Sense of Touch

Mount Chester, Kananaskis, Alberta 

My friend confided to me that he missed his family. As I dug deeper, he further confided he missed his wife more. Out of our five senses, we take the sense of touch for granted. We use our eyes and ears to the point of excess. Our nose is so used to artificial smells, perfume and all, it cannot tell which ones aren't. Our sense of taste is also overused and leads to obesity.

We touch each others, among friends, when we shake hands. We only do that when we introduce ourselves though; otherwise, why call ourselves friends? We maintain distance when we speak. Out of respect. After all, so much space in this country. To pat one's head is considered rude. Worse, to touch one's body can be considered a harassment. It is a valid reason, but what happens is we get an overloading from the four senses: sight, sound, smell, and taste but very little from touch.

To me the sense of touch is a proof human is a social being. We depend on others for this pleasure. Unlike the other four. I can go hiking in the backcountry for a week and indulge myself, feasting on wonderful sight, sound, smell of backcountry. Relishing on the simple food I cook myself. But eventually I miss my wife. I in fact envy when watching a couple doing hiking together and spending their time in backcountry. It must be heaven for them.

Vancouver Downtown Running Routes

Rainy day on Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, BC

If you happen to be in Vancouver, BC and enjoy running, I could suggest two great running routes in the downtown. Since the Vancouver weather is very mild by Canadian standard (around 0 C in winter), these two routes are pretty much for all seasons. I love both of them as they give a quick tour to the downtown, say in the morning as you prepare for your family sightseeing later in the day. Running these routes is many times better than going over map or GPS device.


First route (click for map). This route will take you through 2 magnificent bridges: Burrard and Granville. Start runnning from your downtown sleeping pad to reach Burrard Street and head southwest bound until you reach the Burrard Bridge. Pay attention as you near the bridge as maybe only one bridge sidewalk is open to pedestrians (and runners). You stop at the traffic light. To your right is the Kitsilano Beach area and a huge Lululemon logo on a (probably its headquarter) building is visible, kitty corner from where you stand.

Cross the street to keep running on Burrard (now southbound). You then move to the W 4th Ave to get ready to hike a bit to reach the Granville bridge. Once you cross Fir St as you run on the 4th Ave you see a ramp park. Cross it along its walk path and you will be on the bridge and on Granville St northbound. The beautiful downtown vista is before you. Keep running on Granville St to reach the Waterfront on the north side of downtown. As you run, you can read the street names running east-west and try to memorize them for your sightseeing jaunt later :-) Once you read the Waterfront, you will feel you know the Vancouver downtown a lot better and you can continue your running to where you stay (if you wish). Spend a minute or two though to enjoy the Vancouver Harbour.

This running took me about 1 hour as I looped back to the Burrard Bridge, so it should be about 10 K.

Second route (click for map). This route circles the lush green Stanley Park. You start running from your sleeping pad to reach Davie St northbound. Keep running until you see the ocean, i.e., Beach Ave. Cross Beach Ave to continue running on the sidewalk which will take you to the Seawall path around the perimeter of the Stanley Park. The ocean is on your left and a cliff wall on your right once you enter the Park. Beautiful! Amazing view! Midway you will be running under the Lions Gate Bridge. Maintain on the path and once you see yacht marina you have almost circled the Park. You will get out of the park at West Georgia St (i.e., Highway 99). You can continue from here to your next destination.

Check the weather when you plan to run circling the Stanley Park as the Seawall path borders the Pacific Ocean. It would be a good idea to wear a water resistant, wind proof light jacket during winter as it typically rains.

This running took me about 1.5 hours as I ran to Alberni St - Burrard St intersection for a blueberry muffin, a cup of tea, and a mango juice. Satisfying!

If you have to ask the price ...

A shop with only a few goods, Moa, Cuba

Then you cannot afford it. I quoted it liberally from Kevin O'Leary, one of five multi-millionaire investors from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) investment reality television program, Dragon's Den. He went shopping for 5 Hermes ties which, according to him, are beautiful and brightly perfect for TV.

He asked for a 12% discount when buying those 5 ties. Instead of getting a bargain, the sales lady told him he could just buy one. Replying that he had a purchasing volume on his side, the lady answered by suggesting him to buy one tie each for the next 5 months. Insisting further that it would be unusual to have someone buying 5 ties at once, the lady answered by saying those ties would eventually be purchased by someone. Thus, if you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it.

There are two lessons from this story. First, buy less, buy better. Or, corollarily, as my friend put it, if you have to ask how to use it, you do not need it. Look around our house and room, and you know what I mean. We bought crappy (not necessarily really cheap) stuff because (a) at that time you thought you needed it and (b) simultaneously you had believed you had won the haggling battle - without any war - when knowing the price was lower than you expect since it was on sale.

This story may be too late for your Boxing Day shopping glut, but hey there is always next year. So long as you remember this story.

Second lesson is academic. I am always interested in figuring out equilibrium prices of stuff we buy. In fact I asked this question in my Statistical Thermodynamics course exam to my graduate students. An equilibrium price is analogous to chemical potential of a physical system. (Note: chemical potential has a specific meaning in thermodynamics.) The good or service gets transferred from a seller to a buyer and the cost is equal to the change of the asset of either party as a function of number of that item.

Tersenyum

Mount Athabasca, Alberta

Bendera-bendera puja tertiup

Angin kencang menyapa.

Oksigen semakin jarang

Senyum tidak pernah hilang.

Makan sama penduduk lokal

Tangan mengunyah nasi.

Teh panas lengkapi lauk

Senyum tidak pernah hilang.

Alam berubah gersang

Rumput berkumpul pecah.

Pohon tinggi jauh di bawah

Senyum tidak pernah hilang.

Peluk hangat matahari terbit

Lupa kapan mandi terakhir.

Termangu di pintu abadi

Senyum tidak pernah hilang.

Pecundang

Petanahan, Central Java

Sudah kita duduk saja dulu

Tak usah pusing masalah bangsa,

Kita masih mengemis di luar

Pelataran ndoro Agung.

Lantas kamu bilang menyala-nyala

Mana nuranimu, mana dedikasimu.

Terlalu lama kamu belajar doang

Waktunya kamu maju ke depan.

Aku diam ciut dan takut

Yang telah dan yang mendatang,

Belum lagi masalah bangsa

Tidak selesai lewat omongan.

Kamu menyahut bentuk kesadaran

Baru setelah itu bangun aksimu.

Aku sudah berkepala enam

Tidak gentar terus berkibar.

Aku bergumam kibarmu 

Hasilnya apa. Gagahmu kok

Punyamu sendiri. Kita berdua

Jadi pecundang.

Akhir

Two Jack Lake, Alberta

Sebentar lagi aku kan pergi

Pasti akan datang menjenguk

25 tahun lalu saat merasa muda

Sudah lupa angan semua

Sekitar sekarang garis itu selesai

Akhirnya cuma bisa menangis

Sepah semua tiada lagi arti

Tinggal menunggu diam tak mampu

Inilah harga sudah terbayar

Tak kunjung lekang rindu berbilang

Bisa pilih pisau tajam dihunus

Berkurang sakit lenyapkan asa

Suara surau mungkin melantang

Dua telinga tetaplah tuli

Di mana lagi tempat berlindung

Tanpa lawan tanpa kawan

7000 km

North Rim Grand Canyon

Aku mengenal dua anakku lagi. 

Lekat kompak berjauhan umur.

Bertengkar duduk di belakang

Ribut berebut iPod dan game.

Yang besar memberi umpan

Yang kecil tertawa terbahak.

Sukar untuk mengantuk.

Tujuh ribu km penuh kenangan.

Aku tidak salahkan mereka:

Perjalanan panjang walau

Ditemani gurun lembah danau

Puncak kota orang beragam.

Kalau mereka diam tidur

Justru aku cari perkara

Menggoda yang kecil

Bertanya yang besar.

Semoga mereka ingat.

Cerita yang tak pernah pudar.

Sepuluh tahun lagi saat 

Kita duduk bersama.