Day 59 - May 29, 2010

I hate shopping
I'm the sort who buy clothes and stuff not when I want to but only when I absolutely need to. So when I hit the malls once in a blue moon, I go on a spree. And what better time to do it than during the Great Singapore Sale?

Today, I bought 1 x earrings, 2 x bed sheet sets, 2 x bowls, 3 x shoes, 3 x beauty items, 4 x daily wear and 6 x towels.

This was shot while catching my breath over a cup of teh C and kaya toast. Shopping is such hard work.


Consider this a public service announcement: Get rid of stagnant water to protect your family from dengue fever.

Day 58 - May 28, 2010

Caged
Some people dread working on a public holiday. Not me, uh uh.

Really!


Bite me.

Day 57 - May 27, 2010

Take me home, bokeh roads
This is where I live. Just follow the bokeh and you'd find me.


Loading up on vitamin C.

Day 56 - May 26, 2010

The crazy things we do
I had shot something for the day but wasn't entirely happy with it, so I took Flash for a walk late at night armed with my camera. Shot some traffic bokeh - not nice. Wanted to shoot my favourite tau huay - couldn't find a table. As I was heading back home, I spotted this retro toy grabber machine and nailed my shot at close to 11.45pm.

The next day, I chatted with KY about the toy grabber craze and we laughed at the folks - grown men among them - who have nothing better to do than to spend money playing this game and collecting soft toys.

Then I suddenly realised who was the truly crazy one - I, who prowl the streets in the middle of the night taking photographs.

(Special thanks to my fellow crazy zub Zusanne for helping me with my grammar! Yes, 365 captions almost must sub meticulously one!)


Yummy gummies for mummy, who surprised me with them once when I was sick (and sick of nothing but bland mushy food).

Day 55 - May 25, 2010

A parting (pot) shot
In Dec 2004, Taufik Batisah, who had just won Singapore Idol, came to the company for an interview and everyone queued up for his autograph. Don't ask me what I was thinking but I actually asked him to sign on my favourite potted plant and he nicely obliged.

You may remember that on Day 2 of this project, I had taken a shot of this bamboo plant, which was still doing rather well. Unfortunately, I think I've jinxed it and it withered at an alarming speed from there. After eight beautiful years, I guess I finally have to let it go.

To see Taufik autographing my then-thriving plant, go here: http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4641507050&size=large


Get well soon, mama, from all of us (including Randolph).

Day 54 - May 24, 2010

Crash
I was walking home after dinner, pondering what to shoot today with just a few hours left, when I ran into this accident site. There were no other vehicles involved and I was puzzled as to how this car could have ended up like this. I quickly stole a shot with my phone before doing some investigative work by talking to some neighbours sitting below my block. Apparently, a taxi had stopped suddenly to pick up a fare. The Merc, which was following behind, was forced to swerve to avoid a crash, ramming into the walkway as a result. And where is the taxi now? You tell me.

This is a stretch of road I pass by every day and I have boarded taxis at this very spot on many occasions. I think I will have to look for another safer spot to do so in future.


Dr Kwok, as my self-medicating mum is sometimes known in our family, is forced to go to the hospital because she got dengue.

Day 53 - May 23, 2010

Ready, shoot... eat!
Presenting my Project 365 kakis, KY and S. We went to Tiong Bahru for a photo outing this morning and of course no trip there would be complete without eating the famous chwee kway and its divine chilli.


Wandering around Tiong Bahru in the blazing sun while suffering from a hangover, all for the sake of a photo for this project.

Day 52 - May 22, 2010

Fifteen
Some ties will never be broken.

Best viewed large


Admiring the view from the roof of J's new Japanese restaurant, Kinki, where handcuffs and nipple clamps are not on the menu.

Day 51 - May 21, 2010

This too will pass
The company changed its logo some time ago and they are in the process of replacing our security passes. We were given the choice of taking a new photo or using the old one, so of course I decided to let my youth - or what remained of it in this 2002 mugshot - be frozen in time. To my surprise, the security guys chose another photo for the new pass, one that I absolutely couldn't recall when I took. I really much prefer this ancient but fresh-faced me and it was with a tinge of sadness that I surrendered the old pass after snapping this photo.


After a month of driving my dad's car while he was away, I am back to the joys of public transport.

Day 50 - May 20, 2010

Solemate
I'm no fashionista, so it feels good when I get the rare thumbs up from people who have far better fashion sense than I do. This pair of shoes has received the most compliments among the items in my limited wardrobe and I thought it deserved to be 365ed before I wore it to death. It's very cheap yet comfortable - my idea of the perfect footwear.


I search in Holland Village, Jelita and Ghim Moh for the prawn cracker sticks I'm so addicted to, but there appears to be an nationwide shortage and there is none to be found.

Day 49 - May 19, 2010

If only there was autumn in Malaysia
I'm a big fan of our neighbour and I'd like it even more if it were cooler. The heat was unrelenting in Kuching and it must have gone to my head cos I actually attempted this shot under the burning midday sun. Madness.


This photo depicts a relaxing day at work -- the exact opposite of what I had today.

Day 48 - May 18, 2010

Ambidextrous is nothing
Let's just say this baby orang utan at the Semengoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is learning very quickly to put all his limbs to good use at the same time.


Bare naked ladies -- one glossy, one matt -- in the office lobby, for some unfathomable reason.

Day 47 - May 17, 2010

Kuching, 35 years later
In 1975, my father, who worked in a company that sold refrigeration parts such as compressors and pipes, travelled to Sarawak, Sabah, Hong Kong and Thailand to look for business. My mother took a month's leave to accompany him. Every day, they would hit the streets, going from door to door asking shop owners if they needed the goods. It was hard work but he managed to break into these markets as a result.

During this trip to Kuching 35 years later, my parents recounted many anecdotes from the past, including how a stranger drove them to a seafood restaurant a long way from town and bought them dinner. My father also paid a visit to an old friend's shop, which was still standing in the very same place, although it is now run by the son as the elderly man had retired.

What would Kuching - and the world - be like, 35 years from now?


I hadn't even set off for work yet in the morning drizzle and already I was wishing to be back in bed.

Day 46 - May 16, 2010

No smoking
And I thought smoking in an aircraft is an offence.


A trip to Shanghai isn't complete without a meal at that famous xiaolongbao restaurant that, ironically, hails from Taiwan.

Day 45 - May 15, 2010

Smile if you're gay
By gay, I do seriously mean the most original meaning of the word, which is being happy. The message I took away from PinkDot 2010 is that regardless of who you are and whom you love, everyone deserves happiness. And oh my, it felt good to be in the company of 4,000 wonderfully gay people at Hong Lim Park.


I travelled around the world in five hours -- on foot, no less -- at the Shanghai Expo.

Day 44 - May 14, 2010

Melinda and Rosanna
The Macau girls are friends I knew through Flickr and they are in Singapore for a few days after their Egypt trip. We met up for dinner with a few Flickr members and it was a lot of fun. Tonight's gathering also marks the first time I'm meeting strangers from cyberspace... and I lived to tell the tale, hur hur hur.


A full-day of work-related site visits and interviews conducted in rusty Mandarin, but I took time to smell the flowers -- or weeds, if you must be so specific.

Day 43 - May 13, 2010

别想歪了
Only in Singapore will you see signs using language so mangled you are literally at a loss for words.


I thought I was fond of honking, but the drivers in Shanghai put me to shame.

Day 42 - May 12, 2010

Have you had your Vit C today?
I may appear to be a meat/sashimi lover, but trust me, that is the wrong impression. I actually adore fruits and vegetables. A lot.


What's the big deal over this 3-D business anyway?

Day 41 - May 11, 2010

大家学成语
其实午餐过后就拍了一张很满意的照片，不过我觉得还是这张比较有 意思。


I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I've grown completely unself-conscious about eating alone in restaurants, and don't even need to read a book or fiddle with my phone (except to snap this photo, of course).

Day 40 - May 10, 2010

New iPhone prototype leaked again!
Stop laughing at iPhone users who can't zoom.

Disclaimer: Saw this idea on Flickr some time back. As they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery.


I'm rearranging my heart, literally and figuratively.

Day 39 - May 9, 2010

Flash's diapers
This is what newspapers are used for in my house. Yes, he has done his business on my byline photo before - and yours, yours and yours.


It smells terrible and does not look particularly appetising, but my sissy's favourite Vietnamese dessert of che dau xanh is rather yummy.

Day 38 - May 8, 2010

He's happy, I think
Flash is 13 today. In human years, that makes him 91. Happy birthday, my dear boy!


So frigging hot that I basically holed up in my room with both the fan and aircon at full blast.

Day 37 - May 7, 2010

O$P$
You never know what's gonna hit you. Today, I ended up unexpectedly in a hospital bed for a few hours, recovering from a minor surgical procedure that had me completely knocked out.

I snapped this in the A&E waiting room - before I realised the gravity of the situation. It says "5" in the picture but making my payment was actually step 2 - right after the registration and temperature screening - even before I saw any nurse or doctor. Gotta love the efficiency of our system, don't you think?


Deja vu farewell, except I didn't shed any tears this time round.

Day 36 - May 6, 2010

We did 50 Downward Dogs -- at least! I lost count! -- and this was the view I saw each time from between my thighs.


Why work so hard?
This was as lazy a shot as it can get. I just put my camera at ankle level and let the AF do its job.

Day 35 - May 5, 2010

My third trip to Ikea in a week and I still haven't managed to take a photo that is Ikonically Ikea, so this will have to do.


Ever notice broccoli looks pretty creepy up close?


Give me Taiwan or Japan any day
I give the food at ION's Itacho Sushi a respectable A2 but its service gets a straight F9. They messed up my order of this salmon belly sashimi not once but twice and served me salmon sushi instead. The second time round, I politely asked the waitress what it was she placed on the table and she actually raised her voice at me.

Welcome to Singapore.