Perceptions are the truth

Late last year around this time, i wrote that this would be a year of changes. While everyone was predicting the economy to power ahead strongly, i wondered aloud on this blog why people cannot see trouble times ahead.

I wondered aloud why people are not taking to the idea of joining AMAZING Races and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? to get a small windfall to tide over troubled times..

True enough...
The year saw lots of changes. MNCs started retrenching... Our economy got bruised and went into recession... i brought a D300...

I guess, in the nutshell, we all like to hear good stuffs...regardless if its the truth or just plain lies.

So this year, i have wised up. Being very adaptable and resilient even in hard times like this.. i would like to make the following prediction for the coming year.

1) It would be a very busy year. All of us would work for our money. And we will end the year 2009 unexpectedly on a high.

Dont say you didnt hear it first on this blog. =)

Regards
Crystal Ball Bearer.

HDB launches 2 new BTO projects in Choa Chu Kang, Punggol
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 30 December 2008 1626 hrs

Hurray!
The govt has decided to build more 3/4 room flats to cater to the needs of our new generation.

Over the years, the govt has ascertain that big houses are no longer the way to go and many prefer to have small cosy home. This is often seen as a benefit to the new generation because after all the hardwork they put in throughout the day, the last thing they want is to come home and still have to find time to pack/clean their large house.

In addition, smaller houses are cheaper to maintain too.....

OR ARE THEY?!

While many of us prefer to have smaller home.. this phenomenon has already been 'forced' upon us about 15 years ago.

Despite ballooning home prices, the govt has built smaller and smaller and smaller flats over the years..
Nevermind that you brought a 5Room flat in Punggol 5 years ago. Its floor area is definately not much bigger than a 4room flat in the late 80s and early 90s.

Do you know where we are heading?
For the record.. my ex 3 room flat was about 90 sq m. =)

Regards
Loves Open Spaces.

I was helping some friends over the weekend for their wedding.... again.

After all these weddings, shooting can become rather routine. And you can get a very sore middle finger (its hurting even as i type this...)

I shot the whole of saturday...and i shot the whole of sunday. Finally, on sun evening, after 3000 shots..i got something that i like.



I'll get better.. till then, bear with me. =)

Regards
Lukas

My right hand, middle finger is sore.. very sore.
I think it has been abused badly.

Regards
Sore Middle Finger.

Heard this over the weekend while i spent quite a fair bit of time in my car...

I know its a nice song from a long time ago but when you are obviously tired and not concentrating on driving, your mind would often wonder to other things like the song that is playing on the radio..

And after scrutinizing the song along PIE... i finally realise what the song is about.

I have my angels with me.. do you have yours?

Angel - Robbie Williams

I sit and wait as an angel contemplate my fate
and do they know
the places where we go when we're grey and old
cos I've been told
that salvation lets their wings unfold
so when I'm lying in my bed
thoughts running through my head
and I feel that love is dead
I'm loving angels instead
and through it all she offers me protection
a lot of love and affection
whether I'm right or wrong

and down the waterfall
wherever it may take me
I know that life wont break me
when I come to call
she wont forsake me
I'm loving angels instead

when I'm feeling weak
and my fame walks down a one way street
I look above
and I know i'll always be blessed with love
and as the feeling grows
she breathes flesh to my bones
and when love is dead
I'm loving angels instead

and through it all she offers me protection
a lot of love and affection
whether I'm right or wrong
and down the waterfall
wherever it may take me
I know that life wont break me
when I come to call she wont forsake me
I'm loving angels instead

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whether im right or wrong,
Life wont break me.. as long as when i come to call, she wont forsake me..
Im loving angels instead.

Regards
loves an Angel.

Tomorrow, I will shoot with what the pros are shooting with..

Im sure i will look very pro.

Regards
D300 User.

FLASHBACK..

"Post no. 470

Let me share with you the nitemare that i had last evening.

If Dow doesnt hold at 9998 and STI dont hold at 1998, then 7000 and 1200 is the next support level.

To be frank... that would be really disastrous.
WHY?
Because i wont have bonus to buy my D300 / D700. =(

On the bright side, Crude Oil prices is below $90. On track for the $70 mark. BUT...if the equities market is anything to go by... the days of $30 may be here soon.

I once told a friend over steamboat that the equities market is ahead of the general world economy climate by about 6 months...
Good luck guys.

Regards
Silver Lining beyond the Dark Clouds."

The crude oil prices are at 35USD now. =)
Suddenly everyone is saying that crude oil prices can go as low as 20 USD. What happen to the 200USD prediction?

Just to share something with the newbie drivers who only gotten onto the road over the past year or so..

Back in 2002.. when crude oil prices were at 35USD, Caltax/Esso were retailing their 95 RON petrol at $1.10. & Sooo... you think that $1.43 for a litre of 95 RON petrol is cheap? Think again?

With better refining margins and technological advancements in crude oil extraction and distillation... The increase efficiency should have been able to offset inflation over the years. But that obviously didnt happen.

Might as well... else did all our unscrupulous merchants find reasons to raise their prices??

Regards
Cant do anything citizen.

For the record..

I still love my country to bits. And i will still defend it against any intruder.



I just dont like some of the contradicting policies that is governing the country.

Regards
Sporean.

Not too long ago, i read in the papers that a certain fellow citizen of singapore (Mr & Mrs Ong) tried to pull one on the local cops.



What happened was SPF decided to park their car under a shelter which was rightfully reserved for them during emergencies and our fellow citizen obviously was unaware of this. Mr Ong & his wife decided to highlight the incident to the on duty cops.



The story did not have a happy ending as Mr Ong was fined for parking in an unauthorised location and also given a reprimand for his actions.



One of the reasons given by the SPF spokesman was that they were responding to an emergency (which incidentally was questioning someone at a nearby kopitiam) and they were parking at a designated lot.

Flashback to some years back, i saw someone burning thrash at my voiddeck beside my mailbox/dustbin.
Fearing that this might lead on to something more sinister (read my lorry on fire post and how my pics were used by Stomp & the local papers).. i called the SPF to report the incident. I waited a good 30mins before they finally arrive.
They questioned the guy for 10 minutes and subsequently told me that they would warn/educate the guy so that he would not do such a thing in the future.

During the 30 min wait, i made another 2 calls to 999 to enquire the lengthy delay between my report and the arrival of the SPF.

Fast forward to Mr Ong's case.. if he had understoodd the SPF manpower shortage and the intricate responses accorded for various crimes (i.e Mas Selamat vs Arson/vandalism).. he would perhaps have known that it doesnt pay to be a good citizen.

Mr Ong should really just have minded his own business. He would have saved himself from all the trouble...and the parking summon that he got for being nosey.

On a sidenote..
Theres always 2 sides of a coin. In this case, the SPF seems to be portrayed as being very professional.. but i cant help but question..

1) If it was an emergency..how come still got time to park at sheltered location.
2) If it was an emergency.. how come still cna walk back with Mrs Ong...and still be in time to catch Mr Ong taking photos of your car...
3) Define emergency.. =)

Oh well... its hard to be good citizens. If only all of us have the greater interest of the nation at heart.. Maybe Mr Ong would have gladly left the SPF patrol car alone.

Regards
Ex-Good Citizen

I was flipping the 'Recruit' section this afternoon...

Im proud to say that i have shortlisted 2 potential job listing for my career switch.

Choice No. 1



I will drive the toyota Taxi. Being a toyota driver.. i know how fantastic their machines are when it comes to fuel consumption. (Im still waiting for someone to take up my 800km fuel challenge).
At $85 rental per day... and 36 rental free days (aka leave).. This is a opportunity not to be missed.

Choice No. 2



Oki, this is tough work.. walking in the afternoon sun and working wierd hours occasionally (~nite parking). But i think this is a job that gives me real satisfaction. My primary target would be rich ah sia kia who drives their father car. hahahah..

I can just imagine their face when the approach their car with their ah lian GF in tow to find a summon on their windscreen.

Im not sure why people are so concerned with the 'deepening' economy crisis... there are plenty of satifying jobs out there.

Regards
Job seeker.

Im not the only one who is feeling shortchanged..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 December 2008 (Straits Times)

The answer is that public transport fares are not directly linked to oil prices… Refuting the idea that fares are directly linked to oil prices, he pointed out that ‘from 2007 to this year… oil prices went up 40 per cent, but fares went up just 0.7 per cent’.

However, in the last two years transport operators have cited increases in oil prices as a reason for asking for fares to be increased. One report (see below) even reported operators as citing higher oil prices as the “main justification for a fare rise”.


23 March 2007 (Straits Times)

In the past two years, the operators cited higher oil prices as the main justification for a fare rise.

2 August 2007 (Straits Times, AsiaOne)

Back then, the operators blamed high costs - in particular the high price of fuel and manpower - for the need to raise their fares.

Today, the companies are citing the same reasons - manpower and energy - for their fare increases.

1 August 2008 (Straits Times):

In a statement on Friday, SBS Transit said it is applying to raise bus and train fares because fuel and energy costs have “increased significantly in the last year”.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alrite guys...as you can see. We have jump the gun and heap too much blame on our poor Transport Minister. You guys are too quick and too bias and as a result...your judgement is clouded.

I think the rootcause of the prob is that our Transport Minister is mislead by the information that was prepared for him prior to the session.

Let there be no doubts that we have a pool of competent leaders.

Regards

For those who are lucky enough to be married and reading this..

Qns : Ever wonder why it takes soo long to get your actual wedding day photos?
Ans : Because the photographer is lazy.

You can however avoid this situation by giving him a bigger ang pao.

Regards
Lazy Photographer.

BREAKING NEWS!

MAS SELAMAT HAS BEEN CAUGHT!

Look! They have removed the 'WANTED List' from my voiddeck's notice board.

Good Job...SPF!

Regards
Feels safe again!

"Public transport fares among issues raised at MacPherson dialogue session
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 21 December 2008 1931 hrs

SINGAPORE : It would take a further 1.5 percentage point hike in GST if bus and train rides were to be made completely free.

Why not? Quote and unquote from previous discussion with the govt, GST affects mostly those with spending power. So lets all bite the bullet and let the rest of us reap some benefits in tough time by making transport totally free!

Going to the other end of the spectrum, if rides were to be made completely free, that would impose a heavy tax burden on the people, as it takes S$1.2 billion just to run the bus and train systems annually.

If u scout the profit & loss statements of each transport company.. it states that they make about 200 million per quarter (estimate). 4 quarters is 800 million per company and 1.6billion for both company.
Waaaooo... 400 million of profit.

Mr Lim pointed out that even with subsidies, it will still be the public which ends up paying. Mr Lim elaborated: "There are only two persons who pay when it comes to public transport fares. One, I use - I pay. Or two, I use - you help me subsidise my ride. What happens when you subsidise my rides? That means the taxpayers are now paying.

Thanks for telling us. At the end of the day... its still our money. Just like CPF.

If we link all these reports and interviews by our leaders, i suspect we might just be able to finally understand what our leaders are thinking.

Regards
PAP Supporter

I get frightened easily..



Regards
Frightened.

My joints are aching and my chest feels congested and i saw some funny pimples on my body (which mgt be blisters)
I think i mgt have HFMD.

What an appropriate way to start my holidays

Regards
Only Kids have HFMD.

He went on and on about Superband... and i just cannot even supplement the conversation.
I seriously need to start watching some TV.

Regards
Who is Shiya?

Every year... i blog about the marathon at least once.
This year...its not going to be any different, albeit its alittle late.
Marathon came and went about 10 days ago.

I was there... not to run. I did say last year that my supporters will have a shorter wait this year and it turn out to be true. They didnt have to wait. Hahah...

Back to this year marathon. Why didnt i run?

1) I didnt have time to train. Im overwhelmed with alot of things on my mind and running is simply one of the last priority in my life now.

2) It is expensive. $60?!?!?!? No way.

3)

Can you even see the finish line?

Sheese... totally crowded. I cannot imagine being blocked for 42.195km.

I was however at the marathon to shoot. There isnt much of an incentive to shoot since i wont be getting any ang paos but i figure its a good opportunity to see how the D40 handles sports action.

For the record...i know it sucks because i have tried it previously for F1 and inline skating. I just wanted to see if the man behind the camera can overcome these limitations..

While standing in the hot sun...i began thinking..
Running is akin to life's Ups & Down.



Some people have it easier than others. For other, its alittle harder.



Sometimes the going gets really tough.



And you wonder why is life so unfair.



It can even get painful.



Very painful.



There are however those who choose to ignore the hardship.. totally oblivious to the long journey ahead.



Your family is usually your only source of support in these hard times..



In hard times like these...you can see who your friends are...



"To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."



Heck...to some...its almost effortless.



You can even look good while going through life's hardship.



However way you choose to walk life's journey... the only way is forward. Really really.

Regards
Bring on life's challenges.

Love is...
.
..
.
.
...
.
.
.
not photography. Certainly not the D300...even though im hoping Santa would take pity on me and get it for me for this coming Christmas. Its not even the kick arse 17-55 f2.8 lens nor the huge mambo jumbo flash that illuminates 500 miles away (and in the process suck all those juice from my 14 rechargeable batts).

It comes close, to me at least.... but still falls short.



Love is the undying support that i get from her...

Regards
Lukas

"Singapore's 2008 growth expected to be lower than projected 2.5%
By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 16 December 2008 1409 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economic growth this year is expected to be lower than the government's earlier forecast of 2.5 per cent. Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said this is due to the unprecedented drop in global market conditions since September. "

Oki lah, just re-forecast again lor.
We are used to it liao. Even the uncles on the streets are changing their forecast every other week.
Dont be shy or ashame to keep changing your mind. =)

Regards
Looking forward to next year.

Brother of Bush's Iraq assailant says journalist suffers from broken arm, ribs
Posted: 16 December 2008 1731 hrs / CNA

ASSAILANT?!?!?!?!?
I seriously think this is taken way out of context.

Regards
Totally amused.

There are a few things that i learned about myself today..

1) I cannot be in control all the time.
It rained the whole day and how do you do a decent outdoor shoot when your camera is not water proof?

The D300 happens to be splash proof and well suited to be used in rainy conditions.

2) Im seriously going to screw up some couple's life in the near future.
The D40 is starting to feel inadequate. The SB800 without the external battery pack is inadequate. And my GP batteries are inadequate.
Last but not least, i feel inadequate myself sometimes...

3) Indonesia chinese are rich people. Really really.
Shooting for free is fun because you got no obligations when it comes to delivery of photos. However, if the couple surprises you with a angpao at the end of the dinner (that incidentally can last me 3 weeks of lunches and dinner and some bubble tea), you will drive home hoping that you got some really decent shots..

4) Im tired.

Regards
Tired Shutter Bug.

Boys' Brigade Sharity Gift Box project falls short of target by about 60%
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 13 December 2008 1828 hrs

I have done my part. Have you done yours?

Regards
Sharity Elephant.

Its been a exhausting week.
After helping friends with weddding shoots last week, i've been busy editing...editing..editing.

And im proud to say that im done with one of the 2 weddings i did last week. It wasnt easy to shift through 2000pics and be creative at the same time.

Heres some composite shots that i've done..



Mama commented that bride was pretty. Then again, all brides are pretty on their big day! =)



Doing outdoor shoots is a frightening for me because i cant control whats happening. Nevertheless, i guess it turn out fine.
I like to be in control Do this.... do that. hahaha....

Oh well.
Im helping another friend with a city shoot tomorrow. I seriously hope i dont FIU..

Regards
Exhausted ShiutterBug.

You know you are doing something decent when your friend's brothers commented that you should have been the Main photographer.

Oh well..

Not to worry, im sure Luther must have his reasons for charging such skyhigh prices. I last saw he was using a D300.. which i couldnt afford.

Regards
Shutter Bug

I was pleasantly happy yesterday when guests from a wedding shoot i was helping with requested for my name card..

but...

I received the highest accolade this morning while doing a shoot for my friend's actual day wedding.

His main photographer actually got pissed with me for interfering his shots.
And by pissed, i dont mean appearing in his shots. Im sure im not inside most of his shots because i made a conscious effort to steer clear.

While driving home.. i came up with the following possibilities.

1) We must share the same great photography sense to be wanting the same shots (and how come i always get there first?)

2) You must be interfering with my shots too since im interfering with your shots(or simply you are blaming me for your dropped shots)

3) You are feeling inadequate because you are agreeable with sloppily arranged trains and gown, hastily arranged shoot settings and would allow the groom and bride to remain clueless (and be satisfied with awkward silences) when its obviously clear that they didnt know what to do.

Short of telling my friend that they got a lousy not so good deal and spoil their day... I decided to let you do your thing and wait anxiously for your very creative and nice photos.

Luther, you are the pro.. i'll be waiting. =)

Regards
lukas

Im am seriously tired.

Regards
Shutter Bug

"Formula One: Cash-strapped Honda quits over financial crisis
Posted: 05 December 2008 1319 hrs
.
.
.
Formula One events are also feeling the pinch with this year's Australian Grand Prix going US$27 million into the red and France axing its race over money worries.
"

Thats why i say...
We ought to be thankful that we are living in Singapore. Our govt are able to see what others fail to see.

Regards
Tired PAP Supporter

Central CDC's survival guide helps residents through recession
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 03 December 2008 1937 hrs

Overheard at the Kopishop below my voiddeck.

"Its almost going to be as useful as making 3% returns during the strong growth years.."

Regards
Gossip Monger.