Stuck!

It's unbelievable the weather here. That's what it is! It's 2 ̊ C now, at least 16 ̊ C warmer than yesterday! Imagine the difference if I went jogging today instead of yesterday.

Anyway this happened after I came home from my exercise and finished my dinner. I had made pasta with mushroom. I had some potato chips of different flavour and I was about to relax. F. F. called and said that she had to stay an extra shift asked me bring her some food. I put some of the pasta in a lunch box and ran down. I tried to get the car out of the spot but couldn't! I big bump has been made at the side of many od the streets as the vehicles pass by. In order to park on the street you will have to go over the bump to be able to park parallel to the curb and close enough. Then it becomes a problem coming out because you will have to 

drive over the bump to get to the main, centre side of the street. There are people who don't even bother trying that and just leave the car there. I drove back and forth a few times and then the car suddenly jumped over the bump, turned more than 110-120 ̊  and stopped at the other side of the street. I made sure that I would not try that when people were driving by because it was very likely that I would hit someone. So I thought that was it but obviously I was wrong! The snow was deep, may be 2 in. and it was sticky around the tire and hard everywhere else! I made a mixture of melting-frozen snow, a hard slush around the tire and was just skidding! There was no one to help. I remembered that I saw a shovel leaned against the wall when leaving the building. I grabbed that and tried to clear around the damn right tire but the car had sunken in the snow and it was deep. Beside that he damn shovel is made of fucking plastic and can do nothing to a big frozen slab of ice in a -14 ̊  C weather! So I grabbed it from the other end and started hitting the ice around the tire to break it and make a narrow path for it. I got tired after a few impacts but it worked. I took a break and took a photo(!) and sat behind the wheal. I had tried going back and forth at least 6-7 times and it had not worked. This time I turned all the way toward the street and after 2 try the car jumped out of the damn hole and I drove away! I never thought that even having Michelin X-Ice could not be helpful all the time although I had paid over $650 for 2 pair of it but the fact is that I would have never been able to drive, if I had not purchased them. I still think they should be much better than this! 

(Photos: The top photo shows the battlefield after I left and the bottom one was taken after I broke the ice with the shovel and was ready to go and get the car out)

Permanent Cold with a bit of Relief

There's nothing to write about these days. It was so cold the entire weekend that I couldn't even go for my regular jogging! Today was actually the first day. It was -14 ̊ C and almost -23 ̊ C considering the wind-chill but I didn't mind that. I ran with a good speed for about 21 minutes. It's supposed to be better better this weekend in Kananaskis so I'm planning a hike. Hopefully everything goes well and I can enjoy.  I don't know if opportunities will ever come. We either move out of the province or I don't know what's going to happen in a few months! I've been trying to get another job but all the effort has led to interviews and interviews only. I'm doing a certificate which will be the subject of a separate post next year. I'm hoping that helps my career because it really seems fucked up! 

(Photo: Bow River pathway at 8th Ave., SW. Tried to show the amount of snow on the ground but I don't think I was very successful. It was a very good exercise)

Arctic Cold

I just came back home. I had dressed to be able to jog but it was impossible although I had done it the day before in a less cold temperature. It's almost -26 degrees C and will be colder when the wind starts blowing in an hour or two. The extreme cold started Mon. and apparently will be our guest here for a few more days, maybe the entire next week. 

The damn pair of gloves that I bought from SportChek, the Columbia ones are almost useless! I made another mistake and had my runner on! I'm lucky that my foot fingers are not frozen now! There is a warning for this evening that the temperature will close to -39 degrees C, considering the wind-chill and people have been asked not to go out if they don't have to. There is a concern for frostbite. I walked almost 8 blocks to get the vehicle from F. F. and my eyes was watery at the end! This is really not good because after sitting at the damn desk for almost 7 hours I needed exercise but I guess I can't do much.

(Photo: We had a short visit of a shop yesterday around 15:00. People were working in the yard while it was almost -22 degrees C, not considering the wind-chill!)

A Beautiful Blizzard in Calgary

A very lovely blizzard started yesterday morning in Calgary. It was snowing exactly parallel to the ground! By evening it was so much snow on the grounds that vehicles got stuck. I was a lucky one because I had purchased 2 pairs of Michelin X-Ice a few weeks before that. Otherwise there would have been no chance in hell to be able to drive around. Nevertheless I got stuck once and lost the control of the vehicle. I was about to hit a parked one but missed it! I drove back and forth a few times and the engine got turned off by itself(!) at least 3 times until I was able to get myself out of that mess! Earlier in the evening I tried to go for my usual jogging but changed my mind due to the strong wind. It's -13 degrees C and considering the windchill it's almost -19 degrees C. I stayed inside tonight as well. I will see how it looks tomorrow. The entire week looks the same. I'm just hoping that I will be able to do a hike this weekend because there will be no snow in the mountain but it will be arctic cold. I will only have to resolve the problem with the damn vehicle which requires oil change. F. F. needs it as well to go to work. I'll see.

(Photo: It was so cold that the windshield would get frost from inside after a few minutes of sitting. The exhale hits the extreme cold windshield and ice crystallizes! You have to brush it off to be able to see!)

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)

Deep in the Hole

I was looking at the NHL results yesterday and Calgary seemed to be one to the last deep in the bottom of the standing table! A few key figures of the team have left in the past few years and all new guys are ruining it now. Iginla joined the Penguins last year. Kiprusoff got retired and possibly left for home. Phaneuf, way before the two joined the Leafs and I guess he's a Captain there now. 

Nevertheless I had a glimpsed at the Sportsnet last night before going to sleep and realized that the Flames had beaten the Kings 2-1! The highlights were shown and it was quite interesting. In the last minute of the 3rd period Calgary had an random shot towards L. A.'s net just to get the puck away, I guess. The Kings' goalie, Scrivens fell somehow(!), maybe tripped, I don't know how to say it and gave the Calgary guys to take a chance. By the time the Flames guys got the control of the puck in presence of a few Kings' guy, he was back in the net, almost, but that didn't help and Cammalleri, while laying on the ice, passed it on to Jones and and that was it! Beautiful Goal!  

(Photo: Calgary Flames has a new goaltender, Ramo. He is from Finland, just like the previous long-served goalie, Kiprusoff. He managed to help Calgary last night to win over the Kings in California)