happylife

Blue to pink

I rarely watch a sunrise view for two reasons. One is that my apartment room is facing south west and simply I can't see the east sky from my room. Another reason is that I'm usually sleeping when the sun rises. It wasn't that I woke up early this morning, but that I had been up overnight and happened to see this pink sky. The snow covered Bowen Island was reflecting the red sun light and everything looked pink in color. It was so beautiful that I couldn't help getting out to the freezing balcony and taking some pictures. It was a precious experience for me and I wished to see the sky change in color from blue to pink next time. Anyway, it was so cold outside that I had to take a hot shower before going to bed.

Vancouver in the snow

Most people might have an image that Canada is a freezing country. It is almost true except for Vancouver. Thanks to the warm sea water, we rarely have snow even in winter. We had the first snow on Saturday afternoon. Different from the usual snow, it kept falling down until Sunday night and we are now in white world. This is very exceptional. Though we have small problems such as partial blackout or car accident, most people including me are enjoying this precious white snow. Some people were playing with sled on the downhill in front of my apartment. Dogs were running in high. As for me, I drove to a supermarket. It was a really thrilling adventure because I had to take much care not to slip on the snowy road. Engaging the clutch on uphill slopes and gently braking on downhill slopes were difficult but enjoyable. We are rather happy with this snow because it is rare and it is whiter than the usual gray clouds.

Missed the blue sky

This is what I saw first when I waked up this morning. More precisely "this morning for me" I should say, because it was after six in the evening and the sun was already under the horizon. I could see the precious blue sky through the clouds. I regretted a bit. I should have waked up a few hours earlier. I had missed the blue sky which is really rare in this season. My everyday life started with the sun set and the moon rise. Can you see the moon at the center of this picture? Is it too thin to see? I realized that it was long ago when I saw the moon last. It might be more precious than the blue sky because it is way smaller and sometimes wanes.

Walking around

Despite of the bad weather forecast, we had sunshine after a long break today. Unfortunately, it was almost 2:00 PM when I found this thing because I had been, uh, in the bed. After finishing the very late breakfast, I left my room to enjoy walking. They seemed to have a parade in Downtown, but it was almost finished when I arrived there. I walked over Granville Bridge, turned to the left on Broadway for Cambie Bridge. I drive this way almost every day, but it was the first experience for me to walk along. It was enjoyable because the view of drivers and pedestrians is really different. I took some pictures on the way, and this is today's best shot. The head of False Creek is now under development preparing for the coming Olympic Game in 2010. Olympic village is reportedly going to be built around this area. I feel this city is changing day by day.

Rain, rain and rain

Vancouver is still in a consisting rain. "Boil water advisory" was announced three days ago and it is still in effect in my living area. I had to drive around the city seeking for drinking water. I barely managed to purchase it at the fourth supermarket. I should say I was lucky because a bottle of drinking water was sold out in most supermarket around Grater Vancouver. If it were in Japan, in such situation, people would be in a panic to make a long line in front of a supermarket. I think Canadian are way calmer. I'm saving water in this messy kitchen; collect the water drops from BRITA in any containers I have, and use it to rinse rice. Fortunately, the tapping water in my room seems clearer than yesterday, but the weather forecast predicts another heavy rain tomorrow. What a depressing weather!

Storm in storm

As you know, we have no hurricane or typhoon here in Vancouver, but we are now in really stormy weather conditions. The wind is so strong that my window wouldn't stop jarring. I can see clouds forming a clear front. They are moving so rapidly that I could watch the current of clouds from such a distance. I don't even like to imagine what it is like to sail or fly under the conditions. I'm now staying in my room safely, but it's not so peaceful in my mind because I'm doing brain-storming now. I have so many things to do and want to do, and my brain is as stormy as today's weather. The sky would be clear after a storm. I wish my brain would go in the same way.

Cold rain

The rainy days have come back after the series of clear days. It's not only rainy but also cold, almost chilling. I feel this autumn is colder than usual, but it's not bad because I have more time to stay in my room working without disturbance. In terms of my work, I had been too lazy for now this year, so this weather would give me the last chance to compensate for my lost working time. I'm now trying to make a new framework for the new web system using OOP (Object Oriented Programming) method. It looks bigger and more complicated than traditional procedure programming, but it is necessary to build up a larger system. It it would be completed and work as efficiently as I am expecting, I would be able to release new services every week.

Strong wind locked me in

We had a very strong wind with heavy rain last night in Vancouver. It was so strong that I stayed up almost all night to enjoy the stormy atmosphere. I think a storm is one of the most exciting and interesting shows presented by Nature as long as we are in a perfectly safe place. In order to enjoy it more directly, I decided to drive out after midnight, but the idea was interrupted by the wind itself. That is to say, when I tried to drive out of the garage, the garage gate wouldn't open because it was pressed strongly by the wind. I could have opened it if I sticked out, but I didn't do so because I am not a stupid child. In other places except for Vancouver, they allegedly had a heavy snow. The news report says that we were lucky without snow but I think I have missed the white world under the blue sky.

What changes mood

My hopes which I mentioned yesterday on this blog have come true. It was today a great, clear, blue sky with the sunshine which made me very happy. When I was enjoying the view from my balcony, my neighbor old man talked to me. I couldn't hear his words exactly because he was drunken and his voice was very small, but I understood well what he was talking about. He wanted to say he was happy with the great view after the long depressive cloudy days. That's it. The view was so great that everyone who shared it didn't need lots of words. The consecutive blue skies in the summer season are great, but this rare blue sky in the winter is more precious. It really changes my mood.

Fog river

It was a fine day today, but as the sun set, thick fog outbroke around Downtown. You might believe in a fog, everything becomes opaque in white, but it is only half-true. The nocturnal fog in a light-less area just like on the sea for example, looks opaque but black in color. It's the real darkness like a black hole. If you want to experience this scary weather phenomenon, you can take a ferry at foggy night. Anyway, the fog has come up through the False Creek and the Burrard Bridge has already been flooded. It looks like a fog river. Vancouver is going to be covered with this silent fog tonight.