★ posted on 31 Dec 2009 at 10:52 pm under Life in General ★
Had an amazing and memorable Christmas dinner at cousin’s place in Bundoora with many relatives who were in town for graduations. No photos here, but the menu consisted of a roasted turkey, kurobuta ham and miscellaneous other scrumptious food.
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Have another hour or so to type this post out, as I take advantage of the loophole that this website is hosted on a US server based on Malaysian time. So when I post this, it’s still sitting on a 2009 time stamp. It’s 2010 where I’m sitting here now but I’ll borrow whatever time I have left to get this done.
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I think 2009 really went out with a bang. The big bang was me and Vyanne finally finding a house and having an offer accepted for it. Buying houses is not fun, and I was already resigned to the fact that I’d have to continue looking for something next year. Vyanne spotted something online, we had a look, I brought some relatives to have a view, and they thought its was good, had a few other opinions, and we put in the offer. Haggled back and forth with the agent representing the owners for a few hours on Boxing Day and after much deliberation on their end, they decided to accept the offer.
I’m not reading too much into how it will affect the way I spend money in the future. I’ve always tried to be prudent with money, spending on the occasional gadget and food, but otherwise I try to use it sparingly. Had the habit of taking a chunk of salary out to put into savings, but I’ve always been a little creative with how I’ve done that, as sometimes I put in more, and sometimes less, due to the timing of bills and other items, so putting in a fortnightly mortgage payment might be a little more tricky. Will just need to have a savings buffer to handle any emergency situations.
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So what shall I remember 2009 for? This time last year I was stuck on Kangaroo Island while touring Adelaide. Just had a BBQ with a close friend and his wife, watching the Sydney fireworks on TV as it was raining and nature was having its own light and sound show. You could see the lightning and hear the thunder, something not often seen in Melbourne weather.
Adelaide aside, went to Sydney, Mildura, Beechworth and Taiwan. Some fantastic trips that Vyanne has planned, and I know I’ve been bad at it, but I’d like to be able to organise some trips for 2010. Was never very good at it due to the need to plan months in advance to get reservations for restaurants and hotels.
Did a good amount of travelling and would like to be able to do more of the same in 2010.
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Work was ok. Learned quite a bit on financial reporting and management accounting. There is a diverse number of topics to learn in my current job, but I wish for the pace to be quicker at times. Put my foot forward and signed up for the CPA program. Just need to get the membership sorted out and I should be enrolling for a paper or two this year. Hopefully I can sort that out in early January.
At least with my current job, I have a little more time to invest in studying, so hopefully I can get the CPA out of the way by the end of 2011. It’s a little frightening to be thinking so far ahead.
No major plans for my career in 2010, but one never knows how these things turn out. Will just pray for the best and come what may.
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I reckon I have too many hobbies. Coffee at least is a consumable, and it’s still cheaper to make your own drinks than to fork out $3 for a decent coffee in a cafe. Heh, it’s more economical to not be a coffee drinker but those who don’t have no idea what flavours they are missing.
Took less photos this year than I did last year. Well, the quantity has fallen but the quality has improved a bit. Acquired some nice lenses along the way and I’m starting to have a greater appreciation for the different types of work out there. Off camera lighting equipment and techniques is like gourmet French cooking. It can be simple yet offer the most savoury results. Yum. Need to learn how to use off camera lighting to spruce up an image outdoors in 2010.
I’ve become slightly envious of the wedding photographers I follow. Some of them have improved their craft over the year, from my perspective anyway. I’m envious that they can devote the time they do to their craft, to create an impression on the soul. Still have doubts that I’m cut out for this kind of work and I’m not getting any younger. If I do go into this field, it will be a leap of faith.
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Nothing to want for 2010. The idea of paying off a mortgage dampens the spirit to acquire anything else. Heh, not thinking too much about it. Google is releasing the Nexus One early in January, and it seems quite tempting as an iPhone alternative. However, the only reason the iPhone trumps everything else is because of its UI consistency and the gazillion apps available to it now. One could argue that you have many apps for an Android phone as well, but it’s just like Linux and the open source community, there is quantity but not the quality of a paid application. I’m happy to pay a couple of dollars here and there for a quality app and this is where Apple shines.
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Well, 2010 is going to be like 2007, full of unknowns. Moving to a new environment with new surroundings, it’s a little daunting but one has to move forward in life to give a fresh perspective on things. Only when things move forward, does one grow and not remain stagnant.
Heh, goodbye 2009, hello 2010.
★ posted on 24 Dec 2009 at 10:40 pm under Life in General ★
I guess this would be one of the more memorable Christmas eves. Vyanne had wanted to go watch Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight since last Christmas and only this time round we got to going.
We were wondering which tickets to get at the time, there was the $120 reserved seating tickets or the $40 general admission sitting on a lawn ticket. Heh, I thought since it was to be donated to Vision Australia anyway (they provide assistance to vision impaired children), we’d just get the more expensive tickets.
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Melbourne is pretty notorious for its totally unpredictable weather. It was 36 degrees or so the day before, and it was pretty warm on Christmas eve itself. There was a drizzle of rain every now and then throughout the day but nothing to cool the heat down. Then at 5pm, the sky decided to let itself go and it started pouring.
I was roasting in my room when we decide to get going to attend the show. Stepped out the door without a jacket and only a tiny umbrella. As we walked to the tram stop, the rain got progressively worse. Heh, both of us were wondering what we got ourselves into.
Anyway, managed to get to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl at the Botanical Gardens. The temperature managed to plummet from 30+ degrees to 15 degrees in no time. I always tell visitors to Melbourne to bring a jacket out as the weather changes sporadically. I should have listened to my own advice.
Semi shivering, Vyanne saw people with the show’s programme, so I decided to go hunt for one at the entrance. As I picked up one from the counter where they sold candles (hence the name of the show, as you light your candles while listening to performers sing carols), I saw a few food stands near by. Quickly acquired a couple of lamb kebabs and when I got back to my seat, both of us started wolfing down the food. Heh, still doesn’t provide as much warmth as a jacket, but at least I felt slightly better. My poor nose is quite sensitive, so I started sneezing quite a bit and here I am typing this out now with a semi blocked, semi runny nose.
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The show started, and as it started, the rain came again and started soaking the poor audience that did not get a seat under the cover of the music bowl. We were fortunate to get seats close enough to the front that we did not get rained on. It was merely a couple of metres away of the rain and when the wind blew hard, we could feel a few droplets on our backs. Really impressed with the part of the audience who stuck it out in the rain to watch the show. Heh, the performers were grateful and encouraged those soaked by the rain for their commitment to watch the show.
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So onto the show, there were plenty of local celebrities belting out Christmas carols. There were also some choreographed dances and songs, so overall it was a pretty entertaining experience. I just snapped a few shots here and there with my camera. Heh, only processed one for the purpose of posting on the blog. I have nearly 400 photos to sieve through. Which I will do after the Christmas dinner preparations and the Christmas dinner binging.
Heh, reminds me that there is so much to be thankful for, with relatives nearby, and being able to enjoy their company with food and laughter. Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that are the most valuable.
★ posted on 21 Dec 2009 at 9:41 pm under Photography ★
Picture taken about 5 seconds before I glugged it down. There’s still some inconsistencies getting the coffee to come out right and I’m not anal enough to redo a shot that doesn’t come out nice. I know what it’s going to taste like the moment it pours out, but I can live with the ‘defect’ of the shot.
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Just wrapped up the D70 to be posted off to its new owner in NSW. After 5 years, the bits and pieces that produced over 20,000 photos for me finally sold off at 30% it’s original price. Not bad considering tech moves at the speed of light and stuff becomes obsolete in 18 months or so (although this really depends on your requirements).
Heh, I still recall the excitement of picking it up at the camera store in SS/2 near my old house. The sales lady put together the strap and other bits and pieces for me, so all I had to do was bring it home and start snapping pictures. It was amazing what quality you could churn out from the camera, moving up from a point and shoot (well, the Nikon Coolpix 5400 was no slouch, but does not come close to matching the quality, dynamic range and acuity of a DSLR).
Learned how pictures were made from ISO, shutter and aperture. Brought the camera to so many places, bought so many accessories for it. Got upset when the sensor got dirty and I decided to do a DIY cleaning. I treat my D300 with less caution these days, as it comes with a built in sensor cleaner (just give technology a few years and it will give you features to fix up annoyances of yesteryear) and I’m adequately happy just using a bulb blower to dislodge the larger specs of dust.
The camera went to New Zealand, New York with me. I took my brother’s wedding with it, some graduation ceremonies, it’s been through a lot with me. All I have left are just the photos that it took over the years.
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Very contented with my D300 now. The only thing that needs upgrading now is the person handling the camera. I have picked up so many tricks over the years, but since I don’t take photos often enough, I still find my skills very lacking. It’s a 2 year old camera now, and unlike the D70, I’m not itching to upgrade it after the 2 years that have gone by. I know it’s limitations but have found more ways to work around them. Heh, my next upgrade would be a full frame D3s quality (have you seen the images it can produce at ISO12800?) camera at a D300 price point and a 24-70mm f/2.8 standard zoom lens (I still love my 17-55mm as my bread and butter lens but it doesn’t work on full frame cameras). These days I read less into the technical capabilities of a camera as they generally perform up to par with my expectations. A professional grade camera is still a must only because the autofocus and controls don’t get in your way of producing photos.
So goodbye D70, I will always remember the good times we had together.
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