also become a regular at Sobey's.

It's basically a promotion that is designed to have people fail which is great for Aeroplan, not great at all for consumers. If they run this promotion again and if it's tweaked to their advantage any further I won't be able to participate so I might as well go for it one last time.

How to play the system

A title like that and this post isn't even about the North End or even Winnipeg!

I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a fan of customer loyalty programs. I like to think that I am one of the small percentage that actually come out ahead. Although, if the rumoured changes come about that will allow merchants to tack on the cost of the Visa transaction to the consumer that might all change. They do that in Europe a lot but as far as I'm aware it is currently not allowed here in Canada. I have noticed though that discount airline Allegiant has started offering a discount for those that pay by debit rather than credit, so officially it's not an extra charge to pay by credit card, but it also won't allow you to get the rock bottom price.

Alright, so first to get some bragging out of the way and to lend some credibility to where I'm coming from. Over the years I have taken the following free* flights: First on Airmiles (the kind you get at Safeway and Shell): I have gotten 5 tickets to NYC, 4 to Las Vegas, and also gone to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Montreal. With Aeroplan (the Air Canada rewards program) I have gone to the UK, Nicaragua and business class to Argentina. I also still have enough Aeroplan points to take 8 flights within North America (or less flights to more far flung destinations, but I'm pretty sure I have enough to go anywhere in the world, twice).

Here are some very general tips and tricks that have served me the best (and later two awesome new promos that you should seriously consider). First, when it comes to Airmiles, the only way you'll ever get enough to leave your driveway is if you use the bonus offers that Safeway frequently has. Stock up on things you love. One of the best is the buy X boxes of cereal get XX bonus miles. Cereal keeps for ages and this promo also only happens when the cereal is on sale to begin with. Try to partner this with one of their "spend $100 get 100 (or sometimes even better, 250) bonus Airmiles events. Sometimes stores are having this as an unadvertised promotion. Let your fingers do the walking and call them first.

Also, with Airmiles, and this is a trick I haven't tried personally but have been told it works: when they have that coupon in the flyer chances are the "same" coupon got sent out in the weekly Safeway Club Card email. However, I'm told they tend to have different PLU numbers, so if you go the self checkout route you can self scan both coupons and get it twice. Worth a shot. The other big Airmiles trick is to know your zones. All of Ontario is considered one zone, so they presumably base their required amount of miles on a Toronto departure - as a Winnipegger, if you are wanting to redeem for a few people it is well worth the drive to depart from Thunder Bay instead. To put this in perspective, from Winnipeg to NYC in high season you would need 2950 Airmiles per person. From Thunder Bay? 1400. Less than half. The gas for the 8 hour drive pays for itself even with one person but definitely worth it for 2 or more. Have the BMO Airmiles Mastercard? You'll need even fewer.

Now, on to Aeroplan, my favourite program.

I pay the $120/yr for my Visa card. I know many people who say they would never pay for their credit card, but for me it's well worth it. Most premium credit cards, mine being the CIBC Infinite Aerogold Card, offer various bonus coverage - read the fine print to compare. I get up to 2 weeks at a time of travel health coverage, baggage insurance, purchase protection and others. The feature I use the most is probably the CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) insurance for rental cars. I once curbed a rental car and the rental place wanted to charge me $175 for the scuff on the rim; my card covered it for me. The other ones? Well, I haven't used them yet, but like any insurance, you hope to never need to. I print out their little brochures and take them with me when I travel so I have it handy for what I'm covered for. With some of the trip coverage if my flight ever gets delayed by XX hours (I don't remember exactly how many) they will even cover entertainment expenses!

I also pay my credit card off in full every month, the only reason I use it is just to get the points. And boy oh boy, am I obsessive about the points. About the only thing I don't put on the card are garage sale shopping and my Hydro bill (because stupid Hydro won't take Visa). So, every year, based on my spending, I earn at least one free* flight within North America. You could even argue it isn't free because I paid $120 for the card. Fine, I can fly to anywhere in the continental US/Canada for $120 plus the "*". What is the * you ask? Well, if you've ever redeemed for a "free" flight you'll know that you still get dinged for the taxes and fees, I find usually $100-200 for a North American flight. Pro tip on how to keep that number low? If you are flying to Europe, route yourself through the States, the taxes and fees are much less.

Okay, so other tips and tricks for Aeroplan. First, definitely if doing online shopping sign in to their eStore first (via the Aeroplan homepage). They often run promotions like 5 or 10x the Aeroplan purchases. If it's something you just want eventually and don't need it p.d.q. then wait and buy it during the promo. You could potentially earn 1000's of bonus miles. I once bought something off eBay during a 10x the point event and got 4,000 bonus points! Pro tip: they changed how you accumulate using eBay and you no longer get points for things in your "watch list", be sure to unwatch the item before you bid.

Second, using the CIBC Aerogold as an example, pre-pay for things you buy by buying gift cards at supermarkets. The CIBC Aerogold card gives you 1.5x the points at grocery stores. So, if I know I'm about to go drop a few hundred bucks at Home Depot, I stop at Safeway first and buy the gift cards there.

Here's my new thing: Visa and Safeway are having a promotion in November that every time you spend $200 in a single transaction you will get a $20 credit back on your Visa, up to 4 credits or $80. You just need to register your card. I've read the fine print and it doesn't seem to say that this isn't applicable on the purchase of gift cards; so if you're like me and you maybe buy $200 of groceries in the entire month, worry not, just stock up on gift cards either for yourself for future purchases or for unimaginative Christmas gifts! If I stockpile Home Depot cards it would be like getting $800 worth of stuff for $720 and I would get 1200 points instead of $800.

Second awesome promotion I came across the other day: Get a fancypants Amex. Yes, the yearly fee in mindblowing ($499!) but do the math. For $499 you get 50,000 Aeroplan points. That is enough for two round trip tickets within North America. Even by the time you pay the taxes and fees on your tickets you are still flying anywhere you want for less than about $350pp. On that flight the cardholder gets access to the Air Canada lounges, where being the good Winnipegger that they are, if they are flying with a friend they will go in and stock up on free food to their friend waiting in the regular part of the airport. Other options? Well, with this Amex you get one free short-haul (from Winnipeg this basically means to Toronto/Ottawa/Regina/Saskatoon/Minneapolis) companion ticket. So, you redeem 15,000 of your 50,000 points, you and a friend go to the center of the universe for a weekend getaway and you still have 35,000 points left - enough to go  anywhere in North America or, if you wait until you've got another 5,000 points ($4000 of spending if you don't get any bonuses) you can go to Mexico, the Caribbean or Central America. Cancel the card when it comes up for renewal next year.

You're welcome.

One big popularity contest

Well, first off, I apparently caused quite a stir with my Dear Cyclist post that ended up as blog of the week over in the FreeP Sunday edition. I wish I had been told I was going to be the featured blog so that I could have jumped in to the comments earlier, as it was, by the time I commented it was old news. So, since I was "involved" I actually read the comments, going against my not-going-so-well resolution of not reading them to stave off murderous rampages towards the many ignorant folk who seem to live in Winnipeg.

Amazingly, the comments were slightly better than usual, and, gasp, it almost appeared as though some people had read my story the whole way through before commenting! And, according to perpetual commenter Woofers, one of the comments may have even set some sort of record with the number of "thumbs down" it received. All of that attention on my little post! Based on all of that, I don't know if I'm happy or sad that the link to my blog in the online story didn't work - I currently like that right now most of the people who comment on my blog seem to be of higher intelligence than the average FreeP hyper-commenter. I did see a ton of traffic to the blog who had googled how to find it so I hope I found a few new loyal readers.

But enough about me.

I stumbled upon one of those internet popularity contest things today that is for a local youth organization. The West Broadway Youth Outreach program is part of the Scotiabank Gamechangers competition to win $100,000 for their programming. Now, if my reading of the rules and regulations is correct, since they have already won as Regional Game Changers, I don't know for sure if votes between now and when they start the voting for the overall winner (October 29th) really make a difference, but it certainly can't hurt to get in the habit of voting every day so that you are super dedicated to the cause when it matters! Vote here. We sadly hear all to often about how funding is cut for youth organizations, well here is a chance to help make up for that and it won't even cost you any of your tax dollars. As a rule, the concept of this type of popular vote contest isn't my favourite, as many worthwhile causes that just don't know how to rally the troops as well are often left out. However, I can't change that, so I might as well suck it up and give my daily click.

This weekend has so much going on, I don't even know where to start! It is of course, Giveaway weekend, which means that Winnipeg Girl will be trolling the streets looking for discarded arborite tables and other goodies. I think one of the best scores I ever got is the office chair I currently sit on - one of those no-back kneely deals. It was basically new, I'm guessing they didn't stick with it long enough to learn to love it. Now, as there is more competition than I can handle on this weekend for treasures, I usually think of it as an excuse to drive around some of my favourite Winnipeg neighbourhoods and drool over the architecture. Fort Garry by the river/Wildwood Park, watch out, here I come!

This weekend also has the last big car show of the year, held at Garden City on Sunday. This is ALWAYS a great day and brings out many of the best cars from around the Winnipeg area. Now that the mall opens before noon (or, at least I presume it does?) if cars aren't the thing for everyone in your group there is a few extra hours of "entertainment" for them inside.

I'm more than a little sad that the weather has turned so cold, in winter I don't have my cheery flowers to greet me every time I come home. Speaking of, since clearly there will be no progressive stories on my Wolseley Project 2.0, I will do a wrap-up post complete with pictures hopefully next week. Hint: (unless this jinxes it for the the weekend) it is a good news post.

Free Birthday stuff, updated

It's my birthday - what can I get for free? 

(This is a mildly updated post to my previous free birthday stuff post - I kept the rant in as it's still relevant sadly). Variations of "free birthday dinner Winnipeg" has become one of the biggest drivers of traffic to my blog ever since I took the word "h00ker" out of previous posts.

This post will serve as both a mini-rant and a genuine post. Being a Winnipegger, I of course love free things. However, as someone who has spent years working in the service industry, I hate people who just want free stuff because it's their birthday. I mean, really, it should be your mom that gets something free - she's the one who had a tough day xx years ago. As a server, there is almost nothing that you dread more than a squeal coming from the table and someone saying "like, omg, it's his birthday, do you guys like do anything for birthdays???!!" Assuming it's someone middle aged, the omg and like can be omitted, but the vibe is the same. The more the table expects you to do for them is directly related to what they are likely to tip. For example, the table that wants you to dress up and play some silly character that's part of a running joke (this really happened to me, and yes, I went along because in theory it should have paid off well for me) and sing/dance/give free everything will tip 7-10% if you're lucky. The table that quietly celebrates a birthday complete with cards/presents etc. but never specifically tells the server that it's someones birthday - probably more in the range of 15-20%. Yes Winnipeg, 15-20%. Get over it. That is what it's supposed to be. Not 10%. However the longer version of this rant is for another post. Update: last night I served a table that when I offered dessert specifically said: "It's her birthday, does she get free dessert?" When I said no, no one ordered dessert. They tipped $12 on $175. Proof that my theory above is still going strong.

So, the reason you're really here, where to find some free birthday goodies. Of course most of the chain restaurants will do something - Montana's might make you wear the cootie infested moose horns, sing and give some sort of dessert if memory serves (they used to offer your friends the chance to pie you in the face with whipped cream, glad that's over), CRApplebee's used to make their poor servers sing and then bring free dessert, Old Spaghetti Factory same deal (bonus points if you get the guy with the crazy fun booming voice as part of your serenade) Tony Roma's is slightly more clever, they give you a card to come back for a free appetizer on your NEXT visit, and The Keg, my general exception to my "I hate chain restaurants" rule, will give a slice of their fantastic Billy Miner Pie. If I was in North Dakota I could visit every Manitobans favourite quasi-Mexican restaurant, Paradiso. Paradiso gets points from a server standpoint for only providing free dinner on the actual day of your birthday, ID required - I don't know if you've noticed, but on Friday/Saturday night at a chain restaurants it's EVERYONE'S birthday.... coincidence? Not likely.

One of my absolute favourite places in the city to nosh, fude, also does a free birthday dinner, but I keep putting off joining their VIP club thing (which you need to do) because my friends are all to cheap frugal practical cheap to ever want to eat there on a regular basis, so I always figure I won't get to take advantage of it. I seem to recall a few years ago that a car wash somewhere in the South End would give you a free car wash on your birthday, and I think Dutch Maid did free ice cream.

Update: I've recently discovered that Boon Burger on Sherbrook (not sure if the new East Exchange location is open yet?)  will give you a free burger, even the biggest meat eaters will love Boon, a vegan burger place. Boon is also smart enough to say that ID may be required. I also believe that Johnny G's does a free birthday dinner, but if I recall there are a bunch of conditions besides having ID - I think maybe you need to have at least 4 people having dinner at the table to get it?

It seems to me that years ago there were a lot more places that offered something free on your birthday, maybe I'm wrong, please comment if you know of one that I have missed, or a favourite from days gone by.
So what is the moral of this post? Well, basically if there is free stuff out there because it's your birthday, obviously take advantage of it, after all, it would almost be wrong as a Winnipegger not to; however, don't be obnoxious about it, take your free stuff with no singing and dancing (the staff will appreciate it, you're not 7 years old after all) and tip appropriately and we can all get along :)

(Mostly) Free Money!!

Oh how time flies! It seems like it was just the other day I was writing about how certain members of City Council were trying to take money from one program to put in to the Home Renovation Tax Assistance (HRTA) program instead. Well, the HRTA program is still around (and still is a great program if you ask me) and is only just finally going to council for approval tomorrow. The report that is being submitted can be found here. In previous years the HRTA funding status has been passed and put into play by the end of May at the latest.

Assuming I am reading the report correctly, it seems as though they haven't been using all of the funds (good thing Russ Wyatt wanted to put more in it).

"The transfer of $339,964 of prior years’ unspent HRTA program budgets to the Planning, Property and Development Department’s (PP&D) 2013 operating budget will allow for up to 1,319 approved applicants. The $339,964 represents one-third of the available unallocated Program credits of $1,019,981 currently credited to the Housing Rehabilitation Investment Reserve (i.e. $829,389 as at December 31, 2011 plus
$190,502 in unused credits from the 2012 budget year)."

Again, I think this is a great program that "...reduces the perception that property owners are penalized by tax increases for improving their properties and it encourages property owners to take out building permits thereby promoting the quality of construction in meeting applicable building, electrical and plumbing codes. ...also encourages energy efficient renovations by providing additional tax credits through harmonization with the technical requirements of the Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Program" and I think that three major factors are keeping people from using it.

First, and I'm sure there are a few of you out there who can chime in with personal stories attesting to this; the length of time it often takes to get a permit. If you want people to do things in a certain way, it's probably best to make it easy for them.

Second, does anyone even know about this program? Perhaps when they mail out property tax bills they should notify all of the eligible homeowners - it should be simple enough to tell the computer who gets that message printed on their bill (assuming it passes, that would be anyone who has a house built before January 1, 1987 and valued at less than $218,000).

Third, although the credits can be received retroactively, they need to have their ducks in a row long before July 11th. Especially in a year like this where the outdoor construction season got such an early start. It also doesn't do anyone much good if they are completing projects that qualify for the program that don't normally need permits (to get the credit you still go through the motions of getting one). Why, especially if I didn't know about this program, would I go down to the permit office and get a "permit" for replacing my roof or windows? As well, I happen to know that it can be applied for retroactively, however I don't see that information anywhere on the HRTA part of the City site.

A quick synopsis of how to get your free money from the City of Winnipeg (it is being asked that the same guidelines below be used for 2012). Receive up to $2250, at a maximum of $750 per year off your property tax, based on this criteria:

Eligible Renovations

The 2011 Home Renovation Tax Assistance Program has two categories of eligible renovations:

• Standard Renovations – Generally, the following standard renovations are eligible for a 5% tax credit:
  • Renovating kitchens, bathrooms and unfinished basements.
  • Building an addition to a home that will be utilized as a year-round living space.
  • Installing, repairing or upgrading a plumbing system or electrical system or a ventilation system, but not including an air conditioner.
  • Reinforcing or repairing a foundation or basement, including weeping tile, excavation and related landscaping.
  • Home security alarms
  • Installing or repairing exterior sheathing, roofing, shingling, soffits, fascia, eavestroughing, doors or windows (excluding skylight windows).
  • Installing or repairing a water or sewer system, including excavation and related landscaping.
  • Purchasing and installing a low flush toilet.
  • Modifying a home to accommodate a disabled person or renovating for reasons of safety or occupant health.
  • Repairing a home to ensure or maintain compliance with the Maintenance and Occupancy By-Law.
  • Constructing or repairing a deck, verandah or garage.
• Energy Efficiency Renovations – Generally, the following energy efficiency renovations that meet or exceed Manitoba Hydro Power Smart guidelines are eligible for a 8.33% tax credit:
  • Renovating an unfinished basement with insulation to the walls and floors.
  • Upgrading a primary heating system.
  • Upgrading an electrical system.
  • Upgrading a ventilation system.
  • Insulating walls and an attic.
  • Upgrading and insulating doors and windows.

For further information, visit the Manitoba Hydro website at www.hydro.mb.ca.

Ineligible Renovations

Generally, the following renovations are ineligible:

• Building or repairing a fence, driveway, patio or sidewalk unless necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the home or for safety or occupant health reasons.
• Installing or repairing a play structure or swimming pool.
• Landscaping, unless related to excavation work.
• Interior decorating such as installing wallpaper, blinds or drapes.
• Interior and exterior painting and installing or repairing floor covering unless related to eligible renovations, necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the home or for safety or occupant health reasons.
• Installing or repairing a household appliance, skylight windows, fireplace, hot tub or jacuzzi, secondary heating system, heat pump unless it is the primary heating source, air conditioner, back-up generator,  air purification system, radio or television antenna or satellite dish, lawn sprinkler system, awnings or any improvements that are not permanently affixed to a home.
• Modification to a home to allow a non-residential use or multi-family use.
• Constructing or repairing an accessory building such as a greenhouse, gazebo or sunroom.

So, there you have it. Spread the word, tell your friends and neighbours! And while you're at it, ask you local counicllor why you didn't know about this sooner and why it's only being passed in July.

I was going to keep this a secret, but....

If I won the lottery I was totally going to do this anyway. Sufficed to say, my good fortune in the weekly Lotto Max draws has not panned out quite the way I had hoped. Although I suppose there is hope for the next time there is a $50 Million jackpot...

Assuming it does not go as planned, yet again, I might as well share my idea in case there is anyone out there who does win it and needs some inspiration. As it turns out my idea is already a "thing" as described in this article. Basically, wouldn't it be great if we gave some struggling entrepreneurs (and some well-respected local businesses) a chance to open up a storefront here on Selkirk Ave? Winnipeggers love free things more than just about anyone so I think demand would outstrip supply.

A mix of old and new businesses and services (but no more social services!) could help to bring back some vibrancy to this once grand strip. Wouldn't it be great if there was a little coffee shop that served exciting things like espresso and lattes? With all the students attending classes on Selkirk they would probably do a brisk business. Local art could hang from the walls and there could be posters abound for local upcoming events - just like that quaint coffee place in another part of town. Stealing an example straight out of the article, what about a bike place that did repairs? Not all of the bike riders here in the North End are kids running drugs - for some it's their main, economical, environmentally friendly mode of transport. Heck, if they could figure out a way to repair strollers they'd make a killing; the amount of abandoned strollers I see is mildly disturbing... Once upon a time there was a bike shop on Selkirk

I, dare say in my plan.where I have won the lottery, since I would be the one buying up all the buildings that I would perhaps even offer up to a year free rent to really give them m a chance the to establish themselves. Imagine though, lottery aside, if the commercial property owners along Selkirk did that of their own accord? I imagine if/when they wanted to sell their property it would be a lot more valuable with a tenant in it (with the assumption that the businesses would stay on after establishing themselves.)

Well, here's to dreaming *imaginary glass clink*

Merry Christmas* to me.

Is it wrong that this is the time of year that makes me want to shop - for myself? It's the Winnipegger in me, but I can't seem to pass up all the bonus offers that retailers offer this time of year. I'm not the biggest fan of giving gift cards to other people, most of the time it seems fairly impersonal; however, giving them to myself is just good financial planning.

For example, fude, one of my favourite places to nosh, is having their annual Christmas offer, in fact I think this one is better than usual - if I buy myself a $100 gift card, they will throw in a $50 bonus one. So, if I basically pre-pay for a place that I'm going to eat at anyway, I get myself a free dinner in the process.

All sorts of places do bonus offers this time of year (I'm going to cite examples from previous years), so if you know you're going to eat at McDonald's anyway throughout the year, why not buy the gift card and get the bonus Big Mac. Offers like that are pretty common at fast food places, but you're not limited to fast food - Tony Roma's will throw in a bottle of their signature BBQ sauce, and I think Boston Pizza does something every year as well. Do you watch movies? Well, buy yourself a Cineplex gift card and get yourself their bonus coupons - one of them was a % off coupon for Chapters which you can use on yourself or discount your Christmas present shopping.

As if we don't get enough emails already, but signing up for those weekly ad reminders and such can bring about some pretty great deals as well - bonus airmiles from Safeway for buying things like gift cards can help make it worth it. And if you are extra crazy (like me) then you know that when you buy gift cards at Safeway, not only do you earn airmiles on the total purchase, but if you have an Aerogold Visa you also get 1.5 times the Aeroplan points...

Does anyone else do this? I mean it makes November/December particularly expensive, but the rest of the year benefits.

*It is okay to start talking about Christmas now because Egg Nog is now in store. Has anyone else ever noticed that the French side of Egg Nog basically translates as Chicken Milk?

I've been....

...Kevin'd?

Now, obviously election signs are not that uncommon at this time, however what was unusual was that I didn't ask for these signs to be put on my prominent, corner lot fence, in BOTH directions. Now, don't get me wrong Kevin seems to be one heck of a guy, I've met him at numerous functions in the community over the years and he has always come across as being very genuine; perhaps too genuine for politics. I have a sneaky suspicion that he's really going to try to make a difference, at least at first. I also like that until recently it gave me another adult to talk to who was suffering through braces (he got his off now - I am still being tortured).

In fact, I probably would have been okay with keeping the sign on my fence, if for no other reason than he's the only candidate that I've actually met, but since I am working election day I have been told that demonstrating any sort of political support is a no-no. So I called the campaign office and they very efficiently sent someone down to take down the signs. However, I did ask for follow up as to how exactly those signs ended up on my fence (more on my motives for that in a minute, it was more than just idle curiosity). I was told, that, oops, they were meant for two different neighbours of mine, which of course may be true, but I'm more than a tad skeptical, and that's not just because one of the yards the newly torn down signs ended up on belongs to my 95 year old neighbour, of course she called and asked for a sign...

The main reason I'm more than a bit skeptical is that a friend of mine has been enumerating for the upcoming election and on several occasions has come across folks that flat out refuse to have their name added to the voters list, yet they have election signs in their yard. Does that not seem a touch contradictory? Yes please Candidate X, please put your sign in my yard indicating that I support you. Vote? Why would I vote? I didn't think that's why you wanted me to have a sign there! See? Seems a little suspect.

Now, this election is not the first nor will it be the last where there is some sort of controversy as to how, where and when signs get placed, but it certainly makes me wonder just how much support that Candidate X really has... maybe he or she just has more rogue volunteers.

Oh, and in other news, FREE this weekend, go and check out Assiniboine Park Zoo. I think I might actually go check it out - those baby pandas are pretty much too cute for words and I don't know if I have been to zoo since it was free all the time. This is of course why I don't really think I like the zoo, I was forced to go all the time because my sister liked it, and it was free, so I kind of grew to hate the zoo; perhaps it's time to give it one more go.

It's my birthday - what can I get for free?

This post will serve as both a mini-rant and a genuine post. Being a Winnipegger, I of course love free things. However, as someone who has spent years working in the service industry, I hate people who just want free stuff because it's their birthday. I mean, really, it should be your mom that gets something free - she's the one who had a tough day xx years ago. As a server, there is almost nothing that you dread more than a squeal coming from the table and someone saying "like, omg, it's his birthday, do you guys like do anything for birthdays???!!" Assuming it's someone middle aged, the omg and like can be omitted, but the vibe is the same. The more the table expects you to do for them is directly related to what they are likely to tip. For example, the table that wants you to dress up and play some silly character that's part of a running joke (this really happened to me, and yes, I went along because in theory it should have paid off well for me) and sing/dance/give free everything will tip 7-10% if you're lucky. The table that quietly celebrates a birthday complete with cards/presents etc. but never specifically tells the server that it's someones birthday - probably more in the range of 15-20%. Yes Winnipeg, 15-20%. Get over it. That is what it's supposed to be. Not 10%. However the longer version of this rant is for another post.

So, tomorrow I celebrate being 29 with yet another year of experience (although, 23 was my favourite year so I prefer to pretend I'm holding there) and I'll be darned if I can think of where to get me some free birthday goodies. Of course all the chain restaurants will do something - Montana's would make me wear the cootie infested moose horns and sing and give me some sort of dessert if memory serves, CRApplebee's would also make their poor servers sing and bring me dessert, Old Spaghetti Factory same deal. Tony Roma's is slightly more clever, they give you a card to come back for a free appetizer on your NEXT visit, and The Keg, my general exception to my I hate chain restaurant rule, would give me a slice of their fantastic Billy Miner Pie. If I was in North Dakota I could visit every Manitobans favourite quasi-Mexican restaurant, Paradiso. Paradiso gets points from a server standpoint for only providing free dinner on the actual day of your birthday, ID required - I don't know if you've noticed, but on Friday/Saturday night at a chain restaurants it's EVERYONE'S birthday.... coincidence? Not likely.

One of my absolute favourite places in the city to nosh, fude, also does a free birthday dinner, but I keep putting off joining their VIP club thing (which you need to do) because my friends are all to cheap frugal practical cheap to ever want to eat there on a regular basis, so I always figure I won't get to take advantage of it. I seem to recall a few years ago that a car wash somewhere in the South End would give you a free car wash on your birthday, and I think Dutch Maid did free ice cream.


It seems to me that years ago there were a lot more places that offered something free on your birthday, maybe I'm wrong, please comment if you know of one that I have missed, or a favourite from days gone by. In any case, tomorrow, I'll be the one opening presents (hopefully) with a great group of friends who unless they wish for death, will not dare mention my birthday to the server. If that establishment offers something for birthday folk and the server takes it upon his or herself to provide it - so be it (and a bigger tip).

So what is the moral of this post? Well, basically if there is free stuff out there because it's your birthday, obviously take advantage of it, after all, it would almost be wrong as a Winnipegger not to; however, don't be obnoxious about it, take your free stuff with no singing and dancing (the staff will appreciate it, you're not 7 years old after all) and tip appropriately and we can all get along :)

...now onto some pre-birthday Bailiey's....

Art, irony, or both?

Sometimes, when you are trying to think of a good topic for a post, one just presents itself for you. I sure am grateful for camera phones - it makes it a easier not to pass up moments like this.

Perhaps someone will use it for this weekends Giveaway Weekend September 2011? I know I will be scouring the city for more crap treasures to add to my collection(s). Remember, if you come across any free arborite tables, pick 'em up for me ;)

Please be sure to get out and enjoy what will probably be the last super-duper-extra-fantastic weekend of the year weather wise! Seriously, 30 degrees in September?? LOVE IT!!!

This just (not) in...

Well, Picnic in the Park seems to have been very well attended, I didn't hear visitor counts but the line for the free food (samosas, pork on a bun, sauerkraut perishke, apples and bannock) was as long indicating a good turn out. Locals were in luck because there was also an event just up the road at Mountain and McGregor hosted by the Manitoba Metis Federation (or so I believe) so they had their choice of family events.

Two events stand out from the time I spent at Picnic, neither of which made the news. The first, which actually happened later, is the type of even less likely to make the news, but was indicative of the aftermath of what was a very active "cheque day" here in the North End (I also wonder if cheque day played a role in the incident on Garfield). For those of you scratching your heads as to what cheque could possibly cause an entire neighbourhood to change dynamic, it's the same one you quite possibly got, the Child Tax Benefit (I think that's it's real name - I always think of it by its colloquial name, Baby Bonus Cheque). Unfortunately, when this cheque comes out in the North End, in particular in summer, the place actually resembles the place that suburbanites think exists all the time. Cheques that are intended to cover the extra costs associated with raising children all too frequently end up being spent on alcohol and other intoxicants. This is certainly not to say that this is the case with all North End families, however, like any stereotype, the roots stem from actual events, and a few bad apples definitely spoil the bunch.

Since this cheque day fell on a Friday, in summer, it was was bound to be more terrifying exciting eventful than some of the others. A friend who has been enumerating here in the neighbourhood stopped earlier in the day than usual because things were getting rowdy earlier than usual, the sirens more prolific throughout the night than usual, and the North End seems to have had more than its fair share of stories in the crime section. As a side note to that - this summer has been the most calm in years, or so it seems - even a glance at the headlines throughout this summer has had most of the crime happening in other places, refreshing for a change!

So back to my original story - there was an incident at Picnic involving a knife and a fight of some sort, which is a shame because it's a family event. I wasn't witness to the fight but I would be surprised if the participants didn't still have some of the effects from some imbibing from Friday night.  The other story, which I'm extremely surprised doesn't seem to have hit the news at all, was a dramatic river rescue. Okay, I've never seen another river rescue so I don't know if it was any more or less dramatic than usual but it seems that it should get the dramatic adjective.

Just around 830 Saturday morning, while we were setting things up for the Picnic, there was shouting coming from the direction of the Redwood Bridge. As we all know, shouting in these parts is fairly par for the course, so we didn't think too much of it. A few minutes later, sirens could be heard, ending at the bridge. Thinking that perhaps there was a fight or maybe someone threatening to jump, we continued about our business.  Next thing we knew, a guy came running down the river path with the police in hot pursuit. Then they passed him.  Confused as to what the situation was, we headed down to the river bank.  That's when we could see the head and waving arms and the guy we thought was being chased shouting to the river victim that help was on the way, to just hang on.

The police were nothing short of spectacular in their efforts to rescue the man, I was particularly impressed by the way they didn't hesitate to commandeer the rowboat attached to the docked MS River Rouge (man do my posts tie together nicely!) and attempt to row to save the man. As a spoiler (but a happy one), the man was rescued, so I can then comment on some of the amusing scenes that unfolded with the boys in blue. The officers that jumped in the rowboat looked nothing short of comical in their attempt to coordinate how exactly to row a boat and two of the officers who scrambled along the riverbank lost (and found) items off their belts and I couldn't help but think of those pesky taser cartridges. Another onlooker said that an officer fell in the water trying to get in the rowboat but I must've missed that.

So as the officers tried to row out to the man, who I was told by another man on scene who had run down the river path as well (and I believe was the person to call 911) that he had been in the water from at least Burrows, so didn't end up in the drink by the Redwood bridge after all. It was absolutely incredible how quickly the current moved and how far the man drifted in such a short amount of time.  Ultimately he was rescued (or at least certainly seemed to be - it was too far out at that point to see exactly what was going on) by a what looked like a police motorboat.

It strikes me as so odd that this didn't hit the news, not even as a blip; so here on my humble little blog I will give the shout out to the police officers involved for a job very well done, and despite my amusement at their attempt to row a boat (I'm thinking that the motorboat would have eventually had to "rescue" them as well, that's one heck of a strong current) they were nothing short of heroic in their attempts to save the life of a man who ended up in the river. I suppose we will all just have to guess at the rest of the details, like how and where he ended up in there in the first place.

Cheap river tour, Picnic in the Park

Well, we all know Winnipeg Girl is a fan of things that are cheap, or even better, free! I present you with both. Thanks to poor advertising done by the MS River Rouge (and people looking for the Paddlewheel Queen, which no longer exists) it seems from the stats that I am the go to place for information river tours. So, may I (not me of course) offer you - half price weekday river tours! I'm a generous sort. Click here to go to the Swarm Jam site. You might as well, you were looking for their hours anyway. Oh, coupons, how I love thee.

As for FREE! check out Picnic in the Park this Saturday at St. John's Park. It starts at 11 and there is entertainment throughout the afternoon, and even better, FREE food! Although, probably best not to get me started on the hundreds and hundreds of water and juice bottles that will be used. I will most certainly be at Picnic in the Park, since it's a hop skip and a jump from my place. I might actually walk there. Crazy talk, I know.

For my dear suburban readers, St. John's Park is the park on Main St. just north of Redwood Ave, and next to the Ukrainian-Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral. The park is way bigger than it looks from Main St. and actually quite a little treasure.

As a random coincidence note, this park is also roughly where you catch the River Rouge (but the coupon is only good for weekdays)
See you there!

Meet Winnipeg Girl this weekend!! (and other interesting things)

I know, I know, it's finally here - try to contain your excitement. This Saturday is the big cleanup in my neighbourhood! I know you all already have it in your calendars from when I first told you about it in procrastination post, but in case you *forgot* here are the details again: Meet at Ralph Brown Community Centre, 460 Andrews St. (but better directions would be at the corner of Machray and McGregor, it faces McGregor) at 10am this Saturday. There you can opt to pick a street/back lane to help clean or randomly be assigned one. Winnipeg Girl would love it very much if you would pick Boyd or College Ave. Hint hint.

After spending a mere two hours cleaning up, bags/gloves etc., provided, head on back to Ralph Brown at noon for a free BBQ and a chance to win some great prizes! Tips for how to make cleanups fun:

- Note the places where the most garbage comes from (McD's, Timmies, Dollarama, etc.) and mention it to their manager next time you visit the establishment. Or even better, write their corporate office
- Spot the by-law violation! Careful, this one is easy to get distracted by.
- Name that gang! This is a fun one for graffiti in back lanes - that being said we've cleaned a lot of it up. FYI, if you do ever find yourself with new "artwork" on your garage/fence, just pop on down to any police station and request a voucher for a free gallon of paint to paint it over. Unless you have biceps like tree trunks do not take the graffiti removal wipes. They require more elbow grease than you have. Trust me.
- Meeting new people - the cleanups really are a great way to meet some of your neighbours (or my neighbours if I'm dragging you in from elsewhere!)

Now, if garbage isn't really your thing I haven't been able to guilt convince you into coming out for the cleanup then maybe you're more up for a Jane's Walk. Although the timing and locations work out very nicely if you come to the cleanup and then head to one of the afternoon walks with a belly full of free food. Just sayin'....

Now next weekend also holds some exciting things, like the Giveaway Weekend, three cheers for free stuff! I mostly use it as an excuse to drive around my favourite neighbourhoods looking at the houses but free cool stuff is an added bonus. In fact the chair that my butt is currently plunked down on, and my knees for that matter (it's one of those fancy kneely chairs) is from the giveaway weekend last fall.

See you all on Saturday morning!!

Free!

Well, clearly, as a Winnipegger, resisting something free is not generally within my skill set. Tomorrow is no exception. The Winnipeg Foundation is celebrating their 90th anniversary and as part of that, admission to the Museum of Man and Nature, oh sorry, The Manitoba Museum (*gag) is going to be free all day!

West End Dumplings writes about it far more in depth and eloquently than I do - I mostly like the free aspect ;)

All things Free! being said, I'm also headed to the Kitchen and Bath show later today, I was lucky enough to come across free tickets. Of course, I'm already mid bathroom renovation and unlikely to renovate my kitchen but I'm a little design obsessed so I like to look at all the shiny things. Today it will serve a dual purpose, I will wash my car first and then splurge on the indoor parking at the Convention Centre so that it can hopefully not freeze shut in our balmy -28C temperature.  Ah, 3 weeks until my holiday, I can almost smell the hot sand.