Oct

8

XF Closure

Filed Under Announcements, Blogs & Blogging, General, Photography | 9 Comments

On Sept. 3, I wrote a draft stating that I would be closing down X-Press Files for good. But I hesitated with the decision — in short, I dillydallied — and the draft was never published. Ironically, I even kept updating my blog more often than usual after a short, planned hiatus (in fact, shorter than the unannounced blog breaks I’ve had a countless times in the past).

But now, it’s definite: XF will be laid to rest. Let me explain.

Last week, I bought the October 2008 issue of Reader’s Digest at the Relay store in Neuchatel, after my weekly Niveau A2 French class. (I tell you, it was pure joy to be able to buy a copy of RD after all these years of looking for copies of the original English version amid the German and French ones usually displayed at the newsstands in Biel-Bienne, a bilingual Swiss town.)

Reader’s Digest published an erudite remark made by award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood, which is included in a selection of quotable quotes that make up the new book Wisdom by Andrew Zuckerman:

There was a time in my life when I was doing westerns, on the plains of Spain. I could have stayed there and probably knocked out a dozen more. But the time came when I said, That’s enough of that. As fun as they were to do, it was time to move on. If a story doesn’t have anything that’s fresh in it, at least for me, I move away from it.

Those words in bold letters struck me in the most profound way. They echoed my blog sentiments so well that it seemed like Clint Eastwood and I had had a meaningful discussion on life over a cup of coffee one fine day (okay, I don’t really drink coffee, but you know what I mean.)

I confess: the thrill for me to maintain XF had long been gone. I had mechanically churned out one uninspired post after another these past months merely for the sake of this activity called “blog updating.” As a result, posts were not as ‘fresh’ as they used to be back then, when I was joyfully writing my personal migrant tales and thoughts in this blog and happily basking in its therapeutic wonders.

The passion is gone, and with it, the freshness of it all. I feel it’s time for something new. Change, in my book, is a good thing. Wonderful things happen to those who embrace it.

I’d like to thank you, dear readers (especially the active commenters), for joining me in this joyful ride that was the X-Press Files (formerly called X-Pat Files). It was fun while it lasted — at least on my part.

I wish you all the best. Let’s all have a good life. Cheers!

OCT. 17, 2008 UPDATE: Freitag, my newest blog, goes live today. Meanwhile, Jolly J! (my anecdotes blog), has just been updated.

(Note: The photo above, taken in Bern two years ago, was one of the pictures featured in the inaugural issue of “Swiss Peeks” in August 2007. Two issues of the photo book — “The Red Makes It” followed by “Reflecting on Switzerland” — were published right after the first issue, “Seeing the Light.”)

Sep

3

Say ‘Friday’!

Filed Under Announcements, Blogs & Blogging, Family & Friends, Photography | 7 Comments


How many times have you heard a photographer instruct you and your loved ones to “say cheese” every time he or she takes your photo?

A thousand times, perhaps. But there seems to be a better alternative, according to my younger brother.

He and his daughter (my niece Yannah) told me on a train ride to Zurich last April that I should instruct my photo subjects to say “Friday” instead of the standard “cheese.”

When my smart-alecky niece saw my puzzled look after this statement, she willingly demonstrated it to me: “Fridaaaaay!” she shouted at the top of her voice all of a sudden. I was quick enough to capture the moment, though. (Note: Kids, don’t do this on a Swiss train, especially during the rush hour. Some noise-sensitive Swiss passengers might not like it.)

I like the visual effect, actually. I guess any day of the week will do. But Friday is symbolically a joyful day for almost everyone, a day that heralds the weekend of rest and recreation. (I later learned that it was my cousin’s A-1 wedding photographer who asked my family and relatives to say “Friday” during the photo shoot at the wedding reception. All the guests liked the end result.)

So the next time you have your photo taken, say “Friday.” But don’t just say the word. Say it out loud and with a cheerful disposition, and you’ll look truly joyful — just like my five-year-old niece in the picture above.


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