Leave Me Alone!! Go Bug the Gas Station Attenants
Well it has been a very, very long time since I have written anything for my blog; I guess this is a better time than ever. Browsing through some of the old entries and a lot has changed; I’ve finally mastered a standard car, as I bought one back in November. Her name is Marie-Michelle Tercel, and she is a pretty good car for me, even though she’s not the biggest. Our group finished Katimavik, 11 strong, something very rare. Out of all the Katimavik groups we met, they were all short at least one participant, except for one, who lost one in the final couple of months. Being done Katimavik is a different feeling; I usually miss something about it every day. I miss each town at different times, and I miss everyone so much. It’s hard to believe that there were 11 of us, it seems like a lot, but you always noticed when a person was missing from the house.
So I started at Trent this past year too, I liked it, but it was not some that I absolutely enjoyed. But it slowly started to grow on me. I’ve been also working at the Peterborough Memorial Centre and Tim Hortons once again. Sophie and I vowed to never return to Tim Hortons again, but at one point we were back there. It’s not as bad as you’d think; we always find ways to have fun. Throwing Timbits at Marie-Michelle always releases and stress I get.
But of course the prices went up at Tim Hortons last week, and the whining was unbelievable sometime. They’d pull up to the window and I would say “2.90$ please”, and the response was always followed by “You mean 2.75$, right?” “No, it’s now 2.90$ for two large coffees.” Then the dirty looks come out, “They raised prices again, why?” “ Well I think the price changes of late have been because of the cut in GST, and we did adjust some prices so hot chocolate is now the same price of coffee, which in both cases caused prices to be lower.” They then take the coffees, looking at me like I don’t even have my Grade 10 because I work at Tim Hortons. But do I care, no! Because its Peterborough, and the people complaining probably don’t even have their Grade 9. We’re helping them, so if they can no longer afford to buy an Extra Large (usually Triple Triple, or 4x4), they can settle for a Large. I can only see benefits to this, they save money, drink less cream and sugar, and in some instances coffee. They can then use that money to go buy gas, and bug the gas station attendant on why the gas prices are higher than they were last week.
The world is a changing place; we need to start watching what we are buying. I’ve noticed this even in Peterborough since I’ve come home. There are no new jobs, it just not students applying and working at Tim Hortons anymore. I support the price increase; people need to be spending their money on better things then fast food junk. It will do nothing for them, only leave them with less money in their pocket, and the amount of energy used to make the stuff is mind boggling. Let’s say you order a muffin and a coffee one morning. Your muffin is not made at the store, it’s is made in some plant far away I don’t even know where it is, and they are kept frozen in a warehouse waiting to be picked for an order. So it is then loaded onto a Tim Hortons’ truck and shipped frozen from somewhere in Toronto, to Peterborough. Once it arrives in Peterborough it sits in the freezer waiting to be baked. It is then loaded into one of the ovens (which sit on/preheated all day). Once they are baked they are thrown into a paper bag and given to you. The coffee cups are a problem alone, but how about where the coffee comes from. Tim Hortons doesn’t participate in Free Trade/Organic coffee, but prides them self on their “Sustainable Coffee” programme. It is described as “providing direct financial assistance for technical training to improve the quantity and quality of coffee produced and assist farmers in getting their coffee to market at the best time and for the best price. Assistance is also provided on environmental management, in both proper farming techniques and reforestation projects, led by Tim Hortons. (http://www.timhortons.com/en/goodwill/1521.html#6) But I can’t help but wonder if it’s the same type of training that their employees in the store go through, the importance of speed, quickness, and quality . . . . Or in other words, more profits for the big guys.
If you went to a local bakery to pick up some muffins, you probably wouldn’t find much difference in the prices, and you would receive a made fresh, not frozen muffin that actually benefits the local community. As for coffee there is a really god Canadian company named Kicking Horse Coffee, (www.kickinghorsecoffee.com), which offers fair-trade organic coffee. We bought it a time or two in Katimavik and it was really good. I saw it at Shoppers Drug Mart the other day, the only down side is that you have to grind your own beans. A lot better and fresher then the pre-packed Tim Hortons crap.
So I started at Trent this past year too, I liked it, but it was not some that I absolutely enjoyed. But it slowly started to grow on me. I’ve been also working at the Peterborough Memorial Centre and Tim Hortons once again. Sophie and I vowed to never return to Tim Hortons again, but at one point we were back there. It’s not as bad as you’d think; we always find ways to have fun. Throwing Timbits at Marie-Michelle always releases and stress I get.
But of course the prices went up at Tim Hortons last week, and the whining was unbelievable sometime. They’d pull up to the window and I would say “2.90$ please”, and the response was always followed by “You mean 2.75$, right?” “No, it’s now 2.90$ for two large coffees.” Then the dirty looks come out, “They raised prices again, why?” “ Well I think the price changes of late have been because of the cut in GST, and we did adjust some prices so hot chocolate is now the same price of coffee, which in both cases caused prices to be lower.” They then take the coffees, looking at me like I don’t even have my Grade 10 because I work at Tim Hortons. But do I care, no! Because its Peterborough, and the people complaining probably don’t even have their Grade 9. We’re helping them, so if they can no longer afford to buy an Extra Large (usually Triple Triple, or 4x4), they can settle for a Large. I can only see benefits to this, they save money, drink less cream and sugar, and in some instances coffee. They can then use that money to go buy gas, and bug the gas station attendant on why the gas prices are higher than they were last week.
The world is a changing place; we need to start watching what we are buying. I’ve noticed this even in Peterborough since I’ve come home. There are no new jobs, it just not students applying and working at Tim Hortons anymore. I support the price increase; people need to be spending their money on better things then fast food junk. It will do nothing for them, only leave them with less money in their pocket, and the amount of energy used to make the stuff is mind boggling. Let’s say you order a muffin and a coffee one morning. Your muffin is not made at the store, it’s is made in some plant far away I don’t even know where it is, and they are kept frozen in a warehouse waiting to be picked for an order. So it is then loaded onto a Tim Hortons’ truck and shipped frozen from somewhere in Toronto, to Peterborough. Once it arrives in Peterborough it sits in the freezer waiting to be baked. It is then loaded into one of the ovens (which sit on/preheated all day). Once they are baked they are thrown into a paper bag and given to you. The coffee cups are a problem alone, but how about where the coffee comes from. Tim Hortons doesn’t participate in Free Trade/Organic coffee, but prides them self on their “Sustainable Coffee” programme. It is described as “providing direct financial assistance for technical training to improve the quantity and quality of coffee produced and assist farmers in getting their coffee to market at the best time and for the best price. Assistance is also provided on environmental management, in both proper farming techniques and reforestation projects, led by Tim Hortons. (http://www.timhortons.com/en/goodwill/1521.html#6) But I can’t help but wonder if it’s the same type of training that their employees in the store go through, the importance of speed, quickness, and quality . . . . Or in other words, more profits for the big guys.
If you went to a local bakery to pick up some muffins, you probably wouldn’t find much difference in the prices, and you would receive a made fresh, not frozen muffin that actually benefits the local community. As for coffee there is a really god Canadian company named Kicking Horse Coffee, (www.kickinghorsecoffee.com), which offers fair-trade organic coffee. We bought it a time or two in Katimavik and it was really good. I saw it at Shoppers Drug Mart the other day, the only down side is that you have to grind your own beans. A lot better and fresher then the pre-packed Tim Hortons crap.
posted by Curtis Stark @ 12:28 p.m.
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