in ... the dumb things that non-climbers say ...

Found in rockclimbing.com

"And how do you get the rope up there?"
Answer1: "It just kind of grew down from that tree."
Answer2: "I used a harpoon. It took several tries."
Answer3: "We've trained a couple of these squirrels to run the rope up and loop it down the anchor."
Answer4: "You don't." - usually said as the lead climber begins to climb -

"How does the last person get down?"
Answer: "Just like I did."
"Well, then, who carries the rope down?"
Answer: "No one, we leave it there for the next party of climbers." - this usually said as the last person down is pulling down the rope -

"Hey, are you training to be Tom Cruise's double?"
Answer: "No. He's training to be mine."

"Rock climbing is your hobby; but what do you do for exercise?"

"Is there a strip-club or something at the top of the cliff?"

Then the all-time classics:

"Do you know there's an easier way around the back?"

and the most important and most classical of all:

"Why?"

Exactly. Why? Why do we climb?

Why do we have to get to the top of the rock? Why do we climb another rock, another mountain ... once up there, the views are all the same?


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Orpierre is another world I never knew existed. A sleepy medieval village in Les Hautes-Alpes (the upper Alps) department popular with climbers but ignored by everybody else (except perhaps a few stray tourists looking for a quiet getaway from the touristy Provence or Côte d'Azur), it maintains the very traditional French character and mentality.


Friendly, laid-back, and trusting. No matter where you're from, what language you speak.

Just like in Fixkes's 'kvraagetaan. A world from the good-old-time that knows no gsm (unless you climb 500m to the top of the cliffs that is), no cinema, no police station, no restaurant, no hypermarket, not even a post office. Just a small bar, an épicerie, a bakery, and--of course--a climbing shop. Its main street--La Grand Rue--is only about 1.5m wide. A place where its villagers still live the life that knows no hate, no prejudice, no worries, no ambition, no regret ... a place where everything is still so simple, and a week vacation in a nice traditional gîte costs no more than €150, everything included.

Including one heck of an experience that--to me--beats any $5000 vacation in the Bahamas or any other "exotic" places.


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Why do we climb? Why do we have to get to the top of the rock? Why do we climb another rock, another mountain ... once up there, the views are all the same?

Why do we work, why do we chase dreams, why do we have to always be better than everybody else, better than yesterday? Why do we live?

We, climbers, climb because we love to climb.

... in paper tickets, in warm meal on-board, and--who would've guessed--stainless steel knives and forks!! (Greece: a journey back through time ...)

Cyn and I (literally) in the hands of God Dionysus

Greece ... Ian summed it up nicely: "Greece ... great lots of ancient history ..." Carolien has had enough rubles, but she remembered the beautiful cities, great food + wine, beaches, and good weathers.

And Cynthia? "... annoying crickets playing the symphony at night ... roosters or peacocks or cows mooing in the early morning ... the stray cat ..."

It was about 4 in the morning when Cynthia rolled over onto my side of the tent, whispering in panic, "Hey Adi Adi Adi ... There's something that feels like someone's limb on top of my leg here!!"

Actually, the stray cat has just found a warm spot to sleep.

Then there's the scooter and the cheap rental car on adventurous gravel road. The "open-door" kitchen that solves all language barriers we thought we were going to have to encounter. And the annoying self-parking donkeys.



You really want to know what I'm talking about? Why not venture out and experience yourself all the daylights ...

(Cyn's idea of a day on the beach: "I don't wanna get any darker!")

... and sunsets ...
(sunset over Naxos beach and the Gate of Dionysus)

... and the midnights and cups of coffee ...
(ok, more like in nice cool evenings over few glasses of Santorini wines)

(All pictures, as usual, are posted on my Flickr photo album)

... in daylights, in sunsets, in (sleepless) midnights, ...

Harvard Business Review, February 2004
Success That Lasts

"Pursuing success is like shooting a series of moving targets. Each time you hit one, five more pop up from another direction. Just when we've achieved one goal, we feel the pressure to work harder to earn more money, exert more effort, possess more toys ... many people assume success requires a winner-takes-all approach. They believe that success depends on putting all your energy into achieving one goal, be it a single-minded focus on your job or a commitment to being the best soccer mom in your community. But no matter how noble, one goal can't satisfy all of a person's complex needs and desires ... Success requires more than a heart-pounding race to the finish line. Our research uncovered four irreducible components of enduring success: happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment about your life); achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for); significance (the sense that you've made a positive impact on people you care about); and legacy (a way to establish your values or accomplishments so as to help others find future success) ... Unless you hit on all four categories with regularity, any one win will fail to satisfy. You'll experience what we call the 'wince factor': You know you're doing what is right, but it still feels like a loss. You're preoccupied with thoughts of the other things you could be doing or getting ...": Laura Nash, senior research fellow, and Howard Stevenson, Professor, Harvard Business School

I started this blog almost two years ago for the same reason I am now writing this post. Another year was about to go by, things were going well ... yet I tossed and turned at night asking "now what?"

"Succcess is a journey, not a destination," Arthur Ashe once said.

And it has been a wonderful journey indeed. Honestly, I don't think I could've asked for more. At the age of 27, I have traveled, visited, watched, seen, and experienced more things than what most people ever have during their entire lives. I have played with almost all the toys money could buy--including gadgets that many (especially in Europe) thought had existed only in sci-fi movies. I have constantly pushed my limits, and from time to time, beat the odds.

Yet, despite all this, I still feel like I'm missing something, constantly wondering, "now what?"

It's not that I feel that I have nothing more to prove. I still enjoy working on the new challenges and beating the even more (seemingly) impossible odds.

It's just that I feel like all I do is climb, climb, climb. But the higher I climb, the greater the stake gets, the fiercer the competition becomes. And the harder the falls. Which makes turning back or slowing down--even just to look back--never seems to be an option. "When you stand still while everybody else is moving forward, you are actually moving backwards," my father told me all the time. "And the world would not just stop to wait for you."

Then last week I met someone who had always lived her life like there would be no tomorrow. She has lived in six or seven countries (I lost track) in three continents and speaks six languages ... mostly learned "on the road". Unlike me, she did all these without much planning. "I bought a ticket ..." and somehow she managed to get by through the ways of hitchhiking, camping out the highways and the rest stops, and doing everything and everything: from farm jobs, tourism works, and miscellaneous odd jobs to support herself.

"As for the future? I don't know that. But for now, I will try to stay in Belgium to care for my grandma."

It probably is not easy to be her ... yet she seems to live a life that brings her satisfaction in everything that she does. No baggages, no regrets, no worries.

...

Realistically speaking: chances are, there would be tomorrow. And the next year. And the year after. And when that day comes, I probably would not regret all the things I had done to prepare for that day.

Yet, maybe I have felt so lost because I have been so busy trying to meet tomorrow's challenges that I have forgotten about the other things that make today, tomorrow, the next year, and all the following years, worth living.

The little things that turn even the simplest forms of successes ... meaningful.

in daylights ...

in sunsets ...

... and the little things that make life worth living

Cup'oCofi's photo album is now online!

Dear all,

No, Cup'oCofi hasn't been swallowed by the earth.

And no, he hasn't eloped with one of Belgium's hot chics.

But yes, he has been enjoying Belgium's unusually warm and sunny weather. And there are too many things going on in his work and his life as well.

And yes, he still loves blogging. It's just that he hasn't found enough time to write lately. There's so much to tell; so much to share. But there's so much to explore and to experience, as well.

He should be back to the blogging world probably in the early October, when Belgium settles down into the long, cloudy winter.

In the meantime, you can try to follow his footsteps at http://picasaweb.google.com/cupocofi/

Backpacking around the Bernina Mountain: Svizza - Italia - Svizza

Gluckliches Neues Jahr ... von Berlin!

... in Bratwursts (German-sized), in sausages (German-sized), in gluhwein (original German-flavored), in Beers (German-sized) ...

... in PARTIES!!! (German-sized ... in 2-km long wide boulevard packed with the friendly, fun-loving, beer-loving Germans. Drunk Germans. Way drunk Germans. And we are having fun. German-sized.)


... where 2005 meets 2006, where the old meets the new ... Berlin, Deutschland.

Below is picture of the Berliner Dom with Alexanderplatz's Fehrnsehturm Tor in the background


Unter den Linden: Brandenburger Tor. Napoleon liked it so much he stole the statue on top during the Napoleonic wars.


And in Kurfurstendam: a reminder ...

Joyeux Noel des Francais Flandres!

Marche de Noel (Christmas Market) in Lille. Lille is a Flemish town that was annexed by the French in 1667. It has the unique characteristics of any Flemish town such as Le Grand Place (De Grote Markt), Flemish architecture, and--of course--bars serving the finest of Belgian Beers.

We Wensen U Een Prettige Kerstmis en Een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

Ieper, Christmas Eve 2005. A view of the Cloth Hall now from the distance with the Christmas lights decorating the streets


Christmas displays in Brugge, the capital of Provincie West-Vlaanderen. Some Chinese tourists asked me where to find Pizza Hut (a "traditional" Chinese Christmas dinner) in Brugge on Christmas eve ... Pizza Hut, in Brugge? Eh, anything open on Christmas Eve? Maybe Chinese food?


Another shot of the Grote Markt in Brugge

... in new languages, new cultures, and new friends ... in paperworks, confusions, frustrations, and well ... fun!! Ieper: Third Month

Welcome to Europe. Where children's merry-go-round plays "Fuck Me Like a Whore" as a background music and where Brussel's dark alleys and certain Germanic "lifestyle" could make New Orleans, Cancun, and even the walletjes look like some humble theme parks.

Where life is almost all about savoring (when you're not doing bureaucracy papers), and where "moral" stands for the culture of caring for the weak and the future generations and has less to do with sticking your nose in something none of your business.

Where I still struggle to answer the seemingly simple question: 'Where are you from?'

Someone once told me that "home is where your heart is". But my heart does not belong to a specific location or a specific person within a location. It is with the people, the experience, and the enjoyment of the things that I do. I don't really own a "home" that I crave to return to. But in many corners of this planet, I have someone who will gladly meet me in hour's notice.

This is my curse, my blessing, ... my life.

Some think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and some think that the grass is greenest on their side of the fence (hence a taller fence is needed). It's just hard to appreciate life until you walk on someone else's shoes, isn't it? But I've walked the footsteps of many strangers, and I've learned that there is no grass that is greener or greenest; they all simply have different shades of green.

... eastern Italian Alps: and the journey concludes ... for now.

in canals, canals, and more canals ... (and overpriced gondola)

in Chiantis, ancient towers, nude statues, vineyards, olive trees, rolling hills, and mighty mountains ... Under the Tuscan Sun, Italia!

... then we were off for a week of Tuscan relaxation staying in a beautiful farm 'La Presura' in Chianti... visiting Firenze, Sienna, San Gimignano, Pisa, Lucca, and of course, the garden of Toscana: the Chianti's vineyards and rolling hills ...

'La Presura'


















Firenze























Firenze


















Pisa


















San Gimignano

in beautiful cities, french wines, and french food: we started the trip through Paris and Geneve

After spending the night in Sheraton CDG (the best airport hotel I've ever stayed in, right in the terminal), I met a friend the next morning and we began our journey.

in German Food, French Wine, and Belgian Beers: Luxembourg

Gentse Feesten!

To tell you the truth, I think the real celebration was in Gentse Feesten!

Brussel: 175 Jaar Belgie

(I've had my lesson ... from now on ... I'm taking the train and walk everywhere! And keep a detailed map handy, just in case!)

The show of Belgium's military might. Yeah ... an oxymoron. Well, at least their people could say 'our army does something for us (entertainment)'.



and a pretty neat parade ...interesting displays ... horse-powered grain grinder ...


and of course ... got to take the picture of this stupid mannekin pis ...

Antwerpen, July 2005

"My Belgian husband has told me a helpful rule: when there is no sign, go straight. This works much of the time, but one day, I was driving with him when we came upon a roundabout. There was a road going at a 90-degree angle to the right and one at about 11 o’clock. No signs, of course ... Memory told me that I should go right, but I was testing the 'go straight' rule. I asked where I should go and he said: 'To the right, of course — that's the straight road' ... Natives already know their way, don't travel much and don’t need street signs. This is great if you grow up, get married and die in one town ...": Miriam Levenson

Yep ... I spent half the day trying to figure out how to navigate this "medieval maze of Belgian streets and equally medieval signage". Luckily I finally found the "Centrum" sign again, which, took me to the Centraal Station instead of the Grote Markt (about half an hour walk). Luckily, Belgian cities are fairly small. Oh yeah, by the way, to add to Miriam's list: the signs do not necessarily point to the direction you want to go, especially in a 5-way-roundabouts. They make 30-degree angle, sometimes.

And no, I'm not the father who's afraid to ask for direction. The problem was--which I learned the hard way--summarized nicely by a colleague:

"Don't ask them whether you should go North, South, East, or West! You'll confuse them! Besides, there is no such thing!! You need to know all the directions of the big cities. Then you have to know all the major street names ... That's how we explain directions!": Peter

Easy to say, when you've lived here the whole time.

Happy Birthday, USA!

Some found it an irony that I booked my flight to leave USA on July 4th. Well ... Chicago's big fireworks were set for Saturday July 3rd, when tourists and citizens could pack the entire Magnificent Mile before and after the celebration!

Las Vegas, June 2005

Life is an adventure. SEVEN days to departure. What would you do? Pack? Last-minute shop for cheap(er) electronics? Build electrical socket conversion so your phone would work in Europe? Hell no ... VEGAS, baby!

Huntsville, Alabama: Marshall Rockets and Space Center

Marshall Rockets and Space Center--NASA's developmentel center for rockets and propulsion technologies-- is a worthy visit if its on your way during a trip across Alabama. It's a great place to learn a bit about human's journey into space, and its "G-Force Accelerator" (the big centrifuge they put astronauts in to simulate rocket's acceleration) is one of its kind. It makes me appreciate that earth's gravity is "only" 9.8 m/s^2! :)

Space Shuttle exhibit in Marshall Space and Rockets Center in Huntsville, AL

Rocket Park in Marshall Space and Rockets Center in Huntsville, Ala