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Project superblah

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Oh, awesomeness. The order for the new Videocamera arrived today and I had a ball playing around with it. Though the camera uses Mini-DV tapes (Its been around for a while) its much much better than the older, bulky video cam that I used previously. It used Hi-8 tapes (who uses Hi-8 tapes anymore!) and needed all sorts of cables to be connected to transfer it from the camera to the computer. It was very confusing to use. Trying to transfer the video on my computer was a nightmare with all the crashes and freezes and blue screen of death.

But the new digital video camera uses USB 2.0 cable. Thus it was so easy to use and transferring the video was such a cinch. Just plug it in, and switch it on. Then transfer it over with your choice video editor.

I found an old mini dv tape that I used for school and played around with it.

One of the tape contained footage that was supposed to be for my school project during my multimedia class in 2001. I couldnt use it in the end. This was because I couldnt managed to transfer the video in time and my video camera loan was up. So the tape has been lying in my drawer all these years. Until now.

What do you think? I used the software Windows Movie maker to create the clips. It isnt as nice to use as Ulead Studio Video that I used previously as in the software tends to be a little sluggish and there are some tweakings that I cant do (like customizing the audio) and limited transitions. But it was still good enough to use. Anyway it comes in bundled with the winxp operating system. So I wont complain. 😛

I also found footage from the previous school that I was attached to and watching these clips made me reminisce upon how much I missed the kids there and how much fun I used to have.

Its not that I’m not happy with my present work. I do feel pretty satisfied with where I am at the moment. I have many interesting things to do everyday. But the mood here, its a little different. I dont get the chance to have the same type of interaction with the kids as I had previously. And I miss that. A lot.

I like teaching kids IT. I like showing them little tricks that you can do with a bit of clicking and typing. And the beautiful or cute and fun things that you can create with a little bit of thought.

Over here, people think of me more of the:

1)Technical Assistant – fixing computers and printers.
2)Videographer
3)photographer
4)Programmer (aye??)
5)Multimedia conceptualist
6)Loads loads more

I’m not complaining. Really. Really really. Its just that I feel that the mood here is different. Alot of people (teachers even) were surprised that I actually teach!

Well, I miss the kids anyway. I even had a dream scene of some kids a few nights ago with some kids thats I taught with another ex-colleague in the previous school.

In the dream scene, they were entrepreneurs, in a shop, selling some things. And I was walking by and passed through the streets and they noticed me and called me over. The thing about the dream was that I was amazed and even touched that they remembered me.

I’m getting old. Reminiscing about everything.

Their N-Level results was just announced yesterday and I do hope that they get into the institutions that they desire and am happy with the results that they have gotten. Saw some kids looking really happy with their results. They were giving triumphant screams and bursts. But there were also some who looked upset at their results with their teary eyes.

I cant help but wonder, if I am ready for my own exams next year.

Anyways a final video for the moment – a bit of highlights from the year 2003. Its amazing to see the kids looking so small and cute! LOL! They look so much different now that they’ve grown up a little bit.

—

By the way, I hope that the clips doesnt make the regular browser freeze. My apologies if it does – Please let me know. I’d do a manual link if it does. And I know that I told CK that I dislike blogs that has music and video clips in them

It freezes my browser, slows up my computer and is really not pleasant to have multiple music jolting suddenly when you’re listening to your own mp3 player at the same time. I cant even pause it to stop the cacophony. Oh dear.

But the nice thing about YouTube is that it pauses at the beginning has a button that allows you to play IF you want to watch it. I also saw some nice music players like what Chas has got here.

Okay, thats my rant for today.

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Sexy Canon Digital Exus 750

Ted says : Sometimes things never go the way you like it. We all fail. But it’s not failing that hurts. What hurts is that you didn’t do your best.

Have the discipline to do little things you don’t like and you can spend your life doing the big things that you do like.

Err .. thank you for that Ted. I’ll try to remember that.

Anyway, I’ve got a new toy a work and I’m a little excited about it. The new stock of digital cameras arrived and I asked Gavin, who was keeping most of them for one to play with.

Previously, I’ve been complaining about how the school has been using backdated cameras.

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Like the Sony Mavica

I don’t know anyone who uses this any more. It’s so old school that it deserves a museum of its own. In a world full of SD-Cards, CF-Cards and Memory sticks, the sony mavica camera uses a floppy disk! And it’s 1.3 megapixels. Amazing.

And now, behold, the beautiful Canon Digital Ixus 750.

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Sexiliciously sleek and slim with an alluring champange gold body. And so small. It’s much smaller than my palm even. I’m amazed that at a resolution of 7.1 megapixel, the body was so small.

It took a while for me to get used to a point and click camera after my regular use of my regular EOS 350 DSLR, also by Canon. But I’m quite surprised that the Ixus still has a few features that I never thought a point an click would have, like ISO settings and White balance and I saw some nifty features like the photo stitch, which I really liked. (Panoramic pictures! Awesome!)

The Ixus isn’t as good as my EOS 350. The startup time isnt as fast, and each shot takes a split second to do (instead of multi-burst) The colour sometimes isn’t so true to the real thing too. But it’s like comparing apples to oranges. The Ixus is most definitely useful for travelling around and those situations when you just dont want to carry a huge camera around.

Beautiful camera. I like it alot.


Colour may not be true


Sharp images using macro view


Focus on an object and blur the background like a slr 🙂


May not be good for quick moving subjects

But overall, is an awesome camera – so now Imma gonna kidnap this camera for a while 😉

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Of what dreams may come

I had the most interesting dream this morning.

I dreamt that I was sleeping in bed and I opened my eyes to find my bedroom door opened. I didnt liked sleeping with the door open so I rose to shut the door. I realise that the door was green, and there was a dresser beside the bed and outside the window, where the moon was shining brightly was familliar swaying of trees, still buildings and the soft sounds of the passing of cars onroads.

I was back in my old house again.

The house that I lived in for over two decades before it got demolished. I wasnt frightened. I felt safe and protected. It was a place I was familliar with. My sanctuary. I was happy even, to see everything as it was. And I wanted to explore to see more.

So I opened the door.

I see a little boy and a little girl which looked like my siblings, only younger. They didnt notice me. And my father, sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper, quietly. He doesnt notice me either.

But what struct me the most, was that in front of me, was my mother. Except she was younger. Much much younger. In her 20’s. She had shorter hair and she noticed me and she looked little stunned but she wasnt frightened and instead she embraced me and asked me, “How old are you?”

27, I answered.

“You could have been. You could have been.” She replied, with a tinge of sadness.

—

I’ve always been interested in dream analysis and interpretation for quite a while. Even though I am just a novice at this, I find it absolutely facinating, how the mind works when your body is at rest.

The mind, free from the boundaries of the waking logicalities, uses both the left and right sides of the brain and forms dreams when we are in our deepest state of sleep – the REM.

These visions of dreams can be a symbol of many things:

It could either be something that affects you in your daily lives. When you go to sleep hungry, a huge probability that you’d dream of food. When you are anxious about the examination that will happen tomorrow, dreams of going to the exam hall in time are very common.

And there are times when you dream of a deja vous – when you dream of a scene and then forget about it for a while and then one day you stop for a while and look around and realise that where you are at right now, is exactly like a dream scene you dreamt a few months ago.

And sometimes dreams can also be messages from the brain or other sources, in form of dreams to what it cannot translate during the waking hours. You may have problems with a very difficult situation. After pondering about the problem, decide to go to sleep for a while to try to solve it later. And while you are dreaming, you find the solution to your problem.

Dreams has even been a source of inspiration for many. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series has admitted that the characters as well as the scenes like the quidditch game and the train station, was inspired by a curious dream that she had.

But coming back to the dream that I encountered, there are a few interpretations that I can think of.

Dreaming of a house, represents yourself. The bedroom symbolises your emotional life and your privacy and relaxation. I dreamt about the old house, where I was very comfortable in. In a way, I suppose, I miss the “old life” when the world seemed a whole lot simpler.

Siblings or children in dreams are usually a representation of ourselves. Could those children actually be me? Or what I could have been?

Dreams about mothers are usually symbols of the nurturing aspect of your own personality. Dreaming of conversations with your mother, means that you may have unresolved issues.

What I am most intruiged in is why does is my dream-mother young? And why is the entire environment so realistically real? It was as if I had stepped back in time, about 10 or 20 years ago and met my mother, in my present self. Everything was so vivid.

Am I becoming like mum?

Or maybe in the back of my mind, thats the point where I know, the rest of her life will be etched.

Maybe she wants to have a different life?

Maybe the person who wants to have a different life is me.

This dream is intruiging me.

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Yummy!

And look at what’s for dinner 🙂


Penne Arrabbiata (well, sort of)

To make penne arrabbiata, you boil some tomatoes in some water to make it easier to skin and remove the seeds. At the same time, fry 2 cloves of garlic in extra virgin olive oil and add in a piece of chili. Once they look fried and lovely add in the tomatoes. And add in salt to taste and mash them up every now and then. Once the sauce is ready, fold in the penne and serve with chopped parsley

Wow I’m on a roll! Made Gnocchi on thursday, and then my dearest taught me how to make pasta sauce so its spaghetti on friday. I’m so surprised at how easy it was to make and so tasty. I doubt that I’d go back to bottled pasta sauce again.

For the pasta sauce, fry some chopped onions in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Wait till golden brown and then add in finely chopped carrots and celery. And then add in tomatoes which is then mashed in the pan. And in some minutes, you’ll end up with a light, delicious, fresh pasta sauce. So simple. My goodness.

And I felt such an achievement when the sauce was made. But most surprisingly was how such simple ingredients when brought together, tasted so good.

No more bottled sauces!

And today, I only spent less than 6 dollars in buying the penne pasta, some tomatoes, some parsley and chilli. Ingredients for the penne arriabbata. Beat that Bistro Delifrance!

However, I think, that should be all the pasta I’ll be eating for this week. I’m sure it has alot of carbs in them. It couldnt be too healthy (could it?)

I just had myself weighed on monday and found out that I was already 57kg. Compared to just about a month ago, during the fasting month, I went down to 54kg. Its definitely not healthy.

I cant even seem to fit in the white dress I wore to the makeover photoshoot


Bwahh!

Oh well, the only thing to do is to eat less and exercise more. Whoopee.

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ho fatto gli gnocchi!

I’ve been craving for Gnocchi for days. And today, my brain and my stomach had a wrestling match with each other.

Stomach : I want Gnocchi!!!

Brain : No

Stomach : Gnochiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Brain : NO NO NO NO NO!

Stomach : Give me gnochiiiiiiiiii.

Brain : ARGH! Quiet you!!!

Stomach : I wont keep quiet till I have gnocchiiiii

Brain : OK OK! SHUDDUP! I’ll get some gnocchi later okay! Just SHUT UP!

Stomach : (Yay! I win!)

Now, Gnocchi are actually potato dumplings that can be eaten with different sauces. I gave them a try while I was on vacation with my dearest and I found that I loved them. I saw some recipes online and though I’m not superb in the kitchen but I thought I’d give it a try.

After work, I went to liberty supermarket at Jurong Point and got these loot.

San Pellegrino sparkling water – $2.60
Raguleto Sauce – $3.50
Herbs – $3.40
Potatoes – $1.90
Semolina Flour – $1.80
Parmesan Cheese – $4.20

Total = $17.40

(Not too bad aye, about the same cost for a meal at Delifrance Bistro)

I boiled the potatoes. Then mashed them and mixed them with the semolina flour. Cut them in little pieces and dipped it in boiling salted water. It’ll be ready when it floats.

I peered at the dumpling. It doesnt look quite right. Mine looked a little rough. But I added in the pasta sauce, sprinkled some cheese and the herbs and it was pretty alright.

Well, it was edible 😛

Mmmmm … Stomach like. Stomach happy.

Brain: Now, may I continue with my work?

*chuckles*

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My best friend is getting married!

Back in Jurong Institute, we’d always tease each other about getting married.

1999 Hema : I’ll never get married! I can’t stand relationships! Boys are horrible!

1999 Marina : Don’t say things like that, those who say that they won’t get married, are usually the first to do so.

1999 Juli : We’ll see who’ll get married first.

1999 Marina : The first person to get married, will buy each of us dinner

ON!

And then Hizam’s wedding came up.

Hizam was our classmate in Jurong Institute and one of the first person to get married. The teasings started.

“When is it going to be YOUR turn”

2003 Hema : I don’t know, but I just started seeing this guy and he’s seems very serious about me

Jump over to February 2005

Hema : Ladies, I’ve got news for you. Chan and I, are going to get married! I’m so excited!

Juli and me : Oh my goodness! We’re so happy for you!

I had a lovely evening yesterday night at Hema and Chan’s ROM reception. Juli and me met up and went to Chandni restaurant at the Golden Landmark hotel where the reception was held. We arrived a little late as we were trying to find a suitable gift for the couple.

About 30 mins late but we reached just in time to see the couple signing the papers.

Hema looked so beautiful and lovely and stunning and Chan looked so happy. It was so amazing to see, friends, good friends, growing up from a studious classmate to a beautiful lady.

Met up with a few other classmates, Vai, Hizam and his wife, Maya as well as Shifaa was there and had a lovely time catching up with them.

“What are you doing now?”
“How are you?”
“When’s your turn?”


From left to right : Juli, Vai, Hizam, Maya and Shifaa

We teased, and joked with each other and I couldn’t help thinking how far we’ve progressed since school days and how we’ve matured.

Vai was talking about his trip to South Africa, going there alone. Hizam was talking about his daughter, saying how the ladies of the house demanded alot of his attention and how Shifaa was talking about her experience as a teacher in a special school.

I can’t imagine this conversation happening back in school. It was more juvenile, more carefree.

We had lovely buffet dinner.

As always, I wanted to try everything. So, as usual, I took just a little bit of everything. My plate always looked heaped at the end of the table.

Delicious.


A slice of the wedding cake

The DJ made us play some silly games. Like who has the biggest tummy contest. Poor Hizam got sabotaged and got prodded by the groom who was the judge for the contest.




Support from the sympathetic wife

And the best sari contest


Feeling so out of place

Dancing contest

It was a lovely night. Good friends. Who could ask for more.

I’m so happy for you, dear Hema Sayang 🙂 May you and Chan travel many many journeys together.

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Stressful photoshoot

ARRRRRR!!!

Friday was a total total stressful night for me on my stint on a photography shoot. I had a call from Haney in the morning, asking me if I was free to do a photoshoot for a company event. And I thought to myself, why not? This would be a great experience for me to add up to. Thus I said yes.

But the event started at 6 and I knock off work at 5 and even though she picked me up, we couldnt reach there in time.

It was the time when there is a lot of traffic from people knocking off work
We were going to town
And it was friday

Poor Haney looked stressed out. Moreover, there were plentiful of people calling her up, “where are you? where are you?” making her even more nervous.

When we reached there, there were alot of people queing up already for their glamour shot. I didnt expected so many people. And I fumbled with the equiptment. Even then, Haney forgotten to bring the clips to hang the backdrop and I didnt have a flash trigger. And after the pictures session, people kept pestering, “where are our pictures? Is it ready? I want my pictures!”

I smiled and said, just a minute, we’re still printing.

It was such a mess. And I’m not happy with the quality of the pictures

But we managed to do the best we can because it wasnt professional to be angry and nervous. And I asked Haney, “How on earth are you able to stay so cool after all these”

My heart went 300km/h after the whole ordeal.

But I take it as a learning experience and I think of what are the different things I should do to enbetter the next time.

O well.

Anyways, got to get ready to go to Hema’s ROM now. And I still dont know what to wear. lol!

I’ll update later 🙂


Well, neither do I

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Shiny things make me go ga ga

My goodness, I can’t believe that we’ve reached December already. It didn’t seem too long ago that we just celebrated the new year. How did time pass by so quickly – a blink of an eye?


My classmates and GP teacher from night class on our final class for the year

During these times, I tend to reflect back on the different things and actions that has been said and done. Sometimes I feel that I am quite selfish and egocentric and only think of myself. That I am quite emotional and take things to heart quite easily.

So, I’m going to do a resolution to try to be less judgemental of other people. Why wait till the new year?


CK asked me, why I haven’t been updating as frequently as I used to. To be honest, I did type in some entries, these past days but in the end, I couldn’t bear to hit the “publish” button. As much as I’d like to express about things that affect me deeply, there is also limits as to what I’d like to share and what I’d like to keep private.

I mean, to what extent would people whom read your blog, take it the wrong way, and use it to pass judgement on you? And to what extent would people use it as evidence to use it against you?

I had to think twice.

Nevertheless, I hope everything goes well, for everyone and for everything goes smoothly.

And enough of the cryptic message. Lets move on 😛

I think I’m getting addicted to the bling virus. The bling virus is where you feel feverish and sick until you see and buy something shiny (preferably gold, or silver or diamond or other gems)

Juli took me to Lee Hwa Jewellery to look at the Purple Gold pendant that she fancied.

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Pretty purple gold with diamonds

It was interesting to me, the shiny purple was actually gold instead of a gem created by an alloy of different metals and gold. Juli looked completely immersed at the purple jewellery.

The salesman proceeded his pitch and we stayed to look around and listen to his explanation for about 2 hours. Admittedly, the purple gold jewellery was very pretty. But I wouldn’t get it for myself since it was firstly a tad bit pricey for myself (about SG$900 and above) and secondly I don’t really wear jewellery that frequently. Even the diamond pendant that mum bought for my 22nd birthday, I don’t usually wear any more. I used to be passionate about pendants – I swore eternal love and devotion to them. I promised to love and cherish them in good times and bad times.

It is now nicely hung, decorating my bedpost.

In the end, Juli left the shop to go to Soo Kee Jewellery to get for herself a cheaper purple gem pendant. “It’s not worth getting the purple gold now, it’s quite pricey” She reasoned. And I agree.

And then I promptly went to buy myself a tiara.

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Royalty suits me well, don’t you think?

Today I finally caved in to get a ring for myself at Heart to Heart Jewellery. I saw the most beautiful ring while walking around with Clement in IMM. He was searching for a gift for a friend of his and decided to get her a pendant and ring set. While he was choosing the designs, I tried one out and fell hopelessly in love with one of the ring.

I didn’t want to to extravagant and blow my budget. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the ring. How pretty it was. The final straw came when I had a dream scene of trying to buy the ring but got to the shop too late and couldn’t buy it. (I kid you not!)

So I spent a while today at the mall, and got this


You like my bling?

And that would be my extravagance for the month. Now I’ll go and skip buying lunch and say that I’m on a diet.

It was not exactly the same one that I saw at IMM but this is still pretty. I like it very much. And I will cherish and love it forever, till bad credit, do us part.

—


Work makes me happy, angry, sad and amazed all at the same time!

I’m still busy at work! I’m amazed that I still have plentiful of things to do even if its supposed to be the holidays.

Lets see:

1. Cataloguing 6 boxes full of CD’s for the multimedia library
2. Creating an animation to prettify the student’s research
3. Poster for the publicizing of the jobs software.
4. Other miscellaneous things

*blinks eyes*

At least I’ve got a new friend at work to accompany me 🙂

Say hello to err .. erm … Ted! Yeah that’s it! Ted! One of the staff workers was just about to throw Ted away when she felt sorry for it and plonked him on my desk. Of course, immediately I fell in love with Ted and cuddled with it.

He’s so fuzzy and soft.

And also great to strangle and to throw around when I’m stressed or angry. Its perfect.

Anyway, think I’ll end my post for the moment. Till the next time. 🙂

P.S

Oh! Shout outs to all the cool people whom visited marina’s bloggariffic!

How on earth did you stumble here? *curious*