Alcohol-related Dementia

I and The Chef used to hang out a lot. Not anymore. I remember he used to disappear and then reappear after a while! It indicated that something had happened to him, something usually big. it was mostly getting beaten after being drunk or intoxicated by drugs! He ended up in a hospital and spent about a week or two there, I think, the last time! He couldn't recall what had happened and despite the fact that I was going to help him to file a report with CPS, by going, hopefully through the local security cameras, we eventually didn't realize how he got beaten so badly which required him to spend that much time under care and go under surgery! There's, however, no doubt, that alcohol was the cause of the incident.
What's surprising is the dementia, if it's the right medical term to use, that he has been suffering from. It's so bad that he cannot remember parts of his life! I used to go to his place in 15th Ave., SW, and then he moved to a place in Bridgeland and then eventually northeastern quadrant of the city where mostly is inhabited by the (Eastern) Indian and Africans but he can't remember the Bridgeland part and he doesn't either remember we used to hand out at the 15th Ave. place! 

It's hard to leave someone whom you have spent so much time with, unless you replace them. That is why when I stopped calling him back in Dec., it was not easy and still is not but I'm going to hold myself back.

(Picture: A beautiful[!] multi-vehicle collision. I took this, according to the available data, in June of 2023, on my way back home. The Chef was once involved in a single-vehicle[!] collision which resulted in losing his vehicle and basically the driving privilege, mainly because the cost of insurance went up so high that he could simply not afford. Over $7000 annually for an old 90's vehicle!)

Trip to NV at Trump's Time (4): Drinking Water in Las Vegas

Most of the things you need during a Las Vegas Trip are expensive and people try to cut all the possible corners during such a trip. Something that I never understood, at first: If you can't afford a trip why the hell start in the first place?! The answer came to me quickly: Where do you think all these photos people take with their phones are going? Social media profiles! I saw people who were taking pictures from the hotel lobby's ceiling!
For me the only issue, at first was water. Not many people drink water when they go to Las Vegas. They go to Las Vegas because they don't drink water! There're so many different alcoholic beverages! I never bought $7 or $20 bottles of water but I paid nearly $4 for one until I checked the net and realized that the water in the city of Las Vegas is totally safe to drink. So if you're at a hotel all you need to do is turn a tap on and fill up your glass and if you need ice, every hotel provides that for free. 

A Pack six water bottle is sold for US$ 8.99 in a local store on Las Vegas Boulevard and it's not drinkable yet. You need to keep it in the fridge for quite a while and I don't know if many hotels have refrigerators or not. I don't think mine had

I'm not being a cheapskate. I'm saying the hotels hike the price of everything to compensate for the slow season and selling a bottle of water for an unjustified price pushed me and many more toward the local businesses within walking distance. I paid US $35 for parking my rental in Caesar Palace parking! Am I allowed to walk for 10 min. to a CVS Pharmacy to get a bottle of water or a chocolate bar for a reasonable price?! I will mention about the hotel in a separate post. 

(Photo: Disgusting cheapskate in Wal-Mart and Salvation Army attire carrying a case of Soda Pops in Caesar Palace Hotel. His daily lunch would not cost more than McDonald's and supermarket frozen meals. I really hope he sees this picture so later he has something to discuss with the ugly animal who is with him!)

Prostitution in Canada

Prostitution is illegal in Canada. It is indicated clearly in the Criminal Code of Canada and I will include the related part below later but let me tell you about my experiences(!) with that. Don't me judgmental and angry. I just wanted to tell the stories of more than 20 years ago when I first came to Canada and it used to be a different country, a different society. 

When I came to Calgary, I stayed in Downtown after staying at The Brave's for about six month and mostly hung out in the Downtown area and the majority of time with my buddy, Kevin. P. whom is no longer my friend. We had an argument back in 2005 and we haven't talked for nearly 20 years and never will. 

There's this Tim Horton's at the corner of 5 Ave. and 4 St., SW where we used to hang out, many days. Tim Horton's was a different place at that time. They had cakes. They owned by a Canadian company, you name it. It's turned really bad and I never spend a dime anymore.  I remember one day we were heading that way and it was a little bit and we were new. I approached one of the girls and asked her the address. She was a tall, blonde beautiful girl and answered my question very politely. That aside, just a block or two away to the west, there was this corner that the prostitutes would hang out. When I say that, I always feel bad for the women who have to do that because deep down we all know that no one would want to do that, unless they absolutely have to. It's a difficult topic to cover but I want to point at it, briefly, the question would be, who would want, or has to become a prostitution. I think movie Monster tells us a little bit about that: The girls who were deprived of parents attention and love and grow in poverty. That's one reason. Addiction is another one. Some get hooked on some really drugs and can't quit and have to have a job which pay them a lot and quick. Losing job and lack of support is another reason. I knew someone who resort to a sort of service during Corona-Virus pandemic because she had lost her job and had no one to support her. There might be other reasons.

Let us see what the CCOC says about this issue, in 286.1:

(1) Everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration, or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration, the sexual services of a person, is guilty of :

(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years and a minimum punishment of:

(i) in the case where the offence is committed in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a park or the grounds of a school or religious institution or that is or is next to any other place where persons under the age of 18 can reasonably be expected to be present, (A) for a first offence, a fine of $2,000, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $4,000, or (ii) in any other case, (A) for a first offence, a fine of $1,000, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $2,000; or

(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day, or to both, and to a minimum punishment of, (i) in the case referred to in subparagraph (a)(i), (A) for a first offence, a fine of $1,000, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $2,000, or (ii) in any other case,

(A) for a first offence, a fine of $500, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $1,000.

Section (2) of this clause talks about the same offence when it is committed while involving a person under the age of 18. We're going to scape that. 

Everything has become computerized and on the web now! Most of the massage places, where the Chinese stores are located, are a cover for prostitution or services in that range. I remember the previous mayor had a plan to clean the area up but it never materialized and now they are there. This is the oldest career in the history they say and no matter how you push people, they always come back from another side. 

(Photo: The Tim Horton's subject of this post, partially. We used to hang out in her at the time that Canada had not yet been invaded by these many border jumpers and freeloaders!)

Proactive Vs. Reactive

 Three of the concepts of Quality Control and Quality Management Systems, the areas that I consider myself to be an expert (I know you're laughing! It's fine) are:

1) Be proactive rather than reactive,

2) Cause and effect, and

3) Root Cause Analysis.

None of them are new concepts and have been introduced many years ago. You would be able to see some of them, if I refer to Juran's Quality Handbook, although some consider that old! My point here is I've barely seen any of these concepts to be used and implemented anywhere, especially in West where they originate from although the main source is Japan and then the Americans transferred them to the US and tailored them to use for their own. Maybe it is seen in a few high tech industries.  

I'm not going to teach the basics of the above but I'm going to refer to a recent accomplishment in Calgary that the authorities (perhaps the Government of Albert and AHS) are so proud of that and it has a long name (Perhaps they think it would be more effective and impressive at the same time): Arthur J. E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Center.

They have spent millions on this facility but would that be necessary, if instead, they looked into the causes of cancer and tried to eliminate them, or not?! 

I'm no physician but we all know that eating habits could contribute a lot. Do they not? Look at what people, including children, of course, eat here. There's no doubt that other factors are involved and I don't know what they could be. Some of them can be controlled but some can't. I don't know if genes are a factor but I think I read somewhere, that they are. The other factor is air pollution. So which ones can we control? And why do they not? Or perhaps I shall say why they have not being controlled? is this not why nations elect a government? To do the right thing for them? To make the right decisions on their behalf? It seem not! Everything is about money. There're people who benefit from this multimillion dollar facility and now they have it. It is not important to them whether sick kids are cured or not. It matters that this building is there and it provides its services so the business is going on! 

(Photo: The kids cancer center is built next to Foothills Medical Center in west side of Calgary)

Checking Village Brewery

The Chef and I were in the city and he suggested to check Village Brewery out. It's a small bistro and brewery, of course, in a commercial/industrial part of the city, about 10 minutes drive to Downtown. It was his suggestion/his money, so I didn't object. The only thing that one should consider in cases like this to be careful with him not drinking too much! 

Village Brewery has a nice and clean environment and at the time we were there it was almost full for a weekday night. We ordered two Blacksmith, I think 20 Oz. beer and two small bowls of nuts, each cost a total of $16! I had not had any alcohol for nearly 14 months but was not too impressed by it. Then I realized something else: The glass stuck! I think this guys try to save money by not washing the glasses and dishes and only rinse them or wipe them with a piece of cloth! I didn't say anything but the smell was overwhelming! The Chef didn't notice that and I didn't want to ruin his fun, especially because he was about to get drunk after half of the glass was done! The bowl of nuts was good, despite the fact that we know they have no respect for the customers' well being and do not follow health and sanitation regulations! In fact one could be full for the night with that beer and nuts. The waiter approach when I had the first glass and The Chef asked him to bring the second round. It was the second glass that screwed him up! He was already drunk at the beginning of it. So was I but not to that extent. The interesting thing is the effect of alcohol on someone who drinks every night (The Chef) and someone who only drinks socially! We finished the second round and the place was getting empty but there were still a few customers. The Chef asked me to order food! Now he was out of his conscious, I would say! I took him to bathroom and ordered two Brisket Sandwiches for us and the third beer for him.  

He was so drunk that when he was going to the restroom, he left his wallet open on the table! The sandwich tasted good but who knows what they had done in the back! It was time to good but was not easy to make him understand we need to get the hell out and I didn't want to get to the point of dragging him out! The entire visit cost $65 plus the tips, in two separate bills, as there's yet no tax but the tips was high! I think he paid 15% on the first and 30% on the second! So the total charge was $79.7 which was too much! I could each for two whole week with that amount! 

Now we're in the car and ready to go and I have to rush to the Safeway pharmacy in downtown to get my medicine and he says he wants to get a bottle of wine! We go back in and the girl says their wine costs $30 and convince us to buy one from a liquor store. We get the hell out, and I drive to the pharmacy. Luckily the pharmacy is open and I get the medicine. The funny thing is the pills are for my gout and the only reason I could drink those two tall glasses of beer is they serve a bottle of water with that! The doctor has told me as long as I drink two glasses of water after ever glass of beer, I can drink that. This, obviously is to dilute the alcoholic beverage. I survived that because I do not drink regularly or I would not have been able to sleep throughout the night! 

I drove him to a Co-op liquor store on our way back to his place and he got two bottles of booze and we finished our night. 

(Photo: The brewery has a very nice atmosphere. You can see the bottles of water and cans of beer in the cooler. I blurred the face of the staff in case they want to play games! This was shortly before we left so most of the customer's had already left but there were still a few, behind us and one couple in the picture, of course)

Alcohol Addicted Losers!

I met a lady, I guess it was nearly two years ago, in one of Lina's stores in Calgary. Tall, slim, blond, blue eyes. Typical Caucasian desirable woman. She was promoting a product and naturally was nice because obviously she was trying to get more customers. I had a little chat with her which somehow was directed to travelling and she told me she was in this country. When I asked her when she had traveled, she said in her youth, which must have been at least 35 years ago! 
I personally believe if you travel somewhere and that was more than 10 years ago, it barely counts as a recent trip and should not even mention it! For example I've traveled to Germany twice: Once in 2008 and once in 2014. The closest one was 10 years ago! That's why I'm going again. If you traveled somewhere in your teenage years while you were broke and had to sleep with 32 other people in a shelter-like place and ate cheap food, now that you're 55 you must recall that as a nightmare! However, this is common within Westerners. They work low pay jobs in summer to save some money to go to these cheap ass countries such as Toilet-Thailand, nasty pig sty Laos, Full-of-cockroaches Cambodia or the second biggest whorehouse of the world, Vietnam! and shit-holes like that just to take a few pictures, drink cheap alcohol and sleep with a few more guys and gals! 
The fraudulent people of those shit-holes take as much advantage as they can: Just go see what the Government of Canada Travel Advisory says about these filthy toilets that I named three of them above as well as, some of the writings available in the web. A recent example of that are the losers who died in Laos! Just read that again: Laos! Can you think of a nastier place than southeast Asia full of worms, cockroaches and sewer rats in the shape of human beings. What happened to those motherless losers is they died of drinking Ethanol! Wake up from the stupidity and get yourselves together. Your lives seem to be meaningless without alcohol, drugs, the stupid social media, fast food and casual sex! You have no shame and no principles. 

(Photo: A view over Munich, Germany around Olympic Park. I took this back in Oct. 2014)

Out after 10 Years (19): Lessons Learnt

The recent trip to Japan was great. I put it over the top, over my trip to Bavaria, Germany, perhaps because I saw more places and stayed longer, not that Germany isn't great! However, I made a few mistakes which I would like to list them here, as a reminder to myself, as I'm going there again next year(!) and whoever is travelling soon:
1) Book your JR Pass before the trip, if you're going places, and pick it upon your arrival. I traveled more than 2,900 km (roughly 1,800 miles). It helped a lot. Besides I care about comfort. 
2) Do not haul too much. It will hurt and you won't enjoy your trip. Space is limited, particularly in hotels. When I was leaving Tokyo for the southern part of country, I had three baggage! My big pack, which was not heavy and distributed alongside my length(!), computer bag, this was a mistake as I intended to stay in touch with work and that's a heavy one and a full bag of purchases, including souvenirs! 
3) Leave most of your shopping to the last day, if you're traveling around the country like I did, or you'd haul a lot. Since the majority of flights land in and depart from Narita, you can assign the last day to shopping. 
4) be prepared for the food that you're not used to. I don't eat Rice, Noodles, most of the seafood or perhaps I shall say I don't eat seafood every day, White Bread or anything made of White Flour, raw fish and I basically starved most of the time during my trip! I need to have a plan for the second trip!
5) Have a second mobile phone with you to purchase a SIM Card in the airport. You'd be paralyzed without it! Bear in mind that the Government of Japan does not give you the permission to use that SIM Card for making phone calls! You'd be only allowed to use its internet feature. There were a few times that I needed to use a phone and I couldn't. Public phones are available throughout the country because unlike North America nasty, money grubbing, greedy telecommunications cannot disconnect them! So you still would be able to make a phone call but it's a bit inconvenient. 
6) Dress is very important. I hate heat and can cope with cold easily. I also hate shorts, baseball caps and short-sleeve shirt, but that's the national costume of Westerners! So, if you like to dress like that, go ahead but check the weather before you leave and take the appropriate clothing. 
7) A good camera and film recorder are both must. My camera took a few good pictures but it is old and has had an issue for the past 8 years or so! I should've replaced it or fixed it and did none. I took some good pictures but could've taken much better ones, had I had a good camera. A Clip recorder is important as well. The majority of people use their mobile phones these days. If you're happy with that and or on budget, go for it. You also can buy the best cameras in the world in Japan. However, if you do not know much about cameras, you'd need to go through lots of translation, perhaps using Google Lens, to find out about the features of the camera as the manuals are in Japanese. You might be able to find the manual in PDF format online too. 
If I remember something else, I'll update.

(Photo: This beautiful citrus tree was seen on my way to the resting place of the great Tushiro Mifune in Kanagawa. I took this photo with my Motorola g play, my second mobile phone. If an object or seen requires adjustments, a camera like that would absolutely be useless!)

Out after 10 Years (17): Other Beverages in Japan

Vending machines are everywhere in Japan. Even in small towns you can see them on narrow streets. Is that because of the hot and humid weather that Japan has for a number of months or companies simply intend to make more money? These machines sell different types of water (mineral, carbonated, flavoured, etc.), juices and maybe alcoholic beverages, as I never paid much attention to the last.

A small vending machine and the first one I saw in my first hotel in Tokyo

Nevertheless what I was looking for was Sake but since I never went to any restaurant for lunch and dinner (I don't think anyone drinks Sake for breakfast!) never had the chance to have any. I only bought a can from a 7-Eleven store and drank it but it was so strong that I couldn't finish it in one sitting. I knew there're different types of Sake and the good quality shall be expensive but never tried to by a high quality from a teal liqueur store or supermarket as they sell alcoholic beverages just like the American ones do. 

(Photo, top: 300 Ml Sake cans in convenient stores are sold for ¥259.6 which is nearly CAN $2.45, It has nearly 14.5% alcohol. Is it not too much?)

Out after 10 Years (11): Coffee in Japan

I didn't know I could find coffee in Japan to that extent. Tea has always been the popular drink in eastern culture: From western Asia, all the way to eastern part of the continent. Now the disgusting Starbucks and McDonald's, both, have branches all over Japan! The prices are ridicules, and the taste is awful, but people go there! 

Coffee has been part of my life for nearly 20 years now. I actually drink too much, at times, but I've recently reduced it to two cups a day and only add 3.25% Milk and most of the time, organic. So, wanting good coffee is natural for me. I buy roasted coffee bean, grind them with a burr mill and brew that. I also bought a good Espresso Maker, but that machine requires patient and precision to produce a good result! So, it's not used very often! 

A coffee at the first hotel that I stay, in Tokyo. I didn't see any difference between the two coffees they offer here and the espresso! Didn't even bother trying the tea! The amount of coffee is seen in the cup and usually is not much more than this anywhere else! 

With that said, I barely found a good coffee in Japan. Their coffee is very strong and there's no milk available and cream is fake, tasteless! A small (which they call it large!) cup of coffee goes for CAN $ 4 and tastes bad, most of the time. I tried one of the major Japanese coffee chains, Dotour and it was not good. A very small piece of pie for CAN $4 and small (large in their view!) same price! So, your coffee and pie will cost you nearly CAN $9 and is mediocre! The cafe is nice, and the people are very nice and helpful as well. They have tried to make really hard to make a nice environment similar to Western cafes, but space is limited in Japan and probably very expensive too! There's no doubt that the Japanese eating culture is way different from the Western's and even mine. That's probably why I didn't enjoy eating and drinking out. In fact, rather than a few times that I went for coffee and breakfast, and I almost got disappointed(!), I never ate out.

(Photo, top: Pies for Japanese people's size! You see the prices. Every Canadian dollar at the time was nearly ¥ 106, at the time)

The Fate of Restaurant Business

I don't eat at McDonald's. I don't think someone at my age should but people do and I think it's how their body is accustomed to. I used to and it was one I was doing physical hard labour. Happily I haven't done that for a long time so the food it's not appealing and all I ate was their breakfast sandwiches.

Nevertheless I stopped at a McDonald's on my way home yesterday I got a medium Orange Juice and ask for a cup of water. The juice costed $2.4, and they gave me water in a tiny, little, small-size cup! And the place was packed! With the economy not doing so well and unemployment on the rise, despite the fast that Bank of Canada reduce borrowing cost, where do average people go to spend their times on weekend? Where is better than McDonald's?! Cheapest place to eat and yet you pay $2.4 for a fake medium-size orange juice! 

There's something else you can do and many do it: You can keep your used cup and go to another location and steal sugary beverages! I saw a tall Canadian guy 17 or 18 did that. I'm sure this can easily be elevated as it technically is theft and there're cameras in the lobby but I think McDonald's make enough money to let a few losers like that steal Coke and Sprite every day! 

(Photo: My expensive medium orange juice. I think if you ordered  using the app, it would be cheaper)

Gondek the Donkey

If you have lived most of your life or are a new generation young fella, you most likely have never heard of Catherine the Great. She ruled the Russian Empire in the 18th century for more than 30 years. She is known as one of the Russian rulers who led the country to become European. But we're not going to talk about her here but we barrow part of her title to assign a new to this idiot who has become the mayor of Calgary, Gondek the Donkey! 

Some people wanted to oust her out of her throne a few months but did not succeeded, mainly because they didn't have enough number of people to support them. They were not even close which I could have seen that. In the country that people are either busy with Alcohol, Marijuana, gambling, their stupid social media profile, who pays attention to an asshole who runs the city the way she wants?! They have enough things to be busy with! Then it came the incident of a main water feeder of the city rapture and water became scarce. Businesses were affected and people were worried about their lawn and little gardens in the backyard. However, I don't think many were worried about the drinking water because not many drink water here! Coffee, Soda, different alcoholic beverages, mainly Beer in summer, disgusting and nasty sugary and caffeine and chemical loaded beverages such as Gatorade and Red Bull-shit(!), are amongst the favorites that people drink on regular bases but that still does not give this stupid, ugly, donkey to tell people to drink Beer instead of water! 

What this pile of stinking crap doesn't understand is apart from religious reasons, many do not and cannot drink Beer! For example I cannot drink this beverage because I suffer from Gout! Many foreigners and elderly as well as kids and infants don't drink Beer and again that doesn't have religious reasons, let alone Muslims and some other cultures followers. The interesting thing is that Muslims who always object to the things that they do not like were all quiet and said nothing to this ugly idiot!

(Photo: The stupid mayor of Calgary poses for a photo in her backyard! Many have fallen in love with her by simply having a glimpse at this Gondek the Donkey's picture!)

On the Road to Recovery

I don't know if you believe in this or not but I have a saying for myself which goes: Once a Loser, Always a Loser! And in that I'm talking about myself! After my separation from my wife, 8 years ago, I never was able to get myself into a meaningful relationship, despite the opportunities and trying. There has been always a problem or an excuse. And will be like that probably until the day I die, unless there's an extraordinary situation! 

With that in mind, I talked to The Chef last Saturday and we ended up getting a couple of nice Fishes and going to my place. Of course I paid for that and I picked him up at his place. He's broke as a homeless but considering all the times that I went to his place and he provided food and booze, this was nothing. 

The fish this time came out very nicely, especially because I was very hungry, I think. We finished two medium sized Salmon but not the top rated ones but not too cheap either. 

The difference this time was the Wine. This was given to me as a Christmas gift by the company. It obviously was not an expensive one, probably $15 or so for a 750 ml bottle but because of its low percentage of alcohol, only 10%, it tasted really fine. A white Zinfandel from California which was a little bit sweet and went down smoothly. 

I do not call The Chef by this name. It's because he's always awesome when it comes to cooking. The nickname, of course, is not known to him. I never use it to call him. Here he has used a mixture of herbs and spices to coat the pieces before they are fried in another mixture! 

My only worry was The Chef getting drunk and get me in trouble but it didn't happened due to the low amount of beverage and being low alcohol. I think he hasn't learnt his lesson yet even after this last time that he almost lost an eye and hasn't been recovered completely but who am I kidding?! Once you're addicted to alcohol or any substance, there's barely any return!

(Photo, top: The glasses contain the nice pink wine)

There's not such a Thing as a Bad Habit

The Chef has this bad habit of drinking for years. He told me once that he developed it in India, where he spent his life more than 10 years or more. He drinks everything: From Beer to different chip Wine, to Vodka but his favorite, recently, is Red Wine because he believes good for him! Drinking has caused him so many problems that he had lost his job, his home and his vehicle but still has not learned! I called him last week to see how he was doing. No response. Then he called a couple of days after that and he said he had had an incident. I assumed he fell off the bicycle or had been hit, considering that he rides his bike to work. 

He said that he had been hospitalized in a this medical center. I went there to see him yesterday. He was laying on a bed with an eye patch! That was when the truth became known: He was drunk and he was beaten up! It was so bad that he was not able to remember if he was riding the bike when he got into, if I may say, altercation, or not! I'm not even able to say if it was an altercation or not because he didn't say anything about beating them! It seams that he was so drunk that they just beat him up to the limit! My assumption is he was drinking with them but since he gets drunk fast and becomes totally unaware of what is going around him, he probably swore at or shoved them and they gave thought him a good lesson! 

He will be 65 at the end of this Feb. but he looks nothing like a man at that age. He still is strong as an ox but not as strong as 5 years ago or before his multiple hospitalization and I'm not talking about this one! 

He have had two major hospitalizations:

1) He got drunk and fell into a hole in the yard of his workplace, a few years ago! I never heard the true story behind this incident but there's no doubt that he did not see the barricades or he could've filed a lawsuit against the employer! He knew it was his fault. So he sucked it up! He was lucky that he didn't go head-first or it could've been something else because no ones knows what happened. He shattered one of his kneecaps!

2) The second time he had been told that he had a heart attack and needed a surgery! That was because of years of eating meat and so much god damn meat! He survived this one too!   

At this point I don't know if he will lose that eye or not but he said that they were working on it for a while and he had sever pain. He seemed calm, though! 

(Photo: The medical clinic that The Chef is currently hospitalized in it)

Worst Christmas Ever

It's been one week since Christmas and I'm still sick! We were off work at noon the previous Fri. (not yesterday) so everyone could spend enough at home to get ready for the big night. Not that there was not already enough time available! Did I care? No! Because for me it meant going all the freaking way back and add to the top of that being sick, it didn't help much! 
I was so sick that I have not been for years: Soar throat, body aching all over. Could barely move. Spent most of the time during Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, you name it, at home and in the damn bed. Could not eat much and still have an awful taste in my mouth. Eclair took me and one of the ladies to a lunch where I only ordered a bowl of soup and in this era you know what a restaurant bowl of soap means! The amount that I'd taste to see if I made it right, if I made it. There was no appetite and there still is no appetite. We went to a local Indian restaurant for lunch yesterday and same story. The food was good and I enjoyed it but not to the extent that I usually do! 

I don't know how I contracted it but that was not what you want to have at Christmas time. I eventually went to a local pharmacy and got a pack of Tylenol and a bottle of gargling medicine! Cost me a total of $30 or more for these two pieces of sh*t because an a**hole whom I do not know who they were, had been sick and came to work to make others sick. And I don't know how many time people have been told that they should stay in the pigsty that they usually stay at(!) when they're sick but they don't listen. 
Now I have about 3 days off, I need to study for a damn test, another one(!), in the 8th. BigHead has already failed it. Got only nearly 60% he said. Warning! 

(Photo, top: The bowl of soap that was served to me in a local restaurant in central Alberta. I will write about the restaurant later, if I visit again because I would not like to judge a restaurant based on one visit only. Photo, right: One of the top people in the company gave this to me as a Christmas gift after asking me if I drank wine and what sort it would be. I didn't want to disappoint him so I said I did and mentioned: anything but Red Wine as I have gout. It's a regular wine you probably can buy in any store for under $20, most likely. It says it's from California and contains Sulphites which is very alarming! I haven't touched it yet but a few options have already come to my mind: 1] Re-gifting it. 2] Giving it to The Chef which is basically the same with this difference that he probably knocks one off every night and he lost his job as a result of over drinking and being drunk at work. So it would not make a difference for him! 3] Using it as a paint thinner! This last one is from Seinfeld! It's just a joke. I'm not a painter!)

The 2023 Christmas Party

This years Christmas party was held a bit early. When I say this year's it doesn't mean that there was a last year! The previous work did not hold a Christmas party or if they did, I was not invited. I didn't want to attend first and then I was told that it would not have a good impression on the top management. The party was held in a local bar which I would not name it here because despite the good atmosphere and the good service, the food was very bad. I don't want to ruin their reputation. When I got there, the majority of the people had already arrived. I said hi to a few and headed to the bar. I had to add that I had not eaten anything but a couple of cookies since the night before(!) to be able to enjoy the dinner as much as I was able to! Wrong! I had drank several glasses of water and the last couple, in the hotel, was lemon water. So felt so weak that I ate one of those cookies that I mentioned earlier, in the hotel. In the bar I ordered a double Vodka on Ice and that did the job on the empty stomach! I had my eyes on a very pretty but crazy girl: tall and slim, fair completion, pale, incredibly beautiful and lovely hair. She once waved at me at work and I got that as a sign! There was not any other signs(!) after that rather than a few ordinary hellos. I approach her and she was as beautiful as she had been and after saying hello and exchange of a few words I asked her something that I do not remember and added the question of whether her boyfriend knew. She said that there was not such a thing as a boyfriend. I considered that another sign and that in fact was contrary to what Éclair had told me. He has everyone's profile! I also remember that once a few weeks ago she had indicated that she was sick and her mom took take of her. With that in mind I indicated to her how lovely she looked but I didn't get a positive response. The food was served shortly after that and I have to stress that it really sucked! They had 

1) Mix steamed vegetables. It was completely bland!

2) Sliced Turkey. Dry and bland!

3) Salad. Did not look very appealing and I was starving! So I ignored them.

4) Brisket. Chewy and rubbery! The different dressings would not help. Besides I believe that a little seasoning shall be enough to make your meat enjoyable but when it is not cooked well, you may add as much sauce and the end result would be the same. 

The funny thing is they have Mashed Potato and something else called Stuffing! Mashed Potato had the same issue as the other food and what the hell is the Stuffing doing in a plate next to others? Shouldn't it be inside the Turkey?

The Brisket was so bad that I resorted to Seinfeld approach to rid of one big bite! Jerry is invited to a meal in an episode called The Wink and mutton is served. He either does not like it or like my brisket finds in so hard to chew! He would then spit them in these nice blue hand-made napkins and would stuff them in his jacket's pockets! In one case I did exactly that with this difference that I jumped off the table to run to the trash bin in the bar! 

Prize calling started after the miserable dinner and I didn't get anyone which was fine. My target was that girl but she did not respond well. the rest of the night was spent on drinking the same damn thing and talking to different people. The very interesting thing about this party was that I was introduced to too many people and too many people came to me and started talking, all either from the long-time working people of the company who knew my name, already and they were all very nice, asking me if I had a good time and other things. Once a guy came and started talking to me and said that he was the owner of the pub! He was talking like for 20 minute and I think he was half drunk but he was saying all the good things and so. I can't understand why the owner of the bar and also his wife shall attend a company party regardless of anything that they might have!

Another highlight of the party were two women whom I think they had been paid to be there but I don't know if they would eventually provide any other services to anyone. I realized that one of the top managers whom his wife was not there, spent a lot of time with them but it didn't go past hugging but they were all drunk and didn't know what exactly they were doing. I think they were both married and texting their husbands to come and get them from a nearby town. I think I was the first one that I chatted with them but then they went with the dancing gang and despite a few times that we interacted briefly, there was no other connection. I left shortly after the music ended but had difficulty sleeping most of the night. The bed was not comfortable and the room was too hot but my stomach and everything else in that area was not hurt.

(Photo: This blurry screen shot shows Jerry and Elaine at a table waiting for the host. Jerry is holding one of the famous napkins)

Japanese Food and Sake at Mikado

Now that I have been working this job for about 1 month and a half, I have worked with this (East) Indian fella who seems to be a reasonable person for quite a long time. I'm going to call him Éclair for the sake of easiness! He recommended to visit one of the suppliers so I can have a better understanding of their processes and consequently their products, a few weeks ago and it finally materialized this week. 

We left work in a way to be able to be in a restaurant, not too close to the supplier's facility, though, by lunch! Why a restaurant? I have no idea!  We could've simply gone to the company's facility and return to work but he wanted to have lunch. For that he had invited two other people from another branch! I don't know if he has some extra money from the company that he needs to spend within a specific time or what but we went there anyway: Mikado.

It's a nice restaurant with Japanese objects here and there for decoration. The waitresses are dressed in traditional Japanese costume although they might not be Japanese! Our waitress was a Filipino young lady who looked Japanese, a bit but I saw another waitress who had the beauty of a Japanese girl: Round face, fair completion, dark silky hair, beautiful eyes, everything that a pretty Japanese woman has. 

Since I was a guest I decided to try Sake for the first time, because I didn't have to pay! Sake is served both cold and warm but since it was not a very cold day, I decided to try a cold version. I think it was a 2 Oz. serve that I ordered. Not having any previous experience with Sake I can't tell how real it was but it had a completely different taste and affect from any other alcoholic beverages that I have had so far. It was good. I was expecting a little Rice taste but it was not there but the feeling came through shortly after the last sip and it was strong but I stopped there, despite the urge. The food was good and filling for the price, I'd say. I got a plate of different pieces and a small bowl of a sort of Soup, called Miso. The menu could not be entirely Japanese because there were many meals or parts of some of the meals that they had Avocado in them and I don't think Avocado is a native vegetable or fruit of Japan but I guess I will find out when I go there! The Soup tasted good and I would go for the second bowl but I didn't. I think I ate a little too fast because one of the guys told me, jokingly, that I was hungry! I told him that I had not have breakfast! 

The restaurant is decorated with items to resemble a Japanese atmosphere

It appeared that dessert has no place in Japanese eating culture because unlike most of restaurants, mostly Western I should probably say, there was no mentioning of dessert, not even tea which has a special place in Japanese cuisine ,I think. When the bill (check) came I think the total for the four of us was about $108, and some change, maybe, which is not bad considering we were all full, especially me! 

We said goodbye to the fellas and headed to the supplier's facility. This does not have anything to do with the title of this post but because it was the main reason for this trip and also it was a productive visit and an interesting one at the same time, I mention it here: We're there at the company and upon our arrival we're greeted by this very energetic and smiling fella who happened to be our host. We're sitting and talking about the aspects of our project and somehow the discussion was directed to hiking by him. Éclair, at this very moment, that he finished the word " Hiking " pointed at me! indicating that I was the hiker. We briefly exchange ideas about hiking until he said that he had done a hike in Costa Rica. I asked him if it was safe there. he said that Costa Rica was always safe (Bullshit! I checked the Government of Canada Travel Advisory, a very useful website and it say it totally is not safe, similar to most Latin/Central American shitty countries!) and he added that it was a very tall mountain, I think over 12,000' which is close to 4000 m. I asked him how long it took him to summit. He said he could not remember because he was in his 20's! He is now in his later 50's or so! Or at least that is how he looks! That was the lamest and stupidest bragging that I have ever heard from someone in my life, even worse than some of the bragging that mostly (East) Indians try!

(Photo, top: My bowl of Miso Soup. I have no idea how close it was to a real soup that one would serve in Japan but it was really good)

Training Day (1)

I attended the first day of the training yesterday. Not so impressed. Regardless of the fact that I was not in the list, which could have been my own fault, the course was shit! 75 pages were covered in a day. The day had been scheduled from 08:30 to 04:30, with two 15-minute and one half-an-hour lunch break. While all the breaks were given, the class was ended at 15:20 or so. The topic: Mostly bullshit! It was so bad that even the instructor indicated parts that we, the students, would not have to study! I spent the entire afternoon studying and doing home assignments and even got up early to cover more. Not so productive and we're going to have an exam today which will be taken into account for our final grade.  
My work buddy, a not very friendly fella suggested to go to a local Chinse restaurant. I agreed. Not that I like Chinse food. It's because everything around is just as bad. Paid some $18 for a plate of pieces of something which was supposed to be Beef and large pieces of Broccoli and White Onion, drowned in a thick brown sauce! I think Broccoli and Onion were fine, as long as you discarded the layer of the sauce. The meat, not so sure! I'd rather not to name the business because some people might find my writing offensive and a bad publicity for the restaurant. Big Head, that's what I call my work buddy, paid a little more than $19 for a combination of a small bowl of soup and a big tray of different pieces of food and Rice! Being from a poor country and having struggled his whole life, according to him, he ate all of the meat pieces, regardless of what they were and left the vegetable cuts and Rice left! The Rice looked awful from where I was sitting, and I don't blame him. The funny thing is he even didn't finish the soup and half of his can of Soda! 
Imagine this: Chinese food + Chinese bowl of soup + Soda. I don't think that will make a good combination! So, in a nutshell everything has been bad so far: Food, the course, the place that we are staying, and the funny thing is some of the geniuses are trying to find out if this instructor who is from Ontario, could stick around to provide another training for them! 
I, if I survive this, will certainly talk to the company to send us somewhere else for the next course, as I know that what the plan is.

(Photo: This meal looks better than it was! It was socked in a type of nasty sauce but I'm still alive. The results will be known later!)  

Coffee versus Gasoline

Eating out is part of Western Culture which has been spread to the other parts of the world. I don't remember even once that I had my breakfast anywhere rather that home, before immigration. We ate breakfast at work and it was quite fun. Every day one person would bring something but there are only a few days in a month that we would arrange for that. Here unless it's a weekend and barely, no one eats breakfast at home. Long lines in the morning at Tim Horton's and McDonald's, the two main breakfast places in Canada, is seen every morning. People spend hundreds of dollars every month. The major part of breakfast here is coffee and it's price has gone up like everything else's in the past year or so. 

I have reduced my outside coffee intake but if I want a coffee, I will go to a McDonald's, usually. My regular size of coffee is medium which is a 16 Oz. cup., if we trust what McDonald's claim! Oz., or Ounce is an imperial unit for measuring volume. One ounce equals to approximately 0.03 Liters, a metric unit for measuring volume, which is not used much here in Canada except for gasoline which the way it's used is funny! When you go to a gas station to pump, you won't say you like to purchase 20 Liters of, for example, gasoline. You say you would need $20 worth of gasoline! Why? That's how the system has been set! 

Going back to McDonald's coffee, a medium size coffee is 16 Oz, which equals to 0.45 liter and now I think it's $1.79 and a 0.05% tax is added that to where I live, in Alberta and it goes up to $1.88, although I'm sure I paid more the last time I bought a cup. If we consider a medium coffee is $1.88, including tax (in Alberta), it's way more expensive than gasoline!!

Average price of gasoline in Alberta is nearly $1.41 for a litter now, which is said is less expensive than other provinces. Here you see why companies such as McDonald's make millions of dollars! They rob people blindly! 

Less than a liter of coffee cost $1.88 and one liter of gasoline cost $1.41!! You are telling me it cost less to extract oil, transfer it to refinery, run it through a process to make gasoline and then transfer it to a gas station in a city, than making a damn cup of coffee??!!

(Photo: McDonald's so-called muffins and Donuts. Must be one of the healthiest and most delicious ones amongst all in the world!)

The party will soon be over

High cost of living in every aspect of life has been everyone's talk for the past year or so. Perhaps I should not say everyone. Most of the people would sound correct. I have been spending excessively on unnecessary things for too long, shortly after I got this position in last May but the party will be over soon! The project is scheduled to be handed to the client in Aug. and the majority of people will be on their own, including me. Imagine spending just $1.75 on a cup of coffee (which actually is more than that!) every freaking morning, which is the thing that many people do and even more than that and you work only 5 days a week, You would pay $35 a month for the damn beverage which equals to many people's 1 week of transportation. Mine is a little higher than that now that they have increased the Carbon Tax. 

Lewis Smith as Stuckey in a scene of Southern Comfort, a movie from 1984, another all time favorite of mine. The site is not as bad as this but you could get socked up to your ankle if you don't have proper footwear 

There's nothing more to post but misery! The entire month of Mar. was spent on the damn work, mostly outdoor in the temperature range of -20 ℃ to -5 ℃ (-4 ℉ to 23 ℉) where the ground condition resembles the Louisiana swamp in Southern Comfort! I once told one of the client representatives, a fat body, that there are only two challenges on this work-site:

1) Weather

2) People

You don't have to be much experienced or educated! Just cover yourself and avoid idiots and asshole and you'd be fine. That'd be my method to the end of the project. Adding to that is saving on everything possible. The thing is this time that is now available to us, will never be back. I read just recently that Stephen King said in an interview that " Time is like water which is dripping between our fingers! We never are able to hold it!

(Photo, top: Stephen King and his famous novel, The Shining, which a movie of the same name was made by Stanley Kubrick in 1980, one of my all time favorites)

Flashback (37): Captain Morgan

There hasn't been anything but going to that nasty toilet and doing the disgusting job in the past few weeks. I was told that the end of Aug. would be the end of the project. I knew that from a different source but I'm glad that I received confirmation. It's good that I cancelled the European trip! Would have lost, probably, as much as $2000! Not to mention that my $1200 (and the change, as it is repeatedly said in Clear and Present Danger!) cost of the trip has not been refunded! I just have it as a credit! With that in mind, I thought I should write about one of the fellas that I worked with for a while back in British Columbia day from 2008 to 2010, I think it was. 

This was a poor old man who had been retired already and was spending his late 60's on that job to be able to earn ends meet! He had worked hard labour jobs his entire life, including working in Houston, British Columbia which is a small town more than 1000 Km north of the Lover Mainland. He used to bring us the old, almost torn apart, small photographs of himself in those days and telling us stories! Everyone was laughing at the pour guy and making fun of him behind his back, mimicking him, including repeating his story about the time that he went from Lover Mainland to Salmon Arms on one tank of gas with his Toyota Tercel! 

I have to do everything possible to make sure I don't end up like him or anyone in that age range whom I see everyday on the job working outdoor with shabby and dirty cloths, cigarette between their lips, faces not shaped and even washed at times(!) and hairs never combed and groomed!  

He once got mad at me as I interrupted his call while we were at work. Everyone calls their family during the working hours but I was a different fella back then. Beside I was really sick of him being slow and lazy but what could you expect from an old man! He got mad an that was the first time that I heard the term " Piss on you "! He said that he was talking with his daughter who had Leukemia. I feel ready bad now that I know what he was going through.

I saw him a few years later once we were in British Columbia with The Lady. He had held a guy with a sort of special and unique car and was talking to him about that! That's what usually old people do! That was him! That was Captain Morgan! That was the nickname the supervisor had given him. The very same supervisor who later was fired! That is another story which might be told later but many people in Canada are like Captain Morgan. They have to work even past the age of retirement to be able to manage their lives and many are sick. His wife was suffering from Emphysema which was the result of years being exposed to second hand smoke. This also is a bad disease which basically means the patient's lung tissue has been damaged over the years. I hope he's doing okay these days.   

(Photo: Captain Morgan is a 35% alcoholic beverage or to be exact spiced rum. I don't know how popular it is here in Canada and I don't think I have ever tried it but I know it's named after a Welsh privateer)