A Bad Mistake

I have been wanting to buy a sport suit for a long time because everything I have now is old and almost shabby. I decided to go to a mall and buy from, possibly Sport Chek. Bad mistake! I went to Market Mall yesterday and it was a toilet! There's no other word to describe that filthy, chaos and disorder! There was barely anywhere to walk. People, in groups, were sitting at different spots and simply not doing anything but hanging out and it wasn't even cold! Many were shopping and not because they wanted things! It was because it was Boxing Day! One loser, on the radio said she just had purchased her entire wardrobe for the year today!! Can you believe a pathetic loser like that?! 
I immediately regret what I had done and decided to go the bathroom and get the hell out of there! Not a chance! There was a line up! So I said to myself: F*ck it and got out. Then I said I'm here and it's not too late why don't I take a walk and went to Glenmore Park. Much quieter and not crowded, although there were assholes there who were talking loudly as well(!) or maybe I'm too sensitive! That's why I like hiking and I shall start hiking solo again. 

(Photo: This maniac, whom is seen in Glenmore Reservoir was walking on the ice when a few people were on the trail, including me who took the picture. Unfortunately the ice seemed too thick and strong or we would have had fun!)

Stress on the Grid

This past week's extreme cold, the authorities said, had a tremendous stress on the grid in a way that two warnings were given and they added that a black out would be inevitable. That, of course, was because of the high consumption and people were asked to reduce it by, for instance, cooking by microwave instead of cook-top(!) and do not use as much Christmas lights as they usually do! 

No one ever said that Calgary Tower should turn the lights off or all those high-rise buildings in Downtown which leave their majority of their lights on, should conserve energy! 

My consumption is usually lower than other house but with that problem I had with my furnace yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised if I had a bigger bill, next time. 

(Photo: My energy service provider sends a chart similar to this, on regular bases. I have pointed to this previously in another post. With price of everything going up, it's important to reduce energy consumption)

This Year's Christmas Gift

I was at work yesterday and there was no action but I said: What the hell. I get paid for 9 hours! So why not? I in fact did a little work and that was transferring a number of documents to their related folder for further reference by the project, in case it would be needed. Rather than that it was a very boring and miserably cold day, like the other days of the week. 

Went to the Italian Centre Shop, which I had recently found on the web for some olives but it was so crowded that I found not worth the time! I got the hell out and drove home. Then at home I sat at the table to have something (although I was not hungry!) and check my e-mails and I thought it was not a very desirable temperature. Checked the ecobee thermometer on the wall and it showed 11.5 ℃  (nearly 53 ℉)! I just had heard an abnormal action(!) from the system and I realized that was it! It sounded that the thermostat shut the furnace off and then turned it back on immediately! 

It was not late but a day before the Christmas Eve is not usually that one would want to have a problem with their furnace while the outside temperature is about -24 ℃! (a little higher than -11 ℉). I remembered that I had the local newspaper delivered to my door the night before. I went to the classified section and called a heating business which is not too far. The guy said that because they had not previously provided any service to us, he would not be able to do anything! Honestly I was even surprised that he answered and even more surprised when he said that he might be available tomorrow morning! The second fella had a message on his phone asking people to send him text messages! When I did that he asked me who I was and wrote that he had not received any messages from me before!!It's a strange world with lot's of wired people! I briefly explained to him what had happened and his response was: I'm at a party!! Then he sent me a message and asked me to clear the vent and restart the furnace! I didn't get the point at the beginning. So I called the third guy. This time a lady picked up and said that he would ask a technician to give me a call and started asking questions. I easily hear a background noise which indicated she was at her home and being just day away from Christmas Eve, was distracted by all the events associated with the holidays. After a few question I realized that she was not paying attention and I wished her a good night and hung up! 

Then I thought of what the guy had sent as a message about the vent. There are two pipes sticking out of the front wall of the place, next to the balcony. I look and it, the one I assumed it was the vent, was solid blocked by a big chunk of ice. I broke part of it but the inside was clogged. Then I tried to break the ice inside but it was not accessible. My next solution was using hot water(!) and in order to do that I had to clean the balcony, at least partially, from a 1-foot snow. It appeared that the ice was being affected by the hot water and it showed it was effected when I re-fired the furnace but it froze again quickly and pushed the furnace back and the temperature as it was very cold! 

I eventually decided to stop after 2 or 3 attempts proved ineffective in frigged night and decided to go to bed. I guess I had two pullovers and a jacket and still was not very effective, I didn't sleep much. Same story the next morning due to the low temperature. It was eventually my neighbour whom I ran to and helped me! She brought a ladder and a crowbar and started breaking the ice inside and that was it. I can sleep comfortably tonight!

(Photo: The balcony after it was plowed enough to reach the vent. You can see the top of the Bear Spray at the right bottom corner of the picture. Refer to this post for the related story!)

From +30 to -30 (degrees centigrade)

It's been really brutal this week. Extreme cold that I had never suffered from to this extent. As low as -30 ℃ (-22 ℉). I've been lucky that I didn't have to work outside much or it'd have been a torture although driving on hokey field like roads, waiting for the vehicle to warm and walking as much as few meters is not much fun either.

It's supposed to end this weekend but who knows how many people have gotten into trouble from this wicked cold. From the passengers who waited for hours and eventually their flight was cancelled to the people got into accidents or their vehicle broke down at the side of a road and now have to wait as long as 72 hours to get help.

As per me I can claim that I have a new record in my life! I have worked outdoor in the temperature range of -30 ℃ to +30 ℃! Neither was fun, no doubt. I didn't have many alternatives!

(Photo: Outside temperature at 12:49 PM in one of this week's days. If you add windchill to that, it's not only unbearable. It's dangerous)  

The Knobs

I drive a company vehicle while at work, every day. I has been like this from the beginning but there has been ups and downs and I've written about them. There's no doubt that I'd rather to be in the office and drive no vehicle but it's not that easy! I'm hired for the site work. 

The vehicles we drive, the company trucks, perhaps I should say, they're all old. They have been driven all around the country on different project site for years. The truck I've been driving has more than 200,000 Km on it. Its heat system broke last week and I took it to the mechanic shop and gave me another one instead. Same thing! Has more than 200,000 Km on it! However looks better. It has a nice screen with all the info. you need and the gear changing is done through a knob. 

That knob, though, became a problem! I had driven knob-controlling vehicles before and liked it a lot but this ones gear knob is in such a proximity to the radio knob and climate knob! I've been lucky that I haven't made a catastrophic mistake because unlike a normal driver, I like to play with the knob a lot! And of course you need to reverse and stop. Also you turn the music down or crank the heat up. I've been really close to do something really bad, such as putting it in reverse, while driving and wanted to turn the volume up! Not such an interesting story but still wanted to say it! Interesting to experience though! 

(Photo: The vehicle's 3 knobs. From left: Gear, audio volume and climate control)

The PM

I was going back to the office from the site the other day and I saw someone near the main entrance. I couldn't recognize who he was from the distance and it was dark. I realized that it was our P. M. when I got close.  I asked him if he had forgotten his fob and he said he hasn't. I let him in and was about to go up when he called me. I turned back and I saw he had his arm extended! He said that it was nice working with me! I shock his hand and I asked him weather he was leaving. He said that it had not been his choice! 
What kind of people let their P. M. go just less than 2 weeks to Christmas?! I interacted with the man a few time and he was a good guy. He always was patient and reasonable man. I saw how he shut up the client representative who had a meaningless request and I saw how he corrected a stupid contractor. 
I now there was challenges which cause some people to work up to 01:00 AM a number of days back in late summer but was that too serious to cause the P. M. to lose his job and ask to leave the company shortly before Christmas?! 
Of course there must have been other things that I'm not aware of. I've seen the V. P. at the site a few times. One of the Directors regularly visits and Client have multiple fellas over often. There's been talks about another project that we're supposed to work on and seem it will be assigned to some other company. 
With all that said, I was really upset when he said goodbye. If it was an asshole like the Tote Lover, I wouldn't mind. Hope he gets himself together fast and be fine. 

(Photo: The P. M. on a project, usually, not always, has an assistant to help him to stay on the project schedule and the guy works with a software. I never saw it on this project and that is probably because the company does not believe in investing on one extra staff to get something out of it although I have seen people hanging out, most of their time and get paid!)

The five Unsuccessful attempts of 2022

Less than 2 weeks is left to the end of 2022 and despite the struggles, people are getting ready for Christmas. I, on the other hand, evaluating myself. This year have mostly been the year of failure for me regardless of the fact that I was able to get myself out of the toilet job I had. Not that this one is much better! It's just a little better: better pay, less physical, better benefit (which I haven't used yet!), a few perks, possibility of extension and finally having something in my resume. Everything else that I intended to do and did was a catastrophic loss! I failed my CWB Level 1 Inspector examination and now I will have to start over! I had three unsuccessful mountain attempts! 3 hikes and all waste of time and money and then the last but not least 5 times asking women out and none led to even 1 single damn date! 
I was told once that if a woman gives you her number and then does not respond to you well, or does not respond at all, she has given it to you just because she wanted to be nice! While it makes sense, I really don't see a need for that. I'd be much happier, if the woman told me that she was not interested or made another polite excuse. That's why I like The Blued Eyed Lady more than any of the 5 women that I wanted to date and couldn't! Her response was that she " does not hang out with people from work " and although it might have been just a polite refusal, I'd prefer that. Not to mention that she said that I could go to her to ask the questions I ad, any time I wanted. That was my first attempts. I plan to send her a Christmas card and then go see her and ask her out again. Maybe she says YES this time!
My second attempt was with another lady from work. A petite and sexy woman who happened to have two kids, she later told me. We got to exchange a few messages and then one day when I went to work she was not there and heard that he had been fired! It took her less than a month! I sent her a message and there was no response. I removed her number after that and never tried it!
Then there was this tall Iranian girl. Surprisingly and unlike many Iranian gals, average looking but why would I care?! After a pleasant conversation, she handed me her number and after a message or two. It didn't go anywhere! 
The next one was a woman who showed me almost the same signs as the second lady! She personally wrote her number on a piece of paper and handed it to me and indicated we would go for a coffee as " friends '! The day was set but one day before that, she cancelled it! She wasn't feeling well the entire week, she said! The funny thing is it would take her half a day to respond to a message! I know it is a tiring tactic! I had seen her with her phone in less than a foot from her and constantly checking it! This one ended here.
The last one was interesting! I went to this Italian store to do some shopping, a few weeks ago. Nice store. And every kind of people goes there. You'd be surprised. And it's close to Christmas time and the place was packed, particularly because it was a Sat. I don't eat outside Pizza because I don't eat White Bread but the Pizza over there looked very nice. So I ordered a large Vegetarian and waited. While waiting, I usually like to talk to people (because I'm a big loser, probably!) and ask one of the ladies who is tossing the crust up in the air if she is Italian. She says she's not but points to a girls. Here is this pretty girl who looks very serious but after a few sentences she starts smiling. That was a sign and then I ask her if she could help me with my near future Italian trip in exchange of helping her to get a place to leave as she complains about the high rent she is paying in Downtown. She refers to another store that she's supposed to start a job in, the coming week. I'm in the store and find her. I ask her to help me with a product and after that I repeat my request about her help with my trip and she gives me her number. That was the last time I talked to her! I sent her a message later and no answer! No answer at all! So why the hell did you give me your number in the first place?! There's no doubt that women's mind changes so quickly. One minute they're smiling, they're flirty and showing interest. The next day they don't even answer you! That's why I still like The Blue Eyed Lady. She stated, politely, that she would not go out with a person from work and even if that was a lie, it is much better than showing that you're interested in the first place and then rejecting a minute later but that's how women are! 

(Photo: Some of the foods that you can get from the Italian store. I'm not going to name it. It can be figured out easily!)

Joker in Real Life

I'm sure the majority of the people have watched Joker. One of the stupidest and most meaningless movies in the history of cinema! Why was is successful, unlike movies such as Foxcatcher, Valkyrie and so on? Because it was about chaos and killing! The two concepts that people in the US and somewhat Canada are found of! They want the police forces across North America to be de-funded(!), they want to have all sorts of guns available to be anyone and no control over purchasing it. That's why there are so many shoot out and innocent people are killed every week

 The society which fights for above, then their idol is Joker! They are constantly looking for opportunities to drink alcohol, smoke weed (and sometimes something lighter, like a cigar or cigarette), gamble and find a casual sex partner. 8 hours of day wasted, mostly, at something called job and the rest of 16 comprises of what I listed. That is the nature of life in a Western society.

But why this is a subject now that I've showed my resentment, if I could call it(!) for the movie earlier?! We have a Joker at work! Same characteristic, mostly. Some differences. This guy who will be called The Joker, is a labourer who now helps us in our department. Tough guy physically and mentally crazy! Constantly cursing, like most of Canadians who think if they curse, they're considered important! 

He called me when I was sitting in the office trailer at the site. It was very cold, not like it is now! It was -16 ℃ (3.2 ℉) and wind was blowing. He was telling me that the Supervisor, another crazy Canadian guy(!), was mad at me and I could not do anything by myself for 3 seconds! (I don't know who he had calculated that!) and he was mad at me too! And then started dropping F bombs! I called the Skinny, who is the Supervisor(!) and didn't answer! I got my ass out and joined him and he was going and going and I didn't say anything and started the job! 

He came back to me 5 minutes later and apologized! He said that he had Anger Issues and constantly apologized for his behaviour and all I said to him was that it was Okay! I kept going and then in 10 minutes and asked for a hug! I hugged him and told him that it was okay and we would go for lunch, one day that he's not busy with his family! He smiled! 

The poor kid has had a tough life, mostly. Not that I lived like a prince but I never had to cut wood after a day of work, before resting so my home is warm! I never had to work in the middle of woods to be able to support my family, although I never had one! I let it go and he has become nice to me again. Even says goodbye when he lives! Something that is rarely seen in Western culture! I could get into an argument and exchange of bitter words but what could I have possibly earned? It would have certainly affected my health and we would probably ending at HR and who knows what would happen there but I barely think they would keep me on after that. In a project that everyone is Canadian, it was a very big surprise that they let The Tote Lover go or perhaps I should say they kicked him out. Do you think they would keep an outsider on?! Why would I jeopardize both my job, although temporary and my health, by getting into a useless and stupid argument with a maniac?! If a dog barked at you, would you bark back?! The funny thing is the Supervisor, The Skinny is a pro-gun fella and once I got into a discussion with him but happily it was interrupted by the Big Boss and didn't get ugly or who knows what would happen! 

(Photo: Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. I took this photo during my recent trip to the city. A crazy guy opened fire from the 32nd floor of this hotel and killed and injured many innocent people in 2017 and the country still cannot and probably will not have a good Gun Control system and now that the Government of Canada has started to put restriction on firearms, which is a very and only good thing done by the Federal Government so far, people like Skinny started to go crazy!)

Forever 21!

There was this big clothing store, for women only, I think, in Chinook Center, called Forever 21. I don't think it's there any more. Maybe it is. Maybe not! I went there once or maybe twice with The Lady. Now she's gone and it's been years, I barely go to malls. Malls are not meant for single people or perhaps I should say single people going by themselves! You could be a single person and go with your single friend or family. So why did I bring up this Forever 21 store story? Because number 21 indicates the fact that today marks the 21st year of my arrival in Canada.

I marked this months ago and promised myself to do something special but all I did was going to work, getting a haircut and picking up a few items from a Safeway! I clearly remember the 21 years ago, the night I stayed at this Super 8 Motel and the thing that I was doing and the conversations that I had with people, some of them might not be alive now. I also remember that it was not as cold! I do believe in global warming but I do clearly recall that it was not as cold as -17 ℃ (≈ 1.4 ℉).

The good thing is I have a job now although I don't know how long it will be available and also I have a meeting come up and why I call it a meeting because the lady whom was asked out told me that we could go " as friends! " and I accepted that. There might be another possibility but I will find out about that tomorrow. 

(Photo: The entrance of a Forever 21 clothing store. I read it filed for bankruptcy in 2019 but I don't know it was for the Canadian operations or all. Doesn't matter here!)

Visiting Las Vegas (3)

Las Vegas, and generally the State of Nevada, is not just about gambling and other so-called adult entertainment. Not that there's anything wrong with them. You can enjoy every other thing that you can imagine. That's why I'm planning to go again and I'm neither a gambler nor a smoker! These two seem to be the things that people enjoy the most in Las Vegas and probably the rest of Nevada. Not to mention alcohol and prostitution, of course. 

One of the interesting places that we ran is this military-motivated(!) place called Battlefield Vegas. I don't want to get to the whole argument of gun control and mass shooting that the US has been facing for years but Americans loved this place because there's a shooting range, store and outdoor display. make sure you check this place out, even if you're not a shooting fella! They have nice stuff, and their outdoor display is interesting too. 

Two of many military vehicles on display in Battlefield Vegas

I have been wanting to buy a nice M-65 jacket for years and haven't been able too. These guys didn't have it and told me to check a surplus store in the city. We didn't have time for that.

Photography is another hobby that if someone is into it, they could find lots and lots of places to take photograph. There is everything from nature and architecture to people and food! Not to mention great restaurants. We unfortunately didn't have time to check many restaurants, rather than Gordon Ramsey's Pub & Grill and Urth Caffee but it will certainly be in my next trip's list. In fact, I would like to make this list for my next trip, which I hope I can make it again next year, although it might seem excessive:

1) Go to Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen. Booking might be needed.

2) Watch a Golden Knights game. This should be interesting as the arena is fairly new. So is the team! 

3) Go up to the tower and probably have a coffee or a meal there. I think early morning and night will both be good times.

4) Have one or two hikes and photography in nearby regions. 

5) See one of the shows.

6) Go to Frenchman Mountain.

7) Go to Valley of Fire State Park.

It shall take as low as $500 out of your account only! Add to that the cost of flight, hotel, transportation and gifts you'd buy for your loved ones! 

(Photo, top: This interesting light rail transit system connects major hotels, but we didn't ride it)

Visiting Las Vegas (2)

This is a continuation from the previous post: We then spent a little time to look around, but we needed to get our stuff out as we had planned to stay only for one night. I'm not a gambler. So there was no stopping at any tables or machines, but Alphonse was being tempted and played a couple of times. The next challenge of ours (the first one was finding a good breakfast place!) was to get the damn rental car which Alphonse had booked because he didn't want to drive his fancy SUV on a mountain road! The fact that he later denied it! We had to get the damn car and then drive to where Alphonse had parked his car, transfer the personal belonging to the rental, park Alphonse's at a free(!) parking spot and drive the rental. By the time we did that and had our lunch it was almost 17:00, two hours after the planned time to head out of the city and drive to the town of Tonopah! I saw two Gordon Ramsey places quite close to each other and they both were in or within the vicinity of the Caesars Palace. One of the reasons that I preferred to have our breakfast outside the hotel or outside any gambling area, for that matter, is that smoking is allowed in all these places, and you can feel the smell and see the smoke inside! For lunch we simply ignored this fact and when I approached Gordon Ramsey Pub and Grill, I was told we had to wait half an hour. We didn't mind. Alphonse used this opportunity(!) and played one of the machines. 

You see lots of nice and luxary cars in Las Vegas, many from California as it's close and many people come for entertainment. This electric BMW caught our eyes. Alphonse liked it a lot although he drives an almost Porshe SUV

An investment of $20 gave him $0.56(!) he didn't even bother to go to the cashier and handed it to a guy who was sitting close to us!We then went to Gordon Ramsey's Pub and Gril as our time had come up. The first impression was nothing special: Regular Western Bar, ill lit, to save money on electricity bills and probably make it romantic(!) at the same time. The service was prompt though. Menus were brought over quickly, and the servers were pleasant. The prices were and still are(!), Gordon Ramsey's prices! I think we both ordered, the least expensive or the second least expensive item on the menu! I had Fish & Chips and Alphonse had the Chicken Tikka Masala. Both the meals came after not much of waiting and they look and tasted almost fresh. My meal was very filling and that was mainly because of the amount of potato I had! The only problem with the meal was its Green Pee Puree which lacked any seasoning! Gorson Ramsey fans who watch his shows know how many times he says SEASON & TASTE, SEASON & TATSE. 

My Fish & Chips dish at Gordon Ramsey Pub and Grill. Now I regret that we did not try Hell's Kitchen! It has already been added to my list

This was forgotten for this part of the meal. Then we decided to have Apple Pie and coffee for our desert and this time it took a bit longer than what we expected. When the pie came, I didn't notice that they were not actually pies! Alphones actually pointed at that, and I ignored it because were at Gordon Ramsey's! It was warm and delicious with a scoop of ice cream on the top! It definitely was not the Apple Pie we had ordered(!) but silly me already had started and it was too late to ask to take the Puddings back! After the disappointing hike to Boundary Peak, which in fact was not a hike, was only a drive up a very narrow mountain road, we head back to Las Vegas and there were a few hours to spend. We decided to go to Strat which is the tower, and we went but because the net says $24 and they wanted to charge us $36, we didn't! While it sounds cheap, it was mainly Alphonse who seemed disgusted by these cheaters who advertise something and charge something else! I'm aware that it is a selling technique. People go all the way to the place (restaurant, supermarket, etc.) and see the actual price is way higher than what they had read. Mostly go ahead. Alphonse though despite having a steady and secure job, which he said he would retire there, having a second part-time job which makes him a good chunk every month and his wife working, still is very careful with what he spends on! We then went back to Luxor, the hotel-casino which has been designed based on the Egyptian Pyramids and Sphinx. The design inside and outside is not bad, but we wanted first to eat something and that turned to a disaster! We looked around and we were not searching for a whole meal, we were just looking for something light and found a few places on the second floor including a pizza place and that was a bad mistake! The piece of shit was asking $9 for a slice! Alphonse got something else, a little cheaper from the assholes and I ended up in the nearby Starbucks! I don't mind spending money on good food but that much for a slice of shitty pizza? No way! I was given a ride to LAS airport after that. I'm not a shopping maniac but I found some of the items in the airport as much or even better than the city.

(Photo, top: Trump Hotel in Las Vegas is off the boulevard but must be nice to stay in. Expensive though. Maybe I try the next time I'm in Las Vegas!)

Visiting Las Vegas (1)

My plan was to change my flight to sometime earlier but when I checked the website, there was nothing available. Living less than 15 minutes from YYC (you to judge me however you want!) I relaxed in the afternoon and around 17:00 I decided to head out. Bad mistake! There was an incident on the highway, and I first panicked! Then I said to myself that even if I reached there 45 freaking minutes from the flight, I'd be fine. The congestion was cleared after nearly 10 minutes, and I was at the airport shortly after that. That, then, I should say, was the easiest entry to the US for me! There was only one lady at CBP counter, and I spent there as much as 10 seconds! 

The flight was alright. I guess what the airliners, and specifically WestJet, do is they make the flight comfortable to Las Vegas to encourage people to go there more often! I remember my flight to Houston last year and I didn't have the leg room that I had on my flight to Las Vegas! And it was just not this year. It also was the last time I was there, 2019. 

Alphonse picked me up at LAS shortly after I had landed, and I have to mention that my phone died immediately after the plane touched down! The telephone didn't die. It was the damn service, which there's no point to discuss it here. I got connected to the airports Wi-Fi and called Alphonse! Finding him took only 10 minutes and we drove to Conrad Hilton where he had booked our room. 

I quickly left my items inside and went out to have a look around while we had time. 

I don't remember how much they charged at Urth Caffe for this piece of cake but that was not bad. I only regret that I forgot to eat the flower, I think! 

I had thought the weather be kind of warm, but I had closed my eyes to one fact: We were in the middle of the desert. The good thing is I had my jacket on. We were looking for a good place to eat but to our surprise every good restaurant, which I had read their review, was closed! McDonald's, Deney's and so-called Mexican place were open around the hotel. We tried, the last two! Or perhaps it's correct to say that we tried Deney's, and I tried Tacos El Gordo, a cheap and subpar place! Cheap not in terms of price but the value of what you pay for! The place was full of mostly Latinos and I'm sure that there were happy. I just wanted to see how the food tastes. Alphonse was smart and skipped it! I regretted that later! 

My first plan the next morning was to avoid the mistake we had made the night before. Alphonse wanted to eat in one of the restaurants of the hotel but I asked one of the hotel's staff and she was nice enough to lead us to Urth Caffe! It was a busy place but worth waiting a few minutes. I've gotta say it's a very nice cafe and if you're late forget about having a comfortable table! No wonder why there's no sign outside the building! These guys need no sign and no advertisement. Their service speaks for itself and once you're there, you can't go for something lower than that. I asked for refill as their coffee is really good and they filled it for me twice! 

(Photo: Conrad Hilton on Las Vegas Boulevard when I and Alphonse spent a night, not together[!] of course. I'm not gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Nice Hotel)

Disappointment in Nevada

This year which has less than 2 months to end has been quite disappointing in so many different aspects. I failed to get my CWB Level I Inspector Certificate, which is not a big deal and everyone can get it. I asked the Blue Eyed Lady out and she said no! and I had two miserable failed hikes! I have written about the first one and now I have to add another one: Boundary Peak! 

Boundary peak, as the name suggests is a mountain at Nevada-California border and we had a failed attempt this morning! Why? Because we selected a wrong time of the year and didn't have the right gear! We left the town of Tonopah early enough in the morning but there were two major issues which both stem from the same source: Snow! The piece of sh*t Ford SUV (Explorer ST) that we had rented and that was because Alphonse didn't feel like he should have driven his fancy Porsche SUV(!) was useless because it was skidding and then got stuck in snow like a stubborn mule in mud! We were lucky that we were able to get it out and parked it at the side of the very narrow road and walk up. 

Hiking up wouldn't have been the right decision because the snow was too much. Alphonse suggested to go up because he felt that we had come for nothing all this way. We went up for as high as 100 m. and then I decided to go back. I didn't want to walk in snow when I had no gaiter and even boots! We went back to Tonopah and had our lunch at Burger King. Then we checked the old cemetery and then our last stop was the mining park in the town. We thought now that we had failed our main goal then we shall at least see around the town. 

A view from the top of the hill which used to be the mine with both the Sate of Nevada and American flag

The mine at the time brought some glory to at-the-time struggling area. Gold, Silver, Lead and Copper for years brought wealth to the area which is estimated up to $2 Billion worth based on today's inflation. Unfortunately places such as this which as kilometers away from a major entertainment center (Las Vegas) don't get enough attention. How in the State of Nevada, which has a revenue of more $5.44 Billion, and that's all from different entertainments, would go to a small town, 3 hours northwest to see a mine which ceased its operation more than 100 years ago?!

Our dinner, which was after a break, mostly for Alphonse who wanted to have a nap, was served to us at this place called Hometown Pizza but that was a let down too! We were happy that the place had a Salad Bar and that was despite the fact that nothing, except two or three items looked very fresh, but when the Pizza was brought over and we each tried a slice there was nothing but the word bland. The sauce, the cheese and no other ingredients had taste. It was like your were chewing something without tasting anything. I'm not going to write more about the place but adding that you shall stay away. That a disappointing food experience added to a disappointing day! 

(Photo, top: This is part of the Queen Canyon road which takes you to the trail-head of the Boundary Head but we had to walk up due to the amount of the snow. The damn SUV was not going up)

In Tonopah, NV

 It's23:05 here in the town of Tonopah in northern Nevada now that I'm writing and I'm getting ready to go to bed in a few minutes. It was quite an adventure that we got here from Las Vegas which will be told later but tomorrow is supposed to be a challenging day. A day for hiking and I don't want another failure. So I'm going to bed and will write later. 

(Photo: This areal photo of the town was found in the motel we are staying, The Clown Motel) 

Mr. Know-it-All

There's this a*shole, from the client's side, who has started getting under my skin lately and that bothers me a lot, of course! He doesn't do anything but the stupid things he says, his unreasonable and meaningless requests, his lack of knowledge and his general behaviour are all senseless and irritating at the same time. This is a fatf*ck who is proud of his hanging belly(!) and truly resembles a moving garbage bin! If someone ever invented a garbage picking machine/robot which would basically just walk and cleaned out the street or area, would certainly resemble this piece of crap. All the businesses around the work area benefit from this pile of s*it. Nothing satisfies me more than kicking him so hard in the face that he would be on the ground unconscious and would stay in a hospital for at least a week! Would I be so dumb to do that?! No! Why? Because a motherf*cker filthy whore is not worth having a criminal record in the country! I will do something, verbally, to him one day that he burns really well though and I've said things to him a few time but I'm careful because he's a representative of client.
I tell you one story about this filthy fat disease-carrying rat but in order not to reveal the identities, I change the detail a little bit, as always. Once we had a process to do something for the project. A person was hired, came and did this task. There was a total of six pieces needed to be worked on. All six of them failed! Obviously the guy was an unskilled, useless, sh*thead. Here then the guy of our story comes and I'd like to call him Mr. Know-it-All and you're about to know why. He takes photos of all six pieces and goes back to his hole and then comes back out and tell me that there is this issue and that issue with these pieces! It appears that the motherf*cker, fatf*ck has gone to his computer, uploaded the photos and used Google Lens! This feature of Google enables you to know many things about the item which you have taken photograph from, if you didn't know it already! It tells you what it is, where you can buy it, if it is sold, etc. Now everyone all of a sudden is an expert on everything! This is the word we're living in now and despite all that I failed the last exam of my certificate and now I would have to start over, if I wanted to be certified! 

(Photo: Jack Nicholson in a scene of movie The Departed is talking to DiCaprio about the rat that he believes is inside his organization. He uses the term gnawing which means something that persistently bothers one! That is what this guy is, as well)

Good but not Enough

All the recent demonstration in Iran, which has entered its 6th week, is a surprise to me. It is not a surprise that people has risen against more than 40 years of brutal dictatorship. It is a shock that it has been going on for this long. That is not the only part which has taken me aback. It is the movement of very young people, most notably the young girls, and I must stress very beautiful young girls, with their long and lovely hairs. These young girls have stood against a regime which has not hesitated to do everything which strengthen their pillars and at the same time spread violence all across the world. The Government of Islamic Republic has spies and terrorists all around the globe. The bombing of the Jewish center in Argentina has been tied to the Islamic Republic. That happened in 1994. The fact that this place so far away from the region which the Islamic Republic has influence, makes one thing, at first, whether that was them. Other acts of terror has been seen at other corners of the world where the investigations later led to believe that Islamic Republic had somehow either directed it or been involved directly. 

Islamic Revolutionary Guard played a major role in Syrian civil war and there should still be a good number of them there. This picture has been taken in Aleppo a city in north of Damascus where a Revolutionary Guard was amongst a few which have been killed so far. I visited Syria many years ago, way before this manic chaos and we were going to go to Aleppo to but didn't. I regret that to this day

Now imagine the people who show any opposition to this regime. It requires a lot of courage. I'm really proud of them. The Government of Canada has banned the entrance of a big number of high ranking officers of The Revolutionary Guards, in a reaction to these recent uprising. This is a good move but too late and too small. The Islamic Republic has already, most likely, have many spies in Canada who have traveled in form of student, merchant or who knows what. My hope is that the people can get something now that they have sacrificed the best, the youth. I'm afraid that all these efforts goes to vain and that is because of lack of leadership. 

When a group does not have a good manager who is able to give them direction, help them at the time of derailing and give them courage, what happens is what has been happening at the project that I work on. Delays, chaos, incidents, unnecessary cost, you name it. 

(Photo: Lion and Sun is one of the oldest Persian, now Iranian, symbols. It used to be on the flag until the so-called revolution in 1979. I like it)

Worse than Child Labour in Canada!

These Western countries, all of them, from the biggest one, the US to the tiniest ones such as Holland and Belgium are all hypocrites to the fullest. I'm not saying that the other countries don't do awful things. They don't broadcast against it the way these ones do. One of the subjects is Child Labour. They name African, Central and South American and Asian countries as the ones that part of their economy is handled by child labour. How about Canada? What's the difference between an 8-year-old and an idiot 22-year-old who doesn't understand things very well!? Oh! I forgot! They're bigger and are able to do things which the younger children cannot!

So as long as someone is a good slave and reaches an age which could be beneficial to the big corporations and eventually CRA, " They're not children " anymore and could be used! 

I once saw a young guy between 18 and 20 who acted like primary school kids! He was walking at the side of the site road with ear buds in his ears, marching(!) and singing loudly! Heavy trucks go up and down that road constantly and could easily run him over any minute. I yelled at him, to get his attention and the dolt didn't hear me and was lucky that no truck was there at the time! 

Isn't he a child in mind? I know it's not all his fault. Where the hell is safety here? And let's not forget the role of parents. The parents kick their children out as soon as they can. Why? It's simple. They want to be comfortable at home and have less expenses. It's not important to them weather the kid is ready to be exposed to everything or not. The ones who keep them on want their money! And the reason why they keep them on until the age of 18 is that the Government pays them child support! Who knows what that money is spent on and who cares! 

Another example is a bunch of workers, including a woman(!) who thinks she's special(!) traveled to a spot at the site and dumped a few metallic pieces!! If I had a monkey and plainly explained to him the nature of dumping and housekeeping, I'm certain that he would understand better than those morons! Someone later came and moved that! The funny thing is a stupid monkey (which I'm not going to reveal his details here because I don't want to be accused of racism!) walked up to us who were performing a test and asked what we were doing! He did the same thing to me a few hours later! I asked him if he had anything else to do. He went " I'm done "! These people are worse than children! The country needs them though! There's barely any day that you turn the news on, and you don't hear the term " labour shortage "! Where the hell do you take all these people whom you dump them on Canadian soil every month?! Why don't they want to work? 

The Government think simply by opening the door and let everyone in can resolves the country's issue or labour shortage and it's not true. The brings more issue to the country not solutions. However this fact shall not be forgotten that the Government is pushed by big corporations through lobbyists!

(Photo: This particularly is my own statement through my career!) 

The Smart Cookie

There's this guy that I briefly worked for him in a small company back in 2019 when I had to leave the CBSA College just less than a week before graduating! I'm not proud of it. That was a big mistake and total waste of time but I'm over it.
The guy, from one of the former Soviet Union states showed signs of friendship but neither the job nor him were attractive to stay with! I made up a story and got the hell out. I'm going the skip the part that a cop was at our door because of that! I decided to contact him nearly 2 weeks ago. He, first, showed his friendly face but when I called him again, he didn't pick up. I received a call from him a few days after that and he asked me if I had a job, mainly because I had told him that I had come back to Canada, two weeks prior to that! He said he could use my help in his " Moving Company "! and added that he did not have a car and wanted me to pick him up! The Smart Cookie was trying to be smart! I told him that I was at work and could not make it! 
You see? There're people who try to take advantage of everyone the minute they can and they think they're really smart! All those signs of friendship and calling me " brother " was bullshit! He was preparing me to be his " worker " and " chauffeur "! The asshole send me another massage one more night after and said he wanted to have coffee with me at 19:30! He added that he did not have a car but he would meet me anywhere in the city! You know what that means! I would have to drive her home, had I gone to the " night coffee meeting "! I eventually told him that we could meet this weekend and has shut up since! There're people who think they're smart and can trick people to be in a situation that would do anything for them. He's one of 'em! I will send him a message about meeting tomorrow tonight because he still have a set of plate that I had borrowed from my Mom to take a sort of dessert for him to try.

(Picture: One of many know-it-all people that I've seen throughout my life. Always tried to impress me with his bullshit! If you wonder why Oriental tag has been used, it is because he originally is from eastern Asia and is considered Oriental but was born and raised in a former Soviet Union state and his family still lives there. That is my main interest in him because I always liked Soviet Union)

Let's Grab Lunch First!

There hasn't been absolutely nothing but work for the past month or so. at times up to 11 hours a day! I reached home around 19:30 while I had started at 07:00! I will have to be at work as well but happily won't have to start early. Something really interesting happened that made me to write now. 

The Tote Lover and I were to move to the site, permanently a few times. I spend all of my time at the site. I go to the office, or perhaps I should say I used to go to the office to discuss something with The Tote Lover in person or print a drawing, get a coffee or bring a tool. So it was not an issue for me. The Tote Lover though, seemed not very interested in the idea! Then later he told me that he was moving and asked for my help. I finally went to the office and helped him to get his stuff to the trailer at the site, this past Thu. When we put the main box in the truck I told him that I had seen food in the main office. He said: " Let's grab lunch first "! Imagine a fat f*ck who barely walks and his belly is hanging in a way that he barely can tie his shoes and in the middle of moving all he can think of is food! So we went to the next trailer and there she was this woman whom I would like to call Crazy Chatter Box (I will find a permanent[!] nickname for her if I plan to post about her again!) and The Tote Lover goes: It is supposed to be lunch here! And the woman says she doesn't know and all I see if an empty Wendy's paper bag! I went back to work and he went to the trailer.

He was in the trailer at the site on Fri. when I went to him a few times to either discuss things or put stuff inside. I went in at one point and I said that I would talk to the Site Supervisor for a sign we would use to specify  our office. He said " We would not be here for a long time ". I left while I was thinking about what he had said. Then he asked me to do a few things and I sent e-mails to him in regards to them. Our system works in a way that most of the time you can see if the person is online or not. I, all of a sudden, realized he appeared offline. I thought he might have left his desk, but where to? With the reputation that he had built for himself, he was not welcomed anywhere! No one liked him and no one would welcome him in their office. I did not think that he had gone home because that was only 11:00 something although he had the long history of leaving early. I still didn't know what was going on. 

I went to the office and everything inside seemed strange! The computer was turned off, the fob and fuel card was on the desk, as well as a few other stuff. 

I went to the next office where the Construction Manager is stationed. He is a really big fella and a bit intimidating! I asked him where The Tote Lover was and he gave me a strange look! He then said: Do you watch football? He meant " football ", not soccer and although I don't, I didn't want to disappoint him and I said: " Yes. I do ". And he made the gesture of a player who is shooting the ball! I was shocked! He said that I leave it to The Crazy Boss (the nickname is used by me) to tell you. I said: " But he wouldn't be here until Mon ". He went: " Let's go out. I need a smoke ". We saw The Crazy Boss pull in as soon as we stepped out! There he was! It was then that I realized The Tote Lover had been axed! 

The rest is talking to The Crazy Boss which is nothing to mention but I really enjoyed that asshole being kicked out. One should really not enjoy other's misery and I, as the person who once has been laid off three times and was not able to sleep well for 2 to 3 days, knows how bad someone would feel after they were asked to leave but this pile of shit and piss had crossed all of the lines: leaving work early, not answering e-mails, pretending to be someone who he was not, missing days repeatedly, you name it. I really am happy that I don't have to see his ugly face although I stayed in a very good relationship with him until the last minute he was working! 

(Picture: The asshole was kicked so hard like this one which is about to. Although I am sure he would not have gone so far up, had he been shot, due to his excessive weight!)

Another Reason to Buy an EV

I went to this dealership to get my oil change the other day and do you know how long I had to wait? 2 freaking hours! I don't care anyone notices which dealership it is but these thieves charged me more than $85 just for the damn oil change! Did nothing else! Imagine that I earn $15 an hour. So the total cost of my oil change would be more than $100! I tried the other dealerships but they were all booked up.

This is another reason why one, how is financially stable, should think of buying an EV, preferably a Tesla! Gasoline price jump does not affect you. You don't have to line up for the damn oil change, no spark or mostly, no other mechanical part change, comfortable and enjoyable drive, you name it. However people still prefer to spend $60,000 on a pick up truck rather than an EV.

My employment situation is uncertain. I don't know if I will be in after these projects. Otherwise I would go to Tesla website and would order one, specifically now that I have put around 150,000 Km on my vehicle.  When I first thought of Tesla 3, the interest rate was lower and the more options were available but it's not like that anymore, although the delivery time is reasonable. 

(Photo: One of the Toyota dealerships in the city)

Betraying your Older Brother

A few Ukrainians have joined our team as labourers recently. I can tell much about them because I don't want anyone to know who they are. Protecting people's privacy has always been my first priority here. Most of them don't speak a work of English. There're one that I have talked to several times and he is engaging. Even provides suggestions at work although no one gives a damn! There's another one acts as the translator for others. Once I asked him: I always though that Ukrainians and Russians are brothers. Why happened? He and one other who understood as well shrugged and said they did not know!

Devsatation in Ukraine. That is how Russians fight. Try to find photos from the time that Soviets were trying to capture Berlin. You see not much difference! 

There's no doubt that it was the plan by the Western countries such as the US and Britain, as well as France and a few other tiny puppets of the first three to cause issue and make these two countries fight each other. So they can benefit from this war in every possible way. All the weapons and supplies that they send to Ukraine and that worth hundreds of millions of dollars won't be free! Remember Marshall Plan? Ukraine will have to pay the Westerners for decades! And then comes the usual " Rebuilding "! Who is going to invest in a new Ukraine to rebuild it? Of course the Western countries! And those will be benefiting from that. I hope this post could help the ones who have their heads buried under the sand!

(Photo, top: Russian BMPs in Ukraine)

The Real Canadian Super"asshole"

Eating out and taking home is part of Western eating culture and has contaminated(!) other cultures which have long history of cooking good food at home. I hardly believe anyone cooks anything at home here in Canada if they're Caucasian. If they do, it'd be limited to throwing something on a barbecue or in an oven or asking Chef Mike to cook it for them! I have a picture of Chef Mike here in this post. Tell me he does not like familiar! 

I have resisted to this disgusting habit, which is part of Fake Economy concept, which will soon be another topic, but admit there have been times that I had to get something to save myself from starvation because I simply was in a situation that I could not cook, say, on a road trip. 

I'm now going to review a packaged food from one of the biggest thieves in North America, or perhaps I should say, in the world called Loblaws which operates under different names in different cities and provinces. This food is from The Real Canadian Super"asshole", the home to, mostly, pathetic losers, who think saving a dollar or two change their miserable and stupid lives! Not to mention the boneheads who eating garbage is an inseparable part of their silly lives! This store is so cheap and disgusting that I clearly remember that when I came to Canada first they didn't even have a website! Why? Obviously the cheap bastards intended to save money! Now they have robbed enough from people, they have a website because there are idiots who think, as I mentioned earlier, using stupid coupons and saving a buck or two, would change their pathetic and cursed lives! The food we are having here, and trust me I haven't tried it and I will never even feed that to my pet, is named Butter Chicken and White Rice, apparently an East Indian meal in a 400 g plastic package and must have been frozen. It is sold for $7. Let's assume this 400 g meal consists of 200 g rice and 200 meat, which is hard to believe because it does not look that way. 

The first question is who eats this meal? I don't think an East Indian would be interested. They can make it easily at home. A labourer? Maybe? but he would at least need two meals to be full! That'd make it $14 plus the tax plus a beverage, which is inevitable to have with a meal! How much this food cost for the company? $2, maybe! How do you think a company like that makes over 53 Billion Dollars? That's how! And then when you go to pay for your groceries or whatever that you have purchased, if you're lucky that you don't have to stay in a long line, which is the case many times during the week,, because the company does not want to hire cashiers and pay them(!), they ask you if you'd like to donate to a charity!

(Photo: The meal from the Super "asshole ". Chef Mike helps you to prepare it!)

America's Gift to the World

I was driving home last Fri. and saw a certified(!) copy of America's gift to the world in the City of Calgary, which is called the Heart of the new West! This city and in fact the entire country has been turned to the new Toilet of the Old West! Here's a villager from Afghanistan in his traditional clothing and a bag, looking lost in the heart of the new west! This is one from millions of Afghans who started leaving their country when the fundamentalists, backed and supported by the US, Pakistan and some Arab countries, started destroying the country. When the Soviets cross into Afghanistan first in 1979 it was for the purpose of stopping that country from going backwards where the Taliban and other US backed and founded groups(!) including Al-Qaeda wanted. Sadly it didn't work because all the above countries found and still find a backward Afghanistan a better country for themselves! I have nothing against the poor people of Afghanistan who have been suffering for more than 40 years and I'm sure this man here in this above picture does not want to be clueless and humiliated here but who is responsible for that? It is true that Taliban was created by the US and people were educated and trained in Pakistan but I do not believe anyone forced them to join up. That, in fact, was their choice. 

Taliban Fighters all with all Soviet made machine Guns called PK

They believe in Islam and that was and still is Islam! Even last August when Taliban started their way towards the major citifies, whose fault it was that they captured the power easily?! Every one in their pathetic government and so-called security forces(!) flee like a rabbit! They didn't care about their city, town, family, their nation and their country. And now the rest of the world should pay for that and the people of Afghanistan should suffer, no matter in or out!

(Photo: The poor Afghan refugee. You can see the confusion and suffer in this guy despite the fact that it is not a clear picture) 

A Tiring Test

I received an invitation to write a test a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know what it was or when I had applied for that position! It's mainly because I'm very tired at times and have a lot on my mind. I read the e-mail and remembered what it was about: An administrative position with the CBSA! 

No offence to the CBSA but I found the test very degrading and of course I'm not going to reveal anything here as I've signed before doing it but that was traumatizing! When I read the posted position I didn't really realize that it was for that kind of job. Doing the test made me aware but I couldn't go past the 15th question or so! Again, I appreciate the CBSA giving me this opportunity and it'd have been great, if I had been strong enough to pass the exam (which the results have not been posted yet) but it was impossible for me! 

Part of the problem was where I was sitting for the exam(!) and the other part was the stress I was under to get back to work because I was, at the time, still in probation! My desk is next to the window and when sun comes up in the morning the extreme light bothers my eyes so much and that is because the curtain is thin. That is mainly why I do anything on computer down the stairs in the morning where my laptop is. 

To provide the short version of the story, I stopped the exam., I think, after the 15th or 16th questions and headed to work. My main reason for applying for the position was:

1) It is a permanent position. Who wouldn't want that?! 

2) It's indoors. It's an office position. In comparison to mine which is 95% outdoors!

3) I would have traveled less than the half of what I do now on daily basis! 

4) Room for growth

These sort of problems only happen to the people who get derailed from their goals, such as me. The people who make serious mistakes in their lives and to the people who have no one to give directions to them or support them through their lives. I'm one of them and that's why my life is this mess at this age. I hope you're not one and won't make the same mistakes I've made.

(Photo: The CBSA offers fantastic positions throughout the country and hires regularly. If you're not as weak as I am, apply for one and you're set for life)

The Comfort of not Having Many Choices

I watched Collateral, a 2004 movie, in continuation of my Old Movie Streak(!), if I could say that, yesterday, although an 04 movie might not be considered " Old " in comparison with others that I've recently watched and they were from late 60's or early 70's! I will write about them later. 

The movie, at the beginning, seemed slow and grim! If a movie starts with dark scenes, such as night or indoor with poor lighting, it'll throw me off! It could've been my screen though! I resisted and then the story began! Very good story and Cruise has been great as always. In fact it could be one of his best performances. Foxx is who have been praised for his role a lot and was nominated for an OSCAR but we all know what OCSAR means! Not that I am degrading Foxx's performance.

What I'd have like about the story is if Foxx's character would have assisted Cruise's and teamed up with him, instead of being a whining bitch! I guess the screen writer wanted the story to be a normal one: A taxi driver can't be a hitman in an instance and naturally reacts emotionally and if he could, would resist.

Michael Mann, the director in a scene with Cruise

A few people have roles in this movie which was a kind of strange to me but I think it seems strange now because it's a movie from 18 years ago. There's this British actor who has appeared in cheap, action B-movies and his name is Jason he appears for 30 seconds(!) and has one line! And there's this woman, the wife of W. Smith who for her, Smith slapped C. Rock and got fired from the Academy! She doesn't have such a mentionable performance and she looks different from what she is now, of course! 

The center point of the story is Cruise and without his brilliant performance the film would have not been formed in this perfect shape. 

(Photo, top: Tom Cruise, Mark Ruffalo and Jami Foxx in the elevator scene of the movie. Ruffalo has a much smaller role in comparison to the other two)