Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Last Day

I went for a little jogging, the last day in this fucked up year(!) of 2015, to Stanley Park and saw a few guys turning part of Elbow River to an outdoor rink! It was not very cold and that made me wonder how the guys dared skating so freely and smoothly on the frozen river! 
I went and came back and by the time I was on Rideau Bridge again, they were almost done and even put their hockey nets on the ice! 
I have been feeling relatively down lately although my sleep has become normal since The Lady has come back. This is mainly due to being unemployment and the weather of course. The weather is always like this at this time of the year but now with being at home most of the day and wasting time, it feels bad. 
(Photo: This is taken from Rideau pedestrian bridge over Elbow Valley looking east. It is taken with this shity, stupid camera of my mobile phone(!) or maybe I don't know how to use it but for a fact I knew it has only 5 Mega pixels! One of the guys is shoveling the snow to the sides)

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Workplace Stories (22): Ass kissers and Retards

I'm not brilliant but I give this right to myself to say that there were lots of ass-kissers and retards in the previous job of mine that they were there simply because they had supporters from the country of their origin or they were excellent ass-kissers while being at the same time, retards! People who barely spoke English or knew the basics of engineering or manufacturing! People who whatever they did was simply routine that the learnt in the company! 
I met my Newlywed the other day and he named few of them whom have also been laid off! That was a big surprise to me:

1) There was this piece of shit, liar from somewhere in South America who worked for the company for over 7 years. He was simply there because his wife, I heard, was from the same country as the manager's and he also had studied in the country. This guy did not have the slightest clue of his surrounding and was a laughing stuck! Everyone was making fun of him and talked behind his back saying who stupid he was. I had a bad argument with him once as I was sick of his bullshit.

2) Then there was this fat-fuck, ugly, whore who probably was over 350 lb. and had nothing to do but talking on her phone while doing some stupid administrative stuff. This stupid moron was acting like she was a beauty queen living in a 8 bedroom mansion but once told me that they owed 3 years worth of income tax! You can imagine what kind of people these are! This one sounded almost impossible to me because first of all she was from the same country as the top management, secondly she was a woman and she was away for more than 1.5 years for maternity leave and had no difficulty returning! But seems no one is immune. Her husband used to worked there and I heard once that he either was forced to leave or let go.

3) Then there was another fat-fuck, whose his pants was always hanging of off his hips! With a big belly, shaved head and glasses he looked mostly like one of those security guards that you see at times in malls. I never spoke to him but he always wanted to show that he was a big weight! He was a big lump of fat and he was overweight. He didn't have to prove that! He flirted a lot with a Caucasian girl in his department and I don't know if it got him anywhere but I heard he even left the city after he lost his job!

The above three were among the other three, including me that I know have been let go. Many who has recently lost their job, have left the city, maybe even the province. I'm here and I don't know how long I can survive but we'll see.
(Photo: These cards are excellent! They have for almost topic. I should send this one to a few of these motherfucker ass kissers who remained in the company!)

Saturday, December 26, 2015

The Ride of Boxing Day

I was supposed to join The Chef today to enjoy a turkey that normally he receives at the end of each year for New Year but a bastard fucking piece of shit cheapskate Pakistani coworker of his, apparently has taken the turkey for himself! I mean seriously am I being rude here or Pakistanis are probably the nastiest creatures in the entire universe?! So the program was canceled and probably will be held tomorrow. The fucking bastard told The Chef today that he had purchased a turkey instead and would give it to him tomorrow! 
Nevertheless I called The Hope to see whether or not he's back from his trip. He is. We decided to meet in Crowfoot Shopping area where there are a few cafes. I wanted to surprise him so I got on my bicycle and left around 16:50. The temperature was around -11º C at the time, of course without considering windchill. If we added that it would go down to -18º C or something. I took Bow River Pathway and headed west. It was not bad but it got dark and because of too much snow I got tired. I had gone to the building gymnasium earlier today so I was a bit tired of that. I checked Google Map before leaving and took notes but when I reached John Hextall Bridge instead of turning to 52nd St. I kept going. Shortly after that I realized that it had not been a good decision but I found a sign directing to Bowness Park. My destination was Nosehill Dr. because I knew it would take me directly to the shopping area and I knew it was close to the park so I decided to go there and make a decision. Luckily the skating rink and its fire pits were available so the first think I did was I warmed myself up and saved my finger toes! 
I asked one fella the way to the shopping area but he suggested to go to Market Mall and go from there! I called The Hope to see whether he would come over there or not but he said that he had not changed his storage insurance to regular insurance after he came back and it would be risky, I checked with another fella who was there with his son or maybe grandson for skating and he was great. He took out his phone and found the route for me via Google Map
I then took 85 St. and from there got myself to Nosehill Dr. This part was the toughest because I had to walk the bicycle! It was going up a hill, apparently Nosehill which starts from the banks of Bow River and ends at Crowchild Tr.! From there everything felt easy and we met in his favorite coffee chain! 
On the way back I realized that I did not have much energy left to pedal all the way home and it was late. I rode the bicycle and took LRT from Crowfoot station to Sunnyside and pedal the short distance to home. This route apparently is only 17 Km but beat the hell of me but was not a bad exercise. I wish I just had started earlier. 
(Photo: When I got back home I was tired and no appetite! Not hungry at all. So what I did was just ate the Papaya that The Lady had bought a few days ago and a handful of peanuts. In the coffee shop I had only a small Americano which by my surprise was very good. Maybe that what I should order when we go to this coffee chain but it's expensive. Just two damn hot drink, and I'm not being a cheapskate cost $6.72!)

Friday, December 25, 2015

A White Christmas

After all those miserable weeks of mild weather, finally a cold week and few mm of snow was seen in the city and around! I haven't left the city for more than a month of so mainly because of this shit situation of unemployment but the snow and ice shall be good for the people who enjoy that by skiing, snow-boarding and probably outdoor skating and hockey. We haven't even been out to skating for a while now! Nevertheless a white Christmas is always better than a brown one, no doubt. The temperature today was around -17 °C, a true Canadian temperature for winter. The Lady had this plan to go down to the US, to see a few family members so we headed to the airport last night. The roads were slippery and congested by traffic. When we reached there by a few minutes of delay and I dropped her, I went and parked nearby to see if she needs something so I can go immediately.
After almost half an hour I called her and realized that the bastards of Air Canada had not let her board!
Apparently the new rules requires the passengers to be in the airport way earlier than before. She was very upset and frustrated but nothing could be done but re-booking another flight for today morning and paying more! We went back home and had a disappointing dinner(!) as nothing had been prepared and slept. In the morning again I drove her to the airport and she, this time, was able to board.
Not a good shot but a nice Christmas lighting with Downtown Calgary in the back. Calgary Tower stands at right but I can't name the towers from this far. 
She said that she had been asked were she was going and apparently now the passengers to the US have to indicate the address of the place they are going to, whether it is a hotel, a family member's or a friend's, something that the Japanese have been doing for years! I realized that once I was planning to go there. Although it has not happened yet but I gathered good information and I'm hoping that I'm able to do that one day before I'm too old!
These new rules for travelling to the US, which is good, apparently is because of the recent terrorist attacks by originally motherfucker Pakistanis. I don't know how it would affect someone's travel similar to me, I mean a lone male with a non-Caucasian look and a backpack, because that's how I normally travel but despite the delay, when I called her and she didn't answer, I checked the airport's website and realized that she had flown but in a few minutes the telephone rang and there she was. The plane was still on the runway! Apparently there was a problem due to the weather or something else. I finally felt relief when she called form the south of the border. I assume there was a total of 1 hour delay or so. 
(Photo: A giant Christmas tree is erected in front of Sunridge Mall. I took it on the way back from the airport. There were barely anybody around and the temperature was around -16 °C, not considering the windchill. Luckily a local 7-11 store was open and I got a coffee before reaching home. All other stores were closed)

Monday, December 21, 2015

Asking Too Much, Giving Too Little

There's a common belief within engineering and professional community that working in manufacturing sector brings not much in to your account while taking too much out of you at work.  I have seen many of the job postings with lists of qualification and responsibilities and at time one might think: Who the hell has all these certificates and qualifications!? Apparently there are people who hold these positions and also not to forget that there are so many dickheads in all these stupid so-called EPC, or whatever the fuck their names is, companies.
With that in mind and also knowing that the economy is doing very badly and that's basically because there's not much in Canada(!) to work with, I have to grasp whatever is available before being forced, automatically, to apply for any job such as Superstore's and similar(!) and run out of money! For that reason I agreed to go to this interview session, to this brand new building somewhere in the outskirts of the city to discuss this manufacturing position lower than what was originally posted and I had applied for!
So I'm there, half an hour early and don't know what to do! I pass the place, park somewhere and sit in the car and do a little snow cleaning on the roof, bumpers and even inside! Then I go there almost 8 min. before the meeting time. There I'm greeted by this lady that I had talked to on the phone and after a few minutes was directed to the interview room when an Oriental woman was waiting for us! I was not very surprised but not very pleased either but I have to say that it didn't go very badly. These days every Tom, Dick and Harry has a stupid profile in this stupid website called Linkedin and I was able to find this Oriental person there but what I did not realized at the time was that she was female, not that it would have made a difference but it's all good to have as much information as possible before going to an interview. She was asking too many questions and I had to make up stories for a few of them. I would say probably more than half of my answers were made up right on the spot! I'm not how convincing they were but I know there are not many individuals who have this talent! I know there are many individuals who can tell lies from truth, though! Overall I don't know what result I will get but I tried my best. Eventually after 1 hour the HR woman almost stopped the Oriental one! It's a pity that after all of these years of working now I have to sit in an interview with an Oriental woman who has difficulty speaking English and her all experience in world is limited to a few years she has spent in this company but I have no many options open to me.
If I get this job, I will stick to it tightly because I need to have a change in my life at this stage.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Taco with Thanksgiving Turkey Leftover

We got a Taco kit from Old El Paso last week. It was a Beef Taco kit which includes soft tacos, meat seasoning and Guacamole seasoning. We had some Turkey from our Thanksgiving left which The Lady had kept them in the freezer ever since. She thawed them and mixed them with the seasoning. Then added the Guacamole seasoning to the mashed Avocado, heated the Turkey and added some cut vegetables. In the meantime I warmed up the Tacos in a frying pan. I'm not a fan of White Flour bread of any kind. It actually is not good for me and I have been advised against consuming that and we always but Whole Grain bake products and eat moderately but no Whole Grain Taco was available and we wanted just to stick to the kit. 
The Lady also made some Salsa by simply adding diced Tomato and Cilantro to another seasoning we had and the result was just amazing! Turkey Taco with Salsa and Guacamole and cut vegetables. I guess I probably had 6! I forgot to say that we added grated hot and spicy Mozzarella. The availability of the Turkey prevented us from going to supermarket and buying Beef. This came very handy and it's a good idea for the people who always have a problem making Thanksgiving Turkey and complain that they don't know what to do with the leftovers! 
(Photo: In this picture all of the food is seen but the turkey. It's still on the stove being heated up, mixed with the seasoning. I couldn't wait for that and I had a Taco with the vegetable!)

Friday, December 18, 2015

A Good Week of Alberta Winter

The temperature finally went down enough to make me able to have a good sleep at nights! A few centimeters of snow, although not enough but is enough for hundreds of accidents at this busy shopping time of the year! I found a new outdoor skating rink close to our place but it has been so cold that I haven't dared trying it yet. I went to for a walk and jog to Stanley Park today but it was so cold that I only did a Power Walk. When I get back to the vehicle I couldn't even feel my fingers! It was almost -14 º C without considering the windchill! 
The weather forecast indicates a bit warmer week ahead, nothing above zero though. I will give that rink a try and also will have to try my camera which has just come back from repair. This is subject of another separate post, after I try the camera.
(Photo: I took this photo this morning from the inside of the vehicle looking out of the driver's window! It was around  -14 º C without windchill but not much snow. I wipe them off quickly)

Saturday, December 12, 2015

A Recent Screening

There are still a few jobs posted here and there and regardless the fact that the unemployment rate has gone up, employers announcer their work-force needs in the related websites. I had a job application back in the last days of Nov. and received a message in that regard stating a screening through phone would be conducted! The company is located here in the city; so it was a little bit of surprise as why I am not being invited to their location. Being only screening by HR, it's no surprise that screening could also be done via telephone. I guess in that way the HR person can easily take down notes and the candidate is saved form a trip. 
I received the called at the exact specified time and the questions were started by the usual Why did you apply for this job?! and went on not very bad but at one point near the end, the person indicated that I would be recommended for a different position rather than the one I had originally applied but in the same field of course. It was a little bit of surprise for me but being out of work for over 2 months now and the condition of the employer, I accepted to consider that, although I was a little hesitant inside without showing it. The recommended position is lower in organization chart than the one I applied but what the hell. I need to get myself out of this hole. The person indicated, and I knew it, that the work would not start until the new year and of course I will have to attend the interview with their technical people and pass it. It doesn't seem to be very hard but doesn't look easy too. I send a message immediately after I received the new position's job description and announced my interest. I have to see when I am called for the interview. 

Friday, December 11, 2015

Food Bank

I never reveal anybody's identity here in this blog and if anyone is introduced, a nickname is selected and assigned to him or her but this time I won't even use a nickname. One of my buddies decided to check the Food Bank out and an arrangement was made through that last week. I accompanied him to assist with the stuff, which is specifically called hamper in there, as well as having a new experience. 
Upon our arrival a gentleman in his late 50's probably great us and offered a candy. It was almost 10:00 AM and I had not eaten anything since last night's dinner. So that felt very good. Food Bank is basically ran by a big number of volunteers. Many of them are men and women in their 50's and 60's who freely dedicate themselves to the organization. There are younger people there as well but every one is nice and smiling. You have no idea how this affect a poor hungry person and even a regular person who reaches up to them. 
We stood in a line which was not very long. I guess we spent around 15 min. or so and we were directed to registration booths where they check IDs and compare them to the information they had received. Then the people are directed to The Pantry and there are two types of food provided to them: There are foods in the bags and boxes which are ready and there are items that people are asked and give to. That was my first experience and I was overwhelmed by how this system works. Part of the items are the ones that are about to expire. There's no fruit and not much vegetables. The majority of the items are what poor people eat just to feel full: Potato Chips, Bread, lots of them, different types of canned food, including meet and vegetables. Lots and lots of juice and milk, cheese and everything that you can imagine. They say this is a portion of a month but you can eat all of that and still have some left. After pick up there are even people who help you to push your cart to your vehicle! But let's see who goes to Food Bank? There were people from all backgrounds: Caucasians, head-covered women, Blacks, Orientals, Hispanics, all in shabby cloths, the poor people and their features showed they didn't have a very happy life! I feel bad for the most but what was amazing is the way they got help. This is an amazing part of Western culture. One might say: Oh these are all old and bad food. They would have been thrown out, had they not been distributed between these people. This is not true. There are many good food items that I had them in my kitchen cabinets and they had months to expire. In addition to that these amazing people who help others without expecting anything. How about that? You never see something like that in countries such as Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Jordan and similar who claim to have the best religion and culture! This is the true meaning of a humanitarian act. Thank you all. 

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Don't Install Windows 10

For weeks this message appeared on my desktop to upgrade my operating system to Windows 10 for free. Finally I agreed to that and upgrade was performed. The result: Shit! 
First of the its appearance is ugly. More importantly I am now unable to uninstall or install programs. My Internetcalls has problem and I decided to uninstall and re-install but a stupid message appeared on the screen and denied that. My chess is gone and I'm no longer able to play! I guess they are going to provide that as an App that the interested people must buy! 
The quality of the photographs the system shows, when you open them, looks very low! I don't know how this one could happen because I use the same monitor, same hardware, same everything, except that the stupid Microsoft has changed something, probably, that I don't know what it is. 
I know normally it takes a few weeks or at times month to the user to get used to the new system but there are issues that have nothing to do with time. Remember Waterworld? In a scene Kevin Costner is in conversation and he goes: Nothing's free in Waterworld! This is in response to the guy who claims something is available for free. If it is free, I'm sure they have a reason behind that. In this case they're probably using you as a lab rat! Speaking of free I took a friend to Food Bank and probably have to have a post in that regard later. 
By the way, although there are many criticism toward Waterworld, I like that movie. Sure it has issue but what movie doesn't? I like its theme song very much.
(Photo: Late Dennis Hopper, on right and Kevin Kostner in a scene of Waterworld, one of my all time favorites. This scene, however has nothing to do with the expression Nothing's free in Waterworld!)

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Disgusting and Disturbing Winter

It is Dec.09 and the temperature barely has gone below -6º C except for a few days. There's no rain and snow and you look everywhere around and you this disturbing brown colour sours your eyes, except of course at night that the lights of dwellings and some businesses illuminate. 
I once saw people skating at Olympic Plaza two weeks ago, it was I think but I barely think that the ice is good and other outdoor rinks are suitable for skating, to mention, Prince's Island Park and Bowness Park.
But the question is why the winter is remarkably mild? They say it is because of global warming, a result of too much greenhouse gas emission. Who emits this much green gases to have such a significant affect on the weather that the average temperature of winter in December in Calgary now has gone down to around 4º C?! They say countries such as China and India are the most contributors to greenhouse gas emotions and I guess two weeks ago they had a global conference on climate in Paris. Why would China and India emit so much of greenhouse gases? Isn't that because people in North America, Europe and everywhere else are bombed by advertisements 24 hours a day, 356 days a year to buy more and more?!
That conference and other conferences of similar nature is not the solution. As long as Americans  and Canadians want to drive their big SUVs and trucks and consume different products excessively and fly here and their for their all-inclusive vacations, the problem will remain. British Columbia, if I'm not mistaken, has already introduced Carbon Tax and Alberta, I heard, will soon. Alberta also is planning to shut down coal-burning electricity producing plants which as a result will increase the electricity bill. These are good steps but not enough. By the way I have to study a little bit about this Carbon Tax when I got time and post about it. It was not this bad last year and I'm shocked that in only a year the impact can be such. All the businesses who would benefit from cold weather are now suffering! Imagine the amount of warm clothing and jackets which could be sold. Skiing I bet can not be done to the same quality that was normally been enjoyed. You barely require heat for your home and your car does not require more gas because many still are able to walk a few blocks to get to a bus or train station.
(Photo: This image might not completely speaks for itself but December in Calgary and generally in Alberta have always looked much colder. Here there's barely any snow on the ground and this is the first in the past 3 weeks maybe! Less than 1 cm!)

Monday, December 07, 2015

Lowest of Loonie

In the string of good news that I have heard in the past month or so, this one was added on the top of it: Canadian dollar hit its lower since 2004! It was traded for US $0.74! At the same time and it looks they have hands to hand with crude because a barrel of WTI was traded for US $38.05
So it is true that 2016 doesn't look much better. There's a saying in Persian which goes: A good year has its pleasant signs shoeing in spring! and that is because Persian year starts in spring and it literally means that if your spring is pleasant then your year most likely will be good as well. 
I'm just chilling at this moment! There's not much to do. I'm working on another certificate which I will write about later when it finishes. There are not many jobs available to apply. The last position I applied was in Toronto and I never heard anything from them since. It was the 29th of Nov. Rather than that I do a little bit of exercise, cooking and cleaning at home and waste the rest! 
I still do have this plan of going to the US for a hike, most likely in one of the first 3 months of the new year but I need to check with Alfa to see whether he can met with me or not. I wonder what the exchange rate will be at that time. Perhaps I should postpone it to early fall, Sep.
(Photo: With Canadian dollar losing all his power, I wonder what those asshole cross border shoppers would do now? You are pretty much fucked up losers!)

Saturday, December 05, 2015

Pre-Christmas in NE Calgary

This weekend I went to The Chef's place in NE as he needed me to help him again. I rode his bicycle all the white to Whitehorn Station and from there got on the train to Westwinds and again rode the bike. He wanted to go to a clinic for his injury and I drove him. It was waste of time as he was told that he should have seen the physician who did the surgery on his injured knee. 
Then he had some banking to do and I took him to two different banks. NE Calgary as most of the people know is a community of refugees and foreign workers. The majority of the population of the neighbourhoods comprises of Punjabis, Afghans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Hindus, Filipinos, Africans and all foreigners who have sought Canada as a refugee asylum. 
Since it's closing to Christmas time, most of businesses and of course most of Christians households put up a Christmas tree. While barely anyone celebrates Christmas in NE, businesses do their routine similar to the other branches at the other neighbourhoods of the city. East Indians whom were named just a few lines above are very attached to their roots. They believe their cloths are the best, their foods are tastier, their religion is what guides human beings to salvation and in a nutshell everything from and by them is the best. The only question here is if everything by or from them is the best, why the hell are they here in Canada?! Why the hell couldn't they do something with the country of the origin to make it the best and make Canadians to beg to go there?! That's the question shall be asked from one of them one day and I will. 
The Chef had a major grocery shopping so we went to a Safeway and did his shopping. I, as usual enjoyed earning Air Miles and got the stamps that now Safeway give out for some glassed you can get them later in 2016. Then he insisted to go to an East Indian restaurant in the neighbourhood. We went to this nasty place called Hot Plate. Rundown restaurant with broken furniture and trash almost everywhere! I had expected that because it is a Pakistani restaurant and who's dirties and more unsanitary that a Pakistani in the world?! May be Indian or Afghan! After all they are all the same! Anyways,I only went there because The Chef wanted and he was paying. We sat and then a kid came and took our order. The restaurant had their customers and they are all of course Pakistani. We waited for probably 20 min. and the food arrived. Mine was a mixture of bones and hot spices boiled in water and vegetables. Tasted good but there was as much as a tablespoon meat in the whole dish! The Chef's was something of a different taste. They brought three piece of bread. The breads, of course had been baked out of white floor but I ate them as they were baked very well. Basically you come out of the restaurant because you had lots of bread and hot spice and they tend to make you full but don't provide nutrition to your body! When we came out The Chef's complaint started! He is always like that. He says we shall do something and we do and after that he complaints and regrets! 
I took him home after that and because I had too much I walked to the train station and took the train home. 
(Photo: An East Indian man, probably a Pakistani is seen in a bank in NE Calgary wearing his traditional cloths and cap. A Christmas tree is put up in there with wrapped gifts underneath. I bet they are used to this scene but I'm not sure whether they take an offence of not!) 

Thursday, December 03, 2015

12 Years of Air Miles

Points and rewards are part of shopping culture in West. There's barely any business without points, flyers, discounts, rewards, promotions and stuff like that. They wouldn't survive. 
Air Miles is one of the most popular, probably because you can collect points which turns to free plane tickets to everywhere you like! Very tempting. Ha? How much actually do you have to spend to collect enough for a flight. 
A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from Air Miles indicating that it was the 12th anniversary of collecting points with them. 12 years since Nov-11-2003 and how many points have I collected so far? 3795 only! It is a little more than 316 points a year and considering that I collected most of my points from grocery shopping at Safeway supermarket, the main source of point, and every $20 you spend, turns to 1 point, it means that have spent a little more than $15 a year there! 
The fact is nobody gives you free tickets for free. There are other companies and businesses that they give you points when you purchase their goods or retain their services but they are not really helpful. Rona is one of them but I'm not in construction or renovation business. Sport Chek used to participate but then they pulled out. It  was at least a store I would go every few months! There are a few others including Shell gas station but they give you points for every $20 gasoline you purchase, I guess and Shell is the most expensive gas station in the business according to CBC
We do not do most of our grocery and cleaning needs shopping at Safeway. For not a long time that I lived in Squamish, there was no Safeway in the town and then I moved to Coquitlam and Surrey under not such a good financial situation and we did most of our shopping at the local Superstore (Super asshole) with my roommate and by myself. Same thing we did when we were in White Rock. We were shopping mostly at PriceSmart or Save on Foods because they were the closest supermarkets to us. 
Then moving back to Calgary now we mostly shop at Superstore because that is were The Lady gets her points and can quickly turn them to grocery stuff! We go to Co-Op and Safeway at time but not as frequent as Superstore and we purchase not as much. 
I checked Air Miles website briefly and I guess what I have earned so far would be good for a one-way ticket to somewhere in the middle of the US or eastern Canada! Good Luck with that!
(Photo: Shell gas station, although the most expensive gasoline in the city according to the CBC, is part of Air Miles program which encourages me to purchase from them most of the time!)

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

The Chance Got Bigger

I went to the CAF office to write the examination which had been booked for me. I was the only one who wrote an examination of any kind today, not that it was significant or anything. It was stressed several times that I would not be allowed to disclose the test materials so of course I am not but I was a little bit shocked as how the exam had been arranged. 
The exam was computer based, similar to probably all CAF exams today. Compare to 9 years ago when I had my first application out, CAF has advanced technologically which is good. There was only one subject on the test which became tougher to answer as the test progressed from its first level to the last. The whole session took about hour and half and I was a little nervous and at the end I was not very hopeful. That was due the problem that appeared to me as soon as I sat myself down and started the test! We had a couple of good vegetable pizzas from a local Pizza 73 yesterday and it was tasty in a manner that we gobbled all slices but two in less than 15 minutes probably!
If The Lady had not have to save to slices for her today's lunch, we would have eaten the other two up! Then we had a little exercise in the apartment gymnasium and for dinner we barely had anything as we were completely full! 
On the way to the CAF office I got a medium cup of coffee from a McDonald's and finished it before reaching my destination. Coffee, I don't know whether it has the same effect on every one else or not, has always been a helper to me to go to washroom shortly after I drink it! So when I sat at the desk and set the headphone, the pressure started! I tried to focus on the exam and answer the damn questions as soon as possible because it is a timed test. I succeeded but I guess I ran out of time and left a couple unanswered! When the exam was finished I was asked to wait in the main area. I took a short trip to the washroom but that only helped to get rid of the liquids! 
Then I was called back to the office section and say shortly with a Captain. He was a gentleman in his mid. to late 50's, may be a little older who congratulate me on passing the exam! I was happy and then he explained to me how I would proceed to the next levels which would be medical examination and interview. He added that hiring was closed for this year and everything, and he counted the available positions, would be available in March and indicated that I would most likely not hear anything from CAF until then. " You have the same chance as the others " he added which was a encouraging but that is the truth. I left then and headed home. As I was getting closer and closer the pressure was escalating! As soon as I stepped in, I rushed to the restroom! 
So there is still a chance and I have passed another obstacle but two main ones are left, if they contact me. In fact the main one would be the interview because I'm sure I'd have no medical issue.
(Photo: This seems to be the logo of the Royal Canadian Navy. Ready, Affirmative, Ready!)