Dusk Till Dawn

When I was young, I always got mixed up with the words Dusk and Dawn.  Did you ever have this problem or was it only me?  

Well, then I devised a way of distinguishing the two.  The word "Dusk" sounds like "Dust" and dusts will be mostly settled by day end and...there you go...that's my wicked way of memorizing those 2 words.

Here's not 1 but 2 photos of the day, titled Dusk Till Dawn - An absolutely beautiful day today for me. 

I am thankful for waking up to a lovely sun rise and ended the day with a spectacular sun set.   

Regrets I have a few

I did something that I regret, or precisely, I should say, I didn't do something and therefore I am regretting big time right now.

And it is not the first time.

When I packed for my trip, I was contemplating whether to bring my 70-300mm and the standard 50mm, along with the 17-40mm.

At first, I pulled out the 70-300mm as I thought that would be unnecessary.  Guess what...at the last minute, even the 50mm was withdrawn!  Tripod was totally out of the picture from the beginning of course, and guess what went in my rucksack instead? A brolly!

Yes, a brolly.  I heard you laughed.

That was where it all went wrong.  If weight was my concern, why would I bring a brolly which you knew I won't use in this sort of weather anyway.  I must be out of my mind!

I think I have to face the fact that if I am ever going to be serious about photography, I should be prepared to be bogged down by weights.

I am going to carry EVERYTHING with me next time, so this disappointed look of mine won't happen again!

What I called Great Customer Service

 
Background:
I was supposed to go to REP via HAN.  I turned up at the gate 30 minutes before departure, only to be notified that the plane will be 2 hours delayed, which meant I will miss my connecting flight.  

Great customer service means thinking ahead standing on the customer's shoes, and before anyone could react - provide the victim with a viable solution.

Solution provided:  

• Re-routed HKG - SGN - REP, upgraded to Business
• Free flow of cocktail Mimosa, Champagne, OJ, coffee
• Luggage happily waiting for me at REP

In Return: 
The satisfied customer (who obviously had a few drinks) took the effort and appraised the team with excellence in customer service. 

The Lull Before The Storm?

"Where is everybody?"

Hello.........((((((hello))))))........(((hello))).....(hello)...anybody here?...((here?))...(here?)

 

My Midnight Snack

They look like sour cream and onion potato chips, but they are not.  They are Seaweed and salt potato chips from Calbee - my midnight snack to keep me sane through a 5-hour long webcast.

Here's my pic of the day - to commemorate this special day when Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) finally announced it had completed its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Inc.  The day when Sun set to be Oracle's.  

And yes, there were bigger chips in the bag, but all gone in the last 10 mins into the webcast, way before I remembered to take photo as my pic of the day. 

A Founder's Emotional Attachment

I have had the chance to watch McNealy on stage many times and to interview him face-to-face. He was always performing some kind of role. As a statesman, clown, practical joker, visionary etc.

One of Silicon Valley's last true characters has now signed off - Sun's founder McNealy has sent a final goodbye memo to his staff today, said there was an interesting book to be written about Sun, but he wasn't going to write it. He said the company was sometimes better at inventing stuff than making money, in which I can't agree more.

Finally he said Sun was 'way more fun than any other company. By far.  From our dress code (You must!) to beer busts to our April Fools' pranks to SunRise.  Again...I can acknowledge each and every one of it.  


The memo I read today was not full of marketing dreck.  It is definitely one of those rare expressions of a founder’s emotional attachment to his company.




This photo was taken a few years back in Shanghai when I first met Scott McNealy, but I am going to be loud and proud and stick this one in as one of my daily photos for Project 340.

The Authentic Tram #120

I was finally able to catch this tram, right in front of a historical landmark - The Pawn!

 

My special love about this tram is that it is the only tram in Hong Kong still maintaining the original 1950s' double-deck design.

The cabin of this oldest running tram is varnished with its original light-green colour, topped with advertisements at the time.

Next time, I must target to hop on one, so I can take pics of its teak-lined windows and rattan seats inside.

Project 340

People often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but I think that sounds pretty incredible.

It is coming to the 25th day into the new year, and after some serious dreading and procrastinating, I have come up with a project plan.  Yes, a plan.  

A project to take a picture each day, write something about it and then post it somewhere.

Ok...the plan has just been adjusted as I type.  I decided to start from tomorrow so I can literally call it Project 340, instead of 341!

As photo uploading gets easier and camera phones get smarter, I am thinking, giving myself such a project that requires me to commit to this degree isn't that bad, right?

I must say the movie Julie & Julia was where this idea tripped my trigger, it's time to get documenting!

340 and counting!

Hello 2010

One good thing about new year resolution is you are entitled to the full 365 days to complete whatever you have in mind.   

12 days into the new year and I realised I have been taking a longer-than-expected break from blogging.  I thought to myself, it has been nearly 2 months since my last entry, there really is no big deal if I leave it for another 2 months, right?   I can tell you a whole list of excuses for not writing, but I do not think this is something of interest to you, or is it?

Another year has passed, another chapter closed, another digit to add to my numerical age.  What do all these mean to me? 

I was asked at count down, the difference in my life between 2009 and the one before.  I practically could not answer. 

So, what I did, I picked up a pen, got a piece of paper and started doing some tallying on things that mattered to me in 2009

• Wrote 45 blog entries, accumulated 5,000 page views
  
• Attended 4 weddings and a funeral
• Organised 12 birthday parties & 5 school reunions 
  
• Enjoyed 5 live concerts & watched 10 movies in the cinema
  
• Enrolled in a photography class and a tennis class (both dropped out midway)
• Took up a handful of freelance and proof-reading jobs which helped pay the bills
• Survived a 5-hour long operation

Are you keen to reinvent yourself in 2010? Or at least use the new year as a long overdue excuse to get rid of bad habits or pick up new ones?

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when we feel as if we have to turn over a new leaf. The time when we misguidedly imagine that the arrival of a new year will magically provide the catalyst, motivation and persistence we need to reinvent ourselves.

Whatever your resolution may be for 2010, please be reminded not to forget about your own health and happiness.