thoughts of dad

i went with my dad to visit his shop in chinatown the other day. he operates an old charcuterie and after years of trying to convince him to renovate, he finally gave in. i went to do my ocular inspection at about 430am (yes, 4 freak'n 30 am!) since this is the usual time the shop opens. i wanted to see how he runs the business and also take into consideration the work flow. both are very important in considering the new layout of the place as well as open areas for improvement, if necessary.

my dad was more than helpful to add a few of his ideas to the new look of the place. i have always believed that if given the opportunity, my dad could have been a great architect or a designer. i still remember, back when i was in university, when i would ask for his advice on a design problem, how he would drop everything and "dive in" to help. he would come up with ideas that are so bizarre yet ingenious that even my professors get dumbfounded. guess they never expected ideas like that from a butcher. it is however unfortunate that, like a lot of my uncles, he had to, in a way let go of his dreams, and help out my grandpa in the family business.

now that i am dealing with design, i sometimes feel like there is pressure to come up with brilliant ideas as well, like him. though he doesn't really expect anything, i feel that i owe it to the dream he once had to do him good. hopefully i will do just that.