I can't believe it, but I got conned into some hill climbing today. I never actually go out on photoshoots with people but since I had nothing better to do today, I thought I'd take Itzhar up on his offer of going to the hills to shoot some landscapes or whatever. I set my alarm for 5am on a Saturday morning so that we could catch the sunrise. I really thought it was just going to be a drive up the hill, get out of the car and shoot kind of thing. So I wore my slippers and a pair of slacks. I've never been excited about shooting landscapes. I just can't stand sitting around waiting for the right light and going through so much trouble just to get a picture.

When we got there I was a bit alarmed when one of the people we met up with said that it was going to be about a 30 minute hike to get to where they were going to shoot. Oh man, this was only about 6.45am and we were supposed to go up some hill to take some landscape pictures. Since I was already there I just thought 'What the hell'. I need to lose weight anyway and the exercise won't do me any harm. I just wish I had better footwear on.

It turned out to be a nice day out. Nice hike and alright views (again, I'm not a fan of landscapes and hilltop views). I took a few shots and just relaxed while the others continued going up further. It was kind of slippery and I didn't want to risk injuring myself since I had a pair of rubber slippers on and it wasn't holding on too well to my feet.

I think if there was ever a next time, I need to get the details right so I can dress for the occasion and also so I can maybe bring a few bottles of water and a backpack instead of the Billingham slingbag I was lugging around. Maybe I can even bring a small stove to cook some Maggi or whatever.

Anyway, it was good day out to see the Klang Gates Dam and there was a bunch of great people who are also photography enthusiasts. You can see their photoblogs here, here, here and here. Below is my attempt at landscape photography. It was just a quick PS job and I was just playing around with conversions and all that stuff. I wish there was more detail in the sky and more clouds. I can't really figure out how to compose for landscapes or even how to edit for landscapes. I think I will have to read up on it more. After this it can only get better.

In February, during the Chinese New Year holidays, the whole family decided it was time for another holiday. We had a family holiday during Christmas hols where we visited Bali. So, this time we decided we were all going to go to Jakarta. Unfortunately, Jakarta was hit with a flood that was cancelled and we had to re-plan our holidays. In the end, we decided to go to Bangkok.

Most of the time we just relaxed in the hotel and went shopping but riding on a Tuk-Tuk was the highlight of the trip for me. It was crazy fun. I've been to Bangkok before but I've never ridden in one of these things. This is absolutely the most fun you can have on the road. It feels really fast 'cos you're actually sitting in the open and the driver doesn't think that the road rules apply to tuk-tuks. When we were on it, we were reminded of a Visa ad with Pierce Brosnan in it. It was just so funny.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics of us risking our lives on the tuk-tuk.

It's been almost 3 months since my last post. I just haven't found time to blog lately. Not that I don't have much to blog about but just that I have not had the time to sit down and type out all my thoughts. A lot has been happening since the last post.

Since the last post, I have photographed a couple more weddings. One was Azizi & Juliana and the other Affandi & Zai. I have also been busy with my other business which I have started up with a couple of old friends from TTDI. It's basically something we thought would give us some extra income and allow us to express ourselves creatively. I think we're doing quite well now considering that it's only been 2 months since we got our first assignment. There's a lot of photography and designing involved in this other business and it lets me get away from the hectic environment of wedding photography. So hope all goes well with this venture. Right now we're just slowly finding new clients but we are keeping busy with jobs here and there.

So I have been busy but what has kept me away from the computer the most is that I've finally changed my full-time job. I was investigating fires with Approved Forensics Sdn. Bhd. but now I'm working for the biggest organisation in Malaysia.

THE GOVERNMENT. Yes. I am now working at 'Jabatan Kimia Malaysia' at their 'Pusat Sains Forensik'. It has been an eye-opener working in a government deparment. I like to think of myself as a servant of the public. MUAHAHAHA. It really is a different environment in there. I've heard so many stories about the easy life working for the government and how they have so many tea-breaks and play ping-pong during work hours. I was so excited to start work. Turns out all those rumours don't hold true for 'Jabatan Kimia'. It's bloody hard work in there. I've always had problems with punctuality but I always thought someone could punch in my card for me or something. It doens't work there. They have a biometric logging-in system. So every morning & when I leave work I have to have my hand scanned. Bummer. Surprisingly, I have never punched-in late yet.

And regarding the tea-breaks. There's just one at 10.30am. And it's not even official. They just let you have tea or something light. But some people do squeeze in a 'nasi kandar' in the morning so they don't need to go fight for food during lunch hour when everyone else goes to eat.

Work-wise, I was quite surprised that the department actually works very hard. Mostly due to the rising crime rate and the enormous backlog. So no such thing as chit-chatting during work hours. Everyone is concentrating on their work. How sad is that? I really got conned into this job.

Anyway, I haven't exactly said what I do in the Chemistry Department. I went in wanting to go to the ballistics section but they said it was full and I also later found out that those in the Criminalistics section are on call on weekends. So that's a no-no for me. Weekends are for the family (Sunday breakfast with the family is very important to me). Then I had to think hard & fast what else I could do which wouldn't involve a lot of work. Then it came to me, Document Examination. How hard could that be? Just looking at documents and saying 'Yes, he wrote it' or 'No, he didn't write it'. Wrong again. Turns out it is a tedious job. Lots of comparison charts and analyses. But it's also very exciting. I'm finally doing something I actually studied for. How great is that to be able to use what you learnt in university. I'm so lucky.

I think we've got the smallest section in the whole department. But we've got the nicest bunch of people there. I'll probably blog more about my workmates in future posts. The downside is that we've got a bloody small office. It's practically 2 small rooms packed with 10 people. Lots of bumping and sharing deskspace. Rumour is there's gonna be some renovations going on to add a few more feet of office space. Hopefully that goes through. For now though, the place will do. I don't think we have it that bad as other sections though.

Looks like it's time to go to bed. Finally able to finish a post. Got another wedding to do tomorrow, so lots of equipment preparation tonight. See you next post.