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This is for the McDonald's Canada 2013 Monopoly contest. Someone redeemed the other one I posted, as part of my explanation of what the heck a Snapfish was. Go here to redeem the prize of a Snapfish photobook. Click the image to enlarge the teeny-tiny type.

Wise people say that giving a person a fish only feeds them for a day, but giving them a fishing rod feeds them for a lifetime. So what if you give them a McDonald's Monopoly contest instant win Snapfish prize -- what does that do for them? I can only try to answer that question hypothetically, because, as a homeless person, I cannot complete the requirements for claiming my instant win Snapfish prize -- NFA, and all that.

Snapfish -- a division of Hewlett Packard -- describes itself as an online photo service. It's services include photo sharing, and storage, but all it's other services are heavily weighted towards providing photo prints, in book form, on coffee mugs, and jewelery, and so on. A prize of online image storage might appeal to me, but, the sticker describes the prize as a 4" x 6" photo book, and I can't begin to express how underwhelming that sounds to me.

[caption id="attachment_4966" align="alignnone" width="497"] The current cup with detachable loyalty card, needs six little stickers.[/caption]

Leave it to McDonalds, the master of stealth price hikes, to figure out how to raise the price of "free." Staff at the Broadway and Granville McDonalds, here in gray-swaddled Vancouver, British Columbia, tell me they're less than a week away from changing over to a new McCafe paper cup, which features a less rewarding loyalty card -- McPatrons will need seven stickers now, rather than six, for that free coffee, which will now be limited to a small or medium size -- there will be a surcharge for a large size.

[caption id="attachment_5088" align="alignleft" width="150"] Stickers on all the cups now.[/caption]

September 8 Update -- I'm still being given the old-style medium cup, but, the small cups have been changed over -- now all cup sizes have the new seven-sticker loyalty card. I was half-thinking the smaller-size cup pictured above-right was the new medium size -- McDonalds also raises prices by reducing portion sizes -- but no, that's the small-size cup. Click the images to enlarge them.

[caption id="attachment_5087" align="alignnone" width="497"] A binner from another area gave me one of the new McLoyalty cards. Sweet![/caption]

New cup image from this detailed look at the McCafe cup ►

Fire alarm at the Broadway and Granville McDonalds. The customers all clear out promptly, except one slowpoke with a laptop. I enjoyed coffee on the "patio," with the dumpsters, and waited for the "all clear," and then filed back in -- just like fire drills at school, except I don't remember them giving coffee refills.

[caption id="attachment_4282" align="alignnone" width="497"] Two of these aren't McStaff but everyone working in a service industry seems to wear the same colour uniform now. Click the image to enlarge.[/caption]

 

Here's a photo I took of Travis Lupick taking my photo. Travis is the editor of The Georgia Straight's online magazine, straight.com. He joined me for breakfast this morning to get a bit of my story -- the "former Georgia Straight employee, now homeless, hobo blogger" -- that's two hours of his life he'll never get back. This is the result of my post about the 30-year-old cutout Mr. Wuxtry which still graces the lobby of The Georgia Straight's swank West Broadway offices. My conversation with Travis was enlivened by a third party, a music teacher from Calgary, Alberta, who's name has already escaped me. Right after Travis left to get back to the office, his seat next to me was taken by Bill. I didn't know Bill at all, but I do know his sister, Stella, a talented designer who worked at The Georgia Straight ten years ago, and now, says Bill, has her own company. Click the image to enlarge it.

It's after Midnight outside the McDonalds on West Broadway, at Granville -- The pampered planters of South Granville are getting watered by pumper truck, less than a day before forecast rains. Click the image to enlarge.

See the changing of the South Granville  flower bundles ►

What's in the South Granville planters for Spring/Summer ►

[caption id="attachment_726" align="alignnone" width="497"] McDonalds manager Gary dresses up the doorway for McHappy Day. Click image to enlarge.[/caption]

I spend too much time in mcDonalds. Is it the electricity, or the free WiFi? Someone suggested it might be the food. They have food?

They have an annual McHappy Day, when one dollar from the sale of every Big Mac, Happy Meal and Hot McCafé Beverage goes towards Ronald McDonald Houses, and other local charities. This year, in McDonalds restaurants across Canada, that day was May 8 -- yesterday.

While I was having breakfast at the Broadway and Granville location, owner John Marsh showed up. He's an apple-cheeked, always-smiling, go-getter. A former McDonalds employee, who now owns six McDonalds franchises, all in a large, contiguous area, stretching across three Vancouver neighbourhoods: University of British Columbia; Kitsilano, and Fairview. Yesterday, his six restaurants raised between $18- and $19-thousand dollars.

This year the Canada-wide fund-raising focus was to raise  $26.75 million towards building a new Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver. The current House on Angus Drive in Shaughnessy serves as a home away from home for children who require treatment at BC Children's Hospital.

[caption id="attachment_730" align="alignnone" width="497"] McHappy day is over. Tomorrow, McBusiness-as-usual. Click image to enlarge.[/caption]

Estee is a "morning person." She is effervescent at a time of day when most are still trying to wake up, and she has worked the breakfast shift at the McDonalds at Broadway and Granville for as long as I can remember -- which is nothing compared to how she can remember every regular customer's order!

Marylin apparently works 27 hours a day -- morning and evening shifts at two different McDonalds: Broadway and Granville and South-West Marine Drive -- at the same time! She's actually sound asleep in this photo -- but she can still fill the orders perfectly. What a pro!