Clouds, Clouds, More Clouds...etc...

Nasty Bunch of Clouds


Looks like we got us another system movin' in...

Real Estate...AGAIN????

Me during my first stint in Real Estate in 1993-1998...

Gosh, golly gee, do I go back into real estate or not? I'm just kind of wondering. Been doing the math and the figuring, wondering if that will be worthwhile. My mother opened the door on the opportunity...

My pluses are that I have a lot more confidence going into the game. I'm not a young kid anymore like I was back in 1993-98 doing this gig. I have life-experience and I'm not about to get pushed around like I did back in the days when I was working in real estate in my 20s. I'm now 40 this year and have more stability. I have a wife and 3 kids with a 4th on the way. Back then, I was single. It won't be the ego-trip that it was back when I was in my 20s. It's a job...and it's something I'm capable of doing. I'm also not going back in to get my Agent 9.15 like I had done my last go-round with the real estate business.

I will NOT work with an unqualified buyer. I have 4 kids...and two adult mouths to feed. I don't need to run around trying to take a tire-kicker to several appointments and not having them like any of them. I don't need that aggravation. I will sit down with them for an in-house appointment (at the office) so that I can get all the information that I need to do my job properly. They should be able to find their houses within 3 or 4 homes if I have prequalified them properly. Any more and they'll just get confused. They also have to be financially pre-qualified or I will not be working with them. I've made that mistake all too many times.

The only negatives I can see are the cost and the fact that I'm not a great one for cold-calling. And with the telemarketing legislation that has come into play in the last few years in British Columbia, telemarketing (cold-calling) has gone completely out the window. Realtors have had to turn around and completely revamp their marketing strategy.

I will probably challenge the course and get in a few sales during the two year term of my licence. Because what I want to do is take that one listing and turn it into several sales that will benefit my pocketbook. My main goal is to make enough money so that I can make a go at my photography business. Because as I said to my mother, photography was what I was meant to do...and if I have to go through the flames of hell to do it, I will.

First things first though, I'll take my challenge course materials and study them thoroughly. I'll take advantage of the lectures (I'll make sure that my wife doesn't take any shifts on the days that I need to go up to UBC to take those lecture courses). I expect that if I get the course materials in May, I'll be ready to write in September and hopefully things will snowball for the better from there.

MORE CLEANUP!!!! ~insert agonized scream~

Voila, wonders of wonders, we have a clean BOOKshelf.


There is nothing left on the floor.


The kitchen is relatively clean, as far as I could make it, on short notice.


The view from the living room into the dining room. There's still stuff on the dining room table but I'm still trying to figure out where that goes. But on the whole the place is presentable.

Our Hakamairi

We went to the gravesite yesterday afternoon and were able to view my father's headstone. Prior to dropping by my father's headstone. Heather and I went past my maternal grandmother and grandfather's headstones.

We walked from our home in Surrey, through Holland Park to the King George Skytrain station. It wasn't raining so it was worth walking.





We saw daffodils at Holland Park. That's a sure sign of spring. What was a real coincidence was that my mother brought daffodils from her house in Vancouver the week prior to place at both my grandmother and grandfather's grave as well as my father's. So maybe viewing these daffodils were a premonition of what to expect at my grandparent's and father's gravesite.

When we got to the Skytrain, we managed to hop on one practically immediately and we made our way to New Westminster Station...



After reaching New West Station, We got off the Skytrain and walked over to the bus-stop for the #123 Brentwood Mall bus. The ride maybe took about 20 minutes at the most and we got off at Royal Oak. Walked through the gate of Forest Lawn Cemetery



My grandparents' graves were on Summit.




My Maternal Grandfather's Grave

My Maternal Grandmother's Grave

We stopped there, said a prayer for my maternal grandparents. I asked my grandmother and grandfather to look after my father and then we left to go visit my father's graveside, which was down at the bottom of a hill. We would have liked to have gotten a plot in Summit alongside my maternal grandparents, however it was impossible as Summit was sold out years and years ago. If I win the Lotto Max, maybe I might be able to get a family vault, exhume every family member and place them in a communal vault. But as our finances stand at the momet...I doubt it.

And there it was...at the foot of a hill...beside another Japanese-Canadian's gravesite (the Tokai's), the first Chikamori family member to be interred at Forest Lawn.


My father's grave

My mother intends to be buried there as well, so I intend to honor her wishes (the gravesite is already purchased, the cost will be to reopen the vault and place her in when the time comes; hopefully, that will not be soon). We have too much repairing of our relationship to do before then.

I noticed sand all over the headstone...so I took my hand and brushed off what I could, I hope to bring a broom and do the rest next time, I visit. His plot reads "Always Loved, Always Remembered". My mother asked me to choose the saying.



And yes, Dad, I love you...and I always will. I miss you deeply but I know you were with me and Heather in spirit yesterday.

Birding on my way to Wal-Mart.

As of recently, I've been busy trying to locate a certain bird. It's the Red-Winged Blackbird, Latin name: Agelaius phoeniceus. I first distinctly saw one when I was walking over to Wal-Mart on 88th Avenue just a week and a half ago. My wife bought me the "Compact Guide to British Columbia Birds" and I've been using that as a guide to locating and identifying certain birds that I have seen around the area.



Now the Red-Winged Blackbird holds a certain fascination for me as I've been trying unsuccessfully to get a picture of it with my D50. Of course when I saw it in full plumage during my walk over to Wal-Mart, I had no D50 with me and it happily did it's little "honk-a-ree" call at me. So I say to myself 'Well, I'm going to go get my D50 the next day and come back down and take a picture...if I can locate it again..." Well...sure enough...I get my camera the next day and the bird is nowhere to be seen.

Of course...then today I go wandering down to Wal-Mart to get some Pepsi and sure enough, it's hanging on the high-tension power lines happily going "reet-reet-reet-honk-a-REEEEEEE" Damned bird seemed to be laughing at me. So I took out my L11 and snapped a pic at 3X digital magnification. Well...unfortunately I couldn't get the wing markings but at least I managed to snap an albeit crappy pic of it. I do intend on going down there and nailing that bird with the D50 and 70-300mm f/4-5.6 by the end of this year. No bird is going to laugh at me and get away without it's picture getting snapped.



I also saw some American Robins (turdus migratorius) (why aren't they called "Canadian Robins" since they live in Canada?) and some pine siskins (carduelis pinis) sitting in a tree. I've actually seen more female American Robins than the brighter colored male. I can recall only seeing a male ONCE recently. I used to see them a lot in my youth.



Another bird that I haven't seen recently or very often but saw quite often during my youth is the Stellar's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). I think one of these days, I have to go walking back up to Thornhill and see if I can locate some to photograph.

But the particular bird on my hitlist right now is that damned Red Winged Blackbird.

Lots to do at home; major cleanup in progress

A lot of things to do today. It’s been busy for me the past few days trying to get the house cleaned up so that the place looks presentable. I prefer everything to be where I put things and I want to not have to worry so much about endless rounds of cleanup so that I can do other things that could potentially earn money like my photography.

I’ve been put on Diclofenac Sodium (Voltaren) which I take when I really need it: (in terms of my back being really sore) and it was for the most painful three days in February that I’ve ever had. It felt like my head was being twisted off my neck and I haven’t been in that much pain for a long time since I had my root canal and that hurt.

Currently I’ve been doing dishes. And that’s been a chore having to get the kids to do what they’re supposed to do in terms of making sure their own dishes are done by THEMSELVES! Unfortunately when certain persons who shall remain nameless don’t do it, it doesn’t bode well for the rule.

I do need to get out and get some photography done. My D50 is missing me and I it. It’s been a while since I’ve had the inclination to get out but since Spring is on it’s way, I’m getting a nasty case of cabin fever and am starting to feel like Travelocity’s Travelling Gnome. Leedaleedle lee-da di…A Leedle-leedle lee-da-dum…I need to get out of here…A leedle-leedle-dee dum-da-ah…

I’ve been spending more time with the L11 than the D50. Partly because it’s easier to carry than the D50 and it’s bright with a f/2.8 at the 36mm range going up to an f/5.2 at the far end. For me to get a basic 17-55mm f/2.8 would cost me in the neighbourhood of about $1600.00. And that isn’t worth it for a DX (CMOS format sensor 1.5X crop) lens. I would rather spend 300.00-400.00 more and get the 14-24mm f/2.8 lens if I’m going to go that far with buying a lens that’s bright.

I’ve done my taxes and I do get some money back this year. I have to get the forms in by April, but I do intend to get them in sooner than that because I want to get my money back sooner than that.

On February 28, 2010, we wandered over to Holland Park and I took a shot of this tree lit up…evidently Surrey wasn’t too keen on taking this down so quickly after Christmas.



Hopefully, I’ll be able to get out a lot more this summer and be able to take some more pictures.