Which worths more? Money or friendship?

Last yr,i was approached by a friend of mine whom i used to be close because according to him, his family had apparently encountered some financial problems. As such,he wanted to know if i was able to lend him some money. On the account of our friendship,i decided to lend him $250 and i even made the effort to travel from my house to the central just to transfer the money to his account upon hanging up the phone. He sounded so appreciative then and even pledged to return the money soon but guess what,a year has passed and not only did i not get back my money,he has even ignored my countless messages and numerous phone calls. And just last nite,i figured out that enough was enough. I had given him 5 missed calls during the day and at night i tried to call him again when he did not even return any of my calls. The first call i could call through but nobody picked up the phone. On the second attempt,he hung up my phone as i was trying to call through and the third attempt,worst still, i was directed instantly to the voicemail which meant that he had turned his phone off. A check with one of my friend revealed that not only did he default on my repayment,he had also failed to return another $50 which my friend had lent him. I will not be suprised if there were others who were tricked into parting with their monies as well all in the nature of trying to help a friend in need. So i guess this proves it, for $250,i saw through the true colours of a "friend". So much for trusting him. Indeed i have learnt a very important and rather costly lesson,that some people may just choose money over friendship.

Winning entries for Digital Life Canon photomarathon

Just for the record,here is the link to the winning entries for the Singapore leg of the Digital life Canon Photomarathon.

http://www.photomarathonasia.com/singapore/winners.html

In my opinion,some of the pictures deserved to win but then again,i also felt that several others should not have been in the winners list because they were doctored(unnatural) or they were basically capturing nonsense. I feel that a picture,especially one submitted for a competition,should capture a natural moment rather than one that was deliberately staged. Also,pictures could have reflected the 3 themes much better. Looking back on the works of others which i saw the other day, i felt that many others would have deserved to win but oh well, it is over, and things like these are just so subjective,purely based on the individual's preference.

Digital life, Canon photomarathon 2007

You may have heard it in the news or read about it in the newspapers but i bet you did not experience it real life like i did! Yes,i had signed up for the Digital life, Canon photomarathon held at Suntec yesterday, 20th of november and i was part of the 1086 participants that may propel Singapore into the guiness book of world records for having the most number of participants in a photography competition!

Don't express shock at the fact that i took part in such a competition and do not be suprised that i enjoy photography because the truth is,i do! Infact i enjoy it to the entent that i have spent over $3000 till date on equipment just for the hobby.

I decided to join yesterday's competition after reading about it in the newspapers and since i had never taken part in one before,i decided to go for it just for the fun of it and to gain some experience but i admit that it was a little crazy to join a MARATHON on my first attempt.

So heres a breakdown of the competition. Being termed a marathon,the whole competition spanned 9 hours. It was divided into three themes and contestants had 3 hours to complete the assignment for each theme. We were allowed to go anywhere to snap our pictures but at the end of the 3 hours,we had to report back to Suntec city to upload a picture of our choice before we were assigned the next theme. The competition took us to all over Singapore and at the end of it,pictures of various subjects with different stories to tell were submitted all based on the individual photographer's defination of the theme.

So without much further crapping, here are my 3 submissions for the various themes and other pictures which i feel deserve to be placed on my blog, do enjoy=).

Theme 1: PASSION

I interpreted passion as being passion to do something and in this case,the passion of a child when it comes to playing with water.

Theme 2: CHALLENGE

I interpreted it as a challenge in doing something and in this case,the challenge of winning 4D. Unfortunately i was rushing so i couldn't get a clear picture involving a 4D slip and a huge crowd in the background.

Theme 3: PLAYTIME

The first thing that comes to mind is children at play so i went to vivocity to capture this picture. I deliberately included the phtography in the foreground by blurring it and putting emphasis on the child because i wanted to create the impression that the child's playtime is a photographer's playtime too to capture the action. one of my favourite pictures from the competition...


Reject pictures:

Here are the reject pictures grouped according to their respective themes.

PASSION

CHALLENGE

PLAYTIME

Turning 21

I know it has been a couple of days but here are some pictures taken from my 21st Birthday Celebration. A many thanks to all who turned up to celebrate this occasion with me and i sure hope that all of you had a great time that night despite the fact that the location was a little out of the way for almost all of you and of course,thanks for all your presents.

Thanks to my parents who brought me into this world and who have taken care of me for the past 21 yrs of my life as well as nurtured me into who I am today. Without them,i would be non-existent and without them, I would have achieved nothing.

And of course a special thanks to my beloved girlfriend. Thanks babe for being in my life and making the effort to come over,help me out with the preparations and being with me when i needed you most. Without you,my world would just be dull and void of the love that we share=).

I really appreciate everything that all of you have done for me and my apologies if in any way i have offended or failed to entertain you guys properly.

So without further a do,here are the pictures taken the other night.

Those who made it all possible.

My dearest family...girlfriend included!

My beloved Girlfriend and I on my 21st

My best friend,JJ and I...what happened immediately after this picture was taken is totally classified..

2 of my closer girl-friends from secondary school..SL and Yufen

My Nanny and her family.

NCC buddies since SEC 1

JC classmates

And of course not forgetting my dearest cousins...

The candid moments.

The NCC guys playing some games amongst themselves.

The 2 little ones, Katrina and Shanice...one is my cousin and the other my niece.

JC guys talking amongst themselves.

Ah...cake cutting time.

Thats my youngest bro Rodrick who coincidentally shares the same birthday as me,only 11 yrs younger.

Genuine happiness??.....I'm sure it is=)

I guess the photographer likes my side/back view better.

Babe looks really good in this pic...as for the others,they look really natural.

SL and I...she has been a great friend and a great listening ear, friends forever !

More pictures...

Well thats all folks. Once again thanks to all for coming and for marking that special day with me. Sorry if i wasn't a good host and was unable to entertain all of you. Well at least i am glad it is all over. Like what yufen said,hosting is really a very tough thing to do especially when you have to be at so many places at one time. If you notice from the pictures,i was perspiring quite badly and that is proof to show how taxing it can be. Though that day was supposed to be a special and joyous one, i was not totally happy about it, probably because of the fact that i was sick. Well, it is all over...next up,babe's 21st! Haha