Leaving on a jetplane

Will be flying off to beijing for exchange programme tomorrow, attached to 人大附中. Will only be back on dec 1.

The weather there is pretty cold (but not that cold), my little desktop widget tells me that it will be average around 0-10 over the next few days. I'm not too used to those temps, and i've never been to a cold countries during winter... but there's always a first time. Hope I don't freeze

Then must also remember to take care of belongings (esp. cam, passport, $$$)... kena warn liao there plenty of pickpockets, then the travel insurance only got partial coverage for personal belongings.

Looking forward to it :-) Will be pretty fun and eye-opening. And also it will be pretty interesting to see first-hand more abt culture and practices in China, and the state of Beijing's economic and urban development, and how certain policies have affected people. I thank the lord for this opportunity.

What are you praying for?

from ChristNotes

What are you praying for? Are you asking God to give you more stuff--a bigger house, a new car, a bigger salary? What you pray for indicates what is important to you.

It is a great lesson to examine what the people in the Bible prayed for.

King David, in Psalm 27:4, prayed, One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. He asked God for just one thing: that he would dwell in God's presence. David clearly knew that in God's presence he would receive everything he needed (see Matthew 6:33).

Paul also didn't pray for worldly things. Instead, in Philippians 1:9, Paul prayed that the church would walk in love: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more. Paul knew the importance of love, and so he made it a point to pray that the church would grow more and more in love.

Furthermore, he prayed that believers would be strengthened spiritually: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being (Ephesians 3:16).

In short, your prayers can tell what you consider to be important. If you are only praying for worldly stuff, then you are neglecting what is of lasting value: knowing God, dwelling in His presence, walking in His love, and being strong spiritually.

Therefore, decide to adjust what you're praying for. Learn to listen to your prayers, because they locate your level of spiritual maturity.

Worth a thousand words

Photography is one of my passions and very much a part of my life. Each photo captures precious moments, giving golden sunsets, or fragile pink blooms, or the hustle and bustle of a megapolis, or the cheerful bubbling grin on a baby's face a kind of timeless immortality. Each shot tells its own story, carrying with it unbelieveable emotion and memories of times long past. And it is also very much a refined and yet democratised form of art, with realism impossible to create by any other means.

My journey as a photographer

My first camera was a cheap kodak film cam, which i got as a present in P2. That was really the start of my journey in photography. I still remember walking on the beach in bintan snapping away with that cam... Then in P5, my parents got me a sony P-72 (still working today). Being digital, that provided instant gratification and allowed me to go trigger-happy without giving a fart about film cost and the quantity i have on hand.

Later i joined RI photo club; that has given me the opportunity and exposure to greatly improve my photography skills, and go beyond "point and shoot" equipment, techniques, and pictures. It has opened up whole new realms of photography like photojournalism / event-coverage in which you just can't miss or screw up any shot, and aesthetic photography like the pros.


My kit now

At the moment I'm using a Nikon D70s + 18-70 kit lens + tokina circular polarizing filter + manfrotto ballhead tripod and of course all the accessories like a bag, dry box, batts etc. Next on the to-buy list is a SB-600 flashgun and a 70-300 lens. Haha... as for the usual big debate when it comes to DSLRs (canon vs nikon, in which canon and nikon are the only contenders), i think nikon better lah. To be fair, for dSLRS both are very good, but nikon better. Canon is comparatively cheaper and autofocus is damn fast but it's bit plastic. Having tried both, i more happy with nikon image quality (no we're not talking about the canon top range chao expensive lenses), battery life, durability, handling etc.

Haha... but to each his own, to all the canon users out there: your preference, your choice, your money. I think nikon better, that's just my opinion. The important thing is that we are all united in appreciation and pursuit of photography and its artistic value and the priceless memories it captures. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Recounting 2006

One year pass so fast... Has been quite an enjoyable year, really busy, sometimes stressed out, but fun lah :-).

You'll probably already know my marks. Quite satisfied in general lah. Delighted that my maths improved quite a bit, much less careless this year. But the sian thing is... CHINESE. jia lat lah, especially that CT paper... pull my GPA down... And then i miss top for eng & msp both by 1 mark! biang eh...

Next year i'll be taking trip sci geog, geog & chem RA. Confirm want to drop malay lah, copy ppt very sian, then memorise
memorise memorise... memorise one chinese enough lah, dunwant to memorise malay liao. Then so busy need to drop something.

2M: been nice knowing everyone! Breaking down all the animosity on the surface, and the class spirit (or lack thereof), i can see that we have really grown closer together lah. Let us be remembered as a fun-loving class! 2M for marks!

I thank the lord for carrying me through this year, providing me his grace, and being my tower of strength when i sometimes feel just so overwhelmed and start to consider giving up. I realise what i can achieve on my own is so little, but with his strength and his grace, the insurmountable can be achieved.

Nice game

Check this out : Warp forest (puzzle game)