never too young to start photography

Pardon the poor quality of the photo. I had to use my handphone to take this shot because Fiona, my four-year old niece, was just too busy exploring her new toy, my camera. It's heavy for her tiny fingers but I taught her how to handle it properly and she's learning fast. She takes decent photos as well. I would love to show them to you but she has this annoying habit of making me, her sole subject, which would practically bore anyone who would see it. Next time, I'll teach her how to take a steady shot coupled with an appropriate framing. =)

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Oct 23, LB -- Let me take this wonderful opportunity to greet a very special friend, CRIM, a happy birthday! I know you've deleted your blog already which now officially cuts me off from the "mainstream" of your profound and (sometimes) loony whereabouts, but rest assured that I am always there for you, be your shock absorber, secret keeper, drinking buddy, videoke mistress, I could be anyone you want me to be. I hope to see you soon. happy beerday!

Look what I found from a heap of crumpled papers

Dax gave me the EPL book. And he sent it in a very creative Russian-doll-like-wrapping-kind-of way. A white big box; inside was a heap of crumpled papers from which I found a smaller box which, as you’ve guessed, was also full of crumpled papers and underneath was the book covered in onion skin. I kinda knew that Dax would give me the book simply because I asked him for it but what surprised me was how he packaged the gift. Interesting. If he’s done it to the girl he likes, that girl would probably be smitten.

Anyway, Dax was supposed to come with us to watch EPL a week ago but he said he has “a date” – a previous commitment, I should say. Anyway, I told him the company was great but the movie was awful. “You actually didn’t miss any thing, Dax!” But Miks said, I should have read the book first. “There are nice materials in the book that you’ll be able to appreciate only by reading it.” So I (kindly) asked Dax to give me a book as an early Christmas gift. He happily obliged which quite surprised me. Hehe. Dax is easy to sway and he has the tendency to spoil his friends—a nice thing to have if you are one of his so called “friends”. So that’s how I got the book from a heap of crumpled scratch. =)

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Miks, PC and I went to dinner last night at Pen-Pen in Tomas Morato. As we were passing by the lighted streets, I suddenly learned that Christmas is fast approaching. There were lights. Lotsa lights. When we finished our dinner, I asked them if we could walk the few miles before getting a cab home. As we were walking, a cold, wintry gush of air met us. Brrr. It was cold. Then I retorted: “I dread Christmas!” PC said: “Don’t say dread. It’s such a strong word.” Okay… I fear Christmas .

Waiting shed

I like waiting sheds because people come here to wait. But they are more than that.

Sheds have personalities, those that you can guess just by looking at its structures. How old it is, how well it’s maintained, it’s location, and how many people are actually going for it “to wait”.

I found this wonderful shed when I was in Korea. I was roaming around RDA early in the morning to take photos when the rain started to pour. I found this shed with nothing much except three green seats full of falling leaves on top of it and four wooden benches around the green seats. I was tempted to sit on one of the green seats but I wanted to preserve its actual look, the way I have found it. So instead, I sat on one of the four wood benches around it. The floor was covered with dried leaves, some of them were still fresh and some of them were falling on my head. I looked outside and it was raining hard. Then, all of a sudden, I felt this surge of sadness—the kind that eats you up inside. I don’t usually get that. Mostly it’s the fleeting loneliness, the one that you could get rid of given the proper diversion. This type of sadness was different (or so I thought at that time). I have wished for the rain to stop.

While waiting for the rain to subside, I saw the bespectacled Hyo-jung Lee standing in front of the shed with an umbrella. Smiling, she said to me “What are you doing there, Ms Rayts? Come in the office and we’ll drink coffee.” It was the second time that she saved me. One time, she showed me the way to the biggest bookstore in Suwon. Inside her office, she served me a piping hot mug of coffee. It was my last day in Suwon and I was thinking what to give her as a token. Hyo-jung was a few years older than me and she’s one of the few people I got along with during my one-week stay in Suwon. She has this cute habit of putting her arms in my arms whenever we take our pictures. I gave her a key holder before I left. I saw her put her keys in it. “So that I will always remember you!” she said with a big smile.

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[postscript]

I found the most charming letter. “I love you infinity times infinity much!” Obviously it was not meant for me. But my mind is playing (tricks) with me (again). Could it be that he intentionally did not remove the post-it so that I could see it? Or maybe not. How could I entertain such thought? Still, the possibility is there. God, I wish someone would say that to me. I will love you back (infinity times infinity).

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Went to see Eat Pray Love last night. The night was great. The movie was awful. All throughout the film, I was bothered by Julia Roberts unusually over-sized mouth and her unusually bony face. I am rude. I asked Dax to give me a copy of the book. I asked him to give it as a gift. I was a bit demanding but he owes me big time. Luckily he promised to buy me a copy.

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I love my family. I love my friends. I love my work. I love you. There...i said it!

A FRIEND is someone who knows all about you, and still likes you

I was told that the number of friends you have tells much about the kind of person you are.

Do you agree?

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