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recreation allocation
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Took a long trip by bus to Ion Orchard with Cheryl and Xr today. Unplanned destination, but totally not wasted P: aside from the branded goods above the ground floor, the layout, shops and all were good in variety etc. One ice cream outlet at the ground floor that I'd like to try next time though.

Lotsa photo opportunities along the way but dang didn't bring my camera along cuz I didn't think I'd need it today. kikki-K was spiffy, first outlet in Singapore and outside of Australia. Would wanna go there again, got a $10 voucher for $50 purchase but I don't intend on spending that much. Good lunch at this ramen restaurant downstairs, really friendly head chef there who treated us to a side dish.

Orchard Central in contrast, totally linear design, boring and uncatergorized retail outlets, and their basement wasn't centralized on food, which should really be a standard >< Wouldn't wanna go back there really. Headed home after that, and I tried my doing a photoshoot for models, heh, constantly inspired by rachel's photoshoots. Didn't really turn out well though, it was only my room anyway, not a very versatile backdrop and no wardrobe.



My room kinda looks studio-ish in mono P:



Only one picture above of my attempts, the rest just didn't look very good. I liked the lighting in this shot, plus it kinda has a tomboyish innocence to the photo. Comments, it's my first shot of the sort! :D

penned by joel at 10:07 PM

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F1
Sunday, September 27, 2009

So mark and ben were kind enough to give us two of the three spare tickets for F1 last Saturday. Except they called us during dinner and we had to rush inhaling our food then bathing. The rush was well worth it though, awesome night, first time at F1 heh.

Called Yi Chen to come along but he had some dinner thing. Didn't sound too interested either, shame. Mandb's cousin picked us up just at the front gate, convenient stuff. Went to Eunos then got to City Hall MRT. There was some anticipation but I must say, I didn't have much of an interest in racing to start with.

By the time we got there it was around 9, race began at 10 so we walked around a bit. Apparently the tickets we got were $300+ a pop :o Electrico were doing a short gig so we went to have a look. Sat there for a good bit.





I like the bluriness of the shot. Takes away the horrible shake of my camera and makes them appear completely in the spotlight.



Swissotel in the background and two other buildings. Found the music ok-ok, not fantastic but wasn't lousy either.



Went to the Padang afterwards, got this nice shot of the city. This whole place would later be really packed when Travis performed. Like, really packed.



Funny huge lamps around the place, odd looking to some extent.

There was this vintage car display by some rich mens vintage car collector group or something. Man, reminded me loads of Mafia. Awesome game, ahead of it's time.





This one looked alot like the Fletcher or something, in Mafia, the one the mafia dudes would drive around in. Saw this vintage semi-race car several weeks back around the upper east coast road area, open top, slim and all. Whoa really nice. Told a friend to look, he was like, meh..



This one looked really reminiscent of Archie comic books, the really old ones, for some reason. Reggie or some rich kids would drive around in these while Archie had his rickety jalopy..



Interesting looking horn there, at the left side of the windscreen. Not a good angle but I couldn't go past the barrier, and the surrounding night was making all my pictures blurry. Flash stank with the pictures.



Sweetest ride of all. Heh the white body just made it look more regal. The gloss on all of them, just swanky.



Wasn't race time yet. Went by the Esplanade, the last time I went there was for Panorama, school performace. Man it's been too long since I've been to town.





Ok I must say something beforehand. You've already seen all of the cars that were on my camera. Those vintage ones. The F1 cars were too darn fast for my shutter speed. I did lotsa stuff. Multi shot, resting it on still surfaces, everything I could think of but all that appears is a blur of light.

See the blur of red light at the left hand side of the image above? That's the car. Really, the camera just wasn't good enough. If you've got any suggrestions to what else I could've tried, feel free to lemme know P:



There see that bump of white light to the left of the guy standing, wearing white, with black hair? Thats your car :\ darn fast, but totally visible to the naked eye.



Macro at infinity, I'm beginning to like these images. Gives you the sense of making out your own sharp image, defining borders. It's somehow more soothing. Like hues.

The race itself was over pretty fast, we headed to Travis's concert before the races ended. Was exciting, no doubt but it got repetitive easily. Of course, its not like a trap would suddenly wham in the middle of the track, or there were mounted weaponry or something. Woulda spiffed it up I'm easily bored ><

The Travis concert was really something else. Got closer for the bass, the caucasians easily equalled the number of Singaporeans there.





Blurry mannn...



The bassist, I think, don't know his name and too lazy to check it out. He climbed the supporting metal scaffolding thingamajiggy, heh cool stuff. Lead singer tripped backwards on the speakers too :P awesome mood anyway, forgot all about studies and worries. Nice music, but would've really really wanted to go for FOBs concert, was running through my mind the whole time Iw as there ><





Bzzzapppp green pew pew :D



ended around.. 12.30, mandb's cousin treated us to drinks, much appreciated, had a parched throat. Rushing from home, then around city hall and the track, whoa it was warm.

Headed back afterwards, took this below, the bottom of the bridge that was part of the track. Like the shape of the bridge from below. Sleek.





The end of the support of the bridge from underneath too. Shape looks suggestive haha. Or is it just me. Nope, I'm pretty sure that thought's in your head now >:D



The CBD :D I'd wanna have someone to take in the forground, at the corner of the picture, focused, and blurred in the background, think you can see what I mean.



Ben and Joseph. Or mark. Heh can't tell from here. His cousin kept commenting about how it was a mirror image when the four of us walked side by side. Get that so often, meek laughter whenever that comment comes by. Just like the 'if I hurt you will Joseph feel it' hardy har har.

But nah not criticizing him. Only natural to come up with that comment heh I bet it itches others to ask.

Back to the grind. Thanks to mandb again, great night.

penned by joel at 4:39 PM

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Another birthday
Saturday, September 26, 2009

Another pictorial update here, but first. Results results. Dang, I was more confident in my maths
paper this time but that didn't help. Got a U grade of 39, man that really sucked. Looking at the paper, certainly better than the previous major semestral assessment no doubt, but still sucky nonetheless.

GP and geog, H1 subs, weren't much better but the majority did about Us and Es so my E and D wasn't that horrible. GP was much better than the flop of my SA, geog went down though, as usual I felt little need to study for it just as everyone else.

Haven't gotten back the other subjects but you must be quite bored reading this about now. So enough with the horrible results.

Shi Yi's birthday will be tomorrow, so we got some presents early. Not like I'm really close to her, but didn't mind spending 3 over hours wrapping the stuff at all. Chipped in presents P:



Cut out the rabbit with an art knife, everyone thought I used a stamp for this, awesome :D It wrapped a leash for rabbits. I had no idea they sold such things, heh cute.





This covered a wedding planner, man I love the wrapping, retro-ish. Cut out foam sheets and coloured paper stuck on top for the names and her arrow thing-y. Got the wrapping from Prints, which is having a 30% storewide sale thill the end of September, gonna head down there and get another of this wrapping and some other stuff P:



All in all :D hope she liked it heh.

Brought my camera to school for no reason on friday, just maybe hoping to snap something on an ordinary day. Got Mr. Khor in his spiffy new checkered shirt that we got for him for Teacher's Day. Amongst an Up magazine, pencil box for his markers, and an FHM magazine haha.



Can't recall why he was doing this but sure will be hilarious next time when I look back on the photographs. He was wearing jeans too. Must've been one heck of a good morning for him man. Heh.



Went to watch The Ugly Truth and Inglorious Basterds. Took a picture of the cinema hall for fun. Ugly Truth was really predictable, but I still it wasn't as bad as I thought, the ending scene with the hot air balloons, whoa that was stunning. It was like the photos below which Phyu Phyu showed me.





Inglorious Basterds was good, pretty good, but long. At 160 minutes, surely not the best thing for after a day of school. Some parts were a bit draggy but I suppose that's just me and the inability to appreciate something more artsy. Nice twist though, 4.5 over 5, but really. Watch the time ><

Right, and I did this treasure map two nights before the physics paper, really bored and lacking discipline. Intended for Shi Yi initially but halfway through I didn't see why I would intend it for her. Hardly any link. So I carried on making it and gave it to Cheryl.

Used tea to colour the paper, then burnt the edges. I like the compass :D Zoom to see detail!







Off to do a GP essay. Ought to be doing much more..

Cya around

penned by joel at 2:28 PM

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Prelims've been over for 3 days now.
Saturday, September 19, 2009

Prelims were over on Friday, big whoop but the A's start in roughly 50 days. Gonna be hard finding whatever momentum. Anyway, for the big break, didn't post anything plus I can't recall any particular stuff worth a big post, so I'll just write off the pictures I took.

Uploading bug's gone, phew.

So below, made something for Erdiah's birthday, can't recall how far back that was. Chanced upon something that she'd like so I got it and made a simple bag.





One night I got bored, so I went around the house taking some pictures. Learnt some stuff about ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds, but the camera wasn't spiffy enough to have alot of manual functions and adjustments.

Here's the light outside the corridor of our rooms, I like the glow. That hourglass like figure heh.



Oh. Reminds me of Green lantern.





Lotsa people think this picture's from some hotel. Joseph's bedroom though. Lamps and beside tables from Ikea, they look kinda nice, fits the whole look. I wanna have a queen size bed too :\



This is behind the TPJC hall, saw this one too many times the past two weeks, going in there to take the exams just about every day, ugh. I like the blurriness of this image though.



Another one outside the hall, A single red pipe, dunno where it leads to but sure is nice against the white wall. Don't like thsoe footprints though, spoil the image. Like purely red against white.



Right, Olivia asked for my help to take some pictures for National Day, each class is supposed to submit some class photos but our class didn't bother. Helped her class out anyway, never really worked with someone in trying to get shots.

The paper aeroplane in both the shots have their top half in red. Red and white. No stars and no moon, but rah Singapore anyway.



It's a flagpole, my mom couldn't make it out, initially she thought it was a woman, thought that was kinda hilarious :D



In the end I decided most of the shots. Gotta be at the clicking end of the camera to know what is better. They kept asking for shots that were too difficult to capture or against light and such. My camera now doesn't have great adjustments for shutter speeds, multi shots and what not, so I tried whatever worked.

This one above, I thought worked out pretty well. Fun helping them take the pictures, usually I always snapped stuff on my own, but imput is always helpful. I looked back at old school photos the other day. A flip into the past for a while.

One thing really noticable is the skirt length changing as the years go by heh. In primary school they were unbelivably long, and then to secondary school and up to JC, heh. But that aside, nostalgia pangs are good once in a while. Kinda reflective.



Doing econs in the library. Think it was a friday, and we were just waiting to get out of the school gates. I like the blurred lighting with these macro shots, boring picture but I wanted to try and get the effect of the balled-lights.



Oh right. So National Day, didn't spend it at home or out watching the parade etc. Worked with Cheryl, Brandon and Xiu Rong at Home Fix. Cheryl's aunt offered us a job, promoting Dylon fabric paints. I don't think I've much of a problem promoting and presenting as long as I know my stuff and like it, that was my...

Third job that I've done. First one was real cushy, office job shredding old documents with Hong Xiang, best paying and most carefree job heh. Boring, cooped in a room shredding all day, but at least we could chat in there. Then the second one was at a wet market. Helping out Olivia's parents the two day before Chinese New Year's eve.

That one was really tiring, heh and I had no idea what to expect, having not been to a fish market in years. But it was a new and interesting experience, stayed over at her place too since it was a 5am to 12pm job.

Back to Home Fix, I was at the Marina Square branch with Cheryl, so on the day of the parade we could hear the 21 guns and the fireworks, so close to the parade yet so far. Fun though, we just drew and drew all day on tee shirts and such. Tyrannical kids who splashed paints and stuff. Earned $77 from that two day job, took no time in spending it. Don't even recall where the money went.



Don't remember when this was too, lazy to check the date stamp on the photo. Berlin's pencil box on reddish-purple colour accent.



me in monochrome P:



All in the same day, these few. Here's Jun De making some odd origami.



My pen from Nikkei corp, got it since that time I was working with Hong Xiang at his mom's office.



Berlin and bubble tea. Think the few of us went to watch a movie after that school day.





My first attempt at long shuttre speeds, don't bring my camera out much, so didn't try these before. A simple attempt at the road down the hill that I always walk up, and down later to, and from school.



I especially love this shot. Taken at my roof deck of the lights in the city and the districts leading up to it. The colours are vivid without any artificial saturation.



Made a card for Samuel for Yun Ni's birthday present. Or was it something else. Heh can't recall.



Birthday cupcake.



Some evening after a heavy downpur, went up to the roof deck to take these photos. This panoramic one is especially nice I think, cropped it till it got like that, didn't stitch images, too lazy for that. I wanna save up and get a gooood DSLR.



Golden willows, up on the roof deck too, but against the sky they look more of something outta a temperate country than Singapore P:





Oh, then recently Yi Chen had to get a present for someone. Volunteered to wrap it so I met him, got a book, went home to wrap it. Good catching up with him, good to know it's still easy to chat. Joseph hadn't expected him, so I left him to chat with Chen till I figured out how to wrap it.

Finally came out with something new, Envelope style. Google wrapping methods and you'll get really boring results. So I tried experimenting on my own, took about an hour, but well worth it.



Tried again when Joseph needed me to wrap something for a friend of his. Yet another book, so practice makes perfect P: Made one for Phyu Phyu on my third try, kinda perfected by then already, she put up a picture on her blog but I guess these two are easy enough to figure out if you'd wanna try.

Nah I don't think anyone would bother making this. I'm the only bored person who finds creativity and entertainment in doing these things.



And... the last bored triparound the house taking pictures. Should get out more often, but it was the exams anyway, I'd look to anything for guilt-free entertainment. We've got these slippers at ever point of exit of the house. The pool deck, the roof deck, the front porch, the back kitchen, you get the idea.

This uncle of mine mocked my dad for being a clean freak, hate that uncle. Any way to reduce the effort of having to clean up the house is a good effort. Nothing wrong with slippers for the outside. He'd never know cause he's a chauvinistic guy who believes housework is left to the maid and the wife.



High ISO, which I didn't really understand the concept till recently, made this picture look better rather than a more crisp low ISO. The flower pot on the deck before the pool. Don't really go into the pool often cuz it's freezing. Ok not that bad, but it's perpetually cold. Normal pools are warmer, it makes swimming in there a constant effort to stay away from shivering.



Outside the power room, near the front door. heh the fruit bowl and the painting, classic.



Curtains at the dining room. Really can't think of much else to say.

Well that's all for the photos. Meanwhile I've been watching the OC and finishing up the Office. Never got down to follow up with 90210, but the OC seems more interesting. Or maybe cuz I left 90210 a long while back and forgot where I left off.

Either way, gotta find time to get back down to work. Wanted to participate in this competition, photography for the centenary fire station. Can't find anyone to go out with me there though ): Was thinking of going on my own later today.

penned by joel at 6:53 PM

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