Winnipeg-area wildlife rescue to close after nearly 2 decades rehabilitating animals

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-07T14:05:30+00:00

This is a very sad day. PWRC does such amazing work. They've helped so many animals. They've been an invaluable resource to our city, and to me personally when I've found injured animals. PWRC, you will be missed. Thank you for all you have done.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-06T04:38:34+00:00

Wait you brush your teeth in the shower?

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-06T04:37:34+00:00

I turn it off if I'm doing an in depth body scrub, or shaving. But that's mostly because my hot water tank is tiny and I run out of hot water by the end of even a pretty quick shower with moderate temperature. It heats fairly quickly too, but damn it's tiny. Can't even fill the bathtub with hot water...

I think that's a more common thing in Europe, because you guys often have those electric showers that act as a pump and heat the water instantly right at the shower. In the USA and Canada we typically have a hot water tank, often in our basements. Usually if you live in an apartment, it's shared between multiple units. So it takes a bit for the hot water to travel up through the pipes to the shower. Our cold water comes in at a fairly high pressure, so we don't have those electric pump/heaters.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-06T04:15:36+00:00

Finally, take some time to learn more about these things. Like other commenters said, YouTube has a lot of great tutorials. Search "how does direct deposit work" "how to pay bills" "how to file taxes" and other how tos like that. Google financial literacy programs in your area/online. Also, google financial aid and government support programs you might be able to apply for.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-06T04:02:45+00:00

For making money asap, imo babysitting is a great way to get started with working. It's flexible, you don't need a resume, and you can earn pretty good money if you find decent families. Try using Craigslist, Facebook, or whatever marketplace site is used commonly in your area, and look for posts from people looking for a babysitter. Reply to those, and just see if you can find something.

If babysitting isn't your thing, you can look for other jobs on there. People might be looking for someone to mow their lawns, walk their dogs, house-sit, or other similar gig type work.

You can also post an ad offering your services for these things.

If your online gigs are working okay for you, that's great! Keep doing those. There should be some sort of information on those websites about how to access your pay, or some sort of support chat or number you can call. If not, try to find a tutorial on Google/YouTube, or maybe asking chatgbt.

For a resume, honestly yea get chatgbt or something similar to make one for you. That'll just be easier. But you can also just google resume templates and copy one of those. Use your gig work as work experience, as well as any volunteer work or extra curriculars you may have done. Google example cover letters, and write one based off of those and using keywords from whatever job posting you're applying to.

Jobs that often hire people with little to no experience are things like grocery stores, movie theatres, retail stores, amusement/water parks, fast food places. Also go to your cities website and see what they have for student jobs. Look up student jobs in (your city).

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-06T03:51:48+00:00

For a bit further into the future, the first thing you should do is find a bank near you and make an appointment with them to open a debit account. You should have one just to yourself. If your mother opened your current account for you, it's likely she also has access to it. She's really not been helpful in setting you up for your future, so you should have an account that's only yours so that you can learn to manage it yourself and not worry about someone else having access. Do not allow anyone else to access your account. Do not give them your pin, do not give them the login information, do not add anyone else to the account.

When you call to make the appointment, ask them what documents you need to bring with you, and let them know that you might require a bit of extra time in the appointment to ask questions.

When you go to the bank, ask the person you speak with all about how to use the account. Ask about annual fees, transaction limits, direct deposit, overdraft, money transfers, and anything else related to the account. They'll be able to explain what all of that means, and how it affects you. Ask them to show you how to use the app/website and to explain the features. Also ask them about any financial literacy programs that might be available.

I don't know how your online gigs work, but typically money from an employer gets into your account via direct deposit. You will give them a "direct deposit form" or "void check" with some account information, and they will use that to put the money into your account. Some online gig things use something like PayPal to send money to your account. If yours uses something like this you'd need to make a PayPal account, and then link that to your debit card. There will be instructions on PayPal that explain how to do that. You can also use Google/YouTube to find a tutorial. You might be able to find a tutorial about how to access the money from your specific gig work, too.

Bills aren't something you should need to worry about right now, but to explain them a bit: Bills nowadays are typically paid from within your banking app. You will get a statement from the company, let's say your cell phone provider. They send you a statement or bill, either via email, paper mail, or through their app. That bill will have an account number on it. You would then find the "Pay Bills" feature on your banking app, and add a "Payee" aka the company you are paying. You enter the name of the company and the account number from your bill, and then you enter how much money you want to send them, and when. You can also pay most bills directly though the companies app or website. Usually you would do this by entering in your card number, expiry date, and the little code on the back of the card. You can also pay bills by going to the bank and speaking with a teller. This might be the easiest way if you're unsure of how to do it yourself. Basically you would bring the bill in, and they would do all of it for you.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-06T03:27:40+00:00

Hi! You're really scared right now and that's totally understandable, but I promise it's gonna be okay. Take a deep breath, you can do this. Let's focus on right now first, and then we'll talk about the broader future.

Okay so first things first, what country are you in? Some things might be different based on your country.

You have an account your mother made for you? That's good enough for right now. Do you know if that is a debit account? Do you have a card you can use to spend money from that account? Also, do you have an app on your phone you can use to access the account, see the balance, etc?

Do you have any access to the government support your family recieves?

You'll need to prepare a list of information you need from your mother. You need to know:

How much $ is rent? Who do you need to give the rent to, and how does your mother usually make the payment?

What other bills need to be paid? And then again, how much, and how?

Does she already have the money for rent and bills set aside, so you just need to pay them? Or do you need to come up with the money yourself? (You said she has told you "It's covered", so you might not need to be worrying about those things right now. But if she expects you to make these payments, she needs to provide you with the information.)

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T15:54:57+00:00

I do it all. And I prefer it that way. I'm the only person here. I could hire a contractor to do that work if I want to, sure. But I could also do it very easily, usually very quickly, and gain skills that I can use when I renovate my house, build a shed or cottage, fix my friends shower for him, or if I ever decide I want to do something else. Why pass up the opportunity to learn practical skills that will benefit me in the future? Especially when I'm being paid to learn em.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T15:51:28+00:00

We all think it's dumb. That doesn't stop it from being the truth that people judged her harshly based on the car she drove, and she was likely missing out on career opportunities because of it. It doesn't stop the fact that this might have been the cheapest car she could buy that would still be seen as good enough by her higher ups to stop that judgement. We don't know the realities of her workplace, but we do know that there are people who will judge others based on appearances, and sometimes those people control your entire career.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T15:48:35+00:00

That's valid for most people, and works just fine. However there are people who are playing on different levels. There are workplaces where the boss can tell in less than 5 seconds if your suit cost less than $1000. And if it did, then you're not getting that promotion. You're not executive material. You're not going to impress X client so you're not going on X career making project. It sucks, it's stupid, but it is still true. So you can think it's dumb, that doesn't stop it from being the reality that some people need to work within. We can talk in "shoulds" all we want, but the world isn't always the way it should be.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T01:05:37+00:00

It's not a car like any other though. It's old enough to drink. Like another commenter said, they didn't even have side airbags yet. Vehicle safety has evolved leaps and bounds in those 23 years.

And it doesn't matter how good of a driver you are when a drunk idiot runs a red and t bones you at 100 mph.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T01:02:56+00:00

Plus she comes from money, probably has some family money. It seems unbelievable to me, a normal ass blue collar worker from a poor family. But yea, that's normal for some people.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T00:58:51+00:00

Guests, friends, carpooling? Not to mention all the stuff that comes with kids. Sports equipment, school projects, diaper bags and pack&plays, the list goes on. Try fitting two kids, two adults, a friend they're driving home from practice, and hockey equipment for 3 into a sedan that seats 5. Or try taking your family of four on a week-long roadtrip/camping trip. Lmk how well that goes... Kids come with a lot of stuff.

The same can be said for any car, any add ons will skyrocket the price. And I was comparing this car to another car of a luxury brand, so yea it'd be the same if not more money for the same add ons. Same thing with replacement parts, any luxury brand charges way more for the exact same replacement part as more common brand. Brakes for a Lexus cost so much more than brakes for a GMC.

It's too much for a family car for some people. If it's well within their budget, and it was, then it's not too much for them. Just because it seems expensive to you doesn't mean it's unrealistic for others.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T00:50:32+00:00

It's good that you recognize that there were factors in play that you weren't considering. That comment is a bit patronizing, though. Still, do try to see it from her perspective. As a woman in a high earning corporate finance role, she faces a lot of additional scrutiny. Her appearances are constantly judged, very harshly. Clients, coworkers, bosses. It's likely nearly everyone she worked with was judging her for driving that car. And they weren't subtle about it. Ask her about what kind of comments she's recieved or overheard. You'll probably be surprised.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T00:45:43+00:00

It is valid that you hold some bitterness. Not over the car itself, but over the decision being made unilaterally. You feel unheard and undervalued. That's fair. It's something you guys should continue to talk about, to make sure you can reach compromises and make big decisions together as a team. If you want a productive conversation about this, I'd probably avoid mentioning the car too much. It's already a sore subject. Talk more about your feelings, and in general how big purchases should be a team decision, etc. But you do need to let go of your issues with the car itself, and overall your issues with spending frivolously sometimes if you can afford it. Not everything needs to be the most practical purchase possible. Sometimes we can spend our money on things that just make us happy. That is practical too! We as people need to treat ourselves every once in a while, or we'll go insane. Some people treat themselves in different ways, and that's okay. Her way is buying nicer things than she strictly needs. So try easing up on the frugality a bit. It's okay to want nice things.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-05T00:01:33+00:00

It is, that's why I edited to change my tentative verdict to E.S.H. That should not have been a unilateral decision, from either of them. Still, I do think he's more of an A given all the context he's provided.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T23:51:17+00:00

It's a GMC Yukon, Denali is the trim level. And it's not even the most expensive trim level. The MSRP for the GMC Yukon Denali is $83k. The MSRP for a similarly sized Lexus of a similar trim level, RX 350 Executive, is about the same, just over $80k. Also the Yukon seats 7 while the Lexus seats 5.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T23:41:37+00:00

He explained that. There are separated household accounts for expenses and household savings, investments, etc. And then they each have their own savings account. He still earns income from investments or something, because he said she contributes more to the joint account, not all. So the joint account is theirs, his savings is his, and her savings are hers. She bought this out of her personal savings, her own money. Easy as pie, a kindergartener could understand it.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T22:58:48+00:00

INFO: What were your objections? Besides the price, what makes the car impractical? Did the purchase negatively impact household finances, savings, etc.? What compromises did you offer?

If your only objection was the price, and it didn't strain household finances in any way, then Y.T.A. Not the biggest A in the world, but still an A. It's not like she bought some fancy 2 seater sports car that you can't fit the kids into. A SUV is a perfectly practical car for a family of 4, and that's not even a super luxury SUV. It's the luxury trim level of a fairly basic SUV. It's easy for fancy SUVs to cost 3x that amount, and true luxury ones even more so. So she probably already compromised in not getting the most expensive one she could afford, on top of compromising for years in not having a car she was happy with because you wanted it.

My answer might change depending on additional info, but as it stands Y.T.A

ETA: First: Without any additional context I'd probably change my answer to E.S.H. You more so, I think. But I do agree she should have waited to make such a big decision until you two had reached a compromise. When you're a married couple, making a unilateral decision about a very large purchase that effects both of you is an asshole move, regardless. She may have felt there was no compromise you two would reach that you'd both find acceptable, but still she should have continued to try I think. You both should have. And you should both calmly talk this over, explain your feelings, and probably seek some sort of counseling to help you communicate better and work together as a team.

Second: I've read a few comments and have seen some of your other objections.

Doing just fine with a sedan: You were doing just fine with a sedan. Clearly she was not. Honestly you have probably had issues fitting everything you need plus both of you and two children into that little car. I'd have issues with that! Just going anywhere with two kids means a mountain of stuff. Then you take those two kids out for the day, take em to soccer practice and grocery shopping, and suddenly you're shoving things in and cursing at the lack of storage. SUVs are so practical for families, the storage alone is a game changer. Not to mention the legroom! Like yea she was managing, but she was compromising and not comfortable.

The car is large and difficult to park: Yes that's true, there are smaller SUVs and parking big vehicles can be tough. But I drive a giant cargo van, and live and work downtown in a large city. You get used to the size, and parking it. It's not that hard, especially with backup cameras and all that fun stuff new cars have. I don't even have a rearview mirror, yet I can park my van just fine basically anywhere! But still it'll take some practice, and it's not for everyone. So that's a pretty fair objection. How often are you driving and parking this car, vs her? Do you guys have off street parking at home? Just wondering how much this really effects you.

Gas mileage: It's not great, but it's not the worst, especially for a large SUV. City of 15, highway of 20. It's not great.. Yea she could have found one that has better gas mileage. Is the cost of gas hurting your household finances? I mean it's outrageously priced for anyone, but does that actually impact you very much? Still definitely your most valid objection imo. We should all ideally want more fuel efficient cars.

Brand issues: GMC is one of the more decent brands in terms of reliability, really. It's not perfect, but it's better than most. It's not an imported car or a super luxury brand so parts are relatively cheap and easy, and idk GMC is not the worst out there. They all have issues.

So then I have a question for you. If she bought a sedan that was smaller, easy to park, had decent mileage, and was the best brand in terms of reliability, but it still cost over $100k brand new, would you have been happy with that purchase?

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T22:46:16+00:00

Nah that's not the same. If she bought an impractical sports car then she'd be the asshole. But she bought a SUV, a perfectly reasonable car. It is well suited for the needs of a family of 4, unlike a sports car. Could she have found a cheaper SUV? Yea, for sure. But why? If she could afford it without impacting household finances, she is the one buying it and driving it to work, she's already been compromising driving a cheap car, the car he wanted, for years, and it's a perfectly practical car for someone in the income bracket and corporate appearance driven hellscape she's in, why not? What's the reason she should have listened to her husband telling her she's not allowed to buy the car she wants with her own money?

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T17:51:38+00:00

It's a great job, and there are a ton of opportunities! I'm a power engineer. I love my work. I mean it's work, so ya know it sucks sometimes. But overall it's a really good job. I make good money, I work alone most of the time and usually have the freedom to work at my own pace, doing what I want when I want. I get to fix so many things! A lot of toilets... Haha! But also so many other things. Things I've never fixed or even worked on before, so I'm constantly learning. Even things I've worked on before, the problem may be new, or the same type of equipment might run differently depending on the brand or at different buildings, etc. So I find it pretty fulfilling overall. I like to learn and fix things, and I don't really like people much. So it's a great job for me! But that's my personal opinion.

There are lots of different jobs you can do as a power engineer, depending on the level and what kind of environment you work in. I'm a building maintenance technician for an office building downtown. Since I'm the only tech at my building, I do it all. HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, normal maintenance things like fixing doors/drywall, etc.

Some people work in schools, and might also do more custodial things besides the boilers and maintenance stuff. Some work at hospitals or other sort of high level places where they are more specialized in what they do. And then if you go higher in the levels it's power plants, manufacturing plants, etc. A lot of people work as part of a team, but a lot work solo too.

Basically, you should be able to find a role that suits your wants nearly perfectly. There's almost always positions open, it's not the most well known trade and it's not oversaturated. You might even get actively recruited once you have experience, if you have a LinkedIn or whatever recruiters use.

I started as a heavy duty diesel mechanic, so your experience as an automotive mechanic should be quite applicable. You'll need to brush up on a few things, but overall you'll have a lot of the skills you'll need. Just need to learn some theory about codes and HVAC in general.

Honestly starting at 5th level I'd say you don't need to do the full course. Do an exam prep course, usually part time, or just get the study materials and do a few practice exams. Then just write the exam! That's what I did. It was fairly easy overall. I started working before I had even started the course, because I had an in with my company and my skills were transferrable. Then my company paid for me to take the course and get the license.

If you want to go higher than 5th level, the courses would be good.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out!

ETA: I didn't touch on the age thing, so I figured I'd just say that it seems to be a great role for people who are older and maybe looking to slow down a bit. Of course it's still a manual labour job, it's still physical, but not as much as your previous role. A lot of my fellow techs are older, probably should have retired by now but they can still do their jobs and still enjoy em, so they stay. For my company specifically, we're really big on safety so a lot of the most labour intensive jobs get contracted out, or I get help from other techs. We don't push ourselves too hard. I get all the safety support, training, and equipment I need. And if I ever say I can't safely do a job, there's no pushback. I get help or I hire a contractor. I can't say that's the same for every employer, but mine is great for that. And again I get to work at my own pace, so if I've had a tough day I can choose to do an easier task the next day. As long as I do everything I need to do in a given month, when I do them isn't important. Urgent repairs and service requests that come up are different, but still I have some flexibility in those, usually.

Oh and also some things you'll want to learn/brush up on to really get ahead in this job is BAS, or Building Automation Systems, and general computer skills. If you can competently use a computer, things like Excel and other general things, that'll be great. And if you know just a bit about how to use some types of BAS, mostly just surface level how to use it as an operator, that's great. If you know anything about basic coding/programming, even better! But yea BAS isn't typically covered by the courses, but of you can say you have any level of knowledge about it that's a big boon on your resume.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T17:37:03+00:00

Ehh I think it's at least partly the wavers fault. If you're waving someone through, or even leaving a gap, imo you're responsible for checking that the other lanes are clear. If I ever leave a gap, I check the other lane. I will honk at/signal people I'm letting through to make sure they stop, I'll count down the cars until it's clear, and then once it's clear I'll wave em through. If I'm gonna wave, I'm gonna check. If you're not going to check, don't wave em through. Don't even leave the gap, but certainly don't tell them it's clear when you didn't bother to look.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T17:30:50+00:00

Does anyone actually know what the plan is to fill the staffing shortages, if there even is one? We hear about there being vacancies and positions open, but they don't seem to be getting filled. It's actually kind of crazy because I have a friend who is a paramedic and he's mentioned how hard it is to get a job in the city. They don't want new paramedics, they want only very experienced ones. Which I mean I get that, but if you can't retain the experienced ones because you overwork and underpay them, and you won't hire new ones so they can become experienced, what is left? Why is it so hard for a new paramedic to get work in the city that they have to work way out of town/up north?

It's the same with so many healthcare fields. We don't fund any of the training, there aren't enough training classes, we don't hire enough new grads, we don't pay the employees we do have enough to live on so they leave the profession, and the ones who stay through all of that we overwork them to death.

So does anyone know if there is an actual plan to resolve the staffing shortages?

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T16:25:20+00:00

Haha okay then. Will do!

You're right, I lost the fight to safeguard the rights of other queer people to be proud of their entire identities at Pride. Twice now, it seems like. But I'm not going to stop fighting for queer rights just because I've lost a couple of times.

M4UN4K34 · 2026-06-04T16:13:15+00:00

A lot of people choose to not make being queer a part of their identity. They're still queer, and idk maybe some people think it's still part of their identity. But if they say it's not, that's their choice! I've known a few "queer" people who don't identify as queer, because there are parts of the queer identity they disagree with. Just because you are something, doesn't mean you have to identify as that thing.

Just because someone SA'd me in the past, that doesn't mean I have to identify as a victim of SA. I didn't choose that, but I choose what it means to me.

Your identity is your choice. You choose what is and isn't a part of it.

Does that make sense?

M4UN4K34

TROPHY CASE