The Two Vital Things for Canada

With Coronavirus around and limiting almost everything these days and low income, there's nothing to do but work, eat and sleep. The lather, though, has become not very pleasant either! It was hot last night and I barely slept. Today I have a little time and I thought I should have a brief post about the two essentials that Canada cannot survive without them for a month! What are they?

1- Cheap immigrant/refugee labour force.

2- Alcohol

Let's have a look at them in detail. Shall we?

1- Cheap Labour: Canada has been using cheap labour since its foundation. Chinese and Indians, to be specific Sikhs, are amogst the ones who were let in, or brought to, the country to do hard work that the average Caucasian normally escapes from. The city of Abbotsford in British Columbia has a big population of Indian Sikhs who were pushed by the British to this part of the world more than 100 years ago to do the labour job. Today they come on their own to run gas stations, work in factories, have small businesses, work as security guard, you name it and they use any possible way. 

The Chinese, I think, built the railroad mainly and then of course were absorbed by other industries. Today in addition to the two main group of cheap labours, Africans, Filipinos, Latinos and Arabs are flocking to the country to fill the jobs that is not filled by the average Caucasian. 

I'll give you an example: There are between 10 to 15 employees in the department I work at the moment and there are only two Caucasians. One has a very easy job, comes early and leaves early and never stays for overtime. The other one does the same thing that I do, comes early and leaves early and never stays overtime as well. The rest are foreigners. This actually is a little higher than a fully labour job. It's semi-labour job because you need to know some stuff to be able to do it properly. Usually a FOB has a hard time to do that. So they have to give it to someone who has spent a few years in Canada and knows his right hand from left.

A man in his early to mid. 60's is entering a liquor store on 14th Street SW Calgary. Once you're hooked up with alcohol, there's barely any way to cut the cord! 

 2- Alcohol: This is an inseparable part of Canadian and in general Western Culture. Not to mention that other nations seem to have caught up with Canadian and Americans and drink more! To name, Chinese have become a big importer of fine wine. You shut down the liquor stores in one Canadian city for a week, a 

part of a pilot project, you see the result and determine if that could be done to other parts of country. I, myself am pro-hypothesis. I can tell you that the whole city goes to chaos! People kill each other and burn buildings! Why do you think liquor stores were considered essential when Coronavirus hit hard back in March? The Premier is smart enough to know what would happen, if they get closed! Not to mention that he was smart enough to keep the revenue flowing! Ne knew that Canadians might not go to a supermarket and buy groceries to make dinner and would exchange that with a cheesy Hamburger from McDonald's but they would get their booze! 

(Photo: A group of Indian or as it's said here in Canada East Indian roommates in their shared room in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. India and Pakistan provide the majority of workforce for this tiny country on the south of Persian Gulf and yes these people all live in this room together. The condition of cheap labour in Canada is slightly better than this)

The Costly Effect of Over-Drinking!

With bars and restaurants oppening one after another, there's barely any week that The Chef doesn't call me to join him for a drink. However our " drinks " are only limited to Beer and not more than 2 or 3 but even that has a significnt affect on him. I've written about this before but I can't stop writing because it's funny while scary! Yes! Funny and Scarry at the same time because you never know what his reaction might be!

So here we are and because he was some 30 minutes late I penalized him by asking to pay the bill but went easy. In fact I wanted to ditch him and even left the area but then turned back(!) because I said to myslef: What he hell?! What am I going to do at home?! I'm going to waste my time there so I might as well waste it with The Chef in a bar! 

We sit and a waitress, who has served us before and I think she even knows The Chef, appears. We order a bottle for me and a Pint for him. The bar is not very crowed, perhaps because of the weather which is sunny and nice. The Chef then asks for the menu and tell me to order some food. I then ordered a Stuffed Mushroom and a plate of Wings. I know the bar's food is not good but he insists and here I'm sitting more than 24 hours and haven't gone ill! Whatever happens, will happen in coming years! Now The Chef orders the second Pint and they are big and usually after the second one he gets frozen! That's how fast alcohol affects his brain! He becomes slow in everything and you have to repeat, at times even more than twice, to get a response from him! We eat the food and drink and he suggests me to get the second bottle of my Kokanee. I eventually give up and the waitress brings the 2nd for me and the third Pint for him. Here he's full and his body doesn't have the capacity to absorb! Add to that being slow because now the brain sends the message to parts of his body in a speed much slower than usual! I use this opportunity and call for the bill. I know if we're not leaving, he'll drink more and becomes dangerous! The bill comes and it's $47.68. He wanst to make it $60 to have a good tip for the waitress but i tell her, while holding the machine, to make it $55. On the way out I notice that he's not behind me! I turn back and he's standing next to a waitress who's serving the next table and is talking to a bunch of guys! She freaks out but the good thing is he doesn't do anything but standing and staring at the girl and the guys! 

Another hail storm in Calgary while running away from The Chef. Happily nothing major happened to my car

I pull him out and go back and apologize to the people! Here at this point he's asking me where we're going! I tell him that we're going home because we've had enough! 

At home I decide to have another sneak peak at Lazy Ass's food storage(!), I'd like to call it! But before that and when we're approaching the home I think I heard The Brave and we both got scared because no one knows what his reaction might be when he sees both of us with alcohol smell! We sign after a minute! It appears that he's one of the Hindu guy's buddys on the main floor who is talking loadly and sounded like The Brave! I go up and open the freezer and get a Half Backed ice cream cup and we finish it together quickly although that much sugar is bad for The Chef because he has problem with blood sugar! Now imagine you have three Pints of beer and 1/4 cup of ice cream! How much sugar do you get from that?! The ice cream is finished and it's not bad. Not to mention that I've never tried this brand which I think it's called Ben & Jerry! Now his new roommate, a guy from Lahur has joined us. He's making some sort of desert for himself and I keep telling The Chef that we're going to have something because I'm hungry. In fact I wanted to finish eating there and leave nothing for the time I'm home! Lazy Ass's freezer is loaded with food but mostly should be cooked! Some cooked food have mold on them(!) and that becomes a good topic to talk to the Hindu guy! I tell him that he has to pick up the phone and call the landloard about the risk(!) that he's exposed to! He eventually is convinced to take a photo and send it to the landlord, something that I will follow up, hopefully, next week! 

I tried this brand for the first time. I have promissed myself not to buy ice cream again but that was free and I finished 3/4 of it by myself!

I go back to The Chef and eventually he says that he has two sandwiches and we're going to eat them! He reaches to a box on the floor which looks like have nothing but plastic bags(!) and takes out two wraps, one Cheicken and one Lamb/Beef! I was hoping to get half of each but he cut them to three pieces, giving his roommate a piece as well! The cheap bastard was waiting for a moment like that because it appeared he had not eaten to save money! So he finished the bites as quick as I did! The Chef in the meantime still is in his slow-motion mode! I crave for more food but I think if I stay longer things might not appear in a way that I like! The Pakistani guy now is finished with his dessert and pours into a bowl and offers us. It's something similar to what we have in the old country as well and I haven't tried it for decades! It's a sort of side-dish or as I said dessert that starch, could be Rice, is boiled and cooked in Milk. I tell The Chef that I'll have to check the car and use this opportunity and get the hell out! The storms is started and on my way home he calls twice and I ignore his call! 

(Photo, top: This bar is trying to use some insentives to attract customers. In their menu instead of wrting ... KEEP YOUR BALOT ENTRY IN ORDER TO CLAIM ... They have written ... BALOT ENTRY I ORDER TO CLAIM!)

The Nutritious and Real Peanut Butter by Kraft

I discovered the amazing All Natural Crunchy Kraft Peanut Butter just a short while back and now there's barely one morning I can pass without it! I, of course, was introduced to this food years ago when I came to Canada because it is not part of the old country's food culture but at the same time I was surprised that there are people who peanut butter could be fatal for them.

This food and particularly this brand is so good and nutritious that there has been days that I was hungry and didn't have anything else to eat and just 2 or 3 teaspoon of that has given me enough energy to continue working for the rest of the day. As I indicated this particular brand is the best and is real peanut butter because there's no additive. That's the only one I go with. 

(Photo: The real and actual peanut butter with no shit added to it. I will check the other less known brands and probably will have posts for them as well)

Awesome Knock out

Lazy Ass was eventually received a big kick in his ass and that was so hard that he was thrown out of his house! His dad threw him out after an intense fight and I guess he has sought asylum in his mom's! The guy lived in his house for more than 4 years after his father and the second wife and 2 kids moved out to a bigger and better house in a better neighbourhood, with no job most of the time! I guess he was unemployed or perhaps it's better to say he chose to be unemployed more than 95% of the time during that period! He had no rent. He rented the other rooms of the house and stole from the money which was supposed to go to his father and fucked around with women and girls until the tenants complained to his father!
There were basically two guys on the main floor with him: A Hindu and a Punjabi Sikh and while the history shows that these guys barely had a good relationship in Indian sub-continent, they got together and kicked the guy out! I saw the Hindu guy, a fella from northwestern part of the country, The state of Himachal Pradesh, a couple of days back when he was living home and said hi! I had seen him before and I had talked to him before. He knew me. I went: Let me congratulate you! He was surprised while I reached my pocket and took a glove out! I put the glove on and shock his hand! I went; That was a tremendous accomplishment! He asked me if I refer to him trying to finish a course as a pharmacist and become one. I said that was for managing to threw the guy (Lazy Ass) out! He started on how Lazy Ass had brought a girl home the night before his examination and didn't let him sleep! The Chef came at the time that the Hindu guy finished his story and was leaving and he was generally not happy with the situation!
Now we're sitting at the table and he goes to get his booze and gets busy with it! Lazy Ass has lots of frozen food in the freezer and I'm hungry. I reach out to them and while I never buy microwave food, I put them in the machine on after another and start eating. The Chef, on the other hand, is afraid of Lazy Ass and generally everyone and asked me not to take the food but I don't listen to him and no he's under the influence of alcohol and joins me to eat! i guess I opened at list 6 packs of food! There were Chicken, Stake, Meatball, Beef, etc. All with either White Pasta, Mashed Potato or White Rice. I ate all of the meat and threw out all of the starch! There was also Ice Cream cone. So we got both one and I would really love to see what Lazy Ass's reaction is when he comes and see all of the food is gone! That would be nice! The Chef despite his high blood sugar cannot control himself and eat some of the shit but completely forgets about the fear(!) because now he has drunk alcohol! That's how his life has always been: A pathetic coward loser who always tries to brave himself up with alcohol(!) but this post is not about him. Let's go back to Lazy Ass. He was furious when I talked to him 2 weeks ago but there's nothing he can do. He's knocked out! And he was knocked out beautifully! I talked to his dad today and pretended that i didn't know the story! He asked me to call him and give him direction as he is worries that he goes the wrong way. He doesn't know that I hang out with him and know the entire story. I told him I will!
The Chef though is not very happy because he thinks he has lost his supporter! He stated that every time he was in a fight with another tenant Lazy Ass supported that and I know that is threw because the drunkard fool was acting like Lazy Ass's butler! He got mad at me for praising the Hindu guy but I back off and said nothing because first of all he was drunk and secondly I always benefit from The Chef although on that specific day he asked me to pay for the bill on the short sitting we had which is a separate story but I keep him handy in case I need him, say, for moving!
Anyways I truly enjoyed this bout! Lazy Ass was knocked out! The Chef lost his supporter and next time he has a problem with a tenant he will be in trouble and everything is nice! 

(Photo: I have lots of respect for the south African boxer, Francois Botha for standing in front of Tyson for 5 rounds but while everyone, including the commentators, thought Tyson was in real trouble and there was barely any chance for him to win, he knocked the White Buffalo down with just one right! The guy was not able to stand straight even after 50 counts! That was what Lazy Ass got! Awesome!)

The Inspection

Having a home inspection, before the sale becomes finalized as an option available to the purchaser but is not mandatory. The aim is to find any issue in the house that might become a problem when it is occupied by the new owner and address it. The result, in a documented report, is supposed to enter into negotiation with the seller and get the price lower or ask them to fix the issue. The purchaser, of course, pays the inspector's charge but the question is whether the cost balances itself? Is the inspection's report worth the money that the purchaser pays? In my case, the seller first forbade us from accompanying the inspector, the right that the purchaser, in my opinion, should have. However I was able to reach out to him just 15 minutes before he finishes his work and he pointed at a few issues. The realtor recommended to have an amendment to the offer and in that she requested the issue to be fixed before the possession date or a total of $750 be given to the purchaser. This, in comparison with the total cost of inspection, a nearly $490, is not a bad deal. I would not have been able to detect the issue if it had not been because of the inspection but in the meantime there are so many other minor an major things in the report that you leave without any choice with!

There're parts of the report about major things in the house such as roof or electrical that the inspector simply says that he did not have access to! And there are minor things that they are not big enough to bring to the attention of the seller but if you want to fix them yourself they are costly. 

I mentioned that to the inspector, whom was introduced to me by the realtor after I paid him and received the report. He didn't like it but now I regret why I didn't do this years ago and have a very good understanding of the situation and know what to do if I want to go to another place in a few years from now. At the same time performing a home inspection at the level that this fella did is not complicated and easily feasible, particularly now that I have a report, not to mention the information available in the internet, particularly the provincial government who issue license to these people. I would rather to do the inspection for my next home myself and save at least $500 because the charge goes up with the area. He said it took him 2.5 hours to complete his inspection while I highly doubt that. Many items is left blank and explanations such as " Not part of the inspection " or " No access was available " was provided. Besides there is no test on appliances!! That was the stupidest part of the report and that is one of the reasons that I most likely, if it comes to purchasing another property, would do the inspections myself. The appliances are the tools that you deal with them in your daily life. You use the refrigerator, the stove and at least once in a month the washing machine and probably once a week or even shorter the dishwasher but none of them even gets looked at by the inspector. So there's a very good chance that your refrigerator shuts down just a week after you moved in and then you not only have to drag it out but also you have to spend time to find a good one that matches your budget and then haul it up! So in general the inspection does not worth the time and money you spend on it, at least for someone like me who is known as a restrict and attentive Quality Control professional like me!

(Photo: An inspector is checking the work on a wall, something that I don't think this inspector did! Mold and moisture common problems, as well as insulation)

The Final Cut

I finally had an offer which was accepted and now we're moving forward to make everything ready for possession. This, unfortunately is not as good as the home that I missed a number of weeks ago but it's not too bad. The construction was ended in 2018. So it's pretty new.

It's in one of the small towns near Calgary. That is what I wanted and now we're going to see how the things go. There are so many things to do to change the ownership of the property including:

1- Bank approval.

2- Home inspection

3- Legal things, association with lawyer

4- Utilities

5- Insurance

6- Moving

And possibly a few other minor things.

I went back and forth a few times with my realtor, who by the way is a very nice Caucasian lady, and eventually I was happy with what I got. The owner wanted to take a major appliance and needed a long time to move out, possibly to search for a bigger place. I gave them both in exchange of $2000 in price reduction! I'm not in rush to move in. So I gave them the ability to find their place and also I don't care about that piece of machine they are so attached to!

(Photo: I used the cover of the last album Pink Floyd as a four-member band made back in 1983, 37 years ago. I like the album but I dislike the fact that Waters turned to a complete ass during this album and thought he was such a hot shit! Obviously he was out and Pink Floyd performed successfully years after that. For me this offer was the final offer. Hopefully it turns well)

An Authentic and Beautiful Fight!

I witnessed a very intensive and at the same time beautiful fight at work today. It was so interesting that I decided to have a post for that and here it is:

Two Chinese employees, a man and a woman, both working in the same department and both almost at the same level, having a number of people working under their so-called leadership (I doubt they even are able to define what real leadership is about!) were in the breakroom and into a very heated argument. It was really easy to understand that they are fighting: The tone of their voices, body language, loudness and eventually the woman burst into tears! 

It was not a load crying but I easily sensed that in her voice and then saw that she was wiping her eyes! What I assume, based on the English words that they had to threw in their Mandarin, is the supervisor was not happy with their performance, or perhaps it's better to say the performance of the woman's team and has mentioned that to her and the woman knew the guy responsible and they were arguing over that. Eventually the man stood over the top of the woman's head and they continued their talk for a little more until the guy left. 

The Chinese is probably one of the strongest communities in anywhere they live. They support each other like no other people but this time there was no support. 

(Photo: A Chinese girl, loyal to the central government of the People's Republic of China is protecting the Chinese flag from Hong Kong demonstrators who are opposing to the new Chinese rule which limits their freedom. During the conflict over Hong Kong many of the Chinese supported their government and even participated in rallies)