Congratz, Jimui!

So, I promised to treat my jimui lunch as she passed her ACCA, while she treated me movie, The Journey. Hmm.. She is a bit naughty this time. She didn't even tell me this good news, I had to hear it from one of our common friends know? And, I had to stalk her wall to find clue. Well, her mum commented how proud she is when my jimui passed the subject that she undertook alone (self-studies). Grrrr.. Eh, you should have told me right? In fact, I should be the first one to know leh.. *sob sob*

Anyway, we went for brunch at Delicious and we spent THREE hours there. Haha...

This photo is taken from their website.

Chicken Katsu Curry on Spaghettini - RM22.90
The pieces of chicken are all breast meat though..

Napolicious Spaghettini - RM22.90

Their wall is painted with cages too.

I like their pillow, it's so nice to hug.. Hehe..

I love their deco, the cages and all...

We were there for three hours to discuss about our year-end trip. But erm, it's still too early to decide where to go, as we both are so broke right now. So, the first thing is to save money. Another thing that we are concerning about, is the uncertainty as to whether we could apply leave for our year-end trip. Some companies just don't allow staff to take one-week-plus trip right? So.. Since we couldn't decide anything, finally we left the place and went shopping. Though my jimui wanted to hunt for dresses, she didn't manage to find any, except a pair of ear-ring. Haha...

Then we went for the movie, The Journey. First thing, the story is touching, and second thing, the "angmo" is quite handsome leh! (I said quite ar, not very ar.. lol) See the hot air balloon in the poster? I wonder if it could really work (though according to the theory and formula they showed in the movie it could really "float" lar). Anyway, I think I fall in love with an "angmo" like him, in the sense that, he tried his best to understand the Chinese culture despite of the disapproval of his father-in-law-to-be about the wedding. His efforts in trying to communicate and comprehend is really touching, especially the interaction with his father-in-law-to-be. And the part where, from not appreciating having a baby to looking forward to be a father. To be honest, I wept.

The movie poster

After having a piece of cake at Secret Recipe, we bid adieu. Though it was just a short day out, I'm happy to have spent time with you after soooo long. Again, congratulations ar. Remember about your promise k? Your turn to treat me lunch with your first ACCA salary! Hehe.. :D

'Till next post, cheers :)

Chilling Out

So, it has been months since our last meet up. Four of us was supposed to meet up, but the other two were not free, so, it ended up just ZY and me. I was quite disappointed though. But, it turned out to be an enjoyable day. It was my first time singing-k until I lost my voice! LOL

We went to Replay at The Scott Garden. ZY said the rate there is cheap, and yes, indeed it is. The rate from 11am-2pm is just RM9/head for 3 hours. We arrived there at 12.30pm+, after registered ourselves, we started to our room and sang like nobody's business! Oh, especially me, I wasn't singing I think, I was technically screaming.. Now you know why I lost my voice? lol.. BTW, we ordered some BBQ chicken sticks (I forget what it's called already) for RM18, quite expensive, but the sauce is nice. We wanted to extend for one more hour. But they said the rate would be RM30!! Wah, then we decided to chiao!

We then headed to Bangsar Village. I wanted to buy bracelets for four of us, so we started to shop the outlets there. We found some nicely designed ones, but they aren't waterproof, so... Sad to say, but after few hours of hunting, we couldn't get any. We found what we wanted, actually, but they only have three of it, we want FOUR! Aiks..

ZY was feeling very tired already, so we went to the bakery that she has been wanting to go:

Tous Les Jours, Bangsar outlet. Click here for more info.

She said it's quite famous de :)

The moment we pushed the door opened, we were utterly overwhelmed by the aroma of their varieties of breads. I am not sure how should I describe it though...

The moment I held the door opened, I almost drooled *a bit exaggerated lar* lol

Btw, those breads on top of the hanging shelves are for display only.. Haha..

Managed to snap a photo of the cashier from our place.

Here comes the gist of the day:

Devil's Food Cake-RM10.50.
We could taste wine! :)

Smoked Turkey Ham & Cheese Roll-RM12.

Sweet Garlic Stick-RM1.80 *Super duper nice!!*
Croissant-RM3.30 *Very crispy!*

Cafe Cappuccino (Hot)-RM8.

I like the way the silver-ware was being presented :)

We spent slightly more than one hour there because we were so reluctant to leave. The environment and the atmosphere there is awesome, okay? And, some of the "Angmos" hanging out there are quite handsome looking also. LOL.. 

Anyway, before we left, managed to capture this:

Somehow or rather, I find this a rather vintage kind of outlook..

Though I've always knew that the quality of photos from phone camera is not so good, but I didn't notice that there's such huge difference from those photos I took using my NEX. Hmm.. Anyway, we then left Bangsar with a heavy heart. Wait, not because of that. Heavy heart because the time to be with ZY had up! It felt so good to meet up with you after so long, ZY. Looking forward to our upcoming ice-skating session. Hopefully they all could join us this time! :)

'Till next post, cheers :D

Nicholas, My Sifu

Okay, this is my first time writing a post specifically about a person. So, please bear with my poor adjectives. Ahem ahem.. Well, I know him through a friend (in a way) of mine, and the first time I saw him, was just his photo. Erm, ya, he looks quite rebel in it though (no offence, lol). Then, the first time I met him, was during a "training" session. At a first look, I could feel that he is not a very stringent person, as in, he is flexible in terms of "presentation" style. His explanation so detailed, his attitude so sincere, a willingness to share his knowledge and experience with us. Though it was just my first time meeting him, he appeared to be a friendly and patient person. Oh, by the way, one of his eyes is double-eyelid while the other is single-eyelid (I know it sounds weird, but it doesn't look weird, okay? Weird right? Hmm..) The fringe is just about the right length to show the best part of his face. His masculine voice enthusiastic, his eyes radiate warmth. (Wait, I think I crap too much.. lol..)

So, he is my sifu in photography. Why am I writing this post? Well, he has taught me a lot of knowledge and share his experience with us. I had totally no idea what are aperture, focal length, bokeh effects and so on. But after a period of time learning from him, I got some of the basics. I'm grateful that we went to some places to take photos, Thean Hou Temple and KLCC. Though I'm still at newbies' level, I'll certainly do my best to improve. Hehe..

Feeling weird? Because of the wrong setting on White Balance.
(I wouldn't have noticed it should he had not told me)

Was trying out the effects of different shutter speed. The right one is more fascinating right?
Left: 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO-200;
Right: 1/5 sec, f/22, ISO-200.

Some of the background-defocus photos:

How: Zoom to the max, and apply the lowest f-number available.

1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO-200.

1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO-200.

1/5 sec, f/5.6, ISO-200.

1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO-200.

Okay, I regretted for not having enough conversation with him. I was basically, you know, too shy!! WT!! I should have seized the chance but due to communication barrier, I... Sigh.. I should really start brushing up my Cantonese!! I feel so sorry for not being able to help him much when I was asked to. He is leaving for a better prospect and stepping onto a further milestone in his life. I've only known him for a short period of time, but I feel so reluctant to accept the fact that he is gone......

Okay, I know it looks weird, because I cropped the other person out. lol..

All the best in your future undertakings, Nic. Do keep in touch. I'm grateful to have met you in my life. I'll forever see you as my photography sifu!! Looking forward to the day we cross path again :)

P/S: These recent few days you wore long sleeves right? And I must say, you do look smart in it :D

'Till next post, cheers. :)

My CNY 2014

Happy Chinese New Year! 

It's a horse year, and let us run as fast as a horse could possibly gallop!!

*I know it sounds weird.. lol..

Erm, I don't know exactly how I wanna compose this, because, as usual, my CNY is usually not as happening as I hope it to be. On the New Year Eve, my relatives came back for the Reunion Dinner. However, one thing that upset me a little, is that, three of my cousins rather spend their time in UK touring the Europe, than spending it here with us! One of them just had her convo for Master in well, some engineering course, one is still on her way finishing her last sem of degree, while the other is there to basically give them company! Why, why don't they come back? But frankly speaking, if I were to switch my position with them, I might probably choose to do the same. Because, I hardly have the chance to go overseas!!

We gambled a little to kill time, and, I was the "Tauke" (aka The Boss) for the game Black Jack. Ya, we don't know how to play "Cho Dai Di", so I guess BJ is one of the lamest games you could possibly think of. But, to me, I do like BJ quite a bit. I had a capital of RM5, all of which were coins, and, our bet ranging from 10¢ to RM1! I know right.. I won a few ringgits only to loss them again in the later rounds.. Aiks.. Then, I nearly felt asleep awaiting the time to pass. Luckily, the movie Avatar was playing in the drive, and it caught my attention. It wasn't the first time watching the movie, but since I couldn't seem to recall much, I sat down with them in the living hall. As soon as it passed 12 midnight, only then, my dad and uncle lighted up the firecrackers,we were just there, indoor, covering our ears from the "earth-shattering" blasts.

Out of a sudden, I realized I love my hair just like this :D

The next day, we departed half an hour later than planned, and arrived the temple at around 9.30am and proceeded with the prayers. We were in hope to catch some lion dance, like the one we watched about two or three years ago. However, they didn't seem to have had the lion dance arranged, or, could it be that we missed the show? Aiks.. We then left in disappointments. :(

Basically, we had "Soh Mee" (in Hokkien) or "Chang Shou Mian" (in Chinese) every morning during the festival. Sometimes, the portion prepared turned out to be too much that we had that for lunch as well.. Haha.. Then, only during dinner, we had all the favourite food served! Despite of the uprising price of the prawns (I heard it's now selling at 1kg for RM30++ ?), we still had it for five days straight! Hohoho... :D

One of the many dinners during CNY :D

Let's see. I think we didn't go anywhere on the first day of CNY, we were basically at home, awaiting some guests to pay us a visit. They did come on the second day though. Hmm.. Me, on the other hand, kept myself hidden in my room to quickly finish my novel which should have finished weeks ago. Hmm.. Come to think of it now, though I have a habit to read novels - especially those with the background from the olden England (where the gentlemen bow and the ladies curtsy kind of cultures) - in hopes to improve my English, somehow or rather, I felt as if I've wasted a lot of time reading "non-productive" materials. In other words, people in my age, whom are in the process of turning into an adult, tend to read more on self-helps, motivational/leadership, finance/investment etc etc, I reckon? But, what have I been doing?

Not that I've never read ANY productive materials before, all right? I did, some of my favourite authors are Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, T. Harv Eker; one of my idols is Richard Brandson; I read news (not as often as everyday though) from Bloomberg, Forbes and Fortune (my subscription just ended few months back). Oh, and The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is a nice book too. So, I realized that I have no more time to waste. Right after I finished that particular novel, I searched my entire book-shelves for a book that my friend gave it to me as my birthday gift, The Traveler's Gift. (Thanks, Sky ^^)

Oh ya, forget to mention something. I tried the light painting again. Hehe.. I snapped some photos of "HCNY 2014", and I wrote the Chinese word of Horse too. :D

I don't know what this is, but the flares are nice :)

Not bad right? Hehe..

Since schools reopen tomorrow, all of my relatives left today, one after the other. And, a not-so-long CNY break has inevitably come to an end. The house is once again back to the deadly silence, long gone the laughters that filled the atmosphere. The New Year cakes and cookies are almost finished, so are the drinks and desserts. The decorations are still on the wall, awaiting to be removed after the 15th day of our Lunar calender. We, on the other hand, are still in reluctance to switch our mood back to serious matter (eg, studies or work). Oh, by the way, as a Hokkien, we have to "Bai Tee Gong" (in Hokkien) on the 9th day of the festival, which means, we will have to stay up late this Friday. Hmm... Anything in mind to kill time? Gamble, chat, read, or watch movie? Hmm...

Wish you guys have a joyful Chinese New Year! :D