my sisters
cruisin'
the louvre
sacre cour
love rock
ashes and snow
carnival!
quadding in s. afrika
driving on the tokyo bridge
fertility buddha
cabo
the BROOKLYN bridge
a slewie chow - half dutch international connoisseur of partyin...
I have a stressful job. I have to traverse the world, eat interesting cuisines, stay in nice hotels and, at times, go head on with mother nature herself. Ya know...wrestle lions, bike the Alps, and other things my mama told me not to do. This world is humongous, yet still so small at the same time. I have had so many chance encounters in random places... Let me leave you with these 3 words:
EXPLORE...DREAM...DISCOVER...
i have this thing with food...I LOVE IT...you definitely need to try this stuff...onigiri, rooibus tea, bavarian kaiserschmalt, penfold's grange chiraz, muenster cheese, ozzie meat pies, le profitrolls, dim sum, feijoada, churrascaria, yakunikku, teuscher champagne chocolate truffles, Pizzaria Bianco's (best pizza in the US), caipirinhas, fauchon patisseries, oysters, schnitzel, gnocchi, la fite rothschild '97, shen jin bao, ti pang, creme brulee, gotandan sushi, s. indian spicy butter chicken curry, cafe de flore hot cocoa, apple and peach PIE, ice wine, ravioli, bordeaux duck, alaskan king crab legs, kobe beef, minestrone soup, la duree macaroons, madelines, peking duck, fajitas, parisian entrecote, etc. MMM...i could go on forever...top it off with a nicaraguan cigar and a single malt on ice
words of wisdom i've picked up along the way...
I realize you are busy reading the words of all your other people who also love you, but you have been constantly on my mind and each day I think of new things to share with you. Today I wanted to tell you about beauty. In you, there is beauty like a rock. So distilled, so un-shatterable, so ageless, it will attract great numbers of people who will attempt, almost as an exercise of will (and of no more importance to them than an exercise), to break it. They will try ignoring you, flattering you, joining you, buying you, simply to afford themselves the opportunity of finding the one crack in your stone of beauty by which they may enter with their tools of destruction. Often you will be astonished that, while they pursue their single-minded effort to do this, they do not seem to see your sorrowing face (sorrowing because some of them will have come to you in the disguise of friends) or note the quavering of your voice, or the tears of vulnerability in your eyes. To such people, your color, your sex, yourself; make you an object, but an object, strangely, perversely, with a soul. A soul… It is your soul they want. They will want to crack it out of the rock and wear it somewhere not inside them, where it might do them good, but about them like, for example, a feather through their hair, or a scalp dangling from their belt. As frightening as this is, it has always been so. Your mother and father, your grandparents, their parents, all have had your same beauty like a rock, and all have been pursued, often hunted down like animals, because of it. Perhaps some grew tired of resisting, and in weariness relinquished the stone that was their life; but most resisted to the end; the end for them, being merely you. Your life, which is not an end; that resistance is also your legacy. Inner beauty, an irrepressible music, certainly courage to say No or Yes, dedication to one's own Gods, affection for one's own spirits, a simplicity of approach to life, will survive all of us, through your will. You are, perhaps, the last unconquered resident on this earth; and must live, in any case, as if it must be so. – Alice Walker
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself; especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune, but do not distress yourself with dark imaginings; many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself; for you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. – Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
In the time of your life, live so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life that your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed. Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away. Discover in all things, that, which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world. Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart. Be not the inferior of no man, nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of your self. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not people of ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle, but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret. In the time of your life, live so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall instead shine to the infinite delight and mystery of it. – Preface to The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan
25 seems like a really big number to me. And the fact that this week marks my 25th year I’ve been doing what I call my life, feels like a big deal. Nearly eight years ago, when I started college, a friend asked me to tell them about my dreams and aspirations...what it is that I had hoped to accomplish in the coming years. I didn’t know how long it would be, but everything I wanted seemed worth the try. And, I’m still trying. I think I have managed to accomplish much of what I had originally set out to do, during that same period, I feel as if I could spend every waking moment working on other projects that I had in mind. The trouble is that I want to do it all. So I write and dream during my "down time" -- somewhere in the back of my head. Now I am a quarter of a century, practically a new age demographic. Looking back on my life, what would I change if I could? In the classic 1939 film It's a Wonderful Life, the main character, a small town bank officer, is about to commit suicide when an angel shows him how different the lives of people in Bedford Falls would've been if he hadn't been born. The movie is a favorite because it affirms how each of us touches the lives and shapes the future in unexpected and often marvelous ways. Today my view is built on a similar premise: If you change the past you change the future -- often in dramatic and unpredictable ways. If you change one thing, you change everything. Given the potential impact of every little decision, it's obviously wise to think ahead. Though few things turn out exactly as we planned, the better we understand how our choices start a chain reaction of events, the more likely we are to get what we want. The enormous complexity of cause and effect leads to another conclusion: It's futile to look back at our lives with "what if" scenarios. What's done is done and though changing our past would change our present, it would do so in ways that are so unpredictable that we could never know whether it would be for better or worse. I accept and celebrate the fact that what I am today is a direct result of everything that's happened to me and it's pointless to wish things were different. Remember, if you change one thing, you change everything. So I venture forth today to do anything and everything I have ever wanted. I will accomplish great things...how long can I keep it up? Will people even want to hear what I have to say? I’m not sure. I do know, however, that I am, at heart, so very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and interact with so many different people across so many different cultures...leading and intending to prod, probe and provoke deeper thought about living a more meaningful life. And every now and then I’m told that some one was comforted, encouraged or inspired by something I have done or said, and I realize that this, my life...accomplishing my goals to help others and impact them in some sort of meaningful way, is one of the hardest jobs Ill ever love.
Let me tell you a story...at times, I have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times. It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and lives in harmony with all around him. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. He saves all his energy for the right fight. But the other wolf is full of anger, fighting everyone for no reason. His anger and hate are great, but helpless, for anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit. Which one wins? The one I feed...
musics the narrative to my life...if it got some hot beats and soul to it, ima rock it...
RIP Ruben & Johanna
german hofbrahaus
HK!
studyin at cambridge
skyline
shinjuku, tokyo
down unda
summer cabin in the swiss alps
barcelona's gotik court
HEF's mansion
versailles
arc de triomphe via the champs
japanese alps
landin in montreal
home away from home
conquer ur demonz
brotherhood transcends blood ties