happylife

Sailing again

It was so fine that I couldn't help going out for sailing in English Bay. I don't like to sail in a bad weather condition, and the weather in Vancouver in winter seasons is terrible, therefore, it was the first sailing since last summer. To my surprise, my boat had no trouble without any maintenance. The engine started with a single drawing of the starter code. After throwing away a bucket of bilge water, I left the marina for English Bay. To tell the truth, I've forgotten most of the sailing terminologies, but I still have the visual image for sailing including sail trimming and rope works. It's enough for enjoying day-sailing. The wind was moderate, and the blue sky and the sunshine was over me. I had a two-hour single-handed sailing and came back to the marina. On the way back, I saw Doug's Louisa, who is the ex-owner of my boat, and we waved hands each other. I think he really likes sailing and is enjoying his happy life.

A gas station in the airport

This is a gas station in the airport. Different from normal ones, it has no fuel stand and it is surround by concrete blocks so that any cars and airplanes cannot approach. How can it be used? It's easy - just call the fuel station by the radio on the airplane, and an oil tanker delivers you the fuel. As airplanes are not good at moving on lands like birds (they cannot even move backward), and they use a lot of fuel for taxing, this is the most reasonable and safest way to get fuel for airplanes. In most cases, the gas station staff is one of the student of our flight school. They can drive the huge tanker without any special license because it is not a public space within the airport. The gas station staff is a popular job for us student pilots.

"V for Vendetta" on IMAX

After saving $10 by getting fuel at Pt.Roberts, I went to see movie to Silvercity in Riverport. It was almost one year ago when I watched movie at a theater last, and I found a change on theater devices. The film title I chose was "V for Vendetta," which was a kind of sci-fi thriller reminding me of George Orwell's "1984." The film itself was not bad. It was a story about a mask man who revenges against totalism in near future England. The way in which he revenges was artistic and beautiful, and the filming looked like "Matrix" which was influenced much by Japanese cartoon. Anyway, what impressed me most was not the film itself but the theater devices. It was so called "IMAX" with "the largest screen in the world." It was so huge that I couldn't see anything except for the film. The theater hall had steep steps on which every seat was set so that every audience can see movie without disturb by other audiences in front of him. All the wall in front of the audiences was IMAX screen and quite a few speakers were piled up behind it. With the help of these IMAX devices, I felt as if I were in the film.

Almost in!

I don't hate a windy day unless it is too strong because it makes both sailing and flying interesting, and the window view becomes full of variety. I found a lot of seagulls enjoying flying just in front of my room, and I got out to the balcony taking some pictures of them. It's quite difficult to get a good shot of flying seagulls because they move so quickly that my camera cannot follow the movement. This is the best shot I took today. The seagull has just passed through the sun. I wish I had pushed the shutter 0.1 seconds earlier. It would be a great picture if he was just in the sun, with the sunlight seen through his wings.

A happy walk

I visited Book-off in Downtown again, this time to sell old books. After organizing my bookshelf, I found 22 books that I wouldn't  read again any more. I packed them in a tote bag and carried them on foot. I sweat after a twenty minute walk to the second hand book store with a heavy bag. I handed my books to the sales stuff of the store and waited him to check and evaluate them. After five minutes, he said to me that the total price came up to C$12.60, which was a little bit lower than I had expected, but I accepted his offer and got the money. I believe the store would benefit a lot from my books. Any ways, I took this picture on the way back home. It's interesting to watch a graffiti on road side. It was a fulfilling walk because I could get an exercise, money and happy photos at one time.

Urbanfare

Urbanfare is my favorite supermarket in Vancouver. It is very popular especially among women because it's stylish and fashionable. I hear that the same owner of the Save on Food is running this supermarket. It is located at the east end of Davie street and the second store is going to be built around Shangrila hotel which is now under construction. It looks bright and colorful because of the well designed interior and the organic vegetables on the shelves. Sure carefully selected quality foods are conspicuous in the store, normal foods are sold for the same price at Safeway or any other supermarkets. What is most attractive for me is that it is open until 12:00 midnight while most of supermarkets close by 10:00.

A spacious toilet

A few months ago, in Japan, a large hotel company was accused of not complying with the standard for disabilities. Hotel facilities including washrooms had been illegally altered into parking lots or storage room after passing the administrative inspection. The high land prices were the main reason for the disobedience. The company was criticized in newspapers that it took the profit at the sacrifice of disabilities. On the other hand in Vancouver, almost all the public buildings such as hotels, restaurants, and cafes have a large toilet for disabilities. It is so spacious that a man can walk around in the private space. It looks like a dream for me because we often have difficulties to open the door and turn the body in the private room in Japanese toilets.

Two dollar shop

I visited Daiso in Richmond which is a two dollar shop selling Japanese items. In Japan, we have a so called "100 yen shop" in which every items are sold for 100 yen. Daiso is one of the most successful 100 yen shop chains and this branch was open in Richmond three years ago. The store is spacious full of Japanese items such as stationary, cosmetics, kitchen ware, and snacks. There are so many kinds of items as in Japanese stores. The only one difference is that everything is sold for C$2 not 100 yen. C$1 is approximately 100 yen now, it is twice as expensive as in Japan, but we are used to the fact that Japanese products are expensive in Canada, and therefore, Daiso in Richmond is doing good business for now. I think it's a good place to enjoy shopping with a little money.

A tip to wear contact lenses

I've been wearing contact lenses for more than a decade. My life would have been more inconvenient and unpleasant without them. I don't like glasses because they are annoying and everything looks smaller through them. Sure I'm interested in laser vision correction but it is still scary for me to take any kind of operation on my eyes. I think that contact lenses are the best choice for now for me. I'd like to share my tip of contact lenses, which is simple but very effective for every one using contact lenses. That is to say, wash your hands with soap before putting on contact lenses. By washing the oil on your finger away, the contact lenses are set on your eyes at the best condition. Your eyes are so sensitive that just a little oil can stimulate them and you would feel unpleasant.

Room divider

It was the third day of my cleaning project. The target was around the desk. There were quite a few gadgets on my desktop and even around the desk. I tried hard to get back the plain surface of my desk, but I found that there was no place to hide or organize my gadgets such as headphones, the Gameboy and its cartridges, USB memories, CD-ROMs, and so on. After an hour struggling, I decided to get a new drawer so that I can put my gadgets in. I drove to IKEA in Richmond and got a well designed and reasonably priced desk-side sectional drawer. I also got a so called room divider made of bamboo. As I expected, the drawer worked great and all my gadgets were perfectly organized. Furthermore, the room divider was greater than I had expected. It worked as a sun shade in a daylight time and as a screen which help me concentrate on desk work at night.