August 4, 2007

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  Hiatus

  
  

  I’m back on xanga after two weeks of enforced absence precipitated by a lousy functioning PC. I didn’t miss blogging at all. It has been fairly quiet on here for the past couple of years with the writers I regularly read either stopped blogging temporarily or closed their accounts. With my fourth xangaversary passing a couple of weeks ago, I thought about the amount of xangans I have met since that time and those I have become friends with. It is quite remarkable.

  
  

  My blogging output has been on a diminishing curve for the past few months and I fear I am losing the drive to write. A friend commented I wrote a lot when I was living in Amsterdam so I guess a fair chunk of it can be attributed to ranting about general life in Holland.  

  
  

  So what has been happening? The past few weeks were spent catching up with friends I haven’t seen in weeks, months and years. The one I haven’t seen in weeks handed me an invite to her forthcoming wedding in October. The one I haven’t seen in months engaged in a discussion about photography and directed me to a photogenic girl who could possibly model for me. It’s all very well shooting your friends but to truly capture the spirit of your creativity, it’s doubly important to shoot someone photogenic. We discussed about hiring a studio for a couple of hours to just shoot and experiment. The one I haven’t seen in years – six to be precise - took me to dinner in East London. During the interval years she’d moved to New York, married, divorced, moved to Toronto, married for the second time, returned to London and had a baby. I got to met her Canadian husband who showed me the area adjacent to the City. It had been years since my last visit to the area and it has transformed into something resembling Greenwich Village in New York. I plan to return to take some shots in the near future.

  
  

  After a frustrating week dealing with a power seller on eBay, my new Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens finally arrived yesterday. The task can now begin to gain experience with my new Nikon D200 camera before embarking on my next trip. The D200 is a monster of a camera with a huge amount of functions to master…and I’d only read half of the manual! For those asking in a previous post – I will be selling my Sony Alpha A100, three lenses, and filters, probably on eBay. Photography is an expensive hobby. I still have two more lenses to acquire and hopefully the sale of the Sony gear will offset the cost of the Nikon equipment by half.

  
  

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  Asian Trip: Hong Kong

  
  

  Saturday 6th – Tuesday 9th May 2007

  
  

  It was an interesting trip to China and it was back to the usual port of call – Hong Kong. The days remaining were spent with friends and catching up.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  I took the opportunity to shoot a couple of friends’ kids. This is Michaela.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Michaela and dotting dad.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Sienna

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Fairly amusing sign

  
  

  
  

  
  

  On the Monday, I’d took the ferry to Cheung Chau Island to do some exploring.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Alas, the oppressive heat was overbearing and the walking exploration was abandoned for another time.

  
  

   

  
  

  Will I leave my heart here next month?

  
  

  I’ll be sure to wear some flowers in my hair when I’m there. 

  
  

  
  Pic sourced from the internet
  

  
  

  
  (For those who don’t know, it’s a reference to the classic oldie song I Left My Heart In San Francisco sung by Tony Bennett, and San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) sung by Scott McKenzie)

  
  

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  Naughty

  
  

  A little boy came down for breakfast one morning and asked his grandma, “Where’s mom and dad?” and she replied, “They’re up in bed.”

  
  

  The little boy started to giggle and ate his breakfast and went out to play. Then he returned for lunch and asked his grandma, “Where’s mom and dad?” and she replied “They’re still up in bed.”

  
  

  Again the little boy started to giggle and ate his lunch and went out to play. Then he returned for dinner and once again asked his grandma, “Where’s mom and dad?” and she replied “They’re still up in bed.”

  
  

  The little boy started to laugh and his grandmother asked, “What gives? Everytime I tell you they’re still up in bed you start to laugh! What’s going on here?”

  
  

  The little boy replied, “Well, last night daddy came into my bedroom and asked me for the Vaseline and I gave him super glue instead.”

  
  

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  Duck Scam

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

   

  • 11:47 am
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