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! )

Various Types of Misatkes

We all made mistakes in our lives. Some big, some small. I've made many mistakes which resulted in this misery that I'm! In this stage of life, where I am, most people have a family or at least a partner, a job that even if they don't like, they can manage their lives working it, a reliable source of transportation, you name it. I have neither of them and whose fault is that? Mine! Mostly mine and no one else's! 

With that said, just to say how big of a loser I am, and make sure that I'm not targeting anyone else, I would like to describe the four major types of mistakes that one would make during their lives:

1) The mistake that you can compensate for the loss with some cost. 

Examples of mistakes of this kind are seen easily on a daily basis. I use one that I've made myself recently. When I wrote my CWB Level I Inspector examinations, there were instructions for the practical exam. which I missed and led to my failure! The exam was easy and I had once passed it but there were special criteria to be followed and I had not! It means that I was lucky that I had passed it the previous time. This time I didn't make the same mistake. I followed the instructions and passed it.

2) The mistake that you cannot compensate for it. It would be too costly or next to impossible. 

Here, again, is an example from my pathetic life! I wrote an exam for ASQ in 2006. I failed. It was a very hard exam. It's not an excuse. It is but not impossible to pass. I, at the time, thought, I was spending enough time on studying but perhaps it was not. My other mistake was that I didn't have much in my resume and was not able to build a strong resume so I tried to get this CQE certificate to enhance my resume and then apply for a job! What a stupid mistake! All I had to do at the time was to work on my resume a bit harder. There was not much competition in 2005-06 and I had a handful of interviews but being careless, I didn't work hard enough and ended up where I am here. That, however, was not my only mistake! I wrote the exam again and got closed to the passing score but failed again. Here is the big mistake: Instead of study harder and write the exam the next year, I left it and now 19 years after I am without the damn certificate and it would be very difficult to write and pass it now! 

3) The mistake which results in the person ending up in prison! 

I, happily, have not done any mistakes to that level, although, I have to admit that I was close a couple of times, if not more than that! 

4) The mistake which results in the person ending up in the morgue! 

This also, is a kind of mistake, that I have not made, obviously. 

(Photo: The Quebec Bridge collapsed twice, once in 1907 and the second time in 1916! This could be categorized under type 3 and 4 mistakes but since I do not know the details, I leave it to decide which one would be the better match! Feel free to simply categorize it under both! It's considered an engineering and design mistake, if I remember it correctly)

The Eisenhower Interstate System

I've had one of my best trips in my life at the peak of the Corona-Virus pandemic: A road trip in Texas, in 2021. This state is the second biggest in the country. It would take a long time to travel it completely. Mine covered a big portion. It was on my way back that I saw a sign saying that I was on a part of the Eisenhower Interstate System. I remembered that I had heard about it in an episode of The Big Bang Theory and did some research about it. 

I-17 sign in Arizona. I took this picture when I was heading north nearly 10 years ago! 

President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Interstate Act in 1956 to become a law as a means to facilitate major urban area evacuation at the time of a possible war. I noticed an interstate highway first in my Arizona road trip in 2015. The interstate highways were considered crucial in that time when the Cold War was in full swing. The highways also intend to act as runway for fighter jets and bombers.  

FA-18 Jets of the Swiss Air Force have landed on a highway in the country as part of a practice in 2024. It's a surprise to me that Canada has the plan to change their FA-18 fighter jets and has been calling them aging. This has been in the news since Peter MacKay was the Defense Minister! I'll have a post for that later.

The Swiss Air Force started landing its jets on the country's highways as a practice. It's hard to believe that a country, as small as Switzerland, is as big as a small state such as Vermont has such an advanced highway system but it's Switzerland and it has! It will be my first European trip after my last which was in 2014! They claim the threat of Russia is the reason they're worried! It seems the whole Europe is felt threatened but that's beyond this post.

(Photo, top: The Eisenhower Interstate System sign on I-10 when I was going east)

The Inverter Story

The fact that lots of stupid, pinheads have well-paid permanent position in Canada in undeniable. This story is proof and I decided to say that because I have not much to do but study, eat(!) and job searching, and a few other occasional activities. 

Inverters used in Solar Plants transform the DC electricity in a solar plant to AC electricity so it can be transferred. There were as many as six inverters in the first solar plant project that I started to be part of, back in 2022. They were huge and very heavy, of course. A big mobile crane was used to install them on their platform, no doubt. Everything is good so far. Right? 

The crane comes, lifts the cubic-shape, giant piece and puts it on the concrete platform. Physics says that a big structure's weight helps it to be stable. Right? It is 4400 Lbs. structure. The weight forces the inverter  toward the ground, downward. If something, like a strong wind or side force pushes it, the structure does not fall or in fact even move due to its weight but what did the genius do? He ordered the legs to be welded to some metal plates on the columns of the platform! 

A fillet weld was deposited at each side of the structure's leg, each nearly 16". On the second thought, I think I don't think the weld was at each side because the inner side was not accessible and the weld had what role? To help to keep the structure intact on the occasion of side force!  

What makes this stupid is that the donkey who was in charge employed a company who was a CWB Division 2 company! This nasty, pretentious poser did not know that the division of a company has nothing to do with the quality of the one deposits! This nasty animal's position, in case you need to know was Project Manager! I shit in the mouth and eyes of the animal who hires animals like this in the first place. 

(Photo: Long chains on the hook. The crane is preparing to lift the inverter. One of the pillars, of the other platform, is seen on the left. It is, of course not seen here but each platform has a metal plate buried on it and its surface is exposed. That is where they deposited the weld! )

The Embarrassing Audit

 
We had been scheduled for an audit, by a third party, for about two months, a few weeks ago. I had been invited as optional although I had a major role! So I said to myself: I have enough to do. Why do I bother? Then I went to the genius(!) and told him that our Q. M. was not yet ready and I was working on it. He said the audit would be for welding shop only. I said okay and left. 

Then the audit days comes and the idiot (of course I was sarcastic when I said the genius!) comes to me and asks me to join! I go and sit, without any introduction or something! I don't remember if that guy was the same as last year's but he starts to ask questions about the ways things are said are done in the Q. M. but we do it differently, because we are in the process of updating that document! I try to find a proper answer but I do not have any simply because I was updating the Q. M.! Now we look like idiots! 

Then he asks another question, this one about a key part of the document which involves the top management but they have done nothing, as usual! So my answer is that they did probably not have time! 

The whole session is nothing but embarrassment! Simplest things that we could do but these bunch of retard , lazy, idiots had not done anything!  

The third party, under circumstances, could sustain the company's certificate but this was not one. In most cases they work with the companies but the bad thing is we had at least 7 more findings in comparison with the last year's and it shows nothing but incompetence, laziness, stupidity and carelessness of most the staff from top to the bottom, in this shithole! 

(Photo: Our auditor did not look as professional as this one and even if he did, he wouldn't do much! He didn't even bother looking at, at least, 6 or 7 other sections of the Q. M. which has complete different base from what we did in the company! Fool! You're all nothing but a joke! A silly and stupid joke that does not even bring a smile to anyone's face!) 

Workplace Stories (24): Nice but Stupid

The most important factor in being successful at work, after having enough knowledge, is being able to build relationship with everyone. Was I able to do that part of the job? I can't say that I always have been. It's mainly because there're assholes that you can't level with them in any possible way, no matter how hard you try. 

Now I'm five months to this job, things haven't been so great: I still have the long commute, long hours, endless undertakings and like any other job, dealing with assholes! The latter, though, only takes a small part of my time. However I come across an issue of different nature: How to deal with people who make detrimental mistakes but they're nice?! Here's what happened a few weeks ago and I was quite shocked to see this:

The groove weld that bonds the 4" pipe, vertically, almost, to the 24" main pipe, from inside the big pipe. That is basically the only weld which you need, if you are planning to put a plate around the 4" weld, later.

One of the welders asked me to do a a Visual Inspection on one circumferential semi-horizontal(!) weld on a part. I normally don't do that. This is not common. I usually wait for a number of welds to be deposited and then the supervisors called me to go. This was an exemption because the weld would have to be covered by a plate. However, that was the problem. The plate would have to be flushed with the horizontal pipe that the welded pipe, the vertical pipe had been welded to! So, technically, the only weld you would need to deposit, for the small 4" pipe attached to the gigantic 24" horizontal pipe, is a groove weld. In order to do that, you would bevel the 24" to the point that you can deposit a good amount of material to provide sufficient strength and that would be it. The plate lands on the 24" horizontal pipe and a weld-all-around fillet weld would finish this part. The guy, instead, has deposited a big fillet weld right after the groove weld and now he had to grind it off to be able to put the plate on and weld it!!

This picture shows the plate before being pushed down to flush with the big pipe and welded. Notice the pig filler weld all around the 4" pipe? That needs to be grinded off before the this plate can be installed!

It was not entirely his fault because that how it was shown in the stupid drawing but as an experienced welder he should've either held the operation and ask or simply ignored the fillet weld but he didn't and that was where I was very surprised by the stupidity! I discussed the issue with both the drafter and the engineer and they accepted my point but I told them that I had left the guy on his own, mainly because bringing such a problem up would not do anything but damaging the relationship which I certainly need for a long-term career, to my retirement, a good position somewhere else or to the Government job!

(Photo, top; The 4" pipe after the plate is also put around it.) 

The challenges of the new Job

It will be one month since I have started this new position. People have been nice so far but I think it is because I still consider me a newbie! It also could be my position. I basically take no nonsense from no one! It is too early to judge though. The company wants me to do two tests to obtain 2 certificates and I would be reimbursed for the cost once I obtain such certificate. It's not but but I have no time to study. I barely am able to write this! Too tired and have to go to bed soon. 

That's one challenge that I will have to overcome to have this permanent position and hopefully:
1) I can either work until I retire,
2) Find a better position in 5 to 6 years, or 
3) Jump to the Government position in less than 4 months!

The other challenge, which became harder just last night is the commute. It took me nearly two and a half hours to reach work today! The distance that I normally cover in 65 to 70 minutes! I saw a shared accommodation just yesterday. A house with 6 or 8 rooms, I guess. The rooms were okay but could be cold in winter and the public area, the living room and the kitchen was a mess. It could easily turn to a pigsty when all the rooms are full, particularly in the weekend where I would not have been there, had I rented a room(!) but in the afternoon it would be chaotic! The original idea was wrong! I should get a 1-bedroom which will cost around $1000. It saves me lots of hours every week and tens of dollars of gasoline money but I need stuff and it would be a hassle to haul them all to the new apartment. Not to mention the damn lease, down payment, reference, proof of employment and all the shit you have to go through to rent an apartment for the job that you don't even know how long you would be there! 
(Photo: A semi-truck has is facing south while was driving north on Queen Elizabeth II Highway in central Alberta! I saw a number of vehicles engaged in incidents. Trucks, vans and sedans. I had to slow down to 40 km/h 937 miles/h] at times to be able to reach my distance in one piece!)

The First Week of the New Work

I finished the first week of my new job, yesterday. Not so bad. If I put the long distance between home and work, nothing else is an issue. They want me to do as many as 3 or for certificates and I will be okay with that. There was this clown who act as sort of someone who runs what I'm supposed to be in charge of later and he was training(!) me. A goofballs who doesn't even know what " Revision " number means in a document and does not have " Page number " on a 2-page document! Everything he has been doing has been told by an Oriental guy who is his boss. The nut-bag says that he cannot agree with the Oriental fella. The good thing is he won't be working past the new year and with Oriental guy going to another facility, I'll be the one in charge. It seems to be lots of responsibility for the money I am going to be paid but what the hell? There're not many jobs available and the country seems to be stepping into another recession!
I didn't know any other position which could pay me more or has at least a similar work until I came back home yesterday: There was an e-mail from the position offering department of the Government indicating that I was considered amongst the candidates. It's a good news and I'm happy to take that. It's in another province and they need multiple people. So my chance is not very slim. The money might be a little less, besides I will have to pay more for my daily costs due to higher GST and PST but I still would take that because it is a Government job in a new province and I'll probably be set up for life but still have to wait for another contact.
The surprising thing about this job is when I was checking my account to pay a couple of bills today I realized that I have been paid for the week! So I don't really know how it happened and I have no pay-stub! beside it's a little less than what I've anticipated and will have to check with the office this Mon. How I found out is because this week has been my first week, I still am eligible to file an EI report which I did for the previous week. I was ask how much I was expecting to be paid and I put a number based on my offer letter. Seems that I was too happy with myself! The actual amount was a bit less, not a whole lot. So I will have to contact Service Canada this Mon. and report it. 

(Photo: My new job is not much similar to this but at least I don't have to be outdoor or lift anything heavy)

My Second Face-to-Face Interview of 2023

I was a bit uncomfortable this morning and also the entire yesterday and I'm tried now! It was because of the damn interview I had this morning in another city. I was not nervous. It's just the whole concept of meeting new people who scrutinize you for the position that you might or might not get it. It's no picnic! I prepared myself. Went through the positing my resume and the thing I thought they would ask and left home early enough to give myself time to reach there on time. I had realized that my GPS was outdated and the company's address is not showing! I tried to update it and I don't know what the hell happened that it didn't! 

Then I said to myself: How would people travel for hundreds of years without a GPS?! I simply checked the address again and wrote the direction on a piece of paper! Then before leaving found the address in my phone and followed the instruction. One might ask why would I need a GPS if I have my phone? The answer is simple: I don't have a data plan! So my phone's GPS works when I turn the Wi Fi on, including when I'm home. This morning when I was leaving turned it on and put the destination in, which resulted in, obviously, a quick calculation and showing me the way. The GPS stays on, even when you leave home and there's no Wi Fi and that's, I've been told, because the phone has a built-in GPS device which allows it to keep the track, using the available satellites. The problem is if you somehow get distracted, instructions end but the point that you're following is still viewed on your screen. After that you have no control over it because the phone had this connection to the satellite using the Wi Fi and kept it on to the destination. Now that the destination is reached you still can follow the, say, pointer on the screen and go wherever but you can't give a new destination to the phone to find it for you. 

Now I've finished 95% of the trip and I take an exit and make two turns. The instruction is heard like a whisper and I, somehow miss the street and turn into another one! When I read, It's not " exactly " the same as what I had written! So I exit and continue on the main row just to realize after a few hundred meters that I'm getting close to the town while their address clearly says that they're located in the suburbs! I make a U-turn and enter the same street, go all the way and turn right and the clock is ticking! At this moment I am thinking I should probably give them a call and ask for the address which would've been very embarrassing! Imagine you're expecting someone for the interview and you have selected them out of tens of candidates and he's about to be interviewed for a very sophisticated position and all of a sudden the telephone rings and he's telling you that he's basically " lost " and can't find your address!  What would you do as a potential employer?! 

At this moment the only options left was either get out of the damn car and ask one of the local businesses, which I'm not very into, or simply don't show! I was about to leave when at the corner of my eyes saw the very same building that I had seen in the Maps! There it was! I pulled into their parking lot and let myself in. Right on time because while I was signing in, the guy showed and directed me to a big meeting room. 

There was an Oriental guy waiting for us there and the interview was officially started but I was the only one talking! The guy at times had a glimpse at my resume and would ask short questions or commented on. The other guy was just sitting like a dumbbell (and that's why you see a big dumbbell on the top!) and the only thing I noticed about him was either looking at his laptop and my resume or just making different facial expressions! By the way the expression " sitting like a dumbbell " is a quote from a 90's movie called Casino. If you haven't watched it yet, it's highly recommended.

It seemed to me that the younger guy was not very confident about the whole situation and the Oriental one, who had been doing everything that I'm supposed to do, since he's going to another location, lacks interest or I don't know how to interpret that. You're interviewing someone who's supposed to do what you've been doing and you don't even ask one technical question to see how confident they are in all the shit they have claimed in their resume??!!

That was basically the interview for nearly half an hour. They never said anything about when the selected person would start and they never even asked when I would be available! The only thing the guy asked me at the end was weather I would be willing to move to the town and of course my answer was yes. That was why I chose to attend the interview, you dolt! There was a mentioning of a test, its tool and its related certificate. I did a thorough search about that and learnt a lot. I even contacted The Mumbling Guy and he gave me a few good tips. Even that was not part of the interview! I assume once if I get the job, that would be an easy job considering I'd would have to deal with these geniuses but I haven't met the floor guys and that could change everything! 

(Photo: A dumbbell! Read the post, if you haven't and you'd realize why I've used that. I should've probably drown eyes, nose and lips but in today's world every simple joke could cost you!)

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!)

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)

The Panicked Fella

I was at work few days ago and one guy turned to me and asked if I was Quality Control. I confirmed and he seemed not happy about something. He mentioned about a thing that I had done long time ago and said it was wrong! He added that it was wrong because " they " had done it differently! I explained to him that I had done not without being aware of what " they " had done and we could fix it. It didn't calm him and he went " I worked in Quality for eight years! " Here's the problem, or perhaps I should say " one of the many problems " with a pathetic and stupid company: Everyone could do anything and they call it being " Versatile "! A electrician could be Site Supervisor, a new graduate kid from school could be Project Manager, a guy could do manual work on site and be called Director, whatever that means and so on! 

This normally happens in the companies which deal with low-tech project but that is not that. A guy who just has recently graduated from a school certainly cannot be a Project Manager or that project could be as well-managed as the one that I'm working on! One might ask what this so-called Project Manager has been doing that you criticize his work? As far as I know he sits in the office with the door closed and do different things including working on Excel Sheets(!), having chat with his bodies(!) and who knows what else! Perhaps this is the job description for the Project Manager in this company while we're dealing with the current issues, and these are the ones that I'm aware of:

1- The material that we've received are put everywhere and the whole ares is so dis-organized that finding a needle in a haystack would be easier! For that the Project Manager, not this one that I referred to just above, another one, as we have two on the project(!), just issued an authorization for the assembly team to use items of Project A for Project B and vise versa because he had been told what mess is created there!

2- Work-force assignment is terrible. They haven't been able to do that at all. We have people who walk around and people who drive around simply because there's no understanding person to put them on something else as soon as they finish one work.

3- The other work-force problem is having too many bosses at site! Currently there are at least 5 guys at site who mostly do a little and order others and at times their orders conflict with each other.

There are so many problems in this company but I'm going back to the subject as we're too far now. They guy whom is going to be Versatile(!) said that he would call The Boss! I didn't say anything because I know I had not done anything wrong. When I talked to The Tout Lover later and explained to him how mad the guy had been he said that The Boss had received a call from the guy and the reason he was angry was that he thought he had done something wrong! The Boss never talked to me but we agreed that I would do the rest of the same work the way Versatile and his buddies have done. No problem. The next day I saw him and he was so friendly and pleasant! That's where I realized that The Tout Lover was right: The guy scared shit-less that he might get shit for what he had done!

(Photo: This cartoon, if I may call it, does not look like the guy so much but certainly depicts his reaction. I think he didn't expect it to let it go when he called The Boss and when realized that I his position had not been threatened sighed and became friendly!)

Dumb and Dumber Organizations!

I had a number of issues when I worked for that German company for almost 5 years. Now I can see that those, could not even be considered an issue compared to what I have seen so far here, only after 2 months! I've seriously thought of quitting a few times and then I collected myself together and decided not to do that. It's not just the fact that there're not many good positions available out there but the thing that the industry has now great stress on the sort of knowledge and experience that a few years ago could barely be seen. Not to mention that I wasted a great deal of time, practically from early 2016 to early 2022, 5 freaking years, switching from this stupid job to that silly one! So technically I'm behind everyone who had a position same as mine in 2015, almost 10 years, if they continued their career without much obstacle and haven't made the same stupid mistakes that I've! 

With that said, here's a list of strange, unusual, stupid and unprofessional things that I've seen in this past 2-month period on this job (position!) and within the company:

1- Two months has passed since the project has started and we still don't have a so-called IFC drawings! The pieces of shit that we have, under the name of drawing(!), are not even good for warping meat like butchers used to do back in the day! I brought that to the attention of both The Boss and The Tout Lover. The first once went berserk and the latter said this word would not get out of his room! Then there was a major installment issue at the site! Who is ti blame?! The installation contractor? QC? Site supervisor?

2- The crew consists of a bunch of kids, from different backgrounds, including many of them being refugees, not that it's an issue who are basically doing simple labour jobs, such as moving stuff, fastening them, finishing the concrete, you name it. These idiots have been given company vehicles for their transportation and work within the site. One vehicle almost ran out fuel as a result of idling for too long! What these rubs do is they idle the vehicle for the entire shit which is almost 9 hours at times, put the air conditioning all the way up, which we all know consumes a lot of fuel and put the stereo up as well! No one tells nothing to them because, apparently, if they didn't like it and got upset, they would quit and it's next to impossible to replace them!

3- The Boss likes to hold meetings in regards to different topics which no one, basically, cares about, particularly in regards to his input! He invites his favorite people from all across Canada to weigh in while he's the sole speaker most of the time and doesn't allow others to talk! There are people from British Columbia to Manitoba and Ontario and then of course us, in Alberta! None of them are directly involved in this project and I have no clue why they should weigh in, in the first place because I know they are other projects' team members! I have never seen things like that. This last time was very funny, as usual! He kept talking and in between his words, and I have to add that he was trying really hard to be Canadian(!), people would say a word or two and then he offered hours, as he likes to call it, of overtime this weekend and asked if anyone wants to work, budget is available! No one, of course, is crazy enough to ruin a weekend sitting at the damn computer desk with a maniac such as him to add a few bucks to their pay-stub. So he said he would do it himself and would make it ready by Tue.!

The Silk road from eastern China to Sassanid Empire, Persia, today's Iran and to the eastern and central Europe which was ruled by Roman Empire at the time

4- The company, in general, reminds me of a Carvansara, one of the best features of Iranian culture but in a bit lower quality, perhaps I should say! Let's go through the word Carvansara and what it means quickly: Carvansara was a sort of public hotel in ancient Persian Empire, now Iran which covered parts of western and central Asia. Caravans (not the trailer attached to a vehicle but the word probably stems from there) would travel all across Asia for centuries. They consist of a row of domesticated animals, mostly camels who would carry merchandise and people. The Silk road was one of their major routes which extended from eastern China to Europe. Numbers of Caravansara or Caravan-Sara were build on their way so they could rest. There was no admission or time limit like today's hotel where they say, for instance, check-in is at 16:00 and check-out at 11:00. And there was no limitation for the number of people, perhaps because they would never stay for more than a nigh or until a storms is calm or the bandits are gone or defeated. With that in mind, there's still this expression in Persian which refers to a lawless place as Caravan-Sara! Sara basically means a hall, a place of staying and gathering for people and this company exactly resembles what a Caravansara used to be in ancient Asia: People come to work any time they want, they leave any time they desire. People hang out, talk and laugh. There's no control, of course for a poor new employee such as me who always have to make sure doesn't say or do anything that triggers others to report!  

5- The project is loaded with odd people. Here is the number of people we have on the project as far as I know:

a) Two Project Managers(!). One is usually not in the office. It is said he work from home and the other one starts at, around 10:00 AM and finishes after 20:00 and guess what? None have a degree and not probably more than 38 and 30 (the late guy). So no wonder why there's so much problem in the project despite having two(!) Project Manager! The Project Manager who deals with contractors and plays with Excel all they long, produces nothing better than this chaos that we have at the moment!

b) The useless Safety Rep. There's this idiot who I cannot tell where he's from and is supposed to be a safety rep. He usually sits in his cars for hours and does something with the laptop he has. He, at times, gets out and engages in conversation. He has asked me at least three time what he has to do! I told him that I was not the safety rep. and he has to do what is part of his job.

c) With all the documents circulating and would be all needed at the end of the project, there's still no document control. Perhaps the company has the budget to hire two Project Managers, one useless and ignorant Safety Rep., two Surveyor who each have a big truck and many more but a Document Control is  out of question! 

If I continue, the list goes on and on and that's just tip of the iceberg. I think I've made my point.

(Photo, top: The remaining of a Caravansara in Iran. This is rare although many should still be there. I should consider finding them when I go for a visit)

Two Tests for the Job

I was told that there would be tests which I would have to pass, when I first had my interview with The Boss-to-be. I didn't mind. For that job, I would have written as many job as they wanted me to! Not that it's something significant with a high salary! I just wanted to get the hell out of the shit-hole I was in and I still go to once a week! It reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld named The Chinese Restaurant:
Jerry, George and Elaine have a plan to catch a movie but want to grab a bite before that. They go to a Chinese restaurant and wait to be seated. The wait is unusually long. While they're waiting Jerry turns to Elaine and goes: You see that table over there? There's a $50 here for you, if you walk up to their table, say nothing, grab an Egg-roll and walk back here! Elaine goes: Are you serious? And Jerry says: $50! Elaine this time turns to George and goes: What do you think George? And George (Jason Alexander) is as awesome as always! He goes: For $50? I'd put my face in the soup and blow! 
So my situation was quite similar! When he said I would have to write do a test, I was going to say: Sign me up for as many tests as you want! So we practiced a bit, I and The Tot Lover, and it came the test day. The boss sent me a message on Teams and said that he wanted to see if it worked! I didn't understand what it had to do with the damn tests! It didn't anyway and he was not happy! We contacted the IT and they were able to quickly resolve the issue. I was very eager to see what Teams would have to do with the tests. We, I, The Tote Lover and the boss all moved to a big room and prepared to do the closed book written exam. The exam was administrated by a lady from another province and she was watching us throughout the lens of the boss's telephone camera and there would be no way to switch to another tab while doing the test on our laptops. Fine. What was the role of Teams here? Nothing!
We started the test and we had 40 minutes for 40 questions, If I'm not wrong. I almost finished while I had about 25 minutes left and I decided to go back and review all of the questions. That was when The Tote Lover turned to me and said he had finished! He got 87% which was pass but because he got lower than what we were supposed to get in one section, out of the five, he had to re-write that section! I finished my review and got 90% without any re-write! The boss was really happy at this point and teased The Tote Lover! He eventually finished that part and we both entered(!) a break based on the boss's instruction! I really don't know why we needed a break! We were sitting on our butts for nearly 4 hours without doing anything rather than moving a computer mouse and now we needed a break and and lunch! No wonder why these two freaking morons are fat as f*ck! Lunch comprised of a number of small Subway submarines, bottled water and Bubly! I had a few and saved a few for later(!) and then after one hour of well-deserved break(!) we went to the work-shop to do the test. 
The Tote Lover went first while he was being filmed by the boss, for the administrator and he passed despite a few mistake he had and we pointed at them, secretly! Then it was my turn! I had two mistakes! One was blamed on the boss by himself and I really appreciated that although I don't think it was such a big deal and then the second one was pointed at by the boss again and the lady administrator said that I was allowed one mistake! It was something minor in regards to the number of times that one specific action should take place. I passed as well and despite those mistakes I believe I did much better than The Tote Lover. The boss was very happy at the time and kept saying that we had done a good job although he was a bit angry about my mistakes! Then he e-mailed a number of people in the company and that was it. We cleaned up and said goodbye to the boss. We are ready to perform the test the minute the company requires them now that we're certified. If there is anything interesting about the field tests, I'll post them. For me, apart from the unnecessary pressure from the boss, the practical tests were very easy! I have done more difficult than that but I had to prove that I'm okay with this one as well.   

(Photo: Elaine, George and Jerry in The Chinese Restaurant episode of Seinfeld. Kramer [Michael Richards] was upset that he had been put aside and had no role in this episode)

Meeting the Boss

I was sitting in my colleague's, The Tote Lover(!), office the other day and the Boss-to-be, who actually is the boss barged in! He shock hands with me and from the beginning I confirmed that I was right: He's really crazy! That was my first meeting with him after two Teams. He's a tall man with a big head where he has lost most of his hair and a big belly. He sat next to me and we were having a meeting with someone else in another province. He was speaking loudly which I'm sure the people outside the office heard him although the door was close. He barely let anyone else talk but I was very polite and courteous! When he was talking and looking at me I was confirming by nodding and but most of the time I was quite because the other guy, in the other province, was just full of shit! I didn't want to say something which might trigger the boss! Then the asshole, who was basically helping us with an issue, giving us advices started smoking! That was one I realized that the boss was smoking an e-cigarette too! I was in shock but what can I say? he's a fucking addict. 

The next day we gathered for a practical test in relation to the problem we were working on. He kept smoking one after another! In addition to that it appeared that he is not a patient man and kind of know-it-all! After that though he offered to take all four of us to lunch and of course we accepted! He didn't have to, of course but I don't know why he did it! He could've simply say goodbye and leave all of us there. I must not forget that after the practice was over I thanked him and the other guy guy and he thanked us back!

The lunch was good. I hadn't eaten out for more than 4 months and it's not only because of the cost, but also because I'm a picky eater. I ordered a Mediterranean Pizza and it came out nicely. I was going to go for small but then I said to myself: What the hell?! I'm not paying for it and I don't eat out every day. So why the hell should I be worried about it?! The Pizza had so much Carbohydrate that I didn't eat anything else the entire day! Beside I had lots of cake and junk food the day before, from a company's so-called party that I was about to be sick! 

We thanked him after that and he promised that he visits us soon! I can't wait to see him again!

(Photo: Boston Pizza's Mediterranean is really good)

A New Position

Once again I'm involved in projects and have to deal with all sorts of animals! The only difference is that they are less harmful in comparison to the assholes that I had to struggle with earlier! I also started to think that maybe it's me who has difficulty adopting himself to his environment and work comfortably with everyone and in everywhere! There's one big factor which should not be forgotten: What helps you to get through all the difficulties and stress in life!

Here in Canada there're plenty available. 

1- Alcohol: Many people seek to resolve their problems and calm their stress by drinking alcoholic beverages and that start at early ages. You shut down the liquor stores here in Canada for a week and there will be a civil war worst than Syria! 

2- All sorts of legal and illegal narcotics: You have access to everything that makes you forget about what has been going on in your life! From Marijuana which has been legal and can be purchased from stores and anything else which can be purchased on the streets! The Province of British Columbia just decriminalized a certain amount of hard drugs, if that is for personal use! I think that's 2.5 g. So there you go! Soon there will be legalized prostitution! Although the country is not too far away from that!

3- Casual sex and prostitution: Only 49% of the people in Canada live with their family. It means the rest live by themselves but doesn't means they have to be under sexual tension! For me that has never been a problem but for the majority of normal(!) people, men or women, access to opposite sex (or the same sex, if they're homosexuals, is easy and available. Even if there's some loser like me(!) who has always had problem with finding and then keeping women, could go to prostitutes (not hat I regularly do that or I am for it!). The funny thing is prostitution isn't illegal in Canada but you could be prosecuted and possibly go to jail for that! How? The law, like every other law is complicated enough to make it hard to understand for the general public so they get caught and get trialed but the simple version of it is that offer can be made but seeking it would not be legal! Try to figure that out by going through contract law! 

4- Other sources of release(!), if I could say that, such as games to watch, games to play and anything else which practically help you to relax and get your mind off the normal, hard life.

Going back to the subject, I've just finished the second week of work and the hard part still to come. We have a nice office, a huge very nice lunchroom and even a gym which I haven't been to, so far. The people are no so bad but mostly careless and dumb! Running their pickup truck engine for hours without caring about the fumes and the gasoline that they burn for no reason, smoking constantly and carelessly, driving the pickup truck up and down the project site for distances less than 10 feet, you name it. I, in the meantime, all I have to do is just to keep my head down, do my job and be very nice, friendly and professional to get through this. There will be either a chance to keep my employment with the company or at least have something good in my resume to find something else when these projects are finished, I guess, next year.

(Photo: I'm positioned in a cubicle like this but not that busy. Assholes and elbows talk loudly on the phone, laugh hysterically or make joke with each other but the good thing is I don't have to be there all they long. I usually have to go to the site which is not too far away. The fat-fuck, though, sits in a nice office, away from this melee!) 

The Tote Lover

I finally started a new position this week. I started it last Tue., as Mon. was a statutory holiday. Sadly I have to report to a fat f*ck (pardon my French) who neither has the education nor the experience in the field but he's f*cking old with years of experience in what's he's good at and beside that he's Caucasian! The moron who hired me is on vacation now but it's not that I will complain to him when he's back.I will have to see how the things go in the next three month that l'm on probation. I have an okay spot, so far, in the company but sitting next to a freak who coughs like a 89-year-old cigarette addicted woman and clear his f*king throat every 2 minutes! Rather than that I won't have to tolerate anything else from these dolts. Everyone else has been nice. The office and the building is nice and I'm hoping to stay here past my contract unless something better is found. 

The guy whom I work with is not bad but from the beginning he wanted to show me that he was the boss but when I e-mailed him about an issue we had on the project, he acknowledged that and praised me. He has been all around the country and parts of the world and seems that he has had a stable life: loyal wife, okay job with steady pay, fun, you name it. Things that everyone wants from a life and I've never had!

Back to our know-it-all fella(!), no actually he's not. I've gotta find a better name for him, he has difficulty moving as a result of his weight. Not that I'm teasing him or anything. I just am surprised that why people don't take good care of themselves. He says he has this and that at home (expensive items) and orders this and that online (rare merchandises!) but when you look at him, he looks like  cheap bastard! His cloths is okay. He keeps a beard which makes him looks like a priest, especially because he's hair is mostly white, bends forward a little bit, perhaps because of his weight or some other health issue he has, which by the way I hope it gets better, and carries a nasty, f*cking tote bag for his, probably lunch! He drives the company's car while his home is less than 15 freaking minutes away and I, the poor have to drive more than 60 km, back and forth, every single freaking day! 

And now with the price of gasoline soared to $1.71 per liter, I'd need to find a solution to this problem or half of my pay stub goes to Shell and other fellas of the same kind! 

I was given a computer and a phone the last day at work and have a whole lot to go. Lots of studies and also I will have to write an exam. and do a practical one. It's good because it not only gives me the chance to learn new things and keep my job, but also add good things to my resume. I also had a contact with the project manager who seems to be nice so far. A young Caucasian, of course, guy in, I'd say, in his late 30's, at the most, although it's hard to say who old some people are, particularly Caucasians because they age very slowly and gradually.

(Photo: There're people who are in love with inanimate, if I'm using the right term. These are the people, including the girl pictured here, who love objects, passionately! This girl loves Statue of Liberty in a fashion that you see it all around him. I'm using it to refer to the guy whom I started working with! He loves his tote! What a moron!)

The Online Quiz

I had the second Teams meeting with the Boss-to-Be today! It was just a few hours after that interview. I e-mailed him and he said that he'd meet me online. He was alone this time and looked like he was in his office, not sure at home or work but it was the same room as the last time. It appeared that he didn't have anything to do but he is still with the company and how did I find out about that? At the end he said he'd be going for a three-week vacation but he'd be in touch. 

The funny thing about this meeting was actually many things! First of all he started a quiz! I couldn't believe that! He shared a document on the screen through the software. It actually is an amazing package that you can do many things. There were a number of questions with their answers on the bottom but blacked-out! He would read the question tome, as I was a blind student or couldn't see for any other reason(!) and waited for the answer! I think there was only 3 questions and I had correct answer for all! Easy questions that you didn't need any technical knowledge but the basics of Quality and Projects! Then he went to the other document that he had sent me and we sort of reviewed together. He asked me a few questions and he was happy if I said I didn't know, if I really didn't! He said that he hated it when people bullshit! There were things that he didn't know himself, as this was their first project he said and in cases of such he'd open the search engine (Google!) and he would look it up but considering his background is in Civil Engineering, he's very confident in items which have something to do with that and moves fast. He asks a few more questions from me and I answered them in a " satisfactory " manner! 

The document review didn't take long and he said that there was another guy who would join the project soon, leaving British Columbia (I don't know why he thought I'd be interested in the details of his trip!) and I'd have to work with him. He said he's an experienced guy and " You'd make a good combination " he added. His last word was " Give me a few days and I will find out ".

(Photo: I've never had a quiz for a position that I had applied for but I guess everything is possible in this world!) 

It is not a Lie if you Believe it!

 

I went for an interview today before noon. It was a huge facility with a big sing that could be easily seen from the street. It was an old guy in his, I'd say. mid. 60's. Seemed a bit impatient, looking around and checking his computer but eventually I tried to get his attention. I think he was not comfortable doing this interview. Perhaps he didn't like me. I'm not sure! I realized that he was looking for someone just, probably, to use measuring tools such as Micrometer and Caliper Vernier and do this shit all day long! That'd be a disastrous job but what the hell? Do I have many good jobs lined up for me?! Not many! There's another one which I will explain in the next post. The other things he wanted to was whether I had ever dealt (issued) with NCRs! I think that was a big deal to him because he looked impressed when I explained to him that I had done it and provided him the detail. Then the question that his HR guy had asked was repeated: How I got into QC? I fed him the same shit that I had fed to the other guy. I said that I used to do Gas Welding after high school at at family friend's shop and while I was doing this as a part-time job, I saved a bit of money and started Engineering School! I kept the job until graduation and then I was told that they needed someone to handle their Quality needs and there I was! I started my job there until my immigration to Canada.I generally don't feel good about this position. I'd be downgraded from Quality Coordinator to Quality Inspector which is quite a fall. In the meantime he never mentioned anything about the wage and I know that there's a big group of Quality guys, perhaps as many as four and I wonder if they're assholes or reasonable guy but as I mentioned, I don't have many offers at the moment and this work is a " Continuous " and might work. He never mentioned that it was a permanent position the way the HR guy did. We'll see.He seemed satisfied by the story and provided a little more about the company and that was it. I was told that I'd be contacted after other candidates are interviewed and there will be another interview(!) with the HR and more detail would be discussed. (Photo: Not exactly what they manufacture in their facility but wanted to show the magnitude of their work)

The Crazy Boss-to-Be

I've barely had any good experiences with Eastern Europeans here in my life. Very rarely. If there was a service they were providing, they were okay but not great in the way that I would love to go back. If it was a conversation, such as one with a colleague or classmate, not pleasant at all!

There was this Russian guy in my former workplace whom I once got into a discussion with him about the need of nuclear power in Iran and how Russia was helping them in the south, on the edge of Persian Gulf to build a reactor. This is a separate story itself which I will not narrate it here now. He was an IT guy who later quit and I never heard of him. There was another guy I remember, Andre. He was a medium-built white-headed guy whom I never, ever, like the other ones, remember seeing even smiling, let alone laughing! He was okay and always helpful and I even remember I sat with him several times and asked him questions about Russia and he always answered them all patiently but never went closer such as a friendship. There was another guy who was in procurement and was probably 15 years older than me and had the same attitude. He would come to me to ask questions about the contracts and I could see in his eyes that he's really not willing to do that but had no choice. One year at Christmas party I got into an argument with his asshole son who was in his mid-20's or early 30's and obviously has gotten a job at the site through his daddy(!) and it was not really pleasant. The dad came to aid his son and they thought they could intimidate me but I, who was a bit drunk at the time, handled them well and they backed off! 

My so-called supervisor, or the head of the department was a Bulgarian asshole once and there were other so-called med-manager guys from former Yugoslavia (mostly from today's Serbia or Croatia). One worse than another. The Bulgarian used to eat a small Ham Sandwich and a cup of Tea, every single day for the first two years that I was working there and then later started to buy other things from a local supermarket! His image of sitting at a small desk, facing a wall(!) while easting that sandwich and drinking from a cup is tattooed in my brain! He would barely smile or laugh. Had very traumatizing life in a very poor country. 

There were other guys that each are the subject of one post themselves: Romanians, Ukrainians, Slovakians, Polish, You name it. All from poor countries being under strict rules for years and years, lacking the basics of life such as electricity, food, running water and else. You wonder why there personality is like that! 

With that in mind when I applied for this new position and was making myself ready for a Teams interview, I went to the web and did a little quick research about my boss-to-be! He is a Romain guy, one of the poorest countries in Europe which was under the rule of Nicolai Chaoshesko (written actually Ceausescu) for decades! Stories about Romania usually includes, as I earlier pointed, lack of the basics of life. This guy now in Canada for few years, lives on cloud 9! I could easily tell where he was from when first listened to him during the interview! But why do I call him and most of the Eastern-Europeans crazy? Because they all act abnormally and in strange manners. This guy after telling me that he would need me for a project in the US, calls me and says that he would consider me for the original project, again! I was like, make up your freaking mind man! He sends me two documents and asks me to study them for the second Teams meeting. He has a verbal offer which doesn't sound so good but, of course, is way better than what I'm doing now. It's an hourly rate which is less than what I was offered back in January of 2011, 11 years ago!! He said that there would be overtime later during the course of the project. The documents that he has sent me is one that is, most likely prepared by him, containing some bullshit basics about Quality and such and the other one is the detail of the project. What I learned, by having a quick look at the second one, is that it is a small project, defined for nearly 6 months which was supposed to start in 2021 and didn't. So now I wonder if I should go and work for such a low wage (wage!) position for such a short period of time and for a guy as crazy as an old Romanian fella! My initial plan was to keep the current job as a part-time one and see how the new job goes, if I get it, but now that nothing is finalized and I realized that the project won't go past 6 months (end of 2022, at the best) I have to really think about it, particularly that I have another interview this Tue., a face-to-face one and the fact that I would probably be outside in freezing Alberta cold this winter, if I work on the project. 

I'm going to have another look at the papers (electronic version, of course) the guy sent me, have another meeting with him and attend the other interview for the other position that the telephone interviewer said would be permanent and make a final decision.

(Photo: A kind of know-it-all boss. That is a typical Eastern-European manager/supervisor, based on my experience)