of.many.numbers

I could feel it in my bones the minute I woke up today.

E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E was etched in bold within the framework of my day as I opened my eyes at 10.40am (having gone to bed at 4am) and realised I was due to meet bohboh at City Hall in 5 mins, and the rest of my photography classmates at Excelsior Hotel in 20. I had forgotten to set my handphone alarm before I plonked down on my bed in the unearthly hours of the morning, but it isn't really that surprising when one is dead tired and greatly in need of sleep.

+ I got out of my house in 30mins and took a cab down to Peninsular Plaza. [$8.10]
+ Bought professional slide vivid colour film to shoot with because the sun decided to show it's big bright face today at last [$8.50]
+ Considered the possibility of getting a film SLR of my own, complete with mega zoom lens, filters, tripod, and accessories [scared to think of the cost]
+ Ate wonton mee for lunch [$2] + Coke Light [evon's treat! :)]
+ Walked around vicinity of Peninsular + Substation taking photos [priceless]
+ Bought more film [$22]
+ Had a cuppa Starbucks iced cafe mocha [bohboh's treat! :)]
+ Bumped into Jem, my damn hip damn cool funky photographer jc classmate at City Hall mrt [3 secs of time]
+ Went down to Bugis from City Hall [dunno how much]
+ Collected my photographs from RGB colour [$10.30]
+ Went home (Queenstown) from Bugis after overshooting by one stop because I was stoning to Bjork [dunno how much also]
+ Cabbed down to Raffles Hotel [$10]
+ Watched Hubbies4Hire (minus the first 10mins because both my friend and I were late) [$30.80] + flowers for friend involved in the production [$12.50 + $1 due to poor math]
+ Mac's dinner after the show [$5.60 + god-knows-how-many-thousand-calories]
+ Time spent talking to Er-rui during dinner + walk to the car parked far far away [worth a lot]
+ Car-ride home [free]


I really enjoyed myself taking photos again today. One just tends to notice the little details of everyday life a lot more when armed with a camera and a trigger-happy right index finger. (I swear I'm going to go broke soon, judging from the amount of film I've been using up per week since this photography course started. I can't wait for my parents to come back from their NZ holiday so that I can sink my fingers into my dad's new toy named D70 and spare my fast emptying pockets.) Such a pity that the sun hid its face while we were actually taking photos, but then decided to emerge the minute we sat down for lunch. So much for forking out a few bucks more for intense colour film. Still, it was good fun chatting with wendy, ernie, bohboh, evon, nic and alfred along the way. Amazing how much of a difference a group cohesion can make in terms of courage to take street photos out in public. It's like a kind of moral support that is present, and I certainly didn't feel as stupid and stared-at as I would have, had I embarked on this mission alone. It is rather humbling though, to realise that many people out there with more talent, knowledge and passion for photography than I have. And as if to bring home that fact, the scores of people in the always-crowded camera/film shops in Peninsular, eyeing equipment that I have absolutely no idea how or what to use, serve as a gentle reminder of the need for humility. I have much to learn, and yet so little time to do so.