Been too busy lately!

Working a lot! going to the gym at early morning! How long I don’t enjoy the simplicity of the sun rising.

See more progress on: Photograph 43 Mornings

Started Hebrew classes by email!

Neta offered to help me to read Hebrew by email as part of one of her goals at 43things!

We’ll start to learn the typed alphabet.

Cool!

See more progress on: Become fluent in more than one language (including sign language)

It feels so great to workout!

Feel more energized, less appetite and better overall.

Routine right now is:

12:00am-12:40 Cardio/Treadmill
12:40pm-1:20pm Swimming
1:20pm-1:40pm Sauna
1:40pm-2:00pm Lunch and back to the office

It’s great having the gym just a hallway distance from the office!

Evening:

6:00pm-9:00pm Weights

See more progress on: Work out more

Here's mine

Here’s my entry!

See more progress on: every week we set each other challenges of things to take pics of!? And then we post them on here!

I seek refuge in the Buddha

I was walking back to the office, rain just stopped falling I was all wet and the heat had started to hit once again. An old man asked me for a minute of my time. He wanted to know if I had some work for him to do because he was diabetic and needed daily shots of insuline. I saw an ulcer under her tongue and he was missing his right feet toes. I hadn’t a single dollar on myself, and he told me the ampule cost was $15. I was going to dismiss him, the heat was so high, I just wanted to go into the office and cool off. And cool of, this old man was walking with helpers, if he hadn’t money for his medicine probably would have less for himself. I told him to wait for me at the entrance of the WTC. Tooked some money from the ATM and offered to him. His eyes were shinning when he saw the bill. I feel awkward, I knew the correct would be stay with him for a while, chat with him and help him to feel better. I couldn’t, I gave him a smile and a pat in the back, this was just one man, and like him, there should be a lot, that thought saddened me, my eyes became tearful while I got back to my office wondering who would be going to help him tomorrow, or the day after. I feel powerless, I look at the veiled smile of Chenrezig looking me with compassion from my desktop. So many questions.

See more progress on: Remember Where I came from

The power of motivation...

It’s amazing how a project that captures my imagination can totally overcome the most stubborn of my habits.

I completed the Inflationary Finance Module in two working days!

See more progress on: stop procrastinating

Why I admire Neil Gaiman

He’s a talented writer, “American Gods” is one of my favourites.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman

Panama's Handcrafts's Fair

There was a handcraft’s fair or in spanish Feria de Artesanias de Panama at Atlapa Convention Center near home. I went on saturday since I wanted to buy a pair of “Cutarras”, handmade sandals that are used by my country’s peasants in the Azuero region.

See more progress on: be a tourist in my own town

This morning...

Here in Panama is rainy season.

See more progress on: Photograph 43 Mornings

2 Months

This task is going slow!! I’ll need to do extra works to get there faster!

See more progress on: Save up six months worth of living expenses

Moving this Goal under Run a Marathon

I’m moving this goal to a sub-task of Run a Marathon.

See more progress on: run 5 times a week

Sunrise over Panama Bay

It always start that way…

See more progress on: Photograph 43 Mornings

#6/34 Gallito de Monte

You can find them along the roads crossing humid rainforests. They go from yellow to intense orange.

See more progress on: paint everyday

Feared visit to the ULAT

I’m not ready
I’m not ready
I’m not ready

I can’t postpone this forever!

See more progress on: get my life in order

#5/34 Panama's flag

I was in a hurry! Is the most easy thing to paint!

See more progress on: paint everyday

#4/34 Diablico Sucio Mask

It’s an old custom from when we were a Spanish Colony, the dance of the dirty devils or in spanish “Danza de los diablicos sucios”, it is one of the 9 dances celebrating the Catholic holiday of Corpus Christi. People using masks made of papier mache and red and black suits would dance stomping their feet in the ground.

See more progress on: paint everyday

#3 Dottie at the Rainbow Bridge

A friend’s dog, Dottie, just passed away. I painted this for her.

See more progress on: paint everyday

From my window

Sun rising over the Panama bay

See more progress on: Photograph 43 Mornings

#1 Tucan

My first paint. I’ll keep this goal until my birthday on August 30th.

See more progress on: paint everyday

Arghhhhhhhhh!!

Now I’m undecided between typo3 and Mambo. Mambo is great, but to do something “useful” is painfully slow. Typo3 has a cluttered admin interface, it allows you to “build” the hierarchy, which is good, is something you can’t “see” within mambo clearly, but so many options that you get lost.

It seems I better build my own framework from scratch.

Typo3 would be great if I have a clear idea of a static site. But welcomepanama.com as I intended it to be would be half static, half organic.

I’ll go back to do more research.

See more progress on: Finish my website

New Friends...

Poland (3)
Norway (2)
China (2)
France (1)

See more progress on: make friends all over the world by the end of the year

Ran 15 min today

Day 1/90 15min

See more progress on: Run every day for 3 months

Untitled

Untitled

Sunset atop the Avila Mountain looking towards the caribbean. Caracas, Venezuela.

Sunset at the Tamarind Cove. West Coast, Barbados

Panama City at Sunset. Panama City, Panama

Sunset at Accra Beach. South Coast, Barbados

See more progress on: Photograph 43 Sunsets

Strong enough?!

My lover and I practically destroyed my bed after a week of having know each other.

We went to a place that sells furniture, there was one with the right height, felt heavy enough (I hate when it starts moving) and solid. However the price was around the USD 2000, and it wasn’t even real wood! The saleswoman mumbling something about being imported from Spain! Yeah sure!

Well, still looking.

See more progress on: buy a new bed

These are the two first postcards I sent

The one at the top is a picture of Panama viejo ruins.

The one at the bottom is a couple of Emberá indians sieving for gold in a river.

See more progress on: receive a postcard from and send a postcard to every country through postcrossing

I'm lacking in this one since I'm not going to the gym anymore...

I’m mostly focused on losing weight:

I started Mu Thai training

I’m going to start for real to play Rugby on saturdays

I’m also going to run daily

I’m eating mostly protein and vegetables, lots of water and vitamins.

See more progress on: Work out more

Got 23 so far

Great goal, anyone knows if there’s a 43 sunrises , I do that too!

You can see my sunsets at my photoblog

There are sunsets taken in Barbados, Panama and Venezuela

See more progress on: Photograph 43 Sunsets

Great weekend!

I got to spent the weekend with mom. They prepared sancocho and a lot of people came over. It was good to see the family together again and see how much my mom is loved, her cellphone rang every 5 minutes since 12:00am the night before!

Pictures of the blast here

I also got to meet our newest addition, my little brother Emir , two years old now.

See more progress on: spend more time with my mother

My Three Things...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
Ken
chino
cholo

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
kenpty
kpty
kchen

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
I’m not judgmental
I regard mankind as my own child
I feel connected to everything

THREE THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
Being out of shape
Not having time to paint anymore
When I lose my cool

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
Fanatics of any kind
Politics
Religion

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
Wikipedia
43things
Coffee

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
Black trousers
Pink shirt
White undies

THREE FAVOURITE DESSERTS
Death by chocolate
Brownie delight
Hot chocolate

THREE THINGS YOU WONT EAT
Raw meat
Raw eggs
Raw turtle eggs

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS (at the moment):
Robbie Williams
Royksopp
Craig Armstrong

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
Learning to sail
Play a complete Rugby game
Mix a song

THREE THINGS YOU’D WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
Love
Understanding
Passion

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
I’d sex with men
I’d sex with women
I’ll burn in hell for all my sins

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX (or same) THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
Legs
Boobs
Booty

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN’T DO:
Sing
Karaoke
Videogames

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
Digital painting
Photography
Learning

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
Sex
Hot sex
Kinky sex

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING:
Buddhist monk
Politics
Exobiology

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
London
Choroni
Caracas

THREE KID’S NAMES:
Guillermo
Ken
Elias

THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
Natalie Portman
Helene Bonham Carter
Drew Barrymore

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A GUY:
Practice Mu Thai
Play rugby
Smoke red malboros

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK:
I feel like ‘one of the girls’
I like cooking shows on television
I enjoy gardening

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
Have children
Build our family tree
Sow a forest

See more progress on: Get everyone to play the 3 Things Q's on 43T

So first steps...

-Write down the actions I’m dragging out
-Find why I’m so afraid of taking them
-Put a date for any decision and a date for any action to be taken

See more progress on: get my life in order

Maelstrom

Past year was pretty intense for me! There were bad things, good things and incredible good things. I’m still trying to come to terms with what I’d learned and what I’ve to unlearn. It’s hard since coming back to my country, to the seemingly boxed mind of the people, I wonder if I feel this way because I got out of the box, or just got a peek outside of it. But whatever reason, I learned that my life is mine, and no one has the right to force the way I should live it. That’s the hardest part, when the people in your path, is your family and friends. How can I make them understand.

Maybe because of it I’m delaying taking decisions, hiding like a ostrich, my head covered with too many trivial tasks in order to avoid the ones that are really important.

So many things I don’t even name in my head afraid of doing so forcing me to take action.

I feel sometimes I’m in a maelstrom, trapped like Nemo without a way out, a toy of the waves, pushing me around, I want to stop, I want to hold to something and getting out of it and at the same time, i’m afraid of doing so.

Mom was clever, she had realized it. She told me on sunday “You still doesn’t know what to do”

See more progress on: get my life in order

My try at "TEXTURE"

When I was a child I painted using anything at hand when I felt like doing so, and mom always encouraged me. One night, I was home alone, and I found a box of colored chalk, yellow, blue and white. I draw a 2 meters x 2 meters winged unicorn in the wall of my room, where after these many years still can be seen. After that, mom got made for me a headboard with a unicorn motif.

That motif is the one in the picture. I took it this weekend while visiting for her 57 birthday.

See more progress on: every week we set each other challenges of things to take pics of!? And then we post them on here!

Getting in shape!

It seems a viable goal! So I’m going to take it! Running 1 hour daily ( 6:00am to 7:00am ), one hour Mu Thai practice on tuesdays and wednesdays, playing Rugby on saturdays, If I don’t get in shape before my birthday I’m going for a lipo hahaha.

See more progress on: Run every day for 3 months

Two truths and a lie

I’ve sex with women
I’ve sex with men
I’ll burn in hell for all my sins

See more progress on: Get people to play 2 Truths and a Lie on 43T.

Accidental tourist

I don’t think my bosses nor my fiancé would approve me leaving the country over a weekend.

But there are so many places in my country I hadn’t go yet. The towns in the Darién Jungle, Bocas del Toro province or the Kuna Yala Archipielago.

See more progress on: show up at the airport with a bag and a passport and take the first flight available

I miss listening my friends in Barbados asking "Hello mate"

British rules!

See more progress on: learn and use as much british slang as possible

I miss listening my friends in Barbados asking "Hello mate"

British rules!

See more progress on: learn and use as much british slang as possible

Casco Viejo

Bought the lonely planet guide Panama and started with The Casco Viejo. Anyways, Panama’s Capital city is still alien to me since I’m from Chiriqui and since I left for so long and the city has changed so much, I really feel like a tourist on it.

It’s a great goal this one! I’ll publish all my findings and pictures in my Journal Entries Photoblog

See more progress on: be a tourist in my own town

Sent my two first ones.

To Finland and to Poland.

See more progress on: receive a postcard from and send a postcard to every country through postcrossing

Mom's birthday

Mom’s birthday is this weekend. I’ll be leaving today for Chiriqui.

See more progress on: spend more time with my mother

Tools of the trade

-Got installed Painter and updated to IX.5
-Need to arrange my desktop in order to be able to use my tablet.
-Install Painter in my laptop
-Install the tablet drivers in my laptop

See more progress on: Paint for one hour a day during a month

Kickboxing Day 2

Second Class.

My whole body aches, but my muscles are growing, I always wondered how they do that with such a little stimulation, genetics said my old trainer. Probably just water retention hehehe. Anyways, it’s awkward to say, but it feels good this sort of pain.

I’ll ask Lia if I can go to practice everyday, they even has a weightlifting section.

Still in 206lb.

See more progress on: Lose 40 lbs

My current challenge:

1. Finland
2. Poland
3. USA
4. Germany

I’ll buy the postcards this evening! Tried yesterday but couldn’t find not a single one at the WTC (Guess in this time of e-mail sales just went down).

Also I was considering to print some pictures I took from my country in postcard format, I know they do that at the printshop.

Let’s see.

This task is cool, I hadn’t had send a postcard since my trip to Caracas in 1990.

See more progress on: receive a postcard from and send a postcard to every country through postcrossing

Why I want to meet adaptable

He’s from my country! I’d lived abroad and know how important is to keep in touch with your roots.

Learn more about adaptable

Where do I start!!

As part of a Art Installation I compiled a whole universe of things I’d started but not finished, from paintings to trivial things. It covers a whole wall, God I’m so depressed!

See more progress on: complete projects that I start

Musings...

Edouard asked me who helped me to create an account in the russian forums!! Should I tell he I.. No, its fun to read and listen to them talking, I guess if they realize I can understand them they won’t talk as freely.

See more progress on: Become fluent in more than one language (including sign language)

Found two interesting sites in Spain.

Found two instructives on birdsighting from a site in Spain. Also spotted the “Birds of Panama” book at a local bookstore, it was within my budget but I choosed to buy the Lonely Planet Panama guide instead.

See more progress on: be better at identifying birds and bird calls

My corner of the world

I went to “El Casco Viejo” (The Old Quarter) to get some Ice cream (There’s a new gourmet Ice cream store there)and I snapped a picture of this Kuna people selling their molas at Plaza Bolivar. The Old Quarter is the second city that was built after Morgan sacked the old city. It was built in a small peninsula and was surrounded by walls (now gone).

To see the rest of the pictures I took of Panama’s Casco Viejo

To see the place on Google Maps Satellite view

See more progress on: every week we set each other challenges of things to take pics of!? And then we post them on here!

Update

I started kickboxing classes today. Is twice a week. I’ll try to run every morning but sometimes is so cold I just want to stay under the blankets. Since D is too tired after work we had suspended our causeway’s circuit.

See more progress on: run 5 times a week

204lbs

That’s not much. It seems hard to go back to the 200 Mark. I’m having vegetables and fish for lunch and vegetables and chicken for dinner. I reduced my beer intake from a daily guiness to once a week. I had lost a lot of weight but not enough.

D seems not to enjoy walking after work, so, well, that won’t be an option. I got into kickboxing classes instead. With the instructor that Edouard recommended. It was pretty intense for my firt lesson, but a lot rewarding, with only two hours my muscles took shape and tone, if only my belly would work like that hehehehe.

I’ll try to skip dinners and have some light snack instead of dinner to see if I can go down the 200lb mark.

See more progress on: Lose 40 lbs

Mom's birthday is coming

23th July

See more progress on: spend more time with my mother

A Lifetime of Catholicism tried to got in the way but ...

Just keep yourself objective and open to enjoy and value it.

See more progress on: Read the Book of Mormon

Since 1989 until 2006

The quality of most programs in my country are so bad I shun TV completely. For years I hadn’t own one.

This year thought, at mom’s request (She complained she was missing her soap operas when visiting me so my best friend gave her one to have at my apartment) there’s a set at home.

It looks kind of hideous to me, most used now to watch movies on DVD, National Geographic while doing my morning exercise and on the Cartoon Network Channel (Because my Welsh Corgi really loves it) while I’m at work.

See more progress on: live without a television for a year

I was born in Chiriqui, but I call Caracas home

I traveled to Caracas to work there in a project. It’s a great city, and the venezuelan people is very open and friendly. I’ll always be in love with that city and its people.

You can see pictures in my Photoblog

See more progress on: Live in Venezuela for more than a year

These are the languages I want to learn

Languages I know and I can help others:

English
Spanish
Italian

Languages I’m learning and want help:

Using Primsleur CDs Courses: – Hebrew – Danish

Using Talk to me CDs Courses:

- French- German- Japanese- Arabic- Chinese

Languages I hadn’t found Courseware:

- Greek- Hindi- Russian- Persian- Norwegian- Portuguese

See more progress on: Become fluent in more than one language (including sign language)

Great!!

I found this tool The Emergent Task Timer it’s pretty cool. I put in the tasks for the day I wrote down at my 30min morning session (While waiting for the coffe to be ready) and every other task that shows up during the day. At the end of the day I’ve been able to identify what’s eating my time and make ammends! and it has a chime that blips every 15 min if you want to keep your attention on the current task.

It’s a ubecool tool!!

See more progress on: Organise my Life for 30 minutes every day

Would be great to have one!!

Benefits:

-It would be easier for me to geotag the pictures I take for my site WelcomePanama.com
-To map the locations of the places in the mashups
-Be able to play geocaching

See more progress on: get a Garmin, or some similar device

Starting Tonight

I’m trying to run every day, since I leave work at 6:00pm the only place to do it is in the causeway at Amador.

The Causeway is a long road built by the americans that joins 3 islands together at the pacific entrance of the Panama Canal.

I’ll take my cam tonight and snap some cool pics of the night city skyline.

See more progress on: spend a day taking photos of my city

Need a new mic.

For some reason my mic had stop working :-( Just when I started. I’ll would have to install the programs in my laptop instead!

See more progress on: Complete the Italian, French, German,Japanese,Arabic and English Talk to me CD courses I bought

Steps taken...

-Installed Gas water heater instead of electrical one.
-Disconnect all appliances when I’m not using them.
-Grow my herbs and vegetables
-Don’t let the shower on all the time it takes to shower.
-Reuse plastic bags
-Use the public transport system more often.
-Walk instead of taking a cab
-Using the stairs instead of the lift

See more progress on: Go greener

Gas heating

Got one installed past week.

See more progress on: Go greener

Two more payments and I'm done with BAC!

Two more and I’ll be able to close the BAC card.

It feels goooood!!

See more progress on: pay off credit cards

Shame on me!!

Hahaha, I could only complete 10 mins of Cardio!!!

Well, that means I’ll need to push harder.

See more progress on: Work out more

At least!

Did the test again and I scored well.

The hardest part was being on time.

See more progress on: Increase my OWEI dependability score

Half-day trip

I went home on tuesday. Took the express at 12:00am and arrived in Chiriqui at 6:00a.m. Mom was happy to see me. I went with her to her work, she just took me from one office to the next showing me up to the people that works with her. She has a lot of pictures of me in her desk. Later we went for breakfast and doing errands. At 12:00pm my plane was ready to leave for Panama city. It was great to spent those hours with her. It’s a pitty I couldn’t stay the whole day.

See more progress on: spend more time with my mother

On the pain of Avalokitesvara

I remembered her, she was smiling and laughing the first time I saw her
She shined in the innocence of her thoughts
A “Special”, as the “normals” say
Her joy was so contagious I started to shine myself

Her left hand handling pieces of lottery for sale
Her void eyes looking sad and ashamed at the floor
Her thoughts wandering about more happier times
Her light was shunned out

I remembered her
My eyes started to flow with tears
Mom told me her old mother had died
And now she had to see for herself

I remembered the light
I remembered her joy
My heart ached

I’m a failure because I can’t help others the way I want
I’m a failure because I’m unable to help them
Mine is the pain of a father, unable to help his children
Mine is the pain of Avalokitesvara

See more progress on: change someone's life