days of our lives

A blog revival

2011-09-23T04:21:00.001+08:00

This one's going to have a new life again, folks!

I'm gonna blog about mainly food, and stick to Tumblr for the rest.

Cheers!

moving

2011-03-18T03:38:00.001+08:00

i've moved back to Tumblr for uploading instagram pix as well as short posts.

My Monday

2011-03-14T22:23:00.004+08:00

Today M and I went out w Twiggy (: Isn't she gorgeous? ((: Soft and smooshy!! That's a juicy charm hanging on the zipper (:

We stopped by Chinatown as M went to a bike shop to see if his was salvageable, but apparently the integrity of the frame has been compromised... Chim speak, there's a dent on it and well that means it will die in a minor bump.

After that he dropped by one of the Pearl something buildings in Chinatown, the one w Koi, and bought durian pancake! Yums (: $2 for a jumbo one, but the durian has been a bit watered down instead of the thick gooey mashed durian it used to be.

Then we went to Jurong East Library to borrow books on Bangkok (: Nearby, at the building which houses Fairprice, there's a new BBT shop called Agantea, from Taiwan (:

Me w my Agan Green Milk T w pearls! ((:

as you can see, the pearls are clear! Their pretty soft but chewy. The tea was pretty yums but VERY milky - the green t was a bit too mild. Ordered black t but she took the wrong order.. And my first one she just gave me Agan Green T (without milk) so be very clear on your order (:

M had the Hawaiian Fruit T, which was pretty good (: I cant really tell what it is except there's definitely lime inside (:

The shop people were really nice anyway, M poked his straw but it wouldnt go in and his fruit t slipped out of his hand and exploded on the floor, and they cleaned up the place and gave him a new one!

Thumbs up for Agantea (:

Plus its cheaper than Koi (:

Going trippin'!

2011-03-14T01:33:00.003+08:00

M and I met up w Wendell and Joan today, to discuss a potential HK trip...

which somehow turned into Bangkok! Haha!

I'm actually quite excited since I haven't been there for awhile (although my wardrobe has no more space for any more clothes, i have trouble shutting its doors). We've managed to find a decent and modern hotel at a decent price too! (:

WOO!!

But I kinda think M and Wendell will leave all the planning to us.. and will spend too much time together!! Today the two of them were like an old married couple sitting at starbucks with legs cocked up and talking about diving non-stop while Joan and I were searching for flights and hotels! Totally oblivious (ok almost) to what we were saying...

Not a good thing though (:

To keep the ball rolling

2011-03-02T03:45:00.002+08:00

Here's another post to continue yesterday's (:

This was what the corner of my bed looked like last night:

It's a stitch scrump tree topped with a patrick star (: hahaha. M's ingenious idea.... prolly to make more space for himself.

hello again

2011-03-01T01:31:00.003+08:00

it's been quite a while since i last blogged, about five months, to be exact. it's shocking, somehow. time seems to have passed so quickly - but to me its mostly been a whirl of work, trying to get enough sleep and not be sleepy, or ODing on more than 12 hours and still feeling dazed... life's somehow graduated to the point where if i don't get a daily dose of caffeine, my eyelids are at half-mast and the words just seem like a blur. i've recently had days when i needed two cups of tea in order to be alert. and well if there is one bad thing about my job it's that you need to be on-your-toes at spotting mistakes... i sometimes start doubting my command of english when i have to keep re-reading copy just to see how it should be tweaked.

also, M used to point out the incompatibility of my working hours with his - and i never really thought about it until now. he's on practicum, and instead of being able to see him on his free days - or the days when his classes starts late - i get to see him only on my off days. it just feels so strange being able to see him two days a week, from at least six days a week. i think i've had withdrawal symptoms.

the best part about not seeing him enough is that it has made me change my mind about marriage. the institution of marriage is one i loathe, much like my attitude towards having children. but nowadays, i keep thinking, what if i'm doing this for years? what if he starts teaching after june? do i want to see him only twice a week? it's not really two days even - more of one, given that its usually half a weekday and half a weekend - and when he starts teaching he'll have lots of things to do such as set lesson plans, do marking... when he has such stuff to do i barely see him. and well, the thing about marriage is that you get to stay together, so technically a couple will see each other every night even if not during the day. i may have changed my mind about it due to this, but i'm still not ready for marriage really, it's just an idea that has popped into my head.

agh. i don't want to get married. what was i thinking? (: i had a great dream long ago, that i still fondly remember. it was rather silly, and amazing. in my dream, or nightmare rather, i had married a great guy, but he had many children (i can't remember how many). if i remember correctly, he was always tired and busy from spending time with them, the little horrors. i came to my senses during the dream, although i did not awake, and i hauled him off to the court for a divorce immediately. it was quite unfortunate since i could sense he was a great guy, but i just don't see myself having children, ever. i don't mind grandchildren though (: does anyone have ideas on how to skip the middle part?

anyhoos, lately i've been addicted to watching the office and 30 rock, having finished what i had of big bang theory and how i met your mother. i really enjoy watching comedies and knitting after work... although its not conducive to my sleep (: i've read about how sleeping late at night (and the rest during daylight hours) makes you have a higher chance of getting cancer (and getting fatter). well the fatter part has come true so i'm hoping the cancer part doesn't! i think reading too much news on research is just demoralising. research always contradicts other research and in the end you're stuck wondering if you should drink more soyabean cos it lowers your chances of getting cancer, drink full-fat milk cos it actually helps w weight loss vs theories that it makes you fatter... gah! oh and the fatter part might actually have been due to me exercising less (being an office chair potato) and having lots of good food... especially what my dear M makes for me (((: i had a YUMMY salad today - lettuce, creamy avocado slices, crabsticks, chicken shreds, brie, tomatoes and mayo. it was so good, chock full of delicious stuff. i can't describe his sandwiches....... (:

Ootoya

2010-10-19T22:35:00.008+08:00

Today was my second visit to Ootoya, a Japanese restaurant chain which I believe has outlets in Japan and Thailand.

It serves dishes reminiscent of home-cooked food - and they come either a la carte (just the main dish) or in a set.

The set costs about $3-5 more - and it comes with rice, pickled cucumbers, an appetiser, and miso soup - unless your set already has a soup dish.

The appetiser was yummy. It reminded me of the one at Sushi Kikuzawa at International Plaza, except it was cold. It consists of steamed slices of white radish, carrot, lotus and a small piece of chicken. And the miso soup is filled with tiny slices of white radish, carrot, yam, and pork. Its definitely a new take on miso soup - but tastes very wholesome!

Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the appetiser or miso soup (:

Here's what we ordered:

Charcoal grilled pork slices set - I've stopped eating pork so I didnt try this, but the portion, as with most everything, was decent and looked delish!

Pickled cucumber (:

I think this was the Chargrilled chicken with orange sauce.

Chargrilled chicken with basil sauce and salad (about $16 for a set): I had this on my first visit to Ootoya (: The chicken was grilled till tender, and one can taste the full flavour of chargrilled meat! The slices were very thick and juicy. But it's a pity they don't put much sauce - on all three chargrilled dishes. It also comes with slices of hard-boiled egg, which complements the crisp, generous serving of salad very well (: But this doesn't taste Japanese at all - the drizzle of basil sauce made it more fusion-like. But still tasty.

I didn't quite fancy the staff recommendation of scallop on rice with chicken tofu soup (about $20 for a set). The rice (above) was topped with miso sauce and three small scallops - I do wish it had more scallops - the portion wasn't in proportion to the other three sets ordered. Then again, it was served with a huge bowl of soup, filled with tofu, chicken and cabbage slices. The texture at first was a bit like that of shark's fin soup - but the starch soon dissolved and it tasted like normal clear soup after a while. For this, the flavours just didn't appeal to me.

Why a photo of rice? Because my sister was such a big fan of it, she wanted a photo taken of it! She actually asked for a refill (free) of rice - and finished 2/3 of the second bowl. Impressive. She usually eats 2/3 of one bowl of rice. And M, who I went with the first time, finished his whole bowl of rice although he usually doesn't eat much rice. It is that good (:

And what meal would be complete without dessert (: Ootoya offers quite a selection - I think about eight choices. But we got all excited only to have the waiter tell us there were only two choices available - the egg pudding with caramel sauce and the green tea ice cream in soya milk syrup ($5).

I of course chose green tea ice cream (: It was fantastic, I spooned up every drop. The scoop was surrounded by two pieces of plain rice balls, lots of red beans, and green tea jelly! It was really really good - the ice cream was bittersweet, the rice balls were soft and chewy, the red beans sweet, and the green tea jelly melted in my mouth - it was a bit mousse-like. I would definitely return for this, and it's only $5! Unfortunately I couldn't make out the soya milk syrup at all (: But still bang for the buck.

So would I return? Yes most definitely. But I wouldn't have the tontoroni set (scallop on rice and chicken tofu soup) again.

Try it for yourself (:

Ootoya
#08-12
Orchard Central

It can be quite crowded, and unfortunately they don't accept reservations. They also don't allow you to get a table unless half of your party is present - ie table for four, two people have to be present.

Hope you like the place too!

(:

2010-09-12T02:59:00.003+08:00

Wow, this is a bloody depressing blog (:

SO! I've been doing quite a bit lately...

Such as going out with my sister for an entire day and spending more than $200 on clothes, for a wardrobe which is filled to bursting point. Getting clothes in it involves a lot of pushing and shoving and perspiring. I guess shopping gives me a workout at home too. I've also been "spring cleaning" it, which basically involves pulling most everything out... and then deciding I want to keep 99%, of which i only wear 30%. I am somehow getting very worried about moving back to my homesweethome cos the wardrobe there is about... 1/2 of this one...

BUT anyway I've been up to some stuff (:

Such as knitting this hat for my dad:

I think he wanted a robin hood look here. And, he's wearing shorts yes.

I've also, lately, been wanting to tear out someone's hair. Specifically, someone from Ruby Photo (or who develops the film) cos this is what happened:

Its dreamy yes, but its also known as bad development.

I like to be positive though. I tell myself its another reason pointing me towards buying my own darkroom equipment. Hehe (:

Photos were taken at Borobudur, Indonesia.

I love the colours here:

The monster is unbelievable. I love it, i love it, i love it!

I don't know if I'd ever sell this camera. As much as I want a Hasselblad (just for its good looks)

And my favourite all-time monster photo:

The chendol man at Malacca!! This guy's chendol is unbelievable. Me and my dad we eat two or three each visit to the shop. Which probably explains why I leave Malacca scared of chendol hehe (: His stall is... I think a mangosteen or a coconut. Oh wait that was a decade ago ):

Wouldn't mind one now!

its over

2010-09-03T01:55:00.000+08:00

Buttered up

2010-09-02T03:08:00.002+08:00

There's really nothing like knitting to sooth the soul. Was so pissed just about two hours ago.

Then, I went to search for a pattern I could knit with some of my large stockpile of yarn, and got out a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn and started winding it into a ball for an hour and a half (: There were no tangles at all! Fingers did feel a bit abraded but otherwise, I'm feeling a bit normal now (:

Shan't think about him or the run or how very disappointed I was.

To today, a day I'll start knitting something new, maybe even for myself (:

):

2010-09-02T00:52:00.001+08:00

i am so upset

*edit*

i am now itching to knit, after i've washed YS's knitted stuff and put them to dry.

i am so unbelievably upset, and disappointed, and my hands are just itching to do something ):

Noah's Ark

2010-08-22T23:38:00.001+08:00

I think that China and Pakistan should build huge arks. And whichever countries that need them too. So when huge floods come, people can board two by two, with a pair of each kind of animal species they own, so they will be alive and able to reproduce when the floods subside. Good idea don't you agree?

- Posted using iPhone

Another FO!

2010-08-20T02:51:00.002+08:00

FO = Finished Object

Its a knitting term. I like how UFO sounds better though. As you prolly have guessed, it means UnFinished Object (: hahaha. So cute.

Scarf for Z who's doing her master's overseas (:

I'm glad I haven't stopped knitting after the first FO I did for my niece a year ago!

More knitted (:

2010-08-16T22:10:00.003+08:00

Recently finished a bunch of knitted stuff!

Most recently being this gorgeous blue-green coloured hat (:

Everyone who's seen it thinks its gorgeous. Mom even put it on, and Sis wants one too.

Knitting two scarves now ((:

More photos when I'm free!

And yarn from USA arrived, its beautifully dyed! Malabrigo :D

Chunky yarn...

Worsted weight, perfect for scarves, hats and gloves..

Sock yarn

and fat multicoloured yarn for a quick and easy scarf! :D

Uh oh doing all these uploads I realised the yarn shop left out three balls of yarn I ordered! Good golly.

M

2010-08-07T19:32:00.000+08:00

:)

- Posted using BlogPress &
iPhone

Barrage/Kites/Skies/Flyer

2010-07-27T01:44:00.002+08:00

As mentioned in the last post, here are some slides which I took at the months ago picnic and scrabble outing (: Unfortunately, I realised near the end that I had not set the ISO, and it was on 400 instead of 100 - resulting in 2 stops underexposure (: I've tried my best to save them! They look super saturated :D

It was a CROWDED day. VERY crowded day (:

Which made me very surprised because the previous time I went (before this outing), the Barrage was pretty empty! Just a few lonely sheep (:

Detail lost here from underexposure is pretty bad, but try to make out the many uncountable heads there..

EAGLE!

I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY (: film photography

Happy Miak the jumper (: @ Haikou, China

Colour shift... I don't know why

And unfortunately it ends here! Cos I happily finished my roll in China, thinking I had another new one in my bag... Yes they were in my bag. My main luggage bag, not the camera bag! Oh well (:

About the Octopus

2010-07-25T00:25:00.007+08:00

No, not Paul the famous cephalopod, which is unbelievably hard to spell, I might add!

Yes the blog is due for an update! I realised that I often like to read old posts.. It helps me remember wot went on in a specific time of my life (:

So, I wanted to upload some film photos... and then realised that I had uploaded some on Facebook which I didn't blog about. M's octopus that is (:

The thing is, we went to the Marina Barrage one day...

It was months ago, perhaps in January or February.

I can still remember the potato salad and tuna sandwiches that Hanh made (:

That's Hanh, with my camera (:

And M, finishing the potato salad. So very yummmmmy....!

Well this was all back when it was just a jc friends gathering (:

And we went there to have a picnic and play Scrabble!

Hehe, that's the super cute drawstring bag I got for the Scrabble tiles so I wouldn't lose any! Two are missing already.

Doesn't this remind you of There's Something About Mary? The part where she put something in her hair...

We saw loads of kites being flown.

Speaking of which, kites are like everywhere in Singapore now! I see them in Boon Lay... I heard West Coast and East Coast Park are full of them too... Not to forget Barrage of course (:

It just reaffirms my thinking that Singaporeans are all followers. One person can do something, and then everyone will follow. We're like a bunch of silly sheep, to be honest. Silly Singaporeans.

And then just as we were leaving, we spotted this really cool kite!!

with an extreeeeemely long tail (: which M happened to find really really cool!

Okay now skip forward a few months, to May, where during my trip to Haikou with the girls, I spotted the coolest kite ever!! It was soaring in the sky. And it had EIGHT tails.

Fine, tentacles.

Of course, I thought of M (:

It was crazy expensive (especially since we were in China, but given that he likes huge kites - with tails - and diving / water, I thought the octopus was perfect!)

*Let me warn you first that this is a very long post (or at least photo-heavy!)

Our first outing was to West Coast Park (: Which Jo recommended as a very windy and popular kite-flying spot. Back when there weren't many kites in Singapore yet, for when we went, the park was empty. There was no wind. The weather was scorching hot. And our kite wouldn't fly - unless you count running around and dragging the kite in the air, flying.

So instead we sat on the mat and burnt ourselves.

For we were waiting for the elusive wind to arrive... which didn't, we sadly realised after more than an hour in the sun, far from the shade.

So we played the uke instead :D

Our next attempt, was at the Barrage. A place where we previously saw many kites doing what kites should.

This time, Beverley, my best friend in Canada came along! And I made my version of potato salad... which was not as good as Hanh's, let's leave it at that (:

Unrolling the kite!

M looks optimistic (:

But, while everyone's kite flew, ours was only content to fly when being dragged around.

Personally, I thought it was too overweight. It was HUGE! And heavy.

The two happy and still-optimistic people (:

Unfortunately, happiness was short-lived as the weather turned gloomy.

I played the uke while the two tried hard (:

Then they gave up and we had our meal!! I can't quite remember wot I made, it wasn't memorable ): I should stick to baking.

Bev learnt You Are My Sunshine on the uke!

Unfortunately the kite didn't fly that day either...

Apparently nothing dampens their spirit (:

Well!

Matthew kept saying that third time's the charm (even on our first attempt) and I remained sceptical.

We went to this large, correction, HUGE empty field somewhere in Woodlands. Follow the kites and you'll find it (: Oh, and police car, which gets called often to get rid of illegally parking drivers (:

Was M running around while that kite stayed in the air?

Was he?

*TADA* no running involved!

Haha. The field was much too muddy anyway, there was much waterlogged areas, that we had to watch where we tread.

The wind kept dying though, although it was quite strong most of the time. That's me getting the kite up!

It would mostly fly far, but remain low.

Once it got pretty high though!! :D Happy!

I guess third time really is the charm (:

And that ends the story of M's octopus (:

Stay tuned next, for scans of film slides taken during the first Barrage outing. Their oversaturated. But I love them!!

Sometimes

2010-07-03T22:36:00.003+08:00

I wonder if I'm a sister or a servant.

For my life, I've been putting up with my sister expecting me to do things for her, and the few times that I stand up for myself and refuse, she calls me a bitch, and then starts calling her friends to complain about me.

But I've decided I've had enough of being treated like a servant.

Today we went grocery shopping because I just started work and wanted to get snacks etc in case I got hungry.

This is what I bought:
1 can of tuna
4 small packs containing 10 tea bags each
1 bag of 3-in-1 coffee mix sticks
3 cup noodles
1 blue tack
1 packet of miso soup

Then she starts saying I've bought too much, and forces me to stop buying, when the trolley is 2/3 her stuff. Of course I accede. Can anyone tell me if the above amount is much? it didn't even fill up one NTUC plastic bag completely.

Afterwards, she has 3 plastic bags, and although its the usual amount people carry, I know its too much for her because she doesn't like carrying stuff, so I ask if we should push the trolley to the shopping centre exit where some people put the trolleys. She says no, its fine. And then when I return the trolley, she demands for me to help carry one for her. I refused, even though it was light, because firstly she didn't even let me do my grocery shopping, secondly I already offered that we bring the trolley to the exit nearest out house, and thirdly she demanded instead of asking nicely. After demanding about four times for me to take it, she finally huffed and took it, and then stormed off (I've never seen her walking that fast in my life).

Subsequently, we got in the lift, I pressed the level, and then when the lift door opened I motioned for her to go out first since she has an unfortunate tendency of suffering lift doors closing on her, but instead she yelled "what now you expect me to open the door too when I have no hands?!" and I was shocked because I let her out of the lift first. And then I open the door and immediately she starts complaining to my mother how I only have one bag to hold but I can't help her hold and dumps her stuff on the hall floor.

I wonder if it is wrong of me to wonder if I'm a servant, because its hard to tell otherwise. Sometimes thank yous and nice requests don't hurt.

2010-06-29T00:13:00.001+08:00

There's a danger in loving somebody too much,
and it's sad when you know it's your heart you can't trust.
There's a reason why people don't stay where they are.
Baby, sometimes, love just aint enough.

mindless knitting

2010-06-07T23:47:00.003+08:00

here's my latest work-in-progress (wip)

gorgeous fingerless gloves in peachy pink, with waves flowing from hand to arm. done with the left-hand, halfway through the right!

now, if only my yarn would arrive.

6x6

2010-06-04T23:01:00.002+08:00

I really love medium format. And, I really love square format.

I really love my Mamiya TLR. And, I really love slides.

Here are some photos from a roll exposed a few months ago, and only developed yesterday (:

Not really in order...

Giving double exposure a try (:

The best thing about shooting with my monster, is that it slows me down so much that I usually have a "hit rate" of 10 out of 12 frames. For this roll, I loved all except two, the one of the tree root, and the blurred swan. I think I still need to figure out how to frame tree roots..

SHIPPED!

2010-06-01T23:18:00.002+08:00

YES!!!! I finally saw the word I was waiting for, for two whole days. AT LAST!

My yarn is shipped (:

I've been so itching to start knitting this cardigan... and hoping to complete it before starting work. OH REACH SOON PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

Counting the days till it reaches (: Its been about a year since the last order from that website.. I remember running to the post office the first thing in the morning when it opened. Heh heh heh.

EXCITED!

2010-05-30T11:18:00.003+08:00

I am just itching to start knitting my first cardigan ((:

Just ordered this 100% extra fine merino wool...

I hope it looks as gorgeous in real life as online! Should arrive in a week or so... Can't wait!

And this is what I plan to make ((:

Praying it won't be hard to make...

Updates

2010-05-29T22:24:00.003+08:00

Some updates again, I've graduated! (: Last of my exams, ever!

I used to think I wanted to do a Masters, but I think I'd like to work first. Still thinking of attending baking school too (:

The mittens are a failed attempt, they fit too loosely on my arm, although I think cotton yarn would shrink after washing. Not going to try that though. Went to Jurong Point's knitting shop but they don't sell double-pointed needles. This means I've got to head down to Chinatown again (: YAY YARN! And try that yarn shop in Orchard! :D

Getting my new pair of spectacles soon (: Time to replace the angelfish coloured ones. I look forward to wearing nice spectacles, I don't think I'd be able to wear contacts while working in aircon for so long. Mom's getting almost the same design as me... haha.

Oh and this was me yesterday night.

Knitted and finished the first season of How I Met Your Mother (:

GAH!

2010-05-28T22:54:00.004+08:00

This is unbelievable. Got down with a bug last week, saw the doc on Sunday, then was told to stay at home from Mon-Wed. Got out of house on Thurs, and today I've sprained my ankle and am housebound again.

Sigh.

BUT! I've been PRODUCTIVE :D

Knitted two things for Jods' birthday (:

A (not very) compressible grocery bag

and an iphone pouch! (:

Now i'm knitting a scarf for M, and a pair of mittens, and when I feel like it, my sister's terribly hard and supposed birthday present ):

Cool!

2010-05-19T13:39:00.004+08:00

Its finally cool. A gorgeous cloudy morning at 28 degrees celsius just called for a jog (:

Not much better yet (wonder if its vertigo) so I ran 2.4km, walked 800m, and then ran another 1.6km. Dizzy ain't good!

Now feeling nice and cool after a warm shower and gonna resume knitting my sister's hibernating shawl which was meant for her birthday. Maybe next year's :P

Sushi Tei and... Yogurt Day!

2010-05-18T11:51:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, met my best friend who came down from Canada. And cos she likes yogurt, and I LOVE yogurt, decided a yogurt day was in the works (: We went to visit three yogurt places. Which I thought seemed quite few at first, but woah I guess yogurt can be very filling!

But anyway, before that, went to Sushi Tei!

Tried some things from their seasonal menu, such as the onigiri, bamboo steamed food, as well as some beef collagen hotpot thing which I can't really recall..

Salmon Miso Onigiri, a tad dry at the edges, but moist and soft inside. The miso taste is mild, which is good because it complements the salmon instead of overpowering the onigiri and being too salty. It would be better if there were more salmon flakes though.

Spicy Clam Asari Soup Pasta didn't have many clams (mom said she doesn't think this is worth the cost) but the clams were tender and bursting with juices. The spaghetti was nicely done, so if you like pasta al dente, Sushi Tei will not disappoint here. Unfortunately the soup wasn't anything special.

This one was pretty good! (: Oysters on Rice in a bamboo steamer. I'm not a big fan of oysters, but for lack of a better word, the oysters were juicy just like the clams. And the rice was expected to be plain, but unexpectedly arrived a mixture of different rice as well as mildly seasoned. After letting it steam for about 7-8 minutes, everything is warm and moist, almost like lotus-leaf wrapped rice you get at dimsum places.

Beef and ramen.

Spicy stock with cabbage, enokitake mushrooms, pumpkin slices, white radish and what my mom said was some collagen thing. Not very sure though. But the soup tasted weird. Like kimchi gone wrong. Wouldn't have it again. Ramen's good though, eggy! (:

One last item we had from the seasonal menu was the apple ice cream.

We are big fans of their ice cream, especially Yuzu (yum!) but this one tasted like frozen apple juice popped in an ice cream maker. Try it if you love how apple juice tastes.

That's all from the new menu! (:

Now, meet my new relative (relatively new at least)!

This is Ayden, my little nephew. He's about a month plus old I think.

He's wearing the super cute jumper I got from Threadless! Love it ((:

Then M came and Yogurt Day commenced!

We had three in total, Yoguru, JCo yogurt and Yigloo.

First stop, Raffles City.

Yoguru has two flavours, original and Yogubliss. I'm a purist, so even though I do try other flavours, I always order original (: Well, for me, yoguru comes in third. It reminds me more of ice cream, as it is very creamy. Having the regular cup can fill you up, it is that thick. The tartness does not really come through, as it is overpowered by the milkiness. We agreed that it was too milky.

Nearby is JCo, land of donuts.

Yes its us again, I'm not a fan of being in photographs but this is the last one! (:

I LOVE JCo yogurt. I'm biased, I love frozen yogurt that does taste like frozen yogurt. Its tart, and only very slightly creamy. As a result, its very refreshing, almost thirst-quenching. The 'couple' size comes with three toppings, and the fruits and nuts complement this very well, providing sweetness for the tart yogurt. Almonds flakes are especially yummy with the yogurt, and JCo is very generous when it comes to toppings, even though they are included in the price (:

Our last stop was Yigloo!

Its a really cute place tucked in the basement of Vivocity, you must have seen its posters on the walls in vivo (:

The concept behind Yigloo is interesting. They offer many flavours, and like most yogurt shops, offer three different portion sizes. But they give you free topping! (:

Its a huge range, from different jellies, to many different fruits (including dragonfruit!) and dried ones such as nuts (: YUM! But you have to take it at one shot (:

yyyyyyyummmmmy!!

However, to ensure they make profit, the yogurt is swirled to the brim of the cup, so you don't have space within the cup for toppings, they go on a slippery slope of frozen yogurt (: Still you can put as much as you possibly can!

I would say that Yigloo comes in second for me. People who are big flavour fans will love this place for its wide range such as mango to cookies and cream yogurt, but I'm still a purist (: Otherwise, do try mango, I think its pretty good!! The rest reminded me more of ice cream in consistency.

But regarding original, Yigloo comes in as a compromise between Yoguru's extreme milkiness and creaminess, and JCo's tartness (: Plus you get free toppings!!

Still, it all depends on personal preference (:

M makes some weird faces after yogurt day ((: so cute.

Last but not least, if you're a bread and pizza fan, try Petit Provence's Sesami Pizza!

Its seriously good. Tomatoes and a generous serving of cheese slathered in what I hope is olive oil, is baked on a sesame bread base. GOOD STUFF ((:

That's all. Bye!

Time to Revamp Education System

2010-05-17T10:58:00.005+08:00

Everyone should read this article here: Are Singapore Teachers Overworked

Singapore's education system seriously leaves much to be desired. One of my family members became a teacher starting in January, and she has been overworked, waking up at ungodly hours (5am, anyone?) for her job, which would be fine, if she came home at an appropriate time. But no, she comes home around 5-6pm (12 hour job) and then resumes marking, or doing lesson plans, or worrying about the seniors who make life miserable for junior teachers.

She spends her weekend marking and doing lesson plans as well. And she considers rest, going out for a good lunch (two hours max) before returning home to continue. Even foreign domestic workers get a full off-day (Sunday). Would it be any surprise that teaching leads to quick burnout as well as a high attrition rate? Overseas, the education system is more lax, and yes students are more lax too. But even so, they still produce great thinkers and high scorers. Singapore's education system has been praised by many, but to what good, when both teachers and students are suffering?

I'm glad this has been brought up by someone who wrote to forum. Teachers too deserve some consideration after all the complaining about students lacking their childhood. Teachers face 30x (or the number of students in their class) the load as students, who just need to do their homework, instead of marking everyone's homework.

And yes, fresh graduates always sound so optimistic and mention that current teachers should just be able to prioritise their time properly. I'd like to say that students can do that. A student commented on the article that she sleeps at 2am, but if she did her work immediately, not counting TV or using the Internet, I'm sure she could sleep by 9pm if she wanted. But a teacher works continuously, there is simply no time to prioritise with.

So, even if one has the passion for teaching, how long will that fire burn before being doused by mental and physical strains?

The Right to Choose

2010-05-15T21:30:00.006+08:00

Today, we headed to Kichn, after I found a blog with some great photos commending the little eatery.

At kichn, we embrace your right to choose.

Their tagline says it all - you get to choose from a selection of items, sufficient in amount, although I would have preferred greater choice of bases and sauces.

It works like this, you pick your base (carbohydrate), main (protein), and sauce. You can then add a blended drink, for $3 and up. The drink has a choice of single, double, or triple blends from quite a list of items such as lychee, to oreo, to redbull.

There's always a featured special, one as a drink ingredient, and one sauce. Today's was bandung and japanese curry, respectively.

Kichn features a cutesy way of ordering, with colour pencils and teardrops for colouring in.

We used different colours to represent different people's orders (:

Seating is al fresco, and there are only about five or six tables, each seating about four people.

Seemed cozy and nice for catching up with friends. I'm biased, I love wooden tables and benches!

The tables are sheltered and there are fans too, so fear not the weather.

Instead, embrace your right to choose (:

From top down: Pineapple ($3), Strawberry Banana Green Tea ($5), Mango Chocolate Redbull ($5) and Lychee Oreo Milo ($5) ice blends.

Sister shows her high regard for the in-house recommendation, Lychee Oreo Milo. It was YUM! I will go back for the drink. Sounds... strange at first. But please, give in to temptation, you will not regret it! The taste comes in layers, cool refreshing lychee, sweet oreo bits, and then thick milo goodness, so comforting and reminiscent of primary school days.

Milo truck, I miss you.

Otherwise, Pineapple was thirst-quenching. Redbull and chocolate drowned out mango, but still delish, while banana completely muffled strawberry and green tea. It tasted of banana and flour... like banana cake mix with water. Agh!!

Well you know what to give a miss next time (:

Then the food came.

Seafood + chilli crab gravy + spaghetti ($8.90)

They were most definitely cooking up a storm, for the food took forever to arrive. Not that I'm complaining, I appreciate it when the cooks do each order with TLC instead of mass like fast food (: However if your tummy is growling, do be prepared to wait!

And be prepared not to see different sauces, for we are boring people.

Make that, chilli crab gravy loving people.

Chicken cutlet + chilli crab gravy + spaghetti ($6.90)

Chicken chop + chilli crab gravy + spaghetti ($7.90)

I liked both the chicken chop and chicken cutlet, but if I could afford the extra calories the cutlet brings, I'd go for that. It comes with a packet of mayonnaise, and chicken cutlet + mayonnaise = heaven. Well, heaven if there were no calories to worry about!

FINALLY! Something without chilli crab gravy (:

Chicken chop + japanese curry + fusilli ($7.90)

The chicken chop was tender with juices, and the japanese curry tasted like, well, japanese curry. M said he could make it at home (:

Seaweed drumlets ($3.90), very crispy. Not very salty, which is good, and sprinkled liberally with seaweed bits. Not something I'd exclaim as fantastic though.

PS, the chilli crab gravy is certainly interesting, and yummy at first, till you realise there's some sort of gelatin or starch used to create the gooey texture. This dissolves while you're eating, and then you're eating a very watery sauce. I guess its either a eat fast or don't mind watery sauce after awhile mindset if you choose the chilli crab gravy.

Would I return to satisfy my gastronomical tantrums?

MOST definitely, for the Lychee Oreo Milo ice blend. The food was average only, but I wouldn't mind returning to try other sauces, the price is decent after all. I do wish they had linguine though!

Oh, and the takeaway boxes are so cute (:

Kichn
180 Albert Street
#01-05, Albert Court
http://www.kichn.com/

Things to DO

2010-04-24T08:58:00.002+08:00

My exams are ending on Tuesday evening!

For good. I say that because I originally wanted an MBA, but am thinking of going to LCB after a few years of working and saving up for that.

So here's the plan:

go out
and have fun

run RUN!!!

cycle (:

take more PHOTOS!
go around hunting more places
kickstart my CountrySight blog, stagnant from lack of time.

learn more ukulele songs :D

i think that's all for now (:

Eats @ Takashimaya

2010-04-03T23:14:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, I visited town! (: It was a pleasant feeling getting reacquainted with the huge malls such as Ngee Ann City, when I've mainly been visiting Raffles City over and over again. Not that I dislike one of the few places with Jco yogurt (:

Had a hard time deciding what to eat, so we decided to try something 'new'. This happened to be the Omu Rice @ Takashimaya basement, which has long been existing, but just a shop I had always walked past and thought of trying.

Unfortunately, I wish I didn't get to know it!

The omu rice w chicken cutlet tasted as bad as it looked, and wasn't worth the $7.80. A big white plastic plate, scratched and worn, was barely half filled. Rice was hard and came stuck together, covered by a very thin layer of egg. Egg that looked like it was from a powdered mix. The rice felt like it had been scraped from the bottom of a rice cooker. A very small and sad portion of tomato sauce was doled over the omu rice, and the artificial colour was not helped by the taste which was a tad too sour. Although the chicken cutlet was decent, the shop sold omu rice, and should have at least got that right. Would not return for this again.

Then we had other random stuff to munch on, such as japanese fried noodles w egg and japanese sauce (what exactly is japanese sauce?)... and headed to Cedele for desserts (: Love Cedele! I just associate healthy and yummy comfort food with Cedele. Well anyway... onwards!

Meet Caramel Sea Salt Cheesecake. Chubby's choice. She's very predictable sometimes, anything with caramel and sea salt, she's getting it.

Not too heavy for the palate, this cheesecake is creamy and light, with a sweet burnt caramel taste which melts in the mouth. A sweet ending to any meal.

Next is the Chocolate Banana Espresso Cake.

One of their more popular cakes, this chocolate sponge cake has a generous layer of ripe mushed bananas, and is topped with lots of oatmeal. I don't quite fancy the oatmeal, but M gobbled it all up till the last oat (:

Last but not least, we had the Pink Beet Cake, which is now permanently on the menu! It used to be offered on and off, at least from when I last remembered. It's been a while, dear Cedele!

Tasting like carrot cake, this very moist cake is feather light on the tongue and mildly sweet. Perfect for those who don't like overly sweet desserts (: Give it a try!

M says hi, by the way (:

I want to ride my BICYCLE

2010-04-01T00:58:00.003+08:00

Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle
I Want To Ride My Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle
I Want To Ride My Bicycle
I Want To Ride My Bike
I Want To Ride My Bicycle
I Want To Ride It Where I Like

It turns out that both of us now have the single bar... I was supposed to get the step-through frame, but turned out it only comes in 28-in wheels, which is much too big for me, unfortunately.

But that's fine, I like the single bar just fine. Even if it means me falling to the side with the bicycle sometimes, while trying to get off and failing because I'm too short. It's fine.

And that's because my bicycle looks fantastic.

These are photos taken the bicycles' virgin cycling journey:

Lovingly transported by M to Changi on the bike rack..

Say hello to M's... Here we try to find a nice background for the babies (:

Lookin' good!

Lookin' good too! ((((:

After about eight kilometres, the bicycles take a well-deserved break to model for my camera.

M pretends he's cycling. He fails.

Then we road hog...

And M takes photos with my FE2

It's now evening. We cycle furiously to the end of the path for the sunset...

Only to find out its hidden behind a huge clump of clouds which look like they will not be disappearing soon.

So... M & I pose with our beauties (:

We now bid you adieu after sunset (:

Well, Hello!

2010-03-27T16:59:00.003+08:00

Guess wot came by truck today (:

and by car (:

Meet my boy and his Flying Pig (:

Ain't both of them just the cutest.

Flying Pigeon

2010-03-26T15:58:00.002+08:00

I am SO excited!

Tomorrow, my flying pigeon is coming (: nope not the bird, but the bicycle!

Here's a blog featuring these lovely bicycles from China, still made of lugged steel, charming and vintage looking.

Mine's the lady version, which has a step-through frame, as compared to the single bar or double bar for males (:

EXCITED :D

PS M's getting the single bar. Couple bikes, how cheesy.

):

2010-03-14T00:52:00.002+08:00

my baby just died.

cappu just died

he died in my hands
he couldnt breathe
gasped for air

cant type through my tears
now i cant breathe either
dizzy
cant breathe
cappu my baby
why did you die

why do i ask such silly questions?

its all my fault
thats why i cant stop crying
this sadness
that my baby's gone
that the last of my original hamsters is gone
only little one from lily is left

cappu ): WHY CAPPU WHY

i came home last night
washed his cage at 2am
i was so tired.
but so scared
when i saw the fungus
i scrubbed away

today

i watched him flopping around
he didnt eat the raisin i gave him
kept lying on his side
breathing
so heavily
so heavily

after staring at him
i decided to take him out
he didnt want to be held

put him back
he was breathing
so heavily
still

took him out and rubbed him to sleep
his heartbeat
it was so fast
it scared me

his whole body shook my hands
my hands
they thumped
like i was holding
a live beating heart

he was sleeping
i held him

i thought i would just sleep
holding him

i whispered to him
cappu dont die
live till tomorrow
i'll bring you to the vet

i said it
again
and again

trying to give him
some will to live

finally
he woke up
and i put him back

but he tried to get out
failed
struggled across the changed bedding
sprawled
lay on his side

struggled up and across
to the tissue
fell out of the cage
i tried to take him

he struggled
almost like a seizure
one of his frequent seizures
he tried to walk
flipped onto his side
couldnt get back up
a few times it happened

i held him
his breathing
suddenly slowed

i remember
my keening whine
cappu's dying
don't die, cappu
cappu, don't die
cappu's dying

i placed him on my hand
his breaths
faded
till he gasped
like
a fish
on land

those last breaths
as i cried for him to breathe

but he didnt, in the end

he still looks as young
as he did
like my baby
he was my baby
my little baby

it hurts
my heart clenches
i always thought
it'd be easier to part from cappu than billy

but i was wrong
i was fortunate to have one week to get ready for billy's passing
cappu's came
as a shock

a complete shock

my little baby
i thought he would live till 3
i think he could have

if only i was at home
if only i didn't move him to the kitchen
if only i had checked his bedding
if only

if only i hadn't been out with matthew

so many
if onlys

maybe if i didnt take him out of his cage
he would have been alive this morning
and able to visit the vet

i don't know

rest in peace my little pupu

Short-term Revival

2010-02-19T14:43:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I look at my blog and feel guilt.

'Cos I haven't posted anything in a long long long long time.

So here are some photos from one of my favourite eateries, Gobi Desserts (:

Strangely, I don't quite fancy their boxed set of mini desserts, but some of their in-house ones are pretty good.

P.S. They serve gooooood food.

Here's some of what we had:

Iced tea, which comes with every set. Add your own amount of sugar syrup (: I like it unsweetened.

Ratatouille in rolls, good for the vegetarian in you.

Aglio olio w bacon.

Miso fish set lunch. The fish is bursting with juices, tender, and topped with bonito flakes. Very good (:

Mushroom penne set lunch. Not overly creamy. Let me add that the salad is a nice mix of greens (not just your usual boring lettuce), and the tomato soup was thick and tangy. (The soup might change seeing how its the soup-of-the-day).

Strawberry mille-feuille. Half cream, half custard. Its good, till you try the plain one.

(Normal) Mille-feuille. All custard. SO GOOD. Too sinful though.

Crepes.

Berries compote inside! Sweet and sour... With meringue every layer (: If you don't like sour much, skip this.

Creme brulee with pear..

Blackforest cake. This tasted more chocolate cake than blackforest, so wasn't impressive.

If you get the opportunity, try the gigantic ferrero roche lookalike thing (I can't quite remember the name), its chocolate meringue filled with melted chocolate, and icecream on the side. Its fantastic, and sometimes not offered (sold out?).

Yum!

Gobi currently has a set-lunch promo at $14.80 (I think), which includes a main (choose from three), a soup, salad, side, and drink. Pretty good for value, and the proportions are just nice. Two can then share a dessert, which concludes a great meal.

Its located at Suntec City (level one) by the way, near the convention centre. It doesn't seem to be mentioned on Gobi's website. Give it a try!

Night of Firsts

2010-01-30T04:44:00.002+08:00

Today was the first time I...

attended Thaipusam
talked to so many Indians
saw Indians fight
huddled in fear of getting bashed up
had an Indian shouting into my ear
saw someone using a chopper to cut a chain of jasmine flowers
walked barefoot for 4km
stayed out past 3am
took the nightrider bus

It was a fantastic experience. Now its 4+ am and I'm STARVING ):

Will post photos soon ((:

Some things..

2010-01-27T18:22:00.003+08:00

..are better left unheard.

I just heard through the window, a young boy yelling 'fuck you la'. After moving to this neighbourhood near Jurong Point (agh) where the echoing is just great, I've been hearing plenty of obscenities and vulgarities. But its quite disappointing to hear an unbroken voice shouting such words. He's not even been through puberty!

What's Singapore coming to? Or the younger generation, for that matter?

Pirate Latitudes Movie!

2010-01-23T23:50:00.003+08:00

There will be a movie based on Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes, published posthumously.

Steven Spielberg, who has collaborated with Crichton on movies such as Jurassic Park, is keen on directing a pirate film, and whose novel better to choose than Crichton's! (: I'm really excited to chance upon this tidbit after finishing the book, which was extremely thrilling (and somehow disgusted me on that time period). Looking forward to watching the movie!

Do read it if you like novels on pirates!

Couples

2010-01-14T21:27:00.003+08:00

On the walk home, I noticed two couples, for they were very different in all possible ways.

One couple was from China; they both had the same short hairstyle, dorky centre parting and dorky dressing. They were about 40ish and looked married.

The other was a young Singaporean couple about my age. Dressed typically like teenagers, toned and lean in their tees and shorts. Most prolly dating.

Yet, the China couple which I assume has been together for many years, was happily holding hands all the way home in their dorkiness. They reminded me of couples which progress into old age still basking in their love for each other.

The Singaporean couple, on the other hand, was in a pretty sad state. The girl kept walking extremely close to the guy. Kept trying to grab his hand. Held his hand once, and he'd swing it away. Tried holding his arm, he'd fling it in the air immediately in some gesture. He didn't even bother trying to hold her hand at all! How one-sided. Honestly, I think their relationship is so in the dumps.

I'd much rather be part of a happy dorky couple than date a fit young guy who is more engrossed in himself than the other party. Sigh. I don't even know what's the moral of the story here.

But I need to solve that fungus in my Epson scanner problem asap.

Moist Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2010-01-14T17:29:00.008+08:00

Today, I baked these awesome things next to PiyoPiyo (: I say their awesome, cos their the first cookies I've baked which I've actually liked! And ate five or six of. Or maybe even more but my brain is in denial.

The best part - the dough tastes like that of Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk! My FAVOURITE absolute favourite ice cream flavour ever. Which is unfortunately, not found in Singapore anymore (or if you know where they can be found, give me a heads up!) They also do not require any greasing of cookie sheets. Or non-stick cookie sheets. Or parchment paper! (:

These babies are crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside!! So for the first time ever, I'm gonna share a recipe which I would prefer to have kept a secret (haha)

Photo of that awesome cookie dough first (: So tempting and almost better than the cookie itself. And oh well, I've made some healthier changes to convince myself the calories are worth it (:

Jessica's Moist Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (:

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour (can be substituted with wholemeal)
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup filled with white sugar and molasses sugar (can substitute white with light brown sugar)
¾ cup butter
2 eggs
5 tbsps honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup raisins (optional, or add as much as you want)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients together – flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a larger bowl, cream sugar (white and molasses combined) and butter together. Then, beat the eggs, honey and vanilla extract together. Add into creamed mixture. Mix well.
4. Add in dry ingredients slowly, mixing after each addition. Subsequently add in raisins.
5. Drop onto ungreased cookie tray in heaped teaspoonfuls.
6. Bake for 10 minutes (soft and chewy) to 12 minutes (if you like 'em crispy) or until slightly brown. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Makes about 50 cookies. Hope you like it! (:

Oh, and here are some tips, for making cookies the way you like it:

Chewy Cookies
Use melted butter instead of creaming cold butter.
Remove cookies when they look slightly underdone.
Use a high ratio of brown sugar to white sugar, or substitue a little liquid sweetener such as honey, molasses, or corn syrup for the same amount of sugar.
Use more egg yolk instead of whole eggs.
Reduce the amount of baking soda or baking powder. These are leaveners which lend the cookie a more cakey texture.

Thin, Crispy Cookies
Use butter as the main fat. It has a lower melting point than shortening, so the cookie will spread out thinner.
Use more white sugar than brown sugar. You could just use all white sugar.
Bake cookies until well done.

Puffy, Cakey Cookies
Use shortening instead of butter.
Make sure that you mix the shortening well with the sugars until it is very light and fluffy.
Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Use more egg.
Use baking powder instead of baking soda for leavening. It makes the cookie puff up more.

(PS creaming the butter and sugar by hand is so much more fun, and lets you burn off some calories so you get to eat more cookies later)

No Longer

2010-01-12T23:39:00.002+08:00

Today, I realised my profile wrote: proud owner of five hamsters... etc.

Then I removed Billy and Fatter from the list. And I realised I took away 'proud'.

Now its just:
Owner of three skinny syrian hamsters: one who has seizures, one who bit her very hard, and a hairy baby unrelated to the two brothers.

I'm no longer a proud owner of hamsters. I don't have a real bond with any of them... it's always been Billy only.

Cappu is always sleeping - and we don't have mutual trust. I fear him chomping me when he starts sniffing me intensely with his nose pressed to my skin like a vacuum cleaner sucks up dirt. His eyes start bulging and look crazed when he becomes a vacuum cleaner, which doesn't help either. And fears me too, runs (literally) and hides in his bedding when he sees humans coming, most of the time.

Cow bit me so hard, stuff that shouldn't have came out was coming out, end of story.

Little one is just an outsider still. He'll never be part of the family - the parents (both gone) or the children (two left).

I guess I'll have to try.

Billy's Gone

2010-01-10T00:24:00.002+08:00

I feel empty.

I wonder if I should have gone for dinner.

I saw him breathing heavily before I left. I was sitting beside his cage. The towel still around my wet hair. The family called me for dinner. I knew he wasn't going to last long. Call it a premonition? But I went for dinner. I couldn't cheat death anyway.

When I came back, he was still in the same position. Hidden under tissues. I can't remember if he was breathing anymore, maybe I couldn't see under the tissue.

But now he isn't. I stuck a carrot at his nose. My sister touched him. I stared blankly. Understanding. There was a lack of movement. None of his heavy breathing. I felt him, so skinny at his death. Skin and bones. He had been having a lot of diarrhoea lately. But I didn't want him to see the vet, all the prodding would have made him more unhappy.

I remember my dad taking him out again today
against my wishes
He climbed up the Daiso, they said.
I was in the hall.
He had been falling every time
so it was a success
they let him run on the floor
he fell
twice
it hurt
to see
so we would always
put him back against his wishes
but into his foodbowl
where his hamster senses would get
the better of him
and his hunger urge would take over.

I miss him.
My camel
who thought he could go without water
for weeks
and we had to
stuff him with apples
so he would have water.
My hamster who would
walk on two legs around the tank
respond to his name
before he became deaf
walk down my hand
like it was a tightrope
and no other hamsters dared to
cos he was the bravest.
He was the smartest
too
knew his way
around both our houses
and Miak's too
He was so nosy
loved to visit the others
and when they didnt wake up
he'd climb on top
to disturb them.
How he'd rattle his bottle
everytime he wanted out.
Perching on his Daiso cube
immediately after
in hopes of
walking around the house.
And how sometimes I would just
take out his bottle
and then he wouldn't be able to rattle
instead just pout in a corner.
Now I wonder about the times I missed out
although I did spend the most time with him.
He was my dearest.
Like no other.
No one can replace him.
The licker of hands.
The one who would come around and smell us humans
before happily trotting off again.
How he loved freedom.
How little he got near his death.
He couldn't control his bowels
My mom screamed that we couldn't let him out.
He ended up spending his last month or so at home.
How he must have hated that.
And how weak he got.
The bottle of pills which bashed him. I shortened his life. The fridge. The pills. My dad's pills.

Goodbye Billy.
You were always my Silly.

I will miss you. I already do.

I've been preparing to lose you for so long. Yet it still hurts so much when you're gone.

):

And I really only have two good shots of him, although he is, was, and always will be my favourite.

Old Photos

2010-01-02T00:37:00.003+08:00

Bring back memories.

My days at SPH:

Much fun revolved at lunchtime. I fondly remember the malay stall uncle shouting 'Member! I know what you want, member!'

I miss his food. And I miss the fattening avocado milkshakes.

Here's PSAQ, during one of the few lunches when she ate with Z and I.

Outside at the garden, happy girls during lunchbreak (:

There were some pretty good times at SPH, I'll admit. Some of the BT people were especially warm and friendly.

When I see this photo, I immediately remember what Shyam says... Don't ever crop off limbs (: But its still a rather nice shot, thanks Z.

My hippo, perpetually present in my life (:

Its of equal importance to me as Billy. I can live without it for a few nights, but then will sorely start missing. I hope Billy recovers well from his shock today... I don't know what I would do if I lost Billy so early ): I guess sometimes even preparing the heart for such matters won't help.

And the Sundays when I used to go shooting with YS.

If not, cycling. It just seems like a hazy memory now.

We would always stop at this sandbar... along the way from Changi to East Coast.

I've always wanted to take a slippers with sea shot. With some footprints fading off into the sea. Because it always represented nostalgia for me. Unfortunately, I couldn't make any footprints form that day. And I've lost my slippers. Now I'm losing my friend. Perhaps, sometimes, prolonging friendships when their suffering is not meant to be.

Its time to let go.

New Year, New Resolutions

2009-12-30T23:18:00.002+08:00

Have you come up with your new year's resolutions yet?

I have yet to... So its time to start brainstorming 'cos tomorrow's the last day of 2009!!

I've come up with two so far:
1. USE the diary I bought, consistently! Reason being, I love to buy diaries where I can fill in my own month and date - and then I just keep forgetting to use it 'cos I know I can always use it another year! And so I have a pile of diaries now. Not to mention my overpowering urge to buy new ones everytime I spot a cute diary (: My current one's The Simpsons!!
2. Run at least a half marathon, if not a race, at least the distance! I really hope I can do this seeing how I'm having knee problems just running 5k on alternate days. Wouldn't want to injure myself permanently (:

PS the most amusing resolution I've seen is girls writing that they want to get a boyfriend. Well I should write that I must get married on my birthday next year then. Still find it such a fantastic date!! 10 / 10 / 10 (: ah, won't the right man come along ASAP?!! Haha, kidding.

!!!

2009-12-24T02:20:00.003+08:00

FWAAAHHHH I just read my blog and it is SO FREAKING DEPRESSING!! TAKE A CHILL PILL BABE (: that's referring to myself. Okay its time to get some FANTAAAASTIC ENDORPHINS running at MacRitchie and of course absorb the SUNSHINE while kayaking tomorrow. Sounds freaking darn good if you ask me (:

*Edit* Its today already. Me and my past 2am sleeping habits agh

Oh and did I mention how fun trail running is? Of course the drizzly cool weather might have helped that day, and the wet mushy leaves and slippery rocks that made me turn my ankle, but oh how I love going uphill! Strangely, yes very strangely, I absolutely detest running on flat ground. Hills definitely make me happy. What good is a BORING monotonous FLAT LIFE?!??? Oh well, it was good to finally have some fun on the hated ground of MGS cross-country days gaaaaah (: Back then, those long long long long long long LONG long six years ago (help, I'm old!) I used to run at a speed just sufficient to let me get an E! HAHA! Did I remember correctly? Well the lousiest grade possible for a pass in NAPFA. How I fondly remember the days, when Suping would strap on her watch and we'd slowly (oh so slowly) do our rounds and then WAAAAAAAA look at the watch and realised crap we might fail if we don't speed up on this last round and then we'd chiong to the finish line and whew pass (:

Okay enough of fond memories hehe (:

Only

2009-12-22T23:55:00.006+08:00

You can make me feel sad. I see myself wasting my time. And I can't understand. And despite what I've always said, I really leave it to you now. I'm not going to do anything anymore (: And I'm going to promise myself to do what I've just written.

*Edit*
This song by The Beatles just happened to start playing (:

You're Going To Lose That Girl

You're gonna lose that girl
You're gonna lose that girl
If you don't take her out tonight
She's gonna change her mind
And I will take her out tonight
And I will treat her kind

You're gonna lose that girl
You're gonna lose that girl

If you don't treat her right, my friend
You're gonna find her gone
'Cause I will treat her right and then
You'll be the lonely one

You're gonna lose that girl
You're gonna lose that girl

I'll make a point of taking her away from you
Yeah, the way you treat her, what else can I do

If you don't take her out tonight
She's gonna change her mind
And I will take her out tonight
And I will treat her kind

You're gonna lose that girl
You're gonna lose that girl
You're gonna lose that girl

I'm in LOVE

2009-12-21T00:47:00.004+08:00

Came across this link on Ravelry (a knitting/crocheting website) and almost passed it.

Here's the non-Ravelry website, as you prolly need an account to view it:
http://www.helloyarn.com/besottedcarf.htm

Unimpressive huh? But something made me click it...

AND I started viewing the gallery on Ravelry. AND OH MY CRAP it was love at first sight (:

Its XOXOXOXOXOs!! Can you see them? So impossibly gorgeous on red.

I have no choice but to knit this for myself as a Valentine's / CNY present haha. To cover myself in HUGS & KISSES and lucky red for the new year. RED AND RED YESSSSSSS!!

I'm in love (:

Mount Bromo at Twilight

2009-12-19T23:17:00.002+08:00

Mount Bromo can be seen in this shot, it isn't blocked by Batok (: See the trail of steam from the crater? Sometimes when you're a lucky photographer, the entire valley is filled with mist and its a GORGEOUS view. I'm not that lucky after all (: BUT lucky enough to reach just before the sun came up, or I'd have killed my uncle HAHA.

Unfortunately, this photo is made up of two composited photos, as the sky was way too bright and I couldn't hold it back well enough with my 3-stop ND grad. Plus, I left my other ND grad at home, silly me. Oh well, time to get another Singh-Ray filter I guess (: Ha! And I met a caucasian at Mount Penanjakan who borrowed my filter and told me he was Galen Rowell's student. What a joker (: And his friend who was munching on a carrot said he's a rabbit. Ah well (:

More shots to come!

Horseriding at Mount Bromo

2009-12-16T23:05:00.004+08:00

That's me trotting on a horse and trying to get a sharp and composed photo (: My horse was really small, and kept neighing and tossing its head (prolly angry with its bridle) and my lens kept bouncing on the saddle and I got kinda worried that my expensive B&W KSM CPL would eventually crack into millions of tiny pieces!

But it was impossibly fun, and beautiful in the stunning landscape (soon to be uploaded). It was really necessary to ride the horse to and fro to Mount Bromo, for the distance to walk is extremely far, followed by a long and tiring (or short yet very steep, how contradictory) climb up to look down into the crater.

The horse ride cost about 50,000 rupiah per person after bargaining, for a group of six. Highly recommended (: It was MUCH more fun than the sunrise at Mount Penanjakan, or even the view down from Mount Bromo.

Mount Bromo

2009-12-15T19:11:00.004+08:00

I'm back from Indonesia, and this here's my second favourite place from the trip - Mount Bromo.

Well, technically not really Mount Bromo (: I just realised that from this view on Mount Penanjakan, I can only see Mount Batok (in the middle), the smoke from Mount Bromo which is entirely blocked (haha) by Batok, and Mount Semeru distant at the top right of the photo.

But it was really gorgeous and quite cold at the top, where I missed the change of colours in the sky before sunrise, partly due to my uncle who really moves at an impossibly slow speed. Sometimes I feel like killing him! I wonder how my aunt tahan-ed him for 30 years (: My tripod also failed on me countless times while I was trying to take steady photos, and my knee gave way on me many times afterwards from all the kneeling on the ground.

I also need to mention here that I took a butt-numbing 11 hour car ride from Yogyakarta to Bromo, and the air-con was not working throughout the sweltering journey. After reaching around 10pm, I had to leave the hotel at 3.30am for the sunrise. Was it worth it? Most probably yes, I did enjoy the scenery. I did feel that it was the surroundings (ie driving from Probolingo to Penanjakan) with its gorgeous colours and sprawling landscape that was a whole lot more stunning than the view of Bromo though (: Yes, such beauty does exist in Indonesia indeed!

More photos to be up soon.

(:

2009-12-08T00:58:00.003+08:00

I'm gonna be MIA, flying to Borobodur today morning!

Some updates:

Went for the Stanchart 10k, courtesy of Stanchart (:

Was unprepared having caught the flu again and didn't train. Needless to say I feel some aches. I also found out that my running shoes were too small for distances > 7km and my toes felt like they were gonna fall off. Still do!

Anyway, got a few laughs with my 'words of encouragement' (:

Now its 1am and I'd better sleep or I won't be able to stay awake tomorrow in Indonesia hehehe (:

*Reminder to self, join half marathon.

2009-12-03T21:27:00.003+08:00

i am very pissed

*edit: evening*

and i'm aborting mission

*edit: night*

i feel like i'm necessary only in times of trouble. what happens otherwise?
commencing aborting of mission

Cycling @ Pulau Ubin

2009-12-03T11:32:00.004+08:00

T'was a crazy day cycling at hilly and rocky Pulau Ubin (:

I brought seven rolls of 120mm film, all excited to shoot!! But because of all the cycling, guess how many rolls I finished!

ONE ROLL!!!! One roll has 12 exposures by the way. Haha good golly (:

It was fun though, mild ache in my butt.

We ended at Chek Jawa accidentally, cos we cycled to the wrong side of Pulau Ubin!! Haha (: We were planning to hit the quarry first. And then when we went down to see, we realised the tide was rather high. We then decided to cycle to the quarries before heading back to see Chek Jawa again. Unfortunately, the NParks person told us that during this month, the tide would never recede low enough to see the lifeforms on the sand! February is apparently the best time to visit Chek Jawa, so visit Ubin then instead.

So we started on the mangrove boardwalk...

Where I got real bored and shot the sky (:

The boardwalk is the perfect place to shoot macros, there are many insects there: spiders, jumpers, cotton stainers, and grasshoppers! Well I brought my monster instead of my macro lens. So you won't be seeing any insects!

Instead, you get photos of YS shooting insects (:

He's carrying my heavy 1l orange Nalgene bottle with the Spongebob and Jellyfish stickers!! What a sweetie.

Do you spot the jellyfish? (:

Then, we finally reach the coastal boardwalk!

I call this, naked tree and dead tree.

This one's: balding tree, dead tree, rock and boardwalk.

Boardwalk and skiessss (:

It was really beautiful and sunny during our daytrip, and only when leaving did it get real cloudy and gloomy.

Fortunately, I was wearing the cycling helmet the whole trip (yes very mountain turtle) which provided me shade AND kept my head cool in that glaring hot sun (:

This is what I looked like, walking around with a cycling helmet hahaha.

A couple enjoying the boardwalk.

And then we left the boardwalk!! Lots of cycling. We had lots of water breaks too (: There was a time where we had a nice fresh sweet coconut at this stop after the Chinese cemetery. I had fun talking to the auntie in Chinese (: Well pronounced Chinese I might add. And she told me I was very fair ):

While back at the 'town' area and enjoying some cold drinks, I took this shot (: Its such an old school building. Abandoned I guess. And those are our rented bikes (:

Another old house, next to a big old tree! I've always always always wanted to take a photo of this house. I didn't manage the first time I went ):

Stack of boxes outside another old house.

That's all I have (: Till the next time I go shooting!

The Ladder Theory

2009-12-01T18:34:00.006+08:00

This is actually unbelievable.

And funny.

Unbelievably funny.

A girl says any of the following to you:

• "You're like a brother to me"
• "You're like a big teddy bear".
• "I feel like I can talk to you about anything"
• "You're so nice"
• "Can you help me with my homework"

Ladder Theory Explanation: You are on the friends ladder. So Sorry.

I had completely forgotten about the Ladder Theory till I read someone's post, and good golly does this bring up fond memories. And about kicking guys into the abyss when they try jumping from the Friends to Boyfriends ladder was just hilarious. And so true. It means you're an intellectual whore, by the way.

For the unfamiliar, you can read more on the Ladder Theory here.

*edit* I had to add this in:

Many women want to argue this point and say things like " I have lots of guy friends." Maybe.
There are exactly 3 cases Intellectual Whores has identified whereby a guy and a girl can be friends:

1. The guy is gay
2. The guy does not find you attractive
3. The guy already has a woman much higher than you on the ladder

Even Nietzsche knew this. Most guys know this intuitively.

Singapore Botanic Gardens in B&W (Part 3)

2009-12-01T10:40:00.003+08:00

Here's the continuation to Part 2.

This flower was about 2 cm in diameter, and I was trying to do a macro of it. When lo and behold! A bee landed on it. And so I happily depressed the shutter, only to worry about the possibility of wrong exposures and narrow DOF too late (:

Here it is, without the bee. I think I still need to practice on better macros with my monster.

The famous bandstand. The thing about digitising negatives is that, its so hard to get any shadow or highlight areas in which can be obtained by dodging or burning in the real darkroom. Hence the sky is blown out here, although my print still had cloud details.

Bonsai tree

A couple (?) enjoying time together under the shade of a large tree

Family leaving the gardens

This one's prolly my favourite image from the whole series. Its a frangipani flower, fallen into the bush. The photo's dark, the flower's decomposing... It just speaks out to me.

Slides

2009-11-28T22:14:00.003+08:00

Fujichrome, otherwise known as slides. Or this roll, otherwise known as Fuji RVP 100, or Velvia.

I cannot begin to describe my love for slides. For Velvia, the ultimate of slides. Till I try Fortia perhaps (: Shooting slides is a whole different obsession from shooting B&W. A different way of looking through the lens is needed. The imagination of colour, or monotone. The knowledge that B&W can be dodged and burned effectively, while slides are a one-hit wonder.

Okay I think I'm ranting. The above and below are shot at Punggol.

I love how the railings are blue, with the torn parts white. The blue skies with puffy white clouds seems a reflection almost.

An old red scooter at the end of the path

I have a fascination with how people love to leave their mark on plants. Although plants don't have feelings, its just plain sad ):

The handsome boy (:

Lalang

I love this shot (: The photographer came to Marina Barrage toting this huge tripod and his gear, and it was pouring!! The clouds were already crazy dark and gloomy. Had to lift my camera up and kinda over the railing to get this shot. It was fun (:

Before it rained and I was chased to the shelter...

2009-11-23T09:10:00.003+08:00

I try to study for my paper later, but memories just keep flooding back.

I always remembered playing with her using the long toilet roll. How she would attack it like a crazy nut and bite and bite and bite. She'd rush up the roll, and start chewing the edges when she reached the top. She would always bite and spit all the toilet roll cardboard bits on me. And how I would put her down and she'd climb back up and do the exact same thing. How I would poke her nose and get amused at her not being deterred and still biting. She lived to bite on things.

And her last days, she was just wobbling. Always trying to run, but failing, falling to one side, struggling to get up. Trying to escape. She wouldn't even bite the random objects given to her.

Why her? Why did she have to suffer? She was the baby of the lot. She was the youngest. She was the most energetic baby, always jumping up and down while cow waited by the door and cappu slept. WHY DID SHE HAVE TO LEAVE US

*edit*

because it was her time to go to a better place

2009-11-23T08:56:00.001+08:00

I still can't believe she's gone

Fatter Lumpuru's in Hamster Heaven

2009-11-23T08:19:00.003+08:00

Rest in peace, dear fatter. My sister cried for you which means that she finally loved, although she lost too. But we're glad you're free from suffering though you've been taken from us so suddenly. We miss you a lot already. We hope you didn't suffer much.

There are some things I noted today... There's a photo which parallels the Fatter Mommy RIP photo below... I'm wearing the same shirt I wore to Ah Gong's funeral... It was raining when we buried Fatter... There are many what-ifs I kept thinking that would have kept Fatter alive, but I've finally woken up to my senses instead of being in denial and checking the Internet furiously for proof she was alive. I even thought of hibernation, for her body was limp. But I guess my brain kept ticking out the fact that Singapore is too warm for hibernation. I still wonder if we buried her alive. I guess I'll get over that soon. I'd also like to note that when I cried out to my mother, why did fatter die, she's the youngest, my mother just walked away. She was also smiling as she tried to take a photo of my sister crying at the burial. Sometimes I wonder if we're blood-tied. Or if when I died she would cry, like how I accused her of not crying at Ah Gong's death.

But anyway, enough about my ranting. Although I should be studying, here's a bunch of photos to remember Fatter by. I didn't take many, and you seem to be suffering at the hands of the chubby, but oh well.

This photo above, scarily, has some parallels with the one I uploaded when Fatter Mommy had gone missing.

goodbye fatter, we miss you...

):

2009-11-22T19:54:00.000+08:00

Things are not looking good...

Fatter is losing her balance more often, and Cappu seizured twice today. His second came with lots of screeching and he was much too tired and kept sleeping on my hand before eventually going back to his cage.

I hope they get better, otherwise I'll stay back and look after them before going for the exam tomorrow, instead of the plan to study with Miak from the morning.

*pray they get better*

Get Well

2009-11-21T21:34:00.001+08:00

Soon Fatter Baby.

May your tumour shrink and you be walking strong and healthy again!

2009-11-21T10:22:00.001+08:00

things to do:

find my lost forms / fill in again
photocopy everything
statement
proof of grad
degree audit

do jap paper

mount all photos, journal

finish 402 ppts

Singapore Botanic Gardens in B&W (Part 2)

2009-11-19T22:43:00.005+08:00

Here's a continuation to the first part here.

It was at the Ginger Path where I ended, and ran to a nearby bench to put in new film before running back to my previous spot where I was kneeling on the grass timing my photo just before a family walked past.

This here's a pretty ginger flower alongside the path.

Then I walked on and spotted this lonesome looking bench against a plain backdrop of leaves. I was happily fiddling with my camera, when this girl came along. She saw me aiming at the bench, and saw that there were other benches, but she sat down on my bench of choice! WHAT LUCK. First I have an angmoh family parking themselves in my photos, making me wait forever for them to leave before taking a photo, and now I have a girl blatantly sitting there. Ah well, life throws you boulders sometimes.

Then off I went in search for a cool drink, being parched from the heat. I found an ice cold Snapple, and a pretty tree with leaves settled on its trunk.

Next stop was the Cactus area.

I cannot emphasise what suffering one goes through, juggling a monster camera, a huge spotmeter, a swinging sling bag, and a bottle of Snapple. Imagine what happens when you need to change the lens. AAAAAHHH. What a fun experience it was (:

Someone told me I could sell postcards upon seeing this photo (: he made my day!

It was a tiny white flower, and behind it was a bench. Where two banglas were sitting. And as it was low on the ground. So I had to figure out how to slant my camera really low on a tripod, bend my body like rainbow and peer at the screen, without letting the banglas catch a glimpse of my leggings-clad butt. Ah well at least it ended up nice enough!

Some random cactuses...

Vandalised ):

And we end with a lonesome bench! (:

Till the next post (:

Don't Be Cruel

2009-11-16T22:07:00.001+08:00

I wanted to upload a favourite Elvis song of mine, but radioblogclub pretty much sucks now.

So here's YouTube! Elvis the Pelvis live with Don't Be Cruel (:

Storm Clouds

2009-11-15T19:34:00.007+08:00

Click HERE to view large (:

Still need to figure out how to get a certain size uploaded for my shots ):

Anyway! This landscape was taken in Jasper National Park (if my memory doesn't fail me), Canada. It was a very beautiful place; I was on a bridge over this fast-moving icy river. The gorgeous blue-green colour of the water is due to glacier silt. Just a short distance away, there was a huge black bear ambling on the road, and I was rather apprehensive of getting out of the car to take this shot. He soon disappeared into the woods though (: Beautiful beautiful place. If only the weather was better during my trip.

Goodbye

2009-11-14T16:15:00.002+08:00

Got an SMS today telling me that my Nikon AIS 85mm f/1.4 lens has been sold.

I don't know if I should be joyous or in mourning.

Always wanted it, had such a hard time finding it. But didn't use it, or have much chances to. And so with so little time spent with it, perhaps two or three occasions at most, its left my hands, never to return again.

Hope the new owner treats it much better than I did.

Duckie says Hello (:

2009-11-12T18:13:00.005+08:00

I think I had a connection with this lil duckling in Sapa, Vietnam, who loved being photographed (: Don't you think he's tilting his head and smiling at me? And strangely, I wandered off to shoot ducklings on a rice terrace while everyone else was fascinated by and photographing adorable children of ethnic minorities. I might just prefer cute yellow fluff balls to children.

PS, I actually considered stopping eating duck after I saw this cuties. Still thinking if that would affect my already non-mammal diet.

Perfect

2009-11-12T00:28:00.004+08:00

I don't want half hearted love affairs
I need someone who really cares.
Life is too short to play silly games
I've promised myself I won't do that again.

It's got to be perfect
It's got to be worth it
Too many people take second best
But I won't take anything less
It's got to be
perfect.

Young hearts are foolish
they make such mistakes
They're much too eager to give their love away.
Well, I have been foolish too many times
Now I'm determined I'm gonna get it right.

It's got to be perfect
It's got to be worth it
yeah.
Too many people take second best
But I won't take anything less
It's got to be
perfect.

Today I was in the darkroom from 10am till 8pm. That's about 10 hours on my feet, excluding a short escape to the sandwich machine for some quick chomping before resuming on the dodging and burning (: And I really enjoyed my time in the darkroom, to say the least. I'm gonna miss it real bad next sem!

Need a Break

2009-11-10T22:09:00.002+08:00

I long to sit back and relax under the shadow of a large tree in autumn with a loved one, a good book in hand.

But that seems hard to imagine with less than two weeks to the exams.

On a lighter note, I went running today and got all dizzy so I slowed down, and surprisingly shaved 2 minutes off my 5k (: Haha. Must have been running too fast earlier. And I think I flashed many people my hot pink sports bra as my white shirt wasn't all that opaque o_o

No Matter What

2009-11-09T14:29:00.005+08:00

No matter what they tell us
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach us
What we believe is true

No matter what they call us
However they attack
No matter where they take us
We'll find our own way back

I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not
I know I love forever
I know no matter what

If only tears were laughter
If only night was day
If only prayers were answered
Then we would hear God say

No matter what they tell you
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach you
What you believe is true

And I will keep you safe and strong
And sheltered from the storm
No matter where it's barren
Our dream is being born

No matter who they follow
No matter where they lead
No matter how they judge us
I'll be everyone you need

No matter if the sun don't shine
Or if the skies are blue
No matter what the ending
My life began with you

I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not
I know this love's forever
That's all that matter's now
No matter what

I know no matter what,
Thats all that matters to me

This song brings back good memories. Memories of being in Primary 6. Memories of my favourite camp, when we were made to sing on the journey back to Singapore, and Gabriel sang this tonelessly. Memories of ooh-ing and ahh-ing over my sister's idol Stephen Gately, who is now unfortunately, no longer on this earth.

RIP, Stephen Gately.

New Blogskin

2009-11-09T12:24:00.001+08:00

Decided I wanted to go for something simple, so as not to distract from photos or text or anything.

Click on Prose and Pictures above to navigate (:

Thanks!

Singapore Botanic Gardens in B&W

2009-11-07T00:09:00.004+08:00

Last Sunday, the old man dropped me off at SBG, at the Bukit Timah exit.

I was to walk to the Nassim exit while he sang karaoke (haha, our old family tradition of weekend karaoke) and then he'd pick me up when I was done shooting.

Sweet! It was the perfect excuse to carry my monster of a TLR, the Mamiya C330, two lenses - 80mm f/2.8 and 55mm f/4.5, tripod, shutter release, and lots of 120mm film.

If you saw a person struggling with and dragging along a weird old school huge camera on a tripod with legs extended and poking everywhere, holding a huge spotmeter in the other hand, that's me!

Anyway, let's cut to the chase.

It was a pain in the ass to shoot flowers in B&W (cos flowers to me are colours) as well as do macro using a very-susceptible-to-parallax-error Twin Lens Reflex camera. But hey, I'm a masochist!

OKAY, moving on. Here's the first shot I did, at the entrance to the carpark.

Needless to say, many cars had to try and avoid an ass sticking up in the air at the roundabout, with a head stuck to the waist level finder of the camera, oblivious to cars. I'd love to upload this really LARGE so you can see how sharp and detailed it is (oh the beauty of using a tripod) but the blog layout is too small unfortunately. This might imply a change is coming. OKAY moving on...

I LOVE this plant. Crazy plant that resembles fireworks. I'd love to shoot it top down to get a circular formulation, but I have no idea how to attempt that with a crazy heavy monster TLR (:

The sense of satisfaction, seeing your huge negatives, so perfectly focused and sharp. I LOVE THE TRIPOD!! Even if it takes me more than 10 minutes just to take a shot sometimes. Okay, most of the time.

Cute little orchid wannabes:

This here's a cute ginger plant that I didn't fancy doing a macro on.

And this is the ONLY shot I didn't like from all three rolls I shot:

I suppose I should have used a narrower DOF to throw the background out of focus... ah well, at least I got the water smooth and silky.

Did I mention how much fun it is to dodge and burn in B&W too? I LOVE the darkroom. But when it is not at hand, digital darkroom's fine too (: Burning the highlights for the photo above sucked though, for the scanner was unable to capture enough details. Will shall have to see what the real darkroom produces (:

Ahh, flare, reminiscent of fungus on a lens ):

And this is the last shot from my first roll, Ilford FP4, at SBG, from the Ginger Path.

Its a prelude to things to come! (:

Till part 2 of SBG.

Going, Gone

2009-11-01T21:00:00.004+08:00

So much for never wanting to sell off anything.

My Leica went in the first half of the year, and now my 85mm f1.4 is to be sold as well.

I'm even thinking of selling off everything and going solely film. Perhaps a Hasselblad system? Who knows.

I'll think about it.

Meanwhile, I had a very enjoyable day at the Botanic Gardens.

Just me and my Mamiya C330, getting to know each other better (:

I LOVE shooting. Alone (:

Not Cut Out

2009-10-29T23:00:00.003+08:00

To be a runner.

I keep falling sick too easily, it gets on my nerves.

Having been two days since my fever passed, I decided I was being too lazy by resting and decided to go running.

As usual, I never know my limit, and although I feel dizzy at like 1km I'll continue pushing myself cos 1km is such a short distance! And then at 3k I'll be like really lightheaded and finally stop. And now I'm reaping my stupidity by wanting to puke and feeling faint even now, five hours after the run.

I WANT TO RUN, PLEASE GET BETTER BODY ):

Sapa, Vietnam

2009-10-28T22:08:00.002+08:00

Shot on Agfapan 400, developed in HC-110B.

This was the view from my homestay in Sapa. It wasn't exactly a homestay though given the term. I felt like I was in a cheap hostel in the countryside, contrary to my expectations of sleeping under the same roof as the locals, or even eating dinner at their table squatting on a tiny plastic stool.

Anyway, when I stuck my head out of the hut, the mountainous landscape was misty, and the clouds had completely blocked out the sun. I had always imagined taking a photo like this, photos I had always seen online, with the mountains having no texture but just forming layers in graduated shades against each other. It was a perfect opportunity (: And after development of the film, I was quite surprised to see the light falling into the valley. Whether it was the sun's rays breaking through the clouds, flare, or even a development problem, it sure worked!

Check Out

2009-10-27T23:52:00.002+08:00

This awesome shot from The Sartorialist

A woman in a gorgeous dress, on a gorgeous bicycle with beautiful lines and woven baskets. Can that get any better? I need a bicycle like that.

Career Choices

2009-10-27T22:44:00.002+08:00

I see myself doing something I love after I graduate.

Its not about the money, I would much rather love my job and get a lower pay than hate my job and suffer everyday and get a high pay.

After graduation, I have a few choices. I have to start thinking already.

If its journalism - definitely the fields of food or photo
Baking is something I aim to go into eventually - so I'll have to save up or get a scholarship to attend a baking school and get a diploma in patisserie. It's always been a grand dream to attend Le Cordon Bleu, become a pastry chef, and one day, open my own bakery.
Teach english in Japan. This would be short-term definitely, its a great choice to explore a new place upon graduation.

Teaching piano is most likely a strikeout. No matter how much I love piano, I don't enjoy meeting students that remind me of what a prick I was back then (:

Now, if only I could save up enough to fund my baking future...

Its Crazy

2009-10-26T11:21:00.002+08:00

What falling sick makes you do.

I've finally, for the first time in, at least a year? Slept before 10pm.

And that was only because I could barely move, feeling so drained and weak.

I actually plopped onto my bed and just conked out, so much for insomnia.

Well, I woke up two hours later, and felt really cold and hot at the same time. It so turned out that I had a fever of 38.5. How nutty. And then I had a bit of insomnia where songs started running through my head. I'm really nutty in a sense that I always have music running through my head. When I was going for my diploma in piano, I couldn't sleep cos the songs just kept running through my head and nothing could get them out; I thought I was going insane.

Ah well, I'm thankful the fever's gone (:

I HATE BEING SICK!!! ):

New Unibody MacBook

2009-10-22T15:23:00.004+08:00

I WANT TO PUKE BLOOD!!

Apple just released its new iMac and MacBook.

The MacBook costs S$1,588. As compared to its MacBook Pro 13" bigger brother, which costs a whopping S$400 more at S$1,988, it is plainly a LOT more worth it.

You get the SAME:
2.26 Ghz core2duo processor
2GB RAM
Longer battery life
LED-backlighted screen
Multi-touch trackpad

You get MORE:
hard drive - 250 GB compared to the MacBook Pro 13" 160 GB.

You LOSE:
An SD card slot.
Aluminium body
Back-lit keyboard

Hello, where's the pro of buying a MacBook Pro?!???!

I'd much rather pay $400 LESSER, get more hard drive space, and lose an SD card slot cos I just need an adaptor! An aluminium body is NOT worth $400 more, even if it is 100 grams lighter.

Apple, you suck, I'm sorry. I feel like a ripped off fanboy.

Once-a-week

2009-10-19T11:55:00.003+08:00

My blog survives (barely) on these once-a-week updates. I don't have much time to upload photos or process them anymore; life is getting mucho hectic with FYP, jap, and black-and-white photography. Sometimes media law just blanks out of my head. I'm gonna explode, although its just 4 modules this sem.

--

And I don't want other people giving me get-well-wishes when I'm sick. Where's yours?

--

I've got some nice presents this year (:
Macbook pro, furigana dictionaries, pierre herme dessert book, perfume x2, cute umbrella, a bright pink sports bra and a super expensive photo frame i can't quite start using. And silly billy is still alive, which is the best present of all (: even though he's half bald.

Ilford Delta 400

2009-10-12T21:02:00.003+08:00

My B&W module classmate. Oversized denim cuffed with canvas lace-ups. Love it!

My sister @ Sakae Sushi. Cherian George was sitting behind her (:

Taken on a beautiful evening walking up the slope to meet Timmy.

Here's Timmy

He looks like a dumpling here

This is his crimson chin. Timmy and the Crimson Chin!

I think its cool that I can see myself in the reflection!

She looked pretty cool in real life

I miss Clementi MRT.

Someone broke out of a carpark

Some snaps from Hanoi trip starts here:

Here's the view from my bed in Hanoi

My roomie who takes forever to wake up (:

British lecturer meets Vietnamese editor

Kai Ru and Miak @ Hoa Sua, where we had a baking course

Hard at work for the Sojourn article

The most fantastic coffee I've had in a long time

Miak at Sapa

Church

It's a crazy commercialised place

Till we get muddy hiking in the scenic hills

and meet cute locals

who tempt you into buying things with their innocent looks

(:

Hello Zara.

2009-10-12T13:08:00.002+08:00

I NEED that Zara Balmain jacket. Okay, maybe want is a better word. Want it so badly it becomes a need!

Looks fantastic...

I need to start working again ):

Back from Vietnam

2009-10-04T17:26:00.002+08:00

My photos from Cambodia haven't been completely uploaded, and now I have photos from Vietnam too! Good golly. Fortunately I took half as much photos in Vietnam (:

Here's Miak and I, sitting outside the gate before our flight.

We thought we were late as the status said last call so we ran all the way down, only to see that many people hadn't arrived (:

Shall put up more photos when I have the time.

Just Because

2009-09-24T10:00:00.006+08:00

I feel sad that we don't talk anymore. It feels strange. I can't get used to it. And so I've removed you from my contact list, because when I see you online, it hurts.

You Belong With Me

2009-09-21T17:02:00.004+08:00

I think Taylor Swift has fantastic song lyrics - they are so applicable to almost everyone's love life.

You Belong With Me

You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset
Shes going off about something that you said
'Cos she doesn't, get your humor like I do
I'm in the room
It's a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
and she'll never know your story like i do

But she wears short skirts
I wear T-shirts
She's cheer captain
And I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up
And find what you're looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
been here all along so why can't you see, you
You belong with me
You belong with me

Walkin' the streets with you and your worn-out jeans
I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself
Hey isn't this easy

And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down
You say you're fine
I know you better then that
Hey whatcha doing with a girl like that

She wears high heels
I wear sneakers
Shes cheer captain and
I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see
You belong with me
Standing by and waiting at your back door
all this time how could you not know
Baby
You belong with me
You belong with me

Oh
I remember you drivin' to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh
When you know you're about to cry
And i know your favorite songs
And you tell me about your dreams
Think I know where you belong
Think I know it's with me

Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along
So why can't you see
You belong with me
Standing by and waiting at your back door
All this time
How could you not know
Baby
You belong with me
You belong with me

Have you ever thought just maybe
you belong with me

You belong with me

Okay scratch that - it refers to the silent bystanders. How depressing! If you love someone, confess to them! (:

Feeling Emo

2009-09-14T23:02:00.002+08:00

Who are one's real friends?

How often should exceptions be made?

When is enough?

Is it worth pining over what's not worth it?

Are some things even worth being emo over?

How do we know who's worth disappointment?

Its so hard to understand someone who is so... different.

Day Two at Siem Reap (part 3)

2009-09-14T13:08:00.001+08:00

In the midst of studying for Media Law and my Final Theory Test (of which I flunked the first!), I had a sudden revelation that I HAD to complete posting my photos of Siem Reap, Cambodia.

I suppose its due to reasons like this that I do not do well for tests. Well, let's just hope and pray a miracle happens for my second FTT tomorrow (:

In case you've not been reading on the Cambodia series, here are the first few posts:
Day One
Day One (part two)
Day Two
Day Two (part two)

Let's continue from the end of Day Two (part two), which was when we left the temples and had a BREAK! Hola, lunch!

Meet the Continental Cafe & Guesthouse, a cheap yet good place to get some local / western eats.

This is my Mixed Fruit Shake - which is seriously yummy, chock full of fruits that sucking on the straw makes you feel like your mouth is getting a workout. Mango is definitely a main component of the shake - and its only $1! (:

Here's a Beef Noodle Soup, also $1, but although it looks good, it apparently doesn't live up to its looks! Oh well, still cheap (:

We also had the Chicken w Pineapple Rice, of which I forgot the price. But so far, the food here is really rather affordable... and we came back for seconds (:

After a short nap (cos of the scorching heat), we were back at Angkor Archaeological Park.

The weary tourists trudge on...

Meet Ta Prohm, famous site of filming for Tomb Raider, I think.

Not that I watched it. But this site was allowed to remain in its overgrown state, with large trees growing out of the remnants. It was pretty much held up by a lot of wood beams.

Which, IMO, spoilt the photos!

The trees had particularly shimmery bark too, which means you should photograph there NOT during noon. As you can see, I was facing a lot of shiny reflective problems.

The ruins were particularly interesting though, as compared to the reconstructed / repaired buildings from the Angkorian era which although beneficial to the public, was not how it looked when adventurers discovered the place.

Rubble and tree roots...

Probably restored carvings:

Pardon the flare here, and stare at the gorgeous humongous tree with its roots encircling the ruins. BIG!!! :D

A place of worship within...

Nature regains its stranglehold on the ruins

A very naughty boy who KEPT HITTING THE ROOTS and making a commotion! I actually wished the tree would kinda come to life and swallow the kid whole like in the Lord of the Rings. Alas, none of that happened except in my vivid imagination. Neither did his irresponsible father give the boy a whooping.

And then, I catch a glimpse of the elusive monks in their saffron robes. Maybe their elusive only to me.

Sure, they are going away from me.

Some even run away, with a polite smile on their face.

Oh well, maybe I look scary to monks (:

The next post will bring us to Angkor Wat!

Sometimes...

2009-09-06T00:04:00.000+08:00

I reminisce on good times and unrequited love.

Photos of Punggol

2009-09-02T18:56:00.001+08:00

Day Two at Siem Reap: Angkor Archaeological Park (continued)

2009-08-04T09:12:00.002+08:00

Finally, a continuation on the Cambodia trip (:

After our visit to Bayon, the state temple of Jayavarman VII during the late 12th to 13th centuries, we headed to the nearby Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King.

Similar to Bayon, the Elephant Terrace was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII.

Three hundred metres long, the terrace is decorated with elephants (yes, you guessed it), multi-headed horses, naga balustrades and garudas.

Elephants

and garudas

The terrace seems to be crumbling though, sadly.

However, it should be noted that both the Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King have 'hidden' walls (if I remember correctly) which have better preserved carvings.

When you visit the Terrace of the Leper King, do not just climb to the top to visit the copy (the original is in the National Museum)

but go into the hidden reliefs by walking into a thin sort of trench.

It sometimes gets flooded though, so the whole short distance is not walkable.

Next stop was Bapuon. The temples are all very close together in the enclosure of Angkor Thom.

Built in the middle of the 11th century, the causeway towards the entrance in the east is supported by short pillars.

We did not visit the temple though, for it was under renovation.

Instead, we got a bit lost walking towards Phimeanakas...

But were pointed the right way by a cripple selling paintings in the middle of nowhere.

Don't ask me why its slanting (:

This mini pyramid is crumbled on the top, and VERY small. Meaning you climb up very steep steps, for not really much of a view either on the pyramid, or of the surrounding areas. Not recommended.

Next post will have the famous Ta Prohm temple!

A Bad Haircut and Its Remedy

2009-08-02T14:41:00.001+08:00

Today I went for a haircut.

And I learnt several lessons.

Firstly, never EVER leave your hair stylist to decide your haircut. Its safer to opt for a trim, you adventurous people.

For he might just be harbouring fantasies of punk rock star haircuts, or worse, mullet cuts with bangs and super layered sides. That's what I ended up with. Hair that makes me look like a 1950s rock star.

Secondly, never EVER go for a haircut with your mother, whose idea of an ideal hairstyle is very far from that of a modern female.

She kept encouraging the hair stylist to do things he should NEVER do. Such as layer and layer until the hair at the top of your head is a few cm in length. And it stands up by itself. Even after being coated in goo for the hair. This means she leaves the salon with better hair than you do.

Thirdly, if you are short sighted, please bring along your spectacles. The chair is often some distance from the mirror, and if your sight limits to a range of one metre, your hair is basically a blur. This means you can't pick out things such as hair so short it stands up by itself, cos not all your hair is standing up.

Last but not least, wear proper clothes. When you are dressed up nicely, people take you more seriously than in a running tee and shorts.

But its okay, don't go home and let those tears roll down for your lost hair. If you don't already have a hat, hair clay, and hair spray, go buy two out of the three.

A hat hides everything, but you can't wear a hat everyday. Or at least, the same hat. Therefore, a cheaper alternative is buying hair clay, sweeping those hideous rounded bangs to the side, and flattening mullet sides, and then spraying to make your style stick.

Needless to say, I am no longer an adventurous person when it comes to hair. And I think from now on, I'm either sticking to a boring short cut, or any long style.

Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

2009-07-26T11:40:00.001+08:00

Take a bagel of choice (mine's whole wheat)

Slice into half

Spread on cheese.. lay it thick! But don't play with your food.

Place thick slices of smoked salmon

Please have a bite of me!

Temporary resident fat hamster Isaac Junior thinks its good

Very very good...

Scanned!

2009-07-25T19:25:00.002+08:00

Photos from my Mamiya C330 twin-lens reflex camera:

At Marina Barrage

The sister

Unsuccessful jump shot!

And YS

And we left for the skies were gloomy

I love my tlr (:

In Stitches

2009-07-22T23:35:00.002+08:00

Sooner or later, I'll be puking. Yarn. Lots of it.

I've been knitting almost all my free time away, when I'm not doing work. Otherwise, my eyes are glued onto Ravelry, which has been very naughty and tempting me with lots of gorgeous free patterns for lace shawls.

This is getting to me! I have cramped fingers from holding knitting needles. I knit on the way to work. I knit during work (lunchtime). I knit in the car. I knit in the dark. I knit before I sleep. I don't know, but I might be knitting in my sleep.

And I just ordered about 7,000 yards of yarn online. Help?

Day Two at Siem Reap: Angkor Archaeological Park

2009-07-17T21:15:00.006+08:00

The second day started at 0430, as we headed to Angkor Wat for the sunrise.

Here's the part where you need a torchlight. When we reached, it was pitch dark. No lamps or any form of light except that you bring yourself. And yet there were already so many Angkor pass checkers, sitting in the dark at the start across the moat.

If you're a photographer, you might want to wake up earlier, for the sky was starting to brighten up as we were in the tuktuk on the way there. I kept squealing, panicking that I would miss the good light, but fortunately I reached in time.

Now, if you're there in the darkness, remember that this shot below, is not what you should be seeing if you're planning on taking the sunrise.

It was taken on the bridge across the moat. Just so you know, I was one of the first there, and did not recognise anything as nothing remotely looked like there were the reflecting ponds, but thought it was just the darkness so I set up my tripod in the middle of the bridge. The moon is still high though.

Here's another shot, you can see the sky is lighting up already.

After awhile, I realised that there were people with their guides streaming past me, so I wisened up that the sunrise was to be seen from somewhere further inside.

Lo and behold, its a long walk across the bridge, pass a building... and on and on you'll see Angkor Wat in front of you, with two ponds on either side of the long walk in. The one on the right is pretty dried up now despite it being the rainy season, so head for the one on the left.

I didn't do that, and instead headed up to the steps to take a closer shot... And ended up running to the pond when I saw the light begin to change.

The light is coming out as you can see above!! Got me so excited, perspiration was pouring off my brows. The sky was actually a soft dusty pink where you see the highlights, but stupid digital camera couldn't capture it ):

DA DA DA! The light changes again...

But it is blocked by clouds. Fortunately the clouds are red and beautiful (:

Ain't it a sight for sore eyes?

Then the sun pops up, and all beauty is gone, clouds become white and dreary.

Another view of the morning light at Angkor Wat.

You can probably see the flare in the photo. I forgot my lens shade, so please remember to bring yours. Cambodia is a very flarey place.

One of the 'libraries' behind the pond:

By then, I had squatted and kneeled and squatted for the longest time ever just waiting for my sunrise, that when I clambered up the steps I thought my legs would give way. Learning point here: bring a taller tripod (eye level) or a foldable chair.

Here's one of the seven-headed naga balustrades at Angkor Wat.

And here's the building/gate you will walk past on your way to the ponds. Its taken as in the direction out of Angkor Wat.

What's recommended is that the light at Angkor Wat is better in the late afternoon, as it is backlighted during the morning. So we headed to Angkor Thom before backtracking in the later part of the day.

Before I hopped on the tuktuk, I noticed two girls at the side of the super huge moat surrounding Angkor Wat. They were washing clothes.

and wringing them.

I walked a little further down, and ta da the reflection on the water is different!

Sometimes I don't understand photography.

We had a short breakfast at the stalls nearby Angkor Wat. Food there is not very cheap, about USD3-5 a meal. So either head back to town for a meal, or if you're on familiar terms with your driver, ask him to bargain the price down.

Here's the south (and most famous) gate of Angkor Thom.

Reason being that it is one of the more 'complete' gates, as the rest are in greater state of ruins, and have more missing heads / body parts. The big head you see above is a reconstructed one of an asura, otherwise known as a demon. Leading up to the gate, you will see a row of asuras and gods, grasping on to a naga (serpent god). Its based on the scene of the 'churning of the ocean milk', which is based on a Hindu myth, where the asuras and gods pull on Vasuki, a snake coiled round Mount Mahendra, to churn the ocean of milk and produce the elixir of immortality. Its a scene quite commonly found in the Angkor Archaeological Park.

Here's the south gate alone. The entrance / exit is sized enough for one car to pass through.

Here's the gate again, with an older asura. Not sure if its the original, or just an older reconstructed one.

Next stop was Bayon.

Looks like a huge pile of stones from far, but going closer, you notice the big carvings of heads everywhere.

Apsaras (beautiful celestial females) carved on a pillar.

One of the entrances to Bayon:

A reconstructed carving of apsaras on the temple.

The big carved heads... How many do you see?

Part two will be up when I have the time (:

Day One at Siem Reap (continued)

2009-07-11T21:39:00.007+08:00

Following the boat ride at Tonle Sap, which costs USD15 per person for a slow 1.5 hour trip through a very quiet Kampong Khleang (and highly discouraged as a waste of time and money), we traveled back to town.

Along the way, stops were made along the countryside, where snakes were spotted slithering across the path.

We made a stop at a part where lotuses were abundant.

The sides of the path towards the little hut in the photo, were made up of dried and blackened lotus stems. Almost like a lotus graveyard.

Here's one blooming.

There was a hut on stilts close by, and here you can see the many lotuses surrounding.

As we were taking photos of the far off lotuses, our tuktuk driver (got sick of waiting) came down and told us to follow him past the hut, where we could get nearer to the flowers. There was someone sleeping in the hut.

It was pretty nice out there, but unfortunately I only took photos with my slr and the film is still processing (:

Here's a photo of the hut, as we were leaving.

The driver had also plucked a lotus flower for me:

It sadly, withered by the end of the day, leaving only its stem.

Upon reaching town, we headed for lunch at Khmer Kitchen, of which was recommended online.

There are two Khmer Kitchen outlets, one near Old Market, and one on Pub Street.

We were given plates adorned with cute fishes.

The restaurant's decoration was bright and cheerful in yellow.

Mom and I ordered refreshing lemon juice which cost USD0.50 each.

It was sweet and ice-cold, perfect for downing in the summer heat.

Dad chose Angkor beer, USD1.

We ordered...

Mango salad:

Fish with fried garlic:

Beef with fried garlic:

Amok with chicken:

Some sour coconut milk curry thing with chicken:

The fare was very affordable at around USD3 each for every dish including rice, and was very delicious as well as homely. A must try!

Bayon beer:

The Cambodian beers all seemed very mild and thin... which I suppose is good if you don't like too strong a taste.

After that, we headed down to Old Market, which sells lots of stuff including elaborately patterned silk and cotton scarves, tablecloths with elephant prints, silver jewelry and cute little purses.

I ended up buying more than 10 scarves and a huge cloth for my baby grand while at Cambodia (:

We also visited Artisans D'Angkor within town. This one was the carvings department. The silk workshop is located quite far out of town, but worth the visit.

The company recruits poor Cambodians and gives them free training in skills such as silk weaving, carving, etc and jobs subsequently.

The people were certainly taught well, but the products were rather costly.

We went back to the guesthouse for a rest before the plan of heading to Phnom Bakheng (a temple mountain atop a hill), a place popular for sunsets in Angkor Archaeological Park. How this works is that, if you buy your pass in the evening around 5pm, it will only be effective starting the next day. This means you get about 1 hour free as well as the sunset in the park the day before.

Unfortunately, the weather played us out.

The skies looked like that when we were planning to head out...

And soon enough it was pouring. The wind was crazy, and the trees were swaying like weeds.

So, we gave up on the sunset plan and went back to nap.

The skies looked like this when we were leaving for a traditional dance show in the evening:

Roads in Siem Reap were heavily flooded after the rain, due to the lack of a drainage system.

Some were completely covered in water. The level came up past a car's wheels.

We reached nice and dry, at Koulen II. Dinner buffet and the traditional dance show was priced at USD10 per person, not including drinks.

It was an experience, but rather boring and I almost ended up dozing. The performances were very similar to Thai dances, so if you've seen that, you can probably skip this.

Bored mother:

The next day starts at Angkor Wat!

Day One at Siem Reap: Arrival and Tonle Sap

2009-07-09T14:27:00.011+08:00

After landing at Siem Reap International Airport, we headed towards town on a tuktuk driven by Kim Tann.

His number is 7228 as you can see. We stuck with him for about four days in Siem Reap, more details will be provided subsequently.

Along the way, we passed by a funky lady who looked like a foreigner. Although foreigners are not supposed to rent motorbikes in Siem Reap.

Before heading out to Tonle Sap Lake, we dropped off our baggage at Mandalay Inn, a cramped yet homely budget guesthouse.

Then, we hit the road again!

Here's what a gas station in Siem Reap looks like:

You'll see many of them along the roadside - basically 1 litre used soft-drink bottles filled with gasoline. Some stations have tubes hooked up to gas barrels.

Some shots along the way:

The unphotogenic old man.

A lil naked kid by the road.

Check out the tuktuk driver's shadow!

People building houses.

And finally, the stretch of boats lining the dock at Tonle Sap Lake.

Here's the guy steering our boat.

The trip on Tonle Sap at Kampong Khleuk was quite boring really. The weather was scorching, not many people were out, the light was harsh, and honestly, not very conducive to photography. So if you're a photographer, I'd suggest heading out as early as 7am, or around 5pm.

It was so hot that some of the squatters living there were bathing or swimming in the water.

And then you see all kinds of boats:

Big ones and small ones.

Small motor-driven ones.

Stationary boats.

Heavily laden and close-to-sinking ones.

Here's a woman chopping up stuff to break up the monotony of boats.

A woman rowing her boat in the heat.

Little speedboats.

The floating village even has its own churches:

People preparing food on their boats.

A young mom rocking her kid to sleep.

Bare buttocks! Lots of young children run around buck naked in Siem Reap. I hope it does not encourage child sex in the rural areas :/

Despite being a poor area, houses look very colourful and cheerful.

A young boy sitting on his boat.

After awhile, you reach the end of the kampong, where there are several floating shops where tourists are unloaded.

There are fishes kept in a pen, as well as alligators.

The end of Tonle Sap is a large expanse of empty lake. With several boats floating around.

These boats will crowd to yours, and little children and old women will try to sell you bananas for USD1 (almost every thing there is sold in USD).

Here's one of our drivers steering our boat away.

Views on the way back:

More photos up tomorrow!

Seizures Again

2009-07-09T12:06:00.002+08:00

The Cambodia trip is over, and photos will be uploaded as soon as possible.

On a sad note, Cappuccino is seizuring again, and has done so thrice since 9am. That's about one per hour. He has been screaming as well, all three times, and I will try to bring him to the vet today.

Pray that Cappu will be well again..

Greetings from Siem Reap

2009-06-30T17:50:00.003+08:00

Its close to 1700 now at Siem Reap, Cambodia, and instead of going for a sunset shoot at Phnom Bakheng, the crazy rain - imagine gusts of strong wind and a constant stream of water flying everywhere - has kept me indoors.

One of the people at Mandalay Inn, where I'm staying, said that yesterday the rain and winds were so strong, the bamboo tree in their front yard toppled. They were fixing up the tree and tying it to a support in preparation before the rain came, and I'd say they predicted well enough.

However, the rain which is supposed to last only a short period of time, has been going on for about 45 minutes and looks like it will not abate yet.

So far, Siem Reap looks like a really nice backpackers' destination, but the dust is crazy - imagine your cameras coated in dust, filters coated in dust, and face coated in dust.

Also, Mandalay Inn is really value for money. The place is very clean, and despite being sparsely furnished, there's a television with cable, and the bathroom looks fine.

Anyway, I went to Artisans D'Angkor and Tonle Sap Lake today, and will be uploading photos when I'm back.

Hoping the rain will pass before the dinner & traditional show!