Essentials of Life

I've been trying to get a haircut for more than a week now but there's no place open. Hair salons, according to the Government, are considered non-essential services! Funny thing is all the liquor stores and newly established Cannabis stores are open! The thing is the Government wants you to be loaded, stupid, dazed and high but not clean, neat and organized! The idea behind that is obviously practicing social distancing which they say help to stop the spread but still it's not fair that I have to live like a Hippie(!) and others spend their money on mind altering items!

So I started looking in Kijiji where people advertise their shit or offer a service. A lady called me after I responded to her advertisement and when I asked her how much she charges she said $40! I asked if that was because of the virus thing. She said OK I charge you $30 only! I accepted and went to a branch to get cash as she obviously doesn't have a machine. After three try I got my card spitted out by the machine because I had the wrong PIN and the branch was of course closed! I contacted the lady and told her the story. I couldn't get cash that day because all the nearby branches were closed. I eventually went to another branch on another day and stayed in a line for nearly 40 minutes to be able to change my PIN. 

When I called the lady the other day to book an appointment, she didn't respond and never returned my call despite the message I left her. Then surprisingly I received a message from a guy whom previously was contacted for the same reason! Good I made an appointment and saw her in the back of a big house. A young fella who had everything and said that he worked in a barbershop and now it's closed. I wonder if he had brought the tools from the shop. His work was nice and clean and he didn't waste any time. I gave her the same amount that the lady had asked. I was a huge relief because it really was becoming a problem. being neat and clean is essential! That's what I believe. I don't need to be boozed up or high. I need to be well-groomed and clean!
(Photo: Funny cartoon shows how, in today's society, the most basic needs have become scarce!)  

Disasterous Drive-Thru and Disgusting Line!

I neither eat at McDonald's nor their stupid and ridiculous Drive-Thru! In fact I never use any Drive-Thru of any so-called fast food. I hate this stupid and annoying system which is designed for the lazy trash-eaters of North America. Yesterday, though I was heading to see a rental and I had a few minutes. I thought I should get a coffee from a McDonald's. Bad mistake! I got stuck there for nearly 20 minutes and it was not even lunch time! 20 freaking minutes for a stupid cup of coffee from McDonald's! Eventually when I reached the window to pay and extended my arm with the coupon card (sticker card) the young lady said it was okay and let me go! 

This Covet-stupid-19 has made a life so miserable that every damn place you go there's either a freaking line or its closed! I went to branches of my bank and they were both closed and it was because I had entered the wrong PIN and now my card is locked! After the third try the machine spat my card like a chewed gum! They turned the whole city to a useless lump! 

Is that how you're gonna stop the spread?! By crippling the entire city?! When people do not have enough time to do their essential things and the window is narrow, they gather in bigger numbers in places!! Wouldn't that cause problem??!!

Thank goodness that I cook at home and enjoy it otherwise had to be out here and there look for a place which offers take out, like a loser and get it home to eat! If I see a damn line at a supermarket I leave so fast that in a few minutes I'm at another one because there're several of them between work and home and there's always one without line! 

(Photo, top: People line up at a Safeway supermarket in Calgary. Side: McDonald's medium coffee cup at the time of pandemic. Looks like they're trying to lift sprits. Unfortunately they have failed miserably by the way they provide their daily services to the public, at least where I live!)

Impersonator Murderer

I and Farzin were in the lobby getting ready to go out a couple of weeks ago when two CPS officers showed up at the main entrance and one of them knocked on the window asking me to open it for them. I opened the door and said: " What can I do for you officer? ". The police, a young Caucasian lady who was being accompanied by a male officer, with dark skin, said: " Nothing ". They both approached the stairs without anything else to say. Farzin turned to me and whispered: " Why did you let them in?! ". I looked at him and said: " What do you mean? They are police officers in CPS uniform! ". I added: " Why are you whispering ?! " He said: " They might know Persian! ", referring to the language we were speaking. The dark skinned fella officer could be a guy who could speak Persian but I never thought of that! He repeated: " Why did you let them in? " I said: " I told you they are police officers in CPS uniform. Didn't you see that?! " He said: " How could you be so sure?! " They could have been police impersonators!! " 

The argue went on by him saying that he had seen a movie a few year ago that an impersonator in police uniform commit horrible crimes! I eventually had to make him stop by saying that I knew the lady officer(!) from before but he didn't buy it and kept bothering me for the next few days!

With that in mind, I just read that this maniac in Nova Scotia who killed the innocent people had committed his horrifying crime  by impersonating an RCMP officer! He not only was in uniform but also drove a vehicle! It's impossible to understand how he managed to get the stuff and what his motive was to massacre innocent people including a female officer who served the force for 23 years. That is what Nova Scotia RCMP says. They believe the investigation would be very hard, lengthy and complex. 

(Photo: Constable H. Stevenson, mother of two is amongst the murdered people in the shooting rampage in Nova Scotia. Deepest condolences to the family of this late strong lady)

The Second Car Break-in

I hopped in the car in the morning, as usual, a few days ago and realized something strange. The little compartment in front of the shifter, which has a lid and could be used to connect GPS or similar devices, was open. Another small compartment on the left side of the steering wheel, which is rarely used, was open as well. I keep a Bible in another small compartment on the right side of the wheel and it was on the floor, on the mat! 

What does all that mean? I was sure that I had not left them all open. Did anyone break into the vehicle? I checked almost everything and nothing had been taken. There was a break-in once a few years ago and they took my GPS, flashlight and all of the CDs. 

Today I open the glove box and I realized my hair brush was not there! Did the thieve only take the brush! There were not many valuables in the car but the CDs were not touched! 

My only explanation to this is that the guy found one of the doors open. He got in and wanted to take things and saw the book. All of a sudden he was overwhelmed with his spiritual and religious belief and decided to leave! At the last moment he thought he should take something and went for the hairbrush! There's absolutely no other alternative to this scenario. What do you think?
(Photo: The little compartment at the left side of the driver that I have not used it even once was open. The bastard also took my box of tissue that I haven't even opened it)

The Amazing Kabocha

I think this is the third week in the row that we receive out fruits/vegetables basket bonus. It always has been good. The second time a Kabocha Squash was included, something that I had never tried due to the fact that first it is not grown in the old country and therefore it has never occurred to me to come across it. Secondly it does not look very appealing considering that I regularly eat Zucchini Squash or at times if I have access to, Gray Squash which is called the amazing name of Vege Marrow by Punjabis! 

I asked Mom to make it and I feel bad now that I put her through this: It is very hard to peel and cut if you don't have a good knife and cutting board but Mom managed to do that and cooked it. The result was phenomenal! Tasty, filling and nutritious. I usually eat a lot but that day I was off and had not had any physical activity. I ate that Kabocha just by itself and I was full! 

Kabocha is originally part of Japanese cuisine and it will be on my shopping list every time I go for shopping now. There are numerous recipes available and I will enjoy them. You should do that too! 

(Photo: I usually, or better to say, mostly, add the pictures that I have taken myself. Here in this case I don't have any from the amazing Kabocha that Mom cooked because I was not expecting the result to be this great. Instead I selected this professional shot of roasted Kabocha and Whole Grain Red Rice. I shall make this dish!)

The Last Two Dreams/Nightmares of Mine

I rented a room from The Brave when first came to Canada and stayed at his house for nearly six months. Our relationship/friendship has had ups and downs but now is in stable condition! I visit him at times, praise him(!), he bullshits(!), we eat and I leave! This has been like this for the past 3 years or so. I'm Okay with that but I will change it and there will probably posts about the changes!

I dreamt of him a few nights back and when he called me I forgot to tell him.

I dreamt of going to his house and the house was much bigger than this house that he currently resides in. He has another house at the other side of the city and that is where I originally stayed with him. That is where The Chef lives in the basement after losing his house.

In my dream, when I got there, The Chef was not there and The Brave was about to leave the property which contained a very big yard full of trees, with a bunch of guys who were all his tenants at the house! 

That was it but I was about to ask him when he was headed when I woke up! There was a stress on the fact that The Chef was not there one I got there or had just left. What does that mean? I have no idea. When he called me yesterday and I told him about the dream, he took at as a positive thing and referred to the tenant he has in basement at the moment.
The other dream was much shorter than this and happened a couple of weeks before this. I was somewhere, on top, where I was able to see the line of people in an Assessment Centre! It was just that scene. Nothing else. It in fact was like a picture that someone had taken from the top and I was looking at it.

Unappreciative and Disgusting As*holes

I have written about this issue that Canada has turned itself to a big public toilet of the world by letting every pile of s*it in, unscreened to the country. I took me 5 years to get my immigration visa and here I am with almost nothing after all these years!

People come to the border or go to UNCHR and make up stories to benefit from the country. There are hundreds of thousands of them in Canada involved in all sorts of illegal and legal(!) activities to suck blood out of the society:

1- Human trafficking.

2- Tax evading

3- Cash working

4- Hanging out around Alpha House, D. I. and Mustard Seed

5- Mooching off the Calgary Food Bank

6- Joining or creating extremist groups to harm people and the country. Example: The 2006 Toronto terrorist plot.

With that in mind, I came across this big African guy just a few days after I started this new job who asked about my faith. These human-like animals don't understand that religion and belief is something personal and they have no right to ask that, especially in the first meeting. I deterred(!) him somehow and bumped to him the bathroom again a few days after that. He goes: Hi. I go: What do you want?! I just wanted to get him off my back. He goes: What do I want?! And I leave!

Sop for about 5 months we had barely any contact until a few days ago when I was helping a customer. One of the foremen asked him to help me to expedite customer's order. He didn't move! I finished the first batch and went to get the second one. He was sitting there pretending that he was doing some paperwork. The foreman asked him two more times and eventually he came to help with the second batch. He probably helped with 5 out of the 31 that was in there! 

I got really pissed off and I thought I should so something to this piece of sh*t who didn't even have a meal a day before imposing himself on Canadian society and now instead of being appreciative, he acts like he's a big guy!

I went to the foreman and I said that the guy basically didn't help. He said that he knew that the guy was lazy. I said knowing didn't help. He should do something about it and added that I would talk to the management. Then I saw him approaching us, not that he wanted to join the conversation or anything. I waited until he got close enough and then in front of everyone pointed at him and said: You are a lazy person! And kept going with stuff like that until when the managers were out, the way she heard, he said: That is not my job to help you! I turned to the lady and asked: Did you hear it. The supervisor and the QC guy were out as well and they directed us to the meeting room. 

Now I'm happy and relaxed because I have enough witnesses, two of them amongst the management team, who heard him saying that nonsense out load! I told my side of the story while they were listening and then when I and the lady were talking he tried to jump in but shut by both them. He said he wanted to " Keep his distance "! but that was too late! He had said what he should not have and the lady here says that she was offended by what he had said and added that if he thinks that he cannot work the way the company expects from him, he should think of another place. The supervisor also said that he had told him during the interview that employees of different departments might be asked to help others with their job. Here I was just sitting and listening and then I was asked to leave! I happily left because I had all of the winning cards in my hand and he was getting sh*t by everyone!

I saw him once later that day when I was leaving. He was entering the room I was in and left as soon as saw me! Lazy, liar! 

I have nothing against African or any other hard-working individual who is honest and tries to make a living but I have more respect for sewer rats and cockroaches than a lying, lazy rude creature. He was all.
(Photo: Alpha House near Downtown Calgary. I hesitated to get out of the car to take the picture! You never know what might happen near this scary place that its walls are protected by thick metal fence! You are not allowed in unless you're so drunk that barely able to stand on your feet according to The Chef! The Van belongs to the place)

The Show Must Go On

Despite the widespread of the novel virus, we have been working like horses to get the orders out, these days. Last week was the only week that we worked 5 days. The orders were a little less than usual. We're back to 5-day work schedule work this week and we will work even on Fri., which is a statutory holiday. We always worked statutory holidays! It's not something new but I thought now that the stores have limited hours maybe we don't work that much.

The employer, in the meantime, tries to show that they appreciate the employees. They have given us some of the mid-quality items and bought us lunch. Twice it was cheap(!) Pizza and I didn't even touch them! Last week though, I guess we were not working full-staff on that specific day, they served us Japanese food! 

I'm not a big fan of Oriental food in general and Japanese food, specifically. I used to enjoy Sushi but since I stopped eating White Rice, I don't eat that anymore. The Lady learnt to make great Sushi at home with the help from a Japanese classmate. That was the time I enjoyed it the most! 

On that day though I was so hungry that according to the Persian proverb " … I would eat rocks and sand "! The food was basically a combination of a small try, a bowl of soup and a smaller tray of Rice with a piece of raw or as a colleague said Smoked Fish. My tray, as I had ordered, contained Salmon and it not only looked good but tasted very good too and I finished that in a blink of an eye! All the tiredness and unwillingness to work faded away! However I only had less than one hour to go! 

(Photo: My Japanese main tray meal. I am going to find out where they got it from. I would like to try other meals as well)

Scary Ghost Town

My front tires were worn out and although it seems that winter is over, I had issues a few times on the road and decided to get them exchanged today while the temperature was -19℃ in the morning. The guy at the Toyota service said that all four should be changed and then convinced me to have them balanced as well. Fine, I said.

I don't know where exactly this poor guy was headed but I do know that Uptown Bottle Depot is closed. All I can do is wish him an easy day

Then they offered me a ride or C-Train tickets. I took the latter!

I walked to the station and happily I had my Heated Jacket on. So I turned it on and the walk became a little bit better! Just a tiny bit. There was no one at the station or on the cars but hobos! I was supposed to get off at 7th St. Station but somehow(!) I missed it and damn(!) I went to Sunnyside! 

Then I decided to cross the river on foot! Not such a good idea in the cold morning! The wind was blowing and the streets looked scary! Then another issue emerged! I had to go to bathroom(!) but how could I do that in the middle of the road, on a chilly day when most, if not all of the businesses are closed! 

There was no hope(!) but keep walking and just when I was at the other side of the river, it hit me: I can go to Midtown Market! Nice!

It was just announced by the Government of Alberta that the Keystone Pipeline has gotten the green light and the construction at both Canadian and American site will soon started. The price of oil didn't change a bit yet

Bad idea again! Why? Because Co-Op has dedicated an hour in the morning for senior shopping only: 08:00 to 09:00! and it was 08:45! I couldn't wait another 10 minutes so I kept walking! It still was not that easy! The building manager had a sign that the water would be shut down for the most of the day due to some urgent repairs! Yes! Getting a relief is not that easy these days!
Fortunately there was a little water left in the tank and I used that.
It was not much better in the afternoon when I went back to get the car! First off they called me and said that the break pads needed replacement as well! They were right. That was the first break pad, front, being replaced in the past 10 years! Then they said it would take longer! I eventually got out around 14:30 and when I was just 5 minutes to the place, on foot, I received the call but the train was even more disgusting that the morning! Damn aboriginal with Beer bottler and stolen Toilet Paper(!) on my car! I got lucky that they got off before I reach my stop!
Anyways with the amount of money I spent today, now I will have to keep the car for the next 5 years or so!

(Photo, top: Kensington road, a normally busy neighbourhood at about 08:30 AM. Do you see a soul?!)