Ali G. and Mercedes

This story is a short one that Ali G., my buddy told me about the jealousy of Canadians, years ago when we used to hang out, back in the early 2000's:

Ali G. purchased a used Mercedes for $,5000 for his daily commutes and everything else. Mercedes is a very reliable and good car, until it isn't. Barely needs any service. I think his was a 190 e. We went to Banff and Lake Louise with that and basically every time we hung out, he drove it. He told me that his colleagues (Canadians, all) always made fun of him and said stupid thing about driving a luxury car, although it was used, by a foreigner and he always ignored them. The car eventually stopped right in the middle of the road! People helped him to push it aside and he never drove it after that. He then bought a brand new 2006 Acura, I don't know what model but I do know it was considered a luxury car at the time. I don't know the stories about that car but I know he moved to Lerthbridge after that , to work for Pepsico.

(Photo: I and Ali G. used to hang out for a few years back in the early 2000's as I wrote above but never were close friends in a way to take pictures together or anything like that. Beside camera phones and digital cameras were not as popular as they are now and everyone takes pictures of everything including the time they have an intimate relationship and sell it, so there's no picture of his Mercedes but I believe it was something similar to this, above. The interesting thing is this car at the time it came out of the assembly plant was available in two colours: Black and Metallic Black! My grandfather had a Mercedes too but that would be, probably, the subject of another post)

A Jealous Asshole

One of the things that you face here in Canada a lot, is jealousy. The country has been the land of mostly poor people from around the world coming for a better life. People without education, running water, electricity, not enough to eat, barely covering themselves in anything, etc. Try The Philippines, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, you name it. The funny thing is the last 6 called themselves European! European my ass! They cannot even feed themselves as well as India! There are also many Latinos and of course some Africans. So basically it is a toilet, as I have mentioned earlier. In case you wonder why I came to this toilet, I ran away from fundamentalism which is a separate story. 

When the US started to mess with western Asia, and for the ignorant who might read this and don't know where the western Asia is(!),  the area is at the west side of the biggest continent in the word which starts from Turkey and extends to Japan. Another funny thing is some public toilets, in the past few years have considered themselves European!!! Lands of absolutely nothing, tried to be part of E. U.(!!!!) as well. We'll discuss that in another post but western Asia consists of countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Iran and a few more. The region is called the Middle East(!!!!) by some alcoholic, ignorant, careless, toilet-fast-food-eater animals, in the US and many other places. For the exact same reason that those motherfuckers call the Native inhabitants of North America, Indians! These people's skull is filled with cat piss and dog feces. They can't think enough. They eat, shit (in the mouth of their own nasty mothers) and fuck! That is all they can do! 

Nevertheless when the things start going down in Iran, many people started to think about immigration. At the beginning it was the US and some European countries, mostly as students, then came Canada. These people were mostly educated and could handle their own lives easily. Some of my former classmates and colleagues now have very good, well-paid and stable positions in the US and Canada. This, cannot be accepted by, most of the, Canadians! They become jealous and all sorts of reactions could be seen. I will tell my buddy's story, Ali G., from the time we worked for Cargill Meat Solutions later. The jealousy is also seen within other foreigners. One of the assholes whom I had to deal with these years and I lied to him a lot is The Mumbling Guy and this is what happened recently:

I don't drive my new car, usually. Did not in winter because didn't want to spend money in winter tires. Now the ice and snow season is over, I'll take it to work once a week! I have told everyone who has asked about it, because it's an unusual vehicle, that it is not mine and made up an story for the jealous assholes. The Mumbling Guy approached me a few days ago and asked me about it. That was the second time he was asking. I told him the same story that I had made up for other assholes. This ignorant fuck doesn't understand the concept of Hybrid-Electric! So I told him that the car has a small battery (which is true) and is good for only 70 Km, which also is true! The poor ugly bastard thinks it's an EV! Then he goes this might be a issue!! Imagine an ugly motherfucker who does not understand basic English grammar after more than 20 years of living in the toilet and has a Master's Degree! I told him that I had talked to the company people and they told me it would be okay to plug the vehicle in! He said okay and fucked off! I made up a more detailed story about the owner of the car which is not needed to be said here, just to shut him up but he was not happy! 

(Photo: I took this picture in Nagasaki during a walk. I wondered why they have parked like that. Perhaps they leave at the same time. The front car is amongst a few Japanese cars that I have seen here in Canada and Japan, both)

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!)

Chaos and Disorganization

I finished the first month of my new job and have mixed feelings about it. It's close by. In the morning it usually takes me about 25 minutes on a highway to reach there. Only one set of traffic lights! People are all nice, respectful and helpful and no one bugs me. On the way home, in the afternoon, depending on the time and the route I take, It usually takes between 00:45 and 01:00 hour to reach home. There are many things to learn which will help me in the last years of my career, later, if I stay alive! The job is yet not very difficult but it's mostly shit! Doing stupid things in a very chaotic and disorganized environment! 

It's a pleasant weather now, there have been rainy days but they were not too bad. It will be a major issue during the cold season! The highway will be a death trap and the shop will freeze and become the best place to suffer from the extreme Albertan winter! It looks like the shop is not covered by a roof completely! I know it sounds stupid and impossible but that's how it looks like now unless the roof could be extended and put on at the time of cold! The people I directly work with, as I said, are mostly okay. My direct supervisor, if I could call him, is okay too but what can I expect!? Hell is Other People!I drove a minimum of 01:05 hours, in one way, at the previous job and paid nearly $450 a month for just gasoline! I think here I can reduce it to $120 a month and have a longer interval between my oil changes.

The reality is I'm tired of moving around and I'd like to stay in a workplace and retire there and enjoy the benefits. Every time a job is changed, there's a lot of stress and waste of time: Prepare tens of resumes and send all of them. Spend lots of time on each and expect the call to come and then go to a damn interview. Write the thank you letter and see their reaction. Lie! Yes! Lying is part of resume preparation and interviewing! You should've seen The Mumbling Guy's resume! Some of the things he has written there, and for that he's been given this high-paid salary, is beyond belief! 

What can I do? I have a challenging nature! I've contained myself so far and haven't said much in this new place and am planning not to do so! I don't want to induce people! Many of these people will be retired soon, not from my department, unfortunately(!) so I'm going to leave them alone! How can you change someone in his mid-60's and teach him new methods?! They say You can't teach an old dog new tricks! The company has had an attempt to obtain an ISO 9001:2015 Standard certificate and then decided not to go forward with that! Smart decision! From what I know about this company in such a short time, combined with my knowledge about that standard and also knowing the fact that many companies and auditors fake records and their audits, it would've been very difficult to deceit and defeat everyone to get the damn certificate and for what?!  

(Photo: Not taken from my workplace, of course, but not much different, in most places, from what I see every day. One of the reasons is that it's a very old place and many tools and machines look old and run down but still work. This has nothing to do with being neat, clean and organized but, again, what can you expect from a bunch of old timers!)

Prostitution in Canada

Prostitution is illegal in Canada. It is indicated clearly in the Criminal Code of Canada and I will include the related part below later but let me tell you about my experiences(!) with that. Don't me judgmental and angry. I just wanted to tell the stories of more than 20 years ago when I first came to Canada and it used to be a different country, a different society. 

When I came to Calgary, I stayed in Downtown after staying at The Brave's for about six month and mostly hung out in the Downtown area and the majority of time with my buddy, Kevin. P. whom is no longer my friend. We had an argument back in 2005 and we haven't talked for nearly 20 years and never will. 

There's this Tim Horton's at the corner of 5 Ave. and 4 St., SW where we used to hang out, many days. Tim Horton's was a different place at that time. They had cakes. They owned by a Canadian company, you name it. It's turned really bad and I never spend a dime anymore.  I remember one day we were heading that way and it was a little bit and we were new. I approached one of the girls and asked her the address. She was a tall, blonde beautiful girl and answered my question very politely. That aside, just a block or two away to the west, there was this corner that the prostitutes would hang out. When I say that, I always feel bad for the women who have to do that because deep down we all know that no one would want to do that, unless they absolutely have to. It's a difficult topic to cover but I want to point at it, briefly, the question would be, who would want, or has to become a prostitution. I think movie Monster tells us a little bit about that: The girls who were deprived of parents attention and love and grow in poverty. That's one reason. Addiction is another one. Some get hooked on some really drugs and can't quit and have to have a job which pay them a lot and quick. Losing job and lack of support is another reason. I knew someone who resort to a sort of service during Corona-Virus pandemic because she had lost her job and had no one to support her. There might be other reasons.

Let us see what the CCOC says about this issue, in 286.1:

(1) Everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration, or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration, the sexual services of a person, is guilty of :

(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years and a minimum punishment of:

(i) in the case where the offence is committed in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a park or the grounds of a school or religious institution or that is or is next to any other place where persons under the age of 18 can reasonably be expected to be present, (A) for a first offence, a fine of $2,000, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $4,000, or (ii) in any other case, (A) for a first offence, a fine of $1,000, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $2,000; or

(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day, or to both, and to a minimum punishment of, (i) in the case referred to in subparagraph (a)(i), (A) for a first offence, a fine of $1,000, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $2,000, or (ii) in any other case,

(A) for a first offence, a fine of $500, and (B) for each subsequent offence, a fine of $1,000.

Section (2) of this clause talks about the same offence when it is committed while involving a person under the age of 18. We're going to scape that. 

Everything has become computerized and on the web now! Most of the massage places, where the Chinese stores are located, are a cover for prostitution or services in that range. I remember the previous mayor had a plan to clean the area up but it never materialized and now they are there. This is the oldest career in the history they say and no matter how you push people, they always come back from another side. 

(Photo: The Tim Horton's subject of this post, partially. We used to hang out in her at the time that Canada had not yet been invaded by these many border jumpers and freeloaders!)

A Phone Interview Courtesy of The M. G.

I was wasting my time(!) on the computer yesterday morning and the telephone rang. It was a lady who introduced herself as an HR person with the company that The Mumbling Guy works for. I thought she might call but didn't expect a call so early. Here's what happened:
I found a position a couple of weeks ago and was going to apply but the product of the company suggest that it was the same that The Mumbling Guy had told me that they were manufacturing. So I thought I should ask him before applying and I did. He said: Don't! I was a bit upset but I didn't because I know he would be the one who evaluates the candidates. His reasoning was someone from the floor had been selected and would start soon, someone who is a relative of one of the managers. 
Nearly a week passed and one they he called and said: Apply for the position in the company I work for! He is the type of the guy who NEVER calls unless there's something really important! So I wondered what had happened. He said that the selected fella would be going to another province for a high pay job. Good for me!
So I applied for the job through the web and also sent my resume to their HR as he had instructed me. The HR person called me just one day after sending the resume, very unexpectedly, as I wrote and sort of asked many questions, some that I had never head in any of the many interviews that I had attended. Here are some:

1) Did you get year-end bonus?(!)

2) How was your vacations or How many days off did you get?(!)

3) How do you deal with issues?(!)

4) Did you have insurance coverage?(!)

I think I've listed the main wired ones!
Then later I received an e-mail and was invited to an couple of interviews(!) at their office. I sent a thank you e-mail and confirmed. The Mumbling Guy though, argued why I had not asked for enough money?! I was going to say that I'm not sure whether I would be hired. Why would I be ruin an interview with a number which most likely not be given to me? He bullshitted for a little while and that was it. Now I have to prepare myself for the interview.

(Photo: I thought I shall use a picture of one of the products of the potential employer but privacy is very important. So I used the line of Natural Gas Pressure Regulator that one of the companies that I worked for as a trainee, many years ago in the old country, manufactured) 

Still Scary Downtown!

 I did two out of the three CWB examinations for my Level I certificate this week. This was, probably the third attempt! No! You can call me dumb or anything you want but I don't even want to discuss that here. I either have not had enough time to study or was too tired to do so. That's my excuse! I fail at least one of the three each time and then I either have to re-write it or my time is up and I have to write all the three! I will write about this attempt when the results show, next week, most likely but I paid Kevin M. a visit on my way back, in his Downtown workplace building. 
I barely remember when was the last time we had met but I think it was 2019, perhaps. He looked much older and had lost a great deal of hair. We are all aging but I think his aging has been fast. Whatever is left is gray now but we leave him alone in that department. The good thing, for him, is that he has been with the same company since, If I'm not mistaken, 2011 and he will, most likely retire there. I don't think he makes anything less than $130k or he'd be a sucker! Even if he doesn't, and even if he makes $100k, the important thing is he's all set, in comparison with me that I have to start over! I saw them to see if he could do anything about the application I had earlier sent. I highly doubt that. 
Nevertheless, I had to park somewhere and walk to the building and Downtown seemed scarier as always, perhaps even scarier! Despite a small population of some Caucasians and some foreigners who work in the businesses and buildings in Downtown, the majority of the people you face are foreign refugees and asylum seekers, fraudulent immigrants or poor addict and extremely low income and almost homeless people. Downtown Calgary is way better when you compare it to Vancouver but still gives you a very bad feeling, in most corners of it, particularly on a cloudy and cold day of March! 
Shopping carts with dirty clothing piled up in it, lots and lots of Punjabi Sikhs, male and females marching around (I spent an hour with my friend and when I came out, saw the same people wandering around then all went inside a building in Downtown west side, almost opposite Kerby Center, which I don't know what it is but we all know many Indian Sikhs come to Canada as student and work), construction and more construction, smokers and lost of smokers. You get depressed by walking in certain parts of Downtown! And then I saw one or two moving trucks and told myself: I will do anything it takes not to have to move to a rental building and generally anywhere in Downtown Calgary! My mental health has been affected enough, I certainly don't want to end up in a mental institution!

The interesting thing is you never see disgusting, scary and nasty scenes you see in Western cities in any Iranian cities and despite one or two individuals, I saw no one like these creatures in Tokyo with more than 14M inhabitants!  

(Photo: McDougall School, which is known as McDougall Center now, was built in 1907 as a center for training teachers. It is located in the less scarier part of Downtown Calgary!)

How Wrong Was I?!

I called The Mumbling Guy a few days ago and he didn't respond with the level of enthusiasts(!) that I was expecting and I got both sad and angry but we decided to meet after his work somewhere close to his office on his way home. He came and he spent nearly 2 hours with me helping with my job search and interview. I was really impressed and surprised! I wasn't expecting that from him and I thought perhaps I never gave him enough credit. He's the same guy as always: Bragging about every aspect of his life but what do I care about as long as he's nice and helpful! He's a cheap bastard too but listening to the stories of his life in India, I understand where he comes from! The funny thing is even if you call him from that country, he doesn't like it. The interesting thing is he goes to India regularly, though! 
He had a few good points for my resume which I'm certain working on, would help me. He also gave me hope and told me to work on my interview skills as well and go for the job. I left him with plenty of positive things while I wanted to call and cancel it due to the distance (almost 85 Km or 52 miles round trip! There I promised myself to not only take his family to lunch, or have them over, but also buy something for them, like a gift for their home. It's not going too far away. I realized how wrong I was cutting off every one simply because they had flaws, while I have many flaws myself! Now I've stopped that but it might be too late for some. I called a schoolmate who had not received any messages from me for over 5 years. He had a short conversation but when I asked to meet him he said he'd be busy and later didn't respond to my message. Yes. I was wrong. I was wrong many times but I think I still can recover to some extent. My father used to say:  One enemy is too many but one thousand friends are not! He was a very popular person and so have I been but he stuck to the first part and I haven't! I created more! 

(Photo: This is what has happened to most of the resumes that I've sent! Not that I'm not able to do the job. I presented myself badly)

Checking Village Brewery

The Chef and I were in the city and he suggested to check Village Brewery out. It's a small bistro and brewery, of course, in a commercial/industrial part of the city, about 10 minutes drive to Downtown. It was his suggestion/his money, so I didn't object. The only thing that one should consider in cases like this to be careful with him not drinking too much! 

Village Brewery has a nice and clean environment and at the time we were there it was almost full for a weekday night. We ordered two Blacksmith, I think 20 Oz. beer and two small bowls of nuts, each cost a total of $16! I had not had any alcohol for nearly 14 months but was not too impressed by it. Then I realized something else: The glass stuck! I think this guys try to save money by not washing the glasses and dishes and only rinse them or wipe them with a piece of cloth! I didn't say anything but the smell was overwhelming! The Chef didn't notice that and I didn't want to ruin his fun, especially because he was about to get drunk after half of the glass was done! The bowl of nuts was good, despite the fact that we know they have no respect for the customers' well being and do not follow health and sanitation regulations! In fact one could be full for the night with that beer and nuts. The waiter approach when I had the first glass and The Chef asked him to bring the second round. It was the second glass that screwed him up! He was already drunk at the beginning of it. So was I but not to that extent. The interesting thing is the effect of alcohol on someone who drinks every night (The Chef) and someone who only drinks socially! We finished the second round and the place was getting empty but there were still a few customers. The Chef asked me to order food! Now he was out of his conscious, I would say! I took him to bathroom and ordered two Brisket Sandwiches for us and the third beer for him.  

He was so drunk that when he was going to the restroom, he left his wallet open on the table! The sandwich tasted good but who knows what they had done in the back! It was time to good but was not easy to make him understand we need to get the hell out and I didn't want to get to the point of dragging him out! The entire visit cost $65 plus the tips, in two separate bills, as there's yet no tax but the tips was high! I think he paid 15% on the first and 30% on the second! So the total charge was $79.7 which was too much! I could each for two whole week with that amount! 

Now we're in the car and ready to go and I have to rush to the Safeway pharmacy in downtown to get my medicine and he says he wants to get a bottle of wine! We go back in and the girl says their wine costs $30 and convince us to buy one from a liquor store. We get the hell out, and I drive to the pharmacy. Luckily the pharmacy is open and I get the medicine. The funny thing is the pills are for my gout and the only reason I could drink those two tall glasses of beer is they serve a bottle of water with that! The doctor has told me as long as I drink two glasses of water after ever glass of beer, I can drink that. This, obviously is to dilute the alcoholic beverage. I survived that because I do not drink regularly or I would not have been able to sleep throughout the night! 

I drove him to a Co-op liquor store on our way back to his place and he got two bottles of booze and we finished our night. 

(Photo: The brewery has a very nice atmosphere. You can see the bottles of water and cans of beer in the cooler. I blurred the face of the staff in case they want to play games! This was shortly before we left so most of the customer's had already left but there were still a few, behind us and one couple in the picture, of course)

Coming to America: The Alphonse Version

Alphonse, my former(!) friend, who lives in California now, has a funny story about the time he was flying to the US from Europe, for the first time but before telling the story, it might be interesting for you to know why I used the term former before friend. I have known Alphonse since the engineering school days. We were doing different programs but I hung out with almost everyone. Alphonse has always been a hard working fella. Many Armenians in Iran were and probably still are. I ended up here and he ended up in the US and we stayed in touch. I received a call once back in 2006, I think, it was, saying that he wanted to come to stay with me for a short while. He was in Ma. at the time and I think what had happened, as he told me later, had lost his job and now he needed to leave the country and reapply for a work permit. 

I lived in a basement at that time and had a steady job. But why? I was in a different world! In the world of carelessness! I told him where I was and what my situation had been and asked him to come over if he felt comfortable. He didn't. The story is that he went back home, reapplied through the embassy of the US in Dubai, I think, got it and went to the US again! Unbelievable! 

Palm Springs, Ca., This is the front of the hotel I stayed at for two days

He then moved to Ca., struggled a little bit and opened a mechanic shop with his brother. They were doing fine by providing service to foreigners, mainly and of course Armenians of Glendale. He then got a position with a manufacturing company, which I know he worked for until about six months ago that we were in touch. During this past, probably, ten years or so, he grew some narcissism and went back to his roots, forgetting where he came from! He bought luxury cars, used of course, from some desperate customers who didn't want to spend as much he was asking them to pay to get their cars fixed, went on European vacations and so! His language and behaviour changed as well, at least toward me. He came and stayed here with me for a few days. We went for a hike which he backed off after half an hour from the start! He wanted to stay in a hotel and I called him over. Then he asked if I was renting the place! Then he asked why my car hasn't been taken to the car wash! We went for a little shopping and then he offered to pay for the items I had purchased for home! And finally when I asked him what he suggested to purchase (a vehicle) later, he suggested buying a Maserati! The next time we met was in Las Vegas and we aimed another summit which we failed to even barely start but he paid for my hotel and our rental car. Here's how cheap and stupid this guy is: We spent at least 1 freaking hour going from here to there in Las Vegas because he wanted to find the cheapest parking for his recently purchased, used but in good shape Porsche SUV and take the road on a rented car! When he comes to Canada we have to take my over ten years old vehicle for our hike but when I go to the US, we have to rent a vehicle while he has a few years old, almost in perfect shape, German SUV! I owed nearly US$ 460 to him after that and I haven't paid to this day! We exchanged a few messages and when I was in Palm Springs earlier this year I told him that I was going and asked him to join. He excused himself and said that he had a family party! That was the end of it! 

Going back to his version of Coming to America, he was in Amsterdam or somewhere in Europe on his way to the States and was stopped by the cops. He is a fat fuck, potbellied turtle! He's there, surrounded by a few security forces in the middle of the terminals where everyone is walking by! They ask for his passport and he hands it to them. The officer goes: What was your name before you changed it?! This is on the account of him being a dark hair man! He responds by saying: This is my original name! Then their supervisor ask one of the guys to search him and since he has a big belly, the officer thinks he might have something hidden under his jacket, like a suicide belt and his hands are visibly shaking when he's trying to search him! He's announced that he was clear after that and let go but he's upset and offended! This dolt now has been living in the US at least for 20 years but still can't speak English properly and has not been changes one bit: Same disgusting fat trash eater he was decades ago and we're no longer friends anymore.

(Photo: South American freeloaders at the US border. Trump has promised to get rid of 11 million parasites when he takes the office)

Messing with a Suck up!

The Mumbling Guy sent me a message a few days ago, asking me to give him a call! That's how disgusting he is! He feels he's too important to call others! Others shall always call him! I'm fine with that! So, I called him to see what he wanted! You see? Even if he needs something, he doesn't call you! 

When I call him, he says that he needs to use me as a reference for his new job application! It's a position closer to his place and he doesn't have to drive across the city and I'm sure he gets way more. He claims it'd be north of 150 K. Good for him. I don't have any issue with that. After all he was the one who gave positive feedback when I first applied for this job. 

I then received an e-mail from a recruiter with some 15 questions, maybe! I don't remember exactly how many they were. I started providing answers to all quickly at my lunch break, at work, except for two or three which I truly did not know what he would want to say, including the reason why he wanted to leave this current position and I didn't write anything untrue. The Mumbling Guy, despite being deceitful, jealous, greedy and an asshole(!), has some good attributes! He's good in his area of expertise! I think that is the only thing he's good at! The lady came back to me for clarification on two questions. I called him and told him the story but I decided to mess with him a little bit! I told him that there were as many as seven questions! I read the first two and made up the rest and he provided answers over the phone. I pretended I was writing! I just wanted to give him a bit of anxiety! 

When I got home I saw a thank you e-mail from the lady. Then the next day I sent him a massage and said that the lady had called me after I sent her the response! This time he called me because he was worried about what had happened! I told him that the recruiter had called me after the e-mail was sent to her and I asked her to call me after work! I told him we talked for over half an hour and she wanted to confirm some of the responses that I had provided! He bought it. I could go on and on but I thought it would lose its value. That's enough for a suck up!

(Photo: I remember how he used to suck up to the people he knew he had to when we worked together. I, happily, do not have to do this and never did this. My performance speaks for itself. I just have to keep my mouth shut) 

Too Good to be True (2)

The Mumbling Guy contacted me a few weeks ago and said that he had transferred(!) my contact information to a recruiter for a good and highly-paid position. The salary was $110 K! It was a management position in a manufacturing facility which uses certain material. I won't reveal the details as usual.   
I thought to myself: It's way more than my current salary. I don't have to drive that much and it would be great but why would a company offer that much, especially in that industry. It doesn't seem that they make so much! Then I thought: I've been here for over a year and although my salary is much less but I'm in the right industry for myself, I've been given the opportunity to learn, take courses and practically do whatever I think is necessary to do. Isn't this enough?
All I need is to stay with this company for three to five years and then I automatically increase my chance of being hired by a better employer. 

(Photo: A good joke about a 6-figure salary. That is me, although I earned it once after 4 years of working for an employer. Got kicked out by those motherfuckers, filthy animals, then!)

Wasting Water Like everything else

The Chef lived in this rundown apartment building in Bridgeland for a few years. It's a building on a main busy road. So, in summer you have not much chance of a good sleep because of the road traffic. The main Calgary homeless shelter, called D. I. (short for Drop-in!) is nearby. So, you have the pleasure of being visited by a drunkard, a drug-addict or if you're lucky enough, a double-feature, once in a while! I remember once I was there visiting him and were going to leave. We went to the underground parking which has access from the street without a gate or door. We saw fresh business(!) at a wall, just next to the car! 

But why this story comes to mind now is because I visited him a few times in a row years ago and I heard a stream of water from inside the apartment! When I asked him what it was, he took me to the bathroom and showed me the faucet in the tube. Water was flowing to the drain like Niagara Falls! It was not only the few minutes I was there or the day before or after. It was like that for weeks, if not more than a month! I don't know exactly. This shows how full of shit this laying bastards of The City of Calgary are! Just a bunch of greedy, nasty assholes who think of nothing but their paycheques, their year-end-bonus and what the next lie is that they can sell to the public! All of them, from the top to the bottom. How is it that the so-called one of the most livable cities in the world(!!) has no monitoring system to realize that water is excessively being used and wasted for days! Is is not because they're incompetent and ignorant lairs? I have no doubt that is the reason. 

(Photo: Consolidation Bridge over Bow River provides the people of Bridgeland and other nearby neighbourhoods to access to Calgary D. I. What a great privilege)

On the Road to Recovery

I don't know if you believe in this or not but I have a saying for myself which goes: Once a Loser, Always a Loser! And in that I'm talking about myself! After my separation from my wife, 8 years ago, I never was able to get myself into a meaningful relationship, despite the opportunities and trying. There has been always a problem or an excuse. And will be like that probably until the day I die, unless there's an extraordinary situation! 

With that in mind, I talked to The Chef last Saturday and we ended up getting a couple of nice Fishes and going to my place. Of course I paid for that and I picked him up at his place. He's broke as a homeless but considering all the times that I went to his place and he provided food and booze, this was nothing. 

The fish this time came out very nicely, especially because I was very hungry, I think. We finished two medium sized Salmon but not the top rated ones but not too cheap either. 

The difference this time was the Wine. This was given to me as a Christmas gift by the company. It obviously was not an expensive one, probably $15 or so for a 750 ml bottle but because of its low percentage of alcohol, only 10%, it tasted really fine. A white Zinfandel from California which was a little bit sweet and went down smoothly. 

I do not call The Chef by this name. It's because he's always awesome when it comes to cooking. The nickname, of course, is not known to him. I never use it to call him. Here he has used a mixture of herbs and spices to coat the pieces before they are fried in another mixture! 

My only worry was The Chef getting drunk and get me in trouble but it didn't happened due to the low amount of beverage and being low alcohol. I think he hasn't learnt his lesson yet even after this last time that he almost lost an eye and hasn't been recovered completely but who am I kidding?! Once you're addicted to alcohol or any substance, there's barely any return!

(Photo, top: The glasses contain the nice pink wine)

There's not such a Thing as a Bad Habit

The Chef has this bad habit of drinking for years. He told me once that he developed it in India, where he spent his life more than 10 years or more. He drinks everything: From Beer to different chip Wine, to Vodka but his favorite, recently, is Red Wine because he believes good for him! Drinking has caused him so many problems that he had lost his job, his home and his vehicle but still has not learned! I called him last week to see how he was doing. No response. Then he called a couple of days after that and he said he had had an incident. I assumed he fell off the bicycle or had been hit, considering that he rides his bike to work. 

He said that he had been hospitalized in a this medical center. I went there to see him yesterday. He was laying on a bed with an eye patch! That was when the truth became known: He was drunk and he was beaten up! It was so bad that he was not able to remember if he was riding the bike when he got into, if I may say, altercation, or not! I'm not even able to say if it was an altercation or not because he didn't say anything about beating them! It seams that he was so drunk that they just beat him up to the limit! My assumption is he was drinking with them but since he gets drunk fast and becomes totally unaware of what is going around him, he probably swore at or shoved them and they gave thought him a good lesson! 

He will be 65 at the end of this Feb. but he looks nothing like a man at that age. He still is strong as an ox but not as strong as 5 years ago or before his multiple hospitalization and I'm not talking about this one! 

He have had two major hospitalizations:

1) He got drunk and fell into a hole in the yard of his workplace, a few years ago! I never heard the true story behind this incident but there's no doubt that he did not see the barricades or he could've filed a lawsuit against the employer! He knew it was his fault. So he sucked it up! He was lucky that he didn't go head-first or it could've been something else because no ones knows what happened. He shattered one of his kneecaps!

2) The second time he had been told that he had a heart attack and needed a surgery! That was because of years of eating meat and so much god damn meat! He survived this one too!   

At this point I don't know if he will lose that eye or not but he said that they were working on it for a while and he had sever pain. He seemed calm, though! 

(Photo: The medical clinic that The Chef is currently hospitalized in it)

Revenge is a Dish best Served Cold

This piece of work, ugly creature who works with me, runs his mouth too much at times. An oriental from a place that I doubt he had enough food to eat at times before coming to Canada. Fair enough. Now you have, it means shut your mouth after eating! When we went for the course a couple of weeks ago, the asshole act weirdly. One two people from the same party go somewhere together, they stay together, eat together, study together and do most of the things together. He was sneaking to his room after the class, perhaps to sext, if you know what I mean, with his wife.
We're planned to go for for another course in a few weeks from now and I have a good plan for him! I'm all nice and friendly to him. When we're going back, I'm going to leave him at the side of the road with his stupid suitcase! I never brag about the things I do or I'm planning to do but I wanted to write this one because this piece of work does not even offer to drive to the course while I drove him the last time! I can't wait to see his stupid face with the giant suitcase next to him after I tell him that I have to go and he has to take a bus home! 
The other asshole that I have a plan for and I'm skeptical to see if I can execute that is a freaking asshole from the old country. I went to high school with this guy for three years and then we went to the same college, different programs. He had to drop out or was expelled, I'm not sure and it doesn't matter now because he was not able to pass Calculus 1 until semester 7 (the program consisted of 9 semesters, minimum at the time, a total of more than 152 credits, which I think has been reduced now!). He served military, I think, after that, because I was no longer in touch with him, or perhaps I shall say that he was not in touch with me and then he went to another school and finished a degree or masters in the field that he liked, successfully.
I was not in touch with him for years, even before leaving the old country until nearly 15 years ago that we exchanged a few e-mails and then again 2 years ago or so, I don't remember why(!) we got in touch. That was the time he told me that his daughter would starting studying a program in The University of Waterloo. Then about a month ago he said he was waiting for his visa to visit his daughter and would pay me a visit. I asked him if he could bring a few thing for me and I would pay him here once I see him. He agreed and told me not to be worry about the money. 
The last time we were in touch was about 10 days before the day which he had said that it would be his departure day. He said that he had not yet heard from the embassy about his visa. When I reminded him of the things that I had asked him to bring, this time, he sort of hesitated and said that he would check with his wife to see if they have room. I didn't like it.
The day that he was supposed to fly has passed. in fact it's been more than 10 days since he was supposed to be in Ontario and I don't know if he is there or not. He has not contacted me. Or perhaps he hasn't received his visa which I doubt because these days the Government of Canada issues visa to everyone who could set foot on Canadian soil. So now that he hasn't even told me what has happened to his visa, I have a good plan for him but before that I'm going to write a bit about the times that he would act like a total jerk when we used to hang out: We used to go to gym at times to work out together. I asked him to spot me a few times and he did a few times but once aggressively said: I'm not going to the gym just to lift your weights for you! This stupid sentence has been tattooed in my brain! Our relationship would turn to more  rivalry than friendship. He used to brag about the place that he had gone with his friends and so did I! There were time that he was ditched and it pissed him off. aside all the above, he criticized me a few times about the jokes that I had made about girls. There were not directed at anyone specific or too offensive and we were very young and ignorant but he took it personally, I think especially because she had a sister that he probably thought I had an eye on! She was a pretty girl and right for my age but who thought about getting in a relationship with his friend's sister on those years?!
My plan was that if he wanted to come to Alberta, to tell him that I would pick him up at YYC but when I talked to my Mom as she knows him, she didn't like it and said it was too harsh and even inhumane! There another thing that Mom said. She said that he has not contacted simply because I have asked him to do me a favour! That has scared him off, she added! I think she's right. And I don't think I execute my plan simply because Mom said that I shall not, although that would be a good lesson for him! We'll see.

(Photo: One of my favorite salads and I've made this one myself. So good. It, of course, is served cold but it tastes way better and is much healthier than my revenge!)

Return of the Jedi

I said it in an earlier post that I had met The Chef after more than a year. We talked for a hike, although I knew he would not, most likely, be able to continue to the top, based on the previous experiences but agreed to go this past Thu. I wanted to finished the damn Thrift Peak. This would've been the 4th attempt but then thought to myself that despite the fact that The Chef will accompany me and it would not be a boring 230 Km (~ 140 miles), it would not be a good thing for my old vehicle which, now, has almost 167,000 Km on it! The Chef as a company would have had other benefits! You can laugh by the way he acts and we would have shared the cost of the trip. Then I tried to rent a damn car but nothing was available. I tried 2 rental companies and stopped there. Then I realized that there was smoke in the air and used it as excuse to cancel the trip! The Chef didn't like the idea but I was able to convince him to not to take the trip while I promised that we would, instead, have Fish! 

This small apples, called September Ruby are planted next to the community orchard I have mentioned. They are a bit sour and I'm going to try them in a jam(!) to see how they tatste

I went to his place yesterday, to pick him up and as soon as he sat next to me I realized he was drunk! We went to a nearby The Real Canadian Superasshole(!) because that's where you can get good and fresh fish and bought two medium size Salmons. I don't know kind they were but I told him that was too much. He insisted it was not! We got some vegetables and headed to the cashier where he realized that he had forgotten Lemon. I paid for the stuff and when he returned with a couple of Lemons, I tried to make him understand the he only had to pay for them and the bottle of Olive Oil that he had insisted to buy! He paid for those and while we were leaving, he grabbed the shopping cart of a women who was behind me and rolled it out until the woman, who already had her shopping inside told him about it! I couldn't stop laughing! I reminded him that it happened because he was drunk! He said that he only had had one glass of Red Wine at noon! I know what he means by " only one glass "! It must have been the whole bottle. 

Before heading home I stop by this Community Orchard that I had discovered last week and we picked some apples to make jam. The Chef was thirsty and when I told him to try an apple, he liked it. The apples are good but because no one takes care of them, they're not excellent. Besides they don't look like the apples you see in the stores because there's no fertilizer and no pesticide. That's probably why people leave them there to rot! 

At home we sat for a chat and fortunately there was no alcohol or the whole event would turn to disaster, as it has happened before, several times. He wanted to buy alcohol but I told him that I would, them, not be able to drive him home! I don't have any issue with alcohol as long as it's consumed moderately. My issue is The Chef that always turn to a monster after a few drinks! 

At this point it was almost 21:30 and we just wanted to start cooking! The Chef started chopping and cutting the vegetables. He is usually excellent but years of drinking alcohol has done serious damage to his brain! At one point he forgot why he had cut all the tomatoes! Then he cut 5 Jalapenos despite the fact that I told him it would make it too hot to be tolerable. He made two types of Salmons: One in the oven and one in the pan. We finished the latter and divide the first between us for later. It was as good as every time he makes anything with this difference that it was so spicy that I was sweating like a pig while The Chef was eating like it was candy! This was the story of Return of the Jedi! Needless to say that our Jedi here is Lord Chef! 

(Photo: This is not Fish& Chips! Different types of fish is enjoyed differently in different parts of the old country. Here, in Canada I have had Fish & Chips a couple of times but this is completely different: Fried fish, not dip fried, with home made flat/pita whole wheat bread, which I had made the day before and of course you squeeze fresh lime or lemon on it)

The more from the Third World will lead to the Third World

Now I'm out of work and don't have much to do, I'm going to the people whom I ignored them for the past year or so! Stupid? Ha? I'm always like that! I'm very friendly and become friends with everyone but then for no serious reason leave them and make no contact! 

I first called the Newlywed yesterday but since I had claimed that I was not in Canada(!), I called him using WhatsApp and we chatted for a little bit. He didn't sound very well, emotionally, but he was okay. Will call him to see what he says about being so upset and down later. Then I went to see The Chef. He lives in the northeastern part of the two where the majority of the people in those neighbourhoods are from either Indian subcontinent or similar countries such as Afghanistan, Africa, The Philippines and all the geniuses and cleaver people of the world, responsible for all the technological advances and inventions we have had in the last century! 

I'm there and we decide to go for a walk. The Chef tells me about an area where is designated for walking and picnic and it's quite close. We're walking and talking and all of a sudden we here a commotion. Cars with young fellas who stick their heads out of the window and are waving flags appear! The Chef immediately gets mad and starts cursing! These are a bunch of Pakistani guys who rev their engines and honk their honks! At first I thought it was about the recent political issues in Pakistan. I don't follow but because every time you open the news, they are showing them and there's news about them, I knew that was the topic. So I approach a fella who has pulled his motorcycle at the side of the street and watches over his buddies and ask him what that was about. He says they were celebrating Pakistan's independence day! 

It goes back to Aug.14.1947 when India and Pakistan became two separate nations and they have fought three major fights ever since. Their hostility has not ended and every now and then there's a problem: Terrorist attacks, planes crashes, diplomatic arguments, you name it! So now these guys are really annoying and I know if it was a Canadian(!) neighbourhood someone would have called the police by now because they were being really dangerous and making too much noise. There was a possibility that they get into an accident and cause damage or hurt someone, not to mention that they were disturbing the peace of the neighbourhood. The Chef is still pissed and we walk away from the main road and don't here much after that! We then decide to go and sit for a coffee, after we finish our walk and on our way we see a couple of police officers on motorbikes. We first thought they were stopping a truck because one of them put his beacon up in the middle of the road while the big truck was right behind him but then the truck drove around and continued on the road. Then it hit us: Why the hell we didn't call the police when first hear the craziness?! CPS main headquarters is only 10 minutes drive from where these idiots were showing their patriotism! It was too late and those guys must have gone back to their dirty caves but this shows how careless Canadians are to their county. I don't know if there was a clash between these Pakistani guys and Indians but it would not have been completely impossible. Indians of, mostly, I would think Hindu faith were in clash with Sikh Indians just about a month ago somewhere in Ontario, perhaps Toronto over Khalistani Movement, the terrorist acts that Sikhs have to seek independence from India. They were showing that the police had to contain a man who was shouting angrily and possibly intended to attack the opposition people! Canadian politicians have done that to their people! Just because they need more population, more vote and more revenue, they let every pile of horse manure in and in just two generations Canada will look like a country such as Pakistan, Iraq or Afghanistan! There was a documentary a while back that many politicians in British Columbia where a huge population of Sikh people live, mostly in Surrey and Abbotsford, go to these people ceremonies, even to the groups who have been connected directly with terrorist separatists to guarantee their vote at the time of election. This is what happens when a society is solely based on MONEY! 

(Photo: The Caravan of Pakistani guys in 64 Ave., celebrating Pakistan's independence day in Canada!)

E. E. (Exhausting Exam!)

You're probably familiar with acronym A. A. It stands for Alcoholic Anonymous, in case you didn't know. Not that I ever had to participate but I think in a society such as Canada, it's a necessity! I don't know the detail of this meeting but I think a few people who suffer from alcohol addiction are brought together, without having to expose their identity (that's why it is called anonymous) and this meeting, is supposed to help them to overcome this issue.  The only time I somehow got involved, indirectly, was the time that I worked as a Bylaw Enforcement Officer, in another city of another province and controlling the parked vehicles was part of our job. To be exact, tagging them or if it was necessary, have them towed. 
Despite the low wage, it was quite satisfying job! I even remember that I had a person's vehicle towed in Christmas Eve, once! I owed a lot on my credit cards those years, perhaps over $700 and although I was married, my wife did not work. I once noticed a vehicle, I think it was a Mercedes, parked in an RCMP designated spot. I was almost over with the ticket when an old lady approached me and asked me to stop. She indicated that the owner of the vehicle was in the A. A. Meeting in the RCMP detachment. I don't remember if I cancelled the ticket or not but she was quite upset. Perhaps she expected us to know where the driver was, considering we were Law Enforcement Officers! 
I even got an interview for a position as a Jail Guard in that detachment once but it didn't go anywhere. The wage was much higher and there was room for advancement but now I think if I had spent all those years on something more up my alley, I would not have been sitting at home now! 
With that story in mind, we get to this new acronym that I just came up with today: E. E.! It stands for Exhausting Examination! I applied for a  job back in, I think it was May. This week I received a message regarding an examination. There was enough time for the exam but I was told it would not take more than 1 to 2 hours! It took a whole lot longer than that, may be 8! This was exhausting! The bad thing was I had a slight headache after that! I never get headaches! Maybe one or twice in my entire life as a result of a cold. I realized it had nothing to do with the exam! It was the damn air from all wildfires! 
Now all I have to do is to wait for the headache to go away, maybe tomorrow and then wait for the result of the exam., perhaps the next week.

(Photo: I still have one exam left and that will be in late Sep. I'm not going to shit jobs before I write this exam and pass it. If I can't find something good for the next while then I will have to grab whatever I can)

Early Celebration

Before heading to the CBSA College in Quebec, after being selected to become a Border Officer, and I failed, as usual(!), my friend's (at the time) wife, said something: She said don't celebrate early! She, of course didn't know that I would come back home with my tail between my legs(!) but she was right. Unless you have the Job Offer letter in your hand, nothing is finalized. 
Getting to that stage of CBSA was not easy but passing all the courses at the college in such a short period of time was hard. Too much pressure. Of course I was not the only one who could not finish the program, and that is not an excuse, but overall it was not a pleasant experience. The people who graduated are set for life: Easy job, good salary, Government pension, paid vacation, you name it. It was a mistake from the beginning, by me, to even think of such a job. Instead of spending time on such a thing, I should've devoted myself to studying and job search and I was better off today. Look at the people who were there and the majority of them finished the program and are enjoying their lives now: 1) Bartender 2) Legal Aid 3) Out-of-work Salesperson 4) seasonal Railway Worker and a few similar workers in the same salary range.
With that in mind I just received a message from another Government position job that I had applied a few month ago. It seems that I have been selected to go further in the selection process. I was expecting that because this job really matches what I used to do and is certainly up my alley but I'm not going to celebrate early! I'm just go to send a message and show my enthusiasm and than them.

(Photo: Former Lakers, Nick Young is known for his early celebration at a home game when he attempted a 3-pointer! You can see that he has turned back before the ball goes in and is celebrating!)