photo journalism

first lesson got me thinking, a lot.

second lesson got me thinking, even more, to the extent that im baffled!

the word he used was 'compassion' and i've yet to understand what he meant. he said that pictures without the 'compassion' will just be snap-shots.

i was out today and snapped some shots. i still don't get it. how can my pictures help whoever or whatever i've shot? i can't get it, yet. somehow, i'll get it.

its so intriguing. i've never thought so hard about anything before. wow.

if only

last friday, i found a purse!

i was just walking around raffles city with jaime and i stepped on something. i looked down and found a black purse. i opened it and there was a car key, an atm card and lots of $10 notes. and being such an honest person, i brought it to the information counter. the guy at the counter told me that they've ran out of forms for lost and found items so he couldnt take down my particulars and all. so i just left the purse there.

damn. can you imagine if the purse belonged to this young, hot and single guy. too bad i couldnt leave my number. sigh.

if only...

monday with lydia

what happens when you put two silly happy girls together?

lydia and phoebe happens.

shopping, a lot of eating, and the talking never stops.

it made monday feel so much better.

oh... its already tuesday. hmm.

today, i start saying hello

i started school this week. and today i start saying hello.

you must be wondering what the hell im talking about. well, yesterday's photojournalism class has given me a whole new perspective to life, people and choices.

our lecturer taught us many life lessons, and i bet there's more to come. being a photographer is not only about how well you can handle your equipment, skills can always be learned. the first thing is to never judge a person by how he or she behaves, what he or she says, or how he or she reacts. we will never know what that person has gone through and its not fair to judge that person based on what you see.

he dislikes our singaporean culture. i understand why. its somehow embarassing that 'face value' matters so much to us. 'it doesnt hurt to say hello to a stranger'.

he pointed out the neglected old folks of our society, especially in chinatown area. it was like a wake up call to do something about it.

in that few hours, i've learnt so much.

so today, i start saying hello.

movies

i watched two movies today.

i've never done that before. and come to think of it, i spent half my day at Shaw House today. and im kinda sick of it now.

Shooter was... too confusing that it became boring.

Meet the Robinsons was so freaking funny! i loved it.

i had fun today. im happy.

carrie and friends

i like carrie. i like talking to her, editing radio capsules with her, having lunch with here and sharing my thoughts with her. carrie, you're a strong girl. remember that. being strong doesn't mean that you cannot cry. its perfectly fine to cry when you're upset. the difference between someone who is weak and someone who is strong is that the weak person will just cry, while the strong person will cry and then pick herself up from there and move on.

i feel blessed to have good friends.

and a smaller bum now. that picture was taken before trekking up mountains. im pretty sure my ass is smaller now. i can't wear that pair of jeans without a belt anymore.

my dear goddaughter

my dear goddaughter has been a very good girl (really?).

her godpapa misses her very much.

happy easter.

good friday

happy good friday to you.

i finally went out with lydia, and she totally loved the funny black doll with detachable eyeballs and mouth i got for her from Chiang Mai.

funny how we get along together so well.

thanks for the little thoughtful gift, i love it :)

Chiang Mai - the proper post

looking awfully unglam 8am in the morning on the plane. it was so exciting!

a little more glam, up and ready to set off.

this is a radio production studio at Chiang Mai University. look, they're using Apple and even have a soundproof room for recording! freak... uber cool.

Day 2, up the long long flight of stairs to this temple.

lots of kids sitting around dressed in tribal costumes to make some money. sigh, this kid is too adorable. i paid 20baht for this picture with him.

a huge gigantic bell, donated by... someone to the temple.

the sky was such a nice blue, and carrie and i are all brightly dressed. sweet.

if the temple doesnt interest you, find something else to do then. take some funny pictures.

it was so freaking hot, feels good in the shade.

a waffle dog from a street stall. waffle was good, them pointing at my boobs - wth.

Day 3, a long long walk around the city. through a local market.

nice car eh.

this is... i honestly have no idea. but it sure is freaking huge!

resting at a really interesting bench. look at the tiles!

biscuits!!! an awfully old-school shop.

a visit to the night market. and they were selling puppies for 1400baht (that's about $60!)

this guy makes keychains, and he's so freaking cool. all his tools are attached to his wrist and fingers. uber cool he is.

squeezing in a song tiao, all 14 of us.

Day... i cant remember already. we were waiting to record our forum with the Chiang Mai University students on our topic on 'Culture and Tourism'.

haha, look at shah!

Start of our 3 day trek.

and my shoes were already giving way.

hmm, what's ben doing?

its only the beginning, that's why we're still smiling.

this dog has a RED nose! whoa.

lunchtime.

trekking was uber fun!

we were literally thrown into the forest, far far away from civilisation. staying over at the Karen tribe village. with this awfully skinny puppy.

and pigs.

the air was dusty from the forest fire. explains why joyce is wearing a mask. most of them were down with sorethroat and cold. i think i was lucky to be fine.

this is one of the Karen tribe shelters, where we slept for the first night.

good thing they had a toilet. its fine going in the day. at night... whoa its spookily dark!

more trekking the next day. it was so freaking hot and dry.

and we went for a really uncomfortable elephant ride. oh my goodness, the elephant kept shooting snort at us. ew.

we finally reached the waterfall, where we stayed over for the second night. uber cold the water is. and for the first time, i jumped off a cliff into the waterfall pool. no big deal? hell it is. especially when you cant really swim well. uber scary, but it was uber fun! what's ben doing again?

sleeping in mosquito nets. hell this place has freaking lots of mosquitoes.

the waterfall was lovely.

this is the toilet at the waterfall, a 15m walk away from the shelter we slept in. i drank a couple of cans of beer chang(one of their local beers) that night while playing bridge with everyone. hell i needed to pee so badly, it was so freaking dark. carrie and i were screaming all the way there.

we ended the long long trek with bamboo rafting down the river. it was crazy. in fact, we didnt need the bamboo rafts at all cos we were spending most of the ride in the water. hmm. and getting dunked so many times i cant even remember. only thing left of that ride are bruises on my shins. i look like i've been abused. ouch.

Day after trekking. COOKING CLASS!

a housewife in making eh?

actually, mr felix is the real pro. check that out!

10 days passed so quickly, time to pack up and go. memories of room103 at Riverside Guest House. sigh.

taking a last bite of cakes and ice-cream at this cafe. sweet ending.

Chiang Mai

im too lazy to upload pictures at the moment.

tomorrow perhaps.

in a nutshell, i had a great time. having good friends and getting to know others better.

bruises and cuts, memories of the 3-day trek up and down the mountain, off a waterfall cliff and bamboo rafting down the river.

im happy.