SA Camp 2005

Off to sleep finally.
To you incoming freshmen of SMU, welcome aboard. :)
Looking forward to school, I am.

Solitary wait

In Armenian Church

Photos I Won't Forget

What do I see, what do I see, when I look up into the sky?

Lovely cat who was unfortunately injured in its genital areas. My heart went out to it as it licked its wounds forlornly.

My favourite "fake moon" photo over which Shirleen and me had many laughs during lunch. :) Any guesses about the moon in the photo? And no, no photoshop. It's an original shot. :) Looks so surreal, doesn't it?

Fun, Fun, Fun and Fatigue

Oh madness. What a day it had been.

Woke up at 6.45 am today to head to school for a historical site tour with SMU Ambassadors and incoming SMU scholars around the area of the city campus. Visited Chettiar Hindu Temple, Armenian Church, Fort Canning Park, Thian Hock Kheng Temple, Hajjah Fatimah Mosque and learnt loads of information about the areas around the city campus; all useful for our campus tours in time to come. Geraldene is a true professional guide and is a walking history textbook! Was extremely trigger-happy, what with all those photo opportunities and photogenic subjects presented. Will upload them in time to come. :)

Shirleen, my dear Shirleen. Thanks so much for the lovely and sumptuous treat, the laughs we shared and the photos we took. I am so proud of you for taking the "fake moon" photo. It was extremely good, and I'm not bluffing. :) Do send me those scenic photos you've taken so far, as well as our photos. Love you. :)

Was on the verge of falling asleep by the time I was discussing with Boredin & Asrie about the trip to Thailand. Hope everything goes well in the end. (To Asrie: You're doing a great job so far! Keep it up!)

Had to head back to town at night to pick up something from Gracia (Thanks dearie, for all the trouble you had to go through). Thanks to Joshua who pangseh-ed me because he slept through the alarm! Oh well, a free drink in the guise of an apology awaits me at least.

Bought myself a gigantic soft white pillow for $3.99 (Thanks to Spotlight who was having a birthday sale!) in a bid to cheer myself up while waiting for Gracia. Perhaps the situation was exacerbated with my drowsiness and fatigue; the pillow was nonetheless my only source of comfort and happiness as I walked around aimlessly in PS before finally plonking myself down at BK, seated so comfortably with my huge pillow that I almost fell asleep.

And finally I got to meet Gracia's knight-in-shining-armour who goes by the name of Darrell. My, they make an absolutely lovely couple, perfect for each other, my very own himbo & bimbo who are so alike each other that it amuses me to end. :) And Darrell's so sporting too, our very own photographer cum model; he gamely posed with my huge pillow and our feminine bags, making him a genuine mirl, hermaphrodude etc. I'm just kidding. :) Here's to the both of you, of many happy lovely times together. :)

Off to sleep and sweet dreams everyone. May I finish all the things I'm supposed to do soon.

PS: Hamid knows Darrell too! What a small world. :) As if I didn't know that already.

Destination in Colour

The blue-green waters of Marseille

Scanned some photos I took in France today, as an addition to the ones I've uploaded a couple of days back. For the uninitiated, I went to France, the south rather, for an immersion programme with other French scholars. It's been 3 years since I've been there but the experiences and memories I've had still remain fresh. All that fun, scenic places, culture shock, food, or rather the lack of it, independence, good weather, good company; what would I pay to experience all that all over again, with a better camera and a better eye for photography this time round. I remembered how my friends made fun of my idiot-proof conventional camera, the most "ancient" amongst all the other cameras at that point of time, which couldn't even zoom and its flash was at most auto, all you could do was look through the viewfinder and press the button to take a photograph. Loved every moment of it. Well, I did try my best; as they say, it's not the camera, it's the photographer, which of course, some would always beg to differ. In any case, I'm now pondering over whether I should come along for a trip to Thailand, which would cover the politically unstable South. Photo opportunities would be plenty, as well as the elevated risks in security and one's life. Oh well, hopefully the answer will come by tomorrow.

I love to ask what people see in these photos with multi-exposure effects; for you can see so much in them, when you stare hard enough; enough to intrigue me for a long time.

Birds in Motion

Port of Marseille, France

Lovely place

Leaves fall upon you; look up in awe.

A pond covered with bright green algae/moss that looks deceptively like solid ground. Wonder how many people have been fooled into walking on it; Wonder how many cats have been killed by their curiosity. :)

In concentration

Red. Angry. Ball. Menacing. Stare.

On a pool table

A penny for every thought she thinks

Great Wall of France :)

Marseille Marseille, je t'aime beaucoup.

Arles, Sud de France - Sometimes you do miss the joy of taking pictures on film. And not bothering about the technicalities of photography; Just aim and click.

Pretty postcard from Marseille. :)

Proof you don't need a state-of-the-art camera to take good photographs; All of these were taken using an idiot-proof conventional camera with no zoom, auto flash, and at the discretion of the photographer, yours truly. Unedited too. :)

Lines

Curves and sharp edges

Moving clouds maketh a pretty picture.

A camera caught in the act ;)

Of Good Food and Good Company

They say that you're too good,
They say that you're too perfect,
They say that you're too nice,
I say you're the one.

The day's been good. Met up with girlfriends who kindly came over to my humble abode where we laughed at silly holiday videos on my laptop over crunchy keropok. Took photos, got an unexpected kiss on the cheek from a naughty someone. Dessert at Secret Recipe culminated the get-together; I've really got to learn my lesson of eating such rich stuff and getting sick after that. So you people whom I go out with, do remind and restrain me from repeating such moments. Restrain, restrain; money as well as my sensitive stomach will be saved.

On another note, I've really got to thank people who've been listening patiently to my rants, complaints, grumbling, whining, whatever you call it. Being angry is certainly ugly; I can only hope such episodes do not occur again. Will make a mental note to stay away from such sources of anger. Harrumph.

I think people can be more responsible in doing and finishing their part of the work. Don't you think so?

Of Weddings and Bliss

What a hectic weekend it had been! All that running around and helping out at my cousin's wedding was certainly tiring but fun, enlightening, memorable at the same time. It all started on Friday, where preparations were underway for the solemnization ceremony the next day and the wedding on Sunday. Became the "bridesmaid" and "assistant to mak andam" unintentionally; it was quite an experience nonetheless. Met so many interesting people; 4 of the groom's buddies, of whom included a rather enthusiastic videographer who would go to such great lengths to get once-in-a-lifetime footage, as evinced by him risking his life - and the driver, his licence - by squeezing through the tiny hole called a retractable window/roof, as I would call it, through the roof of the car just to film the bridal car at the expressway. Indeed I'm impressed by their fervour and friendship! And who can forget the wedding photographer, a man so serious and professional about his work, nice and courteous too, complete with the makings of an eligible bachelor. My Finepix F420 sure felt inferior to his Canon EOS! As usual, the wedding was a reunion of long-lost relatives; was introduced to aunties/grandaunts whom I barely recognized or had never met before, and of course with that came the typical comments about the Arab/mixed look I have, the weight I've lost/gained - depending on the perception of the person commenting, the impending imaginary wedding I'm supposed to invite them to, and many more quirky statements only your relatives can make. All in all, it was a photography extravaganza; I managed to take many shots, from behind-the-scenes to right-at-the-forefront, couldn't find a better phrase. :) Selected a few to upload today, will show more in good time to come. Weddings sure are good fun. :)

As the adage goes - A woman always looks her best on her wedding day. :)

Waiting for her knight in shining armour

A move, a move, to blow the opponent away

Nameless little girl who was probably wondering what I'm trying to do

Caught in action

Just Married

Lovely mommy

This cutie simply tugs at your heartstrings

She's so shy and never looks at the camera..

When will it be this pretty girl's turn to get married? :)

Behind the scenes - The work of an expert

Adorable little newborn

Kids - Leaders of the Future

Do not be deluded into thinking that she's a serious little girl!

The little monyet that she is!

Eleni hard at work 1

Eleni hard at work 2

What happened to their smiles?

Sweetness beckons

Little Adult

Tapping into their minds