วันอาทิตย์ที่ 4 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2554

Life and Dreams.....

I felt like I frequently bragged about things. It's difficult for me to let go sometimes. What I usually do is looking on the other side, on other people's perspective, come back to me and learn from mistakes.

Last Friday was really hard for me EMOTIONALLY. I talked to my friends over the phone while sneeking out @work, and on our meeting on Saturday. We talked about common things @work, financial planning and future plan. What I realized was that it is very important to be motivated, do the best you can regardless of situation and know where you are in the company.

Enough with the work talk, but more with the dreams.

I have lots of things going on inside my head, but they aren't organized. So I believe it is a time to organize a lot of things.........time, dream, money, etc.


You know that you have is not enough.

วันศุกร์ที่ 14 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2554

Pressure, Drama and Controversy

I remember sitting on an Aerosvit flight on my way 2 Kiev few months ago. Before the flight took off, I walked around a gigantic King Power duty free shop window, shopping. I walked around, not realizing that the time was running up until I got a called from the operator to be on board immediately. At that time, I looked on to my stuff, realizing I didn't bring any book to read during the flight. So I ended up buying a new one so I could find something to do during my spare time.

Back to my place, my house where I'm sitting right now. On my right, I see stack of books and magazines, ranging from novels, design books and magazines that I never get to finish. I never know when I will be able to, but I know that someday I will.

I think the key to successful reading is enjoy and absorb the moment.....enough with my reading problems.


After my memorable trip in Romania. I realized that the new chapter of my life had begun.

I'm working in a corporate office. But there's no way I will give up on my favorite past time, watching American football.

2 years after my favorite player had retired, I'm still all excited when the season began. It was like automatic. I knew when the game starts. I feel excited every weekend, mostly after midnight.

This is my 10th anniversary of me following NFL. I can say to myself that I'm football junkie. If there is a contest for biggest NFL fan, I think I can compete among the guys.

And because NFL is a quarterback-driven league. I had seen many stories and controversies that involved quarterbacking position, from Brady and Bledsoe(2 great QBs on their own terms), Drew Brees to Phillip Rivers(2 great ones on the same team in San Diego Chargers), or Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger(As a ram fan, this one hurts the most. but it's understandable now). However, the one I'm seeing now surprises me the most because it basically had nothing to do with players' performance.

Because I don't watch college football (why should I? I have zero connection with American college teams. Hopefully I might have one in the future, then I'll root for one of them), I didn't have any love for Tim Tebow beside hearing his name from the press. When I watched Tebow threw, it was the first time I can easily take notice of the QB's throwing motion.

Every time I watch Denver Broncos, I can feel the pressure of the starting QB. He's a good guy and better QB at this moment. Now that he's benched, I wish him well at the next stop. I believe he will be a starter again in NFL.......

This is just one of the story I follow during the NFL season. I know this might sound silly, but I believe in sportmanship. I follow the stories of men in pads. I read the stories, watched the documentaries. Those stories inspire me in a lot of ways......

วันศุกร์ที่ 2 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2554

Back to reality......really real

It's been a while since I last blogged. I never plan, or intend to blog for purpose. It is just my way of practicing English and share something out. Today I just feel like to, so there you go.....

Before this blog, I wrote about how my life was in Bucharest, but actually never finish it. The other one I wrote in Thai, I stated about how excited I was knowing that my favorite Thai actor is coming back with new lakorn. I just leave it there. I am a fan of Thai lakorn, just like Latin telenovelas, they are somewhat exciting, sometimes unpredictable, with an ending that was supposed to be know by everybody(because that is how one show is promoted). Somehow everybody seems to watch it because of other reasons. They may want to see how the story was re-make(There are 10 of remake lakorns being made every 10-15 years), how the actors performed, or how the screenplay was like. For me, I'm interested at the latter.

Unfortunately, many novels that were chosen for screenplay are sometimes "cliche", or worse "delusional". I could imagine how many story lines were re-written all over with only changes are the name of the title and characters. I couldn't imagine how many plots involved with main female protagonist being forced to marry to another man.....and so on.

But that's not the point, I believe that writers could write 100 scenarios with this kind of starting plot. And I guess that is the beauty of romance novels.

I'm a kind of person who believe in "substance". I think it is important to get the message out through storytelling. The way you tell the story must be "convincing", "interesting" and most importantly....."reasoning".

Yesterday I read the thread on famous Thai webboard. The forum starter talked to the directer of one lakorn, being produced by 7-color channel. He talked about how he couldn't find a screenwriter for his newly producing lakorn because the plot was so old, and he wanted to make it "reasonable". And it is the job of a writer, and probably the producer, to make it happen.

This is a reason why I always want to read novels, I just never really make an effort to read those. So, today, while I was having a hard time walking on heels, I stop @B2S on Central Ladprao to pick up random books from the Thai novel section. And I was disappointed.

I thought I picked up the right one to be made into lakorn, but not for reading enjoyably. Because the plot is so similar to what I've seen on TV, it started without any good reason, and the main guy seemed over exaggerated at times.

So I decided that, beside cosmetics, skincare, CDs and architecture books, I would love to buy some novel and read. It was my aspiration, even before I studied to become architect, to write a story, a novel. I later became interested in writing a screenplay after I saw countless movies, series, dramas, telenovelas and lakorn.

I always admire those who go after their dreams. We can always have multiple dreams, and many of them can be successful it you know how to manage them. After graduation and an unforgettable journey in Romania, I felt empty at times. I felt like I had no commitment left. And the only commitment I have is to myself, whether I wanted to live lives and set those rules, it is all to me ,for me and for my family.

To be continue.......

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 30 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2553

The Confessions of my Thesis

It's been a while since I wrote the blog, and that blog is not even about my personal life. I just went through music after days of work. Right now, I am between working my *** of on my thesis. I've been through 3 reviews already. The grade on my first two had been satisfying. However, the third review got me thinking.....

"Am I making a mistake?"

You see, my thesis topic is "Water, Society and Culture". What I am trying to do is finding a relationship between water and culture from various aspects and insert them into architecture from various aspects. This includes design approach, programs and so on....

The reason this topic got me interested was from my visit to North Eastern of Thailand. I'd seen water space not being used to full potential. I've heard of the link between water and Thai Culture, but the sense of water space in that city did not really convince me. So I urged to find out on that question. During the city walk conversation, ajarns told me that this could be a topic for your thesis.. Well, I agreed. But this is not the first one came to mind.

So after months of consideration, I decided to go for this topic. But halfway through the thesis prep class, I may have realized I've made a mistake:

Because I was such a "CITY" girl, I found that linking local culture and beliefs of people outside of my city are difficult. I felt like I've been stepping out of my comfort zone and I'm halfway through already. Therefore, there is no turning back.

What I found it really hard is the question of why? why are you doing this and that? what makes this city so special with water and so on. These are the questions that I must convince committees and prove what I am trying to propose is possible.

For days, I've been searching through various relationship between water and culture. Here is my conclusion from what I found, in words:

Nan city and water relationship,

  • From the city scale, Nan city had been through various developments. The one thing that remains firm to the city is the way it was structured. The city was planned according to Cosmic Landscape methodology, with temples as center and so on. Water streams running through the gate represents 4 continents. However, because the city is situated near the hills, there's no constructed pond for irrigation. In addition, like many Thai city in the past, the current road lines were canals.
  • As for Land use, well, the city's structure changes a bit. But there are resemblances in some point. Like riverfront space is still a space for public usage.
  • The architectural symbols are significant in aesthetics of symbols such as Naga, ตุง. The reference of Naga is all over the place of the city, from the street signs to boat decoration. Nagas on temple stairways are also the most significant of all parts of Thailand.
  • In architectural construction, wooden architecture is firmly constructed in Lanna traditional house. With lightweight structure, Thai traditional house is able to withstand flooding.
  • As for water-related activities, the obvious one is long-boat. Nan long boat is the most significant in aesthetics and decoration, whose main characteristics are slenderness and Naga decoration along the boat. In addition, the hint of water is indicated in namings of Nan performance. The examples include "ซอล่องน่าน" and "ฟ้อนล่องน่าน". As posture of traditional Thai performance being an indication of life on the river, it is only suitable that my project would include traditional thai music and performance as part of building programs.
  • For water-based beliefs, it was believed that the origins of Nan generation was born from Naga.
  • From this research,

Therefore, from this reason, I choose Naga as beliefs for the approach of my project. What I do was linking water-inspired activities.

My proposal is linking my project with existing park to make a complete promenade that reflect the culture of Nan city through space and program.

I don't feel stressful anymore, so off to work.

wish me luck.

วันศุกร์ที่ 20 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Memories through music

I am in nostalgic mood. After done working on my report, I youtube songs over and over. In fact, I'm just done watching Spice Girls Documentary.

Spice Girls always have a special place in my heart. I have their CD, greatest hit and a tape which I still keep. In fact, I can sing almost all their songs. And I even have one Victoria Beckham's song on my PC. A mind of its own is a very good song, you should check it out.

Another pop Band I like is Backstreet Boys. I don't have any word to say than just liking them. Like the Spice Girls, there came around the same time (BB GG Boom!) And just like the girls, they all have unique personalities. And unlike *NSYNC, all five actually sing!.

I'm just saying that listening to those music bring a big smile to my face. Now I can understand how my mom feels when she played her music.

For me, music is like a space. Probably the smallest space where people look for comfort. It's testy, it's everywhere regardless of surroundings.

Actually, what drives me into writing this blog is because I am listening to NKOTB mix on youtube. I don't know much about them except for the fact that they are very famous in the late 80's. They reunite 2 years ago and the reception was very overwhelming. Seeing them dance in their late 30's brought a smile on my face. It might be true that you can never leave the kid inside of you.

I think NKOTB music is very edgy. I may not know any of the band member, except Joey McIntyre, but they do have a RAPPER!!! Great!

Finally, It's a pop culture that evolves in time. Every history in the era is defined by pop music.


But don't get me wrong here, all right? I mean, I still have a diverse range in musical taste. One they I might turn into so pop, the next I just when totally hard rock, or just in between.

But anyway, if I could describe my music taste, I would say I like "adult alternative". Not too electric, not too hard, not too R&B, just pure rock.

Here are lists of latest music on my youtube collection:

Thinking of You - Katy Perry



I really love this song, I'm just not into her pin-up girl image. I thought it was manufactured, but isn't everything manufactured these days. It is a way to characterize your image together with the music, making it looks more interesting. Few days ago I was criticizing "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga as just a simple pop song, not up to Gaga's standard. But the video keeps people interested.

Lightening Crashes - Live



I simply love this song. It's just so full of emotion. While I am trying to understand the lyrics, it was the music that moves me. I guess that's what Rock means. It doesn't have to riff guitars or rolling drums. Rock is about expressing your feeling to the fullness. I have so many songs on the list that fall on this category. That reason alone makes singer-songwriter like Jewel and Sarah McLachlan a rocker, even though their songs never really have aggressive attitude toward anything, they're all just well expressive.

วันศุกร์ที่ 6 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Presenting......and ENGLISH

Yesterday I was having a presentation of my life. Yes! the 1st thesis review. It went quite well. However, I came up jumping in a conclusion too soon. So an excuse? I was saving myself, hall of fame is one of the idea I might include it on my design.

My next work is consulting with Aj. Mike. But before that, I have to decide what I should discuss about, and my next move will be.

Today is the day of my rest. I decided it is ok to work on weekends, as long as you have a day in a week to rest.

So what did I do today? sleep alot, have meals, went to a bank but end up paying nothing. And I exercised.....go back to my normal routines. I realized just how much I miss exercising because my fitness level has been down after a week of not exercising at all.

Then I watched a much anticipated movie, the count of monte cristo, for a 2nd time. The last time I watched it, I think it was when the protagonist was not best known for protraying Jesus yet, or the movie just hadn't come out. What I remembered from that time was the plot and fun I had watching it, but I didn't remember the details. Partly because I was watching it without subtitles in order to practice my English as well.

So the second time, I do the same, hoping I could grasp some more story because my English has improved so much since I began college.

The result of watching the movie made me realize that my listening skills still need improvement. I still grasp some of the dialogue, but very few when compare to recent movies I watch such as Angel Eyes, or even Salt. I don't want to blame the skittish French-English accent, but I'm just not good enough, that's all.

Maybe that's the reason why I own so many DVDs because I can easily watch the movie the second time around just to hone my skills. I still plan on owning more DVDs, but I should finish watching the ones I haven't watched first. And part of my collection will definately include Angel Eyes and Count of Monte Cristo as well.

Now, back to the movie, I thought it was great. Although it was long(131 min.), it doesn't feel as long as Inception whose duration is definitely longer. However, watching this movie makes me hungry for the novel, because I need more details!!!! But the truth is probably because my English was so bad I couldn't quite catch it up. I mean, it could have a better ending, (the following lines contain spoil!!!!!!) I wish Mondego could had kill himself instead of dying on Dantes' sward, even though it looked like Edmond didn't mean to. And Edmond may end up alone instead of reuniting with his family. But this is a way of Hollywood telling the story, they changed a great novel for a screenplay a lot so that the movie can be finished within 2.30 hours. I feel like there are more stories to be told, I can feel his revenge, but I want more!!!

BTW, I think I had a greater time watching it the first time around, probably because I don't know the background story of The Count of Monte Cristo at all.
Last but not least, I think Jim Caviezel is hot!!!, great performance, very memorable!!(anything other than Jesus of course.) He's a perfect Edmond Dantes. Guy Pearce is a great villain, no wonder why he turn down the lead role in the first place, he just enjoyed playing the bad guy too much. I still remember him in Factory Girl, his portrayal of Andy Warhol still creeps me out after all these years.

A highly recommended movie for those who love a real good revenge story!

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 29 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Freedom?

Ramdom Thoughts

  1. อยากดูหนัง The English Patient, The Last Emperor, Shine ซื้อมาดองเป็นปียังไม่ได้แตะ นี่จะมาอยากดูมินิซีรียส์ The Prisoner อีกหกตอน Angel Eyes รอบที่ล้าน The Count of Monte Cristo ที่ทั้งอยากอ่านและอยากดู มีหนังโรงอย่าง Inception ที่อยากดูอีก โอ๊ยๆๆๆ ความจริงอยากดูตั้งแต่ Shutter Island เดือนก่อนนู้นเลย นี่เราไม่ได้เข้าโรงหนังมานานแค่ไหนแล้วเนี่ย เรื่องสุดท้ายที่ดู The Proposal ก็กี่เดือนมาแล้วว่ะ?
  2. แพลนภาพยนตร์ต่อไปก็ต้องเป็น Toy Story อันนี้ต้องดูให้ได้จริงๆ ต้องดูง่ะ
  3. I currently have a man Crush on Jim Caviezel, best known for playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. I watched 'the passion' in theaters when it came out. Before that I watched him in Frequency and The Count of Monte Cristo. But I was totally crush on him when I watched Angel Eyes. I guess because it was a romantic movie that I watch of him that made me fell in love with his performance. He was the reason why I want to watch "The Prisoner" and re-watch The Count of Monte Cristo. I watch "The Count" 5-6 years ago, but my English was bad then. So it would be a good idea to watch it again as well as reading the book.
  4. To clear things up, I really like ANGEL EYES movie, not just one particular actor. I though J.Lo is a better actor that a singer.
  5. I used to have a man crush in Josh Lucas from Sweet Home Alabama and Nicolas Cage when I was very young. I still like Josh Lucas, but haven't seen much from him since 'Poseidon'--bad movie and Nic Cage's movies haven't interested me for years.
  6. I have to go hurry doing thesis. It's better doing one thing at a time.
  7. The truth, I've watched a lot of rom-com and rom-dra movies. But I didn't have crush on many male leads, the last two guys I remember having a crush on are James Marsden from 27 dresses and Jim Caviezel from Angel Eyes. I watched many Matthew McConaughey's rom com movies but didn't care much about that guy. That's a proof!! I'm not easily crushed.
  8. I just finished watching the trailer of "life as we know it movie" starrting Kathering Heigl and Josh Duhamel. Everytime I see Katherine Heigl in a movie, I think of a younger Meg Ryan. Anyway, her movies don't interest me much.
  9. I'm done writing, I going to bed now....for real.