Organic Foods (2)

Today I noticed another proof that organic foods are no better than non-organic. The first time I realized that was the time that I watched a type of documentary on CBC, possibly in 2003. Jackasses like A. J. always claim that they can afford organic food and they're really proud of it! Now it's proved that it doesn't make any sense. No need to mention that organic produce and everything else, including meat it more expensive. Fore more information refer to: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090729/science/science_us_food_organic. Hope that makes people awake! Also refer to this and this for more on foods.

(Photo: This salad is made of lettuce, radish, carrot, asparagus, broccoli, tomato and green onion and none of them are organic!)

Recycling (2)

I bought my first iPod in 2005. That was just the time iPod emerged. I guess I paid a much as $400 for a 20 GB Classic and that was just to play songs. Then it just got broken and never played a song again! I guess it was infected by viruses because I never bought a song from iTunes! I always downloaded it from free sites and transferred it to the iPod and that was the result! Then I called Apple Canada and asked if there was any chance it could be fixed. The guy in Ontario told me that it might but it would cost as much as $150! He suggested me to buy a new one and said that I will be eligible for a 10% discount if I present the old iPod.

Then we went to the only Apple store in Brit"Shit" Columbia in Pacific Centre and told what we had been earlier advised.

The guys in there were all surprised seeing the old iPod in it's box. I bet none of them had seen it before or owned it at the time. They all admitted that. They got the old iPod from me but left the earphone, the USP cables and chargers and gave me a 10% discount on an iPod Nano 8 GB which not only plays music but also displays photos and plays videos. I have tested it with songs and photos but not videos as the common formats don't fit in it.

(Photo: The box of my Classic iPod is going to be kept as a memorabilia)

Shocking Unemployment News

I received an e-mail response from Kevin today indicating he was unemployed! My first reaction was that it was a joke! That's what I wrote him back! But he's not kind of a guy who lies or jokes about these stuff. You never know, though. People change.

Kevin was amongst the top students in the school, always busy with his courses. He never was to any activity or program. His only hobby was masturbation!

He joined a well-known engineering company and worked there for almost 10 years. He came to Canada almost at the same time I did but left shortly after because he didn't want to do anything rather than his professional filed. Then he came back in 2005 and stayed; joined an engineering company and then moved to a very famous one who has offices almost everywhere and is involved in energy and infrastructure projects in Canada and abroad. He bought a small apartment and financed a nice car just a year after his employment. Then he got married last year. I have no idea if his spouse works or not but will find out and post. This is all good to know. We all will learn a lot from other's experiences.

Important Questions

Preface:

I would like to stress that the main goal of this weblog is to keep the things I like untouched for future reference. This is not being written to satisfy anybody but me. At the same time if there's anything that could be helpful to people or if there's any question that I'm able to answer, I''l be more than happy to do that. This little note is for the sole asshole who comes to this weblog at times and bullshits; also for such other guys.

Here, I'm bringing up part of the questions I had to answer in my last interview and I failed! I was so close but I missed. This is to remind me and help me as well for the next possible opportunity. You, as a reader, if there's any, focus as well and I hope it helps you too. Every one is aware of these questions, though. This is no secret. You can find them in any interview preparation book. Something that I didn't and led to my failure(!):

1- Give an example of how you create an encouraging environment at work.

2- Tell me about strength and weaknesses.

3- Give an example of a time that you were able to persuade someone at work.

4- Give an example of a time that it was necessary to change your action under circumstances.

5- Give an example of a time that you made a mistake. How did you handle that? What was the result?

6- How did you provide leadership in the past positions you held?

7- What are the ingredients for a successful business leadership?

8- How would you deal with an under-performing employee?

9- How would you deal with people from different backgrounds at work?

10- Provide an example of an evaluation technique you implemented.

11- Provide an example of a time that you motivated a colleague.

12- Describe a situation in which your manager/supervisor was not available and you had to deal with a problem. You were not sure what the best action was to take.

13- Describe a time that you were not satisfied with the job you had done or the service you had provided.

Now think of the answers!

Canada's Seven Wonders, Number 1: Health Care(!!)

This damn gout attack has been disturbing me for over 2 weeks now and finally today morning I said: enough is enough! I decided to see a physician. F. F. was insisting too. So I was searching and searching for the damn Health Card and eventually found it in the storage! Actually F. F. did! I've been living in B. C. for over 2 years and today was the first time I used that damn card! I really didn't want to go because I hate waiting in the lines. I rather die! We got on a bus and just 2 stops later we got off and walked to the clinic. Not to mention that I was walking like a snail, if you could call it walking!

We stepped in and gave the information to the receptionist. There was only one man in the waiting room. We sat and in less than 4 min. I was called to the doctor!

Unbelievable! That almost never happens!

Canada and the US, both, have a bad reputation for long waiting in the emergency rooms, clinics and for operations. I have no experience over the US and the only time I had an operation in Canada and that was in Calgary I had a very good service. Ellen once told me the time that she had to go to an emergency room for her arm or something like that and that was shortly before my nasal operation. She said that she was screaming and yelling from pain but had to wait. It scared me but I knew that I should not have believed the stupid ugly bitch!

This time I personally witnessed one of the Canada's seven wonders with my own feelings! Hope you witness that too in case you need medical attention. I hope you never need one, though!

The Hat Story

S. T. is one of my colleagues. He's originally from England, somewhere in northwest, with strong British accent, has been living in Canada since early 80s. He once told me a story of the hat he wore in the school when he was only a kid. I find it quite amusing although it's short. Here it is:

My father was serving the British Forces during the WWII. He was in the battlefields but he never shot a fire. He once brought an SS hat, like a tuque from German fields. He took the SS logo off and gave the hat to me and I wore it. I went to the school (I was in elementary at the time) and here it's me in the class wearing the hat. The teacher turns to me and goes: Where did you get this hat? I respond: My dad gave it to me. He asks: Do you know what kind of hat it is? I say: Yes! I do! Then he says: Why are you wearing that then? I reply: It's comfortable! That was the end of the conversation!

Do you think you could talk to your teacher like that in the old country, in that time which was late 40s, early 50s? I don't think so!

(Note: If you look at the British Forces website, you'll find it as Ministry of Defence but all I've read in the history, have been invasions not protection or guarding! Don't say that the best defence is an offence!)

(Photo: Nazi Germany SS Forces logo)

Opportunist Capitalists!

I was talking to Hodani last night on the phone and he told me about the company he works for, Lilydale. He said that about a month ago or a little before that the company announced a situation in which the employees had two choices:

1- Get laid off (Not down!)

2- Accept a 7% in salary reduction.

This is bullshit! Hodani said that they were nagging and crying ... Oh! Lots of orders have been canceled! There is not many customers! We have to shut the plants! Etc! Horseshit! This stupid recession which all was started by stupid Americans has nothing to do with food industry. Actually I believe orders should have been increased because people rather cook at home these days unless they are Canadian because many of these assholes don't know what and how to cook! Anyway UFCW called for a referendum and the employees voted for 7% wage decrease with the hope that the economic situation gets better in near future and everyone gets his/her original salary!

Who really believes a huge company which has plants all over Canada and most of the plants work 3 shifts a day gets into financial problem?! Even the troubled GM has new advertisement broadcasted every day saying GM is not going out of business. GM going down the business! It's said the company's new product, Camaro has been a help and it's trying to get back on his knees. Hodani added that he voted for the 7% decrease alternative because he was intimidated by the company indirectly and feared about his future. " That was against my belief " he said. I understand him I would probably would do the same, if I were him. It's not easy to fight Capitalism. It needs good leadership, a plan and educated team.

And at the end I should really get into these union thing, realize what they are doing in this world of Capitalism. T. S., my colleague, was saying the other day that UAW has bought a big share of GM, possibly as much as 40%! I was surprised. Here comes Socialism! I will read enough and post about it soon. That's remarkable!

(Photo: GM's Volt, the revolutionary vehicle is planned to be in the market as early as 2011 to be another help like Camaro to troubled automaker)

Salad

The art of salad by F. F. Isn't that a beauty?

Disappointment

I was turned down by the employer yesterday. That was a supervisory job in Vancouver. I had a very bad feeling hours after. Such a frustration. I knew that I did not do very well in the interview but that was not too bad also. There was a little hope. I wasn't dreaming though. That job could be an starting point which would have led me to much better positions in near future. The lady human resources specialist said that she would give me a call tomorrow (today) to discuss the case and help me to improve my interview skills.

There were bunch of stupid question in the interview which I answered them in the same way! One question, for instance, was " What is the worst thing that you have ever heard about the company? "(!) I told them one thing that I had heard and they asked me if I believed in that(!) and I denied!

There's another position available now and I doubt I'm applying. I, firstly, have to see if the other one, the part-time one, gets me or not. I'm no optimist about that one. I'm sure I'm doing well at the job but was not able to prove it to them, to the interviewers! That's the most important part. I messed up really bad.

Recycling

Recycling is a big business in North America. Cans, bottles, boxes, etc get back to life after being used. There are people who basically live on recycling. Some return items as a source of income. I remember I was told once that Vietnamese and other South East Asians, who does recycling earn as much as $4000 annually! That covers their vehicle insurance and adds more to their grocery basket. There's one funny add that you can see them on Transit buses. I tried to find them on the net, in their website and didn't. Then I used my mobile phone and took a photo. It's funny.

(Photo: The title of this ad is Don't Mess with Karma. The cartoon says it all by itself but the message means that you better not be against the fate or destiny or you'll get wasted! I couldn't make it clearer than this using that camera)

Dawn of the Dinosaurs

We watched Ice Age 3 yesterday in Metrotown. It was my first time watching a three dimensional movie and worth it. A special pair of glasses was given to everyone before the movie started. I had already watched part 2 and there were same characters and obviously a kid's story. I just wanted to see how a 3D movie works. Very exciting at times!

Hollywood announced a few months ago that it will focus in 3Ds more. A Canadian expert has been working on a new system which enables directors to use high-tech apparatuses to make more realistic 3D movies. We're looking to see more.

(Photo: This pair of glasses was given to me to watch the 3D movie. It get recycled after that. The movie was a real fun especially the scene of bird dinosaurs chasing each other. Fabulous!)

Homemade Pizza

Vegetarian Pizza before being parked in the oven for about 15 min.! It came out really good. I always pick Whole Wheat crust. A little bit more of Cheese would have been great.

Canada Day 2009

The 142nd birthday of the country was celebrated nationwide last Wed. I didn't enjoy much. I had to work and then I only went to Ambleside Park to watch fireworks. There were two places that the fireworks were performed: West Vancouver beach and beside Liongates Bridge. But it was really not what I was expecting. The beach and bays are huge and the sky could not be filled easily. That was why I was not really impresed.

Calgary's Canada Day firework is different though. It's usually performed over the Stampede Park ground and looks magnificent. It looks like that because it covers the area around completely.

Anyhow that was something that I wanted to try. I will check Downtown Vancouver's next year, if I'm still in B. C.

(Photo: A small group of young girls amongst a lead singer and a few musicians were performing live music in Ambleside and finished shortly before the firework)

Stuffed Trout

Cooking is a hobby of mine. I like it a lot. It's clean, you see the result soon and there's lots of joy at the end, when you are having it, of course! I decided to write about the foods I make, either from Persian cuisine or other ones, today.

This one is Stuffed Trout but could be prepared using any other kind of fish. To make the stuffing ready, you would need onion, fenugreek, cilantro, tamarind, salt and paper and they should be mixed and fried in a frying pan on medium heat. The fish will be cleaned and stuffed and then put in the oven for about 20 minutes. The desire heat for that would be anything from 400 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
(Photo: Stuffed trout ready to be put in the oven)

Flashback (19): Kamix

K. H. M. whom is called Kamix herein after was one of the remote friends of mine that I used to be in touch. He lives in Toronto. Today I decided to tell some of the funny stories about him. The sissy guy is amongst the ones who used to live under her mom's arm until the day he left the old country!

Not knowing what to do with the chores he really had a few bad first years in that metropolitan. He even broke his leg once. We used to talk on the Messenger a lot and also at times on the phone and he would go bananas. I wonder how he lives there now 'cause the guy is the type who does get along with almost no one! When we were talking he would nag and complain about almost everything: neighbours, girls who never paid attention to him, food, weather, work, colleagues, managers, vehicles, even his mom and sisters back home! It has been more than 2 years that we're not in touch anymore. One of the funny stories once happened is the guy had found a Canadian girl in one of these stupid dating websites and wanted to meet her. It was Christmas time. You can easily imagine that the Canadian girl who wants to spend her Christmas and New Year with a chubby, short, grey-head foreigner who is not even able to make a simple conversation, is not anybody but a fat, rejected, smoker, stinky, ugly girl. There're plenty of them here. They most of the time hang out with the same type of opposite gender and many times with Africans. That one probably was someone special, in love with a special guy! Nevertheless Kamix was or better to say is a certified database administrator, someone who makes good money, if he's hired. But his problem was and may be still is, that he gets part-time positions for lets say 6 months, works, gets laid off and is unemployed for 3 months or less! It's like someone in the middle of the ocean, a rafter who floats. He struggles with the waves and sharks and bright direct sunlight! He's fine for a while and in trouble at the other times!

Anyhow he contacted me and said that the girl who lived in Ajax wanted to meet with him on Christmas Eve or so! He asked me what it meant I am into almost everything, a kind of like quote she had in her profile! I didn't say to him that if he didn't know what that means, he should have forgotten meeting her! I explained to him what the meaning was and he said that he understood. Then he was not sure if he should have driven in a cold night of Dec. all the way to the town. He wanted company but he didn't want to risk it! He didn't want to face her family either because I told him that it was very likely that he would have to sit at the turkey dinner table with her family. It was a dilemma for him. I guess after hours of consultation(!) and giving enough thought he was not still sure what he had to do! I probably post more stories of this nice guy later.