Stuck in Toilet

What would you do if you ever got stuck in a toilet? There're different ways to deal with this issue but not all lead to freedom and even if they do, you will smell like shit for a very long time. Some will be careful and stay away from unsafe toilets. Some are not wise enough and step in the same shithole again and again. The smartest one is who never steps in a stinking and smelling toilet full of cockroaches and at times, sewer rats. 

I'm not a very smart person but I always stay away from dangerous toilets. This Nov. will be the end of my 25th years of living in Canada and I've never set foot on one of the nastiest and filthiest toilets in the world: Mexico! The closest I've been to the toilet was when and Alphonso went to El Paso, in southern United States and we didn't even try to cross into that country after we were given a warning although we just wanted to see the city of Juarez for a few hours and go back to the other side.

Driving south on 375 or Purple Hurt Memorial Highway and getting close to the City of El Paso on a Sep. evening of 2019

Thousands of Canadians travel to Mexico every year and there always has been a problem but these guys never learn their lesson! Kidnapping, scams, explosions, you name it. Now the problem is bigger. What the hell is the point of locking yourselves in a gated community and only have access to sand and kitchen?! That's what these people do. Lie down on the dirt and get drunk while looking over your shoulder to make sure no one is jumping over the fence to rob you or having an eye on your phone to see if half of the country now is in chaos! Enjoy, you cheap idiots!

(Photo: Sometimes the only way to clear a stuck toilet is flushing. At times flushing doesn't work or if you keep flushing it break. It seems that's the situation in Mexico this time)  

Who Opposes the Deportation of Border-jumpers?

The expulsion of border jumpers and foreign invasive entities (FIE) from the US who mostly enter from Mexico has been the hot topic since that piece of crap, Biden was in the office. Trump tried to expedite that by giving more power to Federal authorities which has resulted in some clashes, mostly, of course, in the southern parts of the country, to name California. The state administration didn't like the Federal intervening! But why?

There are different numbers for FEIs who have entered the US in the past recent years. It ranges from 7 to 11 million! Most of these people get involved in the jobs that Americans won't do. Why? There are two reasons:

1) The multi-million dollar businesses do not want to pay a decent wage that people can have a basic living with that or can't! 

2) Many people are just too lazy to do many of the jobs that refugees would do!

 
Now if ICE can successfully clean up half of the US infected states, the millionaires will have to pay a reasonable wage to the people who legally live and seek a job and they. I don't think they would like it! 

 
Trump is a businessman himself but I don't think many of his employees are from refugees. His hotels and real estate businesses and others, which I'm not familiar with, do hire, I would imagine, mostly legal immigrants and Americans. Some other businesses such as cheap food establishments (disgusting, nasty, vomit-like fast foods, the love of Americans and Canadians!), construction, agriculture (fruit and crop picking), food processing (meat packing plants, chicken farms, fish hatcheries), mostly use refugees and foreign contract workers. Those are the ones who are worried. Cargill Meat Solutions, where I worked when I came to Canada, at the time, had more than 90% of its employees from war refugees, Punjabi cheap labour Indians, Filipinos, Latinos, Africans and Vietnamese. There were a few Caucasian fellas, mostly in the rolls of lead hand and supervisor and a few labourers as well. For Canada, at the time it was easy to get those people. Nowadays, or perhaps I shall say in the past 10 years or so, they contract them out of the Philippines. I quit that job in 2006 while I should have quit much earlier but I got comfortable until I realized what the F---? I shall get myself out of this hole and I did. However knowing the US is about 10 times more populous than Canada, the labour shortage is a bigger issue over there. 

(Photo: CBP, Customs and Border Protection, an organization of Homeland security has the responsibility of guarding the US borders)

Ex Machina

If there's one movie that has freaked me out in the pat decade, that is Ex Machina! I do not watch horror movies the way Westerners do, though. That's part of their culture. They have Halloween which they celebrate that every year passionately and numerous horror movies have been made by Hollywood to keep the business going. Some good and some bad but I can't really judge because I haven't really seen many but what I can tell is the plot is most of the time the same: A person has turned to a Zombie and attacks other! 

If I wanted to name another movie, The Grudge certainly comes to mind. I watched it years ago with P. M. in this " discounted "(!) movie theater in NE Calgary which has been turned to a " discounted "(!) gymnasium now. Let me explain a little bit about these so-called " discounted " businesses in Canada (and perhaps it is the same in the US), before I get to the main point. This is for the people who have not lived in Canada ever. 

Canada is a semi-Capitalist country. It's not as bad as the US but generally it's run by the companies. Corporations control everything, most importantly the consumer price. You buy a pair of jeans from a retailer and if it's a brand name, you pay at least $60. If $35 or more was not profit, they wouldn't sell it to you. Now what happens to the people who have difficulty spending that much, say, they don't have? That's where the " discounted " business steps in. Dollarema is one of them. They copy the popular items and brands and they sell it for much cheaper price. That's how a majority of people live their life in Canada, or they would go partially hungry and dysfunctional! Some of these businesses have a suffix after their name, " for less "! It means you receive the same product/service with much lower quality and much lower price, of course. An example of would be " Fit for less "! It's a gymnasium that people go to to work out.

With that in mind we went to that theater in the notorious neighbourhood of the city, which by the way I didn't know about it (that was P. M.'s specialty!) and watched the movie which to this day freaks me out and can't watch it completely. I mean I have to skip scenes or it would be so uncomfortable. 

The Shining is another type of horrifying movie. It don't have much of stabbing and killing and other similar scenes that you usually see in the Zombie movies(!) but the combination of scenes and the theme with dialogue make it so intense.

Ex Machina is a completely different genre! It's in the new era of internet and apps and everything being controlled by them which is why make it so scary. You're in a house that everything is controlled by a " Smart System "and if that dies for any reason and there's no back up, you're dead too. This shows how fragile our daily life would be, if we carried on with this " app " and " online " thing. The movie has won an Academy Award for its screenplay. This probably is one of a few movies that they really deserved the award they got. The movie basically has three actors/actresses which are fine. The Venezuelan actor though, shines. Despite his looks, he's way away from the typical Latino actor. The Swedish lady is good in her role, although most of the conversation is between the Boss and the invited Employee. I've watched the movie twice and that's because I didn't get the story completely the first time and I will watch again to make sure I haven't missed anything, although it's not very likely. 

(Photo: The brilliant screenplay is the key to success for this movie. In this scene, the guest, the employee, suspects if he's a robot as well and cuts his arm! This was very unexpected and added intensity to the story)

Robert McFarlane (Jul.1937 - May.2022)

The efforts of Robert McFarlane, who died last week at the age of 84 in Michigan, to improve US-Iran relationship in the 80's could be a good subject to cover, although I know 99% of the people in today's world care nothing but their iPhone and social media profile and mostly have not even heard of the fella!

Iran-Iraq War is considered the longest and probably the most devastating war of the 20th century. It started in Sep. of 1980 by Iraqi forces crossing to Iran form west (east of Iraq, of course!) That was the time that Iran was not ready and got surprised. Many of the border towns were quickly captured by Iraqi forces and they advanced in Iranian soil and got close to two major cities of Khorram-Shahr and Ababdan in southwestern Iran. khorram-Shahr was eventually fell to Iraqi hands after days of resistance but was freed by Iranian forces after more than a year. 

Iranian Green Beret forces in Khorram-Shahr, after the liberation in 24-May-1982, exactly 40 years ago. H&K G3 was the common rifle in the Iranian army in those days  

The war then, when most of the Iraqi forces moved back behind the border turned to something that they call it " Trench War "! Yes! Quite similar to what was going on during the First European War (which is favoured to be called The First World War, despite the fact that many parts of the world, except for Europe, was in quiet and peace and people had their routine life!). 

One might ask what does that war has to do with the death of McFarlane? He stepped in when Iran, with the help from his supported groups, started abducting and taking hostages of American citizens in Lebanon, amongst them Terry Waite ( I remember the name after all these years!). The US wanted to ask Iran to help to release the hostages in exchange for modern arms, ammunition, etc. McFarlane was the fella who presented the idea and for that, very unexpectedly I'd like to say, traveled to Iran! At the time he was the highest American figure to visit Iran but no officials were in the airport to see him! 

President Ronald Reagan, Foreign Minister George Shultz, on his right are discussing the matters of hostages with McFarlane

He was taken to a hotel and left there for hours! A group of Revolutionary Guard people then met with him and his people but that made him even more furious! Some exchange later took place but not to the extent that McFarlane and his team were expecting and not all they wanted was included in the deal! In addition to that, the money from the trade (the exchange of ammunition and hostages and money) was supposed to be used, and partially used to help the Contra (the guerrilla who were fighting against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua), something that the Congress had banned. That led to a big scandal which involved McFarland, Oliver North and to a extent, Ronald Reagan. This was briefly refereed to in the movie American Made. 

McFarlane was put aside form the world of politics after that and was never recovered from that. 

(Photo, top: McFarlane during a testimony in regards to Iran-Contra scandal) 

Not so Lucky against Lowlife people!

The fat, ugly, Hispanic fella came to me again the other day and said that I would be called to the office  to discuss the position. He added some more bullshit and I only confirmed! Later during a general meeting it was said, by the evil woman, that everyone can apply for that position! Hispanic fella then said that I needed to give my resume to her! You see? Motherfuckers have no clue of what's going around them and now they request my resume. An irrational reaction would be breaking both of the animals neck and set them on fire to be a good example for the other motherfuckers who practice favoritism but we live in Canada and doing such a thing would end up in court and eventually jail! So I said: Why would they need my resume?! He said some bullshit and I said okay. It means the position is gone. I think the evil woman decided to give it to one of the girls on the floor. Fuck them. They are all motherfuckers who came from absolute poverty. Eating a full nutritious meal or driving a car was a dream for them in their home country and even now they eat shit and live in ghetto and knowing my background is a continuous disturbance for them! Just to show who these people are, this animal Hispanic guy told me that he would want to go to his home country back in Sep. of last year. I asked him a few times after that if he was going and he said it would be expensive, because of the tests. The motherfucker fills himself with nasty sugary doughnuts and filthy sandwiches every day! If he saves that money, he would not only be thin and healthy, but also would be able to make that trip happen! Filthy, fat, animal! Later during the day I felt a bit of awkwardness between me and him and also the evil woman but I acted normally. I don't give a shit. I will have to work hard to get myself out of this hole. 

(Photo: It must not be so related to the post but since I mentioned ghetto, I thought it'd be nice and fair to write about Calgary's ghetto as well. This is the east part of the city and falls in Southeastern quadrant and [SE] starts from what the city calls it International Avenue! And the reason they call it International is you can see war refuges and other types of poor people who ran away from their country of origin and sought asylum in Canada: Vietnamese, Kurds of Iraq and other countries, many many Africans who used to work for $0.25 and now would do anything for $15 and hour, Afghans, you name it. The funny thing is the City of Calgary thinks but putting a few flower vases and painting murals they can create another street like the 5th Avenue in New York City[!] while I wouldn't even go through this neighbourhood, if I wanted to go to the east side of the city! But frankly the fact is I lived in this neighbourhood back in 2006! One of many mistakes I have done in my life and that was the time that Ray the Microbe fooled me to become his roommate. Although nothing major happened at the time, a total of 13 months, but after that I had to move out and find another place while I had a comfortable apartment of myself in a good part of Downtown. In a nutshell, stay the hell away from the so-called International Avenue and the areas around, there's nothing there for a visitor or a newcomer to the city unless you're a war refugee or someone in that level of life. Then you're gonna love it but clashed between the races is always there!)

The Role of Chance in Life

I went to work, as usual, the other day and I went to the office to ask something when the supervisor told me that our main QC guy wants me to be his assistant! I was surprised but pretended that I didn't understand what he meant and went: I have to finish this order! He, in response, said: No! It is a position. I said: I'd be happy to help him. The guy said that they wanted to add someone to their team to help and then I went back to work. 

Who wouldn't want to join a lousy team?! No education and no experience is needed! I don't do much and get paid as much as I do now, perhaps more! There'll be OT for this type of job and I even might go back to 6-day schedule format. I heard from my last interview that they didn't need me. The damn certificate cost me another position. I also received a message from Indeed indicating that there have been as many as 83 people applying for this position! 

So I later went to him and pretended that I was confused(!) and asked him what he wanted me to do. He said: Not now! 

The guy is a fat, short, Hispanic fella whom has always been treated with respect by me although I have little to no respect for him, at all! He's lazy, incompetent, useless and obese in a bad way! He drinks the disgusting sugary Iced Cappuccino and eats greasy, disgusting doughnuts and sandwiches in the morning! But who cares?! My false respect for him has given me the opportunity to escape this misery that I'm in now! Besides since he seldom stays past the regular hours and never works OT, I might have the chance, as I mentioned earlier, to get good number of OT. There's another idiot who works in this, so-called, department: An old, ugly, slow, lazy Oriental woman! This moron, who barely speaks English, starts at 10:00! She's as bad as her boss and I wonder what they expect from me because there was another fella who joined them more than a year and a half ago but they kicked him out shortly after he started! The guy, who happened to help me a lot when I first started there, vanished after that! He used Corona-19 as an excuse and disappeared! I was later told that he had found a night-shift job for $20 an hour or so! 

I didn't hear anything from the guy during the day. My assumption is that he's waiting for the manager to come in order to make it official unless he already has regretted what he's offered! We'll see how my chance plays his role here!

(Photo: For most of Westerners, and many other people around the globe, as far as I've seen, everything leads to alcohol, drugs, women/men and gambling! No wonder why a good chance for them would be anything which leads to booze!)

Useless Phone

One of the things that bothered me at the first day of travel, after I landed in IAH and got my rental car, was that my telephone was not working! It was working but I wasn't able to make any calls! There was this stupid message on the top: " Emergency Calls Only "! My plan is a good one which enables me to call and text all across Canada and the US without any limit, for a little money! Now I was in the US and the telephone didn'r work! I went to my hotel and then from there I found an AT&T store clsoeby and talked to the guy about my problem. It appeared that a simple phone, with a handset would cost about US $75. I went back to the hotel and I realized that there was no long distanc call available!!!! I had never seen something like that! In fact when I was in Munic I had a similar situation, not quite teh same: There was no telephone set in the room! Anyway I got on a chat with my service provide through my notebook but he was not able to do anything.

A map at a local McDonald's shows the source of their coffee. I was greated in Spanish when I was ready to order and that was not the last time! Hispanics constantly mistaken me for one of their own! Had not seen the map before

The next morning, on the way to downtown Houston, I saw a T-Mobile store and stopped. I got a SIM card for US $45 and I got fixed for the rest of the trip! When I later contacted the service provide I was told that the roaming feature had been locked and I had to call before the start of my trip! 

(Photo, top: I stayed at Staybridge in NW Houston in my first night of my Texan trip, almost half an hour, if not more from downtown. I think I selected that because it was only 20 minutes drive from the airport. Not a bad hotel. It was more than half empty at the time!)

Bugaboo Provincial Park

It's 5.5 months into 2021 and since the entire 2020 was wasted due to the stupid job I have and the pandemic, I decided to have another hike this past week. Although it's a bit early but my Mexican buddy agreed and we headed toward west on a cloudy morning on his pick up truck. That's what I like about this fella: He is not a silly cheap as*hole like a few that I have been to hike with.

Our destination was Bugaboo Provincial Park in western British Columbia. So you get to Highway # 95 , southbound from Highway # 1 and get yourself to Radium Hot Springs. From that town you go north until you get to the small community of Brisco. 

It is in that village that you need to get on a gravel road into the woods and drive up for almost 1 hour. If it had not been because his pick up truck, we would never have been able to get ourselves into the woods but the road got so bad that we eventually had to leave the vehicle truck and walk. 

After nearly 50 minutes of driving in a narrow, gravel, mountainous road we decided to reduce the risk by walking the rest at this point.

It was okay because that's why we were there but the problem was we were not able to reach any point which say this actually is the entrance to the park! There was no sign and there was nobody. There were so many private properties at the side of the road and we wondered what those people were doing there in the middle of the woods! In  fact we saw cattle and obviously that was one of the things people do there, in addition to logging! 

We walked for a bit more than hour in snow and sun and the road got steep at times. It was almost 16:30, I think, that we decided to go back because we certainly didn't want to drive down the mountainous road at night. One thing that I must add here and stress on, is the fact that my GPS helped us a lot. The funny thing is the way back to the main road (Highway # 95, north)  was partially, I mean only part of it(!), was different from the way on the way to the top. There is a lake that we saw on the way up and we by-passed it on the way back down!

Anyways this trip was just to explore the area and we didn't take any map and didn't bother asking anyone either in Radium or Brisco, regardless of the fact that I'm not sure if there was anyone available but the trip back home took really long or at least this is how I felt! By the time I was home it was passed midnight! One thing I'm sure of is that if someone spends the night at Radium or if there's a place in Brisco, in there, the next days trip + hike would be pleasant in late June or after.

(Photo: One of the many mountains in the park or perhaps it should be said a few of many summits in the park. It's climbing should be interesting) 

The Way to Start 2021

There's this guy that if he was not nice and friendly, I would eventually give him a good lesson. He started insisting about going for a hike before Christmas. We eventually decided on the New Year's Day and once while we were talking this Hispanic fella heard and showed his interest. After a week, we finally decided to go as a group of 3, I, him and his brother and no more. That was after one guy said he would join and the next day he excused himself! For me that is it. He would never be in any hike with me and the guy whom I'm calling The Woman(!) here, stopped talking about it after his brother also denied joining! So you see what type of assholes I'm dealing with here! 

At the end it was me and the Hispanic fella and he was the man of his word. We met at the predetermined spot at about 05:30 on New Year's Day and despite the fact that he was late, I hopped in his pick up truck and we headed west. I consider that as a demerit for him but he gets a positive mark(!) at the same time because without his car, we had to rent a vehicle because I would not under any circumstance drive my car on a primary highway in winter unless I have to, despite the fact that I have new Michelin Ice X winter tires! 

I used my telephoto lens to get a shot of these crazy guys who were ice climbing. We stopped to take a few photos from the frozen falls and my Hispanic buddy heard them and spotted them!

The road was not bad until Lake Louise that we stopped for a coffee but it was surprisingly busy. We went to this café, that I has been to before, called Laggan's. It's in Lake Louise Village where you turn to a big parking lot with all the businesses around. We were there at about 08:20 and that's why they were open. These guys have good bakery items, sandwiches and beverages. My original estimate was to be at trailhead, in Jasper National Park at about 09:00 and it was 08:30 and we were in Lake Louise! 

Peanut Butter Brownie, on the left, is good and the price is okay too, as long as you don't buy every day!

We then headed to Highway # 93 north and entered Jasper National Park of Canada and that was when we lost the signals on our phone(!), not that it was an issue, especially because I was following our trip on my GPX Viewer on my phone. We eventually reached our destination, Willcox Pass trailhead around 10:15, almost an hour and 15 minutes later than the scheduled time. We geared up and headed up but only after 1 hour we faced strong wind and deep snow. We wanted to continue despite that but a group, which we had seen their vehicle earlier, told us that we could probably go 100 m. more and that would be it. We only decided to go back when we actually tried and realized that the snow is really deep. It was a bit disappointing but we didn't have any other choice and we headed back. 

We stopped a few times for photography which were all good experiences and by the time I was home it was around 18:00. Highway # 1 on the way back was even busier than the morning but not in a way that had to stop and go.

(Photo, top: Icefield Parkway is considered one of the most scenic rides in the world and it is true)

Slaves of North America

I went to that quick-hire(!) place the other day and it was a mistake. A bad mistake! After a day of hard work, which I will write what type it is later, I woke up at 04:55 and drove 35 Km to a nearby town to attend the so-called orientation. It was not a bad job for a border-jumper or a poor refugee to make a living because they pay the minimum wage but my hope was to get to higher position after a, probably, few month or so. Wrong! 

The so-called orientation started with bullshits such as safety, pay-roll, breaks and all stupid nonsense that in Slavery-Capitalism society have been given to cheap labourers to make them feel important and valued! The so-called conference room, where the future slaves were being oriented, was so damn cold because the asshole had used paper-thin walls for the damn building! You could hear someone outside coughing, not to mention the damn trucks going up and down the parking lot. Then the so-called meal break came up. Since the cheap-labourer slaves start their slavery at 06:00, their lunch time would be at 10:00 and they get half an over free(!) from their slave-master to eat their disgusting cheap food which by the way is purchased from the same company at the discount given to them! 

After that the assholes in charge took us for a so-called tour in order to demonstrate what is awaiting us on the floor. This, by the way, is one of, perhaps, the three biggest retailers in North America but I don't want to name them since they might come after me for what I write and who is to fight these Capitalist bastards? They eat you alive!
You could see all sorts of losers on the floor from young Caucasians from poor families who had to work hard to make their ends meet (or meat!) or pay for their school, to border jumpers of Latin America, Orientals and of course Africans, who are the all-time favorites of slave-master! Then the story changed all of sudden and we were asked to pair with a slave and work! I was paired, happily, with a young Caucasian fella in his early 20's and asked to do something. Things went fine for the first 15 minutes or so until a nasty piece of shit border-jumper Latino got herself involved. She told me I was doing something incorrectly and I told her that I was not and I knew what right and wrong was in that job and I didn't need her to tell me what to do! She didn't like it and then in a minute she came back with another female, probably from the same stack of the woods. Another slave who was probably didn't even have a meal in a day in her native country and now here in Canada she has been given a title and works like a horse. She transferred the other woman's complain to me and added that I had yelled at her. I said it was not true and indicated that she was the one who had yelled at me. They wanted to argue and I saw where it might be going and that's what I hate the most: Arguing with female  Latino border jumpers whom have been given the title of Good Slave by Canadians and work for them like horses. I then took my name tag off and put it on the table and said: I don't need this job! Then I walked to the room, grabbed the slavery package and walked to the so-called lady manager who had originally interviewed and hired me and I said: Here's everything and walked out!
This reminded me of what The Brave told me once and I would like to add it here at the end because that is so true: He said: The slave master used to cross the Atlantic to bring us here. Now we come ourselves. Some people love to be slave and cheap labourere for the life and Canadians like it. For the rest it's normally not an easy life.
(Photo: An old painting shows Africans whom were brought to the US to work on cotton fields. Nowadays are coming from each and every corner of the world by themselves and work other hard jobs)

Lordsburg, NM and After That

I shouldn't probably say this here but Alphonse actually ruined the half of the already planed trip by rushing us back to Phoenix because he wanted to go back to work on Thu. He has so many good attributes and in fact without him I would have been able to reach neither Telescope Peak, nor Flatiron but he's heavy and slow. Besides he eats a lot! I have talked to him and I don't think it has had any affect, although he knows the issues.

Nevertheless after leaving Hueco Tanks State Park, we took I-10 and headed west to Arizona through New Mexico. Alphonse wanted to stop on the way for sleep in order to be able to save a few hours the day after when he would be driving to California. We stopped in this small town called Lordsburg in southern New Mexico and went to a Motel 6. This motel is probably amongst the cheapest throughout the United States. The strange thing was the man at the reception, and I believe he was the only staff in the entire motel at the time, was an East Indian! They say the only place that you can go and might not see an East Indian, these days is moon! However I wondered how in the hell an East Indian ended up in a small southern New Mexico motel! The place was not very bad. We had had some snacks and then for dinner we repeated that. I had an Apple and Alphonse gave me an Orange and that was dinner!I took a shower and slept. There was a little noise from other guests but not much and I slept a little. It was not very bad.

A wooden style flag of New Mexico. I would definitely have a hike and visit to this state once. The flag represents a local native tribe and in fact shows sun in a yellow background. Yellow represents the 16th Century Spain's flag 

The next morning we left almost at 08:00 to help Alphonse with his timing. We only stopped a few times for gasoline and coffee until we reached Phoenix. Alphonse selected an Chinese buffet for lunch and that was not bad but Chinese food is the kind that I always try to avoid because the as*holes use too much salt, deep-fry many things and they have so much disgusting starch in shape of either Rice or damn Noodle! For that I don't even recall, or better to say try to recall, the name of the place but it was a huge venue close to a gulf course. Alphonse then was trying to find a rental place close to the hotel that I had book. The intention was to rent a car and then go to the hotel after that but he messed up again! The rental place he found in his searches (through his phone and GPS) led us to wrong addresses, twice(!) and eventually we went to the rental place in Sky Harbor! I, happily(!), said goodbye to him there and rented a Tacoma and a GPS there. That cost me a lot but I had no choice. My flight would be more than 24 hours from that time and I didn't want to get stuck in the damn hotel. In the next post you'll, if you read it, what a smart decision that was!
(Photo: This is taken in I-10 in New Mexico on our way to Texas. No photo from Lordsburg as it was night and a short stop at the time)

Hueco Tanks State Park, TX

As I indicated in the previous post our plan of hiking Guadeloupe Peak had to be replaced with a short hike in Hueco Tanks State Park, mainly due to persistence from Alphonse which basically ruined the second part of the trip! I always had problem finding a good partner for hiking. I have hiked with the American guy from Boston, who used to work with us, M. C., I have hiked with The Chef, I have hiked with The Hope, I have hiked with Newlywed and I have hiked with The Lady. Not a single person ever satisfied me as a good hiking partner! They all complained about being tired or cold or at risk! I guess my next hikes would be all solo like many others that I have already done.

This park, just about half an hour northeast of El Paso, was not as exciting as I had expected to be but regardless of that everything after we changed the hiking plan became complicated and chaotic! First we went to park but were stopped by a Texas Parks ranger! It was not only us! He, who looked like he was Hispanic, like many others in the area, told us that we had to wait because there were enough visitors in the park! I didn't understand! In fact I had been to so many parks in the US and Canada and that was the first time I heard something like that. I'm very impatient in situations such as that! We drove a lot to see wildlife, nature and enjoy a hike, not wait outside. So I told Alphonse to switch the plan to some place else! He wanted to wait to see what would happen! Eventually we decided to go and see a nearby guest house that we originally wanted to stay in and that was because I told him that I would not be able to sleep in Palace Inn for another night!

The vegetation is generally beautiful in the park and I'm certain it's more beautiful in summer

The place was not too far and after calling and booking the rooms  we went there to see what it looked like. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be a comfortable place for me to stay! So we headed back to the park and there surprisingly was nobody! No car! No ranger! No nothing!

We went inside and at the booth we found out what had happened. You need to fill out a form after paying the admission and then you're directed to a room to watch a short video to understand the importance of the area, its history and it's significance to local Native people. The clip was good and educational but the ranger then asked us a number of silly questions! We thought he would ask questions about the spots to avoid, collect the garbage, avoid going off the trail and such. Instead he asked questions such as what was the name of this and how many million years ago that happened?! I was going to say: Are you stupid?! You're telling me that your heritage, many pictographs, which by the way we didn't see even one single of them(!), have been destroyed by thoughtless people and you ask me questions about a million years ago! We then left the room after receiving some information as how to make it an enjoyable hike, from the ranger. 

The Hueco Hacienda, the guesthouse near Hueco Tanks State Park where we wanted to spend our night in but then the plan was changed

The park comprises of three hills which are the results of an eruption, millions of years ago. Two of the hills are off limit to the public unless they go there with a guide. We decided to take the only available hill. As I said the ranger provided some information to Alphonse as how to go up, find a cave and see pictographs but after spending nearly an hour and a half we saw nothing! The main reason was that we were exhausted both from the previous hike and the long drive from Arizona to Texas. I had told Alphonse that doing two hikes, even if they are considered moderate, is wrong. That is why I didn't enjoy much of our short hike in this park. 

We then returned to the city and discussed where to stay. Alphonse wanted to get closer to home(!) so after dinner, we drove back toward west with the hope that we can find a nice place on I-10 and sleep. 

(Photo, top: A view from the top of one of the hills in Hueco Tanks State Park looking southwest. The affect of rain, snow, ice and other atmospheric phenomena has made big holes in the area which act as water tanks and from years ago, I assume, millions, animals and human beings have used the area to rest, drink and even settle down)

El Paso is Great!

I had a different view, in my mind, from El Paso before going there. It immediately was changed after we entered the city! It's a modern city like any other major American city that one might have in mind. It certainly is not L. A. (not that I have been to L. A.!) but it's far from a small town I thought it would be near Mexican border. El Poso (Meaning the Passage in Spanish) is laying on the border where at the other side, the city of Juarez rests. The area was shown in the movie Secario. However due to shortage of time and lack of interest from Alphonse, we neither got a chance to discover the city, entirely, nor the border side and the Mexican town. We first went to our hotel and check in. It was a nice and new building by I-10, named Palace Inn. However I had a concern from the beginning: Too close to a busy highway and difficult for me to sleep. We found a good buffet at the other side of the highway and ate there. It seemed Hispanics comprise a big population in the city. Everywhere you go you can hear people speak Spanish and at time it's difficult to say whether it is their first or second language. The restaurant, called Furr's Fresh Buffet, was full of obese people, mostly(!), either young or mid-aged, Hispanic, mostly. It also looked like the majority of the staff where Hispanic as well. This is how I interpret the situation and I'm not being racists: My assumption is all these Latinos were born and grew up in poor countries and barely had anything to eat. Coming to the US, the land of plenty were food is generally cheap, gives them the opportunity to fill themselves up with everything they find!

Palace Inn is a very nice hotel. If you don't have any problem sleeping next to a noisy highway, I highly recommend it but forget about the breakfast and watch the couple who run the place

Nevertheless The food is good for the price you pay and dinner is a few dollar more expensive than lunch due to its more popularity. I realized here, but not only here(!), why Alphonse was so overweight and had problems coming down and going down a trail: He eats way too much! He takes several trips between the table and different serving tables and fills his plate with everything that you can imagine including lots of starch! Anyways we enjoyed our meal and headed back to the hotel to sleep but I didn't have a good sleep the whole night because of the noise from highway.

Part of Furr's Buffet where, I guess, Mexican food is served. That's be corn, beans and some other stuff. Unlike what's seen in this photo, the place is busy and frequented by the staff and customers

One might question why we selected El Paso as a place in Texas to visit. My original plan, which I shared with Alphonse and he agreed to that, was to do the hike of Guadeloupe Peak, the highest point in the state of Texas. He, however, underestimated the difficulty of Flatiron Peak. He said that he would not be able to go on the hike and added that he would start and then would descend. He wanted me to go though. I was in a better shape but had sever pain on my right foot as well as both knees and tendons. We cancelled the plan and decided to replace that with something easier. In addition to Guadeloupe Mountains National Park, which was closed, partially, due to the Government of the US partial downtown, the city of El Paso also is close to Hueco Tanks State Park, Franklin Mountains State Park and the city of Juarez in Mexico. So many activities could be planned when going to this part of the US. We changed the original plan and I kind of regretted that but at that time there was not much we could do. I had told Alphonse that we needed to leave two days off between the two hikes as both were challenging but he wanted to go back to California and back to work. Now I have to plan for another trip to do Guadeloupe Peak. Next time I will approach from east and there will be no Alphonse! I will go all the way to the summit!
(Photo, top: This carriage statue might mean something but being alongside an impatient parson such as Alphonse I couldn't see whether there was any plaque or not. This is erected in a shopping plaza in the city) 

Mi Amigo (My friend)

I finally got together with this guy, a Hispanic fella, who used to live in the same dump(!) that I'm currently living, after a long time. I call him Amigo here which, as many know, means friend in Spanish and is a common term to refer to people from South America here in North America! 

We went to Jameson's Irish Bar on 17th Ave., SW, based on his, I would say, request. That was my first time in there. From the beginning you could say that it was a nice and clean bar which offers both a little outdoor area, stools, tables and booth. My favourite, is always booth and when I entered he was waiting for me there. There are so many things about this fella which are all strange to me. That's probably why I'm staying friends with him. Before getting to the bar and the odd things about this guy, I would like to mention that I once decided to eliminate him from my life! I deleted his telephone number from my address book, removed him from my connections in LinkedIn and even ignored his calls. Then I remembered what my Dad told me years ago: " One thousand friends is not too many, one enemy is more than enough ". I have not been able to stick to this policy in the past few years very restrictively but I've tried my best. This is the literal translation from Persian which I'm sure makes not much sense to Westerners. He also used to say " You say Hi to someone and there'll be thousands of benefits ". He didn't, of course, mean financial benefits or what they call it here " friends with benefits "! What he meant was in regards to knowledge, behaviour and social interaction, of course.

Going back to the main subject, the bar is clean and nice with mostly pretty waitresses and of course male bartender(s). When I arrived this idiot had a glass of beer in front of him and without offering anything sat there like an asshole and started the conversation. I should mention that he, when I approached, stood and opened his arms and gave me a hug(!), something that a Caucasian guy and even an Iranian guy would not do unless the latter is a very close friend whom has not seen you for years! 

I joined and a waitress appeared at the table. I asked for a Beer and asked her if they had anything with a little sweetness to it. She named a few and I ordered a Raspberry Beer. This fool then ordered a plate of Pork Tacos and when it arrived started eating like an African who has recently fled drought and famine in the continent and didn't even offer me shit! I told myself what a disgusting fool but didn't say anything to the dolt! I understand the difference between cultures. The Beer, nevertheless was good. When the pig(!) finished his meal, and believe me he was eating like a pig! pieces and liquid was falling from its(!) mouth while chewing. Then the waitress showed up again. She asked if we wanted something else. I usually don't eat outside but it's a business. Not a freaking public library. So I ordered the second Beer of the same kind and the fool ordered a glass of water! Here if you have at least a few live cells in your brain, you know that you shouldn't drink a big glass of water, like a Mule does after a hard working day(!), when you finish your food because the water simply dilutes the stomach's acid and messes up your digestion but I guess if you're a fool, then you'll act like a Mule! The second Beer was good and got into me. I could order a few more but these days I'm watching my pocket. We talked a little bit more and then we left. 

I would go to this bar if any opportunity presents itself. Their Beer is good. The place is nice and clean and it has a convenient location. I don't know how much that f**king idiot paid for his Tacos but my two Beers cost me nearly $13 and of course I paid her $15.

Now a few things about this guy whom I found him strange. I must add that I would not reveal his nationality as it's my policy on this web-log to provide as less information as possible about my subjects. Not that anyone cares!:

1) He's marries to a Caucasian girl from northern Europe. I haven't seen the girl though. I'm not going to reveal the girl's nationality but by giving this tip you'd be probably figuring it out, if you're interested. According to Mom (as she knows him) they're good matches because she's coming from a background, no offence to anyone, which the people are known as cheap, for centuries!

2) He invited me to his apartment just after perhaps one or two meetings once nearly two years ago. Apparently it was supposed to be a small party with a friend of his whom was moving out of the province. I ditched the party and made an excuse! I'm not going to anyone's party just after meeting him or her once or twice! That's insane! 

3) He gives me a hug every time he sees me! I know I mentioned that above but what the hell does that mean! I know he's not homosexual and he know neither I am! 

4) This guy is young but he's been to many places that when I was his age, I only could dream of that! He's coming from obviously a not rich family. So how he has done that, I have no clue! By living cheap and saving money, perhaps! Every time I've seen him he has dressed like a hobo who has just been given used cloths from a charity! He indicated that they (he and his wife) have a plan to go to either Central America or Europe this summer for vacation! I can only dream of something like that! I guess that's his wife who is the breadwinner because I know that he hasn't been working for a long time and studies at the moment.

5) I don't know about his education but I know, as he's told me, he is working on his Masters. The field of study that he has selected is interesting: Religion! The funny thing is, and I hope I didn't misheard that, he said he was not religious! I mean he has told me that he's Catholic but not one who regularly practises! I have to find out about this!

6) I've said everything odd and stupid (in my view) about this guy and now one good thing which I should not ignore: He helped me with my car when I was in Quebec last summer and he's very friendly and polite but it's his cheapness and stinginess which bothers me. Mom appreciated his help with food. Something which based on his reaction, when Mom gave him the food, had not been tasted by him and his wife in their entire life: Once Olivier Salad and the other time Beef Cutlet. They both tatsed so good to them that he mentions that every time he sees me.
(Photo: This is a very delicious Taco that The Lady made once and we both enjoyed. I believed despite a few differences that every couple has, we generally had a good life and it was getting better until I lost my job. She left me shortly after that and then decided not to live with me any more. This is a completely different story that I don't think anyone would like to say or hear that. I miss her so much at times and feel free and released at others! It's such a mixed feeling. I think she has or at least had similar feelings)

Strange Latino Fella

There was this guy in the building gymnasium whom I saw during work-out a few times, last year. We eventually got to talking and exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers to become buddies. Something that rarely happens in Canada or perhaps I'm the one who had not experienced that. He, surprisingly, sounded a very nice guy. In fact too good to be true. We met for a coffee once and then he invited me to his apartment once. We remained friends until I went to Quebec for my training and that was where he helped me with my car issue.

We met once again after I failed finishing(!) the training. I was somehow deterred by his behaviour then. He said he wanted to do some religious program, something that I hate the most and then he had comments in regards to my career indicating that it was dead(!) and then the way he dresses is very displeasing and he goes to Starbucks! Fix your damn cloths and don't dress like a freaking hobo, then go to Starbucks and spend $3 on a coffee! In fact I paid for his coffee the first time we went to that damn unreasonably-priced place and then the second time he just bought himself a beverage and I sat there and watched him drinking it! What a cheap idiot! We talked about having a hike together and then he stated that waking up early and going at 05:00 AM would be hard on him, the same thing that The Hope had said, and that was when I decided to cut him off! I erased his telephone number from my telephone and his profile from LinkedIn and never called him! It might sound a little harsh but that's how I am! 

I bumped to him a few days ago while leaving a local supermarket! I knew he had moved out of the building but he had also told me that he had gotten another apartment in the neighbourhood. So chances that we cross each other is quite large and it happened! He, surprisingly approached me and gave me a hug! We stood there and talked for maybe 15 minutes! It proved to me that I needed him as a friend! I could have said goodbye and ran away quickly but I found that rude. We are supposed to meet again and when I told him that I've lost his number (which is a lie) due to a malfunction to my telephone, he called me on the spot and asked me to save his number! Is there anything wrong with me?! Maybe he's not strange at all. Maybe I'm the strange one!

The (Not!) Stolen Vehicle

I did a stupid mistake when I left home for Quebec and that was leaving the car on the street with the hope that nothing happens to it although the car has been broken into once and scratched several times! One day I received a call from Mom indicating that the the car had been gone! Stolen! I was both mad at me and her. I was mad at me because I should not have left the vehicle on the damn street of disgusting downtown Calgary. I was mad at Mom because what I could do from more than 3600 Km away!

I started thinking. This is not a kind of vehicle that could be stolen easily. The time that it was broken into, one of the back doors had been left unlocked accidentally by a passenger. One thing came to mind was: Damn street cleaning but before that I called the damn Calgary Parking Authority. The thieves of the city who make the easiest money! I asked if they had a record of my car. The lady at the other side of line was actually was very nice and helpful and after several minutes she concluded that the car was not in the city parking lot and must have been left on one of the streets around the neighbourhood. 

I asked Mom to check and it was not found until finally a few days later she said that she had seen it parked on a steer not far from the place. She had seen it on her way to a local supermarket. 

We then decided not to leave it there. I forgot to indicate that I had to call the city police and file a stolen vehicle report which later was removed when it was found! 

I asked a new buddy of mine to go with Mom, grabs the car and park it somewhere safe. After that we decided to park it in the underground parking of the apartment just to be sure although we have to pay those thieves $50 a month! I will take the car out as soon as I can and leave that damn neighbourhood as soon as possible. One thing I was sure about was that the car, which was bought brand new in 2009 could not be stolen that easy. It was proven to me!

(Photo: For this post I use this artist's painting of someone trying to break into a car. Hope she or he doesn't mind it)

Another Online Certificate

We had an annual evaluation at the previous job every year. That was the stupidest thing I had ever experienced! Not to mention that there never was any result from that. The piece of shit who evaluated me every year, my direct supervisor, knew basically nothing about the nature of the work but reading the contracts and that's what the company wanted and that's why he's still there and I'm unemployed for the past 6 months!

There was a section in the evaluation form which you could indicate the training you thought you might need. I indicated that I wanted to take a course from this American institute and I don't even remember what his reaction was! I then got kicked out while I already had started conversation with the institute for the course. Eventually I was able to gain access in December last year. The content was not very bad but considering it was the Review Mode of the online program, there were lots of issues.

The program comprises of 6 courses. There are quizzes for each course and final examination at the end. I easily passed 4 courses out of 6 and then was given the third chance for the other two. Each student gets only two chances for each final examination. I used the opportunity and was able to pass one. The other one was doomed and I didn't go higher than 67%! I needed at least 75% to pass. It was very disappointing. There were grammatical, spelling and technical issues with courses which I never expected them to exist to that level. I guess one of the reasons was that, as I recognized by the names and surnames, many of the staff of the said institute are from Hispanic background and it's not expected from them to know English as good as a native speaker of it. But how about the technical issues? That doesn't have anything to do with ethnicity!

Here is the most obvious one. This is about Undercut, a welding discontinuity which might occur due to different reasons including welder's poor workmanship. This is how they define Undercut:

Undercut is a groove in the base metal along both sides of the weld that is not completely filled during the welding process.

This is absolutely wrong and misleading as well! One, who's not very familiar with welding concepts, definitions and flaws, in general, by reading this definition, would think that there are grooves which should be filled by welders and if not then there would be a flaw!
Anyways I wanted to add that to my resume but since I haven't finished all of the courses successfully now all I can do is to indicate that I've finished 5 out of 6 courses of the program! There's no doubt that I learnt things but the disappointment was very unusual and I would say disturbing in a way. At the end I e-mailed the original person whom I had contacted first and showed my interest in taking the remaining course and paying for it but didn't receive any response. I might try that once again just to pass the damn thing and get my certificate But generally I have come to this conclusion that online learning or as some might call it e-learning is not a good way of learning.

Flashback (27): Pablo Scobar

It's Pablo Scobar's 20th death anniversary. Not that I'm mourning! I neither mourn or celebrate but I know he was an asshole like many that we also have them in the old country ruining millions of people lives. I remember when his death was on the news, years before my immigration. When I came here I was in RBC's main branch in 3rd Street and 8 Ave., SW talking to a Hispanic lady about my accounts. It must have been 2003 or around those years. I, somehow, and don't recall how found out that she was from Columbia. I guess she told me that herself. In response, and that the time I didn't know it would not be a very bad answer although I had known of Scobar, I told her that I had a friend from Columbia. " His name is Pablo Scobar " I added! She obviously didn't like that and affected deeply the way she provided the service. Fortunately she was not the one that I had to go to frequently so I didn't care. I didn't mean anything and I just wanted to joke but obviously that was not a funny joke to her! 

Scobar was a real criminal but still after year there are people who know him as a hero! I guess there's no limitation for stupidity. He might have given out a few dollars here and there but by spreading drugs he has destroyed millions of life. Not the mention the people who got killed here and there. Drug smuggling have not been stopped but the very sad fact is people do not see the picture, the stupid people who know a criminal as a hero just because he handed them a buck! 

(Photo: I found this interesting picture of Scobar and his wife on the web. It goes back to early 1980s)

The Poor Hispanic Cargill Guy

I worked for Cargill for quite of a time. Working for that company and being me who is known as Troublemaker you bump to people who work there or used to work there once in a while, depending where you are going and when. 

It was just a few minutes after I boarded the plane to Toronto and before sitting, I was putting one of my stuff in the overhead bag that I heard someone talking to me in Spanish! The fuselage was dead quite because everyone was on his or her seat and I guess I with may be a few more people were the only one who were only on their feet. I immediately recognized him by his face: He was one of the Cargill guys. Everyone was now looking at me to probably see my reaction or response and I answered him back in English because I don't speak Spanish! He kept going in Spanish switching back to English and vice verse and I was answering in English until I finished playing with the thing and sat down. I think people thought that I either was Hispanic but didn't want to speak Spanish or any other reason! I can't read their mind but it was clear that they were all surprised a bit. Just a little bit. 

I guess it was during our conversation in the plane or may be after landing in Toronto that I asked him if he was going to see any family or friend in there and he said that he was going back home, to El Salvador. When I approached him and looked at him from a closer distance I realized that he looked much older now. It has been more than 7 years now that I quiet Cargill. When I was shaking his hand I also realized that he could not have a good grip on my hand. Many of the guys who work hard jobs in plants such as Cragill they face permanent problems like that which will never go away. I had a similar issue with my right hand but I guess I am an exemption because after a while I became a master in that job, the job only less than of a handful of the guys were able to do that and that is the problem because you get used to it and it becomes easy and you don't want to leave because you like what you are doing and you know not many people are able to do that and your life goes on. I was in that stage that one day didn't show up and went to another company which led to my resignation from Cargill. Many other people do that and many didn't. I bumped to another guy a few months ago who still is working for Cargill. He said that both of his knees were fucked up and the physician had told him that he had to walk to help the knees get better. I feel bad for these guys, all especially the El Salvador and the African. I hope there are times that at least their pain eases of. 

Flashback (14): Noah

It’s only work and work these days and nothing else. People are getting ready for Christmas. The good thing is work is not that much because first of all most of the things have been done. And secondly A. J. is on a trip so I start whenever I want and work on my pace. So I thought it’s better to write about one of my buddies back to the first months of life in Canada.
There was a nice and handsome Hispanic guy from Nicaragua or El Salvador called Noah. He could have been more than 5 years younger than me. I, in the beginning, thought that he was Canadian because of his blue eyes but that happened only because I was new. You can tell who’s who after awhile regardless of the colour of the eyes or anything else. So we used to hang out a bit in the beginning. He was a hard-working guy so he got promoted to a level 2 job while I went on light duty as a result of an injury!
He asked me once to be his roommate in High River. He said that it was a nice small town with everything but I was not interested because I was attending an Advanced ESL course in the U of C. That was the beginning of our separation as buddies. I invited him to my home town and he accepted although that was just me in the beginning, trying to make conversation with everyone. Then one day I lent him a toonie. The other day I saw him in the cafeteria having his breakfast without saying a word about the money he had borrowed. He was just simply gazing at me and I didn’t like that. I asked him how he could have his breakfast while he still owes me and pretends nothing had happened and left. He showed in front of me in a few minutes with a bunch of quarters. Gave them to me and left. And that was the end of it. I saw him a while after that, leaving the floor. That was his last day. I guess he had paid off his used car which cost him a little more than $8000 and simply quit. That was also the last time I saw him and I guess he only worked there for one year or so. That’s how I used to ruin relationships! Sometimes for a toonie, some other times for whatever I must not say. The second one mostly happens with women! But I’m way better than the beginning now but the problem now is I don’t see as many girls as I used to!