shutterbugISm

Wow...

I didn't realised that my last post was more than a month ago..... October and November have been just crazy with lotsa assignments coming in from all directions and in addition to that, we were also going away for our much-anticipated (and this time round, a very much needed) vacation to Japan for a good part of November for the 3rd year consecutive.

The appeal of Japan in Autumn will always be our mainstay as we can't think of any other places that we wanna spend autumn in - we had our 1st foray into Japan to celebrate our engagement in 07', took our PreWedding photos there in '08 and in our 3rd visit, we just chill (literally) and celebrate the joy of togetherness with each other. Clearly the joy were all over our faces and showed in the photos we took :)

Anyway.. lotsa post will be coming up I promised. TO start it off, here's some of the places we went to for makan after coming back to Singapore:

Labels: Food, Friends, Greetings, Images, Inspirations, Local, Photography, Ranting, RICOH GrD, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 01:11 | Permalink | Comments 3

Finally, the blogger interface is fixed... thanks to a link given by TonesOfPink! Apparently Singnet's proxy is the culprit *grrrrr...* but it's okie... as long as I can start blogging again...

Nope, I've not gone to Timbuktu and lost contact with the world (still Twittering and FBing) but this little proxy thingy set me back for quite sometime till Jojo came to the rescue!

So here's a backdated one from the recent trip to Penang's G-Hotel:

It was a short trip over the weekend to get away from Singapore for a while... tix were bought like very early this year from TigerAir for S$0.00 so we made the best use of the cheap airfare to revisit some of our fav. haunts in Penang + some more recommendations from friends!

We decided to stay in G-Hotel this time round due to the fact that we couldn't get a single booking at our old favourite Northam All Suites over that particular weekend as it coincided with the Penang Run as well as Heritage Weekend so most hotels were full. Why G-Hotel was spared the bursting room demand.. no idea but I think cost is one. We couldn't get a normal deluxe room so we had to up the budget to the Executive rooms which we had no regrets upon reaching the establishment.

Totally worth the money spent! More pics here !

Labels: Clover, Images, Photography, Ranting, RICOH GrD, Thoughts, Travel, Us, vacation

Posted by ShutterBug at 11:11 | Permalink | Comments 5

I'm always amazed that some people I talked to think that photography is something that is extremely easy to do, earns you sh*tloads of moolas and thus able afford all the luxuries of the world.... :)

Labels: Ranting, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 00:29 | Permalink | Comments 2

I guess it was one of those nights when we wanted to try our hands on making some of our favorite food and we decided to go cruise the supermarket for something simple to make.

From a simple shabu-shabu beef asparagus wrap idea, we headed down to the eggs section when suddenly, we hit upon an inspiration of making the ni-tamago which we both love. Ni-Tamago is basically a sauce-seasoned boiled egg that has nice firm whites with a runny center which accompanies your bowl of ramen in most authentic Japanese ramen restaurants.

In fact, I also remembered Vinc, C, Jean and I had an 'indepth' discussion on how to make it on the day of their pre-wedding shoot.. heheheh....

So we bought like 14 eggs (10 medium + 4 large) to go home and experiment. Thankfully, the recipes and techniques are no lacking on the internet but I remembered ChubbyHubby's version and went on to experiment with his technique while I also did another version of my own to see if there's a difference.

Our 1st 3 attempts were failures coz we tried different volumes of water, different cooking timings as well as overcooking... and using chubby hubby's method, we also managed to end up with Onsen Tamago after 18-20 minutes.

The trick is the timing and the method which you cook the eggs. CH used a slow-cook method which yields an even texture throughout the whites of the egg while my method is flash-boil cooking which yields a slightly firmer exterior (which is great for removing the shell later on).

Basically the methods are pretty similiar but here's my flash-boil variation:

• a) Bring to boil about 4-5 cups of water (enough to cover the eggs)
• b) When the water's bubbling away, lower the eggs into the water gently to prevent cracking them on impact
• c) Cook for 5 - 6 mins (medium eggs), 7 - 7.5 mins (larger eggs) on high heat
  
• d) Prep an ice bath (volume enough to cover the eggs totally)
• e) Once the cooking time is up, just scoop the eggs up and dump them gently into the icebath to stop the cooking process
• f) Ice the eggs for about 3 - 4 hours while you prep the seasoning sauce.
• g) Gently peel off the shell of the eggs before steeping them into the sauce and leave them in the fridge for at least 4 - 6 hours. I left them for 24 hours actually) - the longer you steep them, the better the taste :D
• h) When ready to eat, leave the eggs to room temperature (you can also heat it slightly in the microwave but dun cut the egg open 1st and then add to your rice/ noodles/ etc
  

Sauce:

• a) Combine Japanese Dashi sauce (in accordance to how many eggs you have) with 4 tbs of Teriyaki sauce, 1-2 ts of Mirin, 2-3 tbs of sugar, water to dilute the mixture a bit and 8-10 slices of old ginger. (I actually used Tempura sauce coz I can't find Dashi)
• b) Bring the whole mixture to boil and set aside to cool
• c) Transfer the sauce to a deep bowl to immerse the eggs for the next 4- 6 hours or more

Try it out and let me know if it works for you!

Labels: Clover, Ranting, Recipes, RICOH GrD, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 20:56 | Permalink | Comments 9

Blogging this from Changi Airport Departure gate while waiting for Princess Antz and her beau... I'm totally bushed and sun-burnt, down with a bad throat due to shouting too much but hey, I clocked another high key (5th year liao!)

Labels: Ranting

Posted by ShutterBug at 18:48 | Permalink | Comments 0

the lazy blogger finally gotten his arse (more like fingers) moving to blog after a small period of 'radio silence' since late March...

Some friends have been asking where on earth have I disappeared to... well... sorry to disappoint peeps, it's nowhere actually. I have been 'lurking' around reading everyone's updates on my growing list of blogs to read so that I'm not out of touch, just that I have been feeling a bit lazy to reply or comment or just blog about my day which can be darn boring.

I mean if I were to blog about my typical day... it will look something like this:

Typical routine:
7.30 am - Woke up and done all the toilet necessities.
8.00 am - Turn on computer.
9.15 am - Finish reading the online news from CNN, AsiaOne, StraitTimes Online and CNA at the same time, eating breakfast.
9.30 am - Work and stoned for inspiration
1.00 pm - Lunch
1.30 pm - Work and stoned for inspiration
7.00 pm - Dinner
8.00 pm - Work and stoned for inspiration
2.00 am - Sleep and the cycle starts again tomorrow.

But I digressed. April is a busy month for me coz of a shorten working dateline as I will be going for my reservist high key training starting 20th till end of April and I'm not exactly enthusiastic about it coz it's really disruptive to my schedule as well as the mounted responsibility this time round.

Worst is when I have to leave for Perth on the 29th's evening so I have to pass the baton to my 2IC to hold the fort on the last day of an Outfield Exercise. Not a very good start as OC of a company. Sigh.... I was just sharing with Ms Clover on the stress of assuming command coz I'm really happy to play 2nd fiddle as 2IC (which was my previous and designated appointment) but as my OC has formally been drafted off to other pastures, the Bn has decided to move me up :(
Not good...

Anyway... I'm looking forward to great weather and of coz, great pics of the Poop-flinging S & his Princess A (that's another story)'s Prewedding shoot in Perth. As they both have lived there extensively during their uni days, it will be a joy and eye-opener as they show me around the city and the outskirts.

Will update sporadically on the blog this month but regular blogging will resume in May :D

Till then! :D

Labels: Ranting

Posted by ShutterBug at 09:22 | Permalink | Comments 2

read this from Imp's blog post:

You Are Basil

You are a mild mannered person. People feel naturally calm around you. You are warm hearted and loving. You have a close knit circle of friends and family. You have the courage to be who you are in life, even if others disagree. You're proud of your uniqueness. You are good at caring for and healing others. You are naturally soothing.

Labels: Ranting, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 15:36 | Permalink | Comments 6

I thought it would be funny to do it after reading it off LilSnooze's and FaerieImp's entries :D

Labels: Humor, Meme, Ranting, Sianzzz

Posted by ShutterBug at 01:31 | Permalink | Comments 3

iPhone's nice but I'm getting tired of it so next year, it's a time for change and going back to my trusty brand Nokia :p

Labels: Ranting, Tech

Posted by ShutterBug at 23:23 | Permalink | Comments 0

Still suffering from Nippon withdrawal symptoms (read: no civic mindedness found locally here, no good tasting sushi or Japanese food.. not even Tomo's, no pick-me-up-and-make-me smile instant cup coffees from Starbucks or Maxim in our very barely equipped 7-lls.. ohh yeah, no Lawsons or Family Marts too... missing the clean crisp air and that beautiful light that makes shooting anything a breeze and inspiring..etc... you get the gist)

Well, caught up with Char Siu Pau for a little coffee as well as with CY for dinner... met up with Mudgod & Ms.P over dinner oso to pass them their wedding works....

Discovered that I'm really behind in Christian contemporary songs and I'm falling in love with the worship songs by PlanetShakers (Thanks CY! Playing them non-stop now :D)

Data migration of my library of songs and iPhotos to the new Macbook Pro is slowly but steady on-going... upgraded my iPhone 2.0 to the latest firmware 2.2... I got to say, I LOVE the new MAP's google Street View! I am using it now to revisit the places we went to in Japan! And of coz, lotsa new apps from the Apps store to play around.

Need to sleep... need to breathe in the Autumn air again... sigh....

so here's some quick edits from our Japan trip again to remind ourselves why we love it there:

Labels: BnW, Clover, Cultural, Images, Inspirations, Japan, Photography, Ranting, Thoughts, Travel, Us, vacation

Posted by ShutterBug at 03:46 | Permalink | Comments 12

as the entry's title... I'm really tired.

So many things to do and I'm not even packed yet. I count my life in hours... Every hour must accomplish a schedule list of things I have planned...

Okie I am whining again... I think I will only start resting when we reach Japan this Fri.

Labels: Ranting

Posted by ShutterBug at 19:01 | Permalink | Comments 2

This is going to gross you out.... seriously.... but the amazing thing is the indestructible Mac-Fries! Imagine what they are doing in our system after consumption @.@!

Labels: Food, Ranting, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 16:33 | Permalink | Comments 4

a) Too much to do, too little time....

b) Yen is almost at a record high already... looks like it's going to break SGD$ 16.00 = 1000Y after so5 years of hovering around SGD14.00 = 1000Y... (darn bad news for us)

c) I'm still bluuudddy buried in the avalanche of jpegs I have to edit before I can fly off...

d) So many things concerning the renovation need attention...


SIGH.....

Labels: Ranting, Sianzzz

Posted by ShutterBug at 15:57 | Permalink | Comments 1

not been blogging much these days due to overwhelming activities, sickness and impromptu stuff but updates will be soon and lots :)

Right now, I just want the newly launched Apple MacBook Pro 15.4" *droolzzz.....*



Later folks :)

Labels: Apple, Ranting

Posted by ShutterBug at 02:45 | Permalink | Comments 4

I really wonder where did the entire month of Sept go? A while back I was wondering where did Aug go also...

and suddenly it's Oct and there's barely 1 month's time before our long trip to Japan.. Ms Clover said this is the pre-trip anxiety coz there's a lot of things to settle before we can fly off and I can't really agree with her more...

Currently I'm still buried deep in folders of JPGs to edit and not including the shooting assignments, appointments and follow-up appointments this month... while Ms Clover has a big planning exercise @ work till end of the month... one that require her to fly out of the country for 1/2 day somemore..

Yet to see her gown in actual form from Kai Bridal Couture, saw my suit and going for pick-up (after final adjustments) at the end of the month. The rest of the stuff like shoes (hers and mine), ties, cufflinks... etc settled at least.

A lot of birthdays this month including my mum's, Ms Clover's, Lil' Ms Snooze, Ms Clover's brother... etc

1st appt with HDB at the end of the month while in the meantime, sourcing for contractors and IDs for quotes and ideas... another headache

Meantime, attending the SIPF's Asian Mosaics Travel Photography Competition @ Old School (Mt Sophia) at the end of the month (31st Oct) coz one of my entries have been selected for competition there. There will be 60 short-listed entries for exhibition at the Old School in Singapore from 24 to 31 October, 2008. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to vote for their favourite images at the exhibition. The entrant with the image receiving the highest number of votes from the public will be the winner for the People's Choice Award. So do make time to go down to see the exhibition! :D


Week after week in Oct is so packed with activities... sigh..... I'm going out of my mind already....

*Yes I'm whining....*

Labels: BnW, Clover, Family, Friends, Images, Inspirations, Japan, Photography, Ranting, Thoughts, Us, vacation

Posted by ShutterBug at 09:22 | Permalink | Comments 9

featuring my latest 'toy' - the Nissan R35 Skyline GTR :p


nope... I didn't go out and buy 'the car' (which I would definitely want if I have won the TOTO or something) but I bought a 1/10 Tamiya RC version of the replica... hehhe... and of coz, what you see here in the pic is the stock look, I have since decorated it with full LED panel lights, decals and 'zhng' the 'beng' look complete with golden stock rims and drift wheels (hahah.. chrome rims are next). hahaha.. I think Lil' Ms Snooze rolled her eyes when I brought the RC car out for Tehpeng to play around on Sunday evening and thus from her, the 'closet beng' label :p

Seriously, I am hooked on RC racing now.... been spending a fair bit of spare time just reading on the performance parts, the different aspects of configurations for the type of drive you want to achieve and of coz, drool over some of the more expensive chassis models that others have.

Kinda brings me to my early childhood days where my dad and I would race remote-controlled cars in the park and later on, during my Primary school days of Tamiya mini racers (my fav model shell is still the Vanquish compared to the Avante) where I would skip tuitions after school to go play at the neighbourhood Tamiya shops in my school uniform... needless to say, I was eventually 'caught' and my champion Vanquish mini racer was confiscated and ended my 'racing days'... hahaha.. those were the days :D

Why I'm back on the hobby now? hehehe.. coz I was just passing by Velocity 2 weeks back and saw that there was a RC drifting competition and I was instantly hooked (and besides, I'm supporting the F1 fever in Little Red Dot by some obscure associations of buying my own RC car and doing my own F1 practice RC races in the neighbourhood open - air carpark!)

So I grabbed the Nissan GT-R (Expert Built model or XBM) which caught my fancy (I also bought the Nissan 350Z Fairlady Nismo bodyshell which I intend to do a full cosmetic job for display next time) and a whole bunch of accessories and got started...

Hehehe... this is as exciting as the real F1 racing okie.. dun believe, check out this Youtube clip of RC Drifting in Singapore:



Kid you not, theses cars really drift like the real thing and there are a lot of physics and mechanical properties (like how hard the front and back suspension systems have to be to get the right downforce to stabilize the car during the entry and exit, the gear ratios for high kicks on accelerations...etc) involved which I'm now trying to pick up from the experts in forums.. hehhe... will post my tricked-out GT-R next week!

*TehPeng , are you tempted? hehehehe...... :D

Labels: Local, Ranting, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 03:03 | Permalink | Comments 2

is plain AWESOME.....!!!!

Watching Ep 2 now and can't wait for the rest of the episodes..... lotsa twists an turns sia!
here's a good webbie to catch the latest news - Heroes Revealed

:D

Labels: Ranting, Tele

Posted by ShutterBug at 02:18 | Permalink | Comments 4

Here's something very interesting... Things you should eat/ shouldn't according to your blood type...

I'm blood type A and this list kinda threw me off track and into a serious 'depression'. I'm going to BOLD those food that I like and eat pretty often and you will see why I feel that I'm going to be pretty depressed coz I'm NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT THEM :( -

sources from here - http://angec.multiply.com/journal/item/19/Eating_Right_For_Your_Blood_Type

Blood Type A

People with Blood Type A evolved from the hunter/meat-eater to the agrarian, and were the farmers and grain gatherers. This blood type evolved between 25,000 and 15,000 bC. They have fragile digestive systems. These people cannot tolerate animal protein well, and should be the proverbial, classic "vegetarian" of the human species. They also are usually lactose intolerant, as well. Persons with Blood Type A should avoid animal protein and dairy products, and would do well with whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Tofu and Hawaiian Spirulina should become the Blood Type A person's best friends, as these foods contains high-quality vegetable protein! Persons with Blood Type A do not produce enough hydrochloric acid in their stomachs, and that is why they have a difficult time digesting animal protein well. This also gives them a predisposition toward getting stomach cancer, and should never eat smoked or cured meats due to the sodium nitrites in them. Animal protein and dairy products tend to rot and ferment in their digestive tracts, and the toxic bacteria backs up into their tissues and muscles, thereby causing digestive distress. A lack of sufficient hydrochloric acid in their stomachs is another reason that persons with Blood Type A do not absorb Vitamin B12 properly from the foods they eat. Vitamin B12 is normally found in red meat, although B12 is also found in superior vegetable protein foods such as Hawaiian Spirulina, soy products and sea kelp. This inability to absorb Vitamin B12 sufficiently from food tends to make the person with Blood Type A prone to pernicious anemia. Therefore, supplementing the diet with Vitamin B12 is critical. Also recommended is supplementation with digestive enzymes such as betaine, bromelain and papain. Bromelain is derived from pineapple, and assists with the digestion of animal protein. Betaine will help to increase the amount of hydrochloric acid in their stomachs. The best exercise for these persons is not the heavy, vigorous workouts, but more calming, centering exercises like Tai Chi, Hatha Yoga and golfing. These soothing types of exercises will relieve the Blood Type A person's stress in a more beneficial way.

Foods that encourage weight gain - Meat; dairy food; kidney beans; lima beans; wheat (in overabundance); and, of course, sugar and white flour.

Foods that encourage weight loss - Vegetables oils, such as olive and flaxseed; soy foods; spirulina; vegetables; pineapple.

Other foods to avoid

· Meat & Poultry: bacon, beef, ground beef, buffalo, duck, goose, ham, hart, lamb, liver, mutton, partridge, pheasant, pork, rabbit, veal, venison, quail.

· Seafood: anchovy, barracuda, beluga, bluefish, bluegill bass, catfish, caviar, clam, conch, crab, crayfish, eel, flounder, frog, gray sole, haddock, hake, halibut, herring (fresh & pickled), lobster, lox (smoked salmon), mussels, octopus, oysters, scallop, shad, shrimp, sole, squid (calamari), striped bass, tilefish, turtle.

· Cheese/Dairy: American, blue cheese, brie, butter, buttermilk, Camembert, casein, cheddar, colby, cottage, cream cheese, edam, Emmenthal, gouda, gruyere, ice cream, Jarlsberg, Monterey jack, Munster, Parmesan, provolone, Neufchatel, sherbet, skim or 2% milk, Swiss, whey, whole milk.

· Oils: corn, cottonseed oil, peanut, safflower, sesame.

· Nuts & Seeds: brazil, cashews, pistachios.

· Beans & Legumes: copper, garbanzo, kidney, lima, navy, red beans, tamarind beans.

· Cereals: cream of wheat, familia, farina, granola, grape nuts, wheat germ, seven grain, shredded wheat, wheat bran.

· Breads & Muffins: English muffins, high-protein bread, matzos wheat, multi-grain bread, pumpernickel, wheat bran muffins, whole wheat bread.

· Grains & Pastas: white & whole wheat flour, semolina & spinach pasta.

· Vegetables: cabbage (Chinese, red, white), eggplant, lima beans, mushroom (domestic), olives (black, Greek, Spanish), peppers (green, jalapeno, red, yellow), potatoes (sweet, red, white), tomatoes, yams.

· Fruits: bananas, coconuts, mangoes, melon (cantaloupe & honeydew), oranges, papayas, plantains, rhubarb, tangerines.

· Juices: orange, papaya, tomato.

· Spices: capers, plain gelatin, pepper (black, cayenne, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, white), vinegar (apple cider, balsamic, red wine, white), wintergreen.

· Condiments: ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, pickle relish, Worcestershire sauce.

· Herbal Teas: catnip, cayenne, corn silk, red clover, rhubarb, yellow dock.
. Beverages: beer, distilled liquor, seltzer water, all sodas, black teas.

At least Golfing as my ideal kind of exercise is so true :D

Labels: Food, Ranting, Sianzzz

Posted by ShutterBug at 22:54 | Permalink | Comments 3

juz a very quick update on this week....

Very busy with corporate shoots as well as trying to do a million other things at the same time so explains the lack in blog postings...
Trying to get enuf sleep everyday is seriously finding its way to the top of the list.... Zzzzzz

Anyway, a quick snippet of the 3G iPhone launching this Fri:

The price plan is quite incredible... imagine paying a super premium of $205 per month for the next 24 months (not including over usage charges) for a USD $199 phone -.-! -> read it here

Really too expensive to stomach overall even for an Apple product.....

* blogging this entry from the 1st gen iPhone btw while waiting for my creative director to arrive ;p *

Labels: iPhone, Local, Ranting

Posted by ShutterBug at 08:07 | Permalink | Comments 11

Was reading Blinkymummy's blog entry on this:

I just had to hear it for myself... so with my trusty mobTV subscription still valid till the end of the month, I quickly went up to the website and clicked on the 13 Aug 2008's recorded episode of Today in Beijing......

and..... SHE REALLY DID SWORE on National Tele!

hehehehehe.......... :p Just listen very carefully after the gymnastic segment as she was introducing the next segment of synco. swimming event, the image cued in was the wrong one showing the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium and there was her going "Errrrr.. F*&K...." (20:39 mins)

Hilarious!

Labels: Ranting

Posted by ShutterBug at 19:53 | Permalink | Comments 5