In a world where “many” means “none”, “many” of you have asked me to document a day in the life of British Columbia via pictures. Here’s my attempt.

^ Wake up, check email, walk outside. White Rock is one of those fortunately planned cities that is laid out on a grid. It must have been designed by one of them en-jin-eers instead of just paving over deer trails or however most cities get their random road structure. My apartment faces west. I walk out and turn left to head south, to the beach.

^ One or two blocks. See water.

^ One or two more blocks. More water.

^ Closer to the coast, the streets turn San Francisco-steep. It takes me 15 minutes to walk down to the waterside cafe to get my coffee and 30 minutes to walk back up, my calves singing the whole way.

^ The pier. I will occasionally stroll out onto it on cool clear mornings when I know I don’t have 7 urgent emails to respond to because my web server is down or a client discovered his keyboard doesn’t have lowercase letters.

^ This row of shops faces south to the beach, which is off to the left of the photo.

^ Walkway. This is my evening running route, or at least the route I periodically contemplate running while lying on the sofa reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

^ Walkway, train tracks, and beach, with the pier extending out. To answer your question, YES, these tracks used, twice per day. As you can see they’re only about a yard - excuse me, a metre - from the walkway. Steve explained the layout of this beach to me while showing me around the apartment and added, “Every year we have two or three drunk guys on the tracks and they get hit by the train, eh?” He held an imaginary beer bottle in his right hand and pantomimed a person being dealt a huge blow from the left, throwing his right hand backwards. “Then they spill their beer.” He snickered. I still have no idea if he was joking.

^ Safety FAIL.

^ Beach. Low tide, 7 a.m. At high tide there’s no beach and the water laps up at the rocks you see in the lower right.

^ Got my coffee. Have to walk back up. Do not want to. Could be worse, though.

^ I didn’t take this photo, but I’ve seen a few of these black squirrels. Whoever knew there was such a thing? I mean, what’s next, green cows? Don’t drink that milk.

^ My building, “The Dorchester.” Sounds like an English castle.

It’s not.

I couldn’t find housing on Vancouver Island, except for a few on-campus apartments at the University of British Columbia. I know what goes on at college campuses during the first week back from summer vacation, I was there for about 10 of them. I declined that option.

^ Bleep bloop bleep. Hit “Enter”. That’s all I do, it’s easy.

^ Watch terrible Canadian television then go bed. Repeat.

As a postscript, for my driving edification, can somebody please tell me what a flashing green light means? I’m currently assuming it’s something like a flashing yellow light, i.e., I have the right of way but watch out for pedestrians and bad drivers.

Hopefully it doesn’t mean “Peacock Crossing”.