Sand Animation in Ukraine's Got Talent

My friend Kathy shared this link to me and I thought it was amazing and powerful. Check it out:


video uploaded in youtube by user anarchistica

The woman doing the sand animation, Kseniya Simonova, won Ukraine's Got Talent with this performance that moved people in to tears. According to the video information, it is meant to interpret the invasion and occupation of Ukraine from 1941 to 1945. The scenes she chose to create, the way she went from one image to the next, the music that played in the background, and her own performance skills, make this truly incredible.

I would never have thought that sand animation would make its way into any talent show, but after seeing this I am definitely not surprised she won.

The Beach Life in Koh Samui

So this blog post is almost 3 months overdue but I promised myself I'd write about my trip to Koh Samui in Thailand last August so here I am.


This was my first visit to Koh Samui, and also my first trip to the beach this year. The purpose of this vacation was to chill out and unwind. So I stayed in a pretty upscale hotel (still in credit card debt coz of it LOL) and managed to get a great room with a good view...


So it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I spent a lot of time hanging out by the pool of my hotel (there were two pools, the main one and this lap pool which had less people and was more relaxing to hang about in)...


...or playing pool. I am, and have always been, a lousy pool player but I realized that with practice, I could actually be quite decent. After several hours on the pool table, I actually managed to make several tough shots like balls against the rail or even bank shots!

I did visit the Na Muang falls where some scenes in "The Beach" (starring Leonardo Di Caprio) were shot...


And of course a lot of time was spent on the beach during the day...


...or in bars by the beach at night.


My friends and I made an attempt to go to the Full Moon Party on Koh Phanang on August 6. The Full Moon Party is apparently a massive party with thousands of people partying on the beach from late night until early the next morning. I was hesitant to go because I didn't feel I had the energy for an entire night (and morning) of partying, but my friends convinced my go. Worth the experience, they said. As luck would have it, there were major boat issues in the marina. We waited a few hours but the "mob" waiting for boats was still massive...


So we decided to throw in the towel and just find some bar on the island that was open where we could create our own night of debauchery.Before I wrap-up my blog post about my Samui trip, I have to mention the incredible Samui airport. It's probably the coolest airport I've ever seen! It has a very island-y charm...


And it does have some cafes, restos, and shops where you can hang out in while waiting for your flight.


So all in all, another awesome holiday. I have had one more big trip after that (I'll blog about that some time soon...) but I probably won't travel anytime soon. Time for me to start saving money again!

I'm back!

Wow, no posts in my blog for a month. But I've been so busy the last few months! A lot going on at work - both in terms of real work and 'extra-curricular' stuff, a lot of dinners, gimmicks, and parties with different sets of friends, a couple of holidays, and a whole lot of work on Ondoy relief.

Things have sorta stabilized now so hopefully I can work on keeping my blog fairly up to date again. In the meantime, let me leave you first with a really touching Pantene advertisement from Thailand that has gone a bit viral. It's a bit over-dramatic but I like how a beauty product has not taken the vanity route in its advertising. Plus, it's one of the best versions of Pachelbel's Canon I've heard.


video uploaded in youtube by user s4ur4bh