Beads

While out to pick the most suitable Longchamp shopping bag last spring.. came across this interesting dress with lots of beadwork at another shop.  Interesting enough to photograph. :D

Weekend Wildlife

 male hummingbird near the fig tree, blurred squirrel in the foreground

One spring weekend while in the country.... we wake up to these furry and feather-y friends as viewed from the patio doors from the breakfast table.

 squirrel munching on seeds

 those tiny little paws and the mad munching.. Lol!

 she couldn't get enough!  Lol!

 red feather-y buddy.. A groesbeek (sp?) on the fig tree

 seems to be looking at me, or the lens, curiously

What's Up There

housemate checking out the lamp

The Stare

the housemate last winter.. snuck in a cozy corner of the settee

TV Junkie

K, the more interesting shows are back and I don't know if I'll ever find time to watch them all.  Geez.  These are on my PVR:

• Sleepy Hollow
• Walking Dead
• Vikings
• The Good Wife
• Madam Secretary
• Downton Abbey
• The Amazing Race
• Survivor
• American Idol
• Better Call Saul
• Gotham
• Elementary
• How to Get Away with Murder
• The X Files (now over with only 6 episodes)
• Vera
• Wallander

Then I have the downloads:

• The Affair
• Homeland
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
• Project Runway seasons I had not been able to catch

It's crazy!

Destinations on My Mind

So many celebrities seem to have passed away this month, and only in their 60s, younger than my parents too.  David Bowie (69), Alan Rickman (67), Glen Frey (67), Natalie Cole (65), etc. that it made me think that life is really short.  So much so that I think I cannot just plan around waiting to travel to some countries once I'm in my 60s or around retirement age.

Anyhow, I was in Greece (Athens and the islands), Turkey, and visited some friends in France kind of right before the refugee/migration crisis in Europe.. or before the Paris attacks.  These were before I bought my new home.  Anyhow, below are some destinations on my mind that I'd like to visit sooner or later and hopefully before my knees can't handle all that walking anymore. Lol.

• Christmas season in Germany
• Iceland
• Scotland
• New York (if it meets expectations, I'd like to go there annually.. Lol)
• New Orleans
• Spain and Italy again.. Especially Cinque Terre in Italy and try to avoid the shopping.. Lol!
• my friends in southern France again
• Chicago
• Bergen, Norway
• remote part/s of Canada where the northern lights and sled dogs are plenty.. woot!
• the more exotic places - Sri Lanka, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, etc.
• the rest of the world.

Design Against Throwawayism

Now if only Apple (and the likes of it) with its millions of iPhone sales each year would practice more of the meaning of the text of this blog entry's title and it'd be perfect.  Right now I just think of them as designing for the sake of selling, not necessarily to improve my life (despite all that marketing), and the environment around us.

I mean what's the point of buying a new -- and might I add costly -- smartphone when a new version of it comes out some months later anyway?  You pay so much only to find next year there'd be new features your device can't possibly have. And the year after, and the year after it, and the after that, too and so on.  I mean really, do we really even need those?  And all the while, your first device actually still works fine.  They just make it so that it's not compatible with some app or other that you're forced to get a new one. 

And what happens to last year's models then if each iPhone owner changed models each year?  And these are millions of owners.  Not just 5 million.  It's the size of many individual countries' populations. Do they get recycled?

Do upgrades mean surrendering them to the provider for recycling.  And is it actual recycling or a type of recycling where they only get shipped out to a developing country for it to take care of the toxic side of things.. like outsourcing the dirty side of it?

Does anyone even care to ask before they go get a new model the next year?  Does Apple (and its ilk) even have a system or process in place to manage these and be a more responsible manufacturer/designer of such goods?

Since I moved to a place in the northern hemisphere some years ago, I do notice many things that should probably be done away with.  Other cases in point:

• Ikea's probably millions of candles in glass being one of those.  So same goes to Bath and Bodyworks (and the awful cheap smell coming out of their candles). Gah.  I find they're really such a waste.  They should sell the candles without those millions of glass.  Are they even recycled glass?

• Cushion throws are another... Pilllows  or throws should be designed so that you can change the covers.. not be forced to get rid of it 'cause you don't like the cover anymore.

• Fashion - there's only so much seasonal items one must get each year and thereafter.  I've enough summer items so far so I don't really bother adding anymore

Anyhow, I guess I'm just one of those people who prefer living with less clutter.  And that influences my purchase decisions.  I'm sort of a minimalist but not that extreme.  I have my fair share of design junk, but I don't make it a point to change them regularly nor get the latest this, or latest that.  I tend to think that people who do really don't have anything else to do and must be bored with their lives.

Even now, I don't generally buy books anymore.  When I do, it won't be the throwaway sort.  They would have dual purpose  Art, design and architecture books for example (usually hardcovers).  You get knowledge yet at the same time, they're good decors in the home. Hehe.  Unlike paperbacks that I probably would throwaway if I didn't think it's wasteful since I don't reread books I bought, or donate them.

And my home decor or fixtures, usually are from trips overseas.  Then it feels like they've more significance and thus worth the buy, or splurge.  There'd be stories behind them.  And that's fun and gives the place more character.

screenshot of an image search online

It's good to see that Helsinki's Iitala has similar design thoughts.  And sometimes, ironically, Ikea.  But the technology ones, not really.  In the end let's just say it's always better to spend money on experience than on another item one doesn't really need or has no special meaning or importance to oneself.

Filming

One weekend in the country... turns out filming was also going on in the street of the house where I was staying.  So of course we went to see it.. It was for a TV series, I think for cable.

The scene was an action scene by a water tower.  We were standing on the front lawn of the neighbor's house/property, behind the crew, watching them shoot and do several takes.  It felt like camping, just with more light.  Lol.

Food Truck Lunch

Some Fridays my colleagues and I eat out, other days, we get our lunch at one of the food trucks that come to our area comprised of several science, pharma, engineering, and technology R&D office buildings.  Below are pics of the popular Indian food truck.

 that's the line of us office people.. yup, I was in line too. :P

 some of the kitsch in the truck

A Foggy Day Last Year

Some foggy morning pics of my old neighborhood.. I like foggy scenes.. makes things seem moody/dramatic.. have more character. hehe.

Lunching

I must be bored... I'm now posting some pics of the lunch meals I've had at Asian restaurants where colleagues and I go for meals some Fridays.  All yummy!  It's like I never left Asia at all!  Tea at each place is on the house.

ramen at the Japanese ramen place

lovely fried rice at the northern Chinese/Taiwanese place

Japanese beef teriyaki and california roll bento.. the miso soup is 

missing in the pic as I had finished it already. :P

 a spicy hot pot soup of fish with a little vermicelli.. Yummy on really cold days!

Thai fried rice.

seafood noodle soup at a Vietnamese place

some sort of chow mein with wonton soup at the Malaysian Chinese place

another lovely noodle dish (and it was huge!) at the Malaysian Chinese place

 kimchi fried rice at the northern Chinese/Taiwanese place

Damn Twitter

Sorry but it's getting tiresome.  Account was hacked, I changed passwords, cleaned it up, and yet it's still locked.  Gaaaaa.  Appealing with Twitter to finally just unlock it and not have me keep having to change passwords each time their locked message appears in my email or account each time I attempt to post a tweet.  I'm getting sick of it.  What a hassle and waste of time.  And time is money.  Maybe time to just quit it altogether?  And no, this post isn't getting a "just chillin'" tag 'cause I'm definitely not chillin'!!!

Peek a boo!

One afternoon in the spring of 2014, somewhere in a little nook in my abode.. potted daffodils on top of the cabinet.

I chose the pastel robin's egg blue paint on the wall... similar to Tifanny jewelry packaging.  Calming...
Yeah that's a fireplace in brick, covered by/behind the white cabinet...
Blue thing on the leftmost is the back of a director's chair.
And I love my Tiffany floor lamp. hehe!

Grammy Salute to Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life

I just watched yesterday my PVR copy of the live Grammy show in tribute to Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life.  That was a really nice program, I hadn't expected it.  Love all the songs and paid attention to the performances most of the time, unlike with the performances in the Grammys itself.  Lol.

I wonder if an album was released of this Grammy salute show itself with the songs and artists involved 'cause I think I'd rather buy that album than the original so at least it sounds more updated.

Too Much TV!

So many shows to see... Off the top of my head, I watch/downloaded the following lately:

• Homeland season 4
• Survivor
• Amazing Race
• American Idol (I know! :P)
• The Walking Dead
• Better Call Saul
• House of Cards
• Madam Secretary
• The Good Wife
• Vikings
• How to Get Away with Murder
• The Slap - love this show
• a version of Masterchef
• The Americans

 

Stuff I No Longer Buy

Well, not a lot anyway.  I no longer buy the following as much:

• books
• cds
• dvds

Since the internet and the multimedia advances that came with it a long time ago, I've stopped buying the above.

For music, I don't even buy from iTunes.  But if I like the soft copies I hear from specific CD albums, I go buy the CD if I have to.  Similar goes for movies/tv shows, I get their DVDs.  And even then, they'd have to be extremely to my liking that I'd find it worth my time, effort and money to go and buy.

Except for home decor I buy from my travels, I'm just one of those who naturally practices minimalist philosophy when it comes to purchases.  I'd rather not have any more junk or clutter in my home and if I have to it had better be something that serves dual or more purpose.  Even with this blog I limit the tag categories so as not to make it anymore complex than it has to be.

So for books, I'd rather buy those that can be double-purpose, something you'd also be proud to display in the house.  Not something you know you can easily give away or not care if someone doesn't return it after borrowing it.  That way it's more value for money.  Lol!  So I guess this would mean art, design or architecture books that I find interesting.  Or perhaps that's just the industrial designer in me.  I don't buy mass market bestsellers in hard cover.  Besides I no longer have as much time to read as I used to.

So I think I might also cancel my cable subscription soon and just use Internet streaming via a device like Roku.  I might do this next year once my subscription expires. Would cost me less too than the bloated fee I pay for cable.  Thank goodness for Roku or Netflix and the like.  Hehe!

Updating My Mac OSX

Ok today I've finally started the road to updating my Mac OSX from OSX Lion to Yosemite if possible.  This road involves backing up my files first prior to any update tasks.  To this end I've backed up files both manually and via my Macbook Pro's Time Machine program.  

I had to delete lots of unnecessary files from my Macbook just so the Time Machine backup would be able to fit in my external back up device.  I removed the unnecessary photos and music files from my Macbook because I've already manually backed up before.  So now Time Machine's currenty doing the back up, just less than 100 gb for everything.

I have a feeling the Time Machine back up might take 2 hours or more.  We'll see.  Until it's done, I can't proceed to my OSX update.  My OSX is so behind by 3 versions.  I have to update to the next 2 versions first before I can update to the Yosemite version.  And I'm not sure if the 2 versions are still available for my pre-Yosemite update --> Mountain Lion and Mavericks.

I hate updating versions whether its Windows or Mac but between the two, I'd prefer doing a Mac update.  I feel it's more straightforward.  I just don't want to spend most of tonight doing updates and any more complex troubleshooting. Ugh.

Good luck to me!

Little Thanksgiving Get Together

Just a pic from Thanksgiving dinner with friends.  Turkey, paella, crab cakes and lots of dessert.  Woke up with a stuffed tummy next morning still.  Gah.

Interesting 3D Ad at a Bus Stop

Snapped these pics of a bus stop ad downtown while on my way to lunch.  3D ad with the cups.  It's kinda cute.

Japadog It!

After work downtown with some time on my hands, went to the Japadog street food cart with a friend and had the Terimayo sandwich.  Japadog's a Japanese take on the hotdog sandwich. 

And also went to the park by the waters on the way home.