Southern Californian in EDMONTON.

[Freedom]

I was a Senior in college when I met my wife to be on a southern california pier. I pursued her despite the presence of her strict parents. She was wonderful and unlike any other human being I had ever met. When she explained to me that she was from Edmonton, Canada, I had to look it up in the map later on and politely asked her if she had ever seen a computer ! Yes I was ignorant, a very ignorant American, but its hard not to be when the 50 states provides you with pretty much everything that the rest of the world has to offer in terms of material wealth.

We got married and the shocker came afterwards when she refused to live in Los angeles because "it wasn't homely like edmonton" and the daily car chasing by cops on tv on southern california scared her. we tried to compromise, looking for a middle ground. in tems of neutral weather suitable to both of us, we looked at Oregon. We didn't really like it there because she didn't have any friends and family around and it just wasn't an exciting city like Los Angeles for me. Vancouver was "very expensive for a place that didn't provide sunshine", and Calgary- well by then I had developed a liking for Edmonton, and accordingly, a cute, rivalry style dislike for Calgary. I was jealous at their flames, and that my oilers were struggling. I laughed at their road systems which seemed so disoriented and disorganized unlike Edmonton, and their lack of real parks with lots of trees and was thrilled that we had the world's biggest or second largest mall and they had crappy old ones. So i left my parents beach front home and my surf board and moved to West Edmonton, bought a decent 2000 square foot home, had 2 kids and a wonderful wife. For me, the choice wasn't as broad as Canada or the United States, but rather Los Angeles or Edmonton ?

Politically, I am a moderate. I like Northern Alberta, and although a dual citizen now, at heart I will always be American and Albertan (not Canadian, because to me Canada means "Ontario only"). In Edmonton, I have never felt unwanted, never heard a single anti-american slur. Alberta is just like home in California, and after having lived here for 5 years, I think it has a lot more in common with mainstream America than anything Canadian. I like the toughness of Ralph Klein, and the will of politicans like stephen harper.

When i turn on the cbc and hear broadcasters from Ontario, Ottawa and Quebec question America's right leaning moderates, i chuckle because the root of Canada's economic prosperity comes from the conservative west.

Anti-Americanism in Canada is real, but it has a deep liberal and NDP root attached to it, something that we can hopefully continue to expel from our beloved alberta.

I am a proud American, a proud Albertan, and the only threat that I see to cross border relations is left leaning politics from those in Ottawa. For someone who was an ignorant American, i feel that I have an above average IQ on Canadian politics than an average Canadian.

cheers

[caesar]

Vancouver was "very expensive for a place that didn't provide sunshine",

I beg your pardon; we get plenty of sunshine in Vancouver. In fact, the sun is shining lovely today, as it did yesterday. We do get a good share of rain which keeps us looking green. We seldom have to shovel snow.

Expensive; to be sure and getting worse everyday.

In BC; Kelowna is a great choice. Much cheaper (but getting more expensive everyday) with most of the amenities and shopping but retains much of a small town friendliness. Even found an honest car mechanic that found nothing wrong with my car (pebble in the wheels making strange noises) and charged me nothing. That would have cost me probably at least 500 dollars in Vancouver for????

Of course, I could mention that our minimum wage is $8 compared to Alberta which at 5.90 is the lowest in Canada

[Freedom]

Vancouver was "very expensive for a place that didn't provide sunshine",

I beg your pardon; we get plenty of sunshine in Vancouver. In fact, the sun is shining lovely today, as it did yesterday. We do get a good share of rain which keeps us looking green. We seldom have to shovel snow.

Expensive; to be sure and getting worse everyday.

In BC; Kelowna is a great choice. Much cheaper (but getting more expensive everyday) with most of the amenities and shopping but retains much of a small town friendliness. Even found an honest car mechanic that found nothing wrong with my car (pebble in the wheels making strange noises) and charged me nothing. That would have cost me probably at least 500 dollars in Vancouver for????

Of course, I could mention that our minimum wage is $8 compared to Alberta which at 5.90 is the lowest in Canada

yeah, you see caesar, i love the snow but can't stand the cloudy weather and rain. rain just depresses me, i guess it's personal preference. I like Kelowna, great town and the okanagan is amazing in the summer. However, the shocking thing about kelowna is the number of poor homeless people and drug addicts there, kinda like a miniature vancouver east hastings. its sad and unfortunate.

your minimum wage should actually be lots more than $8. we don't get taxed as much. the good thing about alberta is not just the abundance of jobs but the flexibilty to find better paying ones. i do agree, we ought to increase our minimum wage and share the prosperity of alberta much more evenly.

[theloniusfleabag]

I find it quite odd that for posts claiming to come from Vancouver and Edmonton, both 'local user times' are 3.5 hrs ahead of my time in Calgary. Maplesyrup, on the other hand, who also claims to hail from BC, is one hr behind my time (as it should be, I would say).

Can anyone explain this odd discrepancy?

[Freedom]

yeah the posting times are really odd. might be an adjustment the administrator needs to make. the time of my posting is at least 3 hours off of what it should be.

[caesar]

kelowna is the number of poor homeless people and drug addicts there, kinda like a miniature vancouver east hastings. its sad and unfortunate.

That is nonsense. Many of the homeless here are Albertans that come for the better weather..

You can keep your weather when it even snows in what we call summer. Plus we have the Canucks.

[ceemes]

I was stationed at CFB Calgary....hated the place with a passion...the city that is.......and found Edmonton not much better......no ocean, hot and dusty in the summer and freezing in the winter.....bugger that....I'll take Vancouver's rain over Edmontons snow any day of the week.

[Shakeyhands]

great another Western whiner in the fold. What is the inferiority complex that you guys have when it comes to Ontario?

[caesar]

great another Western whiner in the fold. What is the inferiority complex that you guys have when it comes to Ontario?

None we contained our Sars virus and didn't let it run rempants like somewhere else that cried for help. Unfortunately Campbell has replaced those diligent hospital workers with bargain basement staffing.

[Shakeyhands]

Sars is the best you could come up with? and in all reality I think population density may have had a little to do with not containing it right away... don't ya think?

[Guest LLL]

I find it quite odd that for posts claiming to come from Vancouver and Edmonton, both 'local user times' are 3.5 hrs ahead of my time in Calgary. Maplesyrup, on the other hand, who also claims to hail from BC, is one hr behind my time (as it should be, I would say).

Can anyone explain this odd discrepancy?

Here's a tip, but it isn't foolproof. Look at the poster's (like The Baron of Banality, greyhound or MisterRogers ) local user time. If it is x number of hours +1/2 an hour ahead, it is usually (but not always) a flame/troll poster with many aliases. Don't take these too seriously.

Leo

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear LLL,

Thanks for the plagiarism...er I mean tip.

[August1991]

I find it quite odd that for posts claiming to come from Vancouver and Edmonton, both 'local user times' are 3.5 hrs ahead of my time in Calgary. Maplesyrup, on the other hand, who also claims to hail from BC, is one hr behind my time (as it should be, I would say).

Can anyone explain this odd discrepancy?

Thelonious, I believe the "local user's time" on my account page is Nfld time (1 1/2 hours behind Montreal). I suspect the package provides a time until adjusted.

I wouldn't draw any major conclusions.

[August1991]

As to the issue at hand, I have found that Ontarians accuse Westerners of being American (Texan, Nebraskan rancher/oil/farmer types) and Westerners accuse Ontarians of being American (NY, Boston sophisticates). The US is a big country and so is Canada.

But there are many differences between Canadians and Americans. Canadians travel abroad anonymously, like Icelanders and Finns. Nobody has anything against us largely because nobody knows anything about us. (Increasingly, foreigners have learned that we have many immigrants in Canada. Family names now matter.)

An American abroad is associated with everything from Disneyland to W.

In the post above, the only thing I find truly surprising is why any Califiornian would choose Edmonton weather. (Come to think of it, I don't know why anyone would choose Albertan weather, except maybe a Russian.)

Cherchez la femme. It must be true love.

[caesar]

Sars is the best you could come up with? and in all reality I think population density may have had a little to do with not containing it right away... don't ya think?

No I do not. We have a very dense population but perhaps a little more responsible; not always got out hand out; Federal money never comes this far. We have learnt to stand on our own two feet. That's why I have no sympathy for NFLD that wants its cake and eat it too after we have been subsidizing them for years and years.

[Slavik44]

I find it quite odd that for posts claiming to come from Vancouver and Edmonton, both 'local user times' are 3.5 hrs ahead of my time in Calgary. Maplesyrup, on the other hand, who also claims to hail from BC, is one hr behind my time (as it should be, I would say).

Can anyone explain this odd discrepancy?

sure after I read your post I went and checked where my local time was, and well it was only local if I was living in England...so i don't think it is to hard to explain why such discrepencies can arise from local times for posters. If I can end up in the other side of the world, I am sure people can end up in a different province.

[caesar]

Just checking my time; It is a few minute to 1am; my computers time is off and it says 2:16 i AM INTERESTED IN WHAT TIME IT WILL make my post.

[caesar]

5:30 AM hmmm better go to bed; almost time to get up. So the time is completely haywire. Must be some bug in the program.

[Shakeyhands]

it really is amazing, I had no idea the Westerners, and Albertans in felt that they were so hard done by until I joined this forum, I can certainly feel for some of it, I mean what would happen if Ontario kept all its revenues?

Its time for Westerners (and Newfoundlanders and Quebecers) to get with the program, you live in the worlds greatest country, appreciate it, contribute to it and strive to make it better each day. And for the love of Pete, quit yer whining!

[caesar]

Shakey, in actuality Ontario DOES keep all ITS revenues. Ontario and Quebec get all the goodies from Ottawa. We felt the loss of income on the West Coast thanks to Ontario's failure to control SARS. BC did control our outbreak despite being a large destination city for visitors from Asia and China. BC did not get a expensive concert paid for nor any help for our hurting tourist industry. When our fishing industry is shut down due to low stocks; BC does not get any subsidy. We don't have government industries set up all over the place feeding our economy. BC has been until the last few years a "Have" province; donating to the rest of the country.

We all feed Ontario whenever we pay taxes to the federal government which spend most of its money in Ontario and most of its offices and services are based in Ontario; paid for by ALLanadian.

[Guest LLL]

Thelonious, I believe the "local user's time" on my account page is Nfld time (1 1/2 hours behind Montreal).  I suspect the package provides a time until adjusted.

That makes sense.

So, you're from Montreal? Lucky sucker!

BTW - It was Fleabag who originaly posted this:

"Here's a tip, but it isn't foolproof. Look at the poster's (like The Baron of Banality, greyhound or MisterRogers ) local user time. If it is x number of hours +1/2 an hour ahead, it is usually (but not always) a flame/troll poster with many aliases. Don't take these too seriously."

I merely threw it back in his face.

Don't you think he should apologize?

I do.

Leo

[Shakeyhands]

Bollocks Caeser... If we had the concert in Calgary how many people would have showed?

If it wasn't for the population of Ontario, where would all your food go? and shouldn't the area which produces the most get the most?

[Slavik44]

Bollocks Caeser... If we had the concert in Calgary how many people would have showed?

If it wasn't for the population of Ontario, where would all your food go? and shouldn't the area which produces the most get the most?

how about Vancouver? Thats actually what Caeser was talkign about.

[caesar]

Bollocks Caeser... If we had the concert in Calgary how many people would have showed?

Whomever suggested a concert in Calgary???? It is not a large Asian destination that suffered tourism losses due to SARS. Actually most people thought that concert was a joke and very strange way for a government to deal with a health concern that cost tourism profits.

I did not even suggest a concert should have been held in Vancouver.

[Guest LLL]

Don't you think he should apologize?

WE'RE STILL WAAAITING!