30 Days or 30 Years?!

I received an e-mail last week from the Corporal indicating that he needed me to sign and initial a paper which had been back to him from Ottawa!? So I went there last Mon. morning to meet with him. I noticed a new booklet issued by CF gathering all the possible questions someone might have in the early steps of application. There was one asking how long the process would take and the answer was 30 days, approximately(!) and the other FAQ was asking about the four major steps in recruitment which are Aptitude Test, Medical Examination, Reliability Screening and finally the Interview.

I mentioned that 30 days and he jokingly called it 30 years! It expressed my frustration but the only thing he said was that sometimes there's something in the form, the hard copy which actually doesn't match what had been entered to the computer and that's the time which the correction must be made. I didn't argue with him because I knew that it wouldn't get me here but wanted to speak up. When I mentioned what I had heard on the news about The Navy patrols being canceled due to lack of budget and the employment of the staff is jeopardized, he simply said that they always receive they pay stub and encouraged me wait for it and call him in a month or so. What other choices do I have?

True Confections

We paid a visit to English Bay on Sun. and as it was almost 17:00 hours most of the businesses were not very busy and street vendors or entertainers were getting ready to leave. However we enjoyed a play of Jazz by a group of four on Denman. True Confections was close by and not very busy unlike the last time were in the neighbourhood. Thus we decided to go in and give it a try. We were shortly sited and a brunette girl with a strange accent appeared at the table to get our orders I asked her a couple of questions and she showed impatience and disrespect which was very rare in downtown businesses. We eventually ended up with ordering two cups of hot drinks, one of them coffee and the other one I don't know what it was plus a small piece of Fruit Trifle. The coffee was the worst I've ever had in my life! It was brought in an old, dirty, scratched, chipped mug! There was not enough brown sugar available and the cream was not as much as I liked. The other beverage was pushed away by F. F. and we just made ourselves busy with the Trifle which was not bad. Then quickly after that the girl who claimed to be from France brought our check while I still wanted to sit. So I said to myself that I should probably give her a good lesson while I knew it was not good for such an ignorant dumb! She gave me the portable machine to pay and you should have seen her face when she noticed I tipped her $0.01! I actually didn't see her face but I sensed rage when she ripped of the receipt and handed it to me!

So don't waste your time and money on such a carp place. I'm sure many just hang out in there because they want to say how cool they are and they want to show off to their girlfriends that they only drink top of the line but the entire cafe, I should truly confess, is a big lie!

Practice With A Weighted Belt On

I finally got my pair of Weighted belts from the Fitness Depot last week and practiced while having them both on a few times. They are not very comfortable but that's all you get. Each belt weights 8 Lbs. so I got two because I needed a total weight of 7.5 KG at least. That's close enough. I at times feel a bit of pain on my knees when I'm running but it's not bad overall. I wish I had them years ago. They for sure help a lot to increase the performance. I tried them on last weekend on a track and after just 4 laps in the first day and 5 laps in the second I was out of breath but then I tried a teardmill yesterday without having them on and it was like I was flying!

Greater Vancouver Zoo

We visited the Zoo Sun. morning. That was good especially because we started early, around 10:00 then it got really crazy. The stupid thing is they had that Telus Walk or whatever stupid thing it was and there were a huge line for free Hot Dog and stupid free crap! We didn't miss the Big Cats Show. A trainer fed three big lions and a Tiger from behind the fence and that was interesting. The Zoo had no elephant, Crocodile or Snake but there was a big Rhinoceros. Some of the areas allocated to the animals were so vast - and that's how it should be - that you could barely see the herd, group or individual. So taking a binocular is highly recommended.

If you're a photographer then don't forget your camera with a good zoom lens. Tripod would be helpful for distance shots. There's a cafe like everywhere else but since there are pic nick table available everywhere why not having your own food? Want to save more? The road at the north side of the Zoo is a place that you can park for free. The Zoo's parking is $5 for the day.

(Photo: This Lion has been born in the Zoo and has never left it. The trainer said that they never go to the other side of the fence but she bravely fed the big cat to its mouth with a piece of beef)

Prince of Persia

We wanted to watch something last weekend and F. F. suggested to watch Prince of Persia. That was the only movie sounded reasonable to be watched. It was not very bad, not as bad as The Clash of Titans but was a disappointment. I remember playing the game almost 15 years ago, may be more. One of the first PC games of the time and one of the most popular one but the movie has no historical credit. It's about a Persian guy who is accepted to the imperial family and becomes the prince and his name is Dastan. The city where the story begins in is shown with mosques and people are called Nezam, Sheik and they speak Arabic! Such a bullshit! And I don't know why the actors and actress speak with strong British accent which makes it almost impossible to understand when the background music and sound effects are loud! Sir Ben Kingsley is one of the main characters and probably that is him who makes the other ones to follow the British accent. Then they talk about the holy city of Alamut(!!!) I know Alamut Castle and I've been there but then again it was years after the Persian Empire! What a load of crap! Of course for North Americans who know nothing about history the movie doesn't seem wrong but does that mean the producers and directors can concoct everything and sell it as a movie?!

(Photo: This considered an exciting part of the old Prince of Persia game from late 80's and early 90's when you had to fight with a skeleton)

No Luck With The Last Hope

I didn't get the damn job that I was hoping to get. Disappointing. Now most of my focus is on that policing career, out of the province. I have been goin' to gym a bit regularly in order to do my best in the physical exam. Today I was too tired but I went and did part of the exercises. It's a result of not having enough sleep. I've been working since Sat. and have to work till next Sun., 7 days in a row. Not else much to say that we watched Shrek Forever After in 3D and it was amazing! The 3D was awesome, better than Avatar, the story was excellent and it was funny, lots of laughs. Don't miss it!