saifulrizan

Another job

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:02:00 +0000

Meor of LoveClicks invited me to tag along to a wedding ceremony here in Labuan. He was commissioned to be the official photographer for the soon to be husband and wife (as of now, they're married).

I accepted the invitation, thinking this would make another session to sharpen my skills and the art of seeing. Wedding photography varies in style, depends on the photographer ability to visualize the images in their mind, or simply go along with the ceremony as it's going.

Last night I checked all the photos from the event. I was satisfied, more than ever as this time, I think I've made a huge difference in my way of seeing things.

Although the weather was hot, simply the best fat burner and it comes free of charge. :)

That was close!

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Tomorrow I'm going to another wedding photoshoot. This time I was commissioned to be the assistant to my friend from Kota Kinabalu.

So I checked my tools and cleared the files in the memory card. Unexpectedly, there's only 120mb left in my hard disk drive. Immediately, I took out some blanck DVDs, rearranged files to be according to its initial purpose (wedding, sports, photojournalism, etc.) and start burning. Overall, used about 4 DVDs to clear some space in the HD.

I think I was lucky to realize that there's a reason for that. I have not back up my files! Imagine what will happen if the hard disk decided to crash, and there go all my hardwork and portfolios. Every photographer should have this attitude to make a backup files at least in three medium (HD, DVD and another DVD) so it wont get lost at all in case any unfortunate case happen.

Perhaps I should try online backup.

that was not nice

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:31:00 +0000

I just arrive at home.

I would say I'd spent about 3 hours sitting on the chair, had 3 meals, listened to a boring song sang by a three piece band brought all the way from the mainland to entertain the guest.

Ten prizes offered in the lucky draw, seven are the dinner voucher, the rest are iPod, Netbook and E71. Unlike last year, the prizes were grand.

I should spend that three hours on my fitness equipment. That's gonna worth it!

The tale of three cars

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:15:00 +0000

I have three cars lining up in my garage now.

The Opel Vectra which will never see the lights. It’s a figure of speech anyway. I decided to stop whatever that’s still need configuration to make it running again. Actually, it’s already on the final stage which is to install the wiring harness from the ECU to all parts of the engine. However, I decided to call it quits, since there’s only one guy in Labuan who knows how to fix Opel but rarely find a time to spend on my car. I sent the car to his ‘workshop’ last December. I got the car back on September this year, after some friends complained that my car was parked outside the workshop, in the bushes. How sad it could be…

When we’re about to put the wiring, there’s something missing. Well, plenty of things anyway. So, I guess it’s better to take out the engine and replace it with … maybe Honda SV4. I’m not getting a turbocharged engine, like my previous plan. My wife will use it anyway. The body work is beautiful. Some had mistaken it for BMW. I reckon if I take the Opel badge off, then everyone will be convinced it’s another BMW from the old 3 series day. The suspension system is another thing to brag about. You won’t drop a Slingbox when you drive on a bumpy road. Somehow it manages to reconcile all four suspensions to give a comfort driving experience.

The other is the Toyota Corolla SEG. It has a new heart. There’s no need to brag about it. As long as it can serve me, I’ll be ok. Few more works need to be done on that car. I need to replace the spring, get new tires; fix the air cond system, get new bumper and side skirt and the final step is to give it a new paintjob. Its bright yellow and it manage to attract some racer-wannabe tailgating me all the way from town to my housing area. I could give a blow and clock the meter to 200k, but there’s no need, right? I’m not going to race it anytime soon, or forever. It will be my main transport when the Opel Vectra engine swaps complete and hand it over to my wife.

The last one is the Honda City. Technically, it’s my father’s car, but I’ve been using it for two years already. Will send it to Kota Kinabalu for good next January as my father is now serving in a government body there. What I like about the car is design. Some people call it outdated. What now with the new City which donned a rear BMW design and somehow a war shield of Transformer on the front end. I still love it (my Honda City) anyway. I’d clocked 180 during the old days, with minor modification on the computer system and of course, good engine maintenance.

Now, if you ask me if I’ve had enough with all these cars, I will say no. How about BMW X5 and Nissan Skyline GTR BNR34? 

make more money next year

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:01:00 +0000

The wishlist is no longer relevant. Being a father now, I know there's more portion to make from my earnings. Everyone has to eat. With that, I realized I need to find mroe source fo income. Not that we're short of money (we do sometimes!) but I want to have extra cash where we can use it to add value to Hana's savings for education purpose.

When I was in the insurance business (which I would like to give a second try), it was predicted there will be major increase in cost f living. I had a glimpse of the files and illustrations stored in the Logo flash drive last weekend. There I manage to dig the presentation of what will raise in cost of living and education as well. The figure for diploma course got me a nightmare now.

What if I can't provide Hana a financial support to purse her education?

I can't afford to let her stop pursuing education and go out there to find a job. At 18 years old, she should be able to choose to be a street-wise or book-wise person. As a father, I prefer that she become the latter, and go for street-wise afterwards.

I guess I will have to work harder in 2010. Whatever unrealized in 2009 will be carry forward to next year.

Interesting journey

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:19:00 +0000

I’ve been taking photographs for almost two years now. It took me to a never ending journey in my quest to get good images that represent my thoughts, opinion and feelings. It has become a medium for me to connect with my surroundings; human, animals, environment, emotions and many more. It was a good move to take up photography when I was not sure where my life heading to. I could be somebody else if I took up another thing as a hobby, but the satisfaction I get with photography proved me that it was never a wrong decision to turn myself into something that once some people thought has no future, no benefit – juts plain useless and waste of time.

I carried thousands memories with me since the first time I ventured into photography. Images, stories, emotions, hope – it’s all in my ‘life journal’. To capture a scene, tragedy or event, even a standalone figure staring blankly through my lens showed me varieties of perspectives in this life.

This venture somehow bought me and my works to people all across the globe. A church member from Philippines felt connected with my Remembrance Day picture. A Swedish lady made me study more about Labuan’s traditional dance when she said she like my picture of a little girl performing that dance and she want to know more about it. A couple from Spain emailed and asked me about offshore status when they saw the Financial Park building bathed in sunset. There are many more. These people were part of my learning process and made me believe, photograph is not just a photograph. It comes with a story, and that’s why I always try to put myself into the environment or subject to get inspiration and ideas to come up with a great picture.

It’s never an easy job. I quote my friend saying like this, “If a person bought a pack of cigarette (hey, do you know we have electronic cigarette now?) and smoke, it makes him a smoker. If a person bought a camera and use it, would it make him/her a photographer?”

If you ask me, it’s all about how we look and express ourselves to the world, in a picture.

Some people just don’t get it.

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:08:00 +0000

Some people are just not good enough to be a man and admit their mistake. More over, they tried to make it as other people’s mistake. That’s selfish. That’s ego. That’s just plain stupid.

You see, some people have been around discredit me for something that they think they’re right about it, and make it like I wasn’t on the good side. I face my rivals in many ways. In a good day, I will try to be diplomatic as I could, so that person will just accept that I admit it might be my mistake or theirs, and for that, I will seek for peace. Sometimes, I will just tell them to their face that I’m not interested and see if we’re smart enough to contain ourselves from blowing fist.

I really think sometimes we don’t need to deal with nasty people in a smart and polite way. Of course there’s a good guy and bad guy, to balance things out in this world. Being a good guy all the time is not a good idea. It could leave a bit of scar on my rep, but sometimes people need to know I got integrity and I will do anything to make people understand.

Things are not going well recently. I noticed (and been told) that certain people degraded me so they can secure an opportunity to make accomplice and get more chance to take away my potential client. That’s disgusting and that really shows how much IQ they carry in their head – not good enough to light a bulb or use a bluray.

My last resort will be to come out and ‘fight’ with what I have. I may not be a fierce competitor, but I know how to turn things upside down for other people.

The most boring weekend - ever

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:49:00 +0000

I just had the most boring weekend ever.

First of all, I don’t like the idea of going nowhere during weekend. I don’t like it; I have had enough of wasting my weekend by sleeping all day long during my student days.

It was gloomy all day last weekend. I do like it when it’s raining, but certainly it must have something to come along with – like winding up after working on something for a long period. Bring in the black coffee as well. How about a good company to talk with? Sadly, it only happens during my uni days.

Being a father taught me many things. One of them was, when Hana is sleeping, we can’t go anywhere. Sure, we can just put her in stroller, but I bet it won’t be long before she got cranky and everyone gets upset about that. It’s a business of trying to understand things that happens randomly and you only have seconds to figure the way to handle it. This is more confusing than figuring if we can lick our own elbow.

Future mechanic

Hana is an active little girl. Hyperactive is the correct word. At 11 p.m. she’s still making her own tour to every corner of this house. Last month, we woke up at 2 a.m. and she was not on her bed. It turn out she was in the kitchen, playing with our pet cat; whom always felt threatened by our little girl. We used to let her watch cartoon as she would sit and pay attention. That tactic is no longer useful. She found out fiddling with the cable TV remote control is fun; we have to cope with her changing channels randomly and sometimes, she turned off the Astro.

My mom told me, it would not be long before Hana will start to behave. I wonder, how long? It’s like yesterday she evolves from walk to run and hit the sofa – right on her face. Again, how long, I asked myself. I’m afraid if someday she got too excited and realizes she could run and jump – and land on anything! She’s just a 1 year old kid! I’m still working on her life insurance, just in case anything happens, she will get immediate medical attention and treatment. It’s really a fool move to allow social security disability. Money can buy anything, but will it be there when you need it? Savings is the answer. I opted for life insurance, and some savings in local bank – for her future education.

As I’m writing this, Hana’s sleeping. I wonder if she will wake up again at 2 and what will be on her mind this time.

Be wise on your wealth plan.

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:40:00 +0000

Have you ever been in this situation?

You put your thinking cap, focus on something and how to make that work. Slowly, you start to mind-mapping all the plans and actions needed. You finalize it and you decided to share it with your friend. Your friend somehow tells you your plan is real plain – nothing, thus you will not benefit from it. Worst, he told you don’t waste your time on doing something that is pretty hard to do.

You will react according to how much effort you put on processing your ideas. If you don’t think hard and smart enough, you will just simply go with the flow – thinking it’s better to listen to your friend opinion. On the other hand, you work really hard on your ideas, put some extra hope and passion into it – you turn your back to your friend and decided to give it a go.

If you’re reading this, you will not hesitate to decide to do the latter. However, if you really have been in this kind of situation, 50% will decide to go with the flow. Friendship lasts forever, so you told yourself. Then again, why do we put our fate on someone else hand’s?

No, I am not talking about friendship. The previous sentence merely a metaphore – to give some visual ideas on the situation I intentionally picked to make my points in the next sentences.

Idea. It’s a commodity of now and the future. I can come up with new ideas. So are you. So does everyone else. But did we turn it into reality? Did we work our way on realizing it? Do we even bother to write it on paper – or type it into our PDA or smart phone?

I like to think. Most people didn’t see me as a thinker. Most probably they describe me as someone dull – not talkative. I don’t think with my mouth. I think with my brain, and obviously it doesn’t come with speaker so everyone could have a piece of my opinion. It’s like a central vacuum system. You’re in your own world, except that you suck in everything you can think off to figure if you can make it. Seriously, thinking is the only method that allows you to keep dreaming. You can break barrier when you think. You will not see the sky as a limit. You can make impossible possible.

But there’s a limitation. We are not living in the dream world. Whatever playing on our mind could or couldn’t be realized. It depends on how much planning you make. Planning is the next step after the birth of idea(s). It’s like cooking; you want to have chicken for dinner. But what you expect as a final result? Chicken curry, fried chicken, chicken chop, roasted with gravy on the bottom – it depends on your preparation. So does planning.

Take for example, money.

If you just want to have your money ready when you need it, you simply take a portion of your monthly pay and loyally save it into your savings account.

If you want some profit from savings, you go for mutual fund or other investment vehicles with low risk. It just needs at least RM 1,000 that you will never withdraw to start up.

If you want to make more money, go for stock market. This one requires you to be armored with handful of knowledge and information. Stock market changes according to situations – and you need to know how to read the stock price, the market condition and other factor that might affect your portfolio. Besides, at least you need three months extra worth of the value you start with to avoid selling your shares when the price drops – so you still have your portfolio intact when the price go back to normal.

There you go. It same like cooking chicken. The chicken is money. But how you want it to be served, it’s up to you. Fried chicken, roasted, steamed – the taste, the look, the work varies. That is when you need to work your way on coming up with the result you desired.

Finally, when it comes to money, instead of going to your friend, go for other sources that are reliable. The good one will help you make money.

Respect over commitment?

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:41:00 +0000

When a soon-to-graduate university student post something like looking-for-internship in Labuan in a local online forum, one fellow forummer jumped into the topic and asked the student to better take an internship in West Malaysia. Immediately, I asked why West Malaysia? The person who asked the question hailed from Labuan, and when he decided to look for an option in internship in Labuan, I believe it’s because he or she want to make use of his/her knowledge in Labuan – for the sake of Labuan I guess.

This other member replied to my question – you wouldn’t get much respect if doing internship in Labuan. What does a respect has to do with internship? Obviously, the idea of getting respect for serving in public services has something to do with commitment. Do we committed to our job, to the level that by hook or by crook, we need to get it done OR serving in your hometown will make you no one – you’re just that kid whom used to live next to my house, well, sort of.

If we are wiser enough, respect is not something that we really want from our jobs. I stand firm to my own belief that when I’m looking for a job, I need money and assurance that it will secure my financial condition. Second, if the job suited my qualification, it will be a best medium ever to practice what I’ve learned. In this case, the internship will help the student to apply all knowledge earned from years of studies.

You will get respect when you retire. On your farewell party, if anyone praises you with positive changes you made in the company, that’s respect – and it will last forever in our memory. But if we think we can get respect and salutation just because we have a job, more over it’s a job in an organization that pays well and plenty of benefits await you, you have to work harder to prove you’re worth the talk. Peoples in corporate bodies value the hard work and incentives you show.

This story reminds me of a joke made by my friend.

How many goat it takes to change bathroom lights? The answer is none, because goat afraid of water.

How about we relate the bathroom light to “respect”, and the water to “risk”? I believe, we already know what the goat relates to.

Labuan might be a small island. But if we think big, we will make it “big”.

Happy birthday Nur Hana Farah Aqilah

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Dear Nur Hana Farah Aqilah

You’re 1 old now. You’re naughty, stubborn, active, lovely, and adorable and there are many more that we would like to describe you.

We all love you. We always pray for you. We always think of you.

Happy birthday.

… and next year please try to blow the candle, ok.

That book

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:23:00 +0000

It has been raining in Labuan since last week. It started with strong wind, and then came the haze (out of nowhere!) and while I’m typing this, it is raining heavily outside. At noon, it’s really hot and dry. I wonder if the monsoon season already here. Perhaps Mother Nature really angry with us she punishes us with all these tests – just so we know we’re not doing good with the nature. Ah well..

After a long holiday, finally I got myself back to work. It’s not an interesting story anyway, but just FYI (if anyone interested). Other than that, I need the weight loss product because somehow I slowly gain weight though I didn’t ate much during the Raya festive.

The other day I saw this book. It’s not any ordinary book. It contains all the things that could guarantee my future financial status. It has all the plans that I know I can execute to make it happens. It contains all the research that I can use to perform any actions needed to get things done. It is not thick, just a few pages, maybe 70 – 80 pages.

There’s no title for this book but there are phrases hand written on the bottom right of the cover. It says “ PROJECTS” with crooked style of hand writing. The kind anyone would call a doctor handwriting but this one still readable. There is no sign of the writer name.

I flipped through all the pages, had a glimpse of texts, diagrams, chart, etc. I didn’t give much interest on the book. I think it must be some kind of crap I got from somewhere. Not all the things you can find inside this small home office are mine. Some of it were inherited from my father, former employers, friends whom decided I could make use of their used stuffs, etc. My SOHO slowly becoming a dumpsite. That’s why I don’t give much focus on the book.

So I put the book back to where I found it. However, I noticed there’s a note at the last page. Now that’s interesting. It was written properly with a ball pen. It’s a like a note from someone.

“A paper doesn’t lie. Every time you write down your plan on this book, it becomes a promise. No one will force you to keep your promise, but if you’re lying to a motionless, innocent piece of paper, you’re the worst of all kind. Regards, wifey”

Yikes! This is my paperwork’s!

So I read through all the pages, and take another paper and started writing on what and how to proceed further in making plans. I am back to planning on at least three ways to increase my income in the near future.

I hope this time it will not become just like any other stuff in this room; static and useless…

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Tomorrow is Aidilfitri! On my side, I don’t expect much from it. As long as I’ve performed fasting during the month of Ramadhan, it’s all that matter. However, all attention goes to my daughter, Nur Hana. She will celebrate her birthday this coming 30th September 2009. Last year, she was born a day before Aidilfitri. If anyone wondering how she’s doing, she is fine. She starting to walk, well, about few steps before decided to sit or jump to whoever willing to catch her. She also starts murmuring words that only she can understand. “Mama” was her first official word, but I know she used to yell “Pappapapappaaapaaaaa” as in “Papa”. I think so lah!

Baju raya? Sure, I got one for this year, although I know I will wear it only during the first day of raya. So does my wife, I mean, she has one too. This year theme is white.. or is it cream? I have no idea.

Kuih raya? Of course. We made pineapple tart, kuih makmur (some people call it Kuih Mur) and few more. But still the easiest one is Popiah Mini. Cey, senang betul! Fill in some shrimp paste on the kulit popiah, then fold it here, fold it there, dip the end with water to seal it, and then off you go to the frying pan. We decided no cornflakes bermadu this year – like last year.

Cuti Raya? Already applied and approved. If Raya fall on Sunday, 20th, then I can call it a long holiday lah. If not, I have to go to work on Tuesday. Last year I missed the chance to apply for Raya leave, because busy la as babyHana was due to born; as in doctor prediction/calculation, two weeks after Aidilfitri. This year will spend a week long with BabyHana. I think it’s time to change the aircond air filters as Hana can’t stand hot weather and poor ventilation. Labuan is very hot you know.

What else ah? Duit Raya? If kids come to my house and ask for duit raya, I will immediately tell them which house around this neighborhood give duit raya or green packet to the guests. I may not be a giver, but sure I am one good financial advisor – I tell them where they can make money by just sitting on your sofa, munching some cookies, drink half the water and salam tuan rumah lepas tu tadah – tadah tangan minta duit raya. But if they resist, I think I just tapau them some kuih raya lah. Budak2 mana pandai kira duit, so bagi makan saja lah.

Zakat fitrah also sudah bayar. RM 7 per person, so I paid RM 21. Zakat is one easy process, but some people still wait till the morning before sembahyang raya to pay their zakat. Some people also ask if they can pay zakat online, or go find poor people and give them donation straight away – but I remember one Ustaz answered this a couple of days ago – Zakat must be done with the presence of Amil or something like that. Besides, there are like more than 50 Amil’s appointed and located in many strategic place on this island where people shop for their Raya needs. What? You don’t feel guilty meh keluar masuk Parkson bawa shopping beg dekat lima enam kali tapi kaunter pungutan zakat tu tak sempat singgah?

There’s nothing much I need to think of for this Hari Raya. Maybe next year we can work on something more .. uhm.. grand? Tengoklah dulu.

So, this is me, Saifulrizan, on behalf of my wife, Fiza and my little sunshine, Nur Hana Farah Aqilah, wishing you whom being loyal reading my blog posts, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Spare some time to visit your Muslim friends. This is a celebration for all. This is the chance to get to know your friends, neighbors, colleagues, girlfriend, boyfriend, future in law, future boss, futuristic, back to the future, well… better.

Anyway, this Raya also a good chance to save money on lunch and dinner. Just go attend Rumah Terbuka lah. Eat all you can, free of charge. What? No. No open house this year Raya from us.

Guide to pick your first dSLR

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:09:00 +0000

First, let’s assume this is not a professional advice. I am not a full time photographer and my photography skill is not that good yet.

When I first pick the Sony DSC H5, that was a mistake. I know nothing about dSLR and all the other things related to this stuff. Initially, I just want to take good picture so I can put it in my blog and let the world see what I have around me.

When I realized it’s not a dSLR, I was not frustrated. I reckoned even if it’s not a dSLR, I manage to take pictures according to what I wanted. So, it’s the joy of photography that I want to achieve when I bought the camera.

However, due to some limitation (this happen when you know you can do something but the camera is not capable of), I bought my first dSLR.

Here are the tips my friends gave me when I let the world know that I want to buy a dSLR.

1. As a beginner, don’t get too excited with all the jargon which makes the technical spec on the camera brochure looks very hi-tech and stylo.

2. Consider your budget. For beginning, you don’t need an expensive lens to compliment your first purchase of dSLR system. The kit lens is a good starter lens. Some people would spend thousands for a starter, but one must remember the price of the items doesn't guarantee a good picture. Might as well spend the money on

weight loss pills

.

3. Hold the camera you desired, and try to reach all the buttons with your fingers. Is it too far? The button too small and placed very close to each other until you accidentally pressed two button at once? Can you press the entire button comfortably without hurting your self? These are essential because if you’re comfortable with the camera, it’s easy for you to take picture.

4. You might not need a vertical grip or battery grip if you’re new to photography. It was meant for extra power for your camera if you’re going to take too many pictures and use all the functions that eat up too much battery power in one single event e.g. wedding. Vertical grip is good because you don’t have to extend your elbow and show the world your armpit when taking vertical picture. But for a start, save your money first. New cameras comes with battery with longer lasting power so it wont be much of a problem.

Basically, that was what I’ve considered when I bought the camera. One has to remember, the joy of photography doesn’t fully dependent to the camera. Try to learn some basics in photography to get started such as rule of third, contrasting subject, lead in lines, composition, symmetrical, framing and so on. These are what makes your photography experience different.

Upgrading process will come bit by bit, when you know the new purchase worth it and capable of delivering what you wanted. There is no rush. It’s not like we’re on the rat race to be the best among the best photographer out there. Take it slow and remember to enjoy it.

Mitsubishi Lancer GT 2008 second photoshoot

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:34:00 +0000

I just finished the second photo shoot session with a Lancer GT 2008 version. A friend of mine willing to lend his car to be photographed and agreed to my words that this photo shoot will take longer than he think.

There were many ideas floating inside my brain, after going through several car magazines. I must admit, the photos in Top Gear magazine are really good. Hypertune; Malaysian automotive magazine is good as well, though it would come second after Top Gear. Yes, it is not fair to compare both magazine, but I only have those two in my collections, along with other magazine. Those two are top contender in my collections.

I used to collect this so-called first car modification magazine in Malaysia. That was then, when the story and pictures were presented in a moderate yet very informative. The writers are doing great with reviews of the modification done by car mostly from Peninsular Malaysia. I stopped buying after I realized the writers were no longer with the magazine and their replacement were somehow put the magazine to shame; cheesy words, poor lighting photos, childish and the list go on I decided it’s not worth it anymore.

I wonder if those magazines with the theme automotive flooding our newsstand and bookshops are merely “the more the merrier” type. You know, like to participate and celebrate the car modification scene in Malaysia. Some were good, like Hypertune of course, but the rest, well, majority are just putting extra words to make three full page coverage to be accounted as one complete review for that particular car. That is disappointing. It’s obvious when you saw one car being reviewed by three magazines and somehow it all appears to be written by the same person who spend his time juggling between writing and chasing the deadline. No passion. No imagination. No commitment.

To come up with a better story could be frustrating. Then there is this term “writer block”. No matter how passionate the writer is, when he/she stumble upon this term, everything around them stops – so does their think tank. However, for a magazine with an automotive theme as the main ingredient, I believe the writing could be saved by the photos. Some readers like to have ‘em served in raw (no editing – just straight point and shoot so they know how it’s like) and some really like the pictures to be in the best condition (proper lighting, proper angle and somehow very compelling that we have to admire the work done on that car). It depends on the reader, and I guess that was what the marketing team for; to learn the preference and taste of their reader.

This simple idea of presenting story and couple it with moderate amount of photos is like acquiring a certified diamonds. It has to be legal. It has to be done in a way that it’s one of a kind. It has to be presented in a best way we could to give more value to it. It has to be priced accordingly to the content value so no one would be offended by poor presentation – as in feel stupid of spending certain amount of money just to realize it was written by someone who just graduated from of lalala writing academy.

Back to the car, the last photoshoot will be done after Ramadhan. It will be done according to the sketches I did when I started this personal automotive photography project. It’s going to take place in certain location around this island, carefully picked to bring out the character of the car.

And so my friend agreed the last photo shoot is not going to be easy – yet he still agree with that.

View some of the recent photoshoot with the Mitsubishi Lancer GT 2008 here.

The making of tech-wiz – NOT!

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:19:00 +0000

Last two weeks was awfully exhausting. I was trying to understanding the up and down of managing a website. Then come the SEO and tracking code. More insult added with text link ads and pay per click stuff. I got carried away with money-making elements in my blog. I guess I am just part of the bunch that swarming the Net with rubbish sites, racing my way to earn income from blogs.

I should stick to the first thing first – managing a website.

Frankly, I got carried away with some money-making blogs, claiming how they get four figure income from their blog alone. What bought me back to earth was one of them wrote “for every 1,000 blogs out there, probably only 10 of them successful in earning a good income from it”. So I told myself to get it right first.

A good website is the one with good contents. If we get it right, we might get our targeted audience. I stumbled to some blogs that simply copy-paste text and lifted pictures and other stuff from other sites (some are kind enough to give credit to the original owner) to all their posts and call it a blog.

*********************************

Anyway, how good is Linksys router?

*********************************

Finding a target audience can be done by using the right keywords so it will work effectively in search engine. A traditional way of doing this is just simply tell our friends and families about the blog existence. You can choose which one to use – but I prefer the first one. It will be a good strategy for a long-term benefit. When I blogged about Toyota Vios 2007 in this blog, the daily hits was like 200 plus per day for a week. Today the post still popular when people key in Toyota Vios 2007 in search engine.

Fast forward to today, I only managed to re-build two websites by adding in new and effective keywords to it. I am still working on the content, changed the layout a bit, but the priority still on the content. I reckoned I put very little effort on content presentation and now is a good time for redemption.

The money-making process will come later until I believe the web content is good enough to keep people coming.

Merdeka

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Tomorrow Malaysia will celebrate the 52nd Independence Day.

I have no big plan for this year, but I think I don't want to miss the mini celebration at Labuan Square which will be celebrated ... minimally. It will start at 7.30 in the morning and expected to end at 9.00 am.

Reason

1. Since the day will be happened during Ramadhan, all states in Malaysia were reminded to held a moderate celebration to respect the holy month for Muslim.

2. Since the outbreak of the A (H1N1), all public meetings and celebrations were advised either to be held at closed space or don't do it at all.

One thing for sure, this year celebration will be different from previous celebrations, as we will sea people donning masks as a precautionary measure to avoid contraction of the virus H1N1.

Well, it kinda save much of my time as I am currently working lots of hour to complete the website directories that I've been working on since last month as part of my project for 2009.

Wish me luck on both things ya!

One wake up call

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:55:00 +0000

I just had a debate with one of my friend. It was a healthy debate, about how to change people mentality. We didn’t put any specific subject as in name or person into the discussion, but it’s good enough that we managed to focus on the general side of the conversation. Sometimes when we try to be specific, we might hurt some people we know. That’s why we tried to avoid such thing, because generally we know some people that fit well into the discussion.

Of course at certain point, one party sparked a provocative thought. If we cant handle it properly, we might set ourselves both on fire. Might as well we should get Blue Cross Blue Shield NC be ready all the time - just in case. It is good anyway that we didn’t have to kill each other in the process of finding our way out of the conversation. Yeah, it was sort of hostage conversation. If we got out to fast, we might leave some important points that might get us to the conclusion.

Oh, well. I’ve been wanted to engage in one, at least one serious conversation. I figured if I can hold myself long enough in such talk, I might be able to put my head above water anytime I encounter such talk again.

My oh my. A debate never meant to find a winner. It is not a place for someone to promote egoism and I-am-Mr-know-it-all attitude. It is not even a medium to compete against each other. Those are not a healthy debate. What s a debate? It is a process of combining ideas and opinions towards understanding and finding a conclusion to a matter in discussion. Often we found open debate broadcasted live on television comes with a bunch of crowd. It is ok to have an audience, but when the crowd intervened with cheers, provocation towards the other side, it often generate disturb to the vibe of the conversation. The result might not be as desired.

All in all, modesty and humble are they key to a health conversation. You don’t need to slam the table just to implement your opinion and take down others. Just string your words properly and put one solid point, which would be it.

That was such a fruitful conversation.

Drive down memory lane

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Few weeks ago, while I was driving at some part of this island to test the new wheel bearing, several super bikes take over my small little car. I observed each of them, donning dark clothes and what appears to be safety apparel from head to toe. Interestingly, I nod to agree of their conscious in road safety.

They were not speeding, but they do have strong reason to overtake a car that run on 60 kph on a highway. I just changed the wheel bearing and found that the rubber that protect certain part of the driveshaft already worn off. Of course I changed it to a new one. So I think if I skip some office hour to enjoy the re-born of driving comfortably with that little car would not be a big deal. Well… just imagine driving your car with merely wheezing sound of the engine orchestrating the engine component.

This time, I can hear clearly to the super bikes exhaust roaring through out the atmosphere. Seriously, who wouldn’t be turned on by the ‘vroom’ sound? There were like four of them, and it adds to the buzzing-like sound but more powerful.

Secretly, my mind recalls some of the best motorbike out there. Hayabusa, Honda CBR, R6 (forget R6, go for R1!) BMW Touring, etc. Apart from the marvelous engine build, the body and chassis are what made them among the top contender in biker world. Well, Hayabusa does have some ugly bodywork, but speed demon won’t really care about it, right? Like you really have time to admire the look of your bike when speeding at 200 km/h? No way!

Anyway, although I do admire super bikes, I never thought of having one. There are many reasons behind it, but to let it out means I will put my face to more hall of shame out there. Just keep the skeleton in the closet, keep it tight. But I guess the part where I’ve witnessed some brutal accident back then did tone down my eagerness to be a biker. It takes Pleasanton motorcycle accident attorney to recover the losses in money.

A sound of something loud but seriously tasteless woke me up. Ah, some wannabe in a car with lowered, self-painted rim and bigger-than-your-bong muffler woke me up. I have no reason to react, but I know it was just for show and boosting ego. Fine, just please vanish your car from my sight – it’s really an eye sore.

Two minutes later, I realized I’ve skipped too much office hour for this so-called car testing..

Personal finance review

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:47:00 +0000

If you ask me how's life, most probably I wont say a thing.

There has been plenty of changes, more towards new way of seeing thing. No, Im not having this photographer 'thing'. My life is not all about looking through the viewfinder, ok..

It's more towards how I want to plan things forward. The usual thoughts of having a good financial plan and more ways of making money - sadly my concern is more about having more fortune than anything else. There's no need to worry actually, I have been doing ok in other things, what concern me the most is my personal financial situation.

No, I'm not really in that real deep trouble. Not to an extend of desperate, what more looking for Ah Long (loan shark). Thanks for your concern anyway (if there's any!).

It's just that recently my expense sky rocketing till I don't even remember where the hell all the money goes. Pathetically assuming all that going to foods and petrol expenses, that's all I can explain (which later found to be such a dumb reason to use as an excuse when my little Financial Keeper a.k.a. the other half of me ask of where all the money goes).

No (again!), I'm not desperate of having no money, it will come later as I am still waiting for certain payment from customers. This is just another hiccups after dreaming of BMW X5 a lot! I fell in love with that car (the X6 looks more ... futuristic). What's really a good reason to thing of more way to finance my needs to drive in that car one day?

Still I'm not worry about my savings. Fortunately, after plenty of Oprah's moment, I decided I will save some portion of my money every time I receive the paycheck. I made the rule (more to follow) that the savings will be untouchable until time permits. Though I have a thought of immediate annuities but that wont be suitable for my kind of situation now.

I have read about making money online, from blogs, eBay and such, still there's one thing I have to admit - I'm a bit left behind by all these fast changing technologies. Seems like it was yesterday I registered almost 10 blogs with different purposes. Ironically, only some of them still survive, and some of them hanging there waiting for the next rejuvination, hopefully when I really get time to take care of them.

Phew, all this thinking about money is really frustrating lah!

Serious busines

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:33:00 +0000

I’ve been doing the same thing every night since last Sunday – editing pictures before handing over the final result to one great customer.

I think I am lucky in one aspect – some people put their trust and hope on my shoulder simply because they believe in me. One aspect only.

Some of my friends asked if I’m going to build a photography-based business someday.

I told them, “It’s not easy to be a full time photographer”. That’s why I never have a nerve to ‘sell’ my photography skill.

I always get caught in between performing according to customer preference and getting the right picture for self satisfaction.

Not that I’m saying I am not capable of delivering both, but the responsibilities lies harder when it comes to get everyone happy. That is when I work harder to meet both ends. Definitely, the satisfaction will come later, but the process is not something that I could make fun of.

I took responsibilities in every commissioned job and with such fact, which is the reason why I never sell my photography skill.

With that, I thank everyone whom decided to use my photography skill to be part of their life.

Good companion comes in forms of music

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:56:00 +0000

I think the most important part when travelling is to have a companion. I used to travel alone and I admit, the excitement vanished immediately during the interval of two locations.

Take for example, flying to Australia from Brunei Darussalam will take 8 hours of your life (sounds pathetic). Any long haul flight equipped with entertainment medium, such as magazine, movies, radios, games or anything that I've missed . I got no problem with long haul flights actually. You got more than 6 movies per flight, and you can only watch at least 3 of them to fill that 8 hours travelling time.

Now let us go to the part about the recent Kuraman Island trip. For an island without electricity, and for a guy who spend almost his entire 24 hours with the bless of electricity, it was not a place you will call comfortable. Though one must remind himself that travelling is never 100% comfortable, at least you still need a 'good companion' to fill that 'gap'.

Next time, I will bring an ipods. :)

Kuraman Island trip - the test

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:36:00 +0000

I went to Kuraman Island recently. It was a short-planned trip, like, we want to go somewhere out of Labuan and another friend popped up Kuraman name and so we decided that gotta be it.

So we said, this will be a photography trip. Anyone coming along will have to bring back at least a set of good pictures. No exact amount was mentioned, but we're all set to bring back something memorable.

We depart from Kg Bebuloh, and there were four of us, of which, unfortunately, one has to go home before dusk. Only me, Syed Nasir and Manjuzri will stay to test our ability to adapt with nothing comfortable but a tent and a bunch of cameras. Ok, we had 3g and couple of Macbooks' with us, but still it couldn't beat the fact that we have to cook drink water with aluminum can (of Coca Cola courtesy of whoever drank it in first place) and to clean up fishes with merely a scissor meant for cutting papers and sort of.

We passed the test, faced the thunderstorm, and brought back some test pictures.

Test pictures? Yes, there will be another trip and I belive this time we will be ready with kettle and Swiss knife.

Save that trip

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:33:00 +0000

I've been waking up pretty early in the morning for the whole week. I'm trying this new routine to save time and petrol consumption. I am thinking to make just one trip instead of going back and forth sending wife to work and babyHana to babysitter.

Previously, I send wife to work first. Then get back home and prepare babyHana before sending her to the babysitter. Then I go to work. To conclude that, I made two trips every morning and it's obvious the petrol tank doesn't agree with my method of transporting families.

So I decided to wake up very early every morning, put on my work attire and send both of them at one time. Instead of going back home, I would stay inside the car to read books or going to have a breakfast at any restaurant. That's because after sending them both, I still have at least 1 and half hour or sometimes 2 hours before signing in for work. FYI, my office hour is 9 to 5.

To be honest, it was tiring. Often I almost fell asleep in the office. I tried to stay awake by consuming a lot of coffee. Unfortunately, even the Nespresso wouldn't be that too much help.

I guess I will keep doing it for the sake of saving petrol.

No luck

noreply@blogger.com (SR215) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:08:00 +0000

I've been carrying the camera since the last two days.

Reason : To capture anything unusual during the high tide (which was reported to be 20% or 30% more than the normal high tide) and the longest solar eclipse in the 21st century.

To be frank, I got nothing for these two days. I sweat like pig, runnning around like it's my real job and get exhausted easily. Might as well I just swallow Apidexin but I think this make a good exercise. The weather was.. well, fine. The high tide? I've observed the shore (I work on the 12th level of 17th lvl building facing the shore of this island) but all I got was just another high tide - the normal high tide; the one I would chase for fishing.

Then I put my bet on the solar eclipse. Although Malaysia won't get much; I mean like total darkness like in India and China, but as long as I got the 20% part will make me happy. Nope, it doesn't work either. Either my timing was wrong ( I got the info that it will take place from 8.30 to 9.30 in the morning) or the cloud was not friendly today.

Ah well, so much for a photo hunting.