Succint

sms from coach today: resting is training.

..... encouraging....

Gadget of the Day

Check out this nifty multi USB pod man... a christmas present from Darren and Melanie.. I finally am using it and ooohhh it's so convenient for multi-tasking... I LIKEY! Thanka!

The Usual Mix Up

Put a group of photographers in a dark ballroom covering the Prime Minister's Keynote address at an event and chances are someone may pick up someone else's camera by mistake.. It happened to me and a Reuters photographer before but we realised it immediately. All our cameras look the same, the straps are the same colour and there's really no real way of telling which is which. That night, I grabbed / John grabbed my/his camera by mistake and I only realised this the next day like, 14hrs later... which could only mean two things. We don't work hard enough so we don't need to look at our cameras and we don't pack our bags/car after an assignment. Padumpum.

A is for Attitude

My sunnies have recently been stolen by my very own son who has learnt how to wear them with an Attitude!

Reunited with my Queen CD... ahhh so nice.

Mm ba ba de

Um bum ba de

Um bu bu bum da de

Pressure pushing down on me

Pressing down on you no man ask for

Under pressure - that burns a building down

Splits a family in two

Puts people on streets

Um ba ba be

Um ba ba be

De day da

Ee day da - that's o.k.

It's the terror of knowing

What this world is about

Watching some good friends

Screaming 'Let me out'

Pray tomorrow - gets me higher

Pressure on people - people on streets

Day day de mm hm

Da da da ba ba

O.k.

Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor

These are the days it never rains but it pours

Ee do ba be

Ee da ba ba ba

Um bo bo

Be lap

People on streets - ee da de da de

People on streets - ee da de da de da de da

It's the terror of knowing

What this world is about

Watching some good friends

Screaming 'Let me out'

Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high

Pressure on people - people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man

Sat on a fence but it don't work

Keep coming up with love

but it's so slashed and torn

Why - why - why ?

Love love love love love

Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

Can't we give ourselves one more chance

Why can't we give love that one more chance

Why can't we give love give love give love give love

give love give love give love give love give love'

Cause love's such an old fashioned word

And love dares you to care for

The people on the edge of the night

And loves dares you to change our way of

Caring about ourselves

This is our last dance

This is our last dance

This is ourselves

Under pressure

Under pressure

Pressure

Girlfriends

I was sorting through the old files in my computer when I found many old pictures of the girls...The thing about them is that you can be totally silly with them, anytime, anyday! This one's for you gals! WOooohooOO

Easy Ride and the Magic Hour

Sometimes its really nice to take a break from 100ks and aero bars and take an easy ride on the mountain bike or dahon with my hubby or friends. Being out there also allows you to peel away from the petty trivias of human life and enjoy the wonderful world with its little details that God created.

An easy ride one day became a lesson learnt forever

The other day me and bryan were cycling down coastal for the fun of it early in the morning and decided to take the inner coastal roads back home. We saw a man sitting at the side of the road and a lady was squatting next to him.. Upon further inspection, we found out that he was actually not feeling too good, and couldn't remember certain things like where he was or where he lived and why he was there in the first place.. The first thought that came to my mind was that he had suffered from a mild conccussion. His bike however was standing nicely as if he had placed it there. So the usual first aid type questions were asked, and we kept him talking to try and keep him lucid. Not long after, another man came by and said he had seen him lying there before and was concerned and decided to come back and check on him after his run.

Eventually the ambulance came and took him with his mountain bike to changi general hospital. I managed to call his wife, a very very calm and nice lady, and she went on to meet him there.

About a week later, this same lady (the man's wife) called me to tell me that she was grateful that bryan and I and Paulina (the lady squatting next to him) and the jogger had come back to help him. I told her that it was just something that anyone would have done, more so among the cyclists and joggers.. It's an unwritten code and understanding to watch out for each other. She then went on to say that she was thankful because many Singaporeans would just look and mind their own business... and then she went on to say something very humbling and poignant and something that I would remember always. She said: "I used to be this kind of person that would see trouble and just mind my own business and walk away... Now I will stop and try to help if I could."

Our prayers are with our new friend who was in intensive care and is suffering from a stroke as well as some other complications which include a group of veins entangled at the back of the brain.

Sea swim training

Today's water was unsually cold to begin with but we were caught up in the heat of training in no time. Finally, the familiar murky and salty waters flowed through my fingers with each stroke and each breath.. I could taste the salty waters linger in my mouth, occasionally swollowing some when i got distracted during the breathing. I concentrated on each stroke, keeping on course as much as in could... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.. sight and pull... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.. sight and pull. I felt strong. When we gathered this morning, Wung Yew, Lynn and I tried to pull a fast one with coach and stood in front of him when he called for new swimmers, hoping to do less training. We're always playing a fool with him and I think he realises it and totally ignores us after yelling at us though. I told myself I'd swim fast and smooth so that i could get out of this unusually murky waters today, must be brought in with the tide with all that full moon Lunar activity going on, plus the ropes of the buoys were drifting away from the anchor, causing us to get entangled with the markers. I really miss sea swim trainings and will be looking forward to more of it !

Shadows lurking.

Shadows are mostly beautiful but not all, i've learnt. Some lurk around and cling onto u where you least expect them to be.. In the corner of your eye, they float around the places you go, the people you know and try and leech onto whatever they can - just to aggravate you and to hold you back. But I always remember and am reminded by the people around me that know of these, and they say that shadows have No souls, nor personalities _ that's why they have no ability to self analyse and realise that no one is bound to them. No one owes them anything. So if you ever encounter such shadows, know that you are stronger, swifter, wiser and.. Cast them out!

My Where's Waldo Avatar!

hello!

(:

moral of the story...

is #1. Don't try to stinge when it comes to ERP.. Yours truly, took out her ERP card to get the statement printed while picking nate up... coming out, about to drive off, i realised that i had 3 min to save some money...from 2 bucks to a 1.50. totally preoccupied with watching the clock, i FORGOT to replace my cash card... and now have to pay $10 bucks for my mistake.. l.o.s.e.r....

Accidental Tourist

Emperor Palpatine. nuf said.

The adventures of Dahon

Dahon in the carpark with funky lightingDahon folded

Recently, Terence and Bryan bought folding bicycles.. At first I really wasn't convinced and thought that we didn't need another bike folding or not.. We've got bikes each and the take up space and money_ until_ I was told that I could ride around the CBD to look for pictures and standalones, economic features, tourism illustrations without the hassle of having to find parking and paying through the roof for it. Furthermore, i've always hated driving down 2 blocks just to walk around and shoot.. I used to trudge around from International Plaza, all over the place with equipment, wasting time and sweating buckets.. Now with the Dahon, a folding bike which fits in the car, I zip around town and stop whenever I see a potential picture to be made. Plus its environmentally friendly too! I still sweat heaps but I am more productive overall where work is concerned.. joy.

Indian tourist posing on Dahon

Thai tourist posing with Dahon

So today, I took the bike out to hunt for some tourism features, to illustrate a story about how Singapore's tourism board is injecting some money into boosting the industry. I parked the bike at the side and started shooting and when I turned my back, I saw a man from India sitting on the bike posing with the skyline in the background.. I looked at him, he smiled and I let him be..

I really don't think the bike is all that spectacular....but the whole scene kinda reminds me of the times in the earlier days when people would pose with props. I think this was it. Not long after, a Thai lady asked nicely if she could pose with the bike and I went on to take some photos. I'm thinking of starting an album or a series of moments like that where random people pose with my bike as a prop. It's really quite funny.

dahon folding bikes can be found here: http://www.dahon.com/

Nice Ass!

screen grab from Yahoo News Photos website

I received an email from my colleague over in Beijing the other day with the subject titled "Nice Ass!", followed by a one liner saying that my monkey picture was the most emailed photograph in Yahoo. well hardee har har Greg.. you're so funny.

(it's interesting because i've always told my photography students back when i was teaching that you have to keep your eyes open to things happening around you, and more often times than not, your pictures that turn out the nicest or most noticed are not the ones that you intended to shoot in the first place. )

Mad Money

Don't you just love it when you stick your hand in your pocket of some jacket or pair of jeans which you haven't worn for a long long time and suddenly find some money in it??

Apparently this is known in the states as "MAD MONEY!"