Full set here.
I brought my new toy to Leichhardt on its first photowalk a day after I blew my July budget on it (there goes my iPhone! but I think the sacrifice is worth it).
I chose this suburb for my camera's debut because I've never really explored this neighbourhood in the west even though I've been there twice for dinner. As Leichhardt is famously known as the Little Italy in Sydney, I was hoping to capture some nice shots of the Tuscan architecture and immerse myself in the European culture this time.
The neighbourhood was interesting enough with Maserati and Ducati sightings that made me go gaga, Mafia-looking dudes (I rike!) who looked rather yummy and who were extremely friendly, and a unique rustic architectural style that projected simple grandeur.
It was a bit of a struggle getting to know my new dSLR camera, made very much worse by the wrist-breaking weight of the 55-250mm lens I decided to test out first. I also regretted not studying the instruction manual before heading out - big big mistake - which resulted in me fumbling with the camera's dials and knobs most of the time rather than actually shooting something. The storm clouds looming ominously overhead weren't very encouraging either.
Unsatisfactory as the photos turned out, there was still the occasional nice shot and hey I enjoyed the walk!
debut photowalk
from me to myself
I bought myself a little present for my upcoming 29th birthday (partly also to reward myself for the efforts I put into my work for the past few years). It's something I've been hankering after for the longest time. Dante would remember having numerous discussions with me on getting my first dSLR since 2006 but I always disappointed him by changing my mind... until now. Most would have noticed how much I love taking photos. There is so much I want to photograph but I often find myself constrained by the limitations of a compact digicam. They're great for carrying around everywhere everyday but there are times when I don't mind lugging around an elephant on photowalks to better capture the beauty surrounding us all. After much researching on the specs of various brands and models, rigorous budgeting and price comparisons and practically running around for entire days to various shops to hunt for the best deal (I even had to exercise a bit of my almost non existent bargaining skills), I finally got the Canon EOS 450D twin lens kit with the EF-S 18-55mm IS and EF-S 55-250mm IS lenses. Time to relax and indulge a bit more in this little hobby of mine.
pablo's (is my) elixir
I found the above depiction of my nick sketched on my coffee cup when I got my usual daily dose of caffeine this morning by courtesy of JJ, co-owner of Pablo's Elixir, the cafe round the corner of my place, as part of his efforts to boost the sick monkey up for a long day of work ahead. This same day, I popped in with an extraordinary request for some dinner takeaway an hour after they've closed for the day because I was feeling too sick to cook anything or to wander anywhere further away than a minute's walk from home to get food. JJ's business partner Tres promptly threw on his apron and whipped up a more than generous serving of my favourite pasta with extra vegetables (he reckoned the often sick monkey needs more vitamins) while JJ added a complimentary orange to the pack. How sweet of them!
I've casually mentioned this cosy little cafe in passing in several blog entries previously while on other topics but never really did a proper introduction of this lifesaver of mine. The simple acts of kindness I received today totally deserve in return a full blog entry dedicated to the fantastic JJ-and-Tres team at Pablo's.
After my little anecdote above, I guess there's no need for me to elaborate further on their exceptional service level. I also wouldn't say they serve excellent coffee as I've definitely had better ones in many places, but do try their Honey Buzz if you like sweet coffee such as vanilla latte or caramel latte.
As for the food, here's a little collage of some of my better taken photos on a few of my dining occasions there:
Top left: raisin toast with strawberries and yoghurt on the side - simple but yums. If you're after something savoury for breakie, try the mini bacon and egg muffin with Pablo's signature chilli mayo sauce - I liked it so much right from the first bite that I had it every morning for a straight few weeks.
Middle left: my favourite pasta! (I think I have reiterated this too many times now) - penne in a spicy Mexicana sauce with lots of jalapenos, slices of tender chicken breast fillet, some rocket, bits of sundried tomatoes and sprinkles of shaved parmesan cheese. Boscaiola is next on the to-eat list for pasta.
Bottom left: Pancakes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, lots of fresh fruit goodies (blueberries, strawberries, bananas and sultanas) and maple syrup. It took me at least three visits before I got to satisfy my craving for some piping hot pancakes - they were sold out! In those instances, I had the french toast with yoghurt and berry compote which was equally yums too!
Right: Burger with a generous slice of brie cheese and chips and salad on the side. I am not a great fan of burgers so I didn't order this. The Housemate had the burger and gave a thumbs up.
Other must-try dishes:
Thai beef salad - I recently brought a friend to Pablo's for lunch and he absolutely loved it.
Soup of the day - Tres comes up with new soupy concoctions daily for winter and I've tried most of them: pumpkin, pumpkin with sweet potato, ham and pea, chicken, cauliflower, broccoli, roast chicken broth, potato, and I love all of them. If you can't decide what to have, just order the soup and I guarantee you'll like it.
While you're there, you may want to flip through the Book of Answers. The Housemate and I have had some interesting responses to our ???s. Or, you can look for the giant specs for some silly camwhoring like we did below.
Location:
Pablo's Elixir
Shop 4, 662 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015
Open Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm and Saturday 7am (or 8am?) - 2pm
Telephone: 9669 2008
Bon Appétit!
four winters of me
I am experiencing my fourth Sydney winter since my arrival here in August 2006 and I am getting hit by the cold very badly this time.
Winter 2006:
I didn't need much layering and the most I did was carry around a cardigan I occasionally threw round my shoulders. My everyday attire then consisted of my Birkenstock sandals, a simple tee and either jeans or three quarter pants (see left photo below). I could even bare my back and shoulders in elegant evening wear for formal functions (see right photo below). And I never fell sick once the whole time. Oh and by the way, see how skinny I was then? I have always averaged about 49-50kgs up until shortly after then.
Winter 2007:
I remember going on a road trip to Hunter Valley with a couple of friends in the deep of winter. All of them were fully wrapped up in North Face ski jackets, covered shoes or boots, and there was a girl who had beanies on. I was in my standard tee, jeans and Birkies attire throughout and got a lot of envious looks from my road trip mates (see left photo below). I earned the title of being 'cold blooded' right around that time.
That winter, I was fortunate enough to go on a ski trip complimentary of the company. Whilst most others had thermals and multi layers beneath the ski gear, just a ski jacket over a normal tee sufficed for me (see right photo below). Having gone through three weeks of harsh Canadian winter in the Whistler mountains where I barely survived getting caught in a blizzard mid-mountain at -30 degrees celsius (thinking back, I don't know how I managed to ski my way back to safety in the almost zero visibility weather and with the cold whipping me to near complete numbness.), I found Australian winters extremely mild. I did two full days of intensive skiing in the Australian Snowy Mountains without feeling like my bones were going to break. Now I wouldn't dream of accomplishing a black run without breaking a few ribs. On the weight, notice how my arms look bigger below than in the pics taken in Winter 2006? I reckon I must have weighed about 52kgs here, but hey, there was still no sign of the double chin yet and I could still fit into my pair of Levi's jeans bought way back in 1999.
Winter 2008:
I started doing a bit of dressing up for winter in order not to get mocked for not possessing chic winter style like most of the Aussie chicks here do (see left photo below), but those were mainly for reasons to do with my own vanity, not that I needed the extra layers for warmth. Look at the photo on the right and you see me in a thinly clothed, above knee length vintage dress playing on a desserted beach (cos it was too cold for most to play on a beach then!) in the winter cold. You may not be able to see from the two photos but in this period, I had developed a slight double chin that stubbornly refused to go away. And hey those dark jeans I have on in the left pic were newly bought cos I couldn't fit into my faithful old Levi's from 1999. Average weight in that period was about 54-55kgs, I think.
Winter 2009:
This winter has been a really miserable one for me. I have been sick every other day. Just this past weekend, I had been nursing a fever and flu from Friday right through to Monday (today). My body can't adjust to the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors such that I have to wrap myself up from top to toe when out (as I shiver from the cold once outside) and take everything off except for the basic layers for decency when indoors (I start perspiring the moment I step out of the outdoor cold). This is a very strange phenomenon for me indeed, seeing how I had no such problem for so many winters and in worse ones than this current season. And boy, am I disgusted to announce that the weight now stands at 58-59kgs (a vast 9kgs difference from that in 2006! kill me please.)
I guess this is nature's way of telling me I am no longer 18 but soon approaching the big THREE. Just how much harsher can the ageing process get? Increasing of age and decreasing of metabolism aside, another major contributing factor for my case is the significantly increased work responsibilities - with accountability comes added stress and anxiety - resulting in less time for relaxation and exercise, and less healthy diet ranging from one extreme of not eating at all in a day to the other of binging on junks like chocolates or chips.
With the coming of the new financial year (and the turning of 29) in July, I think it's timely to do some personal wellbeing planning on top of the budgeting and business modelling we have to do on the work front.
solely mine
While exploring Brighton-le-sands, I found a secluded stretch of beach where I laid my beach mat and enjoyed an afternoon of surfing the net, reading a book, sipping wine, munching on chips and watching the planes take off at close proximity until the sun set in a burst of colours. Check out my private beach below.
This was the old air traffic control tower when the runway was way shorter decades ago, I heard.
These pics below are to show how close my camping spot was to the runway. Could have been closer but I wouldn't have survived the noise.
I saw the SQ A380 bound for SG take off too and looked on wistfully.
It was very therapeutic watching all these planes take off.
I'm definitely going back to my private beach again.
the scattering phenomenon
I found a great spot for watching sunsets. It's amazing how fast the colours change in that short span of less than 5min. This must be the best sunset I've seen these three years in Sydney.
i got a tv for my restaurant...
After a brief hiatus where the Facebook Teambook deactivated my account, I am now back running my restaurant. It's now named La Petite Creme after my favourite breakfast cafe in Kings Cross that serves the best egg benedicts and omelettes in Sydney. There are now so many new stuff I can get for my restaurant and I'm running out of moolahs!
a lazy book-reading day
I had a lazy picnic-and-book-reading-day-by-the-bay on Queen's Birthday holiday. It was a great day as can be seen from the blue-sky-white-clouds pic below although it was originally forecasted to rain.
This was the spot I set up my picnic stuff - my huge vintage series colourful beach towel served as a picnic mat, lotsa chips, coffee, books and camera.
I have finished reading Ferney and just started on this new one Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst. I had a great view of the airport runway where I watched airplanes landing and taking off while I read and occasionally snapped photos.
There were lots and lots of seagulls everywhere. They even harrass you for food sometimes. Oh well, they make for a good photo at times too.
When it got too cold, I got my heavy ass off the portable chair and did some walking around.
And discovered the Kyeemagh Boat Ramp Reserve where I observed families spending quality time together boating and fishing while the sun slowly went below the horizon.
I really relish these rare moments of me-time.
More photos here.
wishlist for monkey day
The big monkey day is in less than a month's time. As with every year, I think it's better to post a wishlist to provide some guidelines for friends and family who may be wondering what to get for the picky monkey me. Even if they may not buy the exact item shown below, they would be able to gather from the list the kind of stuff I like. So here goes.
1) Mobile phone
iPhone - just can't make up my mind on the colours. The white one is less common, I suppose, since I've only seen the black ones on the street so far.
Samsung Ultra Touch
2) Accessories for the new phone
Top on the list for the mobile phone category is the iPhone hence I've also shortlisted the following to go with it:
Left: Rugby Vintage Fabric iSockit iPhone Case
Right: Slugger Vintage Fabric iSockit iPhone Case
I want not one, but both!
3) Handmade jewellery from Beakee - read previous post here. Favouritest favourite of all mentioned in the entry is the Pinot Noir - lush grapevine cluster bracelet. I can wear this in spring!
4) Journals or scrapbooks
I love these journals I found on etsy although I am unsure if I will have any use for them at all. I actually have secret plans to do a little scrapbooking project on consolidating some of my blog entries and photos into one huge-ass journal; in this case these small journals aren't suitable, I'll need like a $100+ fancy scrapbook or something.
Left: Winter Tree, leather journal, suede
Right" Blue Tree, painted fabric journal
5) Bags
Left to right:
Oblong denim shoulder bag
The Letter Bag - in rosewood
Bookbag in Someone Bit Granny
6) Home deco stuff
Left to right:
Bird and moth plate
Two Puddle Jumpers 8x10 print
Tempest in a Teacup 8x8 print
vivid sydney 2009
Second day of the Queen's Birthday long weekend, I stayed in a bit during the day to get some rest and charged down to The Rocks and Circular Quay areas once night fell for Vivid Sydney - a festival of music, lights and ideas. I hadn't expected such a crowd and spent about 30min circling around trying to find car parking. I ended up having to lug the cameras and tripod for a 20min walk to Harbour Bridge.
Spotted a nice little church during the hike to my destination and tried to take some photos of it. My laziness to set up the tripod for just a few quick shots resulted in very unsatisfactory photos like the below.
Once I settled on a great spot with a good view of everything that was going on, I set up camp and spent four hours shivering in the cold as the cameras snapped away.
One of the highlights in the Vivid Sydney programme is Luminous - the lighting up of the Sydney Opera House sails. As I tried to capture the fast-changing colours of the sails, I finally experienced for the first time the full impact and frustration of not owning a dSLR. I could visualise very vividly in my mind a particular scene and composition for my next frame but was constrained by the limitations of my equipment - taking night shots with a compact camera in extremely windy conditions without a tripod will never work. I also did not have the luxury of going beyond two seconds for exposure settings. Hence, there was a bit of a fight over my photowalk buddy's dSLR and tripod as each tried to assume the role of 'Creative Director'. ;p
Here I present to you two of my favourite shots of the Opera House. You really can't tell from the 2.5" LCD screen on your camera whether a photo you've just taken is perfectly satisfactory or not, especially if it's a camera you are not used to shooting with. This explains why I only discovered when home that I have only a dozen pics I feel are ok enough to share publicly here in my Flickr set although I was sure I would have 200 odd photos to play with when I left the event grounds.
So, who wants to buy me a dSLR?
By the way, the Vivid Sydney Festival is still on until 14 June. Check out their website here for more details.
lake macquarie
Because of the floods up north, I cancelled my 3-day 2-night road trip to Byron Bay and went on separate day trips on each of the three days on the Queen's Birthday long weekend. First up on an early Saturday morning was a day of exploration around Lake Macquarie, approximately two hours drive north of Sydney. My first stop was to the huge visitor information centre at Swansea where I collected a whole heap of maps and guides and started charting out the route for the day which basically hugged the perimeter of Lake Macquarie and went like this:
Swansea - Belmont - Valentine - Warners Bay - Teralba - Toronto - Bonnells Bay - Sunshine - Bankstown for dinner - home
I wore my rainboots despite the sunny weather as I knew I was going to go play in the swamps and lakes. Here's some me-time with my rainboots on a pavement by the Lake in Swansea.
I got some takeaway lunch and found this nice spot beside the Swansea RSL Club for a little picnic while I admired the surrounding scenery of boats and reflections. The sky was oh-so-blue and the water oh-so-calm-and-clear, it was such a picturesque setting.
After a satisfying lunch of fish and chips, seafood salad and a beer, I went and poked around the area with my camera as I always do. It was boats and more boats.
That seagull was probably checking out my rainboots while I frolicked around. And I realise that I don't have many other shots amongst the 400+ photos taken on this day where my face is actually in the frame.
Found a nice park and some very majestic houses in Teralba. I particularly like this lonely swing in the quiet park - I only saw two or three other humans in the hour I was there.
The colours of dusk were breathtaking.
And these are the final shots taken at Bonnells Bay before darkness engulfed my surroundings and I had to head back.
A total of 443 photos were taken on this day trip. I haven't had the time to really sort through them and have only featured some of my favourite ones here in this entry. There are more photos uploaded here in my Flickr set which I will be adding more pics to as and when I'm done sifting through them all.
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