McDonald's Goat Burger

I went to see The Chef this past weekend mainly because I was almost out of money and in the past 2 trips we had together I had paid for everything and he just enjoyed! He also wanted me to print the photos of the trip for him but I didn't because I certainly don't want to pay and not get paid later! I always call him and he rarely does. So when I called on Fri. he said he would be busy because he has a tenant to come and settle down. He added that he would call me later. I was doing LPI practice on Sat. and heard the telephone ringing. That was him asking me to join. So I saddled up and rode my bike to him. It's very boring and tiring to go all the way to his place because it's almost 22 km! So this time I rode to Whitehorn Station, which used to be the last LRT station in Calgary when I first came to Calgary, took the train to Westwind Station and then rode again to his place. 

We had a little chat and then we went to a nearby London Drugs and in there he ordered his photos. Then on the way back to his place he said: Let's go to McDonald's and have a Hamburger and Coffee. OK, I said. So we went in and I ordered 2 12s and two coffees. When we finished our meal I grabbed one of the boxes and showed it to him: Do you know what it was we just ate? I then pointed at the French part of the box (pictured) and said that it was Goat. Of course he's dumb enough not to know that Gout is the disease and Goat is the animal! He looked at the box, took his eyeglasses out and read it: It's Goat! I said: Chef! They fed us Goat, man! Goat! He had a hard time believing that but being so dumb, he still was in doubt! He said: That might be even Pork! He's so concerned about eating Pork! He drinks Wine, Beer and hard liqueur like someone drinking water, Soda or Coffee every day but when it comes to Pork, he becomes conservative! I said we are going to do something: What if we ask from the guy at the counter? He said: Yes. Go ask him. So there was this young Caucasian fella maybe 17 or 18 with a Cowboy hat (at it's Stampede time) and I showed the box to him. I asked: My friend here is concerned whether we were eating Chicken or Goat. Do you see what's written here? This poor idiot is not much smarter than The Chef! Instead of saying that Gout is the illness and Goat is the animal and this cannot be Goat meal he looks at the box and tries to read French and then he says that he doesn't know French! 

That was one I decided not to bother him any more and told The Chef that the young fella believes that we had Chicken but kept giving him suspicious all the way to the house and in! 

(Photo: McDonald's recently offers a Chicken Burger called 12. It's $5.99 for just the sandwich and tastes OK. Who knows what shit they use to make it tasty! This is its box made out of 100% recycled paper)

Alan Kane in MEC

I was in the MEC the other day, just killing time and looking around as didn't have anything else to do(!) and while in books section a little note caught my eye about presence of Alan Kane, a well-known scrambler and hiker in western Canada in MEC on Fri. His book Scrambling in Canadian Rockies was also available there for $34 and even me who never pays for stuff like this and relies on available information in the web, wants to buy it. In fact if I was not unemployed, I wouldn't mind paying that much for a book which guides me through trails to reach summits. It is very goof particularly for me who like to hike solo. 

I won a little money this week as a result of my contributions to a volunteer work I do. I thought the best thing I can do with that money is buy a few books or similar valuable things that every time I use them, it reminds me of my volunteer work. Alan Kane's book could be one of them. 

Anyways today I went to MEC to see him. I was expecting to have a crowed sitting and Kane at a tribune talking for them and answering questions but it was not that! 

He was sitting at a small table with a rack of his books at his side and as many as 7 people, maybe, had lined up to get their books signed and have a little chat with him. I am not a fan of signed books. This is part of Western culture and as much as I value a book and its author, I don't see much in having a signature on the first page. I like to have a photo of him sitting at the desk talking to people but I was not sure whether he would be OK with that or not. So I cancelled the whole meeting(!) and went to GPS section! Over there I had a chat with one of the guys over a Garmin handheld GPS for $119. It would have been a good purchase for me, If I had been employed but I'm not. Perhaps I buy it later although I always like the challenge of route finding in mountains. 

(Photo: This little Garmin GPS in center is the cheapest they have in MEC and is quite useful. That would help me to prevent from getting lost in forest and mountain)

The Winner and a New Interview

For someone who has been out of work for 9 months now, even a little good news lifts his spirit. It was exactly 9 months ago that the bastards called me to the office and gave me the kick in the butt!
Nevertheless I received an e-mail from the manager of the volunteer job I do yesterday indicating that I had won the monthly prize for my contributions to the organization as a volunteer. There is a little money involved here but the fact is the spiritual lift of that is very important. Just a few minutes before reading the e-mail, I had a chat with a lady from the same organization for another volunteer work which is more time-consuming and more serious. If I get that, that would be awesome and I have something even bigger in my resume.

Then I had a short telephone interview for a Federal Government job this afternoon. This one is a hell of a job, if I can get it. The start was very disappointing. The minute he started talking I realized that he was not Caucasian. He sounded more like an East European guy: Aggressive, rude, bossy and careless! What could I do? He asked me to explain what I had done so far in my career and I told him about the last job I had, hoping to impress him. He interrupted me a few time during the phone conversation which is very odd. Caucasians, particularly the ones who work for governments, sit and listen to you carefully. They never jump in. Then he questioned me about other undertakings. I explained a little bit about the time I spent in British Columbia working in construction industry. That was when he questioned my work timing! he asked how I was able to work for two companies at the same time! I was not sure whether I have made a mistake in the resume or he was tricking me but I couldn't figure out because I had to leave the apartment and sit in the car to talk to him! There were workers in the unit, fixing things!
Then he asked one of the most awkward questions that I had never heard in any government position interview: What is your salary expectations? All the government jobs have a specific and pre-determined salaries. At times they give you a range or some call it a window. You never get outside that range. For this position the range was very wide, I remember. I didn't care. I'm not in a position to negotiate a salary, particularly after 9 months of unemployment! So I told him that since the job was exciting, interesting and challenging, I would have been fine with whatever is given to me. That was his last question. The total conversation took less than 15 minutes. I was expecting it to take at least 30 minutes and that probably is not a good sign. He said I would receive a message from their HR if I was selected to go the next stage. I don't think I have a good chance. He also asked me, and I forgot to mention it, that what I had done in terms of Industrial Engineering. I explained to him that graduates of this program work in different fields. He didn't sound to buy that but said nothing.
In a nutshell it was a very disappointing and extraordinary interview. I had never felt that way. I don't know whether they call me or not but I told the bastard that I worked with small manufacturing businesses and saw how they struggle. I told him I would be able to help. He was looking at me the entire time like someone who is being interrogated because of a wrongdoing! He was waiting for an opportunity to catch me saying something wrong! Very unprofessional! 

Five Years Driving Abstract

There were days that I was writing because I didn't have much else to do. Or was not in the mode of doing anything else, perhaps! I  of course had things to do but instead of doing them, building a structure for my life, I didn't do them and wrote in this weblog! Then there was a time that I could make my life a bit easier but constructing a solid structure, late 2012, early 2013 and even 2014 but disagreement between me and The Lady prevented that. It's the history now but at times I'm writing here because I'm too tired and don't want to do anything else. Writing helps me to focus on something else than the things that I've done all day long and can't do them anymore. 

This short story is one of them. I had to get my 5-year driver's abstract for one of these positions that I had applied. It cost me some $28 and then I found out the only infraction I have had was the U-turn that I made once near Chinook Center and it appeared to be the time that a police officer was passing by and he caught me! I never knew that such a U-turn is a traffic violation and in fact The Lady had told me to do that and said there was no problem because there was no sign. The officer, though, said something else: Despite the lack of sign, which didn't have to be there, Traffic Safety Act clearly forbids that. So It means I'm a good driver. I would have not done that, had The Lady not said that it was OK. I actually challenged her but she simply said that I should not have argued her and should have gone. I did it once when she was sitting beside me and then the other time I got caught. Good that it was an honest mistake. I don't remember how much the ticket was but I paid it without any delay! 

A Good Bike Ride Around the City

The Hope is a moody and disorganized person. Not in appearance though! He's neat and well-dressed but when it comes to our common activities which is getting together for a coffee, hiking or this past one, cycling, he's always late or changes the plan in the last minute. That's what I hate the most but at the moment there's no one else to go hiking with. So I have to stick to this one! My guess is he's become this person because of all the jet lags that he has suffered in the past 10 to 15 years! I'm not joking! Sleep deprivation has serious affects on brain. It makes people impatient, nervous, you name it. I know he has sleeping problem. Just don't know how sever it is.

Having that said we planned for this 60 Km cycling in the city through its pathway system today and he was supposed to meet me at Peace Bridge at about 12:20. I'm there at the time and he's not. I called him at 12:21(!) and he says that he's on his way! In the meantime I detected a problem with the rear gear. It get changed by itself and sometimes when I change it, it doesn't get changed! I went to MEC and there was an Asian guy whom had a look. Didn't detect much! I told him that I'd bring it over later. Then he calls me! I said to myself: I waited for you and you wait for me now!

We eventually started at about 12:45, I guess, and rode toward west. We passed Fort Calgary and then headed south and that was when the heavy rainfall started. We continued until it turned to hail. We luckily reached an overpass on that time and sheltered from hail for about maybe 10 minutes. We then continued south. The Hope has a brand new Carbon bicycle and is well-equipped. I was riding my RoboBike and I was OK. I guess if he wanted to go really fast and leave me, he could do it and actually did it a few times. We passed Old Refinery Park, Carburn Park and continued to Fish Creek and then turned west and got ourselves in Weaselhead Natural Area which connected us to North Glenmore Park. 

We only stopped for a short break in that park and then continued on 37 St. The Hope was guiding us through his little GPS all the time until we reached Richmond Road. 

We headed further north from there towards Edworthy Park were he had parked his vehicle. He was worried about his BMW but we realized that the hail had not caused any damage to it.
(Photo: This is the only picture which was turned out OK and shows the rainy and haily(!) clouds in and around city which served us very well!)

(The Easy Hike of) Table Mountain

I and The Hope finally agreed on our hike after a long discussion a few days ago in a coffee shop. The Hope accepted to go to Pincher Creek area and hike up Table Mountain simply because it was considered a moderate hike. I believe now after we finished it, except for a short part, it is an easy one. Perhaps that's why they consider it moderate! He was supposed to pick me up at 07:00 as he never agrees to getting up early and I had accepted just get the free ride but he was half an hour late. Strike one! We headed south on Highway # 2 and then Highway # 3 and then in Pincher Creek we stopped for a coffee which got turned to have a Pancake as well, in the local A&W! We had already stopped once for gasoline. So Strike 3! Eat your damn breakfast enough and fill up the fucking tank the night before so you don't have to waste time on the road! 

We finally reached the trail-head near Beaver Mine Lake at around 11:00 and started the hike at 11:20, I guess it was! The fact is from where he picked me up in downtown to the trail-head was some 02:30 hours which we made it in 03:00 because of the time he wasted. 

It was an easy start and then got steep and we had to go up a scree after that. The Hope was confused although he had brought his bicycle's GPS! It seems these little machines are not as helpful as they're supposed to be. We got ourselves on the ridge where was in the middle of the mountain between the west summit and the east one. He thought we should have gone to the east side but I remembered from what I had seen that we needed to go to the east side. That was what we did! There it was an easy walk to the summit of not very tall mountain. I guess our hike to the top took some 02:25 hours, considering some waste for photography, short stops for catching our breaths and route finding of course. We had a short rest on the top and he, again, ate! This time a Roast Beef Sandwich he had bought from Co-Op! I just had a bottle of water. 

Four Deer were sheltering from burning sun beside this storage on this vast canola field and as soon as they saw me approaching, started jumping and running!

The hike down was a little challenging at the beginning but soon we found the trail and made it back to the parking spot easily. I guess we were there around 16:30, meaning we spent the total time of 5 hours for the hike. 

In a nutshell I think it is a little less than moderate hike and not worth driving 02:30 hours to trail-head unless you want to have an easy hike but the view from the top is nice. You even can see Crowsnest Mountain from there, easily.  

On the way back he wanted to take a few photos of the wind turbines and Canola field. He selected an access road and we drove close to the fields where we surprisingly a few Deer on the field! I and The Chef saw a few Deer, particularly 1 or 2 with big antlers on our way to Rocky Mountain House on Highway # 22 but missed the photography opportunity. This time I didn't want to miss because in fact it had been very long time since I had this opportunity to see them so closely but my Telephoto Lens was in his trunk and although he drove us to the road, he didn't seem to be so accompanying on this matter! Nevertheless I took a few shots from the beautiful mammals with my regular lens that you see one of them here. 

(Photo; Table Mountain's west summit with the trail which connects two summits together. On the bottom Beaver Mine Lake and its access road can be seen)