53 | Film Series II

(Taken with Pentax K1000, Kodak Portra 200 Film)

Working with a manual film camera was the most challenging and exciting thing ever. Bring it along with me to a city that I've never been to before adds to the whole challenging thing. It's never easy carrying a camera around. It weighs you down, quite literally. And it's always a risk. A risk to take that one shot, praying hard that you are in focus, your hands didn't shake up or that someone didn't run right into your lens because that would really be a bummer. But I did got out of focus, shook up and had someone walked right in just as I hit the button. I also had the pleasure of experiencing the top woes of shooting on film - wasting a roll of film. I was devastated but I expected it. However I'm glad I at least got a roll of films to look back on and it encourages me to continue learning and challenging myself. Cause hey, nobody said it was easy; you just got to try try try.



(I contemplated hard whether to edit these or even align them properly but I decided to just leave them as how they were captured, I think I like them better that way.)

48

Played tourist with the man the other day at Gardens By the Bay and honestly it was one of the best experience ever. I've only been to the Flower Dome once with my family on a crowded Sunday so heading to this gem on a weekday is truly a plus point because lesser people equates a way better experience. There isn't the noise and the crowd and the multiple body parts in your picture. The crowd was relatively okay for a Wednesday and although we were indoors most of the time the ample sunlight was a blessing for gorgeous sights in natural light.

We headed to the Cloud Forest first which seemed to be a bad choice since it proved to be the better of the two domes. We spent about 2 hours in the Cloud Forest because honestly the temperature was just right we weren't too keen on heading out so soon. As much as the waterfall was really a sight to behold, I wonder why they placed it so near the entrance because honestly getting a full picture of the waterfall prove some difficulty with the short distance between the entrance door and the waterfall. Everyone was practically crowded at one area before we even stepped like two steps into the dome. 

I tried to be more into the plants and flowers because you know that's kinda what this dome is about but I'll be honest and say plants kinda bore me and all I appreciate are the colors so I'm not going to pretend like I'm an avid plant photographer and introduce all these flowers to you cause I only took them cause they're pretty. Ha.

After Cloud Forest we stoned at Macs for a really really looooong time because we weren't exactly excited about Flower Dome after coming out of the magical waterfall. We walked through the Flower Dome in like about an hour and at that time my guinea pig gave birth (AGAIN) so I was preoccupied with the new babies and the flowers were forgotten. Also, the flowers in season were Chrysanthemum which we both didn't fancy. The only Chrysanthemum the man liked was the one which he could drink and I just didn't appreciate them at all. So we just sat on the benches (alot) and enjoyed each other's company.

I would say this is a much needed break that we both needed. One away from the hustle of school although school only started for like a few weeks but we were quite drained from the information overload. I would actually head over to Cloud Forest again with a book and just sit there and read. The lighting in there is just perfect for a good read although it's quite an expensive read but you get my point, most definitely will go back again when I need another break.

47 | Envy them Coffee

3 weeks. That's how long the last lap has started but I've done nothing but sink further down into the comforts of my bed nursing a cough that has been going on since God knows when. Being unwell drains the life out of you and I can only add more and more things to catch up on on my Wunderlist and desperately Google why do I cough so much. After a few cups of warm tea and some deep breathing, the cough subside but it wasn't long before that ache in my chest pushed up a resounding cough and I'm grabbing the x cup of water beside. Drink up people, drink up.

Nevertheless, I braved the haze after school one day to check out a potential study spot. The bread were beautiful, the coffee smelt so good but that was all I could do, smell it. Although it was a bit on the chilly side, I'm sure I'll trudge back there when I'm well again for a cup of coffee that I've been dreaming all night long.

46 | Ketchup

So many moments have passed and go, I find myself struggling to remember the slight bit of detail of these few months. It feels as if my memory capacity has reached it's maximum and nothing else is being saved in there. I can only look back and rely on photos to spark whatever's left of that moment which sounds, kinda sad. But I know for sure that many of those memories are filled with joy and happiness with a pinch of boredom and tiredness in between (office life, yes office life).

In these few months I sent off 5 friends who went on to explore the rest of the world (along with some studying in between). It feels quite sad to know that they wouldn't be around for Christmas or New Year, growing up brings you further from your friends, physical distance wise. 

But thank God for technology, that small button can send all your hugs and kisses virtually over to that friend in the rectangle box. You see them but you can't touch them. Physical separation is tough but I guess it's inevitable. As everyone trudges on their individual path, you feel a surge of sadness and happiness at the same time. You are happy to see them doing what they desire, what they love and you can't help but to send them on their path with a smile on your face and tears welled up in your eyes. 

My dear friends, I miss y'all.

On a lighter note.

An impromptu trip down to Gardens By the Bay one night led to a spectacular lights show which left me feeling wide-eyed and patriotic. The lights on the trees danced to the beat of the mashup of national day songs and as we ventured deeper into the Garden, it seemed as if everyone received the memo that the best position to view this musical was to lay back on the ground wherever you are. 

It was an amusing sight to see and I can't help but to feel proud of what our country has achieved these past 50 years. I know I'm one month plus late but recalling the sights and sound of Home playing out through the lights brings this sense of pride right out again. 

Singapore, you truly are the best ♥ 

Okay, I'm done. Really. Tears are wiped, heart is calm. Moving on.

 Feed on the visuals, I shan't speak anymore.

10/10 would recommend Oxwell & Co. Although it's on the way pricer side, the atmosphere and the food is really worth the money. 

I was looking through the online thesaurus after taking the first few bites of food because I really think the food is worth more than just "this is so good". So yeah the food was delicious, appetizing, distinctive, exquisite, heavenly, luscious, rich, you get what I mean.

 Go give it a try, on a special occasion.

Oxwell & Co

5 Ann Siang Road, 069688

(You can ask the waiter on duty for their recommended dishes. Do try the braised Ox Cheek, no words.)

Island hopping is a new memory made too and despite the haze I had a blast exploring and just strolling from one island to another. 

Fed the mosquitoes, pet the cats, stalked the monitor lizard and just soak in what God has created. 

All is well, all is well.

44 | Hong Kong Diary

Hong Kong was hot. And half the time it felt so much like Singapore - the crowd, the weather and the rush from one place to another. The one thing I never got used to was standing on the right of the escalator instead of the left, like we do here in Singapore. I ate non-stop, walked almost everywhere and soaked in the blazing hot sun, wind and sights. I wouldn't say I recharged on this trip or slowed down much but it felt great snapping away on my camera instead of punching numbers on my calculator. I wasn't too much into getting more clothes, just more nanoblocks and scarves. Besides, with a three month 9 to 6 office job coming up, pretty clothes just seem so uncool for the office.

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I didn't have much time to retouch any of the photos above, okay maybe partly because I'm extremely lazy to do so, VSCO cam is too brilliant and convenient that PS seems like a chore now. The extremely bright sun played a part in the photos looking almost flawless without edits so okay sun, you do deserve some credit apart from tuning me ten shades darker. And I finally got down to manually adjusting the aperture and shutter speed for my photos so although I took less photos than usual, I'm proud to say that these weren't auto mode photos 

*pats self on back*

Shot with Olympus E-PL6 42mm