|blog_definition|
a good friend of mine recently commented about my blog in terms the content and aesthetics. he's no blog expert but i welcomed an 'outsider's' point of view to appreciate what one can feel as he or she reads through the stuff that i post.
he said that with regard to aesthetics-- layout, formatting, color scheme, theme, it is something pleasing to look at especially with the great photos. anything interesting to the eye is a good thing. so the use of photos with vibrant colors and the overall color scheme of the page itself is acceptable. there was something unexpected though on his comment about the content. he said that though there's some irony in the title of the blog page, 'cluttered thoughts', the photos are properly laid out and the links are organized in a way that suggests that it is 'uncluttered' at all. thoughts are systematically written and does not appear mishmash. proper flow can be observed as you read along. sentence construction, syntax, grammar, spelling and word usage is not an issue as well. thoughts are easily expressed using simple words and do not appear as jargon. it's a web log anyway, not a technical paper, not even close to being a dissertation.
what was striking though is that this person know me so well but he said that my entries appear detached. i appear distant to the things i say in my blog. though the topics appear to be of general interest like places i go to, things that i do, no nonsense misadventures all over the metro, he didn't feel anything about me being 'in it'.
i didn't quite understand what he meant hence i checked out the definition of the word, 'blog'. here's wikipedia's definition:
A blog (or weblog) is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed with the newest at the top. Like other media, blogs often focus on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news. Some blogs function as online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Since its appearance in 1995, blogging has emerged as a popular means of communication, affecting public opinion and mass media around the world.
everything holds true to wikipedia's definition except that it's not a diary...at all. maybe he was looking for a conventional diary-type blog. this is not it.
|ym_status_messages.on_learning.and_other.musings|
at lunch today, amidst the tons of work that are due by the end of the week, i tried reading some of the status messages found on my ym contact list. i found some interesting one-liner quotes that are worth sharing. what makes it interesting the more is when you try to relate or analyze how you can identify the message with the current disposition of the person saying it.
here's my list for today:
--So no one told you that life will gonna be this way, your job's a joke, you're broke and your lovelife's DOA...
--I've already found a dream that I could call my own.
--Don't look around and feel at the things others may have got.
--Tastes like Chocolate Kiss!!!
--Ikaw na lang sana...nuon pa...
--Me, Myself and I
--The Law of the Chains
--FS: MacBook Pro 1.83...1 unit only...
--a Songbird flew last month
--sleepless in manila
--I am currently away from the computer
as for my own message, it was a line taken from corrine may's song, angel in disguise:
--Take a look at the ordinary, don't need to look at Paradise, you could be next to an angel in disguise
*****
with the short span of time that i taught korean students, i managed to learn one song in korean. it's the 'happy birthday song', korean version. i say words are easy to remember much like the english version. here's how it goes:
Seng il chuk ka ham nida
Seng il chuk ka ham nida
Sa rang ha nun [put name here]
Seng il chuk ka ham nida
it's always a good thing to learn something new and that we should never stop learning and the more we do so, the more reasons that we should pass it forward to others as well.
|life's_moving_too_fast|
i'm in the middle of a meeting in the office and my mind just can't help but wander off to la-la land. something's coming up this week but i'm not expecting much but for it to be just as uneventful as any ordinary day in my life. enough said. something else excites me more than anything these days. i'm looking forward to going on a short vacation (again) to momentarily halt the fast paced life that i have. the details and pictures to follow really soon.
work is starting to pile up more and more as the week goes by. this means more deliverables per less time. for now, i got to go with the fast flow of life.
|corrine.may_music|
i first came across corrine may when i got to watch her interview in channel news asia last february 23. her music style isn't something new but similar to sarah mclachlan's works. her strong vocals with a piano accompaniment was something that was pleasant to listen to. weird but i found it relaxing, soothing and inspiring. as you read the song lyrics, it seemed as if she's narrating personal experiences with some catchy music running in the background.
the moment i listened to her new album song samples located in her website, i knew she'll be a personal favorite for 2006. unfortunately, both of corrine may's albums (safe in a crazy world; fly away) are not yet available here in the philippines. i guess if i want legit copies of her songs, i'd have to purchase her cds online. songs to look out for in her safe in a crazy world album include: **corrine may was born and raised in singapore, educated in singapore and berklee college of music and making a huge splash these past few years on the L.A. indie pop/rock scene and beyond. more info about her plus sample music can be found at her website, http://corrinnemay.com. **image taken from http://www.amazon.com/.
1) little superhero girl
2) save me
3) free
4) everything in its time
5) safe in a crazy world
6) angel in disguise
it's 6 out of 11 songs. that's more than 50% of her songs in the album hence i'd say it's definitely a good buy. her fly away album i have yet to listen to and check out.
|hong_kong_tales_part.cinq|
february 26-- sunday was the day that all good things had to come to an end. it was the day that we went back home in spite of the political turmoil that was happening in the country at that very moment.
the only worry that we had was if there'd be a problem coming back home. as it turned out, things went well. and for the family, all of us were happy campers as we headed home. tired but definitely happy and safe from this crazy world.
|hong_kong_tales_part.quatre|
february 25-- saturday was ocean park day, mega ikea shopping spree, dinner @ the pacific place with my uncle, auntie and cousins and last stop to victoria peak.
|hong_kong_tales_part.trois|
first agenda on the list would be to visit disney! for this, a whole day was allotted from the park opening to the fireworks display. not only were the kids excited about this but also to us who remains a kid at heart. this being a family thing all together makes the experience go beyond magical. nothing beats going to disney with the family. disney is simply synonymous to family fun.
disney is disney no matter what disneyland you go to, which ever part of the world you're at. but it pays to know your way around. and for that, understand the basic layout of the theme park. from the big surfin' mickey fountain toward the entrance gates, you'd get to main street, u.s.a. where everything will remind you of, what else but the u.s. of a! continue on and you'll get to pass through sleeping beauty's magnificient castle as the park breaks away further into three parts-- fantasyland where everything is oddly colored and full of whim, adventureland where the base color of things would be brown and olive drab with an amazonian twist and tomorrowland, where the ambiance would tell you that it's all cosmic and the surrounding color would be silver. best of all, the basic identifier to which part of the park you're at would be the garbage bins. =)
things that caught my interest while lurking around the park were their manicured lawns and tons of flower beds. i couldn't resist and took some pics along while being absolutely clueless of what these flowering plants are called.
a whole day of being happy. that's what disney is all about. that for one day, you get to leave your cares behind and capture and experience the magical moment that you'd treasure in the years to come. well at least that's what disney has done to me, even if it were just for a day. moving forward, after dinner along the streets of mongkok, we went around the night market scene and looked for some good buys before returning to our flat.
it was a good and fun day.
|hong_kong_tales_part.deux|
february 23, ~10:00pm-- after a rough landing and transfer, we finally got to our flat in hong kong. i'm bad with directions and geography, all i could remember was that it was in hong kong island >> wanchai district >> tai wong street near the tram line (johnston road) and southorn playground. it's such a busy place, lots of development going as it's part of the ongoing urban renewal project of hong kong.
february 24, ~8:00am-- the family got up early and prepared to visit the happiest place on earth...hk style! first we were off to a tram ride from johnston road to central-- strolled around and gazed at the skyscrapers, had a quick bite, got our octopus cards loaded and bought tickets for ocean park which we were to visit the next day. from central to admiralty via the island line, we switched to the tsuen wan line to reach the lai king station. we then transferred to the tung chung line and headed to sunny bay and the final transfer to the disneyland resort line to get to lantau island. travel time ~1.0 hour, difficulty level in discerning the subway map and following the arrows, 5 out of 10. could it be any harder?
february is winter in hong kong where the temperature during the day averages at ~16 and drops at night. it was cloudy and misty all throughout which made my picture taking challenging.