Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen



premiers today, 24th June~! pity i wouldn't be catching it anytime soon....

Monday, June 22, 2009

Upcoming: Project RX-78-2

From Gunpla

From Gunpla

From Gunpla
~ classic MG RX-78-2, crystal version... something to keep me occupied after work =)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

short break...

~ oh how time flies... just been back in town for break through the weekend. It's feels funny vacationing in a place that used to be my dwelling place, or home. Well, my new career has put me on a path where i have to seek for a new home away from home; 2 weeks down that road i'm still in the process of settling in. It sure is a very different experience, each time i had to move away from home (the last time was during my internship, 6 years ago for a 6-month stint) ~ relocation & starting anew... A couple of lim teh sessions & meals with loved ones & friends, packing chores for the stuffs & my car that i'll be shipping over, my 2-day short break here is coming to an end. Til my next home break, take care & cya all! =)

Monday, June 15, 2009

13th June 2009 ~ A Visit to the Cradle of Civilization

From Travels

The oldest modern human remains (estimated to be 40,000 years old) discovered on South East Asia were found here...
From Travels

Just an hour-and-a-half's drive from Miri, followed by about 3.5km of jungle trekking to one of the most important archeological sites in the world...
From Travels

we took our own sweet time to get there...
Once we did, we felt like we were transported to a foreign planet...
From Travels

First we arrived at the Trader's Cave, which is more of an extended rock overhang, rather than a proper cave...
From Travels

This is where the birds nest & guano traders conducted their business in days gone by... *notice the wooden frame structures far in the horizon*
From Travels

Strategically positioned bamboo poles & ladders hanging from the ceilings (some up to 60m above the ground) are evidence of the birds' nest collectors (obviously a very valuable commodity) ~ the locals have practiced this precarious occupation for generations; something tells me they'll make excellent rock climbers... no need safety harnesses one!
From Travels

The Great Cave... like the famous picture we've seen so many times in our Sejarah textbooks...
From Travels

From Travels

a magnificient sight indeed... jagged stalactites, overhangs and dangling creepers of the cave mouth makes a dramatic photo composition!
From Travels

Exiting Gan Kira on the other side...
From Travels

it takes another 20 minutes trekking to reach the Painted Cave; where ancient art classes were held =p this used to be an ancient burial site...
Heading back to the Great Cave, coz there's only 1 way to & fro... back into the darkness we went *i mean absolute darkness for like a full 10 minutes of trekking; one is going to need a high-powered torch light to navigate through properly & safely*
From Travels

& then, 1st ray of light beaming down, like a pathway to heaven... got to have the right timing to capture this shot; really liked this one, though i regretted not having brought a tripod along *most shots are a bit blur (handshake) & noisy (overboosted ISO) to compensate for the dim lighting inside*
From Travels

the famous house inside a cave, again...
From Travels

yes, it is that huge... the size of it is almost unfathomable...
From Travels

That caps up my 1st outing in Miri =)

Redemption '09: The LA Lakers are World Champs Again!


Sunday, June 14, 2009

1/1 Scale Gundam ~!


The classic RX78 Gundam from the original series in 1979 ~ true-to-life size Gundam assembled at Shiokaze Park, Tokyo to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise ~ truly mind blowing indeed!



Gundam Odaiba Tokyo in Tokyo

1st Weekend in Miri: Breakfast @ 2020

The hotel i'm currently staying at is startegically located right smack where there is an abundance of affordable & colorful variety of eateries, somewhere near downtown ~ one of the main reason why i chose it over the chic-ier Marriot Resort; aside from the fact that it is nearest to my work place. Kuching to Miri; from a small place, to another small place ~ met up with my ex-company friends who's moved here to work too, for dim sum breakfast at a cafe called 2020, just within walking distance from my hotel. Almost feels like an Company-X alumni gathering... hehe

Steven & Jenny

Ah Teo (currently still in Company-X, a Mirian on a 3-week holiday; my one-time CG nemesis: Photo Vs Etch =p )
Alan (missing in action)
Good to be able to catch up with you guys again!

& Emm

Dim Sum @ 2020; a pretty popular breakfast joint & usually packed in the mornings. Price-wise is quite reasonable... have tasted better dim sums though. Maybe it's just me, but i find the foods here comparatively light in taste (tasteless? ha, maybe kuching folks tend to have heavy tastebuds)

After a hearty breakfast, we set forth for our outing adventure... *coming soon*

Friday, June 12, 2009

Random Vids: Ken Block's Gymkhana2 ~ The Infomercial

One very cool video...

~ from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Gymkhana (Hindi: जिमख़ाना, Urdu: جِمخانہ), which derived from the Hindi and Urdu word for "racket court,"[1][2] is an Indian term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held.

(Motorsport) Gymkhana is a type of motorsport practiced in Canada, the United States,the United KingdomSouth Africa. Similar to autocross, Gymkhana courses are often very complex and memorizing the course is a significant part of achieving a fast time. The governing body of Gymkhana in Japan is the Japan Auto Federation, a Japanese division of the FIA. and

Gymkhana events are time/speed events (for our purposes here) in an automobile. There can be obstacles such as cones, tires, and barrels. The driver is expected to maneuver through the predetermined "track" performing many different driving techniques. What separates gymkhana from your traditional autocross event is that in gymkhana drivers are required to perform reversals, 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s and other advanced skills. Also drifting is encouraged where helpful/necessary. Really though, you can consider any event a Gymkhana which has a starting point, a finish line and some sort of "obstacle" to get through, around, or by, and is timed.

Ken Block (born November 21, 1967, in Long Beach, California)[2] is one of the co-founders and recently appointed Chief Brand Officer of DC Shoes.[1] Block has competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, motocross, and most notably rally racing.


Random Shots: My New Ride


~ my new ride for the next month or so... =)

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

1st Day in Miri


*intending to post this 2 nights ago when i just arrived but i hadn't brought along my LAN cable... it's good to be back online after a 48-hour hiatus... from the internet! gosh, i don't recall the last time i was disconnected for this long.... =p

Finally after almost 3 weeks of break, i’ll be reporting for duty at my new place of work tomorrow. The last 19 days since my last day of work at my previous company; my so-called career break was activitiy filled ~ farewell dinner sessions with colleagues, lim teh catch-up sessions with many friends, core-strength classes, rock climbing outings, Gunpla group build, dates & spending quality time with family & loved one. It has been an eventful break for me, hectic at times but always fun. I guess i wouldn’t be having a break like this anymore for a long, long time. Being occupied with dates & appointments, i barely had the fact that i’ll probably be leaving home for good really sink in... Only now that i’m here already, i’m beginning to think about the wonderful company of loved ones & friends, & kuching food that i’ll be missing. Ha, i can get quite sentimental at times =p

This shall be my place of dwelling for the next 30 days or so...

I shall be looking for more permanent place to stay/rent after that. Just had some wantan noodles at one for the surrounding hawker centres; it’s not too bad compared to that of kuching, but food prices here tend to be slightly pricier in comparison. It can get unbelievably hot here, even at night! So i’d prefer to stay in the comfort of my airconditioned hotel room, and workout at the nice fitness center below sometimes...

Will be knocking off soon... got to wake up early to report for duty tomorrow. Boy, i’m so excited to get back to work again! =)

*may not be updating as often as i may need to make some adjustments in this transition period, but i’ll try to not let my blog grow too much cobwebs =p I’ll probably be back in kuching again 2 weeks from now, so til then take care & cya guys! =)

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Our Outdoor Potraiture Session ~ 5th May 2009

From Potraits

From Potraits
It was a beautiful morning to wake up to. We met up for breakfast with my buddies at my X-company & then headed to Friendship Park for an outdoor potraiture session *_^
From Potraits

From Potraits
Here are some of the candid moments of fun & joy, expertly captured in shots by my buddies & ex-colleague, Adrian & wifey Faith, and also courtesy of the props manager a.k.a. Deflector Boy, Roy. =p Enjoy!
From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

From Potraits

*all images photoshop-free, only resized & watermarked
*Faith & Adrian, and Roy, once again thank you very muchie for framing the shots in the making of our story ~ our 1st ever outdoor potraiture shoot, and we truly enjoyed it! *despite the hot sun & having to roll around on grass & hide behind trees like in a Bollywood movie... hahah!* I'll take that as a wonderful farewell gift... =D
For those interested in his photography works, do check out http://adrianpuk.sytes.net/blog/



Friday, June 05, 2009

Project SD Blaze Zaku Phantom

From Gunpla

My 2nd mini Gunpla project to keep my hands busy while counting down to The Big Move soon. Simply couldn't resist buying this striking little SD, my 1st Zaku in my Gunpla lineup ~ Heine Westenfluss Custom unit from the SEED Destiny series; remember that pretty boy ZAFT fella who was featured for about 3 episodes before dying in battle?
From Gunpla
Work-in-progress ~ it actually takes less than a day to assemble
From Gunpla
Aside from the striking color scheme & much improved articulation, the extra armaments ~ that badass backpack with AGM138 Firebee Guided Missile, MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle (very cool names they give)
From Gunpla
& MA-M8 Beam Tomahawk ~ the Zaku standard market meat cleaver i suppose? =p
From Gunpla
SD Showdown~!
From Gunpla
I bought some 3rd party water slide decals to add some flavor to the Blaze Zaku; although it's mean for 1/144 or 1/100 scale Zakus, i think i can squeeze some of the smaller ones into this particular unit... *coming up* =)

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Gunpla Studio Shoot

My humble Gunpla collection finally gets a well deserved proper photoshoot courtesy of Vell CT studio =)
From Gunpla
My friend here brought over his lighting arsenals of softbox & speedlites for the shoot at in the convenience of my dining room, & we had a afternoon's fun of experimenting with Gunpla shoots. Here are some of the shots taken with my 450D, with the setup and guidance of my sifu, of course. Photoshop-ing on the images only limited to cropping, resizing, watermarking & adding positive vignette on the edges.
From Gunpla

From Gunpla

From Gunpla

From Gunpla

From Gunpla

From Gunpla

From Gunpla
Non-Gunpla stuffs
From Gunpla
Saber ~ 1/6 scale Swimsuit Version by Alter; looks lovely as always =p
From Gunpla
Adopted Pom-Pom Pets courtesy of my darling =D
From Gunpla
My sis' stuff ~ a collection from My Lucky Star... if i'm not mistaken
From Gunpla

Done my humble collection justice with this shoot, now that i'm going to pack them back in their boxes since i'll not be staying much in my current place of dwelling anymore; so til i get a proper display case in my new home, that's where they'll be staying put for the time being... =(