Blaze Pizza: A New Experience

Lazy Ass called me and said that he would have liked to hang out and I said yes. He's a nice guy and his laziness only causes him issue, not me! So he introduced me to Blaze Pizza. With the restaurants re-opening in Calgary and area we were expecting the place to be jammed but it was not like that but at the same time it looked like people are coming out. There were a good number of customers in there. Basically the way that Blaze Pizza works is similar to Subway: You go in there and you build your own pizza although you can order from their menu. It was recommended to me and I followed. I don't eat anything which is made out of White Flour but had to make an exception and why I did that was:

1- They have thin crust option which is as thin as Lavash. 

2- I had worked a lot and a little extra sugar would not hurt me.

3- They offer Cauliflower Crust but they charge $5 which considering the price of the pizza, it's a little unreasonable. besides I wanted to try the pizza first and see how the ingredients and baking work.

Here I was and I started with Pesto Sauce although I have made real Pesto and I know how expensive it could get! I continued with Mushroom, Tomato, Basil, Artichoke, Green Paper, Mozzarella and Blue Cheese. I basically made what I always order: Vegetarian Pizza. Lazy Ass, on the other hand loaded his with different things and eventually finished it off with Jalapeno and Hot Sauce! being from East Indian decent, I thought he would be okay but apparently it was even too hot for him. 

The pizza goes in a fire oven that you can see even the end of it and come nice and hot for you. You can add some more sauce at the end. We sat there and enjoyed the pizzas and I have to say that it was good but I needed to eat at least 3 to be full. The pizza, and that it medium size cost $14.33 including taxes. That is not for once in a while but, again, it's too much for someone like me who needs 3 to get full. Perhaps I should eat that as an appetizer! Lazy Ass asked me to rank the pizza regardless of the price and I told him that I would rate it 9 out of 10. The only problem is that they don't offer it with Whole Grain Crust and that's how I would like to eat it. I also realized that the Cauliflower Crust comes in medium size as well, probably because ,most of the people rather not to pay an extra $5 to be healthy!
(Photo: My pizza after I ate half of it. It for sure looks good. It's the ingredients that I have chosen. Pity that they don't offer Whole Grain Crust or I will be there once a week)

No Purchase for the Accepted Offer

I have an awful feeling since yesterday. I did something bad and it hurt me a lot. What happened is we, I and the realtor, finally found a nice property that I thought I could relax in it and enjoy my time after work. We put an offer and the offer was accepted by the owner. I believed and I still believe it was a good deal. The place was nice and clean with big windows which provides natural light. However since it was part a raw of houses, it was located in a sort of dense neighbourhood but I closed my eyes to that because I have a limited budget and loan available to me. 

The next day I talked to the mortgage specialist and he demanded a document which I had obtained that once in Feb. from the employer and honestly didn't feel comfortable top request that again. The mortgage specialist said that he would need that to process the loan and when I told him that I had not been able to obtain that, he said he would give the process a try using my T4! 

I was at the CBSA College for more than 4 months and didn't have any income for that period. I wondered how he could get me approved based on such a low income! I told that to him but mortgage specialists get paid when someone's loan is approved and for that he wanted to proceed! That was the time I decided to cancel the deal! I certainly didn't want to go to the humiliation of asking the HR people to issue me a record of employment again! The next morning I waited so long until the realtor finally called me! That was the time I felt really bad because I had prepared a text message and was ready to send it. 

I told her that my Mom's place lease was about to expire and she was expecting to spend at least a month with me until she finds a better place as she wanted to move out. The place I was about to purchase had stairs and it was not possible for her to go up and down the stairs and she was upset over that fact! For that I had to cancel the deal! The story sold really easily and although I felt bad for all the people who could benefit from this transaction, I signed the deal cancelation document and apologized to the realtor. She was calm and understanding and that was why I felt bad! 

Do I regret what I have done? Yes and no! I regret that I started that process and wasted my and her time. Not to mention the gasoline that I paid for! On the other hand I think cancelling the deal was not such a bad decision. No one knows what will happen in a month or so. I think I'm old to purchase a property now! This is something that I could have done years ago but either was lazy or stupid(!) not to do that. Not to mention that The Lady declined my request and didn't let me to go through the process when I had a chance and good income in 2012. I still am thinking about it: Should I buy or should I rent?! Here is the list of the people who could have benefitted from my purchase, or perhaps it is better to say my finance:

1- Property Inspector

2- Mortgage Specialist

3- Purchaser realtor

4- Seller realtor

5- Lawyer(s)

6- Insurance broker

And perhaps a few others, down the road.

A small comparison clearly shows why Kevin O'Leary says to people not to even think of purchasing a property if they are not married and have no family:

Financing a townhouse                                              Renting a two bedroom apartment

1- Monthly mortgage                                                 1- Monthly rent

2- Inspector's fee (one time)                                      2- Electricity

3- Lawyer's fee (one time)

4- Monthly home insurance

5- Annual Property Tax

6- Monthly utilities

7- Yard and other maintenance and repair (occasional)

(Photo: Kevin O'Leary in a scene of Shark Tank. That was one of The Lady's favorite TV shows that we used to watch together at times. O'Leary also known as Mr. Wonderful does not recommend purchasing a property to single people. I guess he is right)

Six Months at Work

I have been working this job for a little over 6 months now. I had a jump of $1.5 in my wage after I passed the probation and despite a few mistakes that I've done, I have been able to keep a good number of hours every two weeks, without a doubt, more hours than 98% of the employees. Some might laugh at this wage increase but $1.5 extra for every hour of work, makes a significant difference in a full-time position. 

What bothers me though are two things:

1- They hired a truck-load of people and now the hours are reduced because, obviously, more people are available to do the same work. There were days when I first started that I worked 10 hours! 

2- I had a great suggestion for their Quality system, based on my experience and the study that I did to the work but despite the initial acceptance, nothing has ever done to it! These morons knew that applying the new system would increase the quality of their performance but did nothing to it. 

I still have a few good ideas and I'm hoping I can discuss that with them. I was hoping that I can be moved up and from the floor to the office but it didn't happen. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the mishaps I have had or they simply are ignorant. Either one is not good for me. 

One thing that this job has helped me with, in addition to being out of home 6 days a week in today's society that the majority of people are stuck at home, is being pre-approved for a home loan. I haven't used that yet and many might not even think of purchasing a house in this economy but I might risk it. However nothing is certain. My hope is with the economy in Alberta going to Stage 1 we get more work and more hours or I get something better in my own field of expertise. 

There are not many jobs available while there are thousands of unemployed persons. I've only applied for two positions in the past month. I'll keep this job and I'll keep applying. 

My First Offer

I had my first offer, a couple of days ago, on a small house in a nearby town and it was rejected! It was not a bad house for the price I intended to pay but not for the price that the owner wanted to sell! There were a few problems with the property that I closed my eyes to with the hope that I can get it with a lower price than what it had been listed.

Everything happened so fast. I signed the offer that the realtor had sent to me for a price of nearly $16,000 less than the original and she sent it. Then I received a call from her indicating that the seller had agreed to only $900 below the original price!!!

It was very funny and I told her. She agreed or at least she stated that she did.  We then, after a short negotiation, added $5,000 and resubmitted the offer. It was rejected again! The realtor said that the seller had been offended by our original price and I told her to say to the seller that I was disappointed at her! 

The realtor said that the owner was an stubborn old lady and her realtor usually works with that type of clients. There were a few issues with the property that I thought I could accept them if the seller went with my offer:

1- There was no backyard. A big double-garage is built in the back of the property where a nice backyard could sit while the extension of the driveway, from the curb to the backyard could easily be used as garage. The Brave has done the same thing to his old house in NE. He, tough, built a three-vehicle garage which is filled with junk now and added an entrance to the basement so he could rent it out.

2- There was not much done in the basement and it didn't even had a secure set of stairs.

3- The realtor cited the distance from a major road to the property but I didn't feel that as much as she was concerned.

This could have been a nice place to relax and enjoy spare time but it didn't happen. We're going to look for other options.

(Phot: This, of course, is not the house but it was a nice and small one quiet similar to this)

A Miracle in Downtwon Calgary

I felt a bit, or perhaps more than a bit, of pain in my chest and shoulder a few days ago at work and decided to go to emergency to see what the problem was. The entrance to the medical centre was being guarded by a Peace Officer. He asked me what the problem was and let me in after I told him. Then I was questioned by a nurse who was in mask and gown. The questions were all about the Coronavirus symptoms. I was then given a mask and told how to fix it and then directed to another nurse whom got the initial examination. 

Registration usually takes place after that. In this case it was done through a phone call! Then it didn't take long that I was approached by another nurse and then the physician came but before that I had to give some blood samples which was a pain! I always hated needles but the only thing I could do and did was closing my eyes. I then was sent to X-Ray. The physician wanted to make sure that there was nothing wrong with my lungs and then the wait started. It was not bad because I got connected to Wi Fi and surfed for good Apps! Then the second set of blood samples was taken. This is how usually works, according to the nurse: They take a number of samples and then they compared them with another set within a 2-hour time frame. Eventually after more than 4 hours, which normal in urgent care, I was told that everything was normal and okay! Blood pressure, lungs, blood, everything! The physician said that he knows what the problem is not far but he does not know what the problem is from! A pair of Aspirin had been previously given to me to chow by a nurse but the doctor said that he would not recommend that because of its side affects. He recommended Aleve instead but I haven't taken any so far.

When I left the clinic I was expecting to see a ticket under my windshield wiper but there was nothing. It was a 2-hour limited parking spot and I had parked for hour 4 hours. Calgary Parking Authority guys, if they read this, must be very upset but that was it and if you don't believe in miracle, here is one!

(Photo: The spot that I parked my car for over four hours in Downtown Calgary)

Visiting The Mumbling Guy

I finally visited The Mumbling Guy in his place a few days ago. I remember back in the days that we worked together he always bragged about his house. It actually is not a bad one. It's located in a deep south community of the city. It's nice and quiet and there's a park in the pack. It's good that there's no lane or homes in the back. The small kitchen opens to a little backyard and the park is behind the backyard. So it's pleasant to eat in the kitchen or in the backyard without being disturbed by anything.

The surprising thing was that when I rang the bell I thought I was at the wrong address because there was immediately barking from inside! The Mumbling Guy and a pet!!!! Who could believe that? The guy's lunch cost $2 and here he has a nice little cute dog! 

So her daughter opened the door but had to close it to not let the dog out and got his father for me. we sat in a little hallway next to the entrance. The inside was really not special. A typical family home with regular furniture but it was clean and nice. He asked me what I wanted at once but I politely refused and we had a chat for about 40 minutes or so and then went for a walk around the neighbourhood which was nice but of course it was a cloudy day in the light of Social Distancing! Otherwise it could have been a busy neighbourhood. I was going to leave after the short walk but he offered me a cup of tea. So went back inside. He made the tea using Microwave, an apparatus(!) that I hate the most and never use! He also had a bowl of biscuits. The tea obviously was not too good and that was from someone who is from a Tea country but hey that's The Mumbling Guy! How do you think he has been able to buy that house, two old cars and manage a family of four?! Buy starving himself to death and wearing cloths like hobos! 

His wife joined for a minute and said hello. I knew her from the time that she briefly worked in the same company as us and a few times that we attended the Christmas party. It was a surprise to me as well but it happened. I didn't want to overstay my welcome especially in a time like this that everyone is copped up at home. So I said goodbye after the Tea and walked down the street despite his insisting giving me a ride to the train station. I had parked just a few blocks away and that is why I refused the ride because I had told her that I sold my car! 

(Photo: This tiny little flower was in the Mumbling Guy's garden. It's needless to say that he used this opportunity to brag about his house again!)

My Blackberry

I decided to change my cellphone last summer after I realized that it had issues and particularly it battery drains fast. I experienced that once during a hike, in fact the last hike to date! It was very dangerous because if I had been lost, there would have been no chance to come out alive!

So I did a little search and decided to order a Blackberry Key 1 from Staples Canada because it was on sale. The item arrived in less than a week. Beautiful phone with lots of features through the service provider. Everything went well until about a months and a half ago when I suddenly realized that the battery discharges so fast that I need to charge it twice a day! 

For someone who doesn't use Wi Fi, texting and even talking, a problem with a newly purchased phone is surprising as much as it is annoying. I wrote to Blackberry and their first reaction was that they wanted me to send them some information so they can diagnose the issue. The information was sent but didn't help them much. Then they ask me to reset the phone to it's factory setting. That didn't help either. Their last request was to send them the proof of purchase so they can process my warranty but when I send that they told me that I would have to send the phone for repair and it would take up to 10 days to have it back while they would not send me any replacement! 

I don't talk on the phone as much as everyone else does but still thought that not having the phone for 10 days without a replacement is not such a good idea and brought that to their attention. They left me with no other choices. My last request was sending the phone without SIM Card and that to this date has been left unanswered! 

But here is the surprising thing: The phone is back to it's normal function! It doesn't require charging that much any more! I wonder what causes that. My guess, as the original guess of their customer service, is that it was a software issue. The phone gets updated once I connect that to an available wireless internet and perhaps once something was removed or improved which resolved the issue. I hope it never happen again because I really like this phone especially it's camera, it's screen and it's keypad.

(Photo: Blackberry Key 1 is a beautiful phone with excellent camera and excellent screen. Good sound and lots of features which I barely use any!)