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!)