|
|
Life has been a bit scattered this week, with nothing inspiring me to write a full length post. No grievous social injustice to point out, no asinine goings-on to rant about or laugh at, not a single new thing around the yard which is slowly turning browner, grayer and deader, and no noteworthy books to speak of. Life has been a mixture of work, exercise (I’m n the fourth week of P90X, I’m so impressed with myself), rather healthy dinners and sleepy cats, so I got a totally random mix of stuff that I feel compelled to share with the world. This blog started out as a garden chronicle, and since the gardening season is good and over, it doesn’t quite know what to do with itself. So if you see a random collection of stuff – well, thems the ways we amuse ourselves in the wintertime.
First off – after writing compelling letters to Sequoia Naturals, the makers of gross chocolate flavored Vega Health Optimizer, the company rep was kind enough to send out some samples of their OTHER flavors which happen to be Vanilla Chai, Berry and Natural. After drinking them this week, I can confidently say that both Vanilla Chai and Berry are at the very least drinkable, if one step below great. I mixed the VChai with half milk half water and it was totally decent, and I mixed berry with a Happy Planet berry smoothie (about 3 oz to a glass of water), and it was also quite nice. I don’t know where they went wrong with the chocolate flavor, but now I have a huge tub that I’ll have to sneak in to other flavors in tiny quantities to use up. If the stuff didn’t work so well I’d chuck it, but it’d be a crime to waste it all. Did I mention I sleep less, have more energy, and can get through pretty tough workouts every.single.day? That’s why it’s even up for discussion.
We had a small group meeting at work, and just like EVERY other time the manager pointed out that SOME people abuse their breaks, and we as a group have to be really careful to watch when we’re at our desks, and how many breaks we take. I’m one of those retards people that immediately feels guilty (for no reason), and starts mentally scanning the schedule of the last few weeks, trying to figure out where I may have come in ten minutes late or was running late after lunch. The fact that I hardly ever take lunch (I prefer to leave early) is completely irrelevant. I KNOW this is not a reference to myself, so I think it’s a horrible managerial practice to bring up individual people’s issues and address them to the group. It makes everyone feel like crap and really sours the mood for the day. I know why they do it – it’s both to nip a problem in the bud without having to have an uncomfortable conversation with a decent employee, and to prophylactically keep everyone else on their toes, but frak it’s lazy and it fails. Everyone walks away feeling underappreciated and scrutinized (big brother is watching!) and starts pushing back in other ways, wasting time at their desks rather than going for a coffee. People keep a mental tally of time spent working vs. not, and after a talk like that it shifts dramatically, like for every five minutes I come in early I’ll waste ten surfing the net, because everyone hates being babysat and their time micromanaged. I think managers should keep it completely rah-rah and positive with group talks, and bring up individual issues with people as they arise, no matter how unpleasant the discussion. It’s your job.
I am absolutely in love with Miss Anna’s Carribean Sauces. I read about them ages ago on Serious Eats, and if memory serves they were some sort of best hot sauce winner or some such. Anyway, I contacted the company and inquired about Canadian shipping, and they said it would be available in a while. Well it’s been a while, and they now ship to Canada. I cannot overstate how good they are, my faves being the Sweet and Sassy Sauce (despite the name), and their Mellow Pepper Sauce. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite, cause that would be like picking a favorite child. They are some of the most complex, flavorful and multi-purpose sauces I’ve ever eaten. The s&s sauce is closer to a dipping sauce, although I’ve basted it on ribs with great success, and the mellow pepper sauce is a phenomenal marinade with a hint of smoke and turmeric. In fact both my bottles are now empty so I’m going to replenish my stash.
Amazon.ca now has a home and garden section. I am so hooped – I’m already a hopeless addict shipping at least two orders of books each month, and now this? I need to urgently freeze my credit card which would be great except for the fact that it’s on file. Maybe I could do the child blocker thingie on myself and restrict access to once per month??? Help.
After a week of hard exercise, healthy eating and clean living in general, I decided to blow off some steam by having brunch. Brunch is a great meal that I seldom get to have because I can’t stand lineups, waiting, excessively busy restaurants and waking up early. But I couldn’t help and be seduced by better than average sounding offerings at AKA Bistro as deftly profiled by are you gonna eat that? a local Calgary blogger. So I recruited my younger brother as a partner in crime, and off we went on an adventure across town.
I may have mentioned once or twice that I’m not a morning person. Sunday was no different, and we arrived at the bistro at the *ahem*early hour of 2 pm, which worked out to a great advantage since we were the only ones there, and they serve brunch till three p.m.
Although it’s not much to look at from the outside, (are they going to finish that?)
The interior is simple and lovely with warm neutral colors and lots of wood. Since we arrived so late we were able to snag a prime seat by the window and watch the world drive by.
After ordering the mandatory, necessary and obligatory elixir of life coffee, which was nice and strong and came with cute wee spoons, we browsed the short and sweet menu. Neither of us have much of a sweet tooth, so waffles and french toast were out, and in the end we chose the filling but comforting eggs benedict for John and truffled omelet for myself.
I gotta tell you right now, the omelet was a revelation. Tender, soft and chock full of goodies it was everything that an omelet tries to be, and in my kitchen fails. I’ve never made an omelet that was much more than scrambled eggs, but this one was divine. Full of mushrooms, green onions, truffles, well seasoned, it was a symphony of flavors on par with the best omelet I’ve ever had. The pork belly, grilled tomato, toast and hash browns were simply gilding the lily. I’m craving that omelet just thinking about it.
John’s eggs benedict were very good, but not as good as my omelet. The eggs were softly poached, but the sauce seemed weaker and blander compared to what great eggs benny achieve. The brioche was a fantastic foil and the pork belly provided a much needed salty note, it was a solid dish, but not achieving full greatness.
The only two minor complaints we had was that the hash browns could’ve used a hint more salt too. Not to sound like a salt fiend, but they were very well cooked, crispy in the corners and soft on the inside, flecked with herbs and looked great, but potatoes take a good deal of salt to bring out their flavor, and these ones just lacked a bit. Salt shakers were not provided at the table, and the ketchup offered was housemade and waaaay too sweet. Breakfast places should not mess with Heinz, it’s a gold standard for a reason, and I’ve only tasted a couple of house ketchups that rivaled it.
Minor quibbles aside, we had a great, filling, satisfying breakfast. The service was great, the coffee was flowing, and all was right with the world.
4.5/5
AKA Winebar
709 Edmonton Trail NE
403-984-7534
Tuesday to Thursday & Sunday 4-11 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 4 p.m.-1 a.m.
Weekend brunch Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
 Readers with an eye on European politics will recognize Ali as the Somali-born member of the Dutch parliament who faced death threats after collaborating on a film about domestic violence against Muslim women with controversial director Theo van Gogh (who was himself assassinated). Even before then, her attacks on Islamic culture as “brutal, bigoted, [and] fixated on controlling women” had generated much controversy. In this suspenseful account of her life and her internal struggle with her Muslim faith, she discusses how these views were shaped by her experiences amid the political chaos of Somalia and other African nations, where she was subjected to genital mutilation and later forced into an unwanted marriage. While in transit to her husband in Canada, she decided to seek asylum in the Netherlands, where she marveled at the polite policemen and government bureaucrats. Ali is up-front about having lied about her background in order to obtain her citizenship, which led to further controversy in early 2006, when an immigration official sought to deport her and triggered the collapse of the Dutch coalition government. Apart from feelings of guilt over van Gogh’s death, her voice is forceful and unbowed—like Irshad Manji, she delivers a powerful feminist critique of Islam informed by a genuine understanding of the religion. 8-page photo insert.
From Publishers Weekly
This weekend I finished digesting the controversial autobiographical novel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the recommendation of a friend, and what a novel it was. Very well written, it chronicles the life of Ayaan from the streets of Somalia to her arrival in the Netherlands, and her journey of renouncing religion in favor of atheism. She speaks very passionately about the oppression of one half of the world’s women for religious reasons, then proceeds to warn the west about the dangers newly arrived immigrants pose. Actually this book covers a multitude of issues, way too numerous to dissect in one post – whether Islam is truly a religion of peace, whether any religion can shed its bloody history of war and oppression, whether westerners have any idea of the value of the freedoms we have, and how vigilant we must be to guard them. It’s a fascinating saga of a book that never gets too dull or pedantic but wraps up all the issues and historical context in a profound personal story.
Ayaan doesn’t pull back punches though, and some of them are aimed at the western world, that she feels is too lenient and permissive towards immigrants. She feels that hiding under political correctness and tolerance is a reluctance to protect not only the foundations of liberty of the west, but a disservice to the women and girls that continue to be persecuted by unintegrated community members of the newly arrived. She points out the statistics of the girls killed by family members, the genital mutilations performed on kitchen tables, the women’s shelters overflowing with beaten wives, the crime rate spikes in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods, and the drain on resources they represent if they choose not to learn the language and participate in the economy funded by the safety net of the world that sheltered them. Referring mainly to Holland, she says that with political correctness and tolerance and fear of being called racist, the country funds ethnic schools where the children are done a disservice with a cherry picked education, heavy on religion and light on history and science, and promote harmful segregation in the name of cultural sensitivity. They are heavy topics to discuss and yet the books doesn’t get heavy with proselytizing and reads easily.
There’s lots of food for thought here, and as an immigrant I can see both sides of the issue. On one hand you have indisputable statistics that support many of Ayaan’s assertions. You don’t have to look far in Calgary to find that the crime rates are higher as a rule in the quadrant of the city where many of the newly arrived cluster. The gang problem that’s spiked dramatically in the last few years is predominantly a product of the oriental culture and our latest murder trial was of a mother who killed her daughter for her overly westernized ways. To deny the negative impact of immigration from vastly different cultures is dishonest. But on the other hand I see a severe failing of the country to prepare immigrants for life here and perhaps even help them succeed. When predominantly young families arrive in Canada, the culture shock is often severe, I know it was for us. Despite Canada’s self-claim as a polite and friendly country it is often rather cold or uncaring towards immigrants. Sure there’s a genuinely nice culture in small towns, but that’s not where the jobs are, so newcomers end up immersed in cosmopolitan and jaded cities. Not helped by the language barrier, the people are actually not that easy to get to know with our busy lifestyles that often don’t allow us to know our own neighbors, never mind befriend someone new. We often lament that we don’t even have time to see the friends we have, let alone make time for new ones. We often wait for new people to get more ‘westernized’ before we allow them into our circle, making polite small talk at work, but not really breaking down any cultural barriers.
So what are people to do? They do what comes naturally. They find other immigrants from their country, and sigh in relief. Often lonely and homesick, having left all their friends and many family members they understandably feel comforted at meeting someone, anyone who understands, has been there and speaks the language. Quite often the informal ‘training’ they get from their friends is invaluable and not found in any guidebook. Newly arrived people don’t need to know how Canada’s parliament system works right away, they need to know how to purchase bus fare and navigate the city. Where to buy groceries and how to enroll your child in school. What work options are available and where to take English courses. This, and a myriad of other basic things, skills and tips are not found in any guide for newcomers and make culture shock more severe than it needs to be. Many people get overwhelmed with all the information flying at them with mach speed and you end up with older generations that have lived in Canada for twenty plus years and still don’t speak English. But the biggest way we fail immigrants is by failing to truly streamline their re-accreditization in their chosen profession. That’s how we end up with the most educated cab drivers. I cannot count how many people have degrees that are sitting there unused while they do menial work because they have to start from scratch and get re-certified, negating the years of effort it took to get the degree in the first place. These are people who are in the prime of their earning years who cannot afford to go back to school for four, six or eight years as they have a family to support, so their degrees get shelved as they find ways and means to support them. In the meantime, politicians bleat about nurse and doctor shortages as well as every other employee shortage you can think of, yet can’t find the time to streamline the process of getting qualifications recognized. This is a criminal waste of talent and ensures that many immigrant families’ earning power is low longer, contributing to both the burden on social services and delaying their productive integration into our society.
Whew. This is just one of the many tangents this book can take you on, so needless to say it’s an excellent and important read. I now leave you with a picture that is much more tranquil than the rant I just went on. Feel free to agree or disagree below. Or just pet a cat.
|
|
