Electric Dreamstate

I was driving home today and as I crossed Whyte Avenue (between Chapters and When Pigs Fly) I saw something that I'd never seen before (in Edmonton): two homeless men on opposite street corners arguing over territory.

This just shows how much the Albertan economic boom is effecting everything here in Edmonton. Not only is the starting rate at Taco Bell $9.50 (a rate at which they still can't find enough people to stay open past 9pm), but the number of unemployed and unemployable have risen as well. You notice it here every day, because Edmonton has classically had a very low hobo to not-hobo ratio in comparison to cities of its size (especially in the winter). Another hot-spot for activity is in front of the Mac's on Whyte. Without hyperbole, nine times out of ten you will be accosted by someone on your way in. Last night there was a guy with a just a blanket shivering and asking for funds to everyone going in.

Now to those of you who live in big cities this will seem somewhat quant, but in Edmonton it seems like there's an extra layer of desperation as the homeless who came here seeking greener pastures in the summer realize that it gets really fucking cold here in the winter.

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