From the outside of the El Escorial, all we see is the stone, cold, and harsh walls; but it has a totally different feel once we made it thru the wall. A very warm welcoming is waiting patiently for the residents to come home.
*architecture 101: A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air. (wiki)
There are many times in life that… I just can’t seem to find words, pictures, nor paintings to describe what I want to say. Today is one of those days, a day that is best expressed by Debussy – Clair de Lune (moonlight).
In this world you tried,
Not leaving me alone behind.
There’s no other way,
I pray to the gods let him stay.
The memories ease the pain inside,
And now I know why.
All of my memories keep you near.
In silent moments,
Imagine you being here.
All of my memories keep you near,
In silent whispers, silent tears
Made me promise I’d try,
To find my way back in this life.
Hope there is a way,
To give me a sign you’re okay.
Reminds me again it’s worth it all,
So I can go home.
All of my memories keep you near.
In silent moments,
Imagine you being here.
All of my memories keep you near.
In silent whispers, silent tears.
Together in all these memories,
I see your smile.
All of the memories I hold dear.
Darling you know I’ll love you,
Til the end of time.
All of my memories keep you near
In silent moments,
Imagine you being here.
All of my memories keep you near,
In silent whispers, silent tears.
The sky was so blue, the clouds were scattered by the wind, the trees were waving along with the breeze of fresh air and I was just laying there, on the stepping stones. Letting the day drift away slowly and just simply staring at the clear blue sky wondering why… why do I think about “why” so much! And then I just kept on why”ing”.
It was then, when I captured the view while I was visiting the Retiro Park, as I laid down by the pool and waited for my friends to finishing rowing the boat.
One of the questions I had was… Who is this man?
After zooming at the picture, then googled the name… I found out that he was the King Alfonso XII of Spain reigning, from 1875 to 1885. The amazing thing is that he was born in1857 which mean that he became the king while he was only 18 years old.
Woooppps… I must have left this post up for hours before I actually bloged it! That was because… I was creating a LinkedIn profile! Finally catching up with everyone else out there.
Okie… back to our topic… Architecture vs Nature. The thought of writing this topic really come down to a question… which is
Could there be architecture without nature and vice versa.
In my opinion, we need both architecture and nature for us to be able to enjoy the beauties of the 2 elements!
We just can’t have one without the other.
Um…. this is weird… I had so much to write when I was processing this just an hour ago. But now… I just blank out! Ahh! I can write about one thing… I didn’t take this picture, it was …! Yup… it was her … behind the camera and just pew pew pew!
It does look so much like the Cat’s Eye Nebula isn’t it?
Sunday afternoon, I suddenly remembered the Polar Coordinates filter in Photoshop that can turn a 360 degree panorama into a miniature earth. So I tried it with the 360 degrees of photos I have of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid.
It is very unhealthy for me to be blogging this right now, late at night, because I want to have all of those sweets right now! It was so good! We had a full box of them for our breakfast, lunch and dinner! This is the Dunkin Coffee by the Sol metro station in Madrid, Spain. How lucky were we to have found this shop right when we were starving!
That was the best box of donuts ever! So sweet, so good… very very good!
Okie…. that’s it, I am going to get a box of Dunkin Donuts tomorrow!
Hum… if we gotta dream… why not just dream big! Dream of it and make it happen!
Umm… I really don’t have much to write about today… because I am still dreaming about that big house and garden.
But what I would really prefer is… not a big house or garden but a happy family living in a house together regardless of the size or status, just a happy family understanding each other. Simple, yet not that simple!
About the picture, I took it during my trip to Madrid. Unfortunately it was about to rain as you can see, a storm was coming in! It was so cold that my fingers were freezing and it wasn’t easy at all to take these pictures with my exposed bare hands, yet I did it anyway. Then… it off to find a cafe for a really sweet hot chocolate! Yum!!!!
Okay… this is a section of Plaza Mayor Panorama that I took, of course at Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain. I know that I wouldn’t be able to remember everything there and all the activities at the plaza! So I just snap snap snap snap snap… and just keep shooting til I turned 360 degree (horizontally!)
The really fun part is in the “original” panorama file on flickr that I am having a hard time uploading because it has a 100mb file size! So the fun part is when, I can zoom in to see so much detail and all the shops and activities in the plaza! It’s really that FUN! You should try; well try it when the file is actually uploaded *update: the problem is that Flickr only allows 20mb file size… ahh I see!!
Tthe best part is… I feel as if I am right there with, you know who. ^_^ Which is the main inspiration for me to complete these 3 hours of processing the panorama required.
It was a night in Madrid, where I was going solo for the night all alone after letting my friends go to eat tapas and drink some beer. I was more interested in the city and because I wouldn’t have much of a chance to visit the city, hence I just keep walking and snapping at everything! phew phew phew! Here and there, mostly I was taking pictures of architecture but I felt that it wasn’t enough to remember the moment.
Not until I found this shot, the Vespa!
On a different subject… does anyone know what is the cause of eye twitching! My left eye has been twitching for weeks now! In Thai culture, we believe that the left eye twitching is a sign of GOOD LUCK! Or perhaps bad luck? Or perhaps… you know how when people sneeze, they said that someone is missing you… or is gossiping about you. Let’s hope that it is something “GOOD” that is happening when the eye twitches. Or actually… maybe it was just my eye twitching?
That was very superstitious of me, how silly!
Better stop thinking and rest some more, these storms and rain in Bangkok are starting to get to me!
I am learning to speak Portuguese! Not very good yet… still on chapter 3 out of 24 chapters! Well, but it is a start! Why Portuguese? Because I am going to need it in 10,967,287 seconds or a mere 3,046 hours away before I’ll be settling in Portugal! (POR-tu-guese) Until then, I am filling every minutes of the day with as many activities as possible to keep the time going!
TIME FLYS!
Hello Neighbor. Good morning! is the translation of the title today. Actually the picture was taken in Madrid, Spain… NOT “POR” tugal!
Why do I emphasis “POR” tugal? Because I was lectured for saying “POL” tugal! and sometime “PO” tugal which is wrong. So, everyday… while driving to work… one of my lessons is to say the word “Portugal” correctly!
As much as we would like for him to turn around, he can’t as he is a statue, a part of the El Prado Museum Fine Art. We didn’t actually visit inside of the museum. We were taking a short cut to get to Retiro Park and found a place to rest after hours long of walking!
As for the picture, it was taken by … when she got a hold of the camera for just a few minutes but she captured so many great pictures in those few minutes compared to me spending hours and hours, trying way too hard to get a few good pictures… I don’t even know if mine were any good!
I guess, trying too hard doesn’t always take us to what we were trying to achieve! Instead… just relax, do our best, don’t force it, just let it be… and then everything will work itself out!
As for the photo at Santa María la Real de La Almudena, a Catholic cathedral in Madrid, SPAIN, I took this just weeks before I left Spain. Walking in the sun for hours, I was lucky enough to get a shot at this because … was exhausted from all the walk and wanted rest ASAP! So there I went, snapping photos as much as I could before we went to have our brunch near the Palace.
A mother holding her child… an unconditional love… a purest gift… the greatest joy. (This is Me… trying to write a poem)
I don’t think I can ever put words into defining what I would tell my mother on mother’s day. 2 Days ago, it was Mother’s Day in Thailand.. 12 August 2009. I couldn’t find a picture or word to tell her how much I care for her and love her.
Today, I found the one photo… with an inspiration by a mother that wouldn’t want to miss a minute spent with her child, a great mother indeed.
Dear Mother and mothers, I would like to dedicate to you, A True Angel by George W. Zellars.
A mother is special, she’s more than a friend.
Whenever you need her, she’ll give you a hand.
She’ll lead you and guide you in all that you do.
Try all that she can just to see you get through.
Good times and bad times, she’s there for it all.
Say head up, be proud, and always stand tall.
She’ll love you through quarrels and even big fights, or heart to heart chats on cold lonely nights.
My mother’s the greatest that I’ve ever known, I think God made my mother like He’d make his own.
A praiser, a helper, an encourager too, nothing in this world that she wouldn’t do.
To help us succeed she does all that she can, raised a young boy now into a man.
Inspired by London’s crystal palace, the Palacio de Cristal can be found at the south-eastern end of the Retiro Park. It was initially used to house exotic plants brought over from the Philippines. It is now mainly used for temporary exhibitions. (wiki)
It is an unfortunate thing to happen to an amazing structure, as the Cristal palace now houses absolutely nothing. Sure it was once a green house for exotic plants, but its name and glory are things lost in time, a time which has passed by. It has become outdated and has lost its value. The architecture at this scale should be occupied throughout the year; it should not be neglected nor only be used when it is needed.
A palace is not a palace if it were merely a decoration to a park. A palace is a palace when it is occupied and cared for.
To my eyes, this is a very lonely sight indeed. Once a place full of lives and happiness, now an empty shell waiting to be fill with joy once again, permanently. Until then…
Back to the Easter Holiday once again, it was April, 09 2009 just a few days before the Thai New Year celebration (April 13). I had only seen the picture of the Plaza Mayor in photos and postcards before. But once I actually had been in the Plaza, it was simply amazing! I have seen many plazas like this before on the Discovery Channel, but never before in person until that day! At that time, I had spent so much time taking pictures, I must have taken several hours at the Plaza Mayor.
Anyway, I told myself that day… “I am going to visit this place again but it would be with the love of my life.” Who would have known that just a few months later… I actually visit Plaza Mayor again.
Being a wedding planner is not easy, especially when you want to plan one for yourself.
I am not much of a speaker… I hope that this would explain how I feel for her. Is it classical, rap, hiphop, R&B? I have no idea! But it is a great song that I found on YouTube!
Two Hearts, One Love.
Verse 1
Reminince back when the first time we met
i thought to do something but i was too scared
of the main fact that i might get rejected
neglected even if i got selected
it was too much for a small heart to handle
had this dream me and you on the table
heads tight me and you with dim lights
no one in else in sight only you and i
the skys dim blue stars out too
you from the star it was gonna be true
when you howl my world me and you were together
i live one you yeah we be here forever
our loves my life when you give me butterflies
i see my wife when i look into your eyes
your my life your my friend you my motivation
my girl of my life you my new sensation
your more like no one else yeah your one of a kind
its hard to believe some time ichiban
i think you were sent to me from above
always intrigued two hearts one love
two hearts one love for life
two hearts one love till the day that i die
Verse 2
i was lost before but now im found
just thinking about you make my head go round
i love you for you and your personality
whenever im drunk you make it seem like a reality
if something wrong and im left in the dark
your the first one i talk to coz your whom who i trust
before i sleep i make sure that you brush
you my baby my sweetie my lil princess
i cant explain how much i love you
whenever im around you i feel so triggered
just feel so right like it meant to be heaven
having you in my arms means so much to me
when we kiss i just feel so much
how you change my day just with a single touch girl
theres no you can trust me with your heart
655 for life from the start
Chorus
your my life your my friend you my motivation
my girl of my life you my new sensation
your more like no one else yeah your one of a kind
its hard to believe some time ichiban
i think you were sent to me from above
always intrigued two hearts one love
two hearts one love for life
two hearts one love till the day that i die
Bridge
Still cant believe that you were mine
the love that we shared was so genuine
family first? well you come first
i love you so much that my heart gonna burst that it hurts
musical feeling inside the thought of the two of us goin to collide
everytime i hold you my heart beats fast
its you before my crew called outkast
bridge break
the love we have grows strong by the day
you my one lonely love where the word hoe’s okay
in bed its only you in my head and running now
which you would feel i was dead
instead im at home alone
atleast one hiss with your voice on the phone
and i do that i dont care about the bills
650 man that aint giving me the chills
i just think of you
when you watch that i wait with you
i share love and thats how its gonna stay
this love that we have bright white like a dove
A week has passed since the start of work, and now I must admit that it is quite exhausting to be up 5 am and get home by midnight. Traffic is just beyond words. How can Bangkok turn a normal 20 mins trip into a 2 hours trip?! I just don’t get it.
For now… rest! for the next 7 hours before getting back to work Saturday morning!
It is amazing how a building can last hundreds of years. Well, I really don’t believe that normal buildings will last that long. What it need is the care and the life inside the building otherwise it is just an empty shell. My auntie once asked me why new empty buildings feel so old and get deteriorated so fast compared to buildings that are half a decade older but, are full of life and joy.
Architecture really isn’t “just about” the design of buildings but it is really about the design of “space” and the interaction of those “spaces with people” In Bangkok, the idea of architecture is defined by the amount of square meters you can have in an empty lot. That is why most of the buildings here are built EXACTLY to the size of the vacant lot, perhaps only a meter away from the property line for people to walk.
And when I was in Europe, the architecture there amazed me in the point that they are so well maintained both its architecture and culture. The city is lively with culture that has been there for hundreds of years. The architecture enhanced that very rich culture making it is such a great place to visit or to eventually settle down.
This picture was taken in Madrid on my very first visit to Madrid on Easter Holiday 2009. I find Europe to be a very attractive place to live just as I have always imagined.
And guess what? I am done imagining about living in Europe because I am going to live in Europe, really soon!
A castle is made to provide protection for residents
The architecture of the castle is to distinguish itself from everything else
The columns are meant to support the structure
The walls are made to prevent elements from entering
Everything is meant to separate the inside from the outside
Except the windows… which are made to “LET” in the light and “LET” the residences inside to enjoy the view outside.
The view like this tulip field right before the castle.
A gently touch that turns a cold harsh castle into a loving and welcoming one.
Got home quite late today. First day of internship as Event Management Coordinator at InterContinental Bangkok. I must have attended hundreds of events organized by hotels since I was a child. Everything seems so simple; the lighting, the table settings, the sound, the service, the flowers and the food and beverages. They are so simple that I thought it was such an easy task to do until after I organized a 400 pax for Cultural Night event at Les Roches Marbella, Spain. That was when I found out how “uneasy” it was to organized an event and how much coordination it required to have everything perfect, from the beginning to the end.
Today I found myself fully engulfed by so many amazing things that I have learned in just one day. I was amazed by the size of the conference center and rooms, at the technologies they use in each room, at the way they organized between each department. For example the Event Management Dept must confirm everything with the banquet dept, florist dept, kitchen, and audio and visual dept. It is something that we do weekly to make sure that all the customer expectations are met… and exceed the customer expectation.
Today an Event Management Coordinator, soon a Wedding planner… so good that I can organized an event for thousands of people at Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain.
Can you recall your dreams? Some people are able to finely detail their dreams from the beginning to the end. Some can’t recall the story line but are able to recall bits and pieces from their dream. And some just can’t recall nor remember any thing from the dream at all, hence… I didn’t dream of anything.
I am no psychologist, but I have a theory! hahah, that’s right! A theory from a guy with an Architecture and a Hospitality Management degree, about “Dreams” and why we dream?
There must have been thousands of theories out there about “why we dream” as in “how does it occur” However, what I am talking about is “why we dream” as in “how can we use that dream to our advantage”
Because we are the creator of those DREAMs, I believe that, then we must be able to control our dream to our DESIRES! Dream happen in a virtual world, unreal, not existing, nor happening… it then allow us, the dreamer, to EXPERIENCE different scenarios that are yet to happen or we would like to try. This may refer to the time that you say “aww I wish I did (dot dot dot)” or “what if (dot dot dot)” those moments are the time that we can’t redo because we can’t go back in time, unfortunately there is no “Ctrl+Z” for real life. The dream also allows us to observe ourselves of reactions we have on different scenarios in our dream.
A nightmare could be the result of us losing control of our dreams. As mentioned earlier, we are the creators of our dreams, hence we are the controllers of our dreams. If we can control our dreams, why would we make ourselves have nightmares. Instead we would make our dreams as fun, happy, glory, and joyful as possible! In our dreams… anything is possible and the worst thing is… to have woken up from a dream so sweet that you just want to keep sleeping!
I think the same can be apply to ourselves in reality. We are in control of ourselves therefore everything that happened, resulted from our previous, current, and future actions. Put simply… in our dreams, we can control our minds to dream of happy thoughts. In reality, we can control our actions to work toward those happy moments as well.
——
Dreaming that you were lost in a forest may happen once in a while, but you can control it by believing and creating a path to lead yourself out of the forest.
Hey… a dream is your movie, and you are the director, the actor, the extra, and the props. So do whatever you want with it, use your imagination!
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Albert Einstein.
——
As for the photo, it was taken in Madrid, at Retiro Park while we were walking, looking for a bench to sit and just relax. Couldn’t relax because we were worried about one assignment that was yet to be submitted as we needed another team member to submit it to professor along with other documents. In the end, those worries were for nothing as everything was handed in days before by the team member. Then, we just sat and relax in the woods… away from everything. It wasn’t long but it was memorable.
During Easter Holiday 2009, a friend and I visited Madrid. My primary objective was to visit the Loewe store in Madrid because it is, as they told me, the very first shop that Loewe has open more than 70 years ago! It took me housr to find the store while trying not to be lost in the city. Hours had passed as I walk up and down on Gran Via Blvd only to find out that I had walked past the building many times, because they were renovating the front of the shop and I couldn’t see the sign.
I spent a lot of time at the shop being amazed by everything as it was so unreal because I would never imagine myself to have a chance to visit the store year ago when I first experience Loewe perfume. I didn’t even know before that Loewe originated in Madrid, Spain. Anyway… how could I leave the store empty handed! I spent an hour or so playing around with their perfume and fragrance until my nose could’t handle it anymore. It was fun as I had a great experience with the customer representative that is being very kind to allow me to try all of the fragrance ^_^
I left the store with a pair of fragrance… Solo Loewe and Quizás Quizás Quizás Loewe. The crazy thing was that when I got the Quizás Quizás Quizás Loewe, I had no idea who to give it to yet. But I believe that soon I will find the one to give it to. They both smell great! One for me and one for my Loewe,…!
Enjoy the short video from Loewe made for Quizás Quizás Quizás (Loewe).
The sign that telsl us that we were on the right direction to Madrid were these BULL signs. They are everywhere along the main road to Madrid. As a Matador alumni 2002… I can’t help to stop thinking about the time while I was a Matador. Ahh yes! I was once a Matador when I was in High School, San Gabriel High School, California. The Matador was our school mascot… so I wasn’t the actual matador in the arena. Sorry to disappoint you
Life is amazing, who would have known that I would have the chance to visit and explore for months and months in Spain, the country best known for the Matador! Unfortunately, I didn’t watch the bull fight because I don’t think I can handle it!
Today, I will be heading out for interview for an internship in Bangkok. Wish me luck! Other news is that I will be servicing my computer with AppleCare. There fore I won’t have my computer to work with for at least 10 days! that is what they told me. 10 days without my laptop… that is going to be hard! But hey! it’s not that bad. I’ll figure something out so that I can continue blogging. Actually I already figured it out ^_^
So just before I go to the interview and have my computer service, I would like to blog this one. I took this photo the first time I visit Madrid but it was the 2nd time that I visit Madrid that I get to enjoy a meal there. As you can see the whole line of seats in front of the building, they all belong to one restaurant, Cafe de Oriente. They separate in sections according to menu. And that cause a bit of confusion when we wanted to sit at another location.
In the end we sat right at the corner right behind where the boy in the yellow shirt is standing. It was a really sunny day, so hot that I remember the camera became really hot as I left it in the sun and the table was also so hot that I couldn’t lean my arm on it! The food was great as was the mist of water. I remember how we were waiting for the mist to turn on… it was really that hot. We kept having one orange juice after another. It was really refreshing. So refreshing that it was gone just seconds after it was served!
Just minutes before we had to leave the park, The Retiro Park in Madrid, I got the chance to take this picture. However instead of the photo, I wish we got to be in the boat just for a bit. Why? for more photos !
If I am correct, I know there are parks like this in Bangkok as well. I am going to find out where and then I will share it here and let see… which is better? In my honest opinion, I don’t think that it is where that matters… it is who you are with that makes the difference ^_^
I mean… look at the photo, they all are couples rowing the boats! … the location became insignificant.
After an entire day of point and shoot at everything while we were walking around Madrid, we came to stop at the Madrid Cathedral. It was amazing, the interior, the quietness, the feeling, the empowering and the moment. Some were taking photos while other were praying. I did a little bit of both and noticed how everyone were point and shoot of what in front of them but while I resting. I left my camera on the ground pointing to the ceiling. So I fired away the 3 AEB shots.
That’s how it happened… a coincidence that shows the other side of life. Or was it really… just a coincidence??? Or was it destined to be???
Huh… This reminded me of the game that I used to play when I was little.
Here’s how the game goes; one person will be standing facing away from the rest of his/her friends, with the goal of catching those who don’t FREEZE! He/she then counts from one to ten and then turns around and says Freeze! While he/she is counting… then his/her friends are supposed to be creeping up slowly to him/her… their objective is to creep up all the way to TAG him/her. They are not allow to MOVE, not one bit!. no blinking! none! must FREEZE like a robot or else will be eliminated from the game! The game repeat until the counter got Tag! or everyone else got eliminated!
I am sure many of you must have play this game before!
Well, if they were playing this game in the picture… I would be holding really STILL! because the counter this time is the POLICE!… not only I will be eliminated from the game, I don’t know what else would he do to those that MOVE!
Look at the pedestrians… NO ONE DARES TO MOVE! hahahahahahha! Poor grandpa and grandma on the left… they seem to be FROZEN really still! After all, it was a great day to be walking in Madrid.
This is the result of another drive by shot while Simon was driving us to Madrid, Spain. No, he wouldn’t stop the car because he believed that if he do stop at every place I wanted to take picture, then we would never make it to Madrid. Silly but I think that he may be right.
The image is a bit blurry, yet I love it. I wonder what this building was once before, a warehouse was my wild guess. Whatever it was, it has such a nice location and view for the entire valley below and that it refuses to collapse. Just stood there, perhaps one day someone will see its true value and come back to renovate it? Well, I would if I could… renovate, recreate and fill it with joy and life as it should be the same as when it was created.
Nothing could have made this breakfast any better. Fresh orange juice, toast, coffee and local music… to not worrying about anything and just enjoy the moment. Miss the day, the moment, the view, the color, the freshness, and the morning.
*everyone seem to be chillaxing… but what was that lady in the photo rushing to? Just relax!
*update: the problem is that Flickr only allows 20mb file size… ahh I see!!
