Welcome 2008!

Its the new year once again and time to set my new year's resolution. Hang on...wait a minute.. I have never (and I mean it, NEVER) had any new year's resolution all these years. Why bother when most of the time I do not even fulfill my own self promises. So be it then, yet another year to spend without any resolutions. Really? Hmmm I think turning over a new leaf would be great this year...hence... I shall make not resolutions but plans...

Looking back at 2007, I think I may have achieved the most.
Cash? tick (Not my first million but lets just say enough for me to spend).
Career? tick (Finally, for a while I do not need to sit for any exams).
Friendships? tick (got to know a whole lot of new friends).
Travels? tick (added a few countries to my travel log).
Health? tick (touch wood, have not been sick the whole year).
Family? tick (its been ever closer and more time spent).

Hmmmm..so that leaves me with possibly the most popular question of all, Love? Well, I don't seem to be able to tick this as yet. Hahaha... perhaps this year would enticed me into having a proper relationship. As in a possible 'leading towards happily ever after fairy tale Shrek like' friendship. Hmmmm.... it does gives me the creeps though. Maybe I am just not ready.

Anyways, moving on to this year, there are a few things in mind that I would like to accomplish. Firstly my own attitude in work (Only the higher being would know what I intend to change in myself). It would be soon that I set foot again on the native land of Sarawak, returning to my old hospital. Not for long though, as I do miss KL and would LOVE to transfer back if and when my application reaches KL. Don't get me wrong, I don't intend to work in the 'all too famously politically run' HKL but instead to somewhere near KL. Malacca sounds good. Even Seremban would do.

I plan to dive more this year if time and my wallet permits to practice on my passion for photography underwater and above water.

I would love to be more patient and ready to give in more easily this coming year. Perhaps Letting Go would be a good idea too.
Not going to complaint about too much work and too little pay. Not going to complaint about the 'nuts' of the government and its policies. Not to complaint is the best.

I definitely will be seeing the new year in a whole new perspective as I have a new pair of eyes! Yes I do mean a new pair of eyes. Not new glasses or some expensive frames. I literally mean new eyes as I have just spend a fortune on correcting my vision with laser. YES!! No need to scramble and look for those cumbersome spectacles anymore when I am on-call! Vanity? Sorry mate, never that but convenience YES! Looks to me like a 2008 6/6 vision!

There are just way too many things to write about what I intend to do for the new year. I think I shall leave it for the next several post since I do have 365 days to go still.

Cheers!

My camera equipments (above water)

(left to right: Nikon D200 with 60mm f2.8 macro lens, Sigma 15-30mm for my Canon EOS30 film, Quantaray lens, Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8, 18-70mm zoom kit lens, 105mm f2.8 VR macro, Canon 28-70mm kit lens, Canon EOS30, background Manfrotto tripod and picture taken with Nikon D70 with Tokina 10-17mm FE lens)

I loved my tokina fisheye zoom lens. In fact i used it so often i tend to neglect the rest of my lenses. Many would feel that the distorted angle makes the pictures weird but i find that it gives it a little more artistic look compared to the normal conventional straight angles.

Here, i took this picture when we (Ronnie, Pei See and Eric) were exploring Bali in a Suzuki Vitara. Notice how i was able to capture the whole interior of the car with my favourite lens?



Mom used to say that i looked like a 'wanna be' pro photographer and the truth still remains. I am still a 'wanna be' trying very hard to learn photography but like any other testosterone raging male, i love gadgets. From Macbooks, Ipods, IPhone, cameras, cars, watches,gadgets, gadgets, gadgets!

And the buying does not stop as i now need a proper dry cabinet to store my equipments.

(will also post my collection of underwater gears in the near future)

Diving with Mantas (Komodo) Part 6

This school of jacks (fishes approximately about 0.5 meters in length) greeted us as we descended next to liberty wreck. I had wanted to take a snap from below the school of fishes to capture a 'tornado' effect but before i knew it, they moved further and made it quite difficult for me to approach. Erm, another reason perhaps was because i wasn't skilled enough. Hehehe



During surface interval, I played with my camera in the resort's pool. I thought this shot may have been quite interesting. Camera held underwater and shot upwards towards the flower with the villa as the background. Too bad it had not capture Mount Agung at the same time.



The following two pictures are of nudibranches. Some kind of sea slugs if you were to ask me. Maybe one can perceived it as snails without the shell and painted with multiple colours. These are invaluable as subjects of photography on a muck dive. When i had started taking pictures of these with my point and shoot, i almost always took pictures from the rear until i was corrected by another fellow photographer. The best view should be frontal potrait. I took these with my 60mm Nikkor Macro about inches away from the subject.

Diving with Mantas (Komodo) Part 5

More pictures from my trip...


Ghost Pipefish. Elusive and uses its camouflage ability to evade any potential predators and photographers.


The entrance of a pub in Ubud.


A Moray Eel. Recent studies suggest that morays has an inner jaw used to further engulf their prey quite similar to those on ALIEN 'the movie'



'Bapak's' family on the day they prayed for the new year as well as their 'mobile' blessing. These are traditional Balinese attire.


Sunset view from live aboard 'Baruna'.


This little boy is at Kuta beach playing with a small little crab in his 'Tupperware' container but very willing to strike a smile and pose for my camera.

Diving with Mantas (Komodo) Part 4

After returning from Komodo I decided to travel to Tulamben, east of Bali to dive there as well since I had already paid for the flight. My sister was kind enough to help me amend the ticket (and I have yet to pay her back). The trip was about 2-3 hours through stretches of roads with handicrafts shops all the way. We took a detour to enjoy some fish satay famous I would say for not only the tasty food but more of the numerous flies around us. Not that the flies deterred us from the meal.


The Villa owned by an Australian which cost about USD20-30 per night. With your own private pool (something not foreign in Bali) and the sea view.



Balinese are known to pray the whole year round. When I was staying there, they were celebrating the 'motor vehicle's' new year. Yes they pray for their 'MOBIL' as well.

Diving with Mantas (Komodo) Part 3

Diving in Komodo, one cannot miss the chance of a lifetime to view the well known dragons right? We stopped over on one of the islands to visit these massive 'bacteria infested slimmy saliva' reptiles. Each adult measuring to about more than 7 feet long. There were rangers all around us 'sorta' protecting us from any possible attacks using a 'y' shaped branch or poles. Just days ago we were chatting with another tourist and had viewed a photo of his bathroom at the park's accomodation in which a Komodo dragon was taking a nap!!


The scene around Bali near Kuta.



View around the hotel's pool.

Diving with Mantas (Komodo) Part 2

Words and pictures can be difficult to express how I felt but the following video will give you an idea of it. Courtesy of Eric, hehhehe.

Diving with Mantas (Komodo) Part 1

I flew to Bali on the 14Th of November very much looking forward to my diving trip in Komodo. It was supposed to be a short trip of 5 days at the most but in the end it was 2 weeks plus. The highlight of the trip was definitely my dive at Manta Alley. There were about 11 (minimum I would think) Mantas of all sizes gliding gracefully amongst us. It was pure amazement for the entire 2 dives, each lasting about 50 minutes. 50 minutes because I used up my compressed air quicker than the rest of the season divers and being a 'not so fit' person.
This was my second dive trip using my new camera rig and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was testing out my wide angle lens on this dive and the Manta was the prefect subject. I do must admit that my photography skills is still very depressing.

(Me and the Manta... comparing my size with the smallest of them all)

The first night of my check out dive, yes...it was a 'dare devil' feat to dive at night in a whole new dive site, I was stung by Hydroids. The scar still remained until today as I blog. It was not because I touched them but I was pushed by another diver during a current surge and felt the stinging sensation immediately right after on my left wrist. We surfaced much earlier as it was just not 'environmentally' safe to continue the dive. My first encounter with night dive currents. Hehehe

For the next 3 dives I had decided not to bring my camera along with me as i wanted to get used to diving, the buoyancy control, breathing compressed air....the basics.

But who can resist not taking any pictures at all after the third dive!!! And of course...the first picture...self portrait using my Tokina 10-17mm.



*Will be posting a video (taken by a very experienced fellow friend) of the Mantas next entry...

Diving in Komodo, Bali (Tulamben), Strolling in Kuta and Ubud

Am taking a long trip from working. Felt I should indulge myself into more quality of life than just working and making a living. Well...of course I need to work to get the money to go for all these trips.

Am still in Bali, Legian's Zanzibar blogging this. I started my journey here from the 14th of November. My initial intention was to dive in Komodo...then I was invited by two of my friends to join them in their trip to Tulamben for further dives there. I agreed. I changed my air ticket and then decided to stay for another week. Woohoo...it was definitely worth it.

Will be flying back tomorrow to Kuala Lumpur.

Will post pictures and videos as soon as I can.

Will post pictures of me with my underwater rig, my 'wifey', my campanion for the whole 10 days of diving. Heheh...

I have been 'PUNKED'

It was my last day at work. Said all the goodbyes and gave all the hugs and kisses. Had my lunch and thanked my consultants for being exceptionally brilliant throughout my two years working in the UK. Then it all started.

I was walking back towards the secretary's office to hand in my bleep when my colleague had asked me to help her see a patient in the antenatal ward. Apparently she was heading towards the gynae ward to attend to another emergency. Oh well, just another case before leaving so i agreed.

I entered the ward and the first midwife i met looked afraid and shaky. I asked her what was the matter and she gave me a run down of the case. Here it goes;

A 40 year old (A-PAWLING ANNETTE was her name but i had paid no attention to the APAWLING part!) plus patient came self admitted with complaints of per vaginal bleeding and abdominal pain and claimed she can't be pregnant although she did had 6 months period of amenorrhoea (no periods basically) . She was acting really abusive and aggressive and had taken a swiped at the potter already (at this point the potter was mumbling over his walkie talkie ' its ok...everything is under control..the registrar is here' also showing me a plaster on his hand). She is now in the side room, locked in the bathroom and refused to come out.

I asked the midwife whether she looked pregnant but the midwife replied that the patient was high on the BMI side so it was difficult to know. Immediately i asked for a portable ultrasound scan to be brought over. I then motioned myself towards the room and as i approached, i could hear a woman screaming at the top of her lungs saying ' i am going to kill myself!!! how can i be pregnant!! i dont't wanna be in the hospital!!! '

My heart started pumping faster, shunting all my blood to my head to help me think. The first thing i had thought of was, 'oh my god...we have got a possible psychiatric patient in the ward and an agressive one...what would happened to the rest of the patients??? how am i going to ensure the safety?'

In the room, another midwife was trying really hard to convince and persuade the patient out from the toilet. I asked whether the consultant on-call had been informed. Well at this point i thought he should be informed. Then another scream "IF ITS A MALE DOCTOR I DON'T WANNA SEE HIM...ITS MEN WHO DID THIS TO ME!!!!! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!!!"

I told the midwives there (which suddenly doubled in numbers perhaps tripled) to try and get a female doctor if the patient didn't want a bloke. But, at this moment, the patient gave in and came out...with a PLASTIC BAG covering her head!! SHIT!! Definitely PSYCHIATRIC CASE I told myself. I politely introduced myself to the patient who at this point remained aggressive and loud. The pillows, magazines and jugs of water were all over the floor. I looked at her tummy, but couldn't convinced myself she was pregnant at all. I proceeded to chat with her and suggested she sits on the chair to start off with. Then I requested for her to allow me to remove the bag over her head of which she agreed to.

THEN!! THEN!!! that i noticed it was a familiar face, one of which i recognised immediately..... it was one of the midwives!!! and there was i standing in the room with laughter and claps all around... They had me! I have been punked. My heart stopped palpitating and slowed down. I was flushed with embarrassment. I applauded to their acting skills. Absolutely incredible.