Life is simple… we have the choice to choose and when we choose, we choose it… just because. Once you choose something, be committed to it. Choosing is different from making decisions because when we make a decision… it is a debate between which is better than which. Just by looking at the word “de-cide” and how often do you see this word “-cide” ? Some examples would be, pesti-cide, geno-cide, homo-cide, insecti-cide… the lists go on.
according to Wikipedia :The Englishsuffix-cide denotes an act related to killing. From Latin caedere “to cut, kill, hack (at), strike”. In its wider meaning, it may also signify the destruction or dismantling of an object or concept. When attached to a word indicating an animal or plant considered to be pestilent, the combined word is frequently used to indicate a substance used to eliminate the pest in question. E.g. Pesticide, insecticide and herbicide
Okay… so what I am trying to say is (and no one else would say it better than NIKE) “JUST DO IT”
It doesn’t matter how hard the task it, don’t think about it.
It doesn’t matter how tedious the work is, be patient.
It doesn’t matter how boring the job is, be content.
The Problem is that when we are in this mindset (un-happy mode), we think that it is “hard, tedious and boring” will cause us to be grungy, pretty much just make us “not happy” with whatever we are doing.
The solution… (a really hard concept to understand, but once you do… it is entirely different world and that everything you do… MATTER)
…is to understand that we can CHOOSE to do EVERYTHING with a different mindset (happy mode) knowing that… the end result of whatever we are doing is – happiness -.
Those thoughts came into my mind after I took this picture because just and hour before this… the entire area was dark, cloudy, windy with heavy rain. It was freezing cold and wet that I just wanted to stay inside the house. All the negative thoughts were in my head… thinking that the day was over. But then… THIS! THIS amazing moment that just totally blew my mind away.
If you have watched the movie Howl’s Moving Castle before, then you would likely wonder the same thing as I am. What does it feel like, that moment Sophie looks outside of the window on the castle. I think that the view from Alhambra de Granada is as close as it gets for me. I feel that anything is possible, walking on air, flying in the sky, and appearing from one place to another… just like Howl.
For the photo today, took at around 11:00 pm, just right before it was closed… Wouldn’t it be amazing if the Alhambra de Granada can actually move and that people can live on the castle, traveling, exploring, and discovering new places along with the castle. I think it would be AWESOME!!! you?
Ready??? Set…… Go!!!! The dynamic feeling of that 20 seconds was well worth the 10 minutes of waiting. There are times that we are just waiting and waiting for something to happen. The time it take for us to wait, that moment is such an annoying feeling especially when we don’t know about when is the wait going to be over. Unlike crossing a street, because we can then anticipate that eventually the light will turn green for us to cross.
Oh no, I am not saying that not knowing when something is going to happen is a bad thing. However, it could be bad when we set such high expectations for what we are looking for. On the other hand, if we just wait patiently, adapt and improvise with whatever happens with no expectations, no judgement, no pre-assumptions and no fear…
then… happiness will present itself at the least expected moment.
Sunday morning, we spent a few hours around the city center just to grab some quick breakfast before we departed Valencia. We spent sometime in the Cathedral. It was just so amazing in its detail and its architecture that it stunned me and still, I am stunned to even look at my own picture, not believing that I was there, just 12 hours ago.
Life, it passes by so fast. Either we hang on to it, enjoy it, embrace every moment, or… we may end lose that chance – forever.
I meant… real “architecture” got curves, along with many other things.
after a 5 hour trip from Granada and an hour of rest, we finally went to the art and science district where all I kept saying was “holy !@#$” over and over… so much that my friend got annoyed. But the architecture here was just amazing. I felt like I was living in a totally different planet / world or even time. I felt more of futuristic vibe like the movie “Minority Report” We spent about 2 hours there but I spent about 8GB of the SD card (again), shooting everything every 10 seconds. Well, I don’t know when I will get to come back here to visit again, so for now… I’ll just do my best to keep all the angles, all the points, and all of the memories as best I can while I was still at it
I hope that you enjoy the picture today, from Valencia, Spain.
Okay… after trying to sleep, which resulted in failure, here I am posting one more for Saturday… It is just an hour difference from the last post (Friday’s post) but it is still… a different day. So I can post it ^_^. For the location… I did some research and here is what it said according to the official website
“The Patio of the Lions (Patio de los Leones) is probably the most famous place of the Alhambra. It is so called because of the twelve lions that throw jets of water and which are part of the fountain in the middle of the patio. The big dodecagon-shaped basin rests on top of these twelve lions that are around it. This white marble fountain is one of the most important examples of Muslim sculpture. A poem by Ibn Zamrak was carved on the border of the basin. At the beginning of the 17th century another basin was added and is currently in the Garden of the Ramparts (Jardín de los Adarves), as well as the jet, which was done later, as indicated in the engraving.”
So… as it is said… the cool thing about this place are the 12 lions that are around the fountain. Unfortunately, the Lions are on vacation, leaving the fountain dry. However, with the lions gone, they have build a temporary structure, (very architecturally modern / simple / elegent) that added the uniqueness to this place even more because of the combination of the Classical and Modern architecture.
How did I get this shot? I was trying to see from different perspective and this time… I was thinking… “what would it feel like to be the water, what would the water see…” and that is how the photo came about. Look carefully and you would see me in the reflection along with the reflection of the architecture surrounding it.
Okay… really… I am going to sleep now. Next stop… Valencia
Fortunately I found a wifi hotspot in Granada… and got to snoop around for a bit just to update today’s post. Today I selected… one of the first HDR AEB images I ever made. There are many photos from this park, Barranca / Woodbridge. This is the same location as “crossing over… thank you for your support”
Today at Granada… I took so many pictures that… a fully charged battery actually went down halfway… and it is the first time that I use up all of my 8GB card. I think, most of it was used during the visit at Alhambra de Granada. I’ll post the pictures asap… Can’t wait to process them.
Must sleep now, a 5 hours trip tomorrow from Granada to Valencia. It’s just 7 minutes before the day is over. Better late than never…. and of course… HOW COULD I FORGET?
I was high… physically in the air!!! NOT! MENTALLY. okay? So this was taken back in Los Angeles, during the LA county fair 2008. The funny thing is that, I have been living in LA since 2000 but this visit is actually the first time that I went to the LA county fair which is only 10 minutes away from my place. This seems to be normal because we don’t normally travel in the city you live in, do we? The only reason I went there is because I got a… FREE ADMISSION TICKET that I got from my photographer friend, Lily. Actually she is the first person that introduced me to the HDR techniques that lead me to semi-obsession with HDR.
The view from the top were pretty cool, yet the view from the bottom was… AMAZING!
It’s has been so hot in Marbella lately and most of my posts the past week have just kept reminding me of how hot the weather is. I’ve had enough of the hot weather for now. I know it is nice but I need to cool down just a bit before I melt. So one way for myself to cool down is to close my eyes and think of that cold cold place and that is how I was remind of a picture that I took in North Vancouver. The same day that I took the picture for “a moment that I say -nothing-” as you can see below.
This week I will be traveling to Valencia, Spain and am also going to Granada to visit the Alhambra that I missed out on the last trip. Valencia… hum, I would really like to stop by The Hemispheric at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) by Santiago Calatrava, Valencia, Spain.
Can’t wait to be there! Why? A personal obsession with Santiago Calatrave’s work… just because, they are awesome!
After Madrid, we drove back to Orgiva to pick up my friends laptop and to say goodbye to his uncle’s family. With his uncle Cristobal’s permission, here is the picture of his lovely daughters. The little one to the left name Zoe. She is very energetic, happy, laughs a lot, smiles and like to say “what?” in French all the time. And that not so little one is Matilde, very calm, polite, caring for her younger sister, and very mature for her age. Just a few days ago I posted the sunrise view of Orgiva. That is the view from the front yard of Cristobal house. Amazing view isn’t it?
If you look closely to the left, just a bit above of Zoe’s umbrella in the background, you would see a little bit of the tail of the rainbow that is cast over the downtown of Orgiva. I will have that picture posted in no time. Until then, look at how happy they are… so happy and free spirited.
Today’s photo is from inside the factory of San Miguel Beer in Malaga, Spain (I don’t know why do I repeat that here). I processed this photo a few days ago and today, my head’s just going in all directions, it not un-organize but it’s just flying everywhere!!! And then this picture turned up on my desktop (Yes, I have my own work as my desktop background. Silly but TRUE) and then BAM, that just like my state of mind where everything is going in all directions in and in an orderly way.
Anyway, at the factory… I got to watch this video about how the San Miguel company came about, believe it or not, that video is one of the most inspiring videos I have ever seen. It show how one’s determination win over doubt and fear, how “just do it” can win over everything. Because when we “just do it” we may fail 99999999999999 times, but then the 10000000000000 time we got it right!
Is it worth it? To fail over and over again? My answer would be Yes, because it shows me what not to do the next time and yet… every moment matters so much that we should never let any opportunities go by. Do what I want to do and “say” what I want to say. I used to follow my brain for “too long”. No more! I said.
A walk in Madrid on Gran Via. This reminded me so much of window shopping in the Santa Monica promenade with but with real architecture of these buildings. Another difference is that at the Santa Monica promenade we have so many live performances on the street that allow visitors to watch and contribute as they see fit. It was these performances that make it so much fun to walk and shop at the promenade because it allows people to stop, look at the performances one after another which in my opinion, generates more sales revenue for the shops nearby since these audiences probably shop more while they are watching the live performance. Without the live show, most people just go to the store that they want, ignoring half of the shops near by.
I must have walk up and down the Gran Via about 20 times, looking for LOEWE store because it is, as they said, the very first store they opened about 70 years ago. After 2 hours, I finally found it and got to spend another hour in the store, just looking around.
One up and coming addition to the website is flickr. I am currently uploading all of the files up to the flickr account so that all of the original size picture can be accessed for everyone’s use under the creative commons license. Once it is complete, and when I have the time again, I will edit all the posts here so that it will link these images back to flickr and vice versa. Confusing… time consuming… yet, nothing is impossible, with hope.
As requested, here is a photo taken just a few minutes after arriving at Orgiva, Spain where I stayed with my friend for a night before we drove up to Madrid. The house is surrounded by mountains that which ever direction I turned to… the view would be similar to today’s pick.
I am stuffed at the moment because I just came back from brunch, eating “just” a little bit too much. But isn’t that the idea… eating Breakfast + Lunch. Because of that, my brain is lacking Oxygen, resulting in me… just staring and blanking out at the picture and in my head, just “dot dot dot” ……….
Going to Madrid for the first time, on the road that I believe will lead to Madrid because of the Street Signs along the way as well as a little bit of help from the iPhone’s google maps. It was a long drive and during this road-trip it reminded me of the trip from California to Vancouver. That one took 5 days with several stops along the way. The scenery are so Californian that I thought I was in California.
We are creature of habits that base everything on our experiences. We drive from place to places by believing that the sign, the gps, and the navigator will “always” lead us to our destination safely. The result is that when we are lost, we “BLAME” those street sign, the gps and the navigator, yet we never blame ourselves for blindly following those sign, the gps, and the navigator.
Ahh well, I still wish that there is a Navigator for life to preview the path that it is going to lead me to my destination… just to know how far and how long it would take. So I can be prepare for it, unfortunately… there are none
El Escorial is an historical residence of the king of Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school. It is located about 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of the Spanish capital, Madrid, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. El Escorial comprises two architectural complexes of great historical and cultural significance: El Real Monasterio de El Escorial itself and La Granjilla de La Fresneda, a royal hunting lodge and monastic retreat about five kilometres away. These sites have a dual nature; that is to say, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they were places in which the temporal power of the Spanish monarchy and the ecclesiastical predominance of the Roman Catholic religion in Spain found a common architectural manifestation.[1] El Escorial was, at once, a monastery and a Spanish royal palace. Originally a property of the Hieronymite monks, it is now an Augustinian monastery.
As much as I want to get into the detail of who, what, when, where, why, and how El Escorial come about… I would just get to the point. Out of all of the different ways a question that could be asked, I think that the hardest one to answer is… why. Because the “why” required us to consider about “everything” before it can be answer. Let’s use the El Escorial as an example, Who built it… can be answered by a person name or a group of people. What is it… is a monestary. When, Where and how it was built can be simply answered by researching the facts about the monastery. Why it was built ??? The reasons behind it could be answer in million ways. Is it because of one person’s passion and obsession? Is it because Spain needed a stronghold fortress / castle? Is it because someone want to impress someone else? Is it because they just want to create more job opportunities for the locals? Is it meant to be a gift to another person? Is it….. because….. The lists of questions can go on and on.
The same can be applied to our lives… we can never really answer ourselves about “why” this and that happens, “why” are we – really – doing what we are doing, “why” is the result is different from the expectations… I am sure that we can come up with some answers… and the answers only have to be “good enough” to convince us into believing that it is “the reason” responding to the “why”
Until we are SATISFIED with who we are, what we have, where we want to go,… the answer for “why” would never be a good enough answer for us. Or is it?
A visit to a city is not complete until I get to visit the tallest buildings. I was so excited that we would get to see Madrid from the top of one of the buildings. Unfortunately, really, 2 of the buildings, Caja – far left building and the Crystal Tower – you may see the base of the building thru the open atrium of the Espacio Tower – far right) are still under construction (expected completion in the 4th quarter of 2009) and the one that is open is Eurostars that do not allow non-hotel customers to enter the tower. The one that normally allow visitors to enter is the Espacio, however the building is closed for Good Friday – Easter Holiday. The result is that I got stranded outside in the wind. The gusts of wind are so strong that it is almost impossible to walk. It is not only the wind, it is also the fiercely ice cold wind that numbed my hand and finger. It may not look as cold as it should, but the temperature at the location was 5 Celsius or 41 Fahrenheit with the gust of wind. No, I was not prepared for the weather at all, as I only wore the casual, everyday t-shirt, jeans, and a light jacket.
The visit to the top of Madrid will have to wait until my next trip that would be a while from now, I am sure that, by then the towers will be complete and open to the public.
It took me an hour to start writing this post after having it uploaded here because I was side tracked watching music videos on YouTube.
The picture I selected today is from the Retiro Park in Madrid. The park reminded me the combination of Suan Lum (a park) in Bangkok and the Balboa Park in San Diego. The greening of the park and the lake is very similar to Suan Lum however the extensive use of classical architecture and sculpture is very similar to Balboa park. Walking at the Retiro park makes me feel home-sick in a funny way because I miss both Bangkok and Los Angeles to the point that I am confused as to which home is really home. If possible, I’d like to have more than one “home” (not house), as both of them feel like home to me. Walking in Madrid also brings me back the memory of myself studying history of architecture because we studied so much about Europe and its classical order of columns, the tri-parti, symmetry, asymmetry, and so on.
Those… were good times! And these… are good moments that I would never want to forget.
As promised, presented before you is the photo of Gran Via in the heart of Madrid that I took just a few days ago. For the first time on TwoStepsBehind that I textured* a photo, a particular reason being that today is April 13, 2009 officially the Thai New Year, Wan Song Kran. Hence I textured the photo to mark the new beginning of Thai New Year and it will be part of the technique that I would start applying more to different photos depending… I don’t know… to be determined.
How did I come across this shot? From a postcard stand while I was browsing postcards and yes, I bought the card that has view similar to this. The view, the angle, the light of the postcard is great however I believe that it lacks in feeling. The feeling that I experienced at the moment I am standing at the spot where I took the photo.
Taking photos are as easy as point and shoot, but capturing the feeling of that split “moment” is beyond doable, yet I do my best to present that moment to you. However, what I thought was lack in those postcard, I added here in my own version, the Vintage of Gran Via.
*credit: thanks to pareeerica that provided hundreds of texture via Flickr and Maggie (November) for sharing the link to pareeerica album.
Day 7… According to our plan, we should be back in Marbella, after a long road-trip, to rest for half a day before the beginning of the end to this journey, at Les Roches.
A lighthouse is meant to guide a ship to arrive at the coast safely and preventing them from running a dangerous path. It will always be there, day and night, hot or cold, calm or windy, storm or clear… it will always shine its light, it will always stand strong and hold it ground to do its job at its best. We always look at things one way, and that way is how “that things” benefit us. We rarely look at how much “that things” has gone thru to provide what it is providing for us. Let’s reflect this back to our life, a very good metaphor of a lighthouse could be our parents. Our parents and families are always there for us, to guide and direct us safely to the shore, but really, how often do we really think about what they must have gone thru in their lives, how much have they suffered when we ignore them, how painful it is to be left behind and yet… they will stand there, waiting… Waiting for us to come back to them and just to be there, accompanying that lighthouse.
Dear Mother, and my Families… Happy (Thai) New Year. I love you and miss all of you. Thank you for never let me fall… and for always being there for me. And this song is for you, Don’t let me fall by Lenka
This is the last schedule post for this holiday, and from Monday on, I should be back on posting on regular basis and I will be sure to post all the pictures taken from the trip as well. It is not easy to schedule posts for days in a roll but hey, one post a day, as promised ^_^
Day 6… Today is April 11, and if I were to be in Los Angeles I would probably go to a Thai Temple for the Thai New Year Festival. The actual Thai New Year is on April 13 but in LA, we normally celebrate on a week before the date.
For the road-trip, our plans are so not rigid that we may be coming back from Madrid on Friday night and go to Alhambra on Saturday but for sure the plan is to be back in Marbella by Sunday afternoon.
After being away from the beach for so long, staying on the road, driving… co-piloting with the map and spending so much time in the car, I think it would be a great idea to change environments by trying a yachts for a the future road/boat trip. That is how I ended up with the picture taken at Puerto Banus. It would have been nice to just waste my day on a yacht, but that has to wait until I have one of my own.
*update via Mobile: We are heading back to Marbella from Madrid. That would take about 7 hours of driving. We will be driving to Orgiva first, to pick up my friend’s laptop and then to Marbella. The only concern I have is for the car, that it would be able to handle the lengthy trip. Lets cross our fingers!
Day 5: By now, I should be missing the beach very much because it is so close to the school. The view of the beach can be seen from a hill next to our school. I think that it is today that we will be going to the Alhambra because it would be too tiring to go on the same day that we drive back from Madrid.
Thinking of the beach, this picture is a great way to express the ideal way of enjoying a day by the beach. The family in the picture seems to be enjoying the warm sun, the breeze of fresh air and the sound of wave crashing to the sand. Life, it just can’t get any simpler.
*Update via mobile. We are postponing the Alhambra de Granada for now as we agreed to stay longer in Madrid because it is so far away from Marbella. As for Grananda, we will take a trip there later during one of the long weekends because it is about 2 hour drive from the school, so it will allow us to do a day trip. So much to see, so little time!
Day 4: Driving back to Orgiva from Madrid is the plan and our next destination is the Alhambra de Granada… One of the Seven Wonders of the World! I really don’t know much about the Alhambra, besides that I have lived in Alhambra, California before. I am sure it is nothing like the Alhambra, Granada. Every time I mention that, we are going to Granada… everyone will tell me to visit the Alhambra because it is a beautiful place with great architecture. I myself, have not seen anything as fascinating as this Cathedral in Malaga, especially when there are chariots outside.
I really wonder about this “Alhambra de Granada,” if it is really worth being the Seven Wonder of the World… the only way to find out is to visit. Then I will update later about what is my opinion about the Alhambra.
*update via mobile… it seems that we are still in Madrid and going to Alhambra de Granada is in the air right now, not so sure… Oh well, we will find out later tomorrow if we are still going there or is it going to be on Saturday. Either way, it’ll be great because I have been taking so many pictures that I will slowly post it here from time to time. Until then, will keep you posted .
Day 3: By now, we should be in Madrid with some of our PG buddies. At this point I must have seen so much of this city… perhaps too much? I hope that my camera can hold enough pictures.
I wonder if this gentleman that is fishing in the picture is from Madrid and that he is here fishing in Marbella because he has spent so much of his life in the busy city street, perhaps he is a CEO of a big company that is taking his day off just to do nothing.
Most of the people who are fishing are not really after the fish… but the moment of peace where it is suddenly change into enthusiasm when the caught the fish. It is the feeling not about the fish that we are after when we go fishing, at least that is my reason for fishing.
*update via mobile: today plan is to go to Gran Ville, where the “Loewe” store is located. An interesting incident happened yesterday. After we arrived in Madrid and were trying to look for our friends place, a block from their place… our car died in the middle of the intersection. !!! Unnn Beee Liveeee Aaaa Ble!!! So we had to push the car to the side, with help of a very nice local gentleman that helped push the car. About 30 minutes later… the car came to life again!!! That was just wierd!
**after we gathered up with our friend, we went to a coffeshop, Met Cafe and the rest of the evening we were just resting at their place… guess what we were watching??? Gossip Girl!!! I think we much have watched about 3 episodes! And then we went to Tony Roma’s for a late dinner, my first time eating in Tony Roma’s. After that, back to the apartment and watch more Gossip Girl… then sleep.
Day 2: According to our so called plan, we should be on the way to Madrid. It is going to be a 5 hours drive, that is even worse than driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I remember being stuck in traffic for 6 hours driving to Vegas, that wasn’t a good memory at all. We tried all kind of games, words, singing, scrambles, and the result was that they all fell asleep anyway, leaving the driver alone.
Madrid!!!… Spain, is the first place that I visited in Europe, and for the past 2 months… I haven’t really explored the country yet. This week, I have the opportunities to do just that… just drive… just relax… just enjoy… and just be present. We didn’t really plan PLAN anything, more of just let it happen.
I ask him, how long are we staying… his answer was “until I run out of money”
Because we drove thru Malaga, I selected this picture on the day that I went to Malaga with my roommate and was looking for a place to drink coffee, visit Picasso house and the cathedral of Malaga. Based on human instincts, I made an assumption that Madrid would likely look somewhat like Malaga. I am sure I could be totally wrong because Madrid is the Capital of Spain… and like most of the capital cities in the world, it is full of high-rise buildings, traffic jams, and pollution. Well, let’s put that assumption aside and just wait until I am actually there.
*update view mobile: Orgiva is an amazing place, it is a city surrounded by mountains. To understand the views, the homes, the city and the scenery… the best way is to watch the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun.” If you have already watch it then you would know exactly what I mean. I am staying with Simon’s auntie who has her own private business, allowing tourists to rent the houses / resorts for a week or longer. There are 2 cats running around, 2 little girls age 10 and 6, and the auntie and her husband living together in a loving family cottage house. I thought that this kind of life only exisst in movies. I couldn’t be more wrong.
**after a walk in the city of Orgiva, when we came back… our car had vanished !!! however, in the end we got it back at the cost of 80 euro (instead of 180 euro).
Day 1: By now, if everything goes according as planed, we should be in Orgiva, a city that is approximately 30 minutes away from the Alhambra de Granada. We will be staying at Orgiva for a night and then on Tuesday, we will head up to Madrid, a 5 hours or so drive from Orgiva. One place that I wanted to visit is the Corporate Headquarters of Loewe, the rest are just bonuses. For the Alhambra de Granada, we will visit it later on the way back, possibly Thursday or Friday.
Today I selected this picture, the Lobby of Les Roches, Marbella at night because now that all the students left for the Easter holiday and the school has been really quiet I can go from place to place taking all the pictures I want as long as I want. And I think that it is a great moment to remember, when everything is nice and calm.
I remember a phrase from somewhere which said something like “that we will never know where we are going unless we knew exactly where we came from.” I find this statement to be true enough that I am going to find out exactly where I came from. The hardest question for me to answer is, where are you from? Because I don’t know how to answer it correctly without the rise of another question. Here is a simple scenario… when asked, I answered… Los Angeles… then we will talk about LA for a little bit, the new question is… but where are you “really” from? I would then answer Bangkok… then we talk about BKK for a little bit more… and then the next comment is… you don’t look Thai, more like Chinese, or Japanese??? … And here we go… explaining about the family history to them about how it could be trace back all the way to China, and Singapore.
It doesn’t really matter which location I answer to first because, in the end I would be answering the questions mentioned above in a different sequence.
My friends ask me why won’t I explore Europe while I am here in Spain, there is really no explainable reason. The most important reason for me not to explore Europe, yet, but to go back to Bangkok, Thailand is that I would like to be able to really experience, explore and able to explain to people about what, where, when and why should they go to Thailand. And all those suggestions would come directly from my own experience, not from the website nor book.
Okay, I’ll get back to wait for my ferry to come.
Ahh almost forget, for this holiday… I will be backpacking on a road trip with my Belgian-French classmate (see how hard it is to identify each person in today’s melting pot society) to Granada. Hopefully we will get to go to the Alhambra de Granada before the end of our holiday. Also because we don’t know if we will have an internet connection at his family place, I will be scheduling posts until next Sunday. However, if we are fortunate enough to have internet, then we will get to see some posts of pictures taken from the Alhambra de Granada.
Until then… I will be activating my internet on iphone just to be able to update pictures on Facebook, as well as to have internet for google maps, “just” in case we are lost on the way. Hopefully not.
This picture was taken yesterday, the last day of midterms, in the evening after dinner. It was around 8:00 pm but the sun was still up. A group of us then headed out for a walk from our school, Les Roches, to Puerto Banus. About half an hour later, we got this view, of the Sierra Blanca mountain. I had about 40 sec to capture this moment, a moment that captured the evening, the evening that marked the start of a week of Easter Holiday!
I must have seen this mountain many times but the difference is that, the view it is being viewed from, the context that is in the view and the surrounding of the view. As a local, I don’t think that they see what a foreigner, ie. me, sees just because Sierra Blanca has been part of them for so long that they may forget its serenity and beauty. To me, I just couldn’t stop looking at her, everywhere I go… I will always looking around to see if she is in my sight, or have I gone to far that I couldn’t see her anymore? She is the first thing I look at before I start my day at 6:15 am, because when I look at her, I can tell if today is a sunny, rainny, warm or cold by simply looking her.
Let us stop everything we are doing for a moment, look around and start noticing things that have always been there. Then, you will find yourself a Sierra Blanca of your own.
Midterm is finally over, most of the exams went really well but one… accounting!!! In my opinion, I needed more time to finish the work. Oh well the point is, it is over and to keep thinking about it will not change the fact that I only finished “half” of the exercise for the accounting. After the exam, I went to relax with my classmates at their place across from the school. The weather is perfect; sunny and warm, so much so that I jumped into the swimming pool thinking that the water would be nice and warm as well. Not! Freezing cold, and soaking wet.
So we spent some time by the pool just sitting in the sun, warming and drying myself before walking back to my room. That experience reminded me of Christmas day in 2008 when I went for an evening walk in the rain, cold and wet just an hour before sunset at Angel point, Los Angeles.
Love, is in the air…
call out my name,
and I will be there.
It was at the Los Angeles Auto Show, last November that I got to see this beauty presented in one of the galleries. I took a few angles of this Lamborghini, however, I believe that this view, this angle, this moment is just right. It is not about more is less… but it is about Less is More. The design, from an architecture point of view, is so basic with the cause of simple shape elements that creates the elegance of the design. The speed of the car is unquestionable as everyone must know how fast it is. The color of the car, white, black and touch of red/orange to bring out its characteristics.
The selection of the picture today is because I have seen a few of this Lambos here in Marbella already in typical red and yellow paint. I think it would have been much nicer in white just because white is not a color and it represents neutrality, which in my opinion, is also Richard Meier’s reason for choosing all of this architectural design in white is one of the most fact that I must agree with.
I would like to share with you, tonight, the ongoing conversation that I have with my children, Joseph and Ana. It revolves around the question “What is your favorite color?” Joseph, who is four and three-quarters, always replies green, and states when asked why, that “green is the color of grass, the trees are green, green is all around us, it’s the color of spring and dollar bills.”
Ana, who is three and doesn’t like to be outdone by Joseph, replies that her favorite color is blue, and that, “the sky is blue, the pools and ponds and lakes are blue.”
And then they turn to me and ask, “Daddy, what is your favorite color?” And every time we play this gave, my response is the same: “White is my favorite color.”
“But Daddy,” Joseph says, “You can’t have white. White is not a color; white isn’t in the rainbow; you have to take a color that is in the rainbow, like red or green, or blue or yellow.”
And I have to explain that for me, white is the most wonderful color because within it you can see all the colors of the rainbow. For me, in fact, it is the color which in natural light, reflects and intensifies the perception of all of the shades of the rainbow, the colors which re constantly changing in nature, for the whiteness of white is never just white; it is almost always transformed by light and that which is changing; the sky, the clouds, the sun and the moon.
White conventionally has always been seen as a symbol of perfection, of purity and clarity. If we ask why this is the case, we realize that where other colors have relative-values dependent upon their context, white retains its absoluteness. At the same time, it may function as a color itself. It is against a white surface that one best appreciates the play of light and shadow, solids and voids. Goethe said “color is the pain of light.” Whiteness is perhaps the memory and the anticipation of color. For me, the contrast becomes the definition — that which is natural, organic, changing, contains at different times, all of the colors of the rainbow. And that which is man-made should help to focus and intensify one’s perception of all that is around us.
It appears that he has found a successful formula and he’s sticking with it, a eventually it becomes his trademark as an architect, pretty much like Frank Gehry has his dynamic architecture, and Tadao Ando and his minimalist architecture.
I know it is hard to believe… but there how would you explain this? It is snowing right outside of the Sutton hotel in Bangkok. This is the view on Silom Street, for those who are familiar with Bangkok, this should very easy to recognize. So, what is going on with the weather? As mentioned a few day before, regarding the unpredictable weather that was in Spain and now it is snowing in Bangkok! What is next?
I can’t believe that this is actually happening! Snowing in Bangkok? No way! And if you are really familiar with Bangkok, then you would know that… this is NOT Bangkok, duh !!! So there is no Snow in Bangkok, take it easy… our planet is fine, don’t worry about it.
Hey! Don’t blame me for this… my cousin, Benz, sent me a message saying that it is snowing in Bangkok and I totally believed it. Now I am just passing on the foolishness, just for today. Happy April Fools Day !!!! ^_^
Okay, now you got to make up your own story to pass on the message for April Fools Day.
For the picture… it is indeed the view from the Sutton hotel’s balcony that I stayed at with my friends. I took this picture after the New Year countdown at “Glow Ball”, a few blocks from the hotel. It was the first time that I actually saw and felt the snow falling, real snow, from the sky… and it was during the first hour of 2009. What an amazing memory!!!
