This picture sums up, in many, many ways, that which I cannot put into words.

Back in December when I found out about The Holstee Manifesto, it hit me in a different way than it does now. It’s funny how in just a short couple of months, the emphasis you place on simple paragraphs of words can change. Back then it was more about rising up from a recent disappointment. Now it’s just about the push forward from a state of discontent towards, among other things, contentment. That’s not to say that the past months have been devoid of fun, and that the future only holds happy times, but I’m thinking that this is the moment to really step up and grab the opportunity to achieve something meaningful.

Standing at the edge of the cliff makes you realize how bad you want to move back to safer, solid ground. But it also makes you want to take the dive into the water. It’s funny how that works.

I seem to visualize these words getting lost in the clutter though. So let me crystallize what I mean to say by quoting someone who came before me. After all, no one ever died from trying.

Or maybe they did.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

-Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho

2010, you were such a humbling year for me. And for everyone I know as well, really.

I hope 2011 is kinder.

Happy new year, everyone.

Last night was the last night of our little resto.

At 3 PM we held our Christmas party for our employees. At 8 PM the guests started coming in. At 9 PM the house was full, and I was already a little bit tipsy.

Everything was going like clockwork. Our employees knew how to do their jobs, and they knew how to do them well. I’m extremely proud of them for that, and for a lot of other things.

We all said goodbye to them eventually. We did our best to make sure all of them left with something, for them and for their families.

It’s tough. And no one can say we didn’t try. We truly gave it our ALL. Ask anyone who really knows us.

And in the aftermath, you’ll hear people say things like charging it to experience, or that we should be more guarded on our next try, or that we’ll come back bigger and better, or that we’ll make up our losses ten times over, or saying that this or that is what we should have learned.

We know this. It’s all true. We’re not rejecting the wisdom and the shoulda-woulda-couldas that came with the experience or anything like that. It’s just that it doesn’t diminish in any way the unpleasant feeling of your first big setback (in a real-world sense).

Things happened just in time to end the year, and to welcome the new one, too. But then again, wallowing in that feeling won’t do anything productive, so we must bounce back.

Here’s to you, Big Dip. May you “rise gloriously like a phoenix from your ashes”.

Closing time… open all the doors and let you out into the world…

Crazy as this video might seem at first, the past six months of being interrupted while you’re trying to finish something important are definitely starting to make me think twice. I do agree that long periods of silence combined with devoting oneself to a task’s completion tends to end positively. I know it has for me in the past.

There just might be something in this point of view after all.

This comes at a pretty potent time in my own life too, now that I’m at a crossroads of what I should really be doing.

Also, that’s some damn good use of typography.

(via Holstee)

It’s being a whiny little bitch though, 200 photos per album only. And as you might be able to infer, being gone for a month, I have much more than that. So the struggle continues, but it’s getting there.

When that’s over, I’ll get something done here. Wait and watch for the magic to happen!

New Zealand, as you might know, is legendary for its beautiful and fantastical vistas which now only rarely exist elsewhere. Views like this…

…make me grateful that my eyesight wasn’t taken from me, as it could’ve been a couple of weeks ago.

Now I really need a camera, and know how to use it.

In the meantime, enjoy this funny local prank video, because it’s awesome.

Wishing you all nothing but happiness, contentment and a bit of discontent to reach for new goals, these next 300-something days. Happy new year!