Ever since I told my colleagues I do not really leave home without my compact camera at least, these guys
totally went bonkers! I never realised these people were photo-whoring freaks! And I loved it!

(I certainly did not like how the entrance looked like, heh.)

Since Woodleigh is located at the now exhumed Bidadari Cemetery, it is common to hear about rumours
and sightings related to this station, especially by those who works nearby or at the station itself. Someone
once said they saw your ’sister’ down at the tracks, while others swore to hearing music playing in the
female toilet — I cannot say these are true but work becomes more interesting if we start believing in it.

(I thought this one looked kind of cool, until I realised my ‘broken arm’. Noooo!)

Obviously my 1000D did not accompany me to work, rather it was mostly my F40FD doing all the dirty
jobs and she did them all exceptionally well. It had never failed me so far that was why I had been hesitating
all along whenever I was close to purchasing another compact like the LX3 or the G10. If I did, it would
have been betrayal. Besides, this beauty has the additional function of video-recording so I cannot see why
it should ever be left at home.

That is why it sits in my bag almost always! :)

(The so-called ‘Youngest Three’ at my workplace. Hahaha flattery eh, I am the youngest! :P)

Work will be a bore if it is done alone without good company. It is worse when it is something laborious
like what I am doing. The same goes for school right? Without good people like the Feople, I doubt I
will be more motivated to study. Good Feople make good music too! Haha!

(Without this guy and his coffee, I would not have survived all the late night work. You rock bro!)

I think I have been consuming too much coffee these days, even in school sometimes. But I guess it cannot
be helped since I need these caffeinated products just to keep me going. I know they are bad in the long run
but I cannot find any other alternatives right now. I hate coffee also because being a diuretic it makes the loo
the most frequented; I smell more like the air fresheners in these toilets now!

(These camwhoring dudes love my camera totally. So they rock big time! :D)

I will not lie. The only thing that motivates me at work is money. If I got no money, I cannot be independent.
That is why I am working right now friends. I am old enough to get engaged you know, so I should be saving
up more. If I keep saying I do not have enough money, that is probably because these income goes straight
to my savings or to my parents for their own use. I should not trouble anyone — human should strive not to
trouble anyone beside their own selves.

(At the staff room after our hard work. Air-conditioned some more!)

I was a little ill-disciplined a few years back and because of money and girl, I lost focus. I do not want to
say much about this. At your age, you should not be looking for partners yet; it can get a little distracting
because you are just too young to understand. I made that mistake last time so I am the in the best position
to advise all of you. Like really, do not bother wishing for a partner yet. Teenagers are just too immature for that.

(We do not do this often but only on Friday nights. Being on the Woodleigh tracks on Friday was.. FUN!)

Just enjoy what you all have now friends. Love what you own now and have fun while you are still young.
I never said I am that old though. Heh.

Dear You,

It has been tiring for me, really tiring. I wish I could do something more but I am far powerless
than I imagined myself to be. We are pretty muted on the surface but actually alot more are happening
within us that we ourselves are finding hard to fathom — I find it easier to say that we have been ignoring
it instead.

So far, I have been contented with leaving signals, writing on walls and tracing white paper but these
really are not enough — at least not enough to convince you well, Love.

I think this really tires me. I do not want to die young, die trying.

I wish I could do more, Love.

Dear You,

Sometimes I wish the world could be an easier place to live in — if one has to stoop low to survive, everyone
else should do the same too; if one only has to depend on the parents to live in comfort, others should not
be made to do much work too. Everyone will be contented that way, you know. All of us will be happy.

And I wish people could just be more direct and to voice out their feelings straight, instead of letting others
be trapped in their own confusions guessing the states these people are in. It complicates matters in the process,
and can hurt so much in the long run.

I wish you could be more direct, even if it hurts. At least I will not feel like a miser waiting and getting played
in the end.

Let us get to the nitty-gritty of the problem we are facing right now.

It is so simple to be afraid..

YSL mentioned to me stating that my hands were rough and that skin lotions/mosturisers should be
my new best friends. But I only told her that these were the hands of a working man which I am so
glad to own — mostly callused from all the military trainings I have been through and the part-time
jobs that had helped me cushion my expenditures and lighten the burden on my parents.

I guess only YSL from my group of friends knows that I am doing a midnight job to earn a little
bit of income for my own allowance. The job is pretty simple actually, laborious only occasionally
and requires commitment of about three hours per night before my rest. The only downside to this
is its dismissal time: freaking 0530hrs! On days with lessons that begin at 0800hrs, surely I will
be rushed though I hope to not be making this as an excuse for punctuality issues in the future!

It feels a little tiring but I should be fine.

This dedication limits quality time with my cameras, blog and my useful Twitter friends. My
photography journey would not have gone this far if not for these friendly Tweeps actually.
And now that I have about seven hundred followers subscribing to my tweets, it is only
basic courtesy for me to repay their faith in me by constantly providing valuable photography-
related advices and sites for these photographers. I used to be a diligent Twitter but lately
I have not been practising daily and therefore lost a couple of followers due to my inactivity.
Well I hope to contribute more in the future — at least I think one update per day is
better than nothing at all!

(Justin getting a little berserk with his baby. How how? Excalibur did not hurt King Arthur, dude!)

I still owe my DOPT mates our class chalet photos! OMGOMGOMG I am so sorry guys! It
tops my priority-list right now but time is just not on my side. I will get them done ASAP
for sure! REALLY! PROMISE! YSL is my collateral so if anything goes wrong, you all should
know who to find alright!

:D

Oh man, why am I so not concerned with my MST right now? I think I am insane! I am going to do
some magick at Toa Payoh library with YSL later on though. Hey, at least it is better than being so
confident and thinking that one can study for the 1030hrs Anatomy and Physiology test at almighty
0600hrs tomorrow! Right right YSL??

HAHAHAHA!

I love Sundays because I have no work today! Yesssss!!

(Justin the bum MIA because he thought BK was a place to sleep!)

While YSL is in church, I should be making my way to the library now. Oh please not let me doze off
in the library later on. Please please please please.

I was thinking of adding a ghostly apparition as reflection on the glass window but I changed my mind.
It could turn out to be real one day, so I better not play with this kind of joke..

Especially with my beloved camera!

x(

Oh. HAPPY JUNE my friends! Lots of birthdays coming up this month right right?? Kekeke.

Before our time spent at Wan Ting’s house, I had always been aware of the hype surrounding “Guitar
Heroes” and “Rock Band” but never that fanatical to go crazy about this music gaming sensation.
After the virtual ‘jamming session’ on Friday though, I totally realised what this was all about!

IT IS FREAKING ADDICTIVE!

(Yinsan warming up! Wan Ting and Joonies smiling for no reason. Creepy.)

No wonder ‘The Bananas’ were going bananas ever since Wan Ting introduced the game to them —
She totally poisoned the minds of both Evon and Joonies to the point of no return!
I BET THE BANANAS ARE SUFFERING FROM WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS RIGHT NOW!
Bahaha!

(Always ask for help when you are in trouble. Look at this — IT WORKS WONDERS!)

But of course, if there is ‘The Bananas’, there must be ‘The Papayas’!
Unlike the female band though, The Papayas, which is made up of Justin, Jacky and I, are almost
close to hopeless in terms of musical talent —
Jacky always sounded so ‘cheena’ when he was on the microphone (reminds me of William Hung!);
I suffered from psycho-motor problems on the drums; Justin could not strum for nuts on the guitar!!

Jacky was so talented on the guitar though; Justin did quite alright on the drums and I preferred being the
vocalist than anything else — at least this line-up was not as messed up as perceived to be! I nearly killed
Jacky though when I chose Paramore’s Misery Business. Hee hee. :P

The session ended around eight that day when it started almost at noon when The Bananas reached first.
And I think it still was not enough for all of us! My fingers are itchy and I am dying to sing now.
And in my head Tokio Hotel’s Monsoon had been replaying itself over and over since we stepped out
of Wan Ting’s house.

I told you, THIS IS MADNESS!

Oh ya, did I tell you that Wan Ting’s house is also THE MADNESS?!
Wonderful crib she has over there. I wish I could jump to the pool straight from her seventeenth storey
unit though. We could all see what the girls played when they headed to the pool.

:)

I hope there will be another time for this kind of jamming session. The Bananas, if there is such a session
do not forget to remind the Papayas! Okay? Please! :D

(Unglamourous… unglamourous. Wakaka!)

And guess what? I have finally finished processing all of my sister’s engagement photos which were all
long overdued! I am so sorry my dearest sister — your photos were definitely placed sky-high in my
list of priorities but school commitments totally choked up my time and wore me out so quickly I almost
always ended up sleeping on my laptop whenever I was working on your much-awaited photos.

(I felt nervous but confident enough to not show myself getting jittery for your shoot. AHH!)

After seeing the results I was pleased with how they turned out even though I lacked the
necessary equipment to produce a decent set of gears. You could see how limited I became for your
night shoot as I did not have an external flash unit and had to resort to diffusing my inbuilt flash
with a sorry piece of tissue paper — high ISOs would totally render the images unusable because
the 1000D is such a low-end camera!

(I just had to make him re-enact that wonderful scene but now at a different setting. Love this!)

I did what I could and it was the best I could achieve my dear sis. I hope you liked them the way my
eyes glittered and my heart warmed up whenever I scanned the album of your engagement photos.
At this point of time, I feel so attached to photography I could sense my photos’ misery if my shots
were not up to standard. I wish to acquire more for my photography set though so I can be much more
willing for these kind of professional photoshoots. I only want the best for my clients! :)

(Ibu making herself useful as the make-up assistant.)

We must thank Ibu and Ayah okay for their sacrifices and the time spent in preparing this special day
of yours. You must always know that without their prayers and blessings, this engagement would not
have happened. Only you know what we went through right sis? So I hope you would not fail us and strive
to make your marriage possible one day.

And I know you will work hard my dearest because I have always believed in you and will always protect
you from any harm whatsoever. You have always been one strong and capable woman ever since you
were young — I have faith in you totally.

I wish you all the best Gergurl!

;)

(You definitely look like a hired model here my sis! If only Jessica Alba is more willing.. HEHEHE!)

You are truly one beautiful woman my sis..

After one quickie month of lovemaking and bondage between my classmates, I am glad to say that these
young chaps have truly gelled well with each other like both Joosty’s hair and Gatsby’s moving rubber wax do.

I am touched to see how cohesive we are, like how my soldiers used to work so well together in camp —
It brought about an unexplainable taste of delight just by looking at how they cared for each other.
My classmates are more than friends now; we are like one big happy, crazy family.

(Erm Platoon Sergeant Rusydi.. I see something moving behind the tree. Is that our enemy??)

If you ask me, these are colourful people too!

The smart slackers; the stupid cheongsters; the hongsters; the wankers;
The lovely beauties; the sexy beasts; the Smokescreen; the Keech!;
The sportsmen; the hunks; the sportswomen; the bums;
And the photogenic; the matchmakers; the photophobic; the scandalous!

(For your own safety, please stay away from Joosty!)

They are what I go to school for.
Jackfruit cried out foul yesterday during The Great Boredom in Math class, and he said,
“Ahh. Can’t I just drop out and start working already??”

And this guy is such a smart donkey. I mean, from the amount of fruits he consumed after every meal,
I am not surprised at this brainiac — his brain must be smelling fruity always, and the name is Jacky.
You all should have figured out why I call him Jackfruit then.
HAHAHA!

(This reminds me of the statue in Brazil, for whatever reason it can be..)

The unintentional hurt and love..
Sometimes we went too far with our fooleries that we hurt the ones we love, but it was only natural for us
to forgive and forget each other’s mistakes because of the strong phosphodiester bonds between us. Like really!

Delvin especially. Tsk tsk. We hurt because we love.
I think..

>< "

(Jiayang, malu.. Flasher wants to pose, have to suck in his stomach! HAHAHA!)

But best of all, these are my best photo buddies! Especially Joosty! He shares the same passion with me,
he is sporty, he loves girls and we hug each other everyday! Now that is ONE LOVE, is it not? HAHAHA!
Please, hurry up and get your own DSLR!

And our girls are so photogenic, I will never tire from snapping their beautiful photos.
I am not lying! Joonies, there is no sarcasm here so stop hitting me! Wahahaha!

(This is so DOPT/1A01!)

Joosty found out this beautiful D’Kranji Farm Resort where we can spend our vacation week together.
I am just concerned with the size though. If we cannot find some other place, those who intend to sleep,
go and lie on top of each other. Really..

HAHA!

(And this is the REAL DOPT/1A01!!)

Alrighty, I am supposed to meet with these people at 1300hrs for shopping, photoshooting, dinner
and movie probably. And I have not even showered.

Ciao people. You all rock my socks!

xD

It must have been painful for her to spend the remaining years without her most-loved one.
It must have been really lonely for her.
When he left us many years ago, she did not wail —
Neither did she mourn of her loss.

Rather, she hid the agonising pain deep inside her and never seemed to complain.

Today, it was her turn to leave us to meet up with my just-as-lonely grandpa.
I am sure this has got to be the happiest day of her life.

My grandma,
The best wife there is, there was,
And the best that will ever be.

If you do not understand what is love,
Now this is love.

I love you grandma. May your soul be blessed always.
I miss grandpa too you know.

And I miss my late younger brother who left me 23 years ago soon after he was born.

90 days ago, it was not necessary for us to go through it actually;
We definitely knew what were going through our minds and hearts;

Our words always seemed to taste so sweet;
We were the most beautiful things our eyes had ever laid upon;
Voices had never sounded so calming before —
Heck, we knew how much we meant to each other!

The letters that went back and forth,
The parcels after parcels of surprises —
Signed, kissed, sealed, delivered —
Travelled miles and miles in the air,
Covering distance of the many great oceans between us;
Yet we played pretend.

How absence itself caused us so much restlessness
During those months in Taiwan and Mecca, they were obvious,
Were they not?
We did not just need each other;
It was more than that, more than what we could ever comprehend.
Yet, we played pretend.

We still had those gifts we exchanged six years ago,
And they were the most well-kept treasures one could ever think of.
Everything there was about me,
To you they were priceless;
Everything about you,
They were more than anything else to me.
Was it love? No.
It was more than that.
Yet again, we played pretend.

But we did not have to fool ourselves,
For we definitely knew what were going through our minds and hearts.
Three months are nothing actually —
For all that we know, history between us dated all the way back since 2003.

Happy third month Sakina.
You are definitely the best;
The One and Only.

Oh,

I lub you berry, berry much,
You shmelly shmelly belly.

:)

(All pictures were taken by my trusty Fujifilm Finepix F40fd)