Mutual Appriciation

I've reached the part of It Doesn't Take A Hero where Schwarzkopf is back to the US and expresses his experience and the reaction of American citizens. He says:

... I climbed in to a taxi. Wearing my uniform with all my ribbons and my Vietnamese airborne beret, I kept waiting for the driver to make a big fuss and exclaim " Hey! You're just back from Vietnam, aren't you! " Nothing. So I fed him hints like " Gee, I haven't seen Newark for a while. " But he dropped me at my mother's place with scarcely a word.

Or in again he says in another part:

... After two days I wanted to run through the streets yelling, " Hey! In Vietnam people are Dying! Americans are dying! How can you act like nothing is happening? "

I remember years ago when I was reading Oriana Fallaci's books about Vietnam War, Nothing and So Be It, She expressed the same feeling. When she was back to Florence, her hometown in Italy and visited a few people:
When she was to her neighborhood pharmacy, the clerk says: Oh! Is that you? I thought I've lost a good customer! She replies: No! I was in Vietnam. The clerk reacts: Oh! That's sad!

And that was all!
Or somewhere else when she says that she was just back from Vietnam the person asks: How was the weather out there?!
I guess we had almost the same feeling during the 8 year Iran-Iraq war until the enemy started bombing our city and firing ground-to-ground missiles. But there was a difference. People were being propagated by TV and the other media about war but seemed even that one didn't help the government much. Although many young people were brain-washed or tempted by the benefits they would receive if they are back from the war or the ones their families would receive if they get killed during the combat.
(Photo: Young Oriana Fallaci in military uniform)

Hard To Find

It's been more than a month that I'm trying to find a place to live. Everywhere I call they say there's no vacancy. I even tried 2 bedrooms but only one responded and that's $800 which is too much for me. Then I tried a 1 bedroom in Chinook area and finally after 5 phone calls yesterday I booked an appointment for today to see the apartment! When I got there at about 18:30, there were at least 10 other people waiting! Fortunately most of them were gone one by one, after a few minutes and only two applicant left: Two Canadian women, seemed a mother and daughter, both very pretty and me. The others didn't like it. The agent lady also said that the basement of the same size with no balcony is available and is a little cheaper. She then gave me an application form with over 15 questions! I filled it out and gave it back to her. In addition was a cheque of $200 as deposit. The apartment is available in July the first. She said the selection process would take 48 hours.
It has never been like this before. Apartments were easy to find in most parts of the city and they were not this much expensive. The one I applied for is $695 and only heat and water is included. That's part of Alberta's booming business.

Junk Yard

I've done things in Canada that had never been imagined before my immigration and had never been done in my version 1.0 of life!
Today me and Hojam went to a junk yard to pick and pull a few parts for my Caprice. Junk yard is a huge place full of old and crashed cars but is very organized. You go in there and you need a box of tools (Hojam had one). The admission is only $1 and the time is unlimited. Cars are seen in rows and columns, separated based on make. We walked between the corpses(!) and finally found a Caprice but a little different from mine. That was Ok and Hojam started to take the windshield wipers off and then we got the other parts we needed. Hojam changed the broken wiper (The one at right side) and put the front hubcaps and we left the other things for a later time as they needed tools and longer struggle. Rear defog and central lock switches must be replaced. We'll get to that later.
(Photo: Pick N Pull where you find parts for your old or new car is located in east side of Calgary)

Mid Western

I received an e-mail from a guy called Stephen (pronounced Steeven!) regarding a Quality Control Inspector that I applied in May.16. He's the plant manager of Mid Western Machine Works in Foothills Industrial Park, South east of Calgary. I called him today morning and the appointment was set at 10:00 AM. The mentioned industrial park is a very busy place, many companies and plants are located there and trains and trucks are continuously going and coming. I was there on time and Stephen, a P. Eng., showed me their small workshop. It's as big as, probably Sanay-e Gaz-e Iran plant, the company I used to go to for my training when I was in the school. The workshop basically comprises of a few big machines including CNC, lathe, mill and so on. He explained the processes and introduced customers and then we sat in his small office and he asked questions directly by looking at what I had claimed in my resume. I don't think he has any academic background and his P. Eng. licence must have been gained through his years of experience in manufacturing industry. He told me that the job is salary-paid and the problem with the previous guy who has left already is he didn't spent enough time in the plant. The work, as far as I learnt, is mostly measurement using calipers and micrometers and they work based on inch and feet measuring system not metric! That was one of my major concerns 'cause I had a little problem working with that measurement system back in SAIT days when I took Inspection and Gauging course. That's why I asked him and he cleared it for me right at the beginning. I didn't reveal my weakness, though. I have good resources and can get myself ready fast. He finally said that I would be notified by e-mail of phone call at the end of this week or early next week.

Western Conference Champion

I didn't watch game 5 of western conference finals between the Oilers and the Ducks because I went to Keiv's place to help him with his moving but then when I got home and noticed that Edmonton had beat Anaheim I was surprised and happy, both.
This is the second consecutive season that a team from Alberta, Canada goes to Stanley Cup Finals. Last season was locked out and Calgary was the finalist in 04-05 season. The eastern team would be either Buffalo or Carolina.
(Photo: Fans stormed to the streets after Edmonton won western conference finals yesterday and set fire to phone booths, wood pallets and street signs. Police arrest two fans as seen here)

Aroused Emotionaly Not Physically

I was roaming around in downtown tonight (I mean Sat. night) and then parked for a short walk while it was raining. During the few seconds that I was waiting for the green light, a pretty, tall, Caucasian girl approached and this is what happened:

The girl (pointing at the other side of the street): " what is that red sign over there? "
As she was too close to my face and looked a little drunk I thought she's talking about the traffic light and replied: " That sign says you can't cross! "
The girl: " No! The red sign. "
Me: " Let's go there and see what it is " and grabbed her arm and we crossed the street. She didn't resist but was walking fast. So I said: " Don't rush. It's slippery "
The girl: " I'm an athlete "
Me: " What do you do? "
The girl: " Professionally Volleyball and Tennis "
As we were walking I noticed that I'm hard and there was a time, a second, that I was gonna kiss her on the face! Thank God I didn't 'cause I don't know what would happen!
We got closer and I read the sign for her: " Michigan Restaurant ... No Micheal's Restaurant! "
The girl: " No! That's not it " She then took her cellphone out and said: " 10th Ave. ... "
Me: " ... And what street? "
The girl: " ...This street ... 1st street "
Me: " Are you OK? "
The girl: " Yes "
Me: " Do you need a ride? "
The girl: " No! Thanks sweetheart "
And I left her while she was on the phone in the rain. That's what I am. And that's a problem. I can't go and grab a girl and start having sex with her like most of guys do. Even though I'm in real need of that. If I have a feeling toward her, even it's a little, I'm pushed. That makes life hard. You can't always find someone as eager as you and mostly a good relationship needs time.