Just A Minute, January 2013

It crept up on me today that we are into the last days of January. It has been a long, busy and satisfying month full of work, play and plans. But I am glad to leave it behind to move on to other things.

I am very excited for February. Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year at home with family, I am escaping to the sunshines of Perth, Australia with my Dad and my younger brother. Unfortunately, Mum couldn't get away from work but we will still be having our traditional steamboat Reunion Dinner (think of it as a Chinese version of Thanksgiving Dinner) the day before our flight. We are going to be staying in Fremantle for our trip where I found a really cute apartment. I am in the midst of planning our itinerary, if anyone has any Perth/Fremantle tips, please toss them my way!

Watching | Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 - which I just found got cancelled a few days ago :(
Reading | Australia guidebooks
Listening | Franki Valli & The Four Seasons (via the Jersey Boys OST)
Enjoying | A rare Monday off from work
Trying | To re-start my weekly gym routine

The Gardens, November 2012

I had the opportunity to visit Gardens by the Bay for a company outing last year. The company generously bought us tickets to the two ticketed domes - Cloud Forest & Flower Dome, and gave us half the day off to explore. Of the two domes, I preferred Cloud Forest, it was an outer-worldly experience with the mysterious mist, soaring waterfall, rarely-seen plants that were prehistoric in nature or residing on the higher planes of the world. Flower Dome was a tad too organised for my liking. I expected lush overflowing fields of flowers but they were all neatly segregated into different sections. As for the public gardens, most of them were still in various stages of development and need more time to flourish.

2012 Recap

A look-back into my 2012.

January
+ Contracted conjunctivitis. Walked around two weeks with a two swollen eyes.
+ Watched Wicked The Musical.

February
+ Biggest ever work project got approved. (Project still on-going but the end is in sight!)

March
+ Turned 25
+ Joined a gym.

April

May
+ Voted in a By-Election

June
+ Travelled to Taipei, Taiwan.

July
+ Successfully ran a 5km in 42mins.

August
+ Visited Harry Potter: The Exhibition

September
+ Travelled to Bandung, Indonesia for work.

October
+ Visited Universal Studios Singapore

November
+ Visited Legoland Malaysia
+ Attended the SMTOWN Singapore concert
+ Awarded Lomography International Lomohome of the Day (19 Nov 2012)

December

A year that was mostly dominated by the big work project. I intend to make a better effort of work-life balance this year. And it's off to a great start!

2012 Cameras & Films Round-Up

If you would like to see my 2011 Round-Up, click here.

Total No. of Films Used
+ 33 (0.63 roll per week)

Wow, drastic decrease from last year's usage. I am not surprised though. I travelled lesser this year and in the later half of the year, I barely touched my cameras.

Most Used Cameras
1. Canon EOS 88 - 21
2. LC-A+ - 9

Top 3 Negative Films Used
1. Solaris 100 - 6
2. Solaris 400 - 4
3. Solaris 800 - 2

Top 3 Slides Film Used
1. Lomography Chrome 100/Kodak Elitechrome - 5
2. Lomography X Tungsten/Fuji 64T - 3
3. Kodak E100G - 2

New Films Tried
1. Lomography Sunset Strip 100
2. Lomography X Tungsten/Fuji 64T
3. Lucky 200

New Cameras & Accessories
+ La Sardina (Seoul Edition) - A Prize!
+ Fisheye 2 Python
+ Lomo LC-A+ Splitzer
+ Fisheye Submarine
+ Colorsplash Flash

I made two orders on the Lomography website this year. I wasn't particularly lusting after any camera but I needed to buy a new Fisheye 2 to replace my original which had a scratch on the lens. I coupled the Fisheye with the Submarine because I might be going Bali (fingers crossed) in a few months and I really want to take some underwater pictures.

My film usage dwindled this year but I am happy to note that I am still experimenting and discovering new films. I will definitely be adding more Tungsten and the Lucky 200 into rotation. I still have yet to try out the Lomography Lady Grey and Earl Grey black and white films even though I have them. A friend also helped me buy some Fujicolor 100 when he was in Japan last year, I am looking forward to testing that out in the weeks ahead!

2013

Last year, I was fairly ambitious in my 2012 resolutions. I was really detailed in listing down things I wanted to do. It wasn't a failure but it wasn't a resounding success either. When I sat down over the weekend to put pen to paper, it felt right to be more abstract this year. They are still rather ambitious but what are resolutions if not ambitions.

1. Reach next savings target.
2. Improve my mandarin. Read more, listen more.
3. Simplify my room.
4. Write more often. On this blog, in my diary, little notes here and there.
5. Lose 10 kg. Related to this, run at least one 5km, start swimming again.

Last year, I  did a series of recap posts on my blog to document 2011. I intend to do this again to document my 2012. Even though last year felt a little lacklustre, I am sure they were moments that I need to note down for the future to be appreciative of.

One Day, Taipei 2012

Here are some photographs I took as I walked around Taipei by myself. Being able to travel alone for that one day counted as one of my achievements for 2012. My other great achievement of 2012 was successfully running a 5k.

When I look back, I will remember this year when I let myself upset my work-life balance. I was spending too much time at work, being affected by it even when I was outside of the office, secluding myself at home, not taking enough days off to rejuvenate. I was working hard but not playing hard enough. Sure, I received a nice bonus for all my hard work but inside it doesn't feel enough. I have never felt so mentally disturbed or unbalanced (not in the crazy sense) before.

Therefore, for 2013, I am setting out to FIND. I would like to:

FIND myself
FIND inner peace
FIND time
FIND what i like to do

It seems like a pretty tall order but right now I just want to take that step forward and see where it leads.