The Tick Issue

 We were in the woods (Bob Creek Wild-land) for about 8 hours last Thu.! When we finally saved our asses and came out there were lots of cattle roaming around, meaning we were exposed to all sorts of bugs! Then finally we laid down on the ground (crashed!) from exhaustion near a big fenced area which was full of cattle and calf and, later we found out, one or two dogs. We finally got ourselves to the car and the story has been told. I saw a bug on the wall of the bathroom the next day when I came back from work. Grabbed it with a napkin and threw it to garbage, which I think, now, that was not enough. Then on Sun. afternoon, more than 24 hours after the first observation, when I was taking my shirt off I noticed a bug on my left shoulder! I freak out and immediately grabbed it and threw it into the toilet. That was when the alarm went off: Tick! I've learnt about tick when I was in the Quebec, during the Basic Training. They took a set of our uniform and fumigate that. So as soon as I saw that I got dressed and went to the nearest emergency clinic. I was told over there that since the bite needs 72 hours to be effective, in order to skip the line, I could see my physician tomorrow, which is today.I called my clinic and made an appointment for today afternoon. The physician said that most of the ticks in Alberta do not carry Lyme Disease whoever prescribed me a pill that I should take if rash appears. I will wait for that.

(Photo: The actual tick is a nasty looking bug probably as bad as cockroach. For that reason I decided to use the animated version of it here! That's the one on right)

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) 

Got Lost in the Woods, again!

I, again, got lost in the woods, approximately 6 years after a similar incident, yesterday! This time I was not alone but that was quite an adventure, even more exciting than the last time! I and Stout wanted to do a hike and I thought what would be better than trying Thrift Peak which I and The Chef tried achieving back in 2019 and didn't make it. The planning for hike, this time, was not as easy, mainly because of this freaking job that is very tiring. Beside I don't live in Downtown Calgary any more and renting a vehicle is not as convenient as getting on the train and walking for a few minutes. It was quite a challenge, particularly when the renting fella said that there would be no late return! And it was not only that. The last time I had rented a vehicle it was George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TX in last Nov. which was very easy. This time I turned to a disaster. The rent was higher, an additional driver would cost $10, which we didn't pay(!), we paid a coverage for the damn windshield and because the late return, which will be told later here, we probably paid more! I will ask Stout on Sun. when I will see him. He had the day off as he was dead tired! 

Our plan was to start from his place where we had parked the rental the night before. I drove there and tried to be early but I couldn't get there earlier than 05:00 or so. We got a coffee and headed south to Highway #22 or Cowboy Trail, it's called. I was driving a VW Passat, which by the way was an amazing vehicle. If I was not into EV and hybrid, I would definitely go for a VW such as that. I'm sure VW, similar to other car manufacturers, is working on an EV or perhaps it has something out but I don't know anything about it. At least a concept.  

We ran to a couple of nice guys on our way and one let me took this photo of him. I hope he doesn't mind it, in case he or anyone who knows him, sees this. His face is not showing. He should be fine. Beside he is so nice, organized and neat. He should not mind being seen on the web, I'd assume

So we headed down and at about 08:00, if I'm not wrong, we were at a trail-head which was a tad off what I had on my map! I thought that little difference would not cause us any issue but it did! We took the available trail and basically headed south and southwest with the hope that we can find ourselves on the main trail with the help from the GPX Viewer. I saw a guy at the other side of the parking lot, when we were gearing up and was waiting to have an interaction with him and exchange words but the asshole walked off! I realized that his gear was different from us. It appeared that he was a hunter or maybe a poacher because the No Hunting sign could be seen at many spots on our way. Later, on the presumed(!) trail, we saw a guy was approaching in full hunting gear. I thought that was the guy we had earlier seen at the trail-head but I was wrong! It was another guy whom was joined by his friend shortly. We had a little talk and one of them gave a sort of water purification tablet to Stout which he never used! We carried on and after a few minutes we found the actual trail but considering we had spent at least 2 hours go get where we should have been only after half an hour(!), if we had parked at the right trail-head!, we decided head back! 

Stout was not very happy with this decision but that was eventually his. We headed back with the hope that we can find our footsteps and go back to the vehicle! Bad idea! There was no track of bread crumbs or such! The result was going up and down hills, bushwhacking, circling and you name it for at least, I'd say good 5 hours, if not more. I just gave up keeping the track of our time, eventually. Stout became very irritated and I sensed in his tone that he was really mad. He had told his wife that he'd be home by 17:00. It would only happened, if we had a helicopter in that situation! Fortunately once we were on the top of a hill discussing what to do, and I was trying to calm him, I realized that I had signal on my phone! It was unbelivable! We didn't get any signal when we were on Highway #22 even before Longview! I told him to check his phone (which later I noticed used the same service provider as I do, Rogers) and it was like he won lottery! He was so happy that he had connection and immediately called his wife and told him that we'd be home at around 21:30! I didn't have anyone to call! So it was not a big deal for me! 

Spring has not fully sprung in Alberta yet but we saw many of these beautiful Crocuses in the area

At that point we decided to go back to the main trail, take it and go to the actual trail-head, where we were supposed to start our hike in the morning and go find the car from there but although he felt a better, he was still anxious and mad and was saying that he had been following me since the start without getting anywhere! I said: Listen. I have a few suggestion for you:

A- We can head down this trail, get to the trail-head and find our car, or

B- We can call 411 and ask for the telephone number of a local RCMP and discuss our situation with them!

" It's up to you ", I added. " You don't have just to listen to me ". Provide a solution and we can discuss that as well! That was my final word to him before he called 411 and we were put through Black Diamond RCMP non-emergency number! The lady at the other side, whom I was talking to, was very nice and helpful and told me to call 911 which in that way they would be able to see our coordinates and would come to get us. Stout, in the meantime, was nudging me to ask how much it would cost! Eventually, after hearing what the lady said, we decided to go with plan A!

I told him: Look. By the time the police of Search & Rescue gets here, we'd be at the car because we still had nearly 5 hours of daylight. He agreed and we carried on. We reached the actual trail-head in about 40 minutes or so and kept taking the assumed road where we found out that only would have been able to get it in the morning, if we had a 4x4! we would have had to park much further down. We kept walking and he was, at this point checking his Google Map which is available, partially, offline in situation like this and we realized we were not so far away from a gravel road which we were hoping to get us to the vehicle. We were both tired but he was way worse and we also were out of water. We reached a stream and he was hesitant to drink but I didn't give the second thought and drank a bit! The road ended where there seemed to be a fenced yard and cattle were everywhere, not to mention that we saw them all the way until there. We decided to have a break and think about the last segment of our journey! It appeared that we needed to go around the fence to get ourselves to the presumed gravel road. We were talking when all of a sudden I saw a big pickup truck with a trailer attached to it at the other side of the yard. I asked Stout, he was on the ground, lying(!) to wave at the guy and ask for help. I was sure he would either give us a ride or tell us how to get there. Stout jumped up and despite the fact that he was exhausted he tried(!) to run for the truck while waving his hiking poles! That was hysterical! The driver saw us and he drove to us. I joined Stout shortly and the guy agreed to give us a lift to the vehicle, although he said it was only a mile away. We were happy to jump back and we enjoyed a ride after 6 freaking hours of walking in the woods! Even when he stopped to get his dog in, which we don't know why it was running after the truck(!), we didn't mind it. We were at the vehicle in no time. We thanked him and I got his number because we're going back to make the summit and we will take a gift for him. 

Our first stop, on the way back was Longview. It was bit late and we couldn't go to a major restaurant, bar or cafe and Stout, who is a big meat-eater wanted to go to the jerky shop but it was closed after we came out from the Fas Gas convenience store to get beverages. Luckily the store had Beef Jerky, probably from the same store, and he bought 3 packs! I can't eat much eat because of my Gout but I tried a little piece and it was good. We headed north and he was waiting for the signal so he could send a message to his wife to tell her he would be late, again(!) because it was 09:30 and we still had another hour or so to go! This time he sent a message and put the telephone in his pocket!

The ride in the back of the truck, with the trailer attached to it, even when the dog of the owner jumped up [which I don't have a photo of it here] was very pleasant

I don't remember when it was that we reached his home and left the rental and I drove home but I think I reached home almost around 23:30! Comparing it to the planned time that I was supposed to be home, 18:00, the latest, I was only 5.5 hours late! I took a shower and went to bed to be ready for tomorrow's work but what led to our unwanted adventure is relying on the unreliable GPX Viewer App on the phone, I think. I also think I should have taken a printed map and studied the area in more detail. We have a plan to go back in three month so I'm thinking of perhaps to buy a handheld GPS. What to do you think?

(Photo, top: Despite being in the area once and seeing the actual fire lockout on the top of Thrift peak, I thought that'd be the summit that we were about to make! It is not. Stout checked it out with my pair of binoculars and found a structure[!] there which we thought was the actual building. It is but not the one that we were aiming for. It could be Centre Peak which is further south but I'm not sure. I will make certain, if I ever decide to go!)

The Damn Issue with Spam Folder

I realized I had an interview request last night when I came home from work and the e-mail was in Spam folder, again! I immediately responded by saying that I had gone to Edmonton and confirmed that I would be available for the phone conversation at the time he had requested. I don't know when this shit would end! I'm tired of all these interviews and camera set ups and lies and crap altogether! I just need to get a well-paid job, focus on it and live my life!

Leonardo DiCaprio and Ted Levine (from The Silence of the Lambs, who could forget that(!) in a scene from the scary and strange movie, Shutter Island (2010). I gotta watch again and read about it to see what it really means. And by the way no wonder why DiCaprio is a multi-millionaire! Every movie like this brings him a lot of money as his performance is superb

With that in I set up the alarm at 08:00 and went to bed after watching a very strange movie, Shutter Island, for the first time. That'd the subject of another post, maybe but I woke up a few times due to the cold and eventually at 08:00 as the alarm went off. I had a little breakfast and the guy called shortly after 09:00 as he had indicated in his e-mail. He was an HR guy so his questions were all general and answering them would mean nothing but I did to my best. It seems a good position and it's in close proximity. I will have an eye on it while I work on the other opportunity. One of these positions should get me out of this toilet that I have been stuck in, for the past 2 years and a half, this summer. Sick and tired of all the crap that I have to take 5 days a week for a little money. 

(Photo, top: I check my spam folder every day now. Three interview requests have gone there and I don't want to lose any)

A Different Project?!

I've had issues with my e-mail before, back to the last Nov. when I had that Federal Government job opportunity and blew it but I never thought the issue stays. I was proven wrong this past Fri. I checked my mailbox, at work, through my telephone to see if I had received any message in regards to the last week's interview. There was nothing to see. Went home and in the evening checked again, this time the Spam folder too. There was a message there! He, the guy who had interviewed me, wanted me to call him and his message had been sent around 08:30! 

I had no choice but to wait until this morning. I wondered what he wanted. I wasn't expecting something very good, to be honest! The best I expected was that he would ask me to take the course and test he had mentioned but he said something else. He said that he'd like to consider me for a project down in the States(!) and he would send my resume to their guy so they can set another Teams interview with me but the position wouldn't be for a Quality Coordinator position unlike the one that they had considered me originally and that'd a 21-day work 7-day off schedule. he said that would prepare me for the future projects and gave me hints about the project to look for in the web. I really don't know why he did that and I don't even know if I have a chance because he, again. asked questions about the things that I have never worked on but added that it was not rocket science! 

While it's a great opportunity and I'm very grateful for that, not because I get out of this shithouse but also because I will get a chance to see 2 or maybe 3 states that I haven't been too and they're full of hiking and climbing opportunities. It might seem ridiculous to one that I measure everything with mountains but that's my passion and I look for any opportunity to make it happen and enjoy it. So I thanked the fell and told him that I would review the project's details and I, in fact did a little this afternoon when I got home. I will send him a follow up message and will ask question to see what will happen. If this works, I will also have a chance to meet the guy that we reached the summit of Guadalupe Peak in Texas, last Nov. but it's too early to celebrate and plan! I will have a lot to do, before that and I wonder what would be my situation if I'm going to work in the US? The only good thing, and I'm surprised that he didn't even pointed at it, is that I have my passport! Many people are having difficulty getting passports because Passport Canada is backed up! I can go anywhere I want in a heartbeat as long as every else is ready!

(Photo: Looks like a petrochemical or any petroleum processing facility to me which has nothing to do with the type of project that they expect me to work on but I had to put something here!)

The 3rd Teams

I was at work, as usual, on Thu. and during a short break I decided to check my e-mail to see if there's any message from the lady who had a short telephone interview with me, last week. In fact I noticed a message form the Quality Manager of the company indicating that he had tried to call me but it had not connected. I knew why and I was not surprised! If anything I actually was happy! When I'm inside the building there're spots that the signal is the weakest or even doesn't exist. I the call had been through, then I would have answered it in the noisy environment of the workplace and I probably not only would have had issues hearing clearly, but also he would have heard the noise and wondered where the hell I was!

So I got out and called his office number which was available in the e-mail signature line. The fella asked me why I had not called her on his cellphone!! I had no answer for that! Then he asked me a few question while, obviously was looking at my resume. He asked about my educational background by going through everything that I had written on that part of the resume where usually gets no attention from anyone! This is a fact in Canada that most of the time, the employers are interested in what you have done rather than what you have studied while that couldn't be entirely true all the time! I just lost a position simply because I do not have my CWB Level I Inspector certification! 

When he said " There're good universities everywhere " in response to what I said about my education, I immediately got that he was not a Canadian although his name didn't show it at the beginning! He said that he would have wanted a Teams interview and Fri. afternoon was set for that.

I got out of work before noon to prepare for the interview, on Fri. When I looked at the invitation in the e-mail, I saw more than 8 people! The interview started at the time but there were two people directly involved which then turned to one only! On the screen was the old man with heavy accent and another fella who was quiet the entire time. The questions were very surprising to me and showed how silly the guy is but in fact I looked silly in his eyes, I think, because I wasn't confident enough or didn't show enough confidence, at least in their eyes! He asked me what I knew about the company and if I knew the projects that they had been involved! Why do I give a shit about that?! I don't think that my answers impressed him very much! Then he started asking basic questions about QC and QA! Question such as if you ask a driver what a Steering Wheel is?! What is the normal diameter of that?! What colour do they usually use for it?! and stupid questions like that! Not easy to answer! Then he started asking questions about the " things " that I had very limited knowledge and interest, as well(!) but I gave the answers that he surprisingly liked because I either said I knew this much, which was correct to that level or I said I didn't know anything! He was happy with my honesty! 

It was at the end where he asked " Others " if they had any questions and that was when I realized there were " Other ", the ones who had been listed in the e-mail, who were part of the interview without being on the screen! I didn't know Teams would provide that opportunity or in fact those people were involved! One of them asked a question and I answered that easily because that was something that I had done. " we would be in touch " was the last thing that the old man said and we hung up. One thing that I remembered after the interview and I haven't ever used it is the phrase " did I answer your question " or " Is that what you were looking for ". I think it'd be a good communication builder because then I can ask what they actually want to know and be more clearer in my response. I'll send him a " Thank You " e-mail tomorrow and will wait for their response. I don't think it's such a good position but for me who has been struggling for years, it could be a good re-start. 

(Photo: Microsoft Teams logo. There was an issue at the beginning of the interview. I was able to see them on my screen and they were not. He asked me to go get my cellphone. I now that would not work well. I asked him to let me to hang up and reconnect again and he wouldn't let me! I didn't listen to him and did that and it worked! Right form the bat it proved that he's a stubborn asshole!)