I will say it again.   Work is bad for health and especially for weight loss...

Off on a new adventure!

Wow, it's been 2 years since I last posted anything on this blog.  Guess what they say is true, that things you post on the net never dies.  I decided to come back to the blog as I realize that Facebook isn't really a great place to capture an experience.  It's great for sharing photos and all, but somehow, for a diary kind of experience, it doesn't really seem to workout.  Apparently, there are still page views for this blog!  I wonder if it's a real person or just some bot.  Hey, if you are a real person.. how about leaving a comment below so I know this blog is actually being read!

I'm off to San Francisco & San Jose, the former being one of my favouritest cities to visit, the latter being a convenient base for my this new adventure this year.  It's been a while since I've visited San Francisco so I am looking forward to spending a few days there.  However this trip is really going to be quite an adventure as I will be attempting to travel around the area on a bicycle.  If my plans work out, I would have covered close to 300km by the time I return to Singapore!

I must admit that it's actually kinda scary.  Quite alot of things which I am not sure what to expect. 

- How is it like cycling in San Francisco?
I've never cycled in San Francisco and actually, I never really seriously cycled overseas before! 
This time, I've actually gone online to rent a road bike and brought along my road bike shoes and my cycling gear.  I don't know what the condition of the bicycle will be (although tripadvisor reviews of the company seem pretty good), whether the bike will fit me well and I am also quite worried about the cycling conditions on the road in America.  Not that it's any more dangerous than in Singapore, but I'm going on a solo cycling trip without much prior experience and much planning. lolz.

- How to get to where I want to go?
Here's the joke.  I've googled the map, I've read some stuff, and I've ordered a bike map which I will hopefully received when I reach San Jose, but truth be told, I have no idea how to get to the various places!  In Singapore, I know where Jurong is and even if I am lost, a taxi is always available.  In the US, I don't even know which roads go where! 

- Will I survive a Century ride?
I actually signed up for a 100mile (or more!) cycling event on 16 June.  I don't know if I am really prepared to cycle such a distance and I don't know how the whole event is going to be, where to register, how to get my bike to the starting point, how to even go on the route! lolz.

I talk about taking risks and trying new things all the time.  This is really so much easier said than done.  I seriously am not sure if I might even survive this trip.  Thoughts of possible accidents and maybe even unknown disappearances are popping into my mind even as I sit here at the airport waiting for my flight.  I've decided to really through caution to the wind and just give it all a try.  Hey, we only live once. :)  I'm gonna have to just try my best to be safe and trust that everything else is in a higher Person's hands.

I'll see if I'll blog about the experience here or maybe revert to Facebook.  Next entry, either Narita airport or San Jose.    

My xbox360 still works!

Wow.. I plugged in my xbox360 and turned it on for the first time in probably 2 years... and it still works! I am very impressed! Have just finished updating the firmware and creating my new avatar. Not too impressed with the Live Arcade games. As usual, Asia website has the least stuff. Yawn. At least for Playstation Network, it's easy for me to log on to other regions and buy games/download demos. Wonder if I will it be another 2 years before I play my xbox360 again. LOL.

Singapore River Heritage Cruise

I was invited to go for a Heritage Cruise on the Singapore River tonight. I've done the river cruise before but decided to see what this Heritage Cruise was all about.

Basically, they had a pair of actors bringing us on a journey along the Singapore River. I must admit that it was quite enjoyable. The two of them were quite funny. However, I did start to lose a little interest 30mins into the 'act'.

It was also a good chance for me to try out the twilight handheld mode on my Sony Nex. Generally, must say I quite like the modes available on the camera though on closer inspection, the pictures do appear quite noisy. I guess it's like they said, the Sony Nex is really a camera in between a compact and a dslr. And for now, that suits me really nicely. I do like the night shots and the thing is, they were taken without a tripod. :)

Really nice video with the AT-AT like a puppy! Wonder how he did the animation....

Marina Bay Sands Sky Park

Not sure what attracted me to the Marina Bay Sands Sky Park but when I heard that the official opening was 24 June, I somehow decided almost immediately to buy tickets for the opening... I didn't even do that when the Singapore Flyer opened. haha..

Well, I think a large part of the reason was that I wanted to try out my new Sony Nex. So below are some shots. I really enjoyed the sweep panaroma! It's so convenient that it's hard to imagine how I could live without having it in my older cameras! I know photography purists would probably be appalled that I'm using it so much, but I don't really care.... I think as long as it works well.. why not!?

The Skypark was nice, but there was one major disappointment. From the news reports, it almost appeared as if you would be able to explore the whole rooftop and look over the horizon swimming pool. But the reality was all we were allowed to explore was the rounded area sticking out (as seen from the first pic below). We were not allowed to go anywhere beyond that. Lame.

However, I'm glad to say the view was really quite worth it. A pity it was a little cloudy/hazy. But I think I managed to get some nice test shots using the sweep panorama. One criticism is that the pictures appear a little dark. Wonder if I am able to adjust the aperture setting so that the pics can be brighter when I do the panorama... hmm..

Bottom view of the Sky Park Observation Deck

Panorama of CBD (edited for brightness)

View of the floating platform and the really cool lotus shaped roof of the coming museum

The Singapore Flyer on the left with th Marina Barrage.

View of Singapore Flyer and East Coast (unedited)

View of Singapore Flyer and East Coast (after autocorrect)

Inside the Marina Bay Sands mall

More Pics with my Nex 5

Went on another photo-taking spree to try and exhaust the battery. In the end, the battery charge lasted me about 360 shots. I'm having lots of fun with the Sweep Panaroma mode and the Handheld Twilight mode. So far so good! Not regretting my purchase. :)

Sweep Panaroma

Black & White Mode (1.6sec exposure)

Twilight Handheld Mode

Normal Auto Mode

Sunset Mode