161: BC FERRIES

I found these "BC ferries" sugar packets on the windowsill beside my seat.

Today, my taxi driver was like, "Weren't you here last week?" Nanaimo taxi drivers are starting to recognize me now! I've just realized that I am working pretty much full time in Nanaimo until the end of July, since I work 4 days of every week here. And I have therefore calculated that I will have all the travel and stat days I need for my 2 week Cambodia/Laos trip by the end of July. I love how my job lets me collect so many vacation days, because then that trip won't even count as part of my 3 weeks of vacation per year. And that means I will be able to go on another vacation in March to visit Phoebe!

PS. Seeing the Angkor Wat in Cambodia is another item on my bucket list -- I am really going through that list this year!

160: FEARLESS

Another thing crossed off my list! It was a beautiful sunny day at Abbotsford, and I jumped out of an airplane at 9500 feet. 35 seconds of freefall followed by 5 minutes on the parachute...it was amazing. Surprisingly I wasn't scared at all, except for when the pilot opened the door which was right beside me, and I looked out to the city underneath me...

The instructor told me to put my left foot on the step, and we leaned forward, and then we were out of the plane! It was such a cool experience. He even let me steer the parachute for awhile. I want to do it again, this time solo. Who wants to take skydiving lessons with me?!

159: THIRST FOR ADVENTURE

Next stop: Cambodia and Laos.

Last time I had an "adventure tour" to Peru, I got altitude sickness and amoebas. I'm crossing my fingers that I avoid dengue fever, schistosomiasis, and just any sort of worm or parasite this time.

158: PSEUDO-DIVING

I woke up at 6:30am only to have my skydiving plans foiled by the clouds. So instead of jumping from 12 000 feet, my friends jumped from the roof of Richmond Centre...

157: TATA FOR NOW

A brief goodbye to Nanaimo, home of Twiggly Wiggly Road, McFeely Drive, Jingle Pot Road, Buttertubs Drive, Town Ho End, Hooker Road, Dingle Bingle Hill Terrace, and many more fun street names. There is a whole Robin Hood area of town (Friar Tuck Way, King Arthur Drive, Sherwood Drive, Sheriff's Way, Jester's Way) and then there's an island with pirate themed streets (Pirates Lane, Treasure Trail, Captain Morgan's Boulevard).

If I were to buy a house in Nanaimo, I would buy it on Twiggly Wiggly Road or Dingle Bingle Hill Terrace. Just saying my address would make me smile. Plus I hear real estate is dirt cheap compared to Vancouver.

156: "JUST DON'T GO FOR A WALK"

Maffeo Sutton Park: the only safe park in this part of Nanaimo

I asked the receptionist where I could go for a walk near the hotel besides Maffeo Sutton Park, which is the one I always go to. She listed a bunch of parks and said, "...but it's not safe" after every option. "You can take a taxi to Westwood Lake and walk around there. But I would not recommend going to the other parks," she said. So I ended up not going for a walk at all.

155: "LINE" AND "RULE OF THIRDS"

Nanaimo harbour from a high vantage point. I am not very skilled with manual focusing.

154: "PROPORTION"

Which picture better exemplifies "Proportion"?

153: "ASYMMETRY"

Bone and wood

152: JIGSAW

My puzzle frustrates me. I didn't get much done in the two hours I spent on it today. But, at least I now have a full priest, Josephine without a neck, and Napoleon's head.