“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” -John Steinbeck
January 24th 2013 marked the before last supper that my friend & I will be organizing before the end of our one year mandate as “Marketing Option Representatives”. In an attempt to save moments & create longer-lasting memories, you will find some of the pictures taken yesterday at the restaurant. Thanks to all of the students who were present despite the icy cold weather. A great evening which was possible simply because of you.
After a cozy supper filled with discussions, laughter & of course some wine, all graduate students across all options were invited to pursue the evening with a “beginning of the session” party. This year, L’ AECS, (Association des étudiants aux cycles supérieurs de HEC Montréal) | HEC Montréal’s graduate student association sure found a way, an occasion to take advantage of the winter season! Winter coats, winter boots, tuques, gloves, scarfs & more, all welcomed to reunite together under amazing & warm igloos at the Snow Village | Village des Neiges. Ice ceilings above our heads & frozen snow underneath our feet, nothing like music to stimulate our minds & guide our bodies to appreciate this attractive winter destination.
Overall, this entire evening was a beautiful way to remind each & every single one of us that every weather has it’s beauty but not everyone sees it.
To celebrate this season, the TEDxHECMontreal team has organized a small Christmas party on December 10th 2012 inviting all of its members. Most of the members of the team & myself gathered for a nice & cozy winter supper. During our evening, we decided to make a short videoshoot with the following ingredients: improvisation, creativity & the Holiday spirit. After deciding on the background to shoot, the rest of the evening shoot happened quiet naturally. Below, you will the link to this sweet, simple & short videomontage.
Videoshoot & montage of girl friends…
Sharing funny moments, beautiful memories & expressing & sending their wishes to their close friends (Mary & Joey who recently just got married) My role? Realize/concretize the creative wedding gift idea of one of the girls, Felicia.
This less than one minute video is just a teaser with bloopers, an introduction to the 17 minutes long video montage. It was a fun videoshoot filled with laughters!
Song: “The Rembrandts-I’ll Be There For You”
& here are some pictures taken during the videoshoot.
An interesting black & white video effect with a touch of Jazz/Chillout? Why not! Seeking to try something creatively different for a wedding video montage, I decided to create/make a more classical love montage with a warm ambiance by playing with the effects of color & music. Coloring my images with music, Jazz/Chillout music. My choice of song? The Trumpeter (Guti Remix) by Ray Foxx is a jazzy/chillout/lounge available in a compilation from Cafe Del Mar.
As J. Gordon Levitt said, “there’s something really appealing about the simplicity of black-and-white images.” ”Black-and-white photography is considered more subtle and interpretive, and less realistic than colour photography.” – Wikipedia. In this case, reality is in a mind’s interpretation of beautiful abstract images.
A couple requesting a more emotional/dramatic side to their wedding video will truly appreciate & value the artistic combination of black&white colors with Jazzy music. The language spoken by grey shades can, to some extent, scream more than colorful images. When watching monochromatic images, one is freed from the potential distraction caused by the world of colors. With a higher attention span, individuals, whether conscious or not, will have the tendency to pay more attention or focus on what’s happening &/or the meaning or message communicated through the in motion pictures. For example, I personally find that emotions are more pronounced in a grey context. Ted Grant would agree saying “when you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!”
*Photography/Videography
Was a pleasure & a great opportunity to work with Paul Doumit, an amazing wedding photographer based in Montreal. Him, his assistant & I spent the entire day together, saving Siham & Charbel’s lifetime memories. While he was holding moments still, I was saving moments in motion. He not only is a talented photographer, but also a person who is truly passionate about his work. Feels amazing to work & be surrounded by others, who like you, can write the words love, work & passion in the same sentence.
Their Wedding video was ready & viewed yesterday, on their wedding day!
“Everything seems impossible until it’s done”, is what I said to Mary when she first presented the challenging, creative & beautiful wedding idea!
My challenge of the day? Film, create & project on a large screen on the very same day, yesterday, September 29th 2012. 500 people have watched Mary&Joey’s wedding preparation at the reception hall. In fact, it was an amazing way to introduce the guests to this Greek & Italian wedding ceremony. What a feeling it was to see my passion & hard work projected in front of a large audience! Success :) A beautiful challenge, a beautiful couple & a beautiful wedding.
As you will see in their wedding preparation video, Videoshoot session began at Joey’s house & ended at Mary’s. Motivated to make it as representative & as personalized as possible, you will notice the sharp contrast in the music which was chosen accordingly & taking their tastes & preferences into consideration. It’s not only about doing this video FOR them. It’s about the experience of creating the video WITH them!
Some landscape views/sceneries captivate our attention & stimulate our morning. Seeing peace, seeing inspiration & seeing motivation… It’s a matter of guiding your imagination & converting a beautiful view into a beautiful state of mind! Letting nature speak to you, one of the ways to fulfill your day with positive thoughts.
-Make your day beautiful:)
An entire day filled with excitement, smiles & emotions. Enjoy watching the Manuela & Jason’s wedding video montage. Reliving August 11th 2012, starting with the bride & groom’s preparation all the way to the evening celebration. Made with love, shared with love!
Congratulations to this beautiful couple. Always a pleasure to capture moments and memories & make them last forever.
Picture taken: Sept.18th 2012.
Making them smile & happy makes my day beautiful. Seeing them express love & emotions as they relive their wedding day through my images & montage means satisfaction & success for me. Always ensuring that my video, as much as possible, allows their minds to replay or re experience images, family&friends moments & memories. That images & music heighten their emotions, that they smile, hug &/or maybe even tear up as they watch my montage are things that I value in my passion, in my business, in my work.
Behind the wedding scene… Picture of the bride, the groom & I.
Passion, love, work & fun… because I believe those words can belong to the same sentence :)
Simply creativity, fun & food!
Making wedding preparation interesting ♥
After a fun photoshoot session, here are 3 picture collages (posters) representing Mary’s, Joey’s & Mary&Joey’s favorite food. Using creativity & large pictures to welcome their wedding guests to the Sweet table.
Picture: http://instagram.com/p/O6epeWifpo/
Instagram & Twitter: @liveuphoria
Floating on water, sunshine on my skin, wind in my hair, music in my ears, smile on my face, and peace in my mind… Few of the various words I can use to express my breathtaking & unforgettable experience with friends.
I always believed that being on vacation is not only about geography (where you are); being on vacation is a state of mind! Even if I was on a river few minutes away from where I live, my mind was nevertheless able to take me on a trip, on a journey, on a flight of ideas & thoughts. From decisions in life, to life responsibilities. Translating ideas & dreams to a happy living reality…
Boat Fact
I have spent some valuable time with the wake boat captain, learning about the “floating on water” world. One interesting Fact: the life expectancy of a boat is measured in time rather than in distance. In other words, it’s about counting the number of hours rather than measuring the number of kilometres a boat has travelled. Thus, it’s not about how far you go, as it would be the case of a car. It’s about how long your engine stays on for. You can remain stationary with an engine on for hours & your boat will “grow older”. Could this concept of time/distance serve as an analogy to life?
Quotes that truly & precisely represent my thoughts on the boat
“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.” – Christopher Columbus.
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” -Charles Darwin
All new graduate students at HEC Montreal were welcomed to gather together to experience a day filled with information, activities & ending with the 1st 5a8 of the year. As members of the AECS – Association des étudiants aux cycles supérieurs de HEC Montréal- & responsibles of the M.Sc in Marketing, my colleague & I have attempted to nicely represent our option & to make August 23rd 2012 a beautiful & successful day. Not only have we been motivated to respect the theme color chosen by the association to represent Marketing (Yellow), but as future marketing specialist, we have decided to greatly brand ourselves, in other words to simply differentiate ourselves & to stand out. Our logo, I love Mkt (Mkt meaning Marketing)! To be inspired & share inspiration. Throughout the day, I have reunited new & actual students together to turn moments into images which will later turn into memories. The slideshow below depicts some of the various pictures that i have taken. Because nothing brings people closer together than the action of taking a picture :) August 23rd ; success! & again, warm welcomes & Welcome backs to every student!
Intrinsic Motivation!
Intrinsic motivation refers to “motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure. Intrinsic motivation is based on taking pleasure in an activity rather than working towards an external reward.” – Wikipedia. Pleasure, enjoyment & education/school in the same sentence? Of course! Choose a program/subject you love & notice the meaning of school change! This is something that I say to motivate every student! You will more likely be absorbed & intrinsically motivated if studying something that you really enjoy for the sake of learning & accumulating knowledge. If you find yourself complaining every single time that you have to go to class, every time that you have to open your textbook/read, every time that you have to do homework/study for an exam, then I think you need to take some time and ask yourself some questions. If complaining happens often, then maybe you are simply in the wrong field/discipline. Maybe you are in school for extrinsic reasons & therefore your motivation has an extrinsic rather than an intrinsic flavor! But why am I writing about education & motivation?
I was never an “A” student at a younger age (elementary,highschool&college). In fact, I disliked learning so much that I wanted to drop out. My parents played an important role in influencing & motivating me to stay in shcool. At that age, school simply meant spending time with friends. Through time, as I got to know myself better, knew what I wanted & was mature enough to make my own decisions in life, my feelings began to shift. Until this very day, it still astonishes me when I realize how ”dislike” turned into love in University! How did I go from one directionto the other? What influenced me to appreciate & vaue education & learning?
Study what you love & love what you study Loving what I study & being passionate about the subjects that I chose (Psychology) was what allowed me to perceive classrooms as conference rooms, professors as speakers, textbooks as interesting sources of information for learning opportunities, studying as an experience & knowledge booster, exams as an estimate (in %) of my learning & understanding capacity etc…When I changed the way I looked at education, the meaning of education changed! My perception & passion led to my persistent efforts which in turn led to my performance & academic success. In sum: to all students; study what you love & love what you study!
After completing my bachelors degree (BA), which I was deeply passionate about, I got even thirstier for knowledge, eager to reach a higher intellectual fulfillment. At that point, I knew that it just wasn’t yet the time for me to put an end to my student life & academic goals. As Oscar Wilde said: “you can never be overeducated.” Determined to delay gratification in favor of my future goals, here I am today, doing my Master’s Degree MSc. Marketing -not to mention, considering the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). Nelson Mandela & I strongly believe that “everything seems impossible until it’s done.”
Intrinsic motivation & implication *Picture of my colleague & I. In addition to our role as graduate students, him & I have decided to assist, motivate & entertain the few hundreds of students in our marketing option. It’s one feeling to be inspired but an incomparably better one to want to truly motivate & share your inspiration with others! This is our mission for 2012-2013.
My favorite Inspiring quotes about education “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” -Malcolm X
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. -Anthony D’Angelo
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”-Mahatma Gandhi
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” -Confucius
“The only real failure in life is one not learned from.” -Anthony J. D’Angelo
“Education aims to give you a boost up the ladder of knowledge.” -Martin H. Fische
“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”-Leonardo da Vinci
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” - Oscar Wilde
Express & share your questions, thoughts & ideas in the comment section below! Any favorite quotes about education?
My personal equation reflecting my use of the smartphone app: Instagram. Instagram is a beautiful & fast sharing pictures application. With its many possible choices of filters, Instagram allows one to change the color, the style & thus, the overall feel of a picture. For those who are more visual, on the left is a printscreen of my Instagram profile taken recently. Seeing pictures as small thumbnails motivates me to ensure variety. I try to keep my page as colorful as possible, avoiding repetitive colors on the same row. I simply find it more attractive to the eyes.
Use: Every single picture that appear on my Instagrem profile @liveuphoria is taken with my Iphone4. I believe it adds a unique & natural touch to the image. Also, the moments that I save with my Iphone’s camera are oftentimes modified/edited with a filter, slightly cropped or not, & instantaneously uploaded to my Insta. Doing so allows me to highlight the beauty of instantaneity. My followers should always expect that the moment captured & uploaded is representative of the moment lived at that very time.
Photographic Filters? “A camera accessory consisting of an optical filter that can be inserted in the optical path” – Wikipedia. Instagram offers 17 embedded filters. My favorite & mostly used filters? Amaro, Rise, X-Pro II, Nashville, Sutro & EarlyBird. Each has its own effect which depending on the picture & its colors may create a different feel.
Ex: Before & after (with the Nashville filter applied with intensity on & Nashville border)
Creativity <3… Instagram is just one of the multiple ways for me to be creative in a quick & entertaining way. With my imagination always highly active, I seek different possibilities of art. More specifically, I try to change my perspectives, angles, colors & even concepts. I think it’s more entertaining for an audience to not be able to expect the picture that I will be posting the next day. Everyday is an artistic surprise. In addition, unlike many other my use of Instagram is more about what I see than it is about pictures of myself. To see what I mean, refer to the picture above. You will notice that out of 16 pictures, I am present in only one picture, the last one. To each his or her way to play around with this app.
To conclude, here are few of the many pictures/moments/concepts I have taken or created & then shared with Instagram. Enjoy my short art gallery.
“If we don’t dare live now, when will we? As a risk taker, my mind is constantly seeking to explore & taste the various flavors of life. It is my desire to experience & optimistically live life during my stay here on earth that motivate my risk taking behaviors & life achievements. Whereas some people have one lifetime bucket list, I prepare yearly bucket lists filled with dreams, goals & risks to meet. With determination, courage & persistent motivation, many of my dreams/passions/goals have been successfully achieved/realized. With me, it’s simple. If I can think it, I can therefore do it! Needless to say, some exceptions apply… But I firmly believe that “once we accept our limits, we go beyond them” – Albert Einstein.
So what do my bucket lists really look like? Anything along the lines of: pursuing a higher education, travelling to new destinations, getting involved in organizations, self-set goals with my passions for photography, videography, composing songs, adrenaline rush activities & more… As seen in the picture above, skydiving appeared on my 2010 bucket list, a fairly long list which also included items such as Bungee jumping & graduating with a Bachelor’s degree. But why I am writing a post about skydiving, risks & changes? After all, I jumped & flew off of a plane 2 years ago!
Risks & Changes?
Adrenaline, dangerous, amazing, flying, freedom, best feeling in my life… Those are few of the plethora of words that I can use to describe diving into the sky. I loved it so much that yes, I would do it again & again (in different countries). It is the feeling of freedom & being on top of the world that makes this activity incomparably fascinating. The best part: feeling your heart race at the opening of the plane’s door & having 5 seconds to throw your body in a void, in a humongous world of space standing 12 000ft above! Those who have skydived will understand & if you haven’t, I highly recommend you try it to understand!
Interestingly, making small changes or even taking non life threatening risks may have the same effect on some people. Some embrace changes while others cannot tolerate such rush feeling and therefore fear & avoid it. Everyone is different & so is everyone’s perspective & reaction when facing the antonyms to certainty & persistence. But taking a risk is a change & some changes do involve risks! Both are linked & I personally think that the person who fears risks may also be the person who will prefer remaining in his or her comfort zone & routines. It’s just another way of seeing things!
So, why this post today? Why May 2012? Well, I introduced you to my skydiving experience today not only because it’s been almost exactly 2 years but also because it was my biggest risk taken up to date. I conjugate “was” because May 2012, I went beyond the risks of diving in the sky. For the 1st time, I exceeded the limits & mixed a major risk with a permanent life time change!
With time, I add more items to my lists, set higher goals & go somehow riskier. For those who have been following me on different social platforms, whether interactively or silently, may have an idea about my most recently accomplished goal. I must admit that this lifetime change was/is truly riskier than skydiving in so many ways such as: duration, permanence, life threatening level… Adrenaline rush? Yes! Even more than jumping from a plane. My heart was excited & racing of eagerness & joy. I was extremely happy before & after even if this activity did involve some pain & discomfort. Pain & discomfort? How can this mean pleasure & be compared to skydiving? You may be saying to yourself: But what is she talking about? What did she do now? Well, let me put it this way, I dared make a change that will positively & permanently increase, in an exponential manner, my approach to life & myself (even more than now, if imaginable). Whereas skydiving is an euphoric feeling, lasting 1-2minutes, the change in question has/will create long lasting euphoria. No matter where I am, it will follow me & this for as long as I live. “It” fits perfectly with my definition of liveuphoria! For more details about this exciting new journey, which is still in progress, come back & visit my website/blog or subscribe/follow me to receive an email notification when published :)
For now, I leave you with the links to my Skydiving video on my Youtube channel & the Instagram link to my picture. & remember, “we only live once, but if we live it right, once is enough” – Gary Ryan Blair So, dare live life, because no risks, no life!
Apples & bananas? Masculine fruits?
“The most obvious differences between males and females include all the features related to reproductive role, notably the internal and external genital differentiation. Men also have a more pronounced ‘Adam’s Apple’ or thyroid cartilage (and deeper voices) due to larger vocal cords.” – Wikipedia. There are of course many more gender differences between men and women but the image below emphasizes on those main gender distinctions.
“Masculine Fruits”: Behind the scene
Recently, I took a picture of my healthy snack at work: an apple & a banana (upper left/lower right). The picture was very simple but for some reason I was faced with a challenge: What name should I give my picture while going above & beyond the basic limits of names. Thinking outside the box, one of my favorite mental activities. It is after looking at the image for a while that I began to ask myself what those 2 fruits had in common, trying to create a link by finding a title that would gather both, the apple & the banana, into the same basket. With a constantly active imagination, my perception began to shift to the “subliminal” side of things. More specifically, my mind started perceiving the high in antioxidant apple as a representation of men’s adam’s apple & representative of male’s reproductive organ, the rich in potassium banana. It is important to note that since the concept came after the image, it is limited to those 2 fruits. Thus, it is important to note that there are so many other ways & fruits possible to represent anatomical sex dissimilarities.
Finally, whether male or female, make sure to include fruits in your healthy eating habits :)
Thinking outside the box? Always, indeed!
No matter where I go, whether random or not, I often meet people & speak with them. It’s simply part of my extraversion & openness personality traits. I feel comfortable socializing or discussing with strangers who later become acquaintances & sometimes even friends. But why? What makes me do so? My persistent desire to learn, my cosmopolitan outlook about life & my sociable & strong verbal communication skills motivate my behavior. Everyone is so unique & it is beautiful to discover the beauty of such individual differences. My discussions with “short term” strangers are always positive as I ensure that the optimistic flow of our interactions is maintained. People love talking about themselves & their life experiences & I simply love listening & asking questions. It’s astonishing how they become so quickly interested to share their life stories to the point that they feel free & comfortable to speak to me as they probably would with a close friend. Sharing happy thoughts, ideas or offering an optimistic way to see things, is the least I can do to make sure that my trustworthiness is transparent & my happiness is contagious.
My encounter with Sylvain at the coffee shop was completely random, brief but interesting.
To conclude, I personally think that; you can always know who you’ll meet if you truly want to know, if you truly want to meet & if the 1st words, you speak! :)
More stories & pictures to be shared…
You can follow my blog, follow me on twitter: @liveuphoria & follow me on instagram @ liveuphoria
Because “everything seems impossible until it’s done” – Nelson Mandela
Through time, i realized that methane body wash, carbon monoxide oral refresher, acetic acid detergent & methyl butric acid lung deodorant were just not my thing anymore. Thus, I started hating the taste & decided to gradually decrease my daily tobacco consumption…
Life is my addiction & to liveuphoria is my priority!
Using my lighter for better purposes, mildly stimulating my mind with nicotine (& coffee of course), & with constant self control & determination, I am confident that nothing is impossible. Saying no to smoking is equivalent to saying yes to life! I will no longer be a threat to my closed ones’ lives neither to mine. I love life way too much to voluntarily harm it & shorten it. In addition, since life is my addiction & to liveuphoria, my priority, then putting an end to this lethal behavior will help redefine not only my sensations & perceptions, but also restore my lungs’ & heart’s happiness, as they too, deserve to liveuphoria!
Every weather has its’ beauty but not everyone sees it.
Without the rain, the image would have no reflection
& even if it wasn’t sunny, under the clouds, shadow proves sunlight
After all, weather perception & appreciation is based on the mind’s interpretation. A positive mind is more inclined to unconditionally appreciate, enjoy &/or be creative with mother nature’s choices.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” -John Steinbeck
For more information, feel free to:
Picture taken: Sept.18th 2012.
“If we don’t dare live now, when will we? As a risk taker, my mind is constantly seeking to explore & taste the various flavors of life. It is my desire to experience & optimistically live life during my stay here on earth that motivate my risk taking behaviors & life achievements. Whereas some people have one lifetime bucket list, I prepare yearly bucket lists filled with dreams, goals & risks to meet. With determination, courage & persistent motivation, many of my dreams/passions/goals have been successfully achieved/realized. With me, it’s simple. If I can think it, I can therefore do it! Needless to say, some exceptions apply… But I firmly believe that “once we accept our limits, we go beyond them” – Albert Einstein.
