Drunken Ramblings

A time for change

2011-11-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

I don't blog on here much anymore but why not? So here I am.
2011 has been one of the most stressful, most back aching, most tiring, most depressing and most head-bashing years of my life.

Look, I've never been a happy person, nor will I ever be a happy person, but this year takes the cake for "worst year ever", first of all, grandpa dies right when the majority of my family was on vacation in México, me and my girlfriend breakup, a ginormous flood hit my parents' farm and caused my dad to not be able to do his livelihood for an entire year (or possibly more), and to top it all off.. I'm still unemployed.

I have a BA in Political Science, I've had numerous job interviews this year (thankfully), but even with all that, I can't get a job. I have a few reasons why:

I get too damned nervous in an interview. Mentally, I'm fine, but physically, I shake and my voice trembles. The reason behind this is because there's a part of my body that knows I won't get the job, so it sends a message to my body to "do its best" in the interview, causing me to shake, and seem non-confident. This hurts my chances at the interview, even if I'm qualified.
Employers don't take my application seriously. They're not going to hire a kid from Brandon, Manitoba for an entry level job in Montréal.
Employer DOES take it seriously and asks me to come to Montréal for an interview in two days time. I can't do that as I have no money in the bank as it is to GET to Montréal. If I didn't get the job, then I'm out $500+.
There's no jobs in Political Science. One of my best friends does policy for a government and he's worried that he will be out of a job soon.

Then there's the whole living in Brandon issue. People here suck. This isn't a friendly place, the people here aren't welcoming and it's impossible to make friends at all. That being said, I do have a few kickass friends here, but I need to get out of Brandon. But it takes lots of resources to move from a dirt cheap apartment to a city with an apartment that may cost a lot more in rent.

I'm not a confident individual, it has to do with being told my entire life by almost everyone around me that I'm not going to achieve anything. Heck, my own mother doubted that a political science degree would amount to any jobs.. she was right. That doesn't stop me though. In the meantime, I still try to apply for jobs at Walmart and Superstore, with little to no success. With the lack of confidence, when I'm around people, I get a vibe that people are creeped out by me, weirded out by me or just that they don't want me around. As someone with low self confidence and usually being absolute oblivious to everything around me in my environment, I can somehow pick off vibes from others.. and usually.. the vibes are 100% correct. Fake smile and raising eye brows while shaking their head? Of course.

So, what have I tried doing? Well, I've kept doing the job search. Sometimes it's successful enough to get an interview or two, other times - nothing.

Also, I exercise EVERY day. I don't exercise as much as most people or do as intense exercises, but for someone who never really cared for exercising, I need a change. I've lost twenty pounds since July and looking to lose enough weight in time for March. If I'm still unemployed in March, I'm considering joining the Army. I'm sick of sitting around, getting older with a BA, unhired. So, why not join the Army?

My main goal is to get fit, look at least somewhat presentable, and get a job in the Army, or else move to Montreal or Ottawa early next year. I want to experience life, make new friends, try new beers, meet a nice Francophone girl and be able to afford to finally save money for my future. I've worked too hard to still be absolutely nowheres in my life.

Review: Innis & Gunn Canadian Whisky Cask (2009)

2011-09-23T19:15:00.001-05:00

Innis & Gunn Canadian Whisky Cask - Canada Day 2009, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I will be the first to admit that I am a beer hoarder. While my friends believe that you should drink beer you buy ASAP, I believe sometimes I have to just save it for a special occasion. Well there was no occasion this time, I just wanted to drink it.

For the past few years, Innis & Gunn has made a special edition Canadian whisky cask beer in honour of Canada Day. I haven't tried it, but finally will. This is the 2009 release, and I believe may be the first release. The seal states that this beer is best to drink before December 2010, so hopefully it's still good.

Appearance Very nice copper-amber colour that just looks absolutely tasty to drink. Eggshell off-white head, just slightly carbonated.

Aroma: I smell whisky! It reminds me of Crown Royal a bit. Nice hint of caramel as well.

Taste: Like butterscotch, a bit creamy on the tongue, I can actually taste a bit of whisky's sweetness as well. Very much a sweet sweet beer. Good to savour if you have a sweet tooth, when it comes to beers. Then again, most of Innis & Gunn's beers are very very sweet tasting.

Value: $4.50 Canadian (in 2009). It is a decent value with it being a bit pricey. I will have to look to see if the 2011 edition is still in the local liquor stores. ABV of 7.1%, which is a bit surprising as I expected it to be closer to 5.5%. Very smooth. I would recommend this to those looking for a nice beer after supper. I would get someone, like my father, who is a rye whisky fan to try this, but he wouldn't like it.

www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/6176152515/

I just don't know

2011-06-07T23:14:00.000-05:00

It's been two years since I graduated university. Two years ago, I was confident, I was giddy, I was happy somewhat and I had great friends supporting me. Now - I'm exactly where I was then. This time I'm pessimistic, grouchy and depressed, and all my friends have moved away. Every day I think to myself "oh, things will get better soon, they just have to." But, that's just not happening. It's been nearly 3 years since I had a real job, a good job. Two years since graduation and I can't even see myself employed in the next 6 months.

What have I learned from all this. In university, keep a level head. When people go wow, you're going to be successful because you're taking a double major! Just stay calm and carry on, don't agree with them. My biggest regret? Majoring in politics. That was a huuuuuge mistake. I was told that there'd be several jobs out there for me, and with my French background, that would help. I've learned that there's very few bilingual political science jobs out there. The ones I do apply, apparently I don't quality for them as I am not qualified enough. I point out exactly how I qualify, and that's not good enough. Nothing's good enough.

In a perfect world, I would be living in Downtown Montréal right now, with a full time job making $50,000/year. What industry? I don't know. I lost interest in politics as I've been pushed around way too much in the industry that it's just not worth it anymore. Frankly, I'm not going to kiss anyone's ass, and I'm an incredibly friendly person. The beer industry would be something great, but I just don't have experience and I don't know where to look.

Some say to me "Well, just move out there and get a job when you get there." The problem with that though is that I don't want to be in the situation I am now, but in a different city, paying much more in rent and other stuff. At least here I'm close to family, able to live off minimal money.

My French is not perfect, may never be perfect. I remember overhearing people in a different department at my job in Quebec City criticizing my French behind my back, thinking I wouldn't understand them. It's things like that that depress me further. It brings me into this slump that I am in now. How am I trying to get out of this slump? Well I've had meetings with an employment councillor to see what I need to improve on, I've been exercising daily - although nothing's changed, tried to be positive, changed my diet as much as I can, and go out more. It's hard to do some of that when you have no money.

Some say "take a random job, just for now." That's kind of hard when you don't hear back from anyone, including restaurants. I AM a hard worker, I'm good at my job, I'm confident that I get the job done. I'm more stubborn than most, but give me a deadline and I'll get it done, quickly, efficiently and correctly.

Where do I see myself in 6 months? Exact same spot as am right now. Where do I hope to be in 6 months? Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa or even Toronto... Winnipeg if there was something great.

I truly believe I'll find an amazing job, but I just got to keep trying - which is exactly what I've been doing. Some of my weaknesses are that I nearly pass out during an interview because I get overstressed because my mind thinks I won't get the job, which is true in the end, I'm stubborn - but I work hard at what I do, and I'm bad with communicating with people - but that's something that I can't change, training and medication can't improve that, it's sort of a disability per sé.

I just hope for the best and try my hardest, just as I've done for two years. One thing I've stopped doing - applying for civil service jobs. They're laying off thousands of people soon, and those job opportunities are the biggest letdowns ever.

Nikon Coolpix S3100 quick review

2011-05-27T16:46:00.006-05:00

Nikon Coolpix S3100 camera, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I just bought a Nikon Coolpix S3100, as I need a digital camera for times when I don't want to lug around my Canon DSLR, I found this camera on Futureshop's website on sale for pretty cheap so decided to buy it.

What do I think? Compared to my old Canon SD1000 digital camera, it is even thinner than that. The Nikon S3100 has a very cheap plasticy feel to it, although I read reviews that it's aluminum body - certainly plastic. It's pretty slow to start up, slow for taking photos. It's generally slow, my old SD1000 was better than this camera. The SD1000 was generally just much better as it had a nice metal frame, the options were simple to amateurs and beginners, while for the Nikon, it takes alot just to change ISO, you actually have to go into the settings and change ISO for each setting - pretty annoying.

For macro, it has alot of trouble trying to focus (and locking) onto the photo, but fiddling around for a few minutes eventually fixes that. I tried taking a photo of the iPhone screen and it had trouble focusing until I changed to a different "Macro Scene", then it was clear. The photos are a bit too soft, as I've read in reviews, but for what I need it for - possibly taking outdoors photos when I'm in a rush, it will do the job.

For some shots, I feel that my iPhone may actually take better photos than this camera, but I guess we'll wait and see over time.

I rate this a 2/5.

What do I like about it? Compact feel, was only $130, lots of "Scenes" for different things (ie macro, outdoors, pets, etc),

What do I hate about it? Too plasticy of a feel, LCD screen is incredibly fragile, it has problems focusing in on photos, you need to play around with menues alot for what you need. I guess you get what you pay for!

Update: On June 2 I returned the camera, I just couldn't deal with the slowness of the device. Futureshop was very friendly and welcoming, letting me to return the device with zero hassle, I was quite pleased! My mom bought a camera instead, a $220 Sony camera, so I'll get my old SD1000 back. The last picture is the best photo I took of the bunch, and that's not saying much.

2011 Western Manitoba Flooding Photos

2011-05-16T17:47:00.003-05:00

Farmer overlooking the flood, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

As many of you know - I live in Western Manitoba, well Brandon, but my family lives in Westman too. The entire region is experiencing incredibly nasty floods that are some of the worst in several decades. It's nuts. Places that are generally dry in April are 5 feet deep in water.

To make things worse, mosquito season is already out and with lakes of water that are going to go nowhere, this summer will possibly be the most bug infested summer of all time.

Check out my Flickr Set of photos taken of the Souris River flooding and the flooding at my parents farm - that's caused by local Oak Lake overflowing and having nowhere else to drain so it heads south.

Enjoy!

LINK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157626554899778/

Inaccessible road

2011-05-16T17:09:00.001-05:00

Inaccessible road, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

When we last came out here on May 3, the water was much lower, only a small stream flowing, now it's pretty substantial, I have no clue if it will retreat anytime soon.

Compared to May 3: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/5687716405

www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/5687723885/

Enjoying a Burly Wine!

2011-05-14T18:13:00.001-05:00

Enjoying a Burly Wine!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Burly Wine is one of the most sought after products by my favourite brewery, Half Pints. It's pretty hard to find in the first place, and they dont plan on making anymore for atleast a few years. But lucky for me, the local liquor store in my town has several bottles, so I scoop some up whenever possible.

The nickname of this beer is the "Winnipeg winter warmer", as it has 10.5% ABV and even on coldest of -40 Winter nights, warms your body. I decided to pick up a bottle for a birthday present. However, it hadn't been warm for weeks so I postponed drinking this beer until today. It's absolutely beautiful out, the flood waters are starting to go back and it's a great day so why not?

Has a nice cream coloured foamy head, very dark coppery brown hazy appearance, a sweet, somewhat hoppy aroma, very sweet.. caramel taste to it, and itself is a bit creamy in texture to the tongue. Tasty tasty beverage. I know a few friends who aren't a fan of this beer, but I absolutely love it.

www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/5720406762/

C'est vraiment «la fin du monde!»

2011-04-30T23:45:00.001-05:00

C'est vraiment «la fin du monde!», originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today is April 30 - but living in Western Manitoba you would *NOT* think that. Just going outside, there are two feet of brand new snow in some parts. It feels more like it would be December 30. It's damn bitter cold out. A temperature of -8C with a windchill of -15C. Generally it's +15C right now. Hell, it was that warm yesterday! Frankly, we don't need THIS snow, the fields are over saturated and our neighbours have warned us that we should prepare for a flood, there's some flooding occuring a few kilometres away and it's heading our way. With all this new fresh snow, it's scary shit.

On the upside, it quickly chills my beer!

Lays Kettle Cooked Ketchup Chips

2011-04-13T16:27:00.002-05:00

Lays Kettle Cooked Ketchup Chips, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

A few months ago I had the idea that one sort of snack food that would effing rock would be Kettle Cooked ketchup chips, cuz ketchup chips are awesome, and so are kettle cooked chips. I didn't know that Lays would be introducing a new line of Kettle Cooked chips, which included a ketchup variety. I was excited to try them.

I'm not a fan of Lays' chips, their chips are brittle, thin, quantity/not quality and generally boring - especially ketchup chip wise.

I wanted to see what ketchup chips done kettle style would be like.

They're a bit pricy, $3.50 for a 180 gram bag, compared to $2.50 for around 220 gram bag of regular chips.

The chips are thicker than the regular Lays chips, and has a crunch that is nice, like anything kettle cooked. Compared to their regular chips, thankfully they're not brittle and break on you when you bite into it.

The downside - the "ketchup flavour" - Lays has been trying to "improve" the ketchup flavour of their chips for the past 15 years or so, and it's only gone downhill. Their ketchup chips are far from ketchupy. I call the chips "Salt and Vinegar and Sugar and Garlic Chips" as I don't taste ONE hint of ketchup at all.

Dear Lays, completely change your ketchup recipe, it's not ketchupy at all. The flavour is minimal in the kettle chips. But strangely enough, the more I'm eating, the more I'm enjoying it.

Next - I hope to see Old Dutch bring out a ketchup variety of their chips. that thick intoxicating ketchup aroma would be perfect with their kettle cooked line of chips. Old Dutch makes damn good ketchup chips!

dérouler //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-03-01T23:38:00.000-06:00

dérouler, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

dérouler - the project finally comes to an end after 29 days. You know those contests like Tim Hortons' Roll up the Rim to Win where you think you're going to win something after drinking 35 coffees, but still haven't won a single cookie? This is one of those times. Or those times where you win 3 coffees in a row. It's one of those sort of days. It's been a long 29 days. When I first started the project, I forgot that there was only 28 days in February this year. I still wanted to do 29 days just for kicks.

Did you enjoy the project? Even though it was mostly about pessimism and thinking too much about the past?

29/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

abandonné //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-28T19:24:00.001-06:00

abandonné //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

abandonné - everywhere you go, the architecture of a particular town or area tells a story. The story of the past of the community, how people made a living and what kept the community thriving. Grain elevators were essential to prairie town economies for the past 100 years or so, but now they're almost all gone. The ones you see now days are either abandoned, privately owned, or large concrete structures that handle several elevators worth of grain. We will be seeing less of these wooden beauties over time.

28/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

obsédé //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-27T12:45:00.000-06:00

obsédé //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

obsédé - when does being a fan of something become an obsession? When you have a fan club? When you know almost all their songs? Well, I don't know really. Consider me "obsessed" or just consider me a bored fan who likes BURTON CUMMINGS' music!

27/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

raillerie //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-26T20:25:00.001-06:00

raillerie //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

raillerie - Face it, we all get cravings more than once in a while. Sometimes we have a delicious pastry right infront of us, it taunts you, tells you "eeeeeeat me!" Sometimes our willpower refuses us to eat said pastry, but other times, you just got to. That's what's happening to me today, I bought a 6 of Caramel apple fritters from Tim Hortons, while Tim Hortons baking goods suck, the caramel apple fritter is a doughy piece of heaven, and soo soo bad for your health! it's hard to resist though!

26/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

céphalée //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-25T19:02:00.001-06:00

céphalée, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

céphalée - I'm hungover, I drank two too many beers last night, and now I'm paying for it. With it, I'm insanely grouchy*, moody, tired, lonely, bitchy, hungry/not hungry, and all that. Frankly I'm sick with everything and everyone. I apply for more jobs than most people and all I ever get is a "thanks but no thanks" or they find some sort of loophole not to hire me. Today's incarnation of not getting a job was being told I didn't go to the "information session" so I'm no longer qualified. I never even was made aware of it in the first place. I can't wait until employers COME TO ME and beg me to work for them, either than other way around. Also, Brandon Manitoba is not the best place to live in. Rude people, no friends, very cliquish.. get me out of here!

*wait, I'm always grouchy!

25/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

fatigué //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-24T22:17:00.001-06:00

fatigué //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

fatigué - I wish everyone was entitled to little cat naps just like cats do. Lucky them. 8 hours without a single nap is just wrong. Amiriteoramirite?

24/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

nul //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-23T17:22:00.001-06:00

nul //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

nul - Here in Canada, winter lasts for what seems like forever. With this, entire regions are covered in a thick hard layer of snow. Walking out on the prairies, I get a sense of nothingness, there's nobody around me, I'm the only creature for several kilometres as it's too uninhabitable to do anything. The only sign of life are my footprints. No-one else will ever see these foot prints as nobody will go out of their way to actually walk in my steps (literally, not figuratively). I don't blame them... unless if they were snowshoeing! Walking in a combination of hard/soft 3 foot deep snow in the middle of nowhere is quite the challenge. For every two steps you have yourself on TOP of the snow, you will have another 8 steps where you'll be thigh deep in the snow, as it cannot support a person's body, but the next 3 steps after that, it feels like you're on the top of the world, sometimes.

23/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

démodé //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-22T17:48:00.001-06:00

démodé //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

démodé - we've gotten to the point in society where everything from the past is now obsolete. Glass bottles? Replaced with "lightweight" plastic bottles. The downside to that is that stuff like plastic will eventually be known to cause problems to peoples health. I wish it was easier to find products in glass again. If you've had a sip of Coca Cola in a glass bottle, you'll know what I mean - the product in plastic tastes horrible. Bring back glass! Or atleast give people an option to buy non-plastic based products.

22/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

fuir //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-21T16:45:00.001-06:00

fuir //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

fuir - aujourd'hui c'est la journée Louis Riel. Manitoba's equivalent of "Family Day." Louis Riel Day is in honour of the controversial hero to French Canada and traitor to others. He stood up for the rights of Francophones, Aboriginals and métis groups. He turned Manitoba into a republic that lasted only a few hours, and was eventually hanged in 1885 as he was convicted for treason. This only outraged French and Aboriginal groups in Canada, and the effects are still felt to this very day.

21/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

céréalier //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-20T14:22:00.001-06:00

céréalier //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

céréalier - to be honest, without your local grain farmers, food would be incredibly expensive. Farmers work around the clock almost all year round to make sure their crops are healthy and are good enough to ship to elevators and mills to be processed into flour, oils and other substances. Farming is not a profitable industry in this decade. Every year I hear about more and more neighbours giving up and closing up shop, it's just not profitable enough anymore.

Support your local farmer by buying only local products whenever you can. One good way is through farmers markets, which are generally very easy to find in most cities.

20/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

inquiétude //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-19T16:55:00.001-06:00

inquiétude //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

inquiétude - I have been on the job search game for around 25 months now (just over two years). It's taught me two things - be patient and that the dream job won't be handed to you. You have to spend tens of thousands of stressful hours before you get even an interview, if you're lucky. Every day I go check the mail, hope that there is a letter for me regarding a job.. as it seems many employers still prefer to communicate through snail mail and fax rather than over the phone or over the internet. I get excited when I do get I see a letter addressed to me, but usually it turns out to be a piece of propaganda from the Liberal Party of Canada or a bill. Once in a while I do get letters from employers, letting me know that I did not get that job I drove two hours on Christmas Eve to interview for. The future does get brighter, but one wonders when?

19/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

crépuscule //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-18T19:00:00.001-06:00

crépuscule //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

crépuscule - even with the days getting longer.. nights are still pitch black by 7PM. In the summer time I love sitting outside on the deck and watching the sunset slowly happening while sipping back a beer.

18/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

savoureux //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-17T21:00:00.001-06:00

savoureux //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

savoureux - Once every few months a bunch of my family will come out to the country for some sort of reason, whether theyre on vacation or a family emergency. This time, it was my grandpère's death that brought them out a few weeks ago. Whenever the family gets together, everyone gets buzzed.. cuz that's the family tradition haha! Well, the family generally drinks rye and crappy beer. I saw this and I was very pleased, someone in my own family actually likes good beer. There's an unstable box full of 24+ beers by Half Pints brewing consisting of Little Scrapper IPA and St James Pale Ale. Kudos to whoevers beer that is! Glad to see that I'm not the only one in the family that enjoys a GOOD beer!

17/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

tranquillité //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-16T21:35:00.001-06:00

tranquillité //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

tranquillité - It was one of those days where you just wanted to walk around without a care in the world, not think about anything, just relax and enjoy the surroundings. Today was one of those days. With beautiful weather, you kind of have to - rather than be cooped up infront of a computer 18 hours a day.

16/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

télécharger //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-15T14:05:00.001-06:00

télécharger //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

télécharger - One thing I love to do is download, download and download some more. I'm a very bored person so once in a while I'll download podcasts to keep me busy while going for a walk downtown. Bande à part's podcast is my favourite out of them all. However, I prefer to download it on my iPhone. The ability to download it on iPhone is quite nice, but Rogers' network is too damned slow to do so. Brandon's the largest community in Canada without 3G cellular service, so it's going to take 424 minutes (7 hours) to download a TWENTY MEGABYTE file! To be fair, it's now saying 347 minutes (5.7 hours) now but that's too damned long to download a 20mb file, even dialup is faster.

I love the ability to be mobile, but not to the point where it takes longer to download a file than it is to take a flight, book a hotel room, and go to the concert of said bands (on the podcast) to hear the music.

15/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

célibataire //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-14T19:08:00.001-06:00

célibataire //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

célibataire - today's considered "the" day of love, thanks to all the BS advertising from chocolate companies, jewellery companies and the like. For someone who is all-of-a-sudden single, you can't really do much but be lonely, and drink a shitload of crappy 10% beer. Today's theme was to be amoureuse, but hey - things change at the last second!

14/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

alcoolique //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-13T20:27:00.001-06:00

alcoolique //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

alcoolique - Sometimes I wonder if I'm an alcoholic. Why? Well because of alcohol, I got dumped this morning, it makes things awkward and people get upset. Now I'll be spending Valentines day wanting to hibernate until I have a job. I guess that's one of the reasons why I'm like that, I look for 18 months for a job, nothing comes up, so off to the bottle I go?

13/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

grossière //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-12T15:19:00.001-06:00

grossière //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

grossière - The girlfriend's just rude and this is mean, I was lying on my stomach and she gets out a marker and starts writing something on my back and this is what it was. Anyone else ever have a loved one do something so mean?

12/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

réaménagement //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-11T18:30:00.001-06:00

réaménagement //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

réaménagement - the general feeling of downtowns of any Canadian city is abandonment, displeasure and out-of-business. It's good to see some buildings, like this old Safeway being renovated for other purposes. In this case, it's going to be turned into a police station. Strangely enough, I've always thought that that lot would make a great location for a Tim Hortons.

11/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

ambiguïté //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-10T21:53:00.001-06:00

ambiguïté //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

ambiguïté - Living in this building for a long long long time, people leave their shit behind, you never know what they will leave behind, nor whose stuff it is. I've seen people leave behind hundreds of dollars of food, to clothing to furniture. It's quite weird really, but living in this dive of a dump, I don't blame them for rushing to move out of here as soon as possible, with half their stuff left behind.

10/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

chômage //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-09T19:39:00.001-06:00

chômage //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Chômage - In any given community, businesses close down and lead to unemployment - people looking for a new source of income. This location was once a K-Mart, then it closed down and was replaced with a Zellers. The Zellers closed and moved to a different location, and was finally replaced with a Fields, and then again - closed.

9/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

solitaire //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-08T16:38:00.001-06:00

solitaire //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Solitaire - The theme to the 29 mots sous la pluie project for the most part has been depressing/loneliness, and this is no exception to it. This photo was taken on the drive down a gravel road during a cold, very dark, snow blowing night. You don't pass a single vehicle on the road, and the only sense of civilization is when you nearly run into deer.

The reverse of this - carefree highway - when you travel down a stretch of prairie highway, listening to your favourite music during the middle of summer and loving life!

8/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

Cerf //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-07T16:28:00.001-06:00

Cerf //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Cerf - In rural Manitoba, one hobby farmers and people from the city like to do is hunt (and fish). I've never hunted in my life, nor plan to but it's been a tradition in my family for several decades. Farmers and hunters alike collect the heads of the deer they shoot as a "trophy" of their accomplishments.

7/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

Buriné //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-06T17:21:00.001-06:00

Buriné //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Buriné - This old building was a food vendor/hang out during the summer times. Like anything else, nothing lasts forever, weathering takes place and eventually deteriorates everything. I remember coming here hundreds of times in my youth, like the summer of '92 I'd get an ice cold soda and a Mr Freeze freezie, or a hot dog. Oh how the times change. I don't believe this is in use anymore.

6/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

passe-temps //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-05T19:44:00.001-06:00

passe-temps //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Passe-temps. Last week my grand-père (right in photo) died at the age of 85. I never did get to really know him. He was a quiet man. He worked harder and longer than most people I knew. When I was very young he would go hunting during deer season and ice fishing, but over time he stopped doing that completely. Today was his "celebration of life" gathering at a local community centre as it was in his best interest for only that to occur rather than a funeral. Several of his siblings, all my uncles and aunt and most of my cousins (except one) all made the trek. What's crazy is most of my grand-père's siblings are still alive and kicking. Everyone has a story, but we never really know anything about the story until the story is already written (death).

4/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

Communauté //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-04T19:01:00.001-06:00

Communauté //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Communauté - This weekend the Lieutenant Governor's Winter Festival going on in Brandon, Manitoba. It's a free event with free bus shuttles where you can see a bit of what some of the community's several vibrant cultures are all about. Last night I checked out the Franco-Canadien pavilion. As a Franco-Canadien, it's a requirement to go every single year. I get to drink beer by Unibroue, eat crêpes, listen to folky music and eat tire sur glacé. Yum. Times like this I'm happy to be French Canadian, but they need poutine!

This is a sculpture of a big pot of pea soup (soupe aux pois), which is a staple dish for Francophone families here and Quebec. Vive la culture!

4/29 mots sous la pluie

For more/plusiers: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

Étudier //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-03T21:36:00.001-06:00

Étudier //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Étudier - I spent 6 years of my life to work on a 3 year double major arts degree, yes six. What have I learned from it? Your dream job doesn't exist, also - diversify the hell out of everything. If you don't have a minor in business and history and philosophy and German, you're screwed for life! Nobody will HIRE you as youth unemployment is at its highest level in decades and employers have the right to be as picky as they want in this economy. Edit: Take what I just said with a grain of salt, read that with lots of sarcasm in it!

I'm proud of Chantal, she's worked her ass off for the past four years working on a Psychiatric Nursing degree and she's only a few months away from graduating! She's stressed her ass off on a regular basis but now that she's near the end of the tunnel, she is not really giving an eff about how she does on upcoming assignments, and I don't blame her. Politics degree graduates aren't in demand, psychiatric nurses ARE!

3/29 mots sous la pluie

For more: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

Gelé //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-02T14:20:00.001-06:00

Gelé //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Gelé - Waking up today, I look at the Weather network app on my iPhone and it says "windchill of -35C." On days like that I just want to avoid civilization completely. Why not? It's too cold to do anything. Then you look at US TV, or hell.. Ontario TV and they're whining about this white powder called "snow", as if they've never seen it before, as if it's going to kill off the civilization. Um.. that's what winter is for.

I saw this ice lodge/backup and now I realize why my old room flooded each and every damned spring. Yum, the smell of mildew!

2/29 mots sous la pluie

For more: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

camaraderie //29 mots sous la pluie

2011-02-02T14:18:00.001-06:00

camaraderie //29 mots sous la pluie, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Bienvenue tout le monde, welcome everyone! I've started a bit of a Flickr project titled « 29 mots sous la pluie. » Which, in English translates to "29 words in the rain." It's a project that brings together my feelings and thoughts together with photos. For 29 days I'll be doing un mot (one word) per day.

Why 29 mots sous la pluie? February is generally the most depressing month of the year for me. While it is the shortest month of the year, it also feels like the longest, as well as the coldest - and in some years - the most depressing. The phrase is an oxymoron for living in Manitoba as it's always a cold, gloomy windchill packed month.

For 29 days I'll be choosing one word en français to describe the mood.

Le mot ce jour - camaraderie - j'ai choisi ce mot parce que quand j'ai vu des bières de Chambly d'Unibroue, c'est comme une famille. Seule, c'est une bière delicieuse, mais ensemble, c'est une histoire. I chose the word because when I look at these Chambly beers by Unibroue, it's like a family. Alone, the beer's delicious but together it's like a story.

For more: www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/sets/72157625956313184/

Photo of the day - January 21, 2011

2011-01-21T16:20:00.001-06:00

ici, Château Frontenac, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo is "ici, Château Frontenac"

Photo of the day - January 20, 2011

2011-01-20T17:35:00.001-06:00

¡Bienvenidos à México Breezy y Sunny!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is ¡Bienvenidos à México Breezy y Sunny!

I wish I was in Mexico too.

Photo of the day - January 13, 2010

2011-01-13T14:39:00.001-06:00

Rocky jolting rocks, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo is "Rocky jolting rocks". My parents head to México in 5 days and I'm jealous beyong belief. It's already been 3 years since the last time I've been somewheres above +5C for more than an hour in winter time. Every day I wish I had a job so I could afford a tropical all inclusive vacation. Maybe I'll get a job in 2018 and go on a trip in 2020?

Photo of the Day - January 12, 2010

2011-01-12T15:30:00.001-06:00

Turn, Turn, Turn, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for January 12 is titled "Turn, Turn, Turn" - the windmills right outside of Somerset, Manitoba, the heart of Franco-Manitoba!

Drunken Ramblings: Photo of the day - December 22, 2010

2010-12-22T11:15:00.000-06:00

Drunken Ramblings: Photo of the day - December 22, 2010: "Footprints in the glistening snow, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.Photo of the day for December 22, 2010 - 'Footprints in the glisteni..."

Photo of the day - December 22, 2010

2010-12-22T11:14:00.001-06:00

Footprints in the glistening snow, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Photo of the day for December 22, 2010 - "Footprints in the glistening snow"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/5281177887

Last year and half

2010-12-08T15:46:00.001-06:00

The last year and half has been the worst year and half of my life. For the first time in my life, I've had regular anxiety attacks, stress aching my chest, and constant headaches.

It hurts enough that I can't find a job, I search everywhere, the newspaper, online, word of mouth, and I still end up at the end of the day unemployed.

I don't have many friends, fuck.. in a given week, I only talk to two people more than five minutes for the entire week. I think of suicide all the time, but I keep getting reminded of Chantal in the end, she's the only thing keeping me going, the only person who seems to even know I exist.

I worked my ass off in university going for my degree, but that doesn't mean SHIT. I've gone to countless interviews, "job tests" and still unemployed, all I can do is "keep my head up", but being told ALL my life I'm not going to amount to anything and I'm not going to be anybody - that's all I can think of now. I still vividly being in grade 7, being held to the ground, being suffocated by two people.. memories like that still are trapped in my mind. I was treated like crap my entire life, I don't expect to have a job handed to me on a platter, but I thought I'd do better than this. I thought I'd have more friends, I thought my mental health would be better, the key word is always "thought". It's not that I'm not doing anything, I am. I work my ass off trying to do better in life - but sometimes you're stuck in a rut. Just thankfully this is no longer grade 7 anymore.. but I still shake from memories of my youth.

Another thing, I worry too much as it is - whenever I do ANYTHING, that I think I accomplished something - It falls flat on my face, I get in shit for something. I was proud when I created a facebook fan page for bande a part, back when Facebook actually was decent, I got in shit by Radio Canada for it, and that's not the first time stuff like that happens.. it happens whenever I got interested in something, politics, coins, anything. I can't do anything right.. even photography I've gotten in shit over. I hate it. I worry too much what others think about me. I hate people frankly, people are greedy, annoying, and get in my way..

Photo of the Day - December 2, 2010

2010-12-02T20:27:00.003-06:00

For Russ, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Photo of the day for December 2, 2010, titled "For Russ." This is for Russ! CBC Radio 3 and Canadian beer's superfan!

Link

Photo of the day - November 15, 2010

2010-11-15T15:21:00.001-06:00

The Melita Banana, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is of Sunny the Banana and Breezy the Blue Jay, a controversial statue located in Melita, Manitoba.

Photo of the day - November 4, 2010

2010-11-04T17:10:00.001-05:00

People playing frisbee at the Supreme Court of Canada, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I found this in the old archive, a photo taken on the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada, with some people, including a (now) Canadian cabinet minister playing frisbee.

Photo of the day - November 2, 2010

2010-11-02T16:20:00.001-05:00

Tropical San Juan, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is of Tropical San Juan, Puerto Rico!

Photo of the day - November 1, 2010

2010-11-01T17:10:00.001-05:00

Pop Shoppe Grape Soda!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is of a stubby bottle of Grape Soda by The Pop Shoppe, Canada's #1 premium soda company!

Photo of the day - October 26, 2010

2010-10-26T18:50:00.001-05:00

Room mates are alkies, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is titled "Room mates are alkies". I took this photo two weeks ago. My room mates drink each and every day of the week, not good beer either - mostly Great Western's Brewhouse and Molson Dry at best. This beer collection is growing each and every day. Not to say that I don't drink my share either, I just drink quality (most of the time).

Link

Update - Goals for the next 9 months (Feb '10)

2010-09-20T20:01:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, just an update for my goals that I set back in February, that I said I had to accomplish by November:

Get a job. Simple as that. I would prefer a full time job, but even a part time job would do. I just need a regular source of income coming my direction. <----- Yeah, I still don't have a job, and today is September 20. I know I will be unemployed for quite a bit longer. My girlfriend is furious with me over it, as is my family. When I talk to people I haven't seen in a long time, it looks bad on my part for being unemployed.
Get out of this dump. I have been living here for 6.5 years (wow) now and this building probably has reduced my life expectancy by a decade or two. It's disgusting.. mice are roaming free, mold everywhere (not to mention black mold), a room mate saw asbestos, plus there are water leaks in the building every spring. I need to find an apartment for myself, finally a place where I don't have to share the TV or deal with peoples dishes or anything (or people stealing my food). <----- I still live there to this very day, and it's just as disgusting as back then. My favourite room mate is moving out right now, he bought a trailer as he got a job. Congratulations! One of the room mates PISSES in the bath tub, which is apparently something normal with "most" guys, but when the entire bathtub/shower smells like strong urine, it's DISGUSTING.
Save up. Save up money for a rainy day, for a trip, anything. I want to do something such as go to SxSW in 2011, or even a hot vacation. <----- Did alot of saving up, I saved up several hundred dollars (well thanks to family, so it's not really saving) to go to Winnipeg Folk Festival. Now my iPhone is cracked and near death so I'm trying to "save money" for a new iPhone. Frankly I'm sick of paying $80/month when MTS offers the same plan for half that!
Travel more. I'm a bit of a travel bug and in the past year or so, the furthest I've been was to Winnipeg, and that's only 3 hours away. I need to do road trips more.. go to places like Minneapolis, or even Quebec, Edmonton or beyond! <----- Still wishing I could travel more.
Take more photos. This is something I work on every day. I need to take more photos of my surroundings. If I see something of interest, take a photo of it! Also need to remember: landmarks on the prairies don't last long, while they may be here one day, they may not be there the next. <----- That's something I've successfully worked on more!
Lose weight. I've been doing an alright job counting calories/carbs/etc lately, I need to be more outgoing, maybe need to go for a walk/whatever more. I've been doing not bad for that lately. Walking to Timmies and back is a decent walk (2km each way). <----- Been very unsuccessful with that lately, my weight always stays the same, even if I never eat, or always eat.
Make new friends. I've always had problem making friends. I need to make new friends who are more than just random acquaintances that I may bump into once a year type of thing. <----- This is something that will never change, like it or not. I remember working on various clubs around university, hoping to make new friends, in the end I get screwed over, get made fun of behind my back, be called incompetent, in the end not making any more friends. It's still like that to this very day. I volunteer, try to do the best at anything I can, I manage to lose more friend than gain it seems. I know I'm fucking pessimistic, but cmon, I need to stop being such a fucking loser. When I'm talking to people and say "oh my friend blah blah blah blah", in reality, the "friend" is someone I've chatted to on Twitter maybe once, twice in my life and don't know them in real life. It's always been that way. I AM an attention whore, mainly because I was always ignored whenever I thought I did something well.
Stop being as stubborn when it comes towards cleaning up after myself. If I need to take out the trash, take it out, instead of letting it build out. Etc. I've always been bad at this. I guess it's because I was used to being cleaned up after when I was young. <----- This will NEVER change it seems lol
Treat myself a bit. I don't mean by splurging on going to Timmies on a day I shouldn't be. Treat myself with stuff when I am able to do well for my life. If I save up a large sum of money and meet my goals, get a brand new TV for it, but nothing too fancy. If I'm able to reach my goals, I should be able to have a bit of fun with my life! Also that means (as part of #2/#3), I should travel more, but make sure I can afford anything I do. If I have to second guess myself, then the answer will be no! So if I am wanting a car say 9 months from now, it will all come down to: "will I be able to afford it?", "is the bus system that horrible?" etc, if the answer is no for either answer or if I have to think, then it's not worth it. <----- Well I need a job to treat myself first.
Be more positive. I worry too much, I complain too much. Need to stop thinking that people are saying shit about me. Chances are, it may be happening but the people who say that need a life and they don't matter, their problems are probably worse than mine. <----- I still treat myself like shit. Why? Mainly because that's how I grew up. I grew up getting told by anyone and EVERYONE I was worthless, fat, a loser, all that sort of thing, so that negativity stays to this very day. I CAN be uber confident when I need to be, but ever since I graduated university, all I ever told myself was that I'm worthless, I cannot find a job because I'm stupid, that I'm lazy, and nobody wants to hire me. With never hearing back from employers, playing the waiting game, it only makes it worse. On the upside, I had a meeting with a client of a relative of mine. He gave me feedback on what he saw at the "mock interview" he gave. He said that I'm smart, when I get nervous I talk really loud (I don't notice it, but it explains why my throat goes very dry during interviews). I wish I was confident in myself, but I really do need help (but help hasnt helped jack all in the past). If only I got A chance at a good job. I know I'd do well. I'm a slow learner, and I'm slower than the average person at working, but I like to keep myself busy, do a great job and please the employer. I remember on several calls working at the call centre, customers would call in and at the end of the call say that I'm the best CSR rep they've ever had, but the employer would get pissed off that I helped the customer too much instead of selling unneeded services!

Photo of the day - Sept 14 - Small town train station

2010-09-14T21:47:00.001-05:00

Small town train station, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

one of two train stations in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

Photo of the day - September 4, 2010 - Prairie giant

2010-09-04T16:16:00.001-05:00

Prairie giant, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo is entitled "Prairie giant", a silhouette in the early evening of a massive concrete & steel grain elevator

Photo of the day - September 3 - Sunset/Harvest

2010-09-03T03:49:00.001-05:00

Sunset/Harvest, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

It's harvest season, a time when the farmers rush to get their crops all cut and sorted into graineries in time for before the first snow storm of the season hits (sometime in the next month or two). As each day passes, the nights start earlier and earlier, and before you know it.. it will be pitch black at dinner time. It's evenings like this that remind me that there was once a summer evening here on the prairies, when the mosquitos bit, when the beers were plentiful and when the farmers were haying away.

Empties.. non-returnable, no deposit

2010-08-04T22:12:00.001-05:00

All in a day's work!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

One thing that really grinds my gear here in Manitoba is that the government, and frankly almost everyone is pushing for a Green Manitoba, pushing for a clean Manitoba, which includes to recycle more, but the Government doesn't really push incentives to recycle, nor do retailers (either than seeing a garbage can at a store for "plastic bag return").

Returning soda bottles, cans, and other containers.. it happens for beer here in Manitoba, but that's it. In Saskatchewan and Quebec, there are stations set up, even a special vending machine (like in Quebec grocery stores) where you can bring back your Coke bottles, milk jugs and whatnot and get a return on a deposit. Hey, that's a great idea, that way people will actually stop littering as much! But no, that's something that's too good of an idea here in Manitoba to work.

The Manitoba Government stopped charging an environmental levy on soda bottles back on April 1st, however several retailers, including the Real Canadian Stupidstore (sorry: I had to do it) still charge the fee, stating it's a "corporate policy" now. What the government should have done is replace the environmental levy with a deposit (like they do on beer, keep it the 2¢ or whatever) and pushed for retailers to take in empties, with the customer getting the two cents back in the end.

But that would not happen, it's not the "government's responsibility" to tell retailers what to do, so they won't anyways. But frankly, I'm sick of seeing empty Coke bottles lying on the road, random a-holes throwing their trash in my parents yard (as they live off the highway), and whatnot. To me, recycling seems more of a hassle to many Manitobans I know moreso than a convenience (or for the heck of it). In my own household, in a building that's shared accommodations with eight other people, people just randomly throw trash in the recycling, recycling in the trash and leave it at that.

IF Manitoba started charging a deposit (and forcing retailers to use the "fake" environmental levy as a deposit), it would get people recycling more, sure it's only 2¢, but it does add up. I know I would end up collecting all the plastic bottles I used in a month and bring it to the closest retailer/station that gives back deposit, and I'd probably have a few bucks extra each month (good for laundry coin).

In Quebec, what they did was if you had soda bottles, or any other recyclable plastic bottles, or even glass bottles (glass FTW), there would be these special vending machines set up where you would drop in your bottles/containers in the machine and it would add up how much the levy is worth (not sure how they do that), and it would print off a receipt (or give you the change) and you would get money back. Heck, their supermarkets and their dépanneurs took back beer empties! Sure more liberal than here in Manitoba. It's not THAT hard. I give props to those people who actually take in their soda empties (probably illegally) and get cash for it n Saskatchewan, atleast they're doing something about the empties instead of just putting in the trash like alot of people I know.

Photo of the day - June 11 - One from the Archives

2010-06-11T15:28:00.001-05:00

One from the archives - Mom's horse, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I found this photo in one of my mom's old photo albums, probably taken back in the late 60s/early 70s, her love of Arabian horses has been around for many decades.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/4691706488/

Photo of the day - June 10 - Fenceless Fence Posts

2010-06-10T17:58:00.001-05:00

Fenceless Fence Posts, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo is Fenceless Fence Posts!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/4499335226/

Photo of the Day! June 9, 2010 - Ice view of the rink (Memorial Cup)

2010-06-09T16:59:00.001-05:00

Ice view of the rink (Memorial Cup), originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo is titled "Ice view of the rink" which was taken at the 2010 Memorial Cup festivities in Brandon, MB
http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/4646472488/

Photo of the day - June 8, 2010 - Long Gone to Saskatchewan!

2010-06-08T15:15:00.001-05:00

Long gone to Saskatchewan! (Well probably not), originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo is titled "Long Gone to Saskatchewan!", a Saskatchewan branded grain hopper infront of a Ukrainian Orthodox church.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/4657941377/

My Return of Photo of the Day! June 7, 2010

2010-06-07T17:55:00.001-05:00

"Hello my name is Mauricio", originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

After a few month hiatus, it's the return of my photo of the day piece on my blog, I haven't posted here in forever, so why not bring back the blog back to life with the Photo of the day!

Today's entry is "Hello my name is Mauricio"

Enjoy!

Golden Coke Cans

2010-04-06T16:36:00.001-05:00

Golden Coke Cans, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The other day when opening my case of Coke, I noticed something weird, the Coke cans weren't the usual red as they usually are, this time they were a weird light golden colour. I quickly thought there was some manufacturing error and got Caffeine free Diet Coke instead. Actually it turned out Coke made a series of Golden coloured cans to honour both the Mens and Womens hockey teams winning the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics! Pretty neat, but thankfully this wasn't actually Caffeine Free Diet Coke!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/4456868090/

La Quatrième Bière/52 Weeks! - Carib Lager

2010-03-31T17:26:00.001-05:00

La Quatrième Bière/52 Weeks! - Carib Lager, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's March 31st, making it the 4th week of the 52 week project of my Flickr Beer photo project. Today was such a beautiful day as it is currently sunny and 15C, the PERFECT weather for a light lager on the patio while relaxing with friends.

I was lucky enough for my parents to visit the caribbean island of Grenada a few weeks back and bring me back an assortment of various Caribbean/Grenadan beers. For this week's project, the beer is Carib Lager from Grenada.

As I was saying, the weather is beautiful today, absolute gorgeous! So it was only right to crack open a Carib. Carib Lager is available at almost any beer/liquor store across Canada and beyond. However, here in Manitoba the Manitoba Liquor Commission sells theirs from a Trinidad based brewery. The Carib Lager I am trying out today is from Grenada.

This is a very tropical influenced beer as expected, not anywhere near as skunky as say Corona, but definitely light enough to enjoy while on the beach while tanning or on a patio while hanging out with friends. I'm not a fan of light tasting lagers like this, but either way, light tasting beers have its purpose, like days like today! The Carib is 5.2% alcohol/volume which surprised me (expecting it to be 4.8% or so), so it's higher alcohol % than the average North American domestic, and lighter tasting than most beers with a comparable percentage. Great for a hot summer day on the patio where you want a beer that satisfies the thirst, but not a beer if you want a flavour kick from. The bottle is also smaller than the traditional North American style beers, with having only 275ml of beer (as compared to 330-355ml here).

Flickr Link

Trois/Fifty Two! - Fort Garry's Folklorama Ale

2010-03-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Trois/Fifty Two! - Fort Garry's Folklorama Ale, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I can't believe it's already week number three of the 52 week beer project, it seems like I was drinking the O'Hara only two days ago!

This week's beer is a seasonal specialty beer by Winnipeg microbrewery Fort Garry Brewing, which is owned by Vancouver brewery Russell Brewing Company.

This Fort Garry Folklorama beer celebrates the Winnipeg summer festival "Folklorama", which takes place each and everywhere around Winnipeg.

The beer comes in a 473ml can and is 5% alcohol/volume. When I bought this, I expected it to be a classic Canadian style lager as it doesn't mention what style of beer it is at all on the can. I was surprised when pouring it to find out it's a reddish/brown Ale. The taste is a bit boring, I definitely get the aftertaste of a regular ale, but I just can't really taste it, a bit watery for my tastes. Also, it has this grittiness (reminds me of sand) that's left in my mouth.. what in the world? Not a great ale, but then again I'm personally not a fan of any of Fort Garry's beer. Would be a decent beer for the average Manitoban as it is certainly not overpowering in any way. Would I buy this again? Probably not, unless if I happen to go to a Folklorama pavilion in the summer. I purchased this for about $2.50 Canadian, so it's cheaper than some other beers at the ~500ml size.

Flickr Link

Deux/52! Happy St Patricks Day! O'Hara's Leann Folláin

2010-03-17T23:00:00.002-05:00

Deux/52! Happy St Patricks Day! O'Hara's Leann Folláin, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today is March 17th, St Patrick's Day for Ireland and most of the world so the second beer of the 52 week Flickr beer project is O'Hara's Leann Folláin from Ireland.

I'm not a fan of stouts, but I drink them from time to time, especially thanks to the Half Pints taster pack (Stir Stick Stout). The first wiff of aroma I get is a bit of a nutty/molasses sort of aroma. The very first taste, to me was kind of a coffee taste, but after a few sips, it no longer tasted like that. Not really a good stout, sort of bland, but drinkable. I have an aftertaste similar to the taste of sesame seeds now. I would rather be drinking a Guinness right now, as it is St Patricks Day, but I'm glad to be drinking something Irish today as I haven't celebrated it beer wise since oh... 2005? Wow.

I bought it for about $2.80 Canadian as it was on sale here in Manitoba (but then again the best before date was for a week ago). The bottle is 355ml, I like the label but it's just a lackluster stout.

Link

Goals for the next nine months

2010-03-15T02:54:00.002-05:00

Drinking a cold cerveza, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Well it's been a year now since I started looking for a full time job, and fast forward to now, I'm still exactly where I was 12 months earlier.. but without a job and not doing anything. I've drafted a 10-goal list that I hope/need to reach within the next 9 months.

Get a job. Simple as that. I would prefer a full time job, but even a part time job would do. I just need a regular source of income coming my direction.
Get out of this dump. I have been living here for 6.5 years (wow) now and this building probably has reduced my life expectancy by a decade or two. It's disgusting.. mice are roaming free, mold everywhere (not to mention black mold), a room mate saw asbestos, plus there are water leaks in the building every spring. I need to find an apartment for myself, finally a place where I don't have to share the TV or deal with peoples dishes or anything (or people stealing my food).
Save up. Save up money for a rainy day, for a trip, anything. I want to do something such as go to SxSW in 2011, or even a hot vacation.
Travel more. I'm a bit of a travel bug and in the past year or so, the furthest I've been was to Winnipeg, and that's only 3 hours away. I need to do road trips more.. go to places like Minneapolis, or even Quebec, Edmonton or beyond!
Take more photos. This is something I work on every day. I need to take more photos of my surroundings. If I see something of interest, take a photo of it! Also need to remember: landmarks on the prairies don't last long, while they may be here one day, they may not be there the next.
Lose weight. I've been doing an alright job counting calories/carbs/etc lately, I need to be more outgoing, maybe need to go for a walk/whatever more. I've been doing not bad for that lately. Walking to Timmies and back is a decent walk (2km each way).
Make new friends. I've always had problem making friends. I need to make new friends who are more than just random acquaintances that I may bump into once a year type of thing.
Stop being as stubborn when it comes towards cleaning up after myself. If I need to take out the trash, take it out, instead of letting it build out. Etc. I've always been bad at this. I guess it's because I was used to being cleaned up after when I was young.
Treat myself a bit. I don't mean by splurging on going to Timmies on a day I shouldn't be. Treat myself with stuff when I am able to do well for my life. If I save up a large sum of money and meet my goals, get a brand new TV for it, but nothing too fancy. If I'm able to reach my goals, I should be able to have a bit of fun with my life! Also that means (as part of #2/#3), I should travel more, but make sure I can afford anything I do. If I have to second guess myself, then the answer will be no! So if I am wanting a car say 9 months from now, it will all come down to: "will I be able to afford it?", "is the bus system that horrible?" etc, if the answer is no for either answer or if I have to think, then it's not worth it.
Be more positive. I worry too much, I complain too much. Need to stop thinking that people are saying shit about me. Chances are, it may be happening but the people who say that need a life and they don't matter, their problems are probably worse than mine.

Fifty Two Beers Project Begins! Un! - Ožujsko Pivo Beer

2010-03-10T22:19:00.001-06:00

Un! - Ožujsko Pivo Beer, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Hey everyone! I've been wanting to try out a Flickr 52/365 project for nearly two years now, but never had an idea what I should try out. Around Christmas I thought it would be a great idea to do a 52/365 project dedicated to beer. Since I don't want to seem like an alcoholic, and force myself to try a new beer each and every day, I decided that a 52 week project would be best. This way it would give me the ability to try A NEW (to me) beer each and every week! Ranging from beers I have never tried in my life to beers I may have not tasted in years.

The first beer in this 52 week project is a 500ml can of Ožujsko Pivo from Croatia. I've never heard of this beer, so I thought it would be perfect to be the first beer of the project.

A quick review, a beer that's similar to a North American styled golden lager, a very smooth tasting beer, it kind of reminds me of beer such as Molson Canadian, however the aroma is much more similar to Heineken or other European style lagers, but the taste is certainly more North American influenced, but that may just be me! As it being my first beer in the project, I was very pleased with how the photo turned out and how the beer tasted. Not a bad deal money wise, but it's not a beer I would have on a regular basis.

It is also 5.2% alc/volume

Link

Photo of the day - March 10, 2010

2010-03-10T20:11:00.001-06:00

Lines, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Time again for photo of the day! This will be the last photo of the day for a while because frankly, I'm bored. That and I've been having a hard time choosing photos lately. So enjoy this photo, it's titled "Lines"

Stuff Cody Hates - March 10, 2010

2010-03-10T15:54:00.002-06:00

Oh Garbage Tree, Oh Garbage Tree, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I haven't done this in a while. But I'm in a grouchy mood as usual, so time for Stuff Cody Hates!

Maple Bugs. They're disgusting and they're EVERYWHERE on the farm in the late fall, every year. They're ugly, they fly around and they get on you and annoy you. They freak me out, Bluehfhsahfsa!
Beer price increases. On monday the Manitoba Liquor Commission increased the price on almost all the beers sold in Manitoba. What irks me about this is that the Commission states that we have among the cheapest beer in Canada - Sure, if you don't count Quebec and you don't count Ontario when they have sales. Check out BeerDeals.ca, which is a site dedicated to showing the beer deals in Ontario, better deals for the most part compared to Manitoba. $29 for a 24 of Blue, INCLUDING deposit? That's nearly $40 here. Also, they state that this is the first increase to beer prices in SIX years, that's bull because around 6 years ago was when the "value brand" beers came to Manitoba with Minhas Creek. Molson Dry was sold for $5.52 around then for a 6, now it's $7.28. Also, all the big brands such as Blue, Canadian and Kokanee have ALL gone up in price within the last year alone. So that's BS.
Birthdays. Birthdays effing suck, it's just another day of the year, but apparently my friends/family have better friends than I do here in Brandon. I get random invites to surprise parties for random people I don't talk to or even my sister's big 1-8, but nobody has ever done something of that nature for me. I don't care either ways, this town is an effing shithole, and I have never felt welcome here in either way.
This town.
Unemployment
Ice on sidewalks. There's a business here in town that has their eves trough/water flow pointing directly to the sidewalk. So all winter long, there's 4 inches of ice on the sidewalk, I've slipped and hurt my back on that specific spot several times each winter, now I avoid that street completely. I wish they would effing atleast do something about it so people can walk, that's not a place to allow your drainage of melting snow runoff, it's a public sidewalk.
Telemarketers
Greyhound. I effing hate greyhound, well that's obvious, since this whole piece is about stuff I dislike. I wish Brandon had a Via Rail terminal

Photo of the day - March 9, 2010

2010-03-09T17:31:00.001-06:00

Farm Town Graffiti , originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for March 9, 2010 is titled "Farm Town Graffiti." Usually I'm a believer that graffiti is just wrong and disgusting, but its times when very artistic graffiti like this deserves to be noticed.

Photo of the day - March 8, 2010

2010-03-08T22:22:00.001-06:00

Glass Bottle Mountain Dew from the 1980s, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

As someone who remembers the weird things about growing up, I miss being around glass bottles. They were the staple of life back growing up in the late 1980s, early 1990s around when they were being discontinued for plastic bottles (boo!)

Today's photo is Glass Bottle Mountain Dew from the 1980s.

Hamburquesa?

2010-03-08T18:54:00.001-06:00

MMMM bison burger!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I may be a hamburger purist, a person who enjoys a hunk of beef, someone who grew up on a beef farm, or just plain obsessed.. or.. Picky! I like to have my hamburgers done a certain way. I absolutely detest mustard, onions and processed cheese on my hamburgers. I have been like that my whole life.

If I do want a hamburger at a restaurant, I always tell them in a friendly tone "I would like x burger plain with nothing on it." but what's weird, quite often I will end up with a Burger that has all the toppings, or atleast at minimum, processed cheese slice. Blech. Some restaurants are good for catering to my needs, but others screw up each and every time. Wendy's manages to screw up more often than any other restaurant (diner, fast food or upscale). Their burgers are yummy to eat, but it seems 80% of the time, the burger will come with cheese, even if I go "no cheese please!" the best restaurant for catering to my needs is actually A&W. The last time I remember A&W ever screwing up on the burger was back in 2005. Wow!

I have no clue why I am so darned picky about the staple item of the fast food universe, but it's just one of the million things food-wise I am picky about. Well I do have a right! Anytime I go to a restaurant with a friend, family member or colleague, they like to comment on my eating habits. I get it already! Heck I've done it to people who I didn't know were vegetarian/vegan.

At a restaurant sometimes, I feel like I should be paying a bit less if I don't want cheese/trimmings on it, but I will never go to a restaurant and ask for say.. A bacon mozzarella burger with fried onions and mushrooms and ask for it just as burger plus bacon, and that's it.. That's just wrong!

Perhaps I'm just very anal about how I like my food, or I just know what I like. I've had such pickiness since I was an infant and haven't been able to grow out of it. I HAVE discovered new foods, but for the most part, I still won't eat alot of food. I don't eat fish, wild game, most pork and alot of other stuff. I'm just a picky person, I hear it every single day of my life and I will be a picky person til the day I die.

Whats your thoughts on this? Am I being weird about it? Or do I have the right? I believe I have the right, if vegetarianism, raw veganism and meatatarianism all exist, I should be picky in my beliefs too!

Photo of the day - March 7, 2010

2010-03-07T17:14:00.001-06:00

Devil's Punch Bowl, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is titled "Devil's Punch Bowl", any of you who have ever visited Carberry, Manitoba should know about the Devil's Punch Bowl!

Photo of the day - March 6, 2010

2010-03-06T13:14:00.001-06:00

J'aime la biere! I love beer.. whatcha expect!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is "J'aime la biere! I love beer.. whatcha expect!" I was hogging quite a few beers one time because they were free!

Photo of the day - March 5, 2010

2010-03-05T23:07:00.001-06:00

Ugly, old, uncomfortable chair, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for March 5, 2010 is titled "Ugly, old, uncomfortable chair". A chair that simply, sucks.

Photo of the day - March 4, 2010

2010-03-04T19:43:00.001-06:00

Let's dance, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is titled "Let's Dance." Taken at a Crystal Castles show in Quebec City I saw a few years back.

Photo of the day - March 3, 2010

2010-03-03T21:49:00.001-06:00

The Cat in the Hat!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for March 3, 2010 is

Photo of the day - March 2, 2010

2010-03-02T16:12:00.001-06:00

Reminiscent, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day for March 2, 2010 is "Reminiscent"

Photo of the day - March 1, 2010

2010-03-01T23:38:00.001-06:00

Roll up the rim to uh.. lose?, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

It's March and yet another day for Photo of the day! Today's photo of the day is "Roll up the rim to uh.. lose?"

Photo of the day - February 28, 2010

2010-02-28T23:02:00.001-06:00

Gold Canada Gold!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is "Gold Canada Gold!", as a tribute to Team Canada mens hockey team (who just won gold medal!)

Photo of the day - February 27, 2010

2010-02-27T16:58:00.001-06:00

If this doesn't scare you, then I don't know what will, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Ahoy hoy, today's photo of the day is "If this doesn't scare you, then I don't know what will". Check it out!

Photo of the day - February 26, 2010

2010-02-26T15:28:00.001-06:00

Rue Petit-Champain, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for February 26, 2010 is "Rue Petit-Champlain" which is a very beautiful historical part of Quebec City. I miss that city.

Photo of the day - February 25, 2010

2010-02-25T17:13:00.001-06:00

Patriotic Canadian Farmer, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for February 25, 2010 is "Patriotic Canadian Farmer." On the prairies many farmers are now hanging miniature Canadian flags on their tractors/farm implements to show their pride in being a Canadian.

Photo of the day - February 24, 2010

2010-02-24T19:21:00.001-06:00

Hershey Bears win the 2009 Calder Cup against the Manitoba Moose, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day, in tribute to tonight's hockey game of Canada vs Russia, the photo is of "Hershey Bears win the 2009 Calder Cup against the Manitoba Moose" last June in Winnipeg. See Bouque on the right? He's Ray's son.

Photo of the day - February 23, 2010

2010-02-23T14:09:00.001-06:00

Hawksley Workman - Brandon, Manitoba February 24, 2009, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

One year ago tomorrow night, Hawksley Workman performed a show in blizzarding Brandon, Manitoba. Most of the crowd came from Winnipeg for the show, and one person I talked to was actually from near Thunder Bay! Photo du jour.

Photo of the day - February 22, 2010

2010-02-22T23:36:00.001-06:00

Large icicle "spears" and a hint of moon, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Phew, just in the nick of time! Here's the photo of the day for February 22, 2010! Large icicle spears!

Photo of the day - February 21, 2010

2010-02-21T17:16:00.001-06:00

Stag Beer, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Salutations! Time again for Photo of the Day! Today is February 21, and today's photo is "Stag Beer" from Grenada.

Photo of the day - February 20, 2010

2010-02-20T15:38:00.001-06:00

Bouquet of flowers, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Hey again! The photo of the day for February 20, 2010 is "Bouquet of flowers." I took this on my Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, didn't turn out that bad!

Photo of the day - February 19, 2010

2010-02-19T14:54:00.001-06:00

Newfoundland 10 cents from 1917 and Jell-o hockey card, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day for February 19 is "Newfoundland 10 cents from 1917 and Jell-o hockey card". It appears I still have an awesome collection of hockey cards and currency lying around!

Photo of the day - February 18, 2010

2010-02-18T16:04:00.001-06:00

Snow banks, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Everything moves real slow when it's 40 below, when it's 40 below!
The photo of the day for February 18th is "Snow Banks"

Photo of the day - February 17, 2010

2010-02-17T16:37:00.001-06:00

Back of tractor 1 - real or toy?, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is "Back of tractor 1 - real or toy?"

Enjoy!

Photo of the day - February 16, 2010

2010-02-16T17:18:00.001-06:00

As a kid... harvest season with toys, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is "As a kid... harvest season with toys". How I miss being a kid playing with old tractor toys. Those were the days.. ah!

Why I love being French, and speaking French!

2010-02-16T00:00:00.001-06:00

0
Mon héro!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Well Journée Louis Riel is now officially over here in Manitoba, which is the Manitoba equivalent of "Family Day" in other Canadian provinces. Thinking back, Louis Riel is probably my biggest political hero in my life, not only for having the courage for standing up to the Canadian government, but also as him being a Francophone/bilingual person.

I love speaking French, and every day of my life I'm proud to be a French Canadian. My French isn't perfect by any means, but when I get to speak French, I get excited and all nostalgic.

Whenever I go to a local shop or a restaurant and hear someone speaking French, my ears start tuning into the French conversations. Whenever French musicians come to Brandon, Manitoba, I always have a chat with them after the concert.. they always are ecstatic when they realize that there's another person who speaks French in the room, which is rare in this part of the country.

Yeah, of course it gives me a reason to trash talk about someone without most people knowing what the eff I'm saying, but I don't trash talk anyways. But I do love to Franglais it up, which is a mixture of French and English.

Living in Quebec City, people would automatically notice my obviously anglo accent, but they never hated me for it, they would ask me questions like where I was from, what I think about the community, "have you gone to... yet?", stuff like that. In any other city in Canada, particularly anglophone communities, I have never had this happen. Not once has anyone ever said this while in Ottawa or Edmonton, or even Winnipeg.

Also, I consider myself a bit of an expert on Franco-Canadien music, I'm not a professional at it or anything, but thanks to taking a "Popular French music" course back in university, it gave me a grasp of Québecois musical history and what to look for. Now I have dozens of different Francophone musicians on my iPhone. I probably know more about French music than most listener friends of mine on Radio 3, but I don't hold it against them, they're just anglos, they don't know any better! ;)
While musicians like coeur de pirate and malajube are great and all, they're are in NO WAY the best that the province has. Give me Jean Leloup, Marie-Pierre Arthur and Radio Radio instead!

Also, what I love is that my absolute closest friends, most of them are French speakers, I don't know how I ended up with amazing friends who all speak French, but it happens!

But on the bad side of things.. here in Western Manitoba, Francophones/"Frenchies" are constantly discriminated on a regular basis. On a local message board, every single time the word "French" is mentioned, there's a heated debate (well one sided debate) about how Francophones need to STFU and how this should be a unilingual country, it's no wonder why said same people vote Blue each and every election like clock-work. It's embarassing to be in a community that is so discriminatory(?) against any cultural groups. I even got made fun of, in public for wearing French tshirts, although THAT'S rare. Usually it's just glares, rude looks if they see me speaking French, it sucks, but that's life. Also, while there are a few thousand French speaking people in the region, it seems like all of them are hiding, I never can find them, so I never get to really speak French in the first place!

Anywho, I'm proud of being French Canadian and proud of speaking French, I've had the pleasure of spending St-Jean Baptiste Day on the Plains of Abraham before, and felt like I belonged there with the other 250,000 attendees, it was a night to remember! Drinking with random strangers, singing en Français and having a great time! Ah.. those were the days!

Vive les Francophones!

Photo of the day - February 15, 2010

2010-02-15T13:55:00.001-06:00

Bonne Journée Louis Riel! Un peu tôt though, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

The photo of the day today is titled "Bonne Journée Louis Riel! Un peu tôt though." Today is Louis Riel Day here in Manitoba and I felt that it was only fitting to have today's photo of the day as a photo of Louis Riel himself!

Also check out Rue Louis-Riel in Quebec City.

Photo of the day! February 14, 2010

2010-02-14T17:14:00.001-06:00

...turned it into a parking lot!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

I'm sitting here in the car waiting for my sister to pick up Chinese food for my parents for Valentines Day. Here's today's photo of the day titled "...turned it into a parking lot!"

Photo of the day - February 13, 2010

2010-02-13T11:58:00.002-06:00

, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Photo of the day for February 13, 2010 is "Sans Titre".

It looks more miserable than this outside right now

Photo of the day - February 12, 2010

2010-02-12T19:26:00.001-06:00

End of the road street sign and Elevator, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Photo of the day for February 12, 2010. Titled "End of the road street sign and Elevator."

Photo of the day - February 11, 2010

2010-02-11T11:33:00.001-06:00

4 generations of technology, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is 4 Generations of technology.

Photo of the day - February 10, 2010

2010-02-10T09:48:00.002-06:00

Hey.. didn't this used to be an adult video store?!, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is "Hey.. didn't this used to be an adult video store?!"

It seems as if most buildings in downtown Brandon are abandoned, and this is no exception.

Photo of the day - February 9, 2010

2010-02-09T16:00:00.002-06:00

Grain Elevator, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

Today's photo of the day is titled "Grain Elevator"