Taking Photogaphy

So I bought a Canon EOS 600D yesterday. It wasn't for myself, but it was for the company. Which reminds me that claiming my money will be a long-drawn process.

I was excited to purchase my first DSLR! Granted, I have limited knowledge and I didn't really know what to look out for. But the feeling of splashing over a thousand dollars on something other than my laptop was incredible!

I've always had a slight interest in photography and it's nice to have a chance to actually develop it in my course of work. My friends exclaimed on facebook and asked why the camera was on company money and I replied, "As NatSteel has decided to invest in my talents as e official photographer... So that I can be a more valuable asset to the company." This is, in a way true! I'm grateful to be given the opportunity to expand my job scope and to learn a new skill.

I've had the chance to fiddle around with my bosses DSLR and had to photograph several activities. I realise that good photography is equal parts luck and equal parts skill, for me as a beginner anyway! Maybe someone with better skill could compensate when lacking in luck! I could get the sharpest image, best lighting - but if the subjects are frowning, the picture becomes crap. Other reasons for all these action / event shots to become crap - someone swinging his arm into the frame unknowingly; people moving too fast; people whose faces look strange in mid-speech. The list goes on.

I've taken 260 photos for today's CSR at the National Museum of Singapore. I know I will only have the resources ((Intranet, Bulletin, E-mail) to showcase 40 of them and I've to pick the best, which would speak more of my skill, than having quantity over quality.

Maybe I'm taking this a bit too seriously! It's fun, but at the same time, it's my job.

Mixing business with pleasure.

Someone Like You

For some reason, now I know, inexplicably, that I am tied to you. That I cannot run away, not that I want to. There's something that pulls us together even when we're apart; that we'd stay to face each other, even when it's hard. Only when you've been pushed to the brink and tested that you really know how much you want it. It's not easy to find someone who makes you so happy. Often, the same person will also make you very sad. Yeah, you know that cliche - take the good with the bad? The bad's not easy to swallow.

Despite it all, you're still here. You're not going anywhere. So it's only fair, to say:

I don't think I'll ever find someone like you.

那些年，我們一起追的女孩

I was really surprised that the first shot was that of an apple. Was it a coincidence or was this Taiwanese film conscious about its title being translated to English? What kind would it portray?

As it went on, curiously enough, it brought out that tone - quirky, innocent, carefree, friendly mood - that the Taiwanese were well-known for. Despite talking openly and rampantly about sex, it wasn't very sexual (ahhh, Hollywood). Despite being emotional, it wasn't melodramatic (ahhh, Korean films). It made me miss Taiwan - the people, the mood, the food. Just like the movie, never overproduced, never extravagant, but always rich.

Many moments got me laughing out loud. There were the ones that were obvious - the physical comedy. There were the cultural bits - Jay Chou's opening seconds of his ping pong track. Then they are those that catch you by surprise - this really is what I think, this was how I felt, that was once me - and I'd let out a mangled laughter. That of surprise, bewilderment and being touched.

It was a film that was really grounded in Taiwan, but its story-telling is not as masterful as it could have been. It was lacking that final "kick". And as friends rightly pointed out - what's with that lengthy flashback?!

But still littered with beautiful moments, its a movie not to be missed. My favourite line from the movie goes: 人生本来就有很多事是徒劳无功的啊。

Such Brilliance: The Prelude Pathétique

“When I look back on my life, it’s not that I don’t want to see things exactly as they happened, it’s just that I prefer to remember them in an artistic way. And truthfully, the lie of it all is much more honest because I invented it. Clinical psychology tells us arguably that trauma is the ultimate killer. Memories are not recycled like atoms and particles in quantum psychics, they can be lost forever. It’s sort of like my past is an unfinished painting and as the artist of that painting, I must fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again. It’s not that I’ve been dishonest, it’s just that I loathe reality."

-Lady Gaga – ‘Marry The Night: The Prelude Pathétique'

This is what art represents. Couldn't have said it better.

Friday - Met Ruiqi and had a cheapo dinner at McDonalds, Marine Square. Hung around, talked nonsense. Good conversation; cigarette smoke. Bought some cute snacks. Looks like doughnuts with toppings. Delivered them to a surprised someone who was feeling down. Only to find that said person wasn't down because of a healthy dose of South Park!

Sat - The sexy six. Who used to be seven. But one of us was in France. Thus we headed for group therapy, at Group Therapy. Listened to good stories about Cambodia and played with a cute ring. Exposed to different accents, different languages. Planned for outings overseas. Sometimes it's nice to dream. Sometimes we aim for something more realistic, like steamboat on the 25th. Went for a walk... Duxton is a cool place. So is Ann Siang Hill but the Fred Perry was ridiculously expensive. Saw some hidden treasures, a hidden bookstore. Wondered how they made money. Wondered why we'd be back again. Headed to town for truffle fries, but a bad surprise, there were no fries. So we, demoralised, realised that we should continue our YUPPIE lifestyles at DOME, with salads, normal fries and a pot of green tea. Rushed back home and rested, but went out again to meet the cousins at Fish & Co. Disappointed cos we didn't sing Kbox but excited to watch The Adventures of Tintin. Brilliant story; transcends time; magic happened etc etc.

Sun - Brainspoil. Good food. Good stuff all the way. Started with Dim Sum at Toa Payoh, till I was full beyond words. Cycled at East Coast, nice physical activity to burn the fats. Stalked a few nice specimens, well, only one in red. Tired and then disgusted that Mcs did not have milkshake so we had Milo instead. Went past Tanjong Katong - omy the Porteguese Egg Tarts. Smelled brilliant, kidnapped them home and they tasted brilliant too. Hung around, waited till 4, not 4pm, till there were 4 people and we had curry fish head, before playing mahjong. Won a few, lost a couple, won 2 bucks in the end.

Mon - Woke up in the morning... and spammed the McDonalds hotline for breakfast with the family. Spammed good shows, new episodes of Glee, some of Modern Family and most importantly, 2 Broke Girls. Rolling with laughter. Perfect humour. HAHA. Amazing stuff. And that moved on to some aerobics and acrobatics. Which moved on to a gory, gory movie - Drive. Yes Ryan Gosling. But I think gore is not really my thing. Too much shock factor, doesn't really advance the story in my opinion. Has its merits though. Sat in a van, a couple couple. Went for some spicy Thai food, sweat like I was watching porn. Guilty! Cos it tasted good. As good as the beancurd we had after at Old Airport Road. Sinful! But brilliant. Good times, relaxed, happy...

And that's how my weekend went.

Vision Board

"If you can't see it, you can't hit it!"

I had a good laugh watching 2 Broke Girls. It's a rather amusing sitcom - super crass, but never bordering on tasteless. They're the anti-Gossip Girls, dressed in crappy clothes and hilarious, but equally crappy personalities!

So one of them creates a Vision Board. A Vision Board is a board where you place pictures of your hopes and dreams. You see it every day. It gives you direction. It gives you inspiration. It gets you up in the morning. It's got to be huge. The board's got to be huge. The dream's got to be huge. You can't put like, a picture of a hundred-dollar bill. You've got to put a picture of the cupcake shop that you're going to own.

It's an amazing and really fun concept. Everyone loves to dream. Making that board gives you a chance to do that. There's a bit of arts & crafts. A little bit of design. It's basically goal-setting, that's what it is. And it provokes the subconscious. You see it every day and it'll bug you into thinking, "What do I have to do, to get what I want? To be where I want to be?"

I'll make a Vision Board one of these weekends and post it up!

And it reminds me of a tweet I tweeted this morning: Happiness means different things to different people. Chase what you need not what you can't have.