Envious

My sister arrived safely in New York this morning. The lucky girl will be able to witness the lowering of the ball at Times Square!

Goodbye Sally Brown!

My lil sister is packing. She will be leaving tonight for the airport for a wednesday morning flight to New York en route to Texas Christian University where she will be based for the next 6 months. I am excited for her. I wanted a lot to go on exchange during my own university days but was put off by the cost. Now that I am working and my brother too, it won't be such a big burden on my parents, so she goes with my full blessings.

I am a lil worried about her. Take care you, Sally Brown!

Test

Blogging from my new old phone now from on board bus 64. I got Jaime an iphone 3gs for Christmas,
and she passed me her Nokia E71 which is web enabled.

Boxing Day

There's such a big storm outside, and really the only thing to do is to stay home and read. I have done a bit of Magnum Magnum, last year's birthday present from Jaime; a chapter or two of Birds without Wings - De Bernieres. Probably should browse through one of my photography textbooks next. Not to say I have not been thinking about work. I am gonna be a CT next year and I am thinking how I can get my students off to the best possible start. I probably will do a letter to the parents to introduce myself and probably one to my students too.

Wild Wild Wet.

To celebrate my birthday last Sunday, we went to Wild Wild Wet at Downtown East, 2-for-the-price-of-1-Thank You- NTUC Income. Each time the bell chimed, everyone would gather beneath for the big splash as the bucket toppled over. A bit like lemmings. We did that about 4 times ourselves.

Tokyo on a Friday

Our last (full)day in Tokyo was a cold rainy day. Everyone's umbrellas were out, we bought one from the Combini for approximately $8 Singapore dollars. It got us to quite a few places, although our hands got so frozen they began to hurt. We stopped in at a MOS burger to let them thaw.

Call it my birthday present to myself.

On Saturday, I paid $170 for this Yashica T-AF compact camera. It shoots 35mm film. You must be wondering...... Why in this day and age, when I already have 3 Dslrs of various sizes for different purposes?I will have to admit, this one's a little bit excessive, but this unremarkable-looking brick of plastic comes with a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens! Together with with its successors the T3, T4, T5, it has acquired something of a cult status among camera enthusiasts. I am running a roll through it now. Can't wait to see the results.

Ben Gibbard clone? Very good nonetheless.

Owl City, a one-man outfit made up of Minnesota's Adam Young sounds so uncannily like Ben Gibbard, it had me and Liangting , both of us big fans of DCFC and the Postal Service, fooled. While a lot of people on the internet are accusing Adam Young of ripping off the Postal Service, it makes more sense to me, as we await Ben Gibbard's next offering, to just sit back and chill out to Owl City's delightful blend of electronica and emo-pop.

Indeed....

Jaime's message to me. Most of the people at the party at Yew Tee last night will agree.

Audiophilia

As a birthday treat to myself, I got myself a pair of Shure earphones in Japan. Not cheap at $116 converted. I was reluctant but my girlfriend persuaded me that after a tough year of work, some indulgence was due.

In a Tokyo Subway Station.

If film wasn't so expensive, I'd shoot a lot more of it. Unlike digital where everything is jaggedly sharp, There is just a lot more 'feel' to the soft, grainy images you get from film. This one's special. I think it's Jaime's expression and the eerie coverall figure on the platform.

Birthday Dread

It's December the 15th. Happy Birthday Lulu!

In 3 days time, it will be my brother's birthday and in 5, I will be 28, pushing 30 (according to Jaime). Even Ryan Giggs is 36 going 37.

We are at an age, where we look forward less and less to each successive birthday. Each additional candle on the cake fills me with dread.

It worries me. I cannot help it, even if there is no salve for it. I am worried that my youth and energy will fade before I have accomplished my dreams.


“I am an old woman now. I am old and useless. I’ve pondered these things all my life. My flesh is not what it was, and neither are my bones. When I was young my soul seemed to be the same thing as my body. There didn’t seem to be any difference, I remember that. When I needed to climb some steps, my legs just climbed, and that was all there was to it. My mind and my muscles were all one. Now when I want to climb some steps I look down at my feet and say, ‘Move, in the name of saint Gerasimos, move!’ and slowly they move, and then I stop to draw breath, and my lungs feel hard and dry, and I feel my heart fluttering in vain like the last poor starving butterfly, and this is how I have come to know in my own way that there is a soul who is not the body, but lives inside it.”

Louis De Bernieres, Birds without Wings.

Ueno Park

Although we only spent an hour or so there, Ueno Park is up there in my list of favorite places during the holiday. Remember our breathless little contest to see who would be the first to catch a falling autumn leaf?

Back from Tokyo

Just back from Tokyo. Our one week vacation came to a perfect end when we were bumped up to first class for the flight back from Narita. Lots of mail on my table. Amongst the unpaid handphone bills, stock statements, was my results slip from Nafa. I had hoped for 2 As but 1 A and 1 B is not so bad is it?

Team Jacob.

Caught New Moon this morning with Jaime at The Cathay. I managed to stay awake for the whole duration, so you could say that there has been an improvement, however slight. The plot is still rather vacuous, with lots of cringe-worthy moments, but at least in there were the battles between the CGI werewolves and the vampires that got me slightly excited.

I can't really understand the appeal of Bella's character. I mean, she's weak, selfish, self-centred, and irresponsible. She toys with Jacob's feelings.She abandons her friends at school all too easily. She doesn't give a hoot that her father loves her and is worried about her. This is your heroine?

No big loss, Jacob.

A heart whose love is innocent

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that 's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Sometimes I am amazed by the power of words.

Sebastiao Salgado

Joining the ranks of photographers that inspire me is Brazilian Sebastiao Salgado. Trained as an economist, Salgado worked as a civil servant (sound familiar?) before discovering that in order to come up with the solutions for the problems of the developing world, it was first necessary to show them. His camera would become the instrument of his conscience.

His images of the Sahel famine easily justify his reputation and the numerous awards he has received.

The Last Lecture.

Bus rides have become very enlightening. I am learning valuable lessons from Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. I am only half way through because I mean to reflect on and internalize what I read. Go get it, it's well worth the 15 dollars, or you can borrow it from me, but Jaime's next in line.