Optimistic

This week’s photo challenge is about being Optimistic

People venture to Las Vegas full of optimism, closely followed by dashed hopes, despair & empty wallets!.

Climbing up the family tree

Image courtesy of http://www.adityaenc.com

For the first 33 years of my life, the concept of family didn’t hold much weight. I’m reasonably close to my immediate family; mother, father, and two sisters, and sort of close to the grandparents that are still alive. But my overall feeling toward family is far removed from the “blood is more important than anything” narrative put forth in countless movies and television shows. Let’s just say, if I was Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy, I would have jumped on my bike, and left SAMCRO and Charming midway through Season 1. Loyalty shmoyalty.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Alphabet

Alphabet:

The challenge this week is letters:  I love this picture, firstly because it’s New York. But for the theme this week, I love how the glowing letters on each and every sign and slogan competes for your attention and tries to ‘out-brighten’ each other.

 

Memories of Venice

In April last year while in Los Angeles we ventured down to Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach for the day. As it turned out, Venice was one of my favourite destinations during our 7 week trek across the United States.

Older people rollerskated near a much younger generation of skateboarders. The hustle-bustle of tourists, locals, out-of-towners and wanderers stretched along a seemingly infinite path, casually sidestepping oncoming bicycles, scooters and rollerblades. One eye people-watched while my other eye scoured the goods laid out by an eclectic, and mostly happy group of artisans. We strode past Muscle beach, invoking images of old-school bodybuilders in daggy 80’s workout clothes.

It was bustling, but peaceful. Modern, but nostalgic. Crowded, but spacious. The entire area was a contradiction of itself and I loved it. So did my camera, although it didn’t get used to its full extent. Maybe one day I’ll go back and let the camera lead the way.

But for now, here are a few things I did capture. I’ve also included shots taken from the pier and surrounds…

5 songs to get you through January ‘16

Each month I’ll showcase a selection of songs that I’m absolutely loving. Some old, some new, some fast, some slow, but hopefully most of them are just obscure enough that your taste can potentially expand into other parts of the vast musical landscape. Who knows, you may be minutes away from discovering your next favourite artist…!

Here are my picks for January 2016:

The trolls are rampant

On the weekend I watched a YouTube clip while eating lunch. A mindless 10 minute collection of baseball bloopers. It’s harmless fun and gave me a chuckle while I digested my sandwich. The video ended and for whatever reason, I scrolled down to the comments section below. I should have known better.

No Year’s Resolutions

A new year means new resolutions!

I’m joking. This post contains NO new resolutions! Resolutions are hastily constructed, often under the alcoholic haze of fireworks and party hats, and ironically involve feel good quotes about healthy eating, quitting smoking, and getting more exercise. If you remember them come January 15, you’ve done better than most. 

A fresh brew

To all those people who have been following my blog throughout the last 12 months, you are terrific and I can’t thank you enough! For those of you who have recently stumbled into my café, I hope you pull up a chair and stay for 2016.

5 songs to get you through December ’15

Music is something that brings me immense joy, so it would be odd for me to exclude it from this blog. The hardest question I’m repeatedly asked is, ‘So what sort of music do you listen to?’ to which I usually reply, ‘How long have you got?’

Slow down a little…

In a society that persistently pushes us to do more, and to do it faster, how do we resist the urge to keep up?

Timing is everything

Life is constructed of hundreds of thousands of events, some of which we see, interact with, and understand, but some of which pass us by without having the faintest clue they even happened.

What does it take to be a real man?

I’m 33 years old. I’ve always been male, done fairly typical male things, plus I’ve got the body parts to prove it! Biologically, I’m male.

Willpower? Forget it!

Standing in front of the mirror, the slow-growing bulge of my stomach caught my eye, as it seems to more often these days. The usual reflexive thought sprung to mind;

A fresh start – so use it!

So it’s Monday morning (or it will be soon for most of you).

Where are you headed this week? Have you thought about what you want to achieve over the next 7 days? If you haven’t, why not? If you have, is it any different to last week?

I’m not being critical. I haven’t either. Which is what inspired this brief post.

Most weeks are spent sailing on by. We sail through school, work, or looking for work, and every now and then we have events on the weekend that we can think about through the week. Playing sport, attending a wedding, having lunch with family or friends, or just chilling out and watching a movie. The weekend quickly comes to a close, and suddenly you wake up and it’s Monday morning again.

Is that an aimless way to live? Not necessarily. Life is life and everyone can live it how they choose. But sometimes it can be helpful to give your life just a wee bit more meaning.

I wrote a previous post about not hating Monday’s, but rather using them to your advantage. Monday’s are a chance for a fresh start. Most people align Monday with the start of their new goal, be it work-related, dieting, or any other personal goal. Who decides to cut out junk food on a Friday night? No-one!! The weekend is your last chance to throw down as many Big Macs as you can!

So here’s a task for your brand new Monday. List 3 things you want to achieve this week. Make sure one of those things is different to anything you’ve done for at least the last month.

My one goal for this week, which is something I haven’t done for quite a long time is go for a bike ride. That’s it. Something small, relatively easy, and healthy!

Life is one long series of accomplishments. But it’s hard to accomplish anything if you don’t set out to in the first place.

A breathtaking journey…

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “On the Way.”

The oddity of socks!

So I was sitting at work today, caught a glimpse of my socks, and thought of a new blog post. Fascinating hey?

Broken future

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Broken.”

The real stress reliever

Unfortunately stress is a concept deeply ingrained in modern society, and it provides people with a quick and easy label to excuse a range of behaviours.

Let your imagination off the leash

When was the last time you stretched your imagination and gave it a muscle-burning workout?

The grass isn’t always greener

Sel and I just arrived home from a journey that saw us traverse the vast landscape of the United States for almost two months. Culturally, it wasn’t the smack in the face that we received multiple times in Burma several years ago, but in the way that traveling always does, it opened my eyes to something that contradicted the seemingly long plane trip to get over there.

Intricate

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Intricate.”

Fast and the Furious

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Motion.”

Early bird catches the first light

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Early Bird.”

I dropped my GoPro down a cenote

Unfortunately the title isn’t a metaphor. I literally dropped our recently acquired GoPro down a 160 foot (almost 50 metres) cenote here in Mexico.

Escaping to the Rock

A day trip out to Alcatraz Island… combining my passions of travel, photography & crime. What more could I ask for?