Prairie Creek Trial

It has been a long time since I wanted to hike up Prairie Mountain and that is not because it is a special hike. I wanted to do that because it is in a different area than Canmore and Banff. Besides that considering the weather, it should be fairly easy. So I woke up at about 07:30 yesterday and look at the window. I had known the weather and seeing it kept me back from going. But bu 10:30 I realized I would have not been able to stay at home for a whole day. So I grabbed my gear and headed for Kananaskis Country in Bragg Creek area after buying a few liters of gasoline.The road was not as bad as I had thought. Was even better than the City streets. i don't know whether it was because that it had snowed less or there were more plows. I saw one going the opposite direction on Highway No. 8. 

I reached the Elbow Falls area around 11:45 and I was confident this time that I would find the trial head easily and go up with no difficulty as this was my second time I was there. The temperature was something around -12 degrees C but I had enough on, with no tuque and no gloves or mitts. I had everything in my backpack though. It was not snowing but the ground had anywhere from 2 to 5 cm of snow. The trial had been walked on so I did not have to exert too much energy by stomping on the snow especially when I was going up. There were a few vehicles parked but didn't see anyone around. I realized after a few minutes, maybe half an hour or so, that I was going down instead of going up. I thought perhaps I am getting close to the main trial but when I saw a guy with his dog and asked him if that trial was leading me to Prairie Mountain, his answer was a simple now! Apparently that was a loop which later on I learnt it was called Prairie Creek Trial and it's trial head is just a few meters from Prairie Mountain trial head! 

I though that would not be a good idea to go back and find the trial head especially because I was not aware of it's location at the time. At the same time the guy told me that the trial length was 12 Km and I would probably be able to go back to the road, Highway 66, before it gets dark. I didn't want to take the risk so I decided to make it a 4-hour round trip. 

I continued on the trial and I must say, its a very easy one. The fact that I was doing it in the cold winter and snow was on the ground made it a bit challenging. This trial would be child's play if I did it in summer or fall and only running make it worth trying. I saw a few other people who were well equipped with poles, Spikes, tuque and other requirement but I only had to put my gloves on on the way back as it was getting a bit cold. At the end of my going round after a sign which was read Prairie Link, the trial got a bit uphill and I guess it was leading to one of the mountains close by but I had to go back after 2 hours to be able to get to the vehicle because it gets dark. When the time reached a certain hour that I had been already on the trial for more than 3 hours I felt both tired and hungry, something barely had happened to me on more strenuous hikes such as Grotto Mountain. I did not have any water on me but i had two bars: An Elevate Me and a Nature Valley was home at about 17:00. I assume it would be an easy walk or hike, whatever you like to call it, in summer, good for kids and elderly. Looking at the information available on the Web, now I know what my mistake was and I'm hoping that I will be able to make it to Prairie Mountain one day soon.

(Photo: Winter view in Prairie Mountain Creek)

Workplace Stories (9): The Cheapskate

With people coming and going to this shithole that I have had to call my workplace in past 2 years and a half, once we had this guy of South Asian origin who joined us and started to work. He was a nice and OK guy but seemed not fit. I realized that he was a kind of the guy who wanted to do what he liked to do not what he had to do. I didn't know much about him at the beginning because was not working with or for him but then I realized that he was quite qualified and experienced, may be just not as much as he thought he was. The thing that I learnt about him later and changed my opinion about him was that he was a fucking cheapskate like majority of South Asian. Do not accuse me of being racists or doing stereotyping because it is true. 

He had obtained a few different certificates in his line of work, years ago and never renewed them after! The guy earns probably more than, I don't know, but at least $150,000 annually but intends not to pay, for example, $80 to renew his certificate! What a fucking cheapskate, in my opinion. When I told him that I had paid around $800 for an ASQ CQE Premier, his eyes were about to pop out! These fucking animals do everything to gain money but when it comes to spend a little, it feels to them that they are going to give parts of their body! 

Another time I asked him a few questions about a certain topic. Instead of introducing useful material to me, he directed me to a shity British website which provides some information on the topic for free but the terminology they use is completely different from the North American's so it's very confusing and not informative and instructional at all! 

regardless of all the above he gave me a Bridge Cam Gauge for free and to this date I have not understood why he ever did that. I am aware that he had received it for free but still someone like him would not have given it away as easy as that!

(Photo: A Bridge Cam Gauge made by G. A. L. company in the US. For the information of those who might not know this gauge or gage as is written on it and both are correct, is used to do welding inspections and mine, the one that the Cheapskate gave to me, is not this brand. Hope G. A. L. does not mind me using their patented tool's photo)

Moong Split Bean Soup

Small bags of Moong Split Bean were on sale a few weeks back in a major supermarket so we got, I guess, two. There were sitting in one of the kitchens cabinet until last night that I decided to make a meal out of them. I looked in to the available recipes on the web, knowing it's an East Indian ingredient and found a few meals; picked the easiest one: Moong Split Bean Soup. I like East Indian food but it has its own issues. First of all they eat all of the vegetables in cooked format of course combined with lots of rice and white bread they call differently such a Naan and Ruti. Second of all everything is made with lots and lots of oil and that is not vegetable oil; it's kind thick butter they call it Ghee. I know there are many crooks out these days and sell every kind of garbage mixed together as vegetable oil but you still can get vegetable oil out there. The third problem with East Indian food is the amount of White Blanched Rice that they eat that is worse than anything else. In addition to all above, the amount of pepper they use has caused different types of Cancer in the country such as stomach and throat.

There was this guy as a colleague of us (I will tell his story later on) whom I asked him about East Indian food once and added as a compliment that I had thought East Indian food was a healthy one knowing they do not consume much meat aseptically meat. He completely denied the fact and stresses that many people in the community and country suffer from different diseases related to over-consumption of Animal-sourced Fats, Rice, Bread and other similar food. 

Regardless of all the stated facts I decided to make the soup and simply replaced a few of the ingredients I believed were not good for health. So here we go:

Ingredients: 

1- 2 Bay Leaves.

2- 1 cup Moong Split Bean.

3- 8 cups Water.

4- 1 table spoon Ginger (paste or grated).

5- 1 tea spoon Cumin Seed (or powder).

6- 1 tea spoon Turmeric. 

7- 1 medium Tomato, chopped.

8- 1 table spoon Cinnamon, powdered.

9- 1 dried Chili Pepper. 

10- 2 table spoon Vegetable Oil, preferably real Olive Oil. 

11- A desirable amount of cut vegetables of different kinds. 

12- Salt.

Instruction:

Wash the beans and set aside. Add Cinnamon, Bay Leaves and Salt to the Water and bring them to boil. Add the beans, lower to medium heat and cook until the beans are soft and tender a bit but not completely because you will have another stage of the cooking later on.  While the beans are being cooked at 1 table spoon of oil to a pan, heat it up and add Cumin, Chilies and Ginger, fry briefly and make a type of thick sauce/seasoning and set aside on low heat. Then add Turmeric and another table spoon of Oil to the boiling mixture, add the sauce/seasoning and finally add the chopped Tomato and cut Vegetables. I used a combination of Bell Pepper, Zucchini, White Mushroom, Celery and Carrot and the result was good. Cook the soup for about 15 minutes or until desire tenderness is reached. Add a bit of salt at the end if you like. If you want it less hot replace the Chili Pepper with Black Pepper and reduce the amount as well. 

This soup is good, considering the bad ingredients are replaced with less harmful ones, because you do not have to add any meat or fake commercial Chicken Stock or Broth to it to make it tasty. I tried it just by itself and I have got to say: It's really filling. 

(Photo: My plate of Moong Split Bean Soup. I sued orange Bell Pepper but using a green one could changed the look of the meal because I have also used carrot, the same colour. And I like to serve my soups in large, wide a bit deep plates because they lose their temperature faster and be ready to enjoy quicker)

The Induction Ceremony

I had been invited to the Induction Ceremony of the Association of the Professional Engineers so we went last night. We were there around 18:05, I think and after registration we got a drink and sat. They gave us a booklet with the name, position and education of all the inductees. It was interesting to know who does what or what education he or she has. There were people from known companies such as Shell and AMEC while there were other ones form unknown companies. Everybody was given a Lapel Pin and a Statement of Oath. I had been expecting to get a very nicely designed pin, not that I wanted to wear it everywhere and everyday but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. After everyone was called to the podium and photos were taken we all rose and read through the oath. 

Then there was a old lady who gave a little speech and it was about significant work that some professionals, in any career, might perform. Then we went for buffet. The invitation indicated a light buffet but it was a full meal: Chicken, Roast Beef, salads, everything. F. F. was hungry so she got happy. So was my buddy whom I found in the middle of the ceremony and joined us. I was not that much hungry but enjoyed the food. We sat for a while and communicated with other fellas before we left. I also happened to see one of the guys who used to work for our company. A very quiet guy with a terrible English but a nice gentleman who had worked hard to get to this stage. He works now for an authority. He seemed happy. Overall it was a good night. I guess we left sometimes around 20:30 or so.
(Photo: This is the pin given to everyone who is either registered as a professional Engineer or Geo-scientist. In my opinion they could easily make this pin much nicer to look by simply adding to its length and using a better font, maybe. I don't think that is something that anyone would want to wear not only because now there are too many people who have this title also because it's not something special in appearance. I thank the Association for this and the entire ceremony, especially the drink and food, though! Maybe I let them know as a suggestion)

A Bad Sign

A couple of weeks ago we were going to the apartment and a pile of stuff caught our attention. I had a look, ignored it then and went in. Same thing happened the day after that and then eventually after 3 days, F. F. got curious as what it meant. Looking closely you could find different things in the stuff: Books, a pair of boots, a snowboard, other stuff in bags. It was clear to me that someone had been kicked out as a result of a break-up! I told F. F. what I had though it was and I guess I was right. I don't know the couple but had seen a young Caucasian girl going and coming to that unit a few times. She actually was the second resident of the unit. The previous one I guess was kicked out because of late rents. I guess they even didn't pay for a month or two. One days after that we saw a few more being piled up and just in a week everything was gone meaning the relationship was officially over. But was the girl a bad breaker upper as Elaine explains in Seinfeld, I'm not sure. We never heard any noise. It was a bad sign when I saw it and I immediately knew what it meant.
(Note: A photo of the stuff is available but I'm not looking for a trouble with the neighbours. So we forget about that!)

Workplace Stories (8): Newlywed, Nearly Dead(!)

There's this guy at work whom we bother a lot but just for fun only and he doesn't mind it. He comes to us to have a little chat usually at the end of the working day and we fill him with horrible stories about the situation of the company and how everyone might lose his job soon, which in a way is true! He and everyone else has been waiting for the annual raise as well as the year end bonus. It is too late to get the first one because we have passed two paydays without having it happened but people are still optimist. But really what else is available to hang on to! Just an empty hope, I would call it! 

The guy has gotten married recently and is nervous. He changes his shirt every day and tries to look neat and professional because well his wife is looking at him as a successful role model have achieved almost everything in Canada! The other day I asked him whether people of his faith ever pray. And his answer was they would every morning, if they are very religious. I told him he'd better start praying! He said he would pray to become a millionaire! I said, in reply, he'd better start praying that he will have a job in two month or more! I added: This guy (pointing at my body who is originally from the same country as he is) has saved enough money that he would be able to stay unemployed for a very long time. Besides he is well qualified and would be able to get a job in two months, max.! I have my ticket and I will jump on the plane and will go back home. What are you going to do?! You're newly wed! And my buddy added: Newlywed, nearly dead! And we burst into laughter, both of us. He was holding his head between his hands and bowed it! It was hilarious. He's a very simple and impressionable guy who believes almost everything he hears. I have had convinced many other in the company but I'm well known now. Although I'm still able to sell my bullshit but it's hard to happen! But this guy, as soon as he hears something, he listens with wide open mouth and eyes! Regardless of his innocence that you can easily see in him after spending a little time, there is also this silliness in him which make him immature and amateur! We were heading back to the office once about 7 or 8 months ago, I guess 3 or 4 of us, we were on Elbow Dr. where those huge mansions are located. He goes: I will buy one of these one day! He in a sense is a bit similar to Ali G. The difference is Ali G. found his way through and now works for one of the biggest municipalities of Canada with most likely a very good salary. He had dreams like that but it's more likely that he can get something close to these dream! 

(Photo: One of the streets in Elbow Dr. neighbourhood. I took this photo last May)