Upon reading the words behind the customized postcard, I felt heartwarming and touched. To be missed, by someone special. that is.

I miss you too. ♥

As mentioned before in my “Random Stuffs” post, I have finally got the project kicked off.

I always do my research and ponder the pros and cons before I set my eyes on a gadget and go all out for it. Regardless of the price, if I want it, I shall get it, just like my RM285 Logitech VX Revolution Laser Mouse, RM1600 Nokia N70 mobile phone, RM2480 Panasonic Lumic DMC-FZ30 digital camera and my RM4000 HP Pavilion dv2201tx Notebook. I never hesitate or being doubtful over my choice because I know that’s what I wanted.

However, for this particular project, not only I brought forward my plans due to peer pressure (No thanks to Ah Yong.), I hesitated for many days and even weeks. Even up till the night before, I was doubtful about my choice and whether was it wise to buy it.

Well, I decided to just close my eyes and plunge myself into it. I made the jump and gotten myself sucked into a never ending spending spree. I bought this.

Credits go to Sean for loaning me his Sony CyberShot to take this picture.

Yes.

Canon EOS 40D with EF-S 17-85mm F/4-5.6 IS USM kit lens.

In fact, I didn’t only get those, I got more accessories to go along with it.

Credits go to Sean for loaning me his Sony CyberShot to take this picture.

1) Battery grip BG-E2N for Canon EOS 40D
2) EF 50mm F/1.8 II Prime Lens.
3) BP-511A Battery
4) SteinZeiser Camera Bag
5) Hoya HMC 67mm UV Filter
6) 2GB SanDisk Ultra II
7) Heavy Duty Tripod

Why Canon?

Simple, because it’s Canon. First of all, the brand name Canon has been around for quite some time and the reputation has spoken for itself. Also, having used a few Canon digital cameras previously, my dad’s Ixus, the office’s PowerShot G2 and G3, I was and am happy with the pictures that Canon digital cameras produced. Not only that, my working environment, where most of the media photographers are seen using a Canon, particularly the Canon EOS 1D Mark II and / or Canon EOS 20D / 30D and many L lenses, it gives me the confidence in Canon. Oh, I also like the orange-y colour and feel in my pictures.

Why Canon EOS 40D?

It was a very tough decision between my initial ideal dSLR, the Canon EOS 400D and Canon EOS 40D. Budget was the biggest factor and the question of “Do I need the semi-professional camera?” kept popping into my mind. I certainly love the weight, LiveView, extra and more powerful features and the unique shutter sound of the Canon EOS 40D compared to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Again, budget was a factor.

With much persuasion by Ah Yong and the guy at the camera shop, I decided to spend that extra money to get the better one, hoping that it will cap the upgrade possibility in any near or far future. Getting the Canon EOS 40D is basically the furtherest I would go and the most money I would spend for photography, not more than that. It should be my second and last digital camera for the rest of my life because the next upgrade to Canon E0S 40D are the Canon EOS 5D series (RM8K) or the Canon EOS 1D (RM16K). which are totally out of my league.

Buy first, think later.

I hope that answered most people’s question.

Now, that I have bought a semi professional level camera, I need to get slightly and more serious with photography. The learning curve is going to be very steep from here on and I am really glad that I have a geek sifu Yee Hou who is more than willing to answer my stupid questions and give a pointer or two, provided he is free, of course.

Also, I am starting to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop, so that I can make use of the RAW function of my camera. I shall refrain myself from editing the pictures but to present what I have snapped at that particular moment. I tried to pick up Photoshop sometime ago but I gave up as it was just not my thing. This is my forth time picking up, again.

Well, I am going to do some adjustment to the picture size used in my blog. Previously, most of my pictures are set at a standard 320 * 240 resolution for faster loading time and a neater and uniformed look. Do I sound like a perfectionist? Heh!

However, due to the difference ratio between the old camera (4:3) and new (3:2), the pictures used from this post onwards would larger (420 * 280 resolution), with an average of 60Kb in file size and about one to two seconds longer loading time, depending on your connection. This is to take advantage of the clearer resolution and details captured by my camera.

Also, I am introducing my Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmumbles/ where I would upload random photos I took with my camera. Well, the thoughts of starting another blog for my photos are still lingering in my head. We shall see.

Last but not least, there are a few people that I need to thank, because without them, this won’t be happening in the first place.

1) Aprilcherrie for the referral.
2) Bryan for the cash advancement.
3) Yee Hou for clearing my doubts on many issues related to dSLR.
4) My mum for loaning me RM1,000, on the very last minute. The catch? 2% interest.
5) Ah Kit for letting me swiping his credit card, or else, I would be carrying really a lot of cash and walking around KL.
6) No thanks, but still thanks to Ah Yong for brainwashing me to getting this instead of the Canon EOS 400D and the peer pressure.

I got my camera from,

Jean / Mr. Lee
Billion Photo Sdn. Bhd.
G9, Ground Floor,
KL. Plaza,
Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100, Kuala Lumpur.

03-21428970 or 03-21428971

I know what you are going to ask, the price, right? I shall not disclose as my parents are reading my blog its terrifying. LOL.

Well, that’s the story for my Canon EOS 40D.

P/S : To help protect your business, surveillance camera systems can help you a lot. There are a lot of different types of surveillance cameras available to choose from based on how complicated you want the camera to be. For awesome prices on a surveillance camera, check online.

It was Mikel’s birthday and I was summoned to join his birthday bash at Sunway Pyramid, together with 20 odd bloggers that I never know of, hear of and certainly, meet of. Can’t say no to the birthday boy as the party was held right on his birth date. Well, here’s a shout out to Mikel also know as Susu, SplashMilk and Louyau (Now defunct.).

The venue? Ole Ole Bali at Sunway Pyramid. It’s on the outer side of the building, along Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Magical Theater restaurant and beside Amazing Thai. There are quite a few Bali themed restaurant, mainly Bumbu Bali at Puchong, Jombali at Tesco Puchong and Sunway Pyramid’s Ole Ole Bali. According to Tony, the price at Ole Ole Bali is cheaper compared to Bumbu Bali.

Generally, the environment and ambiance of the restaurant are pretty good, with lots of paintings and handicrafts are used as decoration items. Lightings are nice, not too bright and yet not too dim. With big and huge cushion padded wooden chair, everything is pretty much comfortable.

There are western food and Balinese food on the menu, accompanied with random pictures of the food to give you a better idea what are you going to have if you order that. Every thing is pretty much served, from drinks to cocktails, western to Balinese, chicken to seafood, rice to noodles, salad to soups, appetizers to desserts, grilled to stir fried and etc.

Iced barley lime was my default drink for the night. Nothing special, but absolutely refreshing. I had three glasses in total. RM5 per glass or RM15 per jug.

I also ordered deep fried cuming cuming or more commonly known as deep fried calamari. Not that crunchy, but best to be eaten as starters or while you are having your main course. The batter used to deep fried the calamari tasted still acceptable and also the mayonnaise (Or was it tar tar sauce?) sauce complimenting the finger food while tantalizing your taste buds at the same time. The portion is rather huge too. RM12 per serving.

As for the main course, I opted for Nasi Campur Ole Ole, which is basically mixed rice with a variety of dishes. The dishes that came with my mixed rice were grilled prawns, grilled squids, pan fried dory fish, chicken rendang, sauteed kangkung, chicken satay wrapped around a stick of lemon grass (Bali’s version of satay lilit.), a plate of rice cake with long beans (Bali’s version of coleslaw, perhaps.), two different types of chilies, a big piece of anchovies crackers and of course, a very small portion of rice. RM30 for this dish.

Don’t look down at the small portion of the side dishes. By the time I finished everything on the plate, I was really full. Been to Bali twice, I would say the food served by Ole Ole Bali’s kitchen tasted far better than those in Bali itself. Again, thumbs up for their huge portion, generous servings and prompt service.

As for desserts, I had grass jelly with rambutans, served in lemon grass sweet syrup. Nice.

Will I return to visit this restaurant? Definitely, especially when I am around Subang or Sunway Pyramid area. The price might be a little on the high side, but considering that they are operating at the new Sunway Pyramid 2, for the huge portion, prompt and friendly service, it is still acceptable.

I heard there’s this restaurant with lab incubator and hospital theme around the area too.

I hardly listen to Malay songs and even if I do, it was mostly recommendations from Juliana. However, I overheard this song over the PA system one day and I fell in love instantly for its melody and sweet voice.

Upon searching and help from Juliana, I managed to find the song and have been playing it for more than 24 hours, again and again. Yes, there was only one song queued in the list and the repeat function was enabled. The song is five minutes long, which makes up to 12 times per hour. After substracting eight hours of sleep, I have been playing the same old song for more than 16 hours, a total of 192 times, non stop.

Crazy.

“Cinta Tak Terganti” - Siti Nurhaliza

Biarkanlah resah sayang
Sukar ku lalui
Buat ku berduka

Kenangkanlah oh semalam
Walau cinta dikunci
Janji tak ku lupa

Tak daya ku halangi
Tak ku cuba jauhi
Tetap di sini
Terus menanti

Ikrar kita mengharungi badai sakti
Mencari sinar kasih suci
Walaupun nafas ku ini pasti terhenti
Jangan pula ada sangsi lubuk hati
Percaya cinta tiada ganti
Kau yang ku cari
Kaulah kasih ke akhir hayat nanti

Kenangkanlah oh semalam
Walau cinta dikunci
Janji tak ku lupa

Tak daya ku halangi
Tak ku cuba jauhi
Tetap di sini
Terus menanti

Ikrar kita mengharungi badai sakti
Mencari sinar kasih suci
Walaupun nafas ku ini pasti terhenti
Jangan pula ada sangsi lubuk hati
Percaya cinta tiada ganti
Kau yang ku cari
Kaulah kasih ke akhir hayat nanti

Tak daya ku halangi
Tak ku cuba jauhi
Tetap di sini
Terus menanti

Ikrar kita mengharungi badai sakti
Mencari sinar kasih suci
Walaupun nafas ku ini pasti terhenti
Jangan pula ada sangsi lubuk hati
Percaya cinta tiada ganti
Kau yang ku cari
Kaulah kasih ke akhir hayat nanti

Download “Cinta Tak Terganti” by Siti Nurhaliza by clicking here.