Maurilio Amorim

Month: August 2013

  • When Is It Too Late to Dream?

    She was  a pretty good golfer. We were hitting balls next to each other and she smiled at me a few times. “You have a nice, easy swing,” she said kindly. I interpreted that to mean “you hit like a girl.” As we talked about the game, I found out she had won the club’s member tournament for her age category. She’s 82. “I didn’t pick up the game until I was in my 60’s,” she beamed with pride. “Wow,” I replied. “there’s hope for me, then.” I’ve thought about that conversation a lot since that day. As I age, more and more dreams that I once had as a child seem to be further away from ever becoming reality. The question at hand, however, still haunts me from time to time, “is it ever too late to stop dreaming?”

    Managing our dreams

    Before you cast your vote, think about this. While we tell ourselves we are never too old to learn, grow, travel, try new foods, we seldom live that way. The older we get the smaller our circle of friends, favorite foods, and hobbies tend to get. We grow in years but we shrink in life quality. While aging is hard on the body, it can be liberating for our minds if we allow it to be.

    I remember hearing someone close to me say that her best days are behind her. That’s not living life. I call it “managing death.”

    Most octogenarians don’t get up and go on to win golf tournaments. But my friend does. She had a choice one day and she decided that even at 60 something, she had more to do in life and began to expand her circle. Chances are that she didn’t wait until retirement to become a dreamer. I’m still fairly young with a lot of dreams still left in me, but I can see the internal pull to begin circling the wagons, to become more careful, more selective. Aah, this mind shrinking has a way to insidiously find its way into our thinking.

    One day we find ourselves managing death instead of pursuing life.

    So to answer my own question, I say “absolutely not!” But I also know that’s not an easy task, and that I will have to fight against my natural inclination to shrink my circle and intentionally push my boundaries further every chance I get.

    How do you fight against “managing death”?

  • How Men Should Wear a Shirt

    Too many men wear ill-fitting shirts. They make even a good looking guy look sloppy and not put together. Even expensive fabrics that are poorly fitted will cheapen the look you are going for. This Fashion Friday post is here to help you find a good-looking shirt. If I’m going to give someone the shirt off my back, I might as well do it in style.

    First you want your shirt fitted at the shoulders and back. This is usually down to the ‘yoke’ of the shirt, which is the piece of material at the upper back that dictates the fit and shape of the rest of the shirt. You want it to fit snug, but not to feel restrictive when leaning forward. Equally, your sleeves ought to cover most of your watch when you put your arms out in front of you. Remember that a slightly tapered shirt will usually be your best option, otherwise the fabric will balloon around your lower torso and give you extra “visual” pounds.

    The length of a shirt is also a key consideration, as it will determine how the shirt can be worn. Generally if the shirt is longer, you will have to tuck it in. If you want to wear the shirt loose, you will want a shorter length.

    fitted shirt
    If you’re shaped like Taylor Lautner (and who isn’t?), you will look good wearing the very fitted shirt. But if you’re carrying extra weight, before getting the fitted cut, make sure you don’t look like a sausage casing.
    well fitted shirt
    This is a how a casual, un-tucked shirt needs to look.
    shirt sleeves rolled up
    Since I featured Taylor, I must give Robert Pattinson props for rolling up his sleeves properly: right above the elbow. Notice you can roll up the sleeves even with a tie.
    how to roll up your shirt sleeves
    There’s always a proper way to do just about everything, including your rolling up your sleeves. Who knew?!

    For my body shape, I find that Hugo Boss slim line works well for me as well as Tom Ford’s tailored line. Everything Tom Ford makes looks good on me. The main problem I have with his line is that I cannot afford to wear it. Oh, well.

    What designer/label looks best on you?

  • Should You Rethink the Design Process?

    designed by apple in california

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I love this quick animation from Apple on design. Specially the line “we start with the question: “What do we want people to feel?” Most design projects start with a different question:” what do we want it to do?”

    How do you feel, practically speaking, about the line: “there are a thousand ‘no’s’ for every ‘yes’?”