7 posts tagged “canada”
I bought this stuff yesterday, just 'cuz I felt like having something nice.
Like most things up here, it is white and cheesy... Har har har! But seriously, despite being just a small amount, this is some seriously good cheese. I mean, look at it. There's all that French on the box... It's gotta be good... You can see in the pic, I've only cut out a small wedge so far. But apparently, it will continue to age/ripen, as long as you keep it safe or something like that. Personally, I don't think I wanna wait before it fully matures. I don't think I have that much patience. Plus, just based on the little bit that I tried, it's some damn good shit! It tastes really good already. How could it possibly get any better? I dunno. Maybe someone who's aged this stuff can tell me...
I'm not sure why or how or whatever, but this is probably one of very few things that is uniquely Canadian and is really really good. I know for a fact that you probably couldn't get this back in California. I mean, you can get good cheese in California, but not this specific stuff.
But I suppose it's not really all that special. After all, the main ingredient with cheese is time. Hell, I could make my own cheese right now, just let the milk spoil. Bam! You got some cheese... You probably wouldn't want to eat that though... But it's cheese!
It also comes in this nice little wooden box. It makes it feel all the more special, since most cheese you buy here comes vacuum packed in a plastic sleeve, or one of those resealable plastic pouches. Blech!
Keep in mind though. In order to enjoy this stuff, you'll have to fork over more green (well, up here, it's more like pink and baby blue and all sorts of other fruity colors) than your run-of-the-mill Kraft singles. But I think it's worth it to spend a little more for things that are more special. But if you don't know the difference between this and whatever cheese you buy that comes pre-sliced and shrink wrapped, then the extra cost seems completely wasteful.
Anyway, there ya go. Something else that's unique from the frozen wastes of America Jr.
Well, now I'm back to the frozen wasteland that is perched on America's head...
Lately, I've resorted to hermitism... It is so freaking cold now that I have to turn on a heater, something which I don't think I've ever done in all my years of living in California. And since I can only exist in one room at a time (without violating the laws of physics) I decided that its better to only put the heat on in the one room so I spare the environment from my crazy desire to not freeze my balls off... And since I sleep in the bedroom, that inevitably becomes the place where the heat is... So now I live out of the bedroom where it is a balmy 75 ~ 80 degrees... I can still wear t-shirts there. But when I need to venture out to the other parts of Canada, e.g. the kitchen, I have to put on my arctic gear. It's actually worse now than before. At least, before, I was acclimating. But then going back and then returning... Well, it just feels a lot colder than perhaps it really is.
It's a little strange, living out of a single room. But I suppose it could be worse... I'm not sure how yet, but I have to believe in something... Maybe I should read Robinson Crusoe...
My time back in California was great! In fact, I had planned a post with lots of pictures, but my vacation attitude has maintained itself so strongly that I just can't bring myself to get around to unloading some photos from the camera...
I'll do it some day, or something... Whatever...
To everyone I saw (or didn't see) while I was there, just wanted to say thanks! Had lots of fun and am looking forward to next time...
So until next time... Um... Happy trails or something...
I was listening to a much older episode of a friend's podcast, when it dawned on me what my gripe was with regard to how some people approach the work environment up here. But first, a little background...
So for a while, I played a game with my brother known as World of Warcraft. You may have heard of it... It's the scourge of males ages 15-35. People are ruining relationships all across the globe because of this game. Greasy nerds are getting greasier and nerdier over this game, and I know you all saw that South Park episode... But the game can be pretty fun too, I guess, if you know when to stop, that is...
Anyway, the podcast was talking about a part of the game where you and some other people go kill a whole bunch of ogres, and one of the hosts on the show made a joke that the ogres were all unionized (you had to be there, I guess...). But that's when it hit me.
People here behave at work as if they're in a worker's union!
Now it all makes sense. The whole socialist system thing they got here, it all plays into it. Man, and here all along, I was getting frustrated with how slow things were going, but its just people acting like a bunch of surly teamsters. If they don't get their rights to 2 15-minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch, they get upset. May even go on strike! And when the proverbial whistle blows at 5 pm, everyone and their momma leaves for the day faster than you can say "Lets go grab some beers after work".
For months, I just couldn't fathom how people could manage to get anything done while on the job here, when it seems like nothing ever happens. But now I understand that, well, getting stuff done is just not a priority. And no, it doesn't matter that projects drag on, because whether you get it done today or next week, the job will still be there whether you fuck it up royally or not.
I remember people asking me how things are different up here. Well, this is one of them. Excelling is not good because it upsets the status quo. Not sure why they'd want things this way up here, but it seems maintaining the status quo is more important than being #1 (and I don't mean just being #1 in Canada...).
And, I was considering re-upping my WoW account to help kill the monotony, but you know, to get to the latter part of the game these days would just eat up more of my time than I really care to devote to any one thing. People misunderstand the game anyway. The best parts of it are really in the first 20 levels, not the later part where all you do is repeat the same things over and over ad nauseum. For some reason there are 10 million or so people who haven't figured that part out yet... But I guess that's why hamsters like wheels... Or Canadians for that matter... (See how I tied it back?)
So I'm trying to get my BC driver's license and I download this PDF so I can read the road safety rules for up here... A little last minute cramming to get the gist of how it works...
So I open up the PDF and what do I find in there? 8 PAGES OF ONLY THE FUCKING TABLE OF CONTENTS!!!!!!
Thanks, Canada! Your table of contents on driving rules and regulations has really fucking helped me out... But here's a friendly suggestion: Maybe in a couple years, one of you douchebags can get around to writing THE REST OF THE FUCKING MANUAL? I mean, it's just a suggestion, so, you know... Just see what you think... It might be helpful for people, you know? Great job on that table of contents though...
*sigh*
Well, it could be worse I guess... Not sure how, but I'm guessing there's a worse case scenario somewhere in this...
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Oh ok. I found the rest of the manual... Hmmm... Well, Canada, you don't have to separate the PDF into different downloadable sections... It doesn't waste paper or anything like that... (I have to now download a billion little sections of this guide...)
*sigh*
This just gets better and better...
UPDATE: I modified the score. Scroll down to see why...
The last time I was at the grocery store, I saw these bad boys sitting on the shelf in the chips aisle.
Well, obviously, since I have a photo of them, I have since gone back and purchased them. And I will now share with you all the experience of Canadian ketchup chips!
As you can see by the bag, it's clear that Lay's uses potatoes and tomatoes and a little dish of ketchup to make each and every crunchy bite of these chips. The color, however seems a bit odd... No? I mean look at those chips up there. How does a potato become that color?? "It's probably just the graphics...", I thought.
And then I opened the bag...
"NO WAY!!!", I thought to myself. "That's really fucked up...". This is what was awaiting me inside.
The chips had some kind of hot pink-colored powder dumped or sprayed all over them. They looked a lot more like the picture on the bag than I thought. To be honest, this looked pretty unappetizing and I was regretting the whole decision to eat these things.
The other funny thing is that I thought Canadians put vinegar on their fries. Which, if that's true, then why make the ketchup chips? Seems like America would be first to have these. But then maybe for Canadians, this is like quirky foreign food or something.
Anyway, how did it taste?
Well, surprisingly (or not surprisingly), they tasted similar to the Salt and Vinegar chips that I get from time to time. But these had some weird note of sweetness. All the ketchups that I've had back home, don't taste so sour. The best one is still Trader Joe's ketchup. Apparently, Canadians aren't up on this whole ketchup thing and think that it's just salt and vinegar with sugar added.
It was kind of disgusting on the one level, mainly because it tastes like no ketchup I've ever had. But if you just think of it as salt and vinegar chips, it's not too bad.
Score: 5.5/10
Yes, I lowered the score. I tried them again today (Wed 7/24) and well, I don't think I liked them as much as I did at first. They're actually kinda disgusting... But not so disgusting that I would toss them out...
Next: Lay's Spicy Masala and Lay's Spicy Curry chips!
Tonight, I went out with coworkers to have drinks and food after work. I think clearly we all come from different backgrounds and have different social circles and stuff like that... But its certainly an interesting mix of people who are all trying to move towards the same goal.
But I'm digressing.
We went to a place called The Reef on Main Street in Vancouver. Main Street is actually a really cool place. It has a similar vibe to what you might find on Irving or Clement street in SF. There's lots of cool little shops and restaurants and dive-y bars and pubs all on a main thoroughfare. It's more urban without actually living downtown. The Reef is a Caribbean restaurant/bar place quite similar to our Mango Cafe in Palo Alto. They even have my favorite Matouk's hot sauce. Did you also know there's a jumbo size of Matouk's? Fuck yeah! They got it! The food was good, about what you'd expect. I had a dish, Ackee & Salted Fish or something. Man that was tasty. Definite thumbs up from me for that place.
Then a different coworker (who didn't accompany us to The Reef) had some work in a photography exhibit in a local gallery as part of some photography club event. So I really wanted to go and check it out. The address was 754 E. Broadway or something. So I found 700-ish Broadway in downtown Vancouver and could not find thie fricken place. I walked up and down the block, 775... 760... 734... wha?? Then I turned around and walked the other way. 800... 804... 808... Ok, something is weird. I went into a liquor store to get some assistance. Apparently I was on W. Broadway and the place I was looking for was on E. Broadway. What the hell? The map just says Broadway. West and East Broadway are actually the same damn road. But apparently Canadians need to distinctly separate the West side from the East side. Does it really make that big of a god damn difference? So 754 Broadway would actually get you lost since you don't know whether it's East or West Broadway. So either someone was dumb enough to mis-number the buildings along the SAME stretch of road, or Canadians are so ridiculously territorial that East Broadwayans need to be separated from West Broadwayans... It's like some really lame version of the Mc Coy's and Hatfield's.
Can't they all just get along... Or something?
(P.S. No pics... Sorry...)
One thing that really amazes me about life up here is just how slow people drive. I mean, its almost a little absurd. Like, I don’t know if there’s this collective joke that Canadians play on foreigners or something, but for whatever reason, they just don’t seem to want to step on the accelerator. Sure, gasoline costs more up here in the Great White North, but I find it hard to believe that everyone is that fuel conscious.
Having spent a large portion of my adult life in the Bay Area, its not uncommon to be intimidated by attempting to merge onto highway traffic. In California, you really are taking your life into your own hands when you decide to drive down one of the main interstates. Cars zip by at breakneck speeds, and if you don’t press hard on the accelerator to merge with oncoming 75 mph traffic, well… Just know that you gotta move fast.
So I have returned to the car commuter lifestyle after being able to escape it in California. All my grumblings about how crappy Caltrain can be are really nothing compared to being trapped in a car as your only means of transit. But what’s worse is that the highways around the area that I commute have a tendency to have speed limits of around 50-60 KPH (note the K) which is the American equivalent of “Too damn slow for a f***ing highway” (it’s about 30-40 MPH or something). It’s bizarre. This would be totally unheard of in the U.S.
I suppose on the other hand, it’s not like Americans have anywhere special to go at such high speeds. Most often they’re just heading to work. And why rush to some place you really don’t want to be most of the time. Canadians must be looking at the U.S. and wondering why they rush off to work, only to sit at their desks and gripe about their jobs all day long, a sweeping generalization of course. But I suppose that could be the crux of their argument for having such low speeds on sections of their highways…
I guess all I have left to say is this:
