finding my way around ...

Finale

2010-06-22T01:16:00.008+10:00

Apologies for the diminished ending to the cooking challenge posts.
If you're wondering, yes I did complete them (despite the burst of tears from frustration at the end).

For the remaining 10 cooking, here's what I cooked.
* Kelepon (Indonesian style glutinous rice dumpling with palm sugar) - Kopi Susu 2: Cooking with Ibu Trish: Kelepon
* Teriyaki Chicken with Sunrice Chicken Rice
* Jamie Oliver's Chicken Stew (served with normal Cous Cous & Israeli Cous Cous mix and Brumby's Damper)
* Blueberry Muffin ala Exclusively Food
* Vegetarian Green Curry (with instant paste recommended by my little brother, plus a whole lot other ingredients, e.g. Fish Sauce, ginger, etc).
* Marinara Linguine (Taste.com.au)
* Cheesy Peas ala Jamie Oliver
* Turkey Sausage Rolls (YUM!) - Taste.com.au recipe
* Jamie Oliver Cauliflower Risotto (delicious!)

Last, but certainly not least (both effort wise and in product)...
"Aria Chocolate Tart"
I'm quite convinced that it's my finest work. :)

I've posted the complete cooking challenge photos in my Facebook Photo Album.
You're welcome to browse (and leave comments).

With this, I'd like to thank you all for the patron.
It's been fun sharing my stories, my thoughts and my ramblings here.
But it's time for me to move on.

I will no longer write new post for this blog.
If you miss me :), by all means, check out my photos at One Melbourne Photographer, message me on Facebook, or browse my tweets on twitter.
I will also continue to share any interesting posts that I found and enjoyed, on Google Reader.

Don't forget to have fun and live life to the fullest.
Thank you very much!

An Apartment

2010-06-12T16:40:00.003+10:00

... It looks like it came out straight from magazine, and I love it. :)
Mmm - I'd probably fix up the bathroom a bit, but otherwise... the look, the location, the feel... totally right up my alley! :)

Reinforcement Learning

2010-05-27T22:35:00.002+10:00

A Reinforcement Learning (more information here) Intelligent Agent would be screwed if the reward mechanism isn't coded correctly.
Say, if we were to give it 10 reward points for every time it litters and 1 reward points for each time it throws rubbish to the bin, with the goal being to reach 50 reward points (yes, a stupid example..).
It should never throw rubbish to the bin after it's first "exploration" of throwing rubbish to the bin.
Because based on its "exploit" rule, it should be exploiting its knowledge that littering is more rewarding.

Why do we expect differently from a human being?
Why would we encourage someone to do something that is not of any benefit to themselves, or others simply out of pity?
Or perhaps, simply because we think we have good manners?
Then, after all that incorrect encouragement, why would we expect them to simply realise and choose not to stop doing that thing?

I'm a bit lost.
Hmm - a lot lost maybe.

PS: Looking this brings back memory.. good ones, especially when I saw the paper on Cyber-Minder (I read that more than 10 times throughout my Hons year!).
I do miss dealing with such an interesting, mind-challenging, complex yet much less complicated problem compared to dealing with a human.

The End is Near...

2010-05-26T21:48:00.007+10:00

Last week, to finish off week 6 of the cooking challenge, I made Nigella's Cheddar Risotto for Sunday dinner, which I myself haven't quite consumed due to temptation of dining out at Zab Thai - highly recommended!
But Shanon has had two serves of them - so I assume the verdict is good. :)

I do rather enjoy cooking risotto.
They are very relaxing to cook, as you have to stir in 1 ladle stock at a time.
If I clean while waiting for the stock to be absorbed, by the end of the risotto cooking, kitchen end up sparkling too!
Was very happy with this shot of the finished product too.. :)

Week 7! :) Twelve more cooking to do and there is still a few that I haven't done.
This week I planned on attempting New York Cheesecake, and making Jamie Oliver chicken stew again! :)
That's later in the week though!

So far, I've made "Coconut Balls"... again? Yes - it was such a hit last time at work, thought I'll feed my photo friends...
This time, I went and bought Pistachios! :)

Then, I made Chickpeas, Spinach, Tomato, Mushroom, and Feta Bonanza!
I thought it was yummy... but Shanon's choice of bread (from Da Noi) just lifted up the meal massively!
I was nearly convinced that I am now a MasterChef! LOL
Total credit to the bread. It was just "THE" bread! :)

10 more cooking to go.....

At the end of this, I'm considering to end my blogging days...
I'm finding it difficult to find my way around this world while blogging as myself.
I think it's about time for me to blog anonymously and learn to share my thoughts openly and honestly, instead of only saying the safe things out loud.

Here's something from my recent photo shoot with a friend who's getting married in January! :)

Wrapping Up Week 6

2010-05-23T14:59:00.006+10:00

My days all feel like a blur now.
Photo, work, cooking, yoga, and social life...

I quite look forward to the end of the cooking challenge and this semester photo class.
Would love to breathe a little and relax.
Though I can't say I haven't been relax...

I have to say, I've learned quite a bit from the cooking challenge.
It has most certainly speed up my cooking pace a little bit.
Not sure if I'll continue cooking that often on a weekly basis post the cooking challenge, but most certainly will try and eat at home more than dining out.

Today's lunch is Pan Fry Chicken with Roasted Vegetable and Couscous.

I crusted the chicken breast with lemon garlic pepper dry spices (bought in packet from Coles) and a teaspoon of grated parmesan cheese.
It gives out very beautiful flavour (even if I say so myself).

The couscous came out beautifully (but I have always like couscous so I might be bias).
I cut the vegetables (pumpkin and sweet potato) too small so they came out quite mashed after 40 minutes.
I added garlic, rosemary, paprika and oregano into the mix.
I pepper-ed them a bit much too so it has that pepper after taste... =(
Will be more careful next time!

Still yummy though (yes yes - again, probably best not to take the cook's word for it. :P)

In case you're wondering about the leftover souffle, after I fridge the leftover (uncooked) for nearly 2 days, I oven-ed them today and it still risen beautifully.
I tasted a bit of them warm and then fridge the rest (want to try out the mousse texture that was commented on the page!)..
The verdict? Both warm and mousse, the chocolate taste was stronger and yummier after the 2 days!
I wasn't sure if I am going to make the chocolate souffle again when I taste it the first time I bake it.
I mean it was nice but not great... but after the second tasting, pretty sure I'll try it out again - leaving the chocolate mixture for 2 hours before I use them! :)

Taste Recipes Tonite: Bolognaise Pot Pies & Chocolate Souffle

2010-05-21T23:55:00.001+10:00

Dinner: Bolognaise Pot Pies Recipe - Taste.com.au with minor alterations (added some rosemary, chicken salt and garlic.
Cover the pies with puff pastry too (on top of the potato mash).
Was quite yummy but the bolognaise sauce was lacking the "ommmphh" factor.
Might try Chicken And Mushroom Pot Pies Recipe - Taste.com.au next time!

Side dish: Green salad with French Onion Olive Oil dressing. Yummy!
Considered adding walnuts to this salad, which would have worked really well I think - but then forgotten... Next time! :P

Hmmmm - dinner was a bit on the light side and craving something sweet before bed time.
A bit of google-ing got me on to this recipe.
Checked that I have all the ingredients, tick!
Start setting up! :)

Only when I start pouring thickened cream on to the pan, I read the part where I needed to set the chocolate mixture for 2 hours!
2 HOURS??? I started making the mixture at 11:20 PM! :P
Thanks to "ykraith" comment about not leaving the chocolate mixture for two hours.
Made me feel a lot better and I continue on.
My ramekins were on the small side so they made about 3 ramekins worth of souffle.
But there are only two of us, so the left over sit in the fridge... not sure what it will turn out to be when I finally oven them. :P

The great thing is the two that I oven-ed tonight, came out amazing!
Puffy and risen, just the way souffle should be! :)
I should have used "better" chocolate.
The Lindt 70% didn't quite cut it. Next time will try Callebaut! :)
But it was yum nonetheless. Especially topped with the vanilla ice cream.

A perfect night cap: my first souffle!
I can now sleep in peace... ;)

Tonite's Cooking: Snacks for Work Meeting!

2010-05-19T22:53:00.002+10:00

Made this a few times in the past - quite like it myself...
But the true test is whether my work colleagues like it! :)

Nearly there, my friend.
2.5 more weeks of cooking!

Life...

2010-05-19T07:31:00.001+10:00

I woke up and it was Monday, I commuted and began my work day.
Before I could checked the clock, it was the end of the day.
I went home, cooked, have dinner, sat in front of my computer till midnight arrived.
Went to bed, slept, got up and it was Tuesday, commuted, began my work day and run around (physically and mentally).
Surprise surprise, 6 PM and I am running late for my photo class.
Got there, listened, learned and chatted for a few hours, then was picked up for grocery shopping before home.
Sat in front of my computer for a couple hours, and it's bedtime.
Today I got up and felt a bit of shock because it's Wednesday. Already. Again.

My days are passing by at the speed of light.

Am I doing what I want to do everyday?
If not, WHY?
If yes, why does it not feel that way?

A few personal development posts that has been nagging me..
* Two Questions to Help You Gain Perspective | Zen Habits - “How you live each day is, of course, how you live your life”
* Is Your Mind Holding You Back? - by Dumb Little Man - “One reason why people don’t achieve their goals is because they don’t know what part of them choose the goal.” ~ John Kehoe
* Five Ways to Find Time to Live Healthily - by Dumb Little Man - "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."

StumbleUpon: Business Startup Facts

2010-05-18T22:52:00.002+10:00

Definitely something for people who's thinking of starting up a business to read and ponder upon..
Business Start-up Facts

The Duds....

2010-05-17T22:00:00.004+10:00

It is bound to happen but I can't believe I get two duds in a row! :P

First was "Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding".

Don't be fooled by the look - it was definitely a dud!
The chocolate taste was not there, mainly brown sugar taste and the mixture was still very powdery - which is totally weird.
My instinct told me that it was not right even before i popped it in the oven cause it is not batter, more like powder mix!
I think the recipe might be missing the "egg" part.
Anyway - definitely not making this recipe again.
Even with ice cream I can't finish it (well it is still powdery down the bottom...).
It's not THAT bad (it's hard for cocoa, sugar and butter to be bad) - but DEFINITELY not great.

That marks the completion of Week 5.

My week 6 start wasn't great...

"Thai Grilled Pepper Chicken" served with steam rice, fry egg and stir fry bean shoots.
Shanon reckon this is the worst thing I've cooked in a while. *lol*
In my defense, I didn't even prepare the Thai Barbecue Marinade myself...
A friend made them for me and all I did was marinade my chicken and cooked it (to perfection! Soft and not chewy!).
The marinade was wayyyy too salty to the point where when I get to the steam rice bit I feel such relief to be eating something that has bland taste. :P
If I could take away the salt, I reckon the marinade is quite yummy.
The stir fry bean shoot was a last minute thing inspired by another friend.
I quite like it (with some garlic, dried anchovy and dried chilli).
A bit on the salty side too (perhaps too much anchovies!).

Oh well - here's to a better tomorrow. Margeritta Pizza near PSC. Yum!

Week 5 of My Silly Cooking Challenge

2010-05-15T00:00:00.012+10:00

This week flown by ever so quickly.

Final Liliana's photo class on Monday was good, but I was so distracted and bugged from work.
Glad that as of next week only have one photo class a week, and really looking forward to going back to 3 Bikram Yoga class weekly.

Wednesday was Laksa night. Again, I hear you say? Yes - still have leftover Hokkien Noodle, Enoki, and all the seafood fillings.
Bought cooked prawn as an additional thing - but next time will buy raw prawn cause the cooked one came out a bit chewy.
Added the Sambal to the laksa soup this time around, Shanon didn't quite like, will remember for next time.
This time we had some leftover soup, next time will try and make three bowl out of it as it was a bit too rich to be healthy.
Really enjoyed it though - will definitely be a keeper in the house! Simple, easy and delicious. :)

Thursday was supposed to be Yoga nite - but stupid Connex, mmm I mean Metro, cancelled Sandringham train and I left work too late to be running down Chapel St.
So, grocery shopping and Old El Paso Enchiladas it is.

Yummo - especially the grilled sweet corn. I'm a fan!
Shanon enjoyed the Enchiladas too which is great, as it wasn't too much hassle to make.

After we devoured the Enchiladas, I started making Jamie Oliver's Aubergine Parmigiana as I know it takes up too time to do after yoga class for dinner.
What I didn't know is that it takes up A CRAZY LOT OF TIME!
I spend the remaining 1.5 hours slicing eggplant thinly, soaking them in salted water, frying both sides, layer them in the baking dish with home made tomato sauce and shaved parmesan. Pop them in the fridge overnight.
Looks pretty convincing at the end though, but I had to wait till today to find out what it tastes like.
Took it out and oven them tonite. It was YUM - rather seriously yummy!
Especially considering that I made the tomato sauce from scratch (well - with canned tomato, garlic, herbs, onion, salt, pepper, sugar and one leftover fresh tomato).
I was worried that the tomato sauce would be bland... but it totally wasn't!
Even without the fresh oregano and the buffalo mozzarella (which I omitted even though I bought them - cause at the last minute think that it has enough cheese in it already!)

By the way - if you're trying to cook more, one tip from me- get your knife sharpen.
It makes such a difference to cooking experience. TRUST ME!
I don't think I would have gone to the trouble of slicing the eggplant otherwise.
Totally feel that $25 cost to get Shanon's "beautiful" knives (says the knife shop lady) sharpened was worth every cents when I was slicing the tomatoes!

Back to the cooking - today since I've got my dinner pretty much all set - I had time to make salad while waiting for the oven time to be over for the eggplants.
This is probably the first proper salad I've made and yum - I love it. :)
Inspired by Jamie Oliver's Watercress, Rocket, Pear, Parmesan salad; with a bit of a twist from myself.
I added half table spoon of balsamic vinegar, omitted watercress (cant be bothered sourcing it), add a bit of salt and pepper, PLUS candied walnut (it ROCKS!).

It was VERY VERY VERY yummy.
Some parts of the pear should probably be omitted but other than that - YUMMO!
The sweetness of the candied walnuts, the peppery rocket lettuce, crispy juicy sweet pear, with yum parmesan taste, along with lemon and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
It works! :)

Last cooking before I go on my Skydiving training day (super scared of the thought of jumping off a plane and having to understand what I need to do) was banana and pecan muffin.This is yet another close repeat from my previous Banana Walnut muffin; but I try out a few different tweaks.
I change the recipe to make 2/3 of the original batch, but kept the amount of baking powder and egg (was hoping to get a fluffy muffin like the one I love).
Well to be honest, I wasn't very accurate on measurement this time around.
Didn't quite get it like that, but it still was pretty yummy.

I did have a few questions in mind during mixing the batter though.
What is it about the batter that makes the muffin that I like so much?
Definitely something worth finding answer to seeing I spend quite a bit of money on buying those. :P
(Well - not that I'm supposed to be eating them too often!)

Crispy muffin top and moist on the inside - perfect for brekky at 6 AM tomorrow.Good nite all!

Mid Way Through the Challenge...

2010-05-09T23:00:00.006+10:00

My second attempt at baked potatoes...
Pretty happy with the potatoes itself (crispy skin, soft and fluffy inside!) - perfect with the refried beans, cheese, beetroot, avocado, sour cream, served with coleslaw and grilled corn.
It was supposed to have Salsa sauce - but found out at the VERY last minute (nearly had to throw away half of the food if it wasn't for Shanon's sharp eyes) that it has gotten moldy... =(

Peanut Butter with Chocolate Cookies.
Lovely crispy textures - whipped out my hand whisker to beat the mixture for this one! :)
Still difficult to put that in the mouth without feeling guilty - because my brain registers the amount of brown sugar, butter and peanut butter that I dumped into the mixture.
Found it quite enjoyable to roll the dough into balls and flattening them onto the cookie sheet, ended up making a big batch of this (about 24 large cookies), so will bring it in to work and photo class tomorrow.

Basil and Tomato Mac Cheese.
Probably the dish I have repeatedly cooked the most number of times.
Can't help it though - it's nice and easy, always please the guests, generating small amount of dishes to wash! :)

Second attempt at Easy Peasy Lemonade Scone for welcoming the gals to my humble home. :)
Still not easy to roll out the dough (due to its stickiness) BUT found that separating them into messy chunks and then wash my hand before rolling the doughs into better ball shapes is much easier.
It also still managed to surprise me with its fluffiness (even though I was a bit worried because I left the dough out for a couple hours after rolling them before putting them into the oven).
Served with whipped cream (packaged) and the reliable St Dalfour raspberry jam, accompanied with the Harrods Tea that Lia brought over, plus latest goss - a rather nice way to spend Sunday afternoon!

Lovely week and great weekend (made awesome with the two Jazz Festival concerts that I went to being spectacular), but I'm so not ready for Monday... x(

The Challenge Continues...

2010-05-06T23:36:00.006+10:00

Recipes: Kitty's Bocconcino and Sausage Pasta Quick Weeknight Meals Recipe Contest 2009 | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn
This one was purely temptation through the photograph from the recipe!
Made this for Shanon's lunch on Wednesday and it was marked a keeper.
I haven't tried it myself as we went out to Caffe e Cucina Tue nite to celebrate the confirmation of Shanon's PhD Project - and then went out on Wed nite simply due to hunger pang! :)

Tonight I bought Olive and Feta Panini from Coles which I thought was quite yummy.
I oven-ed this to accompany tonight's dinner.
"Farmhouse Chicken" Masterfoods Casserole.
I added garlic, onion, broccoli, freezer rosemary, dried thyme and lotsa pepper.
Served it on a bed of Rigatoni.
I thought it was good with the warm bread and butter, but not convinced enough to cook it again...

How Far Do You Go To Avoid Being Judged?

2010-05-06T23:18:00.002+10:00

Just wondering...

What is the normal degree of sacrifice to avoid being judged a certain way?

There are times when I feel, well if that person take it to themselves to judge me incorrectly, too bad for them, it is their loss.
But this doesn't happen often enough.
Most of the time, I succumb to the society's judgement.

Silly ol' me.

Cause everyone wants different thing from you.
How am I going to keep everybody happy, especially when I can't keep myself happy?

Anywhooooo - I want to learn to do so a bit more.
Focus on the important things, like what makes me happy, what I want to do; and leave my insecurity behind.
As they are energy wasters!
They take away my brain and mind space that I could use for other much more useful / fun things!

What do you say?

A Distracted Mind

2010-05-05T06:16:00.000+10:00

What to do when your mind want anything and everything, but your body and schedule wouldn't allow for it?

This year feels very much so for me.
My mind craves anything and everything.
I see and hear LOADS of things that I want to discover, try out, do and pursue.
But - I waste my time not doing them or maybe I am doing some of them just not all of them.

The options to spend your time are limitless.
Information are overflooded (my Google Reader articles keep growing, my Instapaper account untouched, along with my library books).
The cooking challenge.
Finding the time for my sanity fix, Bikram Yoga.
I want to play The Sims 3!
I need to finish my post processing back log.
Argh! Where is the RESET button???

I'm struggling to cope with the demand of my mind.
My body wants to slow down but my mind keep speeding up.

Can somebody help me?

Sunday Triple Cooking!

2010-05-02T21:57:00.006+10:00

Got up and made what's supposed to be "All in One Oven Brekky" - inspired by Jamie Oliver, BUT it wasn't exactly "all in one".
I did used only one baking dish but I have to keep shuffling the ingredients in and out of the baking dish.
Was very happy with the potatoes with rosemary and garlic though - almost dining out yumminess level! :)

Then la la la until dinner time and I made LAKSA!
For the first time ever - instant spices, but still quite a bit of effort to juggle noodles, vegies and the seafood contents but it turns out delicious! :)

Ah Prima Taste Laksa Paste - you are definitely a keeper!
I especially love the sambal paste...
It's loaded with shrimp flavour - authentically delicious.

Last cooking for the day!
foodbeam » Un clapotement sur la vitre du rêve – Brownies fondants au cacao
Saw this recipe a while ago and kept them on my mobile - thought it was time to try it out.

I really liked the texture of this brownie... and it was a joy to make too - but the amount of sugar was way too much - will reduce it for next time! :)

Now its time to relax and enjoy whatever is left of my Sunday!
Adios!

Melbourne Zombie Shuffle 2010

2010-05-01T22:53:00.000+10:00

Facebook | Melbourne Zombie Shuffle 2010 was all "BRAINS" blast!

More photos here... 201005 Zombie Shuffle - a set on Flickr

Last Night's Dinner: Mascarpone & Tomato sauce over Tubular Spaghetti

2010-04-29T23:13:00.005+10:00

Recipes from Tomatoes and Mascarpone over Angel Hair Pasta | The CookMobile.
Minor alteration as per necessary...
Didn't have Angel Hair and been meaning to try my tubular spaghetti, which I thought was very cute! :)
I have no fresh basil left, so I used loads of dried parsley, a bit of dried oregano and quite a bit more of dried basil.
Added some chicken stock, pepper, salt and sugar for seasoning.
Served them with chopped sun dried tomato and sprinkles of Parmesan cheese, and it went down a treat.

Tonight I celebrated Thursday with dinner out at Da Noi..
It was as spectacular as it usually is really...
The Pumpkin Ravioli and Mushroom with scrumptious sauce just gives this fantastic flavour explosion when spooned into the mouth.
It was so good that I didn't even need dessert to satisfy me further.

Hmmm - bliss.

Tuesday Dinner: Salmon Pesto ala Jamie Oliver with Roast Vegetables

2010-04-27T22:27:00.002+10:00

I was semi following the recipe from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food... but I added some more garlic and basil while marinating and then added parmesan at the end.
Delicious!

The foil oven way of cooking salmon is definitely beautiful.
It was cooked all the way through and but not dry or over cooked in anyway.
Thanks Jamie! :)

The Quest for The Perfect Blueberry Muffin Recipe

2010-04-27T08:00:00.001+10:00

I'm a fussy muffin eater.
Not many places make the kind of muffin I like.
Almost crispy and crumbly over flowing split top, with cake moistness on the inside of the muffin.
It can't be too sweet, I dislike sugar tasting muffin, it should only taste sweet enough with the burst of blueberries helping it out.
It's only normal that I should try and bake my own!

I normally like the recipes and the look of food in Simply Recipes, but their Blueberry Muffins Recipe | Simply Recipes looks a bit too dry to me.
Similarly, Exclusively Food, is another one of my preferred recipe source, but the Exclusively Food: Blueberry Muffin Recipe looks a bit too sugary and crusty on the top.

*Sigh*

After a bit of Google-ing, I found these three recipes which features muffin that look similar to the ones I like.
The split top in 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures: Fiber One Blueberry Muffins Review and Giveaway is very convincing.
The cut version of the muffin in Sass & Veracity: Giant Muffins a la Joanne Chang displays the moistness and cake texture that I like.
The amount of blueberry in Gotta Little Space: Blueberry Muffins, Heartland Meatloaf & Week 2 Weight Loss seems perfect.

Here's another one that looks worth trying, bakingsheet: Cooking School: Bakery Style Muffins.

This particular blueberry muffin recipe, Add A Little Love: Blueberry Muffin with a Lighter Taste, is rather intriguing.
The muffin looks super fluffy.. could be an interesting different experience!

Time to schedule this into my cooking plan! :)

Monday: Microwave Brownie in a Mug

2010-04-26T23:19:00.007+10:00

Recipes from: Mug Brownie | Instructables

I only made half a serving (half all ingredients, except for water - added 2 tbsp by accident!)
I added 2 tsp of Ricotta cheese (leftover from hotcakes) and some chopped walnuts (leftover from banana maple walnut muffin).

My verdict? It's A pretty good chocolate fix within a few minutes.
But I don't know if it can be called brownie, it's more like a fudgey chocolate mix...
The calorie count as per stated in this website Evil-Microwave brownie in a cup Recipe is pretty scary!

Next time will try these 2 recipes instead, Cook & Eat: Tasty Photos and Recipes by Lara Ferroni (Food Photographer, Seattle Washintgon) » Blog Archive » Cup ‘o Brownie and Microwave Brownie Cupcakes «.

Sunday Friendly Dinner with Lia & Shanon

2010-04-26T01:14:00.003+10:00

Recently read somewhere about Puff Pastry Pizza and it got stuck in my head.
Finally try my hand on it tonight.

The topping was combination of what I love on pizzas, very basic vegetarian stuffs.
Tomato paste, dried rosemary, dried thyme, dried oregano, thinly sliced garlic, caramelised onion, bell pepper with feta, capsicum, mushroom, pizza plus cheese mix, fresh basil and last but definitely not least, bocconcini!
Delicious. With sprinkle of salt & pepper, and it's perfect!

The puff pastry came out a lot less crispier than I would have liked.
My fault entirely though - should have read the instructions
(Puff Pastry Pizza recipe - Best Recipes) better! :)
Will definitely try again. Loved the mix of flavour! :)

The coleslaw mix works pretty well with the pizza even if I say so myself.. ;P

G'nite!

Sunday's Brekky in Bed!

2010-04-26T01:08:00.010+10:00

Pssst... Don't try to arm wrestle with pâtisserie chef! I can only imagine their upper arm muscle from whipping egg whites! :P
Looks good, ey? *wink wink*
Well - I am definitely proud of the presentation.. :)

The hotcakes were made mainly with Bill Granger's Ricotta Hot Cakes recipe, with a bit of tweaks from this blog post, Ricotta Pancakes | Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, where necessary.

The verdict? Yummo! :D

Saturday Dinner: Spiced Creamy Tomato Chicken

2010-04-24T22:05:00.000+10:00

Recipe: Spiced creamy tomato chicken | Fig & Cherry

I cooked the rice with my cute little rice cooker and I added some coriander to the rice (when it's cooked and steaming hot).

I modified the recipe a little; added 3 more garlic cloves to it, 1.5 tsp of chicken stock, 2 tsp dried parsley, diced chunky mushrooms, a pinch of sugar, quite a bit of salt and pepper, and lots of coriander leaves.
The flavour is still a bit too subtle for me, Shanon liked it though.
But he reckon it needs another type of herb, funnily I was going to do so (on top of the parsley and coriander!) - the only thing is I don't know what works with coriander (just like oregano and thyme works really well together, or cinnamon and nutmeg!).
Next time will probably add capsicum or maybe sun dried tomato or maybe roasted diced pumpkin, and might try the healthy version (greek yogurt!).

With this challenge, I find that I have to continuously talk myself into following through with it.
Even when I had Friday off, I just couldn't find the time.
I suppose it does get a bit tricky, cause I'm cooking, eating and trying to control the intake at the same time.

I'm getting a bit better on being flexible with the menu plan though.
Plus the twice weekly grocery shopping works well.
The ingredient stays fresh until the time when I cook them.

Last night, I was going to make my Puff Pastry Pizza but Shanon didn't feel like Pizza - so we went out for dinner.
It's Saturday night, and I have two more cooking to do this week... Haizzzzz =(

To be fair, I gotta say - I'll choose France-Soir's Onion Soup and 200gr Steak + Pommes Frites + Salad over my cooking any day!
Hmmm doesn't say much, does it? I mean, if you know me - then you'll know that I always choose dining out over home cooked meal. What can I say? My dad passed on his preference to me very well...
Back to that yummy steak, I had mushroom sauce with it, only to saw someone else ordered this thick yellowy sauce which looks DELICIOUS!
So - I Googled and this blog post, We Do Chew Our Food: France Soir, South Yarra, French food (could you tell from the name?), tells me it is called "Béarnaise sauce".
Yes, not the most healthiest option but I simply have to taste it - so that will be my choice the next time I go! :)

Banana, Maple & Walnut Muffin

2010-04-24T21:30:00.006+10:00

Something special to brighten my gal pal's day! :)

Recipe from Karen Cheng's Snippets of Life » Blog Archive » Pear, Walnut and Maple Muffins.

I swapped pear with banana as I have a couple frozen ripe large banana (defrosted and mashed!). :)
I measured the cup of flour using my rice cup (i.e. about 170ml per cup) and that wasn't quite right.
I ended up with super moist muffin (especially out of the oven) - yummy - but perhaps need a bit more flour.
The addition of 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, a pinch of salt and a bit more walnut (cause i love it! :P) works very well though.
Plus, I added 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, a pinch of salt and a little more walnut than specified (cause i love it! :P).
The reduction of the maple syrup works too - as the banana is already very sweet. :)

I really enjoyed the muffin (so did Shanon, Lia and Charles!) - will definitely try again next time with 250ml cup measurement.

Considering this is the first time I make muffin from scratch (flour and all), I found it quite easy and enjoyable to do.
Resulting muffin are much better than the box ones and totally love the fragrant smell all around the house!

Yay!

PS: Don't know why I photograph the Vanilla Essence and Canola Oil in the first place.. :P They weren't used in the baking!

Tonight's Dessert: One Ingredient Ice Cream!

2010-04-22T21:50:00.003+10:00

Step-by-Step Instructions for One-Ingredient Ice Cream | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

For someone who loves mashed banana texture as much as I do, this is a perfect dessert.
The texture of banana was EXTREMELY creamy.
Lovely. Yum! :)

I added peanut butter and honey to try it out - but this wasn't that much of a hit with Shanon & Charles.
I still like it though. :P

G nite!

Tonight's Dinner

2010-04-22T21:41:00.003+10:00

Inspired by Salsa's Chicken and 5 Veg Burrito.. :)

Both Charles & Shanon thought this was really good... or so they say! :P
I too enjoyed it ;)

Digital Photography School Highlights

2010-04-20T23:57:00.002+10:00

I recently read these 3 articles and I found them VERY informative and useful.
Thought I should share! :)

Learning about Exposure – The Exposure Triangle - I especially like "The Window" metaphors! Explains a lot to me! :)

9 Tips for Getting Backgrounds Right - Especially the "Protruding elements from the subjects heads"! Interestingly, this was pointed out to me over and over again this past week by Liliana, Eddy, Glenn! :)

How should I clean my DSLR’s lens? - I have this black dot that I can see in my view finder, but not exactly visible in my images. I find it extremely annoying, but is it worth spending $77 for a CCD clean? Hmmmmm! I might try proper blower first...

Good nite!

Cooking #6 & The Challenge

2010-04-18T21:42:00.009+10:00

...
I've shamelessly told people about the cooking challenge, only to find out that, "In life, TIMING is EVERYTHING!"

I only managed to make five things this week and a cheat meal...Instant Noodle with Squid for Shanon's dinner tonight (yes, I'm lucky to have an understanding husband when it comes to food, unlike some people, me for example...) :P
I'm going to have to settle with that and try do better next week.

In my defense, I couldn't have picked any busier week, hence the "timing" quote.
Monday and Tuesday night, PSC class.
Wednesday and Thursday night, Bikram Yoga.
Friday night, the spectacular Ron Mueck at NGV with Shanon, Anna and Eddy.
Saturday, Bikram Yoga, snowboarding nearly final equipment hunt, photo session at Williamstown, dinner at Dainty.
Sunday, friends' pre-wedding full day photo session.

Geez - I miss the Bikram Yoga challenge days where my focus is only to make it to the class 6x a week.
Breathe...

Some lessons from this first week of cooking challenge:
1. Need to do two grocery shopping trips a week as the fruits/veges/fresh produces don't last the week, so I've decided to try and make it Saturday + Wednesday.
2. Should try and pile all unused veges and delicate herbs to soups or pasta sauce.
3. Pile on canned tomatoes at home, and stock chicken in the freezer!
4. Most importantly, I should have left LCM bar to the Kellog's. Gosh - it's messy (Psst.... I even started imagining how much of a nightmare it would be for a LCM bar making machine to explode and splat everything everywhere!!!!!)! Unable to eat them freely as I know the amount of sugar and fat that goes into this home-made bar, despite it tasting quite yummy. Plus, not sure how I'm going to give it to people as it doesn't exactly look tidy. Hmmmmm!5. Don't blog and tell everyone about a challenge in the beginning! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! :P

Complaints?
Well, it's very tricky to stick with the planned menu when taking into accounts my food brain.
It keeps thinking of something different to what I had planned out the Sunday before this week!

Cooking #5: LCM Bars!

2010-04-18T14:54:00.001+10:00

PS: Didn't end up using the Kit Kat in the end! :)

Thursday Nite Dinner

2010-04-18T13:52:00.002+10:00

Digital Socialising & My Photography

2010-04-16T18:46:00.001+10:00

Lately, as I'm typing up a blog post, tweet or post a Facebook status update, my mind wonders... what is my actual purpose of doing this.
It takes a bit of time to compose a blog post, and though it takes less time to tweet or post a Facebook status update, it still takes a bit of time from my days.

Am I just trying to voice my opinion?
Am I trying to contribute something to the world?
Or, am I under the illusion of contributing while really I just someone who can't stop rambling and hence hoping that someone is listening?
Or, actually... maybe I'm just trying to remember the things that happens in my world... Sort of like a wikipedia somewhat, but personalised to me.

Truth be told, it's probably mainly because of the last one.. (I still search my old blog for something that I know I've blogged about in the past, pardon my memory or lack thereof!).
Though, there is a little bit of the illusion of contributing to the world.
I'd like to think that I'm not the only lost soul who wants to contribute, but have difficulty finding the right path.

The funny thing is, there is a million people out there who's doing the same thing as me.
They blog, they tweet, they "facebook" constantly.
The difference I find is they actually take the time to respond to others' blogposts/tweets/status-updates.
Hence, it makes the circle of digital socialising continues.

How does that work?
How do they find the time to do all that, still have a job, socialised and do other things?
I'm struggling as it is with keeping up with my busy days, and even busier mind.

In today's life, we are constantly over-flooded with choices and distractions.
It's very difficult to keep up with every little thing in life that I am intrigued with or care about.
I think it's about time I let go of most of it and focus on something that has rather proven its potential to be the "right" path for me to contribute to the world.

Photography, yes it might not be the most noble contribution, but at least, my heart, mind and body genuinely care about it at the moment.
If I don't let myself get absorbed in it, I might never know if it is the right path. :)

Wish me luck.

Now, I'm sure it is confusing how I went from discussing Digital Socialising to Photography.
Unfortunately for me, that's how my mind works lately, it jumps around totally like a monkey! =X

But, there is actually a flow...

In taking photography on as a potential career, I need to start branding myself appropriately.
In today's digital world, it is pretty scary what people can find out about you at a click of a finger.
I am aware of that and I also realised how much of an impact that can have on my becoming a professional photographer.

Yes, I definitely do need to make some time (SOON) to develop consistency of information that people will find about me on the Google world.

If you are a blogger, how do you do it?
Do you really care about one topic?
What if you care about a few different ones?
Do you blog about all of them?
Or do you just pick one and ignore the rest?

Pssst, another note to self, think hard about "Quality over Quantity"!

In a World where Dream Comes True ...

2010-04-15T20:37:00.007+10:00

... I would look a bit like Ms. Audrey Hepburn,
-- Audrey Hepburn Official Site

and I would be dressed in these type of clothing everyday (neat, crisply ironed and looks new!),
-- ShopBop

and make lunch boxes like this for me and Shanon...
-- Just Bento | a healthy meal in a box: great bento recipes, tips, and more

and goes out to take photos all day long ...
... with plenty of inspiration from -- 40 Outstanding Examples of Conceptual Photography | Inspiration
- 25 Delicious Examples of Food Photography | Inspiration
- 40 Astounding Examples of Abstract Photography | Inspiration
Psssst - Yes, Photo Argus rocks!!!!!!!

or from ...
- tealilyphotography | sydney wedding and lifestyle photography
- Orange County photographer | Tara Whitney
- mattbell photography
- Local Flavor – Pictory

and goes back to a home a bit like this (which magically tidy and clean itself, looking uncluttered)...
-- Small Cool 2010: Kim & Scott's Easy Breezy Ooh La La Little Division # 11 | Apartment Therapy Chicago
and a bit like this...
-- Small Cool 2010: William's Open Space Little Division #13 | Apartment Therapy New York

in New York City of course, with a tunnel that opens up to Melbourne (high imagination is always a good thing for a photographer! :)) ...

then goes out to have dinner at Vue de Monde

or cook dinner at home which comes out looking like this
-- TasteSpotting
or
-- Photograzing: Share Your Favorite Food Photos and Find Inspiration!

Well - just a thought... :)

Wednesday Night Menu

2010-04-14T23:38:00.004+10:00

Had a lovely dinner with my brother and hubby. :)

Plus, the brownies were a hit! :D Nearly gone! :)

La la la joy! 3 more cooking left this week! :D

Tuesday Night Menu

2010-04-14T00:13:00.009+10:00

Tonite after class, I went to Coles, did my grocery shopping and then bake the Jamie Bloomin Brilliant Brownies and cook Nasi Goreng for tomorrow's lunch. Cooking 1 & 2 ticked!

Photos below...

Craving Mascarpone Cheese

2010-04-13T21:25:00.004+10:00

Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cheese made from milk which has been amended with cream, so that it has a very high butterfat content. The resulting cheese is very rich, creamy, and spreadable; the precise texture varies from very soft, like crème fraîche, to more stiff, like butter, depending on how it is handled during the cheesemaking process. This cheese is native to the Lombardy region of Italy, where it is used in both desserts and savory foods.
-- from Wisegeek.

Not so long ago, I tried out Bruschetta smeared with Mascarpone Cheese in Ecco, one of my favorite Italian pizza/pasta restaurant and I fell in love.
A few weeks after that, I had Tiramisu Cake at Chappelis and again, the mascarpone was finger-licking good!
Then I watched Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef and he talked about the creaminess, the richness, the ommppphh that mascarpone give to a baked fruit dish (see this thread!).

Because my brain has been clogged up lately with constant flow of thoughts / tasks / lists to be processed, my mascarpone craving realisation only comes through today.

Now that the realisation is there, I googled and found a few recipes loaded with mascarpone for one of the cooking challenge week. Here we go...
- Easy Tiramisu Recipe | Food | Channel4.com
- Chicken With Pesto And Mascarpone Recipe - Taste.com.au (swapping Pancetta with caramelised onions ***)
- Orzo with Green Garlic and Mascarpone; Green Garlic - Thyme For Cooking, the Blog (Orzo = Risoni = Rice shaped pasta)
- Once upon a cakestand...: mascarpone lasagne for the lazy cook (swapping ham with honey chicken slices and caramelised onions ***)
- strawberry-mascarpone filled cupcakes « A Nutritionist Eats

Also, here's a few non mascarpone recipes worth noting down which I stumbled upon while google-ing mascarpone cheese...
- The Sweet Kitchen: fusilli with roasted veggies and mozzarella;
- Erbe in cucina - Ricetta: Pasta alla carbonara vegetariana;
- Totally Addicted To Taste: Best Ever Italian Meatballs with Simple Tomato Sauce;
- Jamie Oliver’s Dan Dan Noodles « Spatula, Spoon and Saturday;
- Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lava Cakes - JENIUS
- and Asparagus soup recipe (creamy asparagus soup with poached egg on toast) | Soup recipes & starter recipes | Jamie Oliver recipe.

Happy Cooking & Eating!

*** If you don't eat red meats like my hubby, read this article Tea & Cookies: Bacon of the Vegetarian World!

Is It a Hobby or Potential Career?

2010-04-13T21:10:00.001+10:00

How do you go about changing from being a student or merely hobbyist to becoming a professional photographer?

Where is the line?

If you are also a blogger, does the audience wants to be a part of that journey, or would they respect and appreciate you more with the learning stage remains a mystery?

Cooking Challenge Week 1

2010-04-12T21:51:00.002+10:00

This week marks the beginning of the cooking challenge for me. It's a bit of a rush and I am already feeling non-committal about it from thoughts of difficulty to keep this up for 8.5 weeks. But then I thought if I don't start it, it will only get more and more difficult as I'm trying to progress with my love of photography. Who knows? Perhaps the time constraint during this challenge might help in improving my efficiency in cooking time & effort.

What is the challenge?
I'm signing up to make time to prepare 6 meals or snacks at home on a weekly basis for 60 days (with the hope that it will grow to become a habit).

Why am I doing this?
Mainly so that I get used to prepare my meals and eat at home more (hmmm - yes, me and Shanon currently eat out almost every dinner!). I suspect that I'll also learn to eat (somewhat) healthier cause I know each of the ingredients hence, know what I'm putting into my body. I'm also hoping for the potential added benefit of spending less money on daily meals (and then we can use the money to repeat the spectacular Vue de Monde experience :)).

My planned menu for this week is as follows...
- Chocolate Walnut Brownies (Jamie Oliver's recipe w Karen Cheng's twist);
- Nasi Goreng with Indofood spice packet (yes, I know sounds a lot like cheating, but I'm still chopping up vegies and fry eggs, plus I've never actually cooked fried rice before! :P);
- Japapanese Curry Katsu with packet Japanese curry mix (similar to this recipe here) serve with frozen ready made crumbed chicken (oven!) and garlic roti prata
- Smoked Salmon Asparagus Pesto Spaghettini with jarred; pesto and packet smoked salmon (can't remember where I get the recipe from..);
- Home made LCM bars (Simple Savings' Recipe!);
- Puff Pastry Pizza with ready made puff pastry, bocconcini, basil, semi dried tomato and caramelised onions. Something in between of Thin Crust Italian Pizza with Bocconcini Cheese and Sundried Tomato and Bocconcini, Tomato And Black Olive Tart Recipe - Taste.com.au.

I'll try to remind myself to take photos of the ingredients and the finished products before I devour them.
Wish me luck!

Lust

2010-04-06T23:38:00.002+10:00

A friend brought in Dazed & Confused to the PSC class tonite and allow me the opportunity to meet my new lust in that Über cool magazine.

Without further ado, let me I introduce you to ...

"the Viktor & Rolf designer house"

Thanks to Viktor And Rolf's Surrealist Gowns...Perfect For The Red Carpet? - Magazines at Refinery29.com for the images.

!!!!!
Aren't those dresses SIMPLY SPECTACULAR or what?
Those colours are also totally up my ally!
MMmmmm... I so wish I could touch the dresses, and if they are for eating purposes, I would imagine they taste extremely scrumptious.
"Viktor & Rolf", you might just beat Chocolate Soufflé to the top of my desire list!

Some more links on their gorgeous design (just because I can!)...
- Viktor & Rolf Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review
- Viktor & Rolf Spring 2009 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review
- Viktor & Rolf RTW Fall 2010 - WWD.com
- Viktor & Rolf Resort 2010 Collection on Style.com: Runway Review
- Viktor & Rolf Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Thanks to Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer Ready-to-wear 2010 Paris « The X File of Yulya X's Fashion World for the images.
Not too sure why, but I've recently gotten more and more addicted to "expensive" clothing.
Luckily, the addiction only goes as far as looking at them - so far anyway...
Can't quite afford to be addicted of buying them if I am considering career swap.
Even if I don't consider it, I'm not quite confident that I will be making use of those expensive designer clothing correctly.

Btw - the clothing pieces in ShopBop are rather yummy too, but not comparable to "Viktor & Rolf".... :)

Post #100: The Cooking Challenge

2010-03-31T20:00:00.001+11:00

A couple weeks ago I went to watch Jamie Oliver Live in Hi-Sense Arena show.
Since then, I have gotten rather addicted to his style of cooking.
The fact that he's good looking helps I suppose.

I've started watching The Naked Chef (the first season).
I've also watched the New York episode of Jamie's America show.

He's one charming person and he just seems to have so much fun when he's cooking.
I almost get jealous that he gets to cook (well - that's until I realised that I too get to cook, if I want to! :P)

Anyhow, a while ago I talked about cooking challenge.
I think it's about time I get on to it.
I plan to start it on the 12th April (post Easter craziness), which means that it will finished the week of 20th Jun.
Same rules as Bikram Yoga challenge, one cooking a day, 6 days a week, which can be made up with double, triple or quadraple cooking a day when necessary.
Cooking can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, but heating up food doesn't count.

A few really good recipes that I'm already dying to try out:
* Fig and Cherry's Spicy Creamed Chicken
* jamie o's roast chicken with lemon and rosemary roast potatoes
* jamie o's roasted chicken breast with cherry tomatoes and asparagus
* jamie o's pasta peperonata
* jamie o's stuffed french toast
* jamie o's fresh asian noodle salad
* jamie o's three cheese risotto
* Taste's Tangy Thai chicken salad

Some other things that I can't stop thinking about!
* Chicken / Duck Sausage Roll
* Bill Granger's Ricotta Pancake
* Blueberry Muffin (those cafe style ones that I love, with the split top!)
* Lemon Cheesecake
* Banana Bread?
* Jamie O's Naked Chef's recipes: the bread? the lemon tart? the oven fruit?
* More recipes from my Jamie O's or Nigella's or Gordon's or Bill's cookbooks!

Hmmmmmm - yummmmmmmmmmmm.... :D I'm excited!
I imagined it would be fruitful, and somewhat fun. :)

PSC Weekend Workshop

2010-03-28T23:21:00.008+11:00

Time flies!
Can't believe that I'm in my 8th week of PSC course and that the weekend workshop has come and gone.
The weekend workshop was leaded by Colin Wiseman and hosted in 2 different locations, the cute little town of Hurstbridge and Royal Botanics Garden.

The workshop started early on Saturday morning, with the meeting point being a small homey building in Hurstbridge at 8:30 AM.
Colin introduced himself and charmed some of us with his vibrant personality.
He shared his knowledge, experience, tips and tricks on photojournalism.
He repeatedly emphasized on the importance of realizing that when our subjects are people, we can't just "take" photographs.
That a successful people photo session would normally involve "sharing" of passions or interests.
It was definitely a point well made and I can see how the connection between subject and photographer will create the "spark" in the photograph.

Anyway, at the end of the first briefing session, we were asked to go out and shoot with one or two "photo essay on Hurstbridge village", made up of 12-18 photographs to be submitted.
Glenn's article on The Photo Essay and The Environmental Portrait definitely helps getting my head around the concept.
I also found Colin's tips on asking people for permission prior to photographing them very delightful.
(It was a big change from sneaking a shot!)
However, I keep forgetting about the photo essay as I was wandering around this town (a totally new and exciting area for me) with the camera close to my heart!
(Not very good, because I found out later that we're supposed to submit the assignments on Sunday!!!)

We caught up again for a super delicious lunch (made by Joseph, the PSC awesome caretaker) and then we were briefed session for the second assignment, "Landscape Photography".
We had to shoot 6-9 photographs and write a small summary as to describe the landscape and how we feel about it.
He explained that how we should do the same as people photography, i.e. we have to "be there", in the present and let the landscape "talks" to us before we photograph it.
It was quite funny in some ways, but I do get what he's trying to tell us.
(Yes, I also think I've gone crazier since I joined this course!)

I found this landscape photography even trickier, the trees and foliage are just simply not talking to me!!! Grr!! :P
And before I know it, it was dinner time, which was again absolutely delicious.
To wrap up, he played a documentary titled "War Photographer" which I found quite striking, but he stopped it 3/4 of the way through. Grrrr!!! (Note to self: Hire the DVD!)
Thankfully, Joseph, being the food saint that he was during the Saturday, offered us coffee right before the documentary was played.
I wouldn't have watched it properly otherwise.

I got home about 10:30 that night and watched an episode of Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef to relax, then had some thoughts on James Nachtwey, so I Google-d him.

“The worst thing is to feel that as a photographer I’m benefiting from someone else’s tragedy. This idea haunts me. It’s something I have to reckon with every day because I know that if I ever allow genuine compassion to be overtaken by personal ambition, I will have sold my soul. The only way I can justify my role is to have respect for the other person’s predicament. The extent to which I do that is the extent to which I become accepted by the other and to that extent I can accept myself.”

An excellent example of how passion can help make us into an interesting and inspiring character.

Sunday arrived and we were to meet up in the Botanical Garden at 8:30 AM.
I left home at about 8 and bumped into a friend on the way there.
She's never been, so she asked if I know where it is and I said confidently that we'll find it, but as expected, I dragged her around the garden for half an hour before finally finding Gate H at 9:10 AM. Sigh! :P
Colin briefed us with another "Landscape Photography" assignment, it is still 6-9 photos, but this time they should all share a theme.

Not sure if it was because I had a good nite sleep or if it's because I'm on a familiar ground, I found this assignment a lot easier.
I had lots of fun taking photos in the Botanical Garden (despite the compounding itchiness from previous day's and today's insect bites).
I started my walk with the opportunity to see ducklings close up. Very exciting!
Then, I just keep wondering about, sometime on my own, sometime with a few people.
It was very relaxing and enjoyable.

At lunch time, we were told to go back to PSC and again we were fed with Joseph's fabulous cooking before we get to start working on our images for the submission.
This was when I realised that we are to submit the images today! OMG!
We were "forced" to take the afternoon tea break between filtering our potential submission shots and actually post processing them.
(Forced? Yes, Colin had to practically shoo us out of the lab for both lunch and afternoon tea. He locked the room too!!! A bunch of passionate people? Or competitive? :D)
Luckily, Colin is one reasonable fella.
He said as long as we submit one of the photoset, we can work on the other two and submit them by Tuesday.

So I crossed my fingers hard and started reviewing my images from the St Andrews Market.
Thankfully, I had enough photos to make up the photo essay (somehow...).

It's definitely an interesting experience.
Shooting photographs to a brief is indeed very challenging.
Taking great shots to my liking when I want is quite different to creating a photograph to suit my need in an environment that I don't have control over.

Anyway, here's the three photosets I've submitted for the assignments.

Photo Essay: St Andrews Market.

Landscape 1: Hurstbridge Horse Practice Ground

Landscape 2: Small Flowers

I'm happy with them, but I know that I have a lot to improve on. :)
What do you think?

Today's Thought on Photography

2010-03-20T11:48:00.003+11:00

I'm starting to think that...
"To truly develop my eyes for great photograph, I have to let go of my OCD desire to take stock of everything."

Going through my backlogs photos to clean up crappy shots, I find myself holding on to images needlessly.
No one cares about it (not even me if I really think about it).
I justify keeping it by thinking that it will remind me of the event/venue/details, but I should stop trying to remember everything through photographs (unless I wanna do documentary photography?).
Because that second/minute/hour I spend on taking that shot, filtering out or post-processing that image, I could really use to compose a spectacular image or post-processing another amazing image instead.

My Two Cents ...

2010-03-16T22:57:00.008+11:00

... on relationship with food
Most girls (at least those I know) complaints about weight management (either just internally in their mind, or actual physical issue).
Perhaps it's because most of my friends love food as much as I do, or perhaps it's because we can't help but compare ourselves to others.
Some worry about it to an extreme, some others worry secretly while pretending that they don't care at all and some to a good level (is there such thing?).

To me, my weight (or more so the way my clothes fit) plays a major role in setting the tone of the day.
When I wake up or go to bed with chubby belly, I get very annoyed.

Yes, I realised that I probably spend too much time measuring, worrying, thinking and talking about this.
It's tiresome really, especially for me.
I want to put it away and let it rest once and for all.
I wish for my relationship with food/weight is like my relationship with money.
Good and controlled most days, with small amount of bad for the sake of fun.

About two years ago, I decided to deal with my weight problem.
It wasn't easy, but once I gathered my willpower and get into the rhythm of it (sticking to a planned calorie intake), the weight just keep falling off (Big thanks to the Hacker's Diet).

At the start, I got big rush and excitement from the way my clothes getting loose.
When I get to where I wanted to be, I revamped my wardrobe.
I cleaned out old items, bought new things with plans for them to stay in the wardrobe.
Honestly, that is the hardest part.

I'm a practical person.
I'm all for comfort and time efficiency.
I don't put on make up for it's too much hassle.
I got my hair done in such a way that I don't have to do much about it on a daily basis.
I laser-ed my upper lip and under arms to not have to worry about waxing or shaving.

While I used to enjoy buying things, I've come to realisation that I love minimalism and simplicity MORE than the temporary excitement from getting new things.
Though I gotta admit, I still fall into this trap - sometimes.

Hence, not having to worry too much about what to wear anymore changes everything.
I fell in love with the ability to 'just pick something from the wardrobe, put it on and walk out comfortably and confidently.'
The only problem is - weight maintenance is NOT easy. Seriously.
When compared, it made weight loss seem like a walk in the park. Grrrrrr!

The thing is - I still love my food a bit too much and I still have an awkward relationship with it.
I haven't dealt with it properly.
I still reach out to food for comfort (even though I know it's a TEMPORARY comfort) when I'm stressed or tired or sad.
When my belly feels uncomfortable (I have some bloat issue which I haven't quite figure out why), I reach out to food (which is stupid cause its probably the culprit).
When I feel yucky cause I overeat, my brain send signal telling me to eat more, but different thing.
WTH?? You must think I'm crazy. I know many people do. I sometimes think so too. LOL :D

Anyway - I'm sick of this.
I want to deal with it and get rid of the issue.
I need to!
I want to be able to maintain my weight EFFORTLESSLY (and perhaps lose a little bit more.. if I'm lucky).
Not with lots of planning, counting calories and watching what I eat. I'm sick of that too.
Others seem to be able to do it. Why not me?

I do Bikram Yoga 3x a week.
It's 90 minutes exercise in a hot room and it helps make me feel great, awake and healthy.
But that alone is obviously not enough when I continue to eat like a pig.

So, armed with the incentive of practicality from having a wardrobe which fits my body now; I'm on the lookout for weight maintenance tips.
Anyone?

... on being a creature of habit
I am a typical creature of habit.
I go to the same restaurants (most of the time) and eat the same meals (I have favorites from most places).
When my hair need a fix, I go to the same hairdresser (have been for the past 5 years).
When I go back to Jakarta, I have a list of to-eat to-do to-go which don't really change much over the past 10 years.
I listen to the same songs again and again when I first like them.
If something works, I just keep going back for the same thing.

Every now and then I shake thing up a little bit, try something new, but mainly, I just stick with the same thing. :P

For example, the photography course (especially the artsy part of it) shake thing up big time for me.
It works on my "creativity" side which I am not quite sure on the existence, which is great.
But it has forces me to open my eyes and look around.
I'm starting to see all these events and venues to attend and visit in Melbourne.
Oh yes, I'm pretty lucky to live in Melbourne.

So - I thought - I should really utilise this and work on building up the habit of grocery shopping and meal planning.
Hmmm - there's a thought.

... on Facebook
The creature of habit thing is probably how I got addicted to Facebook.
When I'm bored or doing nothing, I go on Facebook and check people's statuses, or photos, or profile.
After a while, when I'm idle, my mind naturally wanders off to Facebook.
Which is kinda sad.

So I have imposed a self-ban from accessing Facebook as of 11 AM this morning.
By this time at night, I have thought of logging in and check whats going on Facebook over 30 times.
Pretty scary to realise that.

It is a lot of wasted time if you ask me.
Especially when I keep claiming that I'm busy and don't have time for anything.

I realized the potential of it being a great (not to mention free) marketing tool and allow easy networking ability.
But to be checking it as often as I did, is NOT a good thing.
So - yes, I'm banning Facebook for 2 weeks to work on other more useful things instead.

In conclusion,
Yes - I know I should probably spend my time worrying and talking about global issues, poverty, global warming, etc.
But, I've learned it's easier to contribute and help other when you're at peace with yourself.
So, that's where I start, working on being at peace with myself.

Recent Learnt Lesson on Photography

2010-03-16T07:20:00.005+11:00

After ignoring Histogram for a while, I finally did a bit of reading about it and was pleasantly surprised to learn a tip on "Exposure Compensation" along the way.
I read DPS: Understanding Histograms and Mark David's article too.
Both good, well written; one simpler than the other, which is where I gladly started with and it works! Especially for someone who's been avoiding it (i.e. me!) thinking that it is way TOO complicated. :)

But - now I know!
"Left is black, right is white."
If the graph is too much on the left side, it indicates possibility of an underexposed image while if the graph is too much on the right side, it's an overexposed image.
YAY!

How does this relate to Exposure Compensation, you might ask?

Hmm - I know when to use the +/- button, BUT I've always struggled to remember how to use it (i.e. whether to do a '+' or a '-' to correct my next shot).
So I ended up gambling on the next shot, try a '+' and see if the image is corrected, if not, I go the '-' way.
Which isn't a bad thing for casual shots I suppose, but I'm sure I've missed "moments" because of this (thankfully NOTHING significant yet - or as far I know).

Anyway - every time I mentioned this to Eddy (my Visual Weekly partner), he always said it's because Nikon is silly, it does it the other way.
But I never quite get it.
What does he mean by Nikon doing it the opposite way?
Now, I FINALLY understand!!! :D

If the graph in the shot's Histogram is too much to the left, the Exposure Compensation we would do as a logical photographer (who read Histogram...) is to turn the dial to the right, because we want to move the graph towards the right side.
But, on Nikon SLRs, if you underexposed an image (i.e. graph mainly on the left side), you need to actually turn the dial to the left (hence the opposite of a natural logical thinking way!).
Whilst turning the dial to the right with +/- button pressed down actually darken the next shot (moving the graph a bit towards the left side (the black area)!).

It is such a relief to finally understand this! :)
Whether or not it makes me a better photographer, I don't know - but hey, I'm learning!
Plus, I really have to wait till the next time I take shots which needed Exposure Compensation to find out whether this is sticking in my brain (I have extreme selective memory issue).
I hope it does! (If it doesn't, I can just keep on reading this until it sticks.) :P

Then, while being contemplating whether or not I should:
- get a Monitor Calibrator (I did! Come to think of it, perhaps more because of peer pressure that I created myself than actual knowing why I need them.),
- get an external flash (Not yet! I'm going to try out DIY Pop Up Flash diffuser first, see link 1 and link 2),
- get a reflector (I probably will - I do like the resulting photograph from using this, the trouble is - I need someone else to hold this for me!),
- get a tripod (Probably? When I earned enough $ from photography!);
a guy at Digital Photography School Forum pointed me to a post by David duChemin from Pixelated Image.

Photographers - (amateurs or professionals) - make sure you read the "Confessions of a So-Called PRO" and then JUST!: "I'm only an amateur".
They are really well written and refreshing!
It makes me realise that I love photography (i.e. taking photos and making them look nice), everything else comes 2nd (especially how I go about doing it and what gear I have!).

Have a good day, peeps!

A "DOUBUTSU URANAI" Note From Lia

2010-03-11T12:49:00.003+11:00

pia
20/09/1982

You are Red Tiger who is friendly and cheerful person.
You tend to be straight forward, and are kind and generous to others.
Generally speaking you are philanthropist, and you possess feminine attraction that makes men turn around.
When you are young, you have gentle and pure atmosphere, but as you get older, you start to show individuality.
Your personality will turn into someone who likes taking care of people, tolerant, and bold.
Unlike your friendly outlook, you have rational mind, and can even observe your parent objectively and coolly.
You don't like to be adventurous, and prefer to lead consistent life.
But you hold great ideals.
You don't try to act actively, and keeps your own pace.
You are not influenced by emotions, and can live life with perseverance.
Your weakness is that you tend to be inconsistent and lack responsibility.
You can stand on top of people and look after the others.
You have great talent in making the atmosphere lively and cheerful.
You dislike being given instructions and told what to do.
After getting married you will create a warm family, but you will still like to work outside too.

Quick - check yours out at DOUBUTSU URANAI!

Transition Phase Approach

2010-03-11T07:10:00.000+11:00

I've been wondering, in this current world where one's status updates are widely publicised on a regular basis, how best can I make the transition from taking photographs as a hobby to doing it to generate income?

Me+Photography and Melbourne Events

2010-03-09T07:04:00.005+11:00

On the first topic, to be honest, I struggle a little to pick up this new language.
Lots to take on, to read, to do and work on.
I'm still enjoying it but do feel quite challenged at times (which is good I suppose!)
Then again, maybe I am trying to soak my feet in pace that is a bit too fast.

Signing up for the PSC course was a really good decision.

The course opens up my horizon quite a bit and keeps my head/mind in the photography field.
The classes are mostly fun and interesting .
The 10 images a week submission and the portfolio forces me to be proactive in thinking about Melbourne events to photograph.
It exposes me to the work of the brilliant photographers in the world.
It forces me to start looking at photography as "art", building the "design elements" and "quality over quantity" mindset in me.

I admit, there is a bit of pressure coming from the workload (combination from classes, tasks and assignments).
Outside of the course, I'm also working on the business plan for this hobby of mine.
As part of the business plan, I wanna put together a portfolio of my best shots.
Then, there is the planning for photo shoot session.
On top of it all, I still have my usual day to day activities; i.e. work, bikram yoga, catch ups, house errands, etc.

But, it's all good!
Cause, hey, who knows, perhaps in a year or two, I can finally call myself a Full Time Photographer! :)
Or maybe three years, like gorgeous lady at TeaLilyPhotography (her photographs are beautiful!).
Now, that would be a step towards making my dream (see About Me) come true, wouldn't it?

Anyways, if you're like me, in Melbourne and are looking for events to photograph or scrumptious food to eat (because I love them!) or just random things to do, here's a few websites that you should check out!
- MELBOURNE: HOT OR NOT especially its Marvellous March Events Calendar 2010 page!
- That's Melbourne: What's On page
- Chapel St Event Calendar, mmm because I live near Chapel St? :) And, Tastes of Chapel is on from 5th to 19th March!

If you're a circus person, have a look at NICA too!
That's on my list to photograph! :)
And I'm curious about this NGV Art Bus thing (see HOT: NGV Artbus to the Yarra Valley (Part 1) – Yering Station | MEL: HOT OR NOT)! Where do I sign up???

Cheerio!

My Food Trail: Easy Peasy Lemonade Scone

2010-03-01T23:25:00.008+11:00

A few weeks ago, one of my colleague have this brilliant idea (seem so at the time!) to brighten up our Tuesday morning meeting by making us take turns to bake something for the meeting.
Once you've baked something, you get to pick someone else to do it.
There is the scoring at the end of consumption of the baked goods too (as if the baking has not create enough pressure)!

Craig, whom I thought was unlucky first (turns out I was wrong - as usual) impressed us with baking sausage rolls and bringing them in complete tomato sauce, napkins, cutlery, and paper plates.
It was yummy and the pastry was carved with the company's abbreviated name!!!
Not a good thing for the rest of the team - he had definitely set the standard high.
(He's still leading the bake off competition.)

The week after, Mick came in with raspberry and white chocolate muffin.
It was a bit too oily - but the white chocolate and raspberry semi made up for it.
Plus, I love my brekky muffin! :P
That week I decided that when it comes my turn, I'll bake banana bread.
I've made them once and I quite like it.
I also know that you can't go wrong with banana-anything for brekky!

But Ruth, the girl Mick chose to bake for the following week, brought in banana bread. !!!!
Any fools know that you shouldn't offer the same thing as someone else unless you're certain your version is better and I'm definitely no baker.
So my banana bread plan went pffftttt and I start looking for backup plan.

Last week, Dylan brought in red velvet cupcake, which looks stunning - but I missed out cause I was busy chilling and munching Jessy's cooking in Hamilton Island.
When I got back and check my email, hmm guess what, he picked me to do it this week!
!!!! x(
Oh well - it has to be done sometime. :)

With no definite backup plan and time restriction (my PSC class finishing at 9 PM so I get home about 9.40 - if I'm lucky!), I need to make something that is simple, but yummy and most importantly, risk-free.
I remembered printing out Rilsta's "Easy Peasy Lemonade Scone" a while ago.
I went to my recipe stash and think, yup, this is it.
Smart choice, Shelvia (pat on the back). Well, that's before I got to Step #3! :P

Step #1 and #2 was easy peasy alright.
Step #3 was horrible. (Yes - I'm a total noob!)
The dough fully stick to my hands (hence - no actual picture of #3, just the mess it created :P)!
Desperate, I chose to move on to step #4 (remembering from my previous scone experience that if I knead them too much they will become hard!), but I just couldn't get my doughs to resemble anything like Rilsta's nicely rolled dough.
My dough stayed looking like Rilsta's picture in step #3!
*The worrying began...*
(Sigh - I don't have a backup plan and it was getting late! I wanna work on photos from the PSC class! Grrr!)

Deep Breathe.... 1, 2, ...
Fiuhh - OK - drop the worry - keep working on it.

So I start assembling my weird dough (definitely not smooth!) on the baking tray.
Tried to use my scone cutter, but it is just not working so use hands instead.
When I nearly finished assembling the dough, it hits me that ....
Hmmmm - I probably should have flour-ed my palms!!!
A-Ha! That's it!
Wash hands, powder-ed my palms, go back to those weird dough and rolled them properly. *Big grin on my face!*

Fiuhhhh - now it start to look a little like Rilsta's picture in Step #5, except that mine is not that evenly split between the doughs.
Some are small and some are big.
That's OK, it's part of the fun. :P

Voila! :)

Now, pop them in the oven.
Time to clean up and cross my fingers until the 15 minutes timer *ding*.

1.. 2.. 3 minutes pass by...
15 minutes... *DING* - (I had to turn it sideways once, because my oven isn't evenly heated) - tasting time!!!!

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! It looks decent.
First bite? I had it just as it is (yes, a bit on the bland side), cause my jam is in the office already.
But the texture, wow, I like! :)

Now, let's hope my colleagues agree and give me high scores!
Cause there are 2 Gold Class tickets + $50 food voucher at stake. :)

Photos:
If I can do it, I promise you can! :)

Thanks so much to Rilsta from My Food Trail. Really appreciated the recipe, the help and the prompt response to my baking newbie questions. :) Thank you, thank you, thank you!

G nite all!

Update 2nd March 2010: Colleagues like it! :) Yay Yay Yay!

The Next Big Thing

2010-02-26T07:15:00.002+11:00

The Bikram Yoga challenge is officially over and done with for me. (YAY!!!)
I was considering moving on to the 60 day cooking challenge straightaway.
But then I realised that my head isn't exactly there, it's deep in photography.
The 3 day trip with the gals gave me a chance to work on my photos (both post-processing and shooting), which makes me want to do more.

Now, between organizing photo walks and events to feed the Visual Weekly entries and 10 shots to bring in to PSC class weekly;
6 hour weekly PSC classes;
attending different events to give me better chance to take different styles of photos;
post-processing my backlogs of photos;
and other errands/routines/work-stuffs that I have,
I'm left with literally not much time to breathe and rest (and mmmm.. the fact that I use the time to constantly munch doesn't really help =P).

Oh well!
It's all good.
I am excitedly counting down the days to these events in which I'll be practising my photography skill, i.e.:

Melbourne Food & Wine 2010: Heat Beads Hawkers Market - which I'm attending with Lia & Shanon

LMFF (L'oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival)

Jamie Oliver Live Session in HiSense Arena - which I'm attending with Gemma & Franca

The PSC photography field trip is getting closer (last weekend in March!)

Plus - there is likelihood (fingers crossed) that I'll be doing pre-wedding photo shoot with Eddy in a month time (first weekend in April!)

With all those in mind, I really should put time and effort in properly setting up my photography business plan / setup.

Hmmm... Thoughts? Suggestions? Tips/Tricks? Help?

Life Dynamism and the Joy it Brings

2010-02-19T18:38:00.007+11:00

I woke up feeling loved, full of joy and refreshed.

Perhaps it's because I went to bed a little early last night (about 11 PM).
Or perhaps, it's because I only have one more Bikram Yoga session to go before I complete the challenge and I've been doing complete 26 poses the past 2 classes (!!! :)).
Or perhaps, it's because I'm flying to Hamilton Island on Sunday?
Or perhaps, it's because the book that I've been embarrassedly reading (will talk about this when I'm ready to reveal it :P I've had to hide the cover when reading on the train, but boy - this book is good and explains a lot!!).

Well, back to the feelings, I can't quite pinpoint on any of it, and I don't want to.
I chose to savour every second of the joy instead of working out why.

I had a quite a lot to go through and get done at work today.
I was even looking forward to that!

The past couple of years, my life has changed in so many ways.
I too have changed in many different ways.
2010 is turning out to be an amazing year and I hope it will continue being so.
Things are falling into places, and when they don't, it doesn't matter, because I know that I can deal with them if and when I want to.

It helps that I have clear understanding of what is important to me.
The other part of the equation is the realisation that I make the decision.
Yes, that's right.
No one else but me, can choose to pursue what is important, or not, to me.
The power is totally within me.

Making the choices to pursue things that are important to me, have totally changed my days.
Investing my heart and mind completely in them makes me feel very much at peace.
Of course, I have to tribute the regular Bikram Yoga practice.

About the challenge, I am already starting to miss the daily calming dosage that I've been taking and the cleansed balanced feeling that I have constantly been left with after the class.
Yes, there is no reason why I can't continue going often.
But, I know that it will not be the same.
Because there is no drive to force myself to go when I don't feel like it, which often turns out to be the best sessions!
All in all though, it has been a very rewarding experience and I am very glad that I completed it.

Have a lovely weekend, my peeps!

This post was inspired by Karen Cheng's Snippets of Life's writing on Living with Style and Spirit.

When You're Down, Is It True that A “Treat” Will Cheer You Up?

2010-02-18T07:55:00.000+11:00

"So when you find yourself thinking, “I’ll feel better after I have a few glasses of wine…some ice cream…just one cigarette…a new pair of jeans,” ask yourself – will it REALLY make you feel better? Or is it likely to make you feel worse, in the long run?"

Taken from The Happiness Project: Happiness Myth No. 5: A “Treat” Will Cheer You Up.

I definitely relate to her statement of "skipping a little duty feels like a “treat” for a minute, actually, I cheer myself up more by doing the things I know I ought to do".

The Road to Recovery

2010-02-17T17:59:00.001+11:00

After all that good couple of months focusing on the Bikram Yoga challenge, I gotta admit that I haven't been on my best behaviour the past few days.
I've been eating badly (all sorts of junk food) as if it's that time of the month (and it isn't!!!), wasting away my precious time on Facebook or mindless web browsing with no purpose, over dosing myself on low quality chocolates/sweets and many more other bad things.

Being away from Yoga practice for the past 4 days (2 days at Nagambie and 2 evenings in PSC classes) haven't helped the way I feel either.

I'm convinced that I'm an addict.
Of what?
Of Facebook, junk food, anything that is bad for me.

I also convinced myself that it's not my fault, that it's out of my control, and that it can't be helped.
But someone at work reminded me today that the first step towards recovery, is admitting that I have a problem.
So here I am, taking the first step, gaining back the control of my life!

It's the last week of my Yoga challenge and because I only have to do 3 classes, it doesn't exactly feel like I'm still doing the challenge.
I am grateful for it though and I will be nervously entering the studio soon.
The practice can be a bit scary after being away for 4 days...

Anyway - go away you bad things! Shoooo!!! Shooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Life Lesson

2010-02-15T00:01:00.004+11:00

"Fill your days with the things YOU want to do or things that have meaning to you.
Once you start doing that, you'll notice the eagerness to welcome Monday morning to start your week."

I have always been the one to do things because I should, because I have to, because it's impolite to decline an invite, and so on and so forth.
Silly me.
Not only it's bad for me to do that, it's also bad for the people around me.
I'm constantly grumpy, unhappy, and complaining that I have to do this and that; when the only reason I "have" to do them, is because I made myself do them.

Live life to the fullest!

By the way, I sky-dived on Valentine's Day!
The free fall during skydiving was exhilarating to the max. It was intense and crazy, but I wouldn't exactly call it scary.
It's definitely not like anything I've ever done, and I am really glad I've done it.
The parachute part was lovely.
The instructor let me control the chute for a while, and then he also AWESOMELY spiral-ed us!
The experience definitely entices me to pursue the paragliding course further. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T00:01:00.004+11:00

"For Boris...
Thank you for showing me love."

As a human being, I have many limitations that I am constantly working to identify and where possible, overcome. I have always enjoyed seeing the progress of this process.

The latest life part that I am focusing on is how I am in relationships (with Shanon, with family, with close friends, and everyone else). I have been paying close attention to my feelings toward them and how I express them. Not too much to be classified as being self conscious (I hope!) but enough to be aware of my actions/words and what they are projecting to them.

It's been great. I feel that I'm making better decisions (in actions/words) and because of it the relationships blossomed, which in turns makes me happy and all set to celebrate Valentine's Day 2010 while skydiving (hope I survive!).

Bonus link: The Happiness Project: In which I become enraged with my husband and lose my temper. One very well written post which does the job of sending out the reminder of "there is only love".

60 Day Challenge, Bikram Yoga and More Challenges

2010-02-06T23:59:00.016+11:00

I have exactly 10 more classes to do before I officially completed my 60 day challenge.
I probably could have done better and actually commit to the promise of doing full class every time - but that might mean that I won't get pass the first few days of the challenge.
So, for now, I'm plain happy that I am well into seeing the challenge through to the end.

So far...
I feel fitter, toned, and think clearer (or so I think).
I have learned corrections for quite a few of the poses (not sure what this indicates seeing that I have practised for over 2 years! Why am I still fixing my poses?)
I also noticed the different way the teachers teach and learned to just accept that.
I get annoyed and think I'm being judged constantly and I decided to let go of this.
I noticed that I prefer classes with just enough heat but not too hot that makes it impossible for me to push the poses.
I don't like pro-longed poses, but the teachers don't care about this do they?

The practice varies quite a lot, from one end of the extreme to another.
There are days where each pose is impossible right from the very beginning, and there are days where I go through them swimmingly (don't you just love those days!).
There are also days where it just feel good to be in the hot room, relaxing, stretching, meditating.

...

Anyhow - I have found that the 60 day challenge is a great way to try something properly and get yourself familiar with it.
It just works!
Because you are committing to do it 6 times a week for nearly 10 weeks... you somehow find a way to adapt to it, to cope with it, to get it done efficiently and effectively.
It's the best way of "making a habit" out of something.

Which is why when I'm done with the Bikram Yoga challenge, I'm planning to do a 60 day challenge with 6 home cooked meals a week (and I'm not talking about microwave cooking or instant noodle!).
Note: If you are thinking "It's not a challenge at all - I've been cooking 6 home cooked meals weekly!"; please know that the past year, I probably averaged at one home cooked meal a week - at the maximum!! :P

Hmmm - why cooking?

1. I LOVE my food. I do. Love them with PASSION! Ask anyone who knows me. Nothing gets me talking as animatedly as when I'm talking about food.
I eat out quite a lot (way more than I actually would like to!) and it bothers me, because when you eat out too often, you appreciate it less.
Plus, I've always wanted to be able to host "meal gatherings" (Not that I want to do it all the time - but I just want to have the option to serve my food proudly instead of apologetically when I do do it!)

2. I have plentiful print out recipes, cook books (awesome ones like Nigella Express, Bill Granger's Everyday, two of Jamie Oliver's - see a chatterbox's pensieve: Yay! Cookbooks Festive!)!
This will be a great opportunity to make use of them!
6 home cooked meals a week isn't that difficult now is it?
If I can spare over 15 hours a week on Bikram Yoga, surely I can put in similar effort into cooking for over 9 weeks!

3. Cooking skill is an investment!

4. I have less tendency to overeat when I'm making the food! :P

5. As an incentive to keep me going, at the end of it... I could use the saved up dining out money and splash it on a repeat affair with "Vue de Monde" (see a chatterbox's pensieve: Vue de Monde: The Love Affair) before they move location! Hmm... what a great idea!!! :) (Hopefully I'll get to try the Chocolate Cigar this time!)

'Nuff said for now - will talk more when I'm starting it.

On a totally not linked topic, I got a reminder from my "Past Self" to go do sky diving (see 43things: shelviaw that I created in 2006!) last week.
I must have been a psychic in my previous life - cause I am going sky diving! Next week! :P

Back to the challenge topic... I've been quite tempted to jump on the Project_365 bandwagon!
Seeing Techy Girl's Project 365 Photoset and pritoodi (Pretty)'s Photoset tickles my desire to have one of my own.
Plus, that might help publicize http://www.shelvialoveridge.com.
It would also work really well with the PSC course (seeing that I have to submit 10 images weekly!) and might be good to increase the photography business potential...

But hmm - I do have to be careful not to go overboard and spread myself too thin amongst too many different things all at once..
That's a recipe for failure!
So, we'll see!

Ciao for now. Yoga practise tomorrow!

Photography: Black and White

2010-02-05T23:09:00.004+11:00

"There is nothing that colour could add to this image and much it would take away."
-- page 88 on Formal Elements: Colour in Basics Photography: Composition by David Prakel

Photography: Magic Hour or Golden Hour

2010-02-05T07:31:00.000+11:00

In photography, the golden hour (sometimes known as magic hour, especially in cinematography) is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day,[1] when a specific photographic effect is achieved with the quality of the light.
-- Golden hour (photography) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Excitement of Preparing for Photo Shoot!

2010-02-04T22:55:00.007+11:00

I feel myself bursting with EXCITEMENT.
I am as nervous as I am excited while I frantically have over 30 odd web pages.

My website portfolio (www.shelvialoveridge.com) is working! I now have 2 planned photo shoot lined up!

The first one is a fashion/portrait shoot with Miss Louisa in Nagambie next weekend.
It is more "for fun" - but I'm going to treat it as serious as possible and I can then hopefully use the resulting photos as my portfolio.
I just put through a purchase order for Telephoto Zoom lens (Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Lens) which will hopefully arrive soon!

The next one is a pre-wedding/engagement shoot with a good friend from back in uni days.
This is serious! BIG full on serious deal!

As far as the preparation for the photo shoot goes, I've found some really good reference pages to read for the fashion/portrait shoot:

10 Ways to Add Variety to Your Digital Photography

Portrait Tip: Add Interest and Movement into Your Shots with Wind

How to Direct Models During Portrait Shoots

7 Tips from Professional Fashion Photographer Adriana Curcio - gotta love the example shots!

Portrait Photography guide and tips from Photo.net

Helping Your Client Prepare for Their Shoot – Dress to Match the Sofa?

Preparation for photography - How to prepare for your fashion photo shoots

6 Must-Haves for Your Female Photography Model Shoot - unfortunately, this is tips for the model, but - try and read through - there is something to derive from it.

JW Sears Photography - Preparing for the Shoot - for model, same as the one right before this.

The Wedding PhotogBlog: How To Be A Good Subject of A Photo Shoot - this one is for both photographer and client

And of course, I've got another big list of references to read for pre-wedding/engagement couple shot preparation:

Engagement Portrait Shoots: 7 Professional Tips to take your Engagement Shoots to the Next Level

For People Who Want Really Cute Engagement Pictures | Inspiration Wed

From Sparkly To Spouse: Engagement Photo Shoot

danielle aquiline photography: Engagement Shoot Tips #1 || Tips #2 || Tips #3 || Tips #4

Stealing Beauty Photography - Engagement Photo Session Tips - this tips are directed towards the couple, but have a read and take something out of it!

Nashville Weddings, Nashville Wedding Planning - AshleysBrideGuide.com - again, directed for the couple - but there is lesson in there.

For inspirations purpose, I've also bookmark-ed websites with some really good couple shots (pre-wedding/engagement/weddings):

Tara Whitney - she is my favorite people photographer by far... ;)

Balboa Pier Engagement Photos | Inspirations & Creations - Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog

New York City Engagement Photographer - Vintage Soda Shop Shoot | New York City Wedding Photographer | Vintage Modern Southern California Wedding Photography - I like!

tealilyphotography | sydney wedding and lifestyle photography

Nick Grove - Professional Wedding Photographer: Weddings

Sarah Elizabeth & Mr. SE Nashville Engagement Session- Nashville Engagement Photography » Jonathon Campbell Photography - nice lightings

Christina Nicole : World Wide Wedding Visual Artist

MichelleB Photography - check out Engagement & Grown Ups section!

engagement – Kate White Photography & Design

Lotus Blossom Photography - Engagement 1

Engagement Photos : Images by Subject : Style Me Pretty

Downtown Raleigh Engagement Photo Shoot | Sweet Life Photo

Dansk Photography - Portraits

Hmm - looking at the size of this list, I should probably take out the links and put together a scrapbook for inspirations purpose.

Bonus: A generic tip for photographing people, Photographing People From Different Angles.

PSC: Class #1

2010-02-02T22:10:00.002+11:00

Lessons learnt:

1. View photograph as a time capsule.
2. Subject matter is irrelevant, it's the design that makes a photograph.
3. Use photography as a way to tell a story.

The Wisdom within Tiny Buddha

2010-02-02T07:06:00.001+11:00

I came across tinybuddha through Zen's tweet a while ago and boy, aren't I glad to have done so. It is full of wisdom pearls hidden in simple English blog posts.

Its most recent blog post tickles my desire to blog about the website, i.e. "10 Ways to Have Peaceful, Loving Relationships | tinybuddha.com.
Read it. Understand it. Feel it.

I love advice #1 - Do what you need to do for you, for I just realised recently that it is SO MUCH easier to be nice, loving and compassionate toward others when we are content and happy.
I desperately needed to be whacked with advice #2 - Give people the benefit of the doubt and #4 - Be mindful of projecting.
Advice #8 - Think before acting on emotion, is extremely important for my type of impatient often-act-on-impulse type people. If you've experienced the post hurtful-argument-with-your-loved-ones regret, you'll agree that the argument should be avoided at all cost.

If you want more, try this 2 other posts at tinybuddha that are awesome too, "5 Rules for Life" and "Live Your Life Out Loud: 30 Ways to Get Started | tinybuddha.com".

Happy Tuesday!

My First Solo Flight: Paragliding

2010-02-01T21:46:00.006+11:00

A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, whose shape is formed by its suspension lines and the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing.
-- Paragliding

With regards to my first solo flight, suffice to say it was "spectacular". I felt free - like a bird. Invincible. Peaceful. Massive excitement. Scared. All of them jumbled into one. "I'm flyinggggggggg!!! :)"

That flight was definitely worth every effort, every bruise/scratch and even worth getting super tanned for. I want more. I want to travel through the air, using the paraglider. I want!!!

Soon!

Blogging

2010-01-28T07:26:00.006+11:00

I've always enjoyed reading. I love reading well written sentences which flows to make a smooth paragraph. I like how when sentences are put together thoughtfully, it offers the ability to convey something which would otherwise be hidden in the mumble jumble of the world. I often think that only one with talent can write those sentences. But I realised now that it relies more on effort than talent.

Blogging (web logging) has made it easier for anyone to voice their opinion or get their publication out in the world. However, reading blogs (especially mine :P), it became obvious that "editor" is there for a reason.

The sentences in those books that I enjoyed reading have been written over and over and over again before it is edited by the assistant editor, and then finely combed through by the main editor. In comparison, I typed up this post in less than 10 minutes. No draft. No editor. (Hence - the quality :P)

I have abused the ease and simplicity that Blogger has offer for bloggers and have lost the enjoyment, satisfaction and pride that should comes with creating a great piece of writing because of it.

...

Anyhow, it is great that anyone can voice their opinions and share their love or passion about something through blogging, but perhaps I should re-read my post a few times and let it rest for a little bit before I post it up. Perhaps also, when I think I'm just rambling and I don't see the point of chatting about something (but I type it anyway), I should stop and not post it up. But then again, it depends, why am I blogging? Am I blogging for other people to read? Or am I just blogging as an outlet?

Something to ponder upon.

Meanwhile, there is this blog which I came across today and would like to publicize. It is very simple, but full of purpose. It also kept me engaged in the posts (if not for any other reason than because it's about food!!!).

Fed Up: School Lunch Project

It's pretty good. I like the lunch food shots. I love the honesty in the reviews. I enjoy finding out what's on offer in the school cafeteria (most probably because I've only seen this type of lunches in TV's school scenes cause I did go to school in Indonesia and the food is quite different. Probably not that much different in the nutritional level, but different packaging and taste. :P)

Project Status Report

2010-01-27T18:15:00.005+11:00

Bikram Yoga challenge:
I'm in my 6th week and struggling a little to keep it up. But, Shanon's support kept me going (well, that and the worry that I might be too embarrassed to attend anymore classes if I fail this challenge).
Half way through tonight's double class, I'll have exactly 3 more weeks of 6 classes to attend (cause the challenge is for 8 weeks and 3 extra classes on the 9th week).
Completing the full two sets of 26 poses is still often a challenge on its own. There are days where it happens naturally and there are days where it's just not possible. But hey, I'm still progressing through the challenge. :)

Photography:
Sadly I'm feeling a little bit stale on this end. I feel that the photos I'm taking aren't coming up as exciting as it used to. It feels a bit like I've done this shot before. Then I try to be creative, try to look at things differently, but for some reason ended up with the similar shots.
I've been trying to overcome this with post processing and Lightroom presets.. but it's just not getting me anything special.
Thankfully - the PSC course will be starting next week! I have big hopes on that! :) Actually, WOW - it's next week!!!

Work:
Work is better actually - I'm starting to be at peace with it. Getting busy with the things that I do. Appreciate the extra time and flexibility that I get from this "new-ish" position that I'm in. I also appreciate the challenge of viewing things from design perspective, not from development perspective. So, it's good. Things are great.

Others:
Well, we have another Paragliding weekend at Bright coming up (hopefully the weather will cooperate). I'm semi looking forward to it. A bit scared (:P) cause I plan to fly solo this time. But definitely looking forward to another lovely weekend away with Shanon. :)
There is also Skydiving coming up (during the Chinese New Year / Valentine's Day weekend).
After that, I have Hamilton Island short break with the gals at the end of Feb and .... *insert drumroll* am visiting Taiwan with my lovely sister in August (super looking forward to this!!!).

Not much else is new.
I should be doing more house errands and cooking but I'm not.
TV episodes, Style Boutique (DS) and chick lits have been taking up all my free time..
Not exactly ideal, but it makes me happy. :P

Summary:
Life is good. :) Scratch that! Life is GREAT! :)

tee hee hee!

Introducing "One Melbourne Photography's World"

2010-01-19T23:55:00.007+11:00

Remember that web photography portfolio that I talked about recently? Well....
TA-DAAAAA!!!

www.shelvialoveridge.com
Please do check it out.
Suggestions, comments, critics are all most welcome... :)
Thank you!

PS: Now that I have this blog, that web portfolio, the Flickr photosets, my PicasaWeb photo album and Facebook photo albums. It is a little confusing as to which one I should keep and what for... I'm sure I'm not the only one as each and every one of them have their pro-s and contra-s...
Ahhh.. The dilemma of too many options..... :P

PS2: If you have time, have a read at this great Zen Habits post, 'The Simple, Ridiculously Useful Guide to Earning a Living from Your Passion'.

PSC: Goals & Questions to be Answered

2010-01-14T21:20:00.002+11:00

By the end of the 1st semester of PSC course, I'd like to have the following questions answered:
* What are my strengths? preliminary of course... I know that this one is a bit of a constant learning thing
* What are my weaknesses? as above.
* Basic on how to get income out of photography: What's the career options? What's the business options?
* What is the "thing" that distinguish professional photographer and casual photographer?
* Who are the big guys in the industry in Melbourne or Australia?
* How best to prepare images for printing?
* How best to brand my images?
* Get some understanding of how the commercial photography world works. The rules? The law? The people?

Goals:
* Editorial skill (Show only your best photo!)
* A decent portfolio
* Understanding of shutter speed, aperture, exposure
* Colour coordination skill
* Advanced composition skill
* Lighting skill

I'll keep adding to this list as I thought of them!

PS: Check out this cool new-ish magazine, Box Magazine, that I came across for the first time last night at La Camera, South Yarra. It's pretty good and all the profit of the magazine goes to charity!

What Am I Trying to Achieve by ....?

2010-01-14T18:03:00.000+11:00

I have just discover how powerful this question actually is.
Not as powerful as "What Would You Do If You Only Had a Short Time to Live? (Zen Habits)" but still have very strong impact.

The question was cooking in my head during my Yoga class last night (as usual..).
It began with my mind wondering about how best to approach the "Pursuing my Passion on Photography".
I was thinking about how I am going to make my work valuable.
Wondering about what is it that I believe I have to offer that do not currently exist in the market.
What is my niche?

The thought bubbles keep popping up ...
"what am I trying to achieve by doing the photography course?"
"what about this 60 day bikram yoga challenge?"
"what about the paragliding lesson?"
"why have i always wanted to try out sky diving?"
so on and so forth...

Then I realised that, hey I could really make use of these questions.

For example, because I thought properly about the Bikram Yoga challenge before I commit to it, it is easier for me to put in the effort of completing it.
The reason that I chose to do it was because I wanted to complete a physical challenge.
That is a very clear thing that I just want to overcome.
I've never been a competitive person, so the challenge makes sense - because I'm doing something tough - but I'm not competing with anyone.
Doing it alone and for myself.

Now, before the PSC course starts - I will think about what is it I'm trying to achieve by doing the course.
Knowing what I want to get out of it will definitely make it easier to actually get the best value out of the course.

On that weekend of the paragliding course - when it was SUPER DUPER hot, and it was kinda frightening to be running off the hill, the thing that kept me going was ...
I'm doing this because I want to try out flying solo.
There's something about being up there in the air alone.
It just come across to be meditative and calming.

So, there... before you commit to something big and difficult, make sure you stop and think... what is it you're trying to achieve?
It would help you through the rough patch!

Small Steps Toward Becoming a Professional Photographer

2010-01-14T06:33:00.002+11:00

There is a few things that I've thought of trying out to begin with...

1. Volunteer to take photos for restaurants;
2. Weekend photo project with friends or family;
3. Offer to take couple shots for people who just got engaged;
4. Freelance work for magazine doing commercial shoot;
5. Helping family take shots of their kids;
6. Offering to charity magazine to help them take certain shots for the magazine (which reminds me of Peter Parker in Spiderman!);
7. Taking tourists shots while they're out and about;
8. Help Portrait: Charity http://community.help-portrait.com/group/melbourneaustralia

I think they are all fun and interesting way to open up the path towards becoming a Professional Photographer.
In fact, I nearly try out #6 but I didn't.
Why?
Because I think I need a portfolio to back me up to do that.

Hmm... I guess it is clear what my next step should be now.
Some links on portfolio:
* A Few Things about your Photography Portfolio | Waitin' On a Moment - by Tim Gruber | NYC Photographer
* 10 Steps To The Perfect Portfolio Website - Smashing Magazine
* What Grade Your Photography Portfolio Deserves? | FlashMint Blog
* How to Build your Photography Portfolio - Digital Camera Reviews & Photography Tips

I could probably wait till the PSC course start, but I think that would be a silly thing to do.
I am going to build one now and ask for feedback as to how to improve it. :)
My fingers and brain are itching to get this started already!!!

Should I go for http://www.shelvialoveridge.com or http://www.shelvialoveridge.com.au?

Update on 19th January 2009:
http://www.shelvialoveridge.com it is! :)

Pursuing my Passion on Photography

2010-01-13T22:18:00.002+11:00

About couple years or so ago, I realised that I'm not passionate enough about my job.
I tried to get my head and heart into it and even though it works for a short while (change of scenery, new role, etc), it fades away.
I still continue working away though, with no real long term goal, cause I couldn't see anything that I'm passionate about.
Until the time I switch my focus to the other side of the camera (not 100% correct cause I wasn't a model but, I did love having my photo taken :P) and fell in love with photography.

For a while now, I've spend quite a bit of time on this hobby of mine and loving every minute of it.
It's only natural that I ponder about the possibility of switching career to do this full time.
I find myself thinking about how to go about it and talking to people about it.
But, I ended up back at the pondering cause I just can't quite make the call.

Interestingly, I couldn't quite pin down the thing that is stopping me.
Until I read the following 2 sentences on Emily Giffin's book that I'm currently reading, love the one you're with.

"Perhaps I was worried that my enthusiasm would exceed my ability.
I couldn't bear the thought of failing at something I cared so much about."

WHOA - that is EXACTLY how I feel!

With that, come the realisation that I just need to apply logical reasoning to override those worries and gather the courage to pursue my passion.
Otherwise, 10 years from now, I'll still be an avid fan who desperately want to be a photographer but isn't a photographer.

So - I decided that however hurtful "failing at something I cared so much about" be, it can't be worse than "constantly wondering whether I am actually good enough at something I cared so much about".
Hmmm - I guess passion is just like many other things, "No risk, no return!" :)
Anyway - I am taking the risk - the financially smart way (i.e. putting my mind and heart into testing the water first, see if I can get weekend work of it)!

Why?
Because the return of "possibly getting the chance to do something I cared so much about (PHOTOGRAPHY) full time" is TOTALLY worth the risk of finding out that I "fail at something I cared so much about". (I hope I don't fail though... :P)

Less than 3 weeks to my first class at PSC! :) Yiipppee..

For the Love of Freezer!

2010-01-13T20:38:00.002+11:00

This is fairly random but I feel the need to blog about it and it is MY blog so I get to choose what I want to blog about. :P

Yesterday afternoon - I had MASSIVE chocolate craving that I just HAD to satisfy or else I will go crazy. So I walked out of the office across the street to The Commune. I've always been tempted by their cake selection whenever I happen to be there for coffee or quick grab to go brekky. Standing there, I was torn between a medium piece of "Flourless Chocolate Cake" for $3 or a rather larger piece of "Chocolate Mud Cake with Walnuts" $3.50. My greedy mind opt for the larger piece (hey - I've always think that chocolate is best taken with walnut! :P).

Walking back to the office with this large piece of Chocolate Mud Cake with Walnuts, the guilt was overwhelming. I was picking on it the whole way through and by the time I got to my desk, I was stuffed (hmm not that surprising, considering I did have a big lunch... Yummy Curry Katsu Don from O Bento at 45 Collins St).

Luckily, I remembered that I am Yoga-ing in a couple of hours time and because there is nothing comfortable about a Bikram Yoga session on stuffed tummy, I managed to stop eating the cake. But I can't throw it away. It is wayyy too delicious and my Chinese brain wouldn't let me waste delicious food! :P). I can't offer it to others cause I've been picking on it with my grubby fingers.

Hmmm - what's a girl to do?

Well, I thank Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde and the crews for their work on Refrigerator (Refrigerator History - Invention of the Refrigerator)! :P

I cut the remaining of the cakes into small pieces and pop them into the work freezer! They are super yummy of the freezer! Oh yes, I would know because I just had a few pieces today. :)

So, the next time you are stuck with leftover chocolate cake - try it! :)

Friday: The Wisdom Day

2010-01-08T07:10:00.009+11:00

Either its from the past few weeks of doing lots of Bikram Yoga or I'm just at that great point in life (being the start of a new year and all), I've been feeling happy, balanced and content.

This week, I've been waking up early for work, cruise through the day with results, have healthy lunch, do some more work, leave work for yoga, have yummy dinner, do home or personal things for a bit, and bed time. Sleep has been deep and invigorating - which in turns makes the next cycle a lot easier. I've also been sneaking in enjoyable chick lits read which I haven't done for a while (not sure why - it's very relaxing!).

Three weeks into the Bikram Yoga challenge, I can honestly say I'm glad to be doing it (which is surprising - even for me). Unfortunately, doing the complete class is still a rare occasion for me (I'm still struggling through the mental discipline part) - but I think it's somewhat improving. Having publicly sign up for the challenge means I have no choice but to go to my 6 classes weekly and see this challenge through (how else am I going to go back to see the instructors??). This definitely clears up my prioritising of daily tasks or routines and I like it.

The challenge has also reminded me of how much I like to be occupied and actively doing things, which is good. Because when PSC classes begin in a few weeks, I'll definitely be busy. After tonight's Bikram Yoga class, I have 5 more weeks and 3 extra classes to complete. I'm so sure that when the time come for Hamilton Island trip with the gals (right at the completion of the challenge), it will feel very much like a HUGE reward. :)

Moving on the wisdom side...

A while ago I came across these posts that I've been meaning to blog about, so here goes:
1. "The Only Way to Become Amazingly Great at Something". I believe it and I'm planning to prove the concept by applying it to my latest passion of Photography. Hence, The Visual Weekly blog and the enrollment of PSC part time course.
2. How People Let Other People Compromise Their Happiness (P1) | tinybuddha.com
3. 2 More Ways People Let Others Compromise Their Happiness (P2) | tinybuddha.com

Something for us to ponder about over the weekend.
Have a lovely one, peeps.
I'm off paragliding with hubby. Wish me luck! :P

The Photo Argus

2010-01-07T07:04:00.002+11:00

Big thanks to Flixelpix for retweeting the link of "20 Interesting Shots of Abandoned Toys". It introduced me to The Photo Argus.

What is that (... Pokemon!)?
"The Photo Argus is a resource for photographers novice to advanced. We bring you useful information, inspiration, technique, photographer showcases and more."

What I know so far is that it is full of awesome photography! Definitely worth checking out for photography enthusiasts!

My personal favorite inspiration so far:
25 delicious examples of food photography - I would love for my shot to be featured amongst these. :)
and ... 60 Inspiring Examples of Black and White Photography | The Photo Argus - A Photographer's Resource

Around the same topic, have a look at these photography gallery of RMIT students. They are impressive.
3rd Year 2006 | 3rd Year 2008 (BA) | Diploma Year 2008

2010: The Year I Turn 28

2010-01-03T15:28:00.004+11:00

I have been laying low the past week and have really enjoyed it - got a bit of time off from work, sort out a few things that I want to get done before the new year arrive and did other things that I feel I never have a chance to do. I have done the first 2 weeks of my Bikram Yoga challenge. Very excited to see this through. It's already making good changes in me. I feel much more positive! Hmm... It could just be in my head - but hey, it's what in my head that matters (at least to me!). :)

A few life lessons from 2009:
1. Think positive. Get rid of negative thinking. It's bad. Evil. It spreads around. It serves no purpose. You'll be surprised at how much this will change your day to day life.
2. Love myself. It sounds narcissistic but it is the best thing one can do for thyself. It really is. Put yourself first! Why? Because it is much easier to be kind and to love others - when we are at peace with ourselves.
3. The importance of balance. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. Seriously. The best way to make sure the good thing in life stays great, is by mixing it up a little. Take the bad with the good. Savour food. Do the chores. Meet people. Try new things. Do it all. Then, rest. Sleep well.
4. The choice is mine. Entirely mine. I'm an adult. Everything that I do - I chose to do. Even the one that I thought I didn't choose (expected off me, or my OCD issue, or my insecurity) - still need me to choose to succumb to it. Once I realised that the choice is in my hand - challenges are simpler to overcome and future looks brighter. The power of life choice is mine and yes, "with great power, comes great responsibility."

So now, here I am - in 2010. Turning 28. I've always liked the idea of being 28. :) It's not 29 (a bit too close to 30 for my liking), it's an even number, the number reflects maturity, adulthood without being old.

I have signed up for the Photography Studies College Part Time Course which will start early February. I'm really looking forward to this! It's been a while since I learn something new - appropriately and thoroughly. I'm also trying to get a bit more excited about work. I'll be applying the power of positive thinking on this matter! I'll somehow make it an enjoyable ride.

I'm actually loving where I'm at in life at the moment. The peacefulness. The balance. The people. My day to day routine. Everything about it.

Yes - I am going to make 2010 my year! :)

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T00:14:00.005+11:00

"Hope you all had a somewhat safe and EXTREMELY joyful New Year's Eve.

Cheers to 2010!
The year when great things happen - for ALL of us!"

What I wore on NYE ;) (Hmmm... Photo missing pretty black clutch from Louisa & my pretty peep toe heels isn't visible either... :P)

First Week of the 60 Days (8 Week) Bikram Yoga Challenge

2009-12-27T19:17:00.007+11:00

The 60 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge is definitely called "challenge" for good reason!

Monday (21 Dec 09) - struggling with dribbly nose but made myself go and sign up for the challenge. Go Shelvia!
Tuesday (22 Dec 09) - nearly didn't go because of after work Xmas drinks (socializing is part of the job...) but I managed to pull out of that and went to Yoga instead.
Wednesday (23 Dec 09) - the weather was rather hot outside. I was annoyed at myself for signing up for the challenge as I was leaving work but Camilla (the instructor) regulated the heat extremely well, so I had a great class despite the bad thoughts. Yay!
Can't go on the Thursday (24 Dec 09) because they don't have 6 PM class.
The center is closed on Friday, Xmas Day (25 Dec 09)! Went to Botanical Garden instead. Had a blast taking photos and watching Charles (my youngest brother) & Louisa (Charles' girlfriend) learning to do cartwheels from Mr.!
Saturday (26 Dec 09) - luckily managed to muster up the will and determination to attend the 8 AM class. Reward myself by joining the Boxing Day crowd on a shopping trip along Chapel St and try on lots of outfits. Fun fun fun! Didn't end up going to 4 PM class though - I'll do the double on Sunday.
Sunday (27 Dec 09) - the end of the 1st week of the challenge! Attended 10 AM class, went to brunch and then had a short nap. I was super annoyed at myself at that time for not doing the double yesterday! Grrr. But the annoyance was saved by the thought of massage reward I promised myself for the 1st week. Second class was a bit painful but I did it anyway - missing a few poses. YAY!!! :)

I have to say I feel quite lucky because it's only been one hot day this week. The rest of the days have been nice. Hope this continues.

Also, I might have misunderstood the 60 Day Challenge too - I thought it is 60 classes challenge but it is 60 day challenge (with 6 day a week practice) i.e. 8 weeks, not original 10 weeks that I thought! Hmmm.. I'm yet to confirm this but will ask the instructor tomorrow.

The challenge has brought me face to face to the fact that I'm still having difficulties completing full class. That bothers me. I still skip poses (at least one each class with the regular being Standing Bow Pulling, Triangle, and Camel). I also rarely complete the 2 sets of Standing Head to Knee or Triangle or Standing Bow Pulling - always get myself out of it before time. I rarely push myself hard enough with Bow. I want to get rid of these bad habits. I'd love the bad thoughts that arises whenever we get to Spinal Strengthening Series to go away too. Ah.. and the burpiness that come with Half Moon Pose!

Anyways - one down, seven more to go. Wish me luck!

Update (28th Dec 09): The challenge is to be completed in 9 weeks, with week 9 require only 3 classes. :)

X O X O: Which is Which?

2009-12-25T11:47:00.004+11:00

Whenever I see people do "X X X", I've always been curious - do they mean hugs or kisses? LOL! I'm not the first! :D

Last year in January, this blogger was questioning the same thing through his post.

Even Wikipedia seems to not have direct answer for this one,

"Hugs and kisses, is a term for a sequence of the letters X and O, e.g. XOXO, typically to express affection or good friendship at the end of a written letter, email or SMS text message, in which, according to most sources, "x" means kisses and "o" means hugs . However, some believe that the symbols "o" and "x" are reversed, with "o" meaning kisses and "x" meaning hugs, although this interpretation is seemingly less popular"

The next time someone "X X X" me - I'm going to ask! :P

Ho Ho Ho!

Photoscape & Bali July 2009 Collage

2009-12-25T05:46:00.004+11:00

Nicko recommended this software to join photos, PhotoScape and it is so addictive! I've done quite a few tonight (hence the post at 5:47 AM!). Check out this one I've done for my Bali trip back in July 2009.
Love the result! :) I am a pretty good photographer after all. ;)

I'm off to bed... :)

Sweeney Todd (2007)

2009-12-25T02:06:00.005+11:00

My tagline for the movie: "I wish I sew!"

It's dark but beautiful. The scenes are captivating. A bit much singing and blood for my liking but the actors are awesome (not so sure about the little boy).

One thing is certain: the dress that Mrs. Lovett worn last is STUNNING! I can't get my eyes off it. It's simply beautiful, with the bodice, the lace, the colour, the tiers.

No - I'm not the only one! A girl was looking for someone to sew the dress for her Halloween wedding (Etsy Alchemy Request) and posted some really good photos (final scene dress pictures by matashavexen - Photobucket).

If I were ever going to any Halloween or Costume party, that would be "THE" dress!
I would so love to have the dress! But it cant be cheaply sewn one - it has to be done awesomely - with high quality lace etc. It's the glamour and the shine of the dress that makes it!

The colour isn't quite right in the photo above but it does show the dress details very well. Do you think they sell the dress? If so, where? Hmmm!

More photos here.

Greetings!

2009-12-24T14:13:00.002+11:00

The Most Important Things in My Life

2009-12-22T20:06:00.008+11:00

Yesterday, along with many others - I heard the news about Brittany Murphy's death. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who's surprised. She's only 32 years old (look under 30 to me) and she just come across as this happy go lucky person that will be around.

Being surprised aside, some other thing came into my mind. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you do, all of us are mortals. And when we die, we die. There is nothing else that we can do, nothing we can change. Simply said and done. However nice we were, whatever great or bad things people said about us, however silly the reason behind our deaths - we are still dead. Finito.

What did I derive from this?

Life is truly only once. This is it. There is no redoing it. There is no rewind. The only way is forward, i.e. tomorrow's another day.
So I took a moment or two to think about what matters the most to me. How I want to live this once in a lifetime life of mine.

I came up with five most important things and realised a couple things that are nowhere as important:

My health. I was one of those lucky people who was born complete bodyparts (despite my X legs). And throughout my 27 years of life - I have been generally healthy - no major hospital visits. I definitely have nothing to whinge about (aside from my chubbiness - which I have to admit is a result of my over eating). In fact - I should totally be appreciative and treat my body the way it has treat me if I want it to stay healthy. So yes, health is the most important thing. Without which, I would be restricted to live life to the fullest.

My husband and my family. There is no choosing between them. They are as important as each other to me. Shanon would probably say that I always put them before him - but that's only because I know and trust that he understand me most, and that he would never pressure me with expectations. Truth to be told, my life would not be the same without him (or my family). He keep me sane, they keep me challenged and both make me feel loved unconditionally. I love them. They are definitely the gems of my life (most of the time :P).

My close friends. What can I say? They are jolly. They make the joy. They are who I can share my achievements, experiences and do the things that make me happy with. They nudge me when I needed it the most. ;)

My life achievements and experiences. What I do in my life. What I achieve. No one can ever take that away from me. The satisfaction feeling that I get from experiencing or achieving something is simply priceless and not replaceable.

The ability and luxury to do things that make me happy (financially, mentally, and physically). Those little things that I enjoy. They do change through time but essentially - it's the small pleasures that make my days, e.g. massages, savouring good food, photography, movies, reading books. They are very important to keep me going and happy. They fuel me so that I can push through the difficulties to achieve my life goals.

The 2 things that I have mistakenly prioritised too high all along:

Others' (who are not THAT important to you, especially almost strangers!) opinions of you, some of your actions or how you live your life. Simply overrated & pointless. Stop worrying about this and live your life (or my life I should say!). Those that might matters - you can fix when it matters. Those that don't matter - simply don't. So ignore them. The only exception if you really have no closed ones then you should review your actions and life... :)

Money. I used to think money is everything (I am Asian after all) - but I have come to realised that after a certain threshold, when your needs are covered and you get to do fun/luxury things every now and then, the extra money lost its value. It's silly to collect and stash money for millions of just in case. Use the money. Live your life. I don't mean - spend all your income. Budget. But don't start "collecting" money. It is definitely no collection material. You don't get to take it with you when you're dead. Most importantly, looking back from the grave (if one could), I'm sure you're not going to think about how much money you've collected. (Well - I for one have never seen those type of flashbacks in movies when people die.. :P)

What's your most important things?

Cheerio.

Total Respect...

2009-12-22T12:54:00.000+11:00

... to Google Initiatives.

For Xmas 2009 - Google Happy Holidays message include thanking Google users by committing $20 million to charities on the users behalf.

Total leader material.

Photography Studies College (PSC)

2009-12-21T20:00:00.008+11:00

Just to make the days even more challenging + exciting, and not to forget, the main reason, i.e. improving my photography skill; I have decided to check out the PSC course properly and perhaps join the January 2010 intake.

A few photo links from the college:
- Flickr: PSC
- RedBubble: Photography Studies College
- PSC Gallery

What I know so far about the part-time evening course...
- The 20 week or 40 week photography course is the first year of the Advanced Diploma (transferable to RMIT University);
- Requirements: "The first semester commences with Creative Photography using digital capture; as a result you will require your own 35 mm digital SLR camera and this will be your creative tool throughout the program. You will also be required to have your own 80Gb+ portable hard drive with remote power source (ie USB or Firewire) to store and transport your images."
- It includes 30x3 hour sessions + 1 Saturday (2x3 hour session) + 1 Weekend Field Workshop per semester;
- The 2010 cost is $4600 for 2 semesters (40 weeks tuition) + $500 for 2 Weekend Location Workshop Enrollment (1 per semester).

Here's the brochure and for more information, contact (613) 9682 3191 or info@psc.edu.au.

Some forum discussions that I have found on this course:
- http://www.flickr.com/groups/melbourne/discuss/72157622078781971/
- http://www.flickr.com/groups/melbourne/discuss/72157607977701364/
- http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/581136.html

My info session with them is on Thursday. Will update on whether or not I'll be joining the course! :)

If this is not for you, there are other available photography courses in Melbourne listed here.

Bikram Yoga - 60 Day Challenge

2009-12-19T18:01:00.006+11:00

Back in October - (or maybe end of September) I was offered to participate in the Bishnu Ghosh Regional Yoga Asana Championships 2009 (photos here). I tried out the Bikram Yoga Advanced Class twice (because the competition involve personal choice of 2 advance Bikram Yoga poses) and soon realised that I was no where near ready for it - so I passed.

But it was not a wasted effort. It introduces me to another level which I can push to and it also put some sparkles back into my practice which has became a bit mundane over the year. After talking to a few people who either have competed or have done the 60 day challenge - I figure that I am no competition material. I would end up with a stage fright so bad that I can't probably stand on two feet - so balancing on one leg is definitely out of question.

The thing is - after doing it for 2 years - it has become a bit too much of a routine and I definitely could use a bit of "push" in the practice. Hence - the decision on 60 day challenge. I have told a few people that I might do it next year or soon-ish.. but the more I think about it and postpone it - the more difficult it seems. So - guess what? I'm going to stop talking or thinking about it. I'll just do it!

That's right. I'll commence the 60 day challenge on Monday, 21st Dec 09. Which means I'll get the first 2 weeks to work myself up (during the holiday time) and hopefully the rest of the challenge will fall into place. I do have a few small trips already planned (Sky diving at Nagambie, Paragliding at Bright and Hamilton Island trip with Lia and Jessy) during the period. But if I put aside my fear and reluctance in doing this challenge - I know it is still possible. I even plan it out in an XLS calendar! (I have to! I am the queen of diary and to do list after all... :P)

The main rule is that I have to do 6 daily classes in a week (with one day off) continuously until I completed the 60 days practice (details here). I can make it up by doing 2, or 3 or 4 classes any other day within the week if I miss some of the daily classes. My week will start on Monday and ends on Sunday (I figure that gives me weekend time for if I need to make up for any slack weekdays). Plotting it on the calendar - it means that my week will finish on the Sunday, 28th February 2010!

Awww... looking forward to the completion - and hihihi who knows - it might even get me Bikini ready for Hamilton Island! :)

I'm excitedly scared!!! One thing I know for sure - today's practice (my first class after 3 weeks off) left me feeling awesome - so I should use this to inspire the start of my 60 day challenge! :) Yihaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wish me luck!

I'll be tracking it through Joe's Goals - here's my badge (week average should be 6!)

Bali Windows XP Style

2009-12-18T07:25:00.002+11:00

Bali Windows XP Style
Originally uploaded by shelvia.loveridge

This photo was taken in Bali during our second honeymoon (after second wedding Reception) back in July. We were driven around Bali by our chauffeur and I saw this gorgeous view off my window. Quickly wind it down to take a shot.

Love the resulting picture! :)

A great reminder of relaxing holiday time.

Best Photo Tip on Photography

2009-12-01T06:38:00.001+11:00

(at least for me!)

“The difference between great photographers and a not so great photographers is that the great ones don’t show their crappy pictures.”
–- Bill Boem

Andrews Hamburger, Albert Park, Melbourne

2009-11-30T23:41:00.007+11:00

I have tried it and I love it!!

It is the type of burger that you would normally get in the States. The one with chunky meat (awesome quality, flavoursome and tasty) and soft bun with superb cheese! It is quite good value too for $9 (Burger with the Lot!!! i.e. with egg, onion, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and of course, the meat pattie!)

Definitely filling.

Such a shame it is not located in a more accessible location. :P
But - oh - it was worth the drive and Mr. was pretty happy with his chicken burger too, so hopefully I'll go back SOON.. ;)

Some photos to entice you...

Andrews Hamburger Grill
144 Bridport Street
Albert Park VIC 3206
(03) 9690 2126
Google Map

Melbourne CBD Photos After Work

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

Back on the 9th November, I felt like wondering around the beautiful Melbourne with my camera after work - and so I did. I feel like sharing the shots. :)

These images have not been post processed - pure JPG from my Nikon D60. :) Pretty happy with the result!!!

Notes from TEDx Melbourne 2

2009-11-30T06:47:00.001+11:00

A friend of mine, Zen Sugiarto, attended the TEDx session that was hosted in Melbourne recently. The resulting notes from the session is quite inspiring. Check it out!
zugiart.com » Blog Archive » Notes from TEDxMelbourne 2

I'll definitely make an effort to attend the next one. :)

Stop the Calderon Dolphin Slaughter in Denmark!!!

2009-11-30T00:01:00.002+11:00

Every year, in Denmark, specifically the Faroe Islands, innocent and helpless Calderon Dolphins are slaughtered brutally by the danes. Why you may ask, simply because. A pointless and stupid right of passage to manhood.
What points is there in killing another living being just to prove you have "evolved", you have transcended. There is simply no need.
This poor dolphins are stabbed a number of times, but as if that weren't enough, they bleed to death, probably in excruciating pain while the whole town watches.
Needles to say, that killing a deffensless animal is no prove of anybody's manhood.
So, I urge, as I am sure many more have, to stop this nonesense. And take action.
Never, ever, killing an other creature, another living being, with whom we share this world, has done any good, to anyone. So let's stop it.

Sign this petition!

Welcome to Sunny Fitzroy Where Babka Resides

2009-11-29T22:51:00.015+11:00

It's been a while but I have found the next additions to my treasure chest. Not one, but two! :)We were walking towards the dining spot in Fitzroy to grab brunch (ended up in the cute little Babka which serves scrumptious brekky with high quality ingredients until 6pm daily!) when we saw this big spread of black and white graffiti. :)

An impressive work of art by Everfresh Studio! It's on the corner of Young St and Johnston St in Fitzroy if you want to see it with your own eyes.

Now - moving on.. to Babka!

The bad review in "the breakfast blog: Babka, Fitzroy || Back to Babka" on the service and the queue prompts me to blabber my experience. I have to admit, there was a queue and quite a long one too. But what can one do - the place is tiny. Plus, it means that they don't shoo customers out (unlike what Dessert House would have done).

Mr. ordered Croissant with Jam for his first course and it was superb (well - he shooed me off his plate after my third pinch). I ordered my usual Skinny Albino, which was delivered at the right temperature, creamy texture and great taste.

And when the food was served - I (who definitely LOATHE waiting) tried the mushroom (off our brunch companion's, Anna, plate), the avocado (off Mr.'s plate) and the Georgian Baked Beand (finally - off my own plate) and said "it is definitely worth the wait!"

Great food. Interesting menu. Cool funky location.
Somehow reminded me of New York, more specifically in between Amy's Bread and Balthazar.

Hmm - Babka? I like!! :)
Oi Babka - fear not!
I will definitely return to try out the Russian Blintzes and the Egg Loaf, and your Hot Cross Bun!!!!

Babka Bakery Cafe
358 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9416 0091
Google Map

Dalai Lama in Australia!

2009-11-28T13:48:00.006+11:00

I found out about this a while ago but got disappointed as soon as I saw the date. Probably the one and only chance to see the Dalai Lama in person and I'll have to miss it! X(
*Sigh*
Having grown out of my silly celebrity crushes - he's probably the only famous person that I really want to see in person too.
What a BIG loss on my end!

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
-- Dalai Lama

I am not exactly religious, but I do find Buddhism soothing and a totally relate-able concept.
I studied the religion for a short while in my early childhood in Medan, Indonesia.
The concept of do good, be nice to others and rid of selfishness stayed with me.
I strongly believe that they are good for the humanity and I do try to practice that (well - most of the time...).

Anyway - because I was unable to accept the fact of losing that opportunity graciously, I decided to forget about the event.

But today, I stumbled upon a well written article on His Holiness in the 25th Anniversary edition of The Age Good Weekend, reading it while munching my yummy Poached Eggs on Toast with Mushroom and Tomato Relish from my favorite brunch place, Amici Bakery, Prahran.
The writer did a great job in sharing her experience of meeting up with the Dalai Lama.
She described him the way I imagined that he would be; "not someone you would mess with". I like!
I also imagined that he exudes peacefulness and intelligence.

In this world, there are some people that I can't help but respect and admire (I'm sure it's not just me).
The very portrait of those people, generates kind loving thoughts and encouragement for me to be a better person.
Dalai Lama is one very obvious example.
The sight of his image on the paper, or the mention of his title, provided me with the much needed nudge on "Karma".

"What goes around, comes around..."

It makes me think - I will not get to see him, but other Melbournians or Sydneysiders or Hobart villagers who will be in town during early December can!
That's when I decided to blog about it. :)

If you're interested, check out the schedule at Dalai Lama in Australia website.
If you're not, THINK AGAIN!!! :)
For those who are already going... CONGRATULATIONS! I imagined it would be a very very very big moment in one's life.

I truly hope I'll get the chance again.

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."
-- Dalai Lama

PS: Just remembered, a while ago - a good friend of mine from work lend me the DVD of Kundun, which is "based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet." (from Wikipedia). It was a really good watch, highly recommended! :)

Confusing Advertisement

2009-11-28T12:19:00.002+11:00

So I saw the pictured ad on this week's The Age Good Weekend and it confuses me. Which side is it on? Is it promoting the 'stop smoking' idea or is it selling the cigarette?

Not until I saw the website that I understand that it is the first one.

Hmm - Am I the only one? I hope so... cause otherwise it would be money wasted on badly promoting a good cause.

2009 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize

2009-11-27T07:17:00.001+11:00

A while ago I stumbled upon this Flickr set of the finalists for the above mentioned award. I was intrigued by the amount of $$$ awarded to the winner.

It's a whopping $20,000!!!

I put a note to check the winning photo, which was announced yesterday, 26th November 2009.

Anyway - have a look at the Flickr set and try to guess the winner!

Personally, I find that though there are some really good photos in the set, some of them are rather bland, and a few were... a tad disturbing. :P
Perhaps I need to work on my "art" vision!

When you're done... find the winning photo here!

So, did you guess right?

Flickr Set: Yarra River Photowalk

2009-11-25T07:15:00.005+11:00

This Flickr Set || Eddy's Photo Set || Mark's Photo Set

Photography: The Beginning

2009-11-23T20:21:00.007+11:00

I've been taking photos for quite some time and lately I'm getting very keen on the prospect of earning a living from photography.

As a result, I'm obsessively taking photos in every event that I joined or invited to, or those that I have perhaps organized to create the photo opportunity.
Returning home from the event, I spend a few hours post processing the images before I upload them to:
Flickr,
Digital Photography School - Photography Forums: Share Your Shots: (The Visual Weekly) and (The Visual Weekly - Week 4 Combo 2),
here,
and The Visual Weekly;
and then publicise them as much as I can; i.e.
Facebook,
Twitter,
and through bulk emails to friends/relatives.

I'm joining and submitting photos to Flickr groups.
I'm considering to get on to Red Bubble, Interface Lift and Deviant Art. One of my photo finally made it to Taste Spotting and I was ecstatic!
Also considering to get my own domain, www.shelvialoveridge.com, to host my portfolio and photo blog. Should I? Where will I find time to maintain this?
Moreover - what about photo competitions? The WeeklyPhotoComp.com seem intriguing enough or even Photo competition. Enter your photography into our photo comps at Photo Art Gallery.

On top of that, I'm subscribing and reading RSS feeds from some really good photographers.
Looking for tips and tricks on how to produce better photograph; browsing their photos to get ideas as to what looks good; checking out lenses and any other equipments that I might need (flash? backup battery or battery grip?).
Looking up books for more tips and tricks.

Questions...
"Should I also consider printing out my images?"
"What is the best method to post process images? Lightroom? ViewNX?"
"How do you organize your images?"
"Which one do you publicize?"
"Which is true? Publish less - only the best ones? Or, get your photos everywhere to heighten your chances of getting 'discovered'?"
"Seeing that I'm just starting off, should I be careful with over publicizing my photos? People might use it without copyright! But - if I don't publicize them, how do I get into the field?"
"Should you keep all your photos? Even the crappy ones? Why? Clutters! But - it might be handy one day?"

Ah.. the information overload, the questions... How do one manage it all?

Photography is a quite tricky field.
There are already lots of branches for photography.
Plenty different paths one could take.
Yet, very small window to be the "guru" of that particular branch.
I am only just starting off, so I simply want to join the lines of Professional Photographer (even if I can't pronounce the "photographer" word well enough yet!!!), getting paid to take photos.

More questions...
"How and where do I start?"
"Is my photos worth paying for?"
"If not, how do I make it worth paying for?"
"What photography branch do I want to take? People photos (Tara Whitney), Travel/Landscape (Alex Wise), Photojournalism - (Brian Dube's New York Daily Photo, Nat Ma's Goodbye Melbourne, Hello New York), Food (Taste Spotting), or Fashion/Studio photography (Amelia Soegijono, Robin Alfian, Matt Bell)?"
"If you're reading and you're a professional photographer, where did you start?"

Hmmmmm... I guess at least I am finding my way around.
Kindly reminding myself that - "It's about the journey, not the destination."

Happy 1st Anniversary

2009-11-23T00:01:00.000+11:00

Mino ♥ Boris forever

Flickr Set: Make The Cut - RMIT '09 Industrial Design Graduate Exhibition

2009-11-21T17:00:00.007+11:00

This Flickr Set || Facebook: Make the Cut || Make the Cut Official Website

Good News vs Bad News

2009-11-21T16:16:00.002+11:00

For some reason, the 1.5 hour long Yoga class leave me with lots of interesting thoughts. Today was no different.
I was thinking about one thing, and then another, which led to another. In the end, I produce a really good resulting thought. :D

The next time someone asked if I want good news first or bad news first, I know which one to pick without hesitation. Everytime. :)

I will choose to get bad news first.

Reason being... I don't want to promote the thought that good news is followed by bad news within my brain. Cause as that happens more, my brain will get used to put itself in a wary state when it receives good news. I will be less likely to fully enjoy the effect of the good news.

Does it make sense? I hope so.. I am pretty happy with this resulting thought. It's my first psychology own derived conclusion by thinking of my brain as a separate object to myself which needs to be controlled. :) tee hee hee...

Today's Two Interesting Web Findings: Time & Darren Rowse

2009-11-19T23:23:00.001+11:00

In an attempt to cultivate my interest and grow my knowledge on Photography; I started subscribing to "Digital Photography School" RSS feed a while ago. The articles are useful and/or interesting to read. Whenever I found the time to browse the website, I found a handful of articles that tickles my curiosity as a beginner photographer. Constantly! That is how good that website is. Their archive is full of posts with handy tips on photography and gorgeous snapshots.

I found out today that the guy behind the website isn't a professional photographer. WHOA! How is that possible? This person creates MULTIPLE great things and have them all going in parallel. Grr....! I can't even find time to create ONE great thing. I guess I need to try harder, or smarter.

The name is Darren Rowse. He's a Pro Blogger. From my web research, he sounds like an interesting family guy with a good humble head on his shoulder. He lives in Melbourne too! For some reason, I've always thought that DPS is US based. It definitely proves to me that on the web, one's location doesn't impact the greatness of the product that one creates. Plus, here in Australia, we really do have access to enough resources and knowledge to actually compete with the Americans.

Yay!

And then... just as if they can hear my cry in my recent blog post, "Life's Most Precious Commodity, Dumb Little Man posted the answer today!
"Seven Ways to Create More Time In Your Day"

I need to get working on my ONE great thing.

G'day to you all!

New York Daily Photo: The Last Taboo

2009-11-19T07:12:00.001+11:00

Have a read at this blog post, New York Daily Photo: The Last Taboo.

Great article. Definitely tickles my need to voice an opinion on this subject.

"... But I do hate the parents who somehow have decided that they are superior to everyone else because they have kids." - this is totally relate able for me! Being a semi-newlywed (yup! nearly our 1st anniversary) and having my friends / cousins becoming parents all around, I noticed that it happens quite a bit.

Perhaps - the role of being a parent make people feel powerful. I can also see how it puts them on the leader role (supposed to be for the kids), which must somewhat brings out the feel of "superior"-ity. The "superior" feeling might also come from the fact that they have experienced something that the childless haven't.

But...

Has it ever cross their mind that while they raise their kids, these non-parents have filled their time with other experiences which end up improving their mind and personality? Wouldn't that make the non-parents "superior"?

Hmmm... it's definitely a slippery slope and something that has cost a friendship or two for many of us I'm sure. But I believe that if both sides (the parents and the non-parents) are willing to put their feet on the other side's shoes, there is no need for this topic being a taboo. In fact, both sides will benefit from learning through the other's experience.

A little more understanding and less judging take us a long way.