Solar Eclipse

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Ok i know this looks like the moon but it's NOT okay, this is the Solar Eclipse (also known to the chinese as "天狗食日")
on the 26 Jan 09...managed to snap this with my 135mm, this is the best of the lot... at -5EV and 2x ND filters

Visit to ikea Tampines

Click to read on

Sorry! no pics hahahaha, hope u aren't expecting any...

Was at Pasir Ris camp on wednesday, then decided to go to ikea Tampines for lunch (long time nv went there already) so stupid me, forgot there is free parking, actually parked at Pasir Ris housing estate then walked over (somemore park at a further carpark haha), waste coupon $$ somemore... Long time nv went there liao... but not much changes lah...

Had chicken chop (actually it's fried chicken only) and princess cake (cake + ice cream) not bad le... but quite ex.. add up about $10...

too bad no pics to show... next time bah.. haha

Goodbye Cup

Presenting my New Cup for 2009 onwards
Read On..

Finally dumped my CCKSS cup which i've been using for almost 13yrs.. abit "舍不得" but have to throw to show my mum I also can throw my things...found alot of things during spring cleaning which she dun use but reluctant to throw...grr...

Goodbye my CCKSS Cup, I will miss u...


Hello my new cup, from now on, u will serve me


Group photo of the old and new


Now for some grumblings...
Been thinking of the "kiasu-ism" in SG, i.e. Aunties who stand right in the middle of MRT doors and rush in as soon as the door open, cope-ing seats with tissues ...etc...

but then think of it, kiasu-ism is actually not a bad thing if u use it in the good way. I wonder why SG people always try to outdo each other in the $$/status sense but when dun they try to outdo each other in the "good act" area. Like comparing how many good deeds u've done today, who got a better character.. etc... if this can materialise, u will see people fighting to give up their seats for old people in MRT.. haha.. but i guess all those kiasu=competitive are crap la.... why dun they "compete" to be better people? that's why i say sometimes things we say/do really make us slap ourselves in the mouth... haha

Finally cleared my credit card bills for the santa's month... OMG, the bills come up to a whopping $1700++ (usu every mth only $200-300) for all my credit cards... dunno wat i spent on too... KaoZ... luckily this mth, managed to get some $$ from SAF + a freelance project... else may have to touch my savings liao... Then even made a mistake and paid $28 lesser to CitiBank last mah and i kena slapped with a $40 (late payment) + $16.62 (interest) wahhh... luckily they are still humane enough to waive off this seemingly absurd amount else really scold them and cancel their service liao.

From this mth onwards, cannot spend so much liao ...SAVE SAVE SAVE!

CNY 09 is coming : Visit to Chinatown

Chinatown @ D-8 to CNY

Another 8 days to CNY, finally managed to overcome my laziness to go to Chinatown to shoot the decos this year... As usual it's "People mountain people sea". but seems that not many people are buying, more like 'looking'

CNY Decos






The cow family...


Huat Ah! (the backdrop is actually quite nice, don't u think?)

Oranges?



Goodies




Cute little stuffs



Look at the crowd...


The only stuffs i bought - "Chinese New Year Cake"

Green Tea



Sakura



see more pics here


Something that almost make me boil this morning, being questioned by my dad why i sold my acer notebook to my brother at such an expensive price ($500)... I think $500 is already a very reasonable price already, my specs not bad one... (online got seller wants to sell at 750-940 for the same model). He told me why don't give to him... Wah, give to him? i think i sell at $500 i already lose out, but brother so i also dun wan to charge him too high, then my mum quip in saying that he never work so no $. WTH!!!, my bro's $ is $, mine is not? my acer notebook is bought with my $ ok... They say i am unfair and 'exploit' my brother but Are they fair to me?
if i post online and sell, i believe i can sell at a higher price. I don't even need to sell it, i can continue to use that notebook but cos my brother wans it then i decide to "downgrade"...

Sometimes I wonder if trying to be nice guy is wrong? people always want to take advantage of you. When u are normally nice, people take ur 'niceness' to bully u... when u are not that nice for a while, they think that you are bad. In work also, when u are helpful, people try to push everything to u and they get the credit for doing NOTHING... From now on, i shall not be too nice, i gotta be fairer to myself... No more letting people bully or take advantage of me....

Red Cliff 2

Read my views on Red Cliff 2

Suddenly feel like watching a movie, many of my colleagues also say it's nice...thus decided to just go do what i want to do...
Last time usually think alot before deciding to do something but recently become bolder and more "spontaneous" haha

Left Office early today to go West Mall, Long time nv visit Eng Wah West Mall also... Had Popcorn and Coke for dinner, not cheap also damn! $7.50!! Even more expensive than a movie ticket!

Anyway digress enough already, here's my view on "Red Cliff 2"

What I like:
1) Cinematography is nice
2) Special effects
3) The politics

What I don't like:
1) Plot Deviate too much from the orginal story
2) Zhou Yu suddenly becomes such a gentlemen
3) Zhuge Liang doesn't seem special

Perhaps I am a history freak, that's why i feel that the show isn't that nice to me because it deviates too much from the orginal 'Romance of the 3 Kingdoms'

Zhuge Liang is supposed to be a brilliant strategist, but when the allied forces needed the eastern wind, he seems to be surprised when he observed the skies and noted that there will be eastern winds soon. I tot Everything should be within his calculation wat?? Why make him look like an opportunist? He is supposed to "trick" Zhou Yu that the Eastern wind is summoned by him, but in this he just tell him straight.

Zhou Yu is supposed to be a brillant but petty guy, here he is potrait as a true gentlement, even when he knew his wife is with Cao Cao, he still insist on a 'gentlemen's ' war. He suddenly becomes a vanguard general rather than the supreme commander ( he goes straight to the front and fight with the enemy rather than direct the battle, he does more fighting than directing)
Sun Quan also goes to fight at the front line!!! how can the lord do that???

In the end, after all the bloodshed, they just released cao cao!!! Wat????!!! actually i wound prefer that cao cao's general fought off the allied forces to allow Cao cao to escape. Cao Cao a prime minister and a great man of his time have to resort to using a woman to force the allied forces to submit???Unthinkable!!!

The sea battle scene is nice, but the land battle is a disappointment, too "deliberate" until it looks fake...

Didn't really enjoy it but as entertainment and not those die-hard RTK fans i think this will be nice.

CNY is coming....

Expand this post

OK i admit i haben been very diligent in updating my blog, I wun give myself any excuse, I am just lazy haha...

Been working on a new freelance web programming project recently but actually also cannot say that i am very busy.

CNY is arriving abit earlier this year and i haben been a good boy this year also cos nv really help my mum in the spring cleaning... ok lazy also... slowly bah...
Been clearing alot of old stuffs... clearing my FB photo album of CMI (cannot make it) pictures... Hopefully can add a lot of better new pics to my albums... haha

Been almost sick the last weekend, sneezing non stop, now i am much better, should be due to the erratic weather the last few days. but still went to take my IPPT last saturday plus soccer on Sunday...

Guess age is really catching up with me, alot of aching muscles now... haha..


Gotta change EZ link card before Oct, but alot of people (dunno why so KS) queuing up at all the EZ link offices... kaoz.. Sometimes happen to be at the station and want to "shun bian" change but see the long Q.... ah give up... think gotta wait another month before the craze dies off bah...

Thinking of gg Chinatown to shoot the CNY decorations, guess it will be a big squeeze again... see how bah... Chinatown wait for me yeah?

Of bad people, sometimes i really wonder how come the good guys always take bad things while the bad guys who do bad things get away Scot-free, is there really no such things as "fairness" in this world? or good guys always have no good rewards?
I know my thinking is quite negative but i wun give up my principle to be a good guy, in truth i am not really after any rewards, more for a piece of mind bah...
sometimes i really wonder if those ppl who did wrong do feel any remorse at all...
Nvm bah guess i shouldn't think so much for others, just think for myself bah...

Of recession, everyone is talking about a recession now, there would likely be paycuts and retrenchments everywhere, that's why i always say must prepare for 'rainy days' such as this. But seems that singaporeans don't really care, the restaurants are still packed and long queues waiting outside. Shops selling branded goods are still packed with shoppers also. Recession? is it really here? or most people just chose to adopt the ostrich attitude? if i dun see it, it's not gg to happen to me... let's brace ourselves and see how the economy will shape out after CNY.

Of Talent, been thinking of how arrogant and complacent we are (even though we aren't the one who got us here in the 1st plc),always looking down on 'guest' workers. It's true that we are current ahead now, but i wonder how long we can be that if we keep thinking that we will always be ahead... Remember the tortoise-hare race story? it might be true that the hare is naturally faster than the tortoise, but if it gets complacent, it will end up losing the race to the tortoise. If we dun change our attitude soon enough i am very worried we will lose our competitive edge soon.

Oh yah I got my new 5yr biometric passport and also sold my rarely use 50mm f1.8 lens haha...


Ok that's all, a happy CNY everyone!

Newly added

Check out my newest addition to my photography arsenal

Tianya Filters!

A few pics after sending my D80 for cleaning

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Shot these after sending my D80 to Nikon SVC for sensor cleaning cum firmware upgrade...




My first (and failed) HDR, but i decided to post this anyway haha....

Hello Lenovo, Goodbye Acer

I think many would expect a title of "Hello 2009, Goodbye 2008" but i shall be different, introducing my new buddy for 2009 (onwards)

Read on ...

Goodbye Acer 4720(u have served me well)


Hello Lenovo, Please carry on the good work left by ur predecessor

Belated Merry Christmas, Goodbye 2008

A belated Merry Christmas... No shutdown (my present organization dun have this practice) this year, so no time to laze around to update my blog..yeah i know excuses again... haha


Read on..

The passing of Christmas means that the new Year is coming hoho... goodbye santa... I think all the shopping malls will be busy changing their decos and preparing for New year... After New Year will be Chinese New Year...

Time to spend $$ again... Sighz...

Mum kept pestering me to throw away my shorts and buy new ones... Oh well will try to buy new shorts for CNY bah, also considered New clothing rights? hehe... But these few days weather damn hot, dun feel like gg out shopping....

But well i got new stuffs again, 2 new umbro Tshirts, 1 new Umbro sports shorts and a pair of new swimming trunks (cos i only have credit card and need min purchase of $20 but well my trunks very old already at least 3-4 yrs time to change)..next in the pipeline will be swimming googles... haha change trunks might as well change all right?

Mabbe will get another biz pants and shirt and that will be all for my CNY "new" clothings.. afterall this CNY mabbe no "relatives" to visit le...


2008 not a very good year for me, hope that 2009 will be much much better, think it shouldn't be worse than 2008 bah haha...

Time to start the arduous spring cleaning and old stuffs throwing sessions...
Hoping so much that i can throw away all the old stuffs and change all to new one... haiz but that's quite impossible...


Btw this is my new CCNA pass... haha


So much pattern...

Christmas Presents for...... Myself

Bought alot of stuffs this Christmas aka waste alot of $$ haha...
but ok lah it's the festive seasons afterall, Times are bad, spend if u can haha...
However spent alot liao gotta stop or reduce spendings else will be broke soon...


recounting the stuffs i bought:- if u read my earlier posts i think some of the stuffs no need to describe hehe.

1) Ipod Nano 3Gen 8GB

2) Sennheiser CX 95

3) JBL on stage micro (ipod Dock)

4) 8GB MS Pro Duo for PSP

5) Latest Addition - Philips Electric Shaver (Din wanted to get this in the 1st place, if interested click here to read on (Pics and Story))

View of my new shaver





always wanted to change my current aging(4/5 years?) philips shaver for quite some time already. Also wanted to "upgrade" to a rechargeable one from my battery operated one (to reflect my current status mah haha)
Saw from a courts brochure that there's an "exclusive" model that's affordable so took 3 bus services (not really that far from my workplace actually but there's just no "more" direct service) from my workplace to the nearest courts (Bt Timah) on Monday. After listening to the salesperson talking for a long time, actually quite tempted to get the philips latest Nivea model that is waterproof and for wet shave, apparently that model u can put shaving cream inside and it can 'excrete' the nivea shaving cream while shaving but..... the catch is this, when u shave, the hair will drop from the bottom of the blades(there is no place to contain the hair) and the shaving cream for u to pump is in this special container which at present can only get frm courts. Ok i am a lazy person, so usu i clean my shaver once every few mths haha so i guess i am not suitable for that model. Ok then decided to stick to my original plan to get the "exclusive" model but alas they don't have stock. Ok lazy me strikes again, lazy to come back again after the 3 bus service change, go back empty handed? ok nvm then settled for the 3 blades one... now i am "professional" le, can use more "non cheapo" and more "pro" type bah... haha so the salesman started his work again to intro me all the philips 3 blade shaver...3 models cheapest, cheaper, and not cheap.. in the end i took the cheaper one cos i wanted the XL shaving head haha...they gave me a philips sandwich maker as a free gift also.. haha.. Why i nv considered braun shavers? i think i am too used to philips and dun really like the braun "cage" design when it breaks, always injure my skin.
Oh ya a little drama at the end. i left my credit card at the store, while filling up the lucky draw forms. The cashier very nice, called (dunno how she got my num) me and i gotta return to the store from bukit panjang plaza to get it back.

Oh also bought the "1 litre of tears" DVD from TS bukit panjang. Good shows should buy to keep mah... haha

One litre of Tears

just finished watching the japanese drama "One litre of tears ()" from crunchyroll.
Though touching and sad, but i think it does have some valuable lessons in life that we can take from...
Read on...

Synopsis from dramawiki
One Litre of Tears (Ichi Ritoru no Namida) is about the life story Kitou Aya (1962-1988) a girl who had an incurable disease called Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease (also known as SCA type 2; spinocerebellar ataxia type 2)at a young age of 15. (meaning that she will have no control over her muscles, even if her brain wanted to)
Although the girl in the drama - Ikeuchi Aya, lived in the 21st century, her character was based on Kitou Aya's life, how she struggled and fought her disease and how she wrote her deepest thoughts until the last day she could hold a pen. Before she died, her writings were published including the poems she wrote while she is staying in a school for the disabled. This gave new hopes to people who suffers the same disease as she did and soon Aya received letters of appreciation and thanks from those people. At the age of 25, she succumbed herself into a sleep where she could no longer feel any pain.

Her diary accounts what are her feelings as she goes through her treatment and how she battles her incurable disease.

This story let us know how fortunate we are, we are able to move our limbs and speak freely where-else for some others, even such simple stuffs (to us), they are also not able to accomplish and it's very real.and yet we are still grumbling how unfair god is to us, for not letting us have the little luxuries(that branded pants, that latest gadgets) that others had. Compared to her, are we blessed?

Courage and optimistic, when faced with the fact that she will be unable to walk, unable to speak and unable to do even the most basic things, Aya did not subjected herself to depression. She still tried in the best possible way to contribute to society, and put have a smile for everyone. Till the very end, she still did not give up and continued writing to inspire all others who are battling diseases. Ask ourselves if this happened to us, how many of us can carry on life in such an optimistic way as her? In our present society, we grumble over even the smallest thing, give up when faced with a little obstacle and feel like giving up.

her story really touches and inspires me, if u have time, do watch it, I hope it will inspire u just as it did for me.

Human Life is fragile, Treasure it

Links:

frm dramawiki

English translation of Aya's Diary

My New Gadgets...

Ipod Nano 3G (dunno why i prefer this to the new slim 4G, looks cuter don't u think?)


Sennheiser CX95 for my Ipod (this actually cost more than my Ipod...)


JBL micro on-stage docking station for my Ipod (very good sound for it's size and portable)


Ipod in docking station


New Sanyo eneloop charger


Plus a whole box of eneloop batteries


Finally more capacity for my PSP




BTW, from 1 Dec 2008, i am officially a CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) haha

命中注定我愛你 (Fated to love you)

OK I admit, i am a sucker for romantic comedies from the last "it all started with a kiss" to this drama... OMG dunno watched how many times... haha I think Taiwanese really like Cinderella stories..Story plot is always a very normal gal end up with a super guy...

Synopsis:

A really hard working class girl or also known as a sticky note girl (always want to please everyone) named Chen Xin Yi has the desire to tie down her handsome boyfriend to be with her. Due to certain reasons, her boyfriend gets her to go on a love cruise and she started to ponder on how to lose her virginity and tie down her boyfriend. Xin Yi ended up taking cold medicine which made her drowsy and went into Ji Cun Xi's room by mistake. Cun Xi is the sole male heir to his family's company and has been in love with his girlfriend, Anna, for a long time. He planned to propose to Anna on the boat but she didn't turn up on the cruise cos she chose to go to New York for a Ballet assignment. An islander of Jiang Mu Island added drugs into Cun Xi's drink (to threaten him into not selling his factory because Cun Xi just bought over the factory and wanted to retrench all the workers) and Cun Xi became disorientated and returned to his own room. He thought Xin Yi was Anna and they ended up having a one night stand. Xin Yi later finds out that she's pregnant and Cun Xi's grandmother forces them to get married.

After marriage, Cun Xi gradually found himself more and more attracted to Xin Yi, the simple gal who is always sincere to everyone without motives. He found himself doing alot of things which is sometimes hilarious but touching to Xin Yi. Xin Yi found herself falling for Cun Xi.

Due to a series of tragic incidents, Xin Yi had a miscarriage and she mistaken that Cun Xi do not want her nor their child. In tears, she went to Shanghai with Dylan to start afresh. After 2 years of hardwork, she changed from the simple Chen Xin Yi to the attractive Elaine but deep in her heart, she still cannot forget Cun Xi. Cun Xi was devastated as he didn't know that he had truely fallen for Xin Yi.

By pure fate, Cun Xi and her met at Shanghai, and the suppressed feelings of Xin Yi re-ignited.
Xin Yi was very cruel to Cun Xi at first and this made Cun Xi realise that he should let Xin Yi go. He decided to use a ficticious identity, Mr Z to continue to encourage Xin Yi in the dark.
After a day together with Cun Xi, She began to forget the hate for Cun Xi and realised that she can't forget him even after so many years. She went back to Jiang Mu island for a holiday to visit her parents to escape from Dylan (is wooing her) whom she can't face.

Back in Taiwan, Cun Xi found out what cause the misunderstanding then between him and Xin Yi, he finally realised who he really loved and decided to woo her back at all cost. He broke up with Anna just a few days before their wedding.

After a few twists and turns, they were finally married even though they were misled to think that Xin Yi was infertile by a very scheming clinic. the "myth" was later exposed and Xin Yi realised how much Cun Xi loved her. He is even willing to marry her even though he knew she was "infertile"...

The 2 leads made a cameo appearance in another drama, "Wu Di San bao mei"...

Ok CCNA coming up, gotta study...

Asia Pacific Food Expo

Decided to visit the Asia Pacific Food Expo at Expo on saturday after all the advertisement flashes on TV, tot it will be something better than last years(After all long time nv visit expo liao)... but haiz still like a bigger pasar malam drats... Managed to dragged Mr Birdy to come along... hehe





read on

Outside: Sparse



Inside:All hell breaks loose!

People...




More people!


Later, we went from here


to here in search of the fabled philips "candle"


passed by here...


Finally found it here together with a mini Christmas Tree


The mythical candle


View the whole picture collection here