How many of us have dreamt of leaving our 9-5 jobs, travelling around the World and doing something we really loved.
Well, meet Khairzul my friend who did just that - an engineer by profession, he gave up his job in one of the biggest telecom companies in Malaysia, moved halfway round the World to the Netherlands and started painting.
Koi
Looking at his paintings, it is hard to believe that Khairzul has not received any formal training - he is a self - taught artist. I have watched him evolve as he tries to find his own "style". Initially I could see the influence of Van Gough - I guess it is hard not to be when you stay in the Netherlands, but over time I can honestly say that he has matured with a style which is uniquely Khairzul.
One of his earlier paintings in water colour, also of Koi and now hanging in our house.
Can you believe that this is a letter that he wrote to his two best friends - one of whom happens to be my wife.
Went to watch "Godiva Awakes" - this year's Godiva Carnival at the City Centre with my wife and the kids.
We were a bit late and missed the part where the huge Lady Godiva put on her amazing coat.
There were loads of people and I did not get a good view of the procession until near the end.
My son was on my shoulders most of the time and he got into the mood bouncing up and down.
Some very fantastic and creative costumes.
Finally off she went leaving Coventry for London powered by 100 cyclists.
For all of Facebook’s qualities and faults, of which there are many of both, one of the best features of mobile application versions is by far the “Check In” feature. A couple of weeks ago, Facebook themselves went to the trouble of publicising figures showing the most “Checked In” at places in the world. My initial reaction, to be honest, was “who cares?”
However, as I live alone and had not met up with friends for quite a while, I decided to see how far I could manipulate Facebook and take a tour of the world without leaving my own home. The results were quite frightening, to say the least.
Getting Started
Now, I am going to be clear that I do not believe in using social networking on a personal level to draw attention to myself. And away with this “you check in to see who is near you” nonsense. People check in because they are vain, pretentious, and want people to know that they are having tea in Harrods, or partying on the White House lawn. Anyone who says otherwise is either a liar, or they take social networking too seriously.
It was time to take advantage of Facebook letting me “Check In” anywhere.
The Journey Begins…
So anyway, at first I thought I would start with something a little non-descript, just to “see how many of my friends were nearby.” Therefore, I checked in at the butcher’s located in town. Predictably, no-one liked my status, and I received no comments.
Time to Fly
The next day, while still at home, I checked in at the departure lounge of the airport. This drew no likes, but a few questions and comments as to where I was going. Cunningly, I did not answer until the next day, to allow me time to decide on my destination.
New York, New York
Rather than reply to my messages, the next day I checked in at a Pizzeria in New York City. This time, I took the joke a little further, by inviting my friends to join me through the “Invite your friends by e-mail” function.
Of course, had any of them came round to my house, they could have joined me for pizza, except it was from Domino’s in town rather than from Luigi’s in Manhattan.
So The Story Goes
I “landed back” from my trip a couple of days ago, and my friends are looking forward to seeing me so we can catch up and I can tell them about my trip. I’m still torn between making something up, or preparing a presentation based around not believing everything you see on the internet.
What do you think?
Clearly Facebook’s statistics could mean everything, or nothing, but who’s to know?!
----
Staying safe on Facebook
Videojug provides users high-quality 'how-to' video content that has been created professionally. Videojug's content covers a wide range of topics for users to enjoy.
No! I am not referring to the new generation of small laptops but the original thing.
I am a big fan of Moleskine notebooks and sketchbooks and a couple of days ago I was really excited when I noticed a few in the clearance section in TK Maxx nearby and they were really having a clearance - around £5 each (normal price is between £8 -£15). I found out sometime back that these notebooks have quite a following and having tried one myself, I have to say I am hooked.
I should have grabbed them then but unfortunately I didn't.
Anyway, I thought I will treat myself for Father's day today and went back to the store to see if they were still there but they were, of course, gone. However, I noticed some notebooks which looked quite similar but without an elastic band around the notebook. I have never heard of the brand 'Il Firino' (I can't even find their website) but these 'made in Italy' genuine leather bound journals looked fantastic. The acid free paper feels and looks great as well. I have no idea what kind of leather it is but I am sure they were ethically taken from the animals. I am vegetarian but unlike some people, I do not really mind leather products - is that an oxymoron.
I also bought a teNeues notebook with a black cover (I do not think it is leather) with red & white Zebra print design inside for my daughter. It has alternative lined and blank page and a great gift for my daughter who like to write and sketch as well.
The best part is that both cost me only £3 each - a real steal. There were a few more and I might go back again to grab the remainder.
This happens to me all the time - I go out to buy something and end up buying something else - and regretting but fortunately today was an exception. I ended up with something even better.
When I started my Falcon bike restoration project in September last year, I never thought that it would take me this long but I have finally done it.
Take a look at the picture of the bike when I first bought it:
And now after the restoration:
During the process, I have learnt so much about bikes, their repair and maintenance.
I found out that there are two main schools of thought with regards to bike restoration project - one group believes that we have to keep the bike as original as possible and even if you have to replace some parts, you have to try to source the exact parts.
On the other hand, there are a number of bike restorers who take the bike apart, completely striping it down to the skeleton frame, and rebuild the bike with modern parts.
I guess I am somewhere in between - I have tried to keep as many of the original parts as possible and apart from treating and repainting some badly rusted patches, have left the bike pretty much as I got it. However, I had to replace the tyres, the brake pads, the chain and also got myself a new comfy Brookes saddle as well.
My new made in India Brookes saddle. Leaving it in the rain was a bad idea.
.
New chain
Alligning the side pull brakes were a real pain but a few YouTube videos later, I finally got them centered and working perfectly. I have removed the pannier rack which was badly rusted (but might be salvageable) and the mudguards. The gears are terrible but I have left them on.
I still do not know the age of the bike - I have tried contacting the Falcon cycle people on their website but have not received any replies so far. However, I think this is just the beginning.
The bike rides beautifully and I love it but I have realised too late that it is probably a bit high for me - this might be a problem while driving in city traffic. Now I am also wondering whether I should have gone for a new paint job - completely stripping the old paint and have it powder coated as opposed to conventional liquid painting. I would still prefer to have it in black but probably with some custom made stickers. I might also replace the gears for something more modern and practical. The same goes for the brakes as well. They are not really effective in stopping the bike when I am going fast. I guess that's the trade-off - between keeping it as original as possible and having a bike which you can use everyday.
You can listen to the recoding of the Annie Othen show here. I do sound nervous and I was.
I talked to my wife soon afterwards, and her first comment was "Why didn't she refer to you as Dr. Mutum while Annie referred to the other participant as Dr Joan Harvey".
I didn't even realise it that time and I don't think it's a big deal.
