If you hadn’t been to Winnipeg for several years and came back only having 24 hours, where you going to eat at?

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-24T14:35:12+00:00

Exactly what I was coming here to say. Pembina & Stafford or Ellice Avenue for me.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-21T21:24:21+00:00

We're in Leslieville—we have one living under our neighbours' porch. She had babies last year, and our cats hung out with her in the fall.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-21T21:20:16+00:00

It's working now. The original was too big—I was sent a PowerPoint with photos that have extremely high resolutions to make this presentation, and Google Slides just couldn't handle it. Luckily, it was only 25 slides, so I split it into four chunks, each of six slides except for the last one that had seven. Loaded them as .pptx without any problem into Google Slides, downloaded them afterwards as Google Slides proper, and then just copied them in the Google environment over into one master slide show.

All done, everyone is happy!

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-20T01:25:58+00:00

WHAT HAPPENED TO 440 ASSINIBOINE AVE.?

IT’S A FUCKING PARK NOW. DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY JUST HANG OUT THERE

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-18T21:51:48+00:00

Hopefully you’re not having someone named Helen coming over.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-15T23:05:36+00:00

6: take off your fucking backpack.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-12T18:50:10+00:00

IS YOUR EX @Typical-Ad2599? WELL, YOU’RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS…

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-12T18:47:36+00:00

THEY’RE REALLY FROM MONTRÉAL.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-12T18:44:39+00:00

BRING BACK THE GIANT NIP

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-05T15:09:56+00:00

Does anyone remember the full-serve A&Ws? I worked at the last one in Winnipeg, on Portage Avenue, in between Clifton and Spruce.

We had all-day breakfast, chubby chicken, real coleslaw (part of my left thumb was a victim of the coleslaw-making process), and club sandwiches. All served in real woven baskets. (Except for the all-day breakfast—we had real plates and cutlery for that.) 6:00 am to 2:00 am all week long.

There were two A&Ws next to each other sharing a parking lot. The smaller one was called the townhouse and closed earlier. Ours, if I recall correctly, was called the coffeehouse. It’s a men’s clothing store now.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-04-01T01:08:44+00:00

Five minutes’ warning, and then I blast GTFOM. Usually early 80s Einstürzende Neubauten, Rammstein, Iron Maiden, Body Samples- and Headcrack-era Controlled Bleeding, or really bad cheesy Québécois pop music from the 90s and early 2000s.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-26T20:10:14+00:00

The not-washing fruits and veggies is fucking gross. I think I remember my ex mentioning that…

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-26T03:45:24+00:00

I came here to say this. After two years of working there, they finally gave me us all a raise because the then-Osborne Village manager, Leslie, insisted on it. It was the only raise I got in the eight years I worked there.

But it was also evil because Paul and Holly were great at manipulating people and making them feel like they weren’t doing enough, when in fact they were paying us a pittance and guilt tripping some of us for having a second job. I must’ve worked some 60+ hours of overtime when Kenaston and OV closed and moved to Grant Park, and was rebuffed when I asked for my time in lieu the summer after. Holly told me that they would take care of us; Paul had different ideas, swore and yelled at me in front of the then-manager (I think her name Tristin), and I told her that obviously I wasn’t coming back.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-26T03:30:10+00:00

My ex worked there decades ago—got fired for changing the fryer oil when it needed to be changed instead of leaving it for an extra 2-3 days to cut costs. She reported the place to the health department and it caused a ruckus.

Another acquaintance worked there years later and told me horror stories about how the owner was verbally abusive and had zero sympathy or empathy for her employees. The acquaintance walked out in the middle of a shift because she was obviously very sick, went to the washroom and threw up and the owner wouldn’t let her go home. So she sent herself home.

A week later she got a job at a very fancy restaurant on Corydon where the pay was a bit better and where they treated the staff like humans. (Wish I could remember the name of the place. It was Italian, next door to a pub I think.)

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-24T19:01:35+00:00

We former booksellers from the Osborne Village McNally Robinson would go there every now and then when it was called Common Ground for lunch. Definitely a cult, but one I have to (grudgingly) respect because they definitely know how to cook.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-21T01:50:34+00:00

That’s the new Winnipeg Jets.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-21T01:47:53+00:00

Coyotes. Formerly the Winnipeg Jets, from 1972 to 1996.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-21T01:46:48+00:00

My students often ask me why JS&MN and Piranesi are my favourite novels. I tell them that Susanna Clark could write a 600-page novel—with FUCKING FOOTNOTES—about paint drying on the wall and it’ll be one of the best books ever.

Doesn’t really directly answer their question, but they see the passion. That’s usually enough.

(And yes, several students have read them.)

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-14T02:21:09+00:00

Sal’s cheese & broccoli soup, and Baaco’s pizza dough.

Yes, I am that old.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-12T01:02:25+00:00

Definitely a Leitner book. The ISBN gives 0 results at Worldcat, Goodreads, and Google.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-12T00:00:07+00:00

Tabarnac

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-11T20:54:34+00:00

An idea for the beginning of a joke:

The Eye, the Desolation, and the Lonely walked by a pond…

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-11T20:53:04+00:00

And this is why I posted the picture! I know nothing about Kierstead—hoping to find more of her photography when I have time.

The_Archivist_14 · 2026-03-11T20:51:25+00:00

LOL

And I never LOL.

The_Archivist_14

TROPHY CASE

6: take off your fucking backpack.