fai boy's dark room

something from awhile back

2008-05-03T07:46:00.003+08:00

i did a flight to frankfurt a while back and was hoooked onto the pizzas there. so i came back and attempted. As you can see it's not fantastic. But but... it's in the works... the recipe tat is.

So i made myself feel better by making something i do best... one of my favourite dessert ... bb pudding!

it's been awhile

2008-04-23T02:11:00.002+08:00

OK... i find changing the bedsheets one of the most tedious things to do. I actually prefer scrubbing my stove top and re-arrange my kitchen things than to change em blardy sheets and comforter. The only comfort i have now is that at least i have clean sheets to sleep on later.

the snow at grouse

2008-02-16T16:32:00.006+08:00

CNY has passed thank goodness. I hate CNY songs. I wonder who actually writes them. Is it a multimillion dollar industry to irritate people?

I got back from Vancouver

few weeks back and it was my first attem

pt snowboarding.

Adrian, Khim and myself had hired a private instructor for an hour and was glad we did. I know understand how some people can get addicted to snowboarding.

2008

2008-01-10T23:45:00.001+08:00

welcome 2008

i'm still confused.. am i 26 or 27 yrs old?

help me out here. my birthday is on the 31 dec 1981. So which technically means.. that i turn 26 on the 31st dec. but 2008 will be my 27th year of existence, so if people ask me how old i am.. should i reply 26 or 27? i'd still rather be 25 in other time tho. haha..

I had a nice quiet birthday this year.. or should i say it's one of those times where i didn't really felt like planning for anything. But surprise surprise. My friends were all there and jenn got me a nice beef pie for the 'cake'. Which got smashed up on the floor 5 secs after i cut it and i ended up eating some of it off the floor.

So happy new year to all of yous, and hope it'll be a better one ya.

OH OH.. i finally got m macbook pro.. beauty. it's my cousins and it's one yr old. still in great minty condition and a steal for the price he gave it to me for.

was in seoul and looked like i had a black eye...

last post 2007

2007-12-29T13:33:00.000+08:00

i am in melbourne and my phone is dead.

I cant switch it on and there's nothing i can do about it here. Just got to wait till i get home to the charger.

Some people asked me what do i like about christmas. I asked them if i could list down things which i Dislike about christmas instead. There's nothing nice about it, and there aint much i like about it. What's it with people shopping and getting things for people just because it was 'decreed' to be the 'season of giving'? i mean.. if i constantly thruout the year get things and prezzies for people, must i still make an effort to purposely look for something during christmas. Dont get me wrong, i like receiving and giving, but shouldnt we do it constantly? - which makes more meaning to the giving than to 'force' ourselves to 'just get something lah'. Oh well. I'm rattling coz i dont have a phone.

Then i said i dont like Christmas jingles... and then someone said to me..' isnt Chinese New Year ones worse?' - true true.

Birday is tomolo and i still dont have any concrete plans to 'celebrate' the aging of my old self. I given up planning already coz i really dun feel like planning for it. So maybe i'll end up watching teevee than sleep. Or play mahjong till the morning.

I don;t like cakes... esp those that people buy from shops. I'm not a cake person. I'm a pie/tart person or pudding. Cake feels so.... cakey. So everytime there's a cake during birthday it's usually not meant for eating. It's meant for throwing around.

I think i should go for a run. i ate a big box of fries with italian cheese dressing yesterday just before i fell asleep. Melbourne has this crazy "Lord of the Fries" place near the hotel - which i make an effort to visit everytime i'm here. So i feel full of potatoes inside me now. Oh and guess what... i forgot to bring my wallet. I manage to dig a US$20 note from my bag yesterday so hopefully that'll be enuff. If not i found another 10Euros in another part of my bag too.

It's a long post.

Sometimes i dunno wat i've done wrong. I mean... havent i been doing everything right recently. I hate hate when people use old / past things that had happened against me. I hate it coz it makes me feel like everything else i've done aint worth it. Doesnt everyone have their past skeletons and stories to tell? Doesnt that make them them? and then coz they've doing certain things before they can become better people in the future? It's so easy to just fuck everything up, so why do people take the extra effort not to? Dunno la. Everything i do seems wrong.

BLEAH i'm turning 27 yrs old. - when i was 17, i had this mentality that people at 25-30yrs old have stopped playing computer games, and have an apartment, and paying bills, and working to save up for a family, and investing money and all those adult crap. How come i'm still playing with my PSP... and thinking of buying a wii or a PS3?

wtf

2007-12-07T00:14:00.000+08:00

been thru one of the busiest days since for a long time. worked 24hrs straight.

I am tired, and drained. But the adreneline still gets me each time.

I dunno what did i do wrong. But i'm still sticking in...

here's one of the pic that made my day..

2007-11-17T19:20:00.000+08:00

okie.... it's been a long while.. min min reminded me too.

Firstly, mahjong has taken away so many of our nights... thanks to our newcomers Aaron and Elise.., special appearances by Tommy and Xiao.

Secondly, Johan has moved in.. Kitchen has been re-renovated in terms of... new stuffs to hang stuffs.. and Johan's groceries' taking over the food fridge... sometimes spilling over to the drink fridge... and me being me.. am being a little paranoid over the entry of so much food. Coz it used to be me cooking only with nicky occasionally doing his own thing here and there. Now it's almost like 'dinner?' every nite. Which is a good thing i suppose, considering being cooked is a nice feeling.

Thirdly, I'm in the midst of clearing my harddrive... sorting out all the pictures i have and trying to compile them in to little books that i'm going to make. It's a long process and i've only manage to ... select a couple of worthy ones. Shot a few weddings recently and have been pretty hard on myself coz i feel that they werent up to standard at all, maybe it's the new cam.. and true enuff.... yesterday when i went to get a camera for Alywin, my guy at the shop said that for this particular cam that i bought i couldnt use a certain function on it.. - something which i've been using on the older model all this while. So i was like.. "CRAP.. so i spent $3500 on a new camera, that's suppose to be much much better than the old one.. and this function aint better? and it's WORSE!" so much for 'UPGRADING'

Those are the immediate updates.

Just been doing research in all these ILP (investment linked policies) recently and I must say.. that it's ALL ridiculous. This agency says that they are better etc that agency says tat they are better etc.. but it's all so confusing, and me..... i ended up buying 2 policies... 8-year lock in period. But okie la.. now and kinda understand all the crappy jargon they use... in a way and how they use certain things that may look attractive but in fact aint too rosy.

Oh well... like wat i always say.. "the rich will get richer.. the poor will just remain poor.. until 4D strucks"

paris

2007-09-07T01:33:00.000+08:00

ok. so here i am again in paris.. nice weather.. but i'm not going to shop or buy anything.. going to save money. need to buy a new cam and lens.... need to start budgeting 2008. gosh it's damn fast rite?...

mortgage, hp bills, pub bills, cabletv, internet, property tax, conservancy fees, insurance bills, all add up to almost all of my pay.

how how how..... at least the internet here is free...

Cairo

2007-08-23T11:41:00.000+08:00

Sunset in Cairo....

mellowish

2007-08-10T04:02:00.000+08:00

Spent the whole day today at home.. just fiddling with old photos.. sorting some of them out and all that... then, i spent some moments just thinking about my grandmother and my dad ...

dad's death anniversary is coming up in 19th August.

coincidentally, i caught a bit of 'Elizabeth' town the other nite.

About how Orlando bloom back to his dad's old town to cremate his dad and to 'reconnect' with him. Then i downloaded the soundtrack. this particular song that i liked from the movie.. by ELTON JOHN - My Father's Gun. And it's about 'A great song of loss and remembrance and carrying on in someone's memory' - taken from another site.

while listening to that song, it brought me back to Aug 2000. During my dad's wake. I met so many people, from so many different groups - very much like how Orlando bloom was greeted with all these people at the dad's old town... people that he's never met before.

There were workers from Bintan (where he worked before his death) that came all that way to the casket at Lavender street. There were old army friends, old friends from his Kendo classes, people that i've probably seen when i was a small boy.,.. etc etc.

And at that time, i was quite overwhelmed. The kind of influence that my dad had with the people in his life... but that's very him.

I remember this indian chap,... who came one afternoon.
he just sat there. and teared. Then when i spoke to him, he gave me a poem that he'd wrote for my dad. apparently they were from army or something.. and there was a long story which i've forgeotten,.. but i still have that poem.. tucked in the box.

oh wellz..

so the song's on my repeat... and my dad's day is on the 19th Aug...

'it's been 5 yrs........

SEOULY

2007-08-03T17:38:00.000+08:00

it's been awhile since i've done a 4-sector so... i'm pretty tired and worn down, not by work or anything much related, just tired down.

Was walking ard myeongdong and i've concluded that that area has totally nothing for males. In fact 90% of shopping around the world are catered to the female of the species. What does this show? That women have more spending power? or that women date men with spending power on them.. haha.

And yet anther mindless tot while i was walking back from the supermart...:

"People digging up hidden secrets are like men who peek under women's skirts. Just like how a great story teller is akin to someone wearing flashy bikini.:

scanned paris

2007-07-18T02:43:00.000+08:00

Aaron kindly came over after work and lent me his scanner. We spent several hours trying to install the damn thing and finally, afer hours of useless installing, reinstalling... etc etc - the usual windows problems, we kinda got it working. and then i guess...... it's pretty ... good!

Here's the first positive that i scanned in.....

hiving

2007-07-12T02:57:00.000+08:00

Okie... so here i am back at the hive... it's 3am and i just popped 4 febs into meself, tho i wished i have my clarintin-Ds with me.

I'm having this stupid running nose thingy. Good thing I'm off tomolo and can sleep the whole day. I wish someone would come over and cook for sick sick me... *hint hint*?

things are good good at the hive and we have several operational issues that we're sorting out. it's such a nice feeling looking at how the hive has grown within the past 2 years and we're almost fully booked everyday. i'm quite pleased to be part of this family.

On a seperate note, nicky is leaving for taipei.. which means i've got an empty room from 1st Aug. johan said he can only confirm in september is he's in or out.. not helping that my monthlys has also increased from this month onwards.... curses!

me made xinjiang spices pork ribs and spinach-ricotta cheese chicken fillets yesterday. and ooh ooh.. pumpkin pudding for desert... not forgetting the melting raclette cheese on steamed potatoes... yumm my nose is dripping already. I always get into a cooking frenzy whenever i dun feel happy.. or frustrated or... just in a fouly mood. It's just like how some people clean up their kitchen or some other 'stress-relievin' activity. .. so what do you do?

skype pics..

2007-07-04T21:44:00.000+08:00

Nicky got a new imac...

and he was trying out his webcam and such..

This is him...--------->

it's funny how we're just next door and we' were skyping each other.. hahaaa

pics from rural china

2007-06-14T02:27:00.000+08:00

i was at home and decided to go thru stuffs that i shot when i was in china 2 months ago. This is a series of pics i took while i was at Lan Zhou. I got onto a bus from Lan Zhou city and travelled about 1.5hrs to this place called "Yu Zhong Xian Cheng" - supposedly some small town away from the main city. There i asked a shopkeeper for directions to a mountain. The lady got me a little taxi van and he said he'll bring me there for 30rmb. i decided why not and hopped in.

What i had in mind was a view of China's vast mountain ranges and beautiful lakes and scenary and fishermen and farmers tending to their crops.

15 mins later we arrived at the foot of the mountain which appeared to be a forsaken looking resort which Chinese visitors will probably throng on during the holiday seasons. I asked my driver Mr Bai, why was it so empty and he said that it's not the holiday season yet. I looked highly dissappointed with the place and then asked him if i could find any farms and small villages nearby. He told me there was a place behind the mountain and he would take me there for a small fee. hell, why not.

another 15mins later, i was greeted with exactly what i wanted to see. The great old rural china. bullocks and cow crap all over the place. Since this was a rural area in China, they spoke a different type of Mandarin. My driver became my translater and really helped me with getting friendly with the locals. The people were curious, but became pretty friendly after i gave some polaroids of themselves. Here is the short series from the 'other' camera

been awhile

2007-06-13T23:34:00.000+08:00

okie... where do i start...

i just got back from paris... and walked quite a lot there.. was nice.. but could be better.

nicky had an interesting sign posted up on his car today.... it read "CAN YOU PARK YOUR BLODDY CAR PROPERLY"...

i just spent the past few days clearing up all my harddisks.. and found lots of old pics and things... forgotten things.. and all other old files. formatted them and now 'tryin' to starting being a little more organised in my desktop.

okiez.... so waiting for bonus to come in.... so many things on my mind i wanna get..

just a side note ...how can anyone be so crazy over shoes?.. i just can't figure a logical explanation...

portraits

2007-05-15T00:27:00.000+08:00

some of the portraits i took when i was in China... Love the rural villages, and all the different types of people i met..

i scanned the contacts in and pieced this one up. cant wait to print them out my lovely 6x6s~!

back to work work

2007-05-05T00:47:00.000+08:00

So i returned from Beijing after 2 weeks there. And went back straight to work the following day.

Then i shot a Eunice's and Adriel's wedding at SMU... read all about it here!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070502/5/singapore273657.html

All thanks to Jenn and Aaron who helped so much in the wedding preps like book binding and printing the posters...

My 2 week trip was pretty good. I spent the first half of it bumming, then flew to LanZhou and DunHuang. It's amazing how the silk road was created and all during that era. I asked the guide how long does it take to travel from China's starting point to where it all ends in Rome... and she said, " 3 years".I sat on the camel for 15mins and my arse hurt like hell.. i wunder how those people then could do it for 3 year

But maybe that's how we have asian food courts in europe now... I dun think i can do a 3 year trip back to china.

i'm just waiting to get back to sg to collect the negs and prints from desmond.... then i can see wat the new 503 CW can do.. oooh.. which i havent really announced yet.. ehemm.. >

Louis Kwok just got a new HASSELBLAD 503 CW.. ... yey...

few nights in beijing..

2007-04-18T14:34:00.000+08:00

okie..

so i took leave for beijing... hoping that i'll eventually go to Xingjiang.

then i lost my phone.

heard reports of tornedos in xingjiang, and a cancelled ticket.

now just booked a ticket to tunhuang?... haha...

anywayz.. i've spent the past few nights at rehersals with the elevenz. they're having their 5th performance tonite. I've been trailing them and i guess will compile the pics into a behind the scenes type of book for them.

just got meself a simcard and borrowed a phone from an up and coming hot chick. call me at +86 1378555448.......

takecare wherever you aRE!

londoning

2007-03-20T14:50:00.000+08:00

It was a 2hour drive to Oxford... and like what krumbs said - 'this is something we don't get back home.. this vast expanse of land..'

It's breathtaking for a while.. then after that we were just looking for the lambs and horses.

We arrived at this place which i cant remembe the name.. some quaint little english town. Everything here looks like it moves to the speed of a celeron computer or a G3 ibook for comparison. slooow.

We had our mixed grill here. nice english serving.

This small pub is a family owned bed and breakfast which really is... probably the only happening thing for miles around.

Nothing else completes the meal with a pint of Kronenbourg.

a little lane off oxford before the 2 hr drive back.

back from london and aucklandy

2007-03-20T14:37:00.001+08:00

Ivan.. at the BP station!!!

he was late for work... about an hour... due to unforeseen circumstances.

Ivan : "Moses went up to the mountain to hide his stash of weeD! And the people followed the friggin burning BUSH!"

my trip to london was pretty laid back. We spent the free day driving to the uni town of Oxford and that journey to and for took us a day. You really can do only ONE thing a day in UK... nothing else... anything else will be back at home..

yawnz. to Manchester tonite...!

bad streak of events

2007-03-02T01:07:00.000+08:00

Phew... horrible horrible.

4 demerit points + clash with stupid LS + emo breakdown.

FM said something yesterday while i was playing this jay chou playlist on my itunes...

"seems like jay chou has always been there for me" - since dunno when.. i tot about it and kinda agreed too,.... all the breakups, patch backs, new friens.. bad times... emo times.. , it seems like there's always a jay chou song that kinda summed it all up - if not part of it.

Thinking back... i was kinda like... 'yar hor...' like "Jian dan ai" was like a cheat school girls song.. and like the "ba wo hui lai le" is the angry teenager song and like the windmill song is kinda... mixed up feelings song... etc etc....so weird.

anyway.. i dunno how to work in a 8-5 job... how to sleeep late and wake up early? sa

mf99

2007-02-10T14:33:00.000+08:00

And so i missed a flight. dont ask.

I'm now in the HIVE manning the counter...

BORED BORED.. but i totally miss being here. So many memories. good and bad, and we're expanding again!

yey!

a month into 2007

2007-01-30T19:42:00.000+08:00

You dun need me to tell you that the older you get the faster time flies and you wish that you've done the things you thought you would have done earlier.

Just came back from a jog and man do i suck. must be the age... really

Nicky and I landed into our fav jobs again! It's gonna be a busy 2 weeks for me... back to back flights.. and other things. hopefully i can afford my black macbook soooon. They are so blardy tempting.

Help me out here.. a macbook or a hasselblad?

MY BIRTHDAY!

2007-01-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

so 30th night was my sort of birthday party.. it's usually a end year party sort of thing anyway.
The theme was UNIFORM... so i was glad that most of them actually turned up in wat they were suppose to wear!..
We had school girls, punky school girls, butch school girl, discipline mistress... then we had the army dudes, and the doctor, nurse, cheerleaders..cricket players....etc etc

I had a fun nite... too bad i wasnt ard to set up and all that , but it was great effort from nicky (who played WOW.. i heard), my brother and jenn cooking the chicken wings and stuff.. here are some picS!..

then of course.. diana and pris made tiramisu.. and smashed my face into it....

Merry Xmas!

2006-12-25T20:54:00.000+08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!

I'm in freezing Amsterdam. We had a lovely chinese dinner last nite at this Oceania restaurant that has fantastic seafood. Oyster, Mussels, Scallops, squid... most of which i usually dun fancy, but i gobbled all of it down anyways... with the sambal!

None of the shops are opened today save for burger king and little food outlets and a ice skating ring - which beeha, elissa and myself intend to go later. We're chilling in the crew room now and it's nothing cosy. Can't wait to get back..

Didnt really think of much these days. I kinda refuse to think of things. I just let them be. Some people thinks that i'm being irresponsible, some thinks i'm givin things too much time. But why must one decide? - just becoz we're given the 'honor' to choose? Oh well, till now people hav been feeding tots in my head, but my head aint full yet...

mahjong alywinn?

printing in progress....

2006-12-20T23:17:00.000+08:00

It was a dark, stormy nite... cold... lonely.. and i was in a printing frenzy!

still editing

2006-12-15T17:45:00.000+08:00

It's disgusting to know that i spent the entire day editing photos. How much less have we become as photographers and more of digital artists? Eunice bridal shots are looking good tho... and no i didn't use 'barbiedoll skin' touching ups.

my dinners' made up of soup and a left over from kfc... how exciting!

i'm ON LEAVE

2006-12-14T01:22:00.000+08:00

I'm on leave. till sunday..

about 10days or so. Travel plans failed due to individuals who 1) spent all his money on his car, and 2) spent all his money on a woman. So i'm stranded here. Made mini plans tho, and they're keeping me occupied.

anyways, i stunned this from pris's bloggy and .... >

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

sugar bowl

2006-12-01T18:42:00.000+08:00

I have never thought finding the perfect sugar and salt bowl will be so hard to fine. It's been months. Is it just me being anal about how i want my sugar bowl to look like? Why must all the kitchen wares at the departmental stores have ugly floral patterns on them? why cant they just make a simple glass air tight jar without any patterns? hell, even the ones in muji have a stupid italian logo on it.

lavender street

2006-11-18T11:01:00.000+08:00

i was on the treadmill the other nite, and was looking at my legs. It's weird how my legs moved- like i didnt control them at all.

Anywayz, i'm at the hive now doing my 'duty', and am just doing some updates.

The hive is located at lavender street. The postman which has been delivering letters to this area of singapore for the past 30yrs told spencer on the history of the how the name of this street came about.

In the 1940s-50s, Singapore didnt have the proper sanitation system that we're so use to today. During that time, people shat into buckets which were then collected and disposed of by 'shit-collecters'. Lavender street had these so called 'collection centers'. In order to musk the smell of shit, they used lavender scent to overcome the smell - thus lavender street came about. Another fun fact is that the very same shophouse that we're on use to be a hotel called 'lavender hotel'. we had an idea to rename our hostel to 'lavender hotel' and add a 'since 1955' to it. But i think the original owner wouldnt be too happy. heh heh

unexpected party

2006-10-31T21:36:00.000+08:00

it was suppose to be a small welcome thingy for alywin. In fact, there werent any who was really in-charge. We ended up having a lamb roast for dinner, and then a all night drinking session with so many pple!

welcome back alywin and charmaine!

anyway.. we played charades and it was totaly horribly fun... think of wad will happen if we put in "NANG NAK?" oh my god....

2006-10-12T02:42:00.000+08:00

Ever been in a situation whereby you think of so many things during the day, and you really want to write them down somewhere. but when you do get the time to do so, you're totally lost...?

afternoon nap

2006-10-06T04:03:00.000+08:00

I was sitting in the livingroom when suddenly i asked nicky,' eh.. you wanna clean the hse or not?'... and that was the start of a cleaning frenzy. i vacuumed the floor while he mopped it. then we bought some stuffs and started cleaning the toilets, then the kitchen. Then we had a nice new place.

5 mins later... i saw dust stuff on the living room floor... and said...'wtf~!? they're back again so fast!?' ...

we started to watch a dvd.. this final fantasy animation thingy. I fell asleep about half hr into the movie and went to my room to sleep.

Then i had the weirdest dream ever. I dreamt of many things... then i dreamt that i cried. And in my dream i cried and cried, i even remember wiping the tears from my eyes in the dream..it really really felt real.

then i looked it up on the internet..>

To dream that you are crying, signifies a release of negative emotions that is more likely caused by some waking situation rather than the events of the dream itself. Your dream is a way to regain some emotional balance and a way to safely let out your fears and frustrations. In our daily lives, we tend to ignore, deny, or repress our feelings. But in our dream state, our defense mechanisms are no longer on guard and thus allow for the release of such emotions.

?

FengMing came over for a pizza dinner with nicky and i. we had good rounds of blokus and we hope we made a convert! and yes.. do come more often now.. =)

going up to taipei tomolo...maybe i'll get me a shoe.

2006-10-06T00:17:00.000+08:00

things will never be the same again.

2006-09-29T03:40:00.000+08:00

You try.. you might succeed, you might fail. you might make a fool of yourself on stage.

but hey.. at least you tried

?

2006-09-19T23:04:00.000+08:00

Why do all the women i meet seem to need to be taken care of? i mean i'm not talking about the usual usual... la las... more like.. they seem to be easily taken for a ride, bullied, and misguided. Not sure if that's their way of getting the guys or getting some attention, but somehow someway it pisses me off that more often or not.. i get pissed off for something that i didnt do. bleah. maybe i shouldnt care so much. maybe i should just stand back and let them get hurt and all that. i dunno.

incapable

2006-09-12T14:46:00.000+08:00

Why do we get detached from our feelings?

Maybe it's an excuse not to allow ourselves to fall in any emotional traps. Maybe it's the typical men-syndrome of just not wanting to commit.

Soemtimes i wonder about the pple i meet, the pple that come and go, the pple that stay for a bit, those that stay for long. The conversations that took place, the jokes shared. should they mean anything to me? or are they just... pple that just.. 'passes' your life.

-Disclaimer- I'm dangerous.very.

differences

2006-09-11T16:53:00.000+08:00

was called up for seoul~.. din get to eat my fav bbq mackerel tho... and as usual, i bought a box of instant cup noodles. Did you know that the korean noodles made in korea is nice than the ones we get here (which are mostly made in china)? Yumm.... but i came back and realised that i've got way too much drystores in my drystore cupboard.

house it up and running... left a few nitty nacks to get but apart from that, i'm pretty much settled. darkroom is still in construction tho.. i just need my table.... my table .... my table... (and miraclously it'll appear! bwhahaha!)

Saw the evening light coming into the living room and couldnt resist taking some pictures...here they are!

Oh.. with a pictures of this 4 faced buddha-ish thing that nicky bought from china.. which we think have some.... questionable substances inside...we'll never know will we?

Too much darkroom stuff!

2006-09-02T15:18:00.000+08:00

I unofficially moved in begining of the week as my aunt had me do a photoshoot at my place. 98 water colour paintings in a day for a catalogue. My house actually went up by $50,000 in value for that morning.... and dropped the same afternoon.

Things are slowly arriving. The last things are my darkroom table and my drybox for the storeroom. I didnt realise that i had sooo many darkroom stuff! i have almost 5 sets of trays, 4 enlarger bases, 4 heads, sets of filters, stacks of papers...(expired i suppose), 3 contact printers... etc etc etc.... so many things!

I guess I'll prolly keep a good set for myself, then.. maybe sell to pple who are actually interested in this art still.

2 more weeeks to the P-plate is being removed from the name. 2 more weeks, and hopefully i'll be settled nicely here.

oooh.. 8th SEP - 10th SEP.. diving anyone?.. it's my only freeweekend since.... since... i started work!

All roads lead to ROME!!!

2006-08-22T16:03:00.000+08:00

okie.. i'm confused..

Caesar, Brutus, Augustus, et al.... the pagan citizens..and the warring states

Then comes the birth of christ, and the death and crucification of jesus by the romans.

So then, the church was built.. vatican city all that? i'm lost.

The history was cool, esp after watching the entire HBO series of ROME - and playing ROME-Total War after that. But the Vatican and all that pope thing?..eh.. i'm not to savvy.. savvy?

Anywayz, here are the pics that made my trip..

2006-08-10T10:04:00.000+08:00

This was shot in christchurch. ME and the ducks... somehow i didnt feel like eating them, even tho i'm a big fan of roast duck rice....

'Click' and your life flashes you by.....

2006-08-07T00:49:00.000+08:00

I just got back from that adam sandler movie and was really thinking hard about the things that really matters in my life.

Your life may just whiz you by and before you know it, you're on your dying bed. So many times we wished that we could 'fast-forward' the things that we dun wanna be involved in, so many times we wished that we could leap into the future and take a peak at what's installed for us. But at the meantime, while we're waiting for that to happen, we sit around all day... simply waiting. nothing happens. we wait. Still, nothing happens.

Funny how a simple show about a remote control can make silly me think about meself.

My house is almost complete. the paint's getting dry. The floors are slowly getting in place. My lights are up. The cabinets are going to be fixed in next week, and the furniture's coming in mid of the month.

It is a huge thing for me. This entire 'project' seemed so sudden yet i've planned so long for it. Guess time really passes by so quick.

Norman and Elissa are officially going to get married, and we're all still amazed about how we're all 'getting old' so fast.

Listening to Fort Minor's 'Where did you go' and sometimes we're like dat eh, in regard to us and our own life. Spaced out and not even knowing what we're doing to ourselves.

Feeling rather in the mellows now....

2006-07-30T18:58:00.000+08:00

Do i have a 'come-punch-me-coz-i-dun-like-you' face?

I'm born with a face that aint really smiley!! i cant force it wad.....

2006-07-29T13:19:00.000+08:00

The world moves on right? even after a rough patch or some decisions that we make. Some say "As long as you're happy", and followed my dad's old words. I've made decisions that i 'thought' would make me happy. Obviously my decision making skills are very very rusty and short-sighted - which usually results in lots of heartaches and other people gettng hurt.

I get it my way most of the time; I'm not referring to the fancy toys your parents buy you when you're young or the undivided attention that they give you. In fact, it's the reverse. I think i grew up too fast when i was younger. I've always been left alone, made my own decisions, decided what i like to do and ventured into it.

When i was 15, i wanted to pick up the guitar, my mom said," Such a waste of money and time!" and she refused to help sponsor a little for my guitar. I dugged out $34 and bought my first guitar. It's such a shitty guitar but i loved it. Of course i still have it!

When i was 17, i wanted to go into this 6-month biblical course. My aunt(who was catholic) thought i was being silly. My mom obviously had violent objections. I decided what the hell(pun intended) and enrolled myself in it anyway. My dad paid for it even though i hardly see him and he doesnt live with us anymore.

When i was 19, I wanted to pick up photography. My mom said,'such a waste of money and time!' (see the trend?), my dad told me to go ahead with it. So i worked in this restaurant called 'The House of Mao', for a month. Saved up $650 and bought my first SLR manual camera. During that time, the only decisions to make were 'Automatic? or Manual?' and 'Canon? or Nikon?'. Nowadays - it's Digital?Analog?Canon?Nikon?Fast?Slow?WBalancing?digitalsync?etc etc etc. This digital age of photography... i'm still stuck halfway. but I digress.

So i grew up pretty much fighting for myself; and obviously getting what i wanted, in my way.- which happens to be my favorite oldie song. 'my way' - originally translated by Paul Anka, then popularized by Frank Sinatra. Coz my old man sang it to me while i was half drunk in a pub in bintan.

I hate it that i get it my way sometimes. Coz doing that hurts others. And i hate to hurt others.

Darren mentioned that i was the 'disclaimer king'. Coz before i do anything i'll say something about it first, and make sure that i'm 'covered' before i get myself into anything. Is that being safe? protecting myself? or is that being a coward, coz i'm afraid of making mistakes. - which is another characteristic of a Capricorn-perfectionists pricks.

Oh, and Capricorns cant make up their mind. They can think till the entire farm turns gay but still won't decide on anything ultimately. - Coz they're half fish and goat, and cant decided to live in the sea or land.

Me thinks i'm a Full blown Capricorn.

feeling auntie

2006-07-28T17:40:00.000+08:00

I'm feeling like an auntie auntie recently. Walking up and down the electrical stores looking at fridges, washing machines, dryers and microwave ovens. Been also at lighting shops and now i know the differences with the many types of lights and all that. Oh not forgetting the differences in fabric types and construction frames from local factories and china factories for sofas and chairs. Damn i feel poor.

I just bought a nice long L-shape sofa in dark maroonish brownish colour and hopefully it'll be ready by mid-aug. I've also been eyeing this oriental dining table but it takes 45days for a made to order type.. so.. maybe tomolo i'll do that.

Things are moving pretty smoothly at the renos, the air-con is in and they're painting today. By the end of next week the flooring will be completed and most of the carpentry done. It feels good knowing that i'm getting my own place. It feels even better knowing that i'll be owning it soon. The only thing is i cant loose my job for the next 5 yrs. Nicky's planning to move out after a year so i'll have an empty dark-wallpapered room available from jan 2008. Any takers?

Esmond and Sue-ann will be in and out by october so i'll have an empty room from Oct2006. Which currently is reserved for val, but if anyone wants it.. it's negotiable.=)

Hiaz... i dunno why but i've been sneeeeezing for the past 2 days. I'm allergic to dustmites. and the nasal spray aint working it's best. So now i have to lie down....................

have a good weekend everyone

renovationS~!

2006-07-14T01:29:00.000+08:00

Okie.. i just got back from my place and it's in the deconstructed stage...
looking... spacious.. but will see how see how.

Hopefully things will start taking shape in a week or so!

i'm back!

2006-07-13T00:13:00.000+08:00

i havents checked my email for like 8 days and there's been so many updates ard my life. Sigh.. maybe it's just the drawback of being away all the time. Things continue to move and i just need to catch up.

Yawns.... just got back from my renovating place.. and it looks pretty damn messily good! nothing is constructed yet and all but the layout is nice!

will post up pics when i go take tomolo...!

random rant

2006-06-27T17:36:00.000+08:00

There's no such thing as the perfect one for you,

There's only the least imperfect one.

TAGGED

2006-06-23T22:59:00.000+08:00

Okie... i'm prolly the last one that's been tagged...

If you comment on this post:

1. i’ll respond with something random about you
2. i’ll challenge you to try something
3. i’ll pick a color that i associate with you
4. i’ll tell you something i like about you
5. i’ll tell you my first/clearest memory of you
6. i’ll tell you what animal you remind me of
7. i’ll ask you something i’ve always wanted to ask you
8. if i do this for you, you must post this on yours

yvr pics and lhr trip

2006-06-16T15:38:00.000+08:00

Ok.

I finally sat down and processed some pics from vancouver. Here are 4 pics that summed it up. The totem poles at stanley park, the suspension bridge, and dinner at wendy's aunt's place.

I just got back from London, and i must say this "IVAN! You piece of SHeeeeeeit! I came all the way to london and you STAYED IN! Shame on you boy, shame on you!" Krumbs brought us around and even entertained velvie and i to see the london eye - One piece of advice, never go there in the summer. You'll feel like you're in a pressure oven for 45mins.

Had a great time - even tho as usual, i get sleepy and tired pretty quickly. =)--- oh oh .... here are the yvr pcs.

---------- taken from Char's ----------

2006-06-11T00:40:00.000+08:00

Is this me?
Taken from just about everyone:

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me - it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this in your journal so that I may leave a word about you.

far away

2006-06-10T18:11:00.000+08:00

What if you have been charading yourself in different personalities over the years; so much so that you have almost totally forgotten who or what you are?

That we've grown accustomed to being so many different 'types' of us that we no longer know the 'true' self?

man... i think i'm schizoly zoinked out.

I love long runs. Clears my head a little. perhaps too little too much.

SEOUL

2006-05-29T08:38:00.000+08:00

I'm in seoul now.... slept super early last nite so i'm up now and i cant sleep anymore.

I headed out to the gyeongbokgung palace yesterday and spent the entire day just hanging out at the palace grounds and the area around there. Apparently this gyeongbokgung palace was built and lived by the king.. in the 13th century.

It was all burnt down and destroyed during the japanese invasion and occupation. it was rebuilt then burnt down again a couple of times. Eventually it was rebuilt and restored in 1990 and to date it's almost all done up. the schduled date of complete restoration will be in 2009. ONce that's done, it's said that it'll be the max of 40% of the original structures. It was so badly destroyed that most of the structures were lost. Some parts of the place were patches of grass that they sealed off - they contained the foundations of the palace that they'll restore in due time.

I was just wondering how the koreans actually has such deep history and pride about their own culture. And how serious and important they see restoration projects such as these. Compare this to how our country deals with historical buildings. Sure we do not have any 500-century structures, or a long deep history. We are a pretty 'new' nation comparitively and do not have a long traditions (dun we already know that?)

But look at the way our 'older' buildings are being treated. Take the national library for example..... it's still such a shame. and how all the older black and white houses are restored with ugly glass panels with tastless interiors. It totally destroys what they use to look like and teached our younger generation absolutly nothing.

Call me sentimental, but i'm a sucker for such things. Maybe that explains why my room is like a junkyard. with things dating back to my really young age. I even have a case of stuff that belonged to my dad. -- oh oh and an ancient enlarger lens from my grandfather. (he was into photography too). And maybe that explains why i'm getting the exact same apartment that i lived in during my childhood days.. haha....

okie.. on to vancouver now!

Darkroom Withdrawal

2006-05-20T18:39:00.001+08:00

I've just spent the past 3 days just being at home and sleeping. Havent really done anything that's actually worth mentioning. The only highlight was choosing the tiles for my place, the kitchen and bathroom fittings. At least that's one thing down.

I so cant wait to move in, set up my darkroom and start printing pictures all over again. It's irritating that the pics i see from the digicam arent anything close to what i want them to be. I cant wait to save up enuff to buy myself a new hassey, and then bring it ard with me. Do what i've loved to do. I hate it that i dont have anything to put up on my blog worthy of mention - I think i'm suffering from darkroom withdrawal.

I'm whiney now and i need to prepare for flight. sigh.....

Darkroom Withdrawal

2006-05-20T18:39:00.000+08:00

BACK from Shrek town

2006-05-19T18:21:00.000+08:00

Was just in LA last week and became a little boy when i was at universal studios. Shrek, spongebob, woverine and lots more... really felt like a kid..

in the midst of sorting out the photos. meanwhile....

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Medaman

an old old friend~!

2006-05-08T01:55:00.000+08:00

Was in Melbourne just a week ago and i met up with Grace Jadyn Cheng. Yes, it has been almost what.. 3yrs since i've seen her and all of us back in SG totally have no idea wat happened to her. Well, she's married to a really nice guy - Daniel, and now resides in Melbourne. Gosh... has it been that long a time? We had coffee, bread and a nice long catch up chat. It was really really nice to see her.

Darren was suppose to meet me after but he shut off his handphone so i only got to see him back in the hotel. We then head to Crown for a lil luck. But he only stood behind me while i was on the black jack table - which was really really a thrilling experience. I started with 4 $25chips and ended up with... lets just say a little profit. Will be back in Mel next month... maybe i'll end up loosing that little profit! haha..

as usual - here are the pics. Grace and Daniel in their nice cosy home, the church which they got married in....and the group of us at the casino thereafter.

sand pit for the tots! - put em in !

2006-04-27T14:21:00.000+08:00

I took this picture in Munbai when i was there last week. So like what the sign says~~ hi hi ...dun get me wrong, i love children! - just some.

farnie stuff~!

2006-04-27T14:19:00.000+08:00

Haaa i dunno where nicky got this, but i could spend hours just staring at it!

http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm

Bomb the Bay!

2006-04-25T00:20:00.002+08:00

Phew... it was not THAT bad!

In hindsight me thinks that there are lots of photo opportunity in Bombay. Just that i didn't bring my gear this time round. Will prolly do so the next time. The usual comments, - about the caste system, etc etc. becomes quite clear that the gaps are really wide.

I had my fair share of walking ard and getting lost, and taking rickshaws, taxis, and getting to weird places. But that's the fun of travelling alone. Sometimes, it's just nice to head out at you own time and all that. I mean why talk about work when you're not working???!!!

clueless.

Oh.. and i had my first PANI PURI. it's this street indian snack that is a MUST TRY. Thanks to my indian frens in my batch that introduced it to me. It was tasty, but i didn't had the guts to try the spicy one. maybe next time.

so I'm done with Linkin Rd, Hill Rd, some beach off Hill Rd.. and the nite market. Think i'll head to the city the next time.

How to drink beer and not to get a belly...

2006-04-19T08:19:00.000+08:00

i dunno.

the STONES

2006-04-15T17:01:00.000+08:00

Khmer and their Ang Khor Wat
Qing and their Great Wall
Tut and his Pyramids

And the English.. with their BIG PILE OF STONES

My first trip to London proved to me that the average communter in London spends almost 80% of his/her life on the trains and buses than doing anything else.

And since it was my first time in London, i wanted to look at something GRAND... no no, not the crown jewels or the Big Ben for me... I want to see something with splendor and magistical...something like the stonehedge.

So Diana and I met up with Adrian and Ivan. and took the long trip down south - to the magical town of Salisbury, 1.5hrs away from London. This was the damage(In POUNDS)

$6 TUBE TICKET
$25 TRAIN TICKET
$6 BUS TICKET
$6 ENTRANCE FEE

TOTAL: $43 BLARDY POUNDS!
That's like a good S$150 to travel almost 2 hrs to a cold faraway place to see a pile of stones!

But okie lar, I must say at least I've been there, done that. I've been to one of the World's Heritage Site. .... hurray...

It was FREEZING COLD, and us, thinking that since it was the day, it wouldn't be as cold. But... we were literally freezing our toes off!

here are some pics of the marvelous stones

Afterwhich we stayed over at adrian's place at stanford-le-hope? Didn't do much as i was tired to hell, and crashed after a small drink of absinth done in sugar and water.

And thus concluded my London trip. these are some photos that made my trip - you know me and street shots..

SUICIDE Girls .... too cool

2006-04-09T22:49:00.000+08:00

SO the sydney flight wasnt as good as i wanted it to be. Come on i've been on a good 10 days after my first flight, and and and considering i havent seen this a/c type for awhile, surely i get some slack? hiaz..

Anywayz, i reached the hotel late in the morning. Brother came by an hour later.. and we left for the fish market!! Super yummy seafood. and super tasty sashimi.. yum yum.

Tracy drove us to bondi beach for a while and we just lazed there for an hour - since it was too early to visit my granny and star city lost its appeal. So off we went to visit me granny and it was a wonderful time. I slept nearly all of the time i was in the car travelling. i was too tired after my flight.

After dinner with my relatives, the next 'highlight' in my zombie stage was to go watch 'Suicide Girls' with selywn, alywn, charmaine and friends. for more information about the suicide girls check out their website. It was.... in alywin's words "an artistic strip show". Rubbish ... it was simply a strip show. but but but.. very nicely done i must say.

On leave

2006-04-02T12:41:00.000+08:00

So I just got back from Cambodia a couple of days ago and have been thinking whether i should post up the pics from my lil cam. Thing is i went with my trusty Nikon and shot mostly film - ended up with about 15 rolls of film.

Nicky and myself were there for 4days. And this is a brief run down on our itinery

Day 1 > Arrive in the morning and dived straight into the temples.
Nite > Was invited to a Cambodian wedding and both of us got quite sloshed
Day 2 > Temples again
Nite > Ate dinner in the Pub street area
Day 3 > Sick of temples so we hired electric bikes but cycled to Angkor still
Nite > Pigged out with junk food in the room
Day 4 > Woke up too early got to the airport too early thanks to nicky

Anywayz, Taxi costs about US$20 a day and i recommend that the first day to hire one dude to take you ard to the farther temples. Motor transport costs about US$10-15 a day and is good for transport within the angkor area. And the electric bike (US$5/day) is a must for just fun and more fun.

So by the second day we were what they call "TEMPLED OUT" and were so sick of temples that the grandeur and splendeur and all that wore out - and all we saw were stones and more stones. We spent the first half of the last day in town and ate like a local - hired a bike and rode to angkor to 'hunt' for monks. Monks are such rarity now as most of them are vacated out of the temples and put to stay in pagodas which are only found in the angkor area. - Such is the result of tomb raider and the massive tourism that followed.

The weather was weird - sunny on the first day, cloudy on e second and the third ended up with a storm. We were on our electric bikes in almost knee deep waters when we were cycling from angkor back!

Overall it was a nice experience - not the best - but nice enuff for a short holiday. We din manage to capture one of those postcard pics of angkor tho.. sigh. Posting up some random pics, but I'm still 'Templed out' so i'd rather not see any pics of temples. Waiting for my 15rolls of film to be develop so i know if i still have it or not.

SFO road trip

2006-03-27T05:02:00.000+08:00

The trip down south was really great. The four of us rented a car and drove south. along the bay areas of san fran till this nice area with very expensive houses. Almost like a beverly hills kinda place.

I miss film.

It aint that bad afterall ya?

2006-03-27T04:06:00.000+08:00

It was my first solo and i had the 'luck' to get a 7day flight. Well according to the people i've spoken to, they mentioned that this was a very demanding flight. And that if i could survive this one, i could survive any other flights.

And i did! It was my first time in Seoul. And It was my first time in the States -San francisco to be exact. It was all exciting, all new and very different from how i'd imagined it to be.

Firstly fears of a unfriendly team were quickly erased. Secondly the flight was rough, but i learnt so much more from the experiences.

Seoul was cold cold. There was so much that the traveller in me wanted to do, but I was just too 'lazy' to venture out too far from the city. Whist waiting for the girls to get done at the hairdressers(which took nearly 3 hrs), I walked around in MyungDong - maze of streets filled with lots of pretty things the ladies. I ended up at an old catholic church built in goth style smack in the middle of MyungDong.

Interesting.

Most of the trip was spent eating... and eating..

cant sleep

2006-03-19T01:28:00.000+08:00

I'm a nervous, tired and excited 'all rolled up' into one ball of marsh-potato.

finishing up...

2006-03-12T21:10:00.000+08:00

Grad is next wednesday. I was going thru some of the photos i've been religiously taking during the course of my training - and realised that no amount of photographs can ever explain the times spent in our lives. Is my obsession with documenting my life pure vanity or just a hopeless attempt of preserving a memory? I'm not sure.., but i DO know that one day when all my friends start getting married and are looking for photos to do that 'wedding montages' - they know who to look for. leeches.. haha.

My final training flight to adelaide. Before i embark onto the known world out there.. and coincidentally, my first one seems.... like a tough one- according to the many experienced people i've come across.

Adelaide was pretty relaxing.. some call it a dead town. Others say that it's the centre of entertainment. I reached the hotel at 9am. rested till 12ish. Jon was still sleeping and refused to get up, so i left alone, wondered to the market to get some croquettes and a tub of apple-cinnamon yogurt before sitting down on the open field opposite the hotel. Got onto the tram and paid the 2bucks. not knowing where i was going, but i figured that trams dun really run too far anyway.

After a good 30min ride, i found myself at the beach. Nice QUIET beach. It felt really great being there alone, but for split moments, i'd wished i was able to share it with someone else - split moments.

anyway here are the pics from my still-new-camera....

feeling silly

2006-03-06T13:05:00.000+08:00

I havent done anything very intellectual recently. All I've been doing is bumming, working and then it goes in a circle. Maybe the only thing that has triggered some brain nerves is planning for my apartment.

It's currently a lil jappy layout from 1981, from wat my dad did to it. It's still remotely looking jappy, with wood panels and walls. But due to the time factor and the many tenants that had been in and out of the place the past 10yrs, it's looking rather run down. I've decided to spruce it up a lil by putting some pop art into the traditonal jap setting. Like building a staircase that leads to nowhere.. and a loft looking bed. All this needs Mooola.. which i'm short of... hope the contractor gives me a good price...tho..

That's about in my head recently. Maybe i should start some reading...The most recent book was something that was titled "Is it me or is everything SHIT". So much for intellectual stimulation. haa

beijing!

2006-03-06T00:46:00.000+08:00

just got bck from beijing.. and it was really great seeing soichiro again...

Got there at a good 8am.. and checked in.. Jon did some magic changing our non-smoking room into a 'smoking-room'. Well, apparently we had gotten the executive level room, which meant that we had a tee-vee in the bathroom and a coffee-making machine, plus a fax-machine, printer.. etc.. some sort of business looking room. Anyway, i crashed for about 3 hrs before heading out for lunch with some colleagues.

Met Soi and then lazed in this fancy posh restaurent for almost the entire afternoon. By the time K arrived, we were really just wasting time in that place.

Shopped a lil at Ya Siu, and bought myself a black jacket. I've been buying a jacket everytime i stop over at a winter station.. and very soon, i think wat SOi said will coem true.. that i'll become a 'jacket king'- in his jap/hongkong/watever accent.

K opened a music school and it was really nice viewing their place.. a two storey loft looking place with practise rooms and a drum room which soi showed off his conga skills, and i messed up trying on the drums.

Normie's bday

2006-03-02T14:11:00.000+08:00

Bought my new digicam today!!! Was out scouting for a new phone and other items actually, but ended up buying a camera. It's not like a slick slick canon ixus i kinda size, but it's slim enuff. Looking a lil boxy but the selling point is that.. it has 2 lenses. A normal one and a ultra wide one.. that can fit up to 7 people when you hold it up and take it yourself! This is the beauty.

Anyway. after which i spent almost 2 hrs in kino reading up on apartment designs and all those stuff. Inspiration for my moving-in this coming july. Which reminds me that i still have to call the contractor up to meet.

It was Normie's birthday - supposedly at the LOOF, but i was early for 45mins, which ended up us having no table, which ended up at En-Lounge, which was actually a really nice quiet place! The service there was terrific, maybe becoz Sandra was doing her thing.. haha.. Happy birthday norman!

Tested my new camera and here are the pics!

Off to Beijing tonite.... Weeeeee!

update

2006-02-22T00:03:00.000+08:00

Just got back from salsa class.... must i say i'm totally confused! Just when i thought i got the hang of it, cuban salsa is.... different... kinda more rough i suppose as compared to the previous one i learnt. As nicky and myself both skipped the first lesson, we had lots of catchin up to do. And i've not caught up yet!

Back to training.. it's still the same old same old. in and out of the classroom. tests and more studying for tests. graduation is coming up soon, and hopefully by this weekend i'll get the invitation cards done up. stay tuned!

On a little note, i was in sydney last week, and met up with alywin and charmaine. was kinda cool as all my cousins were waiting at the lobby for me and my bro and mom and aunt. The rest of the crew also got a shockie.. when they saw that i had a 'la-la group' welcoming me - even tho i was only there for a nite. went for food and back hotel there after as i had a terrible eye infection thingy. Good man cousin-in-law of my offered to give a eye check up at the shop and stunned some eye drops fer me.

Visited my grandmother at the home.. and was really happy to see her. She looks really alert, and healthy - a vast difference from the last time i saw her. Hopefully i'll get to see her soon. I really dun mind getting more of the.... dreaded flights to SYD. And since i brought my film camera, pics have got to wait.. (black and white film somemore..)

Next stop... Beijing!

I WANNA KILL YOU

2006-02-15T23:49:00.000+08:00

TO WHOEVER THAT TOOK MY HASSELBLAD, DAMN YOU!... CURSING YOU TO BITS, MAY YOU ROT EVEN ON THIS EARTH, AND HAVE EVERLASTING UNHAPPINESS IN YOUR ALREADY PATHETIC LIFE.

phew... that felt a lil better.

Maiden flight

2006-02-11T12:40:00.000+08:00

And so i'm back, from my first flight to Narita, Japan - the land of short skirts. It's amazing how these skool girls can wear their minis during winter!!! I was in jeans, and a huge winter coat, and still craving some warmth. But then again, these chicks are hot! haaa...

Was kinda surreal when I first arrived at the hotel, and met Diana in her room preparing for her flight back. Then went over to val's and dora's room - both of them still sleeping pigs. Was nice to see familiar faces.

Since they were flying off that very afternoon, they wanted to waste no time staying in, and wanted to head out. I wasnt spared from their over zealous excitement, and wasnt allowed to sleep in fer a bit first. So, after a 6hr over-night flight, I headed to the nice temple with them. I was with my film camera, so photos will have to wait, till then here are some shots from val's cam..

Next destination to SYDNEY...... not that i've been there a number of times, but this will be meaningful for me as my grandmother is still there in the home and i havent seen her for a while. Miss her quite a bit actually. ..

I'm excited!

2006-02-07T20:06:00.000+08:00

Tomolo this time..... Then we'll see how long will i last in this industry...haha....

Spent the past few nights working on this 'guide book'that we're suppose to have during work..and it's looking gooooood.

will update soon with photos on my maiden trip.

the guys..

2006-02-01T05:59:00.000+08:00

I was just looking at the photos from nicky's bday and realised some things.. the guys.

The guys have always been a big part of me. From sharing porn with Aly to having ass grabs with nicky. We've played soccer with ivan fainting on us. We've had drunken parties at sel's place, pissed drunk at zouk and passed out without knowing how we gotten home. We've hid behind an mrt station and shouting at couples to 'get-a-room' before running away. We've sang Karaoke even tho we dunno how the songs go - and me, having a limited chinese vocab. We've splitted and we've joined. We've threatened to break each others' legs (mostly mine). We've travelled together - with Ivan to BKK on a shoestring mission, Nicky to Changmai on elephants, the gang to BKK where i didn't get lucky on my birthday due to some misshaps. We smoked our first cigar at muddy murphys(yes we shared one). We met girls at walas, and we've broke up with girls. We did our first aqua dance sequence for gracia at sel's party in 2004. We let each other into our secret lives, our deep tunnels(not the arse), our sex escapades(def not with each other).

The list goes on and on, and whilst i was looking at the group photo at nicky's birthday, i realised that the past years have been really good. Just happy that I still have these people to fall back on. Thanks guys. Here's something to remember us.

nicky's birthday

2006-02-01T05:45:00.000+08:00

Guess i'm a lil late on these photos, but here they are~!

16th Jan was Nicky's birthday, and it was a well, we kinda got him a suprise visit by selwyn. Anywaym it was a lovely dinner at the Blue Ginger, everyone was 'sweet' enuff to seperate the spicy food from the non-spicy food. My tolerence is pathetic.

I've got a back log of photos that i'm suppose to hand out... from last year. This is wat happens when I'm the one with the cam all the time. haha....

Exams exams tests tests

2006-01-25T22:56:00.000+08:00

It's been a crazy week of exams etc etc so far. Had a short one on monday, and a theory thingy on tues. Today was the last day; practical and well,.. Ta-da.. the himbo passed.

Got into the movies with diana last nite watching geisha, and boy was it a long, draggy show. Yes there were the nice details here and there, those all so pretty outfits and make up. I'm sorry diana, i did fell asleep for a few seconds here and there. Overall, a nice movie to catch if you're in for a melo melo night.

Come to think of it, i've been to really lousy movies, and geisha was.. 7 out of 10. most of the marks are reduced not because of how the movie was, it was more of the idiots sitting around us. Once again, i'm a strong advocate of DVD renting/buying and watching it at home. Where you can do watever you like whenever you like.

No shitheads how sit uprite and block 3 rows of people behind them, no 'the size of 2 seaters' sitting beside you and breathing down your arm. No whispering couples and best of all no crying kids. (why do you even bother bringing a kid to the movies..?)

That's why.. i like home movies.. you can stop halfway and have a hot steamy sex session in the living room if you wanna. that is if your housemates arent at home or are happily sleeping in their rooms.

anyway, here's something that may seem silly, but i think i'll make one .... sooon.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/66261/shirt_folder/

some random quiz i did

2006-01-15T23:30:00.000+08:00

Your Seduction Style: Fantasy Lover

You know that ideal love that each of us dreams of from childhood? That's you!
Not because you posess all of the ideal characteristics, but because you are a savvy shape shifter.
You have the uncanny ability to detect someone's particular fantasy... and make it you.

You inspire each person to be an idealist and passionate, and you make each moment memorable
Even a simple coffee date with you can be the most romantic moment of someone's life
By giving your date exactly what he or she desires, you quickly become the ideal lover.

Your abilities to make dreams come true is so strong, that you are often the love of many people's lives.
Your ex's (and even people you have simply met or been friends with) long to be yours.
No doubt you are the one others have dreamed of... your biggest challenge is finding *your* dream lover.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

the geisha

2006-01-12T18:41:00.000+08:00

this is too stupid and farnie... but it's entertaining...

http://www.youtube.com/?v=_AQvqsZFgDY

old pic

2006-01-10T20:46:00.000+08:00

Something that i found on my desktop...

This is wat 4 days of shooting can do to you...

..

2006-01-10T18:10:00.000+08:00

Is it normal to fall in love with 2 people at the same time?

answer me.

2006

2006-01-04T23:19:00.000+08:00

my party was quite a smash....
some hiccups here and there but i guess everyone enjoyed themselves..

old friends.. new friends... yupp

not going to say much coz i actually cant remember much.
Johan's absinte totally took the senses off me.

thanks to nicky and corrine for helping me out... esp diana who was there to help with the jellos..

happy new year everyone

you have a good one now.

My Birthday

2005-12-31T03:27:00.000+08:00

Today's my birthday.

31st December

That makes me officially 24yrs old

I'll only be officially 24yrs old for one day

Coz in 24hrs time it'll be 2006. And I should be 25yrs old.

I love my birth date.

Was at Fisherman's Village with Val,Jenn,Vincent,Uttara,Sabaa and Rajasi - some of my batch people. They were so nice to wait fer 12am to give me a bday hug. love you guys..

Suprise suprise calls from Gracia, Jermaine, and Selwyn(in Aust)...*hugs~*

Got back home, changed out and suprise suprise calls again from Aaron, after Soichiro(in Beijing)- confirming that I'll be his photographer when he makes it big in the music business - which i feel he really has wat it takes to climb up there. ha... nice.

Oh btw.. I got my tattoo done finally. Yesterday. It was pretty okie.. am thinking of shading it next year. Ouching experience tho, but i think that everyone should go thru it at least once in their life.

Party's tomolo.... and i've yet to do my planning.

Happy New Year all, seeya in 2006

xmas weekend

2005-12-28T02:16:00.000+08:00

Saturday party at Normanton turned out to be pretty alrite. FOr a last minute event, i thought i did pretty okie.

Sunday was lunch at the usual and then to my aunt's new place in holland, then to michelle's place for dinner, winding up in normanton park for sat's clean up.

Monday morning 4am was wakey for me.. then wedding photoshoot till 3pm. now that was a killer day fer me.

more pics coming up.. i need to crash now..

the trio from 853...

Waking in the middle of the night

2005-12-12T00:20:00.000+08:00

Skipped lunch today, finished editing the sentosa pictures only to realise that i have to start on the wedding ones soon.

I fell asleep at around pm and didn't wake till 10pm. That's when i realised that I was suppose to meet Corrine for a chat. When i messaged her, she too only woke up then.. ha.. talk about sleeping your sunday away.

Was just talking to Gracia. Kinda feel a lil melachony about relationships and all. We miss someone to hold, to talk to, to touch, feel and be all warm and fuzzy inside with. Yet when we have it, it becomes a commitment, an obligation to give it.

Been listening to this song for 3 days now... it's still ringing in my head.

"Far Away" - Nickelback

This time, This place
Misused, Mistakes
Too long, Too late
Who was I to make you wait
Just one chance
Just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

[CHORUS]
That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
and you'll never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

On my knees, I'll ask
Last chance for one last dance
'Cause with you, I'd withstand
All of hell to hold your hand
I'd give it all
I'd give for us
Give anything but I won't give up
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

[CHORUS]

So far away
Been far away for far too long
So far away
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

I wanted
I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long
So keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it
Hold on to me and, never let me go

Keep breathing
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Hold on to me and, never let me go

weekend recap

2005-12-11T14:08:00.000+08:00

Brought the vidcam and cam during our alcoholic beverages day. Was hoping to catch some images of people getting drunk or somthing, but apparently i guess i was too excited that i myself drank a lil too much. Oh well, wat's new, Louis biting himself on his own arse.

It was a crazy friday nite out with the batch and I was absolutely smashed out. T'was good coz i set out wanting to get smashed anyway. What i thought once was an irresponsible behaviour turned out to my only route of escape. Escape from reality and the kind of things i had to think about.

Pleasant suprise though, when I recieved news that a book that i was involved in was finally published. it's called "Crafting a lil Heart" by the VSA (Very Special ARts) Singapore. Quite pleased with myself as my pics (or contact sheets rather) made it to the cover!

Quick recap, that's 5 books in 5 years. I think I'm doing... O K

a lil update fer the begining of the week

2005-12-05T02:20:00.000+08:00

Have you ever walked into a church and felt as if the whole world is staring at you even though all their backs are facing you? Yet, have you ever walked into a church and felt as if nobody in this world cared about you at all?

It's been 5 years since i started my run from GOD in search for gods. And whist today was a self-made decision to go for service, I felt compelled to walk up to the front and let God know that I'm there. The testimonial preaching today was different from the other messages that we would normally hear. It was unplanned, and spontanious. She was sharing about herself being molested and raped as a child for years, ran away from home, did the whole deal of drug abuse, alcohol and suicides. And finally found her existance and her purpose with her God. What made me pissed was when I look at her, i see a woman that went thru all that in order for 'God' to 'use' her to spread some message. Were those 30 years of her tortured life meant to serve a greater good? Sometimes I wonder if 'God' is 'using' my life for any purpose in anyones' lives? Or rather.. the notion of my life as an object moulded for usage just doesnt sound very pleasant.

Then again, if you believe in this faith, you don't even own your own life... coz it was bought a long time ago. So then why are we living a life, that in theory, doesn't have a choice or say in the supposed decisions that is already created for us to follow? Then making the wrong choice is not a choice anymore?

I feel i'm not making any sense.

Nevertheless I'm glad I was there today, that I finally paid up my pledge and that I saw the place for the last time.

Afterwhich, I met up with Pris for some cosmetic shopping for her first day at work. Then headed to Shisha with some of my batchmates. We had some interesting conversations, which revealed some 'secrets' that were truely .. .. unexpected. Ha. I'm starting to love them.

More photos to be uploaded. Till then..

P/s Thanks for being there today, Eunice - (not like you wouldn't be there anyway, but your presence was greatly appreciated. Nothing beats the company of an old friend.)

weekend bore

2005-11-19T20:44:00.000+08:00

I slept so much last nite that it's not farnie.

Went to club normanton at 9pm for Johan's wonderful dinner. Roast Chicken with seafood pasta. He really puts my cooking to shame.

Fell asleep almost immediately and refused to wake up even tho they were going to leave for party world. They left me sleeping and when i woke up at 5am.. they werent back still. Slept in till 11am this morning.

Got home at 2ish and did some work on my comp.. fell asleep and finally .. i'm awake now.. it's 830pm..

time for dinner before the next siesta.. haha

back from work and off to work

2005-11-16T04:13:00.000+08:00

And so I'm back from the Bangkok job and a quick trip to Chang Mai. One of the bestest jobs i must say considering that we had a good 5* hotel to stay at, and some fantastic dinner places that we were brought to.

And off to my new job in approx 4hrs time. Yes, It's not photography related, well sort of related if you look at it at what i'll be doing with the after job hours. I'm excited, and I'm looking forward to the 4month training course.

So many thoughts have went thru my head in and out the past week. And it's almost impossible to actually recall many of them.

Anywayz, before i crash for some sleep here's a pic of my outstanding photo crew in Bangkok.

leaving on a plain jet

2005-11-06T07:03:00.000+08:00

I have 3 hours to dry my shoes which were ruined by the morning rain. Then I'll have to lug 2 large suitcases, 2 boxes and 2 lightstand cases down to the cab stand. And off to changi airport for my flight to thailand.

I'm pretty excited for this trip as it's my last official job as a photographer and it's a huge job. Along for the trip is my trusty assistant and 2 makeup artists. Nicky will be hooking up with me at the airport over there as he flies in from vietnam.

3 and a half days of corporate shoots and then a night of fun. Followed by a 3-day trip to Cambodia. Back to bangkok then back to SG.

The past few days saw n me running around, buying equipment, spares this and that, backdrops, more equipment etc etc. And I've prolly overspent my initial equipment budget. But who cares, for now, I'm sooo looking forward to doing a good job for them.

And this time, for my Cambodia trip, I'm back to shooting film. -which means, back to packing the rolls and handchecking at the airport, - different lenses, 2 camera bodies, light meter, more film...

Someone said to me that I should go back to film as it was my first love. Does that work in real relationship love? Hmmm.. Well, the new Canon D5 has functions that make pictures look like the real film thing.

Will be back on the 14th (the same afternoon as my contract signing). Wish me luck!

Packing Light

2005-11-05T01:33:00.000+08:00

So here I am back in Normanton all alone. Finally got all 4 sets of lights in the house. And was deciding how to pack them into 2 seperate sets of check-in luggage.

I spent the entire day today looking and purchasing extra cables, switches and equipment. Then had afternoon tea and Shisha at Le Caire before heading down to Johan's dad's duck rice store in pasir panjang. May i add that the duck rice was simply delicious. I've never been a fan of braised duck rice, but after tonite's meal, I think I'm going back for more! Thanks Johan~!

Back in Normanton, the 3 of us were figuring out the lights; testing the sync cables and other nic nacs..here are 2 of e pics.

...

2005-11-04T02:00:00.000+08:00

Ok.. i admit it.. I'm a Jay Chou fan even though i hardly speak the language...=)

click here

in front of the lens

2005-11-03T18:46:00.000+08:00

A strange twist of events found me in front of the camera for a change.. apart from the woodbridge hospital ad i did years back.

Storm

2005-11-02T12:16:00.000+08:00

And so we went out for drink on monday nite. Not much of a halloween party for me. We settle for a drink at Alley Bar followed by another round a RAV. (no.. I'm not gay) We pretty much stayed there till about 4plus before we headed to Spice for supper. Ate till the sun came out and I went back to normanton.

I bought 2 sets of outdoor strobes at a pretty decent price, even though it's not branded or whatever, they seem to be working relatively good. Well, I'll be doing some tested tomolo on the exposure and stuff, so I'll see how.

I got woken up by Corrine and Vivek in normanton 3 hrs after i crashed and was up the entire day. We sent Nicky off to Vietnam and then just lazed the day away. A terrific swim following grilled bananas with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I fell asleep whilst Corrine and Vivek went down to Little India to have their $5 all you can eat buffet.

They got back a couple of hours later.. (waking me up again) and we had a wonderful time gazing at the passing storm and enjoying the wind. Below are some pics of whatever we could do with the ever so sharp and reliable kit lens.

Aging

2005-10-30T23:36:00.000+08:00

I was having dinner with my mom and some relatives from australia. Then i suddenly turned to my mom and asked her how old will she be next saturday? (her birthday is on the 5th november). She answered me "54".

The last time i remembered my mom's age was when I was in Primary School and us little children were comparing each others' parents' ages. Then it was 38 or so. My mom is 54~!!. To me she hasnt aged a single bit!

Brings me wondering how we get older each year, and living as we are living. nothing much changes, and we move on to the next year and so on. Then I noticed that I haven't really looked at my mom for a long while. It's always a 'look' at her, but not exactly 'LOOKING'..(if ya get wad i mean...) And i realised that she has changed and 'aged' from the image i had of her in my mind. But it's so hard to erase that image I had of her when I was that primary school boy.

Then I turned to Johan, who was also at the dinner, and asked him, "It's been 10 years since we took our streaming in sec 2. Time INDEED flies no?"

It so does. Makes me worry a little that I'll not be able to finish my extra long list of things that I want to achieve in my lifetime...

shopping list

2005-10-28T02:05:00.000+08:00

Debt collection day.

Afterwhich, i was with my aunt at the Tanglin club helping her plan for an photo exhibition that her group is organising. That was pretty much my afternoon.

I did some window shopping. Yes, I'm a closet weekday afternoon window shopper. I so need to plan to get certain things for my up and coming life. So I made a list.

1) Black leather shoes. (mine is so worn out I've already serviced it once)
2) Dress Watch. (I'm using a Casio from my army days... time to move on)
3) Wallet. (My card case seem to be too small for my own good)
4) Work bag. (I don't think I'll be bringing my sling bag for work no?)
5) Sunnys. (Why not look the look while at it? hehe)

So there... my birthday is on the 31st Dec... It's never tooooo early now no?

NEW LOOK

2005-10-27T06:46:00.000+08:00

Oh... an in case anyone hasn't noticed,

I've changed the outlook of my blog. Waddaya think? Thanks to mimosa who did this while at work (pretending to me hardworking all~!)

Any feedback? I love the look. Miss my darkroom though!

Ponder....

2005-10-27T03:02:00.000+08:00

It has been a very tough 2 weeks. I'm pretty much down to nothing in the moolah, and thanks to my close friends i'm getting along. Nicky and Diana has been gems and I totally owe it to them for helping me out.

Was just thinking to myself today as i was walking home, about some events that has happened over the last couple of months. As many may know, I've gotten myself out of a relationship that doesnt need to be re-introduced ever. Of coz it is impossible to say that it was empty and there was nothingness over the span of 6over months when i was with her. There were obviously moments that I probably enjoyed, along with mostly others that I didn't.

More often or not when a relationship goes bad, the bad memories seem to cloud the mind - helping you 'Move on' and making you forget the sappy part of it that binds you down. And after that push and you think that you are going good and enjoying your 'new' life, the other type of memory pushes in. I'm not saying the going all sensitive and back-longing type of thing, it's more... of a pondering. It's not even the 'what-went-wrong' phrase and 'what should i do/not do next time', 'where are the faults, and what can make me better person' stuff. It's just a ... pondering.

Many probably think I've gotten out of that phrase and have totally 'erased' that out of my life. Perhaps. Or a more accurate answer would be I've managed to chuck so far back at the corner of a narrow canal in my head that does bother me as much.

That being said, sometimes it still does. Like how the past week, i was confronted with things that I see on the streets that are pinpointed at making me remember. I don't get all wobbly and my mind doesnt get all that flash back stuff (thank god), but there is part of me that feels pretty much alone in all of this.

None of the guys probably want to talk about it. Coz it was a issue that almost split me apart from them. None of the girls want to talk about it for obvious bias reasons. Most of the time I myself try not to bother, and... walk away. But in the end, it'll be nice to talk to someone who might actually understand.

Well.. It's a long post, and i'm just feeling a lil thoughtful tonite.

It's easy to say things like 'move on' and 'get over it'. It's easy to even do them sometimes. What's not easy to do is to 'carry on' - 'moving on' and 'carry on' - getting over it.

Makes sense? Maybe only to me.