I love a good impression when I see one:
Aside from the song, I liked the dog in the vid.
Last weekend my wife and I dropped by Eastwood City to visit a restaurant she wanted to do a review on. Originally we were supposed to go to Flying Pig but ended up eating at Cookbook, her other choice. After lunch, we decided to hang out a little more. Normally we would have gone someplace else since I work here and we didn't think there would be much to do or see. We also dropped by the local pet shop to buy my dog Jazz some needed meds since he has some problems with his liver.
One thing I like about Pet Central is the small yet cozy atmosphere. I have been thinking of taking Jazz to Eastwood for a long time if it weren't for the fact that he had this tendency to herd other dogs that he sees. Although a local breed, he has the appearance and nature of a Border Collie with a loud bark to match. Maybe when the time is right I will be able to bring him along and add a picture of him in the shop's collection of "family" photographs.
As I said I thought there wasn't going to be much to see so I was surprised when there was a Gundam convention of sorts where fans and collectors could view other people's creations or even make their own. I'm not exactly a fan but I did do scale modeling before and seeing these colorful works brought back memories of sheet styrene stems all over my desk and floor, reference material scattered on my bed, and the smell of paint and thinner all over the room.
One thing I noticed about the latest kits is the level of detail has certainly improved. Gone are the days when one would have to live with approximations leading one to just put up with what was available or DIY something. Not to say that this is no longer done, it's just most kits nowadays come with what you expect to see.
Our day ended with a mini concert of rap artists from overseas. I wasn't able to get any shots as I preferred to watch rather than take pictures.
And so that is how that weekend went. The following day I went to play airsoft with my friends to take out some chips on my shoulder.
One of the things I like about my work is the opportunity to speak to people from other countries. I often get to talk with folks from Europe like France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Despite the language barrier, I feel that most, if not all my conversations are likened to either a doorway to another world, or a simple mirror image of ourselves.
One may ask what it's like to speak to someone who lives on the other side of the world. One thing I can say about my experience is that we are more alike than different. For example, I enjoy having open discussions with people from Italy. They are never without anything to say and you can "hear" the passion in the sentences they make.
The French are a bit reserved when you meet them the first time, but once they get comfortable with you, they make you feel welcome every time you talk to them. One nice thing I learned is their love of taking walks in and around the city, or in a forest near their village. It makes me realize that simple pleasures are one of the best ways to let go after a tiring week in the office.
Germans are very punctual, they are always there when you call them, ready for the day's work. They also like to talk about every thing under the sun and sometimes a bit adventurous when it comes to picking places to have a telephone discussion. One colleague of mine surprised me when politely interrupted me because he had to shift gears. It turned out that the number he was using auto directs his calls to his cellphone and we were talking while he was driving along the Autobahn!
When I had my first conversation with a Spaniard, I had no idea how their telephone numbers were arranged much like the local cellphone numbers in my country. Since my native language uses a lot of Spanish words, there were times I could make sense of some the things my colleagues says in his native tongue. Like the Spanish, I too like hot cocoa, relaxing afternoons reading or just lounging around watching the everything around me move.
Thinking about what I just wrote made me think of how lucky I am to have this kind of work. I have always wanted to visit other countries, to see things I have only read in books or seen in television. By having these conversations, it gives me a glimpse of what it's like out there. But what about what I said earlier regarding mirrors images? Simple. We are all people looking for the same things in life: to earn an honest day's pay, have fun with friends, and come home to family.
One may ask what it's like to speak to someone who lives on the other side of the world. One thing I can say about my experience is that we are more alike than different. For example, I enjoy having open discussions with people from Italy. They are never without anything to say and you can "hear" the passion in the sentences they make.
The French are a bit reserved when you meet them the first time, but once they get comfortable with you, they make you feel welcome every time you talk to them. One nice thing I learned is their love of taking walks in and around the city, or in a forest near their village. It makes me realize that simple pleasures are one of the best ways to let go after a tiring week in the office.
Germans are very punctual, they are always there when you call them, ready for the day's work. They also like to talk about every thing under the sun and sometimes a bit adventurous when it comes to picking places to have a telephone discussion. One colleague of mine surprised me when politely interrupted me because he had to shift gears. It turned out that the number he was using auto directs his calls to his cellphone and we were talking while he was driving along the Autobahn!
When I had my first conversation with a Spaniard, I had no idea how their telephone numbers were arranged much like the local cellphone numbers in my country. Since my native language uses a lot of Spanish words, there were times I could make sense of some the things my colleagues says in his native tongue. Like the Spanish, I too like hot cocoa, relaxing afternoons reading or just lounging around watching the everything around me move.
Thinking about what I just wrote made me think of how lucky I am to have this kind of work. I have always wanted to visit other countries, to see things I have only read in books or seen in television. By having these conversations, it gives me a glimpse of what it's like out there. But what about what I said earlier regarding mirrors images? Simple. We are all people looking for the same things in life: to earn an honest day's pay, have fun with friends, and come home to family.
I find vehicles like these to be cooler than sportscars. Maybe I just got tired of sleek bodywork and a chassis just an inch above the asphalt. I hope in comes in black though.
There comes a time when feel that we are prepared for anything that comes to us. We are confident, dare I say cocky, ready to take on any challenge. Then comes "real life". We become stronger or assume the fetal position because of the experience.
If I had the opportunity to talk to myself when I was younger, I wonder what I would say. Would I go on talk down on the person that I once was, tell him that half of the ideas he has in his head are worthless and to start being more practical? Or would I instead tell him that those are good ideas that may or may come true but dream anyway?
I guess we all wish we can go back, to fix what we think was wrong with ourselves. Just when you think you are beyond self pity, you suddenly feel that all that you have done doesn't match the grand design you envisioned many years ago.
Seems I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else.
If I had the opportunity to talk to myself when I was younger, I wonder what I would say. Would I go on talk down on the person that I once was, tell him that half of the ideas he has in his head are worthless and to start being more practical? Or would I instead tell him that those are good ideas that may or may come true but dream anyway?
I guess we all wish we can go back, to fix what we think was wrong with ourselves. Just when you think you are beyond self pity, you suddenly feel that all that you have done doesn't match the grand design you envisioned many years ago.
Seems I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else.