One of the things i love most i photographing. Especially landscapes and farsights. Whenever i can, i grab my Canon or iPhone and click. I have a lot of beautiful photos but i picked out two sets. One is made in Sweden in November and the other is made in my hometown this June. You can find me op www.500px.com/elbertkuin but they are really old. Last few years i made some private albums but nothing more.
I think photographing is something you have to master if you travel. It brings so much joy for so many years it's really worth the effort and money.
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So i told you guys i am searching for new ways to increase my monthly income and one of the things i came up with is restoring old furniture and stuff like that. Remember my post about the rummage sale? Well we just finished our first project. And i must say... i'm really pleased with the outcome of this try-out. :) It was a lot of work though...
Second step is advertising it on websites like www.puur83.nl (my other website) and www.marktplaats.nl I hope it works! So, my job is all about cars. I currently have a job in the Automotive, our company designs software car-dealers etc can use to calculate residual values and stuff like that. And sometimes we get the opportunity to test drive a cool car. And because cars are a part of my life, i will sometimes tell you about it. This time, we got a brand new (always brand new by the way) 2016 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Time to feel like a little boy again... Everyone who knows what a Subaru Impreza sounds like, knows exactly what i am talking about because no other car sounds like this. The 300 HP boxer engine produces a low and very pleasant sound. Even more inside the car, then outside the car. He sounds like he performs.
It's a car made for short sprint and tight corners. I especially love how it gets more and more grip the faster you go through a corner. Although it's not really a fast sprinter (5.2 sec from 0-100 kmph), it will beat almost any faster car because of its endless grip. Thank God for the seats that fit like a glove. I love it. It made me feel 18 again with his big picknicktable-sized spoiler, quadruple exhaust, black rims... Only the real car lover will appreciate it's appearance. He costs a whopping 92.700 euro (over 104.000 dollar)!!! For this kind of money you can buy a BMW 340i Xdrive M-sport... not sure which one to pick. BMW in the summer, WRX in the winter perhaps. :) Great car and a thrill to ride in. But, in the end... for that money, i would buy a BMW. Not as fast, but a lot more sophisticated. Yesterday I came across a story about a boy named Job, written by his mother. Although it's a bit tough to translate, I have to try. You could actually learn something from it, so i'll put in the effort for you. Please read!
Annemarie Haverkamp from Nijmegen wrote a column about her son Job (12). Straight out of her hart, many people think has hit the right nail on the head. We-We Job doesn't know the words cunt-Moroccan, cancer-prick, whore. A Hijab doesn't draw bad blood. He will actually like it because you can pull it. Frizzy hair tickles against his hand a he would stroke smooth hair. Job likes to touch people. Racism is a strange thing to him, he doesn't know preconceptions. If the doorbell rings, he say's "mommie, open the door" Job is curious en welcomes everybody. No we-them, but we-we. He likes people en thinks they are sweet, until the contrary is proved. Job will never judge you over your past, he only takes your hand. Job doesn't get what a gay is, he doesn't even know the meaning of heterosexual. He makes no distinction between fat, thin, rich, poor, hobo or elite. Job doesn't look down on people - he always looks up from his wheelchair. His sky is sunny, or it's raining. Job says sorry when he has hurt you, thank you if you help him. He shows interest by asking: how are you doing? Watches soccer on TV en cheers with every goal, no matter which team scores. Job is a champion in sharing happiness. Running onto the grass isn't possible - because of his wheelchair. Hitting a opponent will never be possible, he has low muscle tension. It's his creaky body that stops him. Job always has to wait. For food, for company, for a taxi, for a new wheelchair, for someone to change his diaper... Yet, he never feels wronged. He will never complain. He doesn't point his finger defrauded to people that are living a better life and he isn't familiar with terms like jealousy, envy or slander. He rather sings a song. Job doesn't blame other people and never wishes someone to die on social media. And we call him mentally deficient???? Normally i don't read interviews with famous people, especially not the ones written in woman magazines. But somehow this one drew my attention. It's about the life or thoughts of mister Dinand Woesthoff. A Dutch musician, rock artist. Nobody really knows him abroad, but in The Netherlands hordes of women scream as he goes by. Well maybe a bit exaggerated but this pretty much describes his life. Anyway, he is raising his kids by teaching them to "be kind and be useful". And this got me thinking. Is this how we all should live our lives? I think i agree with him. You should be kind to other people. What goes around, comes around for sure. I believe you should treat people the way you want to be treated yourself. Don't feel better than someone else and respect their way of living. Well if it's within norms and values. Not all people deserve respect, but that's a whole other discussion and i'm not going there.
Try it, be kind to those you come across for a least one day. Respect how they are and don't judge them by their looks. This will also help you when you are travelling the world and living your dream. Be kind and doors will open. So then there is the second part. Be useful. Be useful... or make yourself useful. Help each other when in need, or even when they are not in need you can still be useful. Help your mom with some chores, or help a friend wash his car, send your wife off to do something fun whilst watching the kids, do something. You might be needing a helping hand one day... and if you never helped or supported anybody, help won't show up when you need it. What comes around, goes around. Being useful will also help you on your journey. How? you ask. Well, by helping people they will be more likely to lend you stuff that you might need for your travel. So be kind, and be useful. It helps you making your own dream come true. Okay... lesson learned. I should save my messages more often, just because i really don't want to write everything for a second time if i accidentally close the window... so here it goes again.
Rummage sale... or Rommelmarkt as it's called in Dutch. Last Saturday it was the first time of my life i went to such an event. Never before i had the pleasure to look through old stuff people give away because they have no use for it anymore. And more important. I actually payed money to buy these things. not a lot... but i payed. However, i got some really cool and vintage stuff for prices lower than low. Almost for free. I spend a whopping 35 euro for a list of items. So this is how i got there. My lovely neighbors are in the organisation of this event and told us we should really go there because it is the most cutest rummage sale in this part of The Netherlands (okay the exaggerated a bit maybe). But hey, it was only like 200m from our house so we gave it a chance. My dear mother in law looked after the kid and me and my girl went off (she already visited this event in the morning with her mom) and started looking for something we wanted to buy. After 15 minutes we already purchased 6 items... a dresser, a sideboard, a small oak table, a wooden box, a vintage TV-cabinet, a wooden stove (a small box where you can put coals into to heat up your feat if you rest them on it) and a side-table. Amazing! They are all in a bad color or state, so i'll soon keep you posted about refurbishing these findings. It made me smile! I love these projects. After walking to our for four times with stuff we bought, we went back and started searching through the smaller stalls. We bought a few things ranging up from 0,50 to a whopping 2,50! ;) We bought another stove, a very large saucepan (to put in the garden with Lavender or something), a vase, a can and a vintage spice rack. I now come to the conclusion i love Rummage sales... not because of all the garbage people try to sell, but because there is a chance of finding a vintage project for a real small amount of money. As i say, i will keep you posted on these projects. Just for fun... and making money to make my dreams come true! :) "Live life to the fullest", "You only live once", "Travel, Explore, Live"... the internet is full of those lines... everybody uses one now or then... but who really lives by it? Not a lot of people... i think even 99,9% of all people using these sentences are in reality stuck and not really following their dreams. So why do people use these things? I think in most part they use it to fool themselves they are living their dreams to feel good about themselves... or maybe they use it because they are at that particular moment living some sort of dream they desire.
So this is where chasing your dream comes around the corner again. So you only live ones... true! Live life to the fullest... also true. But how? As i said in my other Blog (step 1) you need to make it happen. Considering the fact that you actually only live once, you should really live your life to the fullest and try to not get stuck in things you don't want to. A lot of people hold on to things because they feel familiar. And this is where most people run ashore. By following my steps you will be able to get past these roadblocks! Hey and.. eh.. don't wait. Don't make yourself empty promises. You only live once... Dear Dreamers, my life as it is right now is actually pretty awesome. I have a beautiful girlfriend, a super cute son, a kick ass dog and a home to fall in love with.
My wife, 29 years old right now, is a girl with many sides. Fun to be with, very nice to look at and a dream to be with. She changed my life in many forms. I honestly can say that she made me a better man. Reminds me of a Paulo Nutini song i saved in Spotify. "Better Man" it's called. I'll write about it later in Music. Well... okay, maybe just a few sentences. She's fearless, she's free Oh she is a real live wire And that girl She's got me feeling so much better Oh you trade all the money in the world Just to see this girl's smile All the while, she'll make you feel so much better Oh that girl, makes me wanna be a better man. Okay, maybe not completely fearless. She needs me to assure her everything will be fine. But that's totally okay and i feel good when i can make her feel sure. We are in this adventure of a lifetime together! She is at my side for over 4 years now and still going strong. We live in a postal office from 1901 and started rebuilding it in August 2015, i will soon post a few pictures of how it was and how it is now. We came across a lot of challenges but got them all sorted out... needless to say that it has cost a lot more then we originally thought but the result is absolutely stunning! With oak floors, black kitchen, deluxe bathroom, high ceilings, large dining-room, large fireplace, etc. it's a real palace. I'll keep you posted on things we come across in the search for stuff to place in our house and things we actually bought. It's a difference. We see a lot of beautiful things to buy, but remember... we have a dream to chase!!! |