Forgetting Again

Sometimes I spend so long looking for the perfect blog layout that I find it so contradicting because I don't even blog that much anymore. Isn't life sometimes the same? You spend too much time planning the best for your future that you forget the most foundation thing in life - to live. Maybe a small part of me believes that a good layout could inspire me to continue sharing, because I need to constantly be inspired. There are truly too many thoughts that come to me everyday that I fail to pen down, and I let them go eventually.

Anyway, I'm finally back home. After what feels like - just too long. (Not actually that long when I count) But I really needed a break. I had been working nearly every single day, Sunday to the next Sunday, the past 2 months. I wanted to make the best out of 2014, I wanted to push through and hoped the hardwork of the last 2 months of the year could perhaps make it an overall better year.

So, I'm finally back home. I know this is the second time I type this sentence but the "finally" I said for the first time was talking about how long have I not been home, and this second "finally" is to emphasise that it wasn't an easy trip coming back home.

Nancy came over to Singapore on Christmas eve to accompany me on Christmas. The few days she was over, it was nothing but wonderful, to have your best friend's company when you're overseas. I couldn't appreciate it more. The day we're supposed to come back home together, we reached the bus station an hour earlier, collected our tickets, and found a cosy Thai restaurant in the mall full of Thais, ordered some Thai iced tea and talked while waiting for the time to reach. 10 minutes to 5.30pm, we packed and headed to where the coach would be.

As I walked, it struck me. 'Did I bring my passport?', I quietly asked myself. Almost immediately, I remembered where it was - in the camera bag that I carried to shoot few days back. I took a deep breath, trying to figure out what I should do before I told Nancy about it.

10 minutes later, I was outside of the coach begging the driver to wait for me at the custom as I took a cab back home to get my passport. All he said was "Try your best." But he made it clear that he wouldn't wait if the passengers are done at the check-point. I left my ukulele and my sweater with Nancy on the bus, and told her I would see her at the custom, then ran off to grab a cab while it started drizzling.

I texted my sister who had a similar experience (which proves that we are real sisters) and asked the cab drivers who know better of how long I need to get there/ if it is possible for me to catch them. Everyone agreed that it's a safer choice to be taking the next coach home instead of trying to catch up (and if it fails, then what?) So I followed. In the mean time I just kept texting Nancy that I was really sorry for being so forgetful all the time, although I was sure her phone couldn't receive any text messages in Singapore. When she had crossed the border to Malaysia, she read my text and said "I'm sorry too I should have accompanied you" But having her to not be angry and frustrated at me for being so forgetful for the hundredth time and carrying my uku & shoes bags with her around (on top of her own bags) at the check-point, it was enough. More than enough.

I think we - which is, my sister and I, have forgotten our stuff (or missed our flights) for so many times that my mom is not surprised by it anymore. "We will wait for you, no worries" I was so grateful, but so frustrated at myself at the same time, for allowing such unpleasant experience to happen when life was good and sweet. Nancy reached about 4 hours earlier than me when her coach was only about 1.45h earlier. But at the end of the day, I was so glad I was home, though it's at 3 in the morning, after being stuck at the custom for nearly 2.5 hours.

Reading about the missing plane from Indo to Sg, suddenly this feels like nothing as compared to all the accidents. My heart goes to all the victims and their families. We need more love.

Privé, Keppel Bay

Realize I can never blog consistently, I either blog a few posts in a day or not blog at all for a long time. This month has been spent sending out many emails that are still unanswered, then I realize it's not as easy as I thought to find a full-time job. Though I'd very much prefer to do freelancing as what I am doing now, taking up different assignments, flexible timing... I have to get a full time job to serve the 3 years bond in Singapore. And they have a thing that a company must have x number of Singaporeans in order to hire foreigners, which makes it even harder for me because photography/design firms in Singapore are generally quite small. I've had people telling me "I'd love to employ you if I could! But we tried hiring foreigners and it's rejected." Kinda frustrating but it only makes me want to push myself even more to do something better.

So my life the past month... I'm either too free for a few days, have totally nothing to be done... just hanging around in Starbucks reading or doing post-processing, watching movies alone, or like the past 3 days - where I have to get up early for shoot/meeting different groups of friends, joining friends to go clubbing (after a very long time),  then getting up after barely enough of sleep for another shoot... Didn't even surf the net/facebook all that much, which is good! Feel like I have a life. haha

I think when I start blogging I tend to start ranting about my life, and don't think anyone is actually interested but I type them anyway... So I survived 4.5 hours of sleep last night and then a morning shoot after! I could feel my legs aching when I woke up - 'damn, why is it not raining so we could postpone the shoot a little...' hehe. But I got up and the moment I reached the location - Keppel Bay, I was so glad to be there. The weather was perfect, and it's quiet, not crowded like any other place in Singapore on a Sunday, which is absolutely perfect for me. Although I've been getting more and more tanned, I must admit I still love the sun.

And what's better to wrap a shoot than having good brunch at the bay (Privé Cafe) with great company and lots of laughter? Always blessed to be working with these lovely girls from Fashmob!

Pulau Tioman

Bene Vagienna

I remember before I came to Italy, when I got the address of my second host family, which is located at a small town called Bene Vagienna, I asked some Italians about this place when I reached here, no one seemed to know this place. So I didn't have much expectation of the place, but the family I stayed with here, they're one of the best families I've met. Blew me away with so much kindness. And it's absolutely beautiful, the weather seems to be much cooler than anywhere else in Italy, beautiful house, pool, outdoor meals, making pizzas, baking chocolate lava cakes for the family & chocolate cheesecakes, sweetest dogs, endless laughter where I learned speaking Italians and the parents trying their best to learn speaking english. Brought us up the heels and so I could experience sliding on snow for the first time on a sunny summer day, had fun teaching me about different wine, cheese, meat, chocolates after every meal because the dad is obsessed with it, and so are us... I just have to come back again in the future. One of the most perfect days in my life. So simple, yet so rare and beautiful. 

Postcards from Italy

I have been in Italy for quite a while now, actually only 2 weeks but I'll be leaving in another 2 weeks! So I initially intended to post at least one photo everyday on instagram to document what I have been doing so I could remember when I looked back. Unluckily my phone broke halfway and didnt wanna switch on anymore. Me, I see it as a hidden blessing, so that I could enjoy my trip more... (My host family is so kind that they gave me a cellphone so I could use during emergency) And since I always get too lazy to retouch the photos when I'm back home, I decided to start uploading them and writing things down before I forget them. My experience in Italy so far, is a mix of different kinds of people and food. Some are good, some not so. Italy isn't exactly how I imagined it would be, but like any other countries it surprises me in different ways everyday.  Here are just some postcards from Italy, pretty views. World cup finale tonight, also last night with my 2nd host family (which is awesome), will be spending it having barbeque by the pool, playing cards and watching the world cup. I've come to appreciate simple days because they're always the best!

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

It's been a few weeks since I came back from Australia but I have yet to sort out all the photos I've taken (which is not very surprising...) I was thinking if I should blog about it day by day or place by place. And I guess it'll be less messy to post one place by another rather than day by day since we might have visited a few places in a day.

On the third day in Gold Coast, we decided to head down to Brisbane to visit Lone Pine - the world's first and largest koala sanctuary. They don't only have koalas actually, there are also kangaroos and other Australian wildlife. In a moment you'll see why it's such a lovely place to be. Kangaroo is hands down my favourite of all! They aren't locked in cages, so if you want to you could approach them and hand feed them. Koalas are adorable too, but they're so lazy they basically only eat & sleep. We're lucky enough to spot the baby koala sleeping in its mom's arms when we were there. Too adorable!

Fashmob

This post would probably summarize 50% of the images I've created the past few months. Last October I received an email from the owner of Fashmob - Rachel, asking for my photography rate, and here after half a year I've been shooting for them for about 20 launches! Time really does fly. I often tried not to post too many photos that I shot for online stores because it wasn't what I wanted myself to be known for. Moreover, the one behind the camera shouldn't be the one who steals the spotlight, right? You should just be quietly creating beautiful images to aid the business. But I am certainly thankful for the opportunity, and it has to be one of the things that I'm most grateful of - to have met these people. We explore different places together, do silly things just to get into the location (and then getting chased out...), encounter funny incidents like having monkeys surrounding us... Slowly we become friends, and during one's birthday we would go out for nice dinner together.  

It took me a while to pick the images because there're just so many photos, and they might look messy together since they're all from different days and locations. But I'll try.

If you like their clothes, head over to their website and have a look. I've shot them so I know that the quality of the fabrics are usually quite good. 3 years ago I came to Singapore just to study, so I only had friends from my school, maybe that's why I'm always happy whenever I get to know people outside of my school, to know how other schools are like in the same land. And sometimes classmates can get competitive and it becomes complicated, friends outside can just be friends. 

In less than a month I will be traveling to Italy for a month, which means I probably would have to miss out some of their launches, but I believe a vacation or break from photography will often make you see things from a different perspective again when you're back.