Saturday, June 23, 2018

It's a Disaster

I finally found a good movie in CPL after a few disappointing tries: It's a Disaster. This is a movie about a group of friends who get together every Sun. for brunch. A disaster of some sort takes place during the time that the movie is forming. While not clear enough, it seems from what's shown in the movie that it's either an alien attack or a foreign attack which involves chemical or nuclear weapons. I thought I had either seen or read something similar to that. The guys then try to figure out what to do and how to survive. One couple, who is the host, is in the verge of divorce. They had planned to let their friends know after the meal is consumed but it accidently revealed. Then in a course of different conversations it appears that partners have sexual or emotional relationships out of their main relationship! The story could go further but for whatever reason the director stops it at a point which you need to see it. I normally rate the movies, not that anyone cares. It's for me. It's a good movie but It's not very likely that I purchase it if it was available. Probably 3.25 out of 5! One day I have to sit and define this movie rating for myself! 
(Photo: The cover of movie's DVD depicts a man in HAZMAT suit holding a glass of wine)

Thursday, June 21, 2018

The Last Minute Problems

I have this tradition of getting myself into trouble somehow, near an exit, a departure or a similar situation. Here are a few recent examples:

1. When I went to the old country in Sep. of 14, I invited my cousin and her daughter to a Coffee somewhere in Shemiran, a former suburb of Tehran which is now part of the city. I normally don't do that(!) but I decided to do it because they picked me up from Aunt M.'s house, drove me to the Aunt Ag.'s and then drove me to Shemiran where I was supposed to meet my friend, The Tiny Mouse. So here we were in that neighbourhood trying to find a parking spot near the supposedly modern cafe in that area! Coffee is not a popular drink in Iran and any of the countries in that region or generally in Asia. However it has become a choice for the stupids(!) who think drinking this beverage make them modern and a Westerner! What these idiots don't know is coffee originated from Asia, more specifically Yemen a wonderful country which unfortunately has been the scene of civil war in the past few years. The word Coffee is anglicized term of Arabic word Ghahva. More on that and how Coffee used and still is being drunk in Arabic countries could be easily found in the web. The girl, my cousin's daughter is a maniac. I think she's got it from his Dad who was separated from my cousin. She was acting like a lunatic while trying to find a parking spot and during parking the damn car! I don't know what was her damn problem is. Then we went inside and found empty seats (or better to say stools!) in the small cafe. Some even were sitting on the sidewalk! I took my camera to take a few photos and I was caught by a bastard! I guess I had a girl in my frame and the guy thought I was taking a picture from her and was about to call the cops! Considering the cops in the old country means basically Thought Police and I was supposed to fly to Frankfurt the next morning, or practically in a few hours(!), I backed down and deleted the photo! The girl said nothing but the guy, who, I guess was looking for an ice breaker to talk to her, lost his cool! In the meantime my cousin's daughter was acting like a freaking idiot and total psycho! It was then decided to get the hell out of there before something serious happens and I end up in jail or somewhere similar and miss my flight.
Iranians are very jealous people, generally. In addition to that, as my cousin said in the cafe, they always watch others to catch them during an act and report them, get into a fight with them or make fun of them! I had a narrow escape that night!

2.This one happened a few days after that! Back to back and was not my fault although I had an issue which could lead to a big problem. I was in Munich and was supposed to take a train to go to Frankfurt to catch my flight to Calgary. I don't know where I was in the last day but when I went back to the hotel a receptionist, I guess an Arab guy but a very polite and nice fella told me that there was a strike going on with Bahn! I immediately left the hotel and rushed to the train station. Caught the train and went to a major Bahn office to check what was going on. The person, like most of them, was very helpful and told me that I should change my train at another city and get myself to Frankfurt. I woke up early in the morning to get myself to the platform. I found the designated car with some difficulty and got myself boarded. During the trip I was stressed as what would happen if I miss the damn flight! I eventually reached Frankfurt on time although the route and changing city had changed again! I was able to catch my flight back to Canada. Of course I was in Germany before all the refugee crisis. While I would like to go back, not only money would be issue, but also I'm not sure if I would be welcomed!

3. This one was as scary as the other ones but I used my confidence and came out strong! It was the last day on CFLRS, I guess. As I have mentioned earlier in a post, most of the time for food we had to stay for a long time in a damn disgusting line and staying in line is one of the things that I hate the most in life and that's anywhere! I think it was the last day and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of that prison. I went for a meal (don't remember which one it was) and again saw the damn line. We had to wash our hands and then stay in another line for the meal! Imagine how frustrating that could be! And for what? A meal which barely is enjoyable and I've already written about it. As soon as I saw the damn line, I directly went to the one for the meal! Out of nowhere a tall Black guy noticed that and started arguing that I had to go and wash my hands! I don't know how he realized that but I denied it. Our argument continued until I got to the kitchen (that's what they call it), got my food and sat at a table and started eating. I saw him going to instructor's table, pointing at my direction and talking to them. Apparently they didn't give a damn because nothing happened and none of them came to me to talk to me. I was in civilian as it was my last day. My assumption is they told him to let me go! Nevertheless it was my word against him. He had no proof.

That was the three narrow escapes that I had.
(Photo: This photo shows the late John Hurt [1940-2017] as Winston in a scene from movie Nineteen Eighty-Four which is based on a novel of the same name, and in my opinion one of the best ever written in the history, by George Orwell. In this scene Winston is trying to hide from Thought Police which screens people's life everywhere even in their private place, here through the big screen. The screen is in fact not a Television. It broadcasts everything in the room to the authorities in Ministry of Truth!. This picture is used to show the environment in Iranian society, the first of three escapes, with a little exaggeration of course)

Sunday, June 17, 2018

The Loyal

It's been more than 3 years since I started this story as a draft and today I'm going to finish it! The Loyal is the nickname I've selected for this cheap bastard from Isfahan, a city in central Iran, whom I met a few times back in early 2011. This guy started his Canadian journey from Quebec and ended up here in Alberta. I guess he's in British Columbia now. Not that anyone cares!
With the price of oil so low these days that you have many out of work, I don't think he is having good days but a few years that he worked in his field made him enough money to purchase a house. Not that it's a big deal because I know plenty of guys who have done that after a little more than 1.5 years of working. I simply could do that in 2012 but The Lady at the time opposed to that. Cited Calgary not a good place to settle down! It's a different story. Now years after living in Canada I'm still a tenant in a f*king, disgusting dump! 
Anyway this is the summary of his adventures based on what he told me when we used to hang out:
He first landed in Montreal, QC because it's easier for people to migrate to that province as immigrant. The process is faster, I've heard. It like these days that asylum seekers come to Canada through Quebec. I have no idea why. Perhaps its closer to major cities of the US or less guarded. And the stupid government led by the genius Trudeau let them in! This is another story which I'm not going to  engage in now. Many people do what The Loyal did and shortly after arrival they move to other provinces. I don't know if he spent a long time in that province or not but I do know that he was trying to get into Bombardier not knowing that it's hard even for English speaking Canadians to get a job in Quebec, let alone an Iranian guy who look more like Afghans! No offence intended! He then went to Fort McMurray where he thought his knowledge would be appreciated but after spending a time there, everywhere he went he was told that he should have start either from Edmonton or Calgary to get a job in that town. He moved to Calgary then.
That's where he somehow ended up being a roommate of The Chef, in Downtown, more specifically where there is or better to say there was a hang out for street prostitutes. That will be told in another separate post later, perhaps. The Chef is a troubled guy and he hung out with the prostitutes a lot in that neighbourhood. So this part of the story is partially told to me by him which matches what The Loyal has said:
The Chef had a hooker over and he was completely drunk and somehow didn't manage to do the business(!) but the girl was asking for money. They got into an argument and he kicks her out. Here there is the problem: As The Chef has a bad memory, it's not clear whether the girl was paid for the time or not but I guess she was. The next day, a Fri. night apparently, The Chef is at a friend's house. The Loyal is invited as well but he decides to stay home and does his studies and job searching. Later the night he decides to take a shower and while in there, a big Caucasian guy, the pimp, breaks into the apartment and finds him naked in the shower! He takes him out and insists on getting money. The Loyal explains that he was not the guy who allegedly didn't pay the girl and says that he would call The Chef. He then does and at his friend's place, The Spring Maker(!), who picks up, of course. Now The Loyal is embarrassed to tell him what had happens and the friend does not transfer the message properly for whatever reason, perhaps because he has refused his invitation and The Loyal has to hang up. Now the guy forces him to go to a bank machine and get the money. Here's another unbelievable part of the story. The pimp takes The Loyal to a nearest ATM and have him take money out of his account! Imagine a busy Fri. evening in freaking busy Downtown and you take someone to an ATM and he does nothing and no one suspects anything! I think The Loyal exaggerated about what happened and I know he's a very coward guy but still find it very hard to believe that he gave money to the pimp.
Once I later saw him he worked for Zellers, a department store which is closed now and was part of The Bay family. He told me that he was roommates with Filipino girls and they kicked him out! They said to him that they wanted to have someone of their own to be their roommate but he didn't tell me if they kicked him out because he called then peasant or the reason was simply what they stated!
The Loyal had another trouble with one other residence which I barely remember but I know that through The Chef that once he lived in D. I. (Drop-In Center for the homeless) and Salvation Army, both in the east side of Downtown Calgary. The last time I saw his, he was studying(!) for his Citizenship test and he was out of work. He told me that he had worked in Fort McMurray but had been laid off. I was working at the time. He practically begged me to get him a job in the company I was working for. I honestly have never had such intention, especially for a person with that type of personality. At the time he had bought his home but rented it and was living in a rental!
(Photo: Isfahan is considered one of the attractions of Iran and honestly if you want to see a nice place, purchase unique handicrafts and eat good food, Isfahan is the place. Just make sure to pick up the right time of the year)

Monday, June 11, 2018

The Japo

Japo is the term that Americans invented(!) to refer to the Imperial Japanese Army (大日本帝國陸軍) soldiers during the so-called Second World War (which actually was a war between different Colonists because they had not been able to agree on how to divide the world in between themselves and suck every drop of blood out of the rich but not able to use their own potentials and resources). That's what Americans do. Not that there's anything wrong with that. They either give a thing a new name or alter that. Look at Pizza(!) for example. They invented this disgusting Hawaiian Pizza(!) which has Pineapple! Where in the world someone add something extra sweet to a salty, meaty and bready meal? In America!
Just to add to that they called Germans, Kraut which is a derogatory term like the other one but I'm just using this term to refer to this crazy guy who works at the same place that I do.
This Japanese fella, when I met him, I thought that'd be interesting because I always have been amazed by the Japanese culture. Their movies, Fujiyama, fast trains, Samurais, Kurosawa, you name it. But it didn't take long to me to realize that I was wrong. He did (and still does) just a little Japanese inside of him. He's more of a parentless, stupid, careless, senseless, insensitive, dolt. This guy was born in Canada from Japanese parents and if you might know the Japanese were considered evil during the so-called Second World War. What the Government of Canada at the time did was evacuating them from British Columbia where the majority of them lived and settled them at other places including or perhaps mostly in Alberta.
City of Lethbridge, I know, that has a Japanese population and they are (I think) in potato business. This guy who is in his mid-50's and has never been married (according to him) was born and raised in a small town in British Columbia (which I don't name it for privacy reasons) and then moved to Calgary. He says his parents were held during the so-called WWII and sent to camps. He perhaps means the places that the Government had control over them.
He eats like a freaking nasty pig. Every garbage that he can find around the workplace, he grabbed with is claws(!) and starts pulling it apart by his beak(!) and eats it! He makes sots of noise and slurping during his meals while playing a stupid video game on his telephone like a 13-year-old with the sound all volume up! The funny thing was when he told me that he had never been married in his miserable and disgusting life! I was going to say: Who the hell would marry you, you freaking idiot! People cannot even stand you for 5 minutes! Imagine you're on a date with this moron, sitting in café and sipping to your drink, whatever it is. On a nice sunny spring day like today, people on the patio can here him! He also is very aggressive and load when he's talking.
He talks loudly and too much when he's with customers and despite the fact that he's good at his job, which is not a surprise by the way after 20 something years(!) he bullshits too much mainly because he's a lonely man, most likely at home and tries to get as much talk as he could during the working hours. As soon as he sees a girl he runs like a loyal dog and starts his stupid joke! And seems that he cannot control himself! He even does that to the boss's wife who occasionally shows up there! You should listen to him when he calls her. He tone is completely is different. Despite his long service in the company he still is a donkey when it comes to work with one specific department and 9 out of 10 times screws up the freaking idiot. At time he admits and some other times he aggressively defends his stupid act but we have to work with him.
One week, and I'm giving some detail here which may lead to find him who he actually is by some(!), there was a plan to have a barbeque. A barbeque machine was purchased and sat at a corner quietly for a few day. Here's when the stupidity shows itself very interestingly! Just one day, yes one day before the planned day, which had been announced proudly, this f*cking donkey was appointed the job of making the barbeque machine ready. He took the pieces out and started the assembly. I happened to walk by when he was almost half way through I asked him if he would be able to finish the job by the end of the day and it was a few minutes past 10. He gave me a quick dirty look and said it would be finished in an hour! Fine. I said and left. He was right. He was done in an hour but the machine was useless! Why? Because that was a natural gas barbeque and what they had was Propane cylinder! None of the freaking idiots knew what he was doing! The idiot who placed the order didn't even bother looking at the detail of the item and bought it and the stupid donkey he spent two hours on putting the pieces together didn't look at neither the box nor the connection hose! He even didn't put the shit he had created aside. left everything including the box, foams, bags, etc. and left for home!
This week I sighed when I didn't see him. He has taken the whole week off and happily it started last Fri. Therefore I neither have to see his ugly, disgusting face, nor listen to his teenage videogame or stupid flirting with customers!
(Photo: Imperial Japanese Army soldier with the national flag at the time. As everyone knows the sunrays were removed later on, possibly after Japan was defeated after the so-called WWII. The Brave once had an idea of what Americans did to Japanese, dropping tow Hydrogen Bomb on two major cities, was necessary or, I quote " the bastards would continue advancing in all eastern Asia and everywhere else! " and I said " had the idea " because some of the thing that he used to say had been changed. I'm getting off the subject but I would like to ask him about this when I meet with him next time. Anyways Letter from Iwo Jima is a great movie that shows actually how these soldiers fought during Pacific War days)

Tuesday, June 05, 2018

Lowering the Costs

With a shity job which demands too much and pays a little, and not only that, it makes me as tired as a dead man, this month I decided to lower my costs by switching to a Pre-paid Plan through a different service provide. I left Freedom Mobile, which I started disliking it a few months after I got it and rejoined Bell Mobility which I had a service a few years earleir.
Pre-paid mobile service is mostly for the people who are not approved by the service providers, I was told but I don't mind that. I have never had data plan on my phone, I don't make or receive many calls and I barely use text messages or any other services that people use on daily basis. So I came to this conclusion as why I have to pay $26.71 (tax included) every freeking month while I can pay as low as $15 (tax excluded). The guys at the booth tried to stop me(!) from getting the service and told me that was not good but I'm going to give it a try for a month or two to see how it works and then decide whether I like to keep it or change it.
(Photo: Bell Mobility coverage map for the country. Different colours mean different type of services but I don't care because they do not include me, probably, most of them!)