Where is Derek?

Hi everyone, I am safe at the first hostel, Sol 1 Backpackers in Sukhumvit Sol 1, in Bangkok. This place is a bit dirty but centrally located. I am going to visit the Emerald Buddha, Wat Po and the Grand Palace tomorrow morning using riverboats like the local people. I will also see a Thai kickboxing match at LumpHini Arena. If I have time I wil eat dinner in Chinatown and head back to plan the next leg of my journey, which will probably be Ayutthaya and Lopburi to see temples and monkeys.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

I am leaving for Thailand, today. I have an ambitious plan for the 6 weeks that I will be here and the plan goes as follows:

1st part

Bangkok
Ayuthaya
Lopburi
Lampang
Sukhothai
Changmai

2nd part

Pattaya
Phuket
Kata
Railay
Ko Phi Phi
Ko Samui
Ko Pha Ngan
Ko Tao

3rd part

Khao Yai National Park
Khorat
Phimai
Bangkok

Keep posted on blog entries, pictures and video.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

I have come to the realization that after my summer vacation, I must work. What I mean by work is really put effort and sacrifice to get and finish work in all it’s types. I have been have assing it for too long. This realization came upon me as I was having a language exchange japanese lesson. My tutor has two jobs and works seven days a week but wants to go to Australia to do a working holiday. Though things are busy and time is limited, it is understood that now is the time to work because in January, it is time to play.

I couldn’t help but admire this kind of thinking. For me it has always been a mixture of both but finding the right combination was hard. Maybe this is the solution? After the summer, I will network, find design jobs and put a real effort in. I want to return to NYC someday but until that day comes I will continue to make myself better.

Sorry for all this self introspection but I use this blog to write down my thoughts so I can revisit them at a later date.

9 days til Thailand! w00T!

[ Life.Iz.Great ]

Scary movies are not what they used to be… Recently, I have been watching old movies that seemed amazingly scary back in the days such as: IT, Child’s Play, Nightmare on Elm st, etc. But they have totally lost their pizazz. What I found more amazing is that Mina was laughing at all the scenes that I thought were scary. For example, when Pennywise the clown appears in the gutter to pull Georgie down into the sewers. After a while I started to see why she found American scary movies funny. Compared to Japanese horror flims, American films rely too much on cheap scares like people popping out of the shadows and what not. I have also been watching Japanese horror films such as Ju-On aka the Grudge in the US. Japanese horror films are more about psychological horror and in many ways superior to their American counterparts. But then again, maybe it’s just that I am unfamiliar with the Japanese stories therefore I experience them as new. I am finishing Child’s Play right now and it is hilarious…

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

Here are the pictures from Tanabata 2009, this time I am not the only one wearing a yukata.

This Tanabata Matsuri was even more fun because of Mina.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

Hi yall, it’s yukata time again… Last year, I wore my yukata but this year I will be able to wear one with Mina. She bought a really beautiful yukata from ginza and we are showing it off together at the Tanabata Festival today. This is my third year going and I know it will be the best.

Happy Fourth of July, by the way…

[ Life.Iz.Good ]