A Little Relief on Gas

Crude Oil price has dropped to $108.38 a barrel, the lowest in last six month or close. This is strange because fall is here and cold weather is closing. It was sky high all summer long, had big effect on summer vacations, including flight fares.
But that decline doesn’t help with the gasoline price. The lower the gas price is, the happier the auto makers in the world and specially the US. It makes me happy and everybody as well because I can buy a big engine car with no worry about the gas.
The car I’d like to buy in early ’09, if everything goes well, is a Dodge Challenger. It’s a remade of 70s, a muscular 3.5 L engine, coupe. All I have to do is to wait 3 months, save a little, focus on job and keep job searching. We’ll see what happens.

(Photo: I took two pictures of two major gas stations in Barnet Hightway, Coquitlam early this morning, around 01:30 AM and put them together. Compare it to the price of gas two years ago)

Purchasing a Vehicle in Lower Mainland, BC

Car is a definite need here in a metropolitan Vancouver. You either have a car or waste most of your time. So I hope this information here could be useful for the people who are planning to live in Brit”shit” Columbia and specifically “Shit”couver. My point here is the more you ask people not to do this or that, the more they avoid you. So I’m not trying to do that. I, at least, can tell you what to do to ease your life a bit.
So I was goin’ to buy a used one and talked to different dealers. Here’s what has happened so far:

1- I exchanged e-mails with an Asian guy in a Toyota dealership. I was goin’ to buy a Prius. I know that sounds a little (may be not a little!) too much for me but I thought I was able to get that job with McElhanney and I’d fine. But as I mentioned earlier the guy told me that I should have waited may be up to 3 months. So I changed my mind and then he introduced me a 2004 Corolla, the car I always hated! Luckily his manager said that I could not finance that car because I’m a fresh starter (in terms of job!) and usually they wait up to 2 months and then approve someone.

2- I e-mailed a Suzuki dealer here near me, in Port Coquitlam regarding a SX4 I had in mind to finance. It’s a small sedan, a little bigger than my Echo and looks like a nice car to me. When I got there, the salesperson, a former Navy officer, tried to sell me a grey one through a strange type of financing opportunity. I told him that I didn’t like the colour but he didn’t listen. Then he introduced me a young Thai girl, whom I found out later that is his wife! Obviously his second or may be the third wife after divorcing his Canadian one. The girl, 29, who speaks English with a stupid Thai accent, said that she was too old to be single! He shouts at her and order her, things that Canadians, and in general Western men, can dream about in their marriage. She obviously says nothing in back. She probably has been a prostitute or something like that in Thailand and if she was not married to him, she would have been a massage parlor or a 7-11 person now.

Anyways we then agreed to work on something else. He introduced me a hatchback car, actually two of them: A Swift and a Yaris. I test drove them both. The Swift, which he said was belong to an old lady and fine, had a problem with its gear when I tried to put it on reverse. The Yaris which was being driven by her wife, the Thai girl, was apparently fine but so expensive for a 2006 used car. So when they called the insurance guy, first I claimed that I get 15% off for my insurance while they offered only 10% and then when they fixed that, the insurance guy and also the salesperson, the addicted psycho, both said that I should include collision in my insurance because I’m financing. Other than that I said I only need $200,000 coverage for the car while they were talking about $1,000,000 and $2,000,000! I was really being sick and tired of this shit so I called off the meeting and said that I would be there tomorrow because I need to obtain more driving and insurance history from Alberta. I’ve never called them up to this moment but that Thai girl calls me every day and obviously I ignore her. She even text messaged me once. The stupid bitch woke me up today at 09:18!
Will update if anything comes up on this matter

CF Medical And Else

I went to the CF office in Vancouver today for a medical examination and interview. The medical exam was performed by first a woman and then by a man. They asked questions and filled out forms. Fortunately there was not any health issue but the side of the toes inflammation (I don’t know the medical term for that).
I explained to him that the physician sent me to a lab for a blood test to see if the Uric Acid level had exceeded normal. He then told me that I have to go and get the information and bring it to them. He gave me a form for that. So I have to go to Squamish to the walking clinic. He said because working in the Navy requires long time standing and walking he wanted to make sure that it won't cause problems later.
Then when I was leaving the medical office another officer came to me and asked my name. I found out soon that he was the officer who wanted to give me information about my career. He said that my background check had started in March of 2007 and may take another year or so! I said that my capabilities will deteriorate but he said I have to keep myself in a good shape.
CF office in West Georgia, Vancouver will be moved to New Westminster starting this Nov. I still want to join. My 52 weeks training will be held in three provinces of British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia, I can retire early and will learn a lot about engines, propulsion systems and I will be also taught French. I think that will be perfect. The only disadvantage would be separation from the family.

Jesus Helps You!

I was sitting in a Tim Horton’s, having a cup of coffee and reviewing the material for tomorrow’s interview with CF and one Asian man approached me and started a conversation after sitting at a table beside mine. He introduced himself as a Chinese-Malaysian and started bullshitting about Jesus and how he helps him! That started when he asked me how I was and I said I was very bad and he asked why and I answered that that’s how people sometimes are: They are sometimes bad and at times good. He said that when he is bad Jesus helps him. When he goes down, Jesus let him go down but that’s only because he wants him to experience and then he helps him out!
He invited to join him in a church, the church that I know in Johnson Street and Walton. There’s another one a block away and he said that one is a Catholic church while his is a Protestant. Two other guys joined us in the mean time, an Italian born here and a guy from Hong Kong. The Italian then said that they both believe in the same God! I said that’s what everyone says! Muslims and Jews say they believe in the same God and they fight and kill each other and Christians and Muslims they believe they believe in the same God and they hate each other!
I don’t know why someone would want to attract others to what he worships. People have choices and see what is available. They don’t get any bonus or grant! May be that make them proud.

The Coffee Woman

I was walking down the street to work, last Sun. morning and a woman jumped out of a house and ran to a car while saying to her: freaking coffee drinkers! She was goin’ to get coffee probably for her friends or may be a boyfriend in that morning of Sun. It could have been a night sleepover. I thought she was talking to me and excused myself and asked what she had said. She repeated it. I said that I was goin’ to work and I had no time for a coffee. She asked where I worked and I told her. She then surprisingly asked me what kind of coffee I liked?! And I said two creams in it and continued my walk.
It was not more than 10 min. after I arrived at work when I saw the woman with a double cream large Tim Horton’s coffee! I was surprised. So did Wolfe, the old and tough guy. The woman said that she might have needed us later. And that makes sense but she didn’t have to. Some of them are very nice. But you know what would be really nice? She giving me a room in her house and full service ‘cause it’s only 10 min. walking from work. I actually can rent such a place but I’m not certain about the future of my job so I go back and forth until then.

(Photo: Tim Horton's large coffee, one of my favorites besides McDonald's)

Cooper Test Results and Stoppage

The gym has been closed since Tue., Sep. 03 according to an annual maintenance program. It will be opened Sep.09 again. I practiced Cooper Test at least 5 times but never got better than 1995.59 m which is considered average. And that Average was repeated in 3 consecutive days. I’m sure I can do much better than that and at least get myself to Good but that needs more practice, losing a bit more weight and planning. You have to know how to divide your energy during the 12 min. period to be able to beat the desired length. I usually go 6 mph for the first 6 hours and then every 30 sec. I add 0.1 mph to my speed. That’s what gave me that average score but obviously won’t get me to level Good. I don’t know how far I am from the physical ability tests of CF but have to get myself prepared.