Reunion Dinner - 2015

We have our Reunion Dinner with my in-laws a weekend earlier and we gathered at my mother-in-law house for the occasion, as usual.

On the eve of Chinese New Year itself, we went to a nearby cafe for our own family reunion dinner and unlike the typical Chinese restaurants where they are fully booked, we have a quiet dinner and there were only a handful of customers.

We booked a table in a Chinese restaurant a couple years ago, but we found it too expensive and stressful as we have to eat at a specific time and it was like a mass production.

We used to have steamboat at home for many years but decided to go simple this year.

Chinese New Year Decorations - Shopping Malls

We were at Bedok Mall during the weekend and there was this booth that took photos with CNY decorations for free, so we went for it.

It is the Year of Goat but due to the western influence and trying to win the younger generation over, the sheep stand in for the goat instead.....!

I like to take photos of the decorations put up in the shopping malls and here are a few of them.

Bedok Mall entrance and inside the mall itself.

 Inside Parkway Parade Mall

Inside VivoCity Mall

Bedok Central 

Guess who I met in Marina Square ?

The nurseries near my home are fully stocked with plants and flowers, and customers are flowing in daily until the eve of Chinese New Year.

Happy Valentine Day...!!!

We celebrated our Valentine Day with a lunch at a Japanese restaurant with our Jason and then went shopping for the rest of the afternoon.

I love you and Jason too....

Preparation for the New Chinese Year

As we are approaching the Chinese New Year, we are motivated to clean the house and a good time to throw out things that we re not using or have no need for it.

I wanted to finished painting the car porch that was done mid-way 2 years ago as I was still recovering from my mild slipped disc on my lower back but it was raining on and off, even if it is just an afternoon drizzle.

Luckily, I managed to paint the metal gate as the paint was peeling off and some rust at the bottom of the frame.

I took 2 mornings to paint the gate and underestimated the effort required as I was trying to paint early in the morning and targeted not more than 1.5 hour each session but it took more like 2.5 hours instead.....!

We managed to do a lot of cleaning around the house with additional sessions with our part-time helper.

Overall, we did a reasonably good job but there is always room for improvement. There is always next year....ha..ha...!

Chinatown - Chinese New Year 2015

I went to Chinatown to take some photos of the Chinese New Year decorations and also some shopping for goodies, especially the black groundnuts... something unusual....!

I went there a bit early and the decorations were not lighted up yet so I returned 2 weeks later.... and it was a bit too crowded to my liking...!

For more photos, click on this link below :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152833619243127.1073741849.740248126&type=1&l=943104e7d3

Travel Photography

I was awarded a Pass with Credit for my Travel Photography Course that I attended in October 2014.

The class was conducted by the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) ;
http://www.pss1950.org/

The following photos were submitted for my class assessment :

 Seagulls were taken along the beach in Sorrento, Victoria - Australia

 Bird was taken in Cranbourne Garden, Victoria - Australia

 Pillars in the Concourse Building at Beach Road

 Colorful old shop houses and a new building in the background

 Fencing of a mosque in Georgetown, Penang

Tower inside Melbourne Central station

The photos are mounted on a black cardboard and submitted to the PSS for assessment before they award me a certificate with their grading. Beside my course instructor, there are at least 2 other instructors who would judge the photos.

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

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

- Digital Basic ( Night & Lighting ) Photography

- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Image Editing

- Studio Lighting Photography

- Digital Basic ( Travel & Techniques ) Photography

I have also attended a 1/2 day workshop on how to maintain ( ie. clean the camera body and lens ) my DSLR camera gear.

I look forward to my next class, Macro Photography in 2015.

Happy New Year ... 2015.....!!!

Time flies and here we are... welcoming another new year in 2015...!!!

Click on the link below to see some photos of Christmas in Singapore.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152709800778127.1073741848.740248126&type=1&l=ea070afa59

It is amazing that there is supposed to be 12 days of Christmas celebration but I am seeing Chinese New Year decorations replacing the Xmas decorations in some shopping malls already since the New Year....!

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....!!!