A Cutie

A few weeks ago I received messages from a very young girl, only 20, in Vancouver and shortly after she started calling me and we got in touch. She's originally from Isfahan and for that I thought may be Sunny and Sammy, my distant cousins, have tempted her to bug me. But she then sworn that regardless of the fact that she knows them, that's not them who asked her to start a relationship with me. Their fathers used to work for the same company and are friends but that didn't make any relationship between the three girls. One reason could be the ghost of jealousy! (A very popular, excellent music video of late(!) Michael Jackson) The girl is so cute and lovely and as far as I know those girls, they must have had an awful feeling just by sitting beside her 'cause they just look average! I really don't know what she wants but looks like she likes me 'cause she asked for my photos and wants me to meet with her in there! I would be happy to go there and meet with her, of course but can't go now and in future she would have been taken by the a guy!

Fun with Dick and Jane

Last night me and Ali G. caught a new movie of Jim Carrey called Fun with Dick and Jane. There were three choices in my opinion: King Kong, Memories of a geisha and the one we watched. Ali G. said that Kong would make him sad and geisha wouldn't make a good movie so we went to Carrey's and that was so hilarious. A story about a normal American family, living happily. Mom, Dad, kid, their pet and a Hispanic nanny. They both have a good job, a house which it's mortgage is being paid and they constantly looking for promotion and having better life, like all North Americans, bigger house, luxury cars, more vacations to resorts. And when Dick suddenly get promoted and then in a very short time encounters lay off as a result of scandal in the company. That's the time they start to lose everything and that's exactly what I'm scared of here in Canada. You can have a dream life here but if you lose your job, everything turns to disaster in a sec. North Americans don't care about that. As soon as they get a career or job, they start to buy everything they need and are not afraid of future. What they say in life is:

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery and today is the gift!

So let's live today's life! I can't do that. I'm conservative in that way, although I have no family to be worry about!

(Photo: Jim Carey, also the producer and beautiful and sexy Tea Leoni in a scene in the last minutes of the movie)

490 is Failed As Well!

I received CQE exam. result yesterday (I mean the day before because it's 12:19 AM now!) by mail and I f**king failed as I was informed by e-mail. I got 490 out of 550 which is the passing score and that's 30 points more than what I had the first time I wrote it but the distribution is different. Now I know what to do to pass the exam:

I should focus on quantitative methods and particularly DOE. It has been an issue for me since I was working for SAIPA. When I was there, I had enough free time so most of the free time would have spent on studying English or other favorite subjects, mostly IE, QA and QC and politics. Once I tried to start DOE but didn't find any good reference and I promised me to find something when I'm in Canada. In SAIT I had a DOE course but the damn instructor (with a big belly!) was not good at all and I not only learnt nothing but also passed it with the skin of my teeth! ...Well not really bad. Then there was the first exam. and I didn't get anything and I failed but not because of that only and then this one!

French Maid

I was so tired in the last two days that I went to bed at about 08:45 PM! I don't know if that was because of the job or blood donation. Also last night my head was about to explode! Lazlo, my buddy from work (He's Hungarian) suggested to go to French Maid, a strip bar in McLeod Tr. for a few beers and seeing the girls. We went there and it was open at about 04:00 PM! But who really goes to a strip bar anyway? I mean no matter what time it is. There were all workers as far as I could look around and one or two guys in regular dress and may be two stupid Oriental old men with wide open mouth, gazing at the girls!
I had been to the Downtown location of French Maid few times and that was a long time ago but this one is much bigger place with a large stage and the girls ... God! I couldn't believe my eyes! I mean I have been to nude bars and seen many girls but the two ones I saw last night were incredibly slim and pretty: Long sexy legs and small butts and pussies and white silky skin. I guess I'm gonna go there later and ask one of them to join me for a night! I know they are expensive but it worth the money because I haven't seen such a girl anywhere so far!
Anyway I had two pints of my favorite drink (Kokanee Gold) and because I didn't have anything for my lunch but two small cookies and my stomach was empty, it affected quickly and thank God we didn't drink more and left after the second stripper finished but when I got home after an hour or more I had the worst headache that I've ever had in my life (Which has happened not more than 4 or 5 times so far) Therefore what I did was I swallowed a pill and went to bed very early!

Doepker: SK. or Not?

I was driving home today and as soon as I passed Anderson Road, my phone rang and that was a guy from Doepker in Saskatchewan. I applied for a Quality Assurance Manager in Dec.05. He asked if he could ask me a few questions. I pulled over and here is the summary of our conversation:

Q: Why did you chose our company to work for? (I've heard this damn stupid question in almost every interview!)
A: I found the position pretty much similar to the previous job I had and believe that I can handle it very well, using my education and valuable experiences.

Q: Do you know where we are? (What a dumb question!)
A: I guess you are located in west Saskatchewan. (He said that they had three facilities, two in SK. one is the same I mentioned and another one in the south, close to Regina, in Moose Jaw and the company is planning to have the third facility in B. C. soon)

... and a few more stupid questions like the ones I just mentioned and don't remember 'em! and don't really matter! If they need me, they'll call me. If they don't ... they won't.

It's in You to Give!

I really didn't wanna go home after I got my car back today. So decided to go to the Government building and ask about my citizenship and sponsorship situation. But then found myself in front of Canadian Blood Services! I went there to donated and most of the people in there were kind of surprised and were gazing at me because I was the only non-Caucasian who was there to donate. I really don't know why I did that because I normally run away from the needle! But I felt good emotionally after that, not physically! I don't think I'll go there again!

There's No Way Out

I didn't want to write this here because I was so upset and depressed but today feel a little better and think am able to post it. I was driving home from Talisman like every Sat. and in Macload Trail just after 39 St. saw a police cruiser in lane 3 a few meters ahead of me (I was in lane 1, doing 45 Km) I thought it's better to turn to a street but there was no alley in front and then thought better to just drive like that, he would be gone. But as I passed a light, he turned on his lights and I had to pull over.
Actually I didn't feel to go back home. I wanted to have a beer and I was gonna give A. Palani a call but didn't!
It was very cold and I rolled the window down and after a few seconds an officer showed up. He asked me: Do you know why I stopped you? I answered: I guess that was a yellow light sir! That's not why I stopped you. Your sticker on the plate is two months old, he said. And that was it. After a few min. of explanations he made me wait and finally gave me two tickets while I had my car towed! A ticket of $172 for not having the car registered and another ticket to show in the court in Jan.17 for not being insured! The fine for not having the insurance while driving is $2500 but the officer told me that if that was my first time, they would forgive me and throw the ticket out. Then I walked to Chinook LRT Station and got home but was so crashed and got stock at home all Sun. long!
Today I went to a branch of Link Insurance in downtown, where Hojam took me last year and insured the car for $136 per month which is good. Then me and him (He joined me later) went to the Downtown Registry to get 2006 sticker and then he drove me to 39 St. to get the car back! He's the only guy who helps me whenever I want. Actually Resurrect helped me a lot too but he is insane! I was so happy have my little car back! That was the first time in last 2 years and 3 months since I bought the car, I didn't have it! There are things that are indispensable in this life here: Vehicle, mobile phone and Internet!

Christmas Gifts For Me

I received two valuable Christmas gifts this week. The first one is from CNH which I received the day before, indicating someone else had been chosen! The second one is an e-mail from ASQ mentioning that I failed CQE exam.! If the result is calculated based on the number of correct answers, there's a chance for passing the exam. But that's not how it works. They assess you based on the percentage of difficult questions that you answer correctly. Would it be any better than this?! My only hope is receiving a phone call from Cintas in the coming week.

Cintas

While I haven't heard anything from CNH yet, after that stupid and ridicules, snowy phone interview, I got another one today but it was just a few formal questions. The main interview will be performed later, if there's any.

Most of the companies in Canada, no matter what industry they are in, are originally American. I mentioned that earlier here but that was focused on the companies we deal with in our daily life, like fast food chain restaurants and supermarkets. One thing before I get to the main point and that is Superstore is not American! When I came to Canada they didn't even have a website! Now they got one!

Cintas is also an American company in apparel industry. I applied for a position as Production Supervisor last Sun. and had a message from them yesterday. I've mentioned in my resume that I used to have the same position in Almase Saz Co. for about 6 years! The truth is I used to work for them as Production Planning Manager, which is almost the same job, may be a little higher in rank but only for a few months! I worked for them for a period of 12 month! 1.5 months out of that period, I was on leave of absence, working for a small company to test it! But I would like to confess that I was downgraded to a normal planning department expert after I left the company in a tricky way for a week, to go to Tabriz with mountain climbing group of Tehran Polytechnic! That's why they gave me that 1.5 month leave without pay! In that journey there were only 4 of us: Me, Ali Afshari, who was later got arrested by Ministry of Intelligence and jailed, Saviz, who is is Australia now and Mostafa who was not a student of Tehran Polytechnic but was an active member of the group. That was an unforgettable travel and we enjoyed but was poorly planned by our host, Sahand University. We were supposed to attack Sahand mountain in south of Tabriz and there were students from many schools around Iran but people got lost and some went to other picks and ... That was a disaster! But I liked it as I'm an adventurous guy! I may write the story here but as it's not related to the other side of the globe, I rather not to!

Today I called them and talked to their HR manager, a prob. Oriental guy with awful accent! I don't know how I understood most of the things he said! Here are the questions and my answers:

1. What does Almase Saz Manufacture? They manufacture tools in different types for different industries, including cutting, milling and drilling tools. They have three workshops in the plant: die making, insert and holder.
2. How many people did you use to supervise? As it's a team-work I had 4 lead-hands under my supervision.
3. Do you own a vehicle as it's a second shift position, starting at about 02:00 PM and usually finishes at about 11:00 PM and may be after and on that time there's no transit available in Calgary? Yes. I do. I noticed that when I moved to Calgary. There's a need for a reliable car here. I used to work in a rotating shift. So I'll be fine with that.
4. How much do you expect for your salary? Every company has its own policy regarding wages and salaries. For example you say a person with this education, background and experience gets this much. I follow that but I'll give you a number later.
5. One of the company's heads (I don't remember who was mentioned by him) would like to meet with you face to face and we offer a tour of the facility but he's extremely busy today (may be this week. Don't recall that) and will give you a call soon.

He, then, said that I could give him a call if I needed something.

The Cops

First of all,The Cops is the title of an old comedy. I see many cruisers these days, Ford Crown Victoria and also Vans. They are everywhere, looking for violators. Last Sat. night when I was driving toward home from Talisman, in Canyon Meadows Drive, just one block to Bow Bottom Trail, I saw a cruiser sitting behind an evergreen, hiding from motorists who were driving toward west!

Also a few weeks ago when I was driving down Macload Trail, just before Glenmore Trail, I saw a cruiser was really cruising to the street, no sound or light. I passed it by. They turned to Macload, caught up with me and in a few seconds made an old car stop!

Christmas Lighting

I tried to convince me to get an tripod from London Drugs or anywhere else but couldn't. The new neighborhood I live in is a different one which I used to share in a townhouse with Resurrect. People are richer, houses are bigger and as this is Christmas season, many houses are decorated by lights and most of them are so beautiful when I'm driving by in the evening and at night. I would like to take photos as I have a roll in my camera and I love photography but need a tripod for that and that thing costs me at least $60. I can buy one from Blacks for $25, even $15 but can't be sure whether or not they are as reliable as the expensive one is sold by London Drugs. May be I change my mind during the week!

Tickets

I talked to Ali G. to find a game in Saddledome to attend and I picked Ottawa at Calgary but when tried to get the ticket, didn't find any available! I also tried the other games as well, even the games in coming Feb. but didn't see anything matches our criteria, not more than $100!
So after wrestling for more than a week, he called me today and said that he has found two tickets for section 226 on eBay and he would bid on them. That's an OK section not a very favorite one. The better ones seen in pink are much more expensive. That would be Boston at Calgary in Dec.17. at 08:00 PM. The last bid is $51 for a pair and there are four days left. Let's see what he does.

(Photo: As you see the best seats are in purple but we'll be really happy even we get any in blue!)

The Researcher

I, at times, listen to the radio while driving, instead of music. It's usually CBC, I guess. Last night there was a very interesting interview, I'd say with a professor who researches about the effects of global warming on water supplies.

He said, at the beginning, that global warming does not lead to what we saw in The day after tomorrow! " That's a little science and a lot fiction " he said. This is what I got from his explanation:

Most of the rivers in Canada are fed by snow melted water. Global warming makes the rivers deeper in early spring compare to June and that effects irrigation, water supply for residential purposes, hydroelectric facilities (As this is one of main sources of electricity supply in Canada) and may be more as I can't recall everything he mentioned! But what's important is the way they pay attention to detail and apply the results of researches in their life and don't just archive them in the library!

Exam. in -26 ºC!

I went to Keiv. M's place Fri. night to borrow his scientific calculator while it was very cold, almost  -24 ºC and after 1 hour took him to Sunny Side Safeway for his grocery shopping. Then drove to H. Jamalnia's place to stay overnight as it's closer to SAIT, where I had to write the exam. He was not home then I went to the bakery. Roads were so slippery and very dangerous, especially in that neighborhood, Forest Lawn, where police cruiser are patrolling all day long. As soon as I got close to 48 St. SE, I saw a cruiser sitting there with all light off. Didn't notice that until I was about 5 m. clsoe although my eyes were continuously scanning front and behind while I'm driving. H. had to drive a co-worker home so when we got to his place it was almsot 12:00 and I went to bed but didn't sleep enough, partially because when I sleep in a different place I'm not comfortable.

I woke up and got to SAIT on time but it was so damn cold: -26 ºC! The exam was damn hard especially because I was tired and could not concentrate well in the first 2 hours but then got better and answered more. I don't think I pass it this time. I didn't answer few of them. May be 10-15 out of 160! DOE questions were amongst the questions which didn't get answer. If I wanna pass this damn exam I have to study that subject, hard and deeply. The lady proctor, Holly, then explained to me that the final score is assessed based on the number of hard, professional and difficult questions, mostly. For example if I answer a question like which one of these graphs are Ishikawa diagram? but leave a question about full factorial run, I won't get a good credit for my exam because it's not professional. Everyone knows what Ishikawa diagram is but not everyone is able to apply DOE methods.