One of these two girls is so eager to do a photoshoot, she gets me more excited than she can ever be. The other one is a bit shy — and does not really want to admit it — but I know she wants to have a try. And I think I can finally figure out something about Wan Ting, something interesting and it is the only one thing worth noticing. I guess only Marcus and I are aware of the Easter Egg in her.

Uh huh! ;)

And Jamie girl is almost the opposite. She will take up the offer anytime! :P

(It is so hard to grab photos of Wan Ting, so I had to cheat to get shots like this..)

For this weekend, I will be shooting without my baby girl as she stays with Jamie. At least until Monday though. But I am not sad or anything. As long as Jamie does not drop it or cause any harm to my baby, I will be happy to let her play with it now and probably in the future as well. My flash baby 430EXII is a little afraid and shy though, so Jamie needs to handle her with care. Afterall, she is not used to getting touched by hands other than mine..

;)

(And this.. by not looking through the viewfinder. Uh huh!)

And I had to wish goodbye to my faithful Vivitar UWS! She was one of my first compact film cameras and she had served me well throughout these years. But I had to let her go since she had been sitting in my dry box unused for such a long, long time and that the Holga 135BC had always been the preferred compact film camera.

(So I cannot taste some of your Ice Kacang, eyh?)

Not that I am complaining — I sold it away at almost twice the price of what I paid for it back then! And I almost sold my Lubi too, if not for my girlfriend’s advice! Thank goodness I changed my mind! I love you Lubi!! I seriously hope I do not give you away too 135BC! Our love-hate relationship is kind of bad but I still want you!

The camera that will stay with me for sure is my Instax 200! I ran out of films for it though but eBay should save me.

:D

(Marcus, this was a good shot but I had to crop it out and added the grains in it. Love it though!)

So the term break has officially begun! And that means, normal work routine shall now resume! More money uh huh. Been looking for a battery grip for my wifey these days so I can expect her to be equipped with one by the end of this month. And the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens costs more than SGD2000, so I should seriously consider selling myself to be able to afford this sexy beast.

SERIOUSLY.

And I need experience too, so if someone is interested in hiring an assistant photographer, do let me know alright? :)

(Say hello to my gay buddy in action! :D)

Oh, if you have not realised, we are actually short of a few days to our first official anniversary! I was not referring to Marcus though, obviously. LOL. Sakina and I have been waiting for this day for so long, especially since it had always been a challenge to maintain a long distance relationship like this one. But we just proved to all that it is still possible to be together. We just need to have a little courage, that is all.

;)

And Marcus, worry not! I will always stand by you forever and ever. You know I love you, right?

:P

These few days, I have been trying hard to convince my Store Manager to max out my working hours as much as possible since these two weeks would be the final few ones before school starts. And once that happens, for sure I will never earn as much as what I am earning now at least until my next semester break. So far, I can safely say I was more or less successful with my persuasions since I reduced this week’s three days of off-duty to just one.

Smart.

But, I saw my roster for this coming week and was in utter dismay as I saw myself being rewarded with two off-days on Tuesday and Wednesday! NOOOOO!!

I will only prefer a day thank you and let that day be Tuesday because something very special is going to happen at my house! Like totally!!

:D:D:D

(Before you ride your bicycle, check the front tyre!!)

And finally, Denise’s Dad’s SLR is with me now! But it uses CR2 batteries and took me quite an effort to find them before Yin San led me to Toa Payoh’s NTUC just before it closed just now. ONE CR2 battery costs SGD6, but I needed TWO so that already robbed me of my SGD12. Freak. But I guess I should just shut up since I needed it quite badly — no power, no show eyh?

Tomorrow, I shall start familiaring myself with the controls before I load it up with my Kodak Elitechrome 100 which will be cross-processed once I am done with all thirty-six exposures. On the other hand, my beautiful Holga 135BC got itself loaded with Denise’s Dad’s roll of negative Kodak Gold 200 film that had actually expired since 2004 — which was a bonus actually since I had never experimented with expired films before. And since this is unlike the positive Elitechrome slide film, no cross-processing will be done later on.

How will these photos turn out? I guess we will just have to wait and see!

(That lump of egg-white looked disturbingly like a soaked-up tissue of Yin San’s snot. HAA!)

Guess who turned up at my workplace??

LIEW YIN SAN!!

Oh my gosh I think I must have had appeared so spastic when she walked into the store with Maggie! It must be weird for her to see myself in rude shock at that moment as I greeted her with my raised eyebrows and gaping mouth. It was really a super pleasant surprise!

How can a super busy girl plan to meet a mega busy boy? Incredible!!

There were not many customers at that time so we managed to snatch a small chat across the counter before she left briefly to send off her departing friend, Naomi. My work ended not long after she arrived so we figured we could do a little meet-up after work — we were fortunate I worked mid-shift! :D

Where did we head to then? YA KUN KAYA TOAST at Raffles City!

(Actually, it had been quite a while since we took a photo together! xD)

To be frank, it was actually my first time eating at YKKT. There, both Yin San and I found out how the name Ya Kun originated from its founder, Ah Koon, translated in Hanyu Pinyin. Interesting eyh?

We had Kaya Toasts, and I thought one of my two half-boiled eggs was a twin since the size of its yolk was actually double than normal. It must be very special so we gobbled it up — Yin San did that through her nose though. HAHAHA!

We went back shortly after before she brought me to NTUC to get those elusive CR2 batteries just before the supermarket closed. Expensive, so it better be worth it uh huh!

I loved it how we did lots of catching up during the ride home. It was so nice to see her again after such a long, long time!

And not to forget,

TEASING HER WAS THE BEST THING I COULD EVER DO TO HER!

:P

(LOVE Rusydi.. Yea right! Hehe.)

(Jacky getting a little sick as Qi Rui kills more seaweed chicken!)

(From left: My mani/pedicurist, Chinese tutor, ME, lawnmower and swim pool cleaner — all bought discounted!)

(Joonies loves HOT DOGS!)

(Joonies and her tofu.. OKAY..)

(I love this lah, I have no idea why Evon dislikes this photo of her. Haah..)

(See that white bundle at the top right? That is Joonies, not your usual candyman. HAHAHAHA!)

(Girls after their Bacardi; Boys after their milk tea and carrot juice.. *hiccups*)

This entry is super simple, it looks cheap. Haa!

Happy 17th to the both of you my TEENAGE friends!
What an advanced birthday for Jiayang and a super advanced one for Yinsan!
Hahahaha!

Love you both!
;)

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday but not due to the weather because it rained on me when I left my house.
Rather, it was because Joonies wore something beautiful for our class meet-up! I was stunned, literally.

HAHAHA!

(Joosty getting hungry already. Where is my food?)

“Joosty was a university student who was looking for a diamond ring for his mother’s birthday on Sunday;
Rooshdee was a working student who had to survey for a diamong ring for his soon-to-be fiancee in two
months time.
They found this jewellery shop and decided to source around..”

The act was so convincing, I think the sales assistant got fooled. Nice one Joosty!

(Sometimes, being narcissistic is good. Like Joosty, the photogenic!)

So that was basically what we did for our next IDEAS assignment. Hmm.. I wonder what is this night
cycling trip that Ms Yip mentioned about to 1A02. It involves the photographers of 1A01 (Joosty and I)
so that is why I am a little concerned here. Ahh..

(Grr..)

So who came for this outing this time?
Evon, Joonies, Joosty, Jackfruit, Ah Siong, Delvin, Keech, Bengee, Wilfred, Yinsan and I of course.
Keech got for himself a no-degree pair of spectacles for a change of style and ended up making himself
looking far geekier — a cute geek Joonies cannot resist, definitely. How Keech, how?

Good thing we noticed that your specs was flawed and bent, if not you will be wearing it to school and
be a walking joke. No kidding! I do not think your eyes will become smaller from its use though. I think..

(A hungry woman is a scornful, emo woman..)

Evon did her own shopping before the guys even met so that saved us some trouble though I would
have preferred tagging along as well. I would love to see your bargaining skills!
But come to think of it, you were right — men will never understand women..
I never knew the distance from Suntec City to Marina Square was so far, it took you girls half hour
to reach us. HAAAH!

(Bengee’s promotional poster for his latest CD album. HAHA!)

Yinsan left even before she met us, which was a bummer but she must have had her own reasons.
Well at least she came right? Maybe next time she can hang around a little longer and crap abit
with the rest of the gang — the more the merrier!

(You do not look like a Chinese in this one, seriously. I think I made you look like a Caucasian!)

The games that were played while we waited for Ah Siong were totally, totally insane but FUN!
To name a few: Game of Concentration, Titititi/Tuki Tuki/Tongka Tongka (WTH!), Ahh What!, etc..
I think I overcooked my brain for these. I am too old for these kind of challenges!
>< "

(Joonies looking as hot and seductive as ever!)

The route to Joosty’s crib was long from Aljunied but it was great going through the different lorongs
of Geylang; and the temples that lined alongside the streets; and that solitary mosque. I love long walks!
Thanks to all of you for showing great understanding, knowing that I am a little particular about food being Halal
for my consumption and all and being accomodating to your fellow Muslim friend here. I love you all loads!!

The ghost stories told between walks were real though I did not mean to spook you all. And yes, I do
believe in the supernaturals. Delvin, you were right in saying that everyone can feel them and not all
are ‘gifted’ enough to see these things. And Joonies, thanks for that ‘light fire’ thingy. I might not have
understood its significance but I was definitely touched by the care shown. And to the others too.
Let us protect each other, not spook each other out, right Joosty?

HAHA!

Thanks Delvin for sharing that dish you bought. You rock!

(Ah Siong with his berms and loafers. Good thing it did not rain on him again. HAHA!)

The camwhoring session after dinner was really funny and all of these photos were already uploaded
on Facebook. I know I have not posted much candid shots of me, so now here is the chance to catch me!
I ended up sleeping at Joosty’s while the others hopped on Papa Jackfruit’s car to be sent home after that.
It has been such a long time since I last showered in warm water and I admit it felt really good..
I prefer cold showers though because it is simply awesome possum and rejuvenating!

Now that Joosty’s kind of familiar with photo-processing using Photoshop, I really cannot wait for him
to get his own DSLR to partner me in the future. We will pair up like Batman and Robin..
You, Robin of course!

Or Pinky and The Brain.
You be Pinky, I am The Brain. Fair enough?

xD

(I should have brought a tripod next time. Than using my bag. One cool shot, this one.)

Thanks Joosty for the hospitality, even though you pulled our shared blanket away from me and left
me frozen for an hour in your air-con before I moved to your second mattress and hid under your
bedsheet. You selfish, greedy punk!

But I carried on sleeping until noon still. Heh.

There goes my favourite online audio streaming client, Last.fm. Last Wednesday, the developers decided to
change the way Last.fm Radio works in countries other than the US, UK and Germany; subscribers not from
these three countries will have to fork out €3.00 per month to continously stream music like how it used to work
so well previously. More information about the changes can be found at their blog.

I am so fond of Last.fm basically because of its ability to stream music based on their genres, or global tags.
Its simple design interface allows me to quickly search for desired tags like downtempo and post-rock and
it is easy to scout for similar artistes to the ones I love listening to like Boards of Canada, Flunk, Sia, Tycho
and so much more. I love waking up and just having to click the play button and let them stream my
favourite music non-stop. But now that they have decided to upset me by adopting this questionable
service, I guess I have no other choice but to uninstall the client and learn to live without it.

My 30GB worth of music should suffice but I am already suffering from crappy withdrawal symptoms!

Anyway..

Happy 17th Birthday Evon Liu Bixie! You are so officially six years younger than me now huh? >< "

The guys organised this mini birthday celebration for her just outside our lecture theatre yesterday
and we got two miserable slices of cakes for her to indulge in to (but it is the thought that counts, right?).
It looked yummy and I wanted to have a taste of it but after having witnessed Evon's nose plonked right
into the sweet treat, I figured it was best to just stay away from them.

Eeeew...

Delvin had the other slice though, so..

I brought my girlfriends along for this occassion, all four of them except my first darling because she
needed more rest at my place. So sad, but the other four could easily manage the responsibilities
without much problems.

I had my 1000D, F40FD, Instax 200 and 135BC all work for me yesterday and they all were really
sweeeeeet~!

We all stayed on for quite a while, having fun with each other and taking videos too using my F40FD.
It is cool seeing how useful my compact can get even though I have my massive 1000D with me, complete
with the nifty 50mm lens. I am so not going to abandon this first digital baby of mine! :D

And right after the girls left, the boys did something they had been doing so frequently for the whole
week: GAMES!

We had already spent alot on bowling and pool games at the SP Graduates’ Guild just because we were
gifted with too much spare time in hands. Just for this week, though. I can already foresee our workload
piling up exponentially in the next few days — heck, we already have a couple of projects due by the
end of May.

*sighs*

Everyone is starting their revision already; everyone realised that Optometry is no easy course!

School is dreadful, but our class is definitely one of a kind. You all rock peeps!

By the way, Qi Rui was planning for a class outing this coming Wednesday or Friday. Suggestions guys!

Oh, before I end, here is another shoutout for Evon Liu,

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”

Ever since ORD, I have never felt any better.

It just feels good to finally be able to chuck all my equipment at home
and not be driven by military regimentation at all.
I have barely polished my own pair of boots at home!
Oh but even so, I do miss some activities that can only happen while serving the Army;
These were the moments that truly added values to the life of a soldier:

FIREFIGHTS!
I have always enjoyed commanding my own section in fights be it during conventional or urban warfare.
But ever since I held the Platoon Sergeant appointment,
Army life can get a little too extreme especially during defence missions!
Ahh defence missions were nearly overkill!
Aaaaaaaah!
But these fights of course looks good on video, like how you would have always seen them
in the commercials and how you have imagined it to be.

PAYDAY!
No matter how badly soldiers performed,
No matter how many extra duties were dished out,
No matter how bad the economy was,
No organisation would pay so consistently unlike the SAF.
For two years, money was never an issue for the Commanders of the SAF except for the soldiers of course;
Their pay were much lower compared to the Commanders but these proud soldiers did not complain much
but instead had always strived hard to aid their Commanders.
Oh, how the tenth of each month had always been the day to look forward to!

FOOD!
Every Wednesday, we always had Western meals for lunch.
Fish and chips, chicken chops, fries, rice, mayonnaise, chilli sauce, mushroom cream soups,
soft breads, corns, carrots, broccolis, AND SO MUCH MORE!
MWAHAHAHAHA!
Since I was never picky with food, I never had any problem with the food served in camp
and had always grown to love them —
If only the other soldiers could learn how to appreciate more
and to stop being such a fussy eater.
OH, and I cannot stand soldiers who would rather spend a bulk of their mealtimes
separating all those vegetables from their plates!
WHAT RUBBISH!
*shakes head*

Firefights, payday, food. Erm.. firefights, payday, food.
I guess I have nothing else to add to this list.
But even though ‘physical trainings’ was not included, this does not mean that it was not important.
OF COURSE IT WAS!
If a soldier decides to skip trainings and choose to remain unfit, that is similar to
a soldier who digs a trench during defence but only for his own grave;
The soldier will most likely give up and kill himself if he cannot cope.

Oh well, if not for some reasons quite personal, I would definitely
have chosen Army as a full-time career.
But, it is just not meant to be that way.

Sakina, for you,
Definitely.

Hearts.

Monday Out 01!
Monday Out 02!

After National Service, I wait.