:: Via Dolorosa ::

Via Dolorosa (“Way of Suffering”) is a street within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion.

Station 1: Jesus is sentenced to Crucifixion.

Station 2: Jesus receives his cross

Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross. It marks the traditional spot where Jesus took up his cross after being sentenced to Crucifixion.

Station 3: Jesus Falls for the First Time under his Cross

Station 4: Jesus Meets Mary His Mother

Station 5: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

Station 5

Station 6: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

Station 7: Jesus falls for the second time

Between Station 6-8

Station 8: Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem

Station 8

Station 9: Jesus falls for the third time

Station 9

Station 10: Jesus is stripped off his garments

Station 10-14

Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross

Station 12: Jesus dies on the Cross

Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the Cross

Station 14: Jesus is laid in the Tomb

“Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12

:: One Night in Beijing x 05 ::

It’s my annual family trip again during CNY to take advantage of the long hols. Some people asked me if it was to 避年。Truth is, that reason never really came to mind. It is not like I am married and have to spare a few thousand dollars on ang pow giveaways. But yes, I do want to avoid the usual Q&A session from my relatives. A few years ago, someone actually asked me if I have finished my NS… *that’s how remotely connected we are* Of course the usual “have you got a girlfriend, getting married etc etc flows in somewhat NATURALLY after that.. Just wonder, how come they never asked me what are my goals and aspirations, or rather what do I like to do in my free time? Conversational topics re-used year after year, that served mainly no purpose except to fulfil their own curiousity and so that they have a chance to nag down on others.

I wouldn’t mind these questions if they were used as an opener, rather than a topic that would require me to spend hours to explain, and perhaps debate on, my theory, thoughts and beliefs. And for the very remotely connected relatives (those that are 3 degrees in separation, but measured 6 degrees), why are you suddenly so concern about me? And one way I’ve learnt to deal with all that over the years, was to smile politely, and move on. The best is still to avoid eye contact at all costs, fix them on the TV that is forever running some old Stephen Chow’s shows, or appear to be immensely feasting on the goodies laid before your eyes.

So was it travelling to 避年 ? I am not sure, because it was more of the TRAVELLING pull factor that resulted in this trend for my family for the past few years. Vietnam, Korea, Turkey, and this year, Beijing. I’ve just checked the weather report, -3 degrees celsius. Cool… I mean, COLD!

Last Note before the Year of the Dragon kicks in. 新年快乐！ Huat Ah!

龙年行大运！

 

:: 2012 ::

2011 was a little crazy and I steered my boat through uncharted waters. In the first half of 2011, I was still an engineer struggling with the need and want to unleash my creativity. The yearn to have a creative outlet in my life was like a volcano all pent up, waiting to erupt. My only creative outlet was through photography. In mId 2011, I took the plunge. I dove into the creative realm, going into full time photography and taking up oil painting. I took up a design course with Nafa but withdrew because of clashes with my photography assignment. There was practically nothing left-brainer about what I was doing for the last half of 2011.

I think I kind of miss doing left-brainer stuffs. I have swung from one extreme to another.

I have dabbled in several things in 2011, and some of which are things I want to continue to do. So the activities and events in 2011 kinds of affect the New Year resolution that I am going to set for 2012.

1. To find balance in my life. An optimal point where I can enjoy both linear-reasoning and artistic interpretation at the same time. This is probably going to be difficult.

2. To pick up culinary skills. I have always been interested in the culinary department, and I figure out that it’s time I do something about it. So yup, I am going to don the apron and go for cooking and/or baking lessons.

3. To define my photography style. In the mad rush to jump onto the bandwagon of local photography business, I think I kind of lost my vision and my personality. So I am going to re-look and re-define my style. One that truly can withstand the test of time. One that is truly meaningful.

4. To improve on my oil-painting skills. I really enjoy painting.

5. To pick up design from where I left off. I have always been fascinated by how design changes the world we live in. I want to make a difference and I believe design is a tool that can allow me to do so. So I shall explore this possibility.

6. To travel to exotic or adventurous places. I realised I have been travelling to rather safe places for holidays. I figure OUT it’s time to set foot on more adventurous trips (maybe Mt Everest base camp trekking etc? hehe). Maybe places with more colorful cultures and history.

7. Develop the spiritual side of me. Discover.

8. Improve Fitness. I have not been swimming or gyming for the last half of 2011. So I want to start on it again. If I am going for Mt Everest base camp trekking, I think a little more fitness will help greatly.

Of course, MAXIMUM HAPPINESS is what I am looking for in 2012. God Bless.

2012 MAXIMUM HAPPINESS

:: Wrapping up 2011 ::

Amazing year, 2011.

Last year, I made a New Year Resolution (NYR) for 2011. It was very short list. One word, in fact. (http://cymonspace.livejournal.com/38003.html). I am sitting down at my desk now, going down memory lane for 2011, and can’t help but gaped at the larger than expected effort I took to live up to my resolution – Explore.

Exploring The World

See the world. Experience Life. I left my footprints in parts of Turkey, Switzerland, Bangkok, Cambodia, Australia in 2011.

Turkey: Made some amazing friends, jaw dropping scenery.

Switzerland: Wondrous scenery. Lost out to my female colleague during a drinking session on the last night, where we alternate between various types of red wine and cocktail. Chasing after the trains, and buying cups of coffee just so that we can have something warm in our hands to hold. Eating sausages and drinking beers.

Bangkok: Forgetting Li Pei’s wedding, and went ahead to book tickets for the entire family including myself. Had to postpone my own ticket and joined my family later, of course with a penalty fee. Lived like a king.

Cambodia: Purely a photography trip. Took thousands of photos. Going deep into villages and temples, taking tuk-tuk rides, waking up early to catch sunrise at Angkor wat only to be disappointed with cloudy morning.

Australia: It was a trip that was a mixture of pleasure and pain. Love the weather and the vastness of the place. Acne infection on my face worsen during the trip, and even had to visit the emergency hospital on a Sunday (ya, I have my medical records with St Luke’s now).  My face was swollen and red and painful for the 10 days I was in Australia. But still, lots of fun hunting down food places, and scenic hotspotting.

Clockwise (Turkey, Australia, Bangkok, Switzerland)

Exploring The Arts

I have always been interested in drawing, but never took the chance to develop this aspect of myself. Sometime in July, I asked Li Pei if she was interested to go for oil painting classes with me, cos I remembered she told me she like drawing too. We took to action, and signed up for courses with My Art Space. Oil painting isn’t just about slapping layers of oil paint on the canvas. It is about believing that everything will turn out fine at the end. A year ago, when I was in Bali, I pondered to myself. How fantastic it would be if I can paint my own photos? I never imagined that I will do that one day.

Top Left (Colouring Lesson). Top Right (My first oil paint). Bottom Left (My second oil paint). Bottom Right (my current oil paint)

I started to sketch again as well.

Exploring Photography

I took the plunge mid-2011 and left my engineering job with DSTA. A move that probably shocked most people. I wanted to take a break, and explore other possibilities. I decided to try out photography as a career, and created my own branding fotokraft. Within 6 months, my commissioned shoots include genres like wedding, pre-weddings, birthday parties for first-years, family portraits, food and travel photography, architectural. I was glad to help out with a charity event, where my photo was published in a local Tamil paper as well.

Because of my Food and Travel photography with Garmin, I get to explore Singapore in depth, covering places and restaurants that I normally do not go to.

I took up a photography course with Objectifs and exhibited some of my photos in the student exhibition. My photo series was titled SoLonely.

ROM and Actual Day Wedding

First Years and Family Portrait

Nathan, Gareth, First Years Birthday Bash

Engagement Shots

SoLonely.

Exploring Fitness

This year I took part in a few long distance runs. The first being the sundown 10km run, which turned out to be an awful experience with the heavy traffic jam. I did my first 21km run. I finished at 2 hour 43 minutes. Cramps and leg pain. The hardest run, ever in my life. Both runs did leave behind quite a bad taste. This year I took up Pilates to strengthen my core strength, hoping that it can help to relieve the backache, and improve my posture. I took classes with Pilates Flow @ 2nd. It is a good school, but rather expensive. I am usually the only guy in the mat class, and the most inflexible one perhaps. So I get a lot of special attention from the instructor Annie =). But Pilates really help greatly.

Pilates Flow @ 2nd

2011 is a year of many First Times. I took a leap, and I stepped on many colour stones. 2011 allowed me to explore several different things, mostly within the second half of the year after I left my full time job. I read a lot of books during this period as well.

It was a great 2011. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

:: The Rise of The Mynahs ::

Today I was having lunch at the coffeeshop near my house. I took a few bites, and then I felt uneasy. I felt being watched. I turned my head, and saw 2 mynahs, perched on the chairs next to my table. And then I heard a shout. The black birds took flight, only to come back seconds later, after the cleaner walked away. A familiar sight at every coffeeshop in the HBD heartlands, I believe.

It was reported in the news yesterday that there is an increasing number of complaints regarding the rising population of mynahs in housing estates. Everyday at about 6pm, at where I lived, the estate transforms itself into a muscial theatre and a huge symphony of bird chirps. As I inched into my open-air carpark every evening, I would slow down, trying to find a lot NOT under a tree. Sad to say, these lots are limited. If I come back after 7pm, I can almost expect to find droppings splattered all over the next morning. Sometimes when I am lucky, one spot. There are times where I found my entire rear windscreen coated with a layer of green-white-yellow paint. *Groan*

I am not sure if the news report yesterday affected anything, but today I saw people (I believe from NEA?) coming by to trim the trees planted around my estate. Today at 6pm, the symphony was exceptionally loud and rowdy. And then it struck me…… The mynahs just lost their home, their shelter, where they all perched on every night, rest and do their business. I peeped out of my window, and I saw the following sight:

Nowhere to turn to. The tree branches chopped off. The mynahs perched on the latch of the HDB flat opposite mine.

After a busy day, we know that there is a Home waiting for us. For the mynahs.....I do kind of feel sorry for them. But then again....

Home. Homeless

Temporary homes (unsheltered)

Where do we go from here?

Living on the edge

Dear, we lost our home......

Take Flight!

Actually I was just wondering, how does trimming the trees help to solve the problem? The mynahs would move to another area, and when the re-growth comes back, they will be back.

:: Sufi ::

Today I was at Arab street, doing a feature on Sultan Mosque. It was around 2pm. Sweating. One annoying thing about being a photographer, or photojournalist in Singapore, is the weather. Besides carrying a heavy DSLR, there is my iPad (or physical notepad), GPS tracker, and other stuffs. By the time I finish 2 or 3 locations, I would be dripping wet.

But there are definitely more pros than cons about being a food and travel photojournalist. It is about the experiences, and I really like talking to people.

Experience 1: The Candidness of Non-Singaporeans

I was ahead of time, and I ran through my list of assignments, and I found SUFI on the list. It is a Turkish Restaurant. I headed straight down to the restaurant, without any prior notification. Naturally, it came as a surprise to the staff. Unfortunately the boss, Mr Hussin, wasn’t around. I thought it was going to be a wasted trip. But thankfully I got his number through the staff and spoke to him over the phone. Without asking much, he instructed his chef and service staff to attend to my needs and requirement. I was surprised by his candidness. Because normally, these owners will require me to send them an email before I start taking pictures or write about them (which is the typical Singaporean way of doing things, as what a photojournalist friend of mine, from India, said).

Sometimes, I really wonder what’s up with the email thing?? Does it really provide a higher level of security or visibility? *shrugs*

Experience 2: Every Finger is different in length

Anyway, the chef, Mr Suleyman, came up to me. A very warm person. He prepared 2 signature dishes for me. After I took the pictures, he explained to me the uniqueness of each dish, and beckoned me to try them. I have to confess, when I first started out on this job, I try not to taste the food, since I wasn’t there for food review. But over the months, I have decided to change. Because I noticed the disappointment on the chef’s face sometimes when I declined to taste the food. After all, it was specially prepared for me. So nowadays, I eat (for free of course..) them.

Anyway, I hardly write about my assignments because I don’t find the food exceptionally nice, but SUFI was surprisingly above my expectations. The eggplant meze and the freshly baked lavash bread was amazingly good that I could’t stop eating them. Normally I do not take mutton, so I was a little apprehensive when the Chef presented the beef and mutton wrap with home-made yoghurt dip. I love the spiciness of the meat, and the yoghurt served as a perfect accompanion to balance out the taste.

I complimented the chef for the dishes, and said that it probably tasted better than any of the turkish food I had in Turkey. He smiled and said “What may appeal to you may not appeal to others. Just like our fingers, everyone of them is different in length. But I am thankful and grrateful to everyone who likes me cooking”

Experience 3: The Kungfu Chef that cooked with a heart.

Chef Suleyman has been cooking since he was young. He told me he didn’t graduate from any famous culinary schools, he had no degree or certificates. He started out as a kitchen helper in his hometown in Southern Turkey since young. He said whenever he made a slight mistake in the past, the chef would punch him in the face. A real punch. The kind that causes a bleed or bruise. But he was thankful for that because that made him learnt more. Sounds like kungfu master teaching disciples ya?

Suleyman commented that nowadays, people attend culinary lessons, stick to recipes, use thermometers, measuring devices. For him, he doesn’t read, and he doesn’t use measuring devices. Because he knows exactly how well a meat is done just by looking; he knows how salty or spicy a pinch is, and most importantly, he cooks with a heart, not with a recipe. 

We started talking about other stuffs non-related to work. And I think that is the best part about my job: talking to people, hearing and sharing experiences.

posting the least desirable picture for the dish, as the rest of the better shots have to be submitted to my Editor.

:: Standard Chartered Half Marathon 2011 ::

A few months ago, me and a few crazy friends signed up for the 21.1km half marathon, after having completed last year’s stan chart 10km, and sundown marathon 10km. I didn’t even think of signing up for anything after sundown. But I succumbed to peer pressure at the end and pen down my name (and paid for) for the Standard Chartered Half Marathon 2011.

6.30am, I waited for my friends inside vivocity. I have been texting Eileen and Lipei for like 40 minutes, and I haven’t seen them at all. Eileen arrived 10 minutes before 6, but she and adrian were stucked at the bag deposit area for Sooooooo Long. Incredible. Lipei was late because she missed the 15-min interval train. As I sat and waited, I was feeling a little sleepy, but positive. I was rather hopeful that I can finish 21.1km under 2hr 15 minutes. I was even thinking of a full marathon next year before I even started the half marathon.

6.50am, the officials rushed us to the starting point, saying that it will be closed in 10minutes. And then I thought, if Eileen arrived at 5.50am for the bag deposit and we just barely made it for the last flag off time at 7.00am, what is going to happen to those people who arrived after her. Crappy bag deposit service.

The first 10km run in sentosa was rather fun, especially passing through the USS stretch. People actually stopped to take pictures. One thing that is annoying is that there are quite a number of slopes in Sentosa. When people stopped to walk up the slope, basically it ends up in a huge human jam. I can’t remember how many times I have to zig-zag past people. The running area just wasn’t wide enough. There was a particular stretch between the 9km and 10km mark (i think), human traffic came to a complete slow down, and I could only walk. But despite all these, I still managed to clock a under 1 hour timing for my first 10km, with an average pace of 5 minute plus per km. At that instance, I thought I should have just went for the 10km run. The thought of having to endure another 11km of run was simply too daunting.

At the 12km mark, my stomach felt a little funny. It must be the curry I ate last night. Horrible feeling. But I ran on. Hoping to endure until the end.

At the 13km mark, I got a cramp in my right thigh. But still I managed to walk + run. Mostly walk actually. I refused to use the Tiger Balm because I dun like the greasy medicated oil smell and feel of it. So I continued.

At the 15km mark, the muscles on my left thigh cramped up as well. I guess it was because I have been leaning too much on my left side for the last 2km. I refused to use the Tiger Balm. So I walked on.

After the 16 or 17km mark. It was a downhill run. I sped, hoping to catch up some lost time. But everything went downhill as well. When I hit the flat surface, both my thighs cramped up, and my left calf muscles went into spasm as well. At the 18km mark, I had no choice but to use the Tiger Balm, sparingly.

I could only walk on. As I walked on, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Cos I wasn’t even tired or panting, but my muscles couldn’t allow me to run on. I tried to run, but always ended up in double pain when the muscles pull tighter. I was so worried that I may take 3 hours to finish my half marathon. This is going to 在我跑步生涯里留下不可磨灭的污点. I took more Tiger Balm.

So I walked all the way, with some sprints, till I reached the last 150m mark. I picked up my legs and sped.

After the finishing point, I couldn’t walk, because all my leg muscles were so tight. The marshallers asked me if I needed a medic, I declined, saying that I just need to stretch. But they insisted and pulled me to one side to help me with a leg stretch. They put me on a wheelchair, which I vehemently objected to at first because that was so embarassing. But I couldn’t argue with them further.

At that point, all thoughts about doing a full marathon in 2012 vanished into thin air, without a trace.

As I limped to the medal collection point, there was a huge jam as well. I couldn’t understand what was taking so long, until we reached the end of the planks. There was a mud pool and people were moving slower than usual. Damn, why do people have to throw water bottles onto the ground and make it wet/muddy? And I remembered the same thing happened last year. Why can’t the organisers put planks all the way, or shift the collection point to somewhere without grass or soil? I can’t believe they put us through all this shit after all the shaqness.

When I finally came out of the muddy area, I was so relieved.

21.1km done.

:: 我往前跑。回忆先生往后退 ::

昨晚回返国立大学练跑，感触还挺多的。回想起十年前也常与几位朋友，在艳阳高照时环绕大学场地跑上一两圈。

跑过文学院时，就回想起在那儿经历的点滴。考试期间在中央图书馆里攻读，下课时在食堂享用廉价美食（再来，看妹妹）。。。工程系的我，就偏爱在文学院游荡，也最喜欢上那里的跨系科目。虽然只不过花了一分钟的时间跑过文学院前，回忆先生却跑入了十年之长的时空隧道。

在跑过工商管理学院时，发现那里变了样。在工商管理学院和文学院的交叉处，起了一座新的建筑。但还是勾起了在大三和大四时，在附近的研究所实习的日子。那熟悉的巴士站，那条长长的楼梯，那儿的一景一物。大学毕业好似昨日之事而已！

奔过科学系学院时，想起了当年念计算课的艰苦日子。

比较怀念的还是前方的体育场所。那里有许多下课后和迎新活动的欢乐。那里，我和一群大学好友种下了欢乐的种子。如今开花结果了，跑过场地时，感觉是甜甜的。

练跑的路程虽然只微微路过工程系学院，但却没勾起太多回忆。或许太累了。但也可能是不想回忆那四年在工程系魔鬼训练的日子 =p （不过，我还是很庆幸能认识一班趣味相通的朋友，和我一起疯了十年。。）

三十二分钟的时空里 ： 我往前跑。回忆先生却加速往后退。

:: Feedback ::

I realised I am a person who thrives on feedback, both negative and positive. So I think I cannot survive in a system without feedback. I have been on Garmin’s assignments for like 2 months, and today, all of a sudden, my based-in-taiwan editor emailed me. This is what she wrote.

“

Dear Simon,

 I have finished reviewing the POIs submitted for November.

I need to tell, I really love your photos!

They are full of details and have excellent composition. Besides, there are often different angles to view the subject.

Thanks for letting me know more about Singapore through your camera.

Hope to see more of your photos!

“

But I wonder if there is anything else she meant by the last line.. maybe because I fell short of the submission quota. haha. I shall take that as a hint to cover more POIs next month.

:: Finding The Child In You ::

When I was a kid, I loved to sketch. I remember having stacks of drawing blocks. I don’t remember why, but the feeling was great. Creating something out of nothing. And then I stopped. I was 12 then. I can’t remember why either. But I remembered my PSLE score sucked big time. A score of 216. I went to a secondary school that I never wanted to (but thankfully I did). I started focusing on my mathematics and science from then on. But I still liked my humanities subjects. Art was a long forgotten subject after entering the Science stream. I still remember in the 1990s, there was a huge propaganda that Engineering was the way to go. The future for guaranteed employment.

And so, I excelled in my maths and science, all the way till University. The familiar sight of stacks of drawing blocks were replaced with stacks of thick textbooks full of formulas and theories. I mugged my way through and I really did well. I think I may have forgotten how to draw.

I picked up the brush lately, and my first lesson in July was horrible. My art teacher thought “Wah, this guy can’t draw!” It was disappointing, I realised my perspective was not right. My toning was horrible. And then I start to wonder, what happened to me. The truth is, I’ve forgotten how to draw. Or rather, I have never been developing this part of me since 20 years ago. But I carried on, and as you can see now, I am enjoying every single bit of it.

================

Society has a way of making you lose the child in yourself. To the extent that you thought that you have changed. The truth is, the “No U-Turn” sign is planted by you! I once read that, whenever you are at crossroads, just think of what you wanted to do as a child, and you will be on your way to finding out what is the next step to take. How true is that. Just take that Baby Steps ahead, and you’ll rediscover the child in you, again.