2014 Reflections & Welcoming 2015

Another year is coming to an end and time really flies........ !!! 

Here are reflections of my year 2014....

There are 2 items that I wanted to do in 2014 since Jas is in NS and does not need our attention so much.

1) To get serious with my Photography hobby taking up some classes and go in depth into it.

I joined the Photographic Society of Singapore last Dec and attended the basic modules on how to use a DSLR digital camera. I am happy with my knowledge gained and I am using my Canon DSLR to take better photos.

It has broaden my knowledge and I am now pondering whether I should go deeper into DSLR category or remain as a pure hobbist and stay in the prosumer arena ( eg. buy a prosumer digital camera and used it for daily and travel purposes ) as the investment in the DSLR equipment and accessories ( eg. time to upgrade my DSLR camera body and buy more lenses and filters,etc.... ) and  is huge and I must make good use of them. Also, while equipment is important, it is still the man behind the camera once the techniques have been mastered.
I will make that decision in early 2015.

In 2015, I like to spend more time mastering the techniques in using Photoshop CS5 and maybe explore Lightroom 5 too.


2) We wanted to travel overseas twice a year, excluding my frequent trips back to Penang to visit my parents and sister.

We visited Melbourne in Australia in July and realized that as we have aged, the cold weather is not for us anymore.... at least not winter... ha... ha.... !!!

We also visited Sichuan in China and saw the UNESCO Heritage sites - Juizhaiguo and Huanglong, not forgetting Mt Emei and the Panda Sanctuary too in October.

In 2015, we planned to visit Hokkaido and one more place to be determined in coming months.... maybe Vancouver + Alaska cruise or Santorini...?


Jas turned 21 and my niece, Amy Cosby, got married this year .... !!!

We did some upgrades to  our home; namely, replaced the old fluorescent tubes with LED tubes and there has been significant savings in our electricity bill since then, replaced our main wooden door and downstairs toilet door, replaced the curtains in the upstairs rooms, bought new mattresses for our bedrooms, a ergonomic chair, robot vacuum, electric sewing machine and washing machine.

I started my Apsotheraphy treatment in late Feb and was able to walk without my bulky knee brace in May. I was so happy with the progress BUT unfortunately, I hurt my left knee again while alighting from the bus in Dec and I am now back to square one with the treatment..... sigh 
Luckily, it happened after my trip to China. I am working towards recovery by end 1Q 2015.

It was a bad last quarter though as my mother fell and had to replace her left hip ball bone, followed by my father's fall and needed 5 stitches to the back of his head.

2014 has not been too bad though could have been better.......!

So let's look forward to a better new year in 2005, wishing all of you out there  

A Very Happy New Year and Best Wishes too.....!!!

Dad Fell Down.....!!!

I received a call from my sister in Penang that our father fainted and fell down hitting the back of his head when he was having his breakfast outside. He has been admitted to Penang General Hospital but eventually sent to Lam Wah Ee (LWE) hospital, where his cardiologist and other Dr have been looking after his ailments. This was on Sunday 21 Dec.

I immediately booked my flight back to Pg for the following day, Mon.

He had 5 stitches for the open wound at the back of his head. 

 When I arrived the following day, he was looking better and eating well.

Waiting to do his echo scan and see his cardiologist in the evening, before discharge.

Dad was so happy that nothing new was found in his scan and allowed to go home that night.

My sister and I took a break and went to have a Xmas Eve lunch at Gurney Plaza.

I dropped by Georgetown to run some errands and saw this preparation for the countdown to Christmas at the road closed between Prangin Mall and 1st Avenue.

I quickly grabbed a bowl of Assam Laksa and Ice Kacang in Prangin Mall and took a bus home to avoid the crowd.

Well, I ended spending Christmas in Penang as I only flew back on Christmas night.

BTW, I was told that upon my arrival in Pg, it started to rain for the following 2 days. Similarly, it rained when I landed at Changi airport and it rain until the following day too. The monsoon rain must be following me around.......!

Unfortunately, Dad came down with flu just before I left Pg but recovering now after taking some antibiotics.

What an ending to my 2014.......!!!

My Mum fell in early Oct and broke her hip ball bone and the my Dad fell in Dec, all in the last quarter of the year.

I injured my left knee again when alighting from the bus and slowly healing again but all my effort with the Apostherapy treatment is back to square one.... sigh

I hope we will have a better 2015....... so wishing all of you out there a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year...!!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year....!!!

Sichuan - China Trip 2014 More Videos

Here are more videos taken during our recent trip to Sichuan in October 2104, they were taken with just a compact digital camera so the quality could have been better if taken with a better device like a camcorder but  they are still good enough for viewing and it brings back memories of our trip.

So I hope you will enjoying viewing them too ......


It was so crowded with visitors, mainly the locals, and we were being pushed by them..... young and old, male and female......especially while walking to the Pearl Shoal Fall.....!!!


This is the Guests Welcoming Pool. 


The blue sky with the clouds was lovely, at the beginning of the video.


We have to travel on these roads along the mountains to reach places like Jiuzhaiguo and Huanglong, and at about 4,000+ meters at the highest point and very cold outside too. I think it is quite amazing how the roads were built along the mountains.


It was drizzling when we were at Huanglongxi Ancient Town. I like the greenery shown in the last part of the video. 


It was still drizzling when we took the small boat across the river to see this huge Buddha statue. We were allowed to go to the open deck on top of the boat though it was a bit rocky and still drizzling.



We visited 2 monasteries, Baoguo and Fuhu, at Mt. Emei before we hiked up to the Golden Summit the following morning, which was the most challenging walk of the whole trip as it was wet and so misty but then quite an experience though.

Sichuan - China Trip 2014 Photo albums

I finally reviewed the many photos taken during the Sichuan - China trip and put them into Facebook albums for sharing.

When the Facebook album of photos is displayed, please click on the first photo and it will be displayed individually. You can then forward it by clicking on the > sign on the right.

Go to this link for more photos of Juizhaiguo https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152614239878127.1073741842.740248126&type=1&l=0a9cc29394

Go to this link for more photos of Huanglong https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152615068888127.1073741843.740248126&type=1&l=51e38b50f7

Go to this link for more photos of Dagu Glacier https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152615643138127.1073741844.740248126&type=1&l=a2448b1ecb

Go to this link for more photos of Mt.Emei https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152615958483127.1073741845.740248126&type=1&l=b722ea5575 

Go to this link for more photos of the Panda bears https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152618830208127.1073741846.740248126&type=1&l=fc9a55b45f 

Go to this link for more photos of the Face Changing - Sichuan Opera https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152619787338127.1073741847.740248126&type=1&l=942727d00b

Sichuan - China Trip 2014 Videos

Here are 4 videos taken during my recent Sichuan trip that should be of interest.......!

So enjoy them......



We visited the Panda Bear Sanctuary in Chengdu and caught these 3 panda cubs playing ......




This is the famous Sichuan Face Changing performance, the main attraction of the Sichuan Opera that we attended one evening.



This is the acrobatic performance from the Sichuan Opera.



This is the puppet performance from the Sichuan Opera.

Jiuzhaiguo - Huanglong - Dagu Glacier - Mt Emei - Chengdu , China

We went on a 9 days trip to China to see the UNESCO sites in Jiuzhaiguo and Huanglong, including the Dagu glacier, Mt Emei and the Panda Sanctuary in Chengdu.

The scenery in Jiuzhaiguo was unique but the others were a bit over rated, I think.

Unfortunately, 8 out of the 12 people in this customised tour were  not well from altitude sickness... including my wife and I.

Here are a few photos from the trip..... enjoy!

Five-Colored Lake, Jiuzhaiguo

 

 

Huanglong

 

 

Dagu Glacier

 

Mt. Emei

 

Panda Sanctuary, Chengdu

 

 

There were 3 highlights from this trip..... good and bad...... ha...ha....

 

 

- Jiuzhaiguo park was lovely and the main highlight of the trip.

 

- The challenging walk up and down Mt. Emei with the wet, drizzling and misty weather.... about 45 minutes walk one way.

 

 

- Altitude sickness.... headache, vomiting and some diarrhea too, 8 people fell sick on the trip at different times....!

 

 

After this high altitude experience, where we went up 4 mountains and above 2,500m.... I have no intention to visit any more mountains this high.....ha..ha....!!!

 

I took many photos and still in the process of reviewing them and select a handful to make a photo book for easy of viewing and safekeeping.

 

Definitely, a very good experience but no more altitude sickness though.....!

 

 



Mum Fell Down ....!

My Mum fell down in the kitchen in the early morning, just a few days after my family and I visited them in Penang at end Sept.

X-ray and MRI showed that she has fractured her hip bone and the ball portion of the leg bone has to be replaced but the socket is still good. Surgery was the only solution.

My younger sister, Sook Wei , and her daughter, Amy, flew back to Penang immediately to assist my elder sister, Sue.

I met them at Changi airport when they were in transit to Penang.

Subsequently, I also flew back to help with keeping Mum company in her ward the whole day.

It was a painful experience for Mum and a challenging time for the family too.

Mum is now back home and slowly recovering.

We got a night nurse to help look after her now.

I will be flying back to visit her in Nov and with the family in Dec too.

Happy Birthday ..... !!!

We celebrated my birthday a week earlier as I have to fly back to Penang to help care for my Mum, who fell down and had to go for an operation.

Here I am with my Mum in LWE hospital Penang, where I spent my birthday with her in her ward.

In the evening, my sisters gave my Dad and I a cake for our birthdays as my dad's birthday is also in Oct, about about 2 weeks after mine.

Another year older and wiser, hopefully,..... ha... ha......!!!

Holiday in Penang - 22 to 25 Sept 2014

The family flew back to Penang to visit my parents for a couple of days and also take a break from hectic Singapore.

Playing mah-jong on the kitchen table with Dad and Mum mentoring me, a novice to this game.

Playing mah-jong back at the hotel at night too as there was nothing much to do if we were not going for a movie in 1st Avenue mall, next to Traders Hotel.

We managed to do some shopping in 1st Avenue mall and Jas found a replacement for his torn street soccer boots.

This modern and clean food court is called New World Park and the Persambu ( or Indian rojak ) can be found there with all the local food like char koay teow, koay teow thng, hokkien prawn mee and more.....!

Of course, we could not leave Pg without eating the famous Pg Rd teochew chendol too!

 Jas managed to take a dip in the hotel pool before we left..... but it was a hot day though....!

 We took a late afternoon snack at the hotel café before we left for Pg airport as we were flying the late night flight and  would miss a proper dinner.

Our favourite, Club Sandwich, which we ordered almost every night for room service supper in the hotel.

( After we left for Spore on Thu night, my Mum fell in the kitchen on Sat morning and had undergone an operation to replace a ball bone in the hip socket joint on Sun night. I will be flying back to see her next week. )

Studio Lighting Photography Course Certificate

I was awarded a Pass with Credit for my Studio Lighting Photography Course that I attended in May 2014.

The class was conducted by the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS).

Here are the 6 photos I submitted for the class assessment :

Jason's graduation bear

Wine and grapes 

Old film camera

Butterfly portrait - studio lighting

Rembrandt portrait - studio lighting

Model portrait taken during the class

My photos mounted on black cupboard for submission.

I actually bought a set of basic studio lighting with a background cloth and set it up at home to practice what I have learned. Of the 6 photos, 3 of them were taken at home ( graduation bear and portraits of Jason and I ) and the others during my class. 

This is my studio setup at home :

Ideally, I should have two more lights for the background but it would have exceeded my budget.

I bought a photo light box to take still photos and a couple of desktop lamps for lighting in this set-up.

To-date, I have attended the following classes to further my interest in Photography:

- Digital Basic ( Night & Lighting ) Photography

- Digital Basic ( Foundation ) Photography ( using a DSLR camera )

- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Image Editing

I look forward to my next class, Basic Travel Photography this month.

Hotpants the Musical by Dick Lee

We saw the musical show, Hotpants by Dick Lee,  last night at the Drama Centre and thoroughly enjoyed it....!

We also managed to get a few photos taken with Dick Lee and the cast after the show, it was their last night.

We managed to get Dick Lee to have a photo taken with Jason when he was on his way out to the lobby. He was very nice and obliging to the audiences approaching him for a photo to be taken with him.

 We also got the autographs from all in the cast after the show and have a few photos taken with them too.

Joakim Gomez, a previous Singapore Idol contestant and currently also a DJ too.

Nikki Muller is also a host for a couple of programmes on TV, on food and travel. Very bubbly personality....!

Finally, one more photo with Dick Lee after getting his autograph.