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First separate waste materials so that the recycle products can be transformed into something new. This are the products that I made using paper bags and boxes of different store like starbucks, j.co and krispy kreme doughnuts. This is one of the best way to recycle things. Instead of throwing it away why don't you just make it like scrapbook, scratch, notebook or something useful. Well obviously this is for personal used only, I am not allowed to make things like this for business cause I'm still using their logo and design. The mainly purpose of this is to recycle and save money instead of buying some new notebooks or scrapbook. Credit to this different store for having great design of their packaging.

'Not too much time for painting in recent years... I have a portrait of my youngest daughter on the go - and I will definitely finish it one day. (I started it when she was 16. She is now 19 - so I will have to finish it while she is, technically at least, still a teenager!) Photography... Well, this little blog of mine is also supposed to be about some of my attempts at photography, so here are a few snaps I took of the Shinkansen, on a recent (work-related) trip to Japan. Welcome, to the Shin-Kan-Sen!! (You have to pause for a very brief moment after "Welcome" - and say it with pride!!) The photos I posted on Facebook created quite a few comments and I have reproduced some of these below: Vic Rolfe I was talking about the Shinkansen to a friend in Kokura. He said he couldn't understand what was so special about the Shinkansen! "It's just a train, right?" Just a train??!!!! Well... I suppose - for Japan, yes!! Luis Reyes Ordinary train lng sa kanila FB Friend:" Beautiful, wish we had those here in Australia. " Vic Rolfe Ideal country for it... Japan has spent a stupendous amount of money over the years building that network. At least, you wouldn't need too many tunnels, for a start off! Vic Rolfe City center to city center, all over Japan. Every station on the Shinkansen network is surrounded by hotels, so you just get off the train and walk for two minutes to your hotel. In Japan, unless you are going from one end of the country to the other, it is actually quicker than flying, by the time you get stuck in a traffic jam just getting to the airport. Then you have to check in and get through security. Luis Reyes Ganda ng train Vic Rolfe These things don't spend all day in the station, either. They arrive on time and they have to leave on time - exactly to the second. Hence the announcement as you slow down on the approach to Hakata (Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, Japan) "If you are planning to get off at the next station, then you need to get all your stuff ready NOW and start making your way towards the doors.." (or words to that effect!!) I am not sure how long they stop for - but it can't be very long! That's for sure... 1 minute? 2 minutes max!!

Death Ever since I was a little child I was afraid of dying. The thing that scares me the most is the fact you are no more; your just not here anymore. I’m terrified of leaving everyone behind once I go; just that thought alone scares me to death. What happens to you after you die? I am also worried by the unknown of dying and, what happens to your soul. I have had many people in my family pass away. The one that had me face my fears the most was my dad’s own passing. My dad passed away when I was eighteen years old; it will be two years in February. My dad had cancer and was put into remission, but about six to eight months later he was diagnosed again and was terminally ill. After we found out he was terminally ill the doctors said he had a month to live; in the end that’s all we had left with him. When we brought him home we got hospice in right away. Hospice is a service where they bring in a death bed, have a nurse that comes in a few times a week and I want to say she was a social worker who came in to be there for us. My mom, brother and I all witness he slowly pass away. The only good thing about him passing that way, instead of a freak accident, is that we all got to say good bye to him. It’s hard to admit that there are good things that can come from someone close to you dying. After you go through something like that it changes you; sometimes bad but also it can be a good change. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I haven’t faced that; it has also made me face my own fear of death. I believe that my dad is still with us; I believe his spirit is here watching over my family and me. I have always believed that there is some form spirituality out there; even through my own confusion with my belief of God. My belief of there is life after death became even stronger after my dad left us. When I didn’t believe in God anymore I used to picture where my dad was. I would imagine a lake in the middle of the woods, at night time, even though it was dark outside it wasn’t freighting. Knowing my dad is with us gives me comfort for when I die one day. If I were to die tomorrow I know my dad would be there. I wouldn’t be with the rest of my family and friends, but I would still be with people I know. I would love to see my dad again but I can’t until I met my end. Just to hear him say I love you again would be amazing. I hold on to the hope that we will see each other again one day. After watching my own dad die I am less afraid to die. I know he will be there for me when I need him, just in a different way now. Of course it stills scares me, but I feel a little less scared of it now. It’s going to happen one day, so why not try to see the positive from it. That’s how I like to view the world; always look for the positive in a bad situation.

Well, I did say that it would be a while before I managed to get around to uploading the photos from my brief little break in Denmark at the end of July/first week in August this year. September is nearly over now, but I have been busy with work - (which, for me, working on ships, generally means very poor to non-existent internet...) And, aside from that, I had to earn some money first, in order to be able to renew my subscription for the software that artfreaks.com runs on, so that I could get it upgraded to the latest version. Now that's done, I have found uploading photos to be a breeze - on my laptop, at least! (Hopefully, the have done something to improve photo handling on mobile devices too? I will let you know, next time I give it a go.) After leaving my previous ship in the port of Kalundborg on the island of Sjaelland - (the same one where, København - or Copenhagen, is located) - I needed a few days to finish-off some reports and decide just exactly where I was to head next. I found this very inexpensive, comfortable and quiet little B&B just a few miles outside town: Holmehuset Bed & Breakfast Kåstrup Holmevej 23, Illerup, Kalundborg, Denmark, 4400 I nice four mile walk through the glorious late summer rural Denmark countryside to the King's Pub in the centre of town. (Well, why walk two mile to the nearest supermarket when you can walk four miles to the nearest pub?!!) Needless to say, I enjoyed those walks. The photos tell a better story. Beautiful countryside and not much traffic on the roads - on average, about four or five between Kåstrup Holmevej and Kalundborg! I must go back there some day...

Seems lately that I have so many distractions that I find no time left to paint. First it took me quite a while to learn how to put up my own website. http://www.papadanart.com. This I finally accomplished with the help of yahoo's small business tools. You will not realize the accomplishment of building a website for a guy that still carries a dumb phone. Then we have the distractions of other folks, usually family, that think every little snag in their life should be a great emergency for ME. These seekers of opinion do not realize that I gained my wisdom from making many of the same dumb mistakes that they are making. Soon I know there will come a day that I can turn once again to my painting and the gradification it brings to me. I hope to start another series. Maybe the last series(Crazy Island) is out of my system. I have no idea what the next series will be but I am sure it will be a learning experience for me. Suffer through those anoying distractions that take us from our painting or whatever our method of expression may be. It just makes the return more enjoyable. Have a great day. Papadan.