Trains, Planes and Automobiles

I had no idea what Trains, Planes and Automobiles was when my realtor mentioned it to me a few years ago! I asked him to find me a quiet place and when she sent me a few addresses, I asked her how the neighbourhoods were. Her response were: You know? Like Trains, Planes and Automobiles! She meant that all these sort of vehicles could be heard during the day. However none have ever bothered me and the other thing that I like is the neighbourhood is not so crazy and noisy. There're of course, assholes, thugs and drunkards but where is the neighbourhood without them?! Not many! 

I then got a chance to watch the movie a few years ago for the first time and watched it a few more times after that, including tonight! I must say that it's a great movie and both John Candy and Steve Martin are brilliant but Candy was a Canadian gem which there will never be anything remotely close to him. He had roles in other movies such as Uncle Buck and Home Alone and he was great in both, mainly the first one. One thing that I am surprised by, is the fact about the Canadians who travel to the US to work and then stay in the US which are a lot. Many of them are the artist that many know: Singers, professionals athletes, actors and actresses, politicians, you name it. Examples would be Jim Carry, Wayne Gretzky, Daniel Powter, many more. They barely visit their home town. Some never. Yet the Canadians expect the foreigners to go to their country of origin every chance they have! I haven't been to my country of birth for over 11 years now and when I was talking to our HR person before the last Christmas, she asked me whether I would go back home! I was going to respond by saying that first of all this is my home now and there's nothing you can do about it! Even your Government isn't the fan of me leaving Canada after I retire as I have to be in the country for at least six month of the year to be eligible to get my Old Age Security! You're from eastern part of the country which is maximum 5 to 6 hours flight from here, considering the stops and layover and you never go there. You expect me to be on a plane and in airports for over 18 hours?! F _ _  you, you idiot! I'm not going to do that and I don't care if you like it or not! 

Martin and Candy in the last and one of the most interesting scenes of the movie. This is supposedly Chicago and is a beautiful neighbourhoos as seen. Just like Home Alone's

Nevertheless Trains, Planes and Automobiles is a great movie. Watch it, admire it and recommend it to as many people as you can. It shall be considered one of the greatest comedies of all time. 

I feel my life is similar to Candy's character in the movie. Not entirely or not identical but I always have had an issue controlling what I say, I haven't been able to be with a woman I love since my wife left me 10 years ago and I'm mostly alone! I don't know whose life is more f _ - ked up? Mine or Dale Griffin's?! 

(Photo, top: Candy's tombstone. This guy neither died nor is buried in Canada!)

Mindless Retards at Work (3): A Little bit about the new Work

It's been nearly nine months now that I joined this company. There were two job offers and I was able to get the one with a better salary. Thanks to The Mumbling Guy! The funny thing is the games that the other guy, from the other job offer, was playing. First he said that there was an old employee coming back and then he said that he had changed his mind and asked me to join and even send me an offer. I was told by The Mumbling Guy to wait and I did until I received the other offer, which was more attractive. The guy was a phony and the company was a sham. This asshole offered me $X an hour when we were talking and when I received the offer it was $X-1! I don't know if he would have added that one extra dollar per hour to his own salary or what? Funnier than that is just six months after that I saw a new posting for the same damn job. The guy who has been or had been hired didn't last more than six months! 

Now going back to the new workplace, the first person was this fat, lying, short, mental person! Yes, I called them fat because the person who hides their eating after you offer them food, is nothing but a disgusting sick fat liar! I also don't call anyone mental unless they behave abnormally and excessively! We had a Stampede Barbecue,like many employers have during the season and the day after she comes to me and says: This was really disrespectful of you and some other nonsense! I didn't even sit close to her and paid no attention to where she was but I'm not going to argue with a mental job. I simply said that I didn't remember saying anything and if I did there was no intention of hurting her and I apologized. File closed! 

The Mumbling Guy at the other end, first asked me not to apply for the job! How did it happen? This is how it went down: There was a posting and from the name of the company I realized what business they were in. It sounded at the time, the same that my buddy had said he had just joined. So I asked him whether I should apply for the position or not. He said no! I know he would be one of the decision makers. I did not. Next week, I think it was a Mon. morning he called me and said to apply! He later told me that a candidate had been removed and there was a chance. The interview went well and everything rolled smoothly. I even got a higher salary than what I had asked for. But I must clarify why I still call my buddy The Mumbling Guy now he has done this favour and some others? The answer is simple: He still mumbles after living in Canada for more than 20 years and he cannot write correctly and professionally! There hasn't been any improvement and he doesn't seem to need one. He's doing fine but to me it looks stupid. 

There're so many issues, challenges and opportunities at this new work which I'm hoping to put them there gradually.

(Photo: I wish my office was like this but neither the manager's office is even close to this nor my previous positions!)

What Women Want

I considered this file(!) closed so I'm writing about this funny occurrence now. I was approached by a lady neighbour when there was a major snow storm a few weeks back. She helped to clear the driveway and then it looked like it was the start of a friendship of some sort. I made some baked good the next week and delivered to her as a sign of appreciation. She invited me inside and gave me her number. I know nothing would come out of this but I kept the number and then she one day later said that she would like to invite me over for an afternoon tea of something. Never happened! I was not surprised because I know the type and the later encounters proved that as well. I decided to invite her for the tea and it was accepted. We ended up talking for a few hours and it felt nice and enjoyable. 

The returning invitation, to have something at her place never took place. In addition to that she said she would help with some an issue in my place through of one her relatives and that never happened. The interesting things are what she said she wanted in this potential relationship: " We (her and her little kid) were looking for something to be able to rely on ". " We knew everyone in the neighbourhood but you ". 

Women always are in need of something or they would never approach you. My first wife, whom I was married to for only a short time got what she wanted from that relationship in that period and then moved on! She wanted to be transferred from the town she lived in to a main city and that would have never happened, unless she notified her employer that she was married to a person in that city! My second wife married me so she could benefit from my immigrant status and save herself from the unknow future. Her family were on her shoulder to get rid of me and they eventually succeeded! She moved to British Columbia, then years ago this month (Time flies by!) came back in a very cold months to finalize the divorce! Then a few month later she realized that it was not such a wise decision! She called me and said that she wanted to come back to me(!) and stated that it was very expensive there! I was in CFLRS at the time and I was hoping to finishing the Basic Training but I didn't and didn't get her back either! She, I'd assume, married her boyfriend of the older days and I guess they're living in that province happily. 

I never liked M. Gibson. That's why I haven't watched this movie What women want. However, since the title of the film is the same as the title of this post I thought I should post a picture of Marisa Tomei who has a role in the movie

Then I received a message from lady one day saying that she felt depressed and sad. I'm not really good at situations like this. What should I have said? Sympathy? I told her that I was fine and added that she could contact me any time she felt like that, although I thought she would not need it. I think that was turn off for her. She never contacted me after that again. I, truly, believed this friendship as she had described, would go nowhere. We had nothing in common, neither culturally, nor emotionally. Let alone physically! A tall, young, Caucasian, pretty woman with high sex drive, starting a relationship with an old, ugly, foreign man. My theory is not to even start a relationship which you can easily predict that will not going much far after the start point! That's how you save time and money! I, at this age, don't want to invest on a short relationship or as she wanted friendship! I have plans which all are costly and adding people to them would be next to impossible. So sending a message of " You don't need me ", I think was a wise decision. She never contacted her and I easily could see that she was trying to shift her focus on other individuals who were able to satisfy her on the One Night Stand basis(!) or provide the service frequently as long as it's requested and needed by her! I don't care. Let see how she gets assistance when she really needs it! 

(Photo, top: Canadian Rockies in Kananaskis, Alberta. This is taken from Burstall Pass area, exactly 10 years ago. Why I used it here is because I apparently received a call from my wife who was in British Columbia at the time but I missed it because of lack of service in the region, of course. She had earlier left me and we thought we would work it out. It didn't happen. We both suffered a lot from the broken marriage. I know I did. I don't know who suffered more but I know it was my fault too. I was not innocent in it) 

The Future of London Drugs

I bought my first computer from London Drugs  back in 2002. Something very fancy for over $2500. I was a Sony desktop with all the accessories which I sold to a fella in 2006 or 2007. This was the London Drugs at the corner of 36 St., and 32 Ave., NE. I continued shopping from the other branches, mostly the one in Downtown on 8th St. That one is now closed and turned to a filthy toilet full of flies and rats: Dollar Store! Why? Two reasons: A Canadian Tire was just open across the street. Canadians, mostly are broke. So they don't go for good quality products. They go for shit!  

There still is a Canadian Tire in this town where I live. However, they moved to a smaller building now. I think it was probably hard for them to pay the lease in comparison to the money they made. That's only my assumption. I wonder if they have enough customers in this new location. Most of the shelves are not complete and there're not much merchandise. The place does not see enough customers and the staff don't stay long simply because they can't afford their lives on that wage. You barely see any (East) Indian in the store. They mostly are hired by Wal-Toilet-Mart or The Real Canadian Superasshole. Some at McDonald's and other fast food joints. My assumption is that they think communication skills are lacking. What else would it be? However there was a mid-age tall (East) Indian fella in the Downtown location and an old ugly, obnoxious, hostile, nasty woman in the old location of this branch! There were a number of good staff in the old location but They're all gone. The future of this retailer is now at stake. When life becomes hard, people rush to filthy toilets such as above to get what they need. Not many think of chocolate bars, fancy biscuits and exotic beverages. We'll see. 

(Photo: The candy bar section with all the discount tags in a London Drugs store)

My Recent Struggle with AHS

Everyone who watches, listens to or reads the news, knows that the country has had serious issues with its health system. People have died in emergency rooms after waiting for treatment for hours. I had to wait for a physician in an emergency room for as long as 6 hours once in the summer of 2024. Luckily it was not very sever but I had to get it fixed to be able to get back to work, the next day.

This time's issue was more serious. I had a pain in one of the ankles on Fri., on the way home, from work. I paid not much attention to it, as it was not so bad and I had the same issue a few days earlier and had fixed it with one of my pills. I was almost okay on Fri. The issue started to bug me on Sat. night when I was able to sleep well. However, I went for a walk and it was not so bad. Sun. came and it was not so good. I had a bad sleep but I had to go to work and I did. I called my clinic and one of the clerks arranged for a telephone call from a doctor. Never received the call although I confirmed the appointment online and Mon. night became more painful. I couldn't sleep at all. It was around 05:30 that I decided to go to the urgent care center. I think it took about an hour and a half that I was eventually seen by a nurse, not a physician. She asked a few questions regarding the medicine that I normally take, gave me one, only when I asked her and wrote me a new prescription and rest note and I was out. 

I reached work at 10:30 despite the rest note I had as I did not want to have any issue with those guys but the fact that our health system is not working well, is undeniable and no one, no one seems to be working on it. Yes there are investigations and talks and news but has there been a chance, an improvement, a remedy. I haven't seen one. The other strange thing that I experienced last year was the time I asked my family doctor to refer me to a specialist again, as that is their rule. When you don't see a physician, who is considered a specialist for over a year, you need to be referred to them again. The family doctor said that he would take care of me! My experience with that doctor was not so good. I didn't see much progress but still it would be good, if I could be referred again. I have had periods in the past when I skipped the medicine because of their potential side effects. I'm not going to do that as I have lots of plans for the coming summer. 

(Photo: A so-called relief. I've never used it and didn't even know if that existed until now. Just put it out there for the people to try it out)

Mindless Retards at Work (2): That's been always like this!

I had a few engagements, if I could call them, with this dumb dike just last week, regarding safety-related issues at work. I hope they go well or I'll be in trouble.

This disgusting, ignorant, lazy dumb asses call themselves safety officers but barely leave their filthy office to observe what is going on in the area. This time the issue was about completing a form which is so stupid and ridiculous! The form does not even have a serial number! So if you, say, fill out three and give back one, there's really no way to check the status of the other ones! There're so many vague areas in the form and when I asked the donkey about them, she yelled: It's always been like this! For example in the Dimension section, I entered the length but then she said she wanted the I. D. to be added! When I added the Internal Dimension as, 780 mm, she said she didn't know what 780 mm means!

Here I'm dealing with an ignorant donkey who thinks because the things have always been the way they were, we're supposed to know them, automatically and them she doesn't know what mm means or how to convert it to inches! These are the people who we have to deal with, on daily basis and there're many of them around.

(Photo: There has recently been an incident in northern Alberta, which resulted in a poor worker's death and another one's injury. I'd very much like to know how it has been investigated by the so-called safety officers)

Capitalism Finally digs himself in (6): Begging Communist China!

 Carney traveled to China to beg for forgiveness(!) and see the possibility of hooking up with the country that they always, or probably just from time to time for the sake of argument, only(!), condemn human rights violations, a week ago! The fact is with the power that the Western countries have been giving to China or to be exact the Chinese Communist Party, in the past 4 decades or so, it is very hard for any country, even the US to stand against and stop the beast! 

It was just a short while ago that two Canadians, known as the Two Michaels, were held in the country and one of the main country's executives was under house arrest in Vancouver. Then Canada imposed a 100% tariff on the Chinese EV which was retaliated by imposing tariff on Canadian agricultural imports. Canada did not have any choice to reduce the tariff to only 18% so the farmers could make some money on their products. The country is also letting as many as 49,000 Chinese EVs annually, which has pissed off Premier Ford a lot or I should say, the Ontario auto workers, in fact! 

This map suggests that China might simply block the entire island instead of an invasion which could be as effective or even more successful and less costly. Map courtesy of Yahoo Australia

This proves all this nonsense of human rights and the other crap that these people of, or I should correct myself, these politicians of the US and Canada say is useless. If China wants to take the island of Taiwan back, they can do that in 24 hours or less and the US or no one other country would be able to do a damn thing! The Westerners only confront non-Westerners when there is a temporary benefit! They turn to a friendly face right after that to gain what they can! The West is so addicted to the Chinese products that if they stop the flow, half of the people in the Western Hampshire will be naked and hungry! Go to, for example, Canadian Tire. There's basically not many things Canadian but a few store employees and the building itself which is founded on Canadian soil! Everything is either made in China or some Asian countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. Even some employees are non-Canadians! The store shall in fact be called Chinese Tire and I would love to change the big sign on the top of one of these stores one day! I just have to look into the local Bylaw and The Criminal Code of Canada (in more than 1300 pages!) to see what the consequences were, if I did! 

(Photo, top: Robert Schellenberg was first tried and sentenced to capital punishment for narcotics-related charges in China in 2018. His sentence is now overturned after the PM's recent trip to that country. It shows that the Chinese like to work with Canadians as there are lots of benefits for them, more benefits than Canadians'!)

Alcohol-related Dementia

I and The Chef used to hang out a lot. Not anymore. I remember he used to disappear and then reappear after a while! It indicated that something had happened to him, something usually big. it was mostly getting beaten after being drunk or intoxicated by drugs! He ended up in a hospital and spent about a week or two there, I think, the last time! He couldn't recall what had happened and despite the fact that I was going to help him to file a report with CPS, by going, hopefully through the local security cameras, we eventually didn't realize how he got beaten so badly which required him to spend that much time under care and go under surgery! There's, however, no doubt, that alcohol was the cause of the incident.
What's surprising is the dementia, if it's the right medical term to use, that he has been suffering from. It's so bad that he cannot remember parts of his life! I used to go to his place in 15th Ave., SW, and then he moved to a place in Bridgeland and then eventually northeastern quadrant of the city where mostly is inhabited by the (Eastern) Indian and Africans but he can't remember the Bridgeland part and he doesn't either remember we used to hand out at the 15th Ave. place! 

It's hard to leave someone whom you have spent so much time with, unless you replace them. That is why when I stopped calling him back in Dec., it was not easy and still is not but I'm going to hold myself back.

(Picture: A beautiful[!] multi-vehicle collision. I took this, according to the available data, in June of 2023, on my way back home. The Chef was once involved in a single-vehicle[!] collision which resulted in losing his vehicle and basically the driving privilege, mainly because the cost of insurance went up so high that he could simply not afford. Over $7000 annually for an old 90's vehicle!)

The NO MEAT Contest

I went to a local supermarket for some food a couple of days ago and I was really shocked by the prices. It's nothing new but seems there's no end to this continuous increase. The funny thing is unlike the majority of the people I don't buy any type of meat. First of all, a good piece of meat, regardless of the type, is expensive and secondly I have to stay away from meat as much as I can because I have gout. I normally buy a few pieces of fruits, a little amount of different vegetables, plain Yogurt, Eggs, legumes and from time to time, a little snack which is limited to nuts or a good Chocolate bar. The latter have been reduced due to the soaring price of Cocoa in the world! 

Here is my receipt from today's shopping: 

1) Three Astro Balkan Yogurts = 3 x $3.29= $9.87 (Discounted item! Down from $5.69!)

2) Three Avocados (fair size) = 3 x $2 = $6 (Discounted item! Down from $2.79)

3) Two medium size Bartlett Pears = $3.21! 

4) One head (or perhaps should say Iceberg Lettuce) (big) = $4.99 (This is really insane!) 

Total = $24.07!

I tried to convince myself to get a reasonably priced fish but it was too expensive, particularly in Save on Foods! It's really ironic! There's no saving really no saving, most of the time, when you go to this specific supermarket or any other one for that matter but the only thing would worth getting from Wal Mart, at times, is Yogurt. Almost everything else, particularly fruits and vegetables, would usually be low quality and at times inedible, rotten and old. 

I have been able to stick to the NO MEAT Contest until today. I bought meat once and that was a mortal mistake! I purchased Rotisserie Chicken from Wal Mart, out of desperation, and it was awful! Then last night I purchased a Trout from Superstore and tried it for lunch. It was $14. I was hoping that I could make the $14 whole fish to two dishes but when I finished a few pieces with my home made bread, I then finished the rest by itself! I was hungry! There was no side! I scraped the scales, washed it, seasoned it, wrapped it in a foil and then first baked it for 20 min. and then broiled it for 5 min. It was good, fast and easy. I know what to do the next time to make it tastier and more appealing.  

(Picture: A bag of 150 g. seasoned Pistachio in a store in Japan goes for ¥1253, equal to CAN$10.75, now, a little cheaper when I was there in the fourth quarter of 2024. Fried fruits and nuts are considered very luxurious items. So they do here but the close proximity to the US makes it a little bit less expensive. You can buy nearly 400 g of the product here with that money, in Canada)

Why is Iran in this Rabbit Hole for such a long time?

 

I intend not to turn this weblog to a political forum of the old country because these are personal notes which barely anyone reads and I write them just for myself and my goal is to discuss the things that I experience at this side of the globe, not the other side. However, what happened in Los Angeles a few days ago, made me write the same thing that at times I tell Iranians when I bump into them: 

The problem in Iran is new. It's just been felt more recently! When I was there, nearly 25 years ago, when an opportunity existed, told them that voting for anyone who works and represents Islamic Republic was wrong because the very nature of Islamic Republic was and still is wrong. Not many people listened and the one who did gave me just a big smile. The reason is that the majority of people were doing fine, financially, at the time and that's all what matters to most people everywhere, especially in a country like Iran which consists of the most individualists of all, in the entire world.

Khatami in military uniform in the 70's. Millions voted for this guy to become the President of the Supreme Leader, nearly 25 years ago(!) not understanding that any vote in the system, is an approval of the system! The funny thing is this guy blamed the recent demonstrations on foreign countries' meddling! 

Everyone seemed to be doing okay. Youth was very DiCaprio T-shirts(!), there were a few newspapers which people could express themselves freely. That, however, was calm before the storm. The government had something for them in its sleeve. Newspapers were shut down, authors, writers and people who spoke freely and criticized the system were assassinated, prosecuted and jailed. Many fled the country but that didn't have any impact on the average Joe! The majority of people stay uninvolved or non-compliant as long as they have things to feed their belly and below it. Nobody made a move. I got the hell out of these and at the time I was so pissed that I got a one way ticket. The decline or perhaps I shall say the nose-dive started there. The national currency started losing its value gradually, month after month. I was away and busy starting my life at this side of the globe and I don't know much detail but I think there were two things which resulted in the above:

1) Meddling in the region's stability through proxy groups which grew every year.

2) Nuclear ambitions.

There was so much back and forth but the ultimate verdict was strong economic sanctions by the European Union and the United States, mostly. That was when people started to feel the pain. 

Being selfish and caring for nothing but their own and to be specific, their own food and biological needs, led to what we have here now in nearly 25 years. People have no respect for other people's opinion and the concept of disagreement without hostility is not known and appreciated. 

That brings us to this U-Haul incident in Los Angeles, earlier this week: Someone who was protesting against the theocratic government of Islamic Republic drove a truck by a number of demonstrators who were mainly supporting the former Crown Prince of the country. The guy had banners on the truck, denying both the Islamic Republic and the former Pahlavi Royal Family. It was simply a peaceful expression of ideas but the crowd didn't like it and thugs attacked the truck. They broke the mirrors, the windshield and tore the side banners. I think the driver was lucky that LAPD officers were there, or he would have been killed! 

People have no understanding that other people have different ideas. Respect them. What is the difference between the group who destroys a property which simply represent a different view and the government that jails, tortures and hangs its opposition?! 

(Photo: A mob of Iranians attack the peaceful demonstration of a different opinion than most of the people in the crowd)

Another Wave of Stupid and Senseless Separatism

This is something that I wanted to write a few months ago but I got the chance today: 

My brother and I went to a local library as he wanted to check a few things and saw two ladies at a table with a bunch of papers and stationary items. It appeared that they were collecting signatures for a petition which basically opposed to the Province of Alberta's independence from Canada! We didn't think twice before signing. 

As a foreigner, who loves the country of Canada and its many people (not all of 'em!), and has been living here for over 20 years, I hate to see the country being mutilated and butchered! These filthy, nasty, disgusting, mindless, animals don't understand that people are strong when they're together and resolve their differences rationally and peacefully. 

Countries such as Yugoslavia and Soviet Union went through separatism. The first one was started with a bloody civil war which according to one of my training officers during CFLRS days, were too gruesome and inhumane. All the issues and battles within the Soviet Union started after the separation. Canada is different. There's not any ethnic differences but seems that people would like to separate for political and financial reasons. They claim that the Federal Government takes too much from Alberta's economy. I say that's no reason to seek autonomy, although there's enough autonomy with the province's political system now! What else do you need? 

The Premier has given these people to chance to hold a referendum, if the number reaches the required one, meaning somewhere some people are doing things that we were part of, to slice the country! I guess in a democratically elected system things of such are inevitable but should the stupidity of people  play a role in the future of a country?! I will look forward for the referendum to say a big no.

(Photo: Yugoslavia was divided to 7 countries, countries[!], after the stupid, meaningless, ethnic war with some still not recognized fully internationally!)

The first Canned of 2026

This post could be under the new set of post by the name Mindless Retards at Work(!) but decided to have it separately because this was the person being kicked out of the company in the new year, not even before the first working week finishes. I know a little bit about this guy. That's what makes it interesting. 

I met the fella one of the very first weeks at work and he seemed to be a nice guy but the more time passed, the more dislike was built in me. I think our first conversation was during the time that Iran and Israel were exchanging missiles and he asked me how my family was and questions regarding that. I didn't tell him that my family lived here at the time because very coincidentally they had traveled to the old country shortly before the conflict started and got stuck there! 

He then started on his favorite religion, the religion of PEACE(!) until I told him I was atheist! He didn't like it much and he showed the signs of disbelief but since he did not have any erratic reaction, I kind of liked him and we kept a casual sort of relationship even were going to have a lunch in a restaurant of his origin. That plan got cancelled by me and I told him that I would not jeopardize my job for a freaking meal at a freaking restaurant which makes food of the country that is notoriously unhygienic and unhealthy! The last two words, of course, were not mentioned when I told him that we would not be going to the restaurants and obviously he didn't want to go during the weekend because of his family.

I approached him a few times to ask technical questions. He told me once to check ChapGPT! so when I was told that he had lied on his resume and was laid off (not fired, apparently, because he could have been) because of lack of proficiency, I was not surprised. Not that I felt good or anything like that. 

(Photo: If you're looking for a funny story about someone who got canned, look for Seinfeld Season 08, Episode 20 but avoid canned food as much as you can! )