shutterbug lovebug

2010-02-17T17:01:00.001+11:00

Blogging from Perth domestic airport. Can't wait to go back to Sydney yet can't bear to leave the family.

2010-02-06T14:20:00.000+11:00

Greetings to my faithful readers out there, if there's any left. February arrived too soon and we celebrated my sister's first birthday away from home in a simple way. Cupcakes lit candles at home. One of the many times we actually managed to get a family picture together. At least she had us around to celebrate it with.

After work yesterday, I brought them to tour around the opera house and the rocks highlighting the night life and the buzz on a friday night. It was jam packed full of live entertainment with the hustle and bustle of the crowd spending their time drinking with their friends. We ended up at pancakes at the rocks for dinner and it was crowded as usual even though their food is so-so.

I literally stuffed myself during that dinner cos I was too tired and hungry from working and walking. So I decided to bring them to another spot to view the quay's scenery as an excuse to walk off the fats that were digesting in my tummy. I brought them to a small observatory deck located at the wharfs were there weren't many people at all. I wonder if anyone know it's there. And I managed to capture really good photos this time. *smirks*

I'm seriously contemplating to get an all rounder zoom lens to compensate my lack of zoom on my prime lens. And when I told my mum that I wanted to make photography as a career and engineering as a hobby, she showed me the look. A look of raised eyebrows yet showing disappointment. It was all a joke obviously.

2010-01-26T00:59:00.002+11:00

My heart hurts.....

Edit : And now you've ripped it apart into pieces and shoved it down the drain.

2010-01-25T21:27:00.000+11:00

I'm in a rut!

I'm so mentally and physically drained that even a long night's sleep can't help. I've been bombarded with so many worries and thoughts I don't even know what to do. And me being so egoistic doesn't allow me to spill my worries to just anyone. I hate the feeling of caring and loving someone so much that eventually I have to depend on them. Whatever choices I make is for their sake as well. I don't mind situations like that but when things go sour, I can't stop thinking of that someone no matter what I do. It's just so hard to forget and this is definitely the first time I've felt so strongly about this bond between us. I can't seem to let go and I don't want to. But it hurts so much that you feel like you're stranded on a desert 500 miles away from a nice cold dessert or being ignored by someone for that matter. Sigh. Someone please kill me.

2010-01-25T21:20:00.000+11:00

Its been a week since the family is here and it's been really fun to have them around after not seeing them for a year. Being a tour guide is so tiring considering I'm still working part time and having to prepare for my supplementary exam. I've never felt this worn out in such a long time that sometimes I just want to lie down and never wake up. But it's good having them around as they help clean up the house even though I told them not to. And I haven't been feeling well lately due to my recurring asthma that came back from 3 years ago! Breathing was so hard for me that I couldn't get enough sleep for 3 nights in a row.

At times like these, I feel like work has become a burden and I feel like quitting. But I've been getting alot of shifts lately which I need to cover my expenses especially the eating out and shopping with the family.

Highlights of the week include going to fish market, Birkenhead point, and crashing at a relative's place in Cronulla.

There's just so much food that I'm pretty sure I'm gaining weight even though I'm controlling my intake. We also manage to go on a boat ride courtesy of my uncle on Sunday.

Ricky Ponting's house!!

View from the balcony.

2010-01-25T02:28:00.002+11:00

I no longer feel wanted or needed anymore.

Bye.

2010-01-15T01:57:00.000+11:00

Today, life as we know has ended. No more late nights of supper or mahjong. My dearest LY has gone back to Malaysia for a whole 2 months and my family will be here in 4 days. I'm already missing her as she waved goodbye before heading into the departure hall. Gone are the days where I could just see her anytime I want, even at work. At least she won't be missing Sydney too much seeing how much home sweet home has to offer for her. I hope she puts on weight and eats more food like her steam fish and teo chew porridge. Don't forget to buy me something too!

Prior to her final days in Sydney before her departure, we had dinner at Arisun with a few of her MASA buddies. Dinner was pretty decent and we had fun. Pictures will do the talking.

Hand towels that resembled marshmellows.

I didn't get to take the famous fried chilli chicken as we couldn't wait to dig in. We even got a chance to meet up with Kenny and Andre for late supper and went back to help the lovergirl with her last minute packing.

I'm already missing her so much and 2 months feel like a longgggggg way to go.

2010-01-13T03:00:00.002+11:00

Today marks the end of our last mahjong/poker/left for dead 2 session with LY as she'll be going back for the holidays. I'll miss her ALOT for the next two months. *tears trickling down my cheek*

PS : I'm sorry I won so many chips from poker. =)

2010-01-12T01:27:00.000+11:00

I love my dslr!!!hahaha..It's been more than a month and I can't seem to get tired of it. Special thanks to LY for acquiring the purchase for me. Couldn't have done it without her. I don't even feel the need for a point and shoot anymore, cept maybe to give Nigel's LX3 a whirl. =)

That's my baby right there!

Being random with my dslr.

Another week till I get to see my family again. And my sister will be taking my camera hostage I reckon! Miss that little fatty bom bom....heheh..

PS : I'll miss the other lady that's going back to Malaysia too!

2010-01-10T16:31:00.002+11:00

Sydney Festival, a day of performing arts and music started on Saturday and I decided to check it out with LY and everywhere was crazy! It felt like another celebration resembling NYE and everywhere was packed to the brims! The festival was spread out at different locations throughout the city, each featuring different genres such as techno, instrumental, and cultural music just to name a few. The weather wasn't too bad but walking around the whole city feels stuffy with all the crowds.

I didn't stick around for the lights after dark but instead watched sherlock holmes after dinner and it was gooooood! I'm guessing there's a sequel to it.

2010-01-09T00:01:00.000+11:00

Wishing you and everyone out there a late happy new year! The year has come and gone so fast I feel I need to slow down. Age is creeping up on me...fast! Seems like most of my peers have graduated leaving me in the dust. Can't complain being a uni student, but earning the moolah doesn't seem like a bad idea too.

I plan not to have new year's resolutions seeing I can't keep them anyway. I might as well just focus on improving myself in every way and the face challenges with the best smile possible. LOL. Easy peasy. Spend my new year's eve at Pyrmont with LY and Andre at our secret undisclosed location. It wasn't crowded at all and the sea breeze kept us cool! Too bad the smoke was blowing in our direction which blocked some parts of the fireworks.

I couldn't take decent pictures during the fireworks and I'll blame that on the lack of a tripod. And most of my pictures are shot using a prime lens hence, the lack of zooming in.

My days seem to pass by too fast. LY is leaving in less than a week and my family will be here soon. In such a short time, my life involved work, mahjong, left for dead 2, online-ing, mahjong. I feel like I need a change and a part of me wishes that I was back in KK. I even wonder if my friends back home misses me or not. LOL.

Cupcakes courtesy of Meike.

I've been spending quite alot on misc stuff recently and I even have the urge to buy new lens. Sigh. At least I finally got a wireless router for the house.

I WANT MORE $$$$$$!

2009-12-30T23:50:00.000+11:00

"I have already chose her, but did she chose me?".

Those words from Avatar struck something in me. I just returned from watching Avatar in 3d and the cinematography was amazing! It was actually my first time watching a 3d movie in the cinema with the supplied glasses and I literally thought I could touch some of the objects on the screen. It took about 2 hours and 40 minutes and I was seated on the left wing next to the wall in the second row which wasn't the best place to be but the movie was worth it. The plot had similarities with The Last Samurai in animation style. And halfway through the movie during the kissing scene, a little kid shouted out, "They're kissing!!!!" and everyone started laughing. Hahaha.

I wonder what I should do for New Year's. Half of me wants to watch the fireworks, and the other half says to stay at home . I seriously feel annoyed + disappointed the last few days. Things have not been favorable to me. Even I stuff up at simple duties at work. Sigh. I don't feel as appreciated as I used to and I feel like I'm being brushed away many times. I don't even know if I'm important anymore to be cared for. I wish things would go back the way it used to be. And I'm trying so hard to make things right, yet my efforts don't seem to be heading anywhere. And recently I've been having thoughts of packing up and moving to another uni in perth to get away from here. Sigh. I wish I didn't have to go through this shitty phase and wish things we're how it used to be. I know I've got great friends to count on and they have been reliable even though I have been neglecting them for a point in time. But there is only so much one can do and right now, I don't know how long I can hold on and keep my sanity. I need help soon.

Life feels like shit right now.

Can't wait for 2009 to be over.

2009-12-27T23:58:00.000+11:00

I just tried my luck with night photography + a nice stroll with the cool wind and it turned out pretty good. I'm really happy with my new lens and it's ability to take really amazing photos though my skills may be insufficient in handling it.

Maybe I should quit my course and start learning photography. Who knows I can be a freelance photographer and get to snap photos after photos of Victoria's Secret models. Drools.....

2009-12-27T20:54:00.000+11:00

Sorry for the emo rants and bitching. I just had to get it off my chest in a way which I seldom do online. To make it up for the readers, I will be posting food pics of my homecooked meals. And for 2010, I resolve to get in shape as well as learn more recipes which I hope to share tantalizing images that may stimulate your mind and taste buds as well.

I'm still contemplating whether I should watch the fireworks or not. Anybody needs a date on 31st Dec?

2009-12-26T22:23:00.000+11:00

I am too depressed I don't know where to start. This whole year has not been good to me. In fact, I just had the worst birthday and x-mas ever in my whole life! I have never felt so rejected, torn, backstabbed, ripped to shreds not to mention a few in such a long time. I can't wait to move on and start a new life which obviously will take a long time for me to recover from the shock from the looks of it. At least someone else will be happy with this choice. Good luck to you know who.

Guess I'll spending my NYE alone this time. I don't even feel comfortable being alone anymore. I used to be able to suck it all in but now I wish I was back in KK, along with the friends and family who didn't judge me and accepted my wrongs and for who I am. This year has totally been such a challenge for me, both physically and mentally. I'm so determined to get back on my feet starting 2010 and be more self independent. I don't want the same mistakes to repeat again.

Why does this happen to me??

WHY WHY WHY WHY????

FUCK MY LIFE!!!!!

and have a wonderful new year.

2009-12-22T23:08:00.000+11:00

X-mas is just around the corner!! Ho Ho Ho..I wonder how christmas will be like this year.

On a side note, I finally got my new lens!! The nikkor 35mm f1.8G and it's awesome! I'm pretty sure I won't be using any other lens soon as the clarity of the pictures are just too damn good! I had a chance to use it when we had our long-awaited gathering with the GJ crew at seoul ria on monday night. It's been about 2 years since we ate there as a group. Missing out D though. Hopefully we'll have another chance once he comes back from Indo. After dinner, we had another round of mahjong at my place. 4 hours of mahjong from midnight till 4am and I still had work at 12pm.

And work was so tiring! I didn't even felt like leaving for work. Sad to say many "incidents" happened at the workplace. Highlight of the day was when the escalator just in front of our shopped got stopped abruptly and many people fell over backwards. A large crowd was attracted and someone broke the leg and many people got injured and actually bled on the escalator steps. Once the crowd dispersed, I actually noticed cleaners scrubbing away the dried blood on the steps. Apparently people are gonna sue Westfield mall who in turn will sue the escalator company. Talk about playing the blaming game.

I love this shot!

2009-12-20T15:16:00.000+11:00

So my birthday has come and gone. I hope I feel a little wiser than before. And though I didn't celebrate my b'day on a grand scale, it was still with the people that I care. Tara and I were closing at bondi on a Friday night, and coincidentally, it was her b'day on that particular day! Too bad she had to work till 10.30pm with me.

But at about 10ish, I saw some mysterious figures lurking around the corner outside our shop. I "acted" surprise when 3 of them came walking in with a cake in hand. Thanks to Liying, Meike, and Kenneth for the effort of surprising both of us. DJ was on hand to join in as well. So we closed the shop in time to eat the cake and just chill at the shop by ourselves and decided to play pool later. =)

Saturday felt just like another ordinary day to me. We decided to take a walk and act like bloody tourists carrying our cams from Circular Quay all the way to Botanical Gardens to the CBD. And we had Ayam Goreng 99 with Windy who's leaving back to Indo this monday! Headed home for games with Kenny and Windy who decided to join us for mahjong!!! I have never played mahjong in my life and it was so much fun!!!! Specially rubbing the dice for good luck and all that crap.

We'll miss our 4th kaki since she's leaving already. Need to find more players!

And a major THANK YOU to everyone for the heartfelt wishes! Life won't be complete without you all!

2009-12-18T01:56:00.000+11:00

Sorry for the lack of updates as I have been neglecting my blog for over a week.

Many events have happened lately, some good, some bad. Sis has been home for the holidays and I'm stuck here just bumming around, cept for the casual work shifts which ain't much. I wish my life would be more interesting. If only I had more money or won the oz powerball. There's so much I want to do: travel around Asia, buy this and that, and eat and eat and eat. Speaking of eating, I am going on a diet plan starting tomorrow! I gave a shocking image to Windy when she first saw me today and said "What has Liying been feeding you???". Does not sound good at all. *Sigh*

Today we went out as we both had a day off from work. Walked around circular quay, checked out the sales at myers and played pool with Kenny, Windy, and Edi. Pictures are of course a complimentary from my camera. =)

View of Circulay Quay, The rocks.

Choc indulgence at Guylian Cafe.

Cupcakes on Pitt St.

It's been a long time since we hung out with the gang and it feels good to see them again. We might have another gathering at my place this Sunday in honour of Tara's birthday which actually falls today, the 18th of Dec. MMMMMmmmmm.. More food. Screw diet! Heh.

On a side note, getting around and about today will be difficult as all the bus drivers are on strike. So should I let my boss know I can't make it to work due to transport problems or will they pay my taxi fare? Hmmmmmm.

Ohhhh, I might be getting a new prime lens! The nikkor 35mm f1.8G sometime next week! Great for its wide aperture. Can't wait! Guess I've been bitten by the BBB virus. The BUY BUY BUY virus. SIGH!

2009-12-05T00:55:00.003+11:00

Finally managed to get a day off this week and our plans to the park were scrapped since we decided to sleep in. What a waste of the day! We only managed to have lunch at KCR at about 4 in the evening and decided to go Bondi Beach. Scrap that again. Ended up at Centennial Park instead since LY has never been there. Hence, most of the photos were taken at the park again.

We decided to give miss D a lift since she wanted to head to Bondi Junction after work to do abit of window shopping. We ended up having sushi for dinner. Two days in a row of Jap cuisine. Maybe I should head down to Ben's Thai for the yummy 101 dish sometime soon.

Mr H will be arriving soon on Sunday. I'm sure he has alot of goodies to show from his Singapore/Malaysia trip. Hopefully some nice lens as well.

PS : might meet up with the GJ crew for a spot of dinner sometime soon. It's been way too long overdue!

2009-12-03T00:09:00.002+11:00

Bored out of my wits! Haven't got much planned cept for lunch with LY today before her shift started. Decided to have japanese at Ichiban Boshi at Bondi Junction. It's great for a quick satisfying meal with decent prices. I decided to have the karaage-don while she had the salmon don.

Salmon Don $12.00

Karaage Don $10.50

After dropping her off to work, I decided to check out Centennial Park before picking her up and it was hugeeeee!! It's a huge piece of untouched,bare land with endless parking. Had a bit of a go with my camera to pass time.

Photography is such an expensive hobby that I really need to curb my desires of getting lenses, flash, and all the what nots of any possible dslr accessory available. I'm actually thinking of either getting a wide angle lens which costs about $800 for a really nice one or just a prime lens, maybe the 35mm f1.8.

Sigh. If only my job pays more.

2009-12-01T17:15:00.003+11:00

Tired. Disappointed. Annoyed.

Lunch did not turn out as expected to be. It rained heavily after work ended and had oporto for lunch. I'm really starting to hate fast food especially from food courts. My tummy deserves better!

I'm really annoyed at people who are ignorant towards others. I'm not saying I'm perfect either. I do have a bad temper. But in general, people should also be perceptive and know what to prioritize and for who. Not just turn a blind eye and think about oneself. If this keeps up, I might be having lunch alone more often in the not so distant future. I'd rather just cook and eat good food at home than have fast food most of the time outside anyway. For the readers out there, I'm sorry but there won't be any tantalizing food pics of my lunch which I'm sure would have been better than oporto if it didn't rain.

But I did manage to snap some random shots while walking around and waiting for a certain someone to show up. Who knows, this might be a regular thing. The "waiting" i mean.

Mum called me today after not hearing from her in awhile. Talked to little sis too and she's envious of my dslr. Hehehehe. She even wanted to get me jealous by saying she wants to get an iphone. Tsk Tsk. Can't wait to meet them in January where I can optimize my camera to the fullest. Maybe I should create a family album seeing we don't have one for as long as I can remember.

So where should I take them to?

Don't look back.

2009-11-30T23:15:00.002+11:00

It's been a wet and rainy day after scorching weather for the past few days. Sydney really has such a weird weatherman. Maybe he's just bored. I decided to stay in today while LY went out to look for her friends from insearch before they leave. Decided to have the oh-so-yummy-kids-cravings of buttered corn. Just like ned's corn in cup back home in kk when I was a little kid.

My homemade buttered corn

It has been pretty mundane nowadays with just work and staying home being my routine cycle. It's just too bad that most people had to go back home and I'm left here. At least getting paid reduces the worries. Had a chance to play wii today and it's still not as responsive as it should be. Maybe I'm just a PS3 kind of guy.

Was actually thinking to learn more new dishes so I can actually post them up here, and eat them all too. =)

Made lambchops today for dinner and it was just alright. Need to get more recipessss!!!!!

Marinated lamb chops

Tomorrow is just another day at work. Will be opening with Nicole till 11. Might have beef pho with LY before her shift.

PS : anyone has any recommendations for a good job in Sydney?? I need more cash!!!!

2009-11-29T21:17:00.007+11:00

After a hell long time of not blogging, I am officially back!! And with a new mate to boot. I finally got myself a dslr camera on Saturday in which shall be accompanying me on many trips to come (I hope). So looking forward to try (and snap) new and old eateries as well as the trip to Perth with my family to prepare my lil sis for her 1st year in Australia. Don't think Sa will be there since she'd rather be in UK by now. Miss spending times with the good ol kk buddies.

Anyway, here's a little something from pushing my new baby's buttons.

Taken along Lachlan St, Waterloo

LY's sis made a batch of brownies which tasted pretty good. MMMMmmmmmm.... Supper indulgence only makes me fatter. *Sigh*

Guess that's all I've managed to learn in a day of quick photography. Might head down to the park or beach sometime later this week when I'm not working.

PS : I MISS DURIANSSSSS.....