What can you do in -23 ℃ (-9.4 ℉) Winter of Alberta?

Let's assume that you're a single man or a bunch of single fellas (let's exclude the ladies. I can't talk on their behalf) travelling to Alberta during the Dec.-Jan. period. What can you enjoy? 

First off, the temperature would be considerably low, something similar to what you see in the title. Secondly there're a plenty of actions that you can be entertained with. I don't think it will be Montreal, Toronto or even Vancouver but there're things that you can do:

1) Canada Olympic Park in Calgary offers winter sport activities such as snowboarding. I'm no one near that stuff but I know many enjoy that. This might not be very comfortable in the temperature written in the title but at the same time, might be! I don't know. I'm not much to winter sports but a little bit of snowshoeing which I know I would not be doing at that temperature! 

2) Many ski resorts are within one to one and a half hour drive from the major cities, at the most. They, of course, come with all sorts of amenities. The question, again here, is how comfortable would someone be to go skiing in such a low temperature. Also, are the ski resorts open at that time?

3) Bars and restaurants. Lots to try and enjoy.

4) Shopping malls. If you have money, you can get good merchandise.

5) Not many, so-called, gentlemen's clubs! The last time I was to one, I think it was about four or five years ago and I was there with The Chef, who, by the way, is technically considered an awkward fella! While it could have been a fun time, it turned into a night of mediocre experience! This was in Calgary and I think there're currently only three of them in the city. Don't know about Edmonton.

6) Relaxation places. Now bear in mind that there're, as everyone knows, legal and legitimate and illegal and fake places which both offer relaxation services. The municipality and consequently, the police, is aware of the second type and if I'm not mistaken, one of the mayors of Calgary, a few years back, wanted to clean up the city from the illegal ones and by illegal I mean the ones which under the name of Massage, would provide other services. The Criminal Code of Canada (also known as C-46), in 1363 pages, has sections about soliciting sex and related stuff. It's a very interesting read(!) but could be confusing and hard to understand by an average person! After all that is why an average person gets caught, charged and convicted! 

I hope the above helps the people who intend to travel to Alberta in winter.

(Photo: Seems like the very temperature has not kept these young people inside! They're preparing a local pond for hockey. Good for them. Have fun)

A very Labourious Christmas Season

I booked a truck to go to Mt. Robson Provincial Park this holiday season and I'm really glad that I canceled it. That would have been suicidal! I basically haven't done much this past week or so but eating and shoveling snow this Christmas. Some people drink. I eat. Both are detrimental. Which one is worse?

When you don't do much, or at least it's me, you can't get a good sleep. I went to bed late last night. It must have been around 23:50. Woke up around, I think, it was 03:00 or something. Stayed up for an hour. Went back to sleep and woke up at around 09:05 to a -22 ℃ (-7.6 ℉) very windy day. That was when I realized: Damn! The pipe! The pipe is frozen and I'm going to be in trouble. There's a pipe which sticks out of the front of the house and takes the, I assume, vapours out of the heating system. If it is clogged, you're done! I learnt that from a neighbour! She has helped with that in the last two years or so but she was not here this year! So I rushed and got my ladder. Set it up and started banging on the damn pipe. The temperature inside showed 14.5 ℃ (58.1 ℉)! from the 16.5 ℃ (67.1 ℉) which I had it set (I know it sounds insane to many, but I'm fine with that). I don't know why that was! The system might have been confused! I started hitting the damn pipe with everything I had in my possession, as I said and eventually it was clear. Went back inside and the temperature was back up to the set. I had to take a shower after all that as I also shoveled the front for almost half an hour. 

(Photo: Winter is really beautiful here in Alberta. Took this during a short walk close to home)

The Beautiful Winter of Alberta, again

The temperature has not gone up -15 ℃ (5 ℉), maximum, in the past few days and I'm really glad that I don't have to go to work today, although it will be mostly boring and waste of time but I get paid for it! Driving is not so bad as soon as I leave my street! The roads here are covered with a sheet of ice and now it's -24 ℃ (-11.2 ℉). If you think you can drive without winter tires, think of jumping in the pool and not getting wet! 

I have my winter tires on but my vehicle isn't in such a good shape. It's losing oil or perhaps I should say it's burning oil. I went to a close Toyota dealership to see what they can do. Here is what they said: $200 for diagnosis! And here's my answer to them: Shove it! Purchasing a new vehicle, no matter how good it is, without winter tires, is like having a wife to starts and raise of family without being intimate! My car has been sitting in the garage for the past month of so and the price of, not so excellent, two pair or winter tires plus the cost of installation is nearly $1800. So I decided not to buy it and instead rely on my old one, until, perhaps in a little more than a year from now, I buy another one: A vehicle for winter and a vehicle for summer. That's how you beat these guys who charge tremendously for their services. You don't have to book an appointment to change your tires. You don't have to change them back to regular one when summer ends and this last you many long years. My  goal is to buy an electric car so I can skip the damn time-wasting and expensive oil change as well. I will work hard and will reach that goal. 

Accidents were really bad on Q. E. II last week, on Thu. There was a big pile up in southbound close to Airdrie. When I reach there I saw tankers and semitrucks on their sides, pick up trucks in the ditch. It was really bad. I heard between 80 and 100 vehicles were involved. Northbound was not that bad. It was slow and blocked and then, happily, when I reached where I needed to take an exit, it had been opened. 

(Photo: I couldn't stop to take pictures but saw these two cars being taken by a tow truck in the city during late evening)

The Roller Coaster Weather

Everyone who has lived in Alberta knows that the weather here could change in a matter of minutes. One minute the sun is shining and then hail starts raining on you. After a week of disgusting and polluted air which resembled Delhi, not that I've been there but I've seen the Independence Day Parade and I know how bad the weather is, shower and rain cleaned the air and the beautiful sky of Alberta could be seen again.
I went to Nose Creek Park for a walk and it was very beautiful but when I came back, the rain started. For that I canceled my today's hike! If I want to be honest with myself, the cancellation was mostly due to being lazy and not wanting to go alone but what's the difference?! I'm here and I know I didn't go! 

(Photo: Big, white, beautiful clouds, resembling vanilla ice cream are seen in the sky once again)

The Return of Disgusting, Smokey Summer!

I haven't gone for my regular jogging since Fri., the 6th. Almost a week. A nasty dark blanket of smoke has covered most of southern Alberta and the air pollution index reached 10, yesterday. Today is not better and we aren't in summer yet! This weekend will be the second week that I had planned to go hiking and I will not! I started hiking in May, last year and I achieved nothing! I decided to start in June and I have already missed two weeks due to lack of having a reliable vehicle, mostly and then air pollution. 
Since my first destination is Bob Creek, I told I would be away from pollution and will be able to enjoy the hike but I feared taking my old vehicle and rentals are too expensive and scarce! I was not able to find any rentals less than $210 and adding gasoline would make the cost of hike at least $250. Besides The pollution might have reached there as well. 
Nevertheless I will try to get a vehicle for the 20th and this time I want that summit! 

(Photo: This picture shows a few seconds before a plane lands in YYC. You can see how dark the sky is and there ain't no cloud! They even had the guiding lights which illuminates the path for the pilots at night, on!)

Out After 10 Years (23): Fujiyama

 Climbing, or perhaps I shall say, hiking Mt. Fujiyama was part of my trip to Japan until I realized that I had to register and it was too late. Now I have my second ticket to Narita purchased but with the current employment status I won't be able to go until, the earliest, in 2026. Then after reading all the crowds and hassle about registration and booking a nice and comfortable place nearby, I thought I should perhaps to switch to another hike in that country as there're many available and all as beautiful or even nicer than Fuji.This mountain has always been the symbol of Japan and there's barely any picture, clip, book or advertisement that do  not contain a snow-covered mountain in it and the Japanese are proud of that. The recent climate change has resulted in this always covered mountain to lose its glory, recently! I read about it when I came back from my trip and then I went back to my pictures and looked. I passed Mt. Fuji four times and took a few photos while on Shinkansen. Why did I not notice that or mention it in my notes? 

Here it is, you can see it in the top photo and I will write whether I hike or not, the next time I go to Japan. Mt. Fuji is considered scared and has respect in Japanese culture. I think the climbing was banned at a point due to erosion and that's most likely why they require climbers to register. They not only intend to limit the number of hikers but probably want to screen them. I think there's a section in the form which asks about the experience and stuff of that nature. They even have built a website for that and there's lots of shit to go through to be able to do the climb but many do that just to simply say they have climbed Mt. Fuji! I even read that many start early to see the sunrise from the summit(!) something that I hate to do! I always start my hike early but not because I care about the damn sunset! I wonder what would happen when I'm going up and seeing flocks of people coming back down! The other thing is I would like to do it during the off-season and I hope there's no limitation. I would like to do it in late Sep. and then continue with the rest of my journey but all I need to do is to climb and hike as many mountains as possible this summer and fall. I haven't had a good ascend for a long time and that is the only way I can prove to myself and the Japanese that I can do Fuji as well, if I ever decide to. 

(Photo, top: Mt. Fujiyama without snow. This has been taken from the train and you can see the reflection in the window. I think it was taken when I was going back to Tokyo from Nagoya) 

The Beautiful Spring of Alberta

Snowing and extreme cold is not unusual in April and even May in Alberta but Global Warming has had a significant effect on that. There haven't been many cold days any more and by " a cold day " I mean a day when the temperature is bellow -15 ℃ (5 ℉) because any temperature above that it's not considered, or perhaps I should say, it was not considered, a cold day.
With that in mind when it snowed nearly 5 cm (nearly 2") the other day I was both happy and sad! I was happy that perhaps this would help to avoid drought and was happy that I didn't have to drive in that condition but I was sad that the temperature was nearly 0 ℃ (32 ℉) which means the snow will melt quickly and we will soon be deprived of the beautiful scenery! 

(Photo: The heavy night snowfall of the last week in a nearby neighbourhood. I stopped to take this picture)

More on Palm Springs

I did not have much time to spend in Palm Springs despite the fact that I missed my main planned hike because of the storm but looked around a bit and was really impressed by its beauty. Big beautiful houses surrounded by flowers and tropical threes so dense that you could not even see the building! I always thought that southern California is very dry and in fact it is but I was there in the wet season! 

However, similar to other rich cities, it cannot survive without the poor. There are rows of rundown townhouse close to the airport where, of course, the low-income earners live. It doesn't necessarily look horribly ugly but you can tell, easily by a glimpse. Obviously where the poor shops is different from the healthy and rich does! Dollarama and Wal-Mart, both, apparently, linger at a corner of the town and other businesses are available for people who don't look at their receipt once it's handed to them. Some even refuse to get it! I have written about the a few of the supermarkets in the town as food and dwelling are the most basic. 

The front of the hotel 

I sometimes get tired of the cold here and I would like to add, emphatically, that I even think of moving somewhere to the south of the border. It's the 20th day of April and it's freaking cold and when I say cold, I mean uncomfortable cold! The freaking QE II was frozen at parts and I not only saw a few wrecked trucks and other vehicles, but also was about to have a nice roll over near my destination, the day before! I was not able to the photos of the road but what happened was that the right lane had two frozen straight lines parallel to each other, where your vehicles tires stand and you drive on those ice sheets(!), for a few short kilometers, near Penhold, I think l was, I lost the control for a second and was thrown to left lane forcefully! My heartbeat went up so fast but I was able to control the vehicle in the last minute! I only was lucky that there was no vehicle trying to pass me or I would have had hit them and perhaps was in a hospital now, if not dead! 

So with that said, you see why I would like to move so deep to rid of this 7-month long winter, after 20 years I have been living here! It mostly got into me now that I drive on QE II regularly now. I think if I move somewhere close to work, that desire diminishes, automatically! 

You can find something acceptable in Palm Springs for nearly US $300,000. If someone lives in that town and installs solar panels for his Tesla (That's the EV I would buy!), they could get a job anywhere in the state and they will be alright. I think if I plan for the hike of Mt. San Jacinto again, I will go to Palm Springs and will stay there but not in Renaissance Hotel, it's just so expensive for me! It cost me more than CAN $800 for two nights and I don't even know if breakfast was included but I don't thinks it was. I was comfortable there. No noise and no crooks but the bed and the pillow were awful and uncomfortable for me, at least. I like a hard pillow and mattress not the one that you sink into it! The hotel is beautiful but failed to impress me. One of my plans was to see one of the date farms but I cancel that before going. I bought a small box of date though for a reasonable price of US $4.99 and it says it's organic. Southern California has a lot to offer but also has horrible stories about homelessness but I will stay away from those places for sure. 

(Photo, top: I don't think Gucci's owner lives in Palm Springs but I don't have an explanation why it's name and logo is seen on the wall of this house! Maybe a vacation home?)

Caught in a California Storm

 

I tried to go to sleep early and set the clock at. I think 05:30 or something but sleeping was not so easy. These hotels, all of the, no matter how much you pay, the majority of them have no comfortable bed. I paid over US $250 for each night at Renaissance Hotel and despite its cleanness and being nice, both the mattress and the pillow where uncomfortable. The blanket was no better. You would expect a hotel in that price range to be different from Travelodge or Motel 8! Signs of storm was seen at night but I didn't mind it and got out early in the morning. I don't even remember whether or not I got coffee or where I got it but I headed north and that was where I saw so many flashing lights! I went" What the hell is all these. It was raining and it got heavier when I hit I-10 East. It didn't take long to realize that I had make a mistake in two senses! 

1) A rainstorm on the road means a snow storm in the mountain! 

2) I-10 East is not a good road for a driver like me who barely gets close to 20 miles hour bellow the posted speed limit and is heavily dependent on the highway signs and an old GPS! 

I decided to stop for a coffee at a McDonald's and then turned back! By the time I got back to the town it was 07:30 or something or perhaps I shall say that I don't remember. Then I decided to try going to Joshua Tree National Park and the first time I ended up Desert Hot Springs(!) and came back realizing that the GPS is not updated. It was nothing but waste of gasoline, time and money, of course. I eventually got myself into I-10 West and hoped to get to the said park. Not a chance! There were problems!

The hotel's parking lot. Such a beautiful place. Not jam packed at this time of the day

1) There was construction alongside the road and lanes were limited. 
2) You would think you're in desert and all you have to drive in is flat road. Wrong! Big trucks had difficulty going up the hills and there was a backup!
3) The rain was pouring down and was driving me nuts! Nothing bothers me more than driving in heavy rain where I have to have the wipers on, constantly and listen to the annoying noise!
4) Further up the hill, I realized why there was a backup! A Highway Patrol had pulled over an speeding asshole and the entire left lane was blocked! 
I eventually reached the park but then decided to back(!) because it meant nothing to get out in heavy rain! 
So entire days passed by driving around Palm Spring area, eating snacks and taking a few pictures! What would have I done, had I stayed home?!(Photo, top: Rainbow over Road 86. You think the storm is done but I went back to I-10 East again and it was the same!)

Sensing the Real Alberta Winter

The real Alberta winter arrived this week, after months of mild or perhaps I shall say bad weather. Why? While everyone was happy because it was not cold or there was no precipitation, they don't understand this simple fact that no precipitation means a horrible summer of drought and higher prices of food! Even the so-called Engineering Manager of us was surprised when I said that and he, rather than his position, has been graduated from University of Calgary which is considered a top school in Canada! 

So what do you expect from the average Joe when their educated person is dumb as a f*ck! And despite all these warnings given and two weeks passing Christmas people still have lots of lights on at night! Even last night most of the house across from where I live, had their outside lights on!!! 

I haven't had any problem with the car so far, fortunately. Neither with the battery nor with the tire but I booked for tire change. For those who are reading this, trying to find something to get back at me, because they don't like what I write or who I am(!), I have to say that I won't say where I got a very reasonable price for tire change and how much it would cost! So, you can swear as much as you want and vent yourself here. Your writing would be easily removed!  

(Photo: The vehicle's odometer showing yesterday morning's temperature and it normally shows 2 degrees warmer! This is in Celsius which equals to roughly -38 degrees Fahrenheit) 

A Nightmare on Highway #2

 Travelling on a major highway on daily basis cannot be fun but there are people who chose that as their career because the pay is good. A majority of truck drivers here in Canada are Punjabi Sikh Indians but people of different ethnicities could be found doing this job. I have been driving on a major highway for nearly 2 months now and the only thing I am lucky about is the fact that it's not a road going trough the mountains or it would have been much worse. 

This winter has it been remarkably warm and it's all blamed on global warming. If it had not been this issue, I don't know what would have happened to me now! Highway #2 or Queen Elizabeth II Highway was really bad this past Thu. when I was heading south. There were big snowflakes, flying horizontally to my windshield! Luckily and with a little careful driving I reached home safely. It was worse the next morning, when I was heading north, Large patches of fog would not let me to see past 3 feet (Here I'm trying to accommodate Canadians and of course Americans despite learning all my course base on metric system!). I started early so I was not late at work. My manager was surprised! 

Heading back south was a different story! The road was dry but all the trucks I had seen earlier in the morning at the other side, southbound, now where ahead of me and had caused a major slow down! The speed was reduces to, first 5.5Km/h and then stop and go and this continued for nearly half and hour and I think in that half an hour I travelled only a kilometer or so! I called 511 three times, as my telephone is old and doesn't have a strong sound and I realized that the highway had major back ups at three spots leading to nearly 2 hours of extra time for any trip to south!

I, at this time, found the first exist and went to Olds because I was low on fuel. I then went to a local McDonald's to see if I can get map on my phone going and perhaps continue south on Highway #22. The stupid phone didn't work and then I used my old GPS. The stupid GPS directed me to some dirt road which was covered in ice with no light! Then I turned back and took Highway #22A and that was it.

I reached home around 20:10, some 2 hours late! I'm thinking of moving somewhere close to 

(Photo: A jack-knifed semi. This looks like to be very common and these idiot drivers never learn. I can't tell how many I've seen since the start of the cold season and it hasn't been a cold season with lots of storm, snow or such!)

Year 23 has just Started

This winter has been so disappointing so far. Today is the last day of November and I have not seen a day colder than-15 ℃ (5 ℉). It has snowed, I think, only 3 times. This means that we will have a hell(!) of a summer. It's about -8 ℃ (~17.5 ℉). Just came from jogging. It was good. I was going last night but became lazy. Then thought to myself: 22 years has passed since the day I landed in Canada, the country which has changed a lot. I know many refugees and poor people came to this country in the 60's and 70's but now it has been turned to a garbage of any country in the world which wishes to rid of its rubbish! There're so many problems: From high interest rate to affordable housing shortage to environmental issues. I'm tired. I also need to get ready for tomorrow. So I'm going to go. I was going to do something special yesterday but there was no time. Perhaps this weekend or any day in Dec.
(Photo: When Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in the 70's, they declared a new calendar and considered that year, the year zero! Kids as young as the ones seen in this picture played a major role in the regime's rule. For me the year I came to Canada was not year zero but was not much better than that! I aimlessly drifted and paid no attention to anything. Now I'm not much better off but I know what I'm doing and my plans are made)

The challenges of the new Job

It will be one month since I have started this new position. People have been nice so far but I think it is because I still consider me a newbie! It also could be my position. I basically take no nonsense from no one! It is too early to judge though. The company wants me to do two tests to obtain 2 certificates and I would be reimbursed for the cost once I obtain such certificate. It's not but but I have no time to study. I barely am able to write this! Too tired and have to go to bed soon. 

That's one challenge that I will have to overcome to have this permanent position and hopefully:
1) I can either work until I retire,
2) Find a better position in 5 to 6 years, or 
3) Jump to the Government position in less than 4 months!

The other challenge, which became harder just last night is the commute. It took me nearly two and a half hours to reach work today! The distance that I normally cover in 65 to 70 minutes! I saw a shared accommodation just yesterday. A house with 6 or 8 rooms, I guess. The rooms were okay but could be cold in winter and the public area, the living room and the kitchen was a mess. It could easily turn to a pigsty when all the rooms are full, particularly in the weekend where I would not have been there, had I rented a room(!) but in the afternoon it would be chaotic! The original idea was wrong! I should get a 1-bedroom which will cost around $1000. It saves me lots of hours every week and tens of dollars of gasoline money but I need stuff and it would be a hassle to haul them all to the new apartment. Not to mention the damn lease, down payment, reference, proof of employment and all the shit you have to go through to rent an apartment for the job that you don't even know how long you would be there! 
(Photo: A semi-truck has is facing south while was driving north on Queen Elizabeth II Highway in central Alberta! I saw a number of vehicles engaged in incidents. Trucks, vans and sedans. I had to slow down to 40 km/h 937 miles/h] at times to be able to reach my distance in one piece!)

Canada Burning, Mississippi Burning

This past weekend was really bad. It was hot but not unbearable. It was smokey, really bad. I had started jogging almost 2 weeks before now that I'm out of work. It was a good start because I'm home all day and mostly seated. That is why this past weekend was a torture. A thick, heavy smoke blanket was covering the entire region, until the eyes could see. 

Then yesterday's thunderstorm cleaned everything and became the beautiful Alberta that it is, most of the time. Unfortunately and as everyone knows, most of Canada has been burning this summer as a result of Global Warming. But this is different from Mississippi Burning. It's a movie from late 80's and one of the finest. Despite its sad story which has deep roots in American racism, all of the actors and actresses deliver a fantastic and unforgettable performance, directing is good, the music and cinematography is perfect and a everything is built on a strong screenplay. 

This is a sort of movie that has not been seen many in recent years. If you looked at the cast, you'd realized that most of them are amongst the top stars, and now retired:

1) Gene Hackman

2) William Dafoe

3) Frances McDormand 

4) Stephen Tobolowsky (the healing man in one of Seinfeld episode, one of the most hilarious ones, in fact)

5) R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket, Se7ven)

6) Brad Durif (Coco's Nest)

7) Micheal Rooker (JFK) 

and many more who I'm not many familiar with.

Gene Hackman and William Dafoe in a scene of the movie

Now this is a different United States and although racism is not at that level it used to be in the 60's, when the story of this movie happens and it's based on a true series of events, it's claimed there's still racism. My trip to the US, mostly have been to small towns and rural areas as I mostly went for hiking but unless you lived in an environment you'd never realized what really is going in there. 

(Photo, top: Amazing clouds few minutes after the yesterday's thunderstorm)

Summer of Hell

There has been different parts of the country facing different natural disasters. Most of them are blamed on the global changes in weather. Some are called natural but who is to blame for the fundamental changes in the weather?! Western countries, mainly, the US, Canada and other consumer-constantly-spending encouraging nations! From the sever snow storms in Atlantic Canada, to floods in Quebec and from landslides in British Columbia to wildfires in Alberta which we are facing now. 

It's turned to hell in the past two days. You can smell smoke as soon as you step outside the door and it's really dark. I used to sit in my living room up until 22:00 without needing a light. Now I have to turn it on around 20:00. I started having a headache in the early afternoon yesterday which went away shortly after I got home but I still have it in the second day of the presence of a think smoke blanketing the entire city. 

People waited more than 6 freaking months to be able to go outdoors and enjoy the weather, especially now that we're close to the May long weekend but I guess all of the plans shall be cancelled. 

I would have been in Europe, in less than a week, had I not cancelled my trip but I did for the reasons I've explained earlier (to myself at least!) and there's no need to repeat it here! 

(Photo: Looking at the sun with naked eyes in the morning! when it has ever been possible?!)

Understanding Winter Driving Conditions

Alberta has once again gone back to a warm winter condition while eastern Canada is battling with frigid temperatures. While I'm sitting here at 7 ℃  (~ 44.6 ℉), many in provinces of 

and Manitoba are having temperatures ranging from -13 ℃ (~ 8.6 ℉) to -21 ℃ (~ -5.8 ℉). 

It was the same just a few days ago in Calgary and as a result of that driving was a major issue for many. It resulted in many accidents. I was heading home the Fri. before and I was tempted for a minute to take the company's pick up truck as I had done it before but didn't want anyone to say something. I drove my old sedan.

All sorts of vehicles were either in the ditch or involved in incident. Here's what many don't understand and what I mean by many, I mean many drivers of different vehicles. People think if they're driving a shitty SUV or a big ass pick up truck, they're immune to incidents and speed up and down the roads and highways. That is not the case. I was driving northbound Deerfoot Trial and at a curve I slowed down because it was extremely slippery. I could easily feel the vehicle dancing on the ice. An SUV sped off my left and then at the curve span and hardly stopped! I slowly passed him while looking at a van and couple of other vehicles who had hit the guard rail and had been damaged. I continued slowly until I reached home safely, without any issue, just a little later than usual. 

Two vehicles, both SUVs are sitting at the side of a road, beautifully(!) waiting for a tow truck to come and save them from their misery! That is the beauty of Alberta winter which proves SUVs worth shit!

The thing about winter driving here in Alberta is these sort of incidents happen every year and caused by the people who either were born and raised in the country but also have been driving for years! Still don't understand that winter driving is different from normal driving! 

This makes both the body shops and insurance companies happy. Not to mention the law enforcement agencies and tow truck companies. I don't know if it has any affects on tire sellers because most of the people are under the impression that the so-called All Season Tires would be good enough for driving in winter, because winter is a season of the all seasons! 

The only reason I've been able to drive safely in the past 3 winters is I bought 2 sets of winter tires back in early 2020 when it was the pick of Covid-19. I probably have to replace them next year.

(Photo, top: I actually stopped at the side of the highway and put my hazards on to take this picture!)

This Year's Christmas Gift

I was at work yesterday and there was no action but I said: What the hell. I get paid for 9 hours! So why not? I in fact did a little work and that was transferring a number of documents to their related folder for further reference by the project, in case it would be needed. Rather than that it was a very boring and miserably cold day, like the other days of the week. 

Went to the Italian Centre Shop, which I had recently found on the web for some olives but it was so crowded that I found not worth the time! I got the hell out and drove home. Then at home I sat at the table to have something (although I was not hungry!) and check my e-mails and I thought it was not a very desirable temperature. Checked the ecobee thermometer on the wall and it showed 11.5 ℃  (nearly 53 ℉)! I just had heard an abnormal action(!) from the system and I realized that was it! It sounded that the thermostat shut the furnace off and then turned it back on immediately! 

It was not late but a day before the Christmas Eve is not usually that one would want to have a problem with their furnace while the outside temperature is about -24 ℃! (a little higher than -11 ℉). I remembered that I had the local newspaper delivered to my door the night before. I went to the classified section and called a heating business which is not too far. The guy said that because they had not previously provided any service to us, he would not be able to do anything! Honestly I was even surprised that he answered and even more surprised when he said that he might be available tomorrow morning! The second fella had a message on his phone asking people to send him text messages! When I did that he asked me who I was and wrote that he had not received any messages from me before!!It's a strange world with lot's of wired people! I briefly explained to him what had happened and his response was: I'm at a party!! Then he sent me a message and asked me to clear the vent and restart the furnace! I didn't get the point at the beginning. So I called the third guy. This time a lady picked up and said that he would ask a technician to give me a call and started asking questions. I easily hear a background noise which indicated she was at her home and being just day away from Christmas Eve, was distracted by all the events associated with the holidays. After a few question I realized that she was not paying attention and I wished her a good night and hung up! 

Then I thought of what the guy had sent as a message about the vent. There are two pipes sticking out of the front wall of the place, next to the balcony. I look and it, the one I assumed it was the vent, was solid blocked by a big chunk of ice. I broke part of it but the inside was clogged. Then I tried to break the ice inside but it was not accessible. My next solution was using hot water(!) and in order to do that I had to clean the balcony, at least partially, from a 1-foot snow. It appeared that the ice was being affected by the hot water and it showed it was effected when I re-fired the furnace but it froze again quickly and pushed the furnace back and the temperature as it was very cold! 

I eventually decided to stop after 2 or 3 attempts proved ineffective in frigged night and decided to go to bed. I guess I had two pullovers and a jacket and still was not very effective, I didn't sleep much. Same story the next morning due to the low temperature. It was eventually my neighbour whom I ran to and helped me! She brought a ladder and a crowbar and started breaking the ice inside and that was it. I can sleep comfortably tonight!

(Photo: The balcony after it was plowed enough to reach the vent. You can see the top of the Bear Spray at the right bottom corner of the picture. Refer to this post for the related story!)

From +30 to -30 (degrees centigrade)

It's been really brutal this week. Extreme cold that I had never suffered from to this extent. As low as -30 ℃ (-22 ℉). I've been lucky that I didn't have to work outside much or it'd have been a torture although driving on hokey field like roads, waiting for the vehicle to warm and walking as much as few meters is not much fun either.

It's supposed to end this weekend but who knows how many people have gotten into trouble from this wicked cold. From the passengers who waited for hours and eventually their flight was cancelled to the people got into accidents or their vehicle broke down at the side of a road and now have to wait as long as 72 hours to get help.

As per me I can claim that I have a new record in my life! I have worked outdoor in the temperature range of -30 ℃ to +30 ℃! Neither was fun, no doubt. I didn't have many alternatives!

(Photo: Outside temperature at 12:49 PM in one of this week's days. If you add windchill to that, it's not only unbearable. It's dangerous)  

Extreme Work Conditions

There has been an ongoing alert for most of the Province of Alberta and particularly the southern part. We had to shut down the work on Mon. due to the risk of electrocution (getting hit by lightning) and today was extreme wind (70 km/h) and heavy rainfall/hail. I, despite this was asked to go to the site and provide assistance. 

The Right to Refuse might have been applicable here but since the other guy was working, I didn't say anything. I generally don't mind the outside when there's extreme weather but for this wage, I don't think it worth it! I even ripped my pants by getting stuck in some pieces but since there was no injury, I couldn't file a report! 

The drive to and from work was not too bad except for the morning traffic because of an idiot who paid no attention to the driving condition, got himself into an accident and blocked half of the highway! 

This is my choice. I wanted to rid of the toilet which I had been working in, for over two years and now I face new issues! The next two months are critical because now they want me and The Tote Lover to do a small program which includes practical and written tests. There's basically no easy job here, unless you work hard and prove yourself. Maybe!

(Photo: As I am slowly approaching the beginning of the blocked part of the highway, it can be seen that a fire engine has blocked the that last lane and made a bottleneck. This was in the morning. No photo of the site due to privacy reasons!)

An Incident just before the New Year

I left home this morning almost at the same time as every day. By the time I reached the main road, I had three lights on my dash! Check Engine, which had come up earlier and I've written about it, ABS and Hand Break!! I check my hand break and it was not engaged and my car isn't even equipped with ABS (Anti-lock Breaking System) but because it's an standard Toyota dash, the light is there and it proves that it only is a malfunction. Two of the lights were turned off after a few seconds and I continued with the only one on. The drive seemed normal to me but when I pulled into a spot in the parking lot of work, someone called me and pointed at one of the tires! The rear passenger tire was completely deflated! How didn't I feel anything? And why didn't the car's dash show anything?! Another proof that the dash system is mingled up! 

When I pulled into a spot in the parking lot of work, I was shown the back of my vehicle! What did I see? A flat tire!! How the hell didn't I feel anything during the entire drive! I talked to a few people at work and everyone offered help but then I went out by myself later and replaced the tire with the spare. Then I called a nearby shop and they squeezed me in. I drove to the shop, left the car and they were nice enough to send me to work on Uber! getting the car was a different story, I could ask people to give me a ride because it's close but just like the way I changed the tire, I thought I should get the car by myself. So I bundled up and stepped out. Although it was only 15 minutes or a little more, I have to admit that it was not such a pleasant walk! The sidewalks were not cleared. I had to walk by the street and although the drivers were careful, if anyone had lost control, they would have hit me from the back. My hands were only spots which were cold but then my face started to be cold and I was there! 

When I get the car back, they didn't even charge me! It was amazing while the bill read $35! I thanked them and left. It was something that almost never happens! 

(Photo: Different warning signs on a Toyota dashboard. I don't know how old this guide is and I don't know if I have all in my old car)