Events: Breeze model search S'wak ~ Test Shots @ Spring

From Events

~ co-organized with Lim Kok Wing institute, this event is a modelling competition for both photographic (means shortie like me is eligible to enter too... =p) & catwalk models in which, the selected most eligible male & female models will be featured on the only entertainment/lifestyle magazine from the East, Breeze Magazine cover & fashions spreads ~ plus there are more than Rm50,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!
Me & my mate went to check out the event this afternoon, with our photo gear on-tow this time round in anticipation of the plethora of eye-candies to shoot... =p (went there with my baby yesterday only to look-see, look-see). Here are some of the shots...

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Tried out some photo-editing effectson the first few pictures to soften & mask out the noise from using too high of an ISO to shoot in auto mode initially... switched to manual mode from here onwards...

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From Events

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Now look who's here too... Son Goku ~ Mr. Dragonball entertaining the kids with his trademark Kamehameha move... ~ part of some Acer promotion thingy; thanks to them, i received my freebie Dragonball Evolution mouse pad, hehe =)

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My photo-kaki mate, busy getting an upskirt shot of some sort... hehe. He's actually qualified to be a model & has had some experience doing modelling gigs, but he's just contented playing the role of a shutter bug this time round. Somebody talk to him & get him to sign up to contend for the Official @ Lim Kok Wing come next weekend: 24 ~ 26th April. *you stand a great chance, bro! *

What's Next: Breeze Launch Party @ Victoria Arms on 30th April. Details here. I'll be joining a group of bloggers to cover the event, thanks to fahriee for the invitation!

Playing Tag 666

~ tagged by Fiona ~ How to? ~ Go to your sixth picture folder and post the sixth picture in the folder, then tag 6 people!

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Tadaa ~ for my case, this picha from ages ago showed up! Taken during my final semester in uni at my friend's rented place; a groupie of my coursemate buddies, some of whom i haven't seen for years now. Yups, we were once young like that... felt like just a blink of an eye ago. Oh, how time flies... =)


Now i'm going to tag another 6:

~M~

ahlost

santalouis

kino

marv

funkye


666 ~ devilish number?

Parking allowed inside yellow line at KIA~! =D

From Miscellaneous

This is definitely a welcoming piece of forwarded news to start the dreaded monday blues at work... =) Hope this info will come in handy if you get caught up in similar situation someday, or kena blown whistle for parking at the road shoulder as far as 0.5km away from the main terminal like my friend did... =p
Or in case you half already been issued one, here's a creative sample letter to plead for leniency, shared by my colleague which, i've posted ages ago... should still work la =D

Random Shots: spot the runner's pace

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Finally breached the 60-minutes mark! This staying on the treadmill at a constant pace of 8km/h for just an hour is already a grueling task requiring mammoth-like will power just to keep going with flailing legs & knees weakening by the minute. Having barely completed this, i still can't begin to imagine the intensity & focus required of a marathon runner, in preparing for a competition ~ 10km, 18km, 22km, 42km?? They must have had superhuman endurance & will power. Come to think of it, these superhuman attributes like these too, have to be built from scratch from the daily grind of rigorous endless trainings, gradually built over time by pushing the limits everyday... the big question is, do i have the discipline & passion to keep pushing the limits in the things i do everyday?

Random Shots: WON A FREE TRIP!!!

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Spotted this hilariously creative warning sign in a computer shop while on window shopping spree this after noon. Got to love their engrish sense of humour don't it just cracks you up??! xp

The Return of Project Civic: Shopping for New Shoes

Finally after a grueling (it’s very bothersome being car-less) near-2-month sitting in some workshop for major repairs I had her back, restored to her glory ~ cosmetically, at least (hardly any traces of damage visible from outside) & surprisingly not much structural damaged sustained, as the wheel alignment check results came back okay. Sent her for service yesterday & the engine health checks turned out good too; except for that mangled open pod filter which I’ll still be using for the time being until I get a proper replacement (K&N). Having survived the potentially horrendous crash (it could have been much worse), I’d decided compromise on safety anymore & replace the balding tires which, I should have done much earlier.

Often overlooked, those four patches of rubbers are your only contacts with road when driving ~ could make the difference between keeping you on the road or careening off-course & worse, into a tree or lamp post if they lose traction. Bad/unmaintained tires ~ usually one of the major factors of an accident

Acknowledging the spirited type of driver I can be at times, I opted for a pair of Toyo Trampio R1R rubbers (made in Japan, babeh!) a unique hybrid ultra high-performance / race tires designed for club-motor sport competitors that regularly use their vehicles on public roads ~ features unidirectional Arrowhead tread design that allows it to achieve balanced performance between wet & dry condition ~ this should suffice for daily use. (it’s a cliché that semi slicks rubbers though known for their superb grip on dry condition, are completely useless when used in wet conditions; so if you’re running a set of those on your ride, when it rains, make sure you drive below 30km/h ~ I kid you not!). The only downside is that it cost a premium (x2 what you would pay for a normal set of tires) & the fact that the TPR1R are performance oriented rubbers ~ meaning that they’ll be noisier that conventional road tires that are designed for comfort; But being a car enthusiast, chances are we’re most likely already running loud aftermarket exhausts that could get us into trouble with the law. Who’s complaining about the extra tire noise anyway?

Since it’s only available in limited sizes, I’m currently running a staggered rubber setup of 195/55R15 upfront (brand new Toyos) & my old 195/50R15 at the rear (but better treaded pair of Neova AD07). My car looks a bit funny with the fatter rubbers in front with a diameter difference of 0.7” larger than my initial setup (filled the wheel arch to the brim!) , so had to dial-in sufficient height increase on the front adjustable coilovers to ensure the wheels don’t chuck against the inner fenders when turning. The fatter rubbers upfront should absorb the bumps better & make for a more comfy drive.

Being a front wheel drive, it would suffice to have more grip on the front tires; this setup should give ample traction… though I have yet to really put it to the test. Have been reluctant to give my ride the trashing drive it deserves since I got her back; maybe someday soon, since her vital checks have been verified okay. =p

* i had a very good company to do my manly shopping trip with today! =)

Theft Alert ~ Camera Gear Stolen!

Earlier today, a friend's car got broken into & all his photo gear was stolen ~ his car was parked in a church compound! *shit happens anywhere these days*
List of stolen canon/canon-compatible gears include: a 70-200mm L lens, a Tokina fish-eye lens, a Sigma macro lens, 50mm prime lens and a 430 Speedlite
*a staggering loss indeed! ~ i share your pain, bro... *
So to my fellow friends & readers, especially avid shutter-bugs ~ please be wary should you come across some dude trying to sell off the used items listed above, offering cheap deals that sounds suspiciously too good to be true. Please help to spread the word too; whoever the culprit is, i hope his/her next shot taken will be his/her own mugshot!
This is one unfortunate incident ~ a reminder to us that shit can happen anytime anywhere; we can't do much to avoid these situations except to be more vigilant & act sensible ~ never ever leave valuables in your car unattended, even if only for a while.

Lunch @ the Eatery ~ 4 Points Sheraton ~ Part II: more pichas

From Miscellaneous

Here's the continuation to the post on 'the Lunch'... 5 dudes + 5 dudettes + 3 dSLRs = camwhore + experimental-posing-got-out-of-hand. It looked like eating itself had taken a side seat to camwhoring. How sad ~ i just realized i haven't got any nice shots on the food at all!! *sorry ah, for those expecting to catch some taste-bud tantalizing pichas of food*

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Instead let me bore you with the mugshots of the vain culprits *yours truly excluded =p *

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#1 ah ren chong, main cast of the day

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the boss ~ signature blur-look as usual ~ yes, i kid you not. he's really our boss at work.

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our litho mama. our fab loading has gone down, but she is still going strong & has no plan to NST anytime soon... =p

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loi, adding a loigohism touch to food photography...

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ah dude at a rare moment when he's not pulling funny faces when photographed... *he must be very hungry adi*

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& his chochoholic wife, faith

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i wonder where all the candy & marshmellow dissappeared to? xp

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finally the fehmes ms. Janet of janetgoh photography fame...

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i just love this shot by her.... hahahaha! *stolen from loigoh.com*

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to cap this up, here's a non-defocus shot of brader-ly love =D

Random Vids: tuts my barreh ~ *_*""

What does camel + gong li + bee gees + cock + tropical priest + norway + plankton ~ have in common?

i'm still having stomach cramps from laughing too hard from watching this video with my buddies while having a break at work earlier today... this is actually a *sic* karaoke rendition of Mariah Carey's 'Touch My Body' by a korean dude with horrendous engrish accent (parody bah)... click on it & watch, this is going to crack you up to the point where you don't know whether to laugh or to cry~!
* 'I know u love my cock' ~ !!??WTF!! it sounded so gay & wrong...

Lunch @ the Eatery ~ 4 Points Sheraton

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how come nothing on food one???! *replaced the group teaser picha with a better quality one stolen from faithloveschocolate

this is actually a farewell lunch for our litho family's most beloved trainee (currently holds the record for the longest internship stint), ah ren chong ~ dedicated to him/us, by him/us ~ ?? =D


we will miss you, brada & wish you all the best in your continuing your journey from here onwards! re-quoting you here ~ ' don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened' . I'm not used to sitting beside an empty cubicle & having no one to poke fun at =(
by the way, someone is also showing severe withdrawal symptoms at work today... his 1st day back in office after you left...

meanwhile, here is loi's story & here's faith's gastronomic rendition of the luncheon... so kindly let me procrastinate in peace ~ taking my sweet time to update a full post on this =p

PIKOM PC Fair 2009 ~ the loot

From Miscellaneous

From Miscellaneous

Okie, this should entitle me for a sufficient amount of tax relief so i will not run into a similar episode of this year's income tax saga... =p
Got myself a new toy which, i'm going to need sometime soon. Tada!! ~ a HP Pavilion DV4-1302TX plus a ton of freebies which includes a wireless Microsoft Arc mouse, carrying case, UCB sling bag, an AMB multimedia headset + 4GB USB drive with embedded antivirus, & HP Halloween Treat Box containing a HP pumpkin plush toy, an England liveried towel, themed-playing cards, a t-shirt and a magnatic photoframe ~ courtesy of my uncle who runs a computer dealership =D
The spec reads: Intel Centrino2 Core Duo Pro ~ 3MB L2 cache, 2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, runs a Windows Vista OS, has HDD of 320GB, runs a NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS, built-in TV tuner, and has the usual DVD/R/RW integrated webcam + finger print reader, Bluetooth & wireless 802.11a/g/n connectivity.
Dimensions: 14.1 WXGA HD anti-glare display, all in a package that weighs over 2.3kg which, is a tad too heavy for my liking.
But other than that, the package should be sufficient for my multimedia & photo-editing needs? (i'm not very tech savvy when it comes to PC stuff)

Random Thoughts: Income Tax E-Filling ~ the saga returns... -_-

Baki Cukai Kena Dibayar: 4XX.03 HEEHAII!!! *put a 'C', then a 'B' before each of the 'H's respectively* & i wonder where did all my money go... coz my annual pocketed income feels like its shrinking from year to year... -_-

Random Shots: Sarawak Bridal Fair 2009

Tagged along with Louis, Allen & Irene for a visit to a fair held at Crowne Towers last night; neh, the type of fair that most gals would drag their boyfriends to... =p Was excited at the prospect of having subjects category: eye candies to shoot, tapi mana tau ~ the show ended abruptly as i was just getting the feel of the shoot & had my settings done. damn potong stim aje... -_-
Here are some of the very few so-so shots i've managed to shoot.

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*i wonder what's up with the awkward lighting settings of the stage? *

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This is also the venue to spot some of your familiar couple friends ~so you can start saving up some ang pow money for that soon-to-come 'red bomb'... *i see one coming already... =p *

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Not much great pichas shot, but one of us went home with a buffet lunch voucher for 2 courtesy of 4-Points Sheraton =D

Singapore Trip: Sis' Convocation Ceremony

I had a short couple of days un-paid leave (common cost-reduction measures in the corporate world in this uncertain economic climate) break in Singapore to attend my sister’s convocation last week. This populous little island neighbor has been my family’s most frequented holiday destination since I was a little kid. Having most of my relatives, especially aunts & cousins from mom’s side currently residing there, we always had a place to stay whenever we go for a visit, without having to put up exorbitantly pricey hotel accommodations. It’s become like a home away from home for me; I’ve gotten well acquainted with the city after a couple of visits, thanks to the super efficient & tourist friendly public transport system. I actually enjoy exploring the city on my own, meeting & catching up with friends working there over a cup of coffee. I like how everything is so orderly, convenient, so squeaky clean & safe over there, a huge contrast from JB in the mainland just across the causeway. I guess that’s the gap between a 1^st world country & a 1^st world country wannabe. Though, the much faster & hectic pace of life there would take some getting used to. There’s always something new & exciting to see, each time I drop by for a visit, though the difference may just be mere months. The Marina Sands is progressing quite fast, & so is the Universal Studios at Sentosa, expected to welcome its 1^st visitors end of next year. Going over has always been very family-affair, catching up with aunts, uncles & cousins who’d generously pamper & keep us well fed =D

This time wasn’t any different; it’s the first time we’ve gone out together in full force(my dad, mom, sis & me) for vacation in years. Shared the room with my mom & dad which, I haven’t done so since I was a little kid (when we used to stay under a roof with all of dad’s other sibling’s family). By the end of the trip I sported panda eyes, coz I had to cope with both of the snoring choo-choo trains going off early at night! =p

Brought my camera gear along; there were many interesting subjects to shoot during the course of the trip, but the shutter bug was also on vacation… the prospect of hauling my bulky camera gear along thru the MRT onto the crowded streets of Orchard Road or City Hall did not seem inviting… maybe I should come along with a kaki-photographer fellow traveler next time…

I graduated again!

From Travels

Took some family photos at a studio on the morning of my sis’ convocation day ~ for SGD250!!!

The only time I took the lens cover off was for the convocation ceremony at Orchard Hotel. Here are some of the shots:

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Congrats sis ~ you’ve finally graduated!

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~ the ‘V’ictory sign is about the only pose she knows… -_-

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Quite a grand venue but a relatively small scale function with only handful of international graduates from all over ~ have seen quite a number of Malaysians, Indonesian, Filipino, Hongkie, Indians & an African but only a handful of Singaporeans. Small scale coz the main ceremony is held at the main campus in Australia & there's also another at KL…i think

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Eagerly waiting for the defining moment…

*didn’t get a good shot here, but we already paid SGD50 for the convo photos which should come out in a weeks time*

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One for the family… except for the ang moh who came out of nowhere ^_*

* now that the PC fair is coming to town this weekend, my sis' definitely going to bug me to get her that EeePC as her graduation gift... xp *

That's all folks! =)

Shots from my previous trip:

Day01 ~ Part I

Day01~ Part II

Day02

Day03~05

Random Shots: April Fool!

Stickman's hub got ambushed...

with his pride at stake,

he retaliated & ended up with a collateral damage...

humping accidents do happen at work =p

*meaningless post intended only for the select heehai few who understand*

de ja vu?

From Miscellaneous

reminiscent of this fave shot i've taken during my last visit here, almost a year has passed since; now with a proper dSLR, back then it was a samsumg digicam which got stolen when my parents brought it along for a trip to penang not long after that...

*singapore trip post coming up soon...~ when i'm rajin enough to update, that is =p *

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a buddy of mine got into a mishap earlier this evening; i crashed in an eeriely similar manner just not too long ago in that area too, just a roundabout away... Glad that he got away unscathed, though a bit shaken. Ouch! that baby is going to take a while to get fixed; speaking of which, mine is yet to emerge from the workshop. Malang tidak berbau... do drive safely dear friends!