Remember the overhaul I stated?

Yeah...

I went all out. I went for a new address and new stuff to put in as well.

http://sakinese.blogspot.com/

Check it out. I promise it won't dissappoint.

A bit of overhaul?

I really do want to post more on my blog, but due to some security reasons, I don't have the liberty to post what I do. Instead I will be posting more on traveling and swank stuff that I get / would like to get. Hopefully, this will work out.

I'm hoping for the best.

My Christmas Wishlist 2011

Maybe I am too old for asking for Christmas presents, but I don't think I'm too old to wish. Not expecting to get any of this, but just so that I have something as a reference to see what I want for next year still matches what I want for this year. 1. iPad Deuce (iPad 2) - Let us not lie to ourselves, deep down inside, you want this. I know I fought the feeling for a long time, "No, no, all it is, is just a big iPhone". No it's more than that, its what's in between your macbook and your iPhone, it's an iPad. 2. Fujifilm X100 - You have probably not heard of this camera, but if you were to, you would want it also. I haven't had the time to play around with it, but looking at the images that it took, this camera can find a home in my pocket. Yes, the price tag of $1200 is pretty steep for a point and shoot camera with a prime lens but don't let this fool you, its a 23mm F2 which is enough to your average everyday use point and shoot use. 3. Brooks Brothers Duffle Bag - I travel a lot and my Adidas from the year 2000 is tired and in need of some rest from the beating that I put it through. Either the Peeble Leather Duffle Bag or the Golden Fleece Embossed Calfskin Weekender. Be thankful and I didn't opted for the Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite Keepall, I think it's too clichè, but if it was given to me, I would not turn it away.

 

 4. Member's Only Jacket - Yup. No, shit. I wanted one since 2001. Me and my good friend back in the day searched high and low for one, no luck. But, now it's coming back, and I still want one after 10 years. (I realize that this guy looks like a douchè, but nonetheless, it doesn't stop me from wanting one). 5. Gucci Money Clip - I downsize from a wallet, now I own a Coach money clip with card holder, but now I want even a size smaller, I just want a clip. 6. Cologne(s) - It's not like I hate what I wear now (Victoria's Secret Very Sexy for Him and Hollister), it's just that I want a new scent, I desire Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue for Men and Bleu de Chanel And I think that is it, (of course I want some shoes, some oxfords to be exact, but can be purchased at a later date). Pretty short list, not a very easy to get checked off. It's a wish not a mandatory item. Please Santa, I have been good this year.

Follow me on instagram

Been out of the loop lately with my blog. A lot has happened but never had the chance to post.

Went traveling again, this time to Spain. The Internet was so slow there that I didn't get the chance to post pics, again.

Anywho, I started my instagram account again if you have it on you iPhone you should definitely follow me there and I will do the same in return.

@yukio

Monschau, Germany

euro saki 2011, a set on Flickr.

It's been a while since I got back from Germany but I haven't posted the pictures from the trip. I will be updating the rest of the Euro set when I get the chance.

I guess it's better late than never.

This is my number 21 shoe.

While out on Mother's Day in pursuit to do some mad shopping for the Mrs., I ended up buying more stuff than her. Included with the purchase is a Nike 6.0 sneakers.

I was originally looking for some skinny jeans. (hahahaha, no, but seriously). We went to various stores and for some reason ended up in Pac Sun. I used to love Pac Sun due to the shoe collections that they have available in the store. For some reason, some lame leadership decided that "we'll just concentrate on clothes". Nice move asshole. So I stopped going, until yesterday. Looked around... looked around some more... and looked around some more. Wait, what is this, shoes? In Pac Sun? Green Nike's? Me = In love. Bought.



Now, I might have lied to someone when I said "I have 25 shoes." Technically it's not a lie. 21 is not counting my sandals. I am not talking about flip flops from Wal Mart. I'm talking about them leather bound ones that is madly used in the streets of Waikiki. I have three of those. Then again, 21 is not counting my work shoes either. God knows how many boots I own, maybe he doesn't. Try Googling it.

I will shoot some more of my other shoes in the near future. For an additional Ipso Facto, all 21 of them is on rotation and being worn on a very frequent basis. All of them has battle scars of some sort. Like my Steve Madden that got ran over by a freak go kart accident that I would've swore would've got my legs amputated. That story is for some other time.

Watch out for some more of my shoes in the near future.

Edit: with the said skinny jeans.

Eskuche Headphones

I often try to make a statement whenever I purchase something. I usually try to steer away from the things that is commonly seen on the streets. People started buying beats by dr dre headphones awhile back and hip hop fans went crazy on it. Not only does it offer a tremendous amount of bass, it is also not bad looking. I opted for another route.

Eskuche 33 1/3.

33 1/3 is based from the rotational speed at which a vinyl is played. Again, I opted for a color that will not be so oblivious to others, Rose Gold.

The headphones are actually comfortable to wear due to the nylon strap on top. It does have a few downside. First, the on the ear design. I had to make sure that it doesn't squash any part of my ear or I will have hot spots after an hour or so. Second, even though it does have a mic support and pause/hang up function remote that is included with, it does not have volume control handy when listening to your ipod/iphone/whatever you use to listen to music device.

The bass hits pretty hard on this bad boys, but don't get me wrong, don't expect to be using these when recording a multi million dollar deal.

I purchased this to be different. It shows me. If you'd rather not get any wise comments, I'd suggest you stick with your old fashioned plain black head sets.

$65 will get you one of these here Official Eskuche Store.



To see the Strobist info click here.

Flying Cebu Pacific this month?

If you are planning on doing a trip around the Philippines and decided to take Cebu Pacific, browse through the inflight magazine, Cebu Smile, and check out some of my older pictures. They are featuring drifting in Japan.

It's been a while since I have been in the scene but that didn't stop the magazine from contacting me. It was a message by the editor in chief on my flickr that really excited me during my stay in Qatar. Asking me if they can publish some of my shots. I agreed to it and finally after a few months, it's published. I wanted to write the story as well but due to timing issues, that went away as well.

It has been over 5 years since my work has been published and I'm happy to say that I will try to make a come back, one way or the other.

Check back for more updates in the near future.

This puts back a smile on my face.

Check out their story and other articles that they might have.

http://www.cebusmile.com

 

Travel: Hundred dollar night in Doha, Qatar

The other day, we decided to have some Turkish food in the vicinity of Doha. In the midst of the city, we found this restaurant called Turkey Central Restaurant. Sounds authentic to me.

 

So we walked in and first thing that you will see is the shawarma meat being shaved off the grill. We're off to a good start. Walked in and went upstairs to dine in.

A glossy paper menu is given with half written in English and the other half in Arabic. There was a lot of food to choose from. From hummus to shawarma to BB-Q'd meat. We chose to share appetizer so we ordered the Maza appetizer which consists of Tsiziki sauce, hummus, olives, and a lot more. It is then served with hot, freshly baked pita bread.

Excuse me while I wipe my mouth, still salivating while I picture the things that they had to offer.

 

 

The service was not the greatest, mostly because of the language barrier, but they are attentive.

Here is the picture of the bread with the Maza getting scooped down. It is delicious.

Here is the meat plate. It's an orgy of the mouth.

Shawarma Plate. Fries and meat hiding under the seasoned bread.

 

I wish I can tell you guys about what the food consists of and all that jazz about it, but I am really no expert when it comes to this. From what I can tell, it's one of the best Turkish food I have ever had. Even one of the guys that was with us, confirmed that everything that they offer in this restaurant tastes the same as the ones offered in the streets of Turkey but in a lot cleaner environment.

 

To top it all off, we paid QR (Qatari Riyals) 167.00 for the whole table. That's $47.00 to feed five big full grown man. Trust me, we had a lot of left overs. Well worth it.

We then walked down the street to purchase some baklava from Pattiserie Sweets. I bought half a ki of pistachio baklava for QR 35. Close to $10. It was, again, delicious.

To end our night, we decided to go down the souqs to hang out, enjoy a cup of coffee and smoke some hookah. We sat there for about 2 hours, I had a cappuccino and ordered strawberry mint shisha to smoke. For the 5 of us, it costs around the same amount of money we spent to eat. It was QR 160 for coffee and shisha.

One hundred dollars to feed five person and enjoy the scenery of downtown Doha was a budget compared to other city America has to offer. When you get the chance to visit this country, hopefully around the winter/spring timeframe due to lower temperature and comfortable weather to cruise around town, try these places and explore others. Thanks Doha!

The view where we were sitting at while smoking shisha.

 

Oh flickr, you are so smart, touche on Explore

So the other day, I posted a picture on flickr. I posted it in a lot of group, to hope for a shot to have it featured in "Explore". For those of you that doesn't know what that means, it's basically 500 pictures that flickr deemed to be "interesting" that day.

I got a lot of comment from the groups that I have posted it in, 140 to be exact, 267 views, and 30 faved the picture as well, in a 24 hour period. That's pretty damn good, I would think. A sure shot to have it in "Interestingness".

I was wrong.

I searched for some of the ones that did make it. It had way less than what I have. Like this one for example. It was #42 on Explore.

But, flickr knew what I was up to. It knows that it was "rigged". Even though the picture I posted was worth to be on Explore.

Touche flickr... touche.

Click here to see what Explore is.