happylife

Warmer

The surface was white early in the morning because of frost which is rather rare in Vancouver. Vancouver is an exceptionally warm area in Canada. I feel that it is even warmer than Tokyo in winter. It is because the sea water keeps the air temperature constant. Though the winter in Vancouver is dark and rainy, it is rather warm. Plus the hot water system is popular in most apartments. Each apartment has a huge boiler in its underground room and it supplies hot water and heating to each room of the apartment. The cost for the system is usually included in the room rent and it is happily reasonable. With this thing and that I can enjoy warm winter here in Vancouver.

Chinese shopping malls

Chinese power in Vancouver is getting huge day by day. Sure there remains a so called china town in Vancouver Downtown but it is rather out of fashion and the center of Chinese power has shifted to Richmond, the neighbor city of Vancouver. There are quite a few Chinese malls in Richmond, which are growing rapidly. For example, this Aberdeen mall was built two years ago and there was a lot of empty sections at that time, but now almost all the sections have been filled with tenants. It is very interesting to do window shopping in this mall because we can enjoy various kinds of shops such as a Chinese drug store, a one dollar shop which is exactly a two dollar shop, and pirate DVD shops. These oriental shops are mixed with normal Western shops such as a jeweler's shop, Starbucks, and so on. It is really chaotic and lets me feel that I am living in a cosmopolitan city.

Room rent rise up

This flyer was put up in the elevator of my apartment. The managers change it periodically. They are very good people -- kind, friendly, and diligent. My apartment is always kept clean and well maintained except for inside of my room. Furthermore I can enjoy the spectacular view from my room. I like it so much that I have never changed it since I came first to Vancouver three years ago. However, today I received a letter from the managers which was a little bit shocking for me. It said that the room rent is to be raised from next April by C$35 per month. As the exchange rate between Japanese yen and Canadian dollars is deteriorating these days, it is a little bit hard for me to spend it without any income. I have to work harder my business to afford the room rent and the happy life I'm enjoying now.

Flight to Mt. Baker

As I mentioned before, flying to Mt. Baker was my dream after getting the license, but it came true partially today. Paul took me there by his Piper Worrier 2 today. He is a private pilot who graduated from my flight school this spring. Happy enough, the weather condition was perfect which is rare in this season around Vancouver. We flew from Boundary Bay to and around Mt. Baker at 9,500 feet and came back. The mountain view from the altitude was nothing but spectacular. I couldn't help feeling a kind of fear when thinking that there are no people living in this vast mountain area, and I understood why we have to file a flight plan for the search and rescue every time we fly. It is almost impossible to find out a crashed small airplane in such huge area. Anyway, it was my first experience to board on a low wing airplane which is a little bit faster than the Cessna152 and I felt it more stable to control. I hope to fly as many times and long as possible next year.

Happy Beatle again

I saw this Beatle again on Robson Street after a year and half break. This time I could see it up close. It had a fountain on the bonnet so that the driver can enjoy watching water coming up while driving. How fun it would be to drive this Beatle because it is such a fun watching it from outside! I could recognize on this Beatle a lot of name plates with the words "HAPPY". It was an Indian like decoration and seemed to have a power to make people happy. After seeing it I took the PPL written exam and passed with a good mark. It is like an amulet for me.

Antonov2

Antonov2 is an old Russian biplane which was made in 1947, almost 60 years ago. There is one Antonov2 in our airport and is parked at the end of the apron. I thought it was only parked as an exhibition, but today I witnessed it doing some circuits. It was actually flying in the sky, drawing a huge rectangle over the airport. It was so heavy that it was using the full length of the runway half of which is long enough for our Cessna152. After watching the Antonov2, our Cessna152 looked so tiny and a little bit brand new. I heard that this museum piece is owned by an individual person just for fun. What a large-scale hobby!

St. Paul's Hospital

I received a letter from St. Paul's Hospital asking for a donation. They are now in financial difficulties and raising contributions, but I'm afraid I can't help them. Three years ago, soon after I came to Vancouver, I fell hardly on my hips while rollerblading. I hit my back and twisted my left arm. As it was so painful that I ran into this hospital in the midnight. The hospitality I received there was terrible. I had to wait almost for an hour at the reception room without doing anything though there were no other patients. What I had to do at first was filling a form and paying money. I was charged more than $400, and all the care I got there was taking X-lay pictures and wrapping the wrist with a dressing. Although the charge was covered with my insurance, I don't like this hospital since then and these illuminations look like only an affectation.

Illuminations

Minutes ago I drove around Downtown and took some pictures of illuminations. In this season in Vancouver, we can enjoy lots of illuminations here and there. Not only shopping malls, but also parks, cars, apartments, trees; everything which can be illuminated are illuminated. It's very beautiful. Sure there are lots of illuminations in Tokyo, but I prefer those of Vancouver because they are more elegant. Illuminations in Tokyo are too bright just like the room lights. One of my Japanese friends living in Canada ever said that the eyes of Canadian, exactly of Caucasian are more sensitive than those of Japanese. I agree with his opinion. Most rooms in Vancouver I have visited were very dark in the night because of few lights, but no one complained about that. They have dinner and read books in a very dark room with only indirect lighting and candles. As my eyes are not so sensitive I envy them.

Foggy days

Foggy days have come back to Vancouver. Although I can't fly just as I have booked, I'm still happy because the fog shows me various scenery. A thick fog blots out everything and I feel as if I were in a cloud. If it happens at night, all the city lights which were twinkling minutes ago suddenly go off and everything disappear in the darkness. The change is very fast but quiet. As the fog disperses in the daylight time, trees and buildings appear gradually like a silhouette which is beautiful. The fog sometimes flows like a river and looks like sweeping the bridge. It's a good idea to enjoy the foggy days watching the change of scenery and imagining the bright and blue sky spread over the fog.

Teriyaki burger

As I was bored with the ketchup and mustard taste of the traditional style hot dogs and hamburgers, I tried another taste which is more ethnic. I cooked teriyaki sauce from a spoonful of soy sauce, mirin and sake. A pinch of flour nicely thickened the teriyaki sauce. The hamburger patty barbecued with the teriyaki sauce for a few minutes can be served with a piece of lettuce, a slice of pickles and mayonnaise. It's super easy to cook but very tasty. I think this item sells well if it were served in a hamburger restaurant.