New Year's Eve

Begone clutter and messiness!

So before you know it, the end of the year has finally arrived. 2005 - what can I say? It's been a great year; one can only hope (and pray) the incoming year will be as good as, if not better, than the year before. If all goes well, it would be my 21st year on this earth - my first year of adulthood - and to paraphrase a famous superhero quote - with age, comes greater responsibilities. Turning 21 probably sounds exciting for those itching to reach adulthood and the freedom that comes with it; the adults would probably tell you that it's not really a big deal and that they would rather go back to their carefree childhood days. Oh well, just let me get used to writing 2006 on my worksheets. :)

Allow me to list out my wishes for 2006:

1. What, I can't wish for world peace? :)
2. A better financial situation
3. A better camera so I can take better photographs
4. Travel more so I can take better photographs
5. Maintenance of cleanliness in my own room
6. A more astute and healthier mind fed with knowledge and spiritual goodness for the body and soul
7. Happiness for those around me

If you're in SMU, school starts on 3rd Jan! So see you crazy people back in school!

And what a new way to start the new year with a new profile picture. :)

A little bout of narcisissm and reminiscing - Let's hope 2006 will be even better than the already great 2005. Happy New Year everyone! :)

Testing: I Spy

I Spy
Originally uploaded by shoehada.

Well, this is my very first time using flickr! I know I know, I'm a tad too late, but hey, better late than never eh? And boy am I glad for flickr, for reasons known only to me. :) 2 projects coming right up, one website and one horror film. People rejoice!

PS: No, they aren't finished yet, but in the process of finishing eh?

PPS: My mom had to have 4 stitches on her left arm. :(

Of Needs and Wants

Dreams of white winters beckon,
We'll never see it, they reckon;
Like soft fluffy white snow,
Hope in them begins to grow.

Was woken up from an unusual afternoon nap by the excited mom waving two letters from SMU, saying, "You open one, I open one". One turned out to be a greeting card from OUA; another a scholarship letter. And there I was, reading them in my semi-conscious "I-want-to-go-back-to-sleep" mind before handing them back to my mother, who commented on my method of opening the envelope - simple plain tearing - in the abovementioned state of mind. "Cantiknya*", she chided. Took a look at her envelope - it was opened without being torn.

Of course I would want to (and I must) thank God, my parents and SMU for being the lovely school it is. I've certainly been given countless examples of the phrases "a blessing in disguise" and "there is a silver lining on every grey cloud" or to that extent. Pardon me for not being able to remember the exact phrases at 2:11 a.m!

After my brother bought a new handphone, I've been clamouring for one too. Anybody who has been tortured by the sight of my handphone has never forgotten to comment on its dismal state. Of course I could buy a new one, but what would happen to the contacts I saved in my phone? The pictures, messages, reminders. Not to mention the sentimental attachment I have to any personal belonging. Karang guni woman, I am. To think of all the trouble I have to go through certainly puts me off the new purchase. Perhaps I just need my things to be functional, not pretty. Perhaps I'm trying to initiate a silent protest against the rapid advancement of technology, where new gadgets get churned out before you have time to get used to the one that you just bought. Perhaps I'm just trying to absolve myself from the guilt of being lazy or stingy. Perhaps perhaps perhaps.

Approximately 2 weeks left till school starts. As much as my travelling plans have gone kaput, I shall be brave and make the most of it. As they (or rather, I) say, look no further; we keep wanting things that are too far from our reach when what we really need are right under our precious noses. There's still so much more to explore in Singapore; a morning bus ride to Singapore Zoo showed me an unseen side of Singapore that was reminiscent of its olden days and a scenic picture of a reservoir. Now all I need to do is to find someone to do the exploring together.

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*This usually means "so pretty". Obviously the word connotates a different meaning over here. :)

My Mini JB Adventure with Mooney - Good food, lots of walking and shopping and a surprise when you look up. :)

Collection - Black & White

Tag

And so I've been tagged by lovely Mardhiati. :)

Rules of the Game
1. Post 5 weird/random stuff abt yourself
2. At the end, list the names of 5 ppl who you want next to this and leave a comment "YOU ARE TAGGED" in their blogs and tell them to read your blog for rules! (I'm sooo not going to do this!!!)

5 Weird/Random Stuff about Myself

1. I laugh during horror movies. My sincerest apologies to whoever forced/forces me to watch a horror movie with them.

2. I have no curfew but my mother has one. *chuckles*

3. I think nerds and geeks are cool, no?

4. I'll be learning Spanish next term as a step towards my dream of being a multi-linguist. Hola!

5. I'd rather be in the cold than to go through hot weather. Winter's my season; alas I was born in tropical Singapore.

5 People I'm Tagging

1. Kung Ham It, my dear soulsibling and the rest of the Laughtertears gang.

2. Gracia dearie, when you're back from Melbourne.

3. Aisyah dear, when your schedule isn't so tight.

4. Aliya, before you leave for Australia!

5. Meiju, my lovely SMU mate.

Alriteys dearies, off you go! :)

Holidays!

Alright, it's been ages since I've last updated this blog of mine. What can I do, when my photography kaki (ie. Gracia) is away gallivanting in Melbourne while I stay uninspired in my room? *attempts to look sad here* I want some lovely souvenirs, you hear me?? :)

Either way, it's the holidays! Short one this time round, with school starting on Jan 2nd. Have all the rest you can! Off to school tomorrow to collect pay and term papers.. Lovely people, msg me to meet up!

Mr. Darcy's such a dear; life sure has been kind to me in many ways. :)

For the lack of anything better to show, a sunrise from my window.

Light - SMU

Love the view from my window :)

Colours of the past

Heaven beckons.

Dose of Inspiration

Ok, so I needed this to feel a little better about myself, you know? In times of dire need like this (read: exams), we all can do with a little swab of motivation around here.

Good luck for the exams people!

Portraits - Children

How do you smile when you've just lost a front tooth?

Pretty boy sure knows how to model for the camera. :)

And there she smiles for the first time for the camera. :) Have you ever seen such pretty eyes?

Fingerprinting

Last Day of School

A little wave that says goodbye,

Remembering the tears and heartfelt pain;

Even as I asked you why,

Will we see each other again?

And so classes officially ended on the wonderful day of yesterday.

And what a term it had been, with lovely profs, classmates and so much more. Last days are always so special. We were surprised with a hilarious cartoon and swiss chocs by our TWC prof. As time-consuming marking exercises were, I can't deny that I've enjoyed being a TA to a bright bunch of freshies. Econs always made me laugh yet learn. RMSS was an insightful learning experience with a prof that constantly amazes us with his intelligence, just as T&A was for me. I've learnt so much from everyone around me and gained so much knowledge that I was surprised time flew so fast. To all of you who've made my term memorable, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Exams, here I come! :)

Pinch

Growth

In Sweet Loving Memory

Leon Michael Gomez

12/04/1993 - 7/11/2005

Sweet Serenade

Endearing Innocence

Eid Mubarak!

Yay!

My room is so clean now! Spent 12 hours (with breaks in between) cleaning it up, organizing my mess, scrubbing and wiping the surfaces. I'm pretty amazed by how I can finally see the surfaces of my table and floor! Of course I took before and after photos. For a self-proclaimed sloth and messy genius, this is certainly quite the achievement for me.

Just had to note this moment down. :)

Of happiness we seek,

With gratitude we speak;

In God's grace we live,

In remembrance we forgive.

Reminiscence

Away he turned and into the light,

She makes a note of who's right;

Sky turns a deep prussian blue,

Into a n'er seen before hue.

This would be the 374th post of my blog. To date, my blog is 7 months old! When I first started it back in April 3rd, I would never have thought that I'd last this long; that it would be just a passing fad and I'd lose interest in it by the time something new comes up, as evinced by my utter lack of commitment and short attention span in other areas. Of course, some people would say, it's just 7 months, but hey, do allow me this little inexpensive thrill of mine, and yes, there'll be a self-celebratory post when this blog turns 1, should I survive till then.

So much has happened in this blog in this 7 months. I've made new friends, chatted with fellow photographers, travelled and even had people from various countries visit or chanced upon this little blog of mine. To you, I'd give a warm welcome and a big hug if I could. :)

If you'd noticed, my style of photography has certainly come a long way from the early days of my blog, and of course, the post-processing of my photographs. Contrary to what people believe, I don't use so many steps to edit my photos. I like to think that I'm unorthodox; other than the fact that I think if people learn what I do/not do to my photos, they'll either just cringe in incredulous horror or smack themselves on their forehead for not having thought so. The fact that I rarely open my Adobe Photoshop unless it's for designing work probably doesn't help matters.

Oh well, here's to many more days of self-discovery, experential learning and photos to come, hopefully. :)

Colour - And off we go on a sampan (wooden boat) along Kanchanaburi.

Off to the Safari - Doesn't this shot remind you of Africa?

Man-made rainbow - I always tell people that I'm a designer/artist before I'm a photographer; I see my camera as a tool of art. Aren't you just fascinated by the reflections on a compact disc? The colours you get when you slant it at every different angle; it's a rainbow you can make on your own.

Mini-Carpark

Moment of boredom - It's reading stuff like these that makes you appreciate your Mankiw's & Dooley's textbooks; thick textbooks that nobody loves reading, except maybe me.

Week 10

There he found me,

All in sweet serenity;

A rose not by any other name,

Things would never be the same.

Got back 2 midterms and whilst we wait for the last one to be returned, it was quite the irony that this one was done in week 6, before the other midterms were done.

Was talking to lovely Alexia earlier on and we were pondering over how small the world really is, how SMU was a nice fresh start for the both of us, how RGS girls are and many more little things till we didn't notice how swiftly the time flew past. One of my favourite things about travelling overseas is that you actually spend time to do things you hardly get to do in the frenetic pace of life in Singapore; how time seems to move slowly when you are away from home, how the air seems to smell better and fresher, how the sky seems to be more blue. There is ample time for you to share your tiny snippets of life with your travelling partner(s) and in the process, everyone gets to know everyone that little bit better.

I must say that in my 20 years (and counting) of living, I have been through so many phases, changes and experiences that were really eye-opening, character-building and sometimes dumb, but still character-building. I'm still looking forward to a lot more that life has to offer me; else I'll go round looking. Would I dare to embrace the inner me and bring it out, or choose who I prefer to be in that particular situation or time?

"...wanting to make a difference in society and possibly, the world..." was what I wrote in my career essay. The instructor wrote a little comment asking me to "perhaps choose a more specific career goal...?" Ahh, what can one write if one hasn't found his calling, especially since he found his at the age of 40. Where then, does one draw the fine balance of realism and idealism?

There are so many things in life that we will never be able to understand, but that doesn't mean we should never try to.

I went to Geylang and... survived.

Colours galore; do you want more?

Rows of colour

Light in Movement

Squiggle squiggle whoosh

Lovely

Lovely photos of the Himalayas/Everest/Mountains from my lovely old friend Dawa - lucky him, for being able to enjoy those wonderful sights and scenery!

Narcissism in a tank

Unexpected company - Mountbatten CC

7 things

I don't usually do this; I am doing this so as to humour my beloved friend... :)

Seven things that (will) scare me:

1. Judgement Day
2. Hell
3. The Devil
4. Losing my laptop and all the data in it.
5. Losing my handphone and all the important numbers in it.
6. Losing any of my senses.
7. Oh no I can't believe I'm racking my brain for this stuff.

Seven things I like the most:

1. My mommy (oops she's not a thing.)
2. My mommy's cooking
3. My TV
4. My school
5. Travelling
6. Watching the shows/movies that I love to watch
7. Taking photographs

Seven most important things in my room:

1. My TV
2. My bed
3. My 7++ pillows and 2 bolsters, soft toys, cushions that are on my bed
4. My desk
5. My laptop
6. My countless bags
7. My window where I can look out to see palm trees and look up to see the beautiful blue sky

Seven random facts about me:

1. I take shortcuts in everything that I do.
2. I love my mommy the most.
3. I have the greatest patience for the weirdest things and the least patience for the little things.
4. I don't like to receive flowers - I only like to take photographs of them.
5. I am very fair - in both meanings of the word.
6. I used to own a harem; or so I called it.
7. I don't drink coffee.

Seven things I plan to do before I die:

1. Repent and be a good girl - solehah
2. Seek forgiveness from everyone
3. Pay my debts in all meanings of the word.
4. Get an adoring husband.
5. Go to Mecca.
6. Travel the world.
7. Mengucap dua kalimah syahadat! :)

Seven things I can do:

1. Speak/read/write 5 languages
2. Art - Design
3. Laugh while watching horror movies without getting scared and while trying to scare people who are watching with me
4. Multi-task
5. Forget where I placed my things within minutes yet I can remember useless trivia
6. Survive on measly hours of sleep and be energetic in the morning - with the preconditions of sufficient amount of food and glucose.
7. Make people hear me. - I've an extremely loud voice.

Seven things I can't do:

1. Cycle
2. Anything that requires a lot of money. Bah.
3. Sleep in class.
4. Look pretty
5. Sleep earlier than midnight.
6. Punctuality
7. Do things way ahead of the deadline.

Seven words I say the most:

1. Alhamdulillah.
2. Ok.
3. La.
4. What?
5. Please?
6. Hey.
7. Vadai!

Seven celeb crushes:

1. Wah lao eh this is top secret lor! Haha kidding la. Actually too many to put, that's why. :P
2. The usual handsome/cute/adorable guys and hot babes la.
3. From Hollywood to Bollywood to all over the world.
4. Helps if they play suave/handsome/charming/rich/gentlemanly characters.
5. Helps if they have excellent physique.
6. I can't really think anymore.
7. I want to sleep!

Seven people I'll love to see doing this:

1. My soulsibling Kung Ham It & the gang
2. Paul Ho Yeok Chew!
3. Li Ying - only you understand my love hehe.
4. Gracia dear
5. Yusuf Bin Abdol Hamid
6. Aminah a.k.a Amanda
7. Arjun Bhaiya

Any lovely soul who chanced upon this post is welcomed to try this out. Do drop me a link under comments after doing so. :)

Done on a whim - Thanks to Chi Ching for gamely posing eons ago before school even opened. :)

Graduation - Class of 1991 - We'd be 20 this year. :) Do drop me a comment or email if you're in the photo. Would love to know how you guys are doing. :)

Mid-Term Break!

Yay!

1 week of rest!

Ok, maybe there are still assignments awaiting, exercises to be marked, research to be done... A break is still a break nonetheless. :)

Enjoy!

Ramadhan

In peace you come,
In peace you shall go.
Of sweet days and dates,
Of the loving memory we have.


The fasting month has finally arrived; May all of you find this month a blessed and fruitful one this year. :)

To know more about this special month and other Islamic matters, do visit the site below: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/ramadhaan/



PS: This post has been published by MS Word (almost – images and document tables are currently not supported yet). Click here to download Blogger for Word. :)

I feel so horribly uninspired. I haven't been taking photographs for a very long time. There's absolutely nothing to take. I no longer bring my camera to school; I don't even have time to stop and smell the roses, if I may use such a phrase. The only two places I frequent nowadays are school and my room. I miss having rich colours in my photographs. I envy those who get to see such sights and better still, photograph them. The travel bug is biting me again; I doubt I'll be able to satisfy my photographic desires till a very long time. I want my scenic countryside! No city life for me!

What do I see?

Break of dawn and the sun rises.

Object of Mystery

Cursive - rather illegible for my poor eyes

Lovely wallet bought on a whim

Let's send for a handwriting expert.

The faithful red pen that I "borrowed" from my younger brother - in its former glory. It has seen me through approximately 90 assignments each weekend for the past 4 weeks. I've never used up a red pen that fast; its ink ran out while I was marking last weekend.