I’m no longer a Uni student, but this is an example of the things that we can do.

A week ago I had dinner with a couple of friends, and all being gaming enthusiasts, set down the previous weekend as the time when we’d game our asses off with a LAN party. For the uninitiated, a LAN party is where everyone brings their own computer to a location, hook them up together and go head to head in multiplayer gaming bliss.

Well, this was a mini LAN party of sorts, with only four computers and players having the time to actually participate in this mad exercise. There were few problems with logistics, as two computers already resided at the host’s place, so we just needed to supply another CPU box and one other computer. I contributed my Shuttle cube and made a mental note that I’d earn myself a new LCD flat panel as the CRT monitor I carried to my friend’s place was a behemoth (at least there was some transport most of the way there).

While setting the computers up, the four of us were taking turns pounding the AI on the PS2 in Pro Evolution Soccer 4. Playing soccer on the Ps2 is akin to the real thing, as we cheer like fanatics when we score and you can hear the disappointment echo through the room when we miss a good opportunity to score (or let our defense leak a goal as if it wasn’t there to begin with).

There was also plenty of food to go around, with my buying fresh salmon for a side sashimi party. Heh, everyone was so quick to pick off the little pieces of fish that not much was left within a minute of getting the fish on the plate. Also made a tray of nachos (salsa, avocado and cheese on chips), and that went fairly quickly too.

By the time the gaming started, it was already around 1am, and I think we had already ingested a few good number of beers by then. Heh, it was a fun experience, with 2 vs 2 multiplayer on Warcraft III, playing the custom map called Defense of the Ancients (DotA).

We had fun pretty much up until 5+ am, when my friend’s housemate KO’ed on the couch from having had too much beer. I’m not much of an alcohol drinker and usually can’t absorb too much of the stuff but the gaming was so intense, I just glugged it down and didn’t even notice it. This really shows the power of mind over matter.

Heh, it’s been a busy week and weekend.

It’s amazing how people just automatically pose for you when you are supposedly ‘the photographer’.

I volunteered to be a photographer for a dinner function organised by the Malaysian Cultural Society of Melbourne Uni. My friend was one of the committee members and I just got the job without any effort on my part, other than saying I liked to take photos.

So the event happened yesterday. Was contemplating dresscode. Doubt my usual ¾ pants and cap would go very well at the event. Besides, my cap is a hindrance to taking pictures with my D70, as it is always in the way for portrait shots or when my external flash is on it. Decided formal shirt and pants would be the way to go.

Good photographers usually arrive at the scene early to check out the surroundings. I did just that, although I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for. Took some shots to calibrate exposure, but the camera is smart enough I didn’t need to do that.

Heh, the place I went to was a small Malaysian restaurant smack in the middle of the CBD. It was kind of cramped and it made navigating myself around increasingly harder as the crowds came in. Was trying to get used to the awkward notion that I was ‘the photographer’ at first. Usually take pictures with my paparazzi methods, as in just point and shoot. This is because most people would run away from a shot if they realised a camera was trained at them. So you imagined how puzzled I was when people actually stop to pose for me when they see me pointing the camera at them. lol: it took a while to get used to it, but I find it quite enjoyable.

The dinner wasn’t much, plenty of finger food going around with performances throughout the night. We had singing and dancing, and I just snapped up all the pictures I could. Being cramped, picture composition wasn’t so simple, as I had little space to back out to for me to get my shot. The incessant movement of people also made shots difficult as I couldn’t find a proper subject to focus on. The night wasn’t about technical aspects of photography, more like just point and shoot and just hope the picture turned out right.

I guess the performances were easy to take. It was when I had to go around asking people to pose for me that I got a little timid. It took me a while before I could properly assign the authority that comes with the badge that is ‘the photographer’ of a function. Everyone obliged to pose for me whenever I brought the camera over.

The night went on and I was on my feet the whole time, and was so exhausted towards the end (it’s been a long week for me, with assembling computers for various people and working, it’s quite tiring). Heh, the organisers were kind enough to keep asking if I wanted any food, but being me, I kindly refused. Don’t know, just don’t feel right eating, but also because I wasn’t too keen to smudge my camera with oil.

At the end of it all, I managed about 280 shots (heh, it pays to have a 1GB CF card) and am surprised my flash lasted that long (and I think there’s still plenty of juice left in it). Not too bad a night, I guess it’s an experience worth having. Heh, am now dreaming of the day when I can go do weddings.