Do I Only Work for a Mr. Big Nip?

(source: salisburyhouse.ca)

Salisbury House is a brand I am loyal too.  Almost every week, I walk to the one on Marion Street to read a book and have an occasional snack of Pepsi and fries.  

On rarer occasions, I help myself to the Mr. Big Nip Platter.  Health concerns notwithstanding, I wish I could have all the Mr. Big Nips in the world to eat.  Trouble is, they're so damn expensive.  A Mr. Big Nip is $5.75 before taxes.  The Platter is $9.29 before taxes.  I'm a relatively poor college student, so a price like that burns a hole int my wallet.

Metro is doing all they can to help my predicament.  If you go to the Salisbury House web site, you'll see that  Metro is offering a 'Metro Monday Madness' special.  All you have to do is cut out the coupon and present it to your nearest Salisbury House for a free Mr. Big Nip.  Seriously, I love Salisbury House.  When I opened my apartment mailbox to find a book of Sals coupons, I literally jumped up and down.  The ideal Christmas/birthday gift for me is a $25.00 Sals Gift Card.  I feel like I'm six when I find out that Sals is giving me all these great deals.

But eventually, these deals will be no more, and Sals will be asking me to cough up the big bucks.  This has me thinking: am I pursuing a career just for this? Am I looking for a career just so I can eat at Sals more often (as long as I'm single)?

I can only hope the allure of brands is not the reason I'm finding a career.  I can probably say that this isn't the case.  I want to pursue a career in public relations because PR is an emerging profession tailored to my writing skills.  I want to do what makes me happy.  I don't just want a career just so I can afford more of that fine Sals.  Still, my attraction to this place has got me wondering.

Some, however, are just in it for the brands.  The power of the brand is so powerful, it can influence a person's entire career.  I imagine that some pursue a career in civil engineering just to get a Mercedes-Benz.  Not all, but certainly some.  

And it's not just professions.  Sometimes the power of brands even extends to relationships.  Young women will marry old men on their deathbeds just to get a Porsche or a fine steak dinner.  And if they're not going for decaying organic matter, they'll certainly go for the arch-typical bearded doctor who listens to Coldplay.  The hipster will fall in love with his girl just to get that rare 7" Arcade Fire single released before they got famous.  You get the picture.

In fact, almost all relationships are based on brands.  Are you going to marry that girl who loves The Rolling Stones just as much as you? Yes, you certainly are! Because without brands, there are no interests.  But you can't be some robot who goes through the meticulous process of finding the perfect match either.  So you bargain, you negotiate; in other words, you form the legitimate relationship.  If she doesn't like The Rolling Stones, you'll devote at least a quarter of the day convincing her that they're the real deal.  That same rule applies to the work place.  You work, you enjoy it, but you also take the time to go out on vacation.  

That's really what the ideal, happy life is: a negotiation with brands.  A negotiation with competing desires and emotions.  Of course, I will give that Mr. Big Nip a day in court.  But I will also make sure to give it a rest and tend to most naturalistic activities like going for a walk and writing.

I guess that's what the meaning of life really is.

Give In to Hedonism: What I Learned from Last Saturday's Bomber Game

When I was at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game last Saturday, my stomach rumbled as I walked around the stadium.  The smell of grilled meat, fries, and mini donuts was unavoidable. 

The price of food at a football game is astronomical.  At the Salisbury House stand, a Salsbury Nip cost almost $5.00.  Drinks alone cost $4.00.  You would think those prices would turn people away from the stands.  Instead, people were lining up to get their quick fix, and I was one of them.

A brilliant way to make money is to overwhelm the senses.  In this case, it's the sense of smell.  Normally, we are supposed to think, not feel in these situations, as we are supposed to watch our wallets.  But we give in to temptation anyway and let our pocketbooks take a bruising.

I gave into temptation and spent almost $7.00 on a bag of fries and a small cup of coffee.  I did because I lost control.  The smells challenged all reason, and the smells prevailed.  I became a few dollars poorer, but I didn't care because my stomach stopped screaming.

Human beings let their hedonistic desires go wild whenever their senses are appealed to.  Our hedonistic pursuit makes it very easy for eateries to draw us in and empty our wallets.  The food is expensive, but so be it, we need to satsify each and every craving.

Some have called such business practices immoral, but I disagree.  If we are to call the practice of selling food at football games immoral, we might as well call Hallmark cards immoral -- food tugs at our stomachs, and sappy poetry tugs at our hearts.  To be emotional is to be human, and our modern economy thrives on all that makes us human. 

It is easy for a human being to lose the sense of equlibrium and batter his or herself financially to please all senses.  Not all human beings, however, are like this.  It is important to remember that an institution's job is not to tame addiction.  An institution's job is to make money.  Institutions make money by knowing what is human.