Weblog
Monday, 31 October 2011
-
Is It Brave?
The news about a pending new addition to my family was somewhat tinged by tragedy. An indirect member of my family committed suicide a couple of days ago. I don't know the circumstances as yet as one of my siblings had to rush off with the partner.
When this was mentioned to one of my friends, I was shocked by her reaction: she thought "it was brave to find the courage to end one's life cos of the misery you feel". My reaction? What. The. Fuck? How is it brave to take one's own life? Granted, my friend is still recovering from her breakup of a long term relationship at the beginning of the year and might not be thinking rationally. I wasn't prepared for her disclosure that suicide had entered her thoughts a few months ago. Fear of the pain and how messy it might be prevented her from committing the act. Her girlfriends dragged her to the doctor and enrolled her for counselling sessions. Unfortunately counselling is not covered by the private health insurance provided by her new company that she started employment with last month.I'm beginning to fear that morbid tendencies might be creeping back into her train of thought as a result. She'd commented suicide would be easier with a gun and that she has "respect for those that can go through with it." In an effort to help her, I'd revealed something personal that only a couple of people know about and since it was a long time ago I no longer have any reservations about such a disclosure. I myself was suicidal when I was 18-19 years old. I was suffering from depression at the time. Thoughts about the methods of ending it all and where constantly plagued my mind.
My friend is now being mildly dismissive, telling me she "is going through something that I probably never had before."
She has always been a vivacious person, at least on the surface, and I hope she will emerge from her dark period soon.
Where Have I Been?Since my last travel blog was about the trip to Mexico and Miami in September 2010, and the sheer volume of photos accumulated since then, I have decided to just post one or a couple of pics of the destinations I have visited since that time. Those who are friends with me on Facebook have access to all those photos.
Thailand
Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Vinales, Cuba
Cienfuegos, Cuba
Trinidad, Cuba
Trinidad, Cuba
Trinidad, Cuba
New York
New York
Los Angeles
Brussels, Belgium
Brussels, Belgium
Bruges, Belgium
Bruges, Belgium
Paris
Paris
Venice
Venice
Verona, Italy
Barcelona
Barcelona
Haunting
Lana del Rey has replaced A Fine Frenzy as my favourite artist with the melodic haunting voice
Happy Halloween!
Currently
Tropa de Elite 2 [Blu-Ray] - NO ENGLISH
By Wagner Moura, Irandhir Santos, Andre Ramiro
see related
Friday, 28 October 2011
-
Seven days to go...
...until a new addition to the Family...
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
-
Question
If I upload more than 200 photos for ONE blog entry, would that be too much? Would that be off-putting to readers?
For those who are friends with me on Facebook, you would have already seen photos from my travels during the past twelve months. For those who aren't, I'm thinking of posting them on here. The 200+ photos are from one location from one trip.
If you want to add me as a friend on Facebook, please send me a private message.
And if and when I blog occasionally, a few posts will be protected. If you're a subscriber and would like to be added to the protected list, please let me know.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
-
Lots of cobwebs in here...
Sunday, 13 February 2011
-
Currently: True Grit Miami - September 2010
I'm back from my trip. I'd returned last week much darker than I'd wanted. Around 800 photographs were shot so it will be some time before I sift through them all. Next week I will be on jury service for the first time in addition to sorting out my photographs from Thailand taken last year too.
Anyway, I want to complete the posting of pictures from my trip in September last year. My previous entry contained photographs shot in Mexico. I'd headed straight to Miami afterwards so without further ado:
Joel, very helpful and friendly receptionist at the hotel I'd stayed in in Miami Beach.
Joel pointed out the best places to eat and the best venues to go at night. He even drove me to a Japanese all you can eat seafood buffet in Greater Miami.
Alligator in the Everglades.
Our guide in the swamp.
An airboat passing by.
Baby croc!
Explaining the difference between a turtle and a tortoise.
A skunk.
Demonstrating how fast he can pull his hand away just before the alligator snaps his mouth shut.
"Look, no hands!"
Little Havana, Miami
Cockerels freely roaming around in a residential street in Little Havana.
Artwork in Little Havana
It was always my intention to visit Cuba one day, especially before Fidel and Raul Castro are gone and the country undergo dramatic change. The visit to Little Havana finally provided the push I'd needed.
Ocean Drive littered with art deco buildings.
Al Pacino. Scarface. Chainsaw.
Gianni Versace House, Ocean Drive.
Vintage car parked on Ocean Drive.
Ocean Drive at dusk, Miami
A fantastic place for chocolate! Lincoln Road Mall.
A drag queen host at one of the bars on Ocean Drive.
One of the top bars on Ocean Drive.
Dancers at Mango's Bar, Miami.
The Metromover - free train that loops Downtown Miami.
Reaching out for something in Downtown Miami.
Sunset at South Pointe Park, Miami Beach.
I'd been uploading photos from my travels first onto Facebook before posting them onto xanga. I think I should reprioritise and blog about my trips first and post the pictures here before uploading them onto the social network.
Say It S-l-o-w-l-y
A man and his wife were driving their RV across Florida and were nearing a town called Kissimmee. They noted the strange spelling and tried to figure how to pronounce it -- KISS-a-me; kis-A-me; kis-a-ME?They grew more perplexed as they drove into the town. Since they were hungry, they pulled into a restaurant to get something to eat. At the counter, the man said to the waitress; "My wife and I can't seem to be able to figure out how to pronounce this place. Will you tell me where we are and say it very slowly so that I can understand?"
The woman looked at him and said; "Buuurrrgerrr Kiiiinnnng."
Hairy Valentine
Fongster8
-
- Name: David
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Birthday: 1/23/1920
- Gender: Male
- Member Since: 7/22/2003
-
Lifetime
Connect
Pictures In Previous Posts
New York Mar 98 & Nov 99
Hong Kong Nov 98
Thailand: Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia: Johor Baru Sept 2000
Switzerland Feb 01
Thailand: Phuket & Bangkok Mar 01; Bangkok, Kanchanaburi & Koh Samet Jun 01; Bangkok & Koh Phi Phi Oct 01
UAE: Dubai Oct 01
UAE: Dubai Oct 01 II
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur & Penang Dec 01/Jan 02
Thailand: Bangkok Jan/Feb 02; Koh Chang & Bangkok May/Jun 02
Canada: Toronto Oct 02
Canada: Niagara Falls Oct 02
Thailand: Chiang Mai Nov 02
Denmark: Copenhagen May 03
Spain: Madrid July 03
Japan: Nagoya 23 Jan 04
Nagoya 24 Jan 04
Nagoya 25 Jan 04
Japan: Kyoto 26 Jan 04
Kyoto 27 Jan 04
Japan: Tokyo 27 Jan 04
Tokyo 28 Jan 04
Tokyo 29 Jan 04
Tokyo 29 Jan 04 II
Tokyo 30 Jan 04
Holland: Alkmaar 20 Feb 04
Holland: Amsterdam 25 Feb 04
Amsterdam 27 Feb 04
Amsterdam 29 Feb 04
Holland: Utrecht 6 Mar 04
Amsterdam 16 Apr 04
Amsterdam 27 Apr 04
Amsterdam - Queens Day 30 Apr 04
Amsterdam 17 May 04
UK: Liverpool 26 May 04
Amsterdam 3 Jun 04
Holland: Zandvoort 18 Jul 04
Czech Republic: Prague 2 Aug 04
Prague 3 Aug 04
Czech Republic: Karlstejn 4 Aug 04
Austria: Vienna 5 Aug 04
Hungary: Budapest 6 Aug 04
Austria: Salzburg 7 Aug 04
Austria: Vienna 8 Aug 04
New York 19 Sept 04
New York 20 Sept 04
New York 21 Sept 04
New York 22 Sept 04
New York 23 Sept 04
New York 24 Sept 04
New York 25 Sept 04
New York 26 Sept 04
UK: Manchester 20 Oct Liverpool 21 Oct 04
Amsterdam 6 Nov 04
USA: Boston 20 Nov 04
New York 24 Nov 04
USA: New Orleans 25 Nov 04
New Orleans 26 Nov 04
New Orleans 27 Nov 04
New Orleans 28 Nov 04
New York 30 Nov - 3 Dec 04
Holland: Valkenburg & Maastricht 12 Dec 04
Holland: Rotterdam 5 Jan 05
Amsterdam 3 Mar 05
Belgium: Brussels 26 Mar 05
Brussels 27 Mar 05
Singapore 11 Apr 05
Cambodia: Phnom Penh 12 Apr 05
Cambodia: Siem Reap 13 Apr 05
Cambodia: Angkor Wat 14 Apr 05
Siem Reap 15 Apr 05
Siem Reap 15 Apr 05 Part 2
Phnom Penh 16 Apr 05
Phnom Penh 17 Apr 05
Singapore 18 & 19 Apr 05
Amsterdam 5 Aug 05
Hong Kong 12 Sept 05
Hong Kong 13 Sept 05
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City 14 Sept 05
HCMC 15 Sept 05
Vietnam: Hanoi 16 Sept 05
Hanoi 17 Sept 05
Hanoi 18 Sept 05
Hong Kong 20-24 Sept 05
HK 18-20 Nov; Manila, The Philippines 21 Nov 05
Manila 22 Nov 05
Cebu, The Philippines 23-24 Nov 05
Cebu 25-26 Nov 05
Bohol 27-28 Nov 05
Manila 29 Nov-1 Dec 05
Hong Kong 2-4 Dec 05
Seoul, S. Korea 2 Feb 06
Seoul 3 Feb 06
Seoul 4 Feb 06
Seoul 5 Feb 06
Seoul 6 Feb 06
Seoul 7 Feb; Hong Kong 8-12 Feb 06
Banaue, The Philippines 22 Apr 06
Sagada, The Philippines 23 Apr 06
Macau 27 Apr 06
New York 25 Sept 06
New York 26 Sept 06
New York 21-27 Sept 06
London 14 Oct 06
London 4 Nov 06
Tokyo 20 Jan 07
Japan 21 Jan 07
Hong Kong 23/24 Jan 07
Hong Kong 25 Jan 07
Koh Samui, Thailand 26-30 Jan 07
Koh Samui 30-31 Jan 07
Koh Samui 1-3 Feb 07
Kunming, China 28 Apr 07
Kunming 29-30 Apr 07
Lijiang, China 1 May 07
Tiger Leaping Gorge, China 2 May 07
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, China 3 May 07
Lijiang, China 4 May 07
San Francisco 14-19 Sept 07
Alcatraz 17 Sept 07; Lake Tahoe 18 Sept 07
Grand Canyon 20 Sept 07; Hoover Dam 21 Sept 07
Las Vegas 20-24 Sept 07
Las Vegas 20-25 Sept 07
Agra, India 15 Nov 07
Delhi, India 16 Nov 07
Delhi 17 Nov 07
Jaipur, India 19 Nov 07
Mumbai, India 20-21 Nov 07
Mumbai 22 Nov & Delhi 23 Nov 07
San Jose, Costa Rica 3 Mar 2008
My Favourite Posts
About Me
-
A British Asian stuck in the melting pot that was Amsterdam but now back in London. And I enjoy travelling.
Chatboard (4)