Another Reason Not To Have A Baby In Winnipeg

I'm so glad I got most of my prenatal care in New York. In Winnipeg, you are not usually granted the privilege of finding out the gender of your fetus. (One hospital stopped the practice after the ultrasound technician mistakenly told a couple that they were having a boy - and they sued because they would have aborted it. Another hospital refuses, citing "religious reasons.")

Something else to be deprived of!

Would I like to support Canadian mental health?

That was the question when I went to send a letter at the Shoppers Mart post office. I donated a "loonie," as did the gentleman behind me in line. (For those not in the know, a "loonie" is a dollar.) "Loonie" sounds awfully like "loony." Even the money is crazy here.

Scratch That

According to yet another Starbucks employee, plans for Starbucks breakfast sandwiches in Manitoba have now been scrapped. The reason: there is no local facility equipped to make and store the sandwiches, and the cost of importing from another province would be prohibitive. So - I guess Manitoba needs a new slogan instead of "Friendly Manitoba:" "Manitoba! The Only Province Without Starbucks Breakfast Sandwiches!"

Wasps

My son and I just landed in Winnipeg after a brief vacation, and we were warmly greeted by... wasps. It's wasp season, you see, and my orange stroller is an easy target. Today I had to duck into a health food store to protect my son. And I'm not often found in health food stores.

I was also greeted by someone posting "Welcome back!" on my Facebook wall, as if my return were a cause for celebration instead of mourning.

Stop The Presses

Among its other privations, Manitoba is the only Canadian province to lack - Starbucks breakfast sandwiches. Apparently, there's been a plan to bring them to this benighted land for four, count them, four years. According to local Starbucks baristas, the "infrastructure" just hasn't existed to produce these sandwiches to the strict Starbucks standards. Supposedly, this dire situation may be remedied by the end of 2010. If Winnipeggers and all other Manitobans are finally granted access to these sandwiches, it won't be a secret - there will be such a marketing campaign that everyone will know about it.


(They have breakfast sandwiches in Malaysia, for crying out loud...)

Winnipeg...

"Where the animals run free and the people are imprisoned." (courtesy of my aunt)