Finally sold off my 3 lenses, the 35 f2, 100 f2.8 and 55-250. Which means that as of now, I am just 70 dollars into my rainy day fund.

The next thing I will be getting though, is a Japanese region 3DS so I can play the new kingdom heart game I bought as well as some other games exclusive to the Japanese region. So if everything goes well, my gameshop will help me import an ice white 3DS together with the monster hunter game. And this will be my so called birthday present from my parents and will be enough keep me occupied for a while. Speaking of which, I already have more game than I have the time to play. Currently on my list I guess I will complete Dead Space 2, Final Fantasy 13, 13-2, and then the Mass Effect series. All these will take a while and I probably won't be able to complete them before the launch of Diablo 3, the most highly anticipated game of all time. And I doubt my current computer will be able to support that beast of a game, so I will need to upgrade my computer too. Need to set aside some amount for that.

And so even though there are many things to buy, I shall prioritize them into wants and needs. Currently on the top of the list would definitely be a new computer system, follow accessories for my X100 to make it more functional and protected. And they will be put on hold till my X100 gets discharged from the hospital, just send it in on the 10th and according to the technician, it might take 2-3 weeks before I can get it back.

So for now, I will only have my 7D to take photos with. Not that I am complaining of course, I really like how this recent turned out.



Oh and thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, I truly had a good time :)

Just found out that Kingdom Hearth 10th Anniversary Bundle posted in the previous post

only contains
Nintendo 3DS Game: Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]

Nintendo DS Game: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Nintendo DS Game: Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

Nintendo 3DS Protect Cover: Kingdom Hearts Original Design

Postcard Set: 12 cards with Kingdom Hearts motives

What I initially thought to be a 3DS was actually just the cover for the 3DS. And this bundle cost like $350. Without checking I actually asked my gameshop to get a hold of one bundle for me. If if they do managed to bring it in, I will find myself short of $350 and still need to set aside more money to get a Japan 3DS to play these games. Wished I had paid more attention during my Jap class.

The kingdom hearts 3DS bundle


actually retails for US$499 which is about $625. Damn you nintendo, why are you such a money grabbing company.

So in the case where by my gameshop do get me the 10th Anniversary Kingdom Heart Box, it would make no sense to get the limited edition Kingdom Heart 3DS (although it looks freaking cool) as I would end up with 2 copies of the same game.

The best case scenario, is that my gameshop don't managed to bring in the 10th anniversary bundle after all. Which can save me out of a potential of about $750 spent. If they do managed to bring it in after all, guess I have just have to sell off my 100mm f2.8L Macro, 55-250mm f4-5.6, 35mm f2 lenses =/

Point of advise guys, don't get too excited over an item that you fail to check out what you will be paying for...

There are 3 things I currently love in my life, photography, gaming and salsa. Unfortunately photography and gaming is extremely expensive with photography taking a big lead of course.

Currenly, I am trying to get hold of of a Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary 3DS Bundle.


But with this being a major title, and the fact this is a limited edition item, makes this rather hard to get a hold of.

But since the 3DS is region lock, I was unable to play several great titles on my current US region 3DS. If I can get this Japan region 3DS, there are several must have games to get.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy




Monster Hunter 3G




Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai




That being said, the above 4 items would probably set me back about 500 dollars. And considering I just gotten myself a 24-70 f2.8 L lens, I am still nursing my bank account back to health.

So I guess I will have to give and take in order to fund both my passions. Will try to sell my heavily under utilize 55-250 f4-5.6
Comes with all standard box items,and original hood, do let me know if you are interested ^.^

And I also also considering letting go of my 100mm f2.8L Macro, but that decision is harder to make, since that is one of my personal favorite lens. But unless I get a better paying job soon, this seems to be the only way to fuel both my passion and still keep my bank account healthy.

Been ages since I last updated my blog.

I must say I am not sure what I want to do next. On one hand, I really want to continue studying, to pursue a masters in Psychology, Educational Psychology or Criminology. On the other hand, I would also want to get a job as a counselor. Looking back, I am kind of disappointed that at my current age, I am still feeling so lost, getting a measly paying job in a industry which I have absolutely no interest in. I have to step forward, make some changes to my life and make it soon.

Other less trivial updates, I have finally decided to get the Canon 24-70 f2.8L in favor of the Canon 17-55 f2.8. My only gripe is that there is no IS for that particular lens especially since it is a L lens as well. And I must say that I am way way behind in my photo post processing. Rie, if you are reading this, I'm sorry I didn't finish up the set we took, I promise to get to them eventually. And I still have my China trip photos to sort out, which I took over 2000 photos. Hopefully I will get through all of them soon.

In other area, I recently bought myself an Xbox Kinect. Dance Central 2 is a really fun game, and it can really give me quite a workout. Dancing is something I really enjoy thus the main reason I bought the kinect was for this game. Worth every single cent in my opinion :P Also Final Fantasy 13 is really awesome, I love the fast paced battles and the quirky characters. Looking forward to completing the game and seeing how the story develops.

And I am still taking photos, some of my better works are still uploaded on my flickr account. My other works can be found on my facebook account.

Wow... Here we are, already on the last day of 2011. I must say, this has been a really eventful year for me.

Let me start first with my job, I got my first full time job this year, as a customer support engineer. It was challenging, my degree after all was in Psychology, and everything that I had to do was so technical, and not everyone of my clients was exactly pleasant. I admit that many times I wanted to quit, but without another job on hand, I endured for the sake of financial security.

It was also about the middle of the year when my relationship took a turn for the worst. At this juncture I wouldn't point fingers and say whose fault was it. I guess at the end of the day putting 2 people together at the end of a hard day at work/school led to tensions and much arguments. There were many good memories and for that I am thankful, but in reflection perhaps we weren't exactly all that perfect for one another.

The breakup led me to another phase in my life for which I am thankful, which was to pursue photography fully. All the while I have been shooting with compacts, mostly my SE Satio which was a handphone with a rather nifty camera I might add. But I decided to invest in my first DSLR, a Canon 600D. With a DSLR, I came to realize it is not just about pointing the camera at something nice and snapping away. There are many different parameters to consider and adjust, which I mostly got used to by shooting more. Initially, I was shooting alone till Terry introduced me to SPIN. I eventually joined an outing and pretty soon I been participating actively in their outings and meeting the wonderful people there. I really learned a lot from them and that has helped me grow as a photographer.

Salsa... After some persuading from Shu Wei, I eventually decied to join back Salsa. And I was pleasantly surprised to see that Gary was still the instructor. Initially, I felt strange and out of place, after all, they were from the same batch and I suddenly came upon their midst. But through more lessons and more social, I got to know them better and they are all great people to hang out with.

I guess that pretty much sums up the major happenings for my 2011. I would like to thank all the people who made a difference in my life for this past year.

First to Sharon, who made me grew through our relationship together, to better prepare me for the next one.

Secondly, to the members of SPIN, who make photography so much enjoyable through the many outings and allowing to hone my skill as a photographer.

Thirdly, to the people at SIM Salsa En Soul, to whom rekindled my spark for Salsa and dancing once more.

Lastly and also most importantly, to my dear friends and family who has stuck by me through all the ups and downs in this year. I am thankful to have all of you through my journey in 2011.

New year resolutions, how can we end a year without them right? XD
1) Take my photography to greater heights - Key areas ( Portraits, Food)
2) Improve my social dancing for Salsa
3) Get a Psychology Related Job

Thats all, and I will like to end this year with some of my best works from 2011, enjoy :)

National Day

Lemur

Abstract

Canon Photomarathon Entry 2 - Circles

Happy - Japanese Spritz

Foodies Outing with Spin - Soft Shell Crab Maki

Coffee Club - Chunky Monkey Cake

Hebe Autograph Session

Unión De Ritmos - Salsa Performance

Changi Beach - Light And Darkness

Lunar Eclipse

I should take more photos of people/portraits/events.

It makes me feel all warm and happy and sitting in my chair with a silly grin as people comment,share laughter and having a good time despite that the event has past.

Makes editing and sorting through the photo totally worth it.

*Note to self: Go take more shots of people and improve in that area*

I know it has been quite a while since I last updated my blog. Been really busy recently, but one thing that I'm very happy about is that... I HAVE UPGRADED MY CAMERA GEAR! Sold off my 600D with 18-55mm kit lens and changed them to...
Yup! A Canon 7D with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 Wide Angle Lens!

Broke in my new camera with a Ubin trip the next day, the sunrise on this day was really spectacular!



Really love my new camera and the fps I can get on it. 15 continuous shots in under 2 sec before there is any delay! But it was during the Lunar Eclipse that I realized my old tripod had to go, it couldn't support the weight of my new camera and kept shifting. I ended up with double images even on the tripod, so I guess that will be the next thing I will be getting. But I still managed this shot of the Lunar Eclipse. Shot using my heavily under utilized 55-250mm.


And Salsa training is currently stopped at the moment, but I tried social again and I must say that it is quite intimidating. Looking at everyone around doing fanciful spins and moves while I kept just doing basic turns and a little more with my partner. However, the girls I danced with saying that my moves and strength is all there, just that I need more confidence. Well, I will worked on that and try to social more. :)

And I have to be more tightfisted over the next 2 months, dipped into my rainy day fund to get the lens on top of my new camera, not to mentioned with now being the Christmas season and there will be parties I need to attend, the gifts and misc costs wont come cheap. Thats all for now! Till next time!