So rusty in interviews...what kind of first impression was I giving? Seems like the jobs that I'm looking at currently, are all employers market. Just today, there were two other candidates (before and after my slot) that's vying for the same position. Probably more since interviews are still ongoing for the next two to three weeks.
Not sure where all these are going, but am trying to make a change. Wish me good luck.
30 April, 2013
19 April, 2013
getting tougher
as day passes by, things get tougher
friends get lesser
family gets older
and that feeling of knowing nothing
even people that you thought you knew
but in actual fact, knows nothing
is this what's life's about?
friends get lesser
family gets older
and that feeling of knowing nothing
even people that you thought you knew
but in actual fact, knows nothing
is this what's life's about?
02 April, 2013
Jurong Bird Park - A Walk Through
Accessible via bus #251 and #194 from Jurong Point Bus Interchange. Park opens at 830am, and woke up at 7+ am, but reached there around 10. Most of the people on that bus, drops at JBP, so no worries.
Brought the new NX1000 with 50-200mm lens for a test drive. Was kind of excited as the park offers many shooting subjects (that never complains!). Hahaa!
Didn't really look at the park map. Just ambled along to see what I could find along the way.
After the entrance, came across an area where the penguins feed. Just in time for their 1030am feeding session. The public can feed the penguins too, for a small token sum.
Ok, so penguins are cute. Moving on. Saw macaws, so must've walked to Macaw Island.
Hehe, with the macaws kind of far away, there were some unsuccessful shots. Like this one:
Nearby, is the Flamingo Pool.
Then, went past the Hawk Walk, which looked empty (not showing due to technical issues, replaced by performance at Pools Amphitheatre) and wound up at the Wetlands.
Was kind of shocked by the size of the birds here.
Ok, adjacent to Wetlands is the Riverine. There's an aquarium of sorts inside where one can observe the inhabitants of the river.
Haha, glass photography...failed. So went up to the surface for better chances of shooting the ducks.
Nearing 11am, so went to the Pools Amphitheatre to catch the morning show.
The usual bird tricks include birds competing against each other, birds flying to and from the outstretched hands of audience volunteers, bird that can mimic human speech, and birds flying through hoops. Quite nice to sit through it.
Lastly, get a photo-op with the pink baby flamingos.
From there, wandered off into Heliconia Walk. JBP has 108 heliconia species. How cool is that! This area also houses the kingfisher birds. Very pretty, these kingfishers. Oh, and also the conures. So many different ones!
Next up, the Scarlet Ibis and Shore Birds enclosure.
Continued on to the Royal Ramble where it houses the Crowned Pigeons. The doors has heavy chains acting as a curtain to prevent accidental escape of the birds within. Sometimes the bird do come out to the human pathway, so it's really a close encounter!
Then went on to Lory's Loft, where one can buy a cup of nectar to feed the birds.
Time for a tram ride!
Once the tram reached Main Station, everyone has to get off. Then, hop on to the next tram for the desired destination.
Went back to where the Hornbills and Toucans enclosures are. A rather large area. The toucan is an attractive bird with its brightly coloured beak. It looked almost like a toy!
Some of the hornbills were banging on the cage walls with their powerful beaks. Loud. Then, went on to the Birds of Prey enclosure to see some eagles. Eagles are big. Very big.
After that, passed by and saw some ostrichs and then went straight to Pelican Cove.
The African Waterfall Aviary was rather nice.
Basically, during the feeding time (1030am and 230pm), the birds would fly over to the feeding area and perch itself on various branches. So if you're standing underneath the branch, the birds are actually just right above your head or shoulder! WoOhooO! As long as they don't shit on our head, then it's ok.
The sky was getting darker then, so took the tram and went back to Main Entrance. Found the Penguin Coast there.
JBP has quite a number of areas to cover and 4 to five hours should be sufficient.
 |
| park signage |
 |
| ticket |
 |
| gift shop at the entrance |
Brought the new NX1000 with 50-200mm lens for a test drive. Was kind of excited as the park offers many shooting subjects (that never complains!). Hahaa!
Didn't really look at the park map. Just ambled along to see what I could find along the way.
After the entrance, came across an area where the penguins feed. Just in time for their 1030am feeding session. The public can feed the penguins too, for a small token sum.
 |
| small fish for the penguins |
 |
| "Feed me!" The rest of the penguins waited... |
Ok, so penguins are cute. Moving on. Saw macaws, so must've walked to Macaw Island.
 |
| colourful macaws |
 |
| closer view |
Hehe, with the macaws kind of far away, there were some unsuccessful shots. Like this one:
 |
| well, at least the lovebirds had some privacy from the lens |
Nearby, is the Flamingo Pool.
 |
| flamingos amigos |
 |
| do they breathe underwater? |
Then, went past the Hawk Walk, which looked empty (not showing due to technical issues, replaced by performance at Pools Amphitheatre) and wound up at the Wetlands.
Was kind of shocked by the size of the birds here.
 |
| giant bald headed birds |
 |
| closer view (is it the marabou stork?) |
 |
| saddle billed stork |
Ok, adjacent to Wetlands is the Riverine. There's an aquarium of sorts inside where one can observe the inhabitants of the river.
 |
| shooting through the glass |
Haha, glass photography...failed. So went up to the surface for better chances of shooting the ducks.
 |
| isn't these, the cutest things?! |
 |
| closer view |
Nearing 11am, so went to the Pools Amphitheatre to catch the morning show.
 |
| waiting for show to start |
 |
| flying away |
The usual bird tricks include birds competing against each other, birds flying to and from the outstretched hands of audience volunteers, bird that can mimic human speech, and birds flying through hoops. Quite nice to sit through it.
Lastly, get a photo-op with the pink baby flamingos.
 |
| a picture with baby birds |
From there, wandered off into Heliconia Walk. JBP has 108 heliconia species. How cool is that! This area also houses the kingfisher birds. Very pretty, these kingfishers. Oh, and also the conures. So many different ones!
 |
| blue-breasted kingfisher |
 |
| sun conures (parakeet) |
 |
| don't shoot, i'm shy |
Next up, the Scarlet Ibis and Shore Birds enclosure.
 |
| scarlet ibis |
 |
| closer view |
 |
| shore birds |
 |
| perched up high for a bird's eye view |
Continued on to the Royal Ramble where it houses the Crowned Pigeons. The doors has heavy chains acting as a curtain to prevent accidental escape of the birds within. Sometimes the bird do come out to the human pathway, so it's really a close encounter!
 |
| are you talking about me? Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon |
Then went on to Lory's Loft, where one can buy a cup of nectar to feed the birds.
 |
| Lory's Loft |
Time for a tram ride!
 |
| riding the tram |
Went back to where the Hornbills and Toucans enclosures are. A rather large area. The toucan is an attractive bird with its brightly coloured beak. It looked almost like a toy!
 |
| hornbill |
 |
| toucan |
Some of the hornbills were banging on the cage walls with their powerful beaks. Loud. Then, went on to the Birds of Prey enclosure to see some eagles. Eagles are big. Very big.
 |
| bald eagle |
 |
| "that's the man that'll throw us fishes" The pelicans thought silently. |
 |
| to jump or not to jump, that is the question |
 |
| nice wings |
The African Waterfall Aviary was rather nice.
 |
| figurines at the entrance |
 |
| Jurong Falls |
 |
| electric blue feathered birds (superb starling) |
 |
| an interesting looking little fella (livingstone turaco) |
The sky was getting darker then, so took the tram and went back to Main Entrance. Found the Penguin Coast there.
 |
| penguin colonies |
 |
| emperor penguins |
 |
| tired |
JBP has quite a number of areas to cover and 4 to five hours should be sufficient.
31 March, 2013
da moon
 |
| yesterday's moon |
f-stop: f/5.6
exposure time: 1/320 secs
iso speed: iso-800
focal length: 200mm
max aperture: 4.98
incentives for commuters
Are you an ezylink (CEPAS) card holder and uses it everyday for transportation purposes? If yes, then did you know that there's this website "https://insinc.sg/" where one can sign up for an account and gets rewarded for using the ezylink on mrts? The purpose is to encourage people to travel during off-peak hours.
Easy way to "Ride, Earn Points and Redeem".
Easy way to "Ride, Earn Points and Redeem".
16 March, 2013
from Korea
A friend brought back some snacks from Korea. Gonna wait for family to come to share with them.
Also tried shopping from Gmarket (http://english.gmarket.co.kr/) the other day. Was quite fun, and there are discount coupons that one can use to offset the parts of the purchase price from vendors who allows discount coupons to be used.
The purchases were from two different sellers, and I think the cap seller did a pretty good job in packing the items. Quite pro. The total shipping costs was about SGD$16 for a weight of less than 1.5kg, the bag was about SGD$23 and the two caps in total was about SGD$30. Using discount coupons, got about SGD$13 discount.
One cap was listed as charcoal gray but it turned out to be a bit greenish in colour. The brown bag has a very heavy smokey smell that lasted days. Other than that, everything was in order.
 |
| snacks from Korea |
Also tried shopping from Gmarket (http://english.gmarket.co.kr/) the other day. Was quite fun, and there are discount coupons that one can use to offset the parts of the purchase price from vendors who allows discount coupons to be used.
 |
| Gmarket goods |
 |
| caps in smaller box, and a bag in clear plastic wrap |
 |
| caps unboxed |
 |
| small brown bag |
One cap was listed as charcoal gray but it turned out to be a bit greenish in colour. The brown bag has a very heavy smokey smell that lasted days. Other than that, everything was in order.
14 March, 2013
Gantetsu @ Ramen Champion Bugis+
Tried Gantetsu's Hokkaido King Tonkotsu ramen today.
Sat at the counter and observed the kitchen. Chef Masaki doesn't cook nowadays. The local kitchen assistants (one lady and one man) would assemble the orders and Masaki-san mans the order counter. I turned around and observed Taishoken and saw that its Japanese chef would still cook/assemble the ramen.
Not sure, but the tonkotsu ramen does look like miso ramen now, doesn't it?
The noodles were al-dente, the soup alright not too salty although it has a grainy taste/texture. Wonder if its potatoes in the soup? Otherwise, grainyness can only come from miso, yes? But I thought I had pork bones broth...
Chashiu were way too lean and tough. The eggs can be better in terms of marination (slightly longer or stronger marinade) and if only the yolk slightly more runny.
However, still ate it all up. Don't waste food.
 |
| menu |
 |
| beep beep~ |
Sat at the counter and observed the kitchen. Chef Masaki doesn't cook nowadays. The local kitchen assistants (one lady and one man) would assemble the orders and Masaki-san mans the order counter. I turned around and observed Taishoken and saw that its Japanese chef would still cook/assemble the ramen.
 |
| beary interesting |
 |
| Hokkaido King Tonkotsu ramen (@$14+) |
Not sure, but the tonkotsu ramen does look like miso ramen now, doesn't it?
 |
| curly egg noodles |
 |
| aji tamago |
 |
| super lean chashiu |
The noodles were al-dente, the soup alright not too salty although it has a grainy taste/texture. Wonder if its potatoes in the soup? Otherwise, grainyness can only come from miso, yes? But I thought I had pork bones broth...
Chashiu were way too lean and tough. The eggs can be better in terms of marination (slightly longer or stronger marinade) and if only the yolk slightly more runny.
However, still ate it all up. Don't waste food.
 |
| completed my meal |
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