so, what do you think? i’m trying out a new way (well, not really new lah) to process my pictures. i just love the effect of High Dynamic Range and its rather easy if you got the software.

basically, its the process of tone mapping 3 or more identical pictures with 3 different exposures. from the very bright to the very dark. just load them up in the software and wait for it to generate. you still need to manually set the contrast and brightness of the pictures. but i can assure you, the result is simply breathtaking! check out some of my hdr pictures here.

just for your info, the software that i’m using is photomatix and photoshop cs3.

well, excuse me, i still got lots of pictures to hdr! hehe!

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every time someone asks when i’m due (which is what they’re always asking now), it makes me feel like crying.

can someone please make tomorrow be 1st of april??

ps: and to the person with many names/emails, don’t try to lie to get the information you want. you’ve asked one too many questions, and you’re right, it IS damn frustrating! all the way from 2004 (yes, i still have your emails with all your irritating queries), you have been bugging me about my wedding preparations, my baby preparations, my relationship, my friends, bugging us to meet you, etc, right down to my freaking hair colour! come on, enough is enough! you ask once or twice – fine. but repeatedly? who’s the “ignorant” one here? go find your own resources, i’m NOT humouring YOU anymore, and i don’t owe you any favours. don’t expect people to spoonfeed you all the time, and don’t mess with a sick and pregnant lady – i’ll claw your eyes out if i hear one more peep out of you.

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finally got around to fixing the cot back to its original height, and cleared out the drawers, making separate piles of stained-beyond-redemption baby clothes and still-decently-wearable ones. guess which pile was bigger? :S

am currently at home, sustaining on honey stars with milk. have been violently coughing the past few days, and i think i overstrained my stomach muscles or something coz now whenever i cough, my left abdomen hurts like mad and i feel bruised inside. a little worried that it’s affecting my womb and the baby who keeps quivering every time i cough. she’s probably traumatised and distressed by the constant tsunami my coughs are causing, especially at night. supposed to take antibiotics for the viral infection but can’t, so will have to bear with this misery for a while longer. :S

there’s also the problem with water retention in the “Netherlands”, and my perpetually bruised legs which are popping out more and more purplish-and-green “maps”. both symptoms, apparently, handed down by my mum, who had the exact same thing when she was having me. now you know why pregnant women waddle? simply because they can’t walk with their legs closed. it’s like we have… balls. yuk. only, guys don’t waddle, they ’swagger’. (well, those with balls, anyway.) sheesh. :S

ok, so as you can see, am not exactly feeling up-and-perky now. gonna go suffer some more with my quivering baby and catch up on all those shows i’ve recorded on SmartTV.

this has been a terrible rant, hasn’t it? :S

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we were at rini’s place on saturday to finish up one of whimsnfancies order when we decided to check out punggol beach as it’s just a stone’s throw away from where she lives. we drove all the way down to the jetty and were pleasantly surprised to see a few families with their children playing at the beach. the last time when i was there, about 4 years ago, was when i needed to take a boat ride to outward bound school at ubin. back then, the place was rather deserted and if i remembered correctly, the beach was rather dirty. anyway, now it looks well maintained and developed. there is even a police guard at the jetty.

while the wifey took care of aniq, who was happily playing with the sand on the beach, i took the opportunity to do some ’serious’ photography work.

eversince i got the d80, my mind is constantly thinking of places to shoot. what can i say, i really LOVE my d80. i walked further up to where the rocks were and noticed that i’m not alone in capturing the sunset. there’s a couple of fellow enthusiasts happily snapping away. took a while for me to set up the tripod (cheapo free tripod), guess must buy one of those pro tripods, as its rather tedious to angle it correctly with this tripod. but at least the pictures turned out pretty nice.

more pictures of the sunset here.

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sometimes, i oblige mummy’s request to sit still and take peekture. sigh. susah jadi model.

*dump-truck, train, motorbike, and tiny cars not included.

hmm, not a bad collection, seeing that mummy & daddy didn’t buy a SINGLE one of them for me.

now mum, get off my bed – you’re making a huge dent in it! (i know this was just an excuse for you to lie in it, ok.)

have a good weekend, everibodeeee… remember: don’t drink and drive!

*****

(heh. i *do* get out and head straight to mummy & daddy’s even BIGGER bed when i wake up in the morning before them, and climb in to squeeeeze in between. freedom indeed! :p)

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i wrote about this some time last month, about the big family photography session we had.

the photos were finally ready, thanks to cik ismail of apple-one foto (who took not only our wedding photos, but also all my cousins’, as well as my brother’s, so he’s now kinda like our ‘official’ family photographer, heh).

he managed to get (almost) everyone looking vaguely decent (especially the kids), AND superimposed one family who arrived late…

eighteen cousins in all…

five second-cousins, with two more on the way…

and us! (with a stunned-looking aniq, hmph.)

dah. tu jer. i like the kids’ pic the best. nampak sah satu-satu tak boleh duduk diam. and one of them was actually trying to grab something from aniq, who in turn gave him an annoyed whack in return. ooops. :p

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frankly, i didn’t even know that today was thaipusam until i noticed that a few of my indian colleagues were not around. coincidentally, i took half day leave to collect my textbooks at unisim, and since i just gotten my nikon d80 ,  its seems perfect that i utilised the camera and time in the afternoon to capture the parade.

thaipusam is celebrated by the hindus in honour of their lord murugan. he is considered to be the universal granter of wishes. so, from what i understand, those who ask for favour, or had their wish granted plus those who repent from their past sins would participant in the festival.

i arrived around 4pm, met 2 of my friends there. i didn’t expect to go into the temple but since we were already there, i guess it would be a waste if we didn’t enter. 

the temple had this very festive atmosphere all around. with the singing, dancing and beating of the drums, it was really like a huge party! the place was brimming with people, and i noticed that there was a handful of photo enthusiasts at the temple. i managed to get a few shots from the temple. i wanted to stay longer but the missus had sms-ed me to pick her up from work. oh well, perhaps next year then,  i would try to follow them throughout the journey.

meantime, enjoy these photos -> click here

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and that’s what he says whenever he enters his room now.

i’d prepped him in advance about the impending “big boys’ bed” and asked him if he could give his old bed to baby, which he readily agreed.

so, we FINALLY found the time to ‘migrate’ him to his new bedroom, which was also his playroom, and he was more than happy to adapt and forget totally about the cot next door, thanks to his new bed which he kinda chose.

he’d hopped on a few (at ikea, where else, for the most affordable and suitably-tasteful kids’ furniture, right?) and was taken in with the canopy thing, which we didn’t mind getting for him, coz it’s pretty fun.

heck, i’d crawl in there myself if i wasn’t so fat and pregnant, being a deprived child that i once was. roboh nanti tu benda! wouldn’t want to waste all that effort his uncles and ‘kakak’ hajar put in to assemble it. (thanks eh korang! berguna jugak izad ada adik-beradik ramai, hehe.)

and now, i can let my nesting instinct take over and redecorate the incoming baby’s room! (wait, more things to buy??)

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rin and i have done lots of things in “collaboration” from our school days, from art projects to english assignments (!!), so it was only natural that we jumped on the opportunity (or some might say, “bandwagon”) to do something like this, because we’ve always had similar tastes and ideas, especially for pretty things, and we always wanted to release this dormant “let’s-make-pretty-things-for-people” energy that’s been pent-up in us for the longest time.

we named this “Strawberry Tiramisu Shortcake”! just *try* to restrain yourselves from eating it, ok…

*the little mitten cupcakes at the bottom is in collaboration with our other partner, Simplycupcakes.

and of course, since it was our first attempt at diaper cakes, this one’s made with extra lurve for someone special who held her baby shower over the weekend.

despite the innocent-looking girly-girl pink affair, it ended up more akin to a wild hen party, with body parts being flashed, raucous laughters that prompted neighbouring guests to complain to the reception counter, and even a resplendent peacock that insistently peered (and leered) through our room, waiting to gatecrash the party.

hey baby in the tummy (yes, yours, len!), we hope you’ll turn out more proper and ladylike than your mummy’s crazy friends, ok? ;p enjoy your diapers! (and make sure you come out in time for your mummy to be free of confinement by Good Friday, coz she’s got more partying to do, heh.)

OHHH, and if any of you like the diaper cake that you see up there, yes, rin & i ARE taking orders. but OF COURSE.

because we love making pretty things. because we still have LOTS of that pent-up energy in us. (and also because we love to shop for baby things, hehe.)

Whims & Fancies – We Cater To Yours!
One-of-a-kind Diaper Cakes in any flavour you like.
You tell us, we ‘bake’ it.
Email: sales.whimsnfancies@gmail.com for further enquiries.

ok, go!

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while the mummy’s been busy claiming her “me” time the past few days (before she runs out of it come april!), the little one had his own fun running around with daddy.

the bonding time has made them much closer too, so i think it should be easier for all of us, especially me, when the new addition arrives and i’ll have me hands full.

and i didn’t say this but thank you laki, for all your help, and for letting your very-unattractively-tempang-and-vericose-vein-infested wife let loose with her girls while she can still walk waddle.

ps: i luv this picture i took! (despite the kental orange jersey.) sooo, ahem, is it the camera, the subject, or the photographer that makes a nice picture? hurhur.

pps: speaking of daddies, it would have been his 62nd birthday tomorrow – exactly a month since he’s passed on today.

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