i had three appointments today - and during all three (first at sunplaza/sembawang, second at hougang mall and the last at tampines mall) of them - the wireless@sg connection was totally pooped out. imagine having a connection yet with 0.0.0.0 as my ip address. how nice! i decided then to just go out and get the m1 broadband service.

and boy, does this m1 broadband service does seem to rock!

the bike hash based around the seletar area that i went for was nothing short of fantastic. i'd never have known that the area had such obscure trails otherwise!

guess the next logical step for me is to sign up for the singapore bike hash membership soon...

my good old bmt csm was the first wise person to teach a priceless lesson to me in life, though it might have seemed that it was only a brushing and uncouth response.

"don't give me the problem, give me the solution!"

surely it does seem in retrospect that still waters run deep. just remember not to let it be a hotbed for dengue.

one of my favourite songs, is dream theater's a change of seasons.

one section of the lyrics that seems prevalent in the odd climate these days:

"but those days are gone now
changed like a leaf on a tree
blown away forever
into the cool autumn breeze"

it's time for a change. some things of esteemed value to myself of the past are now clearly fading away, like the past seasons. things have to come and go; people have to come and go. there's no more tint to the entire picture now; isn't it good that the road is clear of obstacles that holds from years ago?

"i'm sick of all
your hypocrites
holding me at bay
and i don't need
your sympathy
to get me through the day

seasons change and so can i
hold on boy
no time to cry
untie these strings
i'm climbing down
i won't let them push me away"

mom was right all along. from a young age, she'd advised me to choose my friends wisely. it's very unwise to have friends who may undermine your efforts to build a relationship. it might be a tad strong, but that's "insidious", isn't it?

controversy at times is good, to bring out a let's-trash-it-out-and-talk situation. it's common knowledge that things we like to hear aren't necessarily the things that help us; the things that help us aren't necessarily the things we like to hear.

season's changed. carpe diem.

a wise man called ford once said this:

"i want it, and i'll have it."

i'm applying it gradually to my life, one step at a time.

i just happened to see a big group of nie/pess trainee teachers just on saturday at bukit timah nature reserve, just before i headed into the trails with mankul, rizal and ah-boy.

next thing i know... just the previous night, came this piece of news.

PE student-teacher killed in Johor camping accident
Posted: 15 May 2007 1557 hrs

A 27-year-old Physical Education student-teacher has died in a camping accident at Mount Ophir in Johor. Mohammad Rohaizam Bin Tumadi, a first-year Postgraduate Diploma student-teacher at the NIE died from injuries received when a tree fell on him during an early morning downpour on Tuesday.

He was given first aid at the camp site and at first light, was taken down Mount Ophir to emergency services which had been activated. Mohammad Rohaizam was then sent to Tangkak Hospital in Johor where he was pronounced dead.

The accident happened just one day before the end of the Outdoor Experiential Camp, a compulsory seven-day module for all first-year Physical Education student-teachers enrolled in NIE’s teacher preparation programmes. The camp is to introduce PE student-teachers to Outdoor Education as a teaching tool. There were 65 participants in the group at Mount Ophir, which was one of three training camps. - CNA/sf

whatever you do, make sure you take care of your family, should your maker decide to bring you to the other promised land. there won't ever be a make-up session to come back to earn and say, "hey mom and dad, i want to leave you some more money to repay your kindness for bringing me up."

i once shot a wedding for a friend on his wedding day. it was a new experience, first time for me being a "brother" within the "brother bunch" as well as a backup photographer.

now check this out.

1. rosel Says:
   December 31st, 2006 at 3:26 pm

   Hi, thanks for the great wedding blog! It certainly proved helpful for me, who is preparing for wedding. I would like to check with you if the photos presented in this slide show is a medley of those taken by ‘Let There Be Light’ and your fren, Seh Suan?-Btw, is Seh Suan a photographer too? If so, could you identify those taken by the respective person? I’m looking for a photographer and I muz say I like the way some of the photos r taken. Would appreciate if you could furnish their contacts as well. Thanks!

2. Jhong Ren Says:
   January 2nd, 2007 at 11:35 pm

   Hi rosel,

   Seh Suan is my buddy who takes photo for me for free..he is one of my helpers…as for Let there be Light photos, you can go to their website http://www.lettherebelight.com.sg/ to take a look….i will only be able to get my photos from them earliest end of Jan 07.

3. rosel Says:
   January 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 pm

   Hi JR, thanks for the reply. I’m looking fwd to seeing your wedding photos soon!

4. Jhong Ren Says:
   January 3rd, 2007 at 11:57 pm

   No problem!!! yup…more photos are on the way!!!

first of all let me clarify, i do not shoot for free. clearly a person was asking about me, and the reply given referred back to anthony. at that point of time, not a single photo from anthony was posted yet. the first post of his photos were only on 19th january... so evidently rosel couldn't have been asking about him, that i'm sure! isn't it odd to plug back for your own paid wedding photographer, when the person inquiring has not even seen any of his shots?

perhaps i grossly miscommunicated then - but surely i am not worth only six dollars in an angpow only from the groom's mom, granted that shooting the event was a wedding gift to the couple. by the way, that's the only one i received throughout the whole day - 7+am onwards till the night. i contemplated returning that money back to the family. i know i may not be the best photographer for such occasions, but this is ridiculous.

these were the only other occasions i was mentioned:
first, when i agreed to help out (since i could learn to shoot under pressure being a backup)
second, via a photo taken by anthony or his assistant during the banquet

only after i raised my thoughts about the way i was mentioned on his site (FREE PHOTOGRAPHER, ANYONE?), i got a not-so-creative plug back for me. mutual understanding? well, that i'm not so sure of.

oddly, people do not value what does not come with a price tag. i probably got less links from the entire site than anthony and his assistant who were shooting the event as the paid main photographers.