The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Why so serious?
And...here...we...go.
You need an ace in the hole.
Why do we fall? So we can pick ourselves up again.
Night is at its darkest just before dawn. I promise you, dawn is coming.
I like this job - I love it.
You either die a hero or live long enough to be a villain.
You can't rely on anyone these days, you gotta do everything yourself, don't we?

The quotes sound familiar? Well, they are from The Dark Knight and have been going through my mind the entire day and the past few days. Who said movies are bad for you? Some of them are motivating while the others are just trying to get me going.

What makes a great manager?

Someone who pulls his/her own weight for the team and contributes constructively.
Someone who motivates instead of demoralises.
Someone who stands up for his/her team instead of pinning others' faults (including his) on one person or two.
Someone who says what he/she meant rather than twisting the words as he/she pleases.
Someone who under-promises and over-delivers with the consultation of the team.

I think I can be that great manager, but I know who can't be even just being good.

Those are the things that have led to me not living my resolutions for 2010.

To change the world, we must first change ourselves - Gandhi

Simplicity version 2: Simplify to Amplify

I've been playing with my camera in full manual mode with an old manual AI 35mm f/1.4 lens. It's great to come back to the basics once in a while and it's so very fulfilling. About 20 years ago during CNY, I remember being handed a film SLR to play with for the very first time. "Turn this til the view is clear then click this button". I got it back then.

Simplify to Amplify is another inspiration that I just thought of. It's not like it's a whole new series but more of a sub-series to Simplicity is Beauty.

What triggered this idea was me reminiscing the moments I had with my late friend. There were plenty of banters between us in topics like auto v manual, pc v mac, nikon v leica and the likes. I miss those stuffs and it's only been a few weeks. Foek On is definitely the inspiration for this.

Now off to bed and hopefully this won't keep me awake...

Seeing is Believing, Believing is Seeing

I've always love to travel since young. Competitive swimming has given me the opportunities to travel places where not many would consider them as resorts and holidays while meeting new friends. I miss those carefree days whereby the routines were just eat, sleep, study and swim with nothing else to worry about. I would give 100% in training sessions just so I could qualify for some outstation competitions in order to travel as these were the only holidays I could have as a kid. There was no such thing as vacation where no swimming competitions involved.

Even then, I still got to learn so much from so "little". These exposures have made me more independent at a younger age and be more responsible for myself as well as others. Back then, staying in luxurious motels (not hotels) was a rare occasion. Dormitories with filthy restrooms, cockroaches, mosquitoes and bed-bugs were norms. I could recall once in Kota Kinabalu that I felt something crawling near my bed while trying to sleep in a humid night without a fan and only realised that it's a cockroach upon jumping off the upper bunk!

The interesting part would be the stories of one seeing "something" or felt something "weird". It didn't matter who he/she was as it could cause the sensations to both us as swimmers and the officials! I was fortunate not to have those experience by being more respectful of the surroundings....! Whew....

The urge to travel still exist in me but it's not easily fulfilled with limited leaves available as well as resources [think mortgages...!]! The urge has been further amplified since our first actual family holiday in Beijing back in 2004.

Having said that, I was and still am very excited when I received an Xmas gift (which is very rare) that has once again flamed the fire in me for more travel adventures. I'll certainly list out plenty of places I want to visit. A masterplan will be in the works soon but bring on the Kiwi land and Land of the Rising Sun, hopefully soon and with fellow adventure-seekers, esp the person who gave me the gift...

I stumbled upon this book collection while staying over at my aunt's place in Singapore and out came my camera. How befitting it is to have the photo of the gift taken alongside The World Book collection that belongs to my uncle.

Thank you so very much for the book that meant so much to me. So much with so little...

Boosting & Soothing

Seeing the delightful expression of my client upon delivering the final results of my images is priceless. This satisfaction actually soothes the disappointments that I have experienced (and still going through) for the past few months.

Anyway, here are some of the images of their 6 months' old bub that amaze them.
It's certainly a boost to my AIM - Aspiration, Inspiration & Motivation.

New Inspiration Work In Progress

I have been wanting to find my own style / niche of photography and I think I may have gotten that glimpse of inspiration. Certainly, I will try them out whenever I have the chance which is aplenty.

What is it? You'll need to be patient as lots of work need to be put through and thereafter fine-tuning. There will be some DIYs too to modify some add-ons etc.

Think light....

A snapshot of it

An Awesome Experience with The Grand Illusionist

I attended the performance by the great David Copperfield about 3 weeks back, 15th August 2009. I've always been fascinated by what he has done in the past. When it was mentioned by a friend that David will be touring Australia, I decided that I would not want to miss this opportunity to see him perform live.

Oh yeah, Webster the duck made some appearances too....! He walked through concrete steel, reminiscence of the same feat through The Great Wall, "puppetted" a maroon-coloured tie of an audience, wound himself shorter, made a piece of "magic" paper levitates/skips then turned it into a rose for a lady, made a group of audience disappeared on stage and reappeared at least 30m away in the crowd and had audiences gave random some numbers similar to his grandpa's 2 license plates.

It was truly an experience forever etched in me. His feats, though may be illusions, are certainly a form of inspirations and motivations.

Oh yeah, David Copperfield has put on plenty of weight and no longer his skinny self in the 80s and 90s! I thought he was a double!

Another tick off from my bucket list.....!

Living My Dream Sensibly

Some say he eats bullet to fly while others say he chomps silvery matters for ferocity that piss him off. All I know is that he's the Silver Bullet.......!

Well, I will be living one of my dreams in 2 sleeps and in line with my AIM (Aspiration, Inspiration & Motivation). All these while I have been driving "boring" cars. By that, I didn't mean they are not good but just normal. However, the FIATs that I drove (drive whenever available when back in Pg) are interesting that they are rear-wheel and that has actually made me preferred rear-wheel-drive cars. Other cars I have driven are '79 Civic, Kelisa, small Chev, '85 Civic Shuttle and '06 Yaris YRS Sedan. While I'm having these cars, my friends have the lowered Civic, Type R, Skyline, 180SX, Silvias, AE86, Supra, WRX, EVO, Merc, BMW, Minis, Golf GTI and the likes.

If you're still wondering the car that ticks the item on my bucket list, think practical but fast; small but big; and gentle yet ferocious! Read on and I'll get to that.....

There have been a few options that I was looking at. BMW 120d was one for the same reason that my FIAT gave me. It's has 50:50 weight distribution, 7.6sec for naught to 100 and it's BMW. However, there is a premium to it with disadvantages like tight rear legroom and small boot capacity. Further to that, the 120d doesn't have the "cult/iconic" status like its elder siblings 135i, 335i, M3 and M5. Having said that, I almost ended getting it (thanks to a friend who was waiting for his M3 delivery)! Another friend also put me into perspective.

Then, there was the WRX. Subaru does make some wonderful cars. The all-wheel-drive (AWD) that gives symmetry, thus, safety. On the other hand, there have been saying that should one go to the AWD path there won't be a turn back. Another analogy would be "Once tasted black, won't go back"! Ultimately, Subaru is still a Japanese car which may not be as refined and luxurious.

So, what are my requirements? From the above description, you would have probably listed out the following:
- Cult status with a heritage of being a thoroughbred
- Practical but tamely fast when call upon
- Small but big in terms of boot space and legroom at the rear
- Luxury but affordable without paying through my nose

Lexus IS250 may just fill the spot but it's still a Jap.

Audi A3? Hmmm....compact, stylish and decently fast but not a cult/icon.

Golf GTI? It's close, very close.......! But it's not there yet.....!

How about Golf GTI Pirelli Limited Edition of which this is the 2nd time having a Pirelli edition with the 1st edition done in 1983, totaling 10,500 units worldwide! So, what are the differences between the P edition and the regular GTI?

1) Full leather with yellow stitching, P Zero tyre designs on the seats and electric lumbar support with seat warmer
2) Titanium-varnished 18" alloy wheels with the spokes representing Pirelli's P and P-zero tyres 225 60 ZR18!
3) Darkened rear lights
4) 4 disc brakes

The more interesting part:
5) 169kW translating into 229bhp and 300nm torque (147kW, 200bhp, 280nm)
6) Naught to 100 in blistering 6.6sec with the packaged P Zero tyres (6.9s), top speed 245kmph (233kmph) with the 6-speed DSG transmission which is automatic manual without clutch pedal!
7) Combined consumption of 8.1/100km (8.0/100km)
8) Bumpers with similar body colour while the regular GTI has black coloured bumpers

For your information, I didn't get the yellow though it is the colour available only to the Pirelli version. I don't want to look like a taxi, in this case a fast taxi!

With the specs, I'm very sure it smokes most cars on the road. I don't have to live with the agony of being "bullied" on the road like those friends during uni. [Frestyler, Calpo/Froggy, Johnny were some of them!]

Mom & dad, don't you worry about me going nuts without being sensible. Check out the image below. What's power without control? Or in Pirelli's version, Power Is Nothing Without Control.
Did I mention practicality? It's a 5-door with 330l boot space. It certainly can fit my parents' luggage and my dad can concentrate on the driving in unfamiliar circumstances without worrying about clutch pedal! Perhaps, the latter is an excuse!

On that note, I'll try to get some shut eyes after some days with the twitching of my fingers imagining the paddle shifts, the lurching of my shoulder from the car's pulling power and the humming of the acceleration with gear shifting as well as the combination of the three together!

A + I + M = Es

For the past few months, I was in a situation where I reach a crossroad and not knowing which direction to drive towards. Instead, I was circling the roundabout, making U-turns and getting no where. Indecisiveness and worry exist. The global financial crisis doesn't help in this uncertain period. As depicted in the image above, the light always shines through the darkness.

Fortunately, some discussions with some friends have helped to make the situation a little better. Topics like drives, dreams, goals, fervour, fear and happiness were casually brought up. These have led me to come out with the acronym AIM. Having an aim helps one to be driven, and focused. This may result in feeling accomplished and dreams fulfilled.

Aspiration - a strong desire to achieve the dreams and goals
Inspiration -the ability to stimulate one's creativity
Motivation - the ability to stimulate one's interest, enthusiasm and zeal

The eventual outcome may be in various forms like Excitement, Elation, Enlightenment and even Encouragement for one to pursue further.

I've gotten my AIM. Have you?