My first lomo pics

There's always an element of surprise when using film cams. You just hope you didn't forget to remove the lens cap or you clicked the shutter long/short enough. Combine that too with the element of surprise when using toy cams. You don't know how your photos are gonna turn out.

*surprise* *surprise*





Shooting the Parkour guys in town (Wellington). Parkour is the art of moving through your environment using only your body and the surroundings to propel yourself. I'm amazed watching them go jump up and about, climb walls, whatever's on their way.

More on parkour - check this video posted in YouTube (which was made by Dar's colleague here) to watch the parkour guys in action.

Happy Holidays!!! (again)

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Happy Holidays!!!

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Seeing the world through a plastic lens

Dar's (early) Christmas gift to me:



He let me choose between a Holga and Diana and I chose the latter. So now begins my journey in seeing the world through a plastic lens.

The dolphins greeted me a happy birthday :-)

We decided to take the ferry and go to Somes Island, where all we saw were birds. On our way back to the Wellington harbor (Queens Wharf), we saw a school of dolphins from afar. The captain stirred the boat a little bit towards the dolphins and the dolphins also came towards us, swimming around the boat for a while, and swimming up and down. It was really exciting and fun!!! :-)

Aja's birthday

My younger sister turned 22 today .

We had a little birthday barbecue at my parent's house in Wainuiomata.

My sister and her bf

Guy Fawkes day

Guy Fawkes day - The only holiday where fireworks is allowed here in New Zealand. Not even New Year. Just during the weekend that Guy Fawkes day fall on.

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Just got hooked to the Heroes TV series and I love it!!! Was able to copy from my officemate full HD copies of season 1 and first 5 episodes of season 2 because I wasn't able to catch the Heroes hype back then. The pilot episode for season 2 was just shown here last week (NZ is late in showing American TV series).

Isn't it cool to discover that you are "special" in some way and have some supernatural power? I wish I could turn anything to gold like Bob (who turned the silver spoon to gold to convince Mohinder to join their project and that money is not a problem) then I could just relax and hire other people to save the world for me! Hehe! Dar, on the other hand, chooses the power of telepathy like Matt Parkman (yeah, how we all wish men can read our minds!).

Dar and I have only finished up to episode 7 last night - that's 7 hours straight sitting on the couch lol. I'm excited for tonight's Heroes marathon again. As Hiro Nakamura say it, YATTAAAAAAAA!!! Lol.

Rotorua Swoop

Over the weekend, me, Dar and my sister Jaz went to Rotorua (about 6 hour drive from Wellington). One of the activities we did is the Swoop. We were put in like a sleeping bag harness and raised to a height of 40 meters slowly. Then when we were up there, the guy below counted to up 3 and I pulled the ripcord which then released us from the hold and down we went shouting like crazy!! It was scary but lots of fun!! I really wanted to bungy jump ever since and I prefer doing the ones where you jumped on the bridge (lol), but after doing the Swoop, I'm not sure anymore... coz I find this pretty scary already!! It's heart pumping adrenaline rush experience and really fun especially if you do it with people close to you!! Too bad Dar had to be in the middle (so the weight would be distributed evenly) and he's too tall and he blocked me in almost all the shots. :c

Island Bay

Dar and I moved to our new flat in Island Bay last month. The area is really nice - close to the sea, quiet and peaceful. We've had enough city life (where we last live in - right in the middle of town) and the previous apartment was becoming too small for both of us (studio type).

Here, Dar and I would sometimes go out and take a stroll along the shore/bay or just sit down along the beach, chill, and watch the sun set.

Rush Hour 3

I liked Rush Hour 1 and 2. I thought by this time, the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker tandem would wore off and they wouldn't be as funny anymore, but I was wrong because I found myself laughing all throughout the film. Although the story was predictable, it wouldn't hurt to just sit down and enjoy the film for what it is - 1 and a half hour of entertainment.

Goofing around in the toys section at The Warehouse

Red Rocks Reserve + Seal Coast adventure

Dar and I (for a change) got up early in the morning (early for us is at around 11) and went out to go the famous red rocks and seal coast. The tour would normally cost $79 per head but I thought if we could just get hold of a map of where the place is actually at, we could just go there ourselves. I googled and found this map which is good enough because we live really close to Owhiro bay.

When we got there, at the end of Owhiro bay, there were already a few cars parked and at the very end, a sign saying only four-wheel drive can enter. We only have a Honda CRV, which Dar said was only a mini-RV and he didn't want to risk it since we don't really know what the terrain will be. So we just left our car at the bay and decided to walk. We thought that the walk would just be okay and at every turns we made around the mountain we thought we're going to see some seals already. After walking and walking, we decided to stop and eat. Then got up and walked and walked and walked, and finally got to the Red Rocks Reserve.

Still, no seals to see so we walked further more. Walk and walk and walk. Since we were already there, there was no point in turning back. After walking for an hour, we finally got to this point of the course:

And after walking past that mark, we were finally at the seal coast and we weren't disappointed! We didn't see not just 1 seal or 2, but lots of them, camouflaged among the rocks, just lying around.


After taking some pictures and resting for a while, we walked back again for another hour. Next time we'll take the CRV after seeing the terrain and after seeing a couple of cars that are not really 4WD (what damage they did to their car) and maybe just take it even for only half of the course so we won't walk as far. Hehe..

The walk from the start (at the end of Owhiro bay) up to the seal coast is around 3 km (1 hour of average walking). Then going back, so a total of 6 km and 2 hours of walking. If you're really a fit person, then that's nothing I guess. A good exercise for the average person. A really, really long walk for those who don't get any kind of exercise at all. If you're a biker, then you can bring your motocross bike or mountain bike and go back and forth the terrain (like what other people do).

More pics here.

Movie date on cheap Tuesdays

We watched Ratatouille. It was really nice - story, quotes, 3D, etc etc. Maybe someday I will learn the art of really tasting food and know the ingredients with just a bite. Maybe someday I will learn to cook some fancy dish without following a recipe step by step. As Chef Gusteau's motto "Anyone can cook". Hehehe

Start of the Rugby World Cup 2007 and the All Blacks won their first match

The Rugby World Cup 2007, held in France, officially started yesterday (or today or the other day - whichever part of the world you are). The All Blacks (New Zealand) vs Italy won the game with a score of 76 - 14.

Anyhoo, my favorite All Blacks are the pretty boys (hehehe..):

Dan Carter

and Luke McAlister

They also have great skills to match their pretty boy looks. :)

Apple products

iMac, MacBook, Cinema Displays, iPhone and iPods. Their designs are just so sleek and cool that you just want to run into the store and grab the latest Apple gadget.

When Dar and I finally decided to get a 24-inch iMac 2 months ago, there were no announcements from Apple, no news (just vague rumors), nothing about the new iMacs that were going to be released 2 months later on. If we only knew... then we should have waited.

our iMac (left), new iMac (right), at a cheaper price at that!

And then the iPod. Ours (5th gen) is also around 2 months old. Then the new iPod "Classic" is just out now - same design, but bigger space (30GB to 80GB) and "enhanced interface" (i.e. Cover Flow) at the same price again!

And I guess for those who got the iPhone even though it's only for AT&T subscribers (US) just so they can use the other features, the new iPod Touch is just out now. An iPod that looks like an iPhone and has the features of the iPhone without the phone. Me want!!!

It's all pretty and sleek!!!

What's coming next??

Darwin's Work Permit came out

Yey!!! We're soooo happy!!!!

Hopefully he'll find a job soon... hahahahahha!!!!!

Monthsary today

75 months now hehe

Did nothing special. Well we did - we had dinner at Fisherman's with my sister and her boyfriend.

Lunar eclipse

The lunar eclipse as seen from the Carter Observatory in Kelburn, Wellington

This is what we're supposed to see. We went out the balcony around 8:50pm last night to watch the moon slowly fade to black - when the earth's shadow blocks the moon. Then it became too chilly outside so we went it. We went back and forth outside to check the moon but the skies became too cloudy. I was also trying to take a picture of the eclipse - fat chance - hehe. Too bad we missed the part when the moon became a reddish glow.

They said the next total lunar eclipse that is visible from New Zealand is not due until 2014.

Whale Rider

"One young girl dared to confront the past, change the present and determine the future."

If you want to learn more about NZ culture, particularly Maori culture, I recommend you watch this film. It gives you a glimpse of Maori society here in NZ. The film is low-budget without all the Hollywood fru fru and even though it is a simple story, it is very well told and the actors gave compelling performances especially Keisha Castle-Hughes who played Pai, who Darwin say has a very strong stage presence.

Basically, the film is about a young girl who has to fulfill her destiny and in the process, fight her grandfather and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill it.

My only gripe about this film is that it would have been better if there were English subtitles on the Maori chants/songs so people could have a better understanding on what they mean. But overall, it was a moving and beautiful film. The ending was also... not quite what you expect I guess.

The film was released in 2002 and has been nominated and won lots of awards.

Watch the trailer:

Wellington

Driving around Wellington...

We were looking for Lyall bay but ended up here in Island bay...

The beach at your front:

...the mountain behind you:

and the ground we stood on:

Driving on...

The Motorway - 105 km/hr

Mt. Victoria lookout!!

Yeah this is what Wellington looks like, somewhat like Baguio!!

Schmap Travel Guides

Today, I got an email that my photos were included in the third edition of the Schmap Wellington Guide. Kinda cool actually, even though I haven't heard of Schmap.com before. Lol. When I want to go some place, I just google "places to see", "tourist spots", etc. which gives me lots of results and links to travel websites and other people's personal blogs. Hehe.

Hmmm... maybe I'll put up my own travel blog in New Zealand. HMMMMM....

Knocked Up

Believe the hype. It's one of the funniest films this year!! The characters are so real, you can relate to them. The prosthetics is also good. Gone are the days when actresses who played pregnant women will do so by putting a pillow under their dress. With the resources we have today, it can get real as much as we want it to be. I also loved the credits at the end of the film. Who doesn't love baby pictures? Awww.

One thing I find it hard to understand about men in general (which was also shown in this film) is them wanting to have their "sanity" time. I remember Dar and I had this talk before about his "sanity" thing. Geeez. All of us need time to get away from it all sometimes.

Free movie passes

I did a favor for my officemate and he asked me how much for my time and I said don't worry about it (coz it's actually Darwin who made it hehe). Well after lunch he gave me 2 movie passes. Yey! :) We're going to watch Knocked Up probably tomorrow.


No need to wait for cheap Tuesdays HEHEHE...

Oriental Bay, Wellington

Around 15 minute walk from my place, if you just want to stroll and think. Quite peaceful and away from the city noise.