Monologging Mediocrity

Melaka Trip

2011-10-31T20:09:00.000+08:00

My wife and I took a trip to Melaka over the weekend. Overdosed on Nyonya food and cendol as a result. But a time well spent indeed with the wife.

My First Wedding at a Buddhist Temple

2011-10-26T19:35:00.000+08:00

Some pictures from a friend's marriage registration ceremony in Brickfields last month.

Majlis Cukur Jambul Baby Sayf @ Shah Alam

2011-07-24T22:27:00.002+08:00

A simple ceremony for my brother in law's first born. Opportunity to take some pictures.

Welcome to the Family, Baby Sayf.

2011-05-09T22:41:00.000+08:00

Congrats to my brother in law and his wife on their newborn.

AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Field Test

2011-05-07T21:20:00.001+08:00

I got a new lens courtesy of my wife's generous bonus. When my wife first asked me what I wanted as a present, I was really undecided. A new camera body would be nice like the D7000 but the price is above the budget. A Tamron or Sigma 18-55mm f/2.8 as a replacement for my kit lens is also tempting but while the price would be in range, I figure it would not allow me to shoot different kind of pictures. The low light capability is nice, but I already have the 35mm f/1.8 for low light.

I finally decided to settle for a telephoto lens, the Nikon 55-300mm DX. With this, I aim to capture more candid photos of people. The price of the lens won't blow a hole in your pocket. It is one of the cheapest lens you can buy as an upgrade. I bought mine at Ampang Park for RM980.

Today at my office family day, I finally got the chance to test the lens at its most conducive setting... outdoors.

I realised that I made all of my shots today with the VR off! And still managed to produce these damn sharp images. And about some review saying that the lens is a bit slow to focus and not suitable for sports, I say bah! I can still capture people coming down the water slide with ease. (But the focusing is slow compared to my kit lens and my 35mm 1.8)

Overall, I'm really satisfied. The lens is really a value for money. Can't wait to go out and shoot more. After my exam of course. =)

Cafe Vienna @ Lot 10

2011-03-14T09:33:00.002+08:00

Great coffee, good food, nice ambiance.

Wife's BFF's Wedding in Setiawangsa

2011-03-05T20:01:00.000+08:00

Attended the wedding of my wife's best friend in Setiawangsa. Tagged along the official wedding photographer a bit during the outdoor photoshoot and managed to get some nice shots of the couple.

Mag and Haddie, congratulations!

Wedding in the Park

2011-02-27T08:21:00.000+08:00

Went to a wedding of my wife's friend held in Bukit Jalil Park yesterday. I love outdoor wedding. Ok, the heat may not go well with most of the guests, but the outdoor lighting, green leaves, trees and colorful flowers made a brilliant set up for taking pictures.

Congrats to the couple.

Surprise at the Office

2011-02-14T11:20:00.006+08:00

So sweet. :-)

Picture by iPhone Camera+ app.

31st on 31st

2011-02-03T08:13:00.000+08:00

I turned 31 years old on Monday. I was on leave and my wife put together a celebration that consisted of a surprise birthday cake at midnight, massage at spa and an angus steak dinner. I also got some wonderful birthday presents from my wife and my mom.

iPhone 4, finally!

2011-01-04T00:05:00.001+08:00

After three years since my last phone, I've finally upgraded to an iPhone 4! I grabbed one during my holiday in Labuan where, unlike in KL, there were abundance of iPhone 4 in stock. No need to wake up early and queue ridiculously at Maxis Centre in KL (I still signed up under Maxis though)

So far, my experience of using the world's best smart phone has been amazing. I'm not so much into the social networking thing. I used the phone for other more productive purposes. I'm tracking what I eat, my weekly running, my expenses, have some CFA reference materials on iBooks - just to name a few stuff that are now possible and has made a lot of difference in my life.

One of the things that amazes me is the iPhone's battery life. By applying battery life saving tips that I googled, it has now been more than a day since I last fully charged my iPhone. And it still has 40% of battery life remaining according to the indicator. Amazing! I did not do anything extreme like dimming the brightness to only 10% and stuff, just the normal battery saving tips like switching off 3g, wifi, location services and push notification when i'm not using the related apps.

Hopefully it'll be another three years again before my next new phone. =)

Friends and their newborns.

2011-01-03T17:37:00.001+08:00

Over the weekend, my wife and I met up with friends to see their newborns for the very first time. CP and Davis' baby is already six months old. Zeeta and Din's was recently born on 31 Dec. Chot's and Shira's is three months old now.

I do feel old. In about 30 days I'll turn 31. I saw on facebook that some of my friends are already sending their kids to primary school! But at present my wife and I do not see ourselves as being parents just yet. It's a mutual decision by the both of us. Maybe at the end of the year, we will sit back look at the option again.

For now, we will just be the uncle and auntie for these beautiful babies.

1.1.11

2011-01-01T08:27:00.005+08:00

Another new year comes again.

2010 has been a year of ups and downs for me. Actually its a year of ups and one down. The only thing that hit me hard in 2010 was that my Company's salary revision did not favour me. But instead of complaining and responding negatively, I channeled all that frustration and anger into passing my CFA Level 2 Exam and working hard for the rest of the year. Alhamdulillah, I passed the exam and I was well rewarded for my hardwork with a handsome year end bonus.

2010 has also been a year where I started to re-ignite my interest in photography with a purchase of my first dSLR, the Nikon D3000. I think my learning curve for the year was steep. From shooting with the auto modes to aperture priority and shutter priority, I now shoot mostly in manual. Composition-wise, I'm now no longer afraid to get closer to the subject as I strive not to crop my shots in post processing. I've also gain more knowledge in post processing and am now comfortable using Lightroom to process my shots and manage my workflow. Oh, and I've converted from being a JPEG shooter to shooting in RAW.

All of my photograpic endeavors throughout the year, I owed it mostly to these two websites: FroKnowsPhoto.com and Kenrockwell.com. Both of these guys have contradicting styles and philosophies but the advice and knowledge that they've shared has been brilliant.

And also, thanks to the revived interest in photography, the number of posts on this blog was the highest for 2010, surpassing the first year that I started blogging in 2005, and was 6 times more posts as in 2009!

So what's next for 2011?

I have a list but would rather not disclose all of them here. But on top of the list is to pass my CFA Level 3 exam in June and be done with the CFA program once and for all. In doing so, I will become the first person in my Company to pass all three levels in the shortest time possible without even failing once. That is my motivation to pass the exam this year. Cmon!

To friends, families and readers, Happy New Year 2011 and may the year be a blessed and successful one for all of us.

I end the post with a slideshow of a the best photos (I think) that I took in 2010. Enjoy.

Climbing Mount Kinabalu

2010-12-20T17:25:00.001+08:00

Since my wife and I had already planned to attend the wedding in Labuan, we decided to drop by Kota Kinabalu on the way back and climb the mountain. It was a crazy decision since both of us are not the physically fit type. But we thought it would be a waste to travel to this part of Malaysia and not having a go at one of the country's biggest/tallest attraction.

Here are some shots from the climb.

The majestic Mount Kinabalu from the Kinabalu Park entrance.

Earlier part of the trekking trail. The trail got tougher as we ascended.

Some parts of the trails were made into stairs to ease the climbing. But they were still steep.

Local climbers carrying supplies such as food and gas tank up the mountain with ease. This guy even managed to smile for my shot.

Beautiful and amazing plants all they way up to Laban Rata. Form there onwards, just rocks.

Laban Rata, where we spent the night, before continuing the climb at 2am.

Entrance to Laban Rata.

Sunrise at the peak of Mount Kinabalu.

Have a look at my flickr page for more shots from the climb.

Wedding in Labuan

2010-12-18T18:00:00.003+08:00

As part of my year end holiday plan, me and my wife went to Labuan to attend a friend's wedding reception. The bride is a close friend to my wife. Through my wife, she and her husband have become my friends as well.

We took part in the wedding, not merely attending as guests. My wife was part of the entourage for the bride and was involved in organising the games. Part of Chinese wedding culture is that the groom and his entourage need to give money packets to the bride's entourage and do ridiculous tasks before the groom is granted passage to see the bride.

Me? I took pictures. A lot. This was by far my highest number of shots in a day. Around 400. But not all are usable.

Here are some of the shots that have made it.

Bride nervously getting ready.

Bride and bridesmaids having a laugh at something.

The groom leading his entourage in performing the limbo.

Finally united after all the tasks have been completed.

Bridesmaid looking at picture taken on handphone.

Bride and groom after tea ceremony.

To Kelvin and Kimberly, congratulations and may you guys live happily and lovingly ever after.

Berjaya Times Square Christmas

2010-12-14T00:10:00.002+08:00

I went to Bukit Bintang area last Saturday. Bought myself additional battery and SD card for the upcoming wedding reception / holiday to KK. Managed to find some time to take shots of Berjaya Times Square Christmas decor.

Looks like snow falling down from above.

Colourful.

Self reflection.

Winter Wonderland @ Pavillion

2010-12-04T23:09:00.000+08:00

This morning, I had a walk at Bukit Bintang area while waiting for my wife to do her facial. It was raining slightly, so I was limited to shooting inside Pavillion shopping mall most of the time.

A wide angle shot of the Christmas decoration at Pavillion's crystal fountain.

Wonderful decorations inside the shopping mall.

Santa's reindeer looking straight at me.

Christmas tree decoration closeup.

I may come back again to get shots of the Pavillion Christmas decorations at night. It should be nicer.

Catching Up with the Guitar Guys

2010-11-28T07:17:00.000+08:00

Joe invited me and Zahir together with our spouses for dinner last night at his new place in Taman Batu Permai, KL. Joe had done a great job with the renovation of his home.

He even has a room for all his guitar stuff. The guys had a jam session while waiting for dinner. Zahir claimed that he hasn't been playing for a year but I think he still got it. As for Joe, he is still the rock star with his guitar solo skills.

I decided to go with black and white edit for the shots to reminisce our jamming days.

Joe and his axe.

Zahir concentrating on his solo.

Guitar room jam session.

It's been a while since the three of us hanged out together. It's nice to know that everyone is progressing well with our lives, especially Zahir who is going to become a dad. Congrats, bro.

Black Rapid RS-4 Field Test Report

2010-11-26T19:44:00.001+08:00

I was in Penang today for work. After the meeting, I got three hours before my flight back to KL and I took the chance to use the Black Rapid RS-4 for the first time.

I walked about at a shopping mall next to the hotel where the meeting was held. There was a digital camera fair going on and there was a crowd gathering to shoot some models representing each of the major camera brands. I decided to sneak in between the crowd of photographers and took some shots.

Photographers shooting a model in her pose.

Miss Olympus and Miss Sony while waiting for their turn.

All the models together for a pose.

Miss Nikon from Banting. Apparently, she's not that into photography, except that she likes being in front of the camera.

Oh, and the RS-4 works like a charm. Carrying the camera on the side really makes more sense. The camera was easier to access and it didn't get in the way of me walking around. The strap was really comfortable to wear. The shoulder padding is not that thick and wide, making the strap small enough as I fold it to put into my camera bag (the Crumpler Four Million Dollar Home).

All in all, I am really satisfied with it. Highly recommended.

Something from Shashinki

2010-11-24T18:57:00.003+08:00

After completing my online order and payment on Sunday, this finally arrived at my office today.

The Black Rapid RS-R strap.

I've always wanted to upgrade my original camera strap that comes with the camera as it is too short and I have to wear it around the neck with my camera hanging there, looking like a geek. Furthermore, it can really strain the neck if you continue to hang the camera like that for longer periods.

Through my research, I have found that the correct way to carry a camera is by having the camera strap across the shoulder. And upon further research, I came across the Black Rapid strap. You can google and read a lot of reviews on the strap. There are mixed views, but mostly are positive.

If I'm not mistaken there are currently two authorised dealers in Malaysia. One being Shashinki and the other is I can't remember. I've always wanted to buy something from Shashinki and decided to make my first purchase on the online store the Black Rapid RS-4. Considering Monday is a public holiday in Johor (Shashinki's principal place of business), they only took 2 days to deliver it safely to me. Brilliant.

My first impression as I open the mesh bag and feeling the strap in my hands is that it is a product of a high quality. Really well made.

As I marveled at the strap's quality, I noticed that the connector that comes with this RS-4 is the latest FastenR3, which is good. I could almost confirm that when I browsed through the Black Rapid website a few days ago that the RS-4 strap comes with the older (and I would assume inferior) FastenR2. But I checked today that the website has been updated. Meaning that Shashinki has the latest model in stock and /or do not sell old unsold models. A plus point for Shashinki there.

And also, on the website earlier, the RS-4 comes only with one stopper to prevent the camera from swinging behind your body. Only the high end RS-7 comes with two stoppers to stop the camera from swinging to the front and back. But my RS-4 has two. Another upgrade from the older RS-4. Good!

Can't wait to go back to try the strap on the camera and see for myself if all the hype about the strap is justified. So far I am not disappointed.

Why am I still in the office?!!

A Trip to Nikon Centre @ Berjaya Times Square

2010-11-19T22:06:00.003+08:00

Went to visit the Nikon Centre after work on Friday. Tested the new Nikon D7000. It is a solid serious amateur DSLR as expected. And the good reviews it got from all over were actually justified. The camera grip fitted into my hand nicely, it felt like it was designed based on my hand! And in my hand it felt nice and heavy, not too heavy. Just nice heavy. The built quality is so much better than my D3000. How much better? The cheapest-feeling plastic part on the D7000 body is the best-feeling plastic part on my D3000.

Unfortunately the price is a bit high for us Malaysian consumers. I don't think that it'll be selling like hot cakes like in the developed countries such as in the UK and US. I predicted that it will be easier to bargain for the camera in a few months time when the retailers realised that we Malaysians do not really have a high level of disposable income as the developed nations.

I also tried two lenses on my D3000 body that I brought along. The first one was the newly launched 55-300mm. It was actually my first time trying a telephoto lens. And man it was hard to use! At the longest zoom range 300mm, even the slightest hand shake is magnified. The zoom barrel was a bit tight. And indoors with poor lighting, the lens is pretty much useless. I guess it is more suited for outdoor shooting for example photographing your kids at their sports day.

I shot this at 1/15 sec at f/5.6 (widest aperture), ISO1600 at 300mm (longest zoom). You can see at it is not sharp as you would normally need a shutter speed of at least 1/300 sec at this focal length to counter any handshake. But I had no choice, as the ISO was at the maximum usable for my D3000 and the aperture was already at the lens' widest.

Next was the ultrawide 10-24mm. It was also my first time using an ultrawide lens. I was taken by surprised how wide this lens is at 10mm the first time I put my eye to the viewfinder. I always thought that the 18mm on my kit lens was wide enough for me. The lens is much easier to use than the 55-300mm.

A view of the Nikon Centre. Shot at 1/60 sec at f/3/5, ISO 1600 at 10mm. The lens is brilliant for shooting buildings, interiors but not people or portraits as it will distort the dimensions to fit everything into the viewfinder (i.e it makes people look fat).

I think I've made up my mind on what I should be getting next for my photography. I've pretty much set on the ultrawide 10-22mm. The D7000 is nice to have, but if I get that without upgrading my lens, I will still only be making shots that I already can with my D3000. Furthermore, the lens costs less. As for the 55-300 zoom, I have legs, I can always move if I want to get closer. =)

Baitul Aminah Kindergarten Photoshoot

2010-11-16T22:38:00.005+08:00

Volunteered to take some pictures of my mother-law's kindergarten.

Mother-in-law started as a kindergarten helper. Then she opened a small kindergarten business at home. Now she has a dedicated house (that she bought) for her kindergarten business with about 30+ children. From the photoshoot I can see that she really loves kids and it is her passion to educate them.

Baby Dania in B&W. My biggest fan.

Trying to be artistic with this shot.

Kids in graduation gown. Mother-in-law in the background trying to organise them.

Muqaddam reading session.

More on Flickr.

Nikon D7000 Malaysia Price Announced

2010-11-13T01:01:00.001+08:00

As I browsed through Nikon Malaysia website, I noticed that there is now a price for the newly launched Nikon D7000. The D7000 with the 18-105mm kit lens Recommended Retail Price is RM4,998 according to the website.

I went to Ampang Park today and there were already boxes of D7000 available at the camera stores. When I asked one of the shops, the D7000 kit is sold at RM4,500 and RM3,900 for the body only.

I will reward myself with this upgrade if I pass my CFA Level 3 Exam in June next year. Yeah. That's the motivation.

In the mean time, I will be visiting the Nikon Centre in Berjaya Times Square to try out this baby.

Prancing Horses @ Pavillion, KL

2010-11-01T22:43:00.000+08:00

Ferrari owners club gathering or something happened at Pavillion last Sunday morning. I stumbled upon it by accident as I was going to Sungei Wang. Lucky for me, I always (or most of the time) bring my camera along. What a great way to test my new 35mm 1.8.

New Lens: 35mm 1.8! Finally.

2010-10-27T22:08:00.001+08:00

After almost 11 months after I got my D3000, today I've finally bought myself a new lens for the camera. It is one of the cheapest lens you can get for a Nikon DX camera... the AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1.8. It is a prime lens, as in the focal length is fixed, meaning you can't zoom in or out. The only way to zoom in our out is to use your feet and move.

So why bother with such a restrictive lens, one might ask. The main reason why I got this lens is its 1.8 aperture,which lets much more light in as compared to my kit lens with a maximum 3.5 aperture. I can now shoot under low lighting conditions, which I struggled before with my kit lens. Further, the wide 1.8 aperture blurs the background brilliantly.

Below are some sample images I took with the 35mm 1.8.

The guitar knobs on my Strat. Shot 1/25s at f/1.8 ISO400. The blurred foreground and background isolate the volume knob brilliantly.

My Strat's headstock. Shot 1/60s at f/1.8 ISO400. I can never shoot below ISO800 indoor before, not with the lighting of my apartment at least. And again, the blurred background and foreground... sweet.

Can't wait to go out and shoot properly with this lens.

I guess it'll be another 11 months at least before my next lens acquisition.

Adobe Lightroom 3

2010-10-24T12:03:00.002+08:00

I've just started using Lightroom 3 for editing and organising my photos. It is not as powerful as Photoshop, but I rarely use all the available functions in Photoshop as I only do basic editing to my photos. Lightroom is much lighter than Photoshop in terms of memory and processor usage, I think. At least it feels that way for me.

The great thing about Lightroom is that it helps me with the work flow and management of my photo collection. One of the features that I like is the integrated publish to Flickr and Facebook functions as I no longer have to keep smaller copies of the images on my PC if I want to upload them to those two websites. Lightroom does that by exporting the images directly to Flickr and Facebook with whatever settings that I want.

I'm still learning how to fully utilise Lightroom and exploring it capabilities, but so far I'm liking it a lot.

Kids playing football. Processed and published directly to Flickr in Lightroom.

Boh Sungai Palas Tea Centre

2010-10-21T22:08:00.000+08:00

Part of my job as an analyst is visiting companies and meeting their management in order to get better understanding of their operations. Yesterday a team from my Department went up to Cameron Highlands for a meeting with Boh Plantations at their Tea Centre. I brought along my camera and managed to capture a few shots.

Boh Tea Centre @ Sugai Palas Estate, Cameron Highlands

A view from the balcony of the Tea Centre.

A colleague at the back of the pickup truck as we tour the estate.

Estate workers giving us a demonstration of tea plucking.

Freshly picked tea leaves.

There were a lot of photo opportunities up there. I should be able to take more shots, but since this was a work related trip, my analyst brain took the driver's seat instead of my photographic eyes. Will go up there again in the future just take pictures.

An advice to those planning to visit the Tea Centre, don't go during school holidays, weekends. The traffic up here can be worst than KL during peak season.

More photos on Flickr.

Tun Mahathir The Musical

2010-09-29T11:31:00.001+08:00

For doing a play based on someone as legendary as Tun, the show could and should have been better. I mean, no live music is one thing, but the singing is also miming. Cmon. And the story line seems in patches. Maybe it is just me who didn't get it, but some of the artistic interpretations scenes looks like the writers ran out of ideas. Actually it was not that bad. I did enjoy it. But, if you want to do a play on Tun, you should at least do something at par with PGL.

Raya 2010 Slideshow

2010-09-24T15:50:00.001+08:00

I just figured out how to embed the slide show from flickr. Pretty neat!

Boy at Window

2010-09-22T22:34:00.000+08:00

A shot of a friend's baby boy during makan2 raya at our place. The kid has the same name as me and we even share the same birthday. What a coincidence.

Balik kampung

2010-09-16T13:48:00.001+08:00

One of our stops along the way.

Arrived at destination Alor Setar - 444.5 km and an empty fuel tank.

Local cuisine - Nasi Lemak Haji Ali

A view of Alor Setar from our room.

The reliable machine.

Having a coffee break.

Raya 2010.

2010-09-13T01:07:00.002+08:00

Wishing all muslim friends Eid Mubarak.

The morning of Aidilfitri, after the rain.

"Kids" playing fire crackers.

More on Flickr.

Kuih Cornflakes

2010-08-29T21:28:00.001+08:00

In the Kitchen

2010-08-21T04:56:00.003+08:00

Annoyingly taking pictures while wife was preparing food for our buka puasa family gathering last Saturday.

Ramadhan Buffet @ Sekinchan Ikan Bakar

2010-08-14T05:36:00.003+08:00

The buffet line

Live musical entertainment while enjoying your food.

Bake with Yen Revisited

2010-08-08T20:36:00.000+08:00

An abstract shot

2010-08-04T19:26:00.000+08:00

Wife's Treat @ Harrods KLCC

2010-07-27T23:26:00.005+08:00

Roast beef & yorkshire pudding for passing Level 2. =)

Success!!

2010-07-27T07:19:00.000+08:00

I passed my CFA Level 2 Exam. My wife and I jumped up and down like kids when we saw the email last night.

As I predicted, I did not do as well as I did during Level 1, due to less time to prepare (5 months compared to 10 months for level 1 before) and the busier first half of the year. My strategy to focus on the more important topics worked, but I would not dare to do something like that again. Will study everything for Level 3.

I would like to thank my darling wife for her continuous support. It would not be possible without her by my side.

One more level to go! (sounds like playing some video game)

Airport Send-off

2010-07-12T02:07:00.000+08:00

Little sis gone back to America.

Morning Walk #6

2010-07-12T02:03:00.000+08:00

Clear blue skies. It makes a whole lot of difference when you go out photographing.

Karaoke & Middle Eastern Food

2010-07-04T20:44:00.000+08:00

The family got together to celebrate Adilah's birthday at Redbox Pavillion. Later we went to eat at Wadi Hadramawt at Jalan Ampang. Three hours of singing and stomach full of middle eastern food, what a way to wrap up the weekend.

Company's Futsal Tourney @ Sports Planet, Ampang

2010-07-04T03:25:00.000+08:00

A good opportunity for me to test my shutter-priority mode skills. The poor lighting condition mean that I had to resort to higher ISO, hence the noisy pics.

No 9 ready to take on his opponents.

Chot running with the ball.

Nicky twisting and turning.

Defensive wall.

When things went wrong.

By the way, my team won the competition, without losing a single game. I even scored once. =)

The Street @ the Curve

2010-06-27T21:47:00.000+08:00

Watched a World Cup match outside for the first time here on Saturday night. Atmosphere was great. They even had vuvuzela.

New Feeding Bowl for Cat

2010-06-22T21:52:00.000+08:00

Saxan posing with new feeding bowl.

Friskies tuh.

Looking far into the distance.

Faizal Tahir

2010-06-13T12:24:00.001+08:00

This is the best I could do with my kit lens from a distance.

Mama's Birthday @ Bombay Palace, KL

2010-06-12T15:00:00.000+08:00

The Door Mat Cat

2010-06-07T11:07:00.002+08:00

We named her Saxan, after our Ikea door mat that she has conveniently made her own. She probably belongs to one of the neighbors. But most of the time when we open the door, she'll be on our door mat.

Wife's Birthday and Our 2nd Anniversary

2010-05-24T23:27:00.002+08:00

Didn't do much for celebration this year as I was busy with my CFA Level II Exam preparation. But I did get her the charm bracelet that she always wanted. Thank you for taking care of me, supporting me, and loving me unconditionally, Sayang. Happy Birthday and Happy 2nd Anniversary.

Wedding: Diana & Iman @ Felda Villa

2010-05-02T20:08:00.000+08:00

Selamat Pengantin Baru.

More on Flickr.

Photos from Kuching, Sarawak

2010-04-28T22:25:00.000+08:00

A view from my seat on the flight to Kuching.

Sunset at Sarawak river.

A boy with teary eyes.

Sarawak pottery in progress.

Sarawak river lights.

More on Flickr.

Back from the Land of the Hornbill

2010-04-27T22:51:00.000+08:00

Just got back from Kuching after 11 days of working there. Feels great to be back in KL. But it's not complete as I will only meet my wife on Friday when she gets back from her out station work. Miss her so damn much.

Will be uploading more pictures from the trip soon.

Lepak Starbucks

2010-04-12T21:46:00.002+08:00

Starbucks @ KL Sentral

A guy with his drink.

What we had.

Wife and friends.

Bowling

2010-04-07T23:36:00.003+08:00

A bowling competition among office mate. I finished 3rd with a score of 250 over two games. Just a couple of points off the winner. Not bad at all, considering it was almost a year since I last picked up a bowling ball. My score could have been better, if I was not to busy with the camera. =)

More on Flickr.

Hot Air Balloons in Putrajaya

2010-03-21T20:05:00.000+08:00

Today my wife and I went to Putrajaya for the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. We brought along my wife's Cambodian friend. My wife's company is currently having a few Cambodians for training in Malaysia before beginning operations in that country.

We started the day pretty early, leaving the house at about 6.45 am and reaching Putrajaya by 7.45 am. Actually my wife and her friend wanted to get a ride in one of the balloons but people actually started queuing since 5.00 am! The were only selling around 300 tickets for the balloon rides, and the number of visitors , from what I've read in the papers) was around 120,000 per day. And the fact that the tickets are dirt cheap (RM10) doesn't help to filter out the number of eligible people. So my wife and her friend were a little bit disappointed, but there were still a lot of interesting things to do at the site.

As for me, it was a great photography opportunity. Lotsa people, colorful balloons, nice Putrajaya landscape. But the weather was a let down for me. Even though it didn't rain, the sky was cloudy and grey. And there were tons of other photographers with all types of DSLRs and lenses. It felt like a photographers convention instead of a hot air balloon festival.

Here are some shots of the event.

Hot air balloon initial inflation.

Colorful balloons in the sky.

Boy in the middle of the crowd looking up at the balloons.

Boy with Ben 10 shirt, on the shoulders of his dad for a better view.

The Zorb guys preparing the Zorb globe for my wife and her friend.

Balloons everywhere.

More balloons.

As I read somewhere in one of the photography magazines, if the sky is not nice then use the ground.

My wife getting too comfortable on the grass.

More of these shots at on my Flickr page.

Morning Walk #5

2010-03-14T17:33:00.000+08:00

Slides at playground.

Nature's liquid pearls.

Nearby shopping mall.

Ikea Food.

2010-03-08T18:32:00.002+08:00

Ikea is not just about the furniture. The food is good too. I love the meatballs.

Morning Walk #4

2010-02-28T23:10:00.000+08:00

During this hot weather season, I may have to re-do my morning walk schedule. Panas weh!

Wedding Reception

2010-02-27T23:23:00.003+08:00

Thanks to the diversity of my wife's friends, this was my third Chinese wedding reception.

Parents giving speech.

Glasses in a row.

Ice sculpture.

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Loke.

Ole Ole Bali @ Solaris Mont Kiara

2010-02-26T12:18:00.000+08:00

Salary in. Eating out.

A view from where we were seating.

My wife and I always share our meal. This dish is always good for us.

Makan makan (Feb 13, 2010)

2010-02-21T15:38:00.006+08:00

We occasionally organised a combined birthday celebration for several family members. A very good way to keep in touch while getting fat =). I brought the camera along and took some shots. I hate using the flash (or don't know how to use it properly), so I had to up the ISO to 1600 for most of the shots. I think the noise level is acceptable. Hey, if its perfect from the eyes of a non-photography person (the closest reference would be my wife), it should be good enough. Here are some of the pictures.

My wife took this as I was one of the candle blowers.

Wife having a chat with someone across the table.

Father in-law listening to wife's stories.

One of the nieces.

More on Flickr.

Morning Walk #3

2010-02-21T09:39:00.001+08:00

This morning, I decided to follow a bicycle trail for my morning walk.

Bicycle trail sign.

A bald man walking along the trail.

This apartment stood out for me because of its colors.

... and so does this flower.

More on Flickr.

Morning Walk #2

2010-02-20T13:22:00.001+08:00

There's a hill behind of our apartment where people go to have a morning or late afternoon walk. I decided to check it out this morning.

A very steep walk up. Not for the unfit among us.

A view from not so top. Light from the sunrise from the right.

More on Flickr.

Morning Walk #1

2010-02-16T20:41:00.005+08:00

Taking pictures while having a walk this morning.

A naturally covered walkway.

A graffiti of a little girl. Imagine stumbling across this at night. Spooky.

A nearby mosque.

I shot this little bugger while it was crawling across the window in front of my study table.

More on Flickr.

Four Years Later...

2010-02-14T23:59:00.022+08:00

It was four years ago today that me and my wife officially started dating as a couple - I confessed my feelings for her and asked her to be my girlfriend. But it all actually started two weeks before that when she took me to Top Hat for my birthday. It was her arrangements at the restaurant that day that really opened my eyes to see how great it would be to have her as my girlfriend, someone who really appreciates me for who I am.

My previous relationship lasted for four years, and I always said to my wife that if we beat that, we'll go back to Top Hat to celebrate.

And today, we've made it, sayang. I love you so much!

More on Flickr.

Shyet-Li's Kopitiam @ Great Eastern Mall

2010-02-12T21:41:00.001+08:00

One of our favorite restaurants. We had our dinner here today.

Birthday in High Hill.

2010-02-02T16:14:00.001+08:00

Went away for the weekend to Bukit Tinggi for my 30th birthday. My wife planned this trip for us, having in mind my new found interest in photography. We took about 600+ pictures. Well, not all turned out OK. heheh. But it was a great way to spend time with my wife on my birthday with my new camera. Thank you so much dear for organising all this. =)

(Yahoo. I'm 30 years old!!)

More photos on Flickr.

Jep and Adzriana's Wedding.

2010-01-30T16:27:00.001+08:00

Jep went to the same high school with my wife. And his wife, Ad is the sister to my friend Joe. What a small world. Selamat Pengantin Baru to the both of you.

(Taking pictures in daylight is hard too! I had trouble with exposures. Out of the many shots, only few turned out OK. Sigh. Need to practise more).- More pictures on Flickr.

One down... two more to go. Cmon!

2010-01-28T00:30:00.004+08:00

I passed my CFA Level 1 exam! Alhamdulillah. I've never work this hard before. So to get the result is satisfying indeed. Thank you to my wife who has been very understanding and supportive throughout my preparation.

Will register for Level 2 exam this June first thing tomorrow. Tougher syllabus. Shorter time to study. Must work even harder. Bye bye social life (again, until June that is).

Colourful Office Biscuits

2010-01-25T22:38:00.000+08:00

At the office, we use money from selling old newspapers to buy biscuits.

1st KLCC Night Photoshoot

2010-01-22T23:10:00.000+08:00

I always wanted to get a good shot of KLCC during the night. That desire amplifies when I got the DSLR. The building is just within walking distance from my office. But the weather has not been pleasant these past few weeks. Even today for that matter. It was cloudy and there was thunder here and there. But my friend and I decided to go after office anyway and try to get whatever shots that we can.

For more shots, check out my flickr page.

Will do this again when the weather is nicer.

Wall and frames

2010-01-19T23:51:00.000+08:00

Teh Tarik Place, Wangsa Maju

Bracelet

2010-01-17T23:04:00.001+08:00

Advance Birthday Present from Mom

2010-01-16T09:31:00.000+08:00

Have been eying this since I got the camera. A camera bag that doesn't look like one. Now, absolutely no reason not to bring along the camera everywhere I go.

Playing Guitar and Back Light

2010-01-14T23:26:00.000+08:00

Just posing...

DPS Assignment: Show Us Your Camera

2010-01-11T23:59:00.002+08:00

My first digital camera: Canon Ixus 40. One of the few things that I bought with my first salary back in 2004. This camera has been with me to many places and went through a lot. Even when I broke its lcd display, I was never tempted to buy a new one but had the thing replaced instead. A camera that had served me well for the past 5 years.

DPS assignment.

A Wedding Decor

2010-01-10T22:46:00.001+08:00

Lights along the red carpet.

Getting up early

2010-01-09T08:23:00.003+08:00

This Old Town kopitiam is usually crowded at night. But at 7.15 am it is only about to open.

Slippers

2010-01-07T07:11:00.003+08:00

Heavy Rain

2010-01-06T00:13:00.001+08:00

While waiting for my wife in front of her office.

Darth Vader vs Kucing Besar

2010-01-04T21:23:00.001+08:00

Some touches here and there

2010-01-02T09:00:00.007+08:00

Recently I just understood the need for of post processing in digital photography and some of the wonders it can achieve. This effect is called Lomo, which can originally be achieved by using a special film camera. I think I saw those Lomo cameras on sale at Wondermilk some time ago. The original image is the one below. Thank you DPS for the tips.

Simple New Year Gathering at Our Place

2009-12-31T23:59:00.000+08:00

Food...

Board game...

... and a birthday.

Happy New Year to all. May 2010 be a better and happier year than previously.

Coin collection

2009-12-30T22:48:00.003+08:00

I collect old coins. Occasionally. Every time I found them in my small change, I will put them in my collection. I think I picked up this habit about two years ago.

This is the oldest one that I have... a 1967 twenty cent coin. Yeah... yeah, my collection is not that old. But from my brief coin collecting experience, Malaysian coins before 1980 are really hard to find. I hope to find really old ones in the future.

My Work Bench

2009-12-28T23:13:00.003+08:00

The study table. Looking forward to use it again come February 2010...

... praying hard that I'll pass my CFA Level 1 Exam.

Weekend of Weddings: Wedding No. 1

2009-12-25T22:37:00.005+08:00

Mr Saxophonist doing his stuff at Wedding No 1.

Year end presents...

2009-12-25T17:46:00.004+08:00

Since we got married, my wife and I made a point to give each other presents during year end. They don't have to be expensive. In fact we limit the budget to around RM100. My wife picked up this idea at her previous office's Christmas celebration a couple of years back. We would make up a wish list early December and the other have to go and get them before Christmas. We obviously don't celebrate Christmas, but to have this arrangement coincide with it has some advantages: year end bonus to spend, year-end sales, many nice wrappers/boxes to choose and for me I can ask for whatever I want to start off the new year with.

For me: New shirts for work and a mug to keep my coffe/tea hot at the office.

Wifey's: Robert Pattinson and Twlight stuff. Yuck. =p

Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it and in case I don't have an entry for the new year, Happy New Year to all.

Changing light bulbs

2009-12-23T23:45:00.004+08:00

During the weekend, my wife and I discovered that changing the bulbs on our downlights can be tiring, especially when we replaced 20 odd of them. Next time we'll most probably just call a technician.

Now our apartment is well-lit again.

Steak pon sodap.

2009-12-22T22:15:00.003+08:00

Today, my wife finally got the phone call that we've been waiting for. She finally got a job offer from one of the local investment bank. We celebrated with a steak dinner at TGIF. After laying off luxury food and such for two and a half months (as part of our cost cutting measures while my wife was unemployed), the taste of the juicy medium well beef was priceless.

A new toy...

2009-12-22T22:08:00.002+08:00

Can you guess? (Hint: Not the watch)

Blogging again?

2009-12-21T22:54:00.003+08:00

Sat for CFA Level 1 exam on December 6. Hopefully all my hard work will pay off once the result is out on January 27, 2010. Currently finding a lot of free time during the night as I'm no longer studying for the exam.

Upin and Ipin Movie

2009-02-15T23:14:00.004+08:00

Today I went to watch "Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula " for the second time. The first time was last week during its premier. I got to attend the event because my brother in law is the Animation/Creative Director (something like that) of the production. And today my wife's and I and her relatives went to watch the movie. We occupied two and half rows of the cinema.

Even though today was my second time watching the movie, I was surprisingly still entertained and had a good time. The movie was that good. Not just by Malaysian standard, but by any standards. If you are the average Malaysian who wants a good laugh and have a good time, you'll definitely enjoy the movie. Don't just take my word for it, go catch Geng at the cinemas while you still have the chance.

V Day 2009

2009-02-14T23:41:00.003+08:00

As cheesy as it may sound, I did asked my wife to be my girlfriend on Valentine's Day three years ago. So this year as husband and wife, we got to celebrate it a little bit special than previously. I always wanted to cook for her on Valentine's Day. As we already have our own place, it was finally possible.

I am no chef. I wanted to cook a steak and only googled the recipe from the internet.

My wife decorated the apartment with candles. It was absolutely beautiful.

To my wife, Happy Valentine's Day. Next year I'll improve on the steak. =)

29

2009-02-02T10:38:00.005+08:00

I turned 29 years old on last Saturday. For whatever the reasons, married, having my own place, piling financial responsibilities or whatever, this time I do feel that I am getting old.

I first celebrated my birthday with my wife, my mom and my sis. We went to this thai food place in Sg Buloh called De Chiang Mai for lunch. I've read about this place a couple of times from Joe's. And from his reviews, the food was supposed to be really good. Mama also had gone there before with her colleagues and she has been craving to go again since then. The place was nice. I'm sure it will be even nicer at night with the ambiance and all. We ordered mixed tom yam, chicken in pandan leaves, fried prawns, stir fried mushrooms and chicken and kerabu mangga. All of them tasted really really good, especially the tom yam. I really recommend the place if you are having a group because if you go alone or as a couple you won't be able to taste as much food, unless you have a really big appetite.

Later that night my wife treated me dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. It was my first time there. Because we were both still full from our lunch earlier we only ordered starter - a plate of chicken wings, potato skins, chicken fillet etc. The food was good too but HRC was a little bit expensive for me. If I wanted similar food I'd rather go to TGI or Chilli's. But if you wanna see the band, then I guess you wouldn't mind paying the extra. But we didn't stay for the band. Hehehe. I'd rather spend the remaining hours of my birthday at home with my wife. =)

The next day, my wife and I had dinner with my in laws at a place called Spices at a nearby Jusco. The place was only recently opened so they were having this three piece band playing for their customers. My father in law arranged for the band to play a happy birthday song to me. I was OK as long as I don't have to sit on a chair and do silly stuff. When the band were playing, I suddenly realised that the double bass guy looked really familiar. I had a hunch that the guy was part of the band that played for my wedding in May last year. And he was! What a small world. I guess there are not that many double bass players around so they make a career as a sessionist for different bands. The food there was not that great, just OK. Maybe they are trying do do everything from western to Asian food. And also the service was bad. My wife and I got our order when everyone else had already finished theirs. Apart from that I think everyone had a great time there.

Thanks to my wife and family for the food, presents and everything. And thanks to those who remembered and wished.

Next year : kepala 3 =)

Year in Review 2008

2008-12-31T15:04:00.003+08:00

2008 is coming to and end in a few hours and another new year will greet us yet again. As in the previous years, this year I have managed to write fewer blog entries than the year before. Although there is still time for that to change, but I highly doubt myself to write six entries in one day.

Here are the highlights of my life for 2008:

1. The wedding.
Almost haft of the year was spent to organise the wedding. My wife and I went through a lot during the preparations. But it was worth it.

2. Married life.
Six months into my marriage, the journey so far has been great. It is all that I imagine it to be and more. I couldn't be happier. But there is still a lot for me to learn in trying to be a good husband. Thank you to my lovely wife for making things so much easier.

3. Apartment.
Just moved in a few weeks back. Although we are still waiting for our dinner table and TV cabinet, my wife and I already having a really good time at our new home. We love it there. All the decisions to renovate and furnish the apartment was made by both of us. We really had a tiring time looking around for furniture and not to mention the hard work we did painting the apartment ourselves. That's why we feel that it is truly our home.

So that's all there is to review for my 2008. It has been a good and eventful year for me.

May 2009 be better! Happy New Year everyone.

Mari Mengecat

2008-10-29T16:45:00.000+08:00

One of the first few things that my wife and I wanted to do to our apartment is to repaint the interior… ourselves.

Paint jobs are expensive. From our survey, for an average sized apartment, the labour cost can go up to RM1,000. We think we can save on the labour cost by doing it ourselves. Further, other people won’t be as careful as us with our new apartment…. We don’t want the apartment to get all dirty. Even though both of us never had any painting experience before, we were confident that it shouldn’t be too difficult. Painting: dip roller/brush in paint, and apply it to the wall in an up-down motion until every area of the wall is covered. How hard can it be?

Take it from us: Very hard.

We took more than 20 hours to paint the living, dining, master bedroom and kitchen. And this was over two days. It was damn tiring. In fact, it was one of the most tiring experiences of my life! We were also very dirty, sweaty and smelly! Our bodies ached all over.

At one point, we thought that we’ve made a huge mistake in trying to paint the apartment ourselves. It looked terrible.

(At this point we were cursing Deko Bersama Eric and Casa Impian shows for making paint job look easy)

But thank God the end product was OK. It is something that we can be proud of.

(Tadaaa!)

Even though it was time well spent with my wife, because of the tiredness, pain and all that, I’ll gladly pay a proper painter to do the remaining part of the apartment.

Or maybe I won’t. I think I actually like to paint now. Hehehe.

The Apartment - Almost done

2008-10-19T17:39:00.004+08:00

Dining and living room

Our small kitchen

Next weekend, we can start the DIY painting.

The best car in the world

2008-10-06T17:26:00.005+08:00

On 24 September 2008, my Satria Neo finally turned one year old! Over the course of that one year period, and almost 25,000km, the Satria had faithfully carried out its duties. It had never once broke down or had any of those nitty gritty faults that are accustomed to Proton models. I'm indeed a very proud owner of the car. For its first anniversary and as a token of appreciation of the service that it had given me, I treated the car with a RM300++ car detailing treatment. May you continue to prosper and serve faithfully for the years to come. Happy birthday my Satria Neo.

Aidilfitri 2008

2008-10-06T17:18:00.005+08:00

This year's Raya was a new experience for me and my wife. For the first time we celebrated the day as a married couple. Since my father passed away, my family's Raya were mostly going to the cemetary, Raya prayers and going to the movies or shopping complexes later in the afternoon. No beraya to houses as most of my relatives are in Taiping. I didn't even bother to take any extra leave from the office.

This year was different. The morning of Raya was at my mum's place. No big deal because my in-laws' place is only 20 minutes away. My wife agreed to this mainly because there were already more people at my in-laws', and she would be busier at her place as she would have to do all the housework (being the only daughter in the family). At my mum's place she finally got to enjoy the relaxing Raya morning that she longed for years.

We went to four houses, relatives of my wife. We were only back at home around 7.00 pm. The next day we helped with my in-laws' open house. "Helped" is an understatement. As the open house was on the second day of Raya, most catering only provide the food. My wife and I did the rest of the work ourselves, arranging the furniture, pick up the food, arranging the food, cleaning up before, cleaning up after.. everything else lah. In the past, my wife did it all by herself. Now I understood why she always complaining when it comes to her family's open house. It was so tiring. We were half dead at the end of the day.

Even so, I think this year's Raya was a better one compared to the previous ones. Not the least because there's finally someone to iron my baju melayu and match my sampin Hehe. And also not because that my wife and I didn't have to argue on where to balik kampung like other couples. Hari Raya is more meaningful if it is celebrated with your loved ones. For me, the number of loved ones had increased with my lovely wife and her family.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all.

The Apartment - Work in Progress

2008-08-20T16:41:00.001+08:00