A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

It was good to take the day to get a little re-acquainted with downtown Vancouver. Although, we live about a half-hour SkyTrain ride to the city core, I was not able to pinpoint the exact last time I ventured there. Living beside the Columbia Station can be noisy but the convenience of being able to pop out in the middle of Vancouver far outweighs any negatives.

What a fantastic day to walk around the temperature being in the high 20's Centigrade!

The construction on the expansion of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre was impressive as the last time the action involved just driving pilings.

We hadn't been to the Waterfront on a weekend to see any of the ships plying the 2007 Alaska cruise season. There was a Holland America on the south side of Canada Place and an Norwegian Cruise Line on the other. Also, out in the port terminal, there was a Celebrity ship.

We walked about a large part of the city. Yaletown is surely growing. In fact things have changed so much since we immigrated here.

I bet that many people who lazed around the beaches today are going home red today.

Labels: cruise, SkyTrain, transit, Vancouver

I've always felt that happiness must reside internally. It doesn't quite seem right to me that external circumstances should affect one's emotional state. Of course, that is a blatant oversimplification for our interaction with the world is how we experience it.

External forces affect our habits. For example, the weather is great today just as it was yesterday. I was extremely happy to not have to go into work. I walked uptown soaking up the extra sunshine along we way. Being out with no obligations seemed joyful. I will always have a hard time understanding people who get bored when they've time off from their jobs. Life without a schedule is the way it was intended to be, I believe.

Furthermore, many people have trouble being in the moment nowadays. Technology has made it easy to exist in a constant somewhere else. Take all the people immersed in some other reality as they go about life. If I were to pull out the iPods' earbuds and switch off the cell phones, two thirds of the people on public transit would immediately go into a panic. Rather than attempting to be in some other zone, maybe it would be healthier just to look around and experience the here there.

Labels: feelings, relaxing, SkyTrain, technology

There's hardly a thing that feels better: I'm sitting with my notebook on my lap in the recliner and the balcony sliding door is wide open.

I have been very aware of spring's arrival this year. I charted the progress by what I had to wear when going out the door. The thick jacket changed to a thinner one several weeks ago. Then a week or so back, the jacket stayed in the closet. For a few days, I wore both a t-shirt and a short-sleeved shirt. Last week, I once skipped the t-shirt. Although, I've not left the house without any shirt, it promises to be that type of weather tomorrow.

It was so nice today, it's ironic, if not a little criminal, that I taught in a windowless classroom all afternoon. On the way home, however, as if a sign of consolation, I was aware of the many birds singing in the trees. I was driving with the side window down. I sort of wonder why they're all so silent all winter. They truly seemed happy and that made me feel the same way.


Everything looks better with a little green to cover up things around
the edges.

Labels: New Westminster, SkyTrain, weather

Last week, I noticed Flickr had improved its slideshow component. The photos are now larger. While a photo is being shown, it's possible to click the center for additional information. These are positive improvements.

I thought I'd see if I could find a subject of which I might have multiple photos. If you click on the image above, you will load a set which currently holds 31 images. As I live in downtown New Westminster, the SkyTrain Bridge is a common visual element of my life. It is a transit-only span that crosses the Fraser River. It is next to the 70 year old Patullo bridge. These pictures were taken over a period of five years. Many were simply shot from my balcony.

Labels: balcony, Flickr, Fraser River, New Westminster, SkyTrain, transit

Trains ... trains ... trains. One disadvantage of living downtown,
is the nightly trains that rumble through with whistles blaring.

Labels: New Westminster, SkyTrain, transit