The Last Two Crucial Steps

It was a quite surprise for me when I saw an e-mail from my potential employer asking me to announce my readiness for the last two stages, before the end of the year, last Fri.! The majority of companies, organizations, you name it are closed in the last few days of the year. Who would be there to see my response? Nevertheless I prepared the requested document and sent it to them yesterday. I'm also supposed to contact them to provide a few pieces of information personally. I dialed the number and I got the machine yesterday. I thought there might be people working on a Sat. morning. I will try that again on Mon. It looks like everything is planned. If I'm successful in the next stage, which will start in a day in Jan. and I will have a month for that to finish it, I will start the last stage in early Mar. and then it will go, if I'm successful until early Jul. That would be the time that I'd start my career. It doesn't seem to be very easy but I think I can do it. I think the 1-month stage is crucial because I will have to do that while I'm employed at this miserable job of mine. I think the best thing to do would be contacting my buddy A. F. to see what you says. He passed this stage once years ago and he told me that I'd do that with others as a team-work, which would be much better if it's true. We'll see.

(Photo: The Last Steps Memorial Arch in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This was built to address the sacrifice that more than 350,000 Canadians made during the First European War, which in general public is known as the First World War. This, in fact resembles the last steps that soldiers took before leaving Canadian soil. My endeavor is nowhere close to theirs. However I wanted to use this picture for my post as it is a good memorial site) 

The Boxing Day Walk

After disappointment over my walk in Christmas Day, I decided to walk on Boxing Day to test myself for the possible upcoming hike. This time I went out in the evening and selected Downtown. Boxing Day is a spending day for the majority of people in Canada. I only shopped grocery though! 

I started my walk at about 18:18 and waled towards east on a major road. I don't spend any time in Downtown as I hate traffic, noise, pay parking, homeless and such. For that a number of changes in the area was a surprise to me. Many businesses have been shut down and many more have been replaced. Most of the closed businesses were restaurants. With the minimum wage now gone up to $15 and average people making less money, no wonder restaurants are having a very hard time surviving, particularly the independent ones. I changed my direction and headed south after a while to reach Elbow River. It was not very cold but I think people were tired because of all day shopping and were all home. I managed to walk for 02:00 hours but was tired in the last 20 min. or so. I felt a little pain on my knees and tendons, they were, I believe. 

I was told that there was liquid in my knees when I was examined once in CFLRS clinic. I was told that no surgery would be essential but the knees bother me at time, especially if I sit on the floor and stand up. I don't think I will go anywhere far in New Year's Day but I might exercise a little. I haven't had much chance lately as a result of this disgusting job and laziness as well!
(Photo: This bridge is a replacement for the one which was destroyed during the 2013 flood. It is over Elbow River in Mission neighbourhood of Calgary) 

Cathouse

I have been wanting to check this place out for nearly a year now: Cathouse. We finally went there last week. We were there around 20:15 which was early by the way. Upon arrival, and I'm explaining to the ones who intend to go, to your left, there's a booth, perhaps I can call it, and a lady in there asks for admission. The admission to the place is $10 and must be in cash! Fair enough. Then a feet away from there you'd a guy, who by the way in the first glimpse looks he's a bouncer and he kind of is, asks for I. D.! So I wondered: Am I getting on board a plane to fly to New York? Or perhaps I'm being admitted to a National Defense building! 

This step is actually for the time that anyone causes trouble in the place and then it would be a matter of minutes to find him or in rare cases her. The I. D., in most cases, Operator's Licence goes in a machine and your picture shows on a small screen and your information gets recorded in the system. This shows that the place has been in trouble for so many time and they eventually have decided to come up with an idea to help them get the control a little bit.

You go down a few steps after that and there's the stage and seats and booth all around. The waitresses emerge at your table within the matter of a second. The Chef was hungry but they don't have a freaking menu! All they offer is two type of Pizzas: Hawaiian and Pepperoni. I understand this. It's a strip bar not a bistro. We ordered a Hawaiian Pizza and two Beers. The Beers came right away and then we were told that we had to wait 20 min. for the Pizza. The first show started at the same time. There was this beautiful tall girl with milky and silky skin that you could feel the smoothness from what we were sitting! The show was not bad and the girl was pretty, as I said, but there was nothing new. I had seen that years ago in French Maid. 

Our tiny Pizza arrived. We wanted to sink our teeth in it but there was not much! Just a tiny Pizza that we politely shared. The taste was not bad but don't order a Pizza in there unless you're starving! 

The Chef then started becoming a pin in the ass just like sometimes he becomes. I think he wanted to get more Beer but with the cheque we immediately received he decided not to! Two bottles of Molson Canadian cost $8.5 each! I have to add that every time you order something, the cheque comes right after that mainly because there have been many bastards who drank and/or ate and left without paying a Penny! We sat for the second show and here was The Chef who wanted to leave. I told him he could leave if he wanted but I wanted to stay! He was a little surprised and stayed! The place now was getting busy and more girls. They started to wandering in bikinis and dancing at two corners. The second show was not bad either. A brunet tall girl with beautiful body and a little belly which by the way I don't mind at all. The waitresses checked on us off and on but we, like a couple of cheapskates, refused service! We sat for the third show and watched part of it which by the way was different from the first two and kind of better but left before it ended. This place is not as bad as others say. You have to consider all the costs they have to encounter: Bouncers, waitresses, strippers, other staff, risk of dealing with as*holes, you name it. Would I go there again? I probably would but not with someone like The Chef or if I go there again with him, would tell him in advance to shut up! Our cheque for the night was a total of $25.5 and we neither drank a lot, nor tipped much! A good night in there, excluding the ladies, would not cost lest than $100!
(Photo: Since taking photo of naked dancing girls might have led to trouble[!] I'm just using a copy of our receipt as the picture for this post but I promise that I would post a nice photo if I go there again) 

My Christmas Day Walk

Weather has sucked, generally, in the past 1 month or so! We barely have seen the real winter of Alberta except for two or maybe three times and they didn't last long. The first time I was in Nevada and wasn't affected at all. This Christmas was not entirely white as everyone wanted. No snow on Christmas Eve. No snow until the evening and it was not much either. 

I decided to have a little walk in the morning and selected Fish Creek Provincial Park. After my disappointing experience in last summer, it sounded not to be such a great choice but I just decided to actually walk on the pathway next to the park, partially parallel to Canyon Meadows Drive.

It appears that someone or possibly a group has spent quite a long time on building this teepee-like shelter here next to the pathway! 

It was cold but not unbearable. I realized that I'm weak now and that's because of the damn job I have, partially. I can't walk as much and as comfortable as I used to. I'm surprised that I did the hike of Telescope Peak with no difficulty! Perhaps the temperature is a factor here. It was almost -6 ℃ during the walk and I was lucky that there was no windchill. It's different from the mild California weather that we had during our hike! The entire walk didn't take more than 01:15 hours while originally I wanted to do at least 02:00 hours. Maybe the next week or New Years Day I can do some good walk or hike.
(Photo: A beautiful view of Fish Creek Provincial Park in winter. I like winter and I like winter walking and hiking)

Unexpected Christmas Gift

I saw an envelope when I came from work one day last week. There was a very nice Christmas card in it and a folded cheque, something that I had not expected that. When I unfolded the cheque the surprise turned to disappointment! You know when sometimes you're hungry and you eat a little and feel more hungry! It was the same feeling! A cheque for $... is just pathetic! I'm not going to reveal the amount but I think it would have been a much better gift, if they had not included the cheque! The amount is so low that you wonder what to do with that. I know it's a nice gesture and Don't look at the gift horse in the mouth but it's similar to teasing someone when give that to him or her. Many don't even receive that. So I perhaps should be grateful. 

(Photo: I, of course, do not celebrate Christmas but regardless of the fact that it has become totally commercialized I like it because it's the time of happiness, holidays, gifts and food and drink!)  

The Mule: Worth Watching

I and Farzin watched The Mule yesterday. I didn't want to miss another Eastwood's movie and we didn't leave disappointed. I would say it's a fairly good movie but similar to the last few movies of him, the story mainly revolves around his character and how well he plays. Remember Gran Torino? He plays almost the same character and he's gone at the end. The difference is in Gran Torino he's killed. In the new movie he's jailed!

The other characters in the movie just have minor roles and probably less famous actors would be as good! Bradley Copper, the second character of the movie, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) officer, demonstrates an OK performance. Eastwood's daughter (don't know from what relationship!) performs the role of the main character in the movie. Eastwood has this habit of bringing family members to the set and use them. Andy Garcia who was once very famous for his role in The Untouchables, and I haven't seen him in any other movie, plays the Mexican cartel boss and like Eastwood performs well but again since he has a minor role and appears in only a few scenes, I think anyone else would perform as well. 

Overall I think the movie worth watching once and you'd enjoy. It has a suspend built in it that makes you follow and it's good. Do I buy the DVD to enjoy the movie for a few several more times? Not with so much passions but maybe.

(Photo: Eastwood and Copper on the set of movie)

Asian Buffet (Calgary)

The Brave contacted me last week and invited me to join them for their Christmas gala. This was the second time that I had been invited by him and since I didn't go the first time, I thought that would be rude this time and accepted to go. Besides I didn't have anything to do. The only problem was that I had a big plate of Pasta that afternoon and the supper would start at around 06:00 at Asian Buffet. 

I, at first, had a difficulty to find the place but eventually reached there at around 06:20 and the reserved table was full. 

The place is actually not nice but it was packed considering being buffet and it was not just Asians. People from every background, almost, were stuffing themselves! The food is actually mediocre. Despite the fact that it was a weekend and on weekends food finishes faster, none of the food tasted fresh to me and they were mostly deep fried in multiple time used disgusting oil! 

I, at first, didn't feel hungry at all and thought I should just have some Ice Cream. There's a big Ice Cream section in the buffet. It didn't taste bad but again it could be cheap Ice Cream. Ice Cream, most of the time tastes good because all you taste is just sugar, most of the time! However there're brands of Ice Cream in the market that I don't buy and I used to make and I will soon. 

I sat and chatted after the Ice Cream and then this fact came to mind: There're engines which start late but when they start, they work well! I felt hungry after a few minutes and I think that was the damn sugar kicking in! I went to the buffet and grabbed some food. One thing you should know, if you're going there is that they also cock for you on the spot. There're raw ingredients that you can select and give it to the chef and he cooks them for you before your eyes. That however is not appealing to me because I hate Noodles! The Brave got something from the raw section though. 

The place is a rundown building with Asians staff, of course, eating and drinking while working! The decor is hideous and the place is drowning in garbage and filth! I haven't been to any of those nasty Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and such but from what I've seen in video clips, the so-called Asian Buffet is no different but hey who cares! Poor people who tend to give themselves a leg up on a weekend come and stuff them with these type of trash and of course The Brave who was hosting more than 25 people couldn't find a better place to gather them all and not to pay too much. Do I recommend the place? Only if you want to go for the above reasons! Will I go there ever again and spend money? Most likely never! Just looking at the people there makes me sick! Not to mention the disgusting venue and the bad food!
(Photo: The food, deceivingly[!] look good but the real goodness would come out after you ate it! Many criticize me for complaining too much about food and I guess they're right. There're many other factors involved in one's health. Food is only one of them) 

Caucho Brazilian Grill

My employer invited all of us to join for an early Christmas dinner last week. Considering that I had not gone last year, I decided to go this time to see what this restaurant is about: Gaucho Brazilian Grail. I, first, didn't find the place. The address simply states the building number and then MacLeod Tr. I parked and walked around. There was a little snow but it was not very cold. I realized that the restaurant's main entrance is not parallel to MacLeod Tr.(!) but I finally I got in and people were there, majority of the ones I had expected.
I had this thought in mind whether I should wear suit and tie or should I just go nice and neat. I eventually decided to ditch the formal dress although I used to wear that. I surprisingly realized that no one had suit and tie on! Everyone was nice and neat (except a rube who came at last!) but even the manager had a very usual shirt on! 

Going back to the dinner, the restaurant offers a Salad Bar which is great for me. The interesting thing was none of the Salads contained Romaine Lettuce! In fact before going to the restaurant I checked both Safeway and Co-op and none of them had either Romaine or even Iceberg! Romaine has caused illness for people due to E-Coli contamination but why Iceberg? Their salad contained everything but Lettuce! They had Salads containing Mushroom, Parsley, Arugula, Green Been and several other ingredients. I enjoyed two full plates of Salads. Drinks were also available. Colleges ordered a sort of Brazilian cocktail but I went with my usual: Vodka on the rocks and a Lime wedge. 

The waitress then came and announced that the meat was coming. So basically different guys come holding a vertical skewer with pieces of meat still sizzling on them. They have a knife and a sort of small plate. They put the plate next to you, on the table, after they get the confirmation that you need that kind of meet and they cut a piece for you. You're supposed to catch the piece with a small tong which is been put next to your plate as part of the utensils. The pieces are not very big but are reasonably cut and taste fresh and delicious. There are different types of meet and I can't remember all but they have Parmesan Beef, Chicken Heart, Chicken Wing, Beef Rib, Pork Sausage and a few other types which also includes Lamb. I tried a few of them. Dessert is special as well. For dessert I only ordered an Americano Coffee but people all ordered fancy dessert which mostly couldn't even finish them! I still had room for both food and dessert but didn't want simply to eat more. 

When the bill came, since I was next to the boss, I noticed that it was $1190 for the 10 of us. Of course he would add tip, I assume some %20. $119 per person and with the tip some $140, would feed me for at least 2 weeks! 

It was a good experience, in terms of seeing how the colleagues are outside work environment, a new eating culture was seen and a good food was consumed. Would I recommend that and would I go there again? If I have enough money, I would certainly go and it's recommended if you're not worried about your bill.
(Photo: This little green cow, which is made of cardboard, if is facing up means that you still would like to have meat and when facing down, and is red, indicates that you no more like food. This, however, is not being applied because guys cannot go to everyone's seat and look for it. It's much easier to ask) 

The Never Ending Rejections!

I wrote that I went to this company, the size of a two bedroom apartment(!), where everyone stuck to everyone like Sardine in a can(!) for an interview. The interviewer was a young small town, former landscaper Caucasian fella in his early 30's who apparently was lucky to have that job and leave his previous miserable job by becoming some sort of manager in the tiny company! 

The interview, as I explained earlier, took only 30 freaking minutes. Even such a miserable place didn't hire me! This is the third interview in the past 12 months and I have been turned down by all the freaking bastards! 

I need to figure out what the hell is wrong or I will be stuck to this miserable life forever! What bothers me the most is the people who interview me. When you look at their profile, you see that they're nothing! Absolutely nothing! They at most have a B. Sc., which by the way everyone's got it these days and disgusting and foolish certificate such as PMP!

With the price of Canadian crude plummeting last month, and all talk no action, the future of the country doesn't look very promising although an analysis in Maclean's, that I just had a look at yesterday indicates a good position for the Liberals who have been running the country since late 2015 

I need to get to refresh my resume with a few certificates and similar educations. I hope I can do that in 2019 or at least am invited for the training of the job that I had its first interview back to March! I was hoping to join these bastards, particularly when the guy said that they would need someone to start before the end of the year but the as*holes didn't even invite me to the second freaking interview! That would've been a perfect step-stone position in this freaking bad economy but I didn't get it! Price of Canadian crude is around $20 these days and GM has just announced the closure of its Ontario assembly plant in Oshawa. So there's no good news.
(Photo, top: GM is closing its assembly plant in Oshawa after nearly 112 years! The result would be devastating, not only to the town, but also to the province and consequently Canada)

A Low Blow by (or to) Loblaws!

Loblaws Inc. one of many a human-killing machines amongst many in Capitalist North America was accused of price fixing earlier this year or late last year, in Canada. Now price fixing was a term that I heard it for the first time when this issue was revealed. The term basically means maintaining the price of a good at a certain level by agreement between competitive sellers! As vague and funny this term is, I don't understand why this could be a problem! Companies do that all the time in North America!

Look at the price of gasoline everywhere in town. You reach at an intersection and there are three gas stations from three different companies and they all have the same price with one or two cents difference. Take the intersection of 37 St. and Richmond Road in SW quadrant part of the City of Calgary.  There's Shell, Husky and Esso, three major providers of gasoline in the world, I could say, probably. Check the prices of the three the next time you're at that intersection and tell me if that's not price fixing.

The problem was revealed or discovered(!) by some organization and I guess a class action suit was about to start. Then the bastards of Loblaws Inc., who were about to receive a low blow (or perhaps received that!) panicked and decided to give everyone a $25 gift card to be used in any Loblaws Inc. store, mainly the Real Canadian Superasshole! The only thing that this store is not is Canadian. The food is not mostly Canadian(!), the employees are not Canadians and the customers are not mostly Canadians! 

I do not shop at Superasshole frequently due to distance and its long disgusting checkout lines but when I heard that I said why not? There's a saying in Persian which goes: It'd be a privilege, if you could even take a hair from a bear! It literally means that if you can get a little from a big one, even that is worthwhile. So I gathered the documents they wanted and mailed them to Vancouver, where they had assembled an office to handle this business. I received it after a few weeks, I guess and then spent the most of it in bags of Quinoa and a few pieces of fruit. 

So now who the winner is in this game? For sure it's not the customers, the poor refugees, immigrants and Canadians who go there for their daily grocery shopping. The real winner is the assholes of Loblaws Inc. or they wouldn't send the card to whoever applied!

(Photo: Riddick Bowe, a former professional American boxer, is seen in this photo in his bout against the disgusting and dishonor Polish boxer, Andezej Golota. He is on the floor and in pain as a result of a low blow he received form Golota. Golota, the asshole, was disqualified and lost. Loblaw Inc., however, did not suffer as much as neither rivals! The consumers are the real losers in any fight against Capitalist companies) 

Christmas Time: Not a Good Time for Everyone

There's this East Indian (from Indian sub-continent without identifying the country) guy who joined us at work almost 6 months ago. A slow guy, both physically and mentally. He was a nice fella though. Spoke English with difficulty after living in Canada for 10 years which is not a surprise. People live in the country for 40 years and still are not able to say more than Hello and How are you! Besides that if you work for Wal-Disgusting-Mart, what else do you need? He was nice enough to let me know of two positions within the disgusting and nasty company: One office job and one floor job. For the floor job I had a telephone interview and then a verbal job offer. I, of course, turned it down. For the good job, I'm sure, the good guys(!), most likely the Caucasians were given the job! 

He was notified by the manager today that he would no longer be working here starting the next week. While I feel bad for him, I should say that's his own fault. Always slow. Always leaving 5 minutes left to the end of the shift to get to his second (or first) job, having difficulty understanding orders and having difficulty, at times, to communicate. But East Indians are generally liked in Canada. Why? Simple: Cheap labour and no talk. In Persian there's an expression which goes: He wouldn't say anything even if you shit in his head! That's how all East Indians are and that's why Canadians love them! Cheap Labour! 

Anyways he was quite upset after he heard the news. I would be. He was upset because I just had told him earlier that he should talk to the manager and ask him why they have not made him an employee yet. He also was upset because he just got himself into a contract to buy a property! This is even worse. These East Indian guys, all of them, due to the overpopulation that they have in their countries and difficulty buying homes, the first thing usually do is purchasing a property and then they go for the second or third. He, I assume, is an exempt. A newly married guy who has been sponsored by a sibling, first was saying that he didn't want to purchase a home or something but then, happily, told me that he had purchased a new condominium and is under construction and would move in next spring. I don't think his dreams(!) are all gone but he will have difficulty. However he will remain in Wal-Disgusting-Mal for good. I, jokingly told him that there would be a property tax hike next year and that's true. There will be 3.45% increase in 2019 and I guess they intend to keep doing that for the upcoming years. That was in response to him saying that there would be no condominium fee for him for the first two years, he had been told and he would move out after that! This is where you see that a poor and desperate person always remains a poor and desperate! The only difference would be that he can eat and doesn't have to live in a slump! His or her life, would all be work, work and work and of course once in a while pushing her mate and perhaps throwing out(!) one or two kids!
(Photo: A factory collapsed a few years ago in Bangladesh, a pool of cheap labour, and killed as many as 200 workers, I believe. The factory was a supplier of clothing in the US and Canada, one of a popular brands. Sorry for not being able to provide a photo of cheap labour in Canada! I would have probably been accused of something! They always find something!)

Palliser Again

I went to Palliser for the first time since 2014 again. Not that it's a big deal or anything but went there to see if I can enjoy good food and a few drinks or not, as I have. The answer is not much! 

It was good though and I met a few people. This time I had been invited by the organization that I have been volunteering for more than 2.5 years. The invitation indicated party and there was no mentioning of dinner or anything. I, first,wanted to be there exactly at the time that they had indicated the party would start but then ended up there nearly hours and quarter (not that it's important!) after the start.

Upon arrival I realized that every guest gets only a ticket for one drink! Of course the hosting organization intended to save money but one drink only?! What's the point? You might as well don't drink at all! I got in and there was no familiar face! I walked around to see if I know anyone and checked out the food. The food, honestly, mostly, were horrible! Spring Roll which tasted like it had been rolled weeks ago! Cheese of different type. Seafood. That was kind of funny and it reminded me of what The Chef had told me once. There's a piece of Shrimp or Fish covering a lump of Rice! If you don't know the history(!) you might mistake that for a whole Shrimp or a piece of Fish! There were piece of Sausage wrapped in pastry which didn't taste bad but of course not healthy! That's what they probably call it Sausage Roll! I ate a little and then decided to get my drink. I got a shot of Vodka on rocks with a wedge of Lemon but that was so small that didn't do it for me(!) particularly because I was eating at the same time! I then saw the organization's president. I recognized him from his photographs that I had seen previously. I approached him and I must say that he made the same move at the same time and shock hands with him. I guess most of the people, in his position, would do the same  or you wouldn't have been the president! We chatted about something that we both have in common(!), sort of, and he at the time introduced his niece, who was a young girl, to me. I then took off and headed to the other end (who needs this much detail!) and that was one I was approached by the V-Work manager. We chatted for a while. Most of the people were there with their with friends, colleagues or people who they knew somehow. I was probably the only one, at the beginning, whom knew no one. So when the manager approached I felt a little better.

Then I was introduced to a couple, by the manager. The lady was in our gathering and after a little chat I realized that she was someone worth talking to! The husband was talking to one of the manager's team members. I was disappointed at the food. Therefore I decided to go and get some dessert and coffee. It was good and felt good too. The rest of the evening was spent on chatting and I took of 10 minutes before the official end, although I doubt such a thing existed. Overall the food and drink was a disappointment but it was good to get out of home and have chat with a few people or as they say socialize. 

Another Short Interview

I was to an interview with this tiny(!) company a few days ago. With all the people's profiles now available, it was interesting to see both the founder and the interviewer. Even before going to the interview meeting it was mentioned to me that the interview would only take half an hour. It proved to me that the short interview I had previously could not be the shortest! 

The fella originally from a small town nearby had a number of pages in front of him and would read questions from them and make notes. There was nothing especial about the interview but the company, which was founded in 2010 (and I don't think this would give a clue to curious people to find what company it was!) is very small. I don't mind that as long as I can get a good job. I'm supposed to be contacted for the second interview, if I'm selected. This probably is the last interview of 2018 but you never know. 

Ridiculous Response!

I wrote earlier about this interview I had back in Oct. I didn't get the position although there was no difficulty during the interview. They barely asked anything technical but it always hard to figure out why they choose a candidate over another one. 

Many times it's based on the compensation. Most of the companies go for the person who ask for less. this was discussed during the interview but I didn't mention or stress on, any number. If it's a recruiting company that is even a bigger issue because they always try to get a bigger chunk. 

Nevertheless I wanted to see if I can get a feedback from the interviewers and e-mailed them. The response was: We went with another candidate but I keep you in mind if any other opportunity emerges! 

I already knew that! I wanted to see what made you to select another candidate over me. That's what I wanted to know! This actually was the only time I asked for feedback and I got a ridiculous and stupid response! 

The Nice Story that I Sold!

When I went to Nevada and then California to do that hike I had been wanting for a long time, I wondered how I can justify the trip. I was eligible for three days but I needed more. So I said that I was helping a family member to move. It apparently worked. I went and came back with no issue. At the same time I had a coveralls which had been given to me by a previous workplace and I had never worn that. I decided to try because it looked comfortable. As well I wouldn't have to wear jeans and shirts. So I wear it one day at work and told them that I had found it in a box in that family member's basement, whom I helped to move! I added that the relative used to have a tenant in his basement and the guy, who by the way worked in the nearby facility, left without paying his last two months rent! He also left a number of boxes behind and then when we moved everything, we brought the boxes as well! We opened them and this coveralls were amongst the stuff! I said that I felt bad for the guy but considering he left the boxes and didn't pay his rent, I think I can wear that! 

It was so nice that I was able to combine those two short stories and and make a believable one. The fact that I had to repeat the same to many, helped me to be consistent and sell it with confident! Joseph Goebbels, the German politician in Nazi era says: If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. Mine was not probably very big but I did exactly he says! This, however, does not necessarily mean that I am a follower of his or I approve what he did! Don't try to use this against me. I just needed a good time in the mountains!
(Photo: Pinocchio is an Italian character who in his adventures faces this problem that every time that he lies, his nose extends! This obviously has not happened to me but this was a very popular cartoon series back in the old country when I was in grade school and it was a Japanese made animation! He is used here over Google's logo as many believe that Google lies tremendously to its users!)

CFLRS Notes (43): Eating and Drinking in Rooms

I thought perhaps Remembrance Day would be a good day a story from the time I tried to become a member of Canadian Armed Forces and apparently I failed. This is story number 43 as seen in the title of the post. For all the previous 42 stories just simply type CFLRS and you'll get them all. 

Eating and drinking, except for water of course, is forbidden in barracks of CFLRS. However similar to other rules, this as well is broken by recruits at times. There was this guy within the second platoon that I was with, a Korean guy, who was a very strong fella, physically of course, but kind of crazy and dumb! Once a couple of, I must say, beautiful Korean girls visited him in his room and later on it was found out that they had brought him candy and other snacks! He approached me and others with this story that, I don't quite remember, he needs money for something or owes to someone. So he convinced me to buy some from him! His price was reasonable and I, at the time, liked a little snack and didn't care about the risks. Therefore I asked T. J. to pay him and told him that I would pay him (T. J.!) later. I don't think there was anyone else doing this kind of stuff. His cover was blown later. I don't know how the instructors found out but perhaps he had forgotten to lock his closet, I would call it, as it was common and I forgot to do that a few times. I guess the instructors considered a sort of punishment for him but just don't remember what it was. 

I per me, I never got that hungry to bring something up from the kitchen, as they call it over there or buy from outside but I used to bring Lemon wedges up to cleanse my face with that and I guess guys, most specifically T. J., would get upset about that and point at that. One night I remember that I just had rubbed Lemons to my face and there probably were a few pieces of pulp still hanging. T. J. said that he thinks he should get me a sort of Lemon-infused lotion. I was about to answer when someone shouted Room! That in CFLRS, no matter where you are, means that either instructors or ranking officers are in presence and we all have to be in attention position. I guess I had washed my face because the instructors said nothing. That was the only time I had a narrow escape although I don't think anything serious would have happened, had I been caught using the wedges my face.

During the time that I spent between the two platoons, I was given the chance to go home once. I bought a bag of Indian snack (East Indian, as they like to call it here!) and hid it in my closet. It was actually no hiding. It was just storing. Nothing happened about that as I transferred it to my bag and there was no problem with having such stuff in your bag as your bag was in the storage room. There was nothing else. Generally one should avoid consuming food and drinks in the rooms. It simply not worth it. Enough food is provided to the recruits three times a day and there's a store, a number of vending machines and a Subway sandwich bar. So there really is no need to risk it.

(Photo: Salad and fruit mostly comprised my daily meal in CFLRS as most of the food was awful over there except for breakfast. Lemon wedges were available to add to your food or salad and I never hesitated to take as many as I could)

Like Father, Like Son (2)

A nasty human-like creature joined our team two weeks ago, temporarily, for a small project we were involved in. This useless f*ck was supposed to help, of course. That's why you join when you're called! However this useless as*hole mostly walked around and yelled in his nasty disgusting mother tongue, at times: Arabic! It turned out later that he was a Syrian, probably born in Canada and his father was an Imam!! Unbelievable but true! For those ones who don't know what an Imam is I can summarize that term with this expression: An Absolutely useless and obsolete creature! To elaborate on that, Imam is basically a Muslim clergy who bullshits people and brainwashes them for his own or his faith's own purposes. That's what Imams have been doing for years in Muslim countries. In some countries they are known with different terms. For example in Saudi Arabia they're known as Mofti. In Egypt they use the same term, I believe. In Afghanistan the term is Mullah. All same cr*p and all disgusting.

So what can you expect from an Imam's son? Nothing! To be as useless as him. I feel really sorry for Canada. They're filling their country with people who the first chance they get, they will turn this country to another Afghanistan or Iraq or at the best, Saudi Arabia! Wake up Canadians or Sharia Law would be the regulations that you people have to go with, soon.
(Photo: This is known to be the only published photograph of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of Taliban, who was killed in 2009. I decided to use this to show what a real Mullah or Imam could do. And yes! They are all bad. It's just the matter of getting the chance to be as bad as this one!)

Recycling and Reusing

I was talking to one of the middle managers, I assume he is(!),  about recycling in Canada and he made a good point because I truly am disappointed by the way these as*holes at work and generally everywhere in the country, who pay little or no attention to recycling and reusing. I asked him when the concept of recycling had been introduced to Canadians and he said 25 years ago or something like that, as he was not sure. I remember recycling of paper had been started in the old country then. I then asked him, by pointing at an empty can in a garage bin while the recycling bin was only 3 feet away, why is that. His response was both interesting and truthful! This is what he said:

There's nearly 1.5 billion people in China and almost the same in India (or generally Indian sub-continent, I'd say), see how little or no attention they're paying to environment in general. In North America there's barely 350,000 people live. How would they make a difference?! 

He is right. He added that it used to be better but people don't care that much now!

I understand how frustrating it can be but that's no excuse. In my personal opinion, which I didn't mention it to him, Capitalism cannot exist without countries such as China which makes cheap products and countries such as India which provides cheap labour. Both cheap products and cheap labour produce lots of garbage and pays no or little attention to their surrounding. All of the products in North America and produced elsewhere coming to this part of the world, mainly from China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, have wrapping, boxes and all other sorts of garbage and why I'm saying garbage is mostly people don't reuse them or recycle them. Some of the products the Westerners have produced in the past 50 years or so it's almost un-recyclable! plastic bags, oil and solvents are amongst them. Some are so dangerous that there's almost no solution for them as how to get rid of them! There are a few good  (in fact bad!) cases explained in Practical Law of Architecture, Engineering and Geo-science. So people being stupid and lazy because more than 3 billion people at the other side of the globe pay no attention to environment (and you're partially responsible for that as well, no doubt) is only an excuse. That eventually affect their life. What's funny is how ridiculous Environment Canada and this stupid the so-called Green Party are! That pile sh*t, useless, moron, the leader of so-called Green Party was arrested protesting the extension of pipelines to British Columbia, not caring about the millions and millions of plastic bags which are deposited to the environment on daily basis! At least we know that if there's a problem with a pipeline, that could be resolves or there are preventive measures but the damn plastic bags and other similar products remain in city landfills! 

This is a very long argument to go on with. I guess I will post more about that soon. In the meantime feel free to express yourself in comment area but avoid coarse language, please, if you could! 

(Photo: The so-called leader of the so-called Green Party was arrested protesting the extension of Kinder Morgan Pipeline in British Columbia. It is said she should be held criminally responsible for what she has done but I doubt that in a soft society of Canada that a murderer is sentenced to 3 years in prison anything happens to her)

Another Crucial Step: The Third Interview

Two months went by until I got another message for the position I've applied a long time ago and number of its crucial stages have been passed. This time it was another interview, the third one(!) but on a different subject. For that I had to travel to another city and considering that I try to avoid putting too many kilometers on my vehicle, I rented a car. 

This was quite similar to the interview I had more than 2 years ago in British Columbia for a position that I didn't get it. It's hard to say what the outcome of this would be but I was honest and chatty! Tried not to forget anything and have no contradiction with the previously provided information. The whole process took 01:40 hours. The interviewer said, at the end, that she did not see any problem but still needed to receive the result of two other evaluations from two other organizations and then she could send the recommendation to the employer. I know nothing would happen in the next 2 months and less and than a quarter(!) left from the year. The question though is would I be called at least in Jan. or Feb. because I'm fed up with this stupid job and the related life. Being called does not mean that I will start right away. There still would be a stage to pass and then the long training! I will be ready for that though, I'm sure because that would be  my last chance of the life time. 

(Photo: The lady who interviewed me, unlike this one in the picture, never smiled. Not that I'm surprised or anything because I know how this type of interview work)

A Good Gathering

I was invited to this group gathering for the volunteer work few months ago. All the cost would have been covered by the organization, if someone had lived outside the city. I, though, missed the first day because my flight got cancelled. I got to enjoy other things but missed the some others. The seminar was not bad. There were mostly nice people but as there always is an as*hole everywhere, this little group was not an exempt! I don't know why I even mention disgusting creatures such as that ugly Latino female! It's probably because I intend to show my disgust! Stupid and shallow people like that are very easy to come by here in this country! People who didn't even have bread to eat and now after using all the benefit the Government has given them, forgot who they were and where they come from, taking about years that they have been supervisor and manager! 

I also happen to see the guy who bugged me a few times with his irritating and sometimes irrational comments. He, an old East Indian, was OK though. I kind of liked him, to be honest. He actually is very good at what he does. He's very skillful and confident as well as prompt in responding. I, too, was approached by two guys who said they had read my name from the message sent to everyone regarding the person who contributed the most. There was a small group work which came out nicely. However the nature of this work requires people to work individually. That's when you focus and try to be creative.  There was actually another pile of stinking s*it in the group. The fool left in the middle of work without even saying goodbye to anyone. An inconsiderate, stupid, self-centered moron, who thinks she's better than many simply because she's earned a freaking degree from a certain school in the old country, I realized! There are thousands of them everywhere! 

Overall it was not a bad experience. I think the organization does that as a sign of appreciation for volunteers. The people had been taken to a dinner the night that I was absent, something quite similar to what we enjoyed two years ago. They intend to keep people on because at least two of the guys that I saw the last time were not amongst the new group.
(Photo: this picture could be attacked as sexist(!) as all characters at the table are portraited as male! That is not my intention though! Even our get together was not quite like this and not just because we had female members! Nevertheless I decided to use this for the post)

An Interview in the Anniversary

I was invited to an interview exactly after a year of starting this so-called surviving job of mine. I had very low expectations for receiving a call and I didn't! Instead I received an e-mail from their head office in the US for the interview. However it was clear that they had lots of candidates as different time of different days were suggested to me. I coincidentally selected the anniversary date! 

The location is just less than 5 minutes drive from where I work now. So it wasn't hard although I went home, changed and came back! I made up a story so I could leave at a good time. 

There were two people, a Caucasian woman and an East Indian man. With what's available these days, it's not very hard to find who is what. However I was only able to find about the woman. It was a simple interview with only one technical question being asked by the fella. I knew a little bit about that. So I told him that I didn't know much in detail. The other questions were general as what I had done and I guess I provided good answers to all. At the end I was asked about my salary expectations and my availability. For the first one I told them that I would be OK with whatever the company offers and the market's norm is. For the latter I said that I didn't need any notice to give, although I am but I think I will be able to manage that if there's a need. The East Indian guy, nodded most of the time, like a Goat(!) as he was most likely stupid enough not to be able to ask a question properly! What amazes me the most is these guys all have difficulty speaking English while coming from a country which its official language is English and they all have this fancy and fake degrees! 

I was told that it would take up to two weeks to have the results in. The woman also added if I was available to travel. I said I was. I will follow up with them when the time is on.
(Photo: I took this picture when I came down from Door Jamb Mountain in a very smokey day. This is a mountain goat if I'm not mistaken. I used this because I believe that I always should use a picture for my posts and it should somehow relate to the subject, of course! Domesticated goat is used frequntly in Indian sub-continent for meal considering that Hindus don't eat beef and other types of meat are probably more expensive. I referred to the behaviour of the East Indian guy as the way a goat nods! That's a common expression in Persian! Means nothing to Caucasians and others in North America but it's a fact that at times if you're in presence of a goat, it gazes at you and even you might feel that it nods! I also remember the day that I was in Plateau Mountain with this East Indian fella coworker of mine, originally from Muzaffarnegar. We encountered a big herd of goat and they followed us to make sure we're leaving their territory! I'm certain of that! This stupid fella was freaked out and took a small knife and tried to defend us! I told him that it was OK. I was standing calmly and taking photos and one of the goats was gazing at me, watching every move, making sure that I'm not harming the female and young ones. I thought should mention this here as well)

Won for the Second Consecutive Month

I was in Pahrump, Nevada where I submitted my monthly volunteer work to the organization. I didn't have much hope for winning but it was there, after only a few days, that I realized that I had won! It was a good feeling because I wanted to have a good impression shortly before our seminar. In fact two of the participants pointed at my wins by saying that they had read my name, a few times, as someone who had submitted the most number of items with the highest quality. The thing that these guys don't know is that I have been out of the circle for a quite long time and despite all of my efforts haven't been able to get back. I will write more in the next post about our seminar.
(Photo: This is the place I was staying. Pahrump is a small but beautiful unincorporated(!) town which is a perfect spot for staying if you've planned to enjoy some of the best hikes that states of Nevada and California offer. In fact I'm planning to go back next year, if everything goes well, and do 2 or 3 hikes in the area but I don't ignore the fact that the City of Las Vegas also offers lots of fun, in addition to gambling which I do not partake, and I will stay there for e a few days for sure)

Airliner Tries to Compensate

I received a message from the airliner which caused us all anguish by cancelling the return trip. Although it was very stressful and disturbing, after a nice hike and a few relaxing days, I got to go home by a direct flight, instead of going through Vancouver and also I got to stay one night in a nice hotel and get myself familiar with Las Vegas in case I would go back. I will! 

The airliner gave, all of us I assume, a sort of points which we could use for the next trip. While it might not seem much but it's good. I believe that they didn't have to do that because they already have given us a very nice hotel room, meals, etc. It's nice and appreciated and I will use it, hopefully in 2019.  

Stuck in the Meadow (Las Vegas!)

I left Pahrump early enough to make sure that I reach McCarran International on time, especially because I had selected an economy car, which by the way was useless for such a trip, and then I thought there would be issues with returning the car or getting to the gate but really there was no issue at all. I reached Las Vegas without any problem. bought gas, followed the GPS and reached the return center. The Enterprise guy was nice enough to ignore a, probably, few liters that I was low. I then got on the designated shuttle and went to Terminal 3. That was where the disaster started!

The airliner kept postponing the damn flight from 12:30 to 14:30! I was so tired as a lack of sleep near Death Valley(!) and had pain in my right ankle and foot, due to lack of hydration and eating cheap, processed food and barely could move. They eventually canceled the damn flight around 15:00 hours, I guess, it was and sent us all back to the ticketing center! Over there I was issued a ticket back to Calgary (which was great for me because my return ticket was not a direct one!) for the next day at 08:20 hours and we all also were given vouchers for dinner, snack and tomorrow's breakfast as well as the overnight stay at The South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas!
For me it was not very pleasant because I was suffering form that excruciating pain but at least gave me the chance to have some rest as well as seeing part of Las Vegas vacation, the thing people die for here in North America! South Point Hotel and Casino, as the name suggests, is located in southern part of The City of Las Vegas meaning it is away from the glory(!) of Las Vegas Boulevard but I think that is a good place for resting, which was my main purpose and would be my main purpose when I travel to Las Vegas again. The place is huge. It's probably even bigger than The Parliament! I was given a huge clean and nice room with a double bed, air conditioning (which I turned it off the second I found where the control panel was!), coffee table, computer table and flawless bathroom. Unfortunately I was not in the mode to enjoy the room. I was exhusted and in pain. I didn't even shower because I had showered in Pahrump. So I just grabbed the vouchers and headed down the main floor. I was on the 4th which is good in a way as that expedites your travel but for the next time, if I'm staying at this hotel, I would book a room at the north side and as high floor as possible.

This part of the casino did not seem to be very busy. I wonder if it was due to the time of the day or the day of the week

It was interesting to me to see a legal casino for the first time. There are of course casinos in where I live but since I'm not a gambler, I've never been interested to go in. In fact we went in once only and that was when The Chef directed me as he goes to these places often. I guess I only used the restroom at the time!

Here this is to show that Nevada is not just for adult entertainment. It offers great photography and hiking opportunities and I will go there again to enjoy the both. This is near Red Rock Canyon just minutes drive from Las Vegas

The place is magnificent and reminded me of the movie Casino! It has several eating areas (different types of restaurants) and several sections for gambling of different kind. I'm not familiar with the terms and how different games are played but I can say that there were sections for professional sport, horse racing, Poker and that's it! I didn't know anything else about all the other sections! I wandered around and took a few photos but before starting, I checked with a security guard. He told me that I was free to take photos as longs as they were not from the cashier and a few other places which I don't recall now! The cashier definitely reminded me of that scene in Casino which is called Cheater's Justice! There're these guys who work together to cheat on a game and Ace (De Niro) finds out. He orders security guys to poke the guy with something like a cattle probe! When the guy is shocked and on the floor, the security guys take him to the back and threaten him with a Circular Saw! They break his fingers instead and then bring his partner in. De Niro offers him the money he has won by cheating (they caught him at the cashier when he was trying to cash his chips) with having the same happens to his fingers or walking away! He takes walking! De Niro let him go with this condition that he has to tell his buddies not to come back here anymore! Then orders the security guys to throw the other guy to the back alley and tell the cops that he has been hit by a car! He was hit by a car and the only parts of his body which was injured were his right hand's fingers!

My Turkey Sandwich and its Coleslaw side salad

After taking a tour of the area I decided to eat something as I was starving. I had breakfast almost 12 hours prior to that and then a few Guavas which I had purchased from Wal-Mart in Pahrump for lunch. I went to this place called Coronado Café. After being seated, I took a look at the long menu and ordered a Turkey Sandwich on Whole Grain. The order was brought quickly, meaning they do not put too much effort into that. I believe in the US, generally, quality of food is sacrificed for its quantity. The sandwich was not bad. It was tasty, somehow, but it was clear that its ingredients were old! The side Lettuce and Olives were way old and the side Coleslaw was even worse! I rarely eat out and when I do I try to adopt myself to what is available but after two teaspoons of the side salad I was disgusted by the taste and put it aside. I finished the sandwich though and I have to say that it was quite filling. Since I still had credit on my vouchers I decided to order something else although I was not very hungry(!) but I thought since I have to wake up early for the flight, perhaps I can accumulate calories and skip the breakfast. So I asked the waitress, who was by the way an Asian woman (possibly Filipino, like most of the staff) to bring the menu to me again. I'd like to add here that the majority of the labour hotel staff were from Hispanic and Southeast Asian background. Caucasians were amongst the managers, security guards and other staff of the same level, generally.

I ordered a BLT Sandwich one the same type of bread for the second round and added a slice of Blueberry Pie with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream at the side for desert. Bad Idea! The sandwich was cold and the Bacon was hard! It felt like it had just been thawed to the room temperature and didn't even bothered to be warmed! The dam pie was the worst of all three meals! There was a purple, gooey stuff in between the pastry which barely tasted like Blueberry! The Ice Cream was OK. I guess the total bill was nearly US $25 which is equivalent to almost CAN $32 but of course was covered by my two $15 vouchers! 

I then took another walk to help digest all the food I had eaten. That was where an incredible aroma of Coffee attracted me to a corner! It was Seattle's Best! This brand of Coffee is served in some places in Canada but I don't recall ever smelling such great Coffee anywhere but in one store in the old country which I believe owned by Armenians. Unfortunately it was to late for me to drink Coffee. I decided to go toward the elevator as I had to wake up at 05:00 to catch the hotels shuttle. This is another benefit of travelling to the meadows! Many hotels have shuttles which takes you to and from hotel and I imagine to the parts of the city as well.

Seattle's Best Coffee Bar in the hotel. I wish I had gotten a cup in the morning!

But why did I call the city, the meadows?! Las Vegas in fact is a Spanish terms which means meadows. We know that the Spaniards were amongst the first who arrived in what today is know as the US. A Mexican merchant on his way to Los Angles from New Mexico arrived at the meadows and stayed for water. He used the term to identify the area and the name remains the same today for the city which has more than 500,000 habitants! The bed was comfortable and there was not much noise in the corridor but some in the back. I was too tired to go to check it but it was mainly because I went to bed too early, around 21:00. There was not a peep later during the night but I didn't have a good sleep because of my pain which is a separate issue and don't want to bring it to this trip's story. I'm hoping another opportunity presents itself and I get to go to Las Vegas! I know it very much sounds not like me but I have great hiking in mind and I will combine that with great photography and dining in the city. I guess I'm going to stay there for a week or even 10 freaking days!
(Photo, top: The Old Spanish Trail map. It's obvious to someone like me who has been to Arizona why they had to go around to the north, to Utah and come back down to Nevada to get themselves to Los Angles. That's because of the geological status of northern Arizona and southern Utah which is occupied by the Grand Canyon and Colorado River)

Las Vegas a Year after the Massacre

I arrived at Las Vegas one year after the shooting which left many innocent people dead but did not have a chance to visit it until the 4th. I always wondered what it was about Las Vegas that made people to spend hours of their life and thousands of dollars of their money there. What does gambling have. I finally find out: The city itself, or should be said, the Las Vegas Boulevard, is amazing! I just drove through and all the billboards, hotels, restaurants, statues and everything made me think that I should come back one day and see everything closely and take pictures. Hell's Kitchen and Trump Hotel were amongst the buildings which caught my eyes but there are many more to the city. You could stay at expensive hotels or stay at the cheap ones. You could buy cheap souvenir and eat East Indian food (which is cheap of course!) or dine and wine at Michelin Star restaurants. Considering that State of Nevada offers lots of great hiking and mountain climbing, I will definitely plan to combine those favorite activities of mine with city sightseeing, photography and dining, one day. 

(Photo: I didn't walk on Las Vegas Boulevard. Just drove through it but I have to admit that I was amazed. It's magnificent and worth spending maybe a few days in. This was at the intersection of the boulevard with Flamingo Road)

An Apology

I've posted earlier that in this volunteer work of mine I deal with an annoying East Indian who, at times, with his stupid remarks causes anguish. I couldn't remember who he was from the dinner meeting we had 2 years ago but then I realized who he is during a seminar which I will write about it later. I replied to a number of his inappropriate comments until one day, a few weeks ago, I received a message from the manager of this V-Work apologizing for that behaviour, I would say, or the remarks/comments. I told him that I appreciated that while that was not his fault. I didn't want to expand the issue and be, as they say in CFLRS(!), a shit-pump. So I let it go. I saw him, as I mentioned earlier in a seminar and I will write about him in the related post. In a nutshell it was interesting to me that a person, one who is not responsible, apologizes for others comments. My thought is they don't want to lose the people who do free work for them but at the same time that's part of the culture. 

Telescope Peak, California

I had Telescope Peak in Death Valley National Park, in California in my list for a very long time and eventually was able to hike it and reach the summit this Oct.. Alphonse (the name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual), my buddy from university days, who now lives in California joined me in Pahrump the night before our hike. We chatted for a while. It was our fist meeting since 2001, in the old country although we have been in touch through e-mail and telephone the whole time. I will probably write about him separably but just to say that I didn't want to be hard on him after all these years. So when I asked him when he would have wanted to wake up in the morning for the hike and he answered 06:00, I agreed. 

We had our breakfast at the hotel and then headed toward the park. It was hot day, as it's supposed to be in Death Valley and it was a very long drive. However I'm sure it's much better this time of the year. It took us nearly 02:30 hours to reach the trail-head! Had it not been because of the Alphonse's Honda SUV, we would not have been able to save the the last 1.5 miles (I'm following American measuring system now!) and it would definitely have been much harder and longer to do the hike.  We noticed only two cars near the trail-head. An SUV with two girls dismounting it. We never saw them again. They either went to the much easier hike, Wildrose Peak or were there for a short hike around. There was a Chevy sedan which got us very surprised. We wondered how he got himself up there because even Alphonse's SUV was going up the road not easily. We later saw the guy near the summit, descending and we had a little chat with him.

You can see the road that leads to the trail-head once you get enough elevation, probably after 1 hour or so. This is a dead-end which goes to Mahogany Flat Campground but you certainly need an SUV or a big truck. If you're driving a sedan don't even bother entering the gravel road or you'll lose your car!

The hike was not bad and the temperature was not very high. The good thing was I had selected a weekday for the hike. What, though, we could have done and I recommend to everyone who has this hike in the planning stage, is in addition to do it in a weekend, he or she should stay the night at Mahogany Flat Campground. We started our hike at 10:02 hours. Had we started from the campground I just named, we would have been able to start at 07:00 and save us 3 hours! 

Alphonse was not doing badly up until the end of the first stage of the hike. I have divided the hike to three main stages:

1) From the trail-head to the area where a twin small peaks are located. Alphonse thought one of them is actually the summit! 

2) From the twin small peaks area to the switchbacks. This area is easy and mostly feels like ridge walks. You have views of Death Valley both at right and left side of yours, if the view is not obscured by mist.

The US Geological Survey Plaque on the summit of Telescope Peak. I have seen something similar on Canadian Peaks and probably exists on other US summits as well. I guess I'll see next year!

3) From the switchbacks to the summit which is the most difficult part.

As I said Alphonse's speed was reduced after he realized that the summit was not what he had guessed. I was sure that it was not the targeted summit and pointed at the real summit which looked very far away! It looked that we had another 2 hours to go! I, then, handed a radio to him and told him that if he falls behind I will contact him and will check on him frequently. Soon I realized that It had been a good idea to bring the radios. Alphonse started to fall behind and I was not able to see him. So I contacted him every 5 minutes to make sure that he was OK but the piece of sh*t(!) radios went out of battery soon! I was really tired at the switchbacks as well. That was where we bumped to the Chevy guy. I, however, continued and Alphonse, according to him, was dragging himself up! I eventually reached the summit at 13:57 hours meaning the hike took me 03:55 hours which is not a significant time. I was not tired though. The only reason that I felt a little tired was lack of sleep in the previous two days. I had just a little water left. I drank that with a fistful of raisin and tried to contact Alphonse but the damn radio was out of battery. I was going to go down and help him to come up until I finally saw him coming up. He joined me at the summit a little more than 25 minutes after my arrival. We rested there for a few minutes, ate whatever we had (which was not much) and took a few photos. 

Going back down, I was expecting Alphonse to be more comfortable but I was wrong. He was having problem and we had to stop two times for him to rest. He was complaining about high heart ratio (which I believe is normal at that kind of activity) and was saying that he nearly blacked out a few times on the way up.

Alphonse is dragging himself on the trail! I'm just quoting! This is on the way back to the car and shortly before passing the twin small peak which are obscured by clouds in this picture on the right side

I guess it was 18:55 hours or so when we reached the car meaning the damn hike took at almost 7 freaking hours or maybe even more! Alphonse drove the gravel, difficult part of the road and then it got dark and I drove as he was dead tired! He laid down on the seat next to me until we reached a very nice store on the way. Stovepipe General Store, is amazing and they have everything you need in the middle of the desert. From drinks and foods, to souvenirs, books and gasoline. Alphonse got resurrected, just a little bit(!), after drinking water and an energy drink, according to him but I continued to drive back to Pahrump for the rest of the trip. 

Telescope Peak, is generally considered a difficult hike but I found it moderate. It's long and if you're not ready emotionally and physically, it would feel tedious and you won't enjoy. There's no scrambling involved but there are a number of exposed parts on the trail but it's much easier than many of the mountains I have been too in Canada. I'm happy that I did it and I enjoyed that. You get a total of a little more than 900 m. elevation during the hike which is not bad. All the detail is available on the web and there's no need to repeat them here but my recommendations, if taken into consideration, would help a lot to make the hike more enjoyable and easier to do. What I was surprised about was the lack of authorized personnel in the park. We bought our ticket from a machine in Furnace Creek and then later when we reached a visitor center (I don't remember which one but definitely after Furnace Creek) it was closed! While in Grand Canyon and Glacier, both the staff were available from earlier times. That could be due to number of visitors they get. Then the next day I saw full staff at Red Rock Canyon National Conversation Area, near Las Vegas!
(Photo, top: Telescope Peak from the trail. Here it's more than an hour to the summit depending on your speed and it's, of course before the switchbacks)