this was the sunset at the other end of the building after my rainbow shot. it was all a lovely mixture of colours in the sky. would you blame me if i forget that i'm still in my pj's while taking this one? (i actually had to snap a couple of pictures as i feel like i need the perfect moment for this sunset shot, although i am not really sure when is the "perfect one" and if this is the perfect one too! lol!) this was the sunset and it was still drizzling outside. i would never mind if i look like a mess (i went to the loo after these shots, and i quite look horrible! kakahiya) just to get a picture of this.


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Reena gave me an award on her post. it's a passionate award/tag at the same time. i really appreciate the award as it is something about being passionate (in the respective arts, not in other stuff :D). i never notice that i look that passionate in what i'm doing (i see more of myself as an addict! hehehe!). thanks Reena!

and since it's your Mom's birthday as well, i'm dedicating this sunset shot for the both of you. tell your mom happy birthday! :D

so we're having quite a crazy weather these past few days (or probably i am not just that used to it) but lately it's either a hit or miss kind of thing catching a sunset shot. i actually didn't notice that it was a very nice sunset while at the mrt. but as soon as i alight from the train i did notice the warm glow of the sun at the west side ( i live at the east). how happy i am that the sun was setting really nicely giving a warm glow. lovely right?! sky watch photos from around the world are here. have a lovely weekend everyone!!!

and so this is a memorable sunset as well because...it's my mom's birthday today! happy birthday ma! i'm glad i caught this sunset! this one's for you! :D

i got this picture at 7 pm tonight. my first successful rainbow shot (yay!). it's actually two rainbows but as you can see the one at the top is fading. it has been a crazy weather for the past few days. it would be really hot and sunny in the morning and then wet and rainy in the afternoon. there's a funny story behind this. i was actually sleeping in my room when ate d who had just arrived home told me if i want to see rainbows. i immediately got up, took my camera and happily snap pictures. later did i realise after about a couple of minutes that i was on my sleeping gear and i practically look like a mess (hahaha!). but then i was just too engrossed with the view of the rainbow.

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it's Ash Wednesday today. we attended the 8 pm mass and had of course ash on our foreheads. one funny thing that i forgot is that we're not in the Philippines, so while we're on the bus way home, a couple of people are staring at our foreheads, i know they were wondering why is it that our foreheads are dirty. :)

i caught this terrapin while sunbathing outside :D. while his other friends are cooling by the water, he is happily bumming around the red bed. i really find him so cute so i took snapshots of him. i actually didn't realise that he was already looking at me. probably he was pissed off because i am disturbing his resting time. :D in all seriousness, it's from the class for the drop-off. they are having pets for their themes. they also have a hamster in class. but i find the terrapins really really cute. look at him just chilling out :D

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Although sometimes superficially similar to sea turtles in shape, having webbed feet and thinner shells than fully terrestrial tortoises, terrapins do not belong to the sea turtle superfamily Chelonioidea. In British English, the species most commonly referred to as terrapins are members of the family Emydidae including the red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans and the slider terrapin Trachemys dorbignyi.[2] Perhaps confusingly, although the genus to which the box turtles belong, Terrapene, sounds similar to the word terrapin, these turtles are not normally called terrapins. got this info from wikipedia.

macro post again! :D and testing techniques for post-processing too! :D

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was tagged by Reena about 25 Random Things about myself. i'm not really into this stuff though why not give it a try.

1. i am collecting 100 die cast yellow cars. the one in the photo is my lucky charm and is always with me, the rest are at home. currently i have 45 yellow cars (and counting). i also collect hummers, ferrari's and beetles (depending on my type).

2. i've become addicted to shooting pictures for a year and a half, was just envious with a friend that's why i tried :D

3. i'm a stalker, uhm, researcher :D i'm good at researching stuffs.

4. i am a little bit of a gadget person. (i have 3 cams, 1 ds, 1 ipod, and a laptop). i try to keep myself updated with the latest gadget.

5. i am a fan and addicted to prison break (i have watched and almost memorized the whole series)

6. i'm a frustrated artist, i love to draw

7 i used to be a Sped teacher, then an N1 teacher, now, i am a playgroup teacher (i teach 6 months - 2 and a half year old tots)

8. i play the guitar with nursery songs (i am not a singer though).

9. i'm a fan of anime (rorouni kenshin, death note, monster, etc) but not a fan of Naruto :D

10. i'm a sucker for jdoramas, taiwanese and korean soaps (depending on the story)

11. i would like to live or work in Japan (gadgets and anime galore)

12. i want to travel, travel, travel (malapit na 'ko maburn-out)

13. i'm a couch potato :D

14. i have a very big appetite ( i love food!)

15. i've learnt how to swim just a year ago.

16. i'm a graduate of psychology (i give free counseling services! hahaha!)

17. i love reading anything

18. i have a selective memory (i can remember insignificant stuffs but will have a difficulty remembering significant ones)

19. i am a very moody person :D

20. i'm a lolo and lola's pet :D

21. i've been away from my family for almost two years (i stayed a year in jakarta and now in Singapore)

22. i can cook but i hate baking

23 i collect junks (receipts, candy wrappers, etc)

24. i am an only child

25. i'm a woman but i think like a man (according to my co-teacher)

there's my 25 random things. it's difficult to think about these stuff! :D

still in my macro practice mode. i am trying my very best to do manual focusing of the lens. and since i am limited to how near i can get to this tiny tiny tiny flower, i had to do a cropping of this. and it's still found in between the building and the sidewalk (me and my weird pose!). i can't help but be amazed of the details of this flower about to bloom. ganda ganda! (love your work ulit! hehehe!)

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posting this in lieu of my lolo's birthday....if he's alive it'll be his 82nd birthday. i'm a wee bit of a lolo's girl because i grew up with them (and my lola). offered a prayer for him today and had a chat with my lola too. i hope he's quite happy with whatever it is i am doing these days. miss you lolo!

this was the bud from my blog entry about the mimosa pudica (makahiya). i went back the other day and it has bloomed so i took the picture of the flower.

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i had an early entry for sky watch. i thought it was Thursday and was so excited to post until i have just realised that it was just Wednesday!

i haven't posted for the past two weeks. schedule was quite hectic and i ran out of pictures to post. that's why i am quite happy to post a sunset shot that i took yesterday. happy SWF everyone. Sky photos from around the world are here.

playing with the toys...and practicing macro again! :D

i'm definitely in the mood for finding mini sized stuffs (practice ng macro shooting :D) i took this shot today while tidying up the toy vehicles at the playground (part time janitress :D). i've been wanting to have a picture of the makahiya flower and so i took the opportunity. although i am not really sure if this is the flower (bud?!) but still i am quite happy with this picture. i just have to crop the picture for a closer look at it. this plant reminds me of my childhood days ( i am not shy, naghahabol lang palagi ng makahiya sa damuhan :D).

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note: makahiya is an herb pala (i didn't know this :D). the leaves close up in various stimuli, such as touching, and shaking. and can be transmitted to its neighboring leaves. it's called seismonatic movements or reaction to physical shock. in the evening, he leaflets will fold together and the leaf will drop downwards, this is called nyctonastic movement or reaction to absence of light. it re-opens at sunrise. it's also a medicinal plant.

since it was valentines yesterday, i much figured out that i need to post a flower photo. too bad that i had to reformat my card and with my carelessness of not saving the last batch of pictures, i had to look for a flower last minute. :D actually this is a flower from the grass (or of the grass?!). a mini size again, about a millimeter in diameter. i was trying to use the manual focus of the lens and viewing it via optical viewfinder (hindi pwede ang lcd eh). can you imagine how do i look while trying to take a picture of it? and to make matters a little bit weird is that i took this in front of the building where i work near the road. me and my little piece of happiness! :D

taken at the 5th floor of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (nope, haven't been back there yet). these mini buddha figures adorned the four walls of the top most temple. the lighting was so dim that i had to use flash and yet diffuse it for the the buddhas not to be blown out. these figures are about an inch and a half tall. i also didn't realise that they were tarnished until i have uploaded them.

it's quite difficult and fun finding some things that capture my attention. while my friend is very busy taking pictures of artists performing on stage at marina bay, i just sat at the stairs and notice the lights. :D

my game console and trunks. i was figuring out on a better way to snap a picture of my ds until i stumbled upon trunks. this is one toy that i never had regrets purchasing. unlike some friends who owns it's rival, i am very much entertained with this toy. others would say it's just for kids but seriously it's not. i love all the games that i have played with this toy (ace attorney series, professor layton, pokemon diamond, TWEWY). and of course i have the mario game too (although i suck in the game due to my poor eye-hand coordination) :P. what i really like about this console is the use of stylus which makes it nicer than it's rival. it may not have excellent graphics but if you're in for entertainment and games, it's not a waste of money.

note: i am excited because Dragonball Evolution will be released in March. although the story is all about the piccolo saga and most of the well known characters are not here (vegeta, et al), i'd surely catch this on the big screen. i'd have to mark my calendar then! :D

for the nth time, i am posting another moon shot. i know it may seem tiring and boring because most of the time it's still the same moon phase that i have although with different dates or months. i was actually eyeing the first quarter but then it seems like it doesn't want to have it's picture taken as it's always covered whenever i look out at night. probably by the time it has cleared up i am already in front of the laptop screen or playing. this is what i have seen tonight so i just grabbed my trusty camera and shoot away. i'll try to watch for the last quarter in the coming days so i would have at least a different phase of the moon, although i still love this shot (in fact, i love all my moon shots! hehehe! love your own eh!). i just converted it to black and white so it will look a bit different from my last moon shot :D

happy moon watching! :D

taken when we went for a stroll in Marina bay. a friend wants to practice night shots so i did the same (gaya -gaya :D). we were thinking of going to Merlion but was too tired to walk, hence we just decided to take pictures from across. we were trying to take photos of the merlion but since we don't have zoom lenses, we settled for the next best thing. i am still loving the reflection of the lights on the water :D

note: Fullerton Hotel is a five-star boutique hotel originally named The Fullerton Building and General Post Office Building. It has 400 rooms and suites which either overlook the atrium courtyard, or face downtown Singapore's skyline, the Singapore River promenade or the Marina Bay.

requests for prayers or donations at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

that's the stage set at Marina Bay for the celebration of CNY. the whole area is closed that's why we can only shoot from afar. i like the colours of the stage most especially their reflection on the water. too bad i wasn't able to see the place when it was opened to the public because i'd rather sleep during the public holiday (26th and 27th). if you'll notice the lights at the back (and some cranes too), it's the on going construction for the casino (i'm poor with memorizing it's proper name, i'll ask again next time). i'll post a photo of the on going construction next time...:)